Colors that I never thought I'd like

I'm back after a long haitus! I wish I could say that I was doing something useful/ exciting, but unfortunately, my nail polish collection has grown exponentially and I've just been reading and writing the 92389284 papers that grad school requires.  Anyway, onto something less depressing! Since I've been gone so long, this post has 5 polishes in one entry! If you told me that I would ever be wearing these polishes 6 months ago, I would have laughed at you... But then again, I have total nail polish ADD..

I just discovered this blog called Oflifeandlaquer,  and I love it already! You can enter to win the 4 mini pack Eurocentrale OPI Collection! The collection includes Can't Find My Czechbook, Suzi is Hungary Again!, You're Such A Budapest, and Oy! Another Polish Joke.

To enter to win, click here and follow instructions on how to earn entries:

 http://oflifeandlacquer.com/opi-euro-centrale-collection-giveaway/#comments

Good luck!

-ch

THE BEST chicken pot pies!

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

I decided to follow the trend of baking everything in cupcake tins.. and these came out AMAZING! They are perfectly moist.

* Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/

OPI- Russian Navy

OPI- Russian Navy was one of the many nail polishes that I got for Christmas (I know, I'm such a teenager at heart)! It was highly anticipated.  It is definitely sophisticated.  I guess I was just expecting something different.  It was much darker than was shown from swatches online.  I'm starting to learn a major rule of thumb when it comes to nail polish colors: The ACTUAL shade of the polish is almost always 1-2 shades darker than it looks in the bottle!

Anyway.. the formula was good, on the thick side.  When it tried, the texture reminded me of a Jolly Rancher if that makes any sense at all.  A 1 coater for sure.  I planned to use 2 coats, but used 3 due to bubbling issues.  The pictures below show 3 coats+ 1 coat of seche vite.

OPI Russian Navy, in sunlight, without flash

OPI- Do You Lilac It+ Essie- Carnival

Today I present to you one of my favorite nail polish combinations.  OPI- Do You Lilac It?+ Essie- Carnival on top.  I have probably gotten more compliments on these colors than any of the other 25 colors that I have worn since October.  The formula in Do You Lilac It is A+.  A 1 coater, and just thick enough to work with.  Most importantly, no bubbling!  Carnival is one of the few glitter polishes that Essie has.  It is one of my favorite top coats with just enough glitter to add the slightest bit of sparkle.  All pictures show 2 coats of Do You Lilac It? with two coats of Carnival over top.

In natural light, with flash

Honey Boba Green Tea Smoothie

When looking at this title, you probably know and love 3 out of the 4 ingredients listed above.  If you aren't familiar with boba or bubble tea, you haven't lived!

The boba are those black tapioca bubbles at the bottom of the smoothie.. they have a jelly like consistency and are usually drank along with the tea using a bubble tea straw.

Here is a picture of the boba, that can be bought online or in Asian supermarkets:

 And yes, that is Chardonnay that you see in the background.. not an ingredient in this recipe, but always a great thing to have around ;P

Anyway, here are the ingredients that you need to make two sixteen oz smoothies:

-Blender
-Saucepan with a lid
-5 cups water
-1/2 cup dry boba pearls
-16 oz Brewed green tea, chilled. or you can just buy some UNSWEETENED iced green tea from the store.  I used Wegmans brand called simply green tea,
-Honey.  As much as you want.  Honey is the sweetener in this recipe.  I used 1/2 cup, plus more to drizzle on top in a cool starbucks-like design.
-Sweetened condensed milk or 2% milk.  Going below 2% will make the smoothie less creamy and frothy.

Directions:

-If brewing your own tea boil water and put enough tea bags in to make 16 oz.
For boba:

-Bring 5 cups water to a rolling boil
-gently pour 1/2 cup boba into boiling water and stir softly
-Once boba has become plump, reduce heat to medium and cover pan for 5 minutes
-Drain boba and set aside, coat in honey for to give it more of a taste
For tea:
-Place 1 cup ice cups into a blender
-Pour 16 oz green tea over ice cubes
-Add 1 cup milk, or 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, you can always taste and add more
-Add 1/2 cup honey to start, you can always add more to adjust flavor
-Blend ingredients together until well blended, you may have to scrape honey off the sides of the mixer from time to time.
-Add boba pearls to 16 oz glasses, and spoon tea mixture over pearls
-Enjoy with a boba tea straw.

OPI- Dulce de Leche

I think I may have a HUGE nail polish addiction problem.  I'm such a hoarder.  I just bought a bunch of Essie polishes and a few OPIs off of Amazon.com.  For now I leave you with a bit of a palate cleanser, the classic but never boring, Dulce de Leche:

This is definitely as classy as it gets.  The shade changes depending on the lighting.  Sometimes it looks like more of a camel color, and sometimes there is a dusty pink tint.  This polish is definitely a one coater! The downside is that it comes out EXTREMELY thick and goopy, and can be hard to work with.  I used 2 coats of Dulce de Leche+ 1 coat of Seche Vite for the pictures below:

OPI- Dulce de Leche: In shade, with the flash on

More pictures after the jump: