As anyone that reads this blog knows, I love nail polish. Since I quit biting my nails last year, my love has undoubtedly turned into an obsession. I’m not a hoarder, though, I’m a collector. After realizing how sad it was that all this loveliness was being hidden in drawers, I decided I wanted some sort of rack so that I could see them all (wall art!) and keep them off of my desk. I hit YouTube determined to find the perfect solution, and lo and behold, I did! I dedicated my weekend to making this happen and I think it turned out beautifully.

My male readers might be reading this rolling their eyes, but pay attention! While the point of my  rack is for nail polish, you can take the design and make it into a rack for any sort of small items. Or if you have a woman in your life that shares my obsession, you might score a few points by making her one for Valentine’s Day!

Here’s the video tutorial I found on YouTube:

I followed the directions exactly. Well, actually I did all the measuring, marking, gluing, and taping. Chris cut the pieces (because I was not allowed to operate his “dangerous” carpet blade) and hung them on the wall. The only thing I changed was the style of duct tape. I went with zebra print, mostly because it’s about the same as a white tiger and I just love them. Notice for the men: If you’re making this a general small item rack, they do have manly decorative duct tape… I recall seeing flames, tools, skulls, collegiate, camo, and even Harley tape.

I got everything to do this at Walmart and the total came in under $15 (for supplies for 2 racks). I even had to buy the glue gun and sticks, and that was less than $5. I think the most expensive thing was actually the duct tape. lol.

Here’s how my racks turned out:

Obviously, they’re not full yet. No worries, I’ve got an order that should arrive this week that will finish filling the left one, and a lot of ‘wants’ that can take care of the right one. I love these racks. Less than $15, about an hour or so of time, and I have colorful wall art AND storage!

When I got done making these two racks, I found that I had some leftover supplies. I also noticed that I had a few nail supplies taking up prime desk real estate. So I got the idea to measure out a smaller rack that would fit my base coats, top coats, treatments and other extras that I reach for frequently. This freed up room and added another lovely little rack to my wall.

This mini rack would also make a fantastic catch-all to put near the front door. Just add a few hooks in the top shelves for keys and make the bottom piece a bit taller to catch mail. Customize to fit your own needs! Oh, this is why I love DIY! So many possibilities.

Here’s how my mini rack turned out:

Lastly, I just wanted to show you a shot of my manicure station. It’s a small desk that I used to keep for my laptop. Now, my laptop is more frequently found on my main desk (which is just a swivel turn from this one). I had the polish racks hung above this desk and the mini rack to the side then added the carousel for tools and a lamp for all important lighting. I also keep a small bar towel to protect the surface, but it was put away for this photo.

Here’s the photo:

What do you think of the results from my DIY weekend? I feel pretty proud of all 3 of the racks, especially my mini rack since it was a last-minute addition to the plan.

Got another idea for something a rack like this can be used for? Let me know! Send me your ideas, photos, and comments!

I originally didn’t plan on getting the new look for the blog up for quite some time, but I ended up putting in more work this week than expected. If you’re reading this via the website (as opposed to RSS feed or email subscription), then you are looking at the new design! I wanted something that was a little less “busy” and a little more representative of what this blog is really about. Which, I’ll admit, is kinda random. That’s precisely why I opted for a plain desk style template with a NEW logo!

I created the logo myself. As you can see, the icon features an iPhone, coffee mug, and nail polish. How fitting, right? Perhaps it would have been better to add a planner in there, but it felt almost too busy already. The point of the design, though, is generally focused on the desk… because everything I post about here usually takes place at my own desk. I create my planner templates there, I paint my nails there, I study there, and I work there. Occasionally, you might even find a dog there (Zena got so excited that she hopped right on top of it last night)!

In addition to the general layout changes, there are a few function changes too. While the sidebar still contains the old ‘about me,’ ‘categories,’ and ‘photostream’ sections, you might notice some new features. I added a Twitter feed, so you can get updates immediately whenever you’re viewing the blog. There’s also a recent posts and comments section so you can see what’s been added even if you’re not on the homepage.

The old follow me bulletin board that I poured much blood, sweat, and tears into is now gone. As much as I hated to take it down after working so hard on it, it just didn’t fit the new layout. Following and subscribing options are now at the top right of the page above the Search bar. Just as a helpful tidbit, the ways to follow are RSS, Email, Twitter, Facebook, and BlogLovin’.

