The view from my bed (warning, contains feet)

When we moved in to our house, it was a shrine to 1991. The house had been a showhouse for the estate, and hadn't been changed since. I guess the floral blahs suited the elderly couple who were here before us, but to say it was dated is like saying the new Stars In Their Eyes is slightly rubbish.  However, with both of us working, and a Squeaky to look after, it's taken time for us to put our stamp on the place.

We are slowly getting there now. Baby steps and all.  I decorated Squeaky's room about 2 years ago now, as you know. Then we had a decorator friend help us with the lounge/dining room, and the hall, stairs & landing, because I know my limits.  Late last year we decided that our next challenge would be our bedroom.

All went fairly well, except for a minor tragedy when *someone* stood the ladder on my dalek picture that lived on the wall opposite the bed.  It wasn't expensive, but I think finding the right size frame as a replacement may well be.  It's a big wall opposite the bed, and since we finished painting, it has been staring blankly at me like a big blank thing.  Broken up by nothing more than a couple of tiny nail holes that I kind of didn't fill before I painted.

I had a late evening chat with Daddy one night about what we should do with the wall, and we (ok I) said that some wall art would look good. And nothing happened, for a while.  Until one of those quiet days between Christmas and the schools going back where I had just had enough of looking at a boring wall and had a nose on Premier Vinyls' website.  Simply because they were the only company I could name, and I knew they did lots of giveaways on Facebook.  Put all the boring stuff in to the order form, used Daddy's money as he broke the daleks, and lo & behold, less than a week later, I'm the proud owner of a lovely piece of wall art.

I even have co-ordinating bedlinen and toenails. Kind of.  Paint is B&Q Colours in Oxygen, wall art from Premier Vinyls, bedlinen from The Home Store about 15 years ago, nail polish OPI Can't Find My Czech Book.

I'm not sure if the view from my bed is more or less interesting than a random hotel window view, but it's an insight into the life of an irregular blogger and hardcore procrastinator.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, or a review post. I bought the wall art shown above with my own money (or rather, Daddy's money), and I have a receipt to prove it if you like that sort of thing. I have not been asked to post this, not offered any incentive to do so.  I am not a member of any affiliate scheme, links are provided for convenience, I will not receive any payment for their use.

Edited to fix auto correct.

Winterized Nails

I love my nail polish. If only I were a bit more patient and less inclined to use my talons as screwdrivers, bottle openers and ice scrapers, I might be a nail blogger. I've certainly got the kind of nail polish collection that's more commonly seen in a mid sized branch of superdrug (not that they stock some of my brands!).  Trouble is, winter plays havoc with my nails. We had a little weekend away recently, and a few days of wholesome outdoors in the cold, a fair bit of swimming, and a slight coming together between my thumbnail and a sofa base have left my usually lovely long nails looking like sad little nubbins.  Breaks, splits, and the less said about the skin on my hands the better.  (I cried when I broke my thumbnail. Actual real tears, in front of 4 year olds, whose idea of tragedy is a weekend without Disney Junior)

Winter is a pretty terrible time to be a fingernail, I reckon.  There's all that cold, icy windscreens and the like.  Then there's central heating, and a tendency to spend too long with hands under the hot air dryers in the ladies.  Gloves, while cosy, aren't best friends with a pretty manicure, and unless you're very fussy, can catch on any tiny rough edge and ooops, there goes another nail.  And the all-important office Christmas party.  Ours was last week, and my nails are still nubbins by my standards.  I was this close to a trip to the local nail bar for a full set of acrylics, until I remembered that there's a good reason why I haven't done that in 5 years, and my nails only look like nubbins to me, to anyone else they're actually OK.  But half the office gave in to the temptation of extensions, gel manicures, and the sort of treatments that look great at the time, but take a whole lot of effort to get back to normal.

There are a few ways to help a poorly looking set of claws through the freezing season. A little bit of love goes a long way, so when Julep, one of my favourite brands (honestly), got in touch, I just had to share some of their advice in the form of an infographic.

I've got to say, cuticle treatments are my number 1 tip. While I wouldn't have bothered until a few years ago, the difference a really good treatment makes is amazing, in terms of look, feel, and the life of your mani.  And aside from all that, they tend to smell incredible. Think almonds, think peppermint, think things that almost make you want to start biting your nails again (or is that just me?)  Don't do it though, nibbled nails are so not a good look.

I'm trying to avoid the typical Christmas nails of metallic red, green and gold this year. Everyone and their dog has found a nail bar who will give them the kind of sparkly mani that was strictly the reserve of the enthusiast a couple of years back, so it's onwards and upwards to new things,  Contrasts and nail art are good. Textures are good (if only because the gel manis haven't got there yet!). Multi-dimensional and duochrome effects are a real soft spot of mine, and I do love a twist on a granny colour.  You know the sort of dusky pink you'd normally associate with crinoline toilet roll covers and winceyette nighties?  Well, I've got to be honest, it looks STUNNING on a good set of nails. Trust me.  Something like Shari or Malala (which I adore as a colour, before I even learned about its inspiration & charitable donation).  Maybe even with a glitter topcoat for the party season. Bling comes in all shapes and sizes these days.

Check out the mani I did a few weeks back  (but please don't look at the awful state of my cuticles, or the horrible work car park background.  I used a deep burgundy base, topped with a mylar flakie topcoat.  These are a complete pain to apply, I have to admit, because the mylar flakes don't lie flat and make the polish gloopy, but they are so pretty to look at.  I think it reminds me of ice particles forming on my nails - Elsa style maybe.  In fact, maybe I should try it on a blue.  Mylar shows up best on strong bold colours, so an icy blue or silver base probably wouldn't work, but maybe something like Amy would, then I could do my real Ice Queen look.

What's your favourite winter mani? And how do you balance stunning nails with the need to keep your hands warm? Have I missed a trick?

Disclosure: I have not received payment for this post. I chose to share the infographic because I found it interesting and thought readers may do too.

On Gelish

I love my nail polish. Anyone who has met me knows that. Anyone who has had the dubious pleasure of spending a reasonable amount of time in my presence, or that of my Facebook, will have some idea of the level of obsession we're talking about here.  I love the colours, the textures, the finishes, the process of painting my nails, and do it all too often.  But most of all, I love doing it all myself.  So for that reason I'd resisted the temptation of those expensive, long lasting gel manicures. After all, I can get a fair few bottles of polish for the price of one mani.

Until now, that is. I won a Gelish manicure (one of the two big brands in gel manicures) from a local beauty salon, and as my colleagues rave about their gel manis, I thought I'd give it a go. Why not, nothing to lose?

So, here's my early take on it.

Pros

Lovely finish

Long lasting (or so I'm told)

Not as expensive as I thought

Any excuse to be pampered.

Cons

Less choices than I have at home

No finish/texture options

Takes about an hour

Feels "thick" on the nail

Now don't get confused,the time is in both pros and cons. I love the treat of having some time to myself, but it's a precious commodity that I can rarely manage with Squeaky, and there's no way she would sit still while I had a treatment, and I kept thinking "I could be doing something else now, and do my nails after bedtime", like I normally do.

Would I go for it again? Ask me in a fortnight, but right now, I suspect that the salon will remain strictly for waxing, massages and eyebrows.