QBB Update in Progress

This blog needs a virtual orange cone! You may have noticed that I'm making a few changes right now. This has included a template change, and I'm starting to activate buttons and sub-pages that have been in my mind for months. Please be patient, as this could take a week or so in total until I'm happy with the final product. The current buttons are actually placeholder until I have all of the links live and can just re-code in HTML by hand for a streamlined look.

You'll also notice the appearance of affiliate links and ads. Please read the Disclosures page for important information.

Please excuse the virtual construction zone, but I hope that the blog will be more functional and visually appealing once I'm done!

But I need YOU! Please comment on the post or shoot me an email at quirkybusyandbeautiful [at] gmail.com with anything that you'd like to see on the blog.

Chanel Secret Le Vernis & QBB the Blog v3.0

Today is the first day of QBB Version 3.0, and the first of a new posting style for me.  The daily NOTD is a thing of the past, as are multiple posts in a day. With my newfound attention to balance comes self-awareness of my own limitations. Although I'd love to be a prolific blogger, my wallet and time management dictate a single post per day.

I'll come back to the new format shortly, but I'd like to share one of my most unexpected loves over the last couple of months: Chanel Secret Le Vernis. Secret (Le Vernis #625) was recently released with the Fall 2014 Collection Etats Poetiques, and looks to be joining the permanent lineup per Chanel.com.

I initially reached for Atmosphere from this collection, thinking it would be the more flattering of the two nudes. I couldn't have been more wrong. Secret is a lovely peachy nude that's very flattering to my strong pink undertones. I've worn this shade at least once every week or so since I purchased it in late July. I'm thrilled that it will be around for repurchase.

I have three even coats on my nails in this shot, and the formula is superior to most other light shades from Chanel.

Secret is cooler and more neutral than Emprise. Since I don't have that many light neutral cremes, I don't have a great comparison. However, this is one of my new favorites. Although it may be tempting to pass this up with all of the other amazing new Fall releases, I seriously urge you to take a moment and enjoy this shade.

Chanel Secret Le Vernis retails for $27 and is currently available at counters and on Chanel.com.

Now, onto the blog reboot. I still plan to show all of the fabulous nail shades, but I won't do a daily separate NOTD post. I'll be using all of those lovely manis as material between other reviews.  I aim to have one post per day, about 50/50 with NOTDs and substantive new reviews. I hope that this is a reasonable objective and that I can enjoy blogging again. I have so much to share, and I'm looking forward to it!

Hey, Look at This!

Ahem.

Why yes, that's a brand-new MacBook Pro sitting on my favorite blogging chair. I have to admit that it's been really hard going without a computer for about 7 weeks. However, there was a huge sense of accomplishment when I plunked down my debit card yesterday and left with a computer that's already paid in full.

Just to give you a sense of some of what I have ahead, check this out:

I have over 2GB of photographs to edit and corresponding posts to compose from my notes. So yes, your QBB is finally back- it'll just be a bit!

It feels great to be typing on my laptop. And I'm thrilled to be back with you all.

Blog Update

I have some great news to share with you, dear readers!

No, I didn't get my computer yet. However, I was able to borrow a non-public laptop for part of a day and I'm in the process of completing multiple posts that were in various stages of completion. Shockingly enough, I had enough previously-in-work posts to actually publish a NOTD and a topical post every day until my expected ETA of the new computer! In other words, I'm 50% back!

One of my frustrations has been the Blogger App. You can't modify a scheduled date, so if I had originally worked on a post in March, it would publish to March rather than the current day.

In the meantime, please check me out on Instagram at @quirkybusyandbeautiful for the latest- or drop me an email!

(I'm at 87 NOTD looks swatched and counting, by the way!)

Get Social with QBB!

Since I'm probably about 4 weeks from having a functioning computer again, I think I've found a solution to keep sharing my quirky, busy, and beautiful thoughts with my loyal blog readers without spending extra money on a crap laptop to bridge the gap. (It turns out that I loathe Windows 8 with a passion and don't want it in my house. Period.)  QBB is going social!

While I can't edit photos on an iPad mini, I can certainly post to Instagram!  Check me out on Instagram, user name quirkybusyandbeautiful, for on-the-fly thoughts and photos.

Likewise, I created a QBB Pintrest account.  I'm admittedly a Pintrest novice, so bear with me.  I see that as more an insight into my muddled mind.

There are already posts/boards on both accounts, so please feel free to join the fun.  Your little QBB is going social!

Please note: I'll edit links into the post once I actually have the real Blogger editor again. There's no apparent way to embed links with the mobile app.

If anyone has figured out ways around the basic text editor in the Blogger app, please let me know!

Un-beautiful Update 2: Goodbye to an Old Friend

I just wanted to take a minute to update everyone on my sad situation.  My beloved laptop is still dead, and I'm taking it to the Apple store to get the final confirmation that it's not coming back.  I'm already researching local data recovery providers, but that's not an instant fix.

What does that mean for the blog? I can write text posts from my iPad mini, but I have no way to edit photos.  Even worse, I had already done swatches for a month's worth of posts- that are all sitting on the dead laptop's hard drive.  So, I'm going to have to re-swatch everything.

I'm going to be working backwards for awhile- I'm going to write the text for many of these posts, to be married with photos once I have a computer again. My tenative plan is to buy a stripped down laptop in the next 2 weeks, and save for the machine that I want.  My MacBook Pro was 4.5 years old and I was already using an external keyboard since the down arrow and space bar quit working last month. It's time to wish a friend goodbye.  That external keyboard has actually been my savior with this iPad, as it turns out.

I have NOTD posts queued through 8 June, I believe (Ialthough the Blogger iPad app is woefully inadequate to check things like this).  I'll poke around and see if any of my draft postings happen to have photos already uploaded, but that would be the extent of my content for a bit.  The good news is that when I return, there are going to be some well-researched posts.  The bad news is that my pristine item photos can't be replicated.

Due to the financial shock of having to buy a new computer, this may not be a daily blog when it returns.  All of that money I spend on beauty products is going to my new laptop fund (again, it may be shocking to some, but I'm fiscally conservative and won't buy one unless I have the money in my bank account.  I truly believe credit cards are for emergencies. Likewise, I won't tap into my home emergency funds for this since a new laptop is a desperate want, but being able to replace my ancient hot water tank the day it finally dies is a need. My beauty purchases are something that I consider an entertainment/hobby expense.  At times like this, I'll be in replenishment of staples only for a bit.  

If anyone has a favorite ultra-basic, ultra-cheap (but not a Chromebook) laptop that they love, please leave it in the comment area. I'm looking for suggestions ($300 and under, the cheaper the better).  Likewise, any MacBook Pro users who have gone to a MacBook Air, I'd love to know how that's gong for you.  That's my current decision.