Friday, December 28, 2012

MY 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY!

Pin It December 28th. This is an awesome day for 2 reasons:

1) My husband and I got married at the courthouse 2 years ago on this day! (We have 2 wedding anniversaries, a courthouse and a ceremony)

2) 1 year ago I started my bliggity blog! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Take a short journey to the past with me? (pssst there's a surprise at the end!)
That introduction post is probably the lamest thing on this planet LOL And my "first post", in December 2011, reviewing 3 Revlon pretties was even more lame.


That's the most appealing picture in that entire post. You probably don't even want to look at the other pictures, they're just gross lol. This entire nail blogging journey has been a learning experience for photographic, hand shots, hand and cuticle health and polishing. Oh, and  also at this point my goal for my nails (despite having long nail beds) was to cut the crap out of them to look as short as I possibly could LOL

Jump to a month later, January 2012, I decided to share some of my stamping with you guys:


Not a bad combo haha, still trying to get shots and hand positions down. My sister had bought me a Konad stamping kit back in 2009 so I had played around with stamping for awhile. It only took me until the END of 2011 to discover that you could use REAL nail polish, not just the Konad special polishes, and it worked 100x better than the expensive special made ones. And I was STILL chopping the hell out of my poor nails.

And in February 2012, I purchased my first full set of nail polish - The Zoya True Collection.


This is when I truly fell in love with Zoya polishes. My sister was insane enough to introduce me to Zoya in November 2011. And I think at the point of this post I had probably over 20 Zoyas haha. WHAT?! Nails past my skin!? I don't believe it! I think I finally realized I was a total idiot haha

In March of 2012 , I took a leap into the world of PR and reviews. I got approved to review and swatch polishes for Zoya's Beach & Surf Collection:


When those polishes showed up at my front door, I can't even tell you how excited and special I felt. I worked my little butt off to make these swatches look as perfect as I could, not wanting to disappoint Zoya or what little amount of readers I had at the time.

You can also tell what a long way the skin on my hands had came at this point. I know a lot of you know I was born with severe Eczema. My hands and feet are the TWO spots that did not fade as I got older and are still problems for me. I can tell you this though, ever since I started this journey - my hands are the nicest they've looked my entire 23 years of life. Sure, I have my flare up days - but those are just a few days out of months of having almost "normal" looking  hands.

In April of 2012 I took a HUGE leap into nail art!


In April, I decided to adventure more into nail art, improving skills here and there. This is when nail art really started to hit my blog. This is also when I was posting more about Indies. I would say I started buying and becoming more interested in Indie polish in March 2012, but they made their way to my blog in April.

Those are mostly the biggest steps I took for my blog. The rest is the Lace & Lacquers you mostly know today. It's fun to look at the past and realize how far you have came! My nail art has come a long way and so have my photos of swatches.  Eczema was one thing holding back this dream I had to blog about nail polish for awhile, and I have overcame that obstacle! I'm not going to bore you by going over my entire year haaha, if you want to see that you can see my archive in the sidebar :]

I'm not one who sets goals very often or go after dreams. The only goal I've ever made for myself was to graduate college. And even after that it was kinda like... *shrugs* greattttttttttttttt haha. I think nail blogging was truly the only dream I've ever gone after and decently tried to go after. It still amazes me that I have been contacted by companies and Indie brands to review polishes. It flatters me to no end that someone enjoys MY work. And I think I owe a lot to Zoya, if they didn't give me a chance in March - I never would of changed my style of swatching or photographing if it wasn't for them letting me swatch their Beach and Surf Collection.

So, I guess I'll get sappy here. If you want to do something - DO IT. Don't let your mind or other people hold you back. Just keep trying. If you don't like how your work (in this case my blog) looks or is presented - DO SOMETHING about it to make your own dream go far. It's your dream - not someone else's - so why not try to reach it at it's fullest?! This is why you see me change things here and there... I'm not settling for what I have ALREADY done with my dream, I'm trying to achieve my idea of my dream's perfection.

