The Nail Files

As promised, we are discussing nails! Yay! Well, kinda...
So, Lesli and I got together to try out some new designs on our nails.

Lesli chose a chevron pattern for hers and I chose a two-toned French manicure. 

It was Lesli's first time attempting a chevron pattern and my second time tackling the French manicure (my first attempt was a major FAIL, so I decided give it another shot). 

We would like to share our discoveries, tips and tricks for getting it right.

There's been a pin floating around Pinterest that caught both Lesli's and my attention. 

Using Pam cooking spray to make your manicure smudge proof instantly! 

Sounded too good to be true, so we decided to give it a try and find out if it really worked.

We headed out to our local 99 cent store and were able to find a cooking spray similar to Pam, but for only $1... SCORE! 

Along with the cooking spray we bought reinforcement labels for my French tips.

Once home, we started on our manicures.

These were the results:

Y'know the good'ole saying, "it's a lot harder than it looks"? Both Lesli and I give major kuddos to all the girls on pinterest pulling off these nail designs successfully on themselves. It's not impossible to achieve, but definitely requires tons of practice, time and patience.
It was definitely a learning experience for us, here are the things we would have done differently.

Lesli: For my chevron stripes, I started by going layer by layer, in taped off sections and learned at the end it would have been much easier to just do my two main colors first and THEN paint the chevron stripe to tie it all in together

Michelle: To do a French tip using reinforcement labels you MUST let the base polish completely dry. Reinforcement labels are very very sticky and can peel off all the polish if they are not dry. This was actually the reason my first attempt failed so badly. This time was a bit more successful but if I do it again, I'll most likely wait a few hours for the polish to completely dry and then do the tips with the labels.

As for the cooking spray trick, it definitely works. Not going to lie, leaves your hands and what ever surface your working on super greasy, but nothing soap can't wash off, right? So, totally worth it.

We would for sure still recommend a little dry time as it is not as instantaneous as one would hope, but really does cut the dry time in half if not more!

Next manicures should be a bigger success.

Music Monday

Gather round boys and girls because today is Music Monday! Lesli and I are going to share with you our music obsession of the week.

Michelle:

Megan James (Vocals) and Corin Roddick (Instrumentals)

This week I had to go with Purity Ring's new album Shrines. I kid you not, this album has been and will be on repeat for a while. It's pure amazingness. 
If you aren't familiar with Purity Ring already, they are a Canadian electro-pop duo from Montreal. 
Shrines is their debut album and was released in July of this year. I like the whole album but of course, everyone has their favorite songs and 'Obedear' is mine. 
The combination of Megan's sweet voice mixed with the dark synthy-electro music is just perfect.
 If you don't believe me, have a listen:

Lesli:

Lykke Li is my artist pick for todays Music Monday. 

I am really into "Jerome" off of her Wounded Rhymes LP. 

I was introduced to Lykke Li a few years back via The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack. 

Regardless of how I feel about the books and movies, I must admit, the soundtracks have provided 

countless eclectic indie bands and musicians, most of which are pretty fantastic. 

Going along with the overall mood of the book and movie, the songs featured on the soundtrack 

are of a much darker tone. Lykke Li's "Possibility" instantly hooked me. I found the combination 

of her child-like tone of voice and dramatic piano very somber and haunting.

As described by Wikipedia, "her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic;

various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins,synthesizers,tambourines,

trumpets, saxophones and cellos". Some songs have a retro sound to them which 

is another reason why I am a big fan. Take for example the intro to "Youth Knows No Pain"

also off of the Wounded Rhymes LP.

Michelle prefers Lykke Li's debut album Youth Novel, which I also love, but personally have

obsessed over more songs on the Wounded Rhymes LP.

In the end, we are both fans of Ms. Lykke Li for her edgy lyrics and captivating music style.

Definitely on my to see live list. 

"Come and get down, come and get down, make amends, make a vow"

Black Friday Haul I

Yes, we were THOSE people you have read about and seen on the news, waiting in line for stores to open at midnight on 'Black Friday' (minus the weapons, trampling and only a little shoving). For us however, it was more about the experience than the deals. We love to shop, then throw in saving a few bucks and it was a done deal!

We decided to go pretty much on a whim. Michelle was a Black Friday virgin (home girl had on 4" heeled boots and was expecting to last all night shopping in them), and I had only gone Black Friday shopping once before. We had no game plan, just did a very general search on the Internet and paid for our rookie mistakes. We had no interest in the electronics and appliances everyone was hyped up about. We were going for clothes and beauty products. That being said, our first two stops were a bust: Target and Kohls.

After waisting time wandering amongst the masses at Kohls and Target, plus making a quick pit stop back at my place to switch out Michelle's high heeled boots for my Havaianas, we headed to the mall, where we should have started in the first place.

Both Michelle and I being very big fans of H & M had made it our top priority. The store had been open already when we arrived, however they were only allowing a few people in at a time. When we saw how ridiculously long the line was, we decided I would stay and hold our spot while Michelle ran around the rest of the mall (in my chanclas) to get the scoop on the other stores.

