OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster

I've already worn OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster, and I showed it to you almost exactly a year ago here.  But I had a problem with the polish I had originally picked to wear for both my first day of school and this post (more on that below), so I picked a color I knew I liked.

These photos are showing the polish as much redder than it actually is.  In reality, it's a more of a pinky-coral color.  The formula is a little thin, so I used three coats here.  It has a nice gold shimmer that you can see in both of my crappy iPhone photos.  I really love this color.

So, you may be wondering to yourself what the first polish I put on was and the polish that I wanted to wear on my first day of class.  It was Rescue Beauty Lounge Chinoise, a really lovely red.  I brought several RBLs with me to New York City because I thought...hey, if I'm going to bring only a few polishes, I should bring the best of the best.  Am I right?  So anyway, I thought what BETTER polish to wear for a day when I feel like I need confidence and such than RBL Chinoise.  So I pulled it out.  As I was doing my nails with that polish I was thinking to myself, why has it been so long since I last used a Rescue Beauty Lounge polish!?  This is amazing.  

The the next morning I woke up, after having done my nails at like 7pm the evening before and not using my hands for basically anything, to find that almost all of my nails had chipped at the tips.  Then I remembered that this was a problem that I had had with RBL Anne, Dead Calm, and Recycle.  And that's why I hadn't worn any Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes in a while.  

So the point of this story is to ask you guys...does this happen to you with Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes?  Applying them is a total dream.  The formulas are perfect on every single bottle I have.  But I don't buy nail polish for the experience of applying it.  I buy it so that when I look down at my hands I see flawless, chipless color.  And that's where this high-end brand doesn't deliver for me.  Is it because I'm not using the RBL base and topcoat?  Because I just can't afford that.  If the color isn't going to stay put with regular base and topcoat then...I'm so sad.  I paid a lot of money for a lot of little bottles (I have a lot of Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes) full of beautiful colors that just don't stay on my nails.

Any helpful advice here?  I'm at a loss.  

Maybelline Color Show Downtown Brown

There is a new Maybelline display out, friends.  And it's full of duochrome polishes or polishes with duochrome shimmer.  There's a Chanel Peridot/OPI Just Spotted the Lizard dupe, and also some other interesting colors.  I only picked one.

Downtown Brown may look familiar if you know Misa Embroidered Emerald or Urban Decay Bruise. It's a similar feel.  But while the Misa and UD polishes have more of a plum base, I would call the base of Downtown Brown more of a true brown.  So anyway, brown base, greenish/blue duochrome shimmer.  It's a very nice polish, especially for one purchased at a Rite-Aid.  The formula was okay.  I used two coats but needed three; I noticed bald spots after the polish had dried.  This seems like a nice color for autumn.  In case you're super interested in this color, or the Peridot dupe, or any of the other polishes, here's what the display looks like:

In other news, today is my first day of classes.  I spent this past weekend hanging out with my friend from college and being thankful I wasn't at the Graduate Center, which is across from the Empire State Building, when that crazy guy shot that one dude and the NYPD shot all those other people.  Kind of freaked me out, guys.  I was pretty out of sorts on Friday and Saturday.  But as I was going out to meet my friend, my doorman told me I had a package.  I took it back upstairs to open it and found this:

I had mentioned to Ben last week that I didn't have any tangible photos of us not in digital form.  He framed these two from a wedding we went to back in June.  I knew they existed because the photographer told us how cute we were together, etc. (actually he said, "YOU TWO ARE HOT"), but as far as I knew we were still waiting for the pictures and I didn't know what they looked like.  These are especially nice because they're truly candid.  Neither of us knew the guy was taking pictures of us.  We were just dancing and apparently laughing at something hilarious.  And also making out in a crowd of people.  But anyway, I opened up the package, saw the photos and burst into tears.  I'm glad I opened it in my apartment and not by the doorman's desk, is what I'm saying.  And also yes, I do have the most thoughtful boyfriend in the world.  Incidentally, he is also the best.  I miss him so much.

