{such a} My Perfect Mani

I posted my Perfect Mani on the Champagne Tuesday Girls blog a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd share the love with you too.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm fanatical about my nails, especially while on the go. I touch them up at my desk, I fix chips in the car...any time my nails need attention, I'm on it! Sundays however, are different. Every Sunday night I park myself at the table in the living room and accompanied by my favorite suburban dames, take the time to really "do" my nails. All of my tips and techniques come from fashion mags, observation at nail salons and pure trial and error. I can't guarantee that every single step will work flawlessly the first time, but you should definitely try this at home, and enjoy!


Monika's Perfect Mani
1. Remove nailpolish (self-explanatory)
2. Shape nails with a medium-grit file. The best ones I've seen are the blue files available at any CVS, Walgreens. Decide if you want to do a round tip or a square. To determine what works best for you, look at the shape of your hands. NOTE: File in one direction! If you go in different directions, you'll wind up with little nail bits on the tips.
3. Use a buffer block to smooth out any splits in your nails or any weird chips in the surface of your nail.
4. Grab the olive oil out of your kitchen cabinet and pour a little into a small dish. Take a small paint brush and swipe the olive oil over your cuticles. You can brush all the way up the side of your nail if you want extra moisturizing. Let this soak into your cuticles for a couple minutes.
5. Take an orange stick and gentle easy cuticles back. Don't push too hard that you cause yourself pain.
6. Go to the kitchen sink and wash your hands. Wash them thoroughly...don't leave any dust or oil on the nail itself.

Here's the point where you start the actual manicure. Line up your polish bottles on the table and make sure you have the lids loosened so that you don't mess up your mani. Each coat is done one after another...don't wait between. Think of your polish as doublesided tape...the bottom coat adheres to the next coat, etc. Don't do thick gloppy coats either...a simple thin coat is sufficient. Finally, don't worry about color not looking bright. You'll need to do two coats of polish. If you go outside the lines, again, no worries. The color will either come off after your polish is dry and you wash your hands, or you can use polish remover.

You'll need the following:
-Chip Skip
-Nail Envy
-Polish
-Top Coat


7. Start with a coat of Chip Skip or something like it to keep polish chips to a minimum.
8. Immediately after the Chip Skip, use a coat of nail strengthener like Nail Envy or one of the Sally Hanson Hard as Nails products to encourage nail growth.
9. On to the color! Pick whatever color you like. Note that darker colors will be a bit tougher to paint on because they can look streaky after the first coat. You'll do two coats, one right after the other. Start with one swipe of polish up the middle of the nail, pushing down on the nailbrush gently. You'll get a nice stripe of color. Then, angle the brush slightly and paint each remaining side. You don't need to go all the way to the side. It's a visual trick - most manicurists don't actually paint all the way to the skin. They leave a little space on the sides, which makes your nail look longer and thinner. The bonus is that this helps keep painting outside the lines to a minimum, so keep this tip in mind!
10. Once you've done your two coats, take your top coat and do a thin layer on all your nails.

You're done! I like to let my nails dry for a full hour to make sure they don't get nicked or dented. Any questions? If so, leave them in the comments.

{such a} Which Avril Should I Be?

Halloween is my most favorite time of the year, and this year I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit. Rather than dressing up in a pretty costume (years past include Natasha from "Boris and Natasha", Juliet, a woodland fairy) I'm going as a zombie. Yes, a zombie complete with white caked on makeup and probably with fake blood and an obvious cause of death. My friends and I are going to the DeComposition Zombie Crawl in Covington, KY.

In thinking about being a zombie, I wanted to use some things that I already have in my closet to help determine my character. With what I found, I decided to be an Avril Lavigne zombie. Who knew that Avril Lavigne and I share so many common wardrobe staples? Black biker jacket, check. Plaid tie, check. Combat boots, check. Rocker t-shirt, check. In fact, I have so many of the same things that Avril has that I'm confused as to which Avril to be for Halloween! I need your help in determining which look I should emulate and how I should die. Vote in the comments by Friday and I'll post a pic of myself all zombied up.

Avril's Looks

Skull Rocker

{from candiancontent.net}


Princess Rocker
{from modellas.com}


Plaid Skirt/Hoodie Rocker
{from blog.nj.com}


Necktie Rocker
{famous-people-search.net}

{such a} Mixing Business with Pleasure

Recently I started a new position as the New Business Director with a design firm in Cincinnati called Sanger & Eby. Topping my list of reasons for wanting to work at Sanger & Eby: their passion for creative and commitment to giving back to the community and the opportunity to work with Macy's.

