Tuesday, June 26, 2012

OPI Nail Polish: The Favorites - The Essentials

As many of you now know, one of my best friends, Jessica, and I are obsessed with nail polish. Especially OPI nail polish. Sometimes I really wish you guys could see us in action talking about it. But as I was making my excel spreadsheet of my nail polishes, I thought it would be cool if Jessica and I made a top 10 OPI list. I wanted us to pick 10 colors that we couldn't live without, that if we could only have 10 of them for the rest of our lives what would they be? Or if girls out there are interested in nail polish and want some recommendations, what would be good ones to suggest? I went over to her house yesterday so we could go through our collections and debate and discuss what the top ones would be. Instead of just making one top 10 list, we ended up dividing it up into different lists. We have the limited edition colors, the classics, classic pinks, and then a top 5 basic list. I will break it down even more as we go along.

Ready?

The Limited Edition Top Ten OPI Colors
This list is comprised of ten colors that are out right now and will retire soon or have already retired and you can't get it anywhere! I know, it stinks. But we couldn't not include these amazing colors!
Servin' Up Sparkle - This is the perfect glitter because it has big glitter in it. It's from the Serena Williams collection. It is a silver glitter that can go on top of any color!
Teenage Dream - This is a pink glitter that's from the Katy Perry collection. It is also a big glitter type. It's a favorite of ours because you can use it by itself. Doesn't need to go on top of anything!
Rainbow Connection - This one is a thick glitter with different shapes and colors. It is from The Muppets collection that came out last Christmas. It was so popular and sold out fast. I was unable to get it because it was sold out everywhere when it came to Christmas. Jessica got to snag it up though! I have the Kardashian Kolors Nicole by OPI version of it though! There are other versions of it in other brands as well.
Let Me Entertain You - This was from the Burlesque collection and is very flashy.
Merry Midnight - From a Christmas collection. In Jessica's words its "An oldie, but a goodie." It is a dark purple glittery color.
Grape...Set...Match! - Also from the Serena Williams collection and is a true purple with shimmer.
It's My Year - I have blogged about this one already and it is one of my all time favs. It is a gold/purple shimmer. Changes colors in the light! It is from the Miss Universe collection and was very limited edition! Hard to find!
Swimsuit...Nailed It! - This is also from the Miss Universe collection and it is a bold, shimmering, and rich dark blue.
Catch Me In Your Net - I am wearing this one right now. Jessica has this one and it is retired. It is a blue with green glitter in it. So pretty and wish I had it in my collection!
Fly - This is from the Nicki Minaj collection that came out this past winter and is a great solid teal colors. It is thick and doesn't need many coats!

The Classics Top Ten List
These are colors that you can get pretty much anytime. They have not yet retired and can be found almost anywhere OPI is sold. Definitely don't skip over this list if you are interested in expanding your collection!
My Address Is "Hollywood" - This is one of my all time favorites. It is a sophisticated and classy pink that can be worn for professional events, meetings, etc.
The Thrill Of Brazil - I have also blogged about this color. One of my favorite shades of red. It is bold, solid, and thick so you don't have to put too many coats! Can be worn year round.
An Affair In Red Square - This is a nice fall/winter color. It is a darker red with shimmer.
Cajun Shrimp - A fun summer classic! This is an orange-y-pink shade. Also solid, bold, and thick.
In My Back Pocket - Light orange and is a fun color.
A Grape Fit! - A perfect pastel purple shade.
Jade Is The New Black - Awesome green. A darker color good for pretty much year round!
Yoga-ta Get This Blue! - Dark blue with shimmer. It is said this is Taylor Swift's favorite OPI shade!
Lincoln Park After Dark - This is a good dark shade. It is a purple shade, but it is so dark it can look black at a glance. Great for fall and winter or for professional events, meetings, etc.
Suzie Loves Cowboys - This is from the Texas Collection and it is a great dark brown. We think brown is a cool nail polish color.

The Classic Pink Top 6 List
Pink is a common shade of nail polish and popular with the girls! It was hard for us to include all these great pinks in our list so we had to make it's own list! These are also common ones that should be pretty easy to find.
I Think In Pink - Light pink. Jessica says, "Everybody has to have a good light pink." I agree! It is just hard to find a good light pink that is thick enough so you don't have to do 100 coats!
Strawberry Margarita - Classic everyday pink.
Kiss Me On My Tulips - Just came out not too long ago in the Holland collection and is a great bold pink.
Koala Bear-y - Another all time favorite HOT pink!
Dim Sum Plum - Matte fusia. This one is thick and not dull. A favorite!
Flashbulb Fusia - Jessica has this one and I hadn't heard of it, but definitely on my wish list now! Very bright! They weren't kidding with the name!

