I've been nominated for an award!

 

I have been very kindly nominated by Cantara from Gymbags & Gladrags for a Liebster Award. The Award is for up and coming bloggers with less than 200 GFC followers, whereby other bloggers can nominate each other, to spread the blogger love. After all, the German meaning for Liebster is a term of affection.

 

The rules for the award:

Each nominated blogger needs to share eleven facts about themselves and answer the questions put to them by their nominated blogger. Then you need to nominate other blogs that you enjoy reading with less than 200 followers, they then have to link back to your blog, and nominate their own bloggers.

Makes sense? – I hope so!

 

Eleven facts about me:

1.     I have two sisters.

2.     I have a dog called Tiffany, a Chihuahua (named after Tiffany & Co. She actually use to wear my Tiffany bracelet before she outgrew it.)

3.     I have lived in London all my life, and have only ever lived in four houses, moving in with my boyfriend last year.

4.     My eyes turn bright green when I am really happy, and really dark brown when I am sad.

5.     I work in Sports Development – not very girly, but I do love sport.

6.     My lucky number is seven, but my favourite combination of numbers are 381 – 3 words, 8 letters, 1 meaning. Can you guess what is stands for?

7.     I am slightly OCD.

8.     I love watching live sport, and try to go to watch football and tennis when my boyfriend and I can.

9.     I love to travel, and holidays are the things I look forward to most.

10.  I am a walking cliché when it comes to romance. I believe in happy ever afters, and I am very lucky to have found my Prince Charming.

11.  I am currently on the waiting list to have a hip operation, hopefully it shall be soon (fingers crossed).

My questions to share asked by Cantara:

 

1.    What made you start blogging?

I Started blogging about nail art because I was convinced by my boyfriend to do so. I love painting my nails, and I love writing (hoping to be a published author one day) so thought why not combine the two?

 

2.    What's your go-to accessory?

My diamond earrings which were bought for me by my boyfriend for our first Christmas together. They are the most exquisite earrings I have ever owned and I love them. If I don’t wear them on a night out, I feel naked. The piece of jewellery I wear the most is the necklace he gave to me on a trip to Croatia, which was actually given to him by his Dad, and he bought an elephant pendant to go on it when we holidayed in Thailand. I haven’t taken it off since the day he gave it to me.

 

3.    Skirts or dresses?

I would have to say dresses. They make me feel feminine and sophisticated. It's a shame I don’t get to wear them too often (the weather doesn’t permit it in the UK, and I have to wear a uniform to work. However I do love to dress up, and do have some very lovely dresses.

 

4.    What's your favourite colour?

I wear a lot of blues and blacks, but I shall go all girly and say my favourite colour is pink.

 

5.    What is your favourite meal?

Anything that is cooked for me. Although I am partial to Asian cuisine. I am a fan of my boyfriend's Spag Bol too and I do a mean Crispy Chill beef with rice dish.

 

6.    Have you ever had a fashion disaster?

I am sure I have had plenty of fashion disasters. I look back at photos of when I was a child and often think what were my parents thinking? It was obviously in fashion or I liked it at the time.

 

7.    Where would you travel to if there were no limits?

I have been lucky enough to have travelled to lots of countries already. However, I have always wanted to stay in those little wooden hut hotels that are on stilts over the sea with glass bottom floors. They exist in places like Bali, Malaysia, Mauritius et al. I think the location and setting are for a really special, romantic holiday like a honeymoon, rather than just a holiday but would be one place I would like to stay if there were no limits. They are very expensive, so would only probably do it once in a lifetime, hopefully for the most romantic holiday of my life, as I hope to one day get married.

 

8.    Do you have any pets?

Yes, I have a dog called Tiffany, a Chihuahua. She lives with my parents since I moved in with my boyfriend, but she comes for lots of holidays, as my parents love to travel too.

 

9.    How often do you wear make up?

I only tend to wear make-up when I go out. I don’t wear it to work. When I do, I tend to always stick to the same look, which is quite minimalistic.

 

10.  What's been your biggest achievement so far?

My biggest achievement so far would have to be my academic education. I did really well academically. I studied like crazy for fear of failing. I probably don’t use it to my advantage with my career choice at the moment. Hopefully that’ll change.

 

11.  What is one goal of yours for this year?

To lose weight and get in shape. I have been venturing to the gym quite regularly and my fitness levels have improved. I have also tried to eat healthily. Hopefully I’ll start to see the rewards soon.

