Manicure Update and Holiday Card

Manicure Update: This Shellac manicure that I got last weekend is definitely holding up.  There are only 2 noticeable chips (left thumb, right index finger).  I have noticed that my nails have grown because there's space between the cuticle and the nail polish.  I am not a skeptic anymore.
Shopping: I stopped by one yard sale today after going to spin class this morning, but didn't get anything.  I was so turned off by the condition of the items that were there because everything looked kinda dirty and dusty.  Just because it's used doesn't mean that it should look that way.  Before the yard sale, I went to Ross and found 2 punches in the kitchen section for $4 each. The one on top is called Acanthus Leaf and the one on the bottom is called Candles.
Card: Here's the card that I made last night with a "newish" stamp set from the yard sale a few weeks ago.  My goal was to make it a) not Christmas focused and b) flat so that it can go through the mail easily.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Chestnut Roan, Prussian Blue. Stampin' Up in Riding Hood Red, Pool Party
Stamp: Stampin' Up- Season of Friendship, Studio G (everything else)
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch

Good Yard Sale Day

Today was definitely a good yard sale day.  RJ knocked over my table lamp in the living room on Tuesday, so my assignment for myself was to find a replacement because otherwise my living room is a little dark.  I scored on the first moving sale that I went to.  I asked the lady how much the lamp was.  She said $10.  Meh, ok.  I walked around to see if there were other interesting things they were offering.  I found an opened variety pack of picture hangers (this will come in handy for the artwork that I purchased last month) and 2 rolls of white-out tape.  I asked the lady if she'd let me take all those items for $10 and she said yes.  Mission accomplished.

My next stop was to a yard sale where I got a lot of Christmas gifts for my friends.  The husband does a lot of jewelry sales and I guess he wanted to sell some of his inventory.  There was a sign that said 50% off the wholesale price, whoo hoo!  I got 6 necklaces and 3 pairs of fun socks for $20 total.  I was mentally dancing down the street back to my car.  One of the necklaces (the white one in the picture) broke in the car, but upon further inspection, I noticed that it was only 1 strand.  I can still wear the other two, no biggie.

My final stop was to an estate sale.  I picked out a pretty multi-colored pearl necklace (it's in the picture to the left) and 2 ornaments.  I planned to give my friend Meg the Woodstock (as in the Peanuts comic strip) ornament, but when the lady gave me my stuff after I paid, Woodstock feel and broke.  Everyone behind me in line gasped and "awww"ed sympathetically.  Sigh.  Oh well, it was still a pretty good day. :)

Office Bake-Off and Peace Card

At the office: The office chili cook-off and bake-off didn't go as well as I thought it would.  I'm not really sure what happened, but very few people brought stuff in.  Maybe if we had it on Monday, people could make stuff on Sunday, but since this was mid-week and the Election was yesterday, that messed people off.  Oh well.  One person made chili, which was very yummy.  Two other co-workers and I brought in pumpkin related baked goods...one brought in muffins and another person brought in a pumpkin roll (this person won in the baked goods category).  I was happy to bring an empty plate home and some compliments.  I also got Chinese food leftovers, so that took care of dinner tonight.  Word on the street is that there's going to be an in-person meeting TH and FRI, which of course, means potentially more free food. :D

Card: I wanted to use another "new" Stampin' Up stamp that I got from the yard sale a few weeks ago.  I love how elegant the doves look with the swirls.  I'm so glad that I got this stamp because it can be used for so many things, I think.  Christmas, With Sympathy, Wedding, Happy Anniversary, etc. 

