The Nail Files – Week 3

I’m a little late to the party on this one, but glad to be playing along! Nail polish is one of my favorite things and it’s always fun to share what shades I’m loving and to also see what everyone else is wearing.

Tara and Vicki are hosting this. Please visit their blogs and join in on the fun!



We’re expecting snow and it’s been freezing, so I decided to brighten my mood with a light polish. This shade is called Crinoline and comes from the Tracy Reese Fall 2011 Collection for the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line.


Crinoline

It’s a creamy, opaque whitish pink that covers well with two coats. The first one is a bit streaky, but everything smoothes out with the 2nd. I have to say that I really love this color. It reminds me of a bit of Mod About You from OPI, but it’s lighter. Colors like this always look classy and fit just about any occasion.

As a base, I used Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails and for a top coat, I used INM – Out The Door Super Fast Drying Top Coat. This is my first time using the INM and I have to say that I’m impressed. My nails didn’t dry quite as fast as they do with Seche Vite, but INM doesn’t have the horrible smell and dangerous chemicals that Seche Vite has. They’re just as shiny as when I use Seche Vite and the extra minute or two of drying time was not a problem.


Base, Polish and Top Coat

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Tasty Tuesday: Crescent Chicken

Any recipe involving crescent rolls is usually a winner and this one was no exception. I found it while browsing Pinterest (where else?) and made it last night for dinner with scalloped potatoes and corn. It was hearty, filling and the perfect meal to warm up with on a cold winter’s night.


Crescent Chicken

Ingredients:
1 (8 or 6 jumbo count) package refrigerator crescent rolls
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of milk (using soup can)

Directions:
1. Boil chicken and cut/shred into pieces
2. Cook soup with 1 can on milk on stove top
3. Preheat oven to 350
4. Lay out each crescent roll and place 3-4 bite sized pieces of chicken and about 1Tbsp of cheese in the center of each triangle.
5. Roll each one up and gently seal off all edges
6. Place rolls in a 9×13 baking dish and pour soup mixture over top (salt and pepper, if desired).
7. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Golden Globes 2012 - Red Carpet

This year the red carpet was impressive with the colors of the night being blush and navy. Most of the stars wore gowns that suited them perfectly and this is one of the first times I’ve had trouble narrowing down my favorites.

Here are the best and worst of the night (according to me):

Best Dressed:

Charlize Theron in Dior Couture

This was by far my favorite gown of the night. From the blush color that suits her skin tone perfectly to the fit and style. She was stunning!

Reese Witherspoon in Zac Posen

It's no secret that Reese is one of my favorite celebs. Her style is always on point and she looks beautiful as the lady in red.

Kate Beckinsale in Roberto Cavalli

Kate is always so classy and absolutely gorgeous. My favorite part of this gown is the beautiful chiffon pleat detail at the bottom. Her jewelry and hair also fit the look perfectly.

Zooey Deschanel in Prada

I wouldn’t have liked this dress on anyone else but Zooey. The black and green combo had an almost mod feel to it, which goes so well with Zooey’s overall style. I also had to include a shot of her fantastic Tuxedo nails that she posted on Instagram.



Nicole Richie in Julien Macdonald

Nicole has come a long way with her style and the dress she wore to the awards proves that. The dress shows off her arms and back beautifully and the beading really makes it a standout.

Heidi Klum in Calvin Klein



I couldn’t post this without mentioning Heidi Klum’s turquoise necklace. That’s what I call a statement piece. It made her entire look!

Worst Dressed:

Lea Michele in Marchesa

This looks a figure skating costume gone bad.

Amanda Peet in Marc Jacobs

This dress might make for some cute shabby chic curtains

Piper Perabo in Theyskens’ Theory

This is all wrong from the color to the fact that it's see through

To end on a positive note, I had to include these cuties on the carpet!

Ryan Kwanten


Uggie the dog from "The Artist"


Who were your fashion hits and misses? Please share.

