A Colourful Addiction Part II

So Christmas has come and gone and my OPI addiction has been fed for the time being. An updated list is below of the colours I now own. Italics denotes a new colour.

OPI Name	General Description
Top Coat	N/A
Natural Nail Base Coat	N/A
Natural Nail Strengthener	N/A
Kyoto Pearl	a Sheen-like White
Give Me the Moon	Iridescent Light Purple
A Grape Fit	Medium Purple
Honk if you Love OPI	Dark Purple
Suzi Says Feng Shui	Medium Blue
Yoga-ta Get this Blue	Dark Sparkly Blue
Jade is the New Black	Medium Green
Steady as she Rose	Light Rose/Pink
Suzi & the Lifeguard	Medium-light Sparkly Pink
My Address is ‘Hollywood’	Medium Sparkly Pink
Bogata Blackberry	Dark Sparkly Burgundy
Malaga Wine	Dark Burgundy
Teenage Dreams	Glitter Pink
Black Shatter	N/A
Red Shatter	N/A
My Private Jet	sparkly black/bronze
Funny Bunny	plain white
Black Onyx	black
Over the Taupe	taupe
Otherwise Engaged	sheer pink
I Vant to be a Lone-Star	light sparkly blue
Stranger Tides	pale dusty green

 

As I now have so many, I am thinking of doing some photos and/or descriptive reviews of them now and then. Who knows though, there is a lot going on right now and I very well may forget about this.

I am looking forward to the release of OPI’s Spring collection called Holland. It has some sparkly colours, pale colours and more intense colours. A nice range of colours that I want to own.

Christmas 2011 Wish List

I have been getting a lot of questions from people as to what to get me and/or Dave for Christmas. So like last year, I decided the best thing to do is to make a wish list.

Dave’s Wish List:
The Book of Cain
Diablo Archive
Archer TV series (Season 1, 2 and/or 3)
Bob’s Burgers TV Series
Movies: Bon Cop bad Cop, Hanna
Sin War Trilogy eBooks (Google eBooks; #1, #2, #3)
Gift Cards: Google eBooks, EB Games, Future Shop, Amazon, etc.

Steph’s Wish List:
Once again, I have broken it down into Camera and non-Camera related items.

Camera Wish List:
4’ wide white paper background;
8’ wide white, black or grey paper backgrounds
~4’x6’ piece of high quality black velour fabric
Bowen's softboxes
Radio trigger system (compatible with Bowen's 400 lights & Nikon D3s camera)
Bowen's battery pack
AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens
AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 G ED Lens
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens
AF Fisheye-Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D Lens
Photo paper (Epson Premium Photo Paper [4+ stars], 8 1/2"x11")
Computer ink (for the Epson Artisan 800 all-in-one printer - code 98)
small white/gold reflector (maximum 10" or so but folds smaller - example).
Photo Books (Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: The Ultimate Workshop, HDR Photography Photo Workshop, Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers; A Professional image editor’s guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC, Photo Recipes Live: Behind the Scenes: Your Guide to Today’s Most Popular Lighting Techniques)
Variable Neutral Density Filter, 77mm
Lens Cap Strap Holder, 77mm
Handy-Dandy Camera Strap

Everything Else Wishlist:
gift cards (Ricki's, Henry's, thecamerastore.com, Amazon, Lululemon, Photojojo)
picture frames (8x10 or larger, compilation frames);
Movies (Gnomeo and Juliet, Winnie-the-Pooh Movie, The Little Mermaid, Life After People, Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts/Drew Barrymore movies)
TV Series (Being Erica, Powerpuff Girls, Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed)
National Geographic Magazine Slipcases for Years 2008 onwards
Nikon Lens Mug
Time Lapse Camera
OPI Nail Polish (you can find a list of colours I already have here. There aren’t many specific colours I want, but I would like the Natural Nail Strengthener, Any colour of Shatter, A bright orange colour, pastel pink, traditional bright red, pastel green, a plain white, a light grey colour, a taupe like colour, a true black colour, anything from the Femme de Cirque Line)
OPI nail polish case like the one below:

For any of the books, movies or TV series listed in my list above, you can find them in my Amazon Wish List.

