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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Halloween nail art

Hello all! Can you believe that the month of October is nearing an end and we not only see the start of November this weekend but also the time change? Yikes. Where does the time go?

I have photos of my current mani, done up for Halloween.
Now, it's not perfect but I am proud of it since it's free-handed by ME. Seriously! I made webs and a spider. I can stamp, I can water marble... but ask me to free-hand anything on my nails and I usually laugh and walk away.

Also, I achieved chevrons! Did I free-hand those? Heck no. Nail decals, baby. It was my first time using them (they came in a gift with a nail polish order) and I want to order more!





Polishes used:
Zoya Raven
China Glaze Glistening Snow
OPI Do You Have This Color in Stock-Holm?

Nail decals from Nails Redesigned.

As you may have noticed, I didn't use orange in my Halloween mani. I don't like orange. I will use it for a Candy Corn inspired mani but I prefer purple and black around Halloween.

Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone! 
And don't forget to change your clocks this Saturday night/Sunday morning and get your extra hour of sleep.




Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Googly eyes and stripes mani

Happy Wednesday, er'body.

Can you believe Halloween is a little over a week away?
How about the fact that the time change is next weekend?

Can you believe that there are only 9 Fridays left until Christmas?
 
Did I just depress you with the last one or make you super happy?

I finally took off my falling leaves mani and my nails were naked all weekend. I wanted to do something new but I really didn't feel like painting them. Patience is not a virtue of mine.

Monday night I finally sat down to paint something in the spirit of Halloween on my nails. After staring at my nails and Instagram feed for a while looking for inspiration, I cam up with this:

I like the googly eyes. While I was making them, I kept thinking of the opening of Scooby Doo.

Polishes used in this mani:
Pointer finger- Pipe Dream Polish 'V.I.P. Pass'
Middle finger- Pipe Dream Polish '110 Degrees'
Pinky finger- Pipe Dream Polish 'High Roller'

Thumb and ring finger base- Zoya 'Raven'

Water marble on the neons:
Orly Liquid 'Vinyl' and Sally Hansen 'Invisible'




The neons from Pipe Dream Polish are great. They cover so much better than any other neon polishes that I own AND they are blacklight reactive! (Not glow-in-the-dark!)







I really love how the little eyes glow. Now if I could just carry around a little blacklight and constantly have them glowing, that would be great.








Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Last weekend, I met some nail ladies

What day is it? Let me check my calendar since all of my days run together...Oh yeah!
HAPPY HUMP DAY, everyone!

On Sunday, I met up with some other nail polish enthusiasts in downtown Chattanooga. I had never been to Urban Stack before (I typically avoid downtown) but I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

When meeting up with total strangers, the nerves start to surface a bit. What if we have nothing in common? What if we all just sit and stare at our plates? What if one of them is like my stalker and starts spending all of her time online trying to find out when I eat and pee?

I should have realized that we'd have plenty to talk about... we all love nail polish. Having at least one thing in common guarantees that the ice will be broken and you'll have something to chat about which will possibly bring up other things you'll have in common.

Our nail theme was falling leaves so we all did our own designs using that theme. 
This was mine:

Colors used in this mani are from Zoya and China Glaze.
Water marble: Zoya Darcy and Thandie with China Glaze Adventure Red-y.
Gradient: Same as the marble but add Zoya Louise for the stamping using BM04.


And here is a group shot, taken by our 
waitress (who also loves nails and polish):


And of course, if you have a meet-up consisting of nail ladies, 
you have to a shot of all the nails:

I had a blast and we are planning another meet up. Only 3 of us were local (around Chattanooga) while a few drove in from Knoxville, Nashville, and Birmingham! After food, we headed to shop (Of course we hit up the polish/make-up stores. Duh!)
We hit up Ulta, Sally's, and then a final stop at TJMAXX, concentrating on the polish. After that we all parted ways since the majority of the ladies had a long drive ahead (through a hell of a storm).

We all left fed, happy with our polish purchases, and a few new followers on Instagram. :)
Can't wait for the next one!


Have you ever had a meet-up with people you met online?



Thursday, October 9, 2014

Corn crib + kids = pure joy


Over the weekend, we went to check out Old McDonald's Farm. You can read the first two posts about our experience here and here.

Today we are going to talk corn... specifically corn kernels in a giant box.
Last year, when we still lived in Minnesota, we took the kids to the Twin Cities Harvest Festival and Maze. It was a blast and when we moved south, I was worried that we wouldn't find anything that lived up to it. (Dude, their corn maze is 16+ acres! If you are in Minnesota in the month of October, you should go.)

