The Polished Platypus: Liebster Award

So I was nominated for the Liebster award again by the wonderful Stephanie over at The Polish Squirrel. I'm going to be a lazy butt and only answer the questions this time, but I hope you enjoy it.

1. If you had to pick a single nail polish to wear for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
OPI Cajun Shrimp. It's just the most wonderful perfect amazing color I've ever seen and I would rather die than lose my bottle of it. It's such a great red.
2. Which hard to find/get polish (that you don’t already have) do you want most?
I know it's not that hard to find, but I really want A-England's Elaine. The first time I saw it, I gasped out loud (much to my embarrassment) and I'm still trying to get it.
3. What’s your all-time favorite book?
What, I have to choose? Narrowing it down to just one is impossible. I don't know. The Mysterious Benedict society is pretty cute. You gotta love the Harry Potter books, too. Other than that... it's too hard to decide.
4. If you made up a nail art challenge, what would be the theme?
Probably food. I love food. And nails. So food + nails = total happiness.
5. Which is bigger: your polish stash, or your wishlist?
Definitely my wish list. I keep finding more polishes that I want but don't have the money for, so my wishlist keeps growing while my stash stays the same.
6. What is your favorite hobby that does not involve nail polish?
I really love playing tennis. I'm really terrible at pretty much every other sport, so I'm really stuck with tennis.
7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Italy! I'm in the middle of taking Latin as a language and I'm just dying to see Rome and everywhere else. The Romans had the most amazing culture, and I really want to go see it in person some day.
8. What was the most exciting moment of your blogging career so far?
When The Do It Yourself Lady posted a link to one of my blog posts on her Facebook page. At that time I was hovering around the 1-5 pageviews per day, so I was so excited because people were finally looking at my blog, and I knew that I wasn't making all of my posts for nothing. That's always a really great feeling.
9. What is your favorite mani that you’ve done?
My piggy manicure. And I know that it wasn't cleaned up very well, and the pig had smooshy eyes, and a whole bunch of other things, but for some reason I was just so darn proud of it.
10. Big city or small town?
Small town. I live in one and love it. I visited New York for the first time a couple of years ago and totally hated it. I like the peace and quiet in a small town!
11. What was your biggest polish splurge?
I actually don't think I've splurged very often. When I find a polish I like, a friend or family member usually gets it for me before I can scrap together the money. I did buy a whole bunch of the China Glaze Hunger Games polishes, but I'm not counting that as a splurge because I snatched a whole bunch of them for an amazing discounted price.

There we go! Thanks again to the Polish Squirrel for nominating me!

Make sure to check out my blog on the 15th when I start the ten-day challenge by Erica's Nails and More.

Don't forget to like Muffin Nails on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

-Muffin

Hey, all! So I was lucky enough to be nominated for the Liebster Award by Cupcakes and Polish, Lacqueerisa, and Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Lacquer. Thanks a bunch, guys! So here we go!

Since more than one person nominated me, I just chose my favorite questions from each one.

These are the rules:

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2. They must also answer the 11 questions the 'tagger' has set for them.
3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.
4. They must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in their post.
5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.
6. There's no tag backs.

11 fun facts about Muffin Nails:

1. I have two lovely kitties, Abraham and Oscar, who just love “helping” me paint my nails.

2. Goldfish crackers are my favorite snack. Ever. I think I could live for months on them alone.

3. My favorite color is orange. And I only have four orange nail polishes. Huh.

4. Bazinga.

5. My camera refuses to take close-up shots. It’s the most annoying thing ever.

6. I hate people that call themselves hipsters. You’re not a hipster if you think you are. Duh.

7. My hair used to have a purple streak in it. Now, it’s just… bleach-colored.

8. I’m so terrible at coming up with random facts about myself that a friend came up with most of these for me.

9. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

10. The world’s going to end in 2012. It’s going to be a zombie apocalypse. Better stock up on your weapons now, folks.

11. This took me entirely too long to write.

My answers:

1. How do you organize your stash?

I have my handy dandy polish drawer under my sink. But it’s kind of out of room so now I keep about my thirty most recently used polishes with me on my desk. It's not the most organized method, but I (sort of) know where everything is. And that's fine with me!

