Good riddance, 2012!

I'm now "home" after a wonderful week at Home with my family.  I didn't do much polishing, and what I did do I didn't photograph.  Sorry!  But know that I did have a super-cute Christmas mani (China Glaze Champagne Kisses with Zoya Logan for holly leaves, red rhinestone berries, and a Christmas tree accent, kind of a mash up of many of my previous Christmas looks).  I wanted to do something fun and festive for New Year's Eve, even though I'm all by my lonesome, but was overwhelmed with possibilities.  So, I decided to do what my momma wanted: dark purple with silver glitter.  My momma's kind of the best.  She has been getting into nails lately too, and she said her students love it when she does.  This is what she gave me, all individually wrapped in a big box:

Out of control awesome, right?!  She went through my "want" tab and found a ton of them!  But now she also knows how much some of the things I waste my money on cost...hmmm.
So, I'm going with her New Year's Eve choices tonight.

*1 coat Hard as Nails Hardener
*2 coats OPI Vampsterdam
*China Glaze Fairy Dust
*China Glaze Techno
*1 coat Hoof Lacquer

I used Vampsterdam for the first time for this mani.  I only used 2 coats, and perhaps a 3rd would have made this darker, which was more of what I imagined.  It is a pretty polish, lighter on the nail than in the bottle, a deep raisin purple.  Like any OPI, the application is perfect and the coats build easily. 
I am still unpacking and catching up on some sleep, so I didn't dig out sponges for the glitter.  I just used the brush, concentrating the Fairy Dust fine holo glitter at the cuticle and stroking toward the tips.  I dabbed Techno on top, and then added just a little more thin Fairy Dust toward the tips.  I kind of wish I had sponged the glitter for better blending, but they are still super sparkly and festive!

2012 has been a crapfest of a year for me and my family.  I am more than ready for the clock to strike midnight!  2013: come at me!  I'll see you all on the other side with a brand new challenge (can I make it through another 31 days?) and hopefully a much brighter year.  Until then, be safe and I wish nothing but the best to you and yours as we welcome this new beginning!