Although the kids had a blast last year in the corn pit, this year was better. In Minnesota, it was one giant box filled with kids. Flying feet were common and usually came within inches of your head. The corn pit at Old McDonald's Farm (Corn Crib, they call it) was SO much better. Instead of one huge area, inside the Combine Barn there were 3 smaller boxes filled with corn kernels. My girls had one entire such box all to themselves. It was nice not to have to worry about some brat kicking the snot out of my girls.

I mean, just look at the faces of these silly kids:


Peanut offering corn kernels... or finally losing what's left of her mind? You never know with her. She'll be the first to tell you that she's not quite normal. And she doesn't want to be normal. Normal is boring. And anything boring isn't worth her time.



Age is not an issue when dealing with corn cribs. Button had just as much, or more fun, than Peanut did in that corn. She kept making the silliest faces and had a look of pure happiness.




Button's face cracks me up. The thought of her sister burying her is worrisome. She loves her sister so much but there are some things that require a little more trust than others.




Again, Button making strange faces. I'm pretty sure at this point, they were both "swimming". I was thrilled because as Button has gotten older, she's gotten less vocal. I think she's part trying to live with a sister that never stops talking and part growing up and trying to figure out if some things are too 'young for her'. Luckily, jumping into a pit filled with corn kernels makes age just a number.



This child... She has that attitude of "I don't care". She loves her family and wants to be a good kid but she doesn't care what people think of her and her craziness. She's a hoot, for sure. It seems like she never stops talking and asking questions. If she's not talking, she's making strange noises or singing a silly song. Like I said, she's not boring.


If you get a chance to go to Old McDonald's Farm or any other Fall Festival that has a corn pit, go. It's a weird sensation to be surrounded by all of that corn and the kids love it.


If you have a snarky comment to add, try not posting as "Anonymous" and you'll be approved.



Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Gem Mining at Old McDonald's Farm

Yesterday, I shared with you the first post in the Old McDonald's Farm blog series.
You can read part 1 here.

Today, we are going to talk Gem Mining and how much mining for gems can thrill a child.

At Old McDonald's Farm, you pay extra to mine gems. The prices range from $6 (small bag) to $18 (largest bag). Once you buy the bag, you take the kids over to the mining tower, grab a sifter, and shove it down into the water to uncover your treasures.




I'm pretty sure both kids would have stood at that farm the rest of the day going through their booty but I told them to wait until we got home. And they did. I will say that I'm proud of them, too. For the rest of the day, they hauled their treasure bags around and never once complained.

Upon returning home and after a change into PJ's, they set to work grouping their treasures and inspecting each little rock or fossil. I kid you not, they sat there for over an hour playing with rocks and fossils.

Button was very particular about how the rocks and fossils were divided up into groups. And she inspected each one for several long minutes before making the decision.


Peanut was a little less picky about how the rocks and fossils were split up, as evidenced by her larger piles of treasures. She too played for over an hour before finally putting them in her collection box. (Yes, they collect rocks and tumbled gemstones.)


That's all for today. Come back tomorrow for more photos from Old McDonald's Farm Days. The next post in the series will be pics from the Corn Crib (corn kernel pit).


Happy Hump Day to all! Yes, even you, snarky stalker.





Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Old McDonald had a farm... festival


 E-i-e-i-o!

On Sunday, my husband and I took the kids to a farm in nearby Sale Creek, Tennessee.

Old McDonald's Farm dates back to 1821 and has been run since by 8 generations of the McDonald family. In 2011, they opened up the farm to visitors in the fall for family fun and activities.

I found it while using Google to figure out where we could find a fall festival or two to attend. We decided Saturday evening that we'd go on Sunday since the forecast was saying the weather would be perfect for walking around a farm.

Sunday was cool, clear, and low on humidity with a slight breeze blowing through the grounds. There were a number of cars in the lot but it wasn't overly crowded.



