Nail Art- A profitable and exciting Career Outlet?

Apparently so....





Complex.com put out an article recently on the [coolest] and strangest jobs you can get in the Art World. Click this and read it. Now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

I wish I had read this list when I graduated from UArts in 2003.

Guess what one of the jobs is? Nail Art! Seriously? Sign me up!

But really... HOW do I get started in this profession immediately?


Oh and by the way... a few of my college buddies are actually on this list. Check out #s 1 and 36. Props to Joey, Brooks (FreshMeltWater), Tom and Jay (Sedso). You guys are awesome.

Worn: Vintage Skirt

I love this skirt. It's beautiful and has a great story. My grandmother made this skirt for my mom in the 50's. It was part of a gypsy Halloween costume! My sister wore the entire costume for Halloween when she was about 10. Now I own it and I'm not using it for Halloween... I'm wearing it to work!







Here you can see my Nanny's original machine stitch... I can't believe it's still in such good condition!


Skirt: Vintage, made by my Nanny
Shoes: Target
Belt: Forever21
Shirt: H&M
Bangles: Green, Vintage; Mettalic, H&M; Cream, Vintage

Francis Bacon would NOT leave me alone while I was photographing.


As you can see, he LOVES the skirt, too!


Yeah, so that's what I wore today.

That's Heavy

So I think I should start this post with a bit of a disclaimer: We're gonna get deep folks. I'm going to talk about my weight and body image and girlie parts and all of that stuff. I'm also going to share some quite personal information. (Gasp!) So if you're uncomfortable with those topics, best to just skip this one out. Mmmmmmk?


Where should I begin?


It's probably not a secret to anyone who knows me that I struggle with body image. Don't most females? Most women in my life do. Even so, I hesitate to write about the topic of body image and weight because it seems so narcissistic. Although I may feel like I "hate" my body at times, isn't that all in the name of vanity? I mean, to obsess over your body when there are so many other worries in the world, seems so self absorbed.

So with that said, why why why do I obsess over my body? I don't have an answer.


For the past two years I have been going on and off of the South Beach Diet. When I started, I weighed 130 lbs. I immediately lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks of the diet. But the best part was that I really felt healthy, and after the first two weeks I didn't feel deprived of food. I've always been better at diets that cut out types of food rather than diets that focus on portions. This preference is probably because I LOVE FOOD. And I love to eat food until I'm full. No disrespect to portioning food (believe me, I think most restaurants need a lesson in portioning) but those diets aren't for me. At my best, I was weighing something like 115 after about 6 months of South Beach.

So let's get to the reason for this post. Today. Now.

I put on some weight over the winter- nothing new or unexpected- but I've had a bit of trouble losing it this time (even with South Beach). I was running, dieting and practically killing myself obsessing about everything I put in my body, but the weight just wouldn't budge. Not one pound. So I figured, why am I making myself completely unhappy over this. I turned thirty this year, perhaps my body is just changing and I should learn to be O.K. with where I am (and more importantly, who I am). After all, it is just a number and my 140 lbs means nothing in the scheme of the universe when there is REAL suffering all over this planet. Plus, 140 isn't so bad, is it? So just when I decided to learn to love me no matter my weight; after being on South Beach for a couple of years and feeling really good about my body, my attitude towards food and my body image in general- I've been violently hurdled back into an oblivion of self-hate. Why? My Doctor.

I had a Doctor's appointment last week and when I stepped on the scale, I knew what to expect. I didn't even bat a lash. I was O.K. with it. Like I said, 140 isn't so bad, is it?

Wrong.

During my appointment, my doctor suggested that I lose 20 lbs or more. TWENTY POUNDS! Twenty pounds. That's a lot to stomach.... or.. er... un-stomach. That's heavy stuff. (Pun intended.) So I've been depressed all week, feeling defeated. I can't help but think about all of the things that weigh 20 lbs. A tire. Two cats. Eighty sticks of butter. A small child. A car battery. I dunno... a lot of stuff. That's heavy!

Kicks

I love Tiago's new kicks. He bought them for work, so they'll be demolished very soon. Figured I'd snap a photo while they're still looking fresh and dapper.

Worn: Valentino Scarf

I nabbed this Valentino scarf at an auction last year at the Delaware Art Museum, where I used to work. There's an annual Docent Auction each year and I was lucky enough to win this gem with only a $35 bid!! Amazing.

Nailed It: Easter Bunny Style.

My niece was begging me to do her nails at Easter so I did...

Dying for Candy!

Happy Easter, friends! My little cutie was here to dye eggs. It was great.





After the Easter egg dying extravaganza, we did an impromptu photo shoot in my studio.


And who can resist a room that is basically one big chalkboard? Certainly not my niece...





Can't wait to see her again!

(If you want to get to know this cutie a little bit better, you can read her hilarious meanderings over at my sister's blog.)

The Master Plan

I'm having a bad day. And a day of self-evaluation and reflection. So, feeling inspired by this Life List over at AB Chao, I decided to write my own.



