Violet "Baby Rat": 7/11-10/13

This morning we had to take Violet, "Baby Rat" to the vet to be put to sleep. She had a tumor growing near her bladder/rectum area for quite a few months already. It was an inoperable tumor. It was getting larger and ended up getting a scab on it last week- which got infected and turned into an abscess that ruptured this weekend. I feel so bad for waiting, I should have had it done last week... Baby Rat went peacefully at the vet, she was a fighter and her heart kept beating for awhile... I pet her until she passed away.

When we brought her home at the beginning of August 2011 she was just a tiny thing. She was so small she still had an umbilical scab... which ended up getting infected but healed eventually. We named her Violet, but we always called her Baby Rat. She was very spunky and adventurous. And even up to her last days never acted like she was in any pain, though she was slowing down. She would have been 3 years old this coming July. ♥

 

I Love Nail Polish: My Little Glacier

My Mom's birthday is today and this year I got her I Love Nail Polish Birefringence. She tested mine out last week to see if she would like it. I also picked her up another gift which is a surprise from CherryCulture.com that I got in their 20% off store sale. So... since I was ordering from I Love Nail Polish... of course I had to get myself My Little Glacier Ultra Chrome. :-p

It's a really pretty greenish blue, silver duo chrome. It really does remind me of ice like a glacier. It's not nearly in your face as Birefringence or even Cygnus Loop. In regular light you only pick up on green, blue, silver colors. It does have other colors, which you can see in my underwater photo, but if you're trying to decide between any of the I Love Nail Polish ultra chromes, I would say go with Birefringence. That shows just about every color in every light, regardless if you have your hands in a bowl of water. Hehe. ;-)

One of my favorite bloggers is having her 1st first giveaway which ends October 28th. The Mercurial Magpie is giving away your choice of 2 Indigo Banana polishes from the Halloween/Fall collection & the Fiery The Angels Fell collection!

The Mercurial Magpie did gorgeous glitter gradient peacock nails last week and I tried to re-create them today with Butter London HRH & Zoya Charla. I still like hers way better than mine. I need to get Zoya Mimi.

I've got a full week of work coming up, so it's back to just painting my nails once a week again. I'm just too tired during the week to do my nails more than once. My manicure usually has to last until Friday when I'm working. Thankfully Seche Vite topcoat does a good job at making my polish last!

Jack Skellington Nails & Pumpkin Everything!

I did some Halloween Jack Skellington nails, after looking at this Pinterest pin.

I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White & Night Flight. I used Messy Mansion stamp plate MM06 for the stripes. I drew the face with a nail art brush and topped everything with one coat of Seche Vite.

Ever since September I have been partaking of Pumpkin everything! (My husband on the other hand, does not like pumpkin!) Here's some Pumpkin photos from my Instagram. Fall is one of my favorite seasons! I love pumpkin anything!

 I baked Pumpkin Bread the other night too! Recipe Here!

The furkids also got in on Halloween pictures!

Starting at the top, left to right: 

(T.J., Jasper, Emile, Remy, Buttercup, Pumpkin, Violet, Toffee, Molly, Willow.)

I liked Emile's picture best, he was the only one that didn't look scared or annoyed! 

P.S. I went back to work on Thursday after the Government Shutdown ended.

Heart Gradient Nails & Books I'm Reading.

I have not been to work since September 30th. October 1st is when the Government Shutdown started... so I have had a lot of time to paint my nails and read some books.

I did a gradient tonight with some light pink striper polish, OPI Suzi's Hungary Again and 1 coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over the pink. I stamped with Winstonia Store plate W102 & Konad Black. 1 coat of Seche Vite topcoat.

These are the books I've read lately. I'm big on history, biographies, memoirs or historical fiction. I do read some regular fiction too. The books below, some I've purchased, some I've taken out from our local e-library and others I've gotten free on Amazon. I check the free categories in my favorite subjects on Amazon at least once a day, you can find paid books that are only free for a day or two. (Note: You may not be able to see the book widget below from a blog reader).

If you're having trouble viewing the book widget above, here's a text list of the books I've read lately:

1. My Story, By: Elizabeth Smart

2. One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting, By: Marie Monville

3. Orphan Train: A Novel, By: Christina Baker Kline

4. I'm No Angel: From Victoria's Secret Model to Role Model. By: Kylie Bisutti

5. The Language of Flowers: A Novel. By: Vanessa Diffenbaugh

6. The Fault in Our Stars, By: John Green

7. Sidonia's Thread: The Secrets of a Mother and Daughter Sewing a New Life in America, By: Hanna Perlstein Marcus

8. Eat Cake: A Novel, By: Jeanne Ray

9. Searching for Peanut Butter in Paris, By: Kat Sparks

10. Confessions of a Kidney Transplant Recipient, By: Mary Wu

(I do use Amazon Associates, but not because I've made any money- because I haven't! lol! But I like that I can show a picture/link with a product when I'm blogging. Plus I do recommend Amazon.com for their low prices. That or Ebay!)

L.A. Girl: Brilliant Blue

I picked up L.A. Girl Brilliant Blue a few months ago. It is from their 3D Effects line. (I also have Teal Dimension). I used 2 coats of Brilliant Blue, and I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Silver Sweep using Winstonia Store plate W113. I also used 1 coat of Seche Vite. 

When Zoya released promos for their 2013 Holiday collection I was wondering if Zoya Dream was a dupe for Brilliant Blue. Refined & Polished swatched both Brilliant Blue & Zoya Dream. They are exact dupes. So if you picked up the L.A. Girl you don't really need Zoya Dream. (Vice Versa).

Post by Refined & Polished.

You can still find L.A. Girl 3D Effects for sale on CherryCulture.com. They are priced at $4, so it's a bargain if you don't want to spend $8 for Zoya Dream.

P.S. I just removed Brilliant Blue- with no staining. I love when dark blues don't stain!