Admission is $12 per person and that fee included the following activities:
~ Uncle Ben's Wagon Ride
~ Hay Ride to a pumpkin patch (pumpkins extra)
~ Barnyard 500
~ Combine Barn
~ Farm Life Experience
~ Critter Barn
~ Corn Maze
~ Hay Maze
~ Corn Kernel Pit
~ Pumpkin Checkers

For a little extra, you can partake in:
~ Pumpkin Slingshot (3 pumpkins for $1)
~ Gem Mining (prices vary depending on how much you want to sift- prices start at $6)
~ Football Corral (for the dads who can't get away from the big game)
~ Farmer's Golf ($5)

I took so many pictures of stuff that I decided to split the visit to the farm into several posts. There's photo heavy posts and then there's just ridiculously photo heavy posts. Your computers may thank me.

Today's post will be some of the photos that I took around the farm.

Pumpkin Checkers:


Gem mining tower:


 Harvest Barn:


It really is a beautiful place. And I love that one of the outside walls of the Combine Barn, there is a sort of growth chart for the kids. If you take your kids to the farm each year and take a picture of them in front of the chart, you can see how much they grow from one fall to another.
 
 

And for simple fun/silliness:



That's it for today's post. I'll be back tomorrow with photos of the Gem Mining. The kids had a blast mining for gems at the farm... and then for over an hour at home looking at their prized finds.


Have you been to a Fall festival this year?





Monday, October 6, 2014

Halloween wreath by me

A few years ago, I made myself a wreath to use during Christmas. I made my own because I just couldn't find anything in the stores or online that I liked. It was fun picking out the colors and ornaments that I wanted to see hanging on my door and the end result is one of my loves in life.
(Sorry but my only photo of it sucks since I was never able to hang it outside on the door at our old house. I'll have a better photo later this year.)

When I decided to make my Halloween wreath, I had no idea that I'd spend days searching the webz and the stores looking for a black wreath (not decorated) and still go home each time with nothing. I finally bought a regular Christmas wreath at Hobby Lobby and used spray paint to make it black.


As I posted before back in this post, this was the early stage of creating my wreath:

The photo on the left was right after I realized that I didn't take a 'before' photo. Whoops. Better late than never, right? The photo on the right was during the many light coats of spray paint. It was hot and muggy during those days and spray paint prefers less warmth and less humidity to dry properly. Plus, if I had used thick coats, I would have run the risk of the branches and needles sticking together. It was slow going, a little bit of paint a day.

I had to keep rearranging the branches to make sure all of the green was covered and avoid gaps. FINALLY it was black enough to bring it in to decorate it.

This was right before I got down to business:


I had ornaments from Hobby Lobby, small wood pumpkins that I had painted, and glitter ornaments found at Pier 1 waiting to go on the wreath. I also found a little bit of Halloween floral pieces at Hobby Lobby and Micheal's.

This is the final result:


My husband and I really like the 'finger-like' floral pieces on the top, bottom, and on each side. 
The ornaments from Pier 1 are around the inside (clockwise from the top: a spider carrying Candy Corn, a mummy, a witch that looks like she slammed into the wreath, Frankenstein's monster, and a dancing skeleton). The purple, orange, and green pumpkins were found at Micheal's and Jo-Ann, painted by me.

Tomorrow, I will post photos of the wreath hanging on our front door, along with our pumpkins on our front steps. The garland will be done soon, I hope. I have a lot of the same floral pieces and ornaments for it along with some giant ornaments, more painted wood pumpkins, and Halloween ribbon.
 






Saturday, October 4, 2014

Candy Corn Water Marble

It's the weekend!

I don't normally post on weekends but I did some nail art for this weekend since we are attending a few Fall festival type things. I tried a couple of things before I landed on a candy corn inspired water marble.

Polishes used:
Zoya Thandie
Zoya Darcy
OPI Alpine Snow







Right hand:





Have a great weekend!







Friday, October 3, 2014

Decorating for Halloween

Hi all! 

In my last post, I shared with you the makings of my Halloween wreath and a few of our front porch pumpkins. The rest of the pumpkins are coming along nicely and the wreath is actually done.

Today, I have a few pics of the decor I found while perusing Hobby Lobby, Pier 1, and Jo-Ann. Since I've never really decorated for Halloween before, I had literally no Halloween decorations. Luckily, most of the stuff I found wasn't terribly expensive and can be used for years to come.


First up, our table by the front door:

I found the fabric at Jo-Ann while my husband was looking for something to make the ghosts that he wants to hang from the tree in front of our house. I was standing there looking around and realized I was right in front of the Halloween fabrics. This one was buried behind 2 others but I saw it poking out. It's pretty enough in the photo above but it's what it looks like in person that made me grab the bolt and head straight to the counter.
It's purple, but it shifts to blue when held a certain way... just like a duo-chrome nail polish. And in certain lights, the spiderwebs disappear.

