Lost on Lombard #OPI

Lost on Lombard!

 Lost on Lombard is from the OPI San Francisco Collection, Fall/Winter 2013!

Amoda Tea Tasting Box

 I've always considered myself a big tea drinker. I really enjoy green tea, jasmine, and chamomile teas. I don't remember where I discovered Amoda Tea, but it was a subscription box I knew I wanted to try asap. I reached out to Amoda Tea and they offered to send me their April box to review. It's taken me a whole season for me to finish all my teas for this review! :)

P.S. I love my Bodum Bistro Mug! I accidentally dropped and broke 2 of my precious Bodum mugs this year. :'( It was so painful to break such a beautiful cup. They're also around $15 each too. :-/

I love gifting my family with Bodum glassware around the holidays because I think it's the most perfect tea or coffee cup ever!!

Amoda Tea $12/month to discover amazing new teas with the monthly tasting box.

I enjoyed the tea discovery! And if you like tea, you will too!

www.amodatea.com

"We search for premium tea importers and artisan tea blenders from around the globe. Our tea tasters try each one and select the three most outstanding of the bunch to be included in each month's Tasting Box."

 

But back to tea! I like variety in tea and I don't often drink the same kind of tea everyday. I'm also really into unsweetened ice teas from Starbucks. My go to is the Venti iced black tea. Sometimes, I get creative and ask for half green tea, half black tea. Or half black tea, and half passion tea. ;) I'm also one of those drink hoarders who always asks for a Venti ice water to go with my drink order. lol Drinking water is good for you! So why not?

 The Amoda Tea packing feels really special, like a gift! I love gift wrapped goodies!

 My Amoda Tea box arrived from Canada with three unique blends of tea for me to enjoy.

 Peach Matcha, Nutty Enough, and Citrus Earl Grey

You can order your favorites at their website.

 Peach Matcha was my second favorite from the tasting box. I appreciate the information and instructions on the package on how to prepare the tea. I love the name of this tea blend too! I have a best selling bracelet called Sakura Matcha (named after the Japanese Kit Kat flavor). I am inspired to create a bracelet and name it Peach Matcha after this tea!

 Nutty Enough was not my cup of tea. lol 

I didn't really care for the nutty fragrance nor taste. I tried my best to finish the bag, but I couldn't do it with this one.

 Citrus Earl Grey was my favorite of the three teas. It was just so well done and I've never liked an Earl Grey tea more than this one. I took pictures of the back of these tea pouches because they're see through. You can see the tea blends, but I can't find the SD card with those photos on it. I will update this post when I do find them.

I just checked their website and thought I would share with you what their September teas included.

I see that there's only 24 hours left to sign up to receive their October box. These subscription boxes are always a little tricky. If you sign up too late, you'll have to wait for the month after before you receive your first box so plan accordingly! They ship to US and Canada (If I remember correctly, I believe they're from Canada). Amoda Tea is a great way to discover new teas without a big commitment since specialty premium teas can get pretty expensive if you buy them in stores...cough cough, Teavana. I've spent too much there. >:O

How I Became a Real Estate Broker

I had thought about getting into real estate a few years ago since as many of you know I have a huge passion for looking at homes. I've always loved driving around and discovering new areas. It just makes me happy to unwind, listen to music and just drive. Exploring my surrounding communities really helped me get through my loneliness during my first year living in Washington. I couldn't adjust to the Seattle overcasts, and clouds of winter. I was very unhappy with everything but my jewelry, and blogs. Driving around and looking at beautiful homes was my motivation to work harder and grow my business. At that time, my business was growing incredibly fast, it took up all my time. I was doing very well for myself and lucky for a 2009 college graduate. I created my own career path as an entrepreneur and had more disposable income than I knew what to do!

DSK Jewelry Everything Bracelet, "Kaylynn." This is one of my favorite bracelets I've made in 2013. I love the colors combination. Please contact me if you have "Everything Bracelet" ideas for me! :) I'll be more than happy to name the bracelet after you. :D

I can tell you I did not manage money wisely in my early twenties. Designer bags, designer shoes, yikes! I clearly fell into that trap of thinking material things could buy me happiness. It didn't! lol Surprise, surprise. My dreams were beyond large, and my expectations were extremely high for myself and for those around me. I knew I was changing and I thought it was for the better, but really I needed a reality check and focus on the relationships with those around me. I don't regret any of the frivolous spending decisions I've made in the past because I learned and grew from them.