Which brings me to the next change. Over on the right side of the page now you’ll see another new option. You can now subscribe to the blog via email straight through WordPress (as opposed to Feedburner… which is still available at the top of the page). I love this option and it’s one that I just couldn’t get to work properly with the other blog theme and was a major factor in my decision to redesign. Now, you simply enter your email address and confirm and you will be notified of updates like new templates, blog posts, and news right in your Inbox.

One more feature I added, that has nothing at all to do with the layout, is the ability to add Twitter IDs to comments. When leaving a comment, simply add your twitter username (without the @) into the form and it will be posted under your name on all of your comments. I think this will be a nice feature for users that do not have actual websites but that enjoy promoting their twitter feed.

As of right now, those are the major changes made to the blog. I’d say it’s a pretty good makeover for less than a week’s worth of work. Keep and eye out, though, and let me know if you spot anything going wonky. Of course, I attempted to test everything before making it live, but there’s always things that can slip through the cracks. Now, off to bed with me so I can wake up early and get some cleaning done before helping Chris work on my new nail polish rack and lightbox! DIY Saturdays are the best! Enjoy the new layout, and please let me know what you think!

We all know the feeling… The alarm sounds on Monday morning entirely too early, you accidentally put face cream on your toothbrush because you’re running on autopilot, and even coffee doesn’t offer it’s usual perk. The last thing you want to do is sit behind a boring desk all day staring at a blank wall trying to find motivation to do something.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make your office or study space a more inviting and inspiring area. By adding a few simple touches, you might be able to kick the Monday morning blues and actually look forward to hunkering down behind that massive pile of books or files. Okay, maybe that’s taking a little too far, but at least you can make it less boring.

Get It: Calendar, Photo Frame, Pet Shadowbox

Add Touches From Home
It’s nice to be reminded of what we care about during the tough times. Things like family, goals, and hobbies can help propel us forward when we think we’ve had too much. Remind yourself why you need to work hard by incorporating photos, quotes, and magazines into your workspace. Inspirational posters are another great addition. If you’re not allowed to have photo frames on your desk, or you share a workspace, you can use the background on your computer or create a slideshow on your phone. A personalized calendar, or just one with photos that inspire you, is also an alternative.

Get It: Candles, Scent Pouch, Lotion

Get Some (Aroma) Therapy
I’ve personally worked at that place… The one that smells like someone came in a dumped a gallon of bleach underneath the desk at night. It’s not pleasant, and it’s definitely not soothing. Keeping your work area smelling nice will make it more inviting for others and keep you from feeling the need to run through the door to escape. If you can, add a candle or fresh flowers to your desk. Not only do these smell nice, but they add a little ambiance to the space. Another option is air fresheners, whether it’s a spray, plug-in, or even a hanging car air freshener in your desk drawer. If neither of these options are allowed, consider keeping a bottle of nice smelling lotion handy and applying it to your hands when you’re in a funk. Not only will the smell lift your spirits, but you can give yourself a short hand massage to relieve the carpel tunnel that’s setting in after typing for six hours straight.

Get It: Stability Ball, Dumbbells, Stress Ball

Work Out Your Stress
At home, my office doubles as my home gym. It houses my elliptical machine, weight bench, and free weights, along with workout DVDs and Shape magazine clippings. At work, I keep an exercise ball and a set of dumbbells. Having these items handy gives me the ability to take productive breaks. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, I can pause and get in a little cardio or strength training to work off some of the stress and clear my mind. The exercise ball can also double as a chair while you’re working to get in some extra training on your core muscles. With a schedule like mine, multitasking is always a good thing. If keeping workout gear is not a possibility, you can always get a stress ball.

Get It: Coat Rack, Wall Pockets, Drawer Organizer

Kiss Clutter Goodbye
Obviously, no one wants to stay in a messy area for very long. Somehow, our offices and study areas seem to become overrun miraculously fast and yet we just push through it to deliver what’s necessary. Having to shuffle through the clutter to find what we need just adds stress to an already too close deadline. Be sure to utilize filing solutions and keep things you aren’t working on put away. Maximize desk space by keeping extra pens and accessories in a drawer rather than on the desktop. Hang your bags and coats rather than lying them on the floor or draping them on your chair where they can be tripped over or block you from rolling your chair when necessary. Basically, if it’s not what you’re working on at that moment, it should have a place to be other than taking up prime real estate on your desk.

