Month: March 2015

Mani Monday: Impressions of Spring

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In honor of the lovely spring weather we have been enjoying, I give you my own interpretation of blooming flowers. I was going to actually paint flowers on my nails but did not like the stark contrast of the white nail polish I had painted as the background color. I randomly decided to dot different hues of pinks, purples, and nudes on my nails and found that I enjoyed the results.

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It feels rather impressionistic, right? If only someone paid me to do my own nails. Then my life as a nail artist would be complete. <Insert dramatic sigh here.>

I have really been loving my new Butter London basecoat and topcoat. I believe I did these nails on Thursday, and I only have one chipped nail today. Usually, I would redo all of my nails when I get a bad chip, but this mani is easily fixable. I added more colors to the chipped nail, and now no one will be the wiser.

It is important to look my best tonight because we are going to a film screening, and I am hoping to meet the funny star. I’ll update you about it tomorrow.

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For now, I’ll leave you with this disturbing stuffed animal/goldfish bowl combo. It can hold your pets or your snacks! What an amazing invention.

Weekend Watchlist: Spring is for Bunnies

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I know that people are more likely to watch something if it is available for instant streaming. Okay, most people aren’t going to watch something that they have to leave their house to go get or buy. However, trying to find movies to recommend to stream that fit my life themes is hard. A lot of times my first or even second choice of movies isn’t available. Am I letting people down with my recommendations for weekend laziness? I don’t know. I’m in a bit of a quandary, which is why I skipped the Watchlist last week and it is late this week.

Last weekend, I thought of a great many movies to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day: Boondock Saints, The Departed, Philomena, etc. There were also some films that I hadn’t seen yet but thought I might like to watch and pass on. I know now that I should’ve watched The Wind That Shakes the Barley or The Quiet Man, but instead I watched Ondine. It was pretty meh, so I didn’t recommend it. I already wrote about I.Q., and I thought that might be pushing it.

This week I tried to find a movie about spring. When you google “movies about spring,” you will mostly end up with B movies about girls on spring break. No, thank you. The best film I could come up with is Miss Potter, a quirky little movie about Beatrix Potter.

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I actually liked Miss Potter. First of all, how could I resist a movie where Ewan McGregor sings? Second of all, how could I resist an eccentric, independent female author who lives in a time where women are stifled? Third of all, how could I resist Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor together? However, the plot is more dedicated to historical accuracy than to an audience’s pleasure, so I can see why others might not be so smitten with this little movie. If you like bunnies and underdogs, you can stream this for free on Amazon Prime or rent it for $2.99. However, if you don’t like a slow-burn romance and high society, skip it.

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If spring is more about spring cleaning and redecorating for you, may I suggest that you watch Income Property and Property Brothers before they disappear off Netflix on April 1st? No, this is not an April Fools’ Joke. Get your fix before they are gone. Don’t worry about Hilary and David though. Love It or List It is staying for now.

Do you have a suggestion for my Netflix queue or Amazon watchlist? Let me know in the comments!

Mani Monday: Four-Leaf Clovers on Butter

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Artsy, right?

It’s a very exciting time of year for makeup hoarders lovers of America. It’s Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty Sale. For 21 glorious days, there are special flash sales on high-end products. Last Thursday, Butter London nail polish was reduced to a mere $9. I was in a panic all that day, worrying that my store (which is always out of everything) would run out before I got there. However, they had plenty of bottles left when I arrived.

I bought Hardwear PD Quick Topcoat, which is way too long of a name for a topcoat. I really needed it because I used up my CND Speedy Topcoat on my glitter nails from last week. Hardwear usually retails for $19, so I got it for more than half off. Plus, it is 0.1 ounce larger than Speedy, which sells for $8.50. I also decided to buy a mate for my topcoat, a basecoat called Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat.

Ivy League (L), Emerald City (R)

Ivy League (L), Emerald City (R)

I honestly wasn’t expecting much because I sometimes feel like topcoats are like shampoo. You can find one that you really love, but one day it just stops working for you. However, I am really loving this combo. After my Piccadilly Green manicure flaked off, I painted my nails with cheap $3 Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polish in Ivy League. This color is shimmery and semi-sheer. I then painted four-leaf clovers on my thumbs in Emerald City.

