Update: 10/1/18

Hey Everyone!
I just wanted to say a quick hello to let you know that I haven't disappeared!  I am really bad at regularly posting just about anywhere.  That said, I just wanted to let you know what I've been up to, and what I hope to be putting out soon. 
First off, I moved!  I have been looking for an apartment for several months, and I have finally moved into one not far from either of my 2 jobs.  The photo above is the part that I worked the hardest on: my coffee/tea station!  I may do a post in the future about which ones I like and such.

I've also been hard at work.  Doing 2 jobs is a struggle, let me tell you.  I'm pretty exhausted, but I'm trying to intentionally take time to invest in myself and in others.  As I've believe I've mentioned before, one of my jobs is in food service.  For that job I cannot have my nails painted.  When I don't work there I have my nails painted, but I do have to take off my polish before I go to my food service job.  Peel off base coats are my best friends!  I thought about doing a comparison post about the peel off base coats, but that would be really boring and I may as well just tell you that the UNT Ready for Takeoff is my favorite. 

I have a bunch of posts written to share with y'all, but I need to take photos to go with them.  Honestly that has always been the hardest part.  Hopefully in my new place I can find a spot with good lighting so I can crank these photos out.  Some of the posts you can keep an eye out for are a collection post, nail care, reviews of some indie polishes, and of course more nail art!

Don't worry guys, I'm not trying to disappear, you will see more from me soon!  I hope y'all have an awesome week!
~ Mary Elizabeth

The Return!

Hello Friends!
Wow it has been a minute since I updated this blog!  First of all, I have no idea if anyone even blogs anymore, but I'm going to attempt to resurrect Altogether Beautiful!  Next, as you can tell, I am working on revamping things here in the hopes that I can turn a new leaf and use this as a creative outlet once again.  We'll see if I can keep it up ;)

Yup, still me!

Let's start with a life update, shall we?  Since I last posted on here I have graduated college and moved to Birmingham on a more permanent level.  Obviously I have no idea where life will take me, but for the foreseeable future I will be hanging out here.  I am currently working 2 jobs and attempting to stay sane.  My love for all things beauty stays strong, although as you will find out in my posts I don't get to do as much nail art as I would like.  I'm hoping to use this blog in order to provide a stress relief from my everyday life.

My love of nail polish fell away for a while because I have been working in food service and therefore haven't been able to paint my nails.  However, in recent months I discovered two nail channels on YouTube that reinvigorated my obsession: Simply Nailogical and Nail Career Education.  These ladies reminded me how much fun I have painting my nails, nail art or no.  So thank you, ladies, for inspiring me once again! (Who am I kidding, they'll never read this blog) Go check them out!

In regards to this blog, I am going to pick a day of the week to post on so that I have some level of accountability and won't forget to post (hopefully).  I will decide what day that will be and announce it in the next post.  I'm thinking maybe either a favorites or a First Try post.  I have several ideas for posts, so hopefully I can get things out into the world!

I am really excited to return to the internet, and I hope y'all enjoy the things to come!  I would love to know what kind of things people are interested in seeing, so if you are reading this and have suggestions, please feel free to leave them in a comment below!  Here are some photos from my life in the last few years so you can see what I've been up to. 

I graduated college! Here is my boyfriend Andrew and I at my graduation

My Family

My friend Melissa got married! This is the bridesmaids at the bachelorette party.

My sister also graduated college (about a month ago)!  They grow up so fast :)

Here We Go Again - An Update

Hello Everyone!
I feel like a broken record saying I am sorry for the enormous gap between posts.  This semester has been one of the most difficult of my life.  Those of you who have been with me for a while will know that in August I lost a dear friend.  I unintentionally took an extensive break from posting in order to focus on school, coping with this, and helping my friends through this time.  However, this is 2015! It is a new year, and I am so excited to unlock what 2015 has in store.  I have been painting my nails through this time, but it has been a lot less frequent, and to be honest none of the things I've done in that regard have been exciting enough to blog.  I wanted to get a post up letting y'all know that I'm alive, nail painting, and ready to get back to blogging! Some things you can look forward to are a nail polish highs and lows of 2014 and something I haven't done before: a lip product post!  I'm pretty obsessed with lip products so I figured it would be appropriate.  Anyway I am really excited to be back and I can't wait for y'all to check out the upcoming posts!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
Ps Here is a taste of my semester!

Girl's night! I did everyone's makeup!

This is my piccolo section!

Travis and I on Fall break

Beach day!

