Friday Favs!

Today I have one favourite for you and it's Ikea.  I have no idea what anyone did before there was Ikea.  My entire studio loft is outfitted in Ikea and it's both affordable and durable.  I went looking for a counter top for my #apothecary needs and came out with an entire set up, plus extra mixing bowls, some markers, and a candle for under 100€.

What do you think?

Friday Favourites

With the weather in the 30s℃ (it was 95℉ today) my first favourite is a fan.  It's not very common for homes in Italia to have air cooling units in them so it's always a challenge to stay comfortable.  

It also means that it's too hot and humid for nail polish to dry!  I can manage one thin layer before it wants to gloop and no matter what it doesn't dry.  I have been really inspired lately and really disappointed because nothing has set!

On to some ACTUAL favourites!

The 100

I didn't even know this show existed until recently when someone mentioned one of the actors in it was in something else I watch, so hence to them I would 'totally love it'.  I searched it out and they are right, I do really love it.  The second season just ended last month so I was lucky enough to marathon two complete seasons.

Dream Polish's Sun & Sand

I had a feeling I was going to love this scent and I do. 

Complex, fresh and clean scent with notes of orange blossoms, ylang ylang and a touch of musk. Reminiscent of sunbaked sunscreen and a private beach shower.

 I had hoped it was a suntan sort of smell, where as most of the sunny scents I typical find are full of coconut.  I will have to stock up when my no-buy is over.

No Buy July

With my #supersecret #5k #giveaway coming up I went incredibly overboard in May and June so I really have to be careful this month.  On top of that I have to figure out my car situation, as it's still crushed in my front garden!

What have you been loving this month?

Friday Favourites

This week I have a TON of fvaourites so narrowing it down into something managable to post was a challenge.

Get It Done, by Sam Bennett

 Creative people tend to see the world a little differently than everyone else. But that doesn’t mean they can’t zero in on their goals, get focused, get organized, and not only accomplish what they want to achieve but earn money doing it. In Get It Done, a beloved teacher and successful writer, actor, and comedian helps you get a handle on your own particular — even peculiar — creative process and harness your energies in positive, productive, and income-generating ways. Sam Bennett’s innovative exercises, inspiring true success stories, and bonus online components will shift your thinking and prompt the kind of insights that turn underperforming geniuses into accomplished artists.

I read a lot of books about just about everything.  My Kindle is a ramshackle of interests.  I have yoga books, business books, chemistry guides, history books, biographies, mysteries, herbology, and the odd chic lit.  This is one book that I've read over about twice now, I've found it so helpful as I've been starting out on my own small creative enterprise.

Monthly Mystery Mailings!

I am so excited that so many amazing indies have been starting these!  I just don't know what it is about mystery polishes that I love so much.  Whenever CAP has them I try to get a few because I always know that Alison makes magic.  Now that some of the other indies I adore have started I am super excited to see what shows up in my mail slot!

Sunny's Skin Care Sweet Treats Box

I'm really sorry it's sold out, but it's amazing.  This box contained

TEN items in the following scents:
lip balm: buttercream cupcake: a delicious blend of buttercream frosting and rich vanilla cake!
miracle balm: coconut cream pie: rich, creamy vanilla base with notes of coconut, butter, with a hint of fresh
baked body balm: chocolate churros: wonderful blend of fresh pastry churros with warm notes of creamy dark chocolate and vanilla.
hand butter: homemade cheesecake: base notes of graham crackers and sweet cream butter, middle notes of vanilla, sweetened condensed milk and cream cheese; with a hint of almond as a top note
on the go hand lotion: whipped cream:  deliciously light and creamy scent of fluffy white whipped cream, subtly enhanced with the sweetness of Vanilla
triple thick body lotion: carrot cake: buttery spice blend with hints of peach, coconut, carrots, cinnamon and warm vanilla
 cuticle oil: pistachio pudding pie: powerful aroma of pistachio nuts, almond, honey, heliotrope, and rich, creamy vanilla custard intensive
therapy oil: blueberry cobbler:top notes of butter and juicy blueberries with a background of freshly ground cinnamon bark and warm vanilla.
bath whip: strawberry rhubarb pie: southern baking comes alive! The aroma of sweet fresh strawberries mixed with sour rhubarb marmalade, with a base note of flaky pie crust
sugar hand scrub: banana foster:wonderful blend of sweet, ripened bananas, caramel sauce, butter, brown sugar, banana liquor, vanilla ice cream, and just a touch of dark rum and cinnamon.

