Sandra’s Secret Midnight Garden

Lots of literary references in that title.  Show of hands if you, too, took two years’ of post-secondary children’s literature (the exact same course two years in a row, actually; it was a pre-taped class offered through my university’s remote education program, “remote” translating to forgetting to watch any of the classes throughout the semester and then having to furiously cram 60 watchable hours of class time into the three days before the final exam.  In related news, I think we may have hit on the reason I had to take the class twice, yes?) 😉

For this manicure, I gathered inspiration from two beloved works of children’s literature, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden and Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden.  Just not beloved by me; as I recall, I didn’t read either (hitting on reason number two I had to re-take the class, although in my defence, when your course list includes 30 some-odd texts, you actually can pick or choose.  It’s also how I avoided Watership Down, because that book is wretched and upsetting.)

For these Garden-centric nails, I combined both the Midnight and the Secret, topping CND Vinylux’s Dazzling Dance, a sheer, purple-tinged topper speckled with fine holographic glitter, with Whimsical Ideas by Pam’s Secret Garden, a predominately green glitter studded with tiny fuchsia hexes.  And because no Secret or Midnight Garden (no matter who it belongs to, me or that punk, Tom) would be complete without at least a tiny sliver of moon, I added one of those, too, in the form of a tiny gold nail charm from Daily Charme.

And for those of you who may like some closure on whether I did or did not eventually end up passing the class, yes, I did – second time was the ticket.  And just to annoy you even further, I’ll also note that I didn’t fail the class the first time I took it.  I just didn’t like the grade I received.  I won’t tell you what that grade was, because it was decent by most standards and you’ll think me bananas, but I was a pretty high-strung J-school student (weren’t we all?) and anything less than the best…was a felony (*ba-dum ching!*)  Okay, okay, I’ll see myself out now. 😉

Merry Boxmas!

While I might choose to abstain from December 26th’s annual glut of post-holiday consumerism (I would sooner staple my head to the carpet than go near anything retail-oriented today) I can always appreciate a day off, in this case a day off from the holidays.  Because no matter what you choose to celebrate, holidays, period, are just hard work, yeah?  So much prep and worry and planning and then it’s over in a flash.

But I actually had a very nice holiday – a super fun reunion with old friends, lots of visits with an even older friend (and her new plus one), a wicked cool early morning screening of Star Wars courtesy of Mr. Finger Candy’s company, an obscenely large (and old school) fresh turkey for Christmas dinner, also thanks to the Mr.’s company, a couple of festive lunches (and one Swiss Chalet Festive Dinner) with my parents, a very nice holiday lunch with my husband’s family here in our home, and a pretty spectacular Christmas Day supper – and all of it capped off, literally, with this fly turkey hat, which represents the best $20 I think I’ve ever spent.

Anyhoodle, these nails are pretty and sparkly in a fun and festive way that suggests that the holiday season is not quite over and done with – and yet another glittery version of the “blended tree in a bottle” look that I’m so very fond of.  Here I used two coats of Whimsical Ideas by Pam’s Secret Garden over Enchanted Polish’s mystery pick for November 2015. Although that’s not exactly a secret OR a mystery any more, I suppose!