So you’ve met an awesome person and you want to impress. env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud’s got you covered with our “Top 10 First Date Ideas.”

We’ve partnered with BLK to explore the Art Of Dating in a digital age, and how to make your romantic connections work in your favor.

Black Love contributor Briana Johnson-Sims explores the ways to navigate dating when it comes to intention, communication, and most importantly, building a foundation for love.

Mecca Elliot shares her journey of healing and self-discovery following a series of life-changing events. 

What does tidying up have to do with dating yourself? In this installment of "How to Date Yourself", env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud’s Senior Editor Arynetta Floyzelle finds out.

env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud contributor Jared Williams reflects on queer representation, self love, and heritage.

From sliding into DMs to walking down the aisle, why this wife is encouraging more women to be open to meeting men online.

 Need a push to see the world on your own? Here's a few beginner's rules to vacationing alone.   

She wrote her first “Future Husband” list in the 6th grade. But it was in letting lists go that she let love in.

What’s the secret to successful dating? Editorial Colmunist Brook Sitgraves Turner learns it’s all about FLOW.

Black Love columnist and author of Single To Single: Embracing and Maximizing Your Season of Singleness Antwan Steele explores four reasons and ways that people in today’s society date.

env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud contributor Briana Johnson-Sims shares her experiences with dating and what she has learned about what it takes to build a relationship and keep a good woman close.

The Art of Dating. While navigating digital spaces to create meaningful connections can be tricky, our Intimacy Expert, Kamali Minter, offers valuable practices to be mindful of yourself in the process.

travSometimes when you’re dating, you want to switch it up. env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud has your back with our top out of the ordinary date ideas.  

If you're looking to date with intention and cultivate meaningful connections with potential partners, join env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud and dating app BLK to talk about the Art of Dating.

How a solo long-term project helped Arynetta Floyzelle get to know herself, provided a career breakthrough, and landed her in a foreign country.

She didn’t think her father’s incarceration affected her adult life, until she hit rock bottom and had to find her way back up.

Black Love contributor Briana Johnson-Sims shares the dos and don'ts on how to approach women to date and court.

Here’s what going on 25 first dates in one year taught env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud columnist Brook Sitgraves Turner about finding your soulmate.

Senior editor, Arynetta Floyzelle, explores "doing it all" with the one essential rule to successfully dating yourself this year.  

Ashlee Akins from OWN’s Ready to Love shares her journey on the show, what led her there, and what she learned about herself through introspection, honesty, self love, and care.

I’ve always loved my single life. Scratch that — I’ve always loved my life. Thinking about it as a single girl’s existence usually only came up when in the company of coupled people. That’s when I most often found myself pattering on about if there was someone new, special, or worthy of the “we.”  If there was, I committed to blushing gushes about “the guy.” If not, it was stated, then we rolled on to other topics –– and there were plenty of other topics. My life was full, and the “single” aspect of it was just one aspect. I was open to whatever couplings life brought — including the ultimate coupling, my husband — but I didn’t trick myself into prioritizing something I was not ready for.   As a child and into adulthood, I thought about –– even fantasized about –– my wedding. But it was more the magazine spread edition: what I would wear, where it would be, what that first kiss as a married couple would look like. It was like I was always planning the Instagram post. I know, I know, I can already hear the mumblings of “this is why we have a 50% divorce rate in this country.” What I am trying to say is: aware that I wasn't ready for the complexity and depth of marriage, it was easiest to focus on the surface –– the wedding. In my twenties, as friend after friend paired off into ever-after, I eagerly planned bridal showers, enthusiastically performed bachelorette duties, and loved getting lost in the romance of the wedding day. But I never felt the pressure to find dates for weddings or events, or to be paired off myself. My life was about entertainment and work — far too often, in that order. I loved only having to think about me — who I wanted to visit, what country I wanted to live in, what jobs I wanted to take. I loved the get-up-and-go freedom of single life, and I considered myself a “girl on the go.”   I would bounce to South Beach on a wing and a prayer with just enough money for a four-girl room share at the dingiest hotel on the strip, with my return flight landing just in time for me to drag myself to work.  My closet was packed with sassy dresses and flirty heels to support my “living it up” lifestyle and, when I couldn’t afford a new “look”, I prided myself on my ability to construct a ballgown from a tablecloth and a safety pin. I didn’t have to consult anybody when I decided to move to London for grad school, or when I decided to move back. And this freedom went for the tough times, too. When a family member was involved in a serious car accident, I didn’t have to consult with anyone to move to be closer to them, and when I found myself in debt after two unexpected surgeries, I didn’t have to consult with anyone to move in with my parents to get out of it.   I was only responsible for myself, and it was up to me if I wanted to honor or ignore that responsibility. Sometimes, the choice was a coin toss.

