December 29, 2012

My Favorite Jeggings

I first commented of my love of the Bay in The Bay: How I Love Thee. After a visit yesterday to my favourite department store, my love has been yet again re-affirmed. 

I had made a "contract" with myself back in October that I would not buy any new clothes until Christmas time. While shopping for Christmas gifts I purposely avoided all of my favourite shops so that I could not be tempted, and I am pleased to report that I was successful! Yesterday I finally decided that I needed to visit the Bay. I took 2 hrs washing my hair, shaving my legs, applying my make-up and picking out an outfit that would be easy to change in and out of, while still be light-weight. There is nothing worse than shopping while having to carry about a heavy coat, or having a fussy shirt that takes 5 minutes to put back on. 


Jeggings
I left for Les Promenades de l'Outaouais around 2pm, and was in the store 15 minutes later. I was really going for one item. New Jessica Simpson jeggings. I was introduced to these jeggings back in 2010, and after hundreds of wearings, mine had become a little thin and faded in the knee area. They were currently on sale for only $39.99 so I decided to get a second pair.

I went straight for the Jessica Simpson section upon my arrival. They had lots of dark rinse jeggings, some black ones, and tons of Forever Skinny jeans. They had my size in everything, and I thought for a change I would try the jeans as well. I grabbed about 6 different styles and sizes, and headed to the change room. I was pleasantly surprised that the Forever Skinny jeans fit even better than the jeggings, and I needed them one size smaller!! #score. The only real differences between the two are that the jeggings are tighter, have a slightly smaller ankle width, and have no fading on them. 

I took the leap of faith, and traded in my favourite pants for something new. I wore them last night, and although they are a little shorter, they fit my hips better. They also have lot less spandex in them so I am hoping that they don't stretch out too much. 

If you don't have a pair of either I highly recommend them because of their higher, curved waist. This is amazing for the following reasons:

1. When you bend over at work you're not showing off your crack to anyone
2. No muffin top
3. No gap between my back and the pants, therefore no need to wear a belt
4. You are never pulling up your pants. They are already in the right spot
5. They are sexy and make your legs look super long. 
Forever Skinny Jean in Abyss

I struggled in university trying to find a pair of jeans that fit both my hips and my waist. I would avoid jean shopping like the plaque and never found a pair that didn't feel like they were pulling the skin off of my hips. In my late twenties I have finally found jeans that fit comfortably. I love them so much, that my Twitter profile picture is a pair of Jessica Simpson Jeggings! 

If I've convinced you at all, run to your closest Bay store or the thebay.com and get some Jessica Simpson jeggings or Forever Skinny jeans while they are hot and up to $30 cheaper. Your thighs will thank you. 


December 20, 2012

Online Dating: How to Select the Perfect Picture

With the colder weather and the holiday season approaching, there comes an increase of online dating profiles. Everyone is looking for someone to cuddle up with on a cold winter night, and for someone to bring to those amazing chalet parties. 

First impressions online are key, therefore your profile picture is a very important fixture of your profile; It is the #1 factor in having your profile selected. Every picture you post should be well thought out. 
You should have at least three pictures on your profile, but no more than five or six. Leave some things for your actually meeting. 

Picture #1: A close-up of your whole face. Try to find a good picture of yourself smiling and making eye contact with the viewer, then crop out everything else. For woman, a webcam shot photo is more successful than the average straight-on shot, but I only buy this for the under 25 scene. 



 Picture #2: A full body shot. It's important for who ever you are dating to know what they are getting in to. If you have big hips or long spider legs then show them off. There is nothing worse than you date being disappointed by their first visual impression. Be honest and upfront.

Picture #3 (-#5 if necessary): Wild card. Any other picture of you doing something you like, or with a different hair style. If you switch between straight and curly hair, have a picture of each on your profile. Again, honesty is what you're going for. 

















