Not Very A-Peel-ing.



So I've been a tad MIA for a while. I know, I suck.

I'd better have a damn good reason for my unannounced absence, right? I do. TRUST ME, I do! (I have the scar on my back to prove it!)

Well, it all started with my sister coming to visit me in India, a trip which we dubbed the 'Ring of Fire Tour 2012' (for obvious reasons, I think?). We did some sightseeing around Chennai, Mahabalipuram, and then took our tour up north and hung out in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. Only one of our days was spent in Delhi, but honestly, that was enough. In our short time there, we were in an auto-rickshaw that was slammed into by a city bus and subsequently mobbed by people who saw it happen. We saw a dead man on the side of the road, and we missed getting to see the Red Fort by 1 minute. ONE. Needless to say, we were ready to move on to Agra. Delhi's one redeeming trait was the rooftop restaurant of our hotel, which was a relaxing place to escape from the bustle below in the market of Pahar Ganj. 

Agra was great, our hotel was CHEAP and a mere 800 meters from the Taj Mahal, but the air was so hazy that we couldn't see it from the roof. We got to the Taj Mahal, and it's very impressive, and was insanely beautiful, but there were so many people that you couldn't really even enjoy it. :/ Next up was Agra Fort, which was SUPER awesome. We were there for hours and barely saw half of it. 

Image courtesy of Stacey Osburn of Her On Wheels. 
Finally, our travels took us to Jaipur, where we spent our first day at an elephant preserve, interacting with and feeding the elephants. Did you know that elephants make a vibrating sound in their head when they want to communicate? One of the elephants we shared, Shakuntala (princess) LOVED it when you pet/stroked her trunk, she would press into your whole body and vibrate her head. She was super sweet. We also enjoyed an incredibly delicious meal cooked for us by the mother of the owner of the preserve. It was probably my favorite food that I ate in India- we had rajma (kidney beans in a tomato based sauce), aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes in spices), okra (with seasonings, not sure what it was called), some coriander chutney (my favorite!), and chapati (flatbread). The next day was spent in the garden of our hotel relaxing and chatting with our new Belgian friend Kurt, a truly hilarious guy who kept us laughing. On our third day in Jaipur, we did some shopping and visited a handloom place that also did wood block prints. It was really cool to see how they dyed large pieces of fabric and did the block printing that Jaipur is known for. After the shopping, we did some sightseeing…

AND...

You're never going to believe this, but I was bitten by a wild monkey. Yes…you read that right, a MONKEY. A monkey just like this one:

Image courtesy of Stacey Osburn of Her On Wheels.
A Rhesus Macaque, to be exact. It jumped out of a tree onto my back, bit me, jumped off and ran away. While it was a super fun experience, the accompanying rabies shots over the following month kinda knocked me on my ass. When I combined that with the stress of moving back to the U.S., I was out of nail art commission. In fact, I pretty much slept whenever I got the chance.

WARNING: GROSS PICTURE AHEAD!!







Now I'm back in the States, and I'm getting to a point where my life has some sort of organization, even though all my polish is still awaiting shipment from India. 

However, in honor of my monkey experience, I did something a little more 'a-peel-ing' than my monkey bite picture! 



 I used:

Yellow: American Apparel Manila
Black: American Apparel Hassid
Brown: China Glaze Call of the Wild
Basecoat: Cult Nails Get it On
Topcoat:  Seche Vite


And a couple more monkey pictures. The first shot cracks me up, the look on his face makes me laugh.





55 comments

  1. Ouch! Good to know you're ok and back on your feet :)

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  2. The first monkey is like Madonna. :)
    Love your yellow nails. :)

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  3. Wow! Crazy stories! Glad you are in the US and safe and sound now. And as always, amazing nail art!

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  4. OMG! That looks nasty. I hope you are healing up and your move back to the US goes perfect. :D

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  5. Lol wow! That is insane that a monkey bit you! I'm glad you are okay though! And awesome mani!

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  6. Yikes! Welcome back. Glad you are okay. :)

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  7. Oh my that's a huge bite on your schoulder! Bad monkey, very bad monkey. Maybe she or he ment it well. But hey there are other ways to show some affection. ;-) Your nailart just matches it wel doh.

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  8. amazing photoes and fantastic mani! :)

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  9. An old friend of mine was bitten on the butt by a monkey. In the monkeys defense she was poking it. Although she was only 2. But that's what happens when you have a toddler and a monkey. That should be a movie. Haha anyways I love the nails and I'm glad you don't have rabies :)

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  10. That stinks about the bite, but what a great story! Welcome back to the US!

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  11. wow! that is crazy, how many people can say they got bit by a wild monkey? I hope you are healing well.

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  12. how rude of that monkey to bite and run...I'm not envious of those rabies shots, that's for sure. At least some of the trip was fun though! Love the nail art!

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  13. Welcome back to the blogosphere! It's so nice to see your face (and nails) again! :)

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  14. Bright side, how many people in the world get to say they've been bitten by a monkey?! Glad you're back!

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  15. Sorry to hear about the animal bite. I know how that goes about the treatment from an animal bite knocking you on your ass. (dog bite and drug allergies) Glad to see you're feeling better and looking forward to seeing your posts again!!

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  16. OMG! you got bitten by a wild monkey.. well that's crazy! I was proud of the crazy story when I broke a toe the first day in amsterdam, but your story is wayy interesting than mine!!
    i'm glad you're back, i was missing your perfect nail art!!

