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So. The Grammys were yesterday and though I'm not a big fan of award shows, I do like checking out the red carpet arrivals. I won't comment on everyone's fashion choices because there are way too many. I'll go in descending order from A to Z.

Adele, of course, is first.

I heard that she won 6 Grammys. Congratulations, I guess. She went with a retro glamor Hollywood look with bouncy curls and bright red lipstick. Overall, I think she looked quite classy. The dress did her curvy figure justice and I love those silver nails. She didn't over-accessorize which is good because over-accessorizing can seriously damage a simple and elegant look.

Alicia Keys.

Love the dress, disagree with the hair and those Louboutins. I mean, what is up with the pompadour? I think she would've looked better with a chignon or even just a ponytail. The hairstyle has to go! And those heels don't do the dress and her legs justice! The straps of those Louboutins just made her calves look short and chunky. At least she had the sense to not over-accessorize as well.

Anne V and Adam Levine.

First off, OMG ANNE!!! Anne, you're tall, slim and gorgeous but WHAT ARE YOU WEARING???! That is not an acceptable dress. I don't care what anyone says, it is not elegant or different in a good way. It's just tacky. No, the fabric is not stuck in her thigh, it's just not there. Less is more, Anne. Unfortunately, the 'less is more' concept does not apply to your hair and makeup. Do you agree that she looks horribly pale and those straggly blond locks make her look less than supermodel standard? If she has a stylist, she has to get a new one stat. If she styled herself, then the only reason to justify her look is that she ran out of dresses to wear. Quite disappointed.

At least Adam made up for Anne's bad sense of fashion. He looks dapper in that three piece suit and his signature smile. Good choice, Adam. I'll have to deduct points from him though for even allowing his lady to walk out in that dress.

Carrie Underwood.

Simple and elegant. Can't go wrong with dresses like hers. Loving those teardrop earrings too.

Fergie.

Is it me or is everyone getting tackier by the year?! Love the dress, hate whatever she's wearing under that dress. Did she honestly think that this was going to get past everyone? Everything about her look should have gotten her a spot on the best-dressed list but she just chose to wear her underwear beneath this lace dress. Disappointed.

Jessie J.

The dress is gorgeous and so is her figure and makeup but her hair is awful. Those bangs shouldn't be allowed. It just makes her head look really square. She should have gone with loose locks or less severe bangs.

Kate Beckinsale.

I adore Kate. She always looks so classy and stunning. She's definitely on my best-dressed list. I just don't think I agree with the black sash dangling down from her shoulder. Everything else is spot-on. Love this look!

Katy Perry.

Hmm... The dress is pretty, the color is unique and she looks really pretty BUT her hair color still has to go. Blue is not you, Katy. I like her way better with dark hair. Agree or disagree? Also, her hairstyle doesn't really balance out her whole look. At least this dress looks better than the one she wore for the pre-Grammys event. The whole color blocking thing didn't look good.

Nicki Minaj.

Everything about her look = FAIL. WHAT IS SHE WEARING?! This is no better than Anne's look. Also, why is Nicki Minaj even a famous singer?!

Miranda Lambert.

I think Miranda always makes decent fashion choices like this one. The color is a little ehh but she still looks really good. For a curvy girl, she sure knows what looks good on her and I like that. Not sure what heels she's wearing but from the looks of it, it's probably a pair of strappy heels. Not too bad. What is there to not like about this look?

Rihanna.

I'm not a big fan of plunging necklines and I think only some look acceptable. This is a bit much to me. The gold cuff and clutch are really nice and the Louboutins (same as Alicia's) actually go quite well with the dress but I'm just not feeling the whole dress and hair and lack of lipstick part.

Taylor Swift.

You know what? First, I have to get this off my chest. I think Taylor's looks are SO predictable. I can almost guess what she's going to wear next - boring! She needs to take a risk. No doubt this dress is beautiful and sparkly and all but it looks so predictable on her. Also, I totally hate her new hairstyle. I think she looks better with her natural curls. This whole straightened hair thing is just ugh. It's almost like she's trying too hard.