Image source links: Yahoo, MTV

Nashville – Day 3

This was our last full day in Nashville and we wanted to do as much as possible. Unfortunately, I was getting over a cold most of the time we were there, so I really didn’t get myself together until late in the afternoon. We headed out at 3:00 and drove around downtown for a bit. We decided to go to the famous Loveless Cafe for dinner and it was worth the trip.


Me outside the Loveless

Loveless is located on the outskirts of Nashville and has been around over 60 years. The food and service was everything you would expect from a small Southern cafe and more. The biscuits are something they’re known for and it was obvious at first bite. I don’t know what they put in them, but they’re delicious and the homemade preserves they serve alongside the biscuits make them that much better. For dinner, I got meatloaf, cheesy grits, fried green tomatoes and macaroni and cheese. It doesn’t get better than that! We completed our visit with a trip to the Ham & Jams Country Store and got some goodies to bring back home. I’ll be dreaming of that place until I’m lucky enough to visit Nashville again. If you go to Nashville, you must visit the Loveless.


Delicious biscuits


Yum!


Loveless Cafe

To end the night, we went back downtown to take one last stroll around the city. We walked down to the Ryman Auditorium. The building dates back to the late 1800’s and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001. The venue has hosted everyone from famous singers and performers to actors and political figures.


Me outside the Ryman

Broadway was where we started our trip and it was the perfect way to end it. We walked up and down a few blocks before finally heading back to our hotel. We capped off the night with a soak in the hot tub and a dip in the pool. It felt good to be swimming in January.


Nashville Symphony


Geof outside the Bridgestone Area


Me on Broadway


Getting our fortune told by Willie Nelson

The next morning, we packed up and went to Gigi’s for a cupcake. Geof and I have a tradition whenever we travel to always try to find a cute little cupcake shop. He’s so good about it. I got the Birthday Cake cupcake and he had Banana Cream. They were yummy! After our sweet treats, it was time to go so we said goodbye to Nashville until next time.


Cute cupcakes!

Ultimately, Nashville is a beautiful city with plenty to see, even if you don’t love country music. The people are friendly, it’s easy to navigate and the Southern cooking is so good.

Thanks, as always for hanging in there with me during my trip recaps. Some probably find them incredibly boring while others really enjoy them. I honestly love to document each time we travel. These posts are some of my favorite ones to look back on over time.

Nashville – Day 2

We got up, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to the Opryland Hotel. I heard some positive things about the property and gardens, so we decided to check it out. It was overwhelmingly big and it turns out that it’s the largest non-gambling hotel in the world. We decided to take a Riverboat Tour of the indoor gardens that gave us a great view of all the different plants, flowers and waterfalls. Our guide was great and informed us that when the Delta River was built, the hotel requested water samples from all over the world and from every river in the United States. A “mixing of the waters” ceremony was held when the river opened in 1996.


Waterfall in The Cascades Atrium


One acre skylight in the Conservatory


View from the Riverboat in Delta Island


Christmas may be over, but this is too pretty not to share

From the Opryland Hotel, we headed over to the Grand Ole Opry House to see a little piece of history. I’ve never been a big fan of country music, but the Opry was a must-visit. To see the spot where so many country superstars have performed is impressive. I also can’t believe the venue was partially underwater less than two years ago. You would never know it by the looks of things now.


Us outside the Grand Ole Opry House


I don't think you're supposed to stand up there...whoops!

We headed back downtown for dinner and settled on Sole Mio for some Italian. After dinner, we got ready for the night and went to 12th & Porter to meet-up with Chad & Amy for the SafetySuit CD Release Party. I couldn’t have been more excited to see SafetySuit there since it’s the venue where they were originally signed.


12th & Porter


Us with Chad & Amy ready for the show


The opening acts consisted of Chasing Change and Throwing Gravity. The bands did a great job warming us up for the main event. SafetySuit took the stage and about two songs into their set, it was obvious that something was wrong. Doug (lead singer) wasn’t playing his guitar and just didn’t look well.

