Essie Coconut Cove

Sorry for the break. It's been a long one. 

I decided I needed to do something about my dying nails. Around about last October, almost all of my nails became partially detached from my nail beds. They looked terrible. Similar to the chemical burns a lot of people suffered when Mentality polish let those bad batches of polish out. I still don't have an answer as to why, except maybe wearing polish 365 days a year for five or six years isn't a great idea. Around mid-March I badly tore one of them; I had maybe about 1/4 of an inch of nail left on my index finger. The pain, blood, and swears that followed were not nice. 

So I stopped painting. Cold turkey. I moisturized and oiled but that's where the attention to my fingers ended. I stopped buying polish, stopped reading a lot of blogs and hoped they'd grow back normal. They have, I'm happy to say, but I feel like I've lost a lot of interest in the hobby, which bums me out. I've lost a lot of confidence too. I feel like I can't pull off interesting colors, and I'm now terrified of glitter again.  

So even though I'm hesitant to paint my nails, I'll try getting back on the horse. I've got an Alex literally full of polish, so I'd feel like a fool if I let it all just waste away. We'll see how it goes. 

My hatred for summer is not a secret here. It was very easy to not buy any polish this spring and summer because none of it appealed to me. Coconut Cove was the exception, though. It's just a nice, opaque off-white. I did two thicker coats rather than three thin ones, and got a chip on my index finger (hence the little patch job). It's summery without being over the top. 

So if I wasn't painting my nails this summer, what was I doing? 

1. Stranger Things. Oh my god, guys. This show. I haven't been so into a show since the first season of Once Upon a Time. Or the fourth season of American Horror Story. I literally do not know how to live my life until the second season comes out next year. Ugh. 

2. The Great British Bake Off. Mary Berry is officially my new favorite everything. The 2014 series is my favorite (and the only one available on Netflix right now, unfortunately) and I've watched it probably 20 times now. How flipping cute is Martha? And Richard!? Honestly, he should have won.

3 & 4. Yewwwtweewb. I've been watching Peaceful Cuisine, along with Simon and Martina, obsessively all summer. After an overload of Red Letter Media, I really needed stuff that was calming and cheerful. 

5. Wiener Party? Late to the party on this one, but I'm catching up. Boyfriend and I have managed to get to mid-season 5 in about a month. I'd like to be fully caught up by the time the next season is out, I hate being out of the loop. Honesty time: am a bit disappointed I'm not seeing more wieners. Was promised floppy wieners. Also it took me too long to realize Theon is Lily Allen's little brother. Oh Alfie, ya naughty.

6. Welcome To Night Vale. All Hail the Glow Cloud. Podcasts have become a HUGE part of my life this year, and this is one of my favorites. I took my car in for some repairs in late spring, and in fixing the problem, my cd player came unplugged. If I wanted it to work again, I'd have to go to the dealership and have them reprogram it, and it was a top priority for me to get it fixed since I can't stand to listen to silence when I drive. But I've literally gone the whole summer without it because I just listen to this now. It's on when I'm cooking, when I'm cleaning the house, and it lulls me to sleep at night. 

7. Lore. Another podcast I am head over heels for. I thought I was the only weirdo that dived into creepy rabbit holes in my spare time. What a silly notion. My only complaint? It's bi-weekly, so I get an awesome 35-40 minute fix and am left high and dry for two weeks. Apparently it's being turned into a television series as well, I am SO.EXCITED. 

I'm also taking serious charge of my health. Over the past month I've cut out dairy, carbs, fast food, soda, and sugar and I've dropped about 15 pounds. Super proud of that. The first couple weeks were hard and I was a grumpy, salty bitch because I couldn't have peanut butter sandwiches (one of my reasons for living), or get up in the night for a semi-conscious midnight snack (my sister refers to that as being a werepiggy), but I feel better than I've felt in years. The puffiness in my face is gone, and since I've cut dairy out I no longer get horrible stomach cramps. I've got a ways to go to get to my goal weight (about 2 years), but I'm going to keep on going.