Neon leopard

I'm not one to reserve certain colors for certain seasons, but neons are definitely colors I reach for more in summer.

I used China Glaze Exotic Encounters and Lime Crime Peaches <3 Cream.

I love this look and it just screams summer to me!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy holidays everyone! For those of you not in the US, Memorial Day falls on the last Monday of May. It is a holiday to commerate our soliders who have fought and died for this country. It also is a big BBQ weekend and basically a kick off to summer.

Since it's such a patriotic holiday, I got my toes and fingers in the spirit!

For my nails, I used Zoya Sooki, Revlon Royal, China Glaze Fairy Dust, white acrylic paint for the French line, Konad White, and Bundle Monster BM14.

For my piggies, I used Zoya Chyna and Zoya Liberty plus I repeated the stamping from my fingers.

OPI Push and Shove

A bit late, I know but whatever. I wasn't sure I wanted this polish, but I saw it for $4.50 at Sally Beauty so I was good with that :)

OPI Push and Shove is pretty great. I used one coat of OPI Lay Down the Bass plus two coats of Push and Shove. It went on pretty easy for me. You can see some ridges from my nails, but I don't mind too much. I wore it for two days though I did have some wear on it.

I want to play around with it some more by trying top coats or Gelous or a gel sandwich to see how that works for this.

Swirly Aurora

I love having all the polishes I have (215-ish) and the choice that comes with it sometimes. But other times it can be overwhelming. I'll take peek through my polishes, seeing if one catches my eye. Then I spot one, mull it over, put it back, browse some more. Repeat. Except with a little one, I can't waste precious free time deciding what polish to use!

Enter my new best friend: Random Number Generator. Seriously. I keep all my polishes listed in a spreadsheet. So I just entered my numbers, and BAM! today's polish.

Zoya Aurora is such a gorgeous polish. I needed two coats. It's got this lovely holographic glitter. When I was taking photos, I found the colors would lean a bit purple-ish in some spots too. Very cool.

The swirly bit is a water decal that I purchased from Born Pretty Store. It adds something, but still let's Aurora shine through.

Easy. Gorgeous. Minimalist.

Sally Hansen Grey Area

Have you ever pulled out a polish and had it trigger a memory? Maybe it's one you received as a special gift. Maybe the name triggers a memory entirely unrelated to the polish.

Sally Hansen Grey Area triggered a memory for me. I had been wanting to use it (again) for a while. It just didn't seem the right fit for several nail art designs I've done lately though. So the other day, I said EFF IT! Pulled it out and got to polishing.

And then BAM! came the memory. This polish is what started it all. I've loved polish since I can remember, but this is the one that started the collection and the searching for nail art ideas and finding blogs like Nail Nerd and Chloe's Nails and then starting this blog and then just everything.

And you know what? I still love this polish.

Purple Plaid

I've been meaning to post this since Monday, but time has really gotten away from me.

I joined a group a few weeks ago where the focus is on becoming a minimalist. The general idea is to simplify your life so that you can better enjoy it. That can mean getting rid of belongings so you can find what you need more easily or so you don't spend so much time cleaning. It can mean cutting back on social media or television or whatever so you have more quality time with your family. It can mean cutting out those toxic people in your life so your thoughts aren't cluttered and wasted on them. It's about living life. I've been mostly focused on getting rid of  items in our home as well as decluttering those time wasters. A lot of this for me has been cutting back TV to those shows that I really like (which is still a lot to be honest).

Another project of mine/hobby is meal planning. I love cooking, but it's hard to when you've got a cranky toddler at your feet (bless those of you who do it with multiples!). It's a bit easier though as T had gotten older so I'm trying to find simple healthy recipes for me to cook.

So onto today's mani!!! Lol

It's simple and classy, yet fun. My colors are OPI Parlez-vous OPI? and L'Oreal Tea and Crumpets (which has a crappy stiff brush but I love the color). I used black and white acrylic paint as well.

China Glaze floral skittle mani

Hello! Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? Tomorrow we're heading to our state capitol in Madison. They do a wonderful farmer's market right around the Capitol Square. Then we'll hit up the free zoo there. The weather is looking to be nice so I can't wait to go! Sunday we're going to do lunch somewhere and then maybe a little shopping at a children's resale shop. Our little guy could use some more summery clothes.

I did this mani as part of a hashtag on Instagram called mani swap. The premise is that you and another Instagram-er pick a mani of the other person's and recreate it. Then you post a collage of all 4 manis. Be sure to check out my Instagram for my inspiration as well as the recreated mani.

I used all China Glaze polishes to create this look. The colors are For Audrey, Exotic Encounters, and White on White. The roses themselves are acrylic paint while the leaves are polish. 

Shiny Star Mani and Born Pretty Store Review

Hey all! I'm back! I really needed that break and I'm feeling much better about things from the blogging end. I see a lost a few followers too, oh well!

Today I have a review from Born Pretty Store of two different items (disclosure policy). Today I'm reviewing some gold studs and loose glitter.

I decided to use the glitter a bit differently and made star decals (check out my Instagram @rubytadpole for a little tutorial on how I did this!). I layered those and the gold studs on top of Barry M Blueberry. I loved how it turned out and the stud stayed on surprisingly well through diaper changes and all that.

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