Anyway, here's Anne and Fergie in better-looking dresses during some other previous events that they attended.

Isn't this much better? Red is hot, hot, hot on her and I love those heels. I was quite surprised to see that she wears a lot of revealing dresses which are really kind of ugh because I personally think that it doesn't take lots of cutouts and cleavage to look stunning.

This might not be Fergie's best look but I do think she looks way better than she looked at the Grammys this year. Keep it classy, Fergie.

What do you think of what the celebs wore to the Grammy Awards 2012? Honestly, I don't think this year's red carpet fashion was that tasteful. Too many people showing up in wacky outfits. Still, the better-looking ones made up for the other celebs' poor taste in fashion this year.

What do you think of award shows in general? Looking forward to the 2012 Oscar Academy Awards? I know I'm looking forward to the red carpet fashion.

[All images taken from wonderwall.com and styleguru.com]

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Lately I've been M.I.A due to lack of inspiration, but today, something random sparked. So here I am with this, what do you call it, 'meme'. It's that time of the year when you decide to look back at what you've done and try to make a list of New Year Resolutions. I don't follow to-do lists but if you do then, hey, it's a good thing. 2011, like the years before and the years to come, has its ups and downs, and of course, first-time moments.

Cheers to epiphanies, revelations and self-discovery. Here are five random things that happened this year:

1. My first attempt at reading a non-fictional book

Having a pet helped me discover a lot of things because taking care of it - him - requires plenty of research. I recently picked up Stanley Coren's How To Speak Dog and it's surprisingly good. Among interesting facts, there are witty and amusing stories (worth laugh-out-loud moments) told by the writer's acquaintances or simply experienced by the writer. If you think that the spotlight of this book is centered solely on canines, you're wrong. I learned a lot about other animals. I won't deny it - this book is life-changing and thought-provoking. You'll be surprised at what your dog is really trying to say. A dog's actions are not what humans assume them to be.

2. The year I spend more than an hour on DeviantArt

I don't, like, have my own page but sometimes when I get bored, I wander over there just so I can search up video game art or whatever I think of and spend hours admiring, observing and appreciating. The art created there is beautiful beyond words. The way talented DeviantArt artists perceive the world is indescribable. And hey, I even found out that getting a BFA in game art is possible. Wow. Never knew that. Am enlightened. On the side note, I'd like to own a Wacom tablet someday.

3. Keeping up with the Kardashians? Heck, no! Keeping up with game updates

I wouldn't say that I'm an avid gamer, but I wouldn't say that I'm not. I like playing video games twice and earning in-game achievements. Gaming isn't just for the sake of winning or completing it faster than your friends. If gamers would just stop rushing through their games, they might actually learn a thing or two and prove that gaming isn't just a brainless activity you do for entertainment. Okay, I'm going waaaay off-topic. I've been reading game news for the past three months or so because, you know, celebrity news is 'so 2008'. I'm kidding. I know just about any game out there now - Skyrim, Super Mario, Soul Calibur, Portal, Alan Wake - and I even remember a few company names of video game developers. You ask it, I name it. Just don't ask me this question, please-- Call of Duty or Battlefield?

4. Taking the time to learn how to pronounce Constantinople (and other words, of course!!)

Surprise, surprise! More intellectual stuff! Reading, writing, learning, it never gets boring. New challenges are great. When I come across a word that I've never seen, I try to pronounce it mentally. It always sounds perfect in my head, but it's a total tongue-twister disaster when I say it out loud. Not weird at all. 'Constantinople' was one of these words. Other words include 'Machiavellianism', 'meringue', 'harangue', 'juxtaposition' and most recently, 'conversazione'. It's those words I hardly use, but 'tis the season to be curious, I went to search them up this year. Lesson learned: Don't be afraid to satisfy your inner curiosity!

