Friday, February 6, 2015

Call Them Valentine's Nails If You Want To... (and Highlights from the Week)

Yesterday I spent time scrolling through Instagram looking at the #valentinesnails hashtag, cultivating some ideas for a heart-filled mani today. I even went so far as to decide on a theme and pull out a bunch of cute pastel polishes with which I was going to paint lots of small, dainty hearts onto my nails.

But then I realized I don't want to do any effing Valentine's Day nails this year. DO I SEEM IN THE MOOD FOR VALENTINE'S NAILS???

Sorry for yelling at you.

Pink and glittery nails
After abandoning most of my pastels and telling my heart-making dotting tool to go eff itself, I settled on another look entirely... a look which still ended up being semi-Valentinesy, much to my chagrin. The pink polishes used might give off a V-day vibe, but this was really just a way for me to use a Deborah Lippmann polish that I received as a 100-point VIB gift from Sephora a couple months ago. The polish, absolutely adorably called 99 Luftballons, has a sheer fuchsia base that's glitter-packed with multi-colored rounds and hexes.

Deborah Lippmann 99 Luftballons and Sally Hansen Pink Blink
Pastel pink nails with multi-colored glitter accent nails

My nails each have 3 coats of Sally Hansen's Pink Blink, and my thumb and ring fingernails each also got 2 coats of 99 Luftballons. Pink Blink is such a streaky bitch of a polish, but it's still a pretty color!
Pastel pink nails with multi-colored glitter accent nails, Pink Blink

I didn't realize the base color of 99 Luftballons was going to be so colorful until I applied it over the top of Pink Blink. The fuchsia color surprised me, since the polish is so packed with glitter in the bottle that you can't really discern a color in the base. I thought it was going to be clear!

Pastel pink nails with multi-colored glitter accent nails

This has been another snowy week in Boston, and we are due to get another 3-day storm in the coming days. I'm not going to say that I hate the snow... but it's taking some getting used to, after enjoying balmy Pacific Northwest winters the last few years. Honestly, I'd much rather have rainy winters filled with lush green grass and trees than snowy winters where everything looks dead and depressing. Maybe a pretty strong sign that the Pac-NW was a good place for me... #LifeDecisions.

Despite the snow, I've been trying to not be a hermit. On Tuesday evening I took the T into downtown Boston to meet my friend Kara in the Back Bay for a post-work drink. We intended to go to a regular bar but Kara inadvertently discovered a freaking CHOCOLATE bar, which you may have seen me RAVING about on Instagram:

Milkshakes from Max Brenner, Boston

Max Brenner is a chocolate bar, restaurant, and all-over goddamn EXPERIENCE, people. Hot chocolates, choctails, milkshakes, desserts, crepes, waffles, and a full restaurant menu as well... I mean, it was like Willy Wonka opened a classier place for adults. I got a salted caramel milkshake (right) and Kara got a Mudslide milkshake (left). We both felt pretty good about ourselves afterwards. And by that I mean... I think we both skipped dinner that night.

On Wednesday afternoon I was on my way to a doctor's appointment (a follow-up orthopedic appointment about my neck/shoulder problems) when my entire car started to shake on the highway. Thinking I'd gotten a flat, I immediately pulled over on a super shitty part of I-93 - right at an off-ramp - and risked my life to check all four tires, which were all perfectly plump with air. Getting back into my car and driving off, the damn thing starts shaking again. Obviously worried, I pulled off at the next exit, parked in a bank lot, got out and looked underneath my car...

... where I saw something very metal and very important-looking dangling, half-attached, from the underbelly of my poor Toyota Yaris. "What the actual fuck?" I wondered to myself. Getting AAA on the phone was a 25-minute process in itself (busy day in Boston, thanks to all the snow), and then I was told that a tow truck would be out to help me by 5:45pm. I looked at the clock. It was just before 3pm. Fahk. Cue waiting in the cold car for nearly 3 hours with a dying iPhone, using bubble wrap as a blanket:

Using bubble wrap as a blanket

At 5:45 on the dot, the tow truck rolled into the lot. I described my problem to the driver, who looked under my car, identified the dangling atrocity as my heat shield, and told me it was no biggie and that I could very safely drive the car to a repair place myself. No tow needed.

....