I have a different appreciation for money today than I did 4 years ago. I also treasure the relationships I do have with family and friends. At the time, I thought I was set for life and assumed my business can only go up from here. Well, I was wrong because another "DSK," French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn made headline news with his you know what kind of scandal. Don't quote me, but I believe he was potentially on his ways toward becoming the next President of France prior to scandal. Talk about big time. o_o

After that scandal broke out, when you would google "DSK" he was all over the searches. Whereas, prior my jewelry or face (lol) would show up. A popular French magazine contacted me to comment and I declined. I didn't want to get involved with anything political, but the reason they contacted me was to ask if it affected my business since I was also a "DSK," with a strong web presence. At the time the scandal broke out, it didn't affect the business, my sales were still consistent. But overtime, I saw how it hurt the brand I spent years to build. My online presence got overshadowed by his political scandal. To find me you need to search in more detail, "DSK Jewelry" for me to appear on the web searches. I have thought about rebranding, but my brand is my baby and it's me. I just happen to share initials with someone who is much more popular. lol Like the saying goes, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." I am now putting an egg in the real estate basket, and keeping an egg in my small online jewelry business basket. :D

It just goes to show you that anything can happen in business and in life. Yesterday, (Friday the 13th) a car came crashing into one of my friend's stores! Luckily, the business wasn't open yet at the time and thank goodness no one was hurt. I heard that the driver had spilled her coffee and panicked and crashed into the store. It was a crazy accident, and it just goes to show that anything can happen in business!

Now this is all my take on real estate, and everything is from my paradigm. I may see things differently because I'm new at this game, but I think I figured out how to do the job.

About a year ago, my now fiance encouraged me to get pursue real estate again. I thought about, and dismissed the idea because hey, I'm an artist, a crafty jewelry artist with incredible motor skills, owner, and operator of the steadiest jewelry making hands ever! lol (I probably would have made a mighty fine dentist or dental hygienist if I didn't have blood phobias. jkjk). Anyhow, I prefer creative over structured, form filling, paper pushing jobs. I already have enough exposure of that structure from the law firm. It wasn't until this past year where one of my girl friends got me excited about real estate. I saw it from her point of view.  She's into investing, developing, and flipping homes (or Cinderella transformations ;)) She opened my eyes to the world of real estate I've never seen before. She's such a savvy business woman, she has multiple businesses in all different fields. It's like damn, you're good!! I don't think she has a lazy gene in her. 

She has taught me about creating short term and long term goals, and again, not focusing all my energy (and hope) on one project or business. Teachers have always taught,"Don't put all your eggs in one basket" in every accounting and finance class in high school and college. Why is it now that I realize it applies to more things than just stocks and dividends? lol It's all about balance, even with relationships. If you give someone your all, you forget or sacrifice time yourself, and lose relationships with others. Balance is what I now strive to perfect.

In WA, all real estate agents are now referred to as real estate broker (in case anyone gets confused because I switch back and forth.)

Real estate agents are a dime a dozen (meaning they're everywhere!!) so to find a niche is vital in your success. There's really are no special skills required to fill out forms or browse the MLS. The hard part is getting clients in the door and to get clients to sign with you. I've learned the importance of referrals and building relationships. If you were born a salesperson, you may make an excellent real estate broker. You might have an added advantage if you have awesome personality, whit, and charisma (it's sales after all) to do the job well. No one has magical powers, even though most real estate brokers will tell you that they do lol. Just remember everyone has their own bottom line. The "not so savvy" agents will try to get a quick commission any way possible, the smarter ones, build relationships with clients to get future business and wait for the referrals to come rolling in. Relationships are important so cherish the ones you have built whether it's personal or in business.