Get It: iPod Shuffle, Ear Buds, Concentration Music

Pump Up The Music
Most workplaces either have music available or allow you to listen to a personal radio while at work. However, sometimes the elevator music being played (or the Christmas music in November) just grinds your nerves. If your job does not include answering phones all day, bring your iPod and pop in your earbuds while you work. Music has the ability to alter our mood and get us ready for anything, so put on your favorite tunes to rock out and the workday will fly by. However, sometimes music can be distracting, like while you’re reading and trying your hardest to comprehend everything or writing notes that don’t say “Office remodel is taking place on… She’s a briiiick… hoooouse!” Oh, c’mon, I can’t be the only one that tends to write what I’m hearing! During these times, it is best to listen to music sans lyrics. Classical music tends to help me focus and it keeps the sound of the clock ticking from driving me insane (yes, I can hear every clock in the entire building, and no, they are not all in sync).

Get It: Paper Clips, Stapler, Post-Its

Unleash Your Inner Interior Decorator
Even a cubicle doesn’t have to be drab. Small touches of color can make even the most yawn-worthy offices a little peppier. Thankfully, there’s a ton of colorful office supplies to choose from now. Blue paper clips, a pink stapler, and even green staples are small things that can brighten both your space and your day. Fun colored or shaped post-its are a small step in a fab direction that don’t stand out from the crowd too much. Use colored paper for memos to yourself and colored pens for your planner (just stick to black and blue for business purposes). If you don’t want to buy your own office supplies or you think your office might frown upon green staples, look for a signature piece that brightens your mood. A unique clock or funky notepad can lift your mood without breaking the bank.

Get It: Diploma Frame, Ribbon Hanger, Dog Mom Award

Remind Yourself How Awesome You Are
Executives do this all the time… Their degrees and awards can be found on every wall of their office. However, people in “smaller” roles tend to overlook displaying their accomplishments and I’ve never been able to figure out why! Whether it’s an Academy Award or a 2nd place ribbon for your signature apple pie, it’s nice to have a close reminder that we did something fantastic. In my office at work, I have small table where I keep the programs from anything where I received an award or recognition. At home, I proudly frame all of my certificates from school, whether it is an outstanding student award that only I received or just a membership certificate to an honor society, and display them on the shelves and walls. It’s a constant reminder that even if I don’t feel like I’m doing my best, I’m capable of doing great things. This kind of reminder pushes me to try harder when I know I can.

Get It: Black Chair, Green Chair, White Chair

Get Comfortable
No matter how lovely your office looks, you won’t be happy spending hours upon hours in there if you’re not comfortable. For this reason, I feel the most important piece of any office is the chair. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a huge executive chair made of rich leather and sewn with silk, but it should not feel like you’re sitting on a cinder block after five minutes. Function should definitely come before style when it comes to your office chair. It does, of course, support you throughout your day.

These are just a few suggestions for making your workspace a more pleasant place to be. Depending on your workplace setting and your personality, there are a ton of ways to be a little creative and make your space one of your favorite places to be (even if the activities you happen to perform there are not part of a favorite list). Have a great idea that I didn’t cover? Please, post it in the comments! If you have a photo of your office makeover, I beg you to share! I would love to see what tips you used or new ideas that I haven’t thought of.

I know, I know… I’ve been a slacker when it comes to the blog. This is my first post all YEAR! Wow. In my defense, I haven’t actually been slacking in real life. The first week of January is always hectic at work because we have to do year end reports and get the new year filing stuff set up. In other news, my LAST semester at this school started on Monday, so I’ve been getting things organized and set up for my classes as well. Oh, and I’ve added a new early morning (or late night, depending on how well my snooze button seems to be working that morning) workout routine to my schedule. Unfortunately, posting to the blog somehow got buried under all of that on my to-do list, BUT there are good things planned…

The fact that I have a whole new class schedule to figure out this semester brings about some good news. Because I’m responsible for coming up with a new way of scheduling, I will have the extra push I need to write up a full time management post! Trying to manage a full-time job, full-time classes, and part-time job again will be a daily challenge for my scheduling and management skills, so I’ll have more experiences to draw on for posts. I just have to remember to add posting to the blog to said schedule. Don’t worry, I wrote it down.

Also, I’m contemplating changing the layout of the blog. I know it is a young blog, and maybe it’s just my left brain being overruled by my right brain, but I feel like it needs a new look. Also, the current layout does not have as many options as I’d like (for instance, adding anything extra to the sidebar significantly slows the site down). Obviously, I’m not planning this change immediate… A website makeover takes time and commitment, and I’m going to have to make sure I schedule that sometime. In the meantime, any changes will be the result of me procrastinating and avoiding studying.

