Instant Access - 12/4 - 1/22

I can't believe that it has been more than a month since I've done an Instant Access recap.  But given all the craziness of the last few weeks, I feel like (except for the last two weeks of the year), I've been running from one thing to another.   From my grandmother passing away and having to travel for that, to ending at one job, starting another, traveling for work and then for fun, it's been a whirlwind!

There were, of course, plenty of polish changes including...

Essie's Luxeffects Set In Stones

China Glaze's Mistletoe Kisses

China Glaze's Party Hearty over Essie's Marshmallow

Sally Hansen's Salon Effects in Peppermint Twist

OPI's Russian Navy (suede)

OPI's Warm & Fozzie

A half-moon manicure with Zoya's Pasha over OPI's Designer... De Better!

And my favorite red, China Glaze's Phat Santa.

Christmas was fun and quiet. The dogs were excited for their gifts.

And, among other things, I got the Miu Miu glasses I'd been pining for.

Picked up more Salon Effects - Love Letter, Brattlesnake and Sweet Tart-an

I'm ready for the time to change and more sun, so I'm already putting out my Valentine's Day centerpiece.

And did I mention we brought home Briar the goat.  You have to check out all the pictures!

My new job and been going well.  Busy but good. I've used my little Lunch-Crock nearly every day.  This is the best thing if you hate planning for lunch.  I just plug it in and lunch is all warm and ready when I am.

I have an actual office with a door, so I'm very excited. Walls!  I've brought in some pictures and met some people.  I have a Twin Star at work who loves a lot of the same things and happens to have the funniest blog ever!  You have to go read some of her hilarious day to day life (she actually talked about me on there too.  Ha!)

I hope your weeks have been going well too!  It's a new year and there's lots to do.

Color coding

For a very long time (actually until just a few years ago), I never wore open toe shoes. For all that I love shoes I limited myself to mules and pumps and sneakers but never sandals, peep-toes or slides. The main reason is because I didn't feel comfortable with my tootsies.

I have very weak and brittle nails that tend to split really low. So I never felt "sandal-worthy" and I certainly didn't feel that I could have as pretty of a pedicure as what you see in magazine ads. But I made a concerted effort (and was very careful not to bump my toes into things, like I often do) and a little while later I was able get my first cute little slides.

But, I don't get to have professional pedicures all that often. Not as much as I would like anyway. Why is that? It's the same thing with massages. I love them and every time I go, I vow I'm going to get at least one a month, but then I never do. Anyway, I also don't have a lot of time to give myself pedicures more than once a week (okay, every other week), so I struggle with what nail polish color to pick that won't clash with the potential shoes I am going to wear. I'm not organized enough to plan out my outfits and nail polish. I can't even do that with purses much less the amount of effort it would take to match up my nails. I tend to pick a few colors that will be neutral enough to go with most of the shoes I would wear (with the season taken into account).

I'm currently pining for Fall but it's still pretty warm out, so I went with Chanel's Shanghai Red. It's not a true red, more like a very sheer rose-burgundy. It's got metallic flecks in it too so it looks great in the light.



Chanel did 3 limited edition colors this past season and the Shanghai Red was one of them. The others were Noir Ceramic (a metallic charcoal) and Blanc Ceramic (a sheer metallic white). I was inspired by the nails on the Summer Sephora catalog that did a black and white take on a French manicure. The Blanc was actually a perfect pedicure color. It was neutral but had something "more" than using a pink or neutral taupe. I used this a lot.



In the Winter I tend to go with a deeper burgundy that has some metallic to it. I do like to wear a true red, like Revlon Red, but find that it is hard to do a good job on my own. Plus, I don't find red to be as neutral as a darker version. If I want a red I save that for when I do go for a professional pedicure.

The nails on my hands are just as weak. I've been trying really hard to take care of my hands and get my nails to grow. The only thing that I've found that works is Nailtiques. When I use that stuff, it's amazing! My nails actually grow and don't break constantly.

I do love the look of painted nails. But on me they tend to look kind of lame. I see girls with shorter nails that are painted dark (like black or Vamp), but on me it looks hideous. So, I end up wearing a really sheer polish. And for some reason, my nail chips off of my nails really easily too. A light polish minimized how bad they look when 2 hours into the day half of my polish is chipped off. One polish I like is Essie's Ballet Slippers.

I've also heard good things about Essie's Mademoiselle and Opi's Bubble Bath. I think I am going to get those next.

Any other suggesstions for good colors to wear or good brands?