Fashion – Page 25

Stella & Dot: Spring/Summer Lookbook (Part 1 of 3)

Friends – about three weeks ago, as you can see from my Instagram pic below, I went to my mailbox and squeeled with delight to find the 2014 Spring/Summer Stella & Dot Lookbook had arrived!!! Even my pup, Bert seemed excited 🙂

I dunno about y’all … but I might love jewellery and accessories a little more than I love clothes. Why? Because they ALWAYS fit!!! If you’re like me, you’re used to going up and down in weight constantly. Which often means money spent on fab pieces of clothing only getting worn once or twice before it’s too big or too small to look “good” on you anymore. Buuuuut when you buy a lovely piece of jewellery or a fab pair of shoes or an amazing purse/scarf/hat…typically, no matter when you wear it again, it’s gonna look as fantastic on you, as the day you bought it!

Two years ago I got introduced to this fabulous line of jewellery and accessories through a girlfriend who hosted a Stella & Dot Party. Think Tupperware party meets the uber chic & fashionable. It is here that I met the lovely and stylish Amy Lazar Kleiman, Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot. And we became fast friends!

I’ve come to own and love many Stella & Dot pieces over the last few years … many of which I’ve incorporated into outfit posts on this blog already [See Shades of Grey for Spring, #BOPO Art Installation, Cherry Bomb, Pretty in Pink, and Navy Polkadots] . Now, if you’re new to discovering your love for Stella & Dot, you may be taken aback at the price-points of their items. I was too at first. But what I’ve come to really appreicate is the uniqueness of the jewellery – you are NOT gonna to find everyone and their sister wearing these pieces when you’re out and about, like you will if you’re wearing cheap costume jewellery of the Reitmans, AdditionElle and Forever21’s out there. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all over the “Buy 2 get 1 free” deals on the sale racks of these spots too, but Stella & Dot’s quality and selection really is far superior than anything you’d find at the mall.

The best part about purchasing any thing Stella & Dot is the hassle free return policy, the low flat shipping rate and the fact that they stand behind the quality of their goods. The Bianca Tassel was one of my first and still beloved pieces I purchased. It goes with basically everything and I wore it often. Sadly, I’ve had bad luck with loosing a bobble or two. I alerted Amy, my Stella & Dot Stylist, and she took care of everything! Within a week I had a BRAND NEW Bianca Tassel Necklace at my door to replace the broken one – easy peasy!

With Spring just around the corner …. Amy and I will be bringing the readers and followers of Petite Plus, Meow! some exciting opportunities and a contest in a 3-Part Blog Stella & Dot Post! Exciting!!!!

Part I: Getting YOU your very own Lookbook! Although the links I’ve provided within this post will take you to the Stella & Dot online catalogue, isn’t is always sooooo much better when you have an actual, tangible, touchable catalogue in your hands to doggie-ear pages of all the items you need and wish to make yours? Of course it is! 🙂

Want one? Click here and Amy will send one to you straight away….for FREE!

I’ve got a few ideas as to what we should Giveaway to one lucky winner – but I’d love to hear what ya’ll like the best from Stella & Dot’s Spring/Summer Collection. Use the Comments section below and let me know what you’d love to win (include the catelogue page# too so others can check out what might be on the short-list of prize to be won!!)

In the meantime…..

I just launched a Facebook Page to help spread the word about this blog – LIKE me. 🙂

AND….If you haven’t officially started following PetitePlus, Meow! on WordPress….START!

Stay tuned for Part II: Contest Giveaway from Stella & Dot ….. weeeeeeeee!

Girls Night Out + Spa Day

With Valentine’s taking place over Toronto’s first long weekend since Xmas holidays – I’ve allowed myself a few extra days off work to just enjoy being single in the city. My plan was to combine lots of ME time with at least one day of complete indulgence at a Spa + a fab dinner + good wine, where we have an excuse to get all dolled-up and paint the town red…or pink, my fav!

