Everyone Loves a Boston Girl

Buying new nail polish is often a conundrum.

If I was more fun, I’d totally buy nail polishes based on name alone. But then I’d end up buying OPI’s “Suzie Says Feng Shui” because it uses my name (kind of!!). And I’m not so sure I can pull off bright blue nail polish. Though my 7-year-old self did (again, kind of!!).

Or OPI’s “Gargantuan Green Grape,” which is totally not a “me” shade of green.

Though I totally do want to try Essie’s Mint Candy Apple. But would it be a wear-one-time and stick in a drawer type deal?

The fact of the matter is, I’m super picky about my polish color choices. I mainly wear pinks (the brighter the better!) with the occasional deep navy, and orangey tone. I much prefer mattes to iridescent and am not a fan of bright reds or barely there colors. I’ve been searching for the perfect pastel violet matte for a while now, but can never find exactly what I want.

The other day I was wandering around CVS trying to choose a new shade of nail polish. And I kept thinking about how I wished I could see it on my nails before purchasing. I KNOW I’m totally illegal here, but I was seriously opening some of the polishes and brushing them on my nails (quickly and discretely). I absolutely hate that you can’t tell what a polish looks like until it’s out of the bottle and on your nails.

You can buy nail polishes online, but that’s even more difficult. Go to three different websites and you’ll see 3 bottles of nail polish that look completely different! Plus, it doesn’t give me the opportunity to sneakily open the bottles up before purchase (shhh!). Being a girl? It’s hard. Wah wah.

Then i got home and randomly came across an iPhone/iPad app from OPI. It actually lets you choose the shade of your skin, find an OPI nail polish color and “try it on” And it’s totally legal. Ahem. Of course, it’s not the perfect fix, but I had fun playing around with it.

But still, no matte pastel violet. And no pink that’s just that perfect shade.

How do you find your perfect shade? I’m actually thinking Essie’s upcoming Miss matched might be my dream purple.

Or is it OPI’s Done Out in Deco? Who the heck knows!

File this under “When I am rich, I shall have an entire closet in my house devoted to nail polish. Organized by color. Obvi.”

Hi Boston friends! Since I am “Boston Girl” (when I feel like it, anyway), I do feel like it’s my duty to tell you about my fun new salon experience on Newbury Street. Rock Paper Scissors Salon just opened and they treated me to highlights and a haircut the other day. Conclusion? I LOVE it. And? It’s totally affordable! I haven’t been to a salon that would highlight and cut my hair for under $250 ever. And now I’m going to a salon on Newbury Street and getting all that for $130. Which means I can actually go back when I need to instead of sporting hot roots for months on end. Which is just not super cute on me. Or anyone.

Also, I have a giveaway running on We are not Martha until the end of tonight, where you could win a free haircut! But if you want highlights anyway, you may as well call up and book your appointment because if you mention We are not Martha, you’ll get a free haircut with any color treatment. And color treatments start at $36!

OK, I’m done promoting, but I’m just super excited to have found such a fabulous salon. And I really want them to be successful. And for you to get rid of those ugly roots (not to be rude). Yayy for being able to afford haircuts and color on Newbury Street! I looove it from the back (I know, TWSS).

Happy haircutting, friends

It’s no secret that I’m not exactly the biggest Sandra Lee fan. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate her for comedic value. And sometimes will even watch her for a good laugh (watching drunk people cook is always funny). But you know what? Michael Ruhlman wrote a really interesting piece about her for the Huffington Post that actually made me think. Here’s the gist of it:

“Nay, brethren, I say watch Sandra Lee if you like her, make her recipes, and make them again, because eventually, you are going to want more, and you are going to want better. I don’t care where you start, only that you start.

Even Thomas Keller wasn’t always Thomas Keller. He was once the cook who made ’spinach’ fettuccine using green food coloring.

I don’t care where you start, only that you start. America will be ready for you, with fresh hog bellies to cure and ripe tomatoes at the farmers markets, with genuine, glorious Parmigiano-Regianno in almost every grocery store. America has only just begun to cook.”