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Making a four-leaf clover isn’t that hard. First, make sure that you have a minimal amount of paint on your brush. Then make four dots in a circle on your nail. Try to make the dots kind of uneven to make the leaves look more realistic like my first attempt.

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Jono’s attempt at being artsy at the mall. The lighting is too icky for good pics there. 

My left thumb was my first attempt. I made the dots too round and close together. It looks like a schoolkid painted it for art class. The right thumb’s dots are spaced farther apart and are more free-form. This makes the clover look more natural.

My new topcoat and basecoat have really made this manicure last. This Sally Hansen nail polish usually only lasts a couple days on me. I didn’t notice any chipping until after I cleaned the bathroom today, which is day four. Four days is double my usual wear time for these greens. So far I give Butter London two green thumbs-up.

Mani Tuesday: The Wearing of the Green

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I hope you are all celebrating St. Paddy’s Day in style. For me, that means having a sparkly green manicure. This is not just any green glitter nail polish. It is the fairest in all the land.

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Isn’t it lovely? The color is from Nails Inc. and called Piccadilly Green. I actually thought the name was Emerald all this time because of this odd sticker on the cap. I only noticed it’s real name yesterday.

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(Why does it say “Emerald” on the cap? Did the people at Nails Inc. think that we might not be able to see what color the nail polish is? Is this a blue/black or white/gold situation?)

I’m definitely not confused about how much I love these myriads of green glitter on my nails. The glitter comes in various sizes and is full coverage. It’s everything I wished Deborah Lippman nail polish to be and with a 50% smaller price tag. Unfortunately, it only lasts one or two days. I think it’s worth it, and I wear this color every March 17 and around Christmas time (with the red version of this polish). However, I have some bad news. Nails Inc. has revamped their nail polish and no longer sells this color on their website. I bought this at Sephora a long time ago, so you might check around to see if they have any bottles still loitering on the shelves.

How did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Did you eat corned beef with boiled potatoes and cabbage? Did you call your husband “Seamus” all day? Did you get a free frozen lemonade from Chick-Fil-A? Did you watch half of an Irish film on Netflix and then not finish it so you could watch The Mindy Project?

I did.

Let me know how your day went already!

Weekend Watchlist: Happy Pi Day!

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Today is a very special Pi Day. The month, day, and year are equal to the first five numbers of pi, which are 3.1415. I hope that you are celebrating with mathematical joy by solving some geometric equations. Or perhaps you like to take the “punny” route and bake a pie on Pi Day. Whatever floats your boat is fine by me.

I know I could easily pick Life of Pi or Pi for my Weekend Watchlist, but I’ve decided against both since neither is on Netflix streaming. (Also, I’ve never seen Pi.) I know you people like instant gratification. Therefore, I choose I.Q.

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The story of I.Q. is by Andy Breckman, the man who gave us Rat Race and Monk among other comedic gems. (He also wrote for SNL and Letterman.) He shares writing credit with Michael Leeson who has written for just about every classic show on Nick at Nite. (Sidenote, what’s the deal with all the new shows on Nick at Nite?) I.Q. was directed by Fred Schepisi who directed Steve Martin’s huge schnoz in Roxanne. This is a good start right?

In I.Q., Meg Ryan plays Catherine, granddaughter of Einstein (who is played by what looks like his twin brother AKA Walter Matthau). Tim Robbins plays Ed, the car mechanic who has no chance with Catherine because of his average intelligence. Hijinks ensue. This is not a complex movie. This is a sweet rom-com that’s perfect for a lazy weekend.

“But, Molly!” you protest, “It’s days away from St. Patrick’s Day. Shouldn’t you choose a film based on an actual holiday?”

First of all, how dare you?!

Second, I have picked another movie. Hold your horses.

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The Secret of Kells is a spirited, fictionalized account of how the famous Book of Kells was made. (The Book of Kells is an illuminated book of the four gospels. It is stunning. Google it after you read this post posthaste.) The animation is beautiful, and the story takes it time weaving around old myths and faeries. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil the plot. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, which was nominated for an Oscar in 2010 and an Annie in 2009. Its is also available on Netflix, so you don’t have to wait until the 17th to watch it.