friday favorite: lunchtime manicure

This week’s Friday fave is one that has saved my insanity on more than one occasion. It’s what I like to call the lunchtime manicure!

Once a month I love to schedule myself a little pamper and “me time” during my lunch hour. Work can be crazy and stressful with most days being that I have to work through my lunch hour and/or stay late. It’s a time where I can stop, leave my desk and just take a 45 minute breather to regain my thoughts and tackle the second half of the work day with a clear head.  It also doesn’t hurt I get to look at my beautiful manicured fingers while I type on my keyboard. It’s the little things, right?! Oh and the hand massage, well you can imagine how life changing that can be. 🙂

My fresh manicure:

 

(Yes, I have little nails. The technician always loves to comment on how little my hands and nail beds are. I call my hands little kid hands!) 

I do like to switch up my nail color with the mood I am in that day. I have been really into the following Essie colors lately:

• Allure (same color Kate Middleton wore on her wedding day!)
• Chinchilly
• Merino Coal
• Limited Addiction
• Little Brown Dress
• Bachelorette Bash

Having fresh manicured nails always puts that little pop into my step. I feel pretty and put together and ready to make moves and shake hands. It’s also that little feminine touch to remind me I am worth it and to always take time for myself.

Cheers to the lunchtime manicure!

local columbus artist: OneSEC

Happy Tuesday readers! Today I would like to share with you all a local artisan who happens to be my best friend!  As the creator of the Etsy online store, OneSEC, Steph has created a stylish way to help woman add that extra little embellishment to top of an outfit!

After planning a perfect shabby chic and vintage feel wedding this year, Steph became inspired to share her feminine and soft style with others. Her inspiration turned into OneSEC.

Creating delicate, feminine, simple and soft everyday jewelry, OneSEC offers the perfect accents to your little black dress or your basic white work blouse.  She is able to capture the elegance and simplicity of her esthetic by translating through the pieces she creates. By doing so, she has truly created one of a kind pieces.

Ranging from handmade necklaces, bracelets and earrings, these little embellishments are perfect for bridesmaid’s gifts, Christmas gifts, or even spoiling yourself.

Affordable yet stylish, I’m sure you too can find the perfect embellishment for your LBD!

Check Steph’s creations out this weekend at the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. Sunday November, 18th from 1:30pm-3:30pm.

shops at worthington place

There are only 43 days left till Christmas, but who’s counting?!

I decided this past weekend to get a jump start on my holiday shopping. I like to stay ahead of my budget and presents instead of feeling rushed, overwhelmed and broke. I usually pick gifts up throughout the year especially when the inspiration hits me or something screams Christmas present I tend to purchase right there on the spot. I also keep an ongoing list of gift ideas on my iPhone so when Christmas does come around I am not struggling to figure out gift ideas!

So this weekend I went out a mission to get some holiday shopping done. It was a success as I picked up gifts for 4 of the people on my list!

I went off the mall beaten path and decided to go to the Shops at Worthington Place . The new Orvis store just opened and I wanted to check it out while also picking up a few special items for a few special people.

I had not been to the Shops at Worthington Place in a VERY long time. I honestly didn’t even know stores were still there. It used to be a hot spot when I was little and was the home to my favorite Little Professors book store.

To my surprise, the mall was filled with shops. The Orvis store was a sight to see. The staff was extremely helpful and the layout to the store was easy to navigate. My favorite part was the 2 entrances; one by the men’s clothes (main entrance) and an entrance by the woman’s. The store was rich with words, fishing supplies and your expensive outdoor wear. I was very impressed.

I ventured inside to see what else was there. Here is what I found:

• Talbots
• Everest Gear
• FrontRunnder
•  Crabtree and Evelyn
• Montero Native Market
• A cute little baby store
• Jo. A Banks
• Pendleton Woolen Mill
• Panera
• First Watch
• Pies & Pints (a new restaurant for beer and pizza!)
• Piada (coming 2013!)

All in all, this mall might not be a Polaris or Easton, but it sure does have stores and restaurants neither of those malls have. The Orvis and Everest Gear won me over and I cannot wait to go back and check our Pies & Pints!