I wrote this a while a go — and seeing the remaining ‘summer day’ left in Toronto are ones that require sweaters and closed-toed shoes, this post needed to be shared sooner than later.
Enjoy. xo
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The trickiest part to summer (I think) is figuring out what to wear to the office that’s professional, while keeping you cool and comfortable in the heat of summer days. Here’s a quick outfit of the day that got lost on my iPhone – pardon the sleepy expression – early morning sun and posing on my balcony clearly don’t mix:
9a-5p
I’ve owned these pieces for many moons…but have never paired them together, nor have I ever thought of creating an ‘office outfit’ with them.
How I Got The Look:
black peep-toed flats (Payless) these have become a fabulous ‘commuter’ shoe to get from home to office via TTC (usually with…
Here’s a #tbt to summer 2015 when the #toronto sign was new and all the rage 💖
How do you mix patterns? A bit unsure how to do it – try starting with easy black n’ white patterns for a fail-safe gateway into becoming a pattern mixing fashionista yourself 🙂
I’m kinda diggin’ my hair this short … should I do it again? Let me know what you think?
Summer sales are everywhere friends! So run out and get your shopping on!
Found this black n’ white tiki crop top at Reitmans on sale + 50% off the sale price…so it was basically free!
Staying in the same color family is the easiest way to mix patterns in your outfits. You can use contrasting colors, as long as the prints have a color in common.
Mixing black n’ white is the easiest I think!
I added pops of colour with my accessories instead: with my yellow earrings & necklace set and with my aqua-teal purse and sandals.
Contrary to O’Magazine’s “advice” (insert eyeroll emoji here) … me and my plus sized non-flat belly having self decided to rock this tiki top is a crop top, pairing it with a horizontal stripped maxi skirt…displaying a visible belly outline.
Oh yeah. I’m breaking all kinds of mainstream fashion ‘rules’ with this outfit of…
Ok team, I’ve been dealing with some feelings. I hadn’t planned to be writing about them, but I can’t seem to write about anything else right now.
So here it is: 9 years ago today I got married. Yup! August 9, 2008… I fell in love and married a great, weird, handsome guy. And today we would have been celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary.
But we’re not. We’re not because we’re divorced. After 8 years together, 4 of those years being married to each other, as we grew up and changed as people, we were no longer serving as positive sources of energy for the other.
Moi – 2008 as a young bride
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In our early 20s among our different friend groups, we were the first couple to get engaged. The first couple in buy a house. The first to host dinner parties, themed parties, and BBQs. The first to throw a wedding. And the first to get divorced.
It’s been 5 years since we divided up our assets and dissolved our marriage. And in that time, everyone among the friend circle I kept around me have now ALL paired off, moving far far away into their first homes and becoming pregnant with their first (or second) child. While were all in our thirties, I feel like this weird alien among friends who I no longer recognize.
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Canada Long Weekend was spent on my balcony watching fireworks and drinking with this couple-friend of ours who got married exactly one month before we did. They’re still together, happily supportive of each other and are proud parents to a gorgeous little boy. Funnily enough, this couple started as a work friend of my ex’s. But it turns out they’ve only kept in touch with me regularly all this time. ❤
As happenstance would have it, one of them bumped into my ex on the streets of Toronto a few days before our hang out…so you know they spilt all the tea with me!
Last summer, I heard through the grapevine that he’d gotten himself remarried. The big news uncovered for Canada150 was that he and his new wife are expecting their SECOND CHILD!!! 😮
This news was a shock. But I wasn’t sad or mad at finding out. I felt genuinely at peace knowing he’s been able to find someone to give him what he wanted in this life. The same feeling I have when I’m sitting as an attendee to a friend’s wedding or baby shower. I’m happy for them. Sincerely.
But then … later like this morning, waking up remembering its not-my-wedding-anniversary … there’s pangs of something that comes over me. Me… comparing their achievements with my own (or lack there of), taking away from what I’ve got going on in my life. 😦
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This long weekend was an oddly busy one for me. It was filled with friend groups on a wide spectrum:
Friday night with a unique Caribanna event specifically for the sex positive, open-minded Cis-Trans-Poly crowd of friends of friends for dancing, performances and late night eating.
Saturday I had brunch with 3 fellow “September Babies” who once were my go-to-hanging-out-and-shooting-the-shit-with peoples, but this year they’ve all found partners and hangouts of “just us” are few and far between.
