Of Life and Lacquer

I wasn’t planning on doing any blogging for a while for a few reasons, but I decided to just throw that idea out the window because I realized that whenever I am stressed or having a rough time, I can usually just escape into the color-filled world of nail polish for a while. All of my current problems/stressors have solutions. Every single one of them. I think that it’s important to remind yourself that most problems have solutions because we always need a healthy dose of perspective in our lives. I was looking through my stash and decided to use one of my untrieds: China Glaze I’m Not Bitter.

China Glaze I’m Not Bitter is another scorching red from the 2005 Voodoo, That U Do Collection. I can’t tell you enough how amazing this shimmery and glowy red is. It applies like a dream, and it is the perfect one-coater!! Unfortunately, this polish was discontinued long ago, but the good news is that it is still available online at a few online retailers. And in case you were wondering, the formula is NOT big 3 free. China Glaze describes this as a beet red shimmer, and that is a perfect description.

Being that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, I decided to make this a festive type of manicure.

I used a design from Konad plate M79 and Konad special white polish. I don’t know about you, but this looks like pretty wrapping paper. I always enjoy wrapping presents, don’t you?

Because I wanted a little more bling, I applied silver holographic hex glitter over the dots. It doesn’t look that interesting under these lighting conditions, but it looks amazing under sunlight when all the holo shines.

On a previous post, I wrote about New Year’s Resolutions and the like. I’m not really making any but I do have a few goals for next year. I stumbled upon a blog about travel last night and all of a sudden I was so bummed out because I haven’t been on a trip in eons. (Btw, the travel blog I mentioned is called Traveling Latina and she is hosting a giveaway for a $25 Walmart gc so check it out!) I spent my early 20’s pretty much going anywhere I wanted to because I spent a year studying abroad and then ended up working for the airlines for a few years after that. The one place I would kill to go to right now is Florence. Looking back, I think I have made about 10 separate trips to Florence and I never tire of it. Maybe it’s because I am a huge lover of Renaissance art and architecture, but it’s probably more due to the fact that it was the first city in Italy that I ever visited. When I think back on that first trip, I always laugh because it was really a comedy of errors. Daniel and I had finished up the semester and he called me to see what I was going to do that night. I told him that I wanted to take a trip and he said he would come with me so we packed a bag and an hour later we were at the train station looking at all the scheduled departures. We had no idea where to go so we just took the next available train which was going to Italy. I won’t get into all the shenanigans that happened during our stay in Florence because, frankly, it’s embarrassing. When we were ready to leave, we randomly decided to go visit our friend who was in Aix-en-Provence for the year…well, that was another nightmare. We had to take multiple trains to get to Aix. Since our train was delayed in Milan, we almost missed our train going to Marseille. Daniel never forgets how we were running like maniacs through the station trying to make the train which was about to depart. By the time we made it to the platform, it had started to pull away so we literally did a miraculous flying leap onto a moving train. Why we didn’t kill ourselves right then and there, I will never know. I wish that had been the end of our mishaps, but then something else happened: my wallet was stolen.

If you’ve never really been on a train for a long trip, you’re really missing out because it’s just such a cool experience. Daniel and I ended up in a 6 person compartment by ourselves so we were just enjoying getting some rest. He decided to go to the dining cart and left me alone while I slept. I was startled awake and I saw a kid walking out of our compartment and I asked him what he was doing. He mumbled that he was looking to see if there were any empty seats but he kept walking out.I was so groggy that I didn’t think much of it so I went back to sleep. When we finally got to Marseille, I wanted to buy something to eat and that’s when I realized that my wallet was gone. I was fuming and poor Daniel got to experience my misplaced wrath because I blamed him for leaving me alone while I slept since I suspected that kid stole my wallet. We had to catch one last train from Marseille to Aix which was just less than 30 minutes away. When we finally got to Aix it was late at night and the train station was about to close. I told Daniel to call our friend since we didn’t have her address. He didn’t have her phone number because his phone’s battery had died and he forgot the charger. The train station closes and we are kicked out into the street with our loaded backpacks and me without any money. I was tired, annoyed and on the verge of tears when our friend walked by the train station with a couple of her friends. It was the most random thing ever so all things ended up well.

So why did I blab on and on for eons about Italy and traveling? Because one of the things I am looking forward to next year is to go on a trip to Italy. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I may have to sell my soul to the devil for it, but I will go on my trip!!!! What are some of your favorite travel destinations? Thanks for stopping by and talk to you later!

P.S. Have you entered my giveaway? This is the last week so don’t miss out on the chance to win some awesome prizes!

Disclosure: All items featured in this post were purchased by me.