I got my first professional manicure on my wedding day- 7 long, looooong, loooooooooong years ago. The manicurist told me that, in the future, I could just save my $24 because my hands would never look like those of a civilized lady. I’m a turbo weeding machine and my hands and nails show it. I’m Scarlett O’Hara after the war and I’ve been working hard in the field to feed my ungrateful family and nobody’s going to buy the line that I forgot to wear my gloves when I went out out riding. Nobody.

The calluses on my first finger on my right hand are my first and best garden tool. I’m not ashamed, gardening is pretty much the whole enchilada for me– But it’d be nice to look polished every once in a while. I could have my enchilada and eat it too.

For the last 7 years I’ve painted my nails a handful of times, usually in January, with mixed to poor results. In prime season, a fresh coat of paint won’t even last an hour. That is… until now.
I rarely endorse a product but this is a game changer for me. The product: Sally Hansen’s Salon Effects. It costs about $8. You apply it like a sticker on each nail and you buff away whatever overage there is. It then lasts longer than you need it to. Seriously, it will actually grow out before it fades in color or design. Did I mention it comes in designs? Flowers, hounds-tooth, glitter– For 4+ weeks, my nails were zebra print. Currently the thumb on my left hand is STILL zebra print because I can’t seem to get it off, even though I got the other 9 digits zebra-free (you just use nail polish remover and a lot of elbow grease).

I have a box of leopard print ready for my next round. I bet I can get it to last until winter. Think of all the fall clean-ups, raked leaves, planted bulbs, cleaned pots, potted fall annuals… All with a perfect 10!

I never thought I’d see the day- and neither did that first manicurist I had 7 years ago….