Nail Polish Collection

Most of my nail polishes were purchased online and I pretty much had to guess the way most colours were going to look. I have purchased some nice colours and a few that I totally dislike. Unfortunately, I only found a few of the shades on Google searches. I'm going to post pictures of the colours I own and maybe this post will help somebody someday.


I'm going to categorize the colours as:
- solid (s) for colours that have no shimmer and pretty opaque first applications
- light (l) for colours that have light first applications where you can still see the nail
- shimmer (sh) for colours that have some kind of sparkle
- duochrome (d)





Left to right:
ORLY - Green Apple (s)
China Glaze - For Audrey (s)
China Glaze - Shower Together (s)
China Glaze - Secret Peri-Wink-Le (s)
China Glaze - Agent Lavender(s) -> really pretty shade
ORLY - Bon Bon (l)
OPI - Significant Other Color (s) and (d) ( light purple and fluorescent green -> quite an odd combination; I don't presonally like this colour at all; I alost lost my breath when I pulled this shade out of the mail box)




Left to right:
Sephora - No 6 (s) -> A "Russian Red" type of red
N.Y.C - American Beauty (sh) (with red shimmer)
OPI - Tropical Punch (s)
OPI - Bogota Blackberry (sh) (with red shimmer) -> Pretty for the Holidays
OPI - Jave Mauve-A (s)
China Glaze - Chocodisiac (s)



Left to right:
OPI Nicole - Sheer Fun (l) and (sh) (with pink shimmer) -> awesome for French maniqure
OPI - Italian Love Affair (s) and (sh) (with silver shimmer)
China Glaze - Second-Hand Silk (s) -> an unique purple-pink
Misa - For the Woman with a Secret (s) and (sh) (with gold shimmer)



Left to right:
OPI - The "IT" color (s)
ORLY - Crush on You (s)
ORLY - Secret Admirer (l)
OPI - Coney Island Cotton Candy (l)
OPI - Samoan Sand (l)
OPI - FIJI WeeJee Fawn (s) and (sh) (with silver shimmer) -> It's like a pretty shell colour




Left to right:
REVLON - Ultimate Top Coat -> very nice top coat; I just wish the brush was a little wider
OPI - Alpine Snow (s) -> pure white
China Glaze - Recycle (s)
REVLON - Steel Magic (s) and (d) (dark purple and dark green) ->pretty shade
OPI - Lincon Park After Dark (s) -> nice alternative to black



I will try to add swatches to this post as I change my nail colour.


Coney Island Cotton Candy (4 coats)


China Glaze - Agent Lavender (2 coats)

=)

... so I havent't updated in a long time as my brother came down to visit me and then I started school. Besides, I didn't feel like I have any interesting things to share. Anyway, I sort of abandoned the diet plan as I stared school and had to eat well especially because I commute about 4.5-5 hours a day. I know that sounds a bit much, doesn't it? Well, in the part of the country where I live people are bilingual and I happen to be more anglophone. To go to an English school that has my program I have to do a bit of travelling.

Anyway, I'm on my winter break right now and I start my next semester on the 18th of January which gives me some time to write on my blog.

Super Easy To Make Pie

I have to admit that no matter on what diet I would be on and how badly I would try to loose weight, my day is not complete without dessert... even if in small portions.

I am not an amazing cook but I'm always on the look for good recipes. Although baking is the hardest, in my opinion, as so many things could go wrong, I'm always excited about it.

Anyway, so today I've made a peach-strawberry pie.





Here's the recipe, in case you'll want to try to make something really easy, yet tasty.

PIE PASTRY:
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Crisco (or a vegetable shortening of your choice... I can't recommend butter or margarine as I've never tried them for this recipe)
1/2 ice cold water

First, add the shortening to the flour and salt. To mix it up you can use a pastry cutter, if you have one, if you don't use a fork or a potato masher. The mixture should have a crumbly appearance. Then, pour the cold water over the mixture and, using your hand, mix it all up. The batter should all come together. Put this mixture into the fridge and make your filling. You can buy pie filling but I feel that making your own is so much better. No chemicals added and you can come up with a zillion flavors.

I've made my PIE FILLING up so the following quantities are approximations.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 peaches peeled, sliced
10 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional - if your mixture is too runny, the cornstarch will thicken it)

I put the butter in a pan over medium heat and when it melted I added the fruit slices. After about 5 minutes, when the fruits lost their crunch, I added the sugar and cooked it for about 5 more minutes. When I saw my mixture was too wet, I added the cornstarch and mixed it in fast and in about 10 seconds, I had a ticker consistency.

Now, the pastry can come out of the fridge. Take half of it and lay it over a lightly floured surface and roll it into an approximate circle bigger in circumference than that of the pie pan ( you need the pastry to dress the walls of the pan, not just the bottom). After placing the pie pastry into the pan, add the filling and then roll out the rest of the pastry dough into a lid for your pie. I've done a lattice top but you can just do a simple plain top with a hole in the middle. Attach your lid to the pie.

Bake it in a preheated oven at 425 Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes or until your top has become golden brown. ... and remember, don't open the over for the first 30 minutes! The making of the pie took me less than 30 minutes.

Have fun with it if you try it!

My Two Little Treasures

!!! HEAVY ON PICS !!!


I love my dogs. As a matter of fact, I can say I adore them. It's quite funny but I see them as my little kids.

Their names are Napoleon and Berri. They are two "gigantic" Yorkshires, one of which is chocolate in colour. That's a defect in the gene that gives the pigmentation... just like in humans we have albino people. Yorkshires are supposed to have black and brown fur but my little Napoleon is brown-orange-gray... with brown eyes, paws and nose instead of black.

Although he's the wrong colour, he's such a smart dog. Sometimes I'm even lead to think he might have been human in a previous life. Napoleon was my first dog...ever. My family didn't have dogs nor cats. I had a couple beta fish but they died - as they only live about a year. My parents were strict on cleanisiness and found a pet to be too much trouble. When I finally moved out, I got Napoleon. He was 5 months at the time and since he already had a name that fit his fisty, yet intelligent personality, we decided to carry on with the name given by the breeder.

Here are some pictures of him:

As a baby at 3 months


At 5 months:


Eating some stake:


... and having a sip of tea:



Showing some love:



After the shower:

Now, at one some months:

When Napolen was about 7 months old we decided to get him a friend; part so that he doesn't feel lonely when we're gone, part so that he stops bugging us to play with him all the time and part because we wanted another puppy. We then found Berri, who is such a sweetie. He's the more calm, sensitive dog. He gets easily scared and intimidated and unless you get him pumped, he'll never bother you. Napoleon on the other hand, knows how to press our buttons with his evergy and stubborn personality. Berri has an amazing sense of smell and he's crazy over toys. He's probably not as intelligent as Napoleon, as this orange dog is one of a kind, but Berri is the perfect family dog.

At first, when we got him, he looked like a little alien and was SO different from how Napoleon looked as a puppy. Berri has a big head, HUGE eyes, big ears and very thick, dense fur. That green paper on his ear was to keep his ear upwards. He had it for about a month or so.


His milk teeth:





His first winter:




I love them both and I couldn't pick a favourite. Napoleon and I have a special connecition as he was my first dog but Berri has such a kind heart and I am thankful to have them both.

So I finally got a scale...

My goal is to get rid of a few extra pounds by the beginning of the school year... which for me it's in a little more than month. I start classes on August the 24th. My ideal weight would be 100lb but I haven't been this weight since I was 14 so 105lb would be more of a realistic goal. Even if I don't get to loose much weight, I would really like it if I could tone up a bit.

Here are my measurements as of today:

Chest: 87cm

Waist: 67cm

Hips: 89 cm


Weight: 108.5lb (my height is only 5' 2" )






Now, some "before" pictures. Lets hope the "after" will show a difference. I haven't sucked in my belly and when I measured around my waist I made sure to exhale the most I could. When I'll take the "after" pictures I'll wear the same clothes.




My plan is to eat a few smaller portions rather than three larger ones. I will also be drinking unsweetened green tea... LOTS of it and I will cut down on starches (potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, desserts and really sweet fruits). I have done this before and I lost a lot of weight FAST. Four years ago I used to be 125lb and I went to 110lb in about a month and a half but my diet then was VERY strict on carbohydrates... 20g of carbs a day MAX. To tell you the truth, from my experience at least, going on a diet by counting the number of calories does NOT work. Count the grams of carbs your food contains!

To tone up I'm just going to do 100 curl ups and 100 sit ups per day. I'm not sure if this will be enough but it's a start. I also have a cellulite problem on my legs as well as stretch marks on my butt (from when I lost weight before) and I really need to start a plan against those.

Ok, so let the diet and the exercises begin! Today it's the 19th of July and I am due with a report on this matter on the 23rd of August. Good luck if you'll try this too!

Have a good night, evening or morning. =)

P.S. I REALLY need a haircut!

My first post

So I'm going to start one of these too.


I wasn't planning on writing in a blog although I have been tempted in doing so numerous times. I'm not sure how this will go for me, whether I'll update often or not or the things I will be talking about. I plan on posting about a variety of things such as fashion, beauty, food and whatever I will consider interesting enough to share.


The main reason to why I have finally decided to write on here, after a long period or debating about this with myself, is because I plan on shaking off a few pounds and I'm afraid to say but my motivation level deteriorates over the course of the weight loss regimen.


Ok, well, these being said, I hope to make lots of friends on here and I'll be posting soon =).