Getting my pretty back!

So we know my son stole my pretty, and now I'm on a mission to take it back.  It's all about making baby steps to make me feel like I'm still a woman not just someone's mom, and I can still be pretty.  Something that always makes me feel feminine is a manicure.  It can be a pain to do but well worth it, so I took some time the other day to make it happen.

I was really proud of my efforts, in awe actually of what a great job I had done, until I see them up close in pictures.  Oops.

I used Never Glum Plum that I bought at Sally's Beauty Supply and a Seche Clear base coat that I read about on someone else's blog.  I can't remember who, though.

I'm going to try extra hard to put manicures on my must do list and keep them always looking pretty.  I'm also getting really into picking out new polish's and think I'm going to become addicted to The Daily Varnish.  Do you have any colors to suggest?  Or tricks to help prevent chipping?