Remember: 
  • Avoid having the arm or side of the face of your previous lover in your shots. This is a turn off for everyone involved.
  • Don't post pictures from 10, 5 years ago or even 3 years ago.
  • Movember stache pics are a questionable choice (unless you looked amazing!)
  • If you've only ever travelled once in your life, posting all your pictures from this trip paints an incorrect picture of your life. 
  • Be diverse with your selections. 
  • Blurry pictures are not going to help your cause
The Huffington Post's tip for successful profile pics is an interesting read as well. For both genders the top contexts are 1. Doing something interesting 2. Posing with an animal, and 3. A travel photo.

Whatever you do not post pictures where you are:
  • Posing in a sexual nature, or with little clothing. This sends out the wrong idea to other serious daters. Slight cleavage will give you an edge though. 

  • You are obviously under the influence, or where it's not clear who you are in the picture. Look a little bit responsible.



  • Taking the picture in your mirror. Show some effort and be less creepy. Yikes! 


  • Okay maybe not this much effort!



Take some time over the holidays and search for some great pictures on your hard drive. If there is nothing good in sight, take advantage of holiday parties and get togethers to have someone take a picture for you. Look Better Online has some great additional tips and resources to take a profile picture for you. 

Don't throw away a good first impression!

December 17, 2012

How To Have The Perfect Nap

I've never been a good sleeper on the move. Each year my parents and three brothers would pack into our station wagon and head off for a two day car ride to P.E.I. I was often crammed in the backseat of our Safari wagon between a car seat, the door and a seat belt that slowly constricted into my stomach. These are not my favourite memories of my childhood. Ideally, if I had been able to sleep in a moving car, I could have bypassed hours of our trip in a soft slumber. If only!

This problem has haunted me for life. Every plane ride, train ride and car ride I've ever taken has ended with me wishing I could just close my eyes and sleep off the duration of trip. I was never entirely sure why I wasn't capable of sleeping on the go, but since my Mother also didn't sleep in the car I've assumed it was genetics. 


Last year, my friend Sarah told me that she never goes to bed without wearing an eye mask. The thought of totally blacking out the world seemed a little intense to me, and I didn't like the idea of having something touching my eye lashes as I slept. Never-the-less, I added an eye mask to my Christmas list and my Mom bought me one which read, "Sleep-In Beauty" on it. I thought the line was pretty perfect considering that my favourite Disney movie as a child was Sleeping Beauty. The mask was meant for me!

Within one use, I knew what she was talking about. I'll be totally frank: Everyone needs a sleeping mask. Night-to-night I don't always use it, but the second I want to have a good sleep-in on the weekend, I have my mask on. It's amazing how not having any direct light on your closed eyes can be so soothing and make sleeping during the day or late morning feel like it's the middle of the night. 

When you go sleep at someone's house, you never know what the blind situation will be or whether you'll be sleeping in a sunroom or living room. With my eye mask it doesn't matter! I can throw it on, and even if the sun starts shining in at 6 a.m. I can blissfully sleep unaware in the dark cave under the mask. It's also perfect if your partner wants to read or watch t.v. after you've gone to bed. Lights out = sleepy time!


I prefer a very light, silk eye mask lined with fleece which can apparently be purchased at the Dollar Store (who knew!) over an official vinyl travel mask from Walmart. There are many fancy kinds of masks that look like padded bras as well. These are for people who really hate the feeling of anything on their eyes, but seem a tad intense for me. 

With my new mask I was able to sleep almost the entire flight from Montreal to Rome (with the help of some Gravol). This was a HUGE obstacle for me to overcome. I am now usually the driver on long car rides, but there is no doubt in my mind that blocking out the sunshine, and curling up in the backseat would do the trick for me. 

The holidays are soon to be here, and with it comes lots of eating and drinking, visiting with relatives and sleeping too little. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to an eye mask for the holidays. It doesn't matter where you are sleeping, or what time a day, you'll be able to have a restful sleep with your eye mask on!