Reiki, paddleboard yoga, oat milk, magic candles and love. Follow Brook Sitgraves Turner as she uses the art of attraction to attract a like-minded partner into her life.  

Gratitude is the attitude this holiday season. With that in mind, env-blacklove-blstagepr.kinsta.cloud’s editorial contributors reflect on 2018 and share what they are grateful for. In this edition, Senior Editor Arynetta Floyzelle talks her return to Los Angeles, the wonders of wisdom, and the life-altering power of self love. As 2018 rolls to an end — almost as swiftly as it started, it seems — I sit in reflection of the year and all of the beauty it has bestowed on me. There are plenty of tangibles in my life to be grateful for: finally feeling at home in a new city populated with lovely friends, some I have known my entire life, some I’ve met since my arrival; an address, as for a very long time I was guest bedroom-hopping; the health of my family, loved ones, and self; my representation and all the work they do for me; living so close to an Erewhon; and, my position at Black Love and all of the joy and freedom it has brought me.

The “Single Girl Rut” can be hard to break and should not be taken lightly. But with strategy, determination, and these three simple (but necessary) rules, one woman is breaking the cycle, one date at a time.

Yvette Bennett was in an abusive relationship when a friend asked her one fateful question:  “Do you love yourself?” Answering that question would transform her life into one of her dreams, it would allow her to accept her sexuality and show her the amazing rewards of unconditional self-love.  

Netflix’s Nappily Ever After did a bold thing by making a movie with a talented, well-loved, veteran actress also known for being drop dead gorgeous....and stripping her of her hair. But, do you know who else was bold? Sanaa Lathan, the film’s star, who actually shaved her head for the film.

What does a 31-year-old single woman with a complicated romantic history do when she realizes, “Hey, maybe it’s me”?

“I’m your girlfriend, not your jumpoff. Let’s be honest, there’s no way you’re so good in bed that I’d just want to sleep with you. P.S. I’m six feet and would love to look up to you.” — A Wise Woman’s Bumble Profile

By weekday, she takes care of the kids, cleans the house, and is the consummate “PTA Mom”.  But come Friday nights, the Louboutins and lipstick come out to play – and it’s none of your business whether they play nice. Ya know, being a single mom has its ups and has its downs. The all-encompassing effort is so difficult that I don't know if I'll ever find the words to describe it, but all my single moms know what I'm talking about. My kids give me so much joy; my whole life is wrapped around them. But I've found in the last 18 months that there are two very distinct Veronikas. There's the "Mom Mode" and there's the "Me Mode." And you have to protect both, you have to protect both. When I'm in "Mom Mode" somehow, no matter how exhausted I am, or how difficult my day has been, I manage to get out of bed every morning at 5:30 am. I pull my hair into a ponytail, get all five of my children dressed and ready, and am out the door no later than 6:45 am. I drive in Los Angeles traffic for over three hours a day to get kids to school, to practice, and to events. I usually have dinner cooked by noon, because if I don't, it won't be ready in time. I get all the little babies – ages two, three, and four – in the bath no later than 7:00 pm and into bed by 8:30 pm. It's not extraordinary what I do – it's necessary. It's my job. Nobody gets brownie points for going to work and doing their job. So, I do my job proudly. I do it with every fiber of my being and it is the great joy of my life to be a mother.