JAYS✞RUT

A WEEKEND IN VEGAS WITH CIRQUE DU SOLEIL & MASTERCARD



I’ve always wondered what my ideal weekend getaway to Vegas would be like and now I definitely have to wonder no more! This past weekend I was asked by Mastercard to join them in Las Vegas at a truly Priceless Experience. In case you didn’t know, Priceless Cities are incredible experiences that only Mastercard cardholders have access to! Little did I know that this one was going to blow my expectations out of the water and be one of the most memorable getaway trips ever!




As you guys may remember, last November, I had the chance to attend the Cirque du Soleil headquarters in Montreal, where I got a detailed look into the inner workings of almost every detail that happens behind the scenes of a Cirque Du Soleil show!



Now over 2, 500 miles from where the story started, I am getting to see how it all comes together when the show is on the road, or in this case, in residency! For this Priceless Experience in VIVA LAS VEGAS not only did I get to catch the ultimate #OVIP experience getting to watch the ‘O’ show from our VIP suite, but I was able to head behind the scenes to see how all the talent and team gets ready before a huge sold out show creating the ultimate VIP experience that only Mastercard cardholders have access to!




21 years later since its first show, Cirque du Soleil has now hosted over 17, 000, 000 guests (including Jennifer Lopez and Brad Pitt) at over 10, 000 shows worldwide. Having had the opportunity to check out the celebrity wall, it’s safe to say that the ‘O’ show is a celebrity favourite in Vegas! Getting to walk around the famous ‘O’ theatre with the space all to ourselves really took a few minutes to hit me! I even had to say “wow” out loud when I realized that this experience was all for me! It was something so priceless to take in!





As a Mastercard cardholder, you too can have amazing experiences. There are always new ones – big and small – popping up all over the world! All you have to do is visit www.Priceless.com to get more info and sign-up!

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A Weekend of Pride in New York City with Mastercard, Getting my True Name Card!

What a weekend! I just finished an epic couple of days in New York with my Mastercard family for World Pride festivities! Not only did I get to catch 3,000,000 people participate in an epic parade but I was wowed by iconic performances at Pride Island by Pabllo Vittar, Teyana Taylor & GRACE JONES, (I mean GRACE JONES), which I enjoyed from the Mastercard suite!! I was in awe as she is someone we all know as being a legend so getting to see her perform, especially after how long she has conquered the industry, was such a treat! It was so nice getting to enjoy Pride, eat well and spend some time with friends I haven’t seen in a while!!! 

The undisputed highlight of this World Pride weekend was getting to join Mastercard at Pride Fest and getting my very own True Name card made in real time at Mastercard’s booth! If you follow me on Instagram, then you got to catch this moment as it happened on Sunday afternoon! 

Mastercard recently introduced the True Name card, which is the brand’s commitment to give transgender & non-binary people the ability to have their chosen name on the front of their card. This is an amazing initiative in an effort to avoid those awkward moments I know all too well. As someone who identifies as transgender, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been asked for a credit card or ID and because it doesn’t reflect how I look or identify myself, have had to deal with a strange double-take. There is nothing worse than having to explain my story in a moment when all I want is acceptance and privacy.

The True Name card gives me the ability to choose a True Name that reflects ME and let it proudly be seen on my card.  This is my choice and my story, and I am joining Mastercard on calling to the industry to apply these standards for everyone, ensuring a way for people’s financial products to reflect their true identity, and to be able to do what they need to do with piece of mind!!!

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The New iPhone 8 Plus

 

AND WE BACK!!!! I’ve been away from the blog for a few weeks as I have been travelling and taking some time off the whole social media thing (I mean.. as much as one who is totally consumed by it can) – And I want to start off 2018 with a bang, and why not with of course, one of the most talked about devices of the year! That is the iPhone 8! I recently got my hands on the new device (in the prettiest colour of course gold) before my most recent trip to Miami (for Art Basel, Holiday, New Year & a little bit more lol) as I wanted to really get acquainted with the new and up to date device while abroad, and what better way to get familiar with something than to just dive into it.

