Hello Lovelies!
This is Stephanie from over at A Little Polish. I have been friends with Victoria now for over ten years and so when she told me she started a blog, I was more than happy to offer up a guest post for her. While her blog is a little bit of everything around Minnesota living, mine is solely nail polish & nail art, so today I will be sharing with you some tips for taking care of your nails during the winter months, and also a Minnesota themed mani.

The cold winter weather can be very harsh on your nails, I live in Pennsylvania and it is bad here, so I can only imagine that since Minnesota is even further north, that it can’t be any better. The winter air really dries out your hands, cuticles and nails, so here are some tips for keeping your nails healthy during the winter months.

1.       Good cuticles are the basis for good nails! Make sure to keep your cuticles moisturized during the winter months (and the summer if you have dry skin). I am lucky that I have fairly nice cuticles on my own without using cuticle oil on a regular basis (or at least that’s what my friends tell me lol) but cuticle oil / moisturizer is a good way to keep them hydrated. You can purchase cuticle oil anywhere, from the drugstore, to Walmart, to higher end stores like Ulta and Sephora. Additionally, a lot of indie polish makers make and sell cuticle oil / moisturizer as well!  Bonus Tip: Don’t cut your cuticles! If they are getting long, gently push them back with an orange stick.

2.       Protect your nails and you manis by wearing base and top coats! Have you ever had a mani that has completely stained your nails? Richly saturated colors can be notorious for never wanting to leave your nails, especially greens and blues, and one way to help protect your nails is with base coat. Base coat can also help if you have weak or brittle nails and are trying to grow them. My go-to base coat is OPI Nail Envy. Top coats can help to protect a mani, make it last longer, smooth out rough glitter looks and even improve drying time. I wear topcoat over ALL my manis; my go-to top coat is IMN Out The Door, similar quick drying top coats can be found at drugstores, beauty stores and online. Bonus Tip: If your quick drying topcoat is getting “stringy” try adding a thinning agent, such as Seche Restore to restore the consistency.

3.       Choose your nail polish remover wisely! In my mind, there are two main types of nail polish remover, acetone and non-acetone. Each of those has “sub-categories” for example, 100% acetone or strengthening non-acetone remover. While acetone remover gets the polish off quickly it also can dry out your nails, cuticles and skin super-fast, and we know that this leads to cracked skin and brittle nails. My recommendation for removing your standard polish would be any non-acetone remover. You can purchase these pretty much anywhere. I personally, use a strengthening non-acetone remover on a regular basis and stick to acetone or 100% acetone to remove manis under certain circumstances, such as hard to get off polish like glitter, or even removal of gel/shellac manis. Bonus Tip: Try the “Foil Method” to remove particularly stubborn manis.

Now that we know about nail care, let’s move on to my look. Victoria asked me to create something Minnesota inspired, and suggested maybe something with one of the sports teams (being from Pittsburgh, I do a lot of sports themed manis, although I have to admit, I have never done one for another team!) I decided to do something inspired by the Minnesota Golden Gophers team colors.

Polished Used:
-OPI - Nail Envy
-OPI - I'm Not Really A Waitress
-Essie - As Gold As it Gets
-Out The Door

This is a simple look that anyone can wear  to show support for the Golden Gophers. Adding a special effect topper can really change the look of a plain mani. Another fun thing to keep in mind is that there is no set rule for how many nails can be "accent nails"; as you can see, here I have done 2 and 2.

I hope you enjoyed my nail care tips and Minnesota themed mani! If you are interested in nail art, please feel free to stop by my blog, facebook page or Instagram to keep in touch! Finally, best of luck to Victoria and her new blog, and thanks for having me :)

Life on the lake is beautiful. Most people probably think it is a quiet, destitute place in the winter. Not so. Frozen over and dusted with snow, the lake is still as busy as ever. Just look at all those ice houses and portables.

This is the view out the kitchen window. Definitely, I have more neighbors now then I did all summer! We even have the picture perfect man sitting on his pail trying to catch the big one.

Weather doesn't keep Minnesotans off the lakes. Not when it's 101F or -40F! Ice fishing is still relatively new to A. and I. A. loves to fish and can't wait to one day have his own ice house or portable. I may tag along with a book and a bottle of wine. Fishing honestly isn't my thing but I sure do love to people watch from the kitchen window.

I am going to state the obvious...it has been down right frigid so far this winter. Yes, yes, I know I live in Minnesota. But seriously having a high which is still below 0F is just dang right COLD!

It is times like these that I am very thankful for having warm clothes and a warm place to not only be in during the day (my office or the hospital) but also at night (my toasty bed with electric blanket). There are never times when I am searching for shelter. At the very most I run from a warm building to a car that will heat up within minutes. I am blessed.

There are many in our community that are struggling. They don't have this basic essential of life. Locally in Mankato, MN there has been a lot of discussion about how our non-profits are wearing thin try to keep up with the ever growing needs of men, women and children. This includes shelters and emergency housing.

I encourage each of us to find a cause locally and support it. Something that will truly impact a person's day, week, life. Today, I drove down to the Salvation Army and donated just a few toiletries and a pair of wool winter socks. The woman at the front desk was extremely kind and expressed her gratitude. I wish I had given more. I hope to continue to donate either my time or with items the shelter or it's residents need.

Many that seek help at our local shelters are not "bums". They are just like you and me. Some may have "had it all" to only have lost a job, gotten sick or run into trouble and it "all" fell away. Some have mental illness, are veterans, problems with drug or alcohol abuse or "choose" this life. But truly, does it matter? A human cannot survive the elements like this and I refuse to sit by and judge them or think someone else will help. I will help. Will you help?

The Men's Shelter provides a warm place to stay and sleep from 6pm to 8am. There they are able to shower, eat a supper, have fellowship and have morning breakfast. The Salvation Army in Mankato also offers a free noon meal and bread distribution program Monday to Friday. For more information go to The Mankato, MN Salvation Army Please call 507-345-7840 to see what their needs are and how you can volunteer.

How do you give back locally? What charities do you partner with?

This winter has been bitterly cold in MN. Temps dropping way below zero with the wind chill. With this being our first winter in our new home I've discovered the front door can be a little drafty. To solve this problem I went of course to etsy.com and low and behold I found a Door Draft Stopper that not only is ascetically pleasing but works really well.

Isn't she cute! I didn't want something that would be too Christmasy since winter can last till April up here! I filled her with rice and put her right to work. It has made a huge difference.

The creator and seller is Ogsplosh. She was a pleasure buying from. Delivered super quick and the packaging was adorable. Her shop can be found here The fabrics she uses are great quality, very thick and a huge plus washable.

I am seriously considering getting more for Christmas gifts for next year. ;)