DIY Manicure!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! I am pretty excited about today's post because it has been a pretty important part of my weekly routine for a little over a month now. What is this madness you are talking about Kayla? A manicure! At HOME! Yes, so don't freak out here or anything but i have been pretty good about having a perfect nail this time of year! And it has pretty simple and fairly easy to do. Even better? ALL of these products are available at your local drugstore!

Hopefully i can keep this simple, short, and sweet... fingers crossed. Before i get into this post though i wanted to let you know that next week i will be doing a Q & A post and i would LOVE to answer you guy's questions so shoot me an email or leave a comment below and i WILL answer it for sure!

On with the manicure? On with the manicure!

Step One: Remove any and all nail polish! I typically use a store-brand nail polish remover and a cotton ball. It's just nail polish remover... don't put too much thought into it this early on!

Step Two: Push your cuticles back! I have a little wooden stick that came in a set that i use and i just gently push back the cuticle. This reveals more of your nail and makes them look so much longer.

Step Three: PLEASE clean underneath those tips! The wooden stick i was just talking about has a pointy side that i use to clean under neath the nail and it works like a dream!

Step Four: Shape the nail. I use a glass file to basically file my nails into a square. It really keeps them looking very put together. 

Step Five: Use a 4-way buffing block to achieve the PERFECT basic nail! I use one by the brand Ms. Manicure and it's super simple and idiot-proof! The steps for it are labeled directly on each side. 1. File Away 2. Tidy Those Tips 3. Smooth It Down 4. Polish Me Perfect. I really, really, really love this little gadget... it makes doing your nails effortless. 

Step Six: After all that it is finally time to get down to business! Apply a base coat that fits to your nails needs. Lately my choice has been Nutra Nail Bullet-Proof Strength Formula Base Coat. My nails are definitely much less bendable :O! Let dry about 20 minutes.

Step Seven: Next apply one coat of your favorite nail polish! Mine has been E.L.F. Nail Polish in Red-y or Not. Let dry about 20 minutes.

source

Step Eight: Apply a second coat or add a glitter coat. Let dry anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours. 

Step Nine: Finally apply a top coat that fits to your nails needs. Honestly for me... i seriously need an all-in-one top coat but apparently they don't make one that is quick-drying, high shine, AND chip resistant... so i settle for Nutra Nail High Gloss Top Coat. 

And that is how i get my PERFECT manicure at home rather than paying $25 to get them done at the salon! :) i hope you enjoyed!

Birthday Haul!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!

Before anything I just want to tell you all thank you so very much for all the birthday wishes I received! I am beyond blessed to have you all as my readers! There is never a day I don’t think of you all!

Second thing is that tonight will be a double post night because last week I purposely did not post. Why? Because I knew I wanted to let you guys in on my birthday and how things went just because that seems to be a pretty popular subject with everyone, I also knew I would get a lot of questions on what I received as gifts so I wanted to do a separate post for that. Let’s face it… my blog posts can get pretty long so this was the simplest way of doing things.

I did have a pretty big birthday this year, so I do have a lot of gifts- call me spoiled if please but it really just amounts to the fact that I have a wonderful family that I am so grateful for. Hopefully this won’t be too long and to keep it from being too long I’ll just say who it is from and what it is.

Worship Bracelet

From: Mr. Joe and Mrs. Sheila

Disney Princess Cup

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

Ariel Rubber Sponge

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

Physician’s Formula Blemish Healing Concealer

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

Caress Endless Kiss Silkening Body Wash

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

Maybelline Color Tattoo Dare to go Nude Collection: Nude Compliment

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

Maybelline Color Tattoo Dare to go Nude Collection: Beige-ing Beauty

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

The Little Mermaid Magic Towel

From: Momma, Daddy, and Brother

Disney ArielTank Dress

From: Grandma

Disney BelleTank Dress

From: Grandma

Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Women's TotallyShaping Pull On Bootcut Jeans

From: Grandma L. and Grandpa

Signature by Levi Strauss & Co. Women's TotallyShaping Pull On Skinny Jeans

From: Grandma L. and Grandpa

  

You probably noticed that I received a lot of Princess stuff and might be wondering why a 19 year old would receive such gifts. Well, if you know me in real life then you would know that I love Ariel and Belle and for me it’s those gifts that mean so much to me because they are truly bought with thought. The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are my all-time favorite movies!

I love everything I got and I am so blessed to have the people I have in my life, not because of the gifts but because I know I am loved each and every day!

19th Birthday!?!?

Hello everyone! If you are new to my blog then welcome and thank you for stopping by! Before anything I just want to tell you all thank you so very much for all the birthday wishes I received! I am beyond blessed to have you all as my readers! There is never a day I don’t think of you all!

Second thing is that tonight will be a double post night because last week I purposely did not post. Why? Because I knew I wanted to let you guys in on my birthday and how things went just because that seems to be a pretty popular subject with everyone, I also knew I would get a lot of questions on what I received as gifts so I wanted to do a separate post for that. Let’s face it… my blog posts can get pretty long so this was the simplest way of doing things.

So I will try my very best to keep this short and simple but make sure that the points are made.

I did kinda celebrate my birthday in the time span of three days because my birthday did fall on a Sunday this year and I had many plans throughout the weekend, so I guess that makes me a tiny bit spoiled. No hate.

Friday, October 10^th I went to my high school’s homecoming (I can’t believe I wasn’t a part of the band this year! It was weird sitting in the stands as opposed to performing) with my dad, and my mom actually paid and told me it was an early birthday present so I thought that was super thoughtful of her!

Saturday, October 11^th I spent the morning in my PJ’s which was very nice! Then my dad asked if I wanted to go see a movie at the local theater and of course I told him yes. So we actually left super early and went to Walmart because I had to pick up some candy for my little ones at church for children’s time. Then we went to my absolute favorite store in the world… Dollar tree… and I picked up a few things for the church and some plates to complete my fall table I have going on! We also went to Dairy Queen and got a blizzard and usually I would get Pumpkin Pie (which is ah-mazing; my dad prefers the Apple Pie over it) but I got the Hawaiian blizzard instead, which was a first timer but it was REALLY yummy; it had coconut shavings, bananas, and pineapples. Finally we went to the theater and let me tell you… if you are into horror movies and are looking to really be scared… go see Annabelle. It was scary as heck and I watch scary movies pretty frequently with my dad.

Sunday, October 12^th MY BIRTHDAY! We went to church and the then we had church pictures to take for Pastor Appreciation Month so we did that and then my mommy took my family and I out to eat at Ruby Tuesday (if you care to know I had the salad bar and we all shared the Double Chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream) and then went to Walmart to do our bi weekly grocery trip. We went home and we were attempting to watch the Posession of Micheal King, and if you are into Paranormal Activity I think you’d like this but in a personal opinion, it sucked. Around 5 o’ clock my boyfriend (WHAT?! Yes, that is correct –boyfriend) took me out to “dinner” which consisted of more talking than anything and a movie.

I had a pretty amazing 19^th birthday and honestly I have gotten asked by so many how it feels (even though they are all older than me) and to answer that… it’s a little strange because next year I will be 20 but other than that… no different really I just feel like I have to be more mature than I was.

Again thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes, it really means the world to me!