so how was your day?

i'm keeping some pretty decent company today ... me and all my stripes.

nailed it no. 2

FADING COLOR!!!  ok, so these might just be my favorite nails to date, as in ever.  i stole the idea from the beauty department and simplified.  i fully appreciate the fact that they own so many different nail colors, and their addition of water kind of makes sense after trying these myself, but totally unescessary.  really, the following is all you need :

2 colors of nail polish, or,  you could just go with 1 i guess and have it fade into clear ...
1 make up sponge.

1.  take the makeup sponge and paint a line of each color.  make 'em wider than you think your thumb nail is and don't forget, they should be overlapping ... this is messy, but TOTALLY worth it.  i started with dark, brushed it twice, then two brushes of light and then i alternated light over dark a few times ... you know to get a blend.  i did not wet my sponge and i did not test on paper first, but if you'd like you can.

2.  roll the sponge from left to right over your nail, once, twice and a third time.  voila.  fancy ass nails.  cover with two top coats (this is important these nails are uber textured and look weird if you don't go crazy with the top coat). an aside, i had to reload my sponge every third nail or so and then did one final fresh roll over each, well minus one of my pinkies, because it totally didn't need it.

3.  with a q-tip and polish remover, remove all of the polish on your skin.  there will be a lot, but again, totally worth it.  another thing i do is wait a couple of hours and wash your hair (or do the dishes).  this takes the excess polish off of my skin/cuticles in no time.  also, less of a risk in hitting your freshly painted nails with acetone.  but i tend to have to wait at least two hours before dipping in hot water in order for my polish not to shrink up on me.  what is that?

my shorts don't fit.

over the weekend we did a little bit of celebrating.  mas is one year older and i am about ten pounds heavier.  we had crack pie, times two, and chocolate cake.  also we went out with a dear friend saturday night and found ourselves eating frito pies (oh and tater tot pies) at two in the morning.  it was fun, but let me tell you, sunday i woke up and thought i might die.

we converged in the kitchen for breakfast around 11, so late for me, had oatmeal because no one could stomach the thought of even eggs, and then we sat, drank water/coffee/orange juice, and attempted to rehydrate.

at 1:30 we went on a twenty mile bike ride through the city, it was warm.  at 4:00 we were cleaned and STARVING.  we headed down the street to have sliders and pizza (hello healthy, i know).  i was a zombie.  it was my first actual bike ride in about a year and it was SUNNY.  i hate the sun, it drains me, so does biking for that matter.  i had a slider, some salad and a piece of peperoni pizza.  they boys had three cocktails a piece and the rest of the food.  they were fine, maybe that was my mistake, no cocktail.

around 6:00 we ended up back home and the weather outside was lovely.  mas was suffering from an oncoming benadryl coma and i was just suffering from the past 24 hours.  we took a sheet, the dog and a bottle of water three doors down to the little triangle of a park.  we slept for an hour.  then we came home, mas took another nap, and i figured out that those shorts i purchased in january are far from comfortable.  apparently my lifestyle of eating a lot and exercising not at all is catching up with me.

long story short, mas and i had a discussion about diets and personal challenges and exercise.  turns out we disagree on just about everything (except for the fact that a diet is NOT THE ANSWER, we both agree that is the case) and doing this together doesn't seem to be the best idea.  so, he's going to bike to work and exercise more and i'm going to run every day (yeah right) and stop eating solids.  i kid, i kid, but maybe i'll not keep corn cookie dough in the freezer any more.

{image via instagram, i'm cevd, did you know?}

i've been dying for a pair of every day studs.

these are pretty much perfect.

{mociun black diamond cut out triangle earrings via of a kind.}

after wishing for a good week, it finally came.  monday was a wash, tuesday sucked, but wednesday through friday = some of the best ever.  there was lots of lasagna eating (kind of happy that's over), printing (!!!!), cake making (happy bday mas), and chilly mornings (curled and buried k-9, bottom right).

so goodbye week, hello weekend!  here's to chinese burritos, birthday cheeseburgers, and eighty degrees.  what are your plans?

getting there // living room.

so, tuesdays will be for nails, and thursdays for house!  watch out, consistency, here i come?  we'll see about that.

onto house.  as you know, or do you?  about 10 months ago (holy jesus) we bought a little row house in dc.  it smelled of cigaretts and mold.  everything we touched magically turned to dust.  it was and still is a real fixer upper, though not total shit hole, i'm only being slightly dramatic when i speak of it.

we're slow with projects.  mostly because we have to save the money for the project first and figure out how to diy things like electrical (not the best idea) and painting (i'm a pro, no really i am) second.  but we are getting there, i think i've mentioned that.

and now, without any styling and a whole lot of crap ... sorry guys that is just the way we roll these days ... here are some befores and nows.  i'm not going to say afters because as you can see we still don't have the furniture figured out and there is a massive construction project that is going to be taking place in the next few weeks (see below for more on that)!!!!

