Swatch: OPI I Vant To Be A-Lone Star

I got my first OPI! It's a mini, and it has no name on it, but it must be I Vant To Be A-Lone Star (from the Texas collection??) judging by my swatch googling and I got it on Clearance for 50 cents. Yeah, you read that right. Fifty. Fuckin'. Cents. I feel like an ace.

And it is GORGEOUS. Holy money, guys, this is a silvery-grey that reminds me of ghosts and fog and wisps and yeah, the moon. There's this subtly bluishness to it, like the hottest part of a flame, where it turns white, y'know? Holy. I still need to buy that OPI Skyfall mini set, and I would not mind a back up of this. Lookie!

(I did 3 coats. You have to swipe real nicely on this because if you try to go back over it before it's dry you get drag and then bald spots. Hence 3 coats.)

These pictures are all accurate, and you can definitely see the bluishness in the last pic (that has Seche Vite over top I believe).

What do you think? And IS it I Vant To Be A-Lone Star? I have no name on the bottle, so if you guys can confirm or deny, let me know please <3

Drunken Partay(s)

Alright everyone, I promise THIS IS RELEVANT TO THE BLOG. Because guess what? When my friends do drunken partays, they do drunken poutine partays! (I may be slightly intoxicated writing this post - sorry y'all.)

Anyway, I trekked over to my friend's place on the day of Friday and we made lots of great stuff.

McCain fries and delicious cheese curds!

 Our guest of honour and host with 8 cups of gravy. Eight. Cups. (250ml*8 = 1 L of gravy)

The. Best.

 I honestly had three bowls like this. The gravy was fat-free instant stuff that SAID "poutine" on the packet, it was awesome. I forget where he got the cheese curds but I WILL FIND OUT because I personally intend to make these parties a thing. I recommend not using McCain superfries though, and just going to McDick's or A&W and just ordering huge batches. It still wouldn't cost very much (would it?) or you could ask everyone to bring $2 - $3 to cover cost of fries. There was also bacon. It was amazing. I also discovered Galliano in Coca Cola. Pretty freaking awesome.

The second party I went to was fantastic. I'm just gonna post the highlights because you all totes wanna know 'bout mah gangsta lyfe.

Effin' Gangnam Style!

 And then a drunken group rendition of A Whole New World (Disney's Aladdin). That's how cool we are.

There was no puking! Hurrah!

It was fun! I actually met people and stuff, and had poutine! My poutine buddy (the handsome devil making gravy up there) is leaving me though, so I'm taking applications. Feel free to tweet at him (@pio07phga) and tell him that he is heartless for abandoning me so. Also, make him famous (#PhilippeforPM2015).

Submit below your full name and availability for the Poutine Buddy position.

Etsy Shop: CreativeUrges

Ever since Alexis Leigh did her review on an Etsy shop she purchased from, I wanted to do it too! I've loved almost every purchase I've made from Etsy and I know that some of you will be happy to discover things to save toward (that aren't nail polish).

One of my biggest woes in life is my inability to wear jewelry. I'm allergic to everything. EVERYTHING. If it's not gold, I'm not wearing it. I break out in an itchy, red, ugly rash and it's bad times all around. These long nails do some damage! I tape up the inside of my pants because the back of jean buttons irritate my skin too =( (Hockey tape is a LIFESAVER - if any of you need to tape something like jeans, use this because it stays stuck even in after a wash or twenty.)

Anyway, my point is that I'm limited to woven hemp and rubber bracelets, and I've never had a hope of owning a watch that I can wear....

Until...

My boyfriend's wonderful brother got me this for Christmas, and if it isn't one of the prettiest things I own, I don't know what else there is! I really love it and I've worn it a lot. It fits perfectly for me (she asks for your size) and the design along the leather is really cute.

 And here's what I did on the back to make it wearable (all hail the hockey tape)...

The best thing about this is that she makes quite a few, and they're designed for women. Most cuff-watches are geared towards men, believe me...

Anyway, here's the link to get your own, or at least take a look!

