butter LONDON... Fabulous!

Just got my butter LONDON nail polishes yesterday in the mail. Of course, the first thing I did when I got home was my nails.

Official verdict: AWESOME.

I love the two colors that I got. On my fingers, All Hail The Queen is a sparkly grayish taupe that is the perfect darker neutral for fall. The navy is great too! Its opaque with no sparkle, which I would rather have than a sparkly navy.

At first when I opened them, I had a feeling that the brush was going to be a little small for my taste, but it actually worked quite well. The bristles fanned easily, which made for a nice even coat with each brush stroke.

Hope you're enjoying your Tuesday!

Nail Polish

Nail polish is so hot right now. I love nail polish because it makes me feel just a little more put together. My toenails are ALWAYS painted, no matter what. I honestly don't think I have gone a day without my toenails being painted since around the 6th grade. Fingernails are a different story. I should keep my fingernails painted (and I try to), but I have a bad habit of peeling it off when I get even the tiniest chip. I'm definitely a stress-biter, which is totally embarrassing at the nail salon. But I'm working hard to change my ways.

Personally, I've always been a fan of OPI. Their polishes are of great quality, they have fun colors, even more fun names, and (this might seem weird) their brushes are appropriately wide. Essie polishes are adorable, but I have trouble painting with my left hand with their minuscule brushes.

Just this week, I ordered a couple butter LONDON polishes that I am SO excited for. Has anyone ever tried butter LONDON? Their polishes are non-toxic and they have fabulous colors. They are a little more expensive than OPI and Essie (running at around $14 a bottle), but I will be sure to let you know if they are worth it or not. Much of that will depend on the functionality of the brush.

It used to be that I only really wore traditional colors on my nails, but I'm trying to branch out. I am loving dark colors for fall, but since I'm not a big black-wearer, I am totally on a navy kick. I'm wearing navy on my toes right now and I LOVE it!

The butter LONDON colors I ordered:

Royal Navy

All Hail The Queen

My other go-to colors:

Glitzerland
Wearing this on my hands now!

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

Melon of Troy

Colors I want to try:

French Quarter for Your Thoughts

Rosie Lee

The Old Bill
WANT this copper color!!! LOVE IT

Our Nation's Capital

I hope you read that like Forrest Gump.

Anyway, our DC trip this weekend turned out to be quite a success. I can't believe it has taken me this long to post about it.

A bunch of us at Old Glory

We stayed in Arlington because it was a million times cheaper than staying in the city. We drove up Friday afternoon after JMC got out of class and ended up arriving to our hotel just in time to freshen up and meet some people at a bar in Georgetown called Old Glory.

I love Georgetown. Its definitely one of my favorite parts of DC. I wanted to go there during the day to get some shopping in, but it would have been more trouble than it was worth toting three boys around. Old Glory was definitely my kind of bar. There was a rooftop level that we stayed on the whole time and it was very laid back. We even met some people from UNC there!

Saturday we ate at the Taylor Gourmet on K Street for lunch, where KPB and I had eaten the last time I was in DC to visit her. This may be my favorite sandwich place of all time. They have risotto balls that are completely to die for and every time I've been, I've gotten the most delicious sandwich called the "South Street." It has chicken (grilled or breaded) with pesto, tomatoes, and goat cheese. And those happen to be four of my favorite foods. Period.

Luckily Taylor Gourmet was pretty close to the Spy Museum, because that was our next stop. The spy museum was really cool. I wish it would have been a little less crowded so that we could have looked around for longer, but none of us were really the kind of people who want to spend hours trudging through crowds of randos.

After the spy museum we wanted to grab a drink before we headed back out to Arlington to get ready for dinner and stuff, so we walked around for a little bit and found District of Pi. I had seen this restaurant on some food channel show, so that made me even more excited to check it out. They had a GREAT beer list, and I honestly wish we would have been there for dinner because their food looked delicious. 

But nonetheless, we made our way back to our hotel, got ready quickly, and headed to a sports bar in the Clarendon area called Hard Times Cafe to watch the South Carolina/ECU game (one of JMC's friends went to USC for undergrad and we were meeting some of his friends there). After that, we went to Rhino Bar in Georgetown and had a great night! I wish I would have taken more pictures of this night, but we were too busy having fun I guess.

Sunday, we got up to have brunch, but in the frustration of trying to get into the city, ended up eating at Shake Shack (which just opened in DC near Dupont Circle). Although I had been looking forward to a nice mimosa to start off the day, Shake Shack was so delicious and I'm glad we got to go there. I had been to one location in NYC near the American Museum of Natural History, but none of the boys had ever been before.

After we were finally fueled, we walked around downtown for a while, checking out the White House and the Washington Memorial, etc. Our last stop was the American History Museum, which I had been wanting to go to FOREVER. It was really awesome to see everything and my favorite part was the inauguration dresses of all the First Ladies. I was disappointed that we didn't have much time to REALLY look around, and when we got to the 9/11 exhibit it was 3:30 and the exhibit closed down at 3. But otherwise, the museum was really cool and I can't wait to go back to get the FULL experience.

