Manicure Blues (Or Should I Say Purples?)

This manicure is one that turned out much different than I expected. I had a lot of plans for it when I started, but my polishes had a mind of their own.

I originally wanted to do a reverse glitter gradient on my middle and ring fingers. But as you can see, that didn't happen. The glitter was harder to manage than I expected because the clear base is so thick. I had a lot of trouble moving the pieces around. They somehow formed into a point / diamond shape that I really liked.

 

I thought about doing the ring finger with this same design, but decided against it. I wasn't sure I would be able to replicate the shape, and it looked really awesome on the one finger.

My base color is Essie Play Date. I had been wanting another purple for a while, and this one caught my eye. I used A Cut Above from the Essie Luxe Effects top coat collection as a accent on my middle finger. It has metallic pink hex glitter, as well as some small dots of the same color. Finally, I finished with a top coat of SV.

After a few days, I really wasn't happy with this mani. I didn't like how the purple looked (it was much darker than I expected) and it just seemed wrong. At one point I looked at the color and thought, "It's not Easter. I can't wear this now." I took it off after only three days despite minimal chipping.

I decided that A Cut Above is great if you want to cover your whole nail, but if you want to manipulate it you're out of luck. As for Play Date, I think we need some space. Looking back, I think I was just in a bad mood. I felt extremely stressed while I was wearing and may have taken it out on nail polish. Healthy, right?

Blinking in the Starlight

This is the Best Your Hair Has Ever Looked

I love Sassy Gay Friend. If you haven't already, check out the YouTube series.

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Difficult

I've always had trouble connecting the Beast with his human form (Prince Adam?). Obviously the eyes are the same, but it's hard fully comprehending this. I love these drawings because they really bring the two together.

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Come Be My Friend

I absolutely adore this cat. No matter how many times I see this picture I still smile and go crazy. It's so cute! I really love cats with faces like this.

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DCP Acceptance

An outfit to celebrate my future as a Walt Disney World Cast Member! I can't wait to get these ears!

Exciting News

On Tuesday I received some of the best news of my life. It was a job offer, which is amazing for anyone who is graduating college in a few weeks, but it's the "who" in this equation that makes it extremely amazing. And what company is that, you ask?

The Walt Disney Company. 

Yes! Back in January I applied for the Disney College Program. It's essentially a co-op that allows college students to work in the parks for 3-7 months. I had my interview in February and have been waiting to hear if I was accepted up until now.

It feels a bit surreal, but in June I will leave trade western New York for Lake Buena Vista as I go to work at Walt Disney World for until January! Where I'll be in the parks or what I'll be doing I don't know yet, but I couldn't be more excited.

I know some people might think that this isn't really a step forward for someone who just earned their Bachelor's degree ("You're working at a theme park!"), but let me give you a few reasons why it is:

1. Walt Disney World is the number one entertainment destination in the world.
2. Disney is a Fortune 100 (yes, even more elite than the Fortune 500) company who owns other empires like ABC, ABC Family, ESPN, Marvel, Touchstone, etc.
3. They are known for the high standards they hold their employees to.
4. Disney doesn't like to hire from the outside. The DCP is how you get your foot in the door so you can work at one of their amazing businesses.

That last reason is why I am especially beyond thrilled for this opportunity. When January comes, it's my goal to go on to further employment with Disney.

Plus, it's Disney! You guys know how much I love it, and this has been the biggest dream come true for me. The future is bright and magical.

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Striped Chic

Last week I received a very special academic award. It's called the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award, and it's a pretty big deal. You have to have at least a 3.85 to even be considered, then faculty recommendations and personal qualities determine whether you get the award. This year, only seventy-five students (my university has just under 15,000 undergraduates) were honored.

Anyway, I was one of those students and I thought that deserved some special nails. I decided to go with a look I've been wanting to do for a while: stripes.

To create this mani all you need is scotch tape. First you paint your base color, which should be the lightest. I used OPI Tutti Fruti Tonga. Let it dry, add a top coat, apply the tape, and paint on another color. My second color was Essie Master Plan, a gray I absolutely adore (thumbs up if you heard that in an Olsen twin's voice).

I am very excited to tell you about the top coat I used. It's called Seche Vite and I've been trying to get my hands on it for months. You know that I've been searching for a good top coat and this is the one that a lot of nail bloggers flock to, and I can see why. I bought two tiny bottles because they were only $2 and the big bottle was $10.

I really like how this mani turned out. It feels young, but sophisticated. I also can't help but think of elephants when I see the pink and gray. I just love elephants (along with cats, of course).

The striping wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. You just have to make sure that you're precise with your tape. Cutting out all of your tape strips ahead of time helps, too. If you want to try this technique, try this tutorial that I used.

Unexpected

Mad (Wo)men

I don't watch Mad Men, but I like the '60s vibe in this outfit.

The Girl on Fire

I haven't posted my nail pictures in a while, and this one is especially late. I went to see The Hunger Games (oh my goodness, so many emotions!) and of course I had to do my nails especially for the occasion.

My polish of choice was China Glaze Electrify, which is from the Capitol Colors collection (yes, the highly controversial HG polishes). This gold and red glitter is so amazing. This one is supposed to represent District 5, the power district. I layered it over OPI Thank You Very Muchness and finished with a top coat.

The result was a mani I could not keep my eyes off of. I was constantly checking out my nails because they switched between looking like molten gold and actual fire.

This polish sparkles like no tomorrow. This is a picture of the glitter blurred so you can get more of an idea of how much bling is in it.