Real estate agents wear watches so here's a picture of a watch! lol This watch is my favorite, it's a white ceramic Marc by Marc Jacobs watch I found at Nordstrom. I don't often wear watches, but if I do, I wear this one!

Real estate appears to me to be all about marketing, networking, and building relationships with you guessed it, people. You must be likeable, and you must be able to talk with excitement, enthusiasm, and emotions. Earlier this week, I went with my mentor to a listing appointment and I was just so amazed at how well he was able to communicate with our client. There's nothing glamorous about real estate, and every business opportunity is different. Each client is a personality and I feel to be a good broker, you must understand personality types to figure them out and communicate with them to reach goals.

I don't really know what pictures to share with this post to make it more interesting, so here's a photo of a Michael Kors watch I need to take to Norstrom to see if they can fix it for me. I don't often wear watches..so I've always kept this in a box. It's a movement watch so it stopped ticking because I never really wore the watch.

Now, let me tell you the story of how I became a licensed WA real estate broker. :)

I talked to two real estate brokers and asked them for advice on what school to complete my real estate education requirements. I learned back in the day, you had to go to actual in person classes, but now-a-days, you can get all of your education hours done online if you prefer. I highly recommend the online option if you have self discipline to take the time out of your day to log on and do the class, otherwise in person class might be more rewarding for you.  I enrolled into a real estate school (there are a ton to pick from, go to your state real estate licensing website to find a credited school). I clocked my required 90 hours of education. It's very much like power point slides of information and videos, then you take quizzes and exams through the real estate school online. The purpose of the courses is so you learn the laws, and the rules of real estate. Many people will say you don't even apply the information you learn to the actual work you will be doing as a broker.  But I think it's very important to take the class seriously and learn the vocabulary. I knew what an "easement" was after talking with a client about the easement to get to his house on my first day "on the job."

I believe 70% is the requirement for passing the real estate school, trust me, it's not hard at all as long as you read and understand the material. So once you pass your real estate school exams, and have your required hours you can submit that to qualify to take the official real estate licensing exam. The education course costs between $350-500. I highly recommend buying a study guide to take practice exams. I suggest Rockwell's study guide for real estate. The actual exam questions are variations of practice exams in the study guide *huge tip there for all you future real estate brokers* ;). The exam cost around $138, and it allows you 3.5 hours to complete both the state portion and the national portion, roughly 140 questions total. You sign up online and go to your choice of testing center to take the exam. Once you pass, you are given a finger print card and instructions. I went and got finger printed right after I passed my exam, same day! Finger printing cost me around $15, but I know you can get it done at any police station (usually appointment only) for around $5-10. I went with a private service because it was convenient and walk in friendly.

After you get your finger print card, you need to find a brokerage or real estate firm to take you in and sign as a broker under their wing. Each brokerage have different terms, commission splits, and/or desk fees. Do your research and find a firm that is a good fit for you. You need to earn your keep by making sales and bringing in money for your brokerage to cover their costs. You as a real estate broker must bring in your own buyers and get your own listings. The brokerage does not really give them to you. What they can do for you is market their name under which you are affiliated. I got pretty lucky because we have worked with the owner of a brokerage for 2 years at the law office. I signed with their brokerage, but actually they signed for me and they submitted my information to MLS and the state to get my license. The cost for the license was around $180 if I remember correctly. 

Each real estate broker is tied to a brokerage and work under a designated or managing broker. For example, money of a sale from a house never goes directly to the real estate broker. It goes to the brokerage, and then the brokerage pays the real estate broker after taking out their share. Account for costs of getting started with your new brokerage, each one is different. They'll need to set you up, print your business cards, etc. Normally, the deal is a commission split with your brokerage until you meet your quota for the year. Some brokerages require you bring in a certain amount of money for the office through your commission when you sell or help a buyer buy a home.

