Okay, I know it is a day early...

...but I have a bit more time to post this morning, than tomorrow!

I started wearing polish as a pre-teen back in the 1980s (I am in my forties now and not afraid to let anyone know :D). Back then, it was mostly pinks and reds, and when I was 16, I found the most wonderful metallic grape purple at Shoppers' (I can't recall which brand it was). I wore the heck out of that polish, and craved new colours as a result. While I was in grad school in the 90s, I stopped painting my nails for about 4 or 5 years. I am not sure why....it's not like I didn't have other hobbies or was worried about professionalism - no one cared what colour I wore on my nails in the places I worked. At the end of grad school, I started my internship, and thought that since I would be working with kids, I could enjoy polish and have it serve as something to talk about - even the shy children would comment on my nails and the colours I was wearing. Also, it wasn't until this time that polish brands I knew started to be adventurous. I bought dark blues, greens, browns as soon as they were released at my drugstore. Duochromes were amongst my favourite finishes, and I went through several bottles of Sally Hansen Turquoise/Opal - but neglected to save one :(. Since then, I have been collecting polishes, and fully intend to wear cool colours into my golden  years. I have colleagues in their 60s and 70s who wear purples, vampies, and even greens, so I don't feel alone in my love for polish when I consider the people I know. Even so, I am never afraid to wear what I like, and those few people who have negative opinions don't matter one bit!

Moving on to what I like to wear, I thought I would share some blurry bottle pics of two new Canadian polish brands, Joe Fresh (started earlier this year and sold through Loblaws Superstores), and Quo (just saw them last week at Shoppers').

Joe Fresh Moss....I have always loved green polish! (yes, I do realize the letters are backwards, but I was too lazy to figure out how to rotate in i-Photo...still learning!).

Joe Fresh Brick...darker IRL.  I love brownish reds and darker reds on me.

Joe Fresh Grape. I wore this on my toes this summer...two weeks without a chip, which I think is pretty good! Purple polishes are probably my favourite to wear, and I noticed while creating my database of polish - yes, I am a nerd - that fully 1/3 of my stash of 300+ polishes are purple.  I have always loved purple, and it is my husband's favourite, too.  Our bridesmaids' dresses when we got married 15 years ago were a royal purple lace.  They were very stylish in 1995. :)

Joe Fresh Peacock. A lovely metallic/shimmery teal, with a bit of dark purple duochrome. Teals are probably my third favourite polish colour.

Joe Fresh Gunmetal. A really good description of this metallic deep gray. It is not frosty either, which is a bonus in my book.

Peek-a-boo! LOL...this is what you get when you use a webcam...anyhow, this is Persian Blue, which very nicely matches the stripes of my shirt.:)  I have noticed, I get the most compliments when I wear blues and greens. I think they contrast well with my pale, yellow-toned skin (MAC NC20, just for reference).

Joe Fresh seems to have a regular line of polishes, with pastels, pinks, and reds. I tend to gravitate toward the unusual colours, and anything that is limited edition. All of the above, except Gunmetal, were limited seasonal releases.

Finally, Quo, which has only been out three weeks here in Toronto -  I asked the cosmetics lady at one of my local SDM stores. There are only three colours in the line, and Flirt is one of them...of course I bought the purple one! :)  The other colours are a teal, which looked dupish/dupey to others in my stash, and a sheer looking pale warm pink.  I don't do sheers - just a personal preference. I will archive pics of my nails with these on.  I am not really into serial swatching, mainly for time reasons, so I take pics as I wear polishes.

These two brands were a significant find for me, as I missed out on previous brands that had been released by Canadian companies in the 1990s and early 2000s (Lise Watier comes to mind). For most of us Canadians, even those in larger cities, we rely on drugstore brands, or order online, and we typically have better access to online ordering through the US than anywhere else. What that meant for me, before I discovered the nail blogging world and e-tailers, was going to Shoppers' Drug Mart here in Toronto to find my polish. Until about 2-3 years ago, the main brands I would purchase from SDM were Sally Hansen, Revlon, Maybelline, and Cover Girl. OPI is super easy to find anywhere here, and I got into that back in the 1990s. I had seen Zoya at Trade Secrets, but my hairdresser warned me away from it, saying it peeled off in sheets (I now realize it could have been a bad bottle, or her basecoat, or something with her body chemistry). Once I discovered nail blogs, a whole other world was open to me, and I bought China Glaze, Color Club, Misa, Rescue Beauty Lounge, NFU Oh (I ordered mine from New Zealand before they were available in the US), and discovered a whole new world of interesting finishes, and colours that I hadn't been able to find elsewhere. I trusted bloggers' opinions on Zoya, and now I am hooked. I have some Nubar polishes, and they are also amazing. There are few brands I am not willing to try, and I usually have good luck with wear. I get bored after two days and paint my nails three times a week. I just want to thank everyone out there who blogs for their inspiration in creating my lemmings! :)

