Swatch: For Audrey

Tiffany Blue might be my favorite color ever and China Glaze For Audrey is perfection. I swatched it back in 2011 but since my camera has been replaced and my photos have gotten better I wanted to try to re-swatch it. The color is so hard to capture on camera though. It's that prefectly blue with hint of green that my camera can't quite figure out. Here's my second attempt at swatch photos:

Holor Ombre Stamped Design

Remember when I did the holo hombre last month?? I know Ghila does! Anyway, I liked it so much but I figured it would be too much color for work (all those holos grab a LOT of attention!) so I decided to lessen it's shock value with a stamped black design over top. Here's how it ended up looking:

 Love these! Might be a new favorite! I think this shot is a little more clear...

And then because it's holo I wanted to capture all different colors that you see in real life. So here's a blurry shot to show how gorgeous these holos are!

I have to go to court today for a case conference so these might still be a stretch but I'm willing to take that chance because....well I'm a rebel! Lol.

Toetally Tuesday & National Dog Biscuit Day

Because it's National Dog Biscuit Day I decided on a pet friendly nail design that  I could get away with wearing to the office. It's super fun and low key to do, but I think it looks pretty great. The colors are my favorite combination right now: China Glaze For Audrey and Fresh Paint In The Flash (it's actually a polish from Five Below). There's no bones about it, these nails are perfect for the pet lover in you!

It's also Toetally Tuesday so I kept the same color scheme going on for my toes. I made a gradient with the two polishes and it turned out like this:

It's also my high school buddy's birthday so...Happy Birthday J!

Nails for Serious Shopping

I'm going shopping today with my sister, brother-in-law, and my boyfriend, for some clothes. Apparently we have all been running around naked because we all are desperately in need of some new clothes. For some of us *cough*me*cough* it might be because I gained a few pounds. For other *cough*Steph*cough* it might be because she's a major shopaholic and loves clothes. I always like shopping with my sister because I find the best things when she's there. Oddly enough though it also turns out I end up buying a lot and she ends up buying almost nothing. So we shall see what we find today! Can't wait to share if I find anything good. On my list of hopefuls is a gray suit, brown or kahki slacks for work, and a bunch of different shirts. Let's just say my "work wardrobe" is quite small because...well...I've been a student for about 20 years...so most of my clothes are perfect for casually hanging out on weekends and "casual Friday" at work but the other four days of the work week need some major fashion intervention.

My shopping nails are these gradient nails. Perfectly peacock and heavily copied from my Peacock nails!

Designer Week: Tory Burch (Nail Fail)

Another day, another post! For today's Designer Week manicure I have nails inspired by Tory Burch. This designer actually reminds me of my sister a little because she is a huge fan of Tory Burch ballet flats.

As for the inspiration of the design, I chose these Tory Burch Yuma Pumps in Dulce de Leche: 

Overall, not a huge fan of these nails. I don't think they capture the inspiration (and I'm pretty sure that base color is a lot pinker in real life than how it turned out in the photo). Meh, c'est la vie. Onto the next one!

Designer Week: Prada (Toetally Tuesday)

Today's Designer Week inspiration is Prada. An interesting fact about Prada is that it first began by Mario Prada as an Italian leather bag manufacturer exclusively but became most famous for the success of his granddaughter Miuccia Prada and now has clothing as well. The products are all wayy over my price point BUT they are completely perfect for nail inspiration. To the tootsies!

And the Prada inspiration is this adorable leopard print and red accent briefcase. Just don't look at the price tag!

Designer Week: Versace

Hello everybody! I think it's just about time for another Designer Week here on The Files. The last Designer Week was in 2011 so it's about time, no? If you are new to my blog (Welcome and Hello to you!) or just missed those posts way back when, what happened was each day of the week I posted a manicure or pedicure inspired by a luxury brand or designer. It was fun looking through the ridiculously expensive things to find inspiration...but I won't be buying any of these any time soon (or who knows maybe I will now that I'm working again)! Today's designer inspiration comes from Versace:

The manicure is inspired by the Versace Multicolor Sunburn Backpack, which retails for a whopping $2,995. Yep. I'm pretty sure that backpack is worth more than my car! Craaazy.

Valentine's Day 2016

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Hearts galore on my nails for today's hearts-tastic holiday. I painted these in a hurry using OPI My Address is Hollywood and stamping the heart design from my Winstonia Wedding Bliss plate in Art Deco black.

