Happy New Year!

I hope that 2018 finds you healthy, happy and ready to make changes in your life! This post is a few weeks overdue. Today is the first day in two weeks that I’ve felt like a human being. Daughter #2 and I have been battling some kind of nasty cold that had us both laid up–me with no voice and she with general misery that only a two-year-old can have.

Thankfully, my medium is print, not video, because my throat is still sore and my voice is still hoarse. Anyhow, how were your holidays? It went by so quickly, but we had a good time.

One thing that I do each year, is go on a date with my sister-in-law. We started this tradition years ago and we have continued it. It’s normally getting a facial and food, but this year, we decided to get our nails done at The Organic Nail Bar (26 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON). She was going out for New Year’s Eve and I just wanted to treat myself to something.

If you follow me on Instagram, I posted about making a point this year to celebrate life and treat myself. I am a frugal person. I’m that person who can squeeze blood from a stone–which is great, but sometimes that gets in the way of me treating myself to something and being nice to myself. I mean, if I can treat my children and my family to something they want, why should it be so hard for me to treat myself? I think moms develop this habit of looking out for everyone else except themselves.

I have fallen into that trap. I’ve always been a frugal person–and I think that’s a good trait to have, but we all deserve to treat ourselves every so often.

So, my yearly dates with my sister-in-law–and we do stuff together all the time, it’s just that we make a point of doing these dates between Christmas and New Year and our birthdays–give me the opportunity to start the new year with a treat for myself.

The cool thing about this particular nail bar is that they are using organic nail dip to do your nails. I did a manicure using their Nugensis Organic Dipping Powder ($40 or more +tax). They list some benefits as: non-toxic and odour-free; air-dry (no UV light required); low-maintenance; chip and water-resistant; environmentally friendly; vitamin E and calcium fortified; and light-weight.

I don’t do my nails regularly, so this was all about the fun! They cleaned up my nails and I got to pick my colours. I like darker colours for the winter season, so I went with a gun-metal grey and iridescent silver, with an ombre nail on my index fingers.

My nails came out beautifully! I got them done two weeks ago and they are still in awesome shape. Last week, we had a plumbing issue with the kitchen sink and I was able to plunge the sink, stick my arm in greasy water and fight with the clogged drain without my nails being destroyed.