DIY Lucite Vanity Tray

I basically live out of traveling bags and suitcases. I don’t remember the last time I stayed home on the weekends for at least a whole month. John and I are either taking mini trips, I’m heading to LA, or some event or the other makes me vanish for another weekend. Personally, I don’t mind too much because it means we live a varied and somewhat exciting life. Though, it would be nice to just do nothing but read and relax all weekend–for at least three weekends in a row. Till then, I’m basically always half packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

This has only bothered me regarding cosmetics and toiletries. They always live dumped in mini bags inside a bigger case. Great for on-the-go living, not so much for when I’m home during the week and want to feel somewhat more stable regarding my daily habits. I finally created a home for my small army of facial products (I had to start somewhere). I picked the smaller products and kept the bigger bottles up in the cabinets so it didn’t feel like too cluttered or overwhelming. I really love the look of lucite or acrylic trays, but have found them to be unreasonably expensive. Thanks to this awesome DIY hack over at Rain on a Tin Roof, I saved myself a pretty penny. Thanks to a Michaels coupon, I scored an acrylic frame for less than $3 and found some pretty paper with gold dots to line it. I’m debating whether to laminate the paper but I just don’t want to lose the effect of the gold dots. You can buy the paper yourself, but a ton of other sites have free options that you can even custom.

Here’s a close-up of the paper. The tiny raised dots add a nice touch. I wanted to go with something simple.

Close up of gold dot paper

 

And here’s the tray with all my lovely products:

Vertical Alignment of the Tray

Initially I wasn’t thrilled with it lengthwise and had it out like the above. But let’s face it, all the products in tubes are going to be falling on a regular basis so I had a mini reality check and rearranged:

Horizontal alignment of the tray

That’s more like it! This was a fun, easy, little project. Next, I want to get a smaller tray with higher sides to hold all my clutches.

This was a nice start to a dream vanity project I’ve had on my mind for a while that also involves some Ikea hacks, but one project at a time. For now, it’s a nice little area of some fun girly stuff in an otherwise very simple restroom–got to use that counter space somehow!

And one more for good measure in all it’s Instagrammy worthy lighting:

 

Nail Art: Trends, Ideas, and Inspiration

Where’s the chase and when can we cut to it?

Yup. I’ve been awful about posting (and I won’t waste precious digital space apologizing and instead just get to the good stuff). On the plus side, I’ve been doing my nails  for the last couple of months so to make amends I’m just gonna post all of them here!

Heart Patch Nails

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, this was the heart freehand mani I did. Loved the way it came out and surprised it actually worked out. Painting on such small “canvases” can be difficult.

Essie/Lady Like
Essie/Miss Fancy Pants

Sweetheart and Lucky Love Nails

Simple design, but I did it so I could have something on both hands. My right hand often gets left out.

Essie/Mint Candy Apple
Essie/Miss Fancy Pants

Splatter Nail Art

Splatter nail art was something I had been wanting to do for a while. The result looks like mini Jackson Pollock paintings. The technique is so hard though! I kept taking mini straws meant for coffee drinks from our local supermarket. You have to swirl the paint at the end of the straw and blow really hard to make the nail polish “splatter.” It seems easy but I felt like I was inhaling paint all evening and it’s definitely a messy project. Turned out much better than I thought it would and I loved the color palette for this one.

Essie/Mint Candy Apple
Essie/Blanc
Essie/Carousel Coral
Sally Hansen/ Black Out

Argyle Nail Art/St. Patrick’s Day Nail Art

For Saint Patrick’s Day I incorporated shades of green for an argyle pattern. I love all things plaid and argyle so it was fun to see the design come out.

Essie/Mint Candy Apple
ULTA/Limelight
OPI/Thanks a Windmillion
Sinful Colors/Last Chance

Green and Gold Nail Art with Striping

This was a simple take on green and gold for Saint Patrick’s Day as well. Striping tape is a great way to amp up a mani and to create pattern without painting or drawing. It’s not a complicated design but I still found it elegant. Though, it may be the striping tape I use, but it doesn’t stick well and find myself having to peel the corner up and off.

