Becoming A Conversational Star

Do you ever have an off week? Well, let me tell you that last week was definitely off. It wasn't until very late on Saturday night that I finally came up with something to wear. And surprisingly, I wasn't even half interested in flirting with anyone at church. (A real Fascinating Girl would) In fact I took such rushed pictures of my outfit that I can't even post the blurry mess on here. Let's just say that the dress I ended up wearing is just this dress, but in black. So I apologize for not only the lateness of this post, but also the lameness of my week.

In an effort to make amends this week, I attended a multi-ward speed dating night earlier this evening. I am by no means new to the speed dating scene. I would estimate this is fifth or sixth time that I have participated in this YSA activity.

I tarted myself up the best I could, and went to dazzle everyone with my amazing conversational skills. I took a glance at The Fascinating Girl to see what advice it offered in my accelerated dating, and came up with this gem.

"One of the most awkward feelings is when you are standing next to someone and you can't think of a single thing to say to open a conversation. The thing to do is to say something quickly. Say the first thing that flashes into your mind. It doesn't have to be dramatic, impressive or even interesting. It is not so important what you say as how quickly you say it. Don't let the moments drag on into stiff silence."

Although not one to be at a lost for words, I took this Fascinating advice, and said the first thing that popped into my mind. It made the evening so much better. Instead of repeating all night the common, where are you from, what do you do and what are your hobbies, questions. My "dates" and I had wide and often hilarious conversations.

Of course, like anything of this nature, the only thing I came home with was a sore throat from all of the talking. No numbers were exchanged and I hate to say it, but not even any meaningful relationships were half developed. But I think that I brightened a few days.

And I guess who knows, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (or two).

More excitement on the way. And hopefully better pictures to come.

Sort Of

Uhmm...can you tell that I had forgotten to take a picture of my outfit earlier in the day? Sorry, this doesn't even half show what amazing look I was able to put together.

So after 18 whole, long weeks of this experiment, I finally, sort of, have results. Sort of are the key words here.

Like the good Fascinating Girl that I have been turned into. I ended up at an event on Sunday night, in the hopes of finding someone new to set my sights on. (After all, it is a new year.) Looking great, I flitted about talking to various people and old friends.

It was in the middle of one of the conversations with an old friend when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a guy that I have been mildly, half halfheartedly flirting with for the past couple of weeks. I gave him a big Fascinating Girl smile and we proceeded to talk about our various Christmas/New Year's escapades.

Thankfully I had just brushed up on the 'Gaining Interest' section of the book. I admired my new friend's manly qualities, took a vested interest as he spoke about his 'pet ideas and interests'. I encouraged him to discuss his 'daring ventures.' When our conversation was interrupted, a few times, I took advantage of the situation and spoke to those around me, not waiting for my friend to return to our conversation.

Just as Fascinating Girl suggests, I decided to "be friendly with everyone, not just him. In this way he never quite knows whether your friendliness is just your nature or whether you really like him."

Surprisingly, just like a lost puppy, my friend continued to return to my side. Testing out this new theory, I again got caught up in a conversation with a passing friend, and my puppy stayed by my side waiting for me to finish.

We continued our conversation and things were just beginning to look like they were going to move into a positive, "let's ask her out" position. But nothing happened. I waited and waited, and sneakily tried to steer the conversation to a place where we could make some plans, but still nothing. After long enough I made my excuses and left him. A Fascinating Girl doesn't spend all of her time waiting for a guy to make a move.

His sad, confused face as I walked away made me realize I had made the right choice. Hopefully he went home and mourned the fact he hadn't moved faster to continue our evening and will be more inclined to do something more next time we meet up. If not, well, there are others out there. (Or at least that is what I am trying to convince myself.)

I guess some results are better than nothing. Although, can we consider this positive results?

Better luck next week.

Potential Mad Men Extra

With the beginning of the new year, I decided to take a more subdued approach to last Sunday's look, keeping the focus on subtle accents.

(I secretly wish that all of my tops had ties like this. I love this vintage detail!)

Recently with all of the excess snow we have received, many of  my social invitations have been for outdoor, sledding, skating, snowball fighting, activities. I consulted Fascinating Girl to how best to approach these activities and found this section.

