NOTD: Double Fading Effect

So I attempted this nail polish effect called double fading, where you pull the colour into the one below it to create a gradient. I really don't like how this turned out, but I'll post it anyway.
I don't mind the way the green mixed into the yellow, but the blue remained too opaque on its own. Except on my pinky nail... it looks awesome on that one.

I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow, Green with Envy and Blue Me Away.

Breakfast: Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs

I love Gordon Ramsay's quick and easy youtube videos. They're easy to follow and won't take up too much of your time. I forget where I stumbled upon this video, heck, I probably Stumbled Upon it. I finally got around to making this for breakfast today and, oh my god, they were delectable.

Adding the butter in directly with the eggs made all the difference in the world. I used a bit of skim milk instead of creme fraiche, there is something to be said about maintaining a waistline here (and the fact that I just didn't have any), it worked just fine.

 

 Bon apetit! 

NOTD: First Tape Mani - China Glaze Refresh Mint + Accent Nails

Sorry about the post delay, this week has been crazy with school, no time to blog. That being said, my manis this week have been nothing short of extremely frustrating. I've discovered that Revlon is the worst brand of polish on the face of the planet. It takes forever to dry and dries sticky/rubbery. I am never, ever purchasing it again.

That being said,China Glaze is one of the best brands I've ever used, so I needed to make up for my week of nail polish horror. I got inspiration for this one from Nailside, whose manicures are absolutely beautiful - simply by using strips of tape! I'd tried it before for french manicures but I didn't really have the patience to pursue it.

I used China Glaze Refresh Mint as the base colour, For Audrey on my index finger and Secret Periwinkle on my ring. On my left hand I did the opposite colours and angles. It looks awesome.

 

And just because: Let me tell you about my new-found obsession. Survivorman. Les Stroud is the MAN. All I want to do is go up to the lake and be in the wilderness now. I really, really want this shirt:

I think I'm going to go to American Apparel today and check out what the sizing is like (probably preposterous, their clothes look terrible on me), maybe I'll pick it up.

St-Patrick's Day Food: Irish Soda Bread & Chicken Stew

For the meal I made on St-Patrick's Day I wanted to make something authentic and Irish. Since I'm not too big into drinking anymore I wanted to celebrate in a more delicious way. My best friend got me a really neat recipe book for Christmas called Food Fest 365 that shows a national food holiday for every day of the year and a recipe to go with it.This is where the Irish Soda Bread came from. I'm pretty sure due to copyright I can't post the recipe, but here are some images of the process.

I've only made 2 recipes from this book and they've both been wonderful!

I actually made this bread to go with a stew, which I found here. I omitted the dumplings because I was making the bread. My only qualm with this recipe (other than forgetting to put the chicken in, which was entirely my fault) was only quartering the potatoes. They don't really break down in the broth, so I had to go in and break them down myself afterward, which was kind of a pain.
So - instead of quartering the potatoes I recommend cubing them.

The bread was perfect for dipping. Since its wasn't yeast-leavened it was quite dense and perfect for making the meal even heartier.

St-Patrick's Day Food: Banana Cookies

This is a recipe I made on St-Patty's day, not because it's Irish, but simply because it sounded AMAZING. Cookies that taste like banana bread? I'm for it! I was blown away by how good these cookies were. The were soft, fluffy, and had the perfect amount of banana flavour (I didn't add the extra flavouring, it wasn't necessary). The frosting was quite pleasant too, it complemented the fruitiness of the banana. I would have never thought to make a brown sugar icing before, but now I want to put it on everything. For St-Patty's day I also dyed them green!

I got the inspiration from Dizzy Girl Bakes, but the recipe itself came from Krumkake.

All the required ingredients

Sugar, butter, shortening

Mashed banana!

Egg, sour cream, banana, vanilla

Flour, baking soda, salt

Mix mix mix!

Green. This was actually rather tricky, the dough was quite brown so I had to use a ton of food colouring.

I made mine quite large. I only got 24 when the recipe calls for 36.

Done!

Frosting. After it's melted add about 2 cups of icing sugar. I put mine in bit by bit, about 1/4 cup at a time.