My mentor is the managing broker with nearly 50 real estate brokers reporting to our office. Real estate brokers really are working on the field. The only time they need to be at the brokerage is to drop off listing agreements, etc, within 48 hours of signing up a client. There are a lot of rules for agents to follow and you will learn in while studying for the exam. It's not everyday you meet someone who is willing to teach you their trade. I am very grateful to my mentor for sharing his wisdom and experience with me. He's been in the industry for over 15 years. We are all thinking of a long term work relationship. I think it is why the brokerage has invested their time in me. I have a lot of referrals and I have already started to bring in clients. I got my very first house listing already, and I have another one on the way. :D 

I took my first MLS (Multiple Listing Service) class in person yesterday. It was 3.5 hours and I paid $15 and get clocked hour credit for the class. It was an introduction class to using the online tools through MLS. I made a new friend in class too! We had a lot of fun chatting before class about our lives before real estate, and telling each other how we got into real estate. We traded business cards too. :) I have signed up for two more classes for next week. I'm already looking forward to meeting new future classmates. From what I remember, after the first year of having your real estate license you're required a certain number of clocked education hours to be able to renew the license. I think continuing education is awesome and should be options in all fields of work!

I'm looking forward to getting my MLS key (to be able to show homes!). The key is going to cost me around $180. Overall, it costs around $1000-1500 to become a real estate broker in Washington State. It's not too bad of a start up cost for a business! Now I just need to think of a name for my new blog or website for real estate related goodness. Any suggestions from you guys would be great! I'm planning on posting the homes and condos I will be listing for sale. I really want to grow a strong social media presence for myself as a Seattle area real estate broker (specializing in short sales). :) That is the goal! I'm really happy I'm able to pursue two of my favorite past times as careers. I absolutely love with with sparkly gems (I knew I wanted to work with jewelry ever since I was a little girl watching Aladdin walk through the Cave of Wonders!) lol Everyone who knows me pretty well, knows that I love looking and homes and researching them! I really get a kick out of following the real estate market to see how prices fluctuate. 

My mentor sold a house with the help of the fiance's law firm as the short sale negotiator for a $1,055,000 in Mercer Island, WA in 2011. Today, the fair market value of that house is between 1.4-2.2 million dollars. Isn't that insane? Talk about an excellent, instant equity buy for the buyers. I hope to get a million dollar listing one day. :D I want to be able to help connect my clients with these amazing short sale deals because they exist! Right now, the start of my real estate career isn't as dreamy as driving around well manicured neighborhoods. Ideally, I would love to help everyone find their dream homes! I know it will take time for me to build up my reputation and get out there to meet and find my dream clients. I'm willing to work hard for it through creative marketing (social media too!) and community involvement. Remember, if you live in Washington State, I would be beyond thrilled to help you buy or sell your home!! ;) 

I think I'm very well acquainted with the greater Seattle area these days! I'm going to update you all on my predictions for the real estate market from time to time on this blog. I think the Snoqualmie Ridge area (Exit 25 off of I-90 East) is a great community and perfect place to raise a family. My friends opened their 7th or 8th Cherry de Pon Frozen Yogurt at Snoqualmie Ridge because of me. :) I took them out there and they fell in love with the area and now the community. Their yogurt shop is very successful too! Snoqualmie is around 30-40 minutes from Downtown Bellevue, and Downtown Seattle depending on traffic. It's just one of the cutest communities ever with home prices that are more reasonable. There's so much nature (mountain views) and wildlife surrounding the Snoqualmie Ridge. It's similar to the dreamy Issaquah Highlands (Exit 18), which is slightly closer to the city. 

You always will find young married couples with baby strollers and dogs out in these East Side communities. They're both such ideal places to start a family! Anyhow! I'm getting carried away. I just get so excited when I think about dreamy neighborhoods. I'm really looking forward to finding the house, neighborhood, and community to raise my own future little family. :D These type of things I day dream about more so than a wedding or honeymoon! If you're looking to buy a home in either Issaquah Highlands or Snoqualmie Ridge, please contact me because right now I can only dream about being your real estate broker. I would love to go look at houses with you! Take me with you!! Pretty pleaseeeeee!! :D lol, I would go browse myself, but I think it's just more fun to have others to share the homes with on a beautiful sunny day. ;D

My dog Wally when he was a puppy! I figure I would add some cute pictures since this post is kind of long. lol xD

More calmly, another passion of mine has always been animals. Every since I was 4 years old, I have been obsessed with dogs. I love dogs, cats, and pretty much any furry critter in existence. :) I would love to take part in an animal shelter, and/or have a farm where I can enjoy my old age with a plethora of puppies! lol (Think the ending of 101 Dalmatians (the one with the real actors version). :D

I'll always be passionate about nail polish too! This is "First Date at the Golden Gate" by OPI

 

I will always love nail polish and I hope to continue to share with you my picks from new nail polish collections here on the blog. :) "First Date at the Golden Gate" is one of my favorites from the OPI San Fransisco Collection. I really can't wait to visit SF to look at all the habor seals!