"Outdoor parties and games can also result in a few being left out. You make sparkle at indoor parties where you are dressed in a soft frilly dress but feel ill at ease at events where people are playing, running, and laughing. Whatever your experience with men, work for success rather than failure and avoid things that destroy confidence."

So for the time being, I am opting to avoid these outdoor parties and games, wishing to stay warm rather than snow covered. Hopefully the snow melts soon.

Trying to come up with an absolutely fantastic outfit for this week. Wish me luck.

Results Inconclusive

I am so sorry that I have let so much of this week slip away without letting you know what I looked like on Sunday. (I am sure there are scores of you out there holding your breath for the pictures.)

So here it is.

Let me just tell you that the ward on Sunday, two days after Christmas, was more than scant. Fascinating Girl opportunities were definitely limited.

The outfit was average at best, but look what cranked it up a few notches. (Super sorry about the bad photo!)

In case you can't tell, or didn't, sadly, get to see it in real life, it is a fantastic flower headband that my roommate picked up for me on her recent travels. My roommate, despite, oddly, introducing me to Fascinating Girl, hates that I am undertaking this project. But she is kind enough to humour me every once and while and I was extremely thrilled with my new hair flair.

Due to low turn out, I am going to have to make sure to have my new hair piece make another appearance soon to see how well it actually works at attracting the menfolk.

Scarily another Sunday will be upon us soon, and I have not even one idea what kind of Fascinating look I can pull together for a new year. Hopefully it will come to me sooner rather than later.

Bonus Hair Flair

So with Christmas less than a week away, our sister YSA ward is joining with us for the next couple of weeks, which, despite most people heading home for the holidays, means I have a whole new audience in which to try my Fascinating Girl theories.

The look itself isn't that interesting.

You might remember the skirt from this post near the beginning of my experiment. But, my younger brother always, strangely, raved about my teal blouse, so I figure I should give it a try. Who knows, it might strike a cord with some boys I am not related to.

But the  pièce de résistance is the feather headband I made myself. Yes you read that right. Just like as a real Fascinating Girl would, I made my own hair flair. I did try and take a picture, but it didn't come out that good. It looks surprisingly similar to this. (I do wonder what kind of feathers these are. The package just said "natural." I am just hoping that some poor goose didn't loose it's life for fashion. Oh sad.)


Hopefully my natural hair flair is just the spark I need to jump start something good. But sadly, as we all learned from the mink brooch, maybe YSA is not the place to showcase such fashion risks.


Fingers crossed.

Fashion Tips From Heaven

Can you believe it!?! But here it is my 15th Sunday look. Fifteen weeks of looking more than fantastic.

So Tuesday morning I was laying in bed already thinking about what to wear on Sunday when out of the corner of my eye I spotted my 'new to me' houndstooth skirt hanging in my closet. I got it weeks ago, but never quite figured out what to wear with it. That is when the angels seriously whispered in my ear what to pair this great skirt with. (Yes, I do think angels do care about fashion)

Take a look at my divine creation.

And believe it or not, but everyone, EVERYONE was agog over this outfit.(Now if only all the boys weren't so stressed out about finals or Christmas, maybe this look could have actually achieved some results.) Paired with a strand of pearls and I really was the pinnacle of Fascinating Girl perfection.

It was a good week, and I think I am thisclose to finally looking my age.

Now to only find something fantastic for Christmas and New Years. Tall order.

Baby It's Cold Outside

So just like that, it became winter. There was complete blizzard all weekend with 61cm (24" ) of snow and temperatures of -20*C (-4*F). This morning, in a VERY un-Fascinating Girl way, I dug my car out from the piles of snow and carefully carted myself to church, wearing this.

(I really don't like the camera I am using now. Sorry for the horrible pictures.)

Drawing inspiration from the snow itself, I wore my boucle skirt, of which a boy once said it looked like a snowstorm. With the fancy bow on the front of my sweater, it was a pretty cute way to stay warm.

I grazed the book last night to see if Fascinating Girl had any tips for the winter and found this tacit in the "Securing Action" section under the subsection "Create Romantic Situations"

"The atmosphere can be even more suggestive of sentiment if it is winter and the wind is howling outside and sleet is dashing against the window. How cozy and comforting it is for the man and woman, sitting before an open fire with the lights dimmed, to sit and dream. The man may feel he would like this to continue forever. There cannot be obstacles, he feels, when life is as easy and peaceful as this. How easy for him to forget his fears and succumb to his desires."

Oh my Fascinating Girl! If only I knew someone with a fireplace.

I will tell you that maybe things are looking up. I did receive, albeit odd, a hug today from someone I'm convinced couldn't resist my feminine charm.

Keep your fingers crossed.

I Hope I Still Get My Fascinating Girl Diploma

You probably feel the same way about yourself, but I like to think I am pretty smart. Okay, maybe not smart, but I have a lot of useless and half interesting facts stuck in my head. I think this is why I enjoy a good game of Trivial Pursuit, or watching Jeopardy.

I stumbled on this section of Fascinating Girl the other day, and had a 'pause for thought' moment.

Under the Feminine Nature section it says:

"Don't compete with men in anything that requires masculine ability. Don't compete with them for scholastic honors. Don't appear to know more than a man in world events, the space program, science or industry. Don't try to excel him in any field of thought or endeavor."

So let me share a story with you. A long while ago, long before I heard of Fascinating Girl, I ended up on a double date where we played Trivial Pursuit. My date really thought he was awesome at the game, despite getting most of his questions wrong, and continued to tell me how I was "just lucky" to be getting most of my questions right. (No, we didn't go out on any subsequent dates.)

So it was my date's last question, and here is the question he got:

"Who did The Beatles call my belle in 1965?"

I laughed and my date asked me if I knew the answer. I nodded that I did. "Well, so do I." my date told me in a strange tone and proudly said, "Marilyn Monroe."

The reader turned over the card and shook her head. He had gotten the question wrong. (Here's the right answer)

My date turned to me and started to "pretend" yell at me for not giving him the correct answer. The scores were tallied and not surprisingly, our team lost, by one point. My date turned into such a poor loser, and "jokingly" blamed me for losing the game.

Even though that night was years ago, I never forgot it. I decided long ago that I wasn't going to pretend to be stupid, just to make a man look smarter. So sorry, Fascinating Girl. I think this is one tip that I don't plan on using. I'll have to find other ways to showcase my feminine nature.

Who Doesn't Love A Sale?

Sorry this post is so late getting to you. I really wish it was because this outfit had set all of the boys in such a tizz that I had gobs of stories to tell you, but sadly that isn't what happened.

Let's take a look at what Sunday looked like.

It was a pretty conservative look, but I tried to spice things up with the fantastic pin. (I tried to take a picture of it, but it was too sparkly to get a good picture.)

But wait, don't think that this outfit didn't have some girly charm. Check out the back.

Yup ruffles. Just like another skirt I own. Luckily for me I was able to get the whole outfit, yes whole outfit, for a fantastic deal. All of it was already on clearance, and with the 40% off sale, I couldn't not buy it. Plus, I got an additional 20% off for being a "Preferred" customer (whatever that means.)

Just the kind of frugality that a Fascinating Girl should have.

More real stories and experiments coming soon.

Slow And Steady

Well everyone.

It has now been 12 weeks since I started this adventure. Three months of my life dedicated to the womanly arts. And you know what? I am pretty sure you are all going to have to hold an intervention for me when this is experiment is over and done with. While Fascinating Girl isn't exactly working, nor am I anywhere close to engaged, I think it does have some pretty great advice in it.

The very first chapter of Fascinating Girl says the following: "Don't think there is anything wrong with the study of winning the attentions of men, or the strategy necessary in winning a particular man for a mate."

I now, whole heartedly agree. Why not, as womanly as we can, go after what we want?

So here is what I wore to church today.

Whoa! I didn't realize it was such a bad picture. Sorry.

Well, anyways seeing as Preference was this past week, I was drew inspiration in my look for this week. I wore this dress (with a different top) to Preference last year. It is a pretty comfortable and only semi-formal dress to wear, kinda like my Preference date last year.

Preference is over for another year, and as convinced right now that I am absolutely finished with all of that nonsense, chances are I will, no doubt, be attending next year as well.

Fingers crossed.

Grab Your Guy And Go

If there is ever a time in YSA that is the bane of my existence, it is nothing more than Preference. This girl ask guy formal dance has been nothing but trouble for me since I have known about it.

If I'm not asking the secretly engaged guy, it's the guy who insists all night that we are just friends (I got it the first time you said it!) or I'm making fantastic cheesecake for my date, who won't even eat it. Preference has brought nothing back bad luck.

I thought I had escaped all this when a few years ago I decided to retire. There was a ceremony, I gave a speech, but alas, I have been called out of retirement a few times now for another kick at the cat.

So with breath held and fingers crossed, here we go again.

Let's see what Fascinating Girl has to say about formal dances, shall we?

"Although a formal dance is your least opportunity to show your feminine nature, it is your greatest opportunity to display the ultimate in feminine dress and appearance. Make the most of the situation by creating a dress that gives this impression. Naturally the dress must be soft, delicate and feminine in order to convey the impression that these are qualities of the wearer. This, along with a feminine manner of voice, walk and hands will give you a good opportunity to win the notice of men present, even if you do not have a chance to act the part of a beauty in distress."

So let's check out the dress that I am wearing tomorrow night.

BLAMO! Talk about soft, delicate and feminine! I'm practising my feminine voice, walk and hands (Whatever that means.) in hopes of this being the best Preference ever.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Refinement and Good Social Breeding

Oh my! I have spent the whole week traipsing here and there, turning myself into a complete social butterfly as only a real Fascinating Girl would. And you know what, it might actually be paying off.

Let's talk about some specifics.

The other night I got invited to a dinner party of sorts. And just as the Fascinating Girl suggests, I made sure that I, "never arrive at a dinner appointment early as this may be a problem for the hostess. It could be inconsiderate." In actuality, I could have arrived an hour late, and still been just in time. But nevertheless, it is always nice to have someone else cook for you.

As a seasoned YSA vet, I have been able to witness many tactics to win over men, and may have, in the past, even used them myself. But in my old age, I am beginning to realize the importance of sticking to ones morals. And you know what, Fascinating Girl agrees!

"A man can be very impressed by a woman who holds fast to a principle she believes in, or a standard she has set out for herself."

So while this is all stuff that we learned in Young Women's, it still applies to us today. I checked and Fascinating Girl thinks the same way. "Never rub a man's back in public or stroke his hair. Such actions in public are very unrefined."

Onwards.

Here's what I am wearing tomorrow. It's fascinating enough for this week.


More to come in the next couple of days. Including tales of Preference. Be excited.

This Is Who I Am

There has always been one section of Fascinating Girl that I never quite knew if I could pull it off. It seemed a little over the top, even for me. That was the 'Childlike Anger' section.

This whole chapter teaches the proper way to get mad at a man. It includes, stomping your foot, pouting, putting both hands on your hips, shaking your curls and exaggerating the sadness of your situation. In short, looking adorable while angry. I know, even writing it now, this idea seems so lame. This might have worked in the days of yore, but not today.

So it was only driving home tonight that I realize I have been using this tacit for years! After losing a game, I began my regular pouting and curl shaking, with hands on my hips, I believe, and of course, of course exaggerating my situation. This 'Childlike Anger' came so easily, and it was only half way in that I realized that I was a natural.

Everyday I am realizing more and more that I have always been a Fascinating Girl.

Bettering Society

Hi Everyone

Sorry this is a little late in getting out. How about we take a look at what I wore to church today?

And with these thrift store finds, the outfit was award winning.

As usual I looked good, but no comments, well, other than from girls, came my way. Oh well. I can't expect everyone to fall over me every week.

Last week was a bit of an odd one. I had plenty of service opportunities thrust upon me. Fascinating Girl suggests looking for ways to serve others everywhere you go. "When you share the burdens of society to help make the world a better place, you gain compensating happiness."

Most of the service I rendered was with a happy heart, but I must admit that there were some moments when I thought about my own discomfort, boredom or even missed flirting opportunities. There was even a brief moment when I wondered how helping girls was going to further my Fascinating experiment.

Fascinating Girl warns against this selfishness: "Whereas selfishness is tolerable in little children it becomes unbearable in a mature adult. Young women should take care lest they retain this childish fault. They are inclined to think too much about their own clothes, comforts and social success, with little regard for the feelings and needs of others. Selfishness is wrong, a weakness in character and an indication of a narrow concern."

So after reading this, I decided to change my attitude. There are, and were, still plenty of opportunities to gain 'social success', and after all, wouldn't I want my own Fascinating Boy to be full of compassion and charity for others?

There is more to being a Fascinating Girl than just being pretty.

How To Avoid Spook Alleys

Well, another week and another Halloween have come to a close. I for one am glad. I HATE Halloween. Everything about this "holiday" seems to be more work than fun. This year I knew I would have to work even harder to find the perfect Halloween costume.

My first thought was to be Snow White. What with the near black bob I am sporting these days, and my already snow white skin, I figured it wouldn't be too hard to complete my look. I started early and combed the city for a pre-made Snow White costume, but to no avail. I thought about sewing a costume (a real fascinating girl would have) but didn't want to go to all the time and expense for a costume that would be worn for only a few hours.

So back I went to all find an alternative costume, but could only find scary, vampire/devil costumes, or not so appropriate, mid-thigh length costumes. So I purchased the girliest wings I could find and tarted myself up for a night of Halloween splendor. It was fine, and now Halloween is over for another year.

So with November dangerously close to us, I figured it was time to pull out some of my winter wear. Starting with this Sunday's look!

This pictures doesn't do any justice to the top. With fantastic kimono inspired sleeves, it just might be one of the most fascinating articles of clothing I own. It dazzled both guys and girls last year, and I am waiting for a similar response this year.

To top off an already fantastic look, I found this true Fascinating Girl hair flair. I love it! Who knew a $2 headband could bring so much joy to one person's life.
Thanks to everyone for your continued support. Keep all of your fingers crossed for success.

A Shoe-In For Most Feminine

It has been a pretty hectic week for this fascinating girl, and there has been plenty of gadding about. I have seen the very, very, very, very beginnings of interest slowly emerging. I guess I should be happy with what I get. I did get voted "Most Lovable" during a entertaining party game last week.

Although, I have also noted a flurry of activity surrounding a few self proclaimed, 'anti-girls'. Those, 'one of the guys, loves action movies, fast cars and video games' girls. I have wondered how a fascinating 'I love ruffles' girl is suppose to win the hearts of men, if they are just looking for a video game partner. Should I abandon my feminine methods and become more like one of the guys?

But to be honest, I have always kinda been a Fascinating Girl. I found this section of Fascinating Girl the first time I opened the book, and something about it felt familiar.

"Miss Charming never stays home longer than absolutely necessary. She is always going where she can be seen and noticed. Wherever a group of men can be found and the presence of a woman can in any way be sanctioned, there you will find Miss Charming. She sees to it, whether consciously or unconsciously, that in any crowd of women she stands out as one of the most feminine.

While other women are discussing sports or personalities, she is making a last minute check on her appearance, fixing a stray hair, eyeing herself in the mirror. She never forgets that she is a woman, and that men are around who might notice her. She is ever on the alert for their interested glances."

So let's take a look at what I wore on Sunday.

It turned out to be a winning combination with the most feminine of colours and of course, ruffles.

And this week, I opted for an accessory free week, drawing all attention to these shoes.

They border on obnoxiously tall, but still make more than an impact when I wear them. I got more than one compliment (all from guys) on my shoes.

So while it is not getting much better, for now, at least it isn't getting much worse.

Remembering that somewhere deep down, I really am Miss Charming.

Until Further Notice

You know what, living like a Fascinating Girl is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I thought by now I would see some results. For every step forward I take, it seems as if life is pushing me two steps backwards.

So I consulted The Fascinating Girl to see if it gave me any words of comfort and found this:

"Just as you are drawn to certain types of men, so men will be drawn to certain types of women. There is always the possibility that you will not be his type. This may be painful to face, but it need not make you unhappy. If things don't work out with a particular man, in spite of all of your efforts, accept it and keep searching for the right man to come along.

Don't give up too easily, however. You may need to become more composed around him, so he can get to know you better. And you may need to let your light shine, so he can see what an ideal woman you really are. You may need to plan a campaign and strategy that will, hopefully, bring him to your feet."

So, yes, while I am pretty fascinating on my own already, there really so much more I can do to be even fascinating. (If that is at all possible.) And maybe my efforts need to be redoubled, working hard to be a 'Girl Worth Having'.

No need to be sad. I just haven't found the "man who will appreciate and accept me for the unique person I am."

Until then, this song is in heavy rotation on my ipod.

Fingers crossed.

Getting Easier With Time

Grab! I totally forgot about my broken camera and so here are more cell phone pictures for this week. (Sorry, these are pretty bad. And to think that some people document whole trips just using the camera on their cell phones.)

Anyways, here is the look for tomorrow.

Hey, you might remember that skirt from such posting as last week. This week is my salute to thrift. I found the cutest skirt on sale earlier this week, and just like all bargain clothing, alterations need to be made before it can enter into full rotation.

So I am wearing my go-to black skirt tomorrow. This skirt is possibly older than I am (and holding up just as well) I am not sure exactly how it entered my collection, but it originally belonged to my mom.

The sweater, yes, you have seen before. I actually got it from a thrift store for much, much, much less than the original owner paid for it. If you are willing to put the time and energy into thrift store shopping, it can be a fountain of wardrobe classics.

I am finishing up my "something old, something borrowed" with, yes, a "something new." Check out this fun necklace I bought at a cheap accessories store not far from my house.

Let's all be grateful that the sweater is my "something blue." Now I really can get married before too long. (Knock on wood!)

Simple, yet classy. Just what I aspire to be.

Keep your fingers crossed.

A Charming Contrast

Sorry I am a little late posting my clothing choices for this week.

With all of the excitement of Thanksgiving, I knew that there would be very few people at church, but also the possibilities of visitors, so I needed to continue my fascinating ways.

I recently found a section of The Fascinating Girl that has helped to put my outfit planning anxiousness to a somewhat rest.

"When trying to achieve a charming appearance you don't need to work for perfection. In fact, if you aim too high it could turn out to be a negative. Too much attention to your looks can make you self-centered, and an overly stunning appearance can make you self-conscious and could undermine your feeling of composure."

Here it is my look for this week:


(Sorry, my camera died so I had to use my cell phone to take the pictures this week.)

I know this doesn't look like a very fascinating outfit. And paired with the black tights, I am sure I could have passed as a waitress somewhere. (Fear not, I did double check with The Fascinating Girl, and black and white is an approved colour combination.)

But the most fascinating part of my look was the accessories. A few months ago I found this fantastic necklace and have received so many compliments on it. It provides a huge ego boost every time I wear it.

So, did my fascinating look work? Sort of. There has definitely been a rise in the every one's interest in me. Was it just the black tights? (For some reason the guys loved them. I still don't know why, I just wore them to keep warm.)

Is it just my time to shine, or does Fascinating Girl have all of the answers?

There is still lots of experimenting to undertake, but things are starting to look up.

Results?

You might be surprised at what appears to be a sudden increase in your level of popularity.

I wasn't all that surprised that this statement would be included in today's horoscope. In the ebb and flow of popularity, right now seems to be the start of a new flow, which is highly appreciated after the summer's low.

So last night for FHE our ward decided to have a bonfire. After considering the frigid outdoor temperature and the awful smoke smell that would soon permeate my clothing, I was seriously considering not attending. But realizing a fascinating girl would attend as many functions as possible, I threw on a few layers, pulled out my girliest of scarfs and headed to the evenings festivities.

Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable, albeit chilly night, and as we were getting ready to head back home, a boy gave me his number. (Does The Fascinating Girl work, or am I just lucky?)

So I came home to find out what Fascinating Girl would say about the situation, and found this:

"The forward woman grabs the leadership role for herself. She aggressively pursues the man by hinting or asking him to take her out. She may call him on the phone and boldly ask for a date. The problem with forward women is that she demonstrates an interest in the man before he has had a chance to develop interest in her. She leads rather than follows and in do doing steals his masculine position.

If you have tendencies to be aggressive, you must drop these habits or you may frighten men away. The rule is, never travel faster in love than he does.

Often men are driven away by a woman's inclination to take things too seriously. Even though a man may show a genuine interest in you he may not want to go any further than the enjoyment of your friendship."

My newly acquired phone number is now in safe keeping, not to be used anytime soon. If he wants me, he knows where to find me.

Great advice Fascinating Girl!