Alright, that's all.  Aren't Mondays exhausting?  I'm writing this on a Saturday and I already know that I'll be exhausted today.  Wish me luck on my first day of my doctoral program!  I'm sure I'll need it.  

Prevail Hit the Pavement

I feel like the gray nail polish trend sort of peaked around 2008.  Before then it was difficult to find a true gray, and some girls were even mixing black and white polishes to achieve a perfect gray tone.  Then a bunch of companies came out with a myriad of gray shades, everybody bought them and wore them, and then the trend sort of fizzled out.  OR DID IT?  Ever since I got to New York I've been paying attention to what New York women are wearing on their nails.  And it's gray.  Here, gray polish seems to far outweigh other colors, even pinks and reds.  I was perplexed.  I didn't think gray was THAT MUCH of a thing anymore.  But, since I'm trying to fit in, I got myself into a Duane Reade and bought a gray Prevail nail polish.

Prevail is, I believe, a brand that's exclusive to Duane Reade.  All the names are New York-y.  This one is Hit the Pavement, but there are other cutesy ones like Central Park Sparkle, Diamond District, etc.  I guess I like this.  I dunno.  A few years ago I tried some grays and was kind of meh about them.  They don't wow me, generally.  This one is nice for the blue and silver shimmer it has, though.  I've had it on for a few days, and although I have AMPLE TIME ON MY HANDS I haven't removed it yet.  So maybe I'm subconsciously more fond of it than I think I am.  The formula was fine.  I used three coats to guard against any bald spots (the brush was a little stiff).  The dry time was normal.

There is a Duane Reade across the street from my school, so I've been eyeing the Prevail polishes when I go get my lunch.  I would definitely buy more of them.  I think they're good quality and there are some fun shades.  I am growing very fond of that drug store very quickly.  

In life news, I had my fellowship recipient and departmental orientation yesterday.  I was nervous about it all day because meeting new people is not really my forte.  I usually end up saying something stupid or nothing at all because I'm pretty shy.  But I said a minimum of stupid things and I wore my favorite origami-print dress from Anthropologie.  

[source]

Unfortunately the only photo I have of me in that dress is this one, which features my plate of half-eaten Mexican food, abandoned in favor of texting Ben (photo taken by my mom right after he and I met):

God, that picture is so The Essence of Me.  My hair doesn't know what it's doing, I'm wearing green nail polish (Sinful Colors Olympia, by the by), and I have my brown hair tie around my wrist and my phone glued to my hands.  Anyway, I usually reserve this silk dress for special occasions.  Exhibition openings.  Symposium chairings.  Mexican night.

I digress.  I feel a little better after the orientation(s).  I met a few people, and in the incoming class no one is in my field (this is a good thing).  I even managed to snag a spot in a seminar that meets at The Met, so I'm pretty excited.  I can't wait to start making a collage of all of my Met buttons.  Yeah, it'll happen.  I'm still lonely, but my friend from college is coming into the city with his boyfriend and I think we're all going to have lunch tomorrow.  I haven't seen him in...three years.  So that'll be nice.

Huh.  I really rambled in this post.  Okay, so answer me this:  who is still into gray polish?  Is it like an every-once-in-a-while kind of thing, or do you seek them out?  Who has a favorite gray?  (I don't)  And, more importantly, who has read Fifty Shades of Grey?  That book was like a car accident I couldn't look away from.

Essie Boxer Shorts

This is my favorite polish of the summer, hands-down.  (I don't have a digital camera anymore, so we're going to have to deal with iPhone photos for a while)

Actually, even though I picked up Boxer Shorts about a month ago, I'm pretty sure it's a fall polish.  It's an amazing periwinkle creme.  There's really not much more to say about it.  This is the third time I've worn it, though.  And that's saying something.  I've owned bottles of nail polish for years that I haven't worn three times.  The formula is good, and I did three coats here.  The green accent nail is Maybelline Color Show Tenacious Teal, which I showed you recently, here.  

