It's no news that blazers have made the ultimate comeback in women's fashion over the past year. From work wear to streetwear, there's always a way to make a blazer look appropriate. I'm a huge fan of dressing down a blazer for a more casual look.

AUGUST 24, 2016: I set off on a new journey to Dubai and left behind everything I had ever known. Being so far away from home has been a constant challenge yet the greatest decision I've ever made. It's truly bittersweet. 

Hey everyone!

Dear 16 year old me,

You're in high school now and you're ready to make these the best years of your life. You've already set out a plan for how the next two years will go; from all your classes preparing you for university to some exciting adventures with friends. But what happens next, you could have never planned for. You are about to go through the hardest part of your life, ever.

You won't tell anyone about this. And no one will ask you if you're okay. But they all know. They all know that something is wrong. Word spreads fast in this little city, and if you feel like people are talking about you because they feed bad for you, they are. You will lose your way, your plans will have to change, your school life won't be so exciting anymore and you will lose friends - let it happen. You're going to have to grow up a lot faster than you had planned on.

You're going to experience a few things these next few years that nobody your age should ever have to. I know you're scared. You don't know what is going to happen or how you're doing to deal with any of it. But more than anything, you're confused. You're unsure how your life can change so drastically overnight. I can't express to you enough how great of a support system your family is going to be for you, use them. I know you feel like you don't need their guidance and help but you need it a lot more than you think.. you're extremely lost.

At school things will be hard. You'll find it hard to focus in class and even harder to maintain relationships with friends while hiding a huge part of your personal life from them. On top of that, it's high school, so you're going to be your own worst enemy when it comes to self-love and confidence. You're never going to be happy with the girl looking back at you. There is always going to be some part of you that you're going to want to change. You'll compare yourself to others - randoms, friends, your twin sister. You're going to take what people criticize about you and over analyze it way too many times. But I want you to know that the imperfections you hate about yourself are truly insignificant in the end. You will eventually learn that how you treat others and who you are on the inside are actually what make you beautiful. You'll still have days where you find it hard to look past your insecurities but the emotional blows you're dealing with right now are going to toughen you up in so many ways.

At home things will be even harder. You'll have to see your parents go through some very hard times and it will break your heart. Believe me, it will tear you apart in ways you never even thought were possible. You'll start to question it. That confusion will turn into anger and anger will very soon turn into sadness.. extreme sadness. You will get hit hard and quickly discover a lot about depression. Lean on your twin sister. She is going through this with you. And believe me, she is actually taking it a lot harder than you are. Write. Write about everything and anything. It will make you feel so much better. I know it seems like there is no positive ending to any of this right now but I promise you that it ends a lot better than you may think. You will come out of this experience a much stronger, independent and wiser lady. You will know exactly what you want in life and who you want to be. You will realize that you can get through anything in this life with the support of your parents, sisters and brother.

You're going to bottle all of this up. You'll eventually graduate high school without people knowing any of this even happened. These things will follow you to university but the people won't. You will meet so many people within the next few years but I want you to know that not everyone stays in your life; and that's ok. You get by with the help of a select few and your family. You lose yourself quite a few times but you come back knowing exactly who you are. It will be the best thing you ever experience in your life. Wait for it!

You're 23 now. You've moved across the world. You've found your career and you're amazing at what you do. You've also found yourself a lot sooner than most people your age do. Your family is happy. You are at peace with yourself, and others. You will still enjoy writing; and the blog you started when you were 16 years old is still up and running - and it's gotten you some pretty sick oppurtunities! You still have days where you're hard on yourself but you've found ways to cope with it. You meet some amazing people in your life. And most importantly, I want you to know that you are happy.

Don't sweat the small things, you make it out alright in the end.

PS Your ultimate happiness is created from within. It's in fact your career and attitude that makes you the happiest you've ever been in your life - not someone else.

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Last night I was sent a private message by someone I have never even met, let alone heard of before, full of insults and assumptions she had made of me based off of my social media. You know things that you can clearly tell by these little square photos shared on Instagram - everything from my career, slut-shaming, how I choose to spend my money (this one is the funniest one for me to make assumptions based off of social media) and my personal life decisions. I don't know if this girl, because I refuse to refer to anyone with such behavior as a lady, thought that her poorly made judgements would cause me to argue with her or feel angry, but instead I want her to know it made me sad.

It made me sad that in a world where women have fought so hard for equality and the rights to lead the lives we do, our biggest critics are other females. I am positive when I say that I am sure I am not the only female who has received such messages, or even been judged by another female face-to-face. I actually received a tremendous amount of direct messages from other females who could relate to this. Maybe it's been a rumor spread about you, a threatening message, or even a rude comment thrown your way to try and tear you down. Or maybe, you were once that female who acted out of anger, or as I like to put it - pure jealousy. Regardless, it's saddening how often this happens. It's 2017 people, come on! We live in a world where women have worked so hard before us to teach us how to lift each other up, how to empower one another.. and now, this?

