Confessions of a Fashionista

My wonderful friend Soloni has a fashion blog where she posts inspirational quotes and fashion advice.  She's so adorable and I love her to pieces!  She is a true fashionista, always inline with the latest trends and finding ways to make them more affordable and doable.  Check out her blog...her and I will be collaborating VERY soon!  Stay tuned!

http://fashionbug411.wordpress.com/

How to be happy.

I was inspired to write this post from this inspirational picture that popped up on my facebook:

I bet most of you have heard this type of advice a million times.  How many of us actually think about it and apply it to our lives.  On top of that, how many of us encourage others to apply it to theirs.  Everyone is human and it is natural to feel jealous or angry because other people have better things or a better situation.  The thing is, that's not your life.  We are all here together on this Earth, but we are all not the same person.  Worry about your own individual situation.  What is your own personal idea of happiness, not factoring in any of your friends and what they have?  Just for you. 

When I was younger I set some goals for myself.  I wanted a beautiful little family and a home full of love.  I wanted my own business and a loving husband who supported my dreams.  I wanted to be happy while I was working and in charge of my own success.  Fast forward about 20 years.  I am happily married with a beautiful baby boy.  We have a nice home, not huge, but still nice.  I have my own business that gives me back what I put in and I'm totally happy doing it.  My husband has supported me 100% of the way.  Seemingly, I have achieved all my goals.  I like to think of that list I made 20 years ago, it makes me feel so accomplished.  If I sat down and thought about how I coul dhave a bigger house, and make more money, I'd never be happy, because there's always room for more.  The key is to live in the present.  I consider my current situation and I'm the happiest I have ever been.  A lot of credit goes to my husband, he is the most wonderful person.  My soul mate.  He works very hard to provide for us.  He craves spending time with us.  I can't tell you how many times I've thanked my lucky stars he's not a football nut.  Weekends are family time period.  We don't ever make other plans.  Especially now that we're both so busy during the week. 

Anyway, I think that not taking things too seriously also helps.  Let things roll off your shoulders.  Put it in perspective, and ask yourself 'is this really as big a deal as I'm making it?' Now when you answer, be honest with yourself.  Whether you have a solution or not, there's no need to worry about it.  If you have a solution then problem solved no worrying needed.  If you don't have a solution, then problem impossible, just stop worrying and forget the things you can't fix.  This picture might help give you an idea of what I'm saying.

So guys...here's what to take away from this.  Ba happy in the present tense.  Your journey is what you make it.  Don't look back at your life and regret that you spent most of it worrying about living and not actually living it. 

Take care!

Karma

Best Nail Care products and Tips and Tricks to making your polish last.

I have tried a million different nail products and by far I think OPI nail polish and China Glaze are the best quality.  There's a lot of gurus out there who recommend drug store nail polish and I'm going to have to disagree.  Sure it's affordable, but it's terrible!  You really get what you pay for.  Even Sally Hansen is terrible! 

Here's a list of nail products I think are great:

Nail polish remover: Any acetone remover gets everything off!  Glitter, black polish, red polish- you name it.
Cuticle oil: Avoplex cuticle oil is amazing.  It smells good and makes your cuticles look nice and healthy.
Nail Sanitizer: NAS 99 by OPI is great to disinfect the nail before you polish.  It also breaks down oils and creams that you put on to treat your cuticles.  It will help cut the oils so your polish stays on.
To Prevent Chipping: Chip Skip by OPI is wonderful to keep your nail polish from chipping.  Mine has lasted 2 weeks!
Base Coat: OPI Bast coat hands down.
Top Coat: Seche Vite - dries super fast!  Also OPI Top Coat leave a very shiny finish but it thickens up very fast.
Nail Drying:  Dip dry in the spray is amazing!  Nails dry within a minute!

Tips and Tricks:

First of all the most important thing I can tell you is to paint every layer on very thin.  I know it seems logical to paint thick so you need less coats, but even with thin coats you can get the right color with 2-3 coats.  The thing is the thicker you paint it the more likely it is to chip and peel.  Another really important thing is to make sure there aren't any oils or lotions on your nails before you paint.  That's where NAS 99 or rubbing alcohol will do the trick.  Just wipe nail with a cotton ball before you start painting.  Using Chip Skip also helps with this.  It creates an alkaline surface so the polish will adhere better to the nail.  Do not forget to do base coat and top coat.  These should be two separate products.  I don't every buy the two in one Base&Top coats.  They don't work.  Both serve different functions so how can you jam them into one bottle?!  Build your polish collection slowly.  If you're investing in OPI Colors start with colors you can wear every day and that you'll use.  If you buy fun colors try to find different uses for them or they'll just sit there and get thick.  I recommend, for those of you on a budget, just buy the neutrals and everyday colors and leave the fun colors for the nail shop.  Get them when you get a manicure.  Unless you can wear fun colors on a daily basis...disregard my advice.  Another tip: Do not cut your cuticles down, just gently push them down.  Cutting them will only lead to infections.  Only cut what is hanging off your finger.  Be sure to use something like Avoplex to keep your cuticles moisturized.  Even some olive oil does the trick.  To make applying nail polish easy work in three strokes and wait a minute before applying each layer. 

Word of advice when using Crackle polish - wait until your polish is completely dry before applying a thin coat of Crackle polish.  You'll see the best results.  For an interesting crackle paint it on sideways or in an X shape.  Use different colors underneath to get some really fun nails.

Hope this helps!