My list seems (and is) much longer than Dave’s but once you widdle out the thing that people are not going to buy me (like the very expensive camera lenses and lighting equipment), it isn’t that big.

My birthday?

So this year we pretty much just skipped over my birthday. Because we are trying to save money, there weren’t really any gifts and because it was super busy at work there wasn’t a party or a celebration of any kind really. My boss did get me a cheesecake which was delicious.

I am hoping that I can get myself a present that I have been considering for some time now and would likely consider it a belated present to myself…but I don’t know if that is actually going to happen considering everything going on in Japan (everything being much more serious than me getting Nikon equipment).

Christmas 2010

This Christmas should, in theory, be 'easier' than the last couple as we only have one family get together to attend. That being said, I am very unprepared for Christmas. Very few presents have been purchased and I have even fewer ideas for the ones that are remaining. While I stew over what to get my friends and family, here is a list of gift ideas for me - for convenience I split it into completely camera related stuff and then everything else, and yes I realize the camera list is much longer and more specific and no I don't expect anyone to get me the expensive gear.

Camera Wish List:

• 16GB+ SDHC memory cards (preferably Class 10);
• 4' wide white paper background;
• 8' wide white, black and grey paper backgrounds;
• ~4'x6' piece of high quality black velor fabric;
• Bowen's softboxes;
• Radio trigger system (compatible with Bowen's 400 lights and Nikon DX/FX cameras);
• Bowen's battery pack;
• Nikkor 70-200mm AF-S VR f/2.8 lens;
• Nikkor 105mm AF-S f/2.8 Micro lens;
• Nikon SB-900 flash;
• Nikon SC-29 off camera flash cord;
• Photo paper (Epson Premium Photo Paper [4+ stars], 8 1/2"x11" and/or 8"x10");
• Computer ink (for the Epson Artisan 800 all-in-one printer - codes 98 and 99 I do believe); and,
• small white/gold reflector (maximum 10" or so but folds smaller - example).

Everything Else Wishlist:

• gift cards (Ricki's, Henry's, thecamerastore.com, Canada Computers, amazon);
• picture frames (8x10 or larger, compilation frames);
• OPI nail polish (Jade is the new Black, Parlez-Vous OPI?);
• Movies (Toy Story 3 [special edition], Despicable Me [special edition], How to Tame your Dragon [special edition], Life After People, Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts/Drew Barrymore movies); and,
• TV series (Being Erica, Glee, Castle, Powerpuff Girls, Beverly Hills 90210 [original series, seasons 4 and onwards]).

For the movies and TV series, I think this will take you to my Amazon wishlist - it has most of the movies, etc I currently want on it (above mentioned ones included).

Guest Posts VIII and IX

Oops...it appears I missed informing you of two of my guest posts over on Always Standing. My posts about the magical Super Freeze button and my 5 favourite gifts are now posted and ready for you to enjoy.

Pretty Disappointed

If you read Chris' blog, Always Standing, then you will have heard about the neat things some of her friends and co-workers did for her big trip (like hat photos, photo pins and finger puppets). I mention this because I am pretty disappointed in myself for not doing something. I thought about it and came up with a few ideas, but thought that Chris wouldn't have room for the things in her luggage or time to deal with them. I don't know why I came to these conclusions as it is a very Chris thing to do (games, etc for her trip). I have been working on a few things for later on when she returns, but nothing for her current 'travelling' status. Though I did work extra hard and wrote something like 17 guest writer posts for her blog.
Anyway, props to those that did what I apparently could not and made her trip a little more friend-filled, they are all such great ideas.

Sims Expanded

Dave got me a gift about a week ago – the latest expansions for the Sims 3.  I have not gotten any of the previous expansions for this game as they really didn’t interest me, but when I started playing Sims 3 again, the expansion definitely peaked my interest.In it you are granted new professions for your people. So far I have tackled stylist, interior designer and self-employed artists. I tried to get my sim to be a tattoo artist but the tattoo chair broke (by this I mean it is glitched somehow) and she was unable to give anyone tattoos or even get the tattooing skill.
I haven’t gotten the hang of it just yet – the professions are trickier than the normal careers and a fair bit more time consuming as well. But I am slowly getting it and my sims are starting to thrive in their new, expanding world.