As soon as I wore Boxer Shorts for the first time I knew I needed to take it with me to New York.  In fact, I nearly had a nervous breakdown when I couldn't find this one and OPI Just Spotted the Lizard while I was packing.  Ben found them, though, in a place where I had stupidly neglected to look.  So all is well and I have my Boxer Shorts.

Guys, Monday was a shitty day.  I essentially waited for about six hours to get my student ID (and get things squared away with the bursar, registrar, provost, library...), and then after I finally had it and was making my way back to the subway, I noticed they SPELLED MY NAME WRONG.  They Ronnie Gilmore-d my ID.  I was so upset.  Somehow this tiny thing pushed me over the edge and I was inconsolable all night.  I Skyped with my parents.  Didn't help.  I Skyped with Ben.  Didn't help.  Sam and I texted for hours.  Didn't help.  I fell asleep to America's Next Top Model on Hulu, and when I woke up I felt a little better.  In fact, I thought I needed a project to get me out of bed.  So I went to Target, got this, and assembled it:

It took me all morning to walk the half a mile to Target, shop, get a cab home (because the shelf is HEAVY), and put it together.  I even got a little lamp that matches my bedside lamp, and I framed a postcard of Madame X to decorate.  Somehow this made me feel better.  Now I have a place for my books.  And the little lamp gives my entry hallway a nice warm light that I think I will like come winter.    Really, this space was just begging for a bookcase.  

After I completed this MARVEL OF ENGINEERING I girded my loins and went back to the Graduate Center.  The following conversation ensued:

Me:  Hi, I was here yesterday and my name was spelled wrong on my ID.

Them:  Oh, that's an issue for the registrar.  Go talk to them.

*I look at the line for the registrar and have heart palpitations*  Me:  No, no.  My name is right on all of my university paperwork.  The person typing my name into the computer before my ID was printed just spelled it wrong.

Them:  Talk to the registrar.

Really??  I rebelled, bypassed the registrar line, and went straight to the ID people.  Who couldn't have been nicer.  They took a new picture and printed me a new card.  But you see, THIS IS EXACTLY THE ISSUE.  If I have a problem, everybody says it's some other department's fault.  I was bounced around from table to table on Monday for ages.  

But anyway, I have my non-Ronnie Gilmore ID and I built a bookshelf.  I also bought an industrial-sized box of Goldfish to calm my nerves (fun fact:  they are my favorite snacky food; I also rarely eat snacky foods).  I also bought my first bottle of nail polish at Duane Reade.  So that's pretty New York-y, right?

Vacation's Over. I Live Here Now.

You guys really seemed to like my last set of New York photos, so I'm back to share more.  The second half of the week I spent with Sam we packed a lot in.  We were exhausted every single night, and there was much complaining from both of us about sore feet and sore backs.  But it was worth it, and I had a blast.  Without further ado, here are my other adventures.  I...

had a bit of a Marilyn moment on top of the Empire State Building

enjoyed the view on a perfect day

visited the Neue Galerie, where I saw this painting (but no photos allowed in the galleries)

 had hot chocolate and...

a linzertorte at Cafe Sabarsky in the Neue (NB:  we found out we do not like linzertorte)

 squeezed myself onto countless packed subways (I was so intent at squishing inside one of them that I inadvertently left Sam behind.  The doors shut and I was staring into her disappointed face on the other side of them.  No worries, though.  We found each other in the end)

visited Dylan's Candy Bar, the site of a recent Project Runway challenge (ALSO we saw Ven of the season 10 cast going into a Panera while we were going out)

 saw Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party at The Brooklyn Museum, which was an incredible experience

 fit right in as the fifth Burgher of Calais (being surrounded by Rodins is pretty neat)

 became totally addicted to Tasti D-Lite even though I still don't know exactly what it is (Sam maintains it's made of "angel farts and unicorn pee")

had ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS when I finally saw The Merode Altarpiece at The Cloisters