The Essential Basics
This is our top 5 essential basics that you would need if you are starting a collection or already have them. You need the basics! We feel that if you are into nail polish or thinking about it, that you should have at least 1 pink, glitter, red, dark color, and unique color.
Pink shade - Strawberry Margarita
Glitter - Servin' Up Sparkle
Red - The Thrill of Brazil
Dark color - Lincoln Park After Dark
Unique Color - Cajun Shrimp
All 5 should be available!

Here are some of the colors that were mentioned in this post!
It's My Year - Miss Universe Collection
The Thrill Of Brazil - Classic Red
Dim Sum Plum & Teenage Dream
Fly - Nicki Minaj Collection
Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Garage Sale

Growing up, I never went to garage sales. It just wasn't my thing. As I was getting stuff for college (I can't believe it was a couple years ago!) my roommate, Paige, was telling me of all the things she was getting from garage sales for our room. Me, on the other hand, was taking trips to Target, buying all brand new things. I just kind of had this snobby attitude when it came to garage sales because I am picky about my things. I like them brand new, not used. And I would think, who knows what has been done with the things or who has touched them! But here I was just last week finding myself being invited to a big garage sale to support the Piper robotics team. I went to support with my best friend, Sammie and I ended up falling in love with a picture frame and a wine bottle that we managed to get for a couple bucks! You should have seen me get excited over these things. Once we got back to my house, I showed them to my mom and immediately got to work by changing the dull picture out of the frame and putting in my poster from the Taylor Swift's concert until I find (or make) something even better to put in the frame. I picked a place for it in my room and put the wine bottle right by it. These pieces make me feel...glamorous. And I got them used and for a couple bucks. That is what makes it magical. I have a tendency to be a little materialistic with a hint of expensive taste and here I am feeling happy, girly, and glamorous over these things I got for cheap and that we're even used. Something I am not used to. Something very new. It opened my eyes, got me out of my comfort zone, and got me actually pretty excited to see what I can possibly find at other garage sales. It also got me thinking. I was excited about this new step as it continues my growth as a woman. I've wondered what their stories are; these items. Did the frame hang in someone's bedroom? Maybe a bathroom or dining room? What were the owners like? Who did the designs on the wine bottle? These things have a past which got me thinking even deeper. I'm now at an age where we have pasts. In high school, when you first start dating and you get your first boyfriend or girlfriend, everything seems brand new. First boyfriend or girlfriend, first kiss ever, first time meeting the parents, first break up. As I've gotten to know others, I've finally accepted that people have pasts. They've already had their first kiss, they've met parents, they've had their heart broken. We aren't brand new anymore to the dating world. Everyone probably has at least one mark on their heart just like one of the screws in the back of my frame was broken. But it's okay, because I love it anyway. I fell in love with that frame and took it home with me. It's kind of the same for us. We may fall in love with someone that has a past...and unexpectedly perhaps just like I unexpectedly fell in love with that frame and wine bottle at that garage sale.

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

Monday, June 11, 2012

Can We Be Friends?: Friendships With The Opposite Sex


One December night, Anna and I were trying to figure out what our plans would be for the rest of the evening. Trevor, Paige’s now fiancĂ©, was trying to help us come up with ideas. He suggested inviting over the boys we were talking to at the time to make cookies with us. Trevor then randomly said, “I saw this YouTube video…” and went on to tell us what it was about. It was a research study that was trying to find out if boys and girls can really just be friends. He explained to us that girls did not have a problem saying they could easily just be friends with a guy while the guys had a problem saying they could just be friends with a girl. It was common for the guys to want to eventually be more than friends with the girl they were friends with. This could cause some conflict. Ever since, he pointed that out, it has been on my mind as I observe my own relationships with boys and others as well. I have discussed the topic with both girl and guy friends of my own to learn more about friendships among the opposite sexes. I have even been reading a book called, Single Men Are Like Waffles, Single Women Are Like Spaghetti to further my understanding of the differences between men and women. And as a communications major, I have learned about the genderlect theory and how men and women communicate.

