Frugal {fancy} Painted Nails

These days I feel completely naked without painted nails. Thanks to my lovely friend and neighbor, N, I have discovered the joy of the at-home manicure - a must in Zürich where an "Express Manicure" will set you back 60 francs. Yikes! 

I used to think that you couldn't have a decent manicure at home. Not true. N is really good at painting nails and I'm learning from her. Her secret weapon? Chanel base coat and top coat. Use those two products and your nails will look perfect for nearly a full week! I've never had a salon manicure last that long. I used to think that nails had to be long to look good painted. Quite the opposite! After I scratched Coco by accident, I cut all of my nails down short. As it turns out, short nails look way better (and last way longer) than long painted nails. How delightful!

Having painted nails adds a little whimsy to everything I do throughout my day: washing the dishes? paying bills online? changing a diaper? dropping a letter in the mail? All fancy when done with painted nails!

Do you paint your nails? What are your favorite manicure tricks and products? 

{photo from here}

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

This year, J and I will be at my mom's house on Valentine's Day. How perfect is that? She has already agreed to babysit Coco and we have the ideal evening planned out. Because I still don't fit into many of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and considering we'll be quite jet lagged having only arrived the night before, we've decided the perfect Valentine's Day for us will consist of burgers at Red Robin and a movie at the mall in downtown Spokane (!) I guess this is proof that we've fully made the transition from hip young couple to married with children. It will be entertaining to see all the highschoolers on dates at Red Robin, not to mention having an English-speaking waiter and ice water brought to our table when we sit down! As for the movie, we are just going to see whatever is in the theater. Movies come to Europe later, so our plan to see Carnage (which is currently playing in Zurich) was a bit off. ;) 

There's still time, so I might order some classroom Valentines from Coco to hand out to our family and friends back home. They're so impossibly adorable and affordable. And this week, my baby girl and I are making mini banana breads in little heart flocked bread pans to give to J's coworkers. 

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? Do you make a big deal out of it or do you find it a bit silly?  

{photo from here}

Getting Pregnant

When J and I were finally ready to start trying for a baby, I had the unfounded fear that most women have when they make the shift from pregnancy prevention to trying to conceive: What if I can't get pregnant?

To that end, I scheduled an appointment with a very well-reputed doctor to discuss our plans for a baby. She checked me out, said everything looked good and remarked that she thought I should have no trouble at all conceiving as I was still quite young and not overweight. But, she did advise me that 6-12 months is normally the amount of time it takes most couples to conceive, so not to get discouraged. (I guess she could tell I was ready to have a baby right then!) She sent me away with folic acid supplements and said start trying. Great! After all, that's the fun part, right? ;)

J and I got busy, and I read books. Lots and lots of books. And the news was not entirely encouraging. Getting pregnant began to seem difficult (a full week into our campaign!) when I read that a woman of my age had only a 20% chance of conceiving during each cycle. Oh no! When your aim is pregnancy prevention, it's a relief to know that there is only a 24 hour window each month during which you might become pregnant. When you want a little baby in your arms, it seems impossibly slim. I said to my  mom and brother, "Everything they told us in high school health class was a lie! You can't just get pregnant on the first try."

Approximately twenty days later, I took a pregnancy test and got two pink lines. Pregnant! J and I told my mom right away, and waited until the first trimester was finished to tell everyone else. I sent my brother a text that said simply, "They didn't lie to us in high school health class, after all," and he shot back a congratulations knowing exactly what I meant. :)

Did you get pregnant right away or are you trying to conceive? Did you, or do you worry that you won't be able to get pregnant?

{photos from Getty Images and here}