Nail Salon

Whenever Laura and I spend time together we gravitate to a Nail Salon whether it be in Austin over her Spring Break, in Spokane in late May, or yesterday in Seattle while she was home. This is an outing we enjoy  together although what we do there is vastly different. I indulge in a pedicure; she has her nails (taken off and replaced) done.

I typically pay little attention to what's happening over at the manicure table choosing to concentrate on the latest (often raunchy) celebrity news in People Magazine or Us. I love dipping into this stuff when I'm pampering myself; adds to the feeling of escape and somehow the two go together nicely. Yesterday I  finished up 30 minutes before she was done and instead of burying my head in another Hollywood story, I took a look at what was going on at the manicure table.

These lovelies (yikes!) had to be dug off and the nails prepped for the new, more conservative look. Laura had to admit that these blue tips in half moon style were a bit of a reach. She probably tired of them within a week but they last much longer and are expensive to boot so she stuck with them. This is quite a process; taking off the old, prepping for the new, trimming down the inch and half fake nails to the desired length, buffing and polishing. Now she's back to the traditional look  pictured below. I didn't manage a photo of her specific results but wish I had because she had a tiny, delicate flower painted on her ring fingernails. Does that negate the conservative look I had to wonder?

One of these days I'll give these French tips a whirl. Right now the dress code at work forbids artificial nails. Apparently they've been shown to transmit infection and in the health care world, persons in direct contact with patients probably shouldn't indulge in this nice clean look.

For now, I'll stick to pedicures. Although I was sorely tempted to pick the Shrek inspired yellow-green for my own version of wild and "out there", I picked a summer inspired pinkish orange. Ramp up the wild, Kate. OK....next time. I promise.