I had to get out my "Andrew Box" (the box I keep mementos and things from our relationship in -- you know, movie tickets, Chinese food fortunes, cards, etc) to track down the very first Valentine's Day card Andrew ever gave me. We weren't officially a couple until April 2010 so Valentine's Day 2010 was during our not-quite-a-couple-but-heading-there time. He found the most perfect card:

I agree with the card. I don't think Valentine's Day is or should be just for couples and romance. It should just be a day to celebrate the special people in your life. So I hope everyone has a wonderful day being indulgent and spoiling yourself and those who are special to you with sweet treats and happiness. I know I am!

If you're interested in checking out some of my other Valentine's Day nails check the ones I painted for 2011, 2013 (my favorite post), 2014, and 2015.

And because I'm obsessed with food....here is what was on the menu at Chez Andrew & Nikki:

First up, drinks. For me, I had a muddled raspberry sprite (delicious) and Andrew just had a beer....

Then for the main course, steak & mushrooms with garlic compound butter and spinach....

and a side of red smashed potatoes with crumbled bacon....

And, for dessert, tiny mousse cups (milk chocolate mousse in a dark chocolate cup) with chocolate shavings and a raspberry for a little pizzaz....How cute are these?

And the drink of choice -- come on, you know me -- champagne with raspberries of course!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Valentine's Day Inspiration: Blue Hearts

Blue is not typically the first color that comes to mind when you think of Valentine's Day nail designs (see my Throwback Thursday from yesterday)...which is lame because I love blue polish. Therefore, as one of my Valentine's Day design inspiration I wanted to include blue. Plus, my love of stamping is still going strong and I used my BundleMonster plates again! This is my most recent Valentine's Day nail idea.

I used Zoya Tallulah as a base and Zoya Snow White for the design. The stamping is BundleMonster plates BM02 and BM17. Sorry for the quick post today! Busy you know!

Throwback Thursday: February

Yeah yeah I know it's almost Valentine's Day and of course that means pink PINK and more PINK. However, I was going through old photos in my blog folder found an adorable heart stamp design (from what seems to be a very long time ago) that never made it to the blog. The background looks like my old college desk...which means this design is about 4-7 years old! The heart design makes it perfect for Valentine's Day and so this photo is now my Throwback Thursday post for February. Only 3 more days until Vday!

I believe these colors are China Glaze For Audrey, Orly Blue Suede, and BundleMonster stamp BM212. For my recreation I used OPI What's With the Cattitude?, Zoya Natty, and BundleMonster BM212. This is what my 2016 recreation looks like:

I like the color choice of the original more than the colors I chose for the new design BUT my stamping has definitely improved! However, this OPI needs to have so many coats I didn't wait long enough....pardon the ring finger and pinky finger.

And this is the 34th post of 2016...which means I have officially tied the number of posts that I  did i the whole year of 2012. Yes that's right. I posted 34 times in the whole year during 2012. Sad!

Toetally Tuesday: Valentine's Day

It's Tuesday already?! Wow, these weeks just keep flying by. In no time at all it'll be 2017. For today's Toetally Tuesday post I wanted to incorporate some type of Valentine's Day-ish design. I settled on pink....with some white and red. Pretty standard stuff for Valentine's Day, you know.

Were you ready for some FOOTBALL??

Alright, if you are an American and a football lover (I only identify as one of those BTW) then one of the most important TV events of the year happened last night for you. Yes, I'm talking about Superbowl 50 featuring the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers! And if you're like me you just watched it because you wanted to socialize with people, eat some delicious "game day" food, and, naturally, show off your festive nails! Mine looked like this:

For these nails my inspiration was the game obviously! For the pointer I put a horse for the Denver Broncos and for the ring finger I put panther paws for the Carolina panthers. The remaining fingers got a simple green (because the field is green...lol) and black footballs and helmets. If you're thinking "those images are wayyy too perfect to be hand painted" you are correct -- all the images are stamped using my Winstonia stamps. Note, the "horse" image is actually a unicorn stamp lol.

And it wouldn't be a Superbowl post without a photo of the winning team! Peyton Manning and The Broncos brought home the victory this time!

Even though I'm not a fan I was rooting for them to win because Andrew lived in Colorado for 6 months last year. Awww, this time last year he was moving back home to me!! If you haven't checked it, I blogged about my trip to visit Andrew there!

