To Marian!

‎"Never take your freedoms for granted and every chance you get let the ones you love 

know that they are indeed loved." ~ Marian Curtner

My best friend died in a car accident last week. We have been friends since I can remember. My mother and her mother are best friends as well and have worked together for 20+ years. We used to call them "our moms" when we were out together - like my mother and her mother, but it sounded like they were partners and we had lesbian moms :P. We always used to laugh about that. The vast majority of our friendship was spent hiking together - we both love being in nature. She was a wild child, a free spirit, a hippie, just like me.

Her funeral was this past Thursday. I had brought a black dress and cardigan, not really knowing what to wear. Once I got to my home town and visited her parents before the funeral, we all decided that we should wear what she would have liked - bright colors, flowy skirts, and just be normal. I borrowed a skirt from my mum and wore this to her funeral, along with a large blue flower in my hair, and a bright and groovy manicure:

The service was in Tellico Plains up near the mountains and back in the country. It was absolutely gorgeous and just what she would have wanted. Sharon, her mother, said she hoped she had lots of flowers, and I can't even describe to you how many there were. If I could guess, there were about 50 things of flowers. So many people showed up to pay their respects, say goodbye, and honor her memory...there must have been 200 in this small church. Even the standing room around the walls was full. I didn't get to see her, as they closed the casket a few hours before the funeral, but her Aunt and I had a moment together and she told me she was just beautiful. The funeral director was a lovely woman and said she painted her nails for me - our favorite color, green.

I at first, like with my outfit, didn't know what to do for my nails. After a while I decided to go a little wild with them and just do what she would have liked. This is two coats of Barielle Decadence (thanks Jeremy :D) with one coat of Essence Hello Holo holographic medium sized glitter in a clear base.

Just check it out in the sunlight! It's a bit blurry to accentuate the sparkle. It really does look like this in person though, it's just difficult to capture in a photo.

Even in dim indoor light it's just amazing. This is what it looked like at the funeral as well. I was so pleased that it was still stunning indoors. 

Here it is when it isn't looking that holo-y and you can just see the silver glitter. 

And a little bit of just the Barielle Decadence.

Please excuse my awful nail shape. My corners have been breaking off multiple times a day, so I'm trying to find a happy medium where they look good but don't break as much. And I brought very little with me on my trip, so I didn't have any cleanup tools.

Here's one to Marian! May she rest in peace and be remembered for all the beautiful things that made her Marian, my best friend, my sister.

November 13, 1989- May 7, 2011

I'm Back! Inspired by a New Package!

I suppose I took a hiatus recently, unplanned. I'm still not really sure. I have been busy lately and have had some final exams with more coming. Everyone needs a break sometimes? So I was walking out to garden, one of the things I've been staying busy with lately, and I saw a package on my front door step! But first, let's pause for gardening pics.

First you do the rows...Yes my markers are broken pieces of baseboard moulding lol. I'm resourceful.


Then you plant stuff - these are sugar snap peas.


Here are some onion seeds. I also planted carrots today. The rest is still indoors from when I planted them before the last frost. They're cute little seedlings now and I'll be planting them maybe in a week or two.


And here is where I am after this stage. I went ahead and marked where my tomatoes and peppers are going to make sure I leave room since I planted the onions, carrots, and peas kind of in the middle. In addition to these, there will be two types of tomatoes, three types of peppers, spineless zuchini, yellow squash....I think that's it. I have strawberries in a cute little hanging basket in the front :).

ANYWAY! I picked up the package and OMG ITS FROM KATI! That means nail polish and chocolate. Kati is one of my very best nail polish buddies, and Amber and I both have started swapping with her. My birthday is super soon too (May 4th) so it's like a swap and birthday in one!!

Loads of polishes, some nail stickers, 2 filmo canes (Hello Kitty and...a rabbit I think), a super cute kitty tin, and tons of num nums (orange chocolate pastilles, gummy bears, caramel filled waffle cookies, fruity tangy gummy that are awesome, coffee hard candies, and loads of mini Ritter bars in different varieties of chocolate.

The polishes included are Essence Nail Art Special Effect Topper Hello Holo, Essence Nail Art Special Effect Topper Mystic Mermaid, Essence Nail Art Magnetics Hex Hex!, Essence Nail Art Magnetics Magic Wand!, Essence Nail Art Magnetic Mystic Wish!, Essence Nail Art Magnetics Pixie Dust!, GOSH Holographic, Teez Nail Laquer Cool, Catrice Dirty Berry, Catrice Sold Out Forever, and Catrice I Wear My Sunglasses at Night.

I quickly swatched a couple on my nail practice plastic thing...whatever it is lol.

Catrice I Wear My Sunglasses at Night - Black jelly with green, hot pink, and purple flecky glitter

Catrice Sold Out Forever - Mint green creme with very slight bright green shimmer. Can you believe I didn't have a mint green before this one?

Catrice Dirty Berry - Purple with a hint of blue with silvery purple shimmer

Catrice Dirty Berry with Essence Nail Art Special Effect Topper Mystic Mermaid - This topcoat makes the polish a little more frosty, a bit lighter, gives it a small blue tinge, and adds silver and blue shimmer. Cool huh!?!

Catrice Diry Berry with Essence Nail Art Special Effect Topper Hello Holo - Clear polish with medium sized round holo glitter. It flashes all sorts of colors, hence the holo.

Now the real question is, which one do I wear first? I need a new pedicure, so that's where I'm starting. And I do love my nail art ladies, so give me some ideas using one or more of my new polishes!!! Post here, and I'll put a poll up as well.