On a side note, I know a few of my lurkers come around just for the manicures. I’d like to address the reason you haven’t seen any in a while. Quite honestly, I couldn’t stand having to glue on tips and my dear broken nail has not fully recovered from it’s accident. More recently, it has suffered a severe relapse and is now shorter than it was the first time it broke! My thumb nail was also victim to a split and had to be filed way down. Make sure you always have polish or some sort of strengthener on your nails people! I do post pictures of my manicures from time to time, though, on Flickr, even if I don’t do a full post on them. So if you’re just looking for something pretty to draw inspiration from, you can check the Photostream to the side, or just follow my Flickr account.

I must bid you adieu for now and return to the books yet again. I hope you have all had a wonderful year so far and continue to do so. I promise to post again soon!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas holiday! Last week, I managed to get all of the planner templates updated for 2012. Since there’s only a few more days to go before you can use them, I figured I might as well make a quick tutorial on what to do with them, in case you’re new to the world of DIY planners. With just a few tools that can be purchased at your local office supply store, you can create a unique and functional planner that allows you to keep everything you need (and nothing you don’t) at your fingertips.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started…

• Notebook Shell – This can be anything from a regular 3-ring binder to a beautiful leather Circa, whatever you have on hand and fits your tastes.
• Printer Paper - It’s best to use a higher weight paper for your planner (I used inkjet 26lb paper) since you’ll be flipping through it often and regular copy paper can tear easily. However, if you have plain copy paper on hand feel free to use it.
• Colored Card Stock – Technically, it doesn’t have to be colored, but since we’re using it for the dividers, I suggest color to make it stand out from the regular content. I also suggest having at least 2 colors, as using a different color for the page finder makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for.
• Hole Punch – The hole punch you use will obviously need to match your notebook style. You can get a normal three hole punch at any office store, or if you’re using a disc system you can usually get one from the same place you got your notebook (or eBay if you want to save a few bucks).
• Adhesive Labels – I personally use the printable labels, but if handwritten labels are more your style by all means use them. Also, you can purchase whole dividers and skip buying this (and the card stock if you don’t want to make a page finder either).
• Pocket Dividers – This is just a personal suggestion, as a lot of things we tend to put in our planners are best left unpunched (in my case, scholarship applications, resumes, and things of that sort).
• Writing Paper – This can be just regular notebook paper or any scrap paper you’d like to keep for notes and extra bits of information. I personally use Circa Annotation paper because I can organize my notes easier, but someone who does a lot of mind maps might be better off using plain white or graph paper.

Before you continue with the tutorial, go ahead and make a list of things you’d like to use your planner for. With that list, decide what types of content you need. If you’re using it to keep track of finances, you’ll need a bank register and budget worksheet at minimum. For weight loss and diet tracking, you’ll need a calorie or exercise diary. Once you’ve decided on what you need in your planner, go ahead and pop over to my Get Your Own page and download the templates you like. If you need something I don’t have, try DIY Planner. They have templates for nearly every occasion, so you’re sure to find anything else you might need there.

Now that you have all the tools you need and have your content figured out, let’s get started with the assembly…

Here’s the shell I’ll be working with for the tutorial. It is a black and gold woven Circa Notebook from Levenger. Unfortunately, this particular style is discontinued, but you can sometimes find them on eBay or you can get a similar style Circa from Levenger’s website.

As you can see, I’ve already added my dividers and blank paper. I keep two dividers: one full letter size for documents like scholarship applications and resumes, and one junior size one for receipts and pay stubs.

Here’s a shot of the divider tools I’ll be using. As mentioned earlier I prefer the printable tabs as they give a more refined look. I also use metallic card stock that matches the gold and black cover. This particular pack comes with copper, gold, silver, and bright white colored card stock. I use the gold and silver for the planner, then keep the copper and white for other occasions.

Earlier, you decided the content you wanted in your planner. Now you just need to decide what sections you want to divide the content into. I keep nearly everything in it’s own section so I can flip to it quickly. Once you have your sections figured out, you can either use blank card stock or print section names on the card stock like I did in the photo above. These will be the dividers.