So, that is a long story as to how I got into polish. I welcome stories and sharing in the comments section below. Bye for now, from me, and from Loki - my gray Maine Coon - and Elektra - my overly attached black kitteh!

In the interests of keeping to a Sunday schedule...

...I give you a short, non-nail-related post. :) I am writing a lecture today, and trying to catch up with work in general. Here is a recipe for cookies that I have been making on a semi-regular basis this year. I found the recipe in our local newspaper, and adapted it a little bit.

Lemongrass-ginger cookies

½ cup unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp each of lemongrass and ginger pastes

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

icing sugar for dusting

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Beat in egg and two pastes. In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  In two additions, beat flour mixture into butter until just mixed. Drop by tablespoons two inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 F for 7-8 minutes or until just set. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, transfer to rack and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Makes 24.

The end result is like a shortbread/butter cookie fusion. I buy the spice pastes at my local grocery store, and they are necessary for the right texture. If you can't find these, you could try to substitute 2 tsps of each of the lemongrass and ginger, and add an egg; however, this will radically change the consistency and flavour of the cookies.  Let me know if you try them, and how they work out for you!

Have a great day!

How Often Will I Post?

That is the question...I honestly can't manage a daily post. I have a lot of respect for the bloggers who do! I think that once a week will be do-able for me, with work, and everything else going on. I need to be a bit more disciplined about getting my paper and book writing done. I am already behind on lectures this year, partly because I am in the midst of the whole adoption thing (talk about a rollercoaster of emotions!), and because I have sabbatical coming up next July - I always feel burned out the year before. I want blogging to be a hobby, a distraction, not a daily must, or else I will get tired of it. I really don't like resenting my hobbies, or anything for that matter!

So, look for new posts on the weekend. I think the next one will be on the history of my nail polish addiction. Until then, here are a couple of pictures of my opal nails from earlier in the summer. Yes, it is blurry -sorry! I have been taking pics on my webcam because it is easier, but I am going to try to learn how to do macro shots on my Canon. Point and click cameras ruined my picture taking skills - I miss my old Olympus with the fancy lenses and super fine adjustment from junior high...good times!

This was two coats of Revlon Cotton Candy from the Scents of Summer collection, one coat of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, and one coat of Nfu-Oh 53, with Essie Matte About You topcoat. It looked so lovely in the sun, and really did look like my nails were opals. :)

On a side note, I will probably throw in posts about my cats, garden, knitting, and cooking - everything but work (I talk about that a lot at work, and try to keep shop talk to a minimum outside of those hours). I welcome your comments, and will try to respond to as many as I can.

That is it for today! Have an excellent weekend and week ahead!

First entry

Hello everyone! Not sure how often I will post...I really should be writing papers and chapters for work. :)

I love nail polish, which is one of my main distractions and diversions from work. I follow many blogs, and as a result have an "addiction" to nail polish. A true addiction suggests cravings, withdrawal, and tolerance for higher doses; perhaps that applies to my desire for this substance. Maybe it is the ethyl acetate, or it could be the nitrocellulose - whatever it is, I find myself drawn to polish. I buy a lot, but am selective about not having duplicates of colours in my "stash".  Rather than a harmful obsession, I find that my desire for polish is something that I do control, and that I take some pleasure in after I pay my bills, and take care of my health. The title of the blog is meant as a parody of the addiction to polish that many of us fanatics joke about on Twitter or in blogs.

When I do post, I will try to include some fun stories, pictures of things that capture my fancy, and share my love for colour (gardening and knitting fulfill my desire for colour in my life, along with polish of course).

I wish you all a great day, and I hope to post again soon!