Man in black and Dad on Halloween! (me and my roommate)

Snazzy D&D! (don't judge me)

Me, my mom, and my sister at the Samford/Auburn game

Finally here's my haircut!

For Trevelyn

Hey there. 
It brings me great sadness to be writing another post like this, but I feel I must share my heart with you.  Friday night my suite mate and dear friend Trevelyn Campbell was killed in a car accident.  She was an absolute light in the lives of those around her.  She may be the most genuine person I have had the pleasure to know.  If she gave you a compliment, she meant it.  She spoke her mind, yet she would never hurt the feelings of another.  I became friends with her in the last year.  At first I wasn't sure how we would get along, but the more time I spent with her the more I grew to love her.  She was a fellow beauty lover, sporting all kinds of fun lip and hair colors.  She was one of the most amazing artists I've known.  Her work simply blew me away every time.  I got the privilege to live with her for the last two weeks during band camp, which was supposed to be the beginning of our year long adventure.  Although I will not get the opportunity to spend as much time with Trevelyn as I would have liked, I know as a fellow daughter of Christ I will see her again in heaven. 

I'm sorry to be such a downer, but I feel like her light should be spread.  If any of you have any questions or need prayer for anything please feel free to comment below.  Have a Super Sunday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Update 5/10/14

Hello Blogiverse!
I thought I would update y'all on what's been going on in my life since my last post.  I know it's been a while but I hope to get back in the game once I'm done with school for the semester.  This has been a great semester.  I've gotten to have some exciting new experiences.  I was a part of a dance concert at the beginning of April, which is pretty new for me.  I did theatre in high school, but I really have never done anything strictly dance before.  It was kind of a favor for a friend, but I ended up having a lot of fun.  Also I got to be a part of the percussion ensemble this semester.  I may have talked about this before, but I am a music major, and my principle instrument is flute.  Percussion is something I've never even dabbled with before this semester.  I got to play steel drums which was an absolute blast.  I really appreciate all the help I got from the guys in the ensemble, and I loved getting the opportunity to learn something new.  In other news, y'all may remember a post I wrote about a year ago about my friend Lakim who passed away.  We just had the one year anniversary for that tragedy.  It was a tough day for a lot of my close friends, but it also served as a day of celebration for all the positive things that have come from his passing.  Also, about a week ago I had my 20th birthday! I can't believe I have surpassed the teenage years.  I had to play in the pit for my school's production of The Wizard of Oz that day, but that night my friends and I went to see Divergent in theatres.  I really appreciate having friends who love me and made my birthday special.  Here are some pictures of what's been going on! (sorry they're off center I couldn't get them to cooperate)

My friends and I at the ballet

My friend Andrew and I before Beeson Ball

Lamda Chi Alpha semi formal with Jimmy

My friends and I crashed a prom! #punklife

I hope y'all enjoyed this little update! Also, if you want to see what all goes on in my life or just want to know right when my posts go up feel free to follow me on twitter and instagram! I'll link my usernames at the bottom :) Have a super Saturday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Twitter: @theatre_geek151
Instagram: theatre_geek1712

Nude Chevron + Update

Hello Lovelies!
I feel like a broken record when I say I'm sorry for being so absent on the blog lately.  Things have been a bit crazy, plus the wifi at school can be a little on the slow side.  Anyway today I have a quick post about a really fun nail design that I tried out the other day.  I really think the colors are classy and fitting for any outfit.  Also, I am going to add a bit of an update at the end so y'all can see a bit of what I've been up to :)

So for a base color I chose OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons.  This is one color that I don't use very often.  When I originally bought it I thought it was a little weird against my skintone, but now I am beginning to like it a lot.  I waited for the base to dry so that the tape I used wouldn't pull all the polish off.  Once it dried I placed pieces of striping tape in V formations on my ring finger nail.  I painted over it with Sinful Colors Black on Black and then removed the tape.  I finished it off with a layer of Seche Vite top coat.  I really like the very southern, classy style of the chevrons.  I think it has a pretty design, yet the subtle colors make it wearable.  I hope y'all like it too! Now, on to the update!

So I had a great Christmas break/JanTerm.  I worked pretty much the whole break.  I am very grateful that I was able to return to the job that I had over the summer without any problems.  I also enjoyed getting to see my family and spend time with my friends.  Only downside: I got in a car accident about 2 weeks before I had to go home.  My car wasn't able to be repaired, so I was not able to get a new one in time to come back to school so my grandpa flew me back.

This is me and my best friend's baby sister Cami! Ain't she a cutie?