In my Theories of Communication class, we learned about the genderlect theory. It showed the different communication styles of men and women. Men use a report style of talking. They use logic and arguments  and they like to get straight to the point. If you talk to a guy after he gets back from a date, he will more than likely “report” to you getting straight to the point by giving you general and basic info. This conversation will probably be short. Now women use a rapport style of talking. They like to build relationships with people. When she gets back from her date, she will probably tell you almost every detail down to what she had to eat and as well as her date. She could be able to walk you through that date step by step and she may even digress and talk about other things that may relate to the date.

In Single Men Are Like Waffles, Single Women Are Like Spaghetti, they relate to men and women’s thinking and communicating processes to the foods. Waffles have boxes. Boys like to stay in their set boxes when they think and communicate. Women think and talk with all kinds of thoughts and stories intertwining like spaghetti noodles. The authors, Bill and Pam Farrel, used a good example of a conversation topic to show the differences between how men and women communicate with each other. So you have two guys looking at a Corvette. They can sit and talk about the Corvette for a long time. They would prefer to keep it simple in their car “box” in their waffle. Now if a woman comes up and joins the conversation with the men, she would probably start talking about the car, and then the owner of the car and then soon she will probably be talking about the owner’s wife and how she hasn’t hung out with her in ages and that they should get pedicures sometime as she looks down at her feet and tries to remember the last time she got one. This whole time, the men would have been content with just staying on the topic of the car. They get overwhelmed with so many topic changes, which can irritate them. Have you noticed that guys can talk about something like sports for a long period of time? And they will stay on the topic of sports. If you tell women to talk about sports, it probably wouldn’t be very long before they start talking about a celebrity that is dating an athlete and then the latest movie that celebrity was in and then they mention the last movie they saw last week and how good it was and that they saw a preview for the new Channing Tatum movie…see the difference?

As I have been learning more about men in books I have been reading, I am learning more and more about how simple they can be.  I thought it was perfect that in my daily devotional book last week, Joyce Meyer talked about the differences between men and women since I have been interested in writing about this topic. She said, “Men are simple, whereas women are not simple, and they always assume that men are just as complicated and intricate as they are. The whole point is that guys don’t think deeply all the time like women do.” She points out that men like to think about what is bothering them and women like to talk about it. When there is a conflict, men like to get over it and move on and women like to talk about it and figure out how to avoid it again. When you ask guys what they are thinking and they tell you, “nothing,” that really can be true. Guys can sit, watch TV and really think about nothing. Women have a hard time grasping this concept because we are always constantly thinking and wanting to build intimate relationships. So we find it hard to believe that it is possible to be content and think about nothing, which can irritate us.

Problem: Communication conflicts

"I think we should be friends..."

I had one of my close guy friends, Nick Welker, give me his point of view on friendships with the opposite sex. This gave me a guy’s perspective on the topic. Here is the first part:

Just to start things off, guys and girls can be friends. I know it’s possible. Because when we were all 5 and headed into kindergarten before all the hormones and whatnot kicked in, we all had friends of the opposite sex, and we didn’t think twice about it. But I assume the readers of this blog are out of kindergarten at least, and hormones have ruined everything. But in my experience, there are ways to be friends with the opposite sex. I’ve got a few female friends. Actual friends, not just acquaintances. And a few times, getting to the friend stage was a long, winding road of awkwardness. But most of the time, in the end, it’s just another thing to laugh at.

As I looked at my friendships with the boys in my life, I noticed that I either had liked them at one point, they liked me, we had a thing some time, or they were gay. There aren’t very many guy friends that I have where we haven’t had some blurred line or a “winding road of awkwardness” as Nick put it.
Nick continued…

I’m 23. So it’s not like I’ve had a lifetime of experience with this stuff. I am in no way, shape, or form an expert on this. Believe me, I wish I was.
First and foremost, if I find myself talking to a girl I don’t find particularly attracted to, it’s way easier to be friends. Sad but true. Not having sexual tension at all (at least on my end) works wonders for forming an actual friendship.
If however, I do find myself introduced to a girl I find attractive, and in the first few minutes we seem to get along well enough, I know I want to try and explore the possibility of a romance. I’m pretty sure that’s how most guys work. And as soon as that thought pops into a guys brain, friend is the last word he wants to hear. I’ve had cases where I’d prefer not to know the girl any more than to just be in the friend zone. Because the friends zone is a terrible, no good place where a guy sits and is tortured by knowing everything about what the girl does…with other guys.

I think this works well to support the YouTube video I had mentioned in the beginning. Guys find it hard to be friends with girls especially if they are attracted to them because they want to be more, there can be that sexual tension, and they don’t want to hear about other guys. This gives girls some reasons to understand why a guy might not want the friendship with them.