After you’re done making the dividers, create a tab for each one and adhere them to the edges. It might take a while to get them spaced correctly, and as you can see in my picture above, it might not end up perfect. Just do the best you can, you can always move it later if it bothers you.

While you have the card stock out, go ahead and print your page finders. The ones I provide here are meant to be printed three to a page, double sided. I’ll talk about how to make this sheet into a page finder later. Right now, we’re just working on getting everything printed and ready.

Last thing to print is the content. You can print them however you like, but I prefer to print nearly everything double sided to save paper. I also print my budget worksheets on the back of my monthly calendars. Decide which pieces of content go into which sections and divide them up accordingly.

You might also notice I have a few bills in my stack above. That’s one of the great things about making your own planner… you can add and remove temporary things whenever you need to. I keep my bills in the same section as my calendar (a section I call “This Month”) so I can easily edit my budget as they come in and I can keep up with what I’ve paid and what I haven’t. Once they’re paid, I move them to the back (to a section I call “To Be Filed”), so everything in the calendar area is awaiting payment.

Let’s get ready to RUMBLE! Okay, there’s no fighting involved… But you will be doing some punching in the next step. First, punch all of your dividers and add them to your notebook shell. Once all of your sections are set up and easy to find, punch your content. With the dividers already in, it’s not a challenge to find where to add the content into the notebook.

Now your custom planner is almost complete! Doesn’t it look great? Just a couple more things to do…

Of all the planner templates I’ve created, and all the many forms in each, the one thing I hear people talking about the most is the weekly to-do page finder! I must admit, it’s a pretty smart idea.

I told you earlier we’d cover how to cut and punch the page finder. So first, we need to get the full page down to three. You can use a cutter like the one I have pictured, a guillotine, or plain scissors… whichever you have handy. Cut the three pieces as evenly as possible. If they’re not all the same size, do not worry! You will only be using one at a time, so no one will ever notice.

Punching the page finder is the crucial part of this lovely little tool. You want it to stick just above the rest of your pages, but you don’t want punch holes visible. You also want to make sure that it does not stick so far out of the planner that it will get bent and torn. Lastly, the difference between the top punch hole and the top of the page finder shouldn’t be any more than between two punch holes, because if you want to keep extras in the back of your planner you want to be able to store them down in the rings or discs until you’re ready to use them.

I try to keep enough page finders at the back to last me through the month, so that I don’t need to do any more printing or punching until I get ready to print the next month’s content. You can see in the pictures above what the page finder looks like both inside the content of the planner and stored in the back.

Congratulations! You’ve now completed the assembly of your customized personal planner! Now you have all of the things you need in one convenient place, ready to help you get organized and manage your time wisely. Your important documents now have a safe place to stay when you need them on the go and your bills can always be near your budget and bank register.

The best part? Anything you want can be added or removed anytime! So if you get a monthly work schedule *shazam* you can add it to the front. This semester’s class schedule and book list *pizzap* added to the reference section. That spreadsheet that contains all of your nail polish *pow* it has a place where it can reside with you to reference anytime!

I know that 2012 is only days away now, and many people are making their New Year’s Resolutions right about now. Whether you have been stuck on an organization system in the past or your resolution is to get a system that you can actually stick with, I hope that this tutorial can help you to organize your life and day-to-day schedule. A new year is a great time to start new habits, and this particular good habit happens to be something that is based on starting on  January 1st! What better time to start?

Do you already have your own customized planner? Have you followed this tutorial? If so, I’d love to see pictures of what you’ve come up with! Feel free to email them or leave a link in the comments for me. Of course, I’m obsessed with any sort of organization, and planners happen to be my particular weakness, so I love to see what others use.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and manage to stick to your resolutions! Happy New Year everyone!!

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone!! Today is bittersweet for me. On one hand, I’m excited to see my family and enjoy the holidays. On the other, we’re celebrating at my MawMaw Green’s (the one that recently passed), so it will be kind of sad. It definitely won’t be the same without her. In the spirit of the day, though, I am sporting a festive manicure that I’ve been wanting to try for a while… Candy Cane Nails!

I started with Orly Ridgefiller because I was having some issues getting them smooth enough for this. Then I topped that with Pure Ice Platinum. I love this white, but it goes on sooo streaky! Fortunately, the streaks worked for this particular look. With the white layer dry, I cut small strips of tape and taped off where I wanted the white to show then painted over the exposed areas with NYC Broadway Burgundy Frost. I topped everything with Seche Vite, and here’s the final look:

Here’s everything I used:

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy your time with family and friends!