My Last Goodies.co Taster's Box

 My August Taster's Box wasn't too bad. I received handful of treats, but it still doesn't compare to my first larger Taster's Box. I was a tiny bit disappointed to see the smaller size box arrive at my door again. I was still excited to open it to see what's inside. The surprise factor is pretty exciting and I enjoy opening the box.

 I got Hersey's premium cookie mix which I baked. I followed the instructions which were very easy, but we didn't really like the cookies. We still prefer Toll House ready to bake squares if we do bake short cut cookies.

 I'm glad we got to try something new so we know...not to buy it.

The rest of the Taster's Box consisted of samples or individual servings. In my box there was a total of 7 items. Can you see the letters "free sample" on the Poplets? You can't help but feel a little bit sad when you receive a free sample in a box you pay a subscription to receive. I guess they gathered the free samples for you..that's worth money right? The Poplets were probably my favorite new discovery from this box. I would purchase them if I ever saw them again in a grocery store.

 For $7 with shipping included, I can't say I didn't get my money's worth, but it was nothing to call home about. The first box included items like California olive oil packets, Numi tea samples (which I ended up going to Whole Foods and buying the full size box of), and a full size bottle of coconut water. I much rather have that box every month for $7 over sample size treats and freebies. The snack help me fill our lunchbox, but it's all still mostly junk food. I have decided not to continue my subscription because I think we would rather eat the junk food we pick out ourselves...if we're going to indulge. Wouldn't you agree?

P.S. I've been working on my real estate post. :)

New Career, Engagement, and Things!

Hello again!

I am officially a Washington Real Estate Broker, woohoo!
I have my first listing appointment this Wednesday. ^_^ I also have to go take a few MLS classes starting on Friday. You all know how much I love real estate in life browsing. lol
I'm excited for a change and I'm eager to learn this new trade. I'm lucky to have a few amazing people help me with my new career. I can share more of my path to real estate experience if anyone wants to read about it! The whole classes, real estate exam, joining a real estate brokerage. Just let me know in the comments and I will be more than happy to write about it. ;)

The online world, my blogs and my jewelry business will always be my #1 passion. I felt like I needed to get out and be more involved in the local community and not just the online community. :D
I think real estate will be a great way for me to learn more about Seattle. :) These next few months will definitely be a test for me to learn how to balance life. I think I need to cancel Direct TV. jk.

Anyhoo, I've been thinking about my schedule and I really want to change it!

Ideally, I would love to be one of those people who wake up at 5am everyday, go to the gym and take the dogs on their walk. I know it takes a month or so to form a habit, but waking up in the early morning hours is so hard for me. I feel like my day is half over by the time I take the dogs on a walk and then start on any work I have to do for the day. I believe I have it in me to be an early bird! I do love the smell of the early morning air.

I'm typing out my goal here on the blog. Wake up at 5am and start living! I feel like I waste so much time asleep. I don't mind going to sleep a little bit earlier. I'm no longer the night owl I used to be a few years ago. I normally head to bead at around 10:30pm-11:30pm after watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa on my DVR. I never used to enjoy watching cooking shows until recently.

I feel like I have changed a lot this year. I can't believe I'm in my mid twenties already! I'm 26, and the fiance is 30 turning 31 at the end of this year. We haven't taken much time for ourselves to travel apart from visiting family and friends in different states in the US. I hope that changes in the next year or two. We did get engaged at the end of May. :)

We had somewhat traditional engagement ceremony with both of our families. Note, I'm not a very traditional person...I just do what my mom encourages me to do when it comes to formal, traditional cultural things. lol Let's be real..I'm as American as it gets for a Vietnamese girl raised in the Midwest of America. 

