LOVING Lately

Hello there! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

I just thought I'd share with you some of my recent obsessions. So here's what I've been LOVING lately:

1. OPI gel nail polish.

I'm starting out with this because I am truly, madly, deeply in love with it. As most of you know I am a nanny and spend most of my days with two little girls. As Miss Rockstar and Miss Princess are very creative, bright, and active young ladies, a typical day could include painting, gymnastics, dancing (hip hop and ballet), riding bikes, putting on plays (including at least one costume change), soccer, swimming (in warmer months) and how could I forget, doll play which means putting teeny tiny little outfits on teeny tiny little princesses. Rough life I know...

That being said I rarely ever paint my fingernails and even more rarely pay to have them done. I have a distinct ability to chip or smudge them immediately after applying. If I do make it to work unscathed, I will indefinitely mess them up participating in all the activities mentioned above along with dinner, bath time and doing dishes.

Enter miracle polish.

My hair stylist (God-sent, Stacy from Mirror Image) has a sister, Tracy, who does the nail part of their co-owned business. I saw the polish on Stacy while getting my hair done and loved the color so much I decided to make an appointment for the week before Christmas. Now this service cost about 35.00, and is more then I would normally spend for just polish. But I was assured that it would last at least two weeks so I gave it a go.

This OPI axxium process includes curing under a uv-light, and needs to be removed by soaking. Let me tell you that after I took my hands out of the light for the last coat, they were as hard as they are today. No waiting under the dryer for what feels like an eternity, no fingers tiptoeing around your purse looking for your wallet, no worrying about chipping or smudging. I was done and ready to go. And you know what? With the exception of my nails growing out and having that awkward space in between your polish and cuticle, the polish looks as good as it did the day I got it! That was almost 3 weeks ago!

My nails feel strong, hard and protected from the teeth that usually bite them (I'm working on that). I love love love LOVE this polish. I highly recommend this product and don't know which salons have taken the class to learn how to apply it. But, I'm sure the girls at Mirror Image wouldn't mind you coming by for some colour therapy. :D

2. Gatlinburg Christmas.

Every year my dad's side of the family gets together in Gatlinburg to celebrate the holidays. There is no better time to go to the town of Gatlinburg. The lights are beautiful and Christmas is EVERYWHERE. My aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmother all fit into a 6 bedroom cabin. There are around 25 of us give or take! Four days of family togetherness, shopping, eating and the occasional mischief always make wonderful memories!

These are all of the cousins (-Ryan and Chad) before we left on Christmas Eve. I hope this is a tradition that we keep until my children are able to enjoy it!

While there I discovered JUST DANCE for Wii. SO. MUCH. FUN. Above is Weston and I dancing. I can assure you that after you get the hang of it, it's hilarious, competitive and quite an efficient workout. Can you tell how awkward I felt doing lascivious gestures with my brother?!? Yeah.... Still-so much fun. Didn't know Weston had moves like that!

3. Kodak Play Touch Camera.

Sweet husband got me this for Christmas. I wanted a little camera to have and keep video memories to look back on our time together before we have kids. This is perfect for that! It's touchscreen is really easy to use and it has a really good resolution on it. It is supposed to be super easy to upload to the web, so maybe some videos will pop up on here!

4. NEW MOUNTED FLASH.

Saved the best for last! Another Christmas gift from the sweet, thoughtful, set-a-price-limit-on-gifts-but-went-out-and-spent-too-much-money-on-me-anyway hubby. This is exactly what I wanted! Anyone who has or has used a dslr camera before knows about the ever hated, pop up flash. I hate that pop up flash. As good of a camera as you may have, the pop up flash will sabotage your indoor photos that are the least bit dimly lit.

Well, no more!
This is a Nikon Speedlight SB-600. And as I took the first picture I was head-over-heels for it.

Just take this example, a picture taken with the same camera, same settings a year ago on Christmas morning. You might have to make the picture bigger by clicking on it to see a big difference.

See how the flash makes everything shiny and overexposed (and typically shadowy on closer portraits)?

Not this year. My new flash makes everything have a softer, more natural light. And this is only the beginning. I haven't done nearly enough exploring to discover everything that it can do. It makes me want to take more and more pictures every day! Thanks, Daniel!

I hope this post wasn't too terribly long! I would love to hear about how your Christmas went and what new things you are loving!

Livvy