It's been a while, but I remember it applying fairly well. I was afraid that the glitter would be very sparse, hence the base color, but it turned out to be quite generous. The polish lasted quite a while, but taking it off was a pain. I found it was better to peel and chip it off myself rather than use nail polish remover. I'm still looking for ways to remove glitter easily.

And in case you didn't realize how much I love The Hunger Games, let me show you what else I wore to the premiere: It's a necklace I got from Etsy and I absolutely love it.

It's a old-fashioned pocket watch with a different HG-related charms. It has the mockingjay with the arrow, Peeta's pearl, and a tree. The finished package is more related to Catching Fire, but definitely still appropriate. I also like that because there are different parts, you wouldn't know it's based on the series at a glance.

Do you like The Hunger Games nail polish? Have you seen the movie? Have you ever bought book/movie inspired jewelry?

What??

“Not many people are aware that Ariel’s pink evening gown was directly inspired by all three Disney Princesses prior. Her puffed shoulders are the same design of Snow White’s dress. The shoulder line and long sleeves come from Aurora. Then the bust cut, large skirt and overlaying fabric on the sides are from Cinderella’s ball gown. The soft pink color was chosen not from Aurora’s dress but Cinderella’s original pink dress that got destroyed by her stepsisters.” [via]

Mind blown.

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Nautical

I love the nautical trend lately. I recently got an anchor bracelet that I have not stopped wearing.

Vampsterdam

Wishery

What I'm Reading: Mockingjay

So I finished Mockingjay, the final book in The Hunger Games series.

That is all I can say.  

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Jane

Enchantress

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How About a Makeover?

 I've been debating about the idea of updating the look of the Chic-Thoughts site.

When I first created it I liked the pink "bubbles," but I wasn't head over heels in love with them. Now the whole thing is starting to seem a little... pedestrian to me and the header looks boring, especially when I check out other blogs.

Here's what's been holding me back:
1. What would I even do?!?
2. How would I even do it? I know how to code, but can I do something of this level?
3. Does it even matter?

And here are the answers that are creeping up in my mind:
1. You know what you like! Look at your clothes, jewelry, and home decor for inspiration.
2. Um, you live with a software engineer, have him do it!
3. Design says a lot about you, are pink bubbles what you want to say?

So one those notes, TELL ME: would you like a design change-up? Would you appreciate some new colors and patterns? Maybe some more things to click?

Comments are extremely welcome! (now more than ever!)

Breakfast at Tiffany's

This is How I Used to Bake

I'm getting much better, I promise. 

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Easter

Bloom (Disney Remix)

I am in love with these remixes. I haven't listened to one in a while, but I came across this and I had to put it up. They always make me want to make a video of my Disney pictures.

What I'm Reading: Classic Literature

I didn't choose to read these books, but I did read them, so why not put them up here?

I'm in a class called The Novel right now to finish up my creative writing minor. Unfortunately, it's not about the process of creating novels, but simply reading them and tracking "the evolution of the genre." Two weeks ago I read and finished The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe and this past week I finished Willa Cather's My Antonia.

Moll Flanders was surprisingly good. It's said to be one of the first novels (if not the first), so I thought it would be awful. I tend not to like 19th century literature, but I enjoyed this book because it was such a soap-opera. You follow Moll, an English girl born into poverty, through her life which includes numerous marriages, pregnancies, divorces, and crime. There aren't any chapters or quotations and Defoe uses the old style of capitalizing random words, so you just have to accept it early on and you can read it without trouble.

This was my second time reading My Antonia (first was in eleventh grade AP English class). I liked it when I read it the first time and I like it again. It was nice because the first time I was upset that Jim (the narrator) did not have a romantic relationship with Antonia. Now that I knew that wouldn't happen, I was able to fully enjoy the story. The Nebraska prairie doesn't normally sound interesting to me, but Cather creates such wonderful characters and paints a wonderful picture of immigrants in the Western US. It's an easy read and I would definitely recommend it.

Next up for class if Kafka's Metamorphosis, and I still have to finish up Mockingjay. I know, I know, I'm a horrible Hunger Games fan, but I honestly haven't had any time!

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"Vintage Minnie Mouse" Combines My Obsessions

Yesterday I gushed to my sister about how much I love nail polish as I bought a new pink (OPI Tutti Frutti Tonga). Now I'll have a few more pinks to buy because OPI has made a line inspired by Minnie Mouse!

 

The limited edition collection, which hits stores in June, features four adorable and sassy shades of pink:
Nothin' Mousie About It - Don’t squeak it – SHOUT IT! This confetti light pink is tops!
If You Moust You Moust - You gotta pink what you gotta pink.
I'm All Ears - Tell me how much you love this magenta shimmer.
The Color of Minnie - You had this little mouse at “red.”

I already know that I want to buy the entire collection, especially Nothin' Mousie About It. That one takes the cake. Hopefully if the collection does well, there will be even more Disney collaborated nail polishes with OPI. Afterall, the success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Muppets probably led to this.

What do you think of Vintage Minnie Mouse?

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Naya Rivera Gets a May Cover

Glee's Naya Rivera is Latina Magazine's May cover girl. I absolutely love the nautical vibe! She's currently working on her debut album, which features "some awesome club songs that are fun to dance to."

In the meantime, you can see Naya as Santana on Glee when it returns with new episodes on April 10th.

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How to Care for Introverts

Also known as "How to Treat Ashley."

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Splashing Around