BEFORE

this is what it looked like the day after we closed.  what nice light, and a real wood burning fireplace!!  but the carpet was rank (hello chain smoker and pet pisser) and the walls were red.  i really don't understand red walls, but to each their own, i guess.  check out that moulding!  isn't it fantastic?

the real proof of the cigarettes is above, i mean visual proof, had you been standing where i was while taking this photo, you would be coughing.  but that streaky funk that you can see in the upper spots of the book shelves, yeah that's nicotine.  we scrubbed that grossness off, it only took some tsp and about four hours. 

AFTER

ahhhh, now look at it.  no couch, we're still figuring that one out, but WOOD FLOORS, GREY WALLS, WHITE TRIM, MOST FAVORITE CHAIR EVER (the one in the background, that is, the big white one is too big for the space and so it's being banished to the bedroom).  as for the coffee table? i don't know where it's going, but it ain't staying there.  also i convinced mas to let me take those shutters down.  i know, i know, you love them, right?  yeah so did he.  but you know what?  they are impractical and big and noisy and frankly, they are ughly.  i'm sorry if you can't see that, we don't all have good taste.

ohhhhh, white bookshelf!!!  isn't it so much better?  yeah i know.  and good thing because that bitch was a bitch to paint.  have i ever told you that super shiny trim paint is my most hated foe?  seriously such a pain in the ass.  but wait, what is that on the left you say?  the original scummy nicotine laced bookshelf??  why yes, yes it is, you are totally right.  but, wait for it .....

in approximately six weeks it will be a window, a big one, and it will be awesome.  which means - we bit the bullet and bought windows.  well, signed a contract and put a deposit down.  i didn't tell you this before, but our current windows are plexi-glass (i kid you not) and are falling into the storms.  our electric bill in the summer is stupid and so is our gas bill in the winter.  here's hoping this will help.  either way it will be awesome.  i'm such a nut for nice windows (WHO AM I?).

so, it's coming along this little house of ours, and you'll be happy to know that we have had people over.  and we are again having people over.  last time there was that chair and a half to sit on though, this time that's in the basement.  maybe i'll purchase some floor pillows.  or maybe, we'll have a fire and sit outside after dinner.  that sounds lovely.

basics.

i would like to be better about purchasing lovely, delicate and versatile pieces.  not that my plaid button downs and jeans aren't wonderful, but i just think they might be a touch casual for my everyday life.  i'd really like to be able to nail the casual look that borders the line of sophisticated (which is asking a lot, i know).  basically i need to give a shit more often ... or at least look like i do.

shirt // shorts // tank // shirt

all from the french line oysho, of course, the french always do it well.

tails.

would it be weird to have these hanging in our hallway?  because i kind of love them.

{animal tails by colette bream via unruly little things}

nailed it no.1

remember way back when, that time i put glitter on my nails?  well despite the fact that i posted that ages ago, i've decided to run with the idea now.  a weekly nail how-to if you will.  i mean, i'm still painting my nails every 3-5 days and every once in a while i love them.  so i'm starting the series today, and with a massive nail project nevertheless.

ok, it's not THAT massive, but it looks it.  in fact it requires very little stuff (if you don't count the number of nail colors) and just a bit more patience.

what you need - a paper clip, some tape (i used washi as it is all i have readily available, but scotch works too) and nail polish.

what you do - paint your nails with a base color as you would ... finish them with a top coat and let dry. you guys, this is the only top coat i use ... THE ONLY ONE.  and i love it.  after your nails are dry take the tape and tape 'em off as illustrated above.  or use the end of a paper clip dipped into a dollop of polish to go the dot route.  then re-coat with the super shiny top coat, let dry and instagram them ... we can be samesies, wouldn't that be fun?

re-do.

the past weekend was a bit less than stellar.  i mean, we got stuff done, like the floor and trim of our basement!! and there was the marathon cooking of lasagna/tons of bolognese that will keep us fed for the next few weeks.   but there was also the car accident that has left us carless for the next month*, the opening and assembling of a bed from ikea that is missing the mid-beam rendering it completely useless (did i mention we have no car for the next month and ikea is FAR?), the cancellation of a brunch reservation that took me A MONTH TO GET (again, no car = no trip to baltimore for one of the most popular brunch spots around, their dinner is delish, have you locals been?), and the general moping-ness that sometimes just happens.  so all in all it's left me very excited about this monday.  it's a new day, a new week, and a new start.  because sometimes you just need a fucking new start.  also leftover lasagna.  what is better than leftover lasagna??




*we very nearly just ditched the prius for a this (TDI, of course), which we've been thinking about past year, but we're apparently so specific we'd have to have it ordered which would take four months and really, maybe, we'd rather throw that money elsewhere .... like on tearing out that kitchen wall and turning it into giant glass sliding doors??