NYX Matte Nail Polish in Sky Blue

Earlier this week, my husband and I went to the doctor to have our cough (and his asthma) checked. In the hospital, I noticed a girl sporting cute pastel blue polish on her fingers and toes. I envy people who can keep their fingernails and toenails painted with the same colors. Haha! I change my manicure too often that my pedicure couldn't keep up. :)

Anywho, she made me want to wear a pastel blue myself. And I knew just the polish to try on! This is NYX Matte nail polish in Sky Blue which came with my polish swap from Jeiflyn.

This was done in 3 thin coats. I really like the satin matte finish. It was just right, not too matte that it looked flat or dry. I was thinking to myself that I feel like I have Barbie's nails for some reason... I don't know why exactly. :) For me, it looks very clean and neat. I could almost call this mannequin nails, but then they're in baby blue and not nude or skin tone. Hehe!

It's very pretty and I think it's just perfect for the weather! We're starting to get more of those scorching hot summer days, like searing heat the moment you step out of the house. I bet we'll see more of these pastels as spring and Easter approaches. This looks like a great backdrop for an Easter egg nail art. Don't you think so? It has a similar smooth eggshell finish. I like!

The only thing you have to be careful with is making sure that they dry completely. Otherwise, you could get small creases, and these are quite delicate when still wet. It's formulated to be matte. So there's really no protection for the polish. But it's the 4th day that I'm wearing this and I'm still loving it! I'd dare say that the wear on this is pretty good!

Not sure if my nails worked with this outfit, but here's what I wore to my lunch date with Jor-el. I was craving for some Eggs Benedict and we ended up at Bizu! Yum! :)

Jellybean cape button down shirt, Zara floral print shorts, Tonic Bags and Shoes Lillian gold spiked sandals, Jellybean tribal necklace.

Eggs Benedict at Bizu, The Fort (Yumm!!)

What colors would you like to see for spring (or summer here in Manila)? :)
  

Karen & Erica's 2012 Birthday Party

September 15, 2012

This year, it was a sit down Surf and Turf dinner + Hello Kitty + Tonic Bags and Shoes + Polished Inthecity Nail Art PARTY!!!!

I'm still on a high over it! Jor-el bought 18 pieces of 14-16 oz. steaks for all of us to feast on!!! If you've seen them in real life, you'd be flabbergasted! :-O

Thank you Chef Jor-el Soyangco for our plated surf and turf grilled steak and prawns with a siding of mashed potatoes and our smoked salmon with kesong puti salad in blueberry vinaigrette!

Thank you Chef Nicco Santos for our watercress and spinach soup, mushroom and truffle cream sauce pasta, and our late night salpicao!

We even hired a waiter to serve and bus out our plates! How cool is that?! :)

It was so sad we didn't have pictures of the food though!! All I have is this picture of the leftovers with the boys. :(

I got Erica black Lydias from Tonic Bags and Shoes for her birthday! I wore my platinum ones, while Anne wore her gold ones. All thanks to the ever-talented Kim Chupeco!! We love your work!!! <3

Our friends, Kali and Rach, got us these really cool Hello Kitty glasses! Now, I have 4 in my collection!!

Took this the day after the party, with my new Hello Kitty glasses! :)

The night progressed with the girls doing their nails for each other. :) It was so much fun!!! Look at the smiles on our faces! After trying it out themselves, my friends realized how easy it was to do! The night was shortlived and I'm still hoping that I can invite them over to the house for another round!

Nail Art #1: Kate Spade Dippin' Dots for Kali

with China Glaze Peachy Keen, China Glaze For Audrey, and Orly Pixy Stix

Nail Art #2: Fun Nerds Dots for Shirley

with Orly Spark, Orly Rage, Orly Pixy Stix, China Glaze Peachy Keen, and China Glaze For Audrey

Nail Art #3: Silver Accents over Pink for Elaine
with some Orly pink polish and Wet 'n' Wild Wizard

Nail Art #4: Sponged tips for Erica
with Orly Rage layered on Essie Sand Tropez

Nail Art #5: Aztec Nails for Kacy
with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, L'Oreal Electric Pink Creme, and Sassy Nail Art in black

Nail Art #6: Paul Smith Stripes for Kim Lee

with Sassy Nail Art in black, red, and Orange striped over OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls

Nail Art #7: Black Swan sponged tips over silver foil for Jeelai
with Wet 'n' Wild in Creme Noir over some silver polish

The last 3 to leave, with yours truly. You can see the full post about my cupcake nails here. :)

Can you believe it?!?! 7 nail art designs all in one day! Phew! Perhaps I can retire at this point! Haha Who am I kidding?!?!

