What Tinder Taught Me About Dating

We have all heard about Tinder and that it is evil. I am single and not the biggest fan of dating, but one day I decided to say sorry to the giant pile of paper on my desk and looming deadlines,  take a two hour break and check this thing out. For anyone who doesn’t yet know, Tinder is basically a location-based app that pulls info from your Facebook to create your profile, and then pulls up matches that meet your criteria. Then you swipe right for people you like and left for those you don't. If the people you swiped right on swipe right you get a match and can chat.

I was a little worried about the whole 1KM away from you... that's scary considering we could be in the same office building. You never know what crazies are out there! (Dramatic much? right??) 

Here are few things I learned about dating on tinder:

Dating is awkward. Even on the app. There is no good/smooth/cool way to start a conversation.

If there are two (or more) guys in the picture, the least good looking one is the one whose profile it is.

If you go on (tinder) thinking you don't have a type, you are wrong. You spend a lot of time swiping left based on the fact he doesn't have dark hair and light eyes.

Everyone will tell you four things: Kids in their pictures aren't theirs, how tall they are, that they love being outdoors and that they love to travel.

If his profile sounds too good do be true- it is.

Tinder might be marketed as a dating app BUT my experience tells me most people are on there for random hookups.

Dating on Tinder is very much like going on a blind date. Yes you talk to them, see their pictures but the fact their photos are from 5 years ago, is very deceiving.

Have you tried tinder? What was your experience?

OOTD - Little Red Dress

I can’t remember what TV show it was that the character wore a lace red dress and I loved everything about it. Few weeks back I stumbled on this dress while at Marshalls and thought this would be a good dress for a date night… because you cannot go wrong with a lace dress for a date. Any lace dress is very versatile and can be dressed up with fancy accessories for romantic dinner dates and it can also be dressed down with a nice denim jacket and a pair of flats. What do you guys think?

dress: Marshalls

shoes: ShoeDazzle

purse: Kate Spade

Beauty Favourites: Eyeliner

 I have a love hate relationship with eyeliner; some days it works and looks perfect and some days I resemble a raccoon.

This image accurately represents my relationship with eyeliner some days!
Eyeliner is a great way to enhance your eyes and create any eye shape you desire, but with so many options how do you pick? Here are eyeliners we love and use... funny enough two of three swear by the same product.
 

Amy:

 

Quo Kohl Liner in black and grey. Goes on smooth and dark. Lasts FOREVER. Only smudges a bit - I have yet to find one that doesn't move at all.

 

Zahra:

 

Quo Kohl Eyeliner in black, I love this eyeliner because it stays on all day and doesn’t fade. It also doesn’t smudge or start migrating down under my eye.

Nermisa:

I still have to find the one nut lately I have been wearing Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in black. I find its pretty smudge proof and easy to apply. I have more control with it and the fine tip allows for precisions.

What eyeliner do you use?

Things corporate world taught me

As many of you know I am Bosnian; In my culture school is very important. I ended up going to get my Bachelor Of Commerce, majoring in International Business, after my fathers "strong" suggestions and influence. After graduating I hit a little bit of an identity crisis; here I was with a degree and no desire to work in anything to do with said degree. I turned down some good job offers right out of school and did what most 22 year old graduates do; I took off to Europe with a one way ticket. 

After nearly six months of what my parents refer to as "gallivanting in Europe" I was forced strongly encouraged to get a job and figure it out. I applied for an entry position with the company I'm currently working with. This, for the most part, turned into a great way to start out in the corporate world. Since then, I've moved up numerous times; gotten better jobs with better pay; traveled and most importantly learned a lot.

During this time I have learned invaluable lessons that will last for the rest of my life. I am still a young woman with lots of things to learn, places to visit and bureaucracy  to fight with to make it where most men just get to with no special skills or talents. I want to share what I have learned so far…

1) Stay true who you are; Knowing your worth is very important.

2) Patience is a virtue. I mean this; nothing happens over night.

3) Respect in a company is earned; not given.

4) Be knowledgeable  You are not always gonna be the smartest but do your work; Especially as a woman, you will have to work your butt off , learn more then the rest, learn faster then the rest and find a way to apply the knowledge in the most practical ways.

5) You need game. That sounds funny but its the truth. You have to be able to "sell" anything and get people to believe in you or your product. Confidence is a powerful tool that can open many doors.

6) Be a leader, NOT a manager. You are never making it to the top without standing out. Without stepping on any toes; show them you can be an alpha and take the lead.

