16 (+15 more) Candles


So yesterday was my birthday, and it was (despite turning a year older- 31, eek!!) awesome. Its the first time in a long time that I really enjoyed and celebrated the day. No, it wasn't a day punctuated by presents (other than those that I gifted myself, haha), but that wasn't what I wanted my birthday to be. I got to spend my day with my sister...after she patiently waited for me to get a mani/pedi! (she's not the mani/pedi type) Speaking of which, I got it done utilizing a Groupon that I'd purchased on a whim, but the lady that did it, Melanie, at The Getaway Salon & Spa in Grand Rapids, MI, did a faboo job. The Groupon was for a Shellac mani and regular spa pedicure, so I opted for red toes, and clear Shellac for my mani so I could paint over it, and I seriously can't stop looking at my hands. I NEVER EVER have plain, shiny, natural nails, but she did such a great job on my poor cuticles and whatnot that my hands and nails look so pretty and shiny. She even managed to get a lot of the staining off!

After the mani/pedi, we went downtown Grand Rapids to enjoy Festival of the Arts (my sister's first time!) and I ate the most amazing veal, mushroom, and onion sandwich on the most scrumptious butter-grilled bun from the Bosnia Center's booth. (Please, no lectures on veal. I know, I know, but it is one of the cruel foods that I have a complete and utter weakness for), I also ate a Walking Taco (a strange, yet delicious combination of taco meat, cheese, and lettuce added to an individual size Fritos bag), some of my sister's Souvlaki from the Greek booth, some Pavlova, and a cinnamon elephant ear. After all that eating, we went craft shopping (a nerdy favorite of mine), and then later that evening, I enjoyed the company of some great friends at a local beer bar, HopCat! I drank a raspberry lambic (a must if you've never had it), and an odd honey and sage beer called Sage Against the Machine. Mind you, I was driving, and I'm a bit of a lightweight to begin with, so I stopped there...along with 3 glasses of water, an order of Crack Fries (amazingly seasoned–and aptly named–french fries), and Killer Mac & Cheese (the menu description states that 'resistance is futile', and they aren't lying!). It was a super awesome day, and now to top off my birthday weekend, Stacey and I are taking a roadtrip to IKEA and Trader Joes!!  YAY! (I double-heart both places!!)

So anyway, these are my birthday nails, which were done before I got my manicure!  I used two of my favorite types of polishes- neons and holographic!! (and of course, Hassid!!) Since I am 31 this year, I thought it'd be fun to paint all kinds of different 31s on my nails over the crazy brightness of the neons. For the holographic, I used a topcoat that I made with Seche Vite and SpectraFlair, which was Krystal from Polish Galore's suggestion/idea, and a killer one at that! I can make ANY nail polish holographic now!! HELL-TO-THE-YES!!!


I used:

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
China Glaze Sun Worshipper
Urban Outfitters Neon Orange
American Apparel Hassid
SpectraFlair topcoat made with Seche Vite topcoat.

Some of the day's food/drinks!! :-D






38 comments

  1. your nails are sooo cute. i wish i could make a design like this. ill try for my birthday :) Follow me back please? :)

    thoughtsof93.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Birthday and your mani is gorgeous! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like an awesome birthday! Gorgeous nails, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like a lovely day, I too have been to that Festival as I live in MI. Great nails and neons....just wanted to say though...the car keys sitting right next to the alcohol...hmm, probably not a great pic to keep around ;)

    Happy Birthday!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meh, I'm not worried about the picture, seeing as I mentioned in the post that I was drinking responsibly. I had 2 beers in 4 hours, along with 3 glasses of water and food. :)

      Delete
  5. Happy Birthday! Glad you enjoyed the day! Love the design by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy birthday! and I love the design on your mani.Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy birthday! I'm so glad you had an awesome day! I was drooling over your food descriptions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! The food was unreal. (I feel mildly bad for the veal, but every scrumptious bite was soooo worth it)

      Delete
  8. Happy birthday!
    A girl who loves nail art and beer - are you my younger sister...?
    Raspberry lambic (not limbic) is also called Framboise, and they are low in alcohol and absolutely nice. I also love a stout/porter and a German Weissbier :)
    Your mani is really great, love it!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!

      yeah, I know it's lambic, unfortunately, my computer doesn't like that word and changes it :D It tasted so good- haven't had it in YEARS!

      I tend to lean towards stouts too, but was compelled to try the Sage Against the Machine because it seemed like a weird combination! Was decent, but definitely not my favorite. I miss all the good beers in Michigan, this place has some damn good brews!

      Delete
    2. LOL silly computer :) I have tasted and rated 8500+ beers on RateBeer (female top rater) but I never really learned to appreciate sage beers, some are downright awful :) USA have an awful lot of nice beers, luckily we have very good micro breweries here in Denmark too, but the prices are so high - just like nail polish...
      PS: you don't need an old sister (somewhat old LOL) - do you ;)
      PPS the new captcha word/number verification is very difficult....

      Delete
  9. love the mani! :D would definitely like to try this out for my bday next year! oh! and happy birthday!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh man, I love you. Happy fantasticmagicalwonderful birthday beautiful!!!! Also, I NEVER thought to go clear Shellac. I just went with a pure white Gelish so I could still paint over and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't go CLEAR.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy Birthday! All the food sounds so good!

    And the mani is excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy birthday! Your mani is sooooo awesome! I really love it. It's such a cute design.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy Birthday! Cinnamon elephant ears are so good!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Where did you get the SpectraFlair?

    ReplyDelete
  15. This looks so amazing and clean! It doesn't even look hand done! So good (:

    ReplyDelete
  16. I had no idea it was your birthday! Happy day! I'm so glad I could make your fingers and toes pretty for your birthday!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nice and awesome post.The designs of nails are so cute and gorgeous.

    Prom Hairstyles

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wouaaah I love your blog ! You're very talented !! XOXO from France

    ReplyDelete
  19. looks you soend a really great time that day. so glad about you. my congrats, sis ;)

    ReplyDelete

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