But before I end this post, I'd like to share with you my favorite picture of them all! It was an honor to have our first ZESh baby, Kirk, attend his first ZESh party!!! I'm a proud Auntie!! :) Isn't he just adorable? <3 Calling Kirb and Vince, please bring Kirk more often! Anne and Hans, bring Ethan next time too, okay? :)

Celebrating love and friendship on our 28th! Of course, a little bit of nail polish and Hello Kitty wouldn't hurt too! :)

Have a great Wednesday to all of you!!

 

My Birthday Month, so far

Hello! Hello! Hello!

Once again, I am catching up with posts. :D It's the last week of September, and to be honest I'm still overwhelmed with all the activities taking place. It almost feels like the Christmas holiday rush is here; and yet, the celebrations have just begun!

Let me list down the highlights for you.

• September 1 marks the start of the "ber" months. Here in the Philippines, that means we start playing Christmas songs in the malls. Our beloved shih tzu, Keno, celebrates his 10th birthday on the 1st. He's now 70 in dog years. 
• On September 4, we watched The Phantom of the Opera at the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines). 
• On the eve of the 7th, September 6, I played badminton with friends and waited up for the 7th over midnight snack at the Peacock Throne Persian Cuisine & Kebab at Mandaluyong. I was craving for their melon shake that tasted like Jonas' in Boracay. But alas, they were out of stock. :,(
• On September 7, I celebrated my 28th birthday with my family at Paseo Uno buffet at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati. (More on this below.)
• On September 11, my husband and I celebrated our 1st year wedding anniversary. We were supposed to stay at a hotel overnight, but then, we found out that he was sick with asthma, so we decided to stay home. Nevertheless, it was an emotional ride for me. We decided it's time to start a family. <3 :,)
• On September 14, my friends and I went to the soft opening of Greeka Kouzina. It's a Greek restaurant owned by friend Kacy and her cousin Allan. It's located along P. Guevarra Street where the old Power Mac center used to be. You can't miss it! The food is to crave for!! Jor-el wrote an entry for this and you can read more here.
• On September 15, my kinderpwend (classmate and friend since Kindergarten), Erica, and I, had our joint birthday party. She celebrated her birthday on the 9th and we've been celebrating our birthdays together with our friends for years. We had a sit down dinner in our house care of the boys (my husband and her fiance) and afterwards, the girls all played with nail polish! Haha! It was a fun night!
• September 17. Jor-el's birthday gift, my new 15-inch retina display Macbook Pro arrived. Woohoo! This is the first blog entry that I'm composing on my Pro! Oh yeah!
• On September 18, my mom hit a huge milestone and turned 50! Jor-el and I went home to my parents' house to surprise her on her birthday eve. On the day itself, we went back to our recent favorite, Paseo Uno for another round of buffet!
• On September 21, I hosted our company team building at our house. One of my teammates organized the mooncake dice game for us. 
• Upcoming on the 29th, my colleague's daughter is turning 1. I will be attending the birthday party in the afternoon. For dinner, I'll be going to a wedding reception for another colleague, who is getting married on the same day! 

So, how many highlights were there?? 11!!! I wonder if that even beats my calendar for December! That's probably the most celebrations I've had in a month!! And each highlight probably warrants a blog post! I could still be missing some other events or they're bound to crop up sooner or later. So many dates to remember, but i'll stop boring you with my calendar.

On to my birthday celebration, and some pictures to share.

Starting from the leftmost, clockwise: Jor-el, me, Shobe, Mommy, and Papa. Shoti joined us a bit later via Skype! :)

My mom is a new member of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati and we thought of using some of the coupons. It was seafood night at the Paseo Uno buffet. Jor-el and I were late, and upon our arrival, my dad immediately gave us a tour of the buffet and took us first to the prime rib carving station. Here's my first course for the meal.

Lo and behold, they also served foie gras!!! Yum! It's duck liver, though, not goose. But I still enjoyed it topped with the balsamic dressing! It gave an extra kick to my steak!

Since I started off with the main course, I worked my way back to the appetizers. Haha!

Then, on to some seafood! There was sea bass too! But I ended up skipping it.



There were more lobsters on the plate before I took the picture, but our appetite got the better of us. :*)

And as they say, there's always room for dessert!!

The staff and my family were sweet enough to sing a very nice resounding Happy Birthday song to go with the cakes. :)

Here's the present from my sister. (Isn't she thoughtful?) Plus some other shots my family took while waiting for my arrival.

My sister with that dreamy look on her face. So charming :)

Mother and daughter. So pretty!

My beautiful mom. Heck! She could be my sister! :)

Always happy for dessert!

How is your September so far? :)