Random Thoughts

My favorite kind of post, the kind where I just kind of blurt out whatever comes to mind. I know it's not very "pinnable" but meh. I'm kind of over that anyway.

+ I'm getting a pedi this Saturday!! I am so excited, it's been far too long. A friend got me a gift certificate to our favorite nail salon for my birthday so I will be meeting her and another friend and we are going to thoroughly enjoy the girl time! I'm trying to decide what color to get, we're still in Summer technically (although my thoughts have turned to Fall) so I feel like maybe a coral or bright pink? Thoughts?

+ My blogiversary is less than a week away (wow) and I'm thinking of doing a little giveaway as a thank you to all of my fabulous readers! Just have to decide what I want to give away...Hmmm...

+ Yesterday Target sent me a $5 off $50 coupon and while I have NO business blowing even $45 dollars on stuff I don't need, it is majorly tempting me. Darn you Target!

+ Planning a BBQ for the end of September and I was originally thinking it would be a "End of Summer" kind of thing, now I'm torn because by then my Fall decor is usually up, which makes me want to have some fall-ish food, plus their WILL be football playing on our TV (sorry, not sorry) so maybe kind of a "Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall" thing? Am I overthinking this? I'm pretty sure I'm overthinking this.

+ The other night I was at dinner with some friends planning a reunion for our church choir from back in the day, and I mentioned something about the BBQ I'm planning. One of the ladies was like "Y'all have a lot of parties!" I was like we do? Yeah I guess we do! We've done several get-togethers in the first part of the year, mostly because we've made a point to plan them and just do it, regardless of whether everyone can come or not. In the past we've tried to choose a time that works for everyone and that NEVER happens so you just have to pick a date and go with it! It made me happy to think about because one of my goals this year was to connect with my family and friends more face-to-face, and spend quality time, not just "see" them on Facebook.

+ Wow that last one was really long-winded, sorry.

+ We had a great anniversary dinner last night but DEAR BARBARA the carbs, and between the carb hangover, staying up a little too late, and an apparently epic amount of pollen in the air today, I pretty much feel like a truck ran over me this morning.

+ Have y'all heard of Sling TV? I'm sure you have, I'm usually the last to hear about things. But anyway it's an app that allows you to get a selection of cable channels for $20/mo., and it has ESPN and ESPN2, plus you can add an extra sports package for $5, which would give us ESPNU and SEC Network. PLUS you can cancel anytime so we could just get it for football season. This is pretty much exactly what we want! I think it's going to be a much better option than a cable package that we would have to commit to for a year.

I think that's all the random-ness I have today!

My Jamberry Experience

* I received these products as complimentary for testing and review purposes, but all opinions are my own. 

I love the way my nails look with a manicure! So polished (haha, no pun intended) and professional, I feel like it makes my whole look feel more pulled together.

However I pretty much never keep my nails painted because:

A: I'm not very good at painting them, so they look pretty rough and

B: They get smudged or chipped approximately 2.5 seconds after I'm done and they just look worse and worse over the next couple of days until I'm forced to remove it.

When I get them professionally done they obviously look much better and last a little longer, but I'm so hard on my nails that they still chip within a day or two, sometimes sooner. So, gigantic waste of money unless I'm doing them specifically for a special occasion.

So I was really excited when Amanda reached out to me to ask if  would like to try Jamberry! Of  course I said yes! Amanda is an independent consultant with Jamberry, and she suggested their new wrap, Country Club. Well. I'm one to go with the expert recommendation, and when I saw the pictures of it I loved it, so Country Club it is! 

                       

So she sent this wonderful kit with everything I would need for my Jamberry manicure:

Included:
Wraps
Cuticle Oil
Mini Heater
Application Kit with file, buffer, scissors, orange sticks, rubber cuticle pusher, alcohol prep wipes, and nail clippers.

I was nervous about getting started because I had never done any kind of wrap on my nails and I was afraid I would apply them wrong. So I pulled up the Jamberry how-to video on YouTube. 

   

                                       

They made it look so simple and laid it out in an easy step-by-step tutorial. I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually really easy to apply, and they turned out looking so good!  

One tip I have is to make sure you press the wrap down really well on your nail, and that there is no part of the wrap that is peeling up when you are finished. There were a couple of spots that I missed or didn't push down as well, and they are the only parts that are starting to peel up. 

It's been about a week since I applied these and so far I am highly impressed! This is after doing a thorough cleaning of the house last Friday and Saturday, and I was not wearing gloves or anything to protect my nails. I was actually kind of intentionally not careful, if that makes sense. I wanted to see how well they would hold up. 

                                       

With a regular manicure a week in, if I still had the polish on it all, it would be majorly chipped and rough looking. I am SUPER hard on my nails y'all. There are just a few spots where the wrap is pulling up or chipping, but it's such an improvement over a traditional manicure! 

Thanks SO much to Amanda for the opportunity to try these wraps! I'm super excited to try more colors now! 

Check out the Jamberry collection on Amanda's site: http://www.anthjams.jamberrynails.net