delighted in this unicorn tapestry

On our last day together (which was Saturday) we headed to The Cloisters on the upper west side, and if you ever have the chance to visit DO IT.  I don't even like medieval art and I was totally blown away.  I think that throughout the day both of us were kind of pretending that she wasn't leaving.  We used to spend all the time together during our MA program, so it's been weird not being near each other.  I was sad when she left.  I immediately felt lonely.  My parents left for Scotland yesterday, and my school experience so far has been...meh (I had a registration appointment that I didn't feel went particularly well and due to red tape and shenanigans I haven't been able to finagle even a university ID; sigh).

Right after Sam left I trekked to the Harlem Target to cheer me up.  I talked to Ben for a couple hours on the phone, and then there was a knock at the door (which scared the shit out of me because no one has ever knocked on my door before!).  A guy delivered these...

...from Ben to cheer me up.  He knew that I'd be upset after Sam left and he timed the delivery to coincide with her departure.  And we were on the phone when the flowers were delivered, so he got to hear my little tears of joy.  Followed by a bevy of "I-miss-yous."  But seriously.  What a perfect gesture.  And what gorgeous flowers.

Anyway.  Until school starts I think I'll be a lonely little petunia in an onion patch.  Today I have to get the bureaucratic stuff straightened out, so I'll be downtown all day.  But I'm going to come home to those pretty flowers and Sam's visit helped me feel confident enough to traverse the city on my own.  So maybe it'll be okay.  And of course, the continued support from you guys has helped a lot too.

Also, Short 'n Chic turned three last week.  Can you believe it?  I sure can't.

My First New York Adventures (photospam)

I bet you were wondering what happened to me, huh?  All of that bitching and moaning about moving, and I didn't even have the decency to keep up with you guys.  But I've been busy.  I thought I would show you what I've been doing.

walking through Times Square

seeing my new school

going to MoMA and seeing Wyeth's Christina's World (among other things, of course)

having drinks at Rockefeller Plaza with my mom and dad

drinking coffee on a morning walk

setting up my new studio apartment

trying to hold my dress down on a harbor cruise (and seeing the Brooklyn Bridge!!)

being a Rose DeWitt Bukator (Rose Dawson?) by the Statue of Liberty

going back to MoMA with Sam.  Loving every second of it.

being viewed through a Duchamp

doing a decorating project with Sam.  We saw this work at MoMA that was just white frames with black interiors hung close together like this, so we recreated it (white in black, because...that's what Target had).

seeing the American Wing at The Met.  You may remember this painting from this post.

seeing elephants at the natural history museum

finding the New York City Ladurée

delighting in my early-morning orange blossom macaron (wearing OPI Dazzled By Gold, last seen here)

having difficulty containing my excitement about my first visit to The Frick Collection

snapping pictures inside The Guggenheim (and getting severely reprimanded--but it was worth it)

The trip here was difficult.  Saying goodbye to Ben at the airport early last Thursday morning absolutely broke my heart.  I was overwhelmed when I got here.  We stayed in a hotel on Times Square, and the crowds really freaked me out.  When we got to Harlem I was still freaked out.  Weirdly, it was going to Target to get apartment stuff that cheered me up.  Targets look the same everywhere, and I felt a little better.  

Then, after being the best parents a girl could ask for and getting me settled, my mom and dad had to go home.  But I wasn't alone for long.  My best friend, Sam, and I met in Times Square and headed back to my place to start our week together.  So far we've done a lot.  We've gone to four art museums in three days (plus the natural history museum).  Our trip to The Met to see the new American Wing was absolutely mind-blowing for me.  The first gallery we really stopped in (number 771, I believe) was full of full-length portraits by Sargent, Whistler, Chase and Eakins.  I stood there and cried because I was so overwhelmed by them.  I kept wandering through the galleries and saying, "OH MY GOD" because these are things I never thought I would see.  When I saw Wyeth's Christina's World at MoMA I didn't want to leave it.  When I ran across Johns' Flag and Target with Plaster Casts I couldn't contain my excitement.  When Sam brought me to Pollock's Autumn Rhythm at The Met I had goosebumps.  At The Frick I walked into a room with four large Whistlers and I was just in awe.  Guys, I can't believe what I'm seeing.

