Closing out 2012

12/31/2012 06:53:00 PM Ashley 0 Comments

As I watch 2012 come to a close, I can't say that I am all that sad. It's been a year of adjustments and a lot more self doubt than I care for. But it hasn't been all bad. I have taken some major steps in a direction that I have been tiptoeing towards for months, years even.

So while 2012 might be quietly making its exit in my life, 2013 is waiting to start with a bang. Why is that you might ask? Well that's because I have taken a huge leap and am excited with where it's going.

I have started another blog, one that revolves around my love of all things nail polish. It's about time, seeing as I have a very large love of all things nail lacquer. But that alone is not the big jump. The big jump is that after 6 months of making nail polish of my own, I am going to launch a shop. I am going to sell my nail polish!

If you would like to join me on this journey, please join me over at Emerald & Ash. I will not only share my polish collection, but also the polishes I have made and that I plan to sell.


Running my own shop and making something I truly love has been something I have dreamed about for years. So I am beyond excited. I hope to be able to still blog over here, but it will probably be slow while I work on my shop and getting everything up and running.

2013 is already looking to be full of excitement and new things and I hope that you will join me in this new endeavor.

I also hope that you have a wonderful new year and that it brings you all of the things you have been hoping for.

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Review: SquareHue

12/06/2012 02:14:00 PM Ashley 1 Comments

Hello! Today I am very excited to share with you a new monthly subscription box called SquareHue. Why am I so excited? Because SquareHue is a nail polish box! Yep...it's like my dream box.

When I first heard about the box it sparked my interest. After looking through their website I knew that I had to try it. You get 3 polishes each month that have been specifically made for that month. The company looks at what is trending in colors for at the time and they create beautiful colors from there. Even better is this:


We are sure you’ll love SquareHue quality. Our colors are developed by the same lab as some of the largest international brands. No cheapy stuff here.
  • “3-Free” Clean formula – Does not contain (1)DBP, (2)Formaldehyde, (3)Toluene.
  • We like our formula extra clean… so no Camphor either.
  • Not tested on animals.
  • Proudly Made in the USA.


Here's what really hooked me. Their bottles are the "normal" .50 oz bottles. None of this tiny bottle for a high price crap (I'm looking at you Julep). That and it's their own brand. So if you're like me and have a huge collection you don't have to worry that they might send you an OPI you already have. 

I was actually lucky enough to get their very first box, which was December's, sent to me for review and I have to say that not only am I honored, it was an absolute pleasure talking with Laura at SquareHue. She was nothing but helpful and answered all of my questions. 

So after a little wait (wrong zipcode issue) I finally got my box yesterday. I have to say, it's an adorable little box. It's so small, but perfect for the polishes. Once opened I was greeted with a welcome card that was signed by everyone from SquareHue. It was a simple, but sweet extra. 


Getting past the welcome note, the polishes were packed with crinkle cut paper. Both pretty and great padding for the polish.


Each polish was held in it's own space with a divider. Also super smart for shipping the polishes safely. 



The bottles are a great square shape with a good weight behind them. They don't feel like they are going to fall over at all. One side has a large white square printed on it with hue written inside of the square. The opposite side has their website, size of the bottle and Made in USA printed on it. All of the printing is nicely done and allows you to see the polish through all sides.


On the bottom of the bottle are stickers with the company name, name of the polish and the date of when the polish was sent out. I actually love that they put the date on the bottles. So I always know which collection they were a part of. Seriously...it's brilliant. This month was all about the holidays and the names reflected that as well. 


Now for the swatches! I started with Champagne Toast, which is a great light gold foil. There are some flashes of silver in it as well. It really does have a Champagne feel to it. This went on to be opaque with two coats. The first coat started out a little streaky, but I find that to be true with a lot of foils that I have used. After the second coat everything evened out and looked great. It didn't show much in the way of brush strokes either. It dried fairly quickly to the touch and is shown here without a top coat.






Next is Sugar Plum. It's a great deep purple metallic with a little shimmer in it. I honestly don't own enough purples, so I was haver happy to add this to my collection. The first coat started out very streaky, but was easily fixed with a second coat. I did do a thin third coat for peace of mind, but probably would have been fine with only two coats. The formula was really nice, not too thin that it flooded my cuticles and not to thick that it was hard to work with.






Last, but not least is Holly Berry. It's a great red metallic with gold shimmer. Maybe not the most original red, but lets face it there is no such thing as an original red at this point. I do really like that it's a metallic with the shimmer, because it makes it look lit from within. I will apologize now, because the sun went off and hit by the time I was ready for pictures, so you can't see the gold as much, but it's there. After applying the purple I decided to try 3 thin coats with this color, which worked perfectly. Again, streaky at first, but smooth and wonderful after the second coat.






So overall what do I think? 

Well I'm impressed. The colors are perfect for the holidays. And while I would have loved a green (I adore green and have a huge desire for a green polish with silver shimmer), it's just a personal wish and nothing to do with SquareHue. Really the purple was perfect in this set. It took it away from the basic green and red of the holidays. 

Now for the details. Right now they have a deal where you can get the subscription for $14.99 per month with free shipping, but that does end on the 8th of this month. Then the price jumps to $21. 