2. If there was a fire, and your family was all safe, what 5 polishes are you rescuing?

Gosh, this is tough. I’m sure I would probably be killed in the fire before coming to a decision on just five, but here are my picks.

OPI Cajun Shrimp – This is definitely my all-time favorite color. Red isn’t my favorite color, but this one is just amazing. I went out for a pedicure earlier this summer (I know, I could have painted them myself, but it’s just so relaxing) and this was the color I used. I spent the next month stairing at my toes, thinking, “I need that color,” until I finally found it.

Essie Mojito Madness – I just adore green polishes. It’s not my favorite color or anything, but the majority of the polishes I’ve bought in the last month or two have been some shade of green. This one is so summery and cool and a joy to use.

China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le – A beautiful pale blue-ish purple. It makes me think of bright blue skies and puffy clouds and happy things. I actually only came across this one recently, but I don’t know what I would do without it.

China Glaze Exotic Encounters – Another green; no surprises there! I don’t really know how to describe this one. But I am oh so in love with it and if you don’t own it, run!! Go buy it! Now! I don’t think it’s for everyone but it truly is a wonderful polish.

China Glaze Smoke and Ashes – Let’s get this straight, I’m not a glitter person. I’ve seen too many glitters that come off as tacky or over-the-top to me. I also think the whole glitter polish removal process is such a hassle. However, this one is a complete exception. It's got little glittery blue and green specks and is so dark and mysterious.

3. Least favorite nail trend?

Ugh. Stamping. I understand how cool it looks and everything, and I really appreciate those who are good at it, but I kind of feel like it’s cheating. I would rather spend hours lovingly hand-painting designs on my nails than stamping it on. Plus, I like to make nail art that’s easy for anyone to do. If I were to do a design with stamping, not everyone would be able to do the same thing (AND the design’s probably been done before by hundreds of others using the same stamping plate!).

4. Describe your personal style.

I think ‘random’ sums it up perfectly. I usually get really into things, and have forgotten about them by the next week. One day I might show up somewhere in a cute little skirt and a frilly top, and the next day I’m rocking some neon shoes. Life’s more fun that way.

5. One word that people that know you well would use to describe you.

I guess, spontaneous. Planning things out is okay, but I love doing things spur-of-the-moment. Things are more interesting when you don’t quite know how they’ll turn out until they happen.

6. Where is the weirdest place you ever polished your nails?

I tried to paint them on a school bus once. Not a very good idea. Everyone thought I was crazy, and I got more paint on my skin than on my actual nails. So lesson: Only paint nails when not in a moving vehicle.

7. Do you have any other hobbies besides nail polish?

I’m really into tennis, but I’m terrible at almost any other sport (don’t even mention running to me!). I like artsy creative stuff, and so sometimes you’ll see me carrying around a duct tape wallet or bag. I have a slight Minecraft addiction, and I’m shocked I haven’t done some Minecraft themed nails yet. I might just have to fix that.

8. What is your favorite wild animal?

An elephant. They’re so large and magnificent, but so cute at the same time…

9. When and why did you start blogging?

I started blogging around the beginning of April. It was around the time I started getting really interested in nail art. I assumed I would keep up the blog for just a week or two and then forget about it (see question four) but, here I am!

10. How many bottles of polish do you own?

Math time! Based on my not-so-accurate counting skills, somewhere around 80. I would have more, but my family gets grumpy when I bring in new polish.

11. What do your friends / family think of your hobby?

I think it drives them crazy. My family hates coming home to the smell of nail polish all the time, but I think they appreciate it. Not sure about my friends. Some are excited to let me paint their nails while some tease me about it.

Questions:

1. If you could only buy three more polishes for the rest of your life, what would they be?

2. How often do your paint your nails?

3. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

4. What’s your favorite nail trend?

5. Least favorite?

6. Zombies or unicorns?

7. What’s your favorite nail polish brand?

8. What is the most you’ve ever paid for a bottle of polish?

9. What’s the nail design you’re most proud of?

10. What nail design did you try out that totally flopped?

11. What do you like to do other than blogging and nail polish?