My time with Sam is only half over.  Tomorrow we're headed to The Whitney.  Friday we do The Brooklyn Museum, and on Saturday we're heading to The Cloisters.  This is a big week for me.

But soon Sam will be gone and I'll be on my own, navigating the politics of graduate school again.  Missing my family.  Missing Ben.  I'm already trying to plan one trip back to Cleveland for the beginning of September to go to a wedding with him--and I'm desperate to feel his hand holding mine again.  I'm apprehensive about school, but for the first time in a long time all I'm wanting to do is live in this moment, trekking around the city with my best friend (and fellow art historian--never underestimate the bonding power of a shared interest).

Thanks for your continued support, everyone.  I'll be keeping you posted.

Baby's First Glitter Gradient (and Move #1 is Out of the Way!)

 I had some time the other day so I decided that I play with polish a little and do a glitter gradient.  It was my first one, even though I'd always wanted to try it.  It was super easy and I love the way it turned out.

The polishes I used were H&M Bella's Choice (is this a Twilight reference?  I have no idea.  Also I got this polish years ago from my friend Nathalie, so shout-out to her!  Thanks girl!) and OPI Gone Gonzo.  I used one of those little eyeshadow sponges that you get in most drug store palettes and that most of us probably throw away anyway.  Like I said, it was totally easy and I am in love with the effect it gives.  I did two coats of Bella's Choice, sponged the glitter about halfway down my nail, and then again about a third of the way down my nail.  Finished with top coat, and I was good to go.  

Well, I moved out of my apartment on Tuesday.  I spent several hours cleaning the place and getting it ready.  Right before someone from the landlord's office came to get my keys, I was doing a final check of everything.  I put my hand on top of the refrigerator and I found this.

I took it as a sign.  The innards of this long ago-digested fortune cookie were trying to tell me that everything is going to be okay.

Farewell, apartment #12 on Hampshire Road.  I'll miss you.

Here's me on the day that Ben and Joe moved all the furniture.  My mom insisted on documenting me.  I'm pretty sure that it's one of the only times I'd be caught dead in a t-shirt and jorts (it's just not my style).  That t-shirt, though, is one of my myriad of Caribou Coffee tees that I had to wear to work (yes, the fabled Coffee Inc. that I so often spoke of was Caribou Coffee).  All of them had little encouraging things written on the back like, "do more cannonballs" or "make time for silly."  This particular one says "do something that scares you," which was incredibly appropriate for the day's events.  I certainly am doing that, Caribou shirt.  I certainly am.


Anyway, now that I'm out of my apartment I feel pretty weird.  I've got nowhere to go that's "home."  All my stuff is at my parents' house.  My mom wants me with her and Ben wants me with him, and I feel like I'm being pulled in several different directions.  As usual, my solution to this problem is to run away.  When this posts I will be at my parents' lake house with Ben, enjoying the summer weekend.  My best friend from high school is coming over from Columbus to say goodbye.  I plan to sit in a floating chair and drink a lot of Yuengling and to have moments when I forget that this week with Ben and my parents can't last an eternity.  


The EXTREMELY BRIGHT SIDE is that I talked to my best friend Sam the other day, and she's coming to stay with me in Manhattan!  Pretty much as soon as I'm "on my own" there she's coming in for a week.  We already have museum trips planned (two art historians together for a week in NYC = major geek-out sessions) and I can't wait to see her.  The effect of this news is that I sort of feel like I'm taking a vacation in the city with Sam, not that I'm going to be there alone indefinitely.  But I will definitely soak in that happy vacation feeling.


Well, that's all for today.  What do you guys think of my little novice glitter gradient?  Do you like it as much as I do?