What do you think? Is it your kinda thing?

PokeNail Challenge #1 GRASS POKEMON

So based on yesterday's post, do you guys have any guesses? ;)

Started with Pure Ice Blue Midnight of course and took out my trusty Sharpie! I based this part of the design on the zombie brains from Sonoma Nail Art but y'know, only loosely.

BLUE BRAAAAIIINNNNSSSSSS~~~~~

After that I used my Windows Polish (from when they did the Polish Bar in my local mall) and painted along between the lines I drew.

Looks a little weird, but definitely brightened it up and made the darker parts easier to see! You guys should have some idea now, right? I used acrylic paint for the white and black, and Julep January where there's red...

TANGELAAAA!!

Though not my favouritest grass pokemon (I mean c'mon, BULBASAUR), I thought it would be out of the box and make for interesting nails. Guess what? It did!! =D

Swatch: Pure Ice Blue Midnight

Holy cow guys, I really love this colour! Another courtesy of Nails for the Sake of Sanity, it's Pure Ice Blue Midnight! This one looks fantastic in the bottle and I have some plans for it so here we go!

I did two coats and...

Surprise! It's MATTE! It looks pretty cool though. Since I was gonna nail art all over it, I decided to Seche it so that if I screwed up I had some leeway when trying to fix it with acetone.

I have to say, this is one of those polishes that isn't getting any favours by being matte. It is GORGEOUS shiny and I much prefer it that way. Good thing I never leave without topcoat, right? Shiny =)

What's your favourite Pure Ice? They're in Wal-Mart right? =D TELL ME!

Food: Cazba

Hey guys! Today I wanna tell you a little bit about a traditional Iranian dish (and the best one, hands down). I don't know how many of you have had access to an Iranian community but if you ever get the chance to go on a picnic, this will be the highlight of your outing: Cheloh Kebab or Soltani. In restaurants, it's a little hit or miss but in Vancouver there's an emerging superstar for this.

Cazba in 132 West 16 Street North Vancouver
Cazba is the best place I've found yet, and it's about $10 for this whole plate! It is MASSIVE.

Now then, I have to describe this.... after picture:

Okay so the rice is just white basmati rice with saffron. The salad is just lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber with ranch (I think) and it's "white" food - Persians don't really have salads.

The meat is what we're talking about. It's a kebab made of ground beef and onions, and the soltani (underneath) is non-ground kebab. If it's made well, it should all be really tender and flavourful. Traditionally it's served with a grilled tomato, which should be mush that you mix in with the rice.

Persians don't eat with a knife and fork, you get a knife and a spoon. The spoon you hold with your fork-hand and the fork is just to help separate bits. Most food is so soft that the spoon will cut right through it, and that's how that meat should be. You're also supposed to fit a little bit of everything onto your spoon - a piece of meat, some rice and some tomato mush - all at once.

Have you guys tried this? What did you think? If any of you end up in Vancouver, let's go out!

PS: If it tastes like lamb, they didn't do it right.

Let It Snow #7: Fireside Glow

I was looking forward to this one =) I knew exactly what I wanted to do! Long ago, I had seen this gorgeous image from a blogger I'm going to call the Mistress of Colour. Just check it out!

Anyway, I started with Orly Rockin' Rockette. After two coats of that and one of Seche, I wore it for a day or two and then painted on another thick coat and white that was still wet, glorped on a bit of China Glaze Winter Berry, Orly Old School Orange and Essence Wanna Be Your Sunshine. All but the Essence and the Seche are from Kelly <3 I owe her so hard.

Anyway, here they are!

It doesn't look half bad! I picked up my KleanColor Chunky Holo Black and dabbed some on to show embers. Unfortunately the base of the KC is pigmented (a bad decision all around) and it dulled my yellow a bit.

It also didn't appear to do much other than that =( In lower light though...

Looks pretty cool! I'm sad about the darkening of the yellow, but it's not terrible. In the future, I wouldn't do the KC. Oh wells~~ Check everyone else!