So, I owe a lot to my readers, too! You guys support me by reading my blog (aka letting me know I'm not doing a crap ass job), chatting with me on Facebook, stalking me on Instagram. THANK YOU. This is a small token of my appreciation:


Prize is (1) Orly Cosmic FX French Manicure Set [ Orly Space Cadet, Liquid Vinyl, Top 2 Bottom, 2 rows of round french guides, 2 rows of pointed french guides and instruction booklet]

December 28th 2012 - January 13th, 2013 12:00 AM EST
- US and Canada only
- 18+ or parents' permission only
- Winner has 48 hours from when email is sent to contact me or else a new winner will be chosen
- Entries by the winner will be confirmed for accuracy
- Duplicate entries, made by duplicate accounts will be deleted
- Cheating is not acceptable
- I am not liable if you do not respond to my email before the time specified in the email
- I am not liable if the package is lost/stolen/damaged
- Any customs fees are your responsibility
- All items in this giveaway are brand new, never used and purchased by Lace & Lacquers
- This giveaway is not sponsored
a Rafflecopter giveaway I hope you'll stick around for another year with me :] My last year of blogging has been an amazing changes, I can't wait to see what this next year brings for Lace & Lacquers!

93 comments:

  1. Everything! Seriously, your blog is one of my favorites :)

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  2. I think that it's nice that we can see someone go from "novice" on posts to a person who has some really savvy advice for their followers. Makes it feel as if we are growing with you! Thanks!

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  3. I love the save money links :) THank you

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  4. Agreed with spunkster. :) I love everything about your blog! You're such an awesome person too!

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  5. <3 your blog...and your "b*tchiness" (not calling you a b*tch...but seriously love your personality!!!)...:D

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  6. I really love your swatches/reviews. I also love your Monday roundups of giveaways ;) Great blog!

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  7. I love all of your advice!

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  8. My absolute favorite thing is how interactive and friendly you are! The polish is nice, but having someone to actually chat polish with is priceless. :)

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  9. I love all the different product reviews :)

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  10. Congratulations on your Blogiversary!!!! :D Your blog is simply awesome!!

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  11. Congratulation for both Anniversaries! Love your blog!

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  12. Congrats on one year! I like your reviews!

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  13. Yours was one of the first nail blogs I came to follow, and helped to start by addiction, obsession, etc with nails & polish! congrats :)

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  14. My name is ashley pashley and I LOVE your humor and of course swatches.

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  15. Congrats on a year!
    I love you blog! And I definitely appreciate your Manic-ure Giveaway Mondays :)

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  16. I love the giveaway round-up posts, the nail art, swatches, and your sense of humor. :)

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  17. You blog rocks! it's entertaining and educational!! Polish on!!

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  18. I'm amazed by how far you've come in just a year. Congrats. It's great seeing how much your skills have developed also.

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  19. Everything. I can't seem to stop reading it.

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    1. I forgot to put my name.It's AmberGreen

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  20. My favorite thing on the blog is Manicure giveaway Mondays but really I love everything!

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  21. i love your attitude and character, and all the swatches! congrats on 1 year!! Happy Blogiversary!! :)

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  22. love your honest reviews! Not a blog snob either!

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  23. Congratulations on your blogiversary!!! I love your blog, your posts are enjoyable to read and you show some fantabulous polishes :-)!!!!

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  24. Your nail art is beautiful. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  25. I like how you are actually FRIENDLY, not a snob and interact with people that comment. And I cannot lie but I also love checking out your blog on Mondays. >.<

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  26. I think the quality of your pictures is really nice! :D

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  27. I like the way. You write. Your personality really comes through. Your swatches are beautiful & helpful, too.

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  28. I love that you are a natural, real person! :) The fact that your swatches and reviews don't have to be perfect. That makes me feel like I can do them too. And you really have improved! Congratulations!

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  29. Congrats on your blogiversary! That's quite a journey. I'm pretty new to your blog so I loved this look back at the beginnings. I've only just started a blog of my own so it will be interesting to see how I look back on this in a year :)
    (Not participating in the giveaway, just wanted to congratulate.)

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  30. I like the variety of nail art ideas that you inspire. Great job - keep it up!

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  31. First I would like to say congrats!! I absolutely LOVE your blog. Set in Lacquer and you were the FIRST two blogs I ever read and have greatly influenced my found love for all things nails :) So thank you. And it is so so sweet of you to do this for us when it is your big milestone :) Congrats again and much love!

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  32. Love your swatches! And congrats on 1 yr!

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  33. swatchesssssssssssss!!!! i love swatchessss! (but your nail art is pretty damned fab, too)

    gratz!

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  34. this was so inspirational since I've just started my own nail blog, I have higher hopes now ^^
    thanks!

