Today, I'm going to share OPI's Sweet Heart polish with you, and also give you a glimpse into my Valentine's Day extravaganza with the hubby. If you're here strictly for polish, skip down a bit. If you want a few laughs, keep reading.
This is the story of a young, child-less, pet-less couple, and the "fly by the seat of your pants" Valentine's Day that transpired.
The hubby and I have been together for 12 years! Yep! You read that right! Holy crap, right? I was just a kid when we met at 15. I mean, even I know that's ridiculously young! I'm pretty sure if I had a kid and they fell in love at 16 I'd freak out a little. (Sorry mom and dad for the added stress of raising a lovestruck teenage daughter - but at least it worked out!) :) Pretty soon, I will have spent more of my life with my hubby than without my hubby. CRAZY! I'm not complaining, though, he's a great catch and truly my best friend!
So this Valentine's Day really was no different than any other for us. We didn't really have any concrete plans - we're both indecisive like that. We had talked about going out to dinner, but didn't book a reservation anywhere and I was still in my pj's at 4 p.m. It had been snowing all day, and we actually considered not doing anything. Man are we getting old or what? Then, in a stroke of genius, the hubby said "what if we booked a hotel downtown and went to dinner and the casino?". Did I mention genius? Hubby travels a lot for work, so he said he'd check and see if he could use "points" and score a free hotel downtown. And guess what? HE COULD! Yay, we aren't lame! We had Valentine's Day plans...well sort of. We had step 1 of a plan.
So this Valentine's Day really was no different than any other for us. We didn't really have any concrete plans - we're both indecisive like that. We had talked about going out to dinner, but didn't book a reservation anywhere and I was still in my pj's at 4 p.m. It had been snowing all day, and we actually considered not doing anything. Man are we getting old or what? Then, in a stroke of genius, the hubby said "what if we booked a hotel downtown and went to dinner and the casino?". Did I mention genius? Hubby travels a lot for work, so he said he'd check and see if he could use "points" and score a free hotel downtown. And guess what? HE COULD! Yay, we aren't lame! We had Valentine's Day plans...well sort of. We had step 1 of a plan.
Oh yes, before I go any further with my story, I should mention the beautiful roses that the hubster got me! Red roses - so pretty! And, he left me a little note saying that he wanted to get me some nail polish, but wasn't sure what to get and figured I'd like to pick it out myself, so he told me to go on a little shopping spree - SCORE!
Back to the story... So around 4:15 pm, we officially had Valentine's Day plans. And it's a good thing! I was in a bit of a funk that day, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have brushed my hair or even put real clothes on if he hadn't had his stroke of genius. I can always count on him to turn things around! So, the plan was...we were going to get ready as fast as we could, and head downtown and check into the hotel. (If you're new around here, I mean downtown Cleveland when I say downtown. Browns, Cavs, Indians...that city.) Then, we'd stop by Greenhouse Tavern and see if they could sneak us in for an early dinner or get us into a cancelled reservation. Hubby had been looking forward to having a steak, which he had there once over the summer (the gravy fries are also out of this world!). We had convinced ourselves that other couples would fear the snow and cancel their reservation, and we'd swoop in, valiant heroes, and save the day by filling the now empty table (wishful thinking, right?)
I think I got ready in about 30 minutes tops. I didn't even remember to pack the toothbrushes! I remember thinking "good thing we don't have a dog!" I literally went from scrubbing it in pj's to scrambling around like a mad woman, as if the Feds were after me and I needed to escape before they found me! I don't know why we were in such a hurry, but we were convinced that if we didn't leave as soon as possible, we'd be left eating McDonald's!
Once we got downtown, we parked the car at the casino, then walked over to the hotel. If you're lucky enough to live in the arctic...errr...I mean Cleveland...you'll know that it was NEGATIVE 50 THOUSAND degrees this weekend. So, our walk was a bit...FREEZING! On our way to the hotel, we passed the restaurant we had our eye on, and decided to stop in and check if anyone had cancelled their reservation. The nice hostess told us "no", but we could sit at the chef's table if we wanted. We kindly declined...hubby and I didn't even have to verbally communicate with each other on that one. 1) Chef's table sounds fancy 2) Chef's table sounds expensive 3) No. We decided to check into the hotel and then we would head back to the restaurant and sit at the bar. We aren't fancy people and the bar suits us just fine.
Two double beds...sweet. We got to the hotel, and they told us they were out of king beds, but we could have two double beds. How romantic! However, when we got up to our room, it was a king bed! Hubby thinks that the lady at the front desk "hooked us up", and I'm thinking it's a sign that luck is on our side. Millionaires in the making? Maybe the casino wants us to win tonight!
We were in the room long enough to look at our view (another building), then rushed back out to the restaurant. This whole evening was truly a whirlwind for the first hour and a half! We arrived back at the restaurant and parked our butts at the bar. Last two seats - yes! Menus came, and the hubby began to look for his beloved steak. Only problem...it wasn't on the menu! Nooooo! There was a different steak, but it was $60 and not the one he wanted! We had eaten here before, but usually just shared some appetizers and got drinks, so we weren't totally familiar with the full dinner menu. Change of plans! Luckily, we hadn't ordered anything and had only been sitting for about 3 minutes, when we quietly snuck out of the restaurant for the 2nd time in a 1/2 hour. We giggled as we left - close one!
Luckily, a little spot called Barrio was right near by, and the hubby and I had been wanting to try it, so we popped in. Tacos, salsa, chips, gaucamole, margaritas - it was perfect! I'm a huge fan of Mexican, so this was right up my alley. I ordered a blood orange margarita, and it was delicious! You can tell that they mix them fresh, and the blood orange was an unexpected, but delicious flavor! The night was coming together!
