Things to Think About When Owning a Pet

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Owning a pet is a lifetime duty. If this is not what you had in mind you might want to consider not getting a pet. We took it to the TSS reader streets to hear some of your reasons for owning or not owning a pet and we enjoyed reading your feedback. Ashlee Sides (@TSSerendip) shared that she owns two dogs and that she things she considered were TIME to give the pet, MONEY to provide for them, PATIENCE, and the amount of LOVE that the pet is bound to give. These were great points! Focusing on TIME, that is by far the most important thing to consider in our book because it is all encompassing. Will you have the time to walk or cuddle with your pet? Will you have the time to feed them throughout the day? TSS Co Founder, Sakura, has a pet of her own (you might know him by Instagram name, @HelloWinston...haha!) and shared that even though the time it takes to tend to her dog is a lot, she wouldn't trade it for the world. She loves dressing him up and recently "bought" him this super cute Wildfox eyemask--lol! It's all about compromise and balance. Sakura takes Winston on walks during her lunch break and takes him to work in a secure spot so he can be tended to. If you are looking for a pet sitter, consider Petsit USA. They will pet sit your animal, walk your dog or run with it. Just type in your zip code on their site and they will locate a pet sitter near you.

All in all, there is nothing like having that quality time with your pet. If you know you don't have the time, don't make the selfish decision of owning a pet and potentially neglecting it. Admire them from afar and when you're ready to be a pet owner, we promise you won't regret it!

10 Quotes To Brighten Your Life

There is nothing like a good quote to brighten your day or to make you reflect so we compiled some of our favorite Oprah and Oprah affiliate quotes to inspire you below. 

1. "Your life is validated through the service you give to others".--Oprah Winfrey
2. "Yo co-create your life with the energy of your intention".--Oprah Winfrey
3. "You become what you believe".--Oprah Winfrey
4. "The longest journey you will make in your life is from your head to your heart".--Sioux Legend
5. "Transformation is never painless".--Elizabeth Gilbert
6. "No one can make it alone".--Mark Nepo
7. "What you put out always comes back to you".--The Great Law
8. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".--The Golden Rule
9. "If you participate in the cause you also participate in the effect".--Oprah Winfrey
10. "Life always tells you the truth; you just have to accept it".--Iyanla Vanzant

What are your favorite life quotes? Share with us in the comments below!

Online Dating: How Is It?

Well, there is no denying it. Online dating has been taking over as the source of several relationships. We have heard about them all whether it's "swiping to the left or right" with the ever so popular Tinder to Coffee Meets Bagel where you can focus on one profile of someone at a time. Then, of course there are the originals like Match.com and Black People Meet and eHarmony where you set up a profile and literally hand pick the types of profiles you want matched with you. Recently we even heard about an app for group dating called "Grouper"--gotta love it! Below are a list of dating apps we have heard through the grapevine. Check them out and weigh in on your experience with any and all of the dating apps by leaving your comment below!

• Blender 
• Tinder 
• Grindr 
• Hinge
• Scruff
• Coffee Meets Bagel 
• OkCupid
• Match.com
• eHarmony
• Grouper
• How About We
• Plenty of Fish

Are we missing any? 

6 Lucky St. Patty's Day Nail Art

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St. Patrick's Day is next Tuesday, March 17th, 2015 and we cannot wait to celebrate that jolly green holiday! This is the day where sporting shamrocks, wearing green, and drinking Irish drinks are the norm. What better way to share in the celebration than decking out head to FINGERS and TOES with a St. Patty's Day nail art tribute?! We pulled some of our favorite looks on Pinterest and have shared them above. Which ones are your favorites? Do you have a favorite green nail polish you can recommend? Share with us in the comments below!

5 Booty Workouts

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Admit it: you want a perfect booty. While we don't believe in absolute perfection, there are ways to achieve a decent behind and with the help of some of our fitness favorites like Athletic Form (@trainathleticform) and Instagram fitness sensation, Massy Arias (@massy.arias), we have managed to stick to a great Booty Workout regime to get our booties in great shape for spring and summer! Below are the workouts we recommend to shape those coconuts accompanied with videos on how to perfectly do each exercise:

• Dead lifts 

• Squats

• Stability Ball Leg Curl

• Donkey Kick Raise

• Stair Climber (Stair Master)

Happy {booty} workout!

How To Stay Safe During Spring Break

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We miss having spring breaks because we know how much fun they are! There is nothing like going on a trip with your girl friends and guy friends to a fun city to party the days away. However, spring break can be a bit dangerous if you're not taking the proper precautions so we wanted to share with you some ways to stay safe during spring break

1. Share your travel itinerary with someone--When you're traveling, you want to be sure that someone you trust knows your itinerary just in case you may get lost or delayed.
2. Lock your hotel when you leave--We have all done it before; we walk out of our hotel room never looking back to see if it actually closed. Always double check to see that the door closes behind you. You wouldn't want anything stolen out of your room.
3. Wear sunscreen!
4. Have a buddy system in place--Now, we are not saying to stalk your friends every move, but have a friend that you can at least be eye contact distance away from each other. There are a lot of people who like to prey on vulnerable woman and it would not be great to find out that your friend has gone missing and is no where to be found. Simply check in with each other whether it's eye contact or a text saying, "I'm okay!"
5. Don't go home with strangers--Self explanatory.
6. Never accept a drink that you don't know where it came from- Sadly, there are people out there who choose to rufy drinks in order to place their victim in a vulnerable situation to take advantage of them. Don't put your drink down and leave it unattended. If you do, throw that drink away!
7. Most importantly, know your limit--Ultimately, YOU are responsible for yourself. Don't put yourself or your friends in compromising situations because you decided to ignore your limits.

Have fun and be safe this spring break!

Don't Fall For This IRS Scam!

The IRS will NEVER call you. That is something very important to note because there are scammers out there eager to prey on people and scare them into believing the IRS is out to get them. It's  important to know how these scammers operate so you know when to hang up and report them. Co Founder, Karen, recently received a call from this number: 8044961029
The person from this phone number left a voicemail explaining that the call was very inportant and it was regarding tax evasion on an audit they pulled. Curious over the commotion, she called the number back and the person on the other end started to rattle his "officer name" "badge id" and he even gave a spiel on how the call was being recorded. He mentioned that he represented the Tax & Auditing Department of the IRS and then he talked about the FCC and rattled off the section in the IRS bylaws that discusses the penalities of tax evasion. It sounded pretty convincing, but of course Karen wasn't buying into it since she knew she was in tip top shape with her taxes. The "officer" then explained their audit findings explaining that taxes were under paid by a certain amount during a certain period of time. Then, the "officer" asked Karen how she wanted to pay this back to avoid her employer holding back her checks, Karen getting arrested, and Karen getting fined.

Anytime someone who claims that they're from the IRS and over the phone requests money from you, they're a FRAUD.

The "officer" proceeded to state that an Officer attempted to serve Karen her violation in paper and he named the address (this address was clearly pulled online from the white pages). The most that the real IRS will do is send you physical mail. Never would they go to your home.

Moral of the story: do your taxes correctly and always review them with your tax people before signing off. As soon as you sign off on the tax computing, everything becomes your responsibility. To that point, when you're confident with your tax returns, scammers like that won't phase you because you'll know with certainty that they're fake.