I have been hard at work today! Ironically, it was while I was at work, though I wasn’t working on ‘work’ stuff, so I guess according to my boss it would be considered ‘goofing off.’ Regardless of that fact, I managed to produce an early Christmas present for my planner enthusiast friends! I had originally set a goal of next week for the release of the Black Magic planner templates, but due to my slow day at work, I was able to finish them this afternoon! The entire template is available for download on the Get Your Own page, but here’s a little preview…

As you might have read, this template design was inspired by a friend making a comment that the way I manage my busy schedule must be through black magic. I thought it was a funny comment and wanted to create a way that others could use my “magic” to manage their own days. I also wanted to create a more ‘fun’ looking template. While I love my Simply Silver templates, it’s fun to switch it up every so often. You can print one month at a time and spice it up here and there by changing the style.

For this style, I used bold outlines and creative fonts to help inspire the user. Students often want something with a little more edge to it and professionals can use the little touch of creativity to spark an idea! Without further ado, here’s some screen shots of the pages included:

This is the Monthly Calendar. It features weekends shaded in an very light green and popular holidays.

Here’s the Budget Worksheet. To help keep your finances in order, it has sections for both expenses and income, and an area to fill in monthly expendable income.

This Bank Register prints full letter size to allow you to keep up with all your spending and deposits in an easy to read format.

The Monthly To-Do List is intended to be used to keep track of long term projects or projects that include multiple smaller tasks.

The Daily Pages  are the bread and butter of most planners. These feature a notes section, daily schedule, to-do list, and due items area.

A Weekly To Do List is essential to keep up with items that are due soon and that you need to be reminded of in the immediate future. I designed these to be printed on card stock and cut into three pieces. Punch them so that the top sticks just above the rest of your pages and use it as a Page Finder.

No planner is complete without an Important Information Page. This is a quick reference for things like utility bills, vehicle information, and physician information. It also provides a way for someone to find you in the event that your planner ever gets lost!

I know that many people set a New Year’s Resolution to become more organized, and I hope that this template set will help! If this one isn’t your style, don’t forget about the traditional style, Simply Silver, and the bold style, Dallas. So pick your favorite and get started preparing for your new year of stress-free organization!

Go To The Download Page

After working off and on over the weekend and for a good part of this week, I’ve gotten two of the three 2012 Planner Templates uploaded and ready for you to download! Available as of tonight are Simply Silver (a light color scheme letter sized template) and Dallas (a bold black and white color scheme classic sized template).

If you downloaded the 2011 version of Simply Silver, you might notice a few minor changes. I dropped the “Assignments Received” section of the daily pages. Mostly because I noticed that it was just taking up space and that the proper thing to do is to just add it to the appropriate to-do list. No need to write it down an extra time. That’s the only major change that you should notice, but if something seems strange to you, just let me know.

Dallas is a new template for 2012. I initially created the design for my brother when he started college back in August. It’s got the same basic components of Simply Silver, but with a bolder look and a smaller package. It also includes inspirational quotes on most of the pages. I tried my best to relate the quotes to the actual page, but some are just ones that I like.

I’m still working on my newest template design, Black Magic. It’s going to be a little less bold than Dallas, but a little more stylish than Simply Silver. The name came from a friend telling me that he was convinced that the way I manage to get so much done is by “black magic.” I was instantly convinced I needed to make a template set with this name! I’m hoping to have it completed before the end of next week so you can start your new year with it!

I’m working on another post regarding how to put together a planner for any of you just getting started on your first planner, so make sure you’re following me on Facebook, Twitter, or Bloglovin’ so you’ll get the update!

For now, go ahead and grab the template set that you like best!

You might have noticed I didn’t post my usual weekend manicure. Well, there’s a few reasons. One, I had a perfect manicure in mind, but ran out of time to get it right and ended up doing solid colors for the weekend: Zoya Freja on Saturday and Essie Trophy Wife on Sunday. I also had shopping to do Saturday and Christmas dinner at my grandmother’s house on Sunday. Lastly, I was preparing for the upcoming planner post that will help you get ready for the approaching new year!

If you’re anything like me, you probably spent your weekend scouring whatever was left on the shelves of several stores to get last-minute Christmas gifts. Of course, I wait until the last minute to get everything, so I had to fight the traffic and jam-packed parking lots on Friday night and Saturday. Luckily, I manage to get nearly finished with my shopping… only two people to cross off the list and, of course, they’re both men (Dad and Mom’s BF)! Ugh, so difficult to buy for.