December 13, 2012

I'm Not Really A Waitress but Red Baroness

When I was in my final year of high school, all we girls seemed to talk about was our Grad Trip to Acapulco and Prom 2002. I had set my eyes on a red dress made by Jessica McClintock. I printed the picture off from their website, taped it to the fridge and prayed I would find something similar. I didn't know where they sold her dresses, so I figured it was a very long shot that I would find the dress in Canada.  You can imagine my surprise, when my Mom and I spotted the dress in Melanie Lyne. The dress fit almost perfectly, and although it was borderline short on my 5'9" frame, we bought it anyways. I loved that dress so much that I actually slept in it that night, then wore the top of it to brunch the next day. It still hangs in my Mom's basement and I've been known to try it on from time to time. 


What I didn't know was that that dress would set the tone for my nail polish choices for the next 10 years!!


Once I had the dress, I went to Trade Secrets and did my best to pick out a nail polish that matched the dress. I settled with the OPI polish, I'm Not Really a Waitress. It was a rich red with a little bit of a shimmer in it. It was a classic colour. I painted my toes that morning sitting on the counter in my bathroom and never looked back. 

For the next 5 years, I think it was the only colour I wore on my toes. Since then, I've mixed it up in the summer, but in the winter you'll only find my favourite red on my toes. I will confess that I've never lasted more than a day, since my Prom, where I haven't had polish on my toes. It's an addiction. I can't even remember what my toenails even looked like in their natural state and I find it looks odd when I see other people's bare toe nails. A problem, I know. 

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered last month that CND shellac is making my favourite OPI colour in shellac form!!! They call their version Red Baroness, and it is fabulous! I can now paint my fingers nails with my favourite colour and have chip free nails for up to 2 weeks. The universe just sometimes has a way of being amazing. 


With the Christmas season approaching do yourself a favour and get a bottle of either colour. Your Christmas Party self will thank you! 

You know what, I am thinking maybe I can break out the top of my Prom dress for the Christmas season this year, thoughts?

December 10, 2012

Want Cheap Shipping? Try Kinek!

As Christmas approaches, I am very busy online ordering all of the amazing gifts I am going to give my friends and family. Don't get me wrong, I love a good mall visit, but there is something about ordering a book from Amazon.ca at 10pm at night from my bed that is addicting!


Some webpages are great to order from, and often have free shipping to Canada. My favourites sites are Banana Republic, Amazon.ca, Chapters and Indigo, Kiwi Sheepskins, and Locale Shoes. I have never paid for shipping from any of these sites, and they seen to arrive in a matter of days.  I often have packages shipped to my work so that someone is there to sign for them (if necessary), and for some reason they just seem to arrive there faster than shipping them to my house. 

Recently Pottery Barn decided to ship some of their items to Canada. This is a VERY exciting development, but it comes with one hitch: The shipping costs are ridiculous. A friend of mine recently tried to order a few items and the shipping was listed at over $400! This is absolutely insane in my opinion and is basically robbery. 

Then I remembered that my girlfriend Rochelle had almost all of the goodies for her wedding (including tuxedos, and her wedding dress) shipped to Ogdensburg, New York for a fraction of the cost of having them shipped to Canada. The great thing is that Ogdenburg (if you can remember how to spell it), is only 45 minutes from Ottawa and an easy drive on Hwy. 416 towards Prescott. 

How does this work? Just set up an account with Kinek, and you'll be given an American address in Ogdensburg, NY!


1. Register for a free Kinek account at www.kinek.com
2.Complete your profile
3. Select NAC Logistics in Ogdensburg (or any other border city) as your KinekPoint
4. You will now be presented with your new KinekPoint shipping address. Use this address when ordering online. That is all!!! 
5. Go online and shop to your hearts content! When the package arrives you'll receive a call or text to come and pick it up. You then have 15 days to collect it. 
Pottery Barn only charges $40 to ship to the US. That's a $360 difference from shipping it to Canada!!! Always check to see what the shipping costs directly to your front door, and if it's insane then see how much it would cost to ship to Ogdensburg. If you're saving a lot of cash, then they 45 minute drive will be totally worth it. 
While you're in the States you can pick up a turkey, a case of beer, and some sugary cereal to make the trip that all more memorable. Sometime it really pays off to do a little shopping around (even for shipping costs!).