Ombre' Nails! Plus, Required Reading

Yesterday, I received a box of lots of fun make-up from e.l.f. that was sent to me by my sweet friend, Vanessa! Little S. freaked out, immediately, over the Bright Trio nail polish set, while I was swooning over everything, especially the amazing eyeshadow pallet! So what did we do? Of course, we painted our nails! Little S. was very patient while I painted her toenails AND fingernails. She got the color on my pointer finger, which came in the e.l.f. Bright Trio set. It's called Bright Coral. The three colors in the middle of my hands and toes were in the trio set, while my thumb and pinky are painted with colors I already owned. I know the pinky color is a bit dark for the ombre' effect, but I did my best with what I had.

What do you think?

Yes, I'm doing a Lady Gaga Little Monsters claw. What say you of it?

I'm pretty certain I'm going to love playing with this effect throughout the summer. On my list is a set with blues, turquoises, and greens!

It's a busy day with working half a day, going home for the second half to shower, pack, hem a skirt and get ready for our department's graduation ceremony, then leaving for the beach! But no worries, once I get the skirt finished and get dressed, I'll be SURE to post an OOTD, this evening! And don't forget to stop back by tomorrow for this week's Intense Adoration post!

You also HAVE to go to Amazon and buy Kori's new book, Murder on the Boulevard! I'm SO proud of her and will be making the purchase for my Kindle app, this afternoon!

AND don't forget to head over to Blonde Episodes and link up to Kori's Fashion Friday!

I'm also getting some really amazing entries for the Nanny Style Contest, so if you haven't entered, yet, you should! Not only are you inspiring me to stay well-dressed while I change jobs, but Polyvore is just REALLY fun. Don't believe me? Try it out! And I'm calling Whitney out, because she said she was going to submit a set and I haven't seen one, yet. Ahem, best friend? Get on it. Please and thank you. (I love you.)

Enter the Nanny Style Contest!

Don't forget to stop back by, later, to see my graduation ceremony outfit!

Dress Me Up Like a Paper Doll

During Kendi's Winter 30 for 30 Challenge, three lovely style bloggers decided to cohort and become each others' stylists for some of their outfit choices. I thought it was a genius idea and was so excited when Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy decided to open up this "Paper Doll Project" to style bloggers, everywhere!

The ladies who participated in the original project are Suze, Erin, and Liz. If you haven't checked them out, yet, you should! Trust me, you'd want their styling tips, too!

Today is the first installment of the group Paper Doll Project effort, which Suze singlehandedly organized! I was paired up with Nicole (my stylist and own little personal doll!) of Employed Panache! She asked me to help style this skirt, and I asked her to help me style my sack of a butterfly dress!

For more information on the Paper Doll Project and a full list of participants/partners, click the sweet button, below!!!
If you're participating and haven't grabbed one of these cuties, yet, be sure to do that, too!



And onward, we go! Nicole seriously styled the heck out of my dress. Ever since I bought this baby, I've stared at it with complete confusion, viewing it as a challenge. While I was in the store, I thought the dress had such a whimsical pattern and could be adorably paired with a navy or mustard cardigan. Well, I did the navy, already. And as far as mustard goes, you probably know I'm obsessed with the color and have yet to purchase ANYTHING with it. You'll be surprised to know that I scoured Nicole's wardrobe via her blog and out of envy, dressed her in a mustard cardigan! Stay tuned for Nicole's outfit post, this evening!

I would never have styled this dress how Nicole did. I'm pretty brave when it comes to breaking rules, pattern mixing, and stepping out of the box. But for some reason, I just can't picture navy and black together. I'm so closed-minded! I LOVE how this turned out. The only change I made, veering from Nicole's suggestion, was that I decided to wear my black pumps instead of the booties. It's already 80 degrees, here, today! Those booties are suede and Wintery to me. She approved of my edit, so all is well!

butterfly dress: Old Navy
blazer: Christy Miller, via TJ Maxx
pumps: Bandolino, via Ross, birthday gifted from Rochelle

Really? THREE pieces? I'm wearing three simple pieces and I look so much more put together than I could ever have given this dress credit for. Thank you, Nicole! You saved this dress from being cut up and restyled into a "Who knows how this is gonna turn out project..."

 

How about the electronic love of my life died this morning? Don't worry, she's not dead forever, just needs a recharge. So, in haste to not lose the opportunity to post my Paper Doll outfit, husband whipped out his handy iPhone 4. And the man is so genius with photography that I can't even tell these were taken by a camera phone. Also, check out my ombre hair, today. I had no idea I was so on trend.

Man, I had so many things to talk about today.
Potty training, skin problems, no heat styling challenge, shaving my legs (or not), food...
I guess it'll all have to wait for another day.
Like tomorrow, for instance. See you, then!