The labels on all of Sunny's stuff are always cute but these take the cake.

Friday Favourites!

It was a very busy week.  I've been studying and doing a lot of research!  Today is Mia's first day of summer vacation so starting Monday I'll be on a whole new schedule working on our 'projects'!

Glory Be Herbals

I've been suffering from ridiculous insomnia for the last few months.  I'm not sure if it's stress or what it is, but I can't figure it out.  Taking sleep aids are not an option because I have to be aware because of Mia and they also tend to cause massive restless limb issues.  I've been studying aromatherapy for myself so I thought it would be a great route to try.  I found Glory Be Herbals on Etsy and placed an order and I've been very very happy with the products I've tried and got an good night's sleep for the first time!  

Bundle Monster

When I first started stamping I ordered a bunch of the little round Bundle Monster plates only to hate them.  I still do, to be fair, I think they are the worst plates to learn to stamp with.  The images are too small and it's too difficult to pick them up and transfer them correctly without getting aggravated and no matter what, they are too small to fit most nails correctly.

Then they released the larger sized plates with the same images set up like a Mo-You plate, larger and arranged easier to use.  NOW we're talking.  They've also recently released several special edition sets including the Polynesian collection, the Time Travel collection, and most recently the World Traveler set featuring some amazing designs.

Orange is the New Black

Season 3 was released on Netflix today.  I can use the break so I'm glad to be able to escape into Litchfield Prison again.

What are you loving this week?

Friday Favourites

It's been a while since I've posted my favourites.  Despite wanting to blog daily I seem to have been slacking!  Today I have a lot!

Lemonade

I have been collecting quite a few lemonade themed polishes this season!  I love them, they are all unique and gorgeous to work with.

This is Pink Lemonade from Noodle Nail polish, Sugared Lemons from Candied Apple Polish, 10 Cents from Drip Drop Nail Paint, and Limonata, a custom from Heather's Hue.

Forest Feast Street Food

A friend of mine sent me a box of just these snacks and I love them.  I love most things spicy and Thai/coconut/curry/chili, etc etc.  The combinations in these snacks are just great and although they're saltier than I'm used to, I can't get enough!

Front Porch Candles

I started getting interested in tart warmers thanks to Anette and her IG account.  One of the companies she linked was Front Porch Candles and after browsing I placed an order.  And then a day or so later, another.  Not only did they combine my orders, but applied a discount and refund shipping overages WITHOUT ME EVEN ASKING.  They just knew it was the right thing and did it!  I will always be a loyal customer with amazing service and honesty like that!

So far my favourite scent from them is Orange Sherbert Bubblegum.  SO GOOD.

What have you been loving this week?

Friday Favourites

This week my favs are all polishes!

From top to bottom: Mint to Be from Drop Drop, Dreams of the Canary from Candied Apple, Cream Filled from Native War Paints, Pixie Wings from Fairytale Finish, and Sugar and Snuff and Galoshes from Heather's Hues!

Friday Favourites

I had a quiet week.  Without a car there isn't much to be done, really.  I did end up getting a few projects done around the house I'd been meaning to and spent some time with Mia and the kittens.

Lavazza Mio
I posted about my little espresso machine before, but this week I realllly put it to use!  I had a coupon for the little pods and had stocked up and so I enjoyed trying out the various brews and blends.  To get an idea of just how small this is I took a couple pictures with the famous 'You Are Here' mugs from Starbucks!

Marvel's Agents of SHEILD
I watched the first season of this sporadically, it's not something that's all that popular here that I remembered.  It popped up someplace over the weekend and so I spent the last week marathoning season 2 and trying to catch myself up.  I adore Agent Coulson.

Sunny's Bath Whip
I know, you've heard me rave about Sunny's before.  This time I'm going to sing the praises of her new Bath Whip, which is amazing as shaving cream.  You only need a little and it's great!  It's not thick or gross or oily and it's been the exact perfect thing for me.

Friday Favourites

I have a few things to be thankful for this week, the major one being that no one was hurt Wednesday morning as my car was plowed into by someone else.