With all the love that’s in the air….spa’s were offering tons of couple deals. Sooo a gf and I decided to take advantage of Elmwood Spa’s $299 deal:

I’ve been to this spa many times – it truly is an Urban Oasis right in the heart of the city. Best part about getting any service here is the unlimited access to their Water Therapies! Hot Tub! Steam Room! Pool! All. Day. Long.

We purposely booked this pampering-day-of-bliss on a Sunday…which meant we could spend the Saturday night before with copious amounts of cocktails! Since neither of us have ever been ‘clubbin’ girls’…our plan for Saturday night was simple: meet at my place for some pre-outting libations, then walk along Queen W towards Ossington to see what sort of happenings we could encounter.

First stop was The Midpoint – this unpretentious little spot that boasted drink specials and cheapy tacos! The tunes were amazing … early 90s hip hop & RnB! Totally my vibe….unfortunately after a while we realized how young all the other patrons were…apparently this was “Old Skool Night”….sigh. So we finished our drinks and continued down the street for another happening!

Second stop was quickly found when we discovered $3.50 tequila shots at The Savoy. I’ve been here a few times for a quick afterwork drink especially on Wednesday: $5 martini friends! Boom! Also the lovely bartendress, Heather, often hooks a girl up with this price-point martini any day of the week …cuz I’m charming like that. 😉

I’ve never been to this spot on a Saturday night where this casual diner spot transforms into a hot-spot, complete with giant bouncer at the door and duelling DJs spinning a terrific mix of old + new. It was perfect for us …so we drank and danced like nobody was watching in our hot gal outfits and stumbled our way back to my place around 2am! {Insert Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” tune here}

For Saturday Night….here’s what I wore:

Y’all may remember these over-the-knee/thigh-high boots from my recent shoe haul last week from AdditionElle, finally got to break them in on the dance floor. And I’m happy to say that after spraying them they are still in fantastic shape even though they encountered an evening of salty-slushy streets of Toronto. I also unveiled one of my dresses from Doll Factory that I picked up at their Epic Sale – this shear long-sleeved Winter Forest dress. Now being a curvy girl, this dress quickly becomes uber short once all my T&A gets into it. But by pairing it with solid black leggings and these thigh-high boots, I think the dress moves from the scandalous category into the chic-hot-gal category, don’t you think? 🙂

Originally I wanted to wear this dress with the black lace leggings I picked up from the Sears closing sale at the Eaton Center, sadly the weather wasn’t cooperating. Buuuuuut my freind Bexx captured a few fancy shots of this look as an alternative …see below friends.

Our massage appointment was booked for mid-afternoon, allowing us a much-needed late-wake-up and a lazy do-it-yourself brunch before we walked our way into the downtown core to begin our day of pampering. We got there around 2:30pm so that we’d have a nice long soak in the exclusive women-only whirlpool/hot-tub before our full body couples massage with handsome, giant German men with big hands (or so we imagined) whist the knots were rubbed out of our necks and backs. Then back into the hot-tub + steam room for a few more hours – I was determined not to leave until I looked like a raisin! Then we got dressed and had a splashy prix fix dinner at the Bangkok Garden.

Upon reflection and further investigation, I’m not entirely sure this Elmwood Spa deal was a “deal” at all….but it was still a fantastic day … money well spent in my books!

How I got The Look:

Nighttime Forest print dress from Yumi, Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncessvales & Dundas W Sts.)

Solid black leggings from Old Navy, Toronto Eaton Center/Black lace leggings from Jay Emmanuel, Sears (Toronto Eaton Center)

Over-knee/Thigh-high black boots from AdditionElle (Queen & Yonge Sts)

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott, Rebecca Northcott Photography

Dashing Doll, Daper Dude & Classy Couple

Last week I posted about being invited to represent TVS at ELECTRO SWING TO Sweethearts & Singles Valentine’s Event, where I was asked to judge their FASHION CONTEST of vintage 1920-50s style.

