I have been addicted to making sure my nails look nice recently, so every few days I change my polish to a fresh coat. I wanted to share my personal preference of nail color after many failed attempts to get the perfect manicure that will last and not chip. Here is my recipe for the perfect polish with minimal maintenance.
1. Always start with a nourished but lotion free, oil free nail. I use a cuticle and nail treatment before every polish change. Jil Jordan French Cuticle Treatment (sweet almond oil, awapuhi, aloe vera, and seaweed)is a great one that I have been using for a few years now. After treating your nails, take a cotton swab of nail polish remover and swipe it across every nail even if you do not have existing color. This will remove all traces of oil and dirt.
2. Using a base coat will allow your main color to go on smooth and even, and will keep your nail from stains that darker polishes leave behind. I like to use OPI (you can now get this at Target) base coat or Sally Hansen MAXIMUM GROWTH Base + Top Coat. These are the best base coats I have found. For a natural tone with a hint of pink, I then follow the dried base coat with two coats of OPI Hearts and Tarts (sheer)or Miso Happy With This Color (opaque). Allow to dry several minutes.
3. Apply one coat of Sally Hansen NO CHIP ACRYLIC top coat. This is so crucial! This is the best there is (so far). (I also like the Acrylic Top Coat from OPI but it is so hard to find). The NO CHIP ACRYLIC coat gives your nails a shiny coat that is hard and will last for days. Very similar to the top coats in the salons. I love this stuff. Make sure you also add a top coat to the outer tips of your nails.
4. 45 seconds after your final coat, spray nails with OPI RapiDry spray. This is a miracle spray, I swear by it.
That is it! Make sure you touch up your nails as needed with the Acrylic NO CHIP top coat. I like to do it every other day just to keep my nails really, really shiny.
Enjoy my recommendations!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
a few of my favorite things...
It is 3pm in the afternoon and I am just now getting a moment to pamper and "pretty" myself up today. My shower and beauty routine usually takes place in the morning before Mike leaves for work, but today was a different story. So, with that said, I had to put the products down to blog about them. It was now or never. Here are a few of my favorite things:
1. Sunsilk Waves of Envy Sea mist. Does wonders on naturally wavy hair like mine and claims to work on straight hair as well. Gives you the "just off the beach look". Spray on damp hair, blow dry and go. Magic.
2. L'Oreal Bare Naturale mascara. LOVE IT! The brush bristles are very long and thick, makes my lashes jump out.
3. Bare Escentuals Mineral makeup. Unless I am begged to try something new, this is the makeup for me. No fuss. No creamy, goo-ey mess. I have oily skin so less is best. I used to purchase it directly from Bare Escentuals every few months, but seeing as it is pricey, I now get it from reputable sources on ebay. Much cheaper and is new. If you are weary of ebay, there are Bare Escentuals stores going up in the malls. Go that route to buy, or Sephora is a great shop to buy from as well. Sephora = dangerous on the wallet, so beware.
4. Origins Ginger Souffle. My favorite lotion in the whole world. But I only allow myself to buy one small container per year. Pricey so I save it for special occasions.
5. Trish McEvoy No. 9 Blackberry and Vanilla Perfume. So elegant, fresh and natural. Again, on the pricey side of perfumes, but I usually don't get any until holiday's or birthday. (babe, hint)
That is it for now! Gotta blow dry my hair before it dries. Later Ladies (and Gents).
Stephanie
1. Sunsilk Waves of Envy Sea mist. Does wonders on naturally wavy hair like mine and claims to work on straight hair as well. Gives you the "just off the beach look". Spray on damp hair, blow dry and go. Magic.
2. L'Oreal Bare Naturale mascara. LOVE IT! The brush bristles are very long and thick, makes my lashes jump out.
3. Bare Escentuals Mineral makeup. Unless I am begged to try something new, this is the makeup for me. No fuss. No creamy, goo-ey mess. I have oily skin so less is best. I used to purchase it directly from Bare Escentuals every few months, but seeing as it is pricey, I now get it from reputable sources on ebay. Much cheaper and is new. If you are weary of ebay, there are Bare Escentuals stores going up in the malls. Go that route to buy, or Sephora is a great shop to buy from as well. Sephora = dangerous on the wallet, so beware.
4. Origins Ginger Souffle. My favorite lotion in the whole world. But I only allow myself to buy one small container per year. Pricey so I save it for special occasions.
5. Trish McEvoy No. 9 Blackberry and Vanilla Perfume. So elegant, fresh and natural. Again, on the pricey side of perfumes, but I usually don't get any until holiday's or birthday. (babe, hint)
That is it for now! Gotta blow dry my hair before it dries. Later Ladies (and Gents).
Stephanie
Friday, November 14, 2008
My mama's chicken pot pie
There is nothing better than my mom's chicken pot pie. It is one of those meals that heals you from the inside out and makes you feel the love and literal warmth of the hands that prepared it. On gloomy, rainy days such as today, here in Nashville, TN, it is the perfect evening for some warm home cookin' inspired by my precious mother. So, with my apron tied and oven mitts on the side, I dove into the fridge for my necessities. I will spare the details of what I did and did not have available according to the recipe, BUT, I came up with a version of my own, that I am sure will please the Sofka household.