I spent some time re-reading the message wondering how someone can be so bitter in their life that they feel the need to stop whatever they're doing in life, type out a very uneducated message and send it to someone they obviously know nothing about. And I decided that instead of replying (I mean who wouldn't feel the need to knock some sense into an individual like this) to take the high road and not give her the satisfaction of an angry response. I mean I've been around social media long enough to learn to block things like this out and not let it bring me down. But I did want to share this because it doesn't matter if this has been done to you OR by you - it's not ok.

It doesn't matter what triggered someone to send a message like this or feel the need to insult another women. At the end of the day, we have choices, and everyday choice we make is a direct reflection of who we are as humans. We can take the easy path of bitterness and heavy hearted behaviors. Or, we can challenge ourselves to keep empowering other women and set an example of what it means to be a supportive, independent, EDUCATED woman!


As women, I think we owe it to other females before us, ourselves and the future of female to support and encourage each other. It takes a lot of mindfulness, and apparently common sense, to treat others the way you want to be treated. I said this last night and I'll say it again - kindness and happiness go hand in hand. The kinder you are to others, the happier you'll be.

To you,
I hope whatever caused you enough anger and bitterness in your life to send such judgmental and hateful words to someone you don't even know is something that you work on individually - or maybe with the help of a strong women who empowers other women.

To everyone else reading this,
I hope you take it upon yourself to end a vicious cycle of women hating women. I hope you find it within you to choose love instead of hate; to empower women and encourage them to be the best they can be.

Hey guys -

I know it's been a while since I've written anything on here but life has been so chaotic (in a very exciting way) lately so I apologize but I'm back now! I had a few people message me asking me to make a post about how I got settled in Dubai; career, living, social life etc. That's exactly what this post is going to be about.

How did I decide on Dubai?
For me, I always knew that I wanted to eventually move to a big city - preferably a creative one - where I can expand my knowledge in both life and career related aspects. I knew that if I tried to do this somewhere else in Canada I wouldn't really be expanding any of my cultural knowledge. I've been to Dubai before and I knew that it was the perfect mix between middle eastern and westernized cultures.. so that was that!

The time between my decision to move and actually booking my flight/leaving was probably less than a month. This may seem like a lot of time but honestly, the last few weeks just flew by. I quit my job and decided to enjoy my last few weeks work-free and just have as much fun as possible before leaving. That way I would be ready to jump into my new job at full speed.

What most people may not realize is that when going to another country you have to have visa work done and it only permits you to be there for a certain amount of time before having to leave again; in this case it was 30 days job-free. However, I had a job set and so I didn't worry about that.



How did I find my job?
I had been given advice to apply for jobs online as almost everything these days is accessible through the internet. Every country will differ but for Dubai, Bayt, is a very popular one. I made a profile, applied online to a job I was interested in and within a few days I received an offer for a Skype interview - shortly followed by an offer to work! However, when I flew to Dubai and checked it out, I changed my mind. I didn't feel like I could see myself working at this salon long-term. So I gave myself another challenge .. find a new job you like ASAP. It was by coincidence that I discovered AVEDA was opening in Dubai and connected with the team there; less then a week later I had found a new job that I knew I would love. The biggest piece of advice I can give anyone is to make sure the job they are taking is one that they enjoy.. even if it takes leaving one to get to another! I want to make a side note that I've had the most amazing experiences within my career here. From photoshoots for magazines to fashion shows.. it's been so wonderful!



















How did I find a place to live?
This was never an issue for me. I am super grateful to have worked out a contract with work (I won't get into details for work-related reasons). I think that finding a place to live in a new country was the least of my worries. You can always get guidance from staff, employers, online blogs and friends who may be living in this place. I also have family here which made it a lot easier on me!

How was it like exploring a new city for the first time?
A lot of people don't realize that from the time I signed my contract accepting my position until the time I actually got to officially start working (not including mandatory sessions) it actually took at least two weeks to get paper work done. So I had to wait on my Emirates ID before I could actually get a car (and while being driven around all the time was fun, I was soooo excited to get behind the wheel myself after a few months of having a driver do it for me LOL), open a bank account.. or basically do anything. I took this time to get to know my new home. I started to memorize the streets every time I was driven anywhere. I had to familiarize myself with them. I made sure I knew where main spots were - grocery store, clinics, gas stations and my route to work! But I also went into full tourist mode and discovered soooo many cool spots in Dubai such as the Water Canal, Global Village, Dubai/Emirates Mall, Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, most recently - The Dubai World Cup 2017 ... and well, I'm still waiting on my adventure to see camels haha!



There are soooo many things to see here. I feel like I'm always exploring something new.