Sinful Colors/Last Chance

Easter Bunny Nail Art

Easter Bunny nail art! Fun to do, but I actually liked the carrot best. I was going for softer pastels but for some reason the colors came out looking dark.

Essie/Turquoise and Caicos
Essie/Under Where?
ULTA/Creme of the Crop
ULTA/Maine Attraction

Floral Nail Art

Probably one of my favorite paint jobs yet. Took a lot of time and patience to get the details right. I was inspired by the floral Doc Marten boot  nails that have been going around. It was at this point I realized I needed to buy thinner brushes for more detailed looks.

Sally Hansen/Black Out
Sally Hansen/Lightening
OPI/Thanks a Windmillion
ULTA/Vintage Violet

Strawberry Nail Art

This was a fun summer nail art mani. I love the bold red of this Essie and how a simple design can still feel joyful.

Essie/Garnet
Sally Hansen/Lightening
ULTA/Limelight

Leopard Print Nail Art

Leopard Print nails are kind of the go-to design for newbie nail artists. It’s taken me a long time to do them just because I’m more of a fan of the print in small doses. I know doing a leopard print mani makes sense, but I just hadn’t been excited to try it. I originally wanted to do a mint colored base with the leopard spots on top, but I realized mint was kind of the standard color for this summer whenever I was painting my nails. I went with lavender instead and kind of fell in love. I was even able to paint my right hand! The design itself starts off not looking like much but as you continue to paint and accent the spots, it really does come together to make a cool pattern. The upside is you can switch colors around to make it feel fresh each time.

Essie/Nice is Nice
Essie/Hot Coco

Gradient Silhouette Nail ArtSo, we got a new dog who I love. His name is Canelo and I’ll have to dedicate an entirely separate entry on him because I could go on…and on. I love him but he chewed one of my brushes! I was left with wider ones so the detail work on the one above is not the greatest. Let’s just say it’s a “full-on Monet” ;)This was fun to do and just paint on but it was a long process as you have to do the gradient and wait to paint on after.  I had tried a gradient design in the past and on it’s own it’s still cool, but adding a silhouette scene adds drama. We live near the beach and go nearly everyday so it was easy to pick the scene. This was kind of my goodbye-to-summer look, but we are currently sitting pretty at 76 degrees so I’m mostly likely going to play around with summer looks into October. I’ve bought neon pink and green recently.

Sinful Colors/Snow Me White
Essie/Where’s My Chauffeur
Essie/Avenue Maintain

I think this kind of makes up for the lack of posts–it doesn’t really, but I’m making amends! Nail art is something I’m getting into mostly because it’s a great stress relief. Plus, buying new nail polish is like back-to-school shopping. So exciting!

A Lame Apology, Fashion Eye Candy to Sweeten the Deal

It’s February 12… in the year 2013.

Ugh.

It’s been almost three months since my last post and I feel awful about it. Normally I would go into a full recap of all the cool wonderful things I’ve done the past few weeks, but then it would feel like those apologies with a ton of excuses and backstory that serves to only alleviate my guilt. So, simply put, I’m sorry mostly to myself for slacking big time.

In far better and prettier news, can we please talk about this head to toe look from Chloe Moretz?

Image via gofugyourself

I freaking love this.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a dress on a celebrity that makes me so envious. I even love her nail polish with all the different pastel shades.  I think the whole look is super cute with the hair and reminds me of the post I did after the Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton show. The dress here is actually from Stella McCartney and the shoes are Christian Louboutin.

Pointy heels are apparently back. I’m not sure how I feel about this because while I love them, they tend to hurt more. But I love the effect of them. While browsing Zara for bags, I came across a similar pair for $80. It’s not see-through like the Louboutin pair, but the white contrast is still great.

Now, to find that dress in my price range.

Mad for Mod

I pretty much love all things checkered, plaid, or striped. I think because I tend to shy away from color I make up for it in patterns. Some images from Paris Fashion Week, specifically Marc Jacobs with Louis Vuitton, have been buzzing in my mind lately. Everything he does for LV is so lovely and girlie. I really loved the show on the carousel from last year. The recent runway (or elevator way?) had a definite Mod aspect to it and I absolutely loved the hair and makeup. I think Mod dresses and lines tend to flatter smaller body types and I’m all for big chunky sweaters or waistlines that don’t cinch. It’s Fall for goodness sakes! I’m eating pumpkin scones and pie till February!

