Okay so I've been slacking a bit with respect to posting to this blog.  Things have been busy.  My little one was sick & that takes a lot of energy out of you.  But just a few quick pictures, as I have been keeping up with my manicures/pedicures.  In fact in the 9 days that I didn't post, I changed my nail colour 4 times!  That's perfectly normal right?

Below is the nail colour that I like the most.  Blue with glittery tips.  I had so much fun with this colour and even had to dig out all of my blue clothing... so for most of the work week, my outfits matched my manicure.  Yeah, I'm cool like that

For tonight's manicure/pedicure I decided that I would do my part to brighten up this dreary wintery day (-42 with the windchill!), so I went with a warm summery shade.  Julep's Sasha - a cantaloupe melon creme.

After a top coat & in certain lights, this colour looks almost neon orangey pink!  So glad I have matching toes...

How's that for going "outside of my colour comfort zone"

 

Haven't heard of Julep?

 

If you're new to the whole Julep Maven program, it's essentially a nail polish/Julep branded product subscription service.  The regular fee is $19.99, but you can try it out for $0.01.  Simply complete the style quiz and type in the promo code JULEPVIP to reduce your price to a penny!  Every month you get to preview your box & if you don't like the colours and/or you would like to skip the month you can.  Ready to check out the Maven program?  Please use my referral link to sign up:



http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/96303/

Sunday evening manicure

Giving myself manicure & pedicure was something that I used to do for myself every Sunday evening.  It was a nice way of winding down the weekend & getting set for the upcoming week... but I have since neglected this :o(  and my nails were starting to look hideous...

But no more!  This is the year that I start taking care of me.  I need it, I deserve it, and I WILL DO THIS.  To help motivate myself, last month I decided to signed up to be a Julep Maven.  What is this exactly?  It's a subscription service whereby you pay $19.99/month to get a minimum $40 worth of nail polish & product delivered every month. That's at least 2 new colours and a product each month.  Also worth mentioning is that the regular price of Julep nail polish is $14/bottle at Sephora.  What I like best about Julep is that their formulation is 4 free - this means it doesn't have any harsh chemicals, so when my daughter is older I can use it on her.  

Being a Maven gives me exclusive access to new trendsetting colour and I will always get 20% off and free shipping.  Also on the 20th of every month I get to preview the colour and if I don't like it or if I don't want to buy it.  I can choose to "skip" a month.  All this is done online and so easy.  How cool is that?  I like that I'm in control of what I buy & I know exactly what I'm getting.

Actually in all honestly what got me was the penny introductory box... For a penny, I received two full sized nail polishes & some cuticle oil delivered to me.  Not a bad deal.  Want to try it out for yourself?  The offer code I used to get this deal was "penny" 

If you're going to do it, please use my referral link below.  Doing this will help me earn Julep Jules & will send loads of good karma to you

http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/96303/

 

So moving on to my Sunday manicure.  For this look, I went with Revlon's Sheer Peach, topped off with Julep's Vivien (gold simmering polish), then a clear top coat to seal it all in.  I also applied Julep's essential cuticle oil - just to moisturize and ensure that my hands/cuticle stay nice.

What do you think of my nails? 

2013 ~ a new year & new goals

I recently decided to give this world of blogging another go at it.  My first attempt a few years prior failed miserably, sigh.  Oh well.  It's a new year and with that I'm going to give it another try.  Who's to say that my second attempt won't be successful?  Have faith everyone.  And please join me in this journey as I attempt to chronicle my life as a full time working mom to an almost two year old little girl.  She's quite the little princess, as you will see...

With the new year I've set some goals for myself.  I truly believe that if you share it, then you're more likely to achieve them... mostly because when others know about, you're suddenly held accountable.  Especially when they start asking you about how it's going...

So I figured why not share it with everyone, here goes my 2013 goals & how I will attempt to achieve them:

1)  To pack work lunches more often.  Doing this will help me save so much money.  After a recent analysis of my monthly credit card spending (I charge practically everything! Sad I know) I learned that I spend WAY too much money on eating out.  A typically lunch for me ranges from $6-14.  And a typical breakfast ranges from $4-6 (what can I say, I'm addicted to McDonald's breakfasts.  Please don't judge).  So if I attempt to curb eating out on work days, I will stand to save a bunch of money roughly $10-20/day.  And why not?  Also packed lunches will be healthier too...

2)   To time out for myself.  All mothers do this.  They put their children/husband/family first and neglect to take care of themselves.  While on maternity leave, I was especially bad with this.  I wanted so desperately to be the best mother, the best wife, as well as keep a nice neat home... the result?  I was so exhausted at the end of the day that I just never had the chance to take care of myself.  I got to admit I was grumpy most days.  So I decided that this year will be different ~ by taking care of myself first, my daughter & my husband will benefit.  I'll be a happier mom, wife & all around person.  This will be somewhat of a challenge for me but I have a plan in place.  It's all about balance & if I make a good effort then I will achieve that perfect life balance.

3)  Be conscious of my spending habits.  For the most part I am very good with my money, but I occasionally will slip up and "over spend" on certain things and/or at certain times of my life.  This year there will be some big expenses coming my way (braces, basement development & landscaping our backyard), so I need to plan ahead and make sure that I have enough funds to pay for it all, while still maintaining a reasonably comfortable lifestyle.  It's all about choices & I chose NOT to go into debt.  My braces alone with cost just over 8K!  But it's something that I want for myself so I view it as a necessity :o)