Since our weekend had been so busy, we were all pretty tired and Sunday night became sort of a chill night. We went to dinner at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Arlington that was right around the corner from our hotel, which just about made JMC jump out of his pants. Their food was DELICIOUS and their beer was obviously amazing. If you have access to it, you MUST try the Punkin Ale. They only release so much of it every year and JMC and I couldn't find it within 100 miles of Chapel Hill or Charlotte. But its totally worth the hunt.

For a 4 day weekend, we got A LOT accomplished. 

Things I would do over and over again:

1. Georgetown. Everything about it.

2. Taylor Gourmet

3. Dogfish Head Alehouse

4. Nightlife

Things I wish I wouldn't have missed:

1. Close-up Washington Memorial & Lincoln Memorial

2. Arlington National Cemetery

3. Air & Space Museum

4. Newseum

5. More time at the American History Museum & 9/11 Memorial Exhibit

6. Food Trucks

Guess this means I have to go back soon!!

Happy Birthday JMC!

Happy 22nd Birthday to JMC!

We have this agreement that 21 is the last birthday that you REALLY have to look forward to. After that, you just get older without getting anything fun for it (besides retirement, of course). So, I am going to bask in the fact that I am stil 21, because come November, its all over. 

Speaking of JMC, be sure to check out his blog, BrewNC!

To celebrate JMC's birthday, we are going to DC for the weekend with two of our friends, who both went to high school with us (and middle school with me). It promises to be a fun-filled weekend with lots of museums, awesome restaurants, and bars! If you have any suggestions of places to go, let me know. I have already been told that I have to get Julia's Empanadas and I'm thinking about trying to catch a cool food truck. And there is no way I'm missing out on a trip to Taylor Gourmet. I wish I had a Taylor Gourmet inside my house (but then I would be enormous from eating too many risotto balls).

We are driving, but DC is only about 4.5 hours from Chapel Hill, so it shouldn't be too terrible. I will be sleeping in the car (I hope JMC reads this so he has a head's up).

Keychains

First of all, I have to give credit to my roommate, VBG, for the idea for a post about keychains.

Maybe what annoys JMC the most is the fact that I can never find my keys. Not because they're ever lost, but because they get misplaced in the bottom of my gigantic Longchamp, often seeming never to be found again. His favorite move is the one where I lift my knee to rest my bag on it to get a better view of every corner of my bag (totally guilty). It has gotten infinitely worse since my bright red pepper spray got taken at a concert and I no longer have that contrast that had served as my guiding light towards where my keys might be resting. Now, I need something that will stand out when I'm digging, making it easier for me to locate my keys (and diminish the amount of time JMC has to wait outside my car/apartment for me to unlock the door).

In searching for a good keychain, you have to consider the fact that you're going to be using your keys ALL THE TIME, throwing them around, laying them places, etc. Therefore, they are going to get dirty. Period. I would probably avoid anything white or pastel, as well as anything that might chip easily.

Here are my picks for cute, practical keychains:

This acrylic monogrammed keychain will be sturdy and won't show scratches very easily. It's big enough so that it will stand out in the bottom of your purse, but not overwhelmingly bulky. Plus, anything with a monogram is automatically better.

The needlepoint keychains from Smathers & Branson are classic and adorable. You can choose from a ridiculous number of design options, including patterns and colorfully stitched items like animals, flags, etc. You also have the option of getting a monogram added to the other side! They are smaller, but can be bright and colorful enough to stand out in almost any bag.

There are some Etsy shops and other online places where you can order the supplies to stitch your own needlepoint keychains (and other needlepoint products), which is what VBG is going to do. She is making one with a black lab on it because she just got a new puppy (named Maybelle who is AWESOME)! VBG is also making MB a needlepoint collar that is going to be absolutely adorable (and hopefully she won't chew on this one like she did her Lilly one).

Polyvore

I'm no graphic designer, nor a fashion expert, but I'm really starting to enjoy playing around on Polyvore.

For those of you who don't know what Polyvore is, it's basically a website where you can search for different products (apparel, accessories, makeup, etc.) and put them all together in a "set." I had never heard of it until I started using Pinterest a lot, where a bunch of people will pin different sets that they make or like on Polyvore. Some people use ti to display trends for different seasons and things like that, but I just like it for putting outfits together. Here are a couple of the sets I have made in anticipation of the fall:

I wish I knew more about graphic design and stuff so that my sets looked better, but I still like to be able to see what items will go well together, even with things that I already own. Also, Polyvore allows me to look at the MOST expensive designer items, so then I can look for similar things that might be less expensive (or if I REALLY like something, I know what I need to save up to buy).

Seen in sets: J Crew, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Ray Ban, Madewell, Tory Burch, Alexis Bittar

On the search for a new bag...

I think its about time that I quasi-ditch the large Longchamp as my everyday bag. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Longchamp. I just feel like now that I'm a "real person" I need a grown-up purse to carry around. I'm sure its going to be a little while before I can get one considering the amount of money I just spent on this gorgeous computer that I'm typing on right now, but I figure if I look now, what I actually want will be on sale when I can buy it! Anyway, I am a really big fan of medium-brown leather, pretty basic bags.

Here are a few of my favorites that I've seen lately:

Michael Kors Hamilton Satchel

Tory Burch Amanda Hobo

Tory Burch Robinson Small Tote

Has anyone else seen any similar cute ones? I am anxious to see what the Cole Haan boutique on Rue La La will have to offer tomorrow!