I managed to come up with what I think is a great gift for my mom. I absolutely cannot wait to post the pictures, but just in case she gets sneaky and decides to peek on the blog, it’ll have to wait until after Christmas. Her birthday is this week as well, so I got her lots of pedicure goodies (I already gave that to her). My mother LOVES getting pedicures, but with a farm to run, my 10 year old sister to raise, and five dogs to chase around, she doesn’t get a lot of time to go out and get one as often as she’d like… So maybe she can talk my sister into using some of the stuff I got her.

I also suffered through Chris’s shopping. He’s absolutely the hardest person to buy for on my list. Not because I don’t know what he wants, but because he’s picky. He said he wanted a floor jack… but it has to be a specific jack, and he doesn’t know which one until he sees it. So instead of trying to luck my way into a good present for him, I just took him to the tool store and told him to have fun. He ended up with a jack, jack stands, bungee cords, tie downs, and a handful of other tools. He also managed to get a french fry slicer… How we found that in the tool store, I’ll never know, but he’ll enjoy it.

So after (and actually, mostly during) shopping for everyone else, I decided that I deserved a few goodies for myself. I also had  few things that just ended up having good timing as far as shipping goes. So I was able to treat myself to some new manicure stuff.

On Friday, my eBay lot of Zoya & Color Club came in. So far all I’ve tried of these is Zoya’s Freja (the gray/silver color pictured), and I love it! I cannot wait to try the others now.

On Saturday, while shopping for my mom, aunt, sister, and a few others, I managed to snag a few things of my own from Sally’s. I’m stoked about the Mango Mend cuticle and hand treatment. I put it on last night and it felt fantastic. Maybe it can help reverse some of the damage done to my hands during finals week!

While I was finishing up my shopping Saturday, I got the notification that another eBay package had arrived at the office. I hurried over and found the Essie Dive Bar Collection waiting for me, along with 3 free gifts: super colorful toe separators! I put a pack in with mom’s pedi gift and gave some in another person’s gift bag, then I kept the green ones.

While I was getting some stuff for a certain someone at Michael’s, I finally broke down and bought a Melmer to store my polish in! I’ve seen them all over nail blogs and I’ve been wanting one for a while but when I saw it, I had to have it. Above, you can see that I started filling it immediately after assembly with all my new things and a few things that were nearby at the time. I’m sure it will be full in no time and I’ll be back to get a second one. Good thing they stack! Oh, when I checked out, they gave me a 20% off coupon that was good even on sale items, but was only good for Sunday. Sooooo….

… I had to go back Sunday and get this Carousel that was already 40% off to complete my manicure storage. This thing fits all my tools: files, buffers, top coats, stripers, lotions, treatments, etc. I put small items like clippers in the drawers. I really need to find a photo to put in the frame section. I’m considering putting in a collage of nail art to serve as an inspiration board… Then again, my dogs would feel neglected if I did. Oh, we shall see I suppose.

As you can see, I’m one happy girl and I have hardly opened any of my gifts yet (I have gotten the ones from Chris, my grandmother, and aunt though… which were all pretty fantastic). Now I’ve got to return home to get finished with my wrapping. Luckily, I only have two more things to wrap, not including the two gifts I’ve yet to buy of course. Wish me luck! Oh, and I’ll try my best to get up a new manicure this week, along with the planner post! Hope everyone has safe & happy holidays!!

If you live here, you know we get snow about once in a blue moon, and if it actually sticks the whole city shuts down except for Walmart. While I’m not a huge fan of cold weather, I’m kind of jealous of all those places that get pretty white winters. Here, it’s just dead trees and yellow grass; not what I would call a beautiful time of year. However, despite my near hatred of winter, I wanted to create a pretty winter manicure to lift my spirits and used snow as my inspiration.

First, let me apologize for not taking the full step-by-step pictures I usually take. I’ve had to mix in creating this manicure with studying for finals so it was half done at work and half at home, with lots of breaks to study or run errands in between. However, the best part about it is that each and every layer looked like a finished mani so it wasn’t a big deal to go into public in between colors!

I started with my usual Orly Bonder basecoat, then switched up my base color to OPI Bubble Bath. Unfortunately, this is the only ‘in progress’ photo I managed to snap.

Here’s the finished manicure. I used Pure Ice Platinum for the white-ish first stripe.

