blue jelly between my toes

dashing diva was...interesting.

it's a cute place - just north of colorado in old town pasadena. apparently, it's a chain of nail salons based in new york, and my friend A would LOVE it - it's pink, pink, and more pink. the cushy pedicure benches were pink. the floor was pink. the implements were pink. i love pink too, so it was all good.

btw, i'm really leaning towards trading this blackberry in for a different phone. it's seriously KILLING me not to have a camera handy at all times. so the photos you see here are all swiped from google images, folks. hey, it's better than nothing.

anyway, i was all set for a basic mani/pedi, but i noticed on the way to pasadena that i'd managed to break yet another nail, so i decided to upgrade and try out their virtual nails. it's kind of like" acrylic meets press-on" - it's a full nail "cover" that's thinner and lighter than acrylic, and supposedly doesn't screw up your real nails. and, because i'm such a diva, i talked myself into trying out their fancy-schmancy "isle of capri" pedicure - a special for the summer. i didn't even know how much this thing was going to cost, but the description of it sold me like the true sucker i am.

i was taken back to what looked like a "V.I.P." area - a little room separated from the regular, peon's pedicure stations by floor-length white fringe (again, kicking myself for the lack of camera). i settled back into the pillows and the lady went to work. i was treated to a leg and foot massage with some yummy-smelling lotion, followed by a foot bath in the some fabulous blue jelly concoction. i don't know what it was, but it felt lovely and squishy between my tootsies. i think i got a couple more treatments, like a scrub and more massage, and at some point i fell asleep. of course, i had to force myself to wake up so i wouldn't snore - how embarrassing would that have been? and yet, it would've happened. every female in my family snores. it sucks ass.

as she was finishing up the polish, another girl came in to measure my nailbeds for the virtual nails. i was so relaxed and out of it that i hardly knew what was going on, and she thought it was pretty funny that i was so nonchalant about the process.

"everyone who gets this done for the first time is usually right on top of me, wanting to know about every step of this procedure!"

hell, i didn't give a shit. just make my fingers look pretty, instead of the 8-year-old boy hands i walked in with.

anyway, i wasn't sure if i liked the finished product, because i'm really not a fake-nails kinda girl, but now that it's been almost a whole day, i think it's a'ight. they're definitely much more tolerable than acrylics, but i still can't scratch an itch to my satisfaction. know what i mean? that's what i always hated about fake nails. they look fab, but when this heffa gets an itch, i gotta be able to take care of it. well, they'll last for 2 weeks-ish, and then i'll have them removed.

and as i walked out of the salon - THREE hours later - i realized i was just down the street from chado tea room. and i was hungry (what else is new?). so i strolled in and treated myself to afternoon tea. mmmmm, tea sandwiches, scones and cream, cookies... hey, i don't do this every day. and pretty soon, i won't be able to do it at all, right? i gotta take advantage while i can. oh, and i totally biffed the corner of my thumbnail, and how did i do this? reaching for my crackberry, of course. i was so pissed, i muttered curses under my breath as i checked my emails. well, i'd already done the damage, might as well follow through, right?

on my way home, i thought it'd be a great idea to pick up a rotisserie chicken from costco. and while i was there, i remembered to scoop up a couple of other items we were out of. but i groaned out loud when i waddled to the check-out lanes and got in line - long. ass. lines. thankfully, the lady in front of me (who was juggling not one, but TWO overstuffed carts) took one look at me and my belly juggling my paltry three items and offered to let me go in front of her.

and my faith in humanity was restored.