I'm not sure if it's salvageable, but I also don't know if I can afford to fix it anyway.  I paid a massive (600€) fine this morning, and I don't know if that's the end of it.  I am mostly just emotionally battered, but otherwise I'm fine!

On the other hand, I am once again amazed at the kindness of this nail community.  Is that even what it's called?  I'm not sure, but it's nice knowing there are people thinking about you and sending not just happy thoughts but boxes full of glitter and pretty!

I'm proud to support small businesses, created and run by industrious entrepreneurial women!

What's on you grateful for this week?

Friday Favourites

I think I'm the worst blogger ever.  I have a list of posts I want to write and tutorials to create and this is only my second post this week... what am I doing with my time?!

This week only have one favourite, but I think it's a big one.

Candied Apple Polish

I placed an order for some customs as well as some polishes for my upcoming giveaway and when the box arrived, tucked inside was a special surprise!

This is Grata, the polish of #gratitude itself and a very thoughtful birthday gift!  It's so unique and I have to admit it had me crying as I opened it!  Wait till you see it on!

I've posted about CAP before, back last year on my old blog, but it's been migrated over.  You can read all about it: here.

I really love the style of CAP polishes.  They're very well thought out and full of a myriad of different glitter shapes and sizes and even the most complex colour arrangements look beautiful.  I've placed dozens of orders and have dozens of both Mystery Apples and Custom Apples and even using the same polish over you never quite get the same thing, which makes them, IMO, a good investment!  

This isn't even all of them, this rack is now full and overflowing onto a shelf.  Am I done collecting?  No.  As long as Alison makes polishes, I'll keep supporting her and creating amazing manis!

Above is my Audrey Hepburn series, Ann (from Roman Holiday), Holly (from Breakfast at Tiffany's) and the eponymous Sabrina!  I do hope to have more created but right now she's closed to taking custom orders in preparation for a move.

I had a chat with Alison the other day and I asked her a couple of questions about some specific polishes and she gave me some great insight into her process and as always, I was impressed at her integrity!

What are you grateful for this week?

Friday Favourites!

I had schedule this post to post by itself, and it did not.  So I apologize this is late!

Urban Flower Pot

Stephanie, the amazing woman behind Urban Flowerpot is amazing.  She's not just creative but inspirational as a person.  She specializes in resin work and has a wide variety of pieces in her shop.  She's also a hoola hooper and posts daily vids of her in action over on her IG.

I've ordered from her twice now, my latest being a custom peacock which I'm so in love with.  The glow is intense and it's so wonderfully made.

Colour Pop

Right now there is a big fuss up in the makeup community, which I won't get into.  But in passing I ran across this company as a suggestion for dupes and fell in LOVE with the bright and gorgeous and amazingly affordable lipsticks!

I picked up a few of these in doubles to include in the big giveaway I have brewing.

Kittens

A week ago today our cat, Princess, had kittens.  They started out as four identical little white things but now two are definitly more grey and their ears and little feets are changing colour!

What are you grateful for this week?

Friday Favourites

This week I'm starting a new series, something to get me on a schedule! 

This week's favourites are: 

Sunny's On The Go Hand Lotion 

It's no secret Sunny's are my go-to nail and hand care products. This month she came out with a few new goodie to add to her line up, one of which being this On The Go lotion, a thinner formula in a tube for easy use. It's a great formula, absorbs very quickly without leaving a greasy mess or a film and really softens and moisturizes. I tend to be pretty sensitive to weird things in lotions so this simple formula is a God send.

The Mystery Polished Ladies

I discovered this little group on Instagram and knew I wanted to join in the fun!  It's a circle of polish enthusiasts who, every few months, sign up to send a 'mystery' box of goodies to another member. Each member fills out a little questionnaire, but the real fun comes in stalking the lady you're spoiling's IG page for things she likes, wants, might never have heard of in order to put together an amazing surprise for them!  I'm on my second round with them and am also a mentor and it's been so much fun.

China Glaze

From what I understand, China Glaze is a really popular and rather easy to get, inexpensive polish line!  Problem is, it's not available here in Italia and so every time I see swatches my little heart beats harder and faster!  Thanks to both Steph and Jackie I now have an AMAZING little collection of gorgeous shades to play with!