It’s the perfect little white dress and wouldn’t swallow someone short. (me!)

There was a lot of checkers at the show. The look on the right is adorable and I recently thrifted a sweater in a black and white plaid pattern. Black and white is simple, but the vibe here is so cool.

Little Black Dress love. The cut is simple but it’s shiny and fun.

There’s nothing about this I don’t love. It makes me want to buy Keds and eyeliner. And a bow. Seriously, put a bow on something and I’ll probably buy it. This is just so pretty.

Since I definitely can’t afford anything from Louis Vuitton unless it was a bag and I bought it for my mom after saving for months which I then split with my sister anyway, I perused online for Mod-inspired looks.

Clockwise from top left: Zara coat, Twiggy, H&M pant, some (mod)ern day mod, H&M patent leather loafers, Zara Coat with leather sleeves, Forever 21 sweater, Fred Perry for Amy Winehouse

Source for LV show: Fashionista

weekend highlights

Cakes and Polish

 

I saw this idea on Pinterest some time ago but could never find the perfect white cake stand. It was either too small or too expensive and the one time I saw one at Ross I told myself to just buy it the next day…and of course, it wasn’t there. We happened to be at Ross yesterday and while perusing the home goods section I saw this perfect large cake stand. $12 later I was a happy camper. It’s a great way to keep polishes organized and to really show off the colors you’re only using right now. The rest are waiting in plastic containers for the right season.

A Little Brush Up

I love this brush cleaner from MAC. It’s got a great scent and since my eyes are pretty sensitive to make up, I’m always looking for ways to keep the brushes clean. At $14 it’s a great buy, but I wish it came with a spray nozzle instead. I tend to spill anything that uses a cap like the one the bottle currently has. Before discovering this, I used antibacterial foam soap and warm water. Just as good, but a little more work to keep the bristle shape. I’m spending part of my lazy Sunday opening up a new bottle and getting my clean on.

Farmer’s Market Haul

Aren’t these gorgeous? It almost seems like blood oranges but they’re actually nectarines. The stand that sells these, apricots and peaches as well is always pretty busy. At $2.50 a pound it also gets expensive as one of these can almost reach a pound on their own. But it’s well worth it and the taste is so sweet and crisp. Also worth the sock tan as we bike to the market now.

Time Travelin’

We watched the film yesterday. This is actually fan made art by Daniel Keane which I actually prefer to the official movie poster. His work is fairly simple and takes small, but memorable moments from the film and makes them the focal point. Or, he takes themes and strips it down to get at the heart of an emotion the film tries to convey and I think he’s very successful at it. I thought the film was great and time travel futuristic stuff is always exciting but there are some heavy universal emotional themes in the movie as well. I walked out of the theatre wanting to discuss it, but still have a moment to process all of it.

“Indeed.”

John loves The Wire. I mean he loves it. To the point where he’s watched all five seasons multiple times and is now rewatching the fifth season for the third or fourth time while also watching the third and fourth season with me (first time), as well. When the show first came on HBO I had seen a few episodes, but it just didn’t stick. Now, as I’ve soldiered on to the beginning of the fourth, all I can say is that I think this show is incredible and pretty much a top three in terms of good quality drama. I know I’m late on this train, but damn, this show is good. The other night, as season 3 was ending, I literally stood up and screamed at the television. It is, quite frankly, that good and really is a shame it never got the recognition it deserved in it’s original run. And what do you know, the above poster is also by Daniel Keane! While looking for good fan art as I don’t generally love DVD box set covers, I came upon the above. Simple, stark, and yet still menacing. So excited to start the fourth season, while oddly enough, cleaning makeup brushes.

september in miscellaneous

Some tidbits and moments to September:

neon, black, and stripes

A transition manicure. The bottom is white and turquoise. I finally got the striping tape I ordered and used a fuschia one to make the stripes. The color transferred adding some hot pink. Of course, a week later I was bored and ready to change it. How fleeting…and appropriate it seems.