Then Xtreme Wear Celeb City for the silver stripe (this is definitely one of my new favorite colors… I’ll have to post a shot of it by itself soon, it’s a beautiful polish).

The last gold stripe was done with Orly Glitz.

I topped the entire thing with Essie As Gold As It Gets. This is also a new favorite color, but it was really hard to capture on camera. The flash totally washed it out, and natural light caused it to photograph kinda dull. In person, it’s lovely and shimmery and bright.

The snowflake nail decal came from the Santa’s Helpers pack from Cina Nail Creations. I got it at Sally’s, and there’s lots of other great decals included, so you will probably be seeing more of them!

Of course, in between colors and as a final top coat, I used Seche Vite.

Here’s a photo of everything that was used:

The pictures of this manicure didn’t come out as well as I’d like, but I like the mani itself much better. Oh, and it didn’t help much that my cuticles are absolutely massacred. Alas, I entered it in Lacquered Me‘s Christmas/Winter Nail Art Contest. While I don’t expect to win (considering the amount of fantastic nail artists out there), it will be nice just to have a few more people see, and hopefully, appreciate the hard work I put into it. So if you like this look, head over to her Facebook page, like the page, then like the picture of the manicure (winner will be chosen by number of likes on each picture). Voting starts on December 13th, but you can go ahead and like her page anyway… she always posts GREAT swatches and serves as a great source of inspiration for my manis.

Now that you’ve seen what’s on my nails right now, let’s talk about my recent shopping trip to Sally’s. First of all, I’d like to let you know that I’m dangerous in there and Chris absolutely hates going with me, but I dragged him along anyway. I didn’t really have much of a plan when I walked in, but when they handed me the sales paper and I saw the special on Fingerpaints, I knew where to go from there. Sure, these colors might not be ‘in season’ right now, but that’s the great thing about making most of my manicures into French’s, I can pull of an out of season color by pairing it with something else and get away with it.

I’ve wanted Laugh My Art Off for a while, but for whatever reason I just kept passing on it. Well, a surefire way to get me to quite passing up on something I’ve been lusting after is to put it on special.

Confession time… Art Nouv-Yellow is the first actual yellow polish I’ve bought in a long, long time. I’m not really sure why I’ve avoided yellow, but when I looked at this color it just begged to be added to my collection.

Get Real-ism! is another one that I’ve kept passing up. I’m not usually a purple fan, as it just doesn’t look that fantastic on me. Again, I decided to get over my ‘I don’t usually wear that color’ and take this beauty home with me.

Time for another confession… I have an addiction to sparkle! Even though the special was for three bottles of Fingerpaints, I had to add the Sparkle Top Coat to my basket when I looked at the holiday display. I’ll admit, it made visions of beautiful Christmas mani’s dance through my head!

This wallet clutch was the free gift included with the purchase of 3 Fingerpaints polishes. I love the color! They had them in red and a black and white pattern, as well, but this one called my name as soon as I walked in the store. So much so that is has replaced my Coach as my primary wallet. How can that be? you might ask. Other than the fantastic color that is easy to locate in my black purse, it’s thin and transfers much easier into my school bag without adding bulk to the front pocket.

On my way to the register I happened to catch a glimpse of this Salon Express Stamping System hanging on a display. I have been dying to get a Konad system since I first saw it reviewed over on College Fashion, I just never got around to ordering it. Enter this little $9.99 gem. I haven’t tried it yet, and the designs on the included plates mostly aren’t my taste. However, I’m working on staring them down to get some inspiration. Luckily, there are also tons of stamping plates available on eBay and Amazon with designs that I adore, so I will probably purchase a few more and see what magic I can create with them.

In conclusion, it was nice shopping trip. I got four lovely lacquers, a new wallet, and a stamping system. Of course, it was only enough to hold me over for a few days and I hit them up again for the nail decals in the above featured manicure, a cuticle conditioning stick, and a few other essentials. This weekend, I’m having to fight the urge to put off my studying for a trip to Ulta. Hmm, that might just be a great ‘I Made It Through Finals’ reward for myself on Wednesday!

Have a great weekend! For all of you approaching finals like me, I wish you good luck! Remember, studying smart, exercising, and eating healthy are the keys to a successful finals week.

Don’t forget to go like Lacqured Me on Facebook and vote for my winter manicure in the Winter/Christmas Nail Art Contest starting December 13th!