enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

my Olive & June faves.

I have been an Olive & June customer since March 2021 and an Olive & June ambassador for just over a year. I LOVE the polish so much. My code ELISEC20 saves you 20% off a mani or pedi system. Links in this post are affiliate which means if you make a purchase through them, I receive a commission on the sale. As always, all opinions are my own.

So first... what makes this polish so great? My favorite part is that it's incredibly long lasting. I can usually go 8 days without a single chip. That's a big deal! The application matters though! O&J recommends using polish remover right before applying polish in order to fully clean and prep the nails. I then use a primer before applying two light coats of polish. Then a top coat! For awhile I was doing two top coats but found that isn't necessary (though it doesn't hurt if midway through a manicure you apply another top coat).

The process takes about an hour including dry time. I used to think "I don't have time for that." But over the past year, my perspective has shifted a lot. I have realized that painting my nails is my number one "stress-loop closure activity." It's a time when I sit down. It's a time when my brain and body can both relax into stillness. For this hour, there is nothing to do. (If this sounds boring, I hear you. O&J launched a "quick-dry" polish this fall for times when you just need color on your nails; not a recharge session.)

When I remove my polish I do a lot of re-hydrating and I often go a few days between colors to give my nails a break. The nail care tools in this set are all a big part of my routine when I take off the polish on my hands and feet.

Olive & June sells polish separately and as part of a "system" which includes all the tools for an at home manicure or pedicure. The systems come with one or six polishes and you can pick what you'd like. As a customer, I started with the Mani System and six colors. Then later I purchased the Pedi System. Now as an ambassador I am gifted a lot of new polishes which is very fun. I have loved branching out from my standard few colors. Below are my "tried and true" polishes, my "new favorites" polishes and finally the essentials that I have bought over and over.

TRIED & TRUES

Obsessed -- this is the darkest I go; more maroon than brown. Perfect for fall and winter and what I wore in France last month.

CV -- perfect holiday red. I wear this all December.

Lava -- the best red/coral. I wear this all summer long.

Jam, Please -- I am in my purple phase and this is THE MOST fun punchy purple. Another great summer polish.

You're Invited -- my second favorite purple. Good for spring and summer.

LHG -- my favorite neutral.

NEW FAVORITES THIS YEAR

Sleeping Bag -- probably my most fun one? I would say it's unexpected but I met a friend for dinner in August and we were both wearing it so maybe it's exactly what to expect when you're a mom in your mid-thirties meeting a friend for dinner.

Bold & Unshaken -- purple but also blue. Just had this on and was surprised by how much I loved it.

Prairie -- wearing this right now! This is the only of the "quick dries" that has made it into my rotation so far and I love it. For sure a more muted purple. Good gateway to purple land for you skeptics.

Fierce & Loving -- this is the most pink I go! Great for spring and summer.

The Usual -- this is the color I painted my bedroom. I love it as a slightly more purple neutral.

Kiss Cam -- this red falls right between CV and Lava. Is it that different? YES. Honestly it might end up beating CV for me. I need to compare them next month.

ESSENTIALS THAT I BUY AGAIN AND AGAIN

These are the products that I use to keep my hands, feet and nails feeling good. A lot of these are available as sets or come with the systems but individual links are here: overnight hand treatment, cuticle remover, cuticle serum, foot serum, heel balm, nail polish remover, primer, top coat.

Again -- my code ELISEC20 saves you 20% on an O&J system. :)

CRIPE COTTAGE PROGRESS IN MID-JUNE.

OKAY! Dropping in to share huge progress from the past few weeks (which is good; our moving truck arrives with our stuff on 6/28!)

First let's check in on the veggie garden (here's how it looked in April!) So healthy! We are going to hopefully be drowning in tomatoes and tomatillos this summer.

And the pool is coming along! They completed the waterline and retaining wall tile last week. There will be steps on either side of that sharp drop off (there was some confusion between sub-contractors on that but thankfully it's happening.) We picked flagstone coping to go all the way around the pool. We got a peek at that last week when the tile guy was there and it's going to be beautiful.

Inside the house the new wood flooring is installed! We had the downstairs flooring replaced to match the wood that was already in the fireplace room. (Shown above cleared out and ready for stain!) The downstairs is all white oak planks and the upstairs is red oak. The treads of the staircase are also red oak.

