Wednesday, June 26, 2013

mid-week randoms

*After mocking me for my Candy Crush obsession (seriously how the heck do you get past level 125), TLS downloaded the game the other day. Since then, he has not stopped playing it and keeps on asking me to send him lives and train tickets. It is so incredibly amusing to sit here and just watch him get all frustrated. Now it's my turn to mock finally!

*Monday I was supposed to have an appointment with my endocrinologist because I'm pretty much convinced that my thyroid meds are not working. I'm still tired all.the.time and have no energy at all. No amount of Coke Zero really seems to help with this. The endocrinologist at Landstuhl (American hospital on base) doesn't see dependents so I have to see a German doctor off base. I spoke with my primary care doctor about 2-3 weeks ago who assured me that as long as I still had appointments left on my referral, I would not have a problem with my insurance company. When I got to my appointment, I was told that since my referral expired in April, the doctor could not see me unless my insurance company would give her the authorization over the phone or by fax which they refused to do. I ended up having to cancel my appointment (which I had to make over a month in advance) and the earliest one I could get is at the end of July. The only available appointment is during the time T and I were supposed to go to London. I don't want to have to delay my appointment any more so now it looks our trip to London is getting pushed back to August. Sad face. I hate dealing with insurance company red tape.

*My vacation request for October was approved today and I will be back in the States from October 2nd-23rd. Finally!!! If you live in the NYC area and want to meet up, please let me know. I cannot wait! Of course I went straight to look at plane tickets, and they are up like $100 from the last time I checked. I will wait a little bit to book my flight and hope that prices come down. I need that extra money for Shake Shack and Starbucks and manicures!

*How gorgeous is this pearl necklace from Bellevue Newport?
It's on sale at their flash sale tonight at 8pm EST on their facebook page. I am trying my hardest to stay up to make sure I don't miss it. The time difference and my underachieving thyroid are not my friends right now.

*In a bit of Alzheimer's humor for you that's slightly related to today's rulings: my Nana has started introducing my mother to people as her wife. Whenever I talk to my mother now, I always ask her how her wife is doing now.


How is your week going so far?

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Why I will never get a gel manicure again

If you follow me on instagram or twitter (@whaleflipflops on both), you have probably noticed that I love nail polish. Unfortunately, I am one of those girls whose nails just don't hold polish well and my manicures chip pretty easily. I end up changing nail polishes several times a week (partly due to chipping, and partly due to me not being able to ever make up my mind). I used to get gel manicures done in the States and stopped here partly because of the astronomical cost (I mean some places charge 19€+ for a regular manicure!!! talk about highway robbery) and partly because of how brittle my nails became after getting them done for a while. The other day, I was in Douglas (Germany's version of Sephora pretty much) wanting to get a manicure and I saw that they did gel manicures from Anny (a German nail polish brand that I love) for 20€. I was immediately drawn to the display with all of the pretty, shiny nail polishes. There were so many choices. It was like being in a candy store but without those pesky calories. I settled on Pink Party- a gorgeous shade, and sat down in the chair.
My nails looked fantastic. They were smooth, pretty, shiny, and the manicure was just amazing. After doing several loads of dishes by hand, a day of shipment at work, and a whole slew of other activities, my nails looked perfect. I was enthralled. I could not for the life of me remember why I stopped getting gel manicures. This was perfection. After about a week or so, I started to get really bored. This was the longest that my nails have remained the same color in quite some time, and quite frankly, I was bored with it. Given that I had plunked down 20€ (about $25-27 depending on the exchange rate) for something that the manicurist assured me would last for "up to 3 veeks," I wasn't about to take them off any sooner.

Today was about the 1.5-2 week mark. I have started getting new growth on my nail beds that is visible and to me just looks awkward. Of course you are your own biggest critic and I'm sure that if anyone else had seen my nails, no one would have seen anything wrong with them. Tonight, we got home from dinner, and I noticed that one of my gels was peeling at the corner. I peeled it off. Big mistake. I forgot how brittle and bad my nails look after it. A few of my nails peeled off easily, the other ones stayed put. I have some acetone nail polish remover that is meant for gel polish and is so strong it can pretty much strip the paint off your car. I tried soaking my nails in that. It hardly made a dent. I googled how to remove gel nail polish and found a tip that involved soaking a cotton pad in acetone, putting that on your nail, and wrapping your fingers in aluminum foil for 10 minutes. The only thing that successfully did was make me look like some alien swamp thing. The polish still wouldn't budge. At all. All of a sudden, I looked at my hands, and noticed that they were all blue. After a few moments of panic, I realized that some of the acetone had dripped onto my hands and when I grabbed the box of Reynolds Wrap, the blue dye from it transferred to my hands turning them blue. I ran to the bathroom and furiously scrubbed them for a few minutes. No luck. 

So to recap: I have blue palms and pink polish of 4.5 of my nails. I am not trying to attract a man on Pandora. Tomorrow I am headed back to Douglas to get them to take the polish off and get a real, non-gel manicure. I'm currently thinking #178- Cosmo from Dior.
picture from Polish Police
 And if I ever, ever, EVER try to convince myself that I want to get a gel manicure ever again, someone please smack me upside the head.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

30 until 30

Yes, I'm back into blogging after falling off the bandwagon/taking a break for a bit. 

Today marks one month to go until my (welp) 30th (welp) birthday! I am so excited for it (I am one of those girls who celebrates her birthday for multiple weeks/times) but am also terrified of getting older but not necessarily wiser. 

I have started getting the "so what do you want?" questions from husband and family. This year, my wishlist is slightly pricey but as my mother says, you only turn 30 once. (Side note: I actually really hate that saying a lot. Does it mean that people turn an age like 14 or 37 multiple times? But oh well, whatever convinces her to buy me an iPad Mini or a Yurman ring.) 

Speaking of which:
iPad Mini- I have a 16GB iPad and while I love it, it has gotten a bit small and there is no way to upgrade the memory. Also, I bring my iPad most places, and it gets a bit heavy and bulky after a while. I love how thin and lightweight the Mini is and since I've been wanting to get a new iPad for more memory (I know, I know- white girl problems), it seems like a good time to get a lighter/more portable option as well.

This gorgeous ring from the Tiffany & Co. Ziegfeld Collection-


It's onyx and pearls and is simply stunning.

David Yurman- I have loved Yurman jewelry for as long as I can remember, and have wanted a piece for about as long. The jewelry has always been out of my price range and hard to justify, but a girl can dream right? Here are some of my favorites:



C. Wonder Seashell Pearl Stud Earrings-
I adore pearls and wear something with pearls in it pretty much daily. I think these earrings are such a cute and fun twist on a classic. Sadly C. Wonder doesn't ship to APO addresses (wah!) so I'm hoping that someone Stateside can procure these for me.


Kendra Scott Earrings Elle Earrings in Chalcedony-
Another item that I love and can't get shipped over here.

Tiffany & Co. bow pendant-
One I've had my eye on and is much more realistic than that ring! Also, bows make the world a better place.

Kate Spade Pave Skinny Mini Bow Bangle-
see above

One of these two wine glass options from Preppy Princess-

To hep nurture my newfound love of drinking on my patio.

And also this.

Obviously.