I got to unveil one of my dresses from my mini-haul from Damzel’s 50% off sale and my lindy-hop-inspired flats from my recent mini-shoe haul for this event as the winter weather seemed to be cooperating that evening in Toronto….weee!

Went with the black & white shoes + the red houndstooth collared dress – the collar can be worn open or buttoned up to create a lovely diamond-shaped peekaboo, like I wore it. The 3/4 length sleeves and a full skirt with super-convenient pockets for my iPhone for photo-taking, this dress was perfect pick for the vintage swing vibe for the night!

I even tried at making faux victory rolls in my hair – which was uber difficult considering I’ve got baby-fine hair.

I brought along my handsome eligible bachelor friend, George – by far the daper-est man I know, as my +1 so that I wouldn’t be lonely on the dance floor like last time. Plus, he was kind enough to be my paparazzi whilst I was on stage being Vanna and awarding best dressed awards 🙂

Richard aka MedicineMan, Revival Bar’s event organizer, met us at the door at 9pm where we pow-wowed quickly about how the event would roll out, how the contest and prizing would work. And then the fun began — Lindy Hop lessons, fantastic live music from The Denielle Bassels Band , plus mingling and schmoozing around the room with the fabulous attendees to chat up what Toronto Vintage Society was all about and how they could join/get involved AND of course, tapping those who were on my short-list of BEST DRESSED for the night!

The Fashion Contest categories and winners were the following:

DASHING DOLL

The top three from left to right were: Lauren Dixon, Rebecca Lee McDermid and Betty Quirk.

Winner of a fab LCBO g/c for “Dashing Doll” of the night was — Betty Quirk!

DAPER DUDE

The top three from left to right were: Alex Hunter, Jack Check and Matt Szulczewski

Winner of a fab LCBO g/c for “Daper Dude” of the night was — Alex Hunter!

CLASSY COUPLE

The Winners of a fab Loveless shopping g/c for “Classy Couple” of the night was Leelando Mitchel & Sevvy Skellington!

Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend Valentine’s Day dancing to eletro swing tunes, chatting with vintage inspired peeps while representing the Toronto Vintage Society.

UPDATE: The lovely and talented Rebecca Northcott took a few professional shots of my outfit after the event…so I’m including them now, as they totally trump my sad iPhone ones. Thank you Bexx!

How I got The Look:

Red houndstooth collared dress by CherryVelvet, from Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncesvalles/Dundas W Sts.)

Black n’ white lindy-hop flats by Restricted, from Winners (ScotiaPlaza)

White & gold bib from Aldo Accessories

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott, Rebecca Northcott Photography

Quest for Silver Shoes…

I’m going to be a Bridesmaid for a gfs wedding at the end of this month… at the Bride’s request we the Bridesmaids need to find ourselves silver shoes.

For those of you who know me – I love me some shoes!!! ❤ But to my surprise, among my current collection zero silver options existed. The Bride did say grey pumps were a suitable substitute (which I have)…but I thought I’d poke around a few shoe stores yesterday while I was in the downtown core during my lunch break and see if I could find silver flats that floated my boat enough to wanna wear post-wedding.

The quest for silver shoes led to this mini-haul:

Ladies! There are crazy deals afoot on footwear at the flagship store at AdditionElle – pun totally intended in this shoe post 😉

I picked up these seriously-sexy thigh-high wedge boots for $25!!!!! No joke! No catch! $25! Now granted, they aren’t leather and likely not meant for the snow & slush we’ve been contending with…buuuut at this price if I can get a few wears during good weather days over the next few months I’m laughing! $25!!! I’d be loosing money if I didn’t buy it, right? Right! 🙂
Plus…they had tights reduced to $3 a pair!!!! Crazy town…picked up a white and teal pair. How can you leave them on the rack at this price-point? Exactly – you don’t!

OH… Sadly….no silver shoes to be found at AdditionElle.