We decided to have it all refinished the same way and are using Verathane Western Oak stain. (The top right swatch above.) It's a bit dark with a touch of gray/green undertones and I am so excited about it.

Above you can see it on the red oak stair treads (it's the second step).

And then it's the left swatch above on the red oak upstairs. This is in a darker corner of our bedroom and you can see that in some lighting it does go really dark! I LOVE IT THOUGH. It's going to be a major change from what was there AND from our current San Diego house.

All of the drywall was completed in early June and the electrical is in place. My dad has been painting the ceilings and walls Clare Paint's Whipped which is a warm white. (Eventually we may go with different paint colors but for now, white is a nice fresh slate.)

My dad also installed the crown molding in Ellerie's room and it finishes the space so well. I ordered butterfly sconces for both girls that will hang by their beds as reading lights. So sweet right?

I found a marble slab (40% off because it was the last one) last week that we are hoping to use in three different areas of the house. With the right cuts it's going to work as the primary bathroom vanity countertop, the countertop in the laundry room, the island top and the window bench top in the eat-in kitchen. (I know marble "ages" and I am okay with that.)

The last update is my very first project, the powder room, is coming together! My dad hung a light (it works!) and the mirror I found on Marketplace last fall is going to fit perfectly. We are just waiting for the floor tile (hopefully it arrives Wednesday) to go in and then my dad will install the sink and toilet and we will have a...completed room! Amazing.

And that's the update! It's chaos! I am reminding myself that the "goal" is floors and walls. Everything else can and will be worked on while we are living there. We can't wait.

CRIPE COTTAGE PROGRESS IN MAY.

Things are happening! We are moving right along (and just in time). If you want to catch up; here is where we started, here is where we were in January, here were my goals in January, here is an April update.

I had drone photos taken of the property on Thursday because I am The Most Visual Learner and it's nearly impossible for me to figure anything out if I can't see it. As Paul and I have started talking about plans for the garden and the landscaping I thought overhead photos would really help and they do! (Google Earth also works! But the images were outdated and obviously not as detailed/easy to zoom in.) It's amazing to see the whole space including the pool. It's happening!

When I was thinking about a pool I pinned a whole bunch of rectangles. That was 100% the "look" I wanted. And then I thought about the actual space and realized we needed to go with something curved instead to fit with the existing curved patio (which we love). Seeing these photos confirmed it! Perfect size. Perfect shape for the yard. My overall goal is to work with the charm of the house and yard. I hope when it's "done" I have accomplished that.

If you're curious what was in that space before the pool, it was a jumble of bushes. This blurry photo (from late March; look how much the vines have grown!) shows it pretty well.

The steps and cabo shelf are not fully formed (that will happen when they spray gunite) but that should happen next week. There will be a pebble aggregate cement path around the whole pool that will connect to the existing patio. I am hopeful we will actually be up living in the house for the tiling and cement work. Estimated "first swim day" is in August so we have awhile to go.

(Also! A few people have asked about the panels. The solar powers the house and then some. There are also 2500 gallon rain barrels in the corners of the property. Every drop that runs off the house or an outbuilding is collected in a small barrel and is pumped (underground) to the main barrels. Those are our first source of water in the dry months. Thanks to some good rains this winter they are full. I will do a video tour at some point and share more of that; the system is very cool.)

So let's go inside...we have drywall! Above is the kitchen! Our goal for this room is just finished drywall, electrical, paint and flooring. Cabinets will not be arriving until mid-August and then we will have appliances installed and countertops/backsplash added. Maybe mid-September we will be "done" in here.

The primary bathroom is taking shape. That is the shower on the right and water closet on the left. We had a window added to the shower and this photo makes me so grateful we did; it would have been dark in there.

This photo shows the start of the archway to the bathroom. It's coming together!

The girls' rooms and closets have been painted and look so so good. I love this look of them side-by-side. (Ellerie's on the left and she will have crown molding to match Piper.)

I shared the above photo on Instagram and someone said it looked like a dollhouse. AND YES. That's how it feels. Just a magical space we get to live in in just five weeks! I am ecstatic.