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Fired Brick
Stamp: Studio G (snowflakes), Stampin' Up- French Flair
Stickers: October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers in Teal and Black
Other: Liquid Pearl in White Opal

Election Day

Hooray, Election Day!  I participated in early voting on Friday, so it was business as usual for me.  We have an office fall festival tomorrow, where there will be two components: a chili cook-off and a bake-off.  I'm not huge on chili, but I am BIG on baking.  My contribution to the cause is pumpkin chocolate chip pound cake, which I made while waiting for the election results to come in.  This is the first time I made this recipe in my place and not at my parents' place.  The oven was a little finiky, where one loaf seemed to finish before the other.  What gives?!  Oh well, easily fixed.  I saved one loaf for myself and will probably save some to share with my family later on today.

While I was making a mess in the kitchen, there was a crash and what sounded like a stampede upstairs.  I looked into the living room and noticed that the lamp was knocked over and RJ made a swift exit upstairs.  Stealthy, he is not.  I went over to see if I could fix it...and I couldn't.  My yard sale assigment this weekend is to find a new lamp for the living room. :(

Fall-To Layout #215

Not too much went on today except for some napping and getting out of the house for some groceries.  I think my energy was zapped from all the fun I had yesterday with my friends.  I was very thankful for my extra hour, that's for sure.

Here's my card for Fall-To Layout #215.  I wanted to use a sticker sheet that Meg gave me for my birthday a while back.  Mmm, cupcake. 

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment)
Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz- Rays
Stickers: EK Success- Cupcakes
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen
Other: Liquid Pearl in Buttercup

Ok, time to watch the Real Housewives of Atlanta season premiere...

Million Muppet March and Robyn's Birthday Celebration

Million Muppet March: This morning, Robyn and I participated in the Million Muppet March, in support of public broadcasting.  I wasn't sure how this event would be received, but there were far more people attending this march than I expected!  People were dressed up as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, etc.  Others brought their own puppets; my favorite ones were the Secret Service/FBI ones in the picture below.  I definitely got my exercise in for the day with all the walking we did!

Robyn's birthday celebration: After the March, we grabbed McDonald's and hung out at Robyn's place to wait for Meg and Jules to show up and then we headed to the Glynn Jones Salon for manicures.  If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you'll know that I do my nails very often myself, averaging about once a week because I a) I like the variety and b) I would rather spend money on something else.  Meg told me that her mom asked her, "How often does Tina get her nails done?"  She must have seen my frequent picture posts of my Konad stamping adventures, ha ha.  Anyway,  this was for Robyn's birthday so I figured I could splurge.  The 4 of us got something called a Shellac manicure and I'm supposed to get 2-3 weeks out of this.  I was amazed how durable this manicure has been so far.  No chips or smudges at all.  I'll have to continue to take pictures of it every couple of days to document its wear (hello, skeptic here).  Meg and Robyn both got French Shellac manicures and Jules got a nude color.  I went for color (shocker, I know)...this shade is called Hotski for Tchotchke.   At the end of the manicure, the lady asked me if I had a cat.  I was waiting for her to say something about and refer to the scratches on my forearms that RJ left.  :P

After the nails, we walked a few blocks to The Wharf for dinner.  Robyn conveniently had a $20 off $80 coupon.  The food was amazing!  There were so many things that I wanted to eat!  Meg got the scallops and I got the crab cake and we split the plates between us.  Jules and Robyn did the same thing except with scallops and salmon.  The restaurant gave us a slice of cheesecake and candle for Robyn to make a wish and blow out. Yay!

I Voted!

Hooray, I voted early! I can check that off to to-do list. I would have gone earlier today, but I was waiting for an email to come through and it didn't come in until late afternoon...like when people were leaving work. I guess other people had the same idea of voting after work. I didn't mind the wait though since the line was moving along. I was probably in line for 45 minutes, and now I don't have to wait until Tuesday to cast my votes and worry that I'm going to go over the 2 hours that work gives us to vote.

One thing that I thought was so annoying about this election season was all the ads. On TV. On the radio. In my mailbox. Even in the freakin' line to go into the voting center! Yes, I'm okay with same-sex couples getting married. No, I don't want there to be more casinos. None of your last minute rambling is going to change my mind. I can't wait for things to be back to normal next WED.