Putting the angel on the tree!

Got to fly in my grandpa's plane!

Daddy's helping with pre-flight

Now that I'm back at school we've had quite an adventure! Y'all may have heard about the "snowstorm" that hit the south? Well my school got hit with that.  School was cancelled for about a week.  The roads were covered with abandoned cars because the ice kept people from being able to get home from work.  Around here it's been called "snowpocalypse."  Yup, keep laughing, northerners.

A Floridian's reaction to snow :)

Here's what the front of the school looked like after an hour

This hat is a result of the amount of knitting/crocheting I've been doing lately.

 So I hope y'all enjoyed this most overdue post, and I hope you have a Marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Update 11/24/13

Hey Guys!
As usual I'm really sorry that I have been slacking in the blog department.  Things have just been a little on the crazy side here.  I thought I would just update you on whats been up with me.  I did finish the September nail art challenge, I just never got around to posting the blog posts.  In the last few weeks i've been really busy with playing concerts and doing school work.  There has been some drama amongst my friend group, but that is only to be expected of  any college student.  My college football team is going to the playoffs which is really exciting! Unfortunately the band will not be playing.  The upside is that I will get to spend more time with my family over Thanksgiving break.  I have not been home since August and won't get to go home until December, but it will be good to get to see my family for a bit.  I have three more weeks left in the semester, so hopefully I will be able to paint my nails more often and put up some more blog posts soon!
Hope y'all are having a great semester!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Pumpkin patch with Maggie

Jazz night with Maggie, Hannah, and Bee

For Lakim

Good Morning!
Today's post is going to be a little different.  Normally I use this blog to share my love of nail polish with you guys.  However, I want to use today's post to simply share my heart with you.  On Tuesday morning a good friend of mine passed away.  I didn't know him for very long, but the time I did get to spend with him was an absolute blessing from God. He was one of the friendliest, most energetic people I have ever met.  The amount of people that he touched is astounding, and I hope that God will use me to touch as many people as Lakim.  He taught me to be me and not judge others for being them.  He didn't care what you thought of him; he was gonna be his crazy self whether you liked it or not.  I hope that I can use this experience to live free of what other people will think of me and just be who God made me. 
This post is not meant to depress you guys or make you sorry for me, but I do want to ask y'all to pray for his family and the students on my campus that are struggling right now.  Several of my friends were incredibly close with him, and they are really having a hard time right now.  Thanks for reading, and have a top notch Thursday!
~ Mary Elizabeth
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Update 1/6/2013 (so cool to put a new year!)

Hey Y'all!
Once again, I have been slacking big time.  I have officially completed my first semester of college! I think it was a great start to my college career.  The last few months have been pretty stressful, what with finals week,traveling back home, and other such doings.  I thought I would update you a bit on my life.  I am at my home right now, and will be for a few more weeks.  My Christmas was fantastic.  I love getting to spend time with my family. Now that I don't live at home, I am beginning to appreciate the people in my life who love me most.  Anyway, I should have some more time to blog while I'm home.  I might do a post about my two Christmas nail art looks plus some other things i think you will enjoy.  So there's a little summary of how my life's been lately.  I hope y'all enjoyed reading a little about me, and i hope to post again soon!
~ Mary Elizabeth
PS here are some pictures of stuff that's been going on lately!

House of Heroes opening at a Relient K concert in Nashville

Relient K

Lights at Opry Land in Nashville

Me and my sister on Christmas Eve

Me and Molly (that cute kitty)

Me and my friend Maggie

Glitter Gradient Madness! + Update

Hey Everybody!
I'm back!  I know that I haven't posted in a long time, but life has been crazy.  I began college in August, so I have been really busy lately.  It has really been an adjustment moving and becoming more independent, but I know that if I trust in God and work hard I will be able to succeed.
Now, on to the nails! I have been obsessed with glitter gradients lately.  It is a really quick, easy way to get impressive looking nails.  Here are some of my favorite gradients so far!

For this I started with Julie G polish in Gelato in Venice.  I got this polish at Rite Aid, and I'm really impressed with the pigmentation.  For the glitter I used OPI Glitter-ally the Best Silver Ever.  I like the fact that this glitter is big enough to make a good fade but not so big that it only leaves a few pieces of glitter on the nail.

For this one I used OPI Barre my Soul as a base.  This is a great sheer polish.  I love it for french manicures.  Again, I used Glitter-ally for the glitter.  For this one I tried to get more of a french mani look that kind of fizzles at the top. 