YEAH. Really fantastic way for me to spend 3 hours. I even had to cancel my doctor's appointment. On the bright side, the heat shield is so unimportant (apparently) that the guy at the Monro Muffler place simply removed it for me, no charge! Thanks, Monro Man. I'm sorry I didn't get your name.

Last night I went to dinner at (Boston's famous) Regina's Pizza with Jenna and had a fantastic evening of catching up and eating carbs. Tonight I've got a sushi dinner date with Steph and her friend Cris at Sei Bar in Medford. Friends and food seem to be my big themes of the week :)

Hey, how the heck has YOUR week been going?
Did you eat anything super yummy this week?
How is your car holding up through your winter season?

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14 comments:

  1. those kind of car stories both make me happy (no charge) and INFURIATE me (waiting in the cold for 3 hours for a tow). Glad it wasn't a huge deal but still! Valentines themed or not--I like your nails :)

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  2. Dang vehicle services when it is cold. Mine was a 5 hour wait until I nice stranger jumped my car. It was -15 that day. Boo. And I actually had to end up getting a brand new car so that dang thing better be holding up REALLY well :-)
    I have had heat shields fall off cars before and I would suggest getting it replaced. If you were to pull off the road like that in the summer you could potentially start a fire. They also protect the underneath junk from rocks and moisture getting up in there. They aren't too badly priced either.
    Love the nails too!

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    1. While I am the type of person who will want to eventually replace that heat shield (I just couldn't believe that it's truly THAT useless of a part), I do wish I'd realized it was something I could safely drive home on! Or driven to my doctor's appointment, and THEN driven home on. ;)

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    2. I hear you there. Like you missed your appointment just for that. :-)

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  3. You're so cute when you go on about hating Valentines day. You're not ready yet, but when you are, some lucky guy is going to scoop you right up.

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    1. :) Hey, I don't hate Valentine's Day - I'm just in no mood to be surrounded by it this year.

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  4. First off, your nails are adorably 80s. Secondly, yes, come back to the PNW. It misses you! (and the snow...bring the snow with you, ok?).
    Thirdly, and AAA will rarely tell you this, you can often get a tow faster if you call another company (and then get reimbursement through AAA). We found this out when my Portia (the electric car) died and AAA said it would be a 6 hour wait for a tow. Hopefully you never have to use that knowledge, but there it is.
    And also...holy cats, a chocolate bar. Why isn't there one of these everywhere?! I'm pretty sure I need that in my life.

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    1. Yesss, these are some retro-looking nails - good call! Hey if you want some snow, just head north a few hours to the BC mountains! And you know what - I had that EXACT series of ideas/thoughts about calling another tow company... but did not know that AAA would re-imburse if I did. That's amazing to know!

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  5. Sounds like you're set for a delicious weekend! I'm hungry after reading this post!! And I can't believe you had to wait all that time for nothing! GRRR!

    Loving these nails. You're right; that DL polish is amazing!!! I'd want an excuse to use it too! I kind of hate when glitter toppers wind up having a tinted base, but it created a really pretty deeper pink for you, so I guess it's okay. You're off the hook for now, DL. *warning stare* Haha!

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  6. It does look Valentiney. So you live in Boston now? I'm from Lynn, but live in NH. We were in Lynn to see my parents on Saturday. It's so crazy in that area with all the snow. The roads are so narrow. We went to Santarpios in Peabody. The 1 in Boston is better, but both are good. We love Regina in the Northend too. I haven't been to the chocolate bar yet. We need to go to Boston this Summer. We haven't been in 2 years.
    http://therantingsofadramaqueensmum.blogspot.com

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    1. Hey Kim! I moved back to the Boston-area in August... and I'm still getting used to it. Especially with all this snowwwww. The streets all over this area are insane - they need to figure out somewhere to ship all this snow haha!

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  7. Oh my gosh!!! Your poor car fiasco sounds like a nightmare! I hate car trouble. Luckily I haven't had much experience w it, but a few brief brushes with it is enough for me. In good news those drinks looked DELICIOUS! And can I just say how much I loved your little comment about telling your dotting tool to go eff itself??? I have got to make more time to read other people's blogs because yours is pretty dang entertaining. Your nails are cute, for valentines or any other day.

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    1. Car trouble can take your day down a few notches REAL quick. Ugh! Thanks for stopping by Nicole :)

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