text: I grew up listening to oldies, and I adore The Beatles, but my #1 favorite band is Barenaked Ladies! (Yes, I'm a 90s kid.)
  My childhood dog was an antisocial Shetland sheepdog named Sandy. She was scared of my dad and most of her toys. Here's Sandy as a puppy:
  Here are the blogs I'm nominating for the Versatile Blogger award! They're all great nail blogs, so go check them out!
  Today's my 28th birthday! I'm looking forward to aging for one more year, after which I'll be 29 for the rest of my life (that's what happens to women, right??). I got some great gifts, including Nails, Nails, Nails!: 25 Creative DIY Nail Art Projects from my husband. He knows me well! My celebration started out this morning with a bowl of Lucky Charms, my traditional birthday cereal. Then I did my nails!
  My base colors are L'Oreal The Palace Life (pink) and Wet 'n' Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint (blue). Revlon Whimsical is very sheer, so I was able to put two coats on without messing with the base colors too much. I just wish the glitter was more dense!
  OK, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day! Don't forget I have a birthday-themed collection of polish for sale in my Etsy shop!
  Rather than just doing a regular swatch post today, I thought I'd do something a little more fun. I wanted to wear Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light because it's so gorgeous, and then I remembered that the last time I wore it was almost exactly a year ago. I got it as a birthday present from my parents (cool parents, huh??) last year, when I was just starting out collecting nail polish. And it just so happens I took a picture of that mani!
  Let's start with the pics I took today. Ray of Light is a beautiful indigo jelly with flakies that shift from pink through yellow to green. This is two coats, but I probably could have done with a third. (I'm just too impatient, heh.)
  Ignoring the fact that I used horrible indoor lighting, you can see how much my manicure skills have improved in a year! I knew enough to clean up my cuticles, but left a mess around the edges of my fingers. And I didn't bother to shape or grow out my nails. And obviously my ability to pose has improved since I've started blogging!
  I really enjoyed looking through my pictures of manicures I did last year. I think it would be a lot of fun to re-create (and improve upon) more of them!
  It's time for another polish from my untried pile! This is Color Club Ulterior Motive, a rather sheer hot pink with pink and blue flecks. It's just slightly eye-searing! Not my usual type of color, but I like it.
  Hey! Just a reminder that you can get 10% off at my Etsy shop using the coupon code PARTYTIME...but it expires on December 8, so hurry!
  Today I got my Julep Maven box for the first time in several months--the last few haven't excited me enough to spend the money. I really wanted the eyeshadow palette in this month's box, but I ended up getting a pretty cool polish too.
  Julep Jillian is described as "deep eggplant with bronze molten". What it looks like to me is a blackened base with shimmer that shifts from burgundy to bronze. Details, details! It's really quite lovely and kinda sexy!
  For my photos, I decided not to do plain old swatches, and I hadn't used striping tape in a while, so I added some embellishment! The gold polish is another one I received in the Maven box (Mia).
  Jillian is available at Julep's site for $14 (8 ml) or $11.20 if you're a Maven. If you'd like to become a Maven (it's free!) click here--if I refer new Mavens I get points to spend on the site. ;-)
  Today I'm very excited to tell you that I've joined up with eleven other nail bloggers to sponsor a huge giveaway!
  We're giving away four gift certificates to your choice of polish e-tailer! What better way to start the new year than with a nail polish shopping spree?
  The raffle is open internationally and ends Dec. 31. Grab as many entries as you like, then go visit these other lovely bloggers!
  I finally got a chance to do my nails today! I had to do my Thanksgiving nails since we're traveling tomorrow--hopefully they'll last through Thursday...
  I first did a gradient using Deborah Lippmann Just Walk Away Renee and Revlon Stormy Night, then I added some leaf stamps with Revlon Gold Coin. (The stamp patterns are all from Winstonia plate W119.) I really like the look of the gradient; I just wish the smaller leaf patterns had come out more distinctly (I think the problem is that I stamped with a foil polish).
  It feels good to have a nice mani again! My nails have been acting as guinea pigs for my own polishes a lot lately, so I've had two or three different polishes on at once for the past few days. I trimmed my nails since they're starting to be affected by the dry weather. And I got to try on another new polish!
  This is I Love Nail Polish Birefringence (H). It's the same as the earlier Birefringence from the Ultra Chrome collection except it's holographic! It's a metallic that shifts from orange-gold through purple to blue. Soooo mesmerizing... (Note: the blue shift is more green than my camera picked up.)
  Are you as dazzled as I am? This definitely matches Mutagen for color-shifting amazingness. The holo effect is linear, but the particles are relatively diffuse. I loved the formula as usual--no bubbles or streaks, and it was thin but not runny.
  
  Enduring Fate, a new Fate of the Gods novella, is available now! And Concealing Fate is also available now in ebook and paperback!
  And don't forget to subscribe to THE AMALIAD, to stay up to date on Authors!me. Or become a Patron of my work over on Patreon!
  I post a butt and ONE clue, you guess who that butt belongs to in the comments. If you guess right, and you're the first person who does, you get 7.5 points.
  The next Tuesday, the answer is revealed, with a frontal view of the sculpture in question, and I'll keep a running tally of correct answers, with occasional updates of who is "winning."
  For Olympians, Greek AND Roman names are acceptable, because half of these sculptures were probably titled with their Roman names but in my head, they immediately translate to the Greek, and that's how I remember them when I'm organizing my photos.
  The game will continue for as long as I have photographs of backsides to share, but a new NAME THAT BUTT may not be posted every week, depending on Things.
  The FULL Backside for Round Three. Well. Backside being kind of a relative statement in this instance. Stupid walls.
  And in celebration of my BIRTHDAY weekend, whoever is in the lead on Tuesday the 6th is going to get some BUTT-tacular Postcards of the butts named, so far!
  (Nota Bene: During #NAMEthatBUTT season, all comments are moderated and your guesses are hidden until after the butt is revealed!)
  Author of the completed Fate of the Gods trilogy and the ongoing Orc Saga. I also write historical fiction as Amalia Carosella.
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