Nail Art Wednesday: Gold Swirls on Purple

Remember back in December when I did gift-wrapped nails? Well, today's design is a tad related to that. But first, let me explain. I've always loved wrapping presents. I guess it's another thing that I've gotten from my mom (I swear, the older I get, the more I become like her. Weird..) as she likes to say that presentation counts; it lends an aspect of thoughtfulness. I guess that's true for a lot of things, as with presents, pretty wrapping can heighten the anticipation and enthusiasm of the recipient. (I haven't met a single person who doesn't enjoy tearing through wrapping paper.) I suppose it also shows how much effort you've put into getting that gift. Now, if you're horrible at it, just attempting to do it goes a long way in my books. So really, it's not so much that it looks good, but that you've gone that extra mile. Makes sense, right? Anyway, I always have a bunch of gift wrapping supplies on hand but it wasn't until I was wrapping a particular present that I noticed how interesting the design was. (Isn't it funny how you tend to notice patterns and designs more after dipping into the nail art pool?) I knew I had to try my hand at recreating it on my nails and this is what I ended up with:

With the gift wrapper that started it all!

Hammie visits Joanne at Northern Nails with (More) Beach-y Nail Art

When the very awesome Jo from Northern Nails called out for guest posts, it was practically a no-brainer that we would help out with at least one. She's come to our rescue more than once before and it was our chance to return the favor. So while she's partying it up in Ibiza, we're helping her hold the fort, so to speak.

Now, Hammie's been delegated as Polished Indulgence ambassador (I've been convinced that it's part of his mascot duties, so who was I to argue with that?) so I do hope you check out what he has to say on these yet another take on beach-y nails while you can read on to see how we did it. If you're here from Northern Nails, welcome!

Yep, beach brain isn't something you apparently just turn off.

Unboxing Julep Maven American Beauty May 2012 and Cinco de Mayo Mystery Box

So, I was going through my photo archives trying to figure out which ones I have yet to post and I came across these unboxing photos that I took a couple weeks ago. See, when I came back from Texas, I had a whole bunch of fun nail mail that included these two Julep Maven boxes. Luckily, I had the foresight to grab the camera before I tore through everything. (Mr. J thinks it's funny how I've developed that habit from blogging. Go figure.) I seemed to have lucked out again with the mystery box, but I'll let you judge for yourself after seeing the photos.

Longer box than usual!

Nail Art Wednesday: Birthday Nails with a Jelly Sandwich, Black Roses, and a Mix of Blue and Purple

Yep, I was right. Today's a bit rougher to deal with than usual, what with the late night and that pretty hectic weekend, so we'll keep this particular post short and sweet, if that's all right.

I sported a couple nail looks for the weekend that I'll be showing you today. I started off with a red jelly sandwich that I stamped over with black roses, then went with a blue and purple mani for my actual birthday.

Just because I adore this mug so much.

Indulgent Intermission: Why There Was No Post Yesterday

First off, (belated) Happy Victoria Day, fellow Canadians! It's been a hectic extended weekend for me, more so because it's also my birthday weekend. :) I really haven't had time before Monday to schedule a post so instead, I thought I'd let you in on how I spent my extra long weekend (which is actually extended till today, haha!). Don't worry, I won't ramble on like I tend to and instead let my photos (where I have some) do the talking.

Saturday was get-all-the-pending-chores-out-of-the-way day. But it was nicely capped off with a quick jaunt over to Main Street Unionville to enjoy the ridiculously awesome patio weather with Italian fare at Il Postino, paired with a glass of Chardonnay for me and Merlot for Mr. J.

 
We had to walk off the Bailey's crème brûlée so we ended up heading over to Toogood Pond for a spell before calling it a night.

Serendipity played a role when we headed to Cora's for brunch and ended up sharing a table with my sis in law and her guy. It was good catching up since we've all been so busy that the last time we'd gotten together was way back in Easter.

Mr. J had softball practice later that afternoon, so while he sweltered out in the sun, I caught up with the Starks on my trusty Kobo under a tree. Thank goodness for Claritin though; it was a sea of dandelions and pollen galore.

