05 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted in Nail Art
I am a dog person.
I am a dog person.
I am a dog person.
Maybe if I say it enough it will become true!
Meet the two brats who actual made me second guess if I was a dog person!
Hope you enjoyed the pictures! See you tomorrow!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
04 Monday Apr 2016
Tags
I wrote about my wonderful Chanel sunglasses so of course I had to do a polish related post as well!
It is no secret I L-O-V-E love Chanel polishes. If I could buy them all I would. However, that is highly unrealistic so I purchase the “special” ones. One of my favorites is Taboo from the Spring 2013 collection.
This is a gorgeous deep purple with blue and red shimmer running throughout the polish.
You can see a hint of the gold shimmer that is so prominent in the bottle but it really only exists there.
The formula is thick but pliable and fully covers in one coat. For good measure I always wear two. It does stain a little but that is expected from such a deep blurple (blue-purple) shade!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
Check out the Blogging A to Z hub here.
04 Monday Apr 2016
Posted in Nail Art
We all have something we lust after. We don’t have everything we want. Just by human nature, we don’t. We’re always craving something more. After all, biologically and evolutionarily speaking, that is why the human race is the most elite species. We never settle for what we have. Of course, it does not have to material, it could be an idea or experience.
For me it is material and I am not embarrassed. When it comes to money I am a tightwad…I scrimp and save, own multiple accounts, putting away money for rainy days that may never come. However, I have a soft spot for luxury brands, especially Chanel.
I can’t tell you when my obsession started. Nor can I tell you with what item it started with. Perhaps it was the perfume, the most iconic in the world. If it is was, then I was programed towards Chanel from a young age. My mother wore Chanel No. 5 and now so do I (though, for general wear I prefer Coco Mademoiselle).
In the fall of 2012, as I flipped through one of my magazines I happened across one ad for gorgeous limited edition (LE) Chanel sunglasses. At the time I was in the market for new sunglasses after mine were stolen in India but none really spoke to me.
These glasses were a beauty but they were limited edition CHANEL sun specs. The possibility of even seeing them in person was a pipe dream and honestly, it never even crossed my mind to own them. I just used them to compare other sunglasses.
Now, six months later I still lusted after these glasses and couldn’t find anything remotely similar. I decided there was no harm in calling my local Chanel boutique and inquiring about them. They took the product code and inserted it into their search and found one pair left. In Hawaii. I asked if they could ship them to the store and they said yes but I still was not sold on purchasing them. What if they didn’t fit or weren’t as perfect in person. I said I would call back.
The following day Saachi attacked Affie and ripped her lower mandible off her face which resulted in emergency dental surgery (there is that rainy day I was talking about!) There was no way I was going to buy that multicolored beauty now.
But, six weeks later I still couldn’t shake the thought of those sunglasses. I searched high and low for them and even called my local boutique again. It took the sales associate a few minutes to pin point the pair as there was an identical one in brown tortoiseshell. He inputed the information and said there were no more left in stock. They were limited edition two seasons prior so I had virtually no chance of finding them. I was crushed but this darling fellow said there was something nagging him in the back of the head about this specific style. He asked if he could call me back in an hour or so because he wanted to do some research.
At this point, I wanted these sunglasses. I needed these sunglasses. I was GOING TO HAVE these sunglasses. Even if it took YEARS to find them. I waited not so patiently by my phone when this kind associate called me and said there was one pair in stock somewhere in the United States. He called the previous store and they couldn’t tell him where the glasses went. He could not track the them. But, still, something was nagging him. He said he would call back again.
A few minutes later he called to say there was one pair left in stock AT MY LOCAL BOUTIQUE. Wait, what?? Was this real life? I immediately put them on hold and picked them up the following day.
They were everything I expected them to be. They were big and covered most of my face just like the 50s style. The colors popped against the clear base.
What a journey, huh? The stars aligned for me because what are the true odds of finding LE luxury brand sunglasses almost a year after they came out??
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
02 Saturday Apr 2016
Posted in Nail Art
This blog is first and foremost a nail art blog so who would I be if I didn’t add a few nail art looks to Blogging A to Z??
I don’t know how I will add them; whether they may go by brand, or technique, color or polish name but I’ll upload looks as I feel inspired.
Today I combined the abstract water-spotting technique with blue colors to satisfy the first two prompts of the challenge. As per usual, this look is very RA-friendly! I hope you like it!
Base: China Glaze UV Meant to Be
Water-spotting: Sally Hansen Blue My Mind, Zoya Severine
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
02 Saturday Apr 2016
Posted in Nail Art
Pictures taken from Google Images.
Do you live in the United States? Do you keep tabs on the inner workings of Washington DC? No, I do not mean the political ones that have the entire world enthralled. I mean the crazy ideas that make everyone wonder how Washington DC ever ended up on the map.
What am I talking about? An indoor beach! A 10,000 square foot “beach” complete with lounge chairs and sunny dry weather.
The Nation’s Capital was ablaze about this new phenomenon opening at the National Building Museum. Social media accounts buzzed for months and even local news picked up the story about a beach made up of 1,000,000 translucent plastic balls. Officials commented that the capital city always received an influx of tourists during the summer but there was no shore to enjoy. They wanted people to engage in the fun of a day at the beach but introduce them to the beautiful architecture Washington DC offered. But, let’s be perfectly honest, when there was a humungous ball pit to enjoy nobody looked at the walls.