I think it’s really just a matter of how you go about things. I’m friends with girls I’ve dated and broken up with. I’m friends with girls who I’ve wanted to date and haven’t, and I’m friends with girls who have wanted to date me and didn’t get to. But there’s no reason to hold grudges about that silly stuff. You we’re obviously drawn to that person by something in their personality, otherwise you wouldn’t still be talking to them. So why wouldn’t you want to be friends. It’s just like dating them, but you don’t have to deal with all the craziness.

This sounds like my circle of guy friends like I had talked about earlier. It almost seems that it is rare to have a friendship with the opposite sex without some attraction, dating, relationship, or the like at some point. It depends on the situation, feelings, emotions, and how you handle it when it comes to whether or not you can be just friends.

Even Nick and I have had that winding road of awkwardness. Here is his take on it:
As for Miss Rachel Marshall, the first thing that popped in my mind when I saw her was “wow”. That is never a good sign for a guy. It didn’t take long for me to get to know Rachel bit by bit and form some sort of relationship with her. And, I might be entirely off base (but I know I’m not), there was a mutual attraction thing going on between us. And after an awkward incident, we sort of shifted our whole relationship. It turned into more of…not brother and sister. That’s not right at all. I’m not sure the best way to explain it. But for the remainder of the small portion of time where we both went to the same school, it was really just us talking occasionally, occasionally getting advice or just venting or talking about random shit at 2 in the morning. We didn’t talk for awhile after I graduated, which is probably my fault. But now, we text a decent amount, we’ve caught up on time missed, I know what guys she likes and I’m giving her a guys opinion on her blog. So I’m fairly certain we are friends.

We’ve known each other for about six years now. We went through the talking, the awkwardness, and even went on a date. But now we are good with just being friends. Sometimes to get to the same page and a happy balance with each other, it takes a lot of time. It took about two years for one of my first real boyfriends and I to be able to be friends once we had split up. Now we can talk to each other about pretty much anything.

"I still want to be your friend."

I haven’t been entirely lucky to just be friends with guys. I went on a couple dates with one and we texted non-stop when we first met, but after I realized I didn’t feel the same way as him, I talked to him and wanted for us to just be friends. But he felt that he couldn’t do that because of his like for me. So we completely stopped talking altogether because he couldn’t handle talking to me and didn’t know how to.

Things were turned around and I was recently put in a situation with a guy telling me he wants us to be friends after we had liked each other, talked almost every day, hung out, and even thought of a relationship down the road. I was in the middle of thinking, discussing, and learning about this very topic. Now I was faced with it. Will we be friends? I wouldn’t be surprised if we became friends just because of the kind of people we are. I think I just need to let my hurt feelings heal and have time away from him first. Who knows, but I do know it can be possible if everything lines up just right. Nothing blurry. We are still in our “winding road of awkwardness.”

Nick had a very neat conclusion to his message to me about this topic and I had to share it to get you thinking.
But the point is, we can coexist. It just takes work sometimes. 
Everyone is in such a rush to find the person they’re going to marry, but right now, I’m more concerned with finding the people I’m going to share that day with.

Now you know that there are differences in the way men and women think and communicate. It is best to learn about these differences to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. Joyce Meyer encourages this by reading books about the differences. She concludes one of her daily devotions with, “Understanding our differences helps us understand each other.” That’s what I have been doing and I hope that it will strengthen me when it comes to my friendships with the opposite sex and even in future relationships.
Just know that it can work, it just takes work...and maybe a little winding road of awkwardness. :)

A big thanks goes to Nick Welker for his contributions to this topic!

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Italian Delight Bulb Moment

I went to work out and I had planned on grabbing some dinner on the way home. While I worked out I decided on what I wanted to eat. I was going to go to Italian Delight because I always forget it’s by my house and they have pizza that I was really craving. I had also decided that I wasn’t going to get it to go. I wanted to eat it there. I went in and I ordered and there was also an older woman there by herself. She ordered herself a slice of hamburger pizza and a beer. And she wasn’t getting it to go either. I sat down by myself at my own table. I was delighted by the sight of the two huge slices of cheese pizza I was about to indulge on and happy to have Dr. Pepper to wash it down with. It was a neat and new experience for me as I enjoyed a dinner out by myself. I looked over at the older woman sitting by herself with her pizza and beer. Her nails were painted red. This made me like her even more and because she showed me that it was okay that I was alone for that meal. I looked across from me to see nobody there. Not the boyfriend from my past, none of my best friends, family or a date I am trying to converse with was there. The other side of the booth was empty. And that was just fine. I was happy to enjoy my gooey cheesy pizza. That’s the light bulb moment. That I just might be starting to get to a point where I don’t need someone everywhere with me. That I can be fine by myself and that I can’t depend on others to make me happy. That's something I have been working on. I couldn't help but feel a little like Elizabeth Gilbert on her year long journey on her own to learn. I felt like I was her in Italy as the cheese stretched as I took a bite. Now would I want to do this every night? No. I really do enjoy other people’s company and I love to talk. But it was nice to enjoy that moment with just me

The pizza was divine.