Dinner with the family was a blast: especially with Peking duck on the menu! My niece is all grown up now, too! I also found out that I had unwittingly contributed to my other sis in law's burgeoning obsession with nail polish. Oops. :P

Ended the night with fireworks; it was an impressive 20 minute show, too! (Took out the fancy camera for a spin and got a little carried away...)

Monday brunch with friends at Montana's to catch up some as we haven't really met up with them since we got back from our trip. They got me my favorite gift yet: a Stark mug!

 ...along with a few of my other presents this year. :)

Spent the rest of the day at Vaughan Mills. Crazy crowds. Enough said.

Taking it easy today but looking forward to hitting up Caffe Demetre before seeing West Side Story tonight! Then a late dinner after, but I don't know where as Mr. J is keeping it a surprise.

Overall, an awesome weekend, indeed! Tomorrow's going to be rough. I know it.


Hammie wonders: How was your weekend? What's one thing you make a point to do on your birthday weekend? Do you still celebrate your birthday?

PS. I just noticed...167 Followers?? O.O You guys are awesome, THANK YOU!!!
Also had a major fan girl moment when I saw this today *major grin*:

Grey/Purple/Green Multichrome Comparison featuring Butter London Knackered vs. Essence Where's the Party vs. Nubar Purple Beach vs. Wet N Wild Grays Anatomy

Yep, I'm running a bit late today. But never fear, today's post is here! (Hammie just cringed at that. Oops.)

Anyway, jumping right into it, remember when I swatched Butter London Knackered earlier last month and how I wasn't all too pleased with how similar it seemed to all the other purple/green/grey multichromes (duochrome? But "duo" only means two!) I already had in my stash? Well, this curious cat needed to know exactly just how close it compared. I don't happen to own all of the other duo/multichrome polishes that share the same color family so this is, by no means, an exhaustive list for comparison. Off the top of my head, I'm missing Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game and OPI Not Like the Movies but as you'll see in a bit, the others I do have sort of make up for it.

The contenders. Let's get ready to rumble!

Three Weeks, Eight Cities, Four Connecting Flights, Two Port Destinations and a Whole Lot of Fun! (Part 3: San Antonio)

When my aunt asked if I wanted to accompany her on a company sponsored, four night, all-expense paid vacation to San Antonio, Texas, I couldn't very well say no. Who was I to refuse a free vacation? The only catch was it was right after our scheduled cruise (and I couldn't bring Mr. J with me, boo). I practically had less than one day in between trips to re-pack my bags then I was back in the airport en route to Calgary (where my aunt lives and where we were flying out from). I didn't even get to spend 24 hours in Calgary to catch up with all my cousins as I got in at 1:30pm and our flight out was at 7:00am the next day (but we needed to be at the airport by 4:00am). Suffice to say, I had only an hour of sleep before we went on our way to San Antonio, Texas! (Warning, yet again: photo heavy post ahead!)

 (via Kevin Middleton on Fine Art America)

I honestly didn't know what to expect so I was pleasantly surprised to find how awesome this place was.

Truckload Tuesdays: Holiday Haulage!

With so much vacation related posts one after the other, (and another one queued tomorrow!) what happened to nail polish-centric Polished Indulgence? Hammie wanted to see some nail polish action and to keep the little guy happy, here's a Truckload Tuesday to whet your nail polish appetite!

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After our cruise, we actually stayed overnight in Buffalo before heading back to Toronto. It was just as well as Mr. J and I were both so tired after all the traveling we'd done. Even better than getting a bit of down time before a few hours more of driving was the opportunity to get some across the border shopping deals! While we were on the trip, we mostly just got souvenirs for the family and friends we left back home (I got my niece an adorable pink onesie from Harvard that said "Future Harvard Freshman"!) so we didn't get much of anything for ourselves. At least that's how we justified it. Read on to see what nail polish goodies I picked up!

(via The Globe and Mail)

So maybe my own shopping bags weren't THAT full or plentiful..