Lazy Saturday Manicure {Beauty on a Budget}

Confession: I used to spend an ungodly amount of money and time at nail salons. The faker looking the better. Getting acrylic nails for the last 10+ years really added up. I don't even want to think about how much the salons have profited off of me. I was blessed with naturally long nail beds, I always loved the strange compliment of "you have GREAT nail beds!", gee, thank you, here's $50 to cover them up with chemicals... So about 6 months ago, I decided to ditch the acrylic, and start doing at home manis, either in the evening while we catch up on our shows, or on the weekend when I have the day to be lazy. I've developed an inexpensive routine that leaves me feel almost as pampered as I did upon leaving the salon.

Step 1: Gather all your supplies so you don't have to go running to grab anything. I keep all my polish and nail supplies in a Dollar Tree bin. It makes it easy to grab and move to wherever you're going to set up shop.

Step 2: Cut, file and buff. You can shape your nails however you like them, I prefer square with rounded edges. Nothing too round, nothing too pointy. Girl, if you can rock a stiletto, all the power to you...I like to live inside the box a little. Buffing is an important step to keep the polish adhered to your nails. I use a basecoat once in a while, but often skip that step to save time. I got this pink one at the Dollar Tree, and stock up whenever I'm there.

Step 3: Exfoliate and moisturize. You have NO idea how amazing your hands will feel after a good exfoliating scrub. Smooth as a BB (baby's butt). This Crabtree & Evelyn La Source 60-Second Fix for Hands duo was a gift, and it feels SOOO luxurious! Step one is a rinse-off exfoliator, step two is a moisturizer that REALLY moisturizes. I would have never bought this for myself, but I enjoy it every single time I use it. Available at Crabtree & Evelyn for $16-$46 CDN.

Step 4: Oil those cuticles girl! This will help polish from getting stuck in the dry skin around your nail beds. I am not a fan of cutting my cuticles, but I find if I push them down and then oil them, I don't need to. I do however use my Dollar Tree cuticle cutter to trim hangnails and such before painting my nails. I will let the oil sit for 5 to 10 minutes and then wipe it off my nails with a clean towel. This is actually therapeutic grade avocado oil I picked up at Homesense for $6.99. I use this on my face at night so its nice to have it pulling double duty. You can find it on Amazon here.

Step 5: Do your best to not make a huge mess while painting your nails! I am possibly born with the shakiest hands on the planet earth. So if I am able to get 90% of the polish on my nails, and not all around them, I consider this a successful manicure. For this mani I used the Sally Hansen XTreme Wear polish in 340, Mint Sorbet (Dollar Tree, $1.25)

Step 6: Admire, and re-oil and moisturize. If you're anything like me, you will have failed to keep all the polish on the nails. I find if my skin is well moisturized and my cuticles remain oiled its a lot easier to pick away the excess polish.

Save yourself some money and try an at-home manicure! This is also such a great girls night activity. Have your girlfriends over, eat some carbs, drink some wine...watch some Magic Mike...whatever floats your boat. Your bank account will thank you for making the switch.

Garage Sale Scores! {Style on a Budget}

First of all, I am quite embarrassed that I haven't posted since my intro. But, here I am, with some great deals to share!

I managed to drag the hubby out to some garage sales yesterday. He's very into camping and outdoor survival, so anytime I find one advertising camping gear its usually a lot easier to convince him to wake up early on the weekend. We made it out around 10am, a little late for garage sale standards, but we found a 65+ home sale with an entire neighbourhood participating. I scored some great deals at the first house, and a couple more at the last house. Spent $14 dollars in total, and made it home with a ton of stuff!! Thrifty shopper for life!

^Casual red and black flannel (with a bit of silver weaved in) that is going to look really cute with some black leggings! (Old Navy, $1)


^Oatmeal sweater, thick cable knit kind, that feels like it'll last for life. Its long enough to wear with leggings and the wool is super soft, not itchy at all. (Ricki's, $1)


^Grey Nordic zippered sweater with a pop collar. Will be great for those cool fall and winter days paired with a some boots! (Kimset, carried at Bootlegger, $1)


^Fluffy cream scarf that will easily match lots of my work clothes. (Ricki's, $1)


^And...my FAVORITE article of clothing that of course, my husband HATES, a peach sweatshirt with FLAMINGOS all over it. I'm dying, its SO funky! I've been trying to break out of my rut of all neutrals, black and white colour scheme. I thought this was a perfect piece, and was the first item I picked out. The girl told me that it was a dollar so I hurriedly grabbed up everything else that looked quality. (O'Neill, $1)

^Then onto the sale that had all the camping stuff.... Hubby found 2 military grade duffel bags for $3 each! And wifey got some bags of her own! Brown with gold hardware Kathy Van Zeeland shoulder bag for $5 and a slouchy hobo bag with one main pocket for $4. I feel like I did pretty good for spending only $14.

The First Imperfect Post...

FIRST POST! I’ve wanted to start another blog for a while. For so many reasons, but mainly because I feel I have something to say, and that people out there might want to hear it. What I have to say is, being a wife isn’t perfect. It isn’t fresh-baked, made from fairy dust perfection. It isn’t perfect matching furniture you pin on your Pinterest boards. It isn’t “50 perfect date night ideas written on Popsicle sticks in a mason jar”. Sometimes its “I’m so tired that we are having Kraft Dinner for dinner”. Sometimes its starting the dryer for the third time because you didn’t have time to pull out the clothes you dried three nights ago. Sometimes it’s even deciding between paying the garbage bill, or the water bill...but so help me we’re paying the cable and internet bill because if we don’t we’d probably kill each other. But being a wife is a title I proudly and gladly hold. It has taught me so much about myself, and relationships, and commitment. I just want to read about how imperfect it all is. In a world where we are always trying to out-do each other’s perfection. Don’t get me wrong, this is coming from a girl who picked out her set of dishes to get the ultimate Instagram snap from the nights that I put forth the effort to make a gourmet meal.

Also, it should be noted. I’m not a housewife. I’m a working wife. I am a working wife, who loves anything beauty, crafty or animal print. This leads to a lot of deep sighs from my husband...when I really really need another trip to Walmart. Or the dollar store.  Or Michaels. I’m forever trying to “organize”, and forever searching for the perfect mascara. Neither are things I can put the check beside as done.

I’m hoping this blog can be a reflection of me, my loves, my need to share a great bargain, or amazing new makeup product, or a cute card I made for a friend. I promise I won’t blog about my secret to perfect Kraft Dinner...or maybe I will. I fancy myself an imperfect (working) housewife, just trying to make it through this life of perfection pushers.