Sunday I travelled all the way to Oakville to an annual backyard BBQ that has always been known for as boozy-palooza where things get weird….buuuuuut this year she’s preggers and the backyard was filled with more kids than adults.
I feel like this weird alien among friends who I no longer recognize.
It’s hard coming up with gratitude for all the good in your life when chronic pain and leg spasms cloud everything – my life these days. 😦 But I know I’m blessed.
I’m blessed to be able to spend all my disposable income on myself, the pup and the kids I’m a ‘courtesy aunty’ to. I’m blessed to have such diverse groups of people in my life – people I likely wouldn’t have found had I remained a married woman. I’m blessed to own a bit of real estate in the city. I’m blessed that I have been able to travel to cool destinations and write about them. I’m blessed to be able to foster and rescue dogs. I’m blessed to have a job where my employer supports short-term leave with pay. I’m blessed to have everything I need and more at my doorstep: groceries, restaurants, green spaces, beaches, transit, dance friends, live music and bars.
In these 5 years of not being married, it’s given me the room to have a variety of different experiences, to become comfortable with who I am as a person, and has helped me figure out what I want AND don’t want in a life partner. At the same time, I’ve come to the uncomfortable realization that I may not find myself a life partner, and that’s ok too. I’m still working on being ok with this last part. 🙂
Any one else able to relate to what I’ve been trying to say in the word vomit above? Gawd…I hope so. 🙂 Let me know what you think in the comment section…
Stay tuned every Monday and Wednesday for new content, plus throwback posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
A few of us caught wind that on August 15th folks were gathering at the Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Marina Park (Richmond, California) to try and set a NEW Guinness World Record for “The Largest Gathering of People Dressed as a Rosie the Riveter”!
The current record was set last year when 776 Rosie and Rosie lookalikes gathered at the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, MI.
This year, they hoped to round-up 1000 Rosies!!!
The rules for dressing like Rosie:
How I Got The Look: headscarf and earrings from Ardene; jeans from Old Navy; denim shirt from Reitmans; mens red socks, Forever21; boots from Aldo
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
Since we couldn’t be in California for the event, a few of us from the Toronto Vintage Society wanted to be there in spirit and rounded up the troops for a perfect photo opportunity in front of the fab colourful
It’s August long weekend in Canada!!! What prefect timing to post about a little project I’ve been working on called Operation: Balcony Summer Ready!
I’ve lived in my condo in downtown Toronto coming on to 5 years now…and in all that time, I’ve never really used my balcony.
Sad but true. It’s main purpose all these years has been to house demoted furniture that I’m not ready to part with – staying true to my South Asian roots. 😛
Oh yes, that is a LaZboy armchair out there within a weather resistant cover. Huge Transformation “before” vs. “after” riiiight!? 🙂
I spent hours on Pinterest looking at what design worthy people did to their wee outdoor spaces and had some faves pinned, in hopes to recreate something similar myself.
Now, my first attempt alone in trying to get this balcony pretty and useable was… um, pitiful!!! 😦
Enlisting the help of a tall, handy and clever friend made all the difference to this space. Thanks Five Seventeen!!! ❤
What did we do & use to transform this space?
4 panels of curtains that I already had in storage – winning! I bought a curtain rod from Ikea (cheap). The rod was hung via zap-straps (already had those in my toolbox), which means I’m not technically breaking any condo rules. 😉
Then a string of outdoor bulb lights I bought a while back from a cross-boarder shopping trip.
The only major purchase to get the space to this point was a large lavender plant (who’s still alive and well – FYI) from COSTCO $10.
Simply re-adjusting the location of some of my existing demoted furniture already out there, was key to getting the space to this level!
Oh yah…I repurposed that Jug of Beer into a vase. Those faux flowers were $8 a stem (I think) from Ikea.The best part of Operation: Balcony Summer Ready is that this new-found space has added about 30+ sq feet to my living space!!! That may not sound like much…but that’s kinda of a big deal for us downtown-dwellers living in shoebox-sized condos!!!
There’s been a lot of rain this summer, yet I’ve been totally dry and comfortable in my brick-enclosed cozy balcony space. ❤ Don’t believe me, check the video to see what I mean:
With a little imagination and perhaps a space heater… maybe I can make this outdoor space useable ALL-YEAR round!!! 😀
Oh! You may remember that last scene with an out-of-place LaZboy armchair that totally not giving off ‘balcony vibes’, right?
Solution: Flamingo fabric tablecloth. Boom!
