Awesome Gadget

I recently admitted to my boss that being able to shop from my phone is deadly to me after I bought a yogurt maker from Groupon on the way back to the office from a client visit. I should not have shopping apps on my phone! But I do, and I occasionally find some really good deals on fun/useful/unique items, like this one:

3M Filtrete 4-Bottle Water Station

It's basically a water filter that filters tap water directly into four 16.9 oz BPA free bottles so that you can reach into your fridge, grab a water bottle, and go. This is great for all the times I'm running out the door and don't have time to fill up my Nalgene bottle from my Brita pitcher, or if I need a water bottle and the pitcher is out (often). The bottle size is also much easier to use with Nuun tablets or Crystal Light type flavor packets which are meant for 16.9 oz of water. Rarely am I ever without a water bottle of some sort. I feel incomplete without one! It's been so long since I've been a soda drinker that I don't crave sweet drinks, but I do notice myself wanting to snack more when my real issue is thirst. Anything that curbs the snack attacks is a good thing in my book!

The filter is really fast. It's a disk that sits in the top section. When the bottles are connected, they each push up on an individual valve that allows water to filter through, but stops it from leaking out when the bottle is removed. It's seriously neat. I can't stress enough how much I love grab-and-go items that help keep me on the right track.

Why I May Never Pay for Another Gel Manicure Ever Again

Exactly ten days ago, I was in Texas for a client's Christmas party. Earlier that week, I'd finished peeling off the last remnants of my Gelish manicure that I'd paid around $25 for less that two weeks prior. It was chipping, cracking, and peeling probably a week after I got it and I'd let it go a little longer. There was no way I could attend an event with nails like that, so I peeled it all off.

My nails did not look great after peeling off the cured polish. I needed a buffer and file BAD, at the very least. I realized I'd have a few hours between events while in Texas and decided that I should seize the moment and fix my manicure situation.

I considered going to a salon and having them done, but I was feeling fairly exhausted since I'd been awake and traveling since 5:30 am that morning. I was already in Target, buying a sweater (it gets cold in Texas! Who knew?), so I swung by the nail polish section. I had nearly decided on a mega sparkly top coat that I was going to wear by itself because I was not about to spend an additional $8 on a colored base that I probably already owned, when I glanced over at the nail sticker selection. I'd always been scared to try them because I thought I'd screw them up and then I would have wasted my money (they're not cheap), or that they wouldn't last nearly long enough to be worth it. Since I already had a file/buffer combo in my basket, I figured the worst that could happen would be that I'd go to the party with au naturel nails that had been buffed to a shine.

I chose Essie SleekSticks in "Stickers and Stones" and headed back to my hotel. I filed and buffed my nails first, then got to work sticking the UV cured stickers on my nails. Once I got the hang of it, it was a fairly quick process, maybe 15 minutes from start to finish. My only complaint was that sometimes the textured dots of this design fell on the edge of my nail and made filing the excess sticker off a little tricky to do without damaging the design. Overall, though, I was REALLY impressed. It took way less time than painting my nails and waiting for them to dry would've taken. Here is the finished result:

And here they are ten whole days later:

There's a little wear on the ends and some separation back by the cuticles that had just started to catch on my hair when I'd wash it, but overall they held on strong. I think it helped that I'd held a hair dryer set on low over each hand after I'd put the stickers on, then pressed them down again to make sure they were on really well.

I was worried about removing them. The package didn't have instructions for that step and I assumed that it would be difficult and damaging to my nail, like peeling off a gel manicure. Once again, this product amazed me! I know, I should've stopped doubting it after receiving compliments on my nails for 10 days straight, but I'm a skeptic. For as well as they were stuck on there, they peeled right off as a single piece. There was a little residue left on my nails, not unlike the rubber cement they use to stick labels to magazines, and it rubbed right off.

My Outfit for the Party

I highly recommend Essie SleekSticks! They're so much cheaper than paying for a long-wearing manicure, so much less stressful than attempting nail art on your own, and you don't have to wait for them to dry. They will definitely be my go-to nail product anytime I have a special event.

Online Dating Diaries: Let's Date

Let's Date is a pretty cool app. You get to scroll through profile cards and either say "Let's Date" to someone or "No, Thanks". If you say you'd like to date someone, the app puts your profile card in their deck. If they say they'd like to date you too, the app with then allow you to chat.

Selectively allowing chatting makes this app one of my favorites. It eliminates the billions of undesirable messages that fill up my inbox on other sites. The downside of this is that the people you live are barely ever geographically close to you, so you can have all the conversation you want, but when it comes to actually meeting up, it's a challenge.

The app is glitchy, not loading profiles very well and failing to send messages. I could see it going big places, but it just isn't there yet.

Online Dating Diaries: Zoosk

In an effort to keep myself from texting the wrong guys when I get bored, I signed myself up for an online app called Zoosk. Great idea, right? It was recommended as one of the top 10 free dating apps.

First off, I'd like to say that it's not really free. Yes, you can sign up for free and rate photos based on a "yes, no, maybe" scale, but that is about it. After that, you have to pay for a monthly subscription fee (not cheap) to see most profiles and message/chat with anyone. Then, if you and another person both rate each other a "yes", you then have to buy coins to chat with those people.

Second, most of the guys are not cute. Maybe it's just that most of the guys out there aren't attractive, but it seems line this app has accumulated a higher percentage than usual. I may be shallow, but if I'm going to put effort into my health and appearance, I'd prefer a guy who did the same.

Thirdly, the profiles do not give a lot of information and the messaging/chat feature is weird, leading quite a few guys to want to exchange phone numbers and text really early on.

Conclusion: pretty much a bust.