So I've been gone quite a while...

Hi there!  So, I've fallen out of the polish world because of some hefty life demands: 2 young boys in soccer, recent promo to HR Mgr, and enrollment into a Master's degree program.  I'm quite a busy girl, and something has to give, so my nail polish, along with my other crafty pursuits, have taken a back seat.

But I finally took the time to do my nails.  I mean, to really DO my nails.  Of course I've slapped some paint on them, but nothing really blog-worthy.  So yesterday, when I was supposed to be doing homework, I sat down and did this:

So lovely!  Although my striping could definitely use some improvement, it's not too shabby.  I love my mani, and I hope to be able to keep my nails nice and long for a while...I've been paying more attention to them and have been slathering on the nail cream and cuticle oil lately, and I think that's why they've stopped breaking so often.  

I'm so happy with my cute nails!  I'm going to have to keep carving out some time for them...

Metallic Fall French & Marble

Lately I have really been struggling with the decision about what to do on my nails.  I have so many awesome un-trieds, and there are so many beautiful and creative designs out there, that I am sometimes overwhelmed. It's really not a big deal, except that between my 10-hour-per-day job and spending time with my 9 & 7 yo boys, my mani time is limited, so I want to get the most bang for my buck, so to speak.

So anyway, last night I prepped my nails, so they were based-coated and ready to go.  But I still couldn't make up my mind.  Finally, this morning I just picked some pretty autumn metallic colors, and did this:

I ended up using Sinful Colors "Mercury Rising", OPI DS Glow, OPI Take the Stage, and Klean Color "Metallic Yellow".  Water-marbling these glittery polishes is tricky, but I think it still came out pretty.  

Anyway, I'm kind of meh with this.  But it's shiny, it's autumn-ish, and I can wear it to work tomorrow, so it's all good! I think I need to just chill, and not get all worked up about coming up with some amazing design...after all, it's only nail polish!  :-)

China Glaze "On Safari" French Manicure

I LOVE fall!  It's my absolute favorite time of the year!  This up-coming September will be my first autumn since becoming polish-addicted, so I'm super-excited to see Fall polish collections!  As soon as I started seeing swatches of China Glaze "On Safari", I knew I had to have them...the earthy colors, that is:

 L-R: Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, I'm Not Lion, Kalahari Kiss, Desert Sun, I Herd That, Call of the Wild

I LOVE THEM!  I passed on getting the reds & purples in the collection, but these are just so different than anything I already have.  And I think they all go so well together!

So, one of the super-awesome blogs I follow, Colores De Carol, had a mind-blowing giraffe manicure using 3 of the "On Safari Colors".  See it HERE.  Fantastic, right?  She also did a leopard-spot french, but I can't find it again! :-(

So, I decided to combine the leopard & giraffe, and busted out my Kalahari Kiss and Desert Sun.  I decided to go with CG Mahogany Magic instead of Call of the Wild, as it seemed lighter to me, and I used Liquid Leather for my dots:

With Flash:

I am very happy with this one!!  And the colors are wonderful!  YAY!!

I should probably take pics showing the layering process, huh?  It's just that I get so excited to see what the final product will end up looking like, that I don't want to stop to pose for pics!  I'll think about it for next time...