Nail Tutorial: You Belong With Me

Secret #320: When I'm in the car alone, I sing really loudly to Taylor Swift songs, and pretend I'm in concert with her. One of my all-time favorite songs of hers that I often sing to is You Belong With Me. 

Secret #832 (not really a secret): I enjoy using nail art as a creative outlet.

What do you get when you combine Secret #320 and not-so-secret #832? A nail tutorial for You Belong With Me!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED: Dark blue nail polish, gold glitter polish, silver glitter polish, painter's tape (I ran out, so I had to use packaging tape instead. I do not recommend doing this.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Paint your nails blue.

2. Once the blue polish has dried, using two small pieces of tape, make an X on the nail you want the design to be on, leaving room at the bottom for the glitter triangle.

3. Paint several coats of glitter polish on to the part of your nail that is not covered with tape.

4. After the glitter polish has dried, peel off the tape and finish the design with a top coat.

gold glitter: 'Only Gold for Me' SEPHORA by OPI //the rest of the nail polish is from Forever 21

More Taylor Swift nail tutorials: 

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Sparks Fly (my favorite!)

Better Than Revenge

All Polished Up

I'm lucky to have friends that love nail polish just as much as me. As mentioned in a previous post, this past weekend, my friends E, K, and I got together to celebrate E's birthday. One of the many things we did was have a Nail Party. We've had one before, and similar to last time, we all brought our nail polish collections, as well as ideas from Pinterest. After about an hour of thinking and painting, we came out with two cat manicures, and a rainbow one. Happy Birthday, E!

Tutorial for Cat Nails here.

Fabulous Felines

If you haven't already noticed, I've been posting quite a bit about cats lately. There really isn't a real reason for this, besides the fact that they've been my favorite animal since before I can remember. Cats are graceful, independent, and sassy-- what more could you ask for in a pet?

In celebration of my (and possibly your) long-time love for cats, here are a few fashionable pieces dedicated to them:

1. 'Diego' Cat Pillow, Urban Outfitters $19
2. Multi Zip Cat Clutch Bag, ASOS $21 SALE
3. Cooperative Conversational Print Scarf, Urban Outfitters $24
4. Feline Karma Dress, Anthropologie $80 SALE
5. Cat Eye Sunglasses, Forever 21 $5.80
6. Kitty Flats, Charlotte Olympia $595 --Pro: they're the exact ones Taylor Swift has. Con: They're a splurge!
7. Cat Stud Earring, Betsey Johnson, GAP $30
8. Cat Bracelet, Topshop $20

DIY: Hello Kitty Cake Pops

Yesterday, I got to spend the entire day with some of my best friends from high school, to celebrate E's birthday. We planned our upcoming Halloween party, went to Red Robin for lunch, had a nail party, and helped B (who is a pastry chef) make these adorable cake pops (recipe found here). As always, I wish the day could have gone longer, but until next weekend, it's back to reality.

With the leftover white chocolate, B made delicious Ritz cracker sandwich treats. Yum! The instructions are simple: Make a sandwich out of two Crackers and peanut butter, then submerge the entire thing in white chocolate. Put the sandwiches in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to cool.

DIY: Cat Nails

With cats being my favorite animal, and nail art being one of my favorite past times, I just couldn't resist creating this tutorial. It's simple, yet unique enough to stand out.

TOOLS: nail art polishes in black and white, and gold nail polish (I used Key to My Art by Finger Paints). Optional: toothpicks, and a topcoat.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Paint your nails gold, or any color you would like to have as a base.

2. Paint a half circle on one of your nails with the black nail art brush.

3. Using the same brush, add triangles the top of your half-circle. These will be the ears.

4. Using the white nail art brush (or a toothpick), paint on the eyes, by making a small concave arched line, and a convex one below it.

5. Paint a vertical black stripe through the middle of each "eye".

**TIP: Modify this design to wear on Halloween by using orange nail polish, instead of gold.

Nautical Nancy

t-shirt: Ralph Lauren Outlet //shorts: Lucky Brand (DIY cutoffs)

It's always fun to travel, even if it isn't too far away from home. Two weeks ago, I went to California with G and his family to visit his grandparents. For 5 days, we enjoyed amazing food, great company, and daily visits to the beach. I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing way to end the summer.

Speaking of amazing food, if you're ever in Laguna, I highly recommend going to Las Golondrinas (Yelp page here), a tiny Mexican cuisine restaurant. I was particularly a fan of the beef enchiladas, and chile rellenos, both under $5.

the best mini-bunt cakes I have ever tried-- from the farmers market in Dana Point

Begin Again

Call me corny, but Taylor Swift's new song, 'Begin Again', reminds me a lot of when my boy and I first started dating. When I listen to it, I think about our first date at a cafe (just like the song says) near our school, and how we talked for 4 hours about anything and everything. From that first day, I could tell he was different. I could tell that he wasn't in it for the thrill, rather, he was in it for something long-term. And long-term is exactly what we've been. A year and a half later, we still talk about that day in the cafe, and how we were glad I sent that email.

"I think it's strange that you think I'm funny, 'cause he never did." -TS