 

I nominate:

Ashly from ashly London

Lauren from covershoot beauty

Toni from The Beauty Misfit

Lauren from Lipstick & Lacquer

Francesca from The Mummy Diaries

Gillian from Wee Gillie

 

My questions for them:

1.     How would you sum up yourself in three words?

2.     Who is your role model?

3.     If you were stranded on a desert island, what one thing could you not live without?

4.     What is your favourite type of post to write about on your blog?

5.     If you could swap places with one celebrity who would you choose?

6.     If you could name a nail polish what would you come up with? And what colour would it be?

7.     Handbags or shoes?

8.     If you could have a super power what would it be?

9.     How did you come up with the name of your blog?

10.  What has been your best experience in your life to date?

11.  What is your favourite film and why?

So there you have it. Sorry it was such a long wordy post. I had fun writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it and learnt a little bit more about me. Thanks once again Cantara for nominating me for the award. I hope you all do check her out, and also the blogs I have nominated.

 

Until next time…

 

Laura-Jane

Nail Art: Paws for thought....

For the next couple of weeks, I shall be dog sitting as my parents are off on their holidays (luckily things!) So I came up with a design inspired by my four-legged friend.

 

 

Let me introduce her. This little pampered pooch is called Tiffany, she was named after my favourite Jewellery shop at the time Tiffany & Co and as a puppy she actually use to wear my Tiffany & Co bracelet as a dog collar, unfortunately it no longer fits. She is a Chihuahua by name, but not by nature. She’s not yappy, and she thinks she’s a BIG dog. To quote the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua, she’s “tiny, but mighty!” She recently celebrated her 6^th birthday (in dog years that’s like 42!) on the 15^th January 2013. She is adorable and has such a nice nature and loves to be cuddled and stroked. She definitely has no trouble in letting you know she wants a belly rub!

 

I opted to use a pastel colour for the main shade for this design, which I was recently inspired by London Fashion Week, and the fact that although quite chilly, the sun has been out sporadically this week. For the design, I used a deeper shade of the same tone, as I thought it would compliment them nicely.

Nail polishes used:

 

 

Base colour: Barry M - Berry Lilac

Design Colour: 17 - Royal Indigo

Top Coat: OPI Top Coat

I used one coat for the base, as the polish by Barry M (not for all shades though) seems to be thick enough to make it opaque by just using one coat. I waited for approx. 10 minutes to let them dry. Using two different sized dotting tools, one big one small to design the paws.

 

I placed the paws diagonally opposite each other, which kept the design fun, paw-like, but not too overbearing. Obviously you can have as many or as little as you like. Using the dotting tools makes this design super easy.

So there you have it, fun nails that look woof-derful!

 

 

What animal associated nails would you like to see next?

Have you ever had animal inspired nails?

Until next time…

Laura-Jane

A little introduction:

Welcome to my blog. I know it’s not the most original way to start a blog and has been done millions of times before, but hey that’s how it’s going to go.

 

A little bit about me…

 

I’m a twenty-something born and bred Londoner, my name is Laura-Jane and I’m a blogging novice. That definitely has an Alcoholic Anonymous-like ring to it, oops! Not really my intention or the look I was hoping to achieve…

 

I have a passion for sports (this is my vocational course in life), but also the dainty girly things that preoccupies the mind when often daydreaming. Working in a male dominant environment, sometimes you've just got to think ‘GIRL!’. I have always been creative, ever since a young age, I would always look forward to birthdays and Christmases to open up DIY craft sets and sit for hours upon end creating something beautiful (not always the case) to keep myself or give away as a gift to relatives. As I’ve gotten older, I have grown out of a lot of it, and to be honest, my academic career and now having a full-time job doesn’t leave much time. However, there is one thing that has stayed with me; nail art. There is something about creating art on the canvas of your own fingertips that’s very therapeutic, relaxing, and I’m not going to blow my own trumpet, but very rewarding when all the compliments come in, and the astonishment on people’s faces when they ask where I got my nails done, and I can reply with great satisfaction (and the big grin plastered across my face) that I did them myself!

 

I have started this blog in homage to my hobby, and I hope that any readers/followers I may obtain, will enjoy reading what I have written (another creative flair I have a passion for, Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out), and possibly give some of my work, tip and tricks a go.

 

I would love to hear what you think, any opinions you have or just some ideas you are willing to share. I’m sure all you guys’n’dolls know exactly what to do and just post a comment in the comment box, or if you would prefer you can email me at laurajaneconnolly@googlemail.com.

 

So the gloves are off and the claws are out, let’s get those polishes, pens and talons out and get this show on the road…

 

Until next time…

 

Laura-Jane