VDay Inspiration

Phew, made it through my first couple days of work! But enough about that, Valentine's Day is just a week away and today is my first Valentine's Day nail inspiration post of 2016. It's not too early right? This design is a simple and cheerful pink, white, and silver design featuring polka dots. It's also one I would totally wear to work. Ha, I love saying that (Note: in case you haven't been reading my blog for a while I recently spent about 9 months unemployed because I graduated law school, took the bar, and then had to find a job so yes, I'm thrilled to be back working!!).

I know this isn't the most unique design. I'm sure it's not the first time you've seen a design like this (it's not even the first time I posted a design like this) BUT I thought it was perfect for Valentine's Day. I used China Glaze International Flare for the pink, Brucci Jessica's Wedding Bells for the silver, and Zoya Snow White as the white.

National Wear Red Day

Did you know today is National Wear Red Day (in America)? I didn't know until I checked a calendar of random days online a while ago (when I was bored) and learned National Wear Red Day is the first Friday in February. It's purpose is to spread awareness that heart disease and stroke kill one in three women (YIKES) but is 80% preventable according to the official website! So I did in fact wear red today...on my nails!

To celebrate National Wear Red Day, the campaign asks you to wear red in support, show how you go red on your social media by using #GoRed, and donate to help raise funds for research and awareness. So show me your red nails!

101 in 1001: #19

I'm excited to post a 101 in 1001 list update! I am hoping to be able to cross off #65 of my 101 in 1001 list soon BUT since I just started at my firm it's too soon to tell if I'll really like it or not. So, for now, my update is that I can cross #19 off my list! #19, if you have not checked out the list, is to "Inspire someone else to create a 101 in 1001 list." As of February 1, 2016, this has been completed! Ghila, the blogger behind over at The Beauty Travelista has created her very own 101 in 1001/Bucket List!! Yay! Shout to Ghila! Thank you for helping me cross off an item on my list and I am so excited to be able to check out your progress on your very own list. If anyone else wants to create a 101 in 1001 list of their own don't forget to share links with me so I can see what you want to accomplish.

In other non-nail, non-101 in 1001 news: I am happy to report that my firm does not seem to be too strict on nail polish!! Wahoo! I don't think that I can quite wear nails like my Color Paints water marble BUT everything else seems to be ok. Yay! Although...my first couple months will probably just be in the office (not going to depositions or court) which means much of my time will be spent at my desk, hunched over records and my computer keyboard, in my office, by myself with minimal facetime with partners. So really, who is going to have issues with the colors of my nails?! Maybe I WILL sneak in some rainbow water marble after all.

Now I'm off to dinner with my parents and Andrew to celebrate my new job!! Yay!

Swatch: OPI What's With the Cattitude?

Hello everyone! You've heard me say this before....I'm a blue polish kind of gal. It's my favorite. And this polish is no exception. OPI What's With the Cattitude joined my collection six years ago as part of the Shrek Forever After collection and it is the most spectacular powder blue. It's definitely more a spring color but we don't worry about that here on The Files, we rock our polishes rain or shine, sun or snow, spring or fall, and summer or winter.. Ain't nobody got time to worry about "on trend" and "in season" polishes, you know??

This might be my new favorite blue. Only problem is....it takes 3-5 coats to make it opaque. Bummer! Ain't nobody got time for that!!

HUGE NEWS TO SHARE!

I know so many of you have been waiting for this ever since I got the news that I passed the Bar Exam and it's now time to share!

I AM OFFICIALLY AN EMPLOYED ATTORNEY!

I repeat, I am officially back in the workforce again!

I start tomorrow as an Associate at a local law firm that does civil defense litigation. How else to celebrate this auspicious moment in history (lol) but to paint my nails?! I settled on these, the simple scales of justice:

The Scales of Justice is part of "Lady Justice", the statue of the Roman goddess of Justice. She is blindfolded and holds both a balance and a sword. It's supposed to symbolize that justice/law is blind, balanced, and powerful.  A pretty cool symbol if you ask me! I should get these as a tattoo! Jk.

I don't know what this means for my blog posting schedule but I'm going to try really REALLY hard to post as often as I can and remain up to date on as many blogs as I can! Blogging is something I really enjoy (both posting on my blog and reading other peoples' blogs) and I would hate to lose it. Thank you for your support and for reading my posts even when they aren't nail related. I'm so thrilled for this new adventure and, of course, I can't wait to blog about it!