Now, as an autoimmune patient, I had no interest in being in an enclosed space with hundreds of strangers, amongst plastic spheres that just could not be sanitized properly so I never saw it in person but I had friends who had a blast!
And, from the reviews it was all fun and games until the end of the summer when they packed up the exhibit and went on their way. The fun ball pit turned into the Bermuda Triangle. Many eager participants swan dived and cannon-balled into the abyss of clear bubbles just to reemerge a few ounces lighter. It was not until they left the building these people realized they no longer had iPhones, or wedding/engagement rings, Silly Putty, or shoes (a DC favorite – Sperry Top Siders — don’t judge) and sometimes, but not at all unlikely, their small children*. But, most surprisingly, at the end of it all employees found about $500 in loose change (I say surprisingly because I would have thought it would be more).
All in all though, the city counted this amusing show a success. They never anticipated 180,000 people would visit “The Beach” in the three months it was open. They closed the ball pit Labor Day weekend 2015 and planned to re-purpose the plastic balls. They returned as many lost items as they could and donated or re-used any unclaimed ones.
And yes, this is coming from the most powerful city in the modern world.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post! See you tomorrow!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
*I don’t actually think anyone forget their child at the Ball Pit. Hopefully.
01 Friday Apr 2016
Posted in Nail Art
I debated what to write about for this first challenge post. The first word that popped into my head was “animals” because after all, my life dream is to be a veterinarian. Next, I thought “arthritis” because well, Rheumatoid Arthritis is another major component of my life. And, interestingly enough, the one thing that could thwart my dreams of becoming a vet.
In the end, I decided on animals because only one of the above makes me happy. Better yet, why not talk about Affie, my 10 year old Coton de Tulear!
When I was barely 16 years old my father came to me and said “I love the cats but I grew up with dogs and I want a dog”. My dad is not a particularly impulsive man. Everything action is well thought-out and manicured, for lack of better word. But, for whatever reason, maybe he felt inspired, he opened the computer and two days later we had an 8-month old fluff ball wrecking havoc on our house.
Affie came from a very prestigious family. She and her siblings all had French passports and show blood running through their veins. Now, before you decide to raid my house and steal my dog, let me tell you this poor dog was the runt of the family and the coloration of her ears was not up to breed standards. Affie was not abused but she was neglected. She came to us half the size of what she should have been and a little wired.
Up until this point I was used to the two cats. I already had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. I worked at an animal clinic part time and I loved cats and dogs equally. However, Affie honestly made me wonder if I was a dog person at all. I had never met such a pig-headed, obstinate, disobedient dog in my entire life! She knew how to tug at my nerves.
I remember clear as day she refused to be trained or house-broken. She was the sweetest dog I had ever met. She was never aggressive and extremely loving but we worked tirelessly to train her and worried when she didn’t pick up even the simplest command. She snuck away, urinated and defecated in a different room and slunk back to the same spot looking like she never moved. Finally, I kept her on a leash, tethered to my chair or waist so I could always keep tabs on her at all times.
“See what happens if you wake me up One more time…”
I still remember the day she became trained. As a reminder to you, we adopted her at eight months. We immediately began training since she was nearing adulthood. Five months later (yes, FIVE months) we still struggled with her. One day she was being particularly annoying so I, irritated, said offhandedly, “Affie, go away and just sit over there!” and, she did. She sat down on the spot. From that moment on she was the best trained dog. She even knows what to do from one look!
It was like a light switched on in her brain. Don’t get me wrong, she is still the most pig-headed, obstinate stubborn dog I have ever met in my life but she is one smart cookie. She is still the most loving dog, she has never snarled or bitten anyone and is my dog through and through.
And, as my father so often loves to remind me if I were a dog I would be Affie. His not so subtle way of telling me I myself am stubborn, pig-headed and obstinate!
I hope you enjoyed this post and see you tomorrow!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
01 Friday Apr 2016
Posted in Nail Art
I am participating in a challenge called “Blogging A to Z”! Lately, I’ve felt wholly uninspired with my blog. It has evolved exclusively into a nail art showcase with some Rheumatoid Arthritis mixed in. I don’t feel the need to talk about the nail art I looks I create since they seem rather self-explanatory. When I do write it doesn’t feel write. I hoped to combine nail art with RA but that proved more difficult than I thought. I still felt a wall that stopped me from talking about the RA and that was something I struggled with even in real life. I wanted to blog, I wanted to write, but I just felt that what I had to say was not interesting.
I kept up with Damyanti’s blog Daily (W)rite last year while she blogged through the April challenge and kept thinking how fun and interesting this it was! This year, I decided to take part.
I hope that by writing about virtually random things (I don’t anticipate a theme just yet) I can break through this writer’s block I have and figure out a new beginning for this blog!
If you’re interested in the challenge or just want to see what it’s about check out the headquarters website here. It will tell you the directions, how to participate and the list of the nearly 1100 bloggers taking part!
Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.
the Rite of Aging...early 