Oh you feel that crispness in the air … Fall is here friends!
And you know what that means: Summer Sales!!!
This outfit cost $20! Reitmans Summer Sales are the greatest!
Yep! It’s your chance to nab some super cute summer stuff on the cheap.
Stay on the lookout for low-cost pieces in jewel tones that can pull a summer wardrobe into fall.
And the perfect opportunity to try and extend these new pieces you acquire into transitioning weather outfits! So checkout my recent summer sale finds and how I’m gonna make them work into Fall….
It’s a TWO piece!!! And the skirt has deep pockets!!!
Winners and Reitmans seem to be my go-to stops for summer sale hunting, especially if I’m in the downtown office.
Purse, old (recently rediscovered it in my closet); Necklace from MyBeadedDesign; Guess Platform sandals, Winners ($29); Matchy top ($10) and skirt ($10) from Reitmans
For cooler Autumn days — simply add tights, trade in open toes for closed toed shoes and a sweater layer in a warm colour, like orange below 😉
Ya’ll know I’m a shopaholic. It would be really easy to blow your fashion budget on buying new clothes for the fall, especially with so many tempting window displays out there right now. (I fell victim to it recently after a simple dental cleaning appointment – if you’re following me on Instagram, then you know what I mean).
But your Fall Tales doesn’t have to buying a completely new wardrobe. By adding richer textures, darker colours and a little added warmth your summer clothes …and you’ll be able to wear ’em well into right into winter!!!
So, what do you think of my Summer Sale, Fall Tale here? You like?
What are some of your tips for transitioning your wardrobe for cooler weather?
It happened. Summer is Over. Fall has officially begun!
I dunno about y’all….but I had an excellent summer! Toronto is the greatest! And Summer in the city is just the best!
With all the many street festivals, buskers, concerts, dancing on the pier, movies in the park and ferry trips to the Toronto Island… there’s always tons of fun to be had.
Here is a quickie recap of some of the fun-in-the-sun events I attended, that I didn’t get a chance to blog about:
TVS PinUp Picnic
Toronto Vintage Society did another PinUp Picnic this year … armed with blankets and baskets we sectioned off a corner of Trinity Bellwoods to enjoy an afternoon of simple fun in overcast skies…
The Outfit: Cherry peep-toed wedges, H&M; Wicker purse, Tatyana; Parasol, Damzels … and the dress…
After picnicking … a few of us were ready to learn how to do The Stroll with Drea from Soda Pop Hop
No vintage picnic is complete without some dancing in the grass. Click here to see what last year’s picnic was like 🙂A few of us from the Toronto Vintage Society and Friends
Dirty Dancing Quote-a-long
The Bloor Cinema hosted a Quote-a-long movie screening of DIRTY DANCING.
Oh yes…. taking us back to the summer of 1963, via the summer of 1987. Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is resigned to spend her summer at a wholesome family resort in the Catskills, when she unwittingly discovers the wild dance parties the resort staff have after hours.
This quote-along screening was hosted by comedian Steph Tolev, in a karaoke-style where you were encouraged to yell back at the movie screen and boo Robbie-the-Jerk, woot Johnny-the-Dreamboat, and get up and dance like it’s the Time of Our Lives!!!!
Happy to report that EVERYONE knew exactly when to say, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
Toronto Vintage Society’s Tiki Lani Lanai
This was our 3rd Annual Tiki Party … and it was our best turnout ever!
Not quite sure what a Tiki Party is? Click here to find out more Tiki culture. And here to see what it was like last year 🙂
Me among the crowned Tiki Queen of the evening…. and her wife. Aren’t they both just adorbz! My outfit: I found this floral aqua romper (yup, its a onesie friends) from Forever21+; Hair flower from Fruits of Bali; Sandals from Coach
A few of the ladies of Toronto Vintage Society who helped organized and put this party together 🙂
O.K. Blue Jays!
I’m not a big sports fan – sitting through 9-innings of baseball on the hottest day ever and paying for ridiculously over priced food and booze, isn’t my first choice of spending a sunny afternoon.
Buuuuuuut the Toronto Blue Jays have been killing it this season! And in true bandwagon-fan fashion… I wanted to be apart of the hype!!!
So, we got ourselves nose-bleed tickets to a PACKED Skydome game!