Then I tried Winners at ScotiaPlaza…sadly, no silver shoes that curled my toes…buuuuut check out theses cutie-pies!!! Couldn’t decide on which I liked and needed more: classic black & white OR pink & tan…? At $29 each…why choose? Both pairs clearly needed to be mine. And so they followed me home too. 🙂

The last spot I wanted to check for silver bridesmaid shoe options was Payless across from the Eaton Center…and there they were! Simple silver glittery flats for a steal at $19! Boom! Shopping done like a Boss!

This bridesmaid-ing stuff is tough…I’m beat! 🙂

Oh…you’ll notice in my haul there’s three packages of pantyhose. At the end of the day I quickly stopped by Dollarama for black sheer pantyhose. YUP Dollarama friends! I dunno ’bout y’all, but if I just look at hosiery the wrong way, they’ll run…LITTERALLY! So I’ve quit buying expensive hosiery. The Queen size at the Dollarama fits this petite plus chick just fine and looks fab…Meow!

Fashion Forward Polka-Dot Blazer

After what feels like many moons since I’ve woken up at 6am , I get myself dressed for a day at the office. As promised, I found the following two pieces in my closet…wayyyy in the back which I paired together today for a fantastic little office outfit perfect for a breakfast networking meeting with fellow CSTD (Canadian Society of Training & Development) members, followed by a busy day of project deliverables and deadline submissions, before I head off on my EXTRA long weekend! [Toronto is about to have it’s the first long-weekend (Family Day) since the Xmas holidays. I’ve taken the Friday and Tuesday off too…for a little Irene-time – woot! woot!]

This 2-piece illusion dress – sheer green long-sleeved top attached to a simple black pencil bottom – might be the very first Forever21 piece I ever bought, ever! Prior to this purchase, I’ve always shyed away from going into that shop – the name alone scared me. Always felt I’d be roaming through the racks when some official shop security-type person would approach me saying “Excuse me Ma’am, You’re clearly NOT 21…let me escort your old a** outta here to a more age-appropriate store. Thank you Ma’am….” (Yup…I’m sure I’d get double-‘ma’am’d’). As you can see from some of my previous posts, this irrational fear has not stopped me from shopping at Forever21 – in fact, I’ve actually had tons of luck with fabulous finds there. My only issue is that because items are SO affordable, that every plus size girl in town is gonna have my outfit. And I’m not down with that.

So I try my hardest to shop all the time and EVERYWHERE to ensure that I can create Looks that are unique and interesting without being too easily attainable. Don’t get me wrong – I love knowing my outfit choices has inspired someone else’s fashion-juju, after all immitation is the highest form of flattery. Buuuuut…it is nice knowing that’s the pieces I own are somewhat exclusive and just mine 😉

I’ve only worn this dress a few times, mostly around the holidays for those impromptu cocktail socials that seem to pop up at a moments notice as everyone tries to maximize their Xmas cheer and host get-to-gethers. Bringing a sheer top to the office is always a challenge and daring act – especially if you’re a big-boobie girl working in a more conservative work environment, like me. My love of blazers seem to really help me take pieces that at, first glance, are not entirely office-appropriate into chic and fun office wear. Now blazers don’t have to be boring and boxy. I’m very particular when it comes to my blazer finds too! Looking through my collection, I’ve noticed many of mine are not the ‘standard’ solid coloured type at all. Most…nearly all of mine hanging in my closet are loud – bright coloured or patterned.

Like this fashion forward polka-dot blazer I picked up likely 5-years ago from Winners while on a lunch-break. As soon as I saw it on the hanger it made me nostalgic for Madonna’s Lucky Star-Searching for Susan-big hair-and-shoulder pads era! I remember my co-worker, who was shopping with me, saying how old-fashioned it was…like that was a bad thing. By that time I absolutely fell in love with it regardless of her commentary, and bought it immediately! What’s nice about this piece is that it has zero collar or lapel, taking away extra bulk around ‘the girls’ …which I certianly don’t need. And it has the tiniest hook-and-eye clasp to keep the blazer closed, creating a nice long/slim look for me I think …always a nice feature 🙂

So this is what I wore to work today. You likee? (Sorry about the crapy bathroom selfies…sigh. No time or motivation to take proper timer-app pics at 6am. Also, sorry about my terrible hair. Winter toque static…blah!)