Wow. There aren’t many people who could change my mind about Sandra Lee like Michael Ruhlman can. Of course, Sandra thinks Parmigiano and Regianno are two different things, but whatevs. You know, this makes total sense. I don’t consider myself a food snob, but maybe I have kind of been one. Especially with my hating on Sandy.

Sandra Lee is doing more than lots of people are doing these days. She’s cooking. And she’s trying to make it easy for you. So what if she drinks a gallon of vodka, decorates her kitchen in puke-worthy colors, and is obsessed with Cheez Whiz and Cool Whip?

I guess I’ll take back all the mean things I’ve said about Sandra Lee and give her a little credit. But please, Sandy, step away from the boxed cake and learn that mixing flour, sugar, butter, and some eggs is really just as easy (and twice as good). And that cake will taste way better with that semi-homemade martini of yours.

Hi, my name is Susie and I’m a Twitter addict. Though maybe not addict, because really, that’s such a dirty word. I’ll go with enthusiast, yes?. And as a Twitter enthusiast, you know what I absolutely cannot stand? When people claim Twitter is “dumb.” Ughhh just stop doing this. If you’re calling Twitter dumb, lame, stupid, pointless, etc. you’ve either never used it or you’re using it wrong.

Why you shouldn’t leave Twitter for the birds:

• All the people I follow on Twitter are basically my co-workers. I work from home and sometimes go crazy without human interaction. Sometimes I see something cool and need to share, sometimes I need a quick chat, and sometimes I just want to see what others are up to. Twitter is Ah-mazing for this. My Twitter followers are my co-workers. But less annoying because I can minimize them all if I’m not in the mood. They don’t have nasty stale coffee breath or annoying ring tones. They don’t heat up smelly Lean Cuisines in the microwave and they don’t read emails over my shoulder. Twitter? Thank you for giving me the best co-workers on Earth.

• If Twitter is dumb, it’s because the people you follow are dumb. So, follow different people. Duh. Saying Twitter is dumb is like saying your friends are dumb. Or that you have really, really bad taste. Why are you following people who don’t have anything interesting to say? No offense, but you’re dumb; not Twitter. If you follow the right people (for you), Twitter is anything but dumb. You can learn lots, discover new things, and hear the world’s news first. Not dumb.

• Ever have a question that you just can’t find the answer to? That Google can’t even help you out with? Ask Twitter. They’ll answer it for you. That’s not dumb, that’s smart.

• Obviously you already know how to make friends and you probably have like a billion of them. And you don’t need internet friends, right?? Well, then you’re not very smart. Because you can always use more friends. Or acquaintances, really. Networking is the key to life and Twitter is the key to networking. You never know who you’re going to meet on Twitter. You might just chat with them via Twitter, you might take the next step to email, and you might actually meet them in real life. The bottom line is, the relationships you make on Twitter could change your life. Why restrict yourself by not using it?

• Twitter got cupcakes delivered to me last week. CUPCAKES. Twitter, I’ll never quit you if you keep pulling stunts like this.

If that’s not enough to get you to join Twitter, well, Martha Stewart is even on there. And she says absolutely hilariously awesome things like this:

Now, tell me Twitter isn’t amazing.

By the way, you can follow me on there @Susie. Be my co-worker.

Among other things, my parents have always taught me that hard work will get me anywhere I want. I was going to write a whole post on that. Because it’s so, so true. And while it’s been my mantra for my entire life, it’s never been more true than of last year. Lucky for me, I love the work I do. But sometimes I’m still left feeling drained and tired.

But then I get confirmation that all my hard work is paying off and it just feels so wonderful. So, really I’m just here to brag right now. My hometown paper wrote this awesome article on me and Chels and our We are not Martha venture. It landed the front page and got us some attention… and hopefully some new opportunities. Working with your best friend on something you’re incredibly passionate about and ending up with memories like this? Dreams come true.

And it was fun. And yup, life is good.

That’s all for now.