Plus, look at these cutie-pie tees I found us!!! $17 from Winners bebe! Aren’t we the cutest!??!
Clearly our matchy-matchy look helped them WIN the game that day. You’re welcome fellas! 😉
Turns out for a non-sports-fan, I made it to a game last year too. Click here for that.
Pre-drinking at Steam Whistle Brewery before the game
Let’s Go To The Ex!
I haven’t been to The Ex since I was a teen. A few dancing friends went down on a Monday night to cash in on the $6 after 5pm deal….. We tasted weird deep-fried foods … checked out livestock at the farm … rode some rides… lost money trying to win prizes…
In line with the gang for BUMPER CARS at The Ex!
AND got to dance the night away to BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY ….!!! We were “So Money” and we didn’t even know it 😉
We’re mid-September, but instead of layers-upon-layers to keep us warm, the weather is keeping us in summer dresses!
And I’m loving it!!! 😀
Like this cutie-pie floral one I picked for $10!!!!!! From a little shop called Smart Set, maybe you’ve heard of it?
Smart Set recently had a CLOSING sale.
The Montreal-based retailer said it will shut 107 Smart Set stores over the next 12 to 18 months, including 31 by year end or early next year. Curious as to why, click here.
Only 31 of the locations will be closed completely. The remaining 76 will be converted to other company banners, which include Reitmans, Penningtons, Addition Elle and RW&Co., as well as Thyme maternity stores.
When I was in highschool, this was a shop I’d visit often. But I don’t think I step in one until a few weeks ago, when I saw the closing signs while I was on my lunch downtown.
Smart Set didn’t carry a plus-size line. So I was very surprised at finding an XL fit me.
What I really liked about this dress was the criss-cross deep-v back…
If I had a longer torso, you’d be able to see how the peek-a-boo criss-cross action should work. But for $10, it was coming home with me for sure…and my short-waisted self was gonna wear it anyway!!! 🙂
Oh, the hat … picked it up from Public Butter, on WQW. Click here for other looks in this hat 🙂
Were you a Smart Set fan? Are you sad about the news that Smart Set having closed?
How I Got The Look: Hat, Public Butter; Sandals, Berkinstock; Dress, Smart Set
Looking for other summertime simple looks … click here, here, here and here. 🙂
If you’ve been following the blog, you already know what a big fan I am of vintage/retro/rockabilly reproduction fashion.
Style eras that celebrate hips and tits are ones I need to be apart of! 😉
There are many UK clothing lines that specifically cater these styles. I’ve got a Pintrest board dedicated to all my coveted retro frocks!
In fact, this was one of my pins …. was this dress by Collectif in London:
The Rowena Dress, by Collectif
The Rowena Anchor Swing Dress … a nautical inspired halter neck frock with navy and red all over anchor print. With three pockets and a removable neck tie for a variety of different looks. Isn’t it the cutest?
So I went to check them out and guess what I found in their sale rack……..
THE Rowena Anchor Dress!!!! ❤ ❤ ❤
Now granted the only size remaining was a 2x …and as you can see the only way it would fit my ample upper half was by unbuttoning from the collar down…
BUT I’m in love with this dress: hook, line, and sinker!!! (yup, that was an anchor pun) 🙂
I’m really not a fan of having to wear a strapless bra … so I try and avoid buying clothes that force me to wear one.
I tried wearing this halter dress with a regular ol’ bra….since I had to wear a tank to fill in the giant-boobie-gap. And this was the result:
Then I decided to buy a cheap tank, and cut off the strap to make it into a halter tank …. then wore my clear bra straps and THIS was the result:
Always nice having options that still allows you to wear a proper bra!
I kept the accessories simple with this frock – sometimes jelly shoes, sometimes sandals, with a cross body bag and minimal accessories.
I had this anchor necklace from My Beaded Designs Kinda feel like it was waiting for this dress 🙂
OK. Now that you got a low down on What I Wore…. let me tell you What I Did while in this outfit 🙂
I happened to be out an about all day in this frock … and made my way to Nathan Phillips Square for a PanAm Concert one summer night…
To see THE ROOTS!!
Minus Canada Day in Ottawa, THIS was the largest crowd I’ve ever been apart of in a long, long time.