How I got The Look:

2-piece illusion dress (sheer green/black skirt) from Forever21+, Yorkdale Mall

Black n’ white polka-dot blazer from Classic Trenz by T.Renz, Winners

Large silver tear-drop earrings and grey tall boots from Payless

Michael Kors white ceramic watch

#BoPo Art Installation

Earlier this month I blogged about my friend Karen and her hubs, Peter’s store anniversary party. Their store, Your Big Sister’s Closet turned 1 this month and I was asked to be a window model for their Body Positivity Art Installation. The concept was to make plus sized women more visible and to address what is not usually addressed.

I have to admit, putting myself out there in the “real world” was harder than in the virtual one I’ve created via this blog, but it was a great opportunity to make a statement. Me, along with a few others, were asked to wear whatever fabulous clothes we looked and felt great in, and were to stand in their store-front window holding up a sign that has either displayed our weight or measurements or some other indication that we were a curvy, bodacious lady, and an adjective that describes ourselves. So for instance, Karen’s sign read: Size 20 & Fabulous!

Originally when Karen reached out to me as “one of the most #bopo ladies in the city she knows.”.. I have to say, I didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad thing. And upon researching ‘bopo’ via Urban Dictionary, I was very alarmed at its definition. But Google said #bopo stood for Body Positivity, which relieved my initial concerns – once I stopped laughing hysterically. (Wanna know what was so funny? Check out Urban Dictionary’s def here … Ahem! No doubt that would certainly draw a crowd and make the news! But for all the wrong reasons, haha!)

Karen lined up a designer who came from NYC for a trunk show called Curvy Couture – showcasing bras right up to H cup – Hooray! Along with a full candy bar, coffee and complimentary hair touch-ups and nail care all day from event sponsor Donato Salon + Spa. Check out my “before” and “after” shots – big thank you to Michelle & Tracy for making and keeping me pretty all day!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet amazing, positive and beautiful women!

Even networked with other plus fashion bloggers and hob-knobbed with Toronto celebs like Sheena Snively from MTV and the Full Figured Model, Ophilia Alleyne.

Together we brought awareness to the public promoting a simple message: ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES! My sign read: Curvy & Confident!

Sizeism is widely considered to be the last socially acceptable form of prejudice. Body shaming happens every day, all over the city. This Art Installation entitled “There’s No Right Way to Have a Body” was meant to bring awareness surrounding our society’s obsession with size and size shaming.

Overall, it was a Saturday well spent being ogled as a full-figured beauty in the window of Your Big Sister’s Closet! 🙂

How I got The Look:

Mint & black lace sheer hi-lo top from Carpe Diem, Your Big Sister’s Closet (Dundas W/Clendenan Sts.)

Black crop top from Forever21+, Toronto Eaton Center

Solid black leggings from Old Navy, Toronto Eaton Center

Grey tall boots from Payless

Silver Medina bib necklace from Stella & Dot

Silver sparkle drop earrings from Bitter Sweet

Epic Sale Haul + AGO’s First Thursdays

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Epic Sale that Doll Factory by Damzels was having this week. Yesterday this sale finally hit the 50% off mark on ALL items store-wide! I hit the Roncy location to find that all the clothes were cleverly sorted by size (huge win) and I was surprised to see that the plus size selection was sprawled across multiple racks, rather than a single sad corner hidden in the back of a store

The store’s staff were fab, as always. At one point I had several shopgirls dotting on me running my collection of ‘try-ons’ into the fitting room. I’m usually a solid size 18. Depending on the style and cut of the dress, how much stretch/room there is in the hips and boobs are the ultimately what determine’s the size I’ll fit into. The trick with shopping in a boutique shop like this one is that you MUST try on EVERYTHING, as the size you typically are won’t necessarily be the size you’ll fit into flatteringly.

