Beauty: Nail Update

Status: Lots of compliments, so much fun!

Time: like an hour, because I'm horrible at painting nails

Cost: nothing! i borrowed my roommate black nailpolish

Original Pin:

Original website: http://ohyeahprettynails.tumblr.com/post/9130666168

The Result:

So I'm not all that talented with painting my nails...but it turned out alright considering. Over my existing nail color, I taped off the top part, diagonally. over that I painted the tip black. It was great because I didn't need to be super careful with painting. However I didn't think about how tape kind of bubbles, which is why some of the paint isn't all that even. Also, if you try it, make sure that you peel the tape off  really carefully, at an angle! Also do it while the second color is still wet, or you'll peel some of what's on your nail off!

Happy manicuring!!

Beauty: Essie "Turquoise & Caicos"

Status: Complimented by a stranger on them today!

Time: abnormally long, because I can't sit still after I paint my nails and had to redo one...

Price: $6 (at Target)

Original site: http://nailstah.com/category/essie/

Love the color! and I've gotten so many compliments this week. :) sorry I haven't posted in a while, but school & work have been crazy! I'll to make something fun this week and post it! 

Style: Cable Knit Leggings

Original Pin:

Original site: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/free-people-cable-knit-leggings/3200726?origin=keywordsearch&resultback=0

Original Price: $58 from Free People (Yikes!)

My leggings: 

Cost: $4 after discount! originally $8

Where: Payless - which is the crown jewel of bargain shopping

So when I went home for my very short summer break, I made a list of specific items I was looking for, and cable knit leggings/tights were on that! I look EVERYWHERE for ones that I liked or were in the color was looking for. I'm pretty sure I looked at every possible place online or in the 3 malls in my area (you know you're from Northern Virginia when...). Finally I went into Payless looking for the boots I'm wearing in the picture, and ta-da! they were there (thanks mom!).

They are so comfy I'm in love with them. I love wearing them with these boots, and I'm currently wearing a big button up, but they look great with dresses and under shorts too. They've become a staple in my wardrobe.

Also, sorry for the scarcity of posts. Classes just started, so time has been pretty scarce. Hope you all are having a great weekend!

T-shirt scarves - Infinity and Yarn

Status: Hit! Love them!
Time: 10-15 minutes
Cost: Free! (if you have the t-shirts)
Pin:

Original site: http://www.methodhome.com/blog/getting-crafty-hipster-scarves

How to (Yarn scarf):

1. lay your old tshirt out. It's going to be cut into tiny strips so make sure you don't want it! 

2. cut under the armpits straight across and cut off the hem. You're going to be left with a big loop, like a tube top. 

3. Starting from either the top or bottom, cut the fabric into 1 inch strips. When you get done, you should have a bunch of loops

4. one by one, stretch the loops out as far as they'll go without breaking. Tshirt fabric is weird, and by stretching it, the outside edge of each strip will curl in.

5. gather all of these up and loop it around your neck!

How to Infinity scarf:

*Do steps 1 &2 of the yarn scarf*

3. cut the tube top shape in half, so you have two medium sized loops.

4. cut one seam on each loop, so now you have two strips of fabric

5. (complicated. sorry) sew - with machine or by hand - the two strips together one of the small ends each. Now you have one really long strip of fabric

6. Sew the next two small ends together. You'll end up with one reaaaally big, medium width loop. 

7. stretch it out, so the edges curl in. and voila! you're done!

P.s. don't throw away the tshirt scraps! They can be used for an upcoming craft!

Easy French Toast

Status: always a hit
Time: 15ish minutes
Cost: $10-15 (for all supplies, not just the ones you use)
Pin:

Original site: pinterest. sorry nothing all that exciting. just a picture of french toast

But I saw this pin and I said to myself, "yum breakfast!" so I made it! The recipe I use is 1 egg + 2 TBSP of milk. really simple, and it makes about 3 pieces of toast. Dip a piece of bread into the mix  Coat both sides and put it in a pan on the stove. Then just keep flipping the toast until it browns to your liking! super simple and super delicous. 

Tips:

1. Use stale bread or toast it slightly before putting it in the egg mixture, otherwise it gets kinda soggy and falls apart

2. I coat the pan in butter not PAM

3. add cinnamon!

yummmm.

Dotted Nails

Status: Growing on me
Time: 30 minutes to dry nails, 1 minute to dot them
Cost: about $7 if you have to buy nail polish and markers. (I just used what I had around)
Pin:

Original site: http://fuckyeahnailart.tumblr.com/post/5103552068
What you need: any colored nail polish and any colored sharpies.

Alright, truth time: this isn't the pin that I got the idea from. Those nails were much more similar to what I tried to do on myself. But similar to things in life, pins are fleeting, and I couldn't find the exact image when I did my nails last night. With a white sharpie you can get the same effect as above; I just happened to use silver black and some orange.

I was really really unhappy with them when I did them, but now I think they're kind of cute. I like shiny things (see Glitter Flats), I'm liking them a lot better now!

sorry you have to look at my gross toes!

Quick Tip:  Nail polish doesn't bleed so you can't press down the sharpie to make a bigger dot. You'll end moving some of the polish around like I did on my big toe...Hopefully you won't notice.

Chocolate chips in raspberries

Status: Better than sex

Time: 5 seconds to put together, 10 minutes spent in amazement

Cost: less than $5 - depending on the season for the raspberries

Pin: 

Original Site: http://mariel-torres.blogspot.com/

Ingredients: Raspberries & chocolate chips (any kind, but I used milk chocolate Nestle chips)

Seriously, these things are fantastic. Really sweet, but at the same time a little bit sour. Love the combination. I stuffed more than one chip into a raspberry, just because they would fit and the second half of the raspberry feels lonely without the chocolate. It's also an extraordinarily cheap & tasty dessert or snack! Give it a try and let me know what you think, especially if you try different flavors of chocolate.