5. Everything starts with a base (even cheesecake)

For architecture, it's called 'blueprints'. For fashion design, it's a 'croquis'. 'Outline' for stories, 'biscuit crumbs' for cheesecake. Everything has a base. I didn't notice this until I started sketching. I used to start out with a letter 'U' as the head and chin. Then I would draw hair, features and so on. But I wouldn't know where the legs of the human belonged on the drawing. Are they too near to the right? Are they too short? Too long? I had no idea. So I did some research and decided to begin my next drawing with a croquis. I sketched the entire human form and then 'dressed' the sketch with clothes, accessories and such. Eureka! She shoots, she scores, she wins! Thus, the base is a very important element of whatever you're trying to create.

Wow. This is seriously long-winded. I have so much more unrelated things to say. But I think I'm done. Okay, I'm done. This makes up for all the action I've missed.

Now it's your turn. Five random and memorable things that you've achieved / learned / realized in 2011. It doesn't really matter. Whatever that comes to your mind. This is a live-in-the-moment meme. What are you staring at? The clock is ticking, the year is ending. Get your notebook out and get creative!

C.

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So this is what I've been up to lately. I have been painting my nails like a maniac. There was a lapse between all the painting because one day I felt so jaded that I just didn't know what to paint on my nails so I didn't paint them at all. Now I'm back and it's like I never stopped painting them.

I do know that it's probably not the best idea to keep paint on your nails for such a long period of time without letting them breathe a bit but I promise I'll stop for a couple of days after New Year.

This is the festive season, after all and all my nails wanna do is look pretty.

So where do I get some of my ideas of what to paint on my nails? I Youtube quite a bit and I've found CutePolish and PrettyPolishes who are probably my favorite nail art ladies because their designs are so simple but at the same time so pretty. Simple can be so much prettier than complex.

I intended to get some dotting tools and those nail polish bottles that come with skinny brushes but I haven't gotten down to actually ordering them or buying them. My odd nail art kit of skewers, brushes and sponges from goodness knows where will suffice for now!

Okay, so what I did this week was paint cute balloons on my nail. I saw CutePolish's tutorial and fell in love with how easy but eye-catching they are. I've uploaded some pictures on how I did my nails step-by-step (almost!). I should do videos but I'm not past my 'I'm too awkward to post up videos of myself or even my voice' stage yet.

This is my first sort-of tutorial (?) so tell me what you think in the comment box.

First, what I did was paint one layer of base coat.

(That scrap of paper would be the paper I use to smear the messy paint off the sides of my nails. I'm not very into wasting cotton buds and dipping them with remover/alcohol to get rid of the messy sides. Besides, those messy edges will eventually come off after washing your hands once or twice.)

And these would be the tools that I used. I should have included the bottles of paint I used but I was struggling to take pictures of my nails and everything that I completely forgot to do that...

There's the skewer and the sponge and my base coat. If you want to do this, I would recommend getting a normal sponge, not one of those foamy ones. The paint is easier to absorb, I would say.

Here is a close-up of the sponge which I dabbed with white polish and later on dabbed onto all the tips of my fingers. It's sort of to create a sponge-y French tip effect and this sponging method is really fun when used with bright colors. I dabbed different colors onto my nails once and the attention I got was way more than the attention I got for the nails on my other hand which I personally thought were cuter.

I am a generally messy person so don't be afraid of the messiness that you see. Some people are really great with keeping the paint on their nails instead of on the skin around it but I'm not. I don't really mind the messiness because it all just washes off eventually and what you get in the end, is a clean and nicely-painted nail.

Ahah! You see all the sponge-y mess here. Just dab the sponge lightly but don't worry if you accidentally slab on too much. All you have to do to turn it back into a sponge effect is take a clean end of the sponge and dab the excess paint off until you're happy with the result.

Next, just create the basic outline of the balloons on your nails using whatever color you want. You can either drip a blob of polish onto your nail from the brush or use a dotting tool or use the end of something which can create a blob. I used the end of the skewer AND the nail polish brush.

It doesn't have to be perfectly round or anything. Just make it into a general upside down raindrop shape and make a tiny little blob at the tip of the raindrop. Or you could make it mushroom-shaped. Doesn't matter. Just as long as you think it can pass off as an abstract balloon.

