Scotch Tape Manicure 3 June 2012

When Maud came to visit from France last summer, she brought all kinds of cool manicure tools with her.  Then she showed us all these websites she uses for ideas, and we were hooked.  It took me a little longer to catch on since my nails were always breaking and splitting, but since starting a B Vitamin supplement a few months ago, they are long and strong!  And now that we’re all on Pinterest, inspiration abounds!

I saw really cool manicure on Pinterest and couldn’t imagine how she made the design. I followed the link and had to click around the website, but eventually found out she uses Scotch Tape of all kinds of designs from French tips to sunburst rays! So. Very. Cool.

Of course you know I had to try it. Here’s how mine turned out:

Scotch Tape Manicure!

I even went out and bought Seche Vite top coat. Or SV as it’s known in the Nail World. Can’t wait to try another design!

A three year-old Fashion Plate 29 October 2010

D to S: These t-shirts are at Target and they come in XS! I almost bought the NYC one last week, but now they have a Paris one! And they come with little hats. 😀

S to D: OMG, these are sooo cute! I’m surprised we haven’t seen them cuz all Paper Clip wants to do is go to Target. LOL

Furious Fuschia Challenger 8 July 2010

We are both totally in love with the redesigned Dodge Challenger. Denise had her heart set on an orange one (can you say, Dukes of Hazzard? :-D), until she saw this:

She’ll take the one with the skunk stripes. Thanks!!

Am I Being Stingy? 28 November 2009

Last year I decided I was no longer buying presents for my cousins’ children. I hardly ever see them (except for holidays or their birthdays), and their parents – my cousins – can’t be bothered to send me a card/email/FB wall post for my birthday. Now, I’m the oldest cousin, and all through college, I sent them birthday cards, Halloween cards, Christmas cards, Valentine’s Day cards, Easter cards, just-for-fun cards, and ten-page letters. I got letters back and Christmas cards. Eventually (ten years later, and after we all had email but still didn’t write) I stopped.

Then they had kids. At first I sent cards and gifts, but I never got a thank you note, or even an email letting me know the gift arrived. (I started using Delivery Confirmation.) Now that those girls are old enough to write, still they don’t send thank yous. (My mom still sends gifts; I don’t know why. Probably because she doesn’t have her own grandchildren, but that’s her own fault and another story for another day. You reap what you sow.) Two more cousins have had babies in the past two years, and at first I bought them presents, but combined with the other, last year I realized, “Why?”

So today I am not spending five hours in a car driving to and from BFE for a first birthday party. Am I being stingy, or am I justified?

They say “you get what you give” (you reap what you sow?), but what about when you give money and time for years and years and get nothing in return? That’s why I’m now giving what they gave me: Nothing.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane 27 November 2009

Sunshine and I both love to read. In college we spent hours browsing for new books at Borders. Now that we live on opposite ends of the country, we still find books that we know the other will like. (Books can be expensive to mail unless you remember to use Media Mail!)

Sunshine’s latest recommendation was The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. I just finished it, and it was phenomenal. It’s the kind of book you don’t want to end. I’ve come to realize I really enjoy historical fiction. This one uses the witches of Salem as its central theme. It bounces back between the past and the present to solve a mystery. In that regard it reminded me so much of one of my favorite books, The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier. (I liked it a thousand times more than Girl With a Pearl Earring, which is good, too.) I can’t understand why the bookseller at Barnes and Noble told me she had a hard time getting into it, and she had to put it down several times because it was boring. I love Barnes and Noble, but obviously my friends know me better – I’ll take Sunshine’s recommendations any day!

So I guess next I should read Julie and Julia which Sunshine sent to me before she knew it was going to be a movie. She’s a literary savant!

This is the show for us! 29 May 2009

UN-BROKE: What You Need to Know About Money airs tonite at on ABC at 9 Eastern! GMA contributor Mellody Hobson hosts, along with a bunch of her celebrity clients. Here’s what she has to say:

“Financial education is critically important, and UN-BROKE proves that it doesn’t have to be boring. The economic crisis was a harsh wake-up call that we can’t keep doing the same thing in the same way. To me, that meant taking a fresh look at my own approach to financial education. This will make people laugh while they learn.”

Sounds good to me! I’ve already been spending less (haven’t set foot in ACMoore or Michael’s in over a year, and go to Barnes and Noble once a month or less instead of every weekend), but I need to be saving. Where does my money go? I’ll be watching. 🙂

My Summer Purse 28 May 2009

Hey Sunshine, tell your mom I’m stealing her idea about using lots of little bags to keep her purse organized. 🙂

L.L. Bean Summer Garden Boat and Tote

I bought a new tote @L.L.Bean, and I decided to use it as my summer purse. (It’s beautimous – fuchsia bag with navy straps and a navy print of tulips.) But, it has no pockets, and I need pockets. So I’ve got three Clinique bags in there holding stuff, and I make sure my keys go in front of everything so I know where they are.

Sweet!