This one began with OPI Care To Danse?  This is another very sheer polish.  If you can't tell, I really like the whole glitter on sheer thing ☺.  The glitter is a Francesca's  polish in Confetti.  This glitter is a little tough to work with, but once you figure it out you get a super cool effect.

So I hope y'all enjoyed this post, and I hope you give the glitter gradient a try.  I will try really hard to get more posts up soon, but I can't make any guarantees just because of my work load.  The lament of a music student!  I appreciate all of you for sticking with me!  I hope you have a marvelous Monday!
~ Mary Elizabeth

I'm Back! Update 7/24/12

Hey Everybody!
I am so sorry that I haven't posted in over a month!  I have been really busy this summer, which is not what I expected my summer to be like.  I got a babysitting job, so I have been babysitting ten hours a day three day a week for about two months now.  The kids I babysit require me to keep them occupied, whether it be playing video games or pretending we are Star Wars characters.  This hasn't left me a whole lot of time to post.  Also, I leave for college in less than a month.  I have been doing some major shopping for my dorm room.  I will be sure to show you pics of my dorm when I get it all set up.  I have been painting my nails, and I have several posts planned, including a pink Wednesday for tomorrow.  Again, I am so sorry for being MIA lately, and I hope to be back to blogging for good now :) I hope your summer has been wonderful, and hopefully I will have a post up tomorrow.
~ Mary Elizabeth

Update 5/16/12

Hey everybody!
I just wanted to update you guys on whats going on in my life, plus explain why I haven't posted much lately.  The past two weeks have been AP tests, and I have taken two: AP Literature and AP Music Theory.  Both were tough, but I think I did well.  Personally, I am just trying to get to graduation, which is in two weeks! This makes me nervous, but I am also very excited to be finishing high school.  Also, my birthday was May 1, and I had a wonderful time with my friends and family.  I will add some pictures at the end of my festivities.  Anyway, my family and I went to Red Lobster, which is a tradition of mine.  Then this past weekend I went to Disney with some of my best friends, which was an absolute blast!  The next week or two will be pretty crazy with a band concert tomorrow (super exciting!), a chorus concert (which I have a duet in), and finals.  After that, I will hopefully get back in the swing of doing regular blog posts.  I also plan to get a job this summer, but I think I can still get a post in at least twice a week if not more.  I hope you are having a wonderful week, and i hope to be posting some actual nail posts soon!
Here are some pics from my birthday festivities:

me and my friends Cailah and Bella about to watch the fireworks

me & Cailah

me and my friend Shane (who is kicking my horse in the face) on the carousel

Bella (top left), Cailah (bottom left), Shane (next to Bella), Erik (next to Shane), and me (hidden in the back)

God bless!
~ Mary Elizabeth

Happy (late) St. Patrick's Day! + Update

Hey There!
I fel like I say this every time, but I'm sorry for not blogging lately.  This weekend I was at Thespian State competition.  It is a drama competition where troupes from schools all over the state perform pieces to be judged.  I performed in a large group musical, and we got a superior!  Anyway, on to today's topic: St. Patrick's Day manicure! I was in a hotel when I did this, but I think it turned out pretty good!

As usual, OPI base coat.  Then I used OPI Uh-oh, Roll Down the Window.  This is a mossy, brownish green.  In the bottle, this polish looks gross, but it is actually a nice color.  Next i used Essie Shine of the Times.  I blogged about this a few weeks ago.  I still love it :) I decided to try it over green, and it worked quite nicely.  I finished with SV top coat.  I hope y'all enjoy this look, and I hope you try it for yourself.  I also hope you will forgive me for not being around lately.  I will have some fun reviews soon!
~ Mary Elizabeth
PS thought I'd give you a glimpse of State :)

me and my friend Cailah at state!

Update 3/4/12

Hey everybody!
Just wanted to update you guys on my life.  So lately I have gotten to lead worship at a church near me.  I have made some of the most fantastic friends in this process.  I love them so much and I am so blessed to have them! I'm also excited to get to use the talents God has given me for his glory.  Last weekend (when I posted my matte review) I auditioned for a scholarship at the college I am going to.  It was a really great experience, and I met some of the people that may be future classmates of mine.  I hope I get the opportunity to play my flute to praise my Savior at this college.  As far as the blog goes, I have a very exciting post coming up, but I have to wait a day or so.  You'll find out why when i post it ;) So I hope that gave you a little more insight into my life as of now.  I will be back to regular posts soon! Also, let me know if y'all would like more of these types of posts.  Have a fabulous week!
~ Mary Elizabeth