The proposal was in front of our whole family on May 26th, 2013. In our (my family's) Vietnamese Hue culture, the engagement (din hon) is considered more of a "big deal" than the wedding. They say the wedding is just the celebration of our commitment. My Grandpa (he's 84!) spoke and gave us some of his wisdom via Vietnamese poem. It was really sentimental and sweet. Minh's dad made everyone laugh with his cheerfulness and little jokes. 

 The tea ceremony at my parent's house.

It's weird because now we both have new mom and dad that we're supposed to call mom and dad, but it's still a little weird. It just doesn't feel natural, and it makes me feel so old to have in-laws! I am incredibly fortunate to be part of a good, complete family. My parents love his parents, and everyone gets along and has good conversations and laughs. After our engagement in Michigan, all my relatives who had a chance to meet his family kept telling me how lucky I am to join such a good family. ^_^

 I did my hair and makeup really fast because I spent the morning waiting for and picking up our cakes at a hotel in downtown Grand Rapids. lol. I think I got home at 11AM, and all our guests were arriving to my parent's house at Noon. I had to rush to get ready. I curled my hair, and applied some makeup and false lashes (Ardell Wispies, of course!). 

 For my nails, I painted them the night before with OPI Princess Rules!

The engagement was followed by a fun brunch at my parent's house and an engagement dinner later that night at a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant. I didn't want anything fancy and I pretty much let my mom plan the whole thing with the help of my amazing aunts. We had about 7 tables at the restaurant and it was filled with mostly my family and friends since it was in Michigan. The wedding will be in Portland, Oregon most likely to be fair for his side of the family. I have never ever liked to be the center of attention in my family. I really just want to blend in and not be talked about. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I guess I'm really shy when it comes to having all eyes on me. I think that's why it's taken me a while to write this post even!

We picked out a cushion cut diamond with two half moons on the sides. Everyone we knew and people at the jewelry stores kept telling us to get a round diamond because no one regrets a round diamond. We went with cushion cut. :D Hehehe

My future in laws gifted me with a pair of round diamond earrings in a pave diamond flower setting. The petals of the flowers are actually hearts layered on top of one another. I absolutely love them! It was one of the best surprises/present I've ever received. It extra special because the future in laws/family picked it out for me.

I feel like my life hasn't exactly played out as I planned it in my mind, but I don't dislike the reality. I always thought I would be more of a serious person when it came to things like engagement and marriage. But I'm actually quite chill about it! It's wild that I'm just learning this about myself too. I've really learned to relax and not take life too seriously. I view commitment on a more real level than anything that's for show. The celebration is fun and it's great to preserve tradition, but I don't think I will push a formal or traditional engagement on my future kids if they don't want it themselves.

 The engagement party at the restaurant. So AZN, I know! lol

I don't even want to think about wedding planning...can someone just do it all for me and I just show up? lol. As much as I want to start a family and be married, I have a lot of anxiety about the wedding. I'm really voting for a destination wedding with only our closet family and friends, but the families don't feel that is fair for everyone who they want to invite to the wedding. Vietnamese weddings are more for the parents than they are for the couple getting married. At the end of the day, I'm not going to let either family "pressure" us to pick a date. :P It's not a timed race or anything!

I can't be the only girl who doesn't get excited to plan a wedding. It just seems like so much work and there's so much pressure involved to have everything be "perfect." I must admit, I did love designing and ordering the flowers for the engagement. That was such a fun experience for me because I love flowers more and more as I get older. 

A huge thank you to Horrock's florist in Kentwood, Michigan for making the prettiest flower arrangements! I ordered 8 vases total for the restaurant tables. Moving them to the restaurant wasn't an easy task! I love my cousins Nathan and Ryan for helping me move the flowers. :) I miss you guys so much!