I think these were the main questions I received. Hopefully this post clarifies things for people who have asked.. if anyone has any other questions, don't hesitate to send a message my way!

Hey guys!
I've always said that one of the best things about having this job is being able to hear about new products and test them out. Two weeks ago I recieved a package in the mail from an Instagram account which had contacted me (@brushmeworld). I want to make it clear that I do not review every product that gets sent my way as I choose to only review the ones that I think I would actually use, BUY and genuinely recommend to others. After doing my research I decided I was all for this brand.





This product is an organic teeth whitening paste. The main purpose is to get rid of stains and plaque therefore resulting in a healthier and whiter smile. I have always tried different forms of teeth whiteners but lately I've been into more natural skin care products and what better way to keep it going than switching over to an all natural teeth whitener too?

Another reason I decided I wanted to give this product a try was because I have a lot of followers whom are vegan so this would be great for them. It's 100% vegan friendly!!I got three different flavours - fresh mint, with care and a limited edition flavor, cinnamon. My favorite would have to be with care; it's very soft and makes me feel very refreshed afterwards.



It's honestly not hard to figure out how to use this paste at all but they've attached a HOW TO brochure along with their package. It's easy to use and the package includes every you need for use - including the wooden sticks.


I have been using this for two weeks now and I definitely see results. You can follow my Instagram stories for videos/pictures of results (@dalawaid). The prices are very affordable. You can purchase one tub for $29.50 CAD. Like come on, it really does not get better than that.

You can also use discount code 'PROMO30' for 30% off of all orders and shipping online.

It took several airport layovers and connecting flights for me to finally reach my destination. I wish I could explain what I was feeling at the time but I can't. It was every emotion possible mixed into one. I knew that what I did was about to change my life forever. I just didn't know how. Stepping out of that airport and being surrounded by thousands of strangers instantly made reality set in. I had moved.



I knew that this journey was supposed to be for me more than anything else. I wanted to travel. I wanted to expand my knowledge within my career. And I wanted to get away from my hometown. I wanted something more. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for having this opportunity. I've learned so much about life, relationships and myself in such a short amount of time. I read a quote today that really got me thinking about the past few months; where I was in life and how far I've come.


I read this quote over and over again. It just made me feel a certain way. I couldn't exactly pin point it but then I realized that I had changed. And honestly, those are the greatest words anyone could tell me. I realized that I'm finally someone that I am proud of. I am finally someone I am comfortable with. I've gained confidence, knowledge and health. I've gained experiences, relationships and pure happiness. Then I realized that maybe I wasn't leaving behind everything I knew and cared about; but I was leaving behind what I thought I knew. I was leaving behind toxic situations that I should've walked away from all along. After all, what really matters, you never lose.. no matter how far. I realized that only once you are truly comfortable with yourself, will you allow yourself to let go and move on from everyone (and every situation) that gets in the way of your growth as a person. I realized that some friendships only hold you back; that letting people stay in your past is OK. It's ok to be selfish in life. It's actually necessary. I realized that the feeling I constantly felt about being trapped when I was back home was because there was so much more potential within me that I chose not to let out due to fear. But this move made me realize that at the end of the day, at the end of any life changing decision in your life, you're the only one going through it - make mistakes and look stupid and learn how to love yourself in doing so. Why was I keeping others happy and not myself? They didn't go through my life, I did. I realized that six months ago, getting on that flight, was the greatest gift I could have ever given myself. I needed to be entirely alone in a place so new and different in order to really learn who I am; to find myself.

I used to think it was a bad thing when friends or family used to tell me that I've changed; but now it makes me smile. There is no better feeling than finally being where you want to be in life and having others acknowledge it. I look back at the girl I was when I decided to move, the girl who said it would only be for a year, and I laugh at it. I'm glad this move changed me because at 23 I'm so much happier being the girl who knows what she wants and who she is, rather than the one that's lost, scared and never knowing what comes next.

I believe that sometimes you fall in love with a place only because it has shown you your full potential as a human being. While my first few weeks here were spent exploring and laying on the beaches. There was a side to this city that nobody knew about except for me. For me, it was therapeutic. Being surrounded by tall buildings and busy streets filled with unfamiliar faces - it helped me. Dubai showed me how strong I was. This city healed me. It taught me how to work harder, how to let things go that weren't good for me, how to love myself and most importantly how to accomplish things in six months instead of six years. There is nothing that makes my heart happier than knowing that this is my new home - for the long run.


Halifax, I'll miss you. You are now my temporary vacation spot.

Learn to love every part of you. If you have days that are harder than others choose to focus on something you love about yourself. Be absolutely ridiculous if it makes you laugh. And be grateful. When you're having a hard day, think of everything you have to be grateful for. Reflect on your journey so far. Not every day is going to be easy but looking back at how far you've come so far goes a long way.

I'm still learning how to let go.