Cajun Shrimp For Me This Friday

TGIF!  I love to polish my nails on Fridays in time for another week with The Nail Files!  On my nails today, I wanted something a little different that I wouldn't normally wear.  I always tend to pick a pink but wanted something summery without being too light.  Therefore, I went through my polish stash and found OPI's Cajun Shrimp.  While I know this color has been around for a while, it is brand new to me and I like it!

Cajun Shrimp is a rich coral color.  It is a great look for these warm spring days as it has a tropical feel to it.  Orange polishes are very trendy this season, but I don't like a tangerine shade on me.  Cajun Shrimp is a nice polish for me because while it has some orange undertones, it is just the right shade for my skin tone.

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday!  Through following different blogs, I have discovered some wonderful link-ups. I just found Thankful Thursday and I love this idea. It is so important to take time to realize how blessed you are in your daily life. Therefore, today, I am linking up with A Punk, A Pumpkin, and A Peanut and taking some time to post one thing that I am grateful for this week.

My daughter Julianne was born 5 weeks ago today. She just started smiling this week and for that, I am so thankful. Nothing makes me happier than to see my children smile. Her first smile brought  a tear to my eye and absolute joy to my heart.

I hope that you have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  Looking at these pictures of my son remind me that even when things in the house are chaotic, this is still the best time of my life.  It also reminds me not to sweat the small stuff when raising a two-year old...a bath can take care of everything.

A Spring Manicure

Happy Sunday!  You may be recovering this morning from celebrating St. Patrick's Day.  With my two little loves, I celebrated at home with them...so no green beer for me this year.  That is fine with me though because when I woke up this morning I felt quite rested.  My little girl was only up once during the night last night, which was amazing!  Therefore, I was able to get an early start this Sunday morning to relax and paint my nails!

Since I love the combination of black/white and pink I wanted incorporate this look onto my nails this week.  To achieve this look, I used OPI's Strawberry Margarita with OPI's Alpine Snow and Black Shatter on my ring finger.  Strawberry Margarita is just the right shade of pink.  It is a summery color that falls in the middle of too light and too dark.  To add the black and white element, I used Black Shatter over Alpine Snow.  As much as I like the shattered look, I sometimes think it looks excessive on all of my nails.  However, on one finger it is perfect.  It gives the Strawberry Margarita a whole different look and makes my manicure more fun.

I hope you like it.  Have a wonderful day! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I love this holiday.  I am an Irish girl who looks forward to wearing my green.  Today on my nails, I am wearing China Glaze's Holly-Day, with OPI's Bring on the Bling.  The combination of green and gold feels very authentic to me.  I hope that you have a great St. Patrick's Day!

 

Survival Week

My son Michael

My daughter Julianne

TGIF!  Hope that you are having a great week.  I started this week planning to write posts on this blog related to Spring Break.  I was planning on testing self tanners, trying healthy tropical-themed drinks, and of course painting my nails in trendy spring colors.  However, my beautiful little daughter, who is 1-month old today, had other plans.  She has colic and acid reflux and her colic really peaked this week, making it difficult to do anything else but try to calm and soothe her.  Therefore, my Spring Break at home week turned into survival week at home with a colicky infant and a busy two-year old.  This week definitely  made me wish I had those carefree college days back when Spring Break was a party on a beach.  However, when I look at my two beautiful children, as tough as they can be, I wouldn't change my life for anything.   

Sure, I would love to sleep through the night again and be able to go out with my friends for drinks, but to me, being a Mother is worth every sleepless night. I love my kids more than I thought I could ever love!  So my plans for this week changed, but I don't care.  I would much rather tend to my daughter and take my son to the playground than do anything else. 

I will get back to my regular posts about polish, products, and pampering soon.  I am also going to post more about my adventures as a mother.  The Spa Mom is all about beauty, but beauty comes from the inside.  I firmly believe that when you are happy, you are beautiful.  My two children make me happier than I could ever imagine!  

I hope that you have a great weekend!  Thanks so much for reading. 

Turquoise & Caicos for My Spring Break at Home

  Happy Tuesday!  I hope that wherever you are, the weather is as nice as it is here in New England.  It is the perfect week to celebrate my Spring Break at home!  With temperatures in the 70's I really feel like I am on an actual vacation.  Therefore, for my manicure I chose Essie's Turquoise & Caicos.  The name of the polish is perfect in keeping with my theme of the week, but the color is also very hot this spring.  

This Essie polish is a minty green shade of turquoise, and for spring mint green is the color!  Actually, all pastels are popular but mint green has been specifically highlighted in both People Style and Lucky Magazine.  Mint green is not just going to be a popular color for nail polish, but also for clothes and accessories.  As a Mom who is at home now, I don't have an occasion to wear fancy clothes or shoes in this color.  Yet I still feel stylish on the playground wearing this trendy shade on my nails!  Yet another reason why I am obsessed with nail polish.  I hope that you enjoy this look.  Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful day!   