In other news, I also now have a new appreciation for Mackerel fish. I absolutely love Vietnamese "Ca Nuc Kho" or Braised Mackerel. I used to hate eating fish growing up because I grew up in the Midwest and always preferred American food over Vietnamese food. I think spending time with my new Vietnamese girl friend here in Washington State has really helped me connect more with my Vietnamese roots. She's teaching me how to cook foods that I never thought I could make myself. She's also a few years older than me, married, and just had a baby!! I see her as a big sister figure who reminds me a lot of my mom. They have actually met last year and really clicked.

So far in my life, a lot of friends from grade school, high school and college have come and gone. It's so weird how you can spend so much time with them and then just drift apart completely. I feel old friends make you who you are today, and it's bitter sweet to reminisce of the memories you shared with them. I do miss my bff, and college roommate Bonnie (aka BGB) the most. I wish I could turn back time and mend our friendship before time grew us apart. I cherish the friendship we had and I often wonder if we'll cross paths again in the future. I'll stay hopeful! :) Every once in a while I wonder if I can bring myself to going to our high school reunion. Who organizes those things anyways? lol

All in all, I'm very happy with the way life is for us in Washington State. I do still miss all my friends and family in Michigan, but Washington finally feels like home. I'll be celebrating my 4 year anniversary living in Seattle at the end of September already!

I will talk with you all later. :) Thanks for reading my long post!

Cindy's Nails Glitter Waterfall Shellac Nails

 Hi everyone! I stopped by my favorite nail salon, Cindy's Nails in Longview, Washington on Tuesday to get my favorite pedicure and shellac nails. :) They do such a great job at Cindy's. I absolutely LOVE my glitter waterfall (or glitter gradient) shellac nails. Brian does the best work, you can see the shellac French manicure he did for me in the past here!

 These are the perfect nail look for weddings, don't you think?! :)

 I seriously cannot stop looking at my nails!!  They look super pretty in all lighting!!

 It looks like fairy dust. :)

 Shellac is super glossy, it looks like you just applied top coat glossy.

 I'm already looking forward to going back for the gold version of this glitter gradient. :) I think that will be super pretty too!

 I can't say enough good things about shellac manicures and I want to thank everyone at Cindy's Nails for excellent service. ^_^ If you're ever in the Longview, Washington area, stop by and ask Brian for your glitter waterfall shellac manicure!! You will love it!! Their pedicures are the absolute best too. :)

I've never been so happy with my nails after getting them done professionally. I can't stop looking at them! They're perfectly sparkly! ^^

OPI DS Pewter

I've always been a big fan of the OPI DS or Designer Series polishes. I was excited to hear two new shades have been added to the collection. OPI DS Pewter is one of the two new additions and it's a beautiful dark metallic dark grey (or pewter) with silver glitters.

 OPI DS Pewter

 Diamonds are a Nail’s Best Friend!

OPI Launches Two NEW Designer Series Lacquers featuring DS Raw Granite
                This fall, OPI adds DS Raw Granite, two new granite-inspired hues – DS Pewter and DS Lapis – to the Designer Series by OPI collection. Featuring a matte textured finish with mineral-like reflections, each Designer Series Raw Granite lacquer formula offers subtle sheen with a sparkle finish.
DS Pewter, a matte textured metallic with deep silver ore, will launch simultaneously with DS Lapis, a deep sapphire blue with a textured matte finish.  Designer Series by OPI offers a mosaic of 11 glistening shades and a high-shine top coat, including these two new stunning hues. DS Pewter and DS Lapis can be used without DS Top Coat to achieve an alternate matte look.
            “Diamond-dust gives nails the perfect touch of glamour and can instantly transform any look.   These two new shades are inspired by raw granite – the diamond’s edgy cousin – and we’re excited to broaden the range of color in the Designer Series line,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “These lacquers incorporate rich pigments with brilliant shine, to create a bold yet elegant statement. DS Pewter and DS Lapis are the ideal high-fashion, festive accessory.”
Designer Series by OPI nail lacquer shades each feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application.  DS Raw Granite lacquers should be worn without top coat for a matte finish.  DS Pewter and DS Lapis will be available beginning September 2013 at professional salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com for $12.50 ($14.95 CAN) suggested retail for each nail lacquer. 

 OPI DS Pewter

OPI DS Lapis