I personally feel like it's a great deal and will be jumping on it, because getting polish each month that has been picked out based on trends is right up my alley. I really look forward to seeing what their next colors will look like and I hope that their formula is just as wonderful down the line. 



Disclaimer: This was sent to me to review, but all thoughts and views on the products are my own. 

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Decor: The rainbow tree returns!

12/04/2012 12:51:00 PM Ashley 0 Comments



It's back! After a year of our rainbow tree being gone, I couldn't wait to get it back up. My only wish it is that it would put its self up. But I love it...and am so happy that its back again!

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Life: Halloween

11/01/2012 01:21:00 PM Ashley 0 Comments



Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! We stayed home and handed out candy and Play-Doh. Yep we were that house. Luckily 90% of the kids were really excited.

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Nails: Pegasus Poop

10/10/2012 12:58:00 PM Ashley 0 Comments




I received this beauty as a gift. It's called Pegasus Poop from Heart Lacquer. It is a stunning polish that I can't seem to capture in a photograph. I think it might be time for me to get a light box. 

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Life: Hi!

10/09/2012 08:00:00 AM Ashley 0 Comments



Some new crafty things and a hello from me. 

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Life: To Don't

8/27/2012 01:39:00 PM Ashley 0 Comments

There is always something that need to be done. Sometimes lists are made to remember what to do. And sometimes those to do lists seem never ending. Luckily when I need a smile I just pull out my "To Don't" list. 


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Nosh: Ginger peach jam

8/24/2012 08:00:00 AM Ashley 0 Comments

We may not have the pick your own farms like we did in Ohio, but we make do. Especially when we find an awesome deal on peaches and ginger. I love it when Nate makes jams and jellies, because the house always smells amazing and the payoff is tasty! 




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Life: The colors are just as vivid 5 years later

8/22/2012 08:00:00 AM Ashley 0 Comments

While Cassie was here visiting, we took them to the Air force Academy. Sometimes it's hard to believe that it was only 5 years ago that Nate had graduated from there. But then again, so much has happened in the 5 years since we've been gone. Nevertheless, while coming back is both odd and exciting, some things never change. 

Being that close to the mountains makes for a beautiful back drop and the Cadet Chapel is still just as beautiful as always.

It's hard not to see beauty in this building, no matter what you do or don't believe. The glass shards cast beautiful dancing colors across the chapel. The metal creaks and pops as it warms in the morning sun. As you turn to leave to are greeted by the stunning organ. Downstairs there is the Catholic Chapel which is filled with more glowing light from the glass. But probably one of my favorite rooms is the Jewish Chapel. There the circular room is flooded with brilliant purple color from the stained glass. It is absolutely stunning. 




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Decor: Bright idea

8/21/2012 08:00:00 AM Ashley 0 Comments

After almost a year of this sitting in a box, waiting for its moment to shine...we got it hung in our new house. A mear night before Cassie came to visit. Shockingly, the biggest issue we had with it was getting the main part attached to the ceiling properly. Let's just say that IKEA hadn't thought everything through as well as they could have.


The light looked pretty cool all on its own, before being decorated with the flowers.


But really you just can't beat how it looked once the paper flowers were attached. 


And the shadows that it throws onto the ceiling make me giddy. I may have say with all of the other lights off so I could just sit and stare at the beauty of my new dining room light.

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Life: Hello world...it's me

8/20/2012 08:00:00 AM Ashley 0 Comments

Holy balls.

That pretty much sums up the last few months and my life.

Lets do a little recap shall we?

Back at the end of March (um how the heck are we in the middle of August already!?) we packed up to move.



We got to Colorado at the very beginning of April.



Our welcome gift was a broken down car less than 60 miles away from our destination.



We worked on getting settled into the house...



Only to realize that we had outgrown it in the almost 5 years we had been away. So we decided to take the leap and look for a new house.



Nate grew a beard...because it's one of the only times that he ever could. 



I colored my the tips of my hair pink...



We closed on a new, wonderful house!


We started moving into the new house....the second move in less than 3 months. 


And the house slowly started to come together.



During that time the Waldo Canyon Fire started.


A few days later and right after Nate left for a TDY, the worst of the fire happened.


After all of the fire bans were lifted we went to the local Renaissance Festival, which is a must, solely for the fact that it's a tradition to pick up a piece from the glass blower.


And then just in case life wasn't already busy for us we got another dog. A Cocker Spaniel to be exact. We named him Swarley. Emmett isn't a huge fan, but he's warming up. Slowly. And begrudgingly.


I also started making my own nail polish as well.



Along with all of this stuff, Nate was working on settling into his new job...even though he didn't actually start doing his actual job until this month.

Probably the best thing that happened, besides a new house and puppy is that I finally got to meet Cassie (as well as her husband and cute little boy) in person. After 3 years of harassing one another over the internet, through snail mail and text messages...we met. I personally could not have been more excited and look forward to many more chances to hang out. Of course we're big dorks and forgot to
take a good picture together. Guess that will have to happen on the next trip.

There was other various things that happened since April, but I will share that with you in other blog posts.

Life never seems to slow down, it only ever goes the same pace of faster. Because of this, my new current goal is to take photos whenever I can. And from there I look forward to sharing, with you, those photos and the stories that go with them.

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