I think I got ready in about 30 minutes tops. I didn't even remember to pack the toothbrushes! I remember thinking "good thing we don't have a dog!" I literally went from scrubbing it in pj's to scrambling around like a mad woman, as if the Feds were after me and I needed to escape before they found me! I don't know why we were in such a hurry, but we were convinced that if we didn't leave as soon as possible, we'd be left eating McDonald's!
Once we got downtown, we parked the car at the casino, then walked over to the hotel. If you're lucky enough to live in the arctic...errr...I mean Cleveland...you'll know that it was NEGATIVE 50 THOUSAND degrees this weekend. So, our walk was a bit...FREEZING! On our way to the hotel, we passed the restaurant we had our eye on, and decided to stop in and check if anyone had cancelled their reservation. The nice hostess told us "no", but we could sit at the chef's table if we wanted. We kindly declined...hubby and I didn't even have to verbally communicate with each other on that one. 1) Chef's table sounds fancy 2) Chef's table sounds expensive 3) No. We decided to check into the hotel and then we would head back to the restaurant and sit at the bar. We aren't fancy people and the bar suits us just fine.
Two double beds...sweet. We got to the hotel, and they told us they were out of king beds, but we could have two double beds. How romantic! However, when we got up to our room, it was a king bed! Hubby thinks that the lady at the front desk "hooked us up", and I'm thinking it's a sign that luck is on our side. Millionaires in the making? Maybe the casino wants us to win tonight!
We were in the room long enough to look at our view (another building), then rushed back out to the restaurant. This whole evening was truly a whirlwind for the first hour and a half! We arrived back at the restaurant and parked our butts at the bar. Last two seats - yes! Menus came, and the hubby began to look for his beloved steak. Only problem...it wasn't on the menu! Nooooo! There was a different steak, but it was $60 and not the one he wanted! We had eaten here before, but usually just shared some appetizers and got drinks, so we weren't totally familiar with the full dinner menu. Change of plans! Luckily, we hadn't ordered anything and had only been sitting for about 3 minutes, when we quietly snuck out of the restaurant for the 2nd time in a 1/2 hour. We giggled as we left - close one!
Luckily, a little spot called Barrio was right near by, and the hubby and I had been wanting to try it, so we popped in. Tacos, salsa, chips, gaucamole, margaritas - it was perfect! I'm a huge fan of Mexican, so this was right up my alley. I ordered a blood orange margarita, and it was delicious! You can tell that they mix them fresh, and the blood orange was an unexpected, but delicious flavor! The night was coming together!
As I mentioned, the hubby sent me on a little shopping spree to pick out some nail polish for myself, so after we got back home, I spent Sunday afternoon stopping in different stores to look at the nail polish selections. The problem was, I didn't have any specific polishes that I wanted (or too many that I wanted?), so I sort of felt overwhelmed by the whole thing. I didn't know what to pick! Can you relate? You've just been handed money and been told you can purchase whatever you want, but you suddenly become paralyzed and don't want to spend any of it for fear of "picking the wrong one"? I decided to only get a few, and then saved the rest of the money to get something in the future. Good life decision, Katey! Way to be responsible!
One polish I did pick up was Sweet Heart, from OPI's Soft Shades collection. I really wanted a soft, neutral pink. I had been using Ballet Slippers by Essie, which I really love, but I've used it so much that the bottle is half way gone and it's starting to get goopy. The two colors are similar; however, I think Ballet Slippers has more of a crelly base, which is one of the reasons I loved it so much. I didn't want to get the same polish, though, since it is a little bit of a difficult polish to work with - enough of a reason to give something else a shot.
One polish I did pick up was Sweet Heart, from OPI's Soft Shades collection. I really wanted a soft, neutral pink. I had been using Ballet Slippers by Essie, which I really love, but I've used it so much that the bottle is half way gone and it's starting to get goopy. The two colors are similar; however, I think Ballet Slippers has more of a crelly base, which is one of the reasons I loved it so much. I didn't want to get the same polish, though, since it is a little bit of a difficult polish to work with - enough of a reason to give something else a shot.
We ordered chorizo queso, traditional guacamole, and pineapple guacamole as an appetizer, and 2 tacos each for dinner. All of the food was incredible! Note to self...don't get the spicy salsa on your taco next time. Mouth on fire! The atmosphere at the restaurant was fun, and turned out to be perfect for us. Not quite as fancy as we initially envisioned, but absolutely fantastic!
We ended the night at the casino, and tested our luck at craps. We like to go to Vegas, so we called this our "practice run" for our upcoming trip this summer. Luck was on our side and we left the casino with more than we started with, which is always a good thing! The night was a success!
We ended the night at the casino, and tested our luck at craps. We like to go to Vegas, so we called this our "practice run" for our upcoming trip this summer. Luck was on our side and we left the casino with more than we started with, which is always a good thing! The night was a success!
I preferred the formula on Sweet Heart over Essie's Ballet Slippers. It was a little bit streaky on the first coat, and had a few bald spots, but I was able to cover that up in the 2nd and 3rd coats. The pictures here are 3 coats. I probably could have gotten away with 2 coats, but I saw a few spots that weren't so perfect so I put a 3rd layer on to cover those spots up. One thing to note - the pink is very soft. It almost blends in with my skin tone since I have such fair skin, but there is definitely pink in this, especially when you see it in person. I'm in love with this shade!
I'm very happy with Sweet Hearts, and I'm glad it can be worn for any occasion. I had such a hard time doing a Valentine's Day mani this year that I wish I would have had this polish for Valentine's Day, instead of finding it the day after. I literally hated every mani I attempted and ended up wearing clear polish on Valentine's Day out of frustration. A simple polish like this would have done the trick!
How did you spend your Valentine's Day?
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you stop by often!
Katey
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you stop by often!
Katey