 

 

First and of course, foremost when it comes to devices for me, I pay closest attention to the camera! The iPhone 8 has a 12-megapixel camera with the 8 Plus featuring a dual set of lenses (like its predecessor the iPhone 7 but..), both of which bring brighter, sharper pictures, especially in low light which is a big +++ for me since I love snapping pics at night (for some weirdly innately nocturnal reason, my friends call me Vampira because I love to be out in the night lol!). The 8 Plus has the Portrait Lighting feature in beta that creates a depth map to separate the subject from the background as the shot is composed for professional portrait shots WITH a major plus of different lighting effects that can be chosen before and after photos, not unlike filters which I think is super cool… Both possess 4K 60fps capabilities and is calibrated for AR.

 

 

Inside is Apple’s new A11 processor and GPU, which has increased from four cores to six, making it much faster than its predecessor. Both 8 and 8 Plus have Touch ID sensors along with a noticeably louder speaker, TrueTone technology and supports wireless charging (which I am still so excited to see in action, as I’ve been sticking to the traditional swing of things!) via an inductive Qi charging pad sold separately. Alongside iOS 11, the device contains a much-needed improvement in Siri and a P2P payment feature.

 

With support for LTE speeds up to 450Mbps, The iPhone 8 will start at $929 CAD for a 64GB model, with the 8 Plus starting at $1059 CAD for 64GB of storage. Both models will also have larger 256GB models, which will sell for $1139 and $1269, respectively. Stay tuned to my next post within the next couple of days to see some of my favourite photos from Miami to see all the memories captured from my new iPhone 8+! To learn more about the iPhone 8 click here!

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An Evening with #BestBuyAppliances

 

You know I love a good dinner party! There is nothing like getting together with some of your favourite friends and foods, especially when it involves a celebrity chef such as the renowned Chef David Rocco! Last week I had the pleasure of being a guest at Best Buy Canada’s OVERLY chic (no seriously did you see the first photo in this post!? That was the dinner table!!) dinner party in celebration of the Best Buy’s large selection of appliances ranging from popular appliance brands at prices that fit anyone’s budget, and in just about every style and size you can think of!! The brand teamed up with David Rocco to curate and showcase a selection of key #BestBuyAppliances that are available at Best Buy, showcasing the range of products available at a Best Buy near you!!!! I was so happy I got to see some of my blogger besties #SELFIE!!!, pr faves and of course, get acquainted with the goodies available at Best Buy, especially since becoming a homeowner it’s always good to be in the know for when I finally decide to man up and domesticate myself and cook a damn meal!!! Oh and did Chef David Rocco ever make a killer meal! I was in foodie heaven! If you ever get the pleasure of having him cook for you… ASK FOR THE #BEATRISOTTO!!!!

 

Whether you’re replacing an old fridge or completely renovating your kitchen, you can get all your appliances at Best Buy and BestBuy.ca.

See below for David Rocco’s favourite must-have appliances for creating delicious gourmet meals:

 

 

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BALMAIN x BEATS

 

You know I love a good collaboration AND YOU KNOW I LOVE MY BALMAIN… So you can only imagine my excitement when I learned that Balmain’s creative director, Olivier Rousteing, teamed up with Apple on a limited edition BALMAIN x BEATS headphone! I was SHOOK! “Our diverse army has no limit and crosses all boundaries, from culture tradition to modern fashion and music. Balmain and Beats – welcome to my new adventure” – said Olivier, Balmain’s creative director… Balmain has always created hype with anything he touches and it is no different hear (see what I did there!?!?!? lol)… The quite literally, designer earphones, are clean and simple with the perfect touch of signature Balmain shine!!!  Enough typing! Time to plug them in and play SZA – CTRL at full control and jam out to my new favourite headphones!!! In the mean time learn more about the Balmain x Beats headphones and see the other styles online here !!!!

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