Hello ladies,
Thank you for all of your birthday wishes yesterday. It was so sweet to have your lovely comments waiting for me when I returned from the day's festivities. I will share my day with you and then delight your eyes with my celebratory manicure. I met my girlfriends, Lisa and Cassandra for brunch at Max Brenner, a chocolate theme restaurant. I ordered the Well Mannered Omelette with fresh spinach and goat cheese. On the side were spiced home fries and a sugared biscuit with chocolate dipping sauce. We chatted about Essie Fall Color and the Milani Black Magic collection over coffee and chocolate drinks. Lisa and I brought bottles to gaze at. After such a pleasant time, they made sure I took home a treat to remind me of the day: Max Brenner's Madagascar Vanilla Hand Moisturizer. I plan on doing a review for you ladies soon. The font in the birthday card Cassandra chose would translate well into nail art. It was perfect! After brunch, Lisa and I strolled to the garden for meandering and photography.
My friend David took me to Longwood Gardens in the late afternoon. We initially were planning on seeing fireworks, but we discovered it was a ticketed event and was sold out. Neither of us had ever purchased tickets to see fireworks so it didn't occur to either of us to reserve them. We both felt the kinship of good company and were set to have a nice time no matter what the arrangements. We walked through the grounds for about an hour and a half, comparing the perfume of heirloom roses and getting lost in the saturation of color in the trial garden with the bees and the butterflies. We went for a country drive for much of the way to the waterfront in Delaware. I love seeing light reflected on the water at night. It was a beautiful walk.
We journeyed back to Philadelphia for dinner at Bindi, serving modern Indian cuisine. David loves to explore as many offerings as possible when dining so he encouraged me to order whatever interested me on the menu. I had an amazing dining experience and a satchel of leftovers. For an appetizer, I had spring pea and potato samosas with mango-date chutney. I chose sweet goat cheese paratha for bread. It was stuffed with small pieces of coconut, dates, and pecans and was drizzled with wildflower honey. My entree was a vegetarian thali with saag paneer (creamed spinach and cubes of Indian cheese), spiced cauliflower, chana masala (chick peas, tomato gravy, spices), raita (a cooling yogurt sauce) and pulao rice with cashews and golden raisins. It was an absolutely incredible meal. I must say I was so thankful David had requested that we walk across town to Bindi in lieu of driving. It was one of the most beautiful days of the year weather wise. It was so pleasant to have the company of good friends on my birthday with so many treats for the senses. I am very thankful.
I wanted to do a celebratory manicure for my birthday with an abundance of sparkle. Lauren from Dizzy Nails recently showed a look with layered Nfu Oh polishes. Inspired, I decided to build the flakies to resemble the start of fall leaf changing. Beginning with two coats of Sephora by OPI Dark Room over CND Stickey base coat, I then added one coat each of Nfu Oh 60, 51, and 56. All of the pictures below can be enlarged by clicking. Enjoy.
The variety of the dahlia above is called Peaches and Cream. How perfect!
Here's David making fun of me with his giant hand and similarly proportioned flower. I have been trying to get him to model a matte black or grey polish for you ladies, but he hasn't taken to the idea.
Above and below are the Nfu Oh polishes with different levels of sun brightening them. They are positioned in order of application: Nfu Oh 60, 51, and 56.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the remembrance of my birthday.
Happy painting, ladies!