Do you have any tips on the corporate world?

30 Day Yoga Challenge: Accepted and Completed

source
Nermisa has been on me for years, literally years, to do a 30 Day Hot Yoga challenge. Two things usually got in the way: time and money. This time the stars aligned and we did it!
 

The first morning was referenced in a previous recap where I didn't actually speak, mostly just grumbled about. Have we mentioned that I'm not a morning person? Slight understatement. That was my first and last 6 am class, but still made it to 29 more classes in 28 days.

source

There were some days that I bounced into class ready to attack those Downward Dogs and Warrior poses. Other days I flopped into Savasana and had to fight to get out of it. Sometimes my schedule wouldn't allow for a class that day and I would have to do a double. Enter water chugging (and spilling down my chin) and energy bar chomping in the car on the way to the studio.
 

The doubles usually included a Moksha class followed by Hot Yin. The Yin class challenges my ability to stay focused in a very quiet and SLOW environment while Moksha challenges my ability to hold a pose. My attention issues made Yin far more difficult that I had ever expected. On a good day sitting still for more than 1 minute requires mental preparation; sitting in a pose for three minutes at a time was something else. Although my body thanked me later to be sure.

One time we stumbled into a different kind of class that attacked inversion poses. Let's just say trying to balance elbows on  knees while tipping forward in a squat . . . can cause face plant city and laughter to erupt. No lie - we got shushed. Whoops.

source

Although I didn't see a massive difference in my body, I felt it. I feel stronger, more flexible and more relaxed. Total success in my books. Checked it off the ol' list - because I'll never do it again. There's only three things I need to do every single day: eat, sleep, and love.


Have you tried a challenge? Share your experience with us!

OOTD - Party Jumpsuit

I absolutely love an opportunity to wear a party dress, do my makeup and hair and dance the night away. Putting on a fancy dress, adding bright lipstick and high heels makes me feel giddy.  I mentioned before that in my culture there are a lot of weddings, brunches, and random parties all the time, so recently I've been experimenting with something different – a jumpsuit!  More specifically this Tobi ropped Jumpsuit that's sexy, edgy and a little playful. I love the cut outs, the roped tie detail and the wide pant leg. I paired it with a patent leather heel, smoky eye and a pink lip.

Roped In Wide-Leg Jumpsuit c/o Tobi

heels: Aldo (shop similar heels on Tobi here)

If you love dressing up as much as I do (or don't) Tobi offers wire range of party club dresses, red and white dresses; but if that's not your think they offer a wide range of high wasted jeans, tank tops, and pants. Tobi offers all new customers get 50% off your first order!   

OOTD - Lace Shirt Dress

My friend Anne, who now lives in Paris said something about how French women dress differently than we do in Canada/US. She mentioned few things she noticed since moving to Paris, but one that stuck with me” French women usually wear flats when skirt is above the knee, and heels with longer length skirts/dresses.” I usually wore stilettos with my short dresses in an effort to create the illusion that my legs are much longer than they actually are. So I decided to follow this French girl tip.  I am 5’9’’ and since many skirt are short on me, I paired this dress with pair of loafers for few drinks with friends. What do you guys think?
    

dress: London Times Fashion via Winners (available here)
shoes: Steve Madden (old, similar here)
sunglasses: Rayban
purse: Steve Madden

Top 5 Hair Styling Tools

Source

Currently I have an obsession with curling my hair. It started off with me telling my hair stylist that I have curly hair and so I never learned how to curl my hair but I love the look of effortless curls (not the crazy, all over the place half wave /half curl I have going on). She showed me how to curl my hair with a curling iron and since I can't remember how she did it I have been googling different hair curling tutorials, you can check out my Top 5 here. This got me thinking which tool is the best and sadly it all depends on what you are looking for. So here are the Top 5 Styling tools, other than a curling iron of course.

Curling Wand- A curling wand has no clasp and is used to create natural waves. The curling wand creates polished ringlets — hair that spirals downward (think Shirley Temple). You can create everything from tight curls to voluminous waves to piecey waves. While the tool does create ringlets, you can break them up using your fingers to look more like waves.

Flat Iron- This can be used to straighten, curl or add volume to your hair. It all depends on how you use it. This tool seems to give you the most bang for your buck especially if you are going to invest in a more higher end model. Which I would highly suggest, it's a heat tool so you really want quality here.