Recently Sanger & Eby wrapped up a project that combined creative, community involvement and my favorite thing...shopping. We worked with Macy's to create the Shop for a Cause website and application. Shop for A Cause is Macy's national charity shopping day, where participants purchase a $5 shopping card to use on October 17th in any Macy's store or online at macys.com. The money raised from the sale of the cards goes back to local non-profits. Since 2006, Shop for a Cause has helped non-profits raise more than $28 million.

Since I have a passion for giving back and a passion for shopping, I've created a mini-list of fall must-haves available at Macy's. Support any of these charities by Shopping for a Cause on October 17th!

1. Military Bolero - top a simple tee with this structured jacket. Fun with jeans for a night out, or pair it with a ruffled skirt to get a contrast of tough and gentle. $69

2.Boho Dress - be a little exotic in a boho dress. Add tights and booties for work, and if the color works, add your Military Bolero when it gets colder. $89

3. The White Shirt- a little forgiving in shape and more relaxed than your Daddy's button-down, this white shirt is part business, part romantic. $69

4. Skinny Jeans - don't fret...these body-forgiving skinny jeans will free you to reconsider skinny jeans as part of your wardrobe. Add The White Shirt for a casual weekend outfit. $79.50

5. Slouchy Boot - Tuck your Skinny Jeans into these cuties and be ready if it rains or snows. Super-cute with buckle detail! $79

{such a} Gone to the races...the wiener dog races!

Normally I would not blog about dogs. Normally, I think dog fashion is just this side of ridiculous, and on par with fanny packs and Crocs. But I'm making an exception, just this once, for these little mutts. No, they're not wearing designer clothes, Halloween costumes or Santa hats. They are wearing hotdog buns. Not just plain hotdog buns either, but some with ketchup, while others have mustard. One dog even dressed like a cheese coney.

With all these hotdog references, I can only be talking about dachshunds and the annual Wiener Dog Races which are held each year on Fountain Square, and which mark the beginning of Oktoberfest Zinzinnati. Having never witnessed the spectacle of the races, I went today and found myself completely charmed by the little pups in their hot doggiest ensembles. So while they are not fashionistas in a true sense, they are definitely pioneers in branded doggie attire.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

{such a} Fall Fashion '09 Trends and Tip Sheet Too!

Just in case you weren't ready to say goodbye to summer, the newest fall fashions are already hitting the stores, tempting you to spend your bucks on the first blush of the season's offerings.

The key things of note are the proliferation of 80's inspired fashions - from the one-shoulder cocktail dresses to the skyscraping shoulders of the jackets. Neon colors charge into fall and show up in dresses, suits and mixed into usually sedate prints like houndstooth and plaid. Pants are neutral - brown, black and even white if you're brave. Skirts, dresses and leggings take the day with tights both shredded (really!) and intact all over the runways.

If you're on a budget, and buying an entirely new wardrobe for fall is not on your financial agenda, the good people of About.com have created an entire primer in DIY fashion for fall. Admittedly I'm not always the craftiest person on the block, but even I can manage these simple ideas and updates.

To be sure you don't end up buying this year's no-no, download and print my tip sheet and take it with you before you shop. I think figuring out trend is always the hardest part of a season shift, so to simplify I've created a categorized list to make your life easy. I do not pretend to have included every single trend out there -- to do so would mean including trends that are likely too outrageous to ever make it off the runway. But from my own research, I've culled what I think are the most wearable trends for Fall '09. Print this wallet-sized sheet out, stick it in your purse and happy shopping!

For the downloadable file, click here. NOTE: When you download and open the PDF, you may need to cut out the card, as it will display based on your Adobe Acrobat/Reader preferences. Need a PDF reader? Find it here.

{such a} Reader's Digest Magazine Feature!

I am one thrilled fashionista -- my feature in Reader's Digest came out today! Check out the pix from the TOC and the spread for the article for which I was interviewed. So amazingly, absolutely thrilled to be featured! The issue is on newstands now - September 2009. I can now honestly say that I've been in a national magazine....yay! (note: as of posting, the article was not online yet, so there is no link. When it does appear, I'll add it.)

{such a} Martin+Osa Email Offer

One of the nicest surprises on mornings where I hate everything in my closet, is to open an email and find a coupon for one of my fave boutiques. Today was one of those mornings, and I'm sharing the coupon I received with you. Get $20 off at MARTIN + OSA with LUCKY BUCK$ from Lucky Magazine. Use your LUCKY BUCK$ towards any MARTIN + OSA purchase of $75 or more. Around Cincinnati, you'll need to shop online, so visit MartinandOsa.com. Check the sale section of the site - I spotted an uber-cute Tuxedo Blazer for a mere $44.95

Discount Code: 45
Web Code: 87478529