It pays to shop all-the-time. How else would I have come across this perfect flamingo tablecloth at Winners! ❤Since I’ve been off work and home for a little bit this summer… most of my time has been spent out here on the balcony, enjoying my new-to-me outdoor space with my two favourite things for company … 😉
I’ve even used this space to dry laundry – saving me $$ and avoiding being a strain on the grid. #morewinning
Plus, it was THE perfect venue for being barefoot with takeout and wine while hosting friends for Canada Day 150! Yay!!!
THIS was the view from my balcony!!!! Click photo for fireworks in full action 🙂I’m just so thrilled with what this new-found space has allowed me to do these past months. ❤ ❤ ❤
But I think my most favourite activity is sitting out there solo, late-late night with string lights aglow, with a lil’ medical J ***inhales deeply, exhale slowly*** in my Zen Zone!
Those are my crossed legs…relaxing in the evening hours in The Zen Zone ❤
Now, it’s not exactly “Martha Stewart” sophisticated and beautiful… It’ll do for this now. I’m pretty happy with it. 🙂
I’ve managed to update the insides of my place too. It’s been a long time coming… but Operation: Apartment Refresh is has made some significant gains over the year. Stay tuned!
Then stay tuned every Monday and Wednesday for new content, plus throwback posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Heyyyyyyy… it’s me! I know I’ve been hella quite with zero original content on my blog for a minute.
2017 began and I seemly fell off the face of the earth…according to this space.
Thanks for still remaining a PPMeow! follower, reader, fan, and friend….and for those kind emails sent asking about why such a long absence from writing for this blog. ❤ ❤ ❤
The first half of 2017 has been filled with adventure and struggle. And I’ve been trying to figure out how much of myself I’m comfortable sharing so publicly, on what started out as a fun-fashion-focused forum.
The first half of 2017 has been filled with adventures and struggles…
I don’t really deem myself a “fashion guru” or someone who’s opinions on clothes, shoes and the like, really matters. I like what I like. And write about it. That’s all. 🙂 Because of this, it just left me feeling a bit like a fraud running a fashion and lifestyle blog with the recent events of my life taking up so much brain space.
Since my last post … here’s a listing of all the the major things that have happened in the life & times of moi:
Got restructured out of a great team and job after 7-years of being with the company. Yup. Just like that.
Became a beach-bum in L.A., California.
Started a new job with a new company, and re-adjusting to cubical life.
Dealing with undiagnosable chronic pains in the tops of both my feet and legs.
Battled (can continue to struggle with) something called “walking depression”.
Cleaned out my closet (finally!) and donated a bunch of things to charity.
Got a new iPhone 7s with a fabulous camera.
Started a series called “Shameless Bathroom Selfies” on my Instagram channel 😉
Travelled and explored a whole bunch of places in New Mexico.
Flirted with, dated and sexxx’d some boys. 😉
Made major gains with Operation: Apartment Refresh.
Got MRI results that showed a large disc herniation of my spine, and finally given proper meds to manage the pain.
Sold MANY of my beloved heels in exchange for wine was the wise thing to do.
Took a short-term leave of absence from work (doctor’s orders) to really focus on healing and dealing with my spine issues.
Embraced the importance of wellness, rest and self-care…which in my case means regular spending on Physiotherapy & RMT.
Made NEW friends and visited them in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.
Discovered a new product and the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur.
Did various yoga classes for 30-days in June.
Saw NKOTB – BoyzIIMen – Paula Abdul in concert!!!
Attended the Garden Gatsby Party and got caught on camera, in daytime 20s garb, lindyhopping poorly.
Got summoned for jury duty for the first time ever.
Became a fur-mom again to a senior dog named Max…and ever since I’ve been filling up my social media channels with pictures and videos of him. #sorrynotsorry
Had a neuro consult with some uncomfortable real talk.
Phew!!! 😮 That’s a lot of news in one recap blogpost.
So, in addition to the fashion forward fun, what I did and what I wore, shopping hauls, kitchen mis/adventures, product reviews, etc, that you’ve all come to know and love of Petite Plus, Meow! … I’m thinking of trying something new with this blog space and write about some of the above personal experiences … IF there is any interest/appetite out there of hearing it.
I would love to know what YOU want me to tackle first from this list??? Tell me in the comment section below or send me a personal message 🙂
Then stay tuned every Monday and Wednesday for new content, plus throwback posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
PPMeow! 