Here goes...

Vacation in Iceland
Scream into a great abyss
Go sailing in Nice
Speak Portuguese fluently
Run the Broad Street Run
Buy a modern apartment in Lisboa
Sell a painting for more than $500
Own a vineyard and work there (and only there)
Tell off the many people who make me feel like an ant
Become a full-time painter (or designer or illustrator or blogger)
Become a yoga master
Be nicer
Have a baby
Run a marathon
Move to the West Coast
Re-landscape my backyard into a beautiful and relaxing retreat
Have peace of mind
Quit my job
Grow my hair long again
Be heard
Go camping in Texas
Get an MFA
Have more than 100 followers on my blog
Be a cast member on SNL
Live in the EU
Live in the country and live off the land
Plant and cultivate my own vegetable garden
Go to a Punjabi wedding
Have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum
Take an entire month to myself
Get pregnant the old-fashioned way
Have a real conversation with my mother in-law
Take salsa lessons again
Buy a brand-new car
See my Nanny again
Own and operate a candy store
Ride the Giant slide from Morey's Pier again
Buy a really good camera
Buy a tripod
Design my own line of clothing or shoes


Ah.

I will, no doubt, be adding to this list on an on-going basis.

Pink Panther: Nailed It!

This is definitely one of my favorite designs for my nails. I first did this to my nails about two years ago and I still don't get tired of it. The best part of this design is that it's SO EASY and can be done in lots of different colors to keep it fresh. I've also done it in purple hues, blue hues and metallics.

For this particular look, I used Orly Who's Who Pink for the base coat. (I think this color is discontinued, but the french manicure collection has lots of good pinks to use.) The leopard spots were done with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Sonic Boom. The black is Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens in black.

The Long and Short of It

So I don't usually post my outfits (although it's something I've been contemplating lately) but when I saw this on Everybody Everywhere, I just had to since I just bought a maxi dress a couple of weeks ago.


I wasn't always the biggest fan of maxi's, since I'm a short gal. Long dresses just emphasize my short-ness. Something I really don't like. I want to be tall!! But I saw this dress at forever21 and I just had to have it. It's perfect for something comfy but cute on a summer day. But it can also be worn on chilly days like today. (It was rainy in Philly, too! Blah!) I may just be a maxi convert.

Dress: Slub knit Maxi Forever21
Denim Jacket: Gap
Hot Pink Scarf: a KOP mall vendor! (2 for 1 deal!)
Boots: Steve Madden Intyce
Belt: Forever21
Ring: Francesca's

And did you notice ho much our little Francis Bacon loves it, too! (that's the cat in-case you didn't know) He's such a ham for the camera.

Submitted for April:

If you like this outfit, please vote for it on Chictopia:

What an herb

Spring has sprung and it's time to get planting. I love gardening, and I especially like planting herbs each spring to use for cooking in the summer months. I have a perfect spot in the backyard slated for an herb garden, but its unfortunately right next to the still-unfinished-patio. I wouldn't want to plant an entire garden just to have it trampled on or potentially dug-up during patio construction, so my herbs will have to be potted again this summer. No biggie, at least I can bring them in easily and keep them away from squirrels and cats better than if they are in the ground. I'll just have to water them a bit more often.

Today was the perfect day to start planting. (The weather was fan-flippin-tastic.) I started by getting all of the pots our of the garage and mixing the old and dried out soil with some new organic potting soil.


Once the soil was ready (above) I was ready to start planning which herbs go in which pot. As you can see, I used a variety of herbs including Martha Stewart Organic herbs and Burpee brand organic herbs. I planted mint, cilantro, purple basil, sweet basil, oregano, dill, rosemary, parsley, chives and lavender. There isn't much of a science to choosing which pot to assign to each herb... just figuring out which plants are tall, which are heartier and fuller, and which I don't need a ton of. I also kind-of factor in the color and look of the herbs with the pot it's going in. After I figured it all out, I placed the herb packets in the appropriate planter and got started.





Here they are all planted and ready to grow. (Get it? Ready to "grow" like ready to "go". I'm a real comedian folks!) Rather than using what I consider unsightly plastic or wood indicators, I simply use the ripped-off top part of the paper packet to stick in the dirt so I know what's what.


I can't wait to see these guys and girls start sprouting in the coming weeks. But what I'm really excited for is when I can use them for grilling this summer!!! Oh. Yeah.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Thanks for all you do. xo.

Nailed it!

I've been playing around with nail art for about two years now. I've found lots of tutorials on youtube, but I also like making up my own styles. As of late, I'm obsessed with Sally Hansen insta-dry nail polish. It comes in so many neat-o colors. My favs are mint sprint, quick sand, sonic boom, lightening and clearly quick among many others. I also like to play around with the Sally Hansen nail pens... my mom gave me a bunch for Christmas. They're basically like markers for your nails! Awesome!

Tonight I tried a new manicure inspired (well, ahem... copied actually) from Keiko Lynn's blog post.






And here's a peak at what I did for Halloween...