Below is a video that I shot of it outside so that if the explanation above
was confusing, the video would eliminate the need to imagine.


On the table are these guys:

I found them on Pier 1's website and went searching for them in the closest store to me. Next to the totem, you can see a little glass of what looks like gems. I found the plastic gems at Hobby Lobby and had the idea to put them on an LED light in a glass container. (I also found some for Thanksgiving/Fall... pumpkins and acorns. You'll see them on the blog next month.)


These glass pumpkins are also from Pier 1:



On the left in the photo above, you can see the other glass container that I filled with glass pebbles. Below is a photo I shot of it later at night so you could see it lit up more.

I found the pebble mixture, ghosts included, at Micheal's. I made sure to arrange them so that the kids could see the little ghost faces. I really like the end result and it was pretty inexpensive.

Besides finding the fabric at Jo-Ann, I found this cute little door hanger. It looks like a bushel of grapes, yes, but the orange ones are cut to look like Jack-o-lanterns and I loved it.




That's it for today! I'll have another post Monday with photos of my wreath and hopefully the garland (if I can get it painted and decorated by then).

Also, we are heading to a few fall festivals this weekend so hopefully I'll have some photos of hayrides, pumpkins, and corn mazes.


Have a great weekend!







Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Happy October!



I cannot believe it's October. I'm not upset about it, mind you. I personally love this time of year.
The days are getting a little shorter, the temps are dropping, and there's a hint of something in the air.... FALL. My favorite season. Ever. Ever ever.

I'm not a high heat kind of gal. I sweat like a yak wearing a parka once the temps climb into the high 80's and 90's. My hair freaks out when it's humid and I start to resemble the bride of Frankenstein.

Fall is my favorite clothing time. I love my hoodies, chunky sweaters, and my boots. I love watching the leaves turn vibrant fall colors and crunching through them on trails.

Living in Minnesota for the past 6 years, I wasn't terribly happy when fall rolled around. When you live too far north, Fall doesn't last long and following it is months of darkness and bitterly cold temps.

This year? I'm back home down south and Fall is right back up there as my favorite.
At the end of this month is Halloween. And I am really looking forward to it.

Our new home has a great front porch, much better than the old house up north. At our old house, our storm door prevented me from putting a wreath outside. (I had to hang my wreath on the inside and really no one ever saw it.) Also, the porch wasn't really shaded and in the winter, it got direct sunlight all day (if the sun came out at all). So decorating was tough.

This year? I've hit the porch decorating jackpot. And I've already got some stuff ready to go.

I'll be able to put a Halloween outside, the first Halloween wreath I've ever had. Since finding a really solid looking black wreath was giving me a problem, I painted a wreath from Hobby Lobby.
I'll post a better picture of the wreath once I have it decorated.

Around the door, I'm putting up garland decorated with Halloween colored Christmas bulbs (green, purple, orange) and hand painted, flat wooden pieces in the shape of pumpkins. (One such wooden treasure can be seen up at the top of the this post.) Once again, it was a giant P.I.T.A. finding a good string of garland (black in color). So, we decided to break out the spray paint again. It's a slow process making sure everything gets a light coating.
Doesn't my husband look thrilled?

My husband is making LED light ghosts to hang in the tree out front. He's using fabric from Jo-Ann and clear Christmas bulbs from Hobby Lobby. Once he has them done, I'll be sure to post pictures.

We are painting our pumpkins. Yes, painting. I really don't like orange at all, even near Halloween. So instead of all orange pumpkins, we are painting some green, some purple, and black pumpkin or two. And if you want to carve down south, you have to wait until right before Halloween to avoid that dreaded pumpkin decomp too soon.

Here's the 3 we've done so far:
I call this one Fatty. We left it orange but hit it with silver glitter spray paint.


This is Greenie. I sprayed it green and then hit it with the Glitter Blast from Krylon. It SPARKLES.

My fav so far. That purple glitter just made my purple punkin sparkle.

We hit up our local plant nursery this past weekend when we saw that the pumpkins were rolling in off the trucks. The selection was fantastic and we even got the kids those little tiny ones for their rooms. I don't have a picture of those at the moment but they'll make an appearance on the blog soon.


One weekend before Halloween, we will be heading to a Fall Festival where we can hit up the corn maze, hay maze, and pick out a few pumpkins in the patch.


How about you? Are you a fan of Fall?