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  17. so nice that you were able to experience living abroad in such a foreign place. sorry to hear about the monkey bite...that monkey had lots its bananas...aaahh marbles. i hope youll be feeling better soon!
    cookieschaosncestlavie.blogspot.com

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  18. oooooch!
    i hope you are feeling batter, and im sure the arivel of the polishes will make you feel batter :)
    i have a question for you- is this how the elephant actually looks like?!

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  19. Holy cow!! I'm so glad you're okay & moved back safely :). This confirms my fear of monkeys!

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  20. Omg that's dreadful! Glad you're on the road to recovery now! The rest of your trip sounds amazing :) x

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  21. I can't believe you to bit by a monkey! Is that a common occurrence in India? I would think the monkeys would keep to themselves even out in the wild unless they feel threatened (which I'm sure you weren't doing anything wrong). I take it with the rabies shot that you shouldn't have any lasting effects? Glad you're okay!

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  22. Holy crap! That looks like it was wicked ridiculous! Did you want to sing the song a la Family Guy...Evil evil MONKEY!? I am so sorry this happened to you. Best of luck for a speedy recovery and no weird side effects/lasting illness from it!

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  23. Oh. My. GOD. Now there's a story you can tell for the rest of your life!

    Been reading your blog for years, but I'm not sure I commented before. I hope the rest of your recovery is restful, and that your readjustment/moving period doesn't cause much more stress. Can't wait to read more of your posts again when things calm down!

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  24. OMG I can't believe a MONKEY BIT YOU!! That is insane. That story about the elephant just melted my heart. What a cool experience!! Glad to have you back!!

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  25. Not sure I like this one but it sure does look like the bananas in my kitchen right now that I should have been eating before they got to look like this!

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  26. So did u move back because of the monkey bite or had u been planning to move back before then?

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  27. Awww, cute banana nails for cute little monkeys <3 Although, not so cute anymore after they bit you!

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  28. At first glance, I actually thought that the mani was of the wound's progress- then I noticed the banana-ness of it. I'm a dullard- it takes me a while. I suppose it's quite good that you can still look at a picture of a monkey and crack up. After an ordeal like yours, many people would never want to view anything simian-related again!

    I'm very glad you're okay, (You are, aren't you?) and I'm so sorry you had to go through all that.

    The only thing a monkey has ever done to me is to scream bloody murder and whip stuff at my head.

    Unless you count my ex-husband.

    But my drama with him wasn't *that* much different from my actual monkey experience, come to think of it...
    I knew there was a reason I called him Magilla!

    Anyway, incredibly happy to hear that you're well, and again- sorry that happened to you! OMG, I just thought of something- you actually "had a monkey on your back..."

    ReaderRita

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  29. Woah. That was a story lol. I'm glad you're back (pun intended :D) and hope you feel better!!

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  30. Was it just time to move back to the US from India, or did you do it because of the monkey bite? And is the bf still in the picture? Nosy I know, but a girl has to ask! :) Glad you're back, missed the heck out of you and your hilariousness and your awesome nail art!

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  31. Awww...so cute! Love the color combos and the design. Great job on this one.

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  32. OHMYGOSH!!! I hope you're ok! I love reading your blog and wondered what happened! I hope you recover soon!

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  33. Ouch that looks painful! But the nails are super cute :)

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  34. I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad you're back. I look forward to reading more!

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  35. Glad to see you back! That's quite a *shudder* story and it's good to know you will be okay.

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  36. Glad to see you back! Omg the monkeys!! you gotta watch those things. Glad you're okay. Congrats on moving to my country :) Welcome! That sounded like an uber fun trip, and the banana nails are just awesome ;D

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  37. Oh my goodness! I'm glad you're okay and were able to get rabies shots and everything. (And I love the mani, as always.)

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  38. wow. awesome trip. although a few things to damper it! glad you had fun and hope youre feeling better very soon! :) heal well

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  39. I hope you're feeling better!
    ReaderRita

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  40. OMG ! I hope you're ok. Not many people can say they got bitten by a monkey lol. xx

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  41. I love
    your hair colour
    elephants
    curry

    Your wound looks painful....hope you're feeling better :-):-)

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  42. So happy that your back! I do pray you heal well. Your bite is not a peeling....(sorry bad joke).
    Anyways, the reason for my comment. I was wondering what you recommend for a topcoat. I am looking for an inexpensive topcoat that will actually last, and not let the polish flake or peel off after washing my hands.
    What do you recommend and where can i buy it?

    Thanks! Keep the great posts coming! I enjoy reading about your creations!

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  43. :) i like your nail!!!


    i don't belive it, it is scary bitten by monkay...

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  44. You could do a really cool mani based on the color and texture of that elephant in your picture. So cool!

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  45. Monkeys for all their cuteness are nasty little animals. I'm happy to hear your encounter wasn't any worse. Glad to hear you're doing better.

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  46. The rabies shots sound sucky but bonus points for having a unique experience which you'll never forget!!

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  47. Wow. What a story. Well You certainly aren't living a boring life. Happy to hear you are recovering well.

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  48. Yikes...and...um...yuck! Glad you're okay :)

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  49. love these nails!!!!
    just like banana peels!
    i love american apparel's colors.
    I'll need to get that yellow next time.

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  50. No comments? How odd. I just wanted to say that I am sorry you got hurt. Yet, for an injury, this one has a great story to go with it.
    Hope you're mending well. You are missed!
    Gabriele in Illinois

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  51. WOW great story, pictures and nails.. I Love this Manilla shade its a perfect yellow, will have to hunt some down for my collection <3

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  52. Oh goodness!!! I am sorry to hear about the crazy monkey!! :O

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  53. Wow, that's crazy!! Glad you're ok! Cool banana mani!

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Go on, comment... you know you want to. ;-P