As I sit here writing, I am surrounded by the aroma of hot chicken and biscuits baking in the oven, a dim glow overhead my "thinking" chair and the sweet sound of two baby boys sleeping their cares away. Cole is upstairs in his crib, sleeping with a gentle wheeze of his semi-clogged little nose, and Garrett sighs every so often trying to get cozy on the arm of the couch. Both draped in their blankets of choice, I wonder what they are dreaming about this very moment? Are they comforted by the light fragrance of freshly baked bread, or mommy's hazelnut coffee that I brewed just a short time ago? Does it unconsciously comfort them as did the chicken pot pie when I was young? It is the smells of home that take you back to a place in child hood where nothing seems to matter but what was to come in the play yard or what was on the table to eat at meal time. It is this very thing that I pray I can re-create for my sons, just as my mother did for my two brothers and I. As for me and my house, we are having my mothers' chicken pot pie and oh, how wonderful the memory of tonight will be.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Over the Counter Drugs for your child
Okay, I am going to preface my post with this statement. I am not even remotely going to consider myself all knowing when it comes to raising children, nor am I the best educated on what works vs. what doesn't.
In the last few months I have been trying to choose the best products and nutrition for our boys , due the unnecessary chemicals that alot of our foods and products contain. It is almost sickening the amount of preservatives needed to maintain shelf life. If you take the time to research everything you use for hygiene and every edible product that you consume, I guarantee, you will be overwhelmed with the amount of poisons we are introduced to on a daily basis.
Don't get me wrong, I am not endorsing that you throw away everything you consume and start over, I am merely stating that 100% research and listing/comparing the pros and cons is essential to making an educated decision. Here are a few things that have researched in full and have decided to use for the (additional) well being of our family. I do have a point to this post, but for my own amusement, I want to list a few things that we have come to love b/c of thier nutritional benefit. Just a few are: Soy Milk, Organic 2% milk, Cage Free brown eggs, Organic Sugar and Huggies Sensitive Wipes (there are better wipes out there, but due to budget reasons, these were the least harmful due to my personal research).
There is one item that I would like to share a bit about, one in which I did not feel needed much research b/c it is 100% natural. Hylands' Teething Tablets. I have been raving about them to friends, and they came highly recommended to myself as well. We did not even know they existed until a couple of years ago, so I opted to try them with Cole. If you haven't paid much attention to my ramblings, please read this carefully. I HAVE NOT had any negative experiences with this product, however, after taking Cole to his 9 month check up, my pediatrician instructed me to IMMEDIATELY stop giving them to Cole. They have been proven to cause problems in the central nervous system which was news to me! I came home and did research and found the following information. Note: after reading this, please keep in mind that I can attest to Cole seeming very "groggy" and "drunk" like. I just though it was better than giving him Motrin or Tylenol. Please make your own decisions as to whether teething tablets or OTC drugs are best for your little one. I do believe that we all have our childs' best interest in mind, so let's do all of the research we can. I just felt obligated to share what I have learned today. Please take the time to read this. It is very important to me. I am unsure if I have entered this link correctly, so if I did not, please copy and paste into a new browser. Please tell me what you think! I am curious to hear your input and research.
Love,
Stephanie
http://talk.tuscmoms.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5701077266/m/4581017386
In the last few months I have been trying to choose the best products and nutrition for our boys , due the unnecessary chemicals that alot of our foods and products contain. It is almost sickening the amount of preservatives needed to maintain shelf life. If you take the time to research everything you use for hygiene and every edible product that you consume, I guarantee, you will be overwhelmed with the amount of poisons we are introduced to on a daily basis.
Don't get me wrong, I am not endorsing that you throw away everything you consume and start over, I am merely stating that 100% research and listing/comparing the pros and cons is essential to making an educated decision. Here are a few things that have researched in full and have decided to use for the (additional) well being of our family. I do have a point to this post, but for my own amusement, I want to list a few things that we have come to love b/c of thier nutritional benefit. Just a few are: Soy Milk, Organic 2% milk, Cage Free brown eggs, Organic Sugar and Huggies Sensitive Wipes (there are better wipes out there, but due to budget reasons, these were the least harmful due to my personal research).
There is one item that I would like to share a bit about, one in which I did not feel needed much research b/c it is 100% natural. Hylands' Teething Tablets. I have been raving about them to friends, and they came highly recommended to myself as well. We did not even know they existed until a couple of years ago, so I opted to try them with Cole. If you haven't paid much attention to my ramblings, please read this carefully. I HAVE NOT had any negative experiences with this product, however, after taking Cole to his 9 month check up, my pediatrician instructed me to IMMEDIATELY stop giving them to Cole. They have been proven to cause problems in the central nervous system which was news to me! I came home and did research and found the following information. Note: after reading this, please keep in mind that I can attest to Cole seeming very "groggy" and "drunk" like. I just though it was better than giving him Motrin or Tylenol. Please make your own decisions as to whether teething tablets or OTC drugs are best for your little one. I do believe that we all have our childs' best interest in mind, so let's do all of the research we can. I just felt obligated to share what I have learned today. Please take the time to read this. It is very important to me. I am unsure if I have entered this link correctly, so if I did not, please copy and paste into a new browser. Please tell me what you think! I am curious to hear your input and research.
Love,
Stephanie
http://talk.tuscmoms.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5701077266/m/4581017386
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