Last but not least, use a black nail pen/skinny black nail brush/skewer dipped in black polish and draw the outline of the balloon. You don't have to trace over the color exactly. Like CutePolish said, you can create a cartoon-y effect by allowing some color to show outside the edge of the outline.

And there you have it - adorable balloon nails! If you like, brush on some glitter to give it an even more festive feel. I brushed on two layers of glitter because my glitter polish isn't very saturated with glitter. One layer after the sponging and one layer after everything is done.

Yes, I drew one more balloon on my index finger because I thought the blue balloon was too close to the side of the nail and it can't really be seen. You can do as many balloons as your nail can fit and however big you want them to be.

Finally, I applied a top coat to all my nails to give it even more shine and also to seal the design.

Yes, eventually all that mess around my nails washed off.

People always ask me if it takes a long time to do nail art but no, not necessarily. I don't usually time how long I spend on my nails but I definitely don't spend all night doing them. And it's not a spoken rule that you have to complete your nail art in one sitting. Sometimes if I'm tired or it's late (and it takes a while for my nails to dry) or I can't decide what design I want to paint, I just leave my nails as they are (painted or not) and continue the next day.

And I think that nails of every length and size can look nice with nail polish. I used to think that my nails were horrible and that if I painted them, they would look weird but they're really not. I see lots of Youtubers who do nail tutorials and most of them have these really gorgeous nicely-shaped nails and I don't know about you but sometimes seeing such nice nails intimidates me a little. If you don't have nails like that, I mean. But now I actually like my nails.

I've done other awesome nail art designs including a snowman last week, Remembrance Day nails and some really adorable leopard print nails. I don't care who says what - leopard nails are freaking cool.

I DIGRESS!! LOL. Anyway, that's it. Try it out/think about it and let me know what you think or if you're planning on doing it. If you're a nail art freak as well, I'd love to see some of your designs.

XOXOXO. T.

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These are my nails! I've been doing nail art for quite some time. I started in April or so and I've consistently been trying different styles and designs. Nail art is so fun!! I haven't found anything I've liked this much in a while. I find that it's a relax thing for me. If I have nothing to do or I'm thinking too much, I find myself doing my nails.

Of course being a newbie at this, I've had some very disastrous results some of which involved immediate removal of the nail polish. Ugh, hate it when that happens. Also, I'm not a professional at this so I don't really have the tools for painting and I don't do Konad (at least not yet). I saw these set of brushes specifically for nail art and they cost a bomb so I will not be investing in them.

I find that I can easily use things like toothpicks and skewers and my sister's old paintbrushes to paint my nails. The results aren't as nice as the ones done with professional tools and Konad stamping but I think it makes my nail art more unique. Imperfections don't really count as messing up because sometimes you kind of get a different look which can be really pretty.

If you've been seeing nail art around and find that it's a really awesome thing, do it! You can do it with your own simple tools at home like what I'm doing with the skewers and old brushes. At first it's kind of frustrating because you might think that they look bad but you'll get the hang of it and you'll be loving it and wishing you had more nails to paint.

Maybe you're wondering:

Is it time-consuming? Do you spend a lot of money on this? Well, it really depends on what design you're doing and how many colors you want to use and whether you make a mistake and need to correct it. I spent an hour and a half on today's design which are uber cute sneakers suggested by C (my sister) who found a picture of sneaker themed nail art online. They kind of got messed up last night but I'm going to do a little damage-control later so that they're pretty again. It was well worth an hour and a half. As for the second question, I guess I buy more nail polish than I used to but I don't buy the tools so it's not an expensive hobby.

Are you ambidextrous? Can I do nail art on my right hand if I'm right-handed (vice versa)? We-ell, I'm not ambidextrous, sadly and I can't exactly paint my nails on my right hand (I'm right-handed) with designs because my left hand isn't very steady. I did try once but it wasn't nice. That's for me, though. You can try and paint nails on both of your hands and see how it goes. Who knows, you might be able to do it quite well!