cards against humanity

I originally heard about this game at the wedding we attended in Maryland. It’s naughty, inappropriate, shocking, and my sides were aching from laughing. I played with some of my very good friends in LA and the game is nothing, if not revealing. I had wanted to purchase it from Amazon, but they were out. Luckily, the designers of the game have a Creative Commons License on it and make it available for free. For $7 I was able to print out the PDF at Kinkos. The downside: 30 minutes at the cutting board. And some raised eyebrows. It’s basically the game Apples to Apples but with a naughty twist. I didn’t feel like clubbing and the night was still hot. So one 30-pack of beer + one exposing game of cards =  A fine way to spend a Saturday night.

endeavour over santa barbara

I spent most of my morning of September 21 looking outside the window towards the mountains and into the sky. I hoped and hoped it would fly over Santa Barbara and I’ve never followed a Twitter hashtag as much as  I did #spottheshuttle. I ran out of my building to my car and drove straight to the beach when I read it was near Vandenberg Air Force Base. Five minutes after parking and looking out north I heard the distant rumble of plane engines. And there, in the sky, was the Endeavour space shuttle hitching a ride on top of a Boeing 747 and escorted by two fighter jets. It was remarkable. I actually felt chills and my heart swell as it flew over. Everyone on the beach just stood and stared in awe. There was something unifying in the experience; the way an entire generation must have felt watching the moon landing. There weren’t be a space shuttle launch for a while  (unless it’s to Mars) and I’m glad I got to see it on it’s final voyage. It was incredible how much of the nation was chasing across streets, playgrounds, and rooftops to catch a glimpse. It felt bittersweet in so many ways.

pink and white lisianthus

We go to the Farmer’s Market in Goleta every Sunday (when we’re actually in SB for the weekend). John to get strawberries (before summer’s end) and for me to get my twice-a-month-I-love-you flowers. Sometimes he’ll pick them out, but usually I do. Hee. He tries. I just love getting them. Right now I’m loving Lisianthus. The first time we got them they also came with Belles of Ireland, which were beautiful but had small tiny spikes. This picture is misleading as the bouquet is quite large. I couldn’t pick between the pink and the white, but this batch had touches of both. I can stare at them all day. The pink feels like spring and summer, so I’m buying them in a futile effort to hold on.

the atomic cookie

I figured end on a sweet note.

This cookie is the bomb. Hence the name, I think. And if today’s entry is all about straddling the line between summer and fall, then a cookie that is half chocolate chip and half chocolate chunk makes sense. These can be found at Metropulos Find Food Merchants here in SB. They have the best food and this cookie.. this cookie.. it’s going to be the end of me.

Rent check’s in the mail

The title of this post derives from a pair of T-strap sandals from Seychelles. They were ivory in color and it was the first time I saw something online that I wanted to buy and just wasn’t able to. They just did not have them in a size 6…anywhere. Believe me, I looked. I went so far as to even email customer service at Seychelles and they didn’t have them. I was thinking about that very pair of shoes the last few days while online browsing (at work) recently. The shoes remind me of Fall and despite it still being very warm here in Santa Barbara, I’m already excited for Fall and all that it entails. Cooler weather, darker nail polish, wool coats, and hot chocolate. I drink tea almost daily, but hot chocolate feels right only when it’s cold. I also get paid next week and right on schedule, I’m already mentally spending it. Below are a few things that have caught my eye.

top row l-r: kate moss for mango jacket. chanel nail polish. looks from mango’s 2012 fall catalog.
second row l-r: monogrammed tea cups, anthropologie. sequined peter pan collars, H&M fall 2012. proenza schouler ps1 bag.
third row: boots and coat collars, mango’s fall 2012 lookbook. trumpet glass candle holder, c.wonder. sofia coppola for louis vuitton bag in calf leather.
bottom row l-r: kate iphone case in ivory, tipilly. sweater, mango 2012. deborah lipmann nail polish in billionaire.

 

I actually bought the monogrammed cup from Anthro for my friend Karen’s birthday (“K” of course). They really are adorable and a steal at $6! And as much as I want to start painting my nails in deep burgundies and autumn colors, I think I’m going to get as much mileage out of the sea greens and bright blues I bought for summer.