Hoops

While in London, Chris and I made our lunches almost every day. In those lunches we had salami sandwiches, juice boxes, some sort of fruit and hoops. Hoops are similar to the Humpty Dumpty chips offered here in North America, but they are unflavoured (just plain chip). They were very yummy and something I continue to remember about that trip to this day.
As part of my Christmas gift this year, Chris got me (and Dave) a pack of Hoops that she found in a British shop near her hometown. I was delighted. I saved them for my dessert (or after dinner snack as they aren't really a dessert) and enjoy every second of them. They reminded me of London from the moment I opened the tiny package. Thanks Chris!

All I Got for Christmas...

...was a lot of great stuff actually! The title of this post makes me seem a little greedy, but I am really just using it in a similar way to the All I Want for Christmas post, as Dave and I made out like bandits this year. We got some really great stuff and I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone - we really appreciate our gifts this year.

Meadowlands Christmas

A couple weekends ago Dave and I spent several hours 'putting up Christmas' in our house. We set up the tree and our stockings and even got a large portion of our gifts wrapped - it was a rather productive time. We did have a few issues with the tree, like the very top bit not being strong enough to support our star and Dave having to MacGyver an attachment piece for it.

We also learned that the tree would look better with both white and blue lights rather than just the blue ones we got during the Boxing Day sales last year. So the goal this year is to get some white tree lights so that we can have both next year (excess blue lights will be used to decorate some windows as we don't have any window decorations this year - at least not yet) - we also need a tree skirt. I am really happy with our Christmas decorations, we obviously have a blue and white/silver theme going and I think it looks really pretty and very Christmas-y.

All I Want for Christmas...

...is well, everything. I have compiled a list of wants for this Christmas season. As usual, I don't distribute this list anywhere but here, and don't intend to actual receive really any of the gifts from the Dream List, but I think it is fun to make and it helps me determine what I will want to buy myself throughout the next year.


Dream List

1. Nikon SB-800 flash unit;
2. Macro lens;
3. Nikon 28-105mm 1:3.5-4.5D lens;
4. Nikon SC-29 flash cord;
5. Adobe CS4;
6. Bamboo tablet (pen and touch, 5"x7" or larger);
7. External hard drive (with viewing screen);
8. Small chest freezer;
9. Kitchenaid toaster;
10. Winter coat (sport, detachable layers, water resistant); and,
11. Winter boots (work boot style).

Rational List

1. Photography portfolio (I believe this is coming from Dave's sister - yay!);
2. Photography reflector (white/gold);
3. Epson photo paper (8"x10" - cheapest is at Canada Computer in Ottawa [near Costco]);
4. Cirque tickets & Disney Vacation (this would be part of the dream list, but Dave and I already know it is coming from his parents - how awesome is that!);
5. Gift cards (Sears [I need capri pants for Florida], Ricki's, Reitmans, Bluenotes, Cappucci hair salon [in Ottawa], Henry's, Future Shop/Best Buy); and
6. Money is always useful.

As you can see, many of the things I want, both in dream world and the rational world, are photography based. I am pretty sure those of you who know me, or read this blog regularly could have guessed that be the case.

How to Wrap a Baby Gift

At the end of the month my childhood best friend Madison will be having her first child, a little baby boy. She had two baby showers, neither of which I could attend so instead, I mailed their present to them via Canada Post. But first, I had to wrap the adorable little clothes. My mom and I have a tradition when it comes to wrapping baby gifts and I have decided to share it.
Step 1: Purchase adorable little clothing, toys and/or baby necessities AND a baby's receiving blanket and diaper pins.
Step 2: Fold the clothing and arrange items in the middle of the receiving blanket (you may have to fold the blanket to make it a more manageable size). Step 3: Fold in corners of the blanket and secure with diaper pins.
Step 4: Finish folding in all the corners of the blanket and securing with pins until the package is all wrapped up!This is easier to do with items in boxes or individual items, rather than groups of items like here. I think this is a really cute way to present baby gifts - it also gives the mother another blanket which, from what I understand, you can never have enough of. It also happens to be a green alternative to wrapping paper, though my mom and I have been doing this for as long as I can remember, which happens to be before green was cool.