It seems I’m a big fan of Nautical Inspired looks – click here, here, here , here and here to see what I mean 😉
How I Got The Look: The dress from Loveless Boutique; Necklace from My Beaded Designs; Tank tops from Reitmans and Forever21+
So waddya think? Did I make a mistake buying a dress I couldn’t button up? Or was my tank-top fix a good move?
Let me know by leaving a comment below friends. Until next time…
Can you believe we’re at the beginning of September already!? Geez….
And with the end of the month comes another culinary blogpost sharing my mis/adventures in the kitchen 🙂
My main mission for 2015 is a simple one: Getting and Staying Happy. In order to achieve this lofty goal I applied a START-STOP-CONTINUE approach. And so I’ve decided to START cooking more.
Earlier this month, a gf of mine told me about a little service called CHEF’S PLATE – a fab service that has fresh ingredients & delicious recipes delivered weekly to your door!
As much as I love cooking, it can sometimes be overwhelming never really knowing how much of an ingredient to buy and have it go bad in your fridge before you get to use it all up. And if you’re like me, often you fall into a rut of always cooking the same ol’ thing.
Chef’s Pate gets you unique dishes already planned out for you, with zero wasted food!
Here’s how it works…
They create 6 weekly menu options and put all the pieces you need to create them for you..
You pick out how many meals you want delivered: 2, 2-servings meals OR 3, 2-seving meals.
They deliver the exact ingredients you need to your door.
You cook the food and eat the food.
It’s Freakin’ Brilliant!
A recap of my very first order on the last week of August…
My First Order
I used a referral code from a gf …which gave her 2 meals for free….. and it got me 4 meals for FREE!!!!
(Do YOU want 4-free-meals too? Use this Referral Code: #PETITEPLUSMEOW and Click here)
On Monday afternoon, a delivery man came right up to my apt door and delivered a refrigerated box of food:
Inside my box was the exact ingredients to make 3, 2-serving meals. Here’s what I ordered and cooked up my very first week:
MEAL 1: CHARRED AVOCADO AND CUMIN SPICED QUINOA SALAD with kidney beans and red bell peppers
The prep. READ the entire cooking card fully before you being. This way you can get all the pans/knives/bowls ready to roll before you get your hands dirty.
This meal was rated “EASY” …and I have to agree, it was. Took less than 30-mins to get all the pieces prepped and ready. It was perfect for lunchtime, with leftovers for another meal during the week.
Total calories per serving: 725
The Final Results – Platted!
MEAL 2: PISTACHIO CRUSTED STEAK with smashed fingerling potatoes and dino kale
Now this meal was a bit more difficult than the first. It required both oven and stove, and my slap-chop for chopping up the nuts.
But in the end … look at how beautiful this steak turned out.
THIS was my favourite meal of the week!!!! So delicious! And the leftover portions were just as tasty!
Took just about 30-mins also … and was 730 calories per serving 🙂
The Final Results – pictured perfect, right? Soo good!
MEAL 3: PAN SEARED SNAPPER over THAI BLACK RICE served with steamed broccolini
This last one was a bit more challenging also – but so long as you read and follow the steps as the card says, you’ll be fine!
This was my first time cooking Thai Black Rice. Cooking it in the rich coconut milk added such amazing savoury flavours to the fish and broccolini.
This one was also about 30-mins from prep-to cook-into my mouth and was 830-calories per serving. 🙂
The Final Results. Check me out …getting much better at the platting huh, like a REAL Chef 🙂
Curious to see how much do you ACTUALLY save with Chef’s Plate vs. Buying your own groceries?
You can visit my Instagram page and look for the hashtag #PPMeowCooks for more adventures in my kitchen.
I just got THIS week’s refrigerated box delivery with brand new meal ideas within!
Can’t wait to get cooking – stay tuned to my Instagram channel to see how they turn out
So, you think YOU wanna try it? Get your 1st FOUR meals for free by usingthis linkfriends! You’re Welcome!!!
I’ve also created a sub-menu on my homepage under REVIEWS on the homepage for you – my readers – to find them easily…and hopefully try a few yourself. 🙂
And the perfect opportunity to try and extend these new pieces you acquire into transitioning weather outfits! So checkout my recent summer sale finds and how I’m gonna make them work into Fall….
As much as I love cooking, it can sometimes be overwhelming never really knowing how much of an ingredient to buy and have it go bad in your fridge before you get to use it all up. And if you’re like me, often you fall into a rut of always cooking the same ol’ thing.