    Hope you'll visit :) http://roxy-ch.blogspot.ro/

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  35. I love that you do swatches && nail art! I like when blogs have mix of both :)

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  36. Everything! I think you have a great blog!!

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  37. I loved the top coat review you did the other day =) got the SV now lol worked super well so far TY

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  38. Your swatches! <3 Thank you and congrats!

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  39. congratulations on your anniversaries! thanks so much for doing a glance back at your past year.. helps put things in perspective ;)
    Love your swatches, sense of humor and of course Mondays :D

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  40. congratulation !!!! love all the pics and descriptions. you have very cleared photos that is good to view

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  41. Congrats on your Anniversaries! I must have become a member about halfway thru! I love your blog! I watch for your email everyday esp. monday! It is awesome you take the time to do this. You have awesome skills! I have watched your stamping video several times and ou are great and I still suck! LOL

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  42. I love your blog! My favorite part is the giveaway roundup on Mondays, but all your posts are great!

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  43. congratulations! youve come so far in just one year. Im really looking forward to more videos!

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  44. Congrats.<3 I love reading your blog, seeing swatches, never won on Mondays, but still love.<3 Hope I win cause I havent won any nail polishes. D: Its my goal to win some before my daughter turns one years old. C:

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  45. Congratulations! I'm proud of you. Love, Mom.

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  46. I love your blog! You're always so down to earth and relate-able in your writing. :)

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  47. Happy Blogiversary Lacey!! I love that you are so down to earth, creative, the assortment of swatches. You are just awesome and an inspiration to start my own blog. Thank you so much!

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  48. I love that you have a "save money" section. Its a one stop shop for my 2nd love...coupons!!

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  49. I love the variety that you have on your blog and this post shows just how far you have come. Keep up the awesome work and congrats on reaching a year! :)

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  50. A huge congratulations to you, for both anniversaries!! I am so happy that you went for your dream, and didn't give up!! Your post is very inspiring and heartwarming. Wishing you the best in 2013!!

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  51. I love your blog because it is simply my most enjoyed blog! ...And it's one of like 3 that I can remember the name of! Thanks for the Monday posts!

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  52. Uhhhm, everything? Honestly everything! Each blog is different & I like each one in their own right!! Thanks :]

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  53. Everything! Your personality shows in each and every post. Keep it up and I wish you many more blogiversaries! :D

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  54. I just love finding new nail art blog and love that i found this one

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  55. I love the everything about the blog

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  56. I like your nails like actually the shape of them

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  57. Whats not to like???...You're funny and friedly and I enjoy reading :)

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  58. I love all of your nail art!

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  59. I love the fact that you post often, you post lots of current giveaways going on, and I like your nai art <3

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  60. I like reading everything. I dont read it too often but I like it :)

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  61. I love your personality and how it translates and shines on your blog! I love all of your advice too!! =0))

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  62. What do I like about your blog? Hmm.. I like how personable you are with your readers! You interact with us a lot, whether it be via facebook, instagram, your blog, etc... I think that's super important and it definitely keeps me coming back :)

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  63. Your blog is one of my top favorites! <3 I love the giveaway posts you put up every Monday. I think without you and that post, we'd be lost! :D

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  64. I truly enjoy all of your blog. I love Mondays :) And I love the background!

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  65. First, Happy blogiversary and thanks for an awesome giveaway :) I've been really out of it for a couple weeks, and totally forgot to enter till today :o But, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned I keep Lace and Lacquers bookmarked. My favorite posts are the mani-cure Monday giveaway posts, I blow off my work on Mondays so I can go through & enter all of them :) But I also enjoy seeing your indie swatches, being a loser that has yet to own any indies myself, I get to live vicariously though you :)

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  66. Lacy you were one of my first blogs I started following and you are in the top 5 favs! I follow over 100 so that is pretty doggone good ! Congrats on your One year blogiversary!There is not anything about your blog that I don't like... I especially like how you take the time to find and post all giveaways for the week! Love you honesty your swatches and you are just as pretty as flower or a perfect mani!lol!

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  67. Honestly, I love polish...so everything! lol <3 Thanks and congrats!

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  68. I love your tagline :) Rough around the edges, but my nails are polished

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  69. Wow, you've sure come a long way! I'm new to blogging and your story is pretty inspiring! I do it more for me than anything, but I would love to get to the point where you are now! Thanks for the giveaway =)

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Thanks for reading my blog! I appreciate any comments, criticism, or suggestions <3