How was your day?
LOVES,
B
Me when I come home from work:
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Monthly Archives: March 2014
Flatiron at Sunset
LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT
*cue fog machine and flashback sound effect*…..It all started when I was scrolling through Twitter and saw that Lena Dunham and a band I’ve never heard of were hosting/performing on SNL on March 8th:
Excited to announce @lenadunham will make her #SNL hosting debut next week with musical guest, @The_National!! #March8
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) February 25, 2014
I texted Jackie and told her to book a flight and plan for a spring break trip to NYC.
A few weeks later, I found myself packing my polka dot cart on a Thursday night full of the essentials: five pairs of socks, three pairs of gloves, my cheetah sweater, my ned’s crazy sub sweater, a light jacket, my winter coat, four scarves, two blankets, one towel, one regular pillow, one travel pillow and an air mattress just in case I happened to find a plug/the nerves to blow it up in a public place. My commute to work with all my stuff was an adventure all in itself. Electric bikes have been in high demand so if you’re considering an e-bike, you can find some great electric bike offers here.
All day I waited for word from Jackie if she had made her standby flight – and didn’t find out until lunchtime that she would be arriving in NYC at 6pm. AHHHH. I left work around 5 and hopped a cab to Rockefeller Center:
The first hour was fine – I just relaxed and waited for Jackie to arrive. I figured I was about 30th in line – the first people in line showed up at 6:45 a.m. on Friday morning. During the warmer months, people line up days before to get tickets.
 Jackie nonchalantly snuck into line around 7:30p.m.
By that point, my feet were so cold! And my 6 pack of hand/feet warmers that I ordered from Amazon weren’t delivered to the office before I left – so I had to resort to desperate measures. Jackie got me moccs for Christmas and had them in her suitcase with her (LIFE. SAVER). I heated them up and brought my pinky toes back to life:
Around 10p.m. the struggle became real. With all gloves and socks being used to keep our hands and feet warm.
Things started to get ugly:
And then I felt like Katniss from The Hunger Games when a sponsor sent her water, burn ointment, etc. because the light pole that we were sitting next to HAD AN ELECTRICAL PLUG. Resulting in this:
Then this:
And this:
Sadly I don’t have a picture of Jackie and I spooning on this twin mattress on the streets of NYC – but we slept from about 11pm-3am.
At 5:30a.m. we had to deflate our mattress – an order from NBC security guards. 
Right around 7am they came out and started coming down the line asking what show we wanted to attend – we decided on the dress rehearsal because it’s longer and you get to see more skits.
After we got our tickets we loaded up our stuff in a cab and headed home:
Jackie and I crashed out for a few hours and when I woke up, I felt like I had drank 19 bottles of cheap champagne. Mah whole body hurt.
We put a recovery plan in order which consisted of Tylenol extra strength:
And shake shack:
We headed back to my house and rested up until we had to get back to Rockefeller (I must admit I suffered a little bit of PTSD when we walked past 49th & 6th) and got in line. We were nerv:
After waiting in line and going through security we were lined in rows eight people deep. The first 15 people (Jackie and I were number 13&14) were crammed into an elevator – then they pushed the button for the 9th floor and all our dreams came true.
It was so cool to see how everything came together – and Lena was so funny.
We went to celebrate at Serendipity after:
LIVE YO’ LIFE!
B
How to: Shellac manicure
So I bet you’re wondering if you can use regular nail polish with shellac? Well, the answer is YES. I do it all the time and have had great success. Some nail polish brands last longer than others – but I am always happy with how my nails look for at least two weeks after using shellac. I made a quick little video (first time using iMovie, don’t hate) to show the process as well as explaining the steps below.
First are the supplies that you will need:
Alcohol, cotton balls, base coat and top coat, UV lamp.
Before I start, I normally soak my fingers in some warm water, push back my cuticles, and file my nails into a smooth and pretty shape.
Get your nails ready for the base coat by applying rubbing alcohol to your nails. I use a spray bottle to avoid leaving little fluffy bits left by cotton balls or pads.
Once the alcohol has dried, apply a layer of base coat to your nails. Place in your UV lamp for 10 seconds. Make sure before you put them under the lamp that the coating isn’t on your skin, or shaped funny. It sets pretty hard onto your nails in just 10 seconds, so make sure it looks good before cooking it on!
Apply a layer of top coat to your nails and place in your UV lamp for 2 minutes.
Remove the tacky layer from your nails by spraying from your alcohol bottle or using an alcohol soaked cotton ball or pad.
After you’ve removed the tacky layer, you are ready to add whatever nail polish you want!
Let the polish COMPLETELY dry. After it has dried, redo steps 3 and 4 (add another layer of top coat, let dry under UV lamp for 2 minutes, remove tacky surface with alcohol) Also, if you get a bit of polish on your skin (like I do in the picture above) you can easily remove it with regular nail polish remover (don’t use acetone unless you want to soak off your gel nails completely).
And viola! You are ready to show off your nails for up to two weeks!
FYI: If you are brand new to shellac, I would recommend getting it done at least once in a salon just to observe and see what they do. Then after a few times at home, you’ll be a pro!
LOVES,
B
It was just bun of those of days.
Did you just make a pun on my show?
Took a bathroom #selfie at work in my new cardi that Katie sent me for my birthday. I LOVE IT and am henceforth never taking it off. You can’t make me.
Pull over.
No, it’s a cardigan but thanks for asking.
B