Ultimately, he had been battling a stomach virus all day and it took everything in him to come out and perform the 5 songs he was able to make it through. He even tried to give it another go while he used the mic stand to hold him up. He apologized profusely and acknowledged that so many people had come from all over for this event and it’s not his style to cancel a show. You could see the emotion all over his face as he appeared to be even more disappointed than the fans. Personally I can’t imagine making it to the mailbox with a stomach virus, so to see him push through tells me everything I need to know about what kind of band SafetySuit is (not that I didn’t already know).


Doug

The drummer, Tate came on the mic and said they were going to try something different. The rest of the show turned into a sing-along with members from the opening bands coming out to lead the crowd. This speaks volumes about the kind of fans SafetySuit has. While most people would have left after hearing Doug was done for the night, everyone did the exact opposite and showed their allegiance by singing and celebrating what the night was all about: SafetySuit and their new album, These Times. It was bittersweet and I’m glad I was there to be a part of it.


Us with Tate, J and Dave from SafetySuit

Nashville – Day 1

We arrived in Nashville early in the afternoon and were raring to go. We got our car, checked in at our hotel and headed right downtown to see Broadway. We made our way over to 2nd Ave. and settled on the Wild Horse Saloon for lunch. It was relatively quiet in the restaurant during the afternoon, but you can tell the place gets packed at night. They have a huge stage and were promoting an upcoming show with Rick Springfield. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like the song “Jessie’s Girl”!

For lunch, we got fried pickles as an appetizer. Geof told me that since we’re in the South, it was something I had to try at least once. It was decadent and delicious. I hardly touched my salad because I was nibbling away on pickles and stealing some of Geof’s cheesy grits (they were the best I ever had – savory and smoky). We also had to order one of their cocktails just to get a fun cowboy boot glass to take home. After checking out the rest of the restaurant, our friends Chad and Amy picked us up to take us to a more hipster part of town for some coffee at The Frothy Monkey. It’s a great place to people watch and we even spotted Will Anderson (lead singer from Parachute) there.


I heart Nashville!


Fried pickles


Frothy Monkey

The four of us chatted the afternoon away. Being apart from these two makes no difference at all as we always seem to pick up right where we left off. From The Frothy Monkey, we headed to Centennial Park so that we could see the Parthenon. I may never get to Greece, but this was the next best thing as it’s a full-scale replica of the original.


Parthenon in Centennial Park

Later that evening, Geof and I went downtown to have dinner at Big River Grille & Brewing Works. Geof got shrimp and grits, while I went with mac ‘n cheese with chicken. After dinner, we headed out on Broadway to meet some of our friends from NYC (Kristin & Emily) & Boston (Jessica) at Wild Bill’s. The bar is a historic landmark with the basement being part of the Underground Railroad. They have an impressive wine bar on the 2nd floor and the main level is a Cajun café. We stayed in the café/bar area where they were getting karaoke started for the evening. Geof decided he wanted to perform “Humpty Dance” for all of us. It was absolutely hysterical and awesome at the same time.


Broadway at night!


Me on Broadway


Me with Kristin, Jess and Emily

We parted ways with the ladies and headed over to Broadway Brewhouse & Mojo Grill to meet-up with Chad and Amy. We enjoyed a brew or two and made our way back to Wild Bill’s. The guys running karaoke asked Geof to do another performance of “Humpty Dance” and he obliged. What a perfect way to end our first day in Nashville!


Amy and I


Geof with his karaoke buddy, Andy


Out with one of our favorite couples!

Bound for Nashville

Howdy y’all! I’m headed to Nashville for a long weekend with good friends, good music and lots of fun. It’s my first time visiting the Music City and I couldn’t be more excited.

Work was incredibly busy last week and I didn’t really have much of a New Year’s celebration to tell you about, so these few days away will be just what the doctor ordered.

I’ll fill you in on all my adventures just as soon as I get home.

Source: flickr.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Taylor on Pinterest

Source: ashleysbrideguide.com via Annie on Pinterest

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!