What's Konad stamping? I know right! I was clueless about Konad when I first heard about it. For those who don't know what Konad is, it's nail stamping where you buy this stamping set which comes with nail polish, a stamp, design plates and a scraper to scrape the paint from the plates. Basically, what you do is paint over the image you want to stamp on your nails then scrape off the excess paint then roll your stamp over the image and stamp the image on your nail at the desired place. You can also use Konad on any sort of plastic surface. I've only done Konad stamping once and while it was pretty, I don't really fancy their designs.

What are some of the brands of nail polish that you're using now? I'll leave that for the next post

How did you start doing this nail art thingy? I was kind of inspired by my mom who suggested it first then later on I saw that my friend had watermelon nails and I kind of started thinking, Hey I wanna do this. So I did.

So there you have it! FUN FUN FUN in bottles of nail polish (I am not referring to the line by that Reb Black). I'm very into tribal inspired things nowadays so I've been trying to replicate some very genius tribal print nail art I see on the internet although sometimes I do wish that I had the proper tools to draw designs on my nails.

If you've been inspired by my post, good for you! Go have some fun. You can do it for yourself or for your friends or your kids or your family. Family fun time, I promise

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Roommate Citation Notepad

I think this is very important for people who can't seem to find the courage to speak up. Well, tick the boxes and leave this on your roommate's door. It sends the same message.

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Grayce in Crush

Can you imagine a more beautiful piece of jewelry for yourself or anyone? Pair this with a simple dress and it will steal everyone's breath away when you step into the room.

Set in Stone Wedge in Green

I LOVE these sandals. One, because the stones are just stunning and will make your feet look pretty. Two, because they have probably about an inch of heel which gives it some height. I kind of hate flat sandals because they're uncomfortable and I feel as if my heels are sunken backwards. This is such an appropriate spring shoe to add to your collection!

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Navy Knot 1 Shoulder Dress

This dress screams CHIC. The drape creates a bit of texture but it doesn't really hide your figure which is good because you want to flaunt your natural curves in this sexy stunner.

Blue 1 Shoulder Ruffle Dress

The shoulder detail is gorgeous on this stunning cobalt blue number. Paired with a simple silver cuff and strappy black heels, you'll be sure to attract lots of attention.

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Something is Brewing in the Woods Mug

Everybody needs a cute mug. I think a cute mug is necessary because it's like a comfort thing. When you have your comfort drink in a plain mug, it's totally boring and does nothing to improve your mood. So why not get a totally creative mug like this for your mother?

Eating Apple Sandwich Keeper in Red

Your mother works and you know she brings lunch to work every day. What better reason is there to get this sandwich keeper for her? Also available in green. Very Snow White if you ask me. She'll love it. It'll get her tons of compliments from her colleagues or friends. If your mom is into Halloween and is thinking of dressing up as a character from Snow White, she'll have the perfect accessory. Or she could just use it to fill candy for the kids who come over. Sweet.

For the Grater Good

Domestic mothers will LOVE this. Porcupine shaped grater for everyday use. How fun is that?! Imagine grating cheese on this little guy's back. It'll be like giving him a good old back massage. Trust me, it's worth it.

Hurry up and shop for these amazing gifts now. Mother's Day is just around the corner.
ModCloth has gorgeous gifts for the mom in your life. Shop now and get $7 Flat Rate Ground Shipping From ModCloth! Valid 4/1/11 to 5/8/11

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Accessorize, this spring, with cute lightweight cardis.

Black Cobweb Cardi

This cobweb cardi would be perfect for throwing over a casual top or a dress. The see-through material adds a hint of mystery to whatever you're wearing. An all-black outfit would pretty much defeat the purpose of the material.

Rust Long Sleeve Cocoon Cardi

What a totally amazing color. Who knew rust could be so attractive? This cocoon cardigan means exactly what it's named. It's so comfy, you probably want to snuggle up in it all day long.

Oh, and they even have it in this khaki color if you don't want anything too bright.

Khaki Pointelle Cocoon Cardi

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Wooden edges and chunky heels are back in for the spring. Step out in trendy wedges and funky colors this season.

Multicolor Wooden Mule

Multicolor Ballet

Alex Espadrille

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