Finally making it inside H & M felt amazing. Compared to their normal prices, you can definitely say they had deals. Select clothing for as little as $5? Don't mind if I do! Unfortunately, most of the insanely low priced items had already been snatched up by the time we got in. Even so, we managed to snag a few items as shown below.

Another store on our radar was the ever popular Forever 21. They had not advertised any to die for deals on-line, but we figured we were there already, so why not stop in to look and good thing we did. We raided the sale section only to find out when we got to the register there was an additional 50% off the sale items... SCORE!

These are a few of our finds:

Scarf: H&M, Cream  Cardigan: H&M

Knit Cream Pullover: H&M

Mint Cardigan: H&M

Burgundy Cardigan: H&M, Black and White Panel Skirt: Forever 21 

Mustard Beret: H&M

Hot Pink Ridged Scarf: H&M

Leopard Mary Janes: Forever 21, Cream Polka Dot Stockings: Forever 21

Black Gloves: H&M

Needless to say, we will be much better prepared for next year, should we decide to go again.

TV Tuesday

So, I have jumped on the weeknight TV show band wagon. Everyone has their favorite(s), for some it's The Voice or Bones on Monday nights and for others it's the X-factor on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I personally favor Tuesday evenings. Everyone who knows me will tell you I am available all day Tuesday, but as soon as it's 8:00 pm, it's officially my TV show time. Luckily, for me it's three shows all lined up, back to back, on the same network; Fox.

The first on my list is Raising Hope. I only recently started watching this show and even though it's already in it's third season, it's not hard to follow along. The show is about James "Jimmy" Chance, a clueless 23-year-old who must raise his infant daughter, conceived from a one-night stand, with the help from his flawed family after the baby's mother (who has killed multiple boyfriends) is sentenced to death and electrocuted when the baby is only six months old. Sounds terrible, right? But it's actually pretty light-hearted. All the characters are funny and sweet. So far my favorite episode this season has to be 'Candy Wars'. All in all I give this show an 8 out of 10.

Second on the list is my all time favorite: Ben and Kate. I love, love, love, this show! Actually, WE love this show (Lesli watches on Hulu). The series focuses on a brother and sister who are exact opposites: Ben is over-the-top, while younger sister Kate is a single mother working as a bar manager. Ben realizes that his sister needs help with her life and taking care of her daughter, Maddie. He moves in with Kate so she can discover what she missed out on and Kate hopes to return the favor by bringing her brother back to reality. It's barely the first season and it's pure gold. I hope that there are many to come. My favorite character has to be BJ. She's freaking hilarious. Funny enough the name of our blog can actually be credited to this show. So clearly we really like this show. It's cute, funny and sometimes totally random. Everything me and Lesli enjoy. I have to give this show a 10 out of 10.

Last on my Tuesday line up is New Girl. The series begins with Jessica "Jess" Day (played by Zooey Deschanel), an adorable, bubbly woman in her late twenties who teaches at a local Los Angeles elementary school. Jess begins looking for a new place to live after the breakup with her boyfriend. Seeing an ad for a new roommate on Craigslist, she moves in with three young men: Nick, Schmidt, and Coach. Very shortly after her move, Coach moves out, and is replaced by Winston, another young man who had previously lived in the apartment with Nick and Schmidt. Although I do really like this show, I have to admit that it can be kind of a hit and miss sometimes. I love Zooey Deschanel and her quirky character Jess, so I mainly watch because of her. Also, I really love her wardrobe and I tend to draw inspiration from it. Don't get me wrong, the show is funny, it's just not always the kind of humor I am into. Overall, I give it a 7 out of 10.

So, there you have it; my TV Tuesday line-up. These are the shows I am currently obsessed with and will not miss. When Tuesday comes around, you'll most likely find me eating popcorn or doing my nails while watching Raising Hope, Ben & Kate and New Girl.

-Michelle

Intro

What's Bippin'? blog is brought to you by:

Lesli

A lover of all things vintage. I have a passion for music, art, fashion and the outdoors. Family, friends and pets are always a common topic. Hoping to expand hobbies and skills in crafts, make-up, hair and nails. Very much a girly-girl at heart. Glitter, sequins and jewels always tickle my fancy.

Michelle

My name is Michelle but you can call me 'The cat lady'. Music, poetry and photography are my passions. I enjoy cooking and knitting and I'm kind of a running fanatic.

The objective of our blog is to share with one and all our current interests, projects, and adventures.
Under development is 'Music Mondays' where we will be sharing our artist or song obsession of the week.
'Dazzling Dinners' and 'Bake-Shop' where we will be sharing our home made food goods. 'Outfits of the Week', 'Wishlists' and 'Beauty 101' all pretty self explanatory.

We look forward to your feedback and hope you enjoy reading our blog as much as we enjoy making it!