Brush Hair Straightener- This is a tool that is fairly new and has blown up. It's everywhere! I have thick hair and I can say that this tool works it's a hair straightener, so you have to dry your hair first before using it. You can however, give your hair more body or flip the ends in or out depending on how you like it. It can also make your hair stick straight if that's your preference. 

Curling Machine- This machine curls your hair for you, you stick your hair in and like when you are eating spaghetti it just sucks your hair in and curls it. It's supposed to give you this magical curl. A couple brands are Conair,  and Babyliss. I haven't tried this yet but the reviews on it are great and I think I will go out and get one to try. If this saves me burning myself and having to figure out which way to hold an iron, I am in!

Hair Rollers- Even though this is huge for red carpet and runway hair, not many millennials use them. I think most of us think of our grandmas and they're big hair when we think of rollers. Let me assuage your misgivings hair rollers are actually quite amazing! They don't use heat and they can give you the loose wavy curls you love. All you need to do is dampen your hair. Roll up sections using satin rollers, the thicker the section the looser the curl. Then you can either set them with a hair dryer or sleep on them or leave them in while you get ready. Once you have them in for awhile slowly roll them down away from your face. Then shake them out from the root for a loose curl and VOILA loose wavy curls!

What is your go to hair styling tool? Is there a brand or tool you think we should try?

White Chocolate Cupcakes

What are your plans this weekend? I was feeling a little bit under weather,  mainly due to rainy weather and eight winter #YEG is experiencing... so I pant to spend most of the it in bed. Grey and rainy weeks are best spent inside with a good book, wine and some cupcakes. I made one set of white chocolate cupcakes and one set of coco cupcakes using same recipe, which will be perfect for this chilly weather.

Recipe: 

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist White Cake Mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg whites
2 pkg white chocolate and  1 pgk of coco
1 tub Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Frosting
1 tbsp icing sugar

Mix the cake mix,water, vegetable oil and eggs as per instructions on the box. Add 1 pkg of shredded white chocolate and bake as per directions provided on the box. ( as an alternative you can use coco )

Use frosting and sprinkle with chocolate. 

Happy Long Weekend!

So You Wanna Try a 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge?

If you are planning to attempt (and succeed - because you CAN) a 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge, read this first. It might help make it LESS challenging.

As far as I know there is no such thing as a Panda Pose so at least THAT won't be in your class.
(source)

1. Clear your calendar as much as possible. Parties, events, volunteering, lessons; you realize how much you do when you lose a few hours out of your schedule per day. The PVR gets backed up, Netflix gets neglected, your running shoes cry in the closet from abandonment - it's sort of tragic. Don't worry, it's only one month.

2. Plan your outfits. Life is so much easier if you have at least TWO full outfits, yoga towels, and shower towels. Laundry sucks. But it sucks even more if you have to do almost every night at 11:30 to be ready for the next class. There's a slight possibility you may never want to see those few articles of clothing again if you wear them every day.

(source)

3. Sign up with a friend. Someone motivating you and counting on you for their motivation really helps. If it wasn't for my co-challenger, I may not have succeeded.

4. Expect to do a few double classes. Have faith that your body can handle it. It can expose you to a class you may not have tried and frees you up for one day. Take a potentially much needed break or catch up from a miss.

5. Pick a studio CLOSE to you. A class is minimum 60 minutes. Add 15 minutes before and after each class. If your drive is more than 15 minutes - it gets a little overwhelming.

30 day of anything is a huge challenge. Congrats for even trying! Anything that can make it easier and more enjoyable it truly welcome! Any pointers or advice we missed?



(source)

OOTD: Tobi Boss Lady Culotte Jumpsuit

As a general rule I usually don’t gravitate towards one-and-done pieces, however I made an exception with this perfect white jumpsuit from Tobi. What drew me to this version of the jumpsuit  was the high waist wide legged pant. I also like that it cropped below the knee, which gives it a formal but fun vibe. I wanted to keep  the look simple and elegant, I wore my favorite leather and gold choker and black strappy heels.

Boss Lady Culotte Jumpsuit: c/o Tobi

shoes: Steve Madden (shop similar heels on Tobi here)

purse: Steve Mdden

If you are new to Tobi you get 50% off your first order.

You can get all the amazing things you need to update your summer wardrobe... like high wasted shorts and tank tops, t-shirt dresses, semi formal dresses for all the weddings, grads and other events you have to attend this summer. Tobi also offers a good selection white dresses to show off you wicked tan this summer... and all at 50%! How amazing is that?