The end result. Delish.

NOTD: St-Patrick's Day!

Here is my long-awaited St-Patty's day mani. I chose to use the green from OPI's Texas Collection, Don't Mess With OPI and I layered Sephora by OPI's Only Gold For Me over top. It's supposed to be reminiscent of a leprechaun's pot of gold! I love the way this glitter shines.

My methodology for this was actually starting off simply applying the glitter polish to the tips, then once that dried I went over the full nail a second time to give it a bit of a faded look. Loving this look!  It's so blingy!

NOTD: Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow

I got impatient with the scent of the Raspberry Rapture, and I really, really want spring! So yellow it is! I've never worn yellow polish before, this is awesome. I love this shade. It's much brighter than my camera captured though.

I had an iced green tea latte this morning, home made. It was delicious! Thought I'd share :)

Late Night Purchase - Kurt Halsey Books

When I'm up late I always end up shopping online. What a surprise. This time, however, what I ended up buying is something I've been waiting eons to do. My favourite artist of all time, since the ninth grade (that's about 7 years now), is Kurt Halsey. He manages to capture so much emotion in his drawings, and I've been waiting for the day that I could buy something of his online. Today is the day. I don't know why it's taken me so long.
I've just purchased three of his books. The first of which is a collection of 65 of his paintings, soft cover, 8.5" x 8.5".

 

I then discovered he has an Etsy Shop, where he was selling 2 other books for $5 a piece (the spines are a little banged up, which is totally fine by me. I just need to have his work in my home). The two books are 6" x  6" with 36 pages of reproduced artwork. 

 

 

 I am overcome with joy! The weeks it takes to ship are going to be long and grueling. Hopefully those perfume oils arrive soon to keep me distracted for a little while in the meantime.

P.S. I must admit this blog is coming along nicely. I've been fiddling with my header and my background, and I think I've finally nailed the look I'm going for. For now.

NOTD: Sally Hansen Blue Me Away

I'm getting so unbelievably impatient for spring. Naturally I need to reflect that in my nail colour. I didn't want  to go too overboard with a pastel or anything, so I settled on a bright cheerful blue. Sally Hansen is a favourite of mine, simply because I'm still a student and it's affordable. It applies well and wears wonderfully, so why the heck not?

 

There we have it!

I also hauled a few polishes today, again, in hopes of spring's (hasty) arrival. Revlon Peach Petal, Revlone Raspberry Rapture - which apparently is scented of raspberries when dry?! I'll let you know about that one next week, and Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow. That one will be nice when I get my China Glaze Crushed Candy to layer on top!

Speaking of which, I realized the error of my ways not picking up Crushed Candy and Fault Line, so I called my Sally's and of course - they're out. The lady did take down my name, number, and which ones I wanted though! Hooray. I love my Sally's <3

I might get impatient and try out Raspberry Rapture tomorrow. We'll see!

NOTD: ChG Zombie Zest over OPI Yodel Me On My Cell & First Crackle!

This is yesterday's NOTD, China Glaze Zombie Zest from the 2010 Halloween collection layered over OPI Yodel Me On My Cell from the Swiss Collection. I've been trying to find combos that make Zombie Zest look less "Grandma's Chesterfield" esque (ie: awkward  lemon-lime) and more green, so the obvious solution was a blueish polish.

YMOMC Was much more subtle than I was expecting it to be under ZZ, but it really accomplished what I wanted with the shade, so that's okay.

Then I got a call from my Sally's saying that the China Glaze Crackle polish was in, so away I went!

I had already swatched OPI Black Shatter on my thumb nail after and friend got it, and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't impressed. The formula was thick and reeked of chemicals. Needless to say, I was a little worried.

The first one I tried was Lightning Bolt, right over top of my current mani. The formula was amazing! It wasn't tar-like or smelly like OPI's at all.

 

As you can see, my pinkie nail didn't crackle much.  I applied it a little too thick there, so all you have to do to avoid that mess is try not to be too generous with the polish. It was really cool watching it crackle! Like Ali said yesterday, it's like watching a bath bomb fizz - you just can't take your eyes off it!