Ninna Lu

My Nail Inspiration - Subtle & Earthy

- written by Marissa

   I was in a creative mood to do some DIY nail art for a mini Sunday fun day. I had a little me time aside from petsitting Lola, my sister's morkie (half Maltese & half Yorkie). Pawley & Maddie were playing in the backyard and Lola was taking a short doggie nap.

   I recently just discovered Pinterest so I immediately logged in to find some great examples and inspirations. I pinned one image of a nail art inspiration showing a five color combination of shades of gray, my favorite color. So I immediately went to my bathroom sink to check what I could work with (work with what you already have) and thankfully some actually go well with each other.  As pictured, I used  the following colors from left to right: Chanel's Haute Chocolat, Essie's Steel-ing the Scene, Essie's Fair Game, Opi's Glitzerland and Migi Nail Art's Black.

 

 

   The river rocks pretty much solidified my choices since the color combos are pretty similar (see below) therefore it can be subtle yet earthy.

 

 

A great way to change things up and it's all the colors I love in one nail sitting. This is my take on nail art. Hope to be able to add more details later with my new Migi Nail Art pens!

 

 

 My Favorite Freebie of The Month:  I recently went to San Francisco to attend an event called The Ultimate Women's Expo. It was an event filled with big brand name beauty lounges such as Macy's, Sak's Fifth Avenue, Elizabeth Arden and Aveda. A few beauty lounges were providing makeup, hairstyle as well as product use consultations at each beauty bar. So I was in beauty product heaven. 

   Aveda had a great hairstyle and product consultation booth. Elizabeth Arden was the only beauty lounge providing nail makeovers. Sak's Fifth Avenue was booked solid in makeovers for both days of the event. Their product consultations included brands like Keihl's & Fekkai. Lastly, Macy's was the largest beauty lounge at the women's expo with makeup and fragrance makeovers available from big beauty labels such as Bobbie Brown.

My Latest Frugal Discovery: At the Ultimate Women's Expo, there were so many independent merchants from cities all over that were showcasing & selling their goods or services. To go with the theme of this blog, I recently discovered Migi's Nail Art. You receive 8 different colors with a brush and pen for each color along with a LIFETIME of refills. All for $25.00. Not bad!

Please visit Ninna Lu - A Social eShop for any upcoming events and latest finds on designer, vintage and consignment items. Don't forget to visit Ninna Lu on Facebook and share with your friends!

Elite vs. Traditional - A Successful Entrepreneur's Perspective Learned

 

   For a little friendly inspiration and also to share a great book find (from the public library of course):

It's "The Elite Entrepreneur" by Ephren W. Taylor, How to Master the 7 Phases of Growth & Take Your Business from Pennies to Billions.

   Not only do I admire his long-term success in business and his non-traditional entrepreneurship approach, what really struck me the most about Ephren Taylor's story is when he started his first business at the young age of twelve years old. His parents couldn't afford to buy him video games so he decided to create video games himself. How? His parents, promoters of education, invested just $50.00 to buy him a book instead, "How to Create a Video Game in 21 Days".  If you find his story intriguing, feel free to check out his website at http://www.ephren.com to learn more about Ephren as an author and as an elite entrepreneur. (I am not affiliated with Ephren W. Taylor, just simply an admirer of his success.)

   This book discusses the 7 phases of business: A superior start, to have blockbuster branding, sizzling sales, heroic hiring, generating growth (great chapter by the way), and lastly cornering cash. There are so many mentionable tips but I'm only going to quickly share the 3 KEY lessons I learned of how an "Elite Entrepreneur" works and behaves, here are the tidbits that stuck in my mind the most which I think could also be applied in our personal lives.

1. "Know going in how you are going to get out." - Of course a traditional entrepreneur doesn't think of an exit strategy when starting a business, you think of business plans. Ephren suggests to think as an Elite Entrepreneur, you must immediately prepare yourself for the firefight. I guess in a real way business could be a battle.

2. "Learning the techniques of how to fail allows you to get up quickly, recover & reassess." - So rather than beating yourself down for all the setbacks and hurdles, take failure as a teachable moment so fail well and do it correctly. 

3. "Using business solutions to address the social ills of the community." - This is what Ephren is strongly known for, responsible social entrepreneurship, whether it is through job creation or charity donations in addition to the elite perspective.

Knowing what you want, starting with what you know, when it's your passion it's not work, makes you wake up with wonder. Thank you Ephren. Great book.

Please visit Ninna Lu - A Social eShop for any upcoming events and latest finds on designer, vintage and consignment items. Don't forget to like Ninna Lu on Facebook!

 

 

A Personal Tour of The Preserve - Carmel, CA

   The first day of the autumn season, on a cool yet sunny end of September afternoon, my husband and I got to see first hand the beauty of this land. Exclusively for members only the land is called Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, CA. We were able to get a personal glimpse of something hidden and pretty much unknown to many unless you are a local to the surrounding areas of Carmel, CA.

Santa Lucia Preserve has a long history of land conservancy and sustainability of its acres of redwood forests, wetlands, and grasslands. During our tour of this quiet and hidden gem, I was able to take pictures that I'd love to share with everyone. Below are a just few pictures of the premises of The Hacienda. We were also able to visit the sports center, the horse stable, and the beach. But for more detailed information feel free to visit www.santaluciapreserve.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Many types of wildlife from mountain lions, turkeys, deers, etc. live and flourish in this amazing landscape. Towards the end of the day, the fog started to creep in and it was time to go back to the hotel. On our way back, we were lucky enough to see a couple deers along the road.

 My Favorite Freebie of the Month: While attending the Sassy City Chicks Fashion Bash at Fort Mason Center this month, I was able to receive a free tote bag filled with goodies and sampled many types of sweet drinks from peaches to strawberries. I even truly enjoyed watching the other ladies receive free makeovers from makeup to hair as well as free spa treatments. It was definitely a unique night of fashion fun!

My Latest Frugal Discovery: Every other Friday night at the Fort Mason Center,  a gathering of gourmet food trucks from Malaysian to Filipino to Mexican cuisine, heat up the night and locals flock to taste some of the most unique fares of international cuisine. It was an awesome experience! Prices for food ranged between $4 to $10. I found myself trickling over to the Vietnamese food truck and ordered myself a full course dinner with noodles, grilled chicken and salad all for $7.

Hope you enjoyed reading about this month's adventures. Please visit Ninna Lu - A Social eShop for latest finds on designer, brand name, vintage and consignment items. Add Ninna Lu on Facebook and get member exclusive incentives on all inventory!