Be Positively Complete

In this past week, I have come to a realization. I have experienced a feeling. Something I haven’t felt in a long time and quite possibly…ever. I could tell you that I am comfortable in my own skin.

I have lost weight and I work out just about every day now. I can tell the difference in my body when I run that I am now stronger, lighter, and faster. It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve learned that it’s not all about looks on the outside, but how you feel inside too.

I have also been working out mentally and spiritually. I received one of the best birthday gifts last November. A friend sent me a book in the mail called, “The Confident Woman” by Joyce Meyer. It is a daily devotional book that I read every night before bed. I started it January 1st and I have yet to miss a day! Almost every devotional impacts me somehow and gets me thinking and learning. I have been trying to apply things from the book to my life and alter my thinking to better it. I feel as if I can tell a difference in my thoughts and how I respond to situations. It’s not perfect and never will be, but it is better and I am happy with that.

I follow a twitter account called Sayings for Girls and there was a tweet once that said something along the lines of your body can make you sexy, your smile can make you pretty, but it is your personality that makes you beautiful. This got me thinking and I feel like I can agree to this. You can be the prettiest girl in the world on the outside, but what’s on the inside matters a whole lot too. Be beautiful inside too so you can be complete; the total package.

I feel as if the greatest thing to have for your wardrobe on the inside would be a positive attitude. Negativity can be unattractive. What does negativity do for you or anybody else? It weighs you down and it could also even be hurtful to others.

Today I chose to take negative things that hurt, frustrated, and irritated me from last night and I channeled it into my workout at the gym. This was a positive way for me to work some anger out and it was also a way to take negative things and put it towards something positive. It made me work harder and longer which made me feel better because I got it out and because of how the workout left me feeling afterwards. The negativity from others made me stronger emotionally, mentally, and physically. I got to learn how to deal with it emotionally and mentally of brushing it off and to keep moving forward and also stronger physically because I worked out that much harder because of it. Turn the negative into a positive! Plus, I feel empowered and confident when I am all sweaty from a workout and today I sure was sweaty!  So I thank you for the extra motivation.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
                                                                         -Eleanor Roosevelt 

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel


Don't forget to smile anyway.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Dress Decorations

In my room in Kansas City, I have 4 dresses hanging on my walls in different places. These are past homecoming and prom dresses. They are beautiful and gorgeous dresses that I couldn't keep in the closet forever and I am too in love with them to sell. They are all me. I believe it started when I had them hanging on the ledge of the top of one of my closets for a really long time. Sammie and I had probably decided to deep clean my room one night and it was time for them to move. I don't know how we got the idea, but we somehow managed to hang them on my walls. When I redid my room last August, we rearranged my dresses as well. I love having them on my walls because they make such neat decorations and it is really unique and different! This way they are not sitting in my closet and I get to enjoy them! I haven't met anyone else that has done the same yet! But maybe some readers will give it a try?

Here is what it looks like! My favorite one is the silver dress drenched in sparkles. It flows down behind my vanity. That corner of the room represents my girly girl side. I have my vanity full of perfumes, jewelery, lotions and more. Then I have my nail polish rack and Susan B. Anthony award plaque hanging above it. This dress really ties in well with that corner and the glamour that goes with it!
The black dress ties in well with my black & white Friends poster.
Eventually Sammie & I want to get fancier hangers to hang them on to make it more classy and sophisticated.
Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

Reader Feedback: Nail Polish Thumb Idea

Fallon Thompson tried my thumb idea with new nail polish she had gotten! I thought I would share this picture she posted after being inspired by my blog post! I love how she put her own twist to it and alternated the colors. I didn't even think of that! I love that we can share ideas :)
Definitely a neat summer look!
Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel
P.S. Fallon does photography! Check her out on Facebook. Fotography By Fallon :) Let me know if you have any questions and I can get you contacted with her!

Courtesy of Fallon Thompson