Spring Break Week: Beach Bum Mani

Happy Sunday!  I Hope that you are enjoying your weekend.  With the arrival of daylight savings, it is easy to get excited about the Spring!  This time of year always reminds me of my college days, when I would take a spring break trip to somewhere warm.  Now, as a 30-something mother of 2, Spring Break is just a great memory and something to look forward to again in about 15 years.  In the meantime, I am going to celebrate Spring all week on my blog.  This week is dedicated to spring trends, fancy nails, tanning products, and great drinks...everything you could want on spring break, minus the beach and rest.

To kick off Spring Break week, I polished my nails using Essie's Beach Bum Blu.  I picked this color for a few reasons.  First, I picked this polish because its tropical shade of blue reminds me of the ocean in the Caribbean.  It is a tranquil hue that invokes a feeling of relaxation.  The second reason I chose this polish is the name.  If you can't actually be a beach bum, why not wear it on your nails?  Finally, I chose this color because this spring blues are in!  Any shade of blue from baby blue, to turquoise, to navy are hot colors for spring.  So this week, go ahead and paint your nails blue.  You might find it has a relaxing effect and you will be right on trend.

Glitter polishes are also going to be a big trend this season.  Therefore, I added OPI's Save Me to my ring finger.  I hope that you enjoy this look.  Thanks so much for reading.  Have a great day and enjoy that extra hour of daylight!

Princesses Rule this Pink Wednesday

Happy Pink Wednesday!  I haven't posted anything on Wednesday in a few weeks because of the birth of my beautiful daughter.  Today, I am back and to celebrate her on this Pink Wednesday, I am wearing Princesses Rule by OPI!

I call my daughter Princess as she is so sweet.  Therefore, when I dug through my polish stash last night in search of a pink polish, Princesses Rule jumped right out at me.  I love the name, but also the color of the polish.  It is a light, shimmery shade of pink that looks so elegant on.  This OPI color is a very natural shade of pink, with just the right amount of sparkle.  It is soft, feminine, and pretty.  This polish looks great on my light skin, yet I think it is so versatile that it would look great on anyone including a bride on her wedding day.  It just has that special feel to it that I think would make any girl feel like a princess.

I hope you enjoy this look.  Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful day!

More Charms for my Arms

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!  Today I just wanted to post a picture of my newest Alex and Ani Bracelets.  I have blogged about their bracelets before, but I am just such a fan.  These bangles allow you to customize your look and wear different bracelets and/or different combinations every day.  My darling husband, for our daughter's birth, gave me a gift card to buy whatever I wanted!  So yesterday, when I really needed to get out of the house for a few minutes, I stopped by the Alex and Ani store in Cranston, RI and I picked up two more bracelets. 

I wanted bracelets with my kids' initials on them, so I bought an M for Michael, and a J for Julianne.  I picked them up in gold because I think the two-toned look is so classy.  I just have to say that wearing these bracelets makes me feel special and a little bit more put together.  In the 2 1/2 weeks since my amazing little girl was born, I have lived in sports bras, sweats, and old t-shirts.  At least when I have my Alex and Ani bangles on, I feel more glamorous.  I even love the sound they make as they jingle on my arm.

In addition to the M and J bracelet, I am wearing the Love charm and the Emerald Luxe beaded bracelet.  Hope you like this look.  For more information about Alex and Ani, their website is www.alexandani.com 

A MANI TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF MY DAUGHTER

  Happy Sunday!  I am sorry that I haven't posted anything in three weeks.  However, it is with good reason.  My daughter, Julianne, was born on February 16th!  She is doing great but life is very busy with a newborn and a busy 2-year old boy!  I haven't had any polish on my nails in three weeks and have felt naked without it.  I finally got a few minutes last night to relax and do what I love to do...polish my nails with beautiful colors.  My color choice for this mani was an easy one...I used Julieanne, by Zoya!
 
Julieanne is a gorgeous jewel-toned shade of purple.  It has a pinkish-sparkle to it and is very rich and luxe.  I am a huge fan of jewel tones, and would have probably purchased this polish anyway, even if the name of it didn't have such significance to me.  The first coat went on very light, but by the time I went over it with a second coat, the color really intensified. 

To give my nails a little more pop, and to celebrate my daughter's birth, I used OPI's Save Me on my ring fingers.  As you know, I am a fan of ring finger nail bling, and I like to incorporate different colors into my manicures.  The silvery sparkle of Save Me reminds me of confetti and has a real celebratory feel to it.  Welcoming my Julianne into our family is cause for huge celebration!

I hope that you enjoy this one.  I look forward to getting back to the blog and posting on a more regular basis.  As a mom of two now, this blog is a nice escape at night.  Thanks so much for reading and I hope that you have a fabulous day!