After trying on nearly half of their plus size racks, turns out I’m able to fit into their size 12s, 14s and XLs too.

My mini-haul at 50% off included the following:

I’ll be sure to provide ya’ll details on each dress once I’ve made them into outfits in upcoming blog posts friends…stay tuned. 🙂

That evening I had tickets for the Art Gallery of Ontario, AGO’s First Thursday’s event and decided to wear something from my above haul!

There were upwards of 500 tickets sold for this event! And everyone was dressed very well and oh-so trendy. My gf and I noticed how many fashion toques were among the crowd — you get to hide your greasy-static-ridden-hair, whilst keeping toasty warm — think we both need to jump on this bandwagon soonest!

As we people-watched and got drinks at the bar, I immediately spotted MY black n’ white high-waisted flared skirt glide past me several times that night. Sigh…it’s a gorgeous skirt. I ain’t mad at her for buying and wearing it. But this is the problem with finding fashionable-plus-petite-pieces in shops like Forever21 – since they’re super cheap it makes it super easy for EVERYONE to buy it too!

That’s why when boutique shops like Doll Factory by Damzels have sales, it’s an excellent time to scoop up fab deals on outfits that ONLY YOU will have. 🙂

Tons of fun at the AGO last night. Check out our foodie-sculptures, the live band complete with electric xylophone and duelling DJs. Thursdays’ are clearly the New Friday!

How I got The Look:

Zebra patterned long-sleeved sweater dress from Aryeh, Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncessvales & Dundas W Sts.)

Cherry pendent necklace & matching earings from Jubly-Umph Originals, Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncessvales & Dundas W Sts.)

Rocker-chick buckle+zipper booties from Aldo

Making Old, New Again

I take pretty good care of my clothes, steaming and sending items for dry cleaning regularly. So when pieces no longer fit right or get too big/small for me, I have a hard time simply donating them to Goodwill. As they are usually quality, expensive items which have often only been worn once!

In the past, I’d store them in Rubbermaid containers taking up valuable real estate in my storage unit. Occasionally I’d swap a few pieces with a gf or two who, like me, go up-and-down in weight regularly. Last summer, I discovered a fantastic first-time-event called BigDealToronto where various plus sized bloggers join forces and throw a pop-up sale where we get to shop their closets! But since I wasn’t a blogger nor in-the-know about these things, I simply shopped their racks and picked me up a few new-to-me gems for crazy low prices!

Then later that year I attended an event called Consign Your Curves, similar idea where 22 plus size fashionistas, including blogger/model Karyn aka KillerKurves and fashion designer Jessica Biffi rented clothing racks in a warehouse to sell their gently used or never been worn plus size clothing. This time I could actually participate and sell my items! This was a huge undertaking as I ended up pricing, tagging and carting 6 containers full of fab barely worn clothes for an entire afternoon resulting in a total sales of upwards of $200! Pretty damn good return on a Saturday spent in Guelph…considering these clothes were going to new homes to be loved, rather than just sitting taking up space in my storage unit.

This year, I’m trying to keep a promise I made to myself – repurpose and refresh as much as I can from my current closet without buying more stuff. So I began with taking inventory of my closet, pulling out the pieces in the back that I haven’t seen in a while and I noticed that much of what was back there was either too long, needed repair (loose buttons, torn seam, fallen hem, etc.) and to my delight, too big!

There were a number of pieces that upon second look, I’d like to have altered/fixed/adjusted and reintroduce them into my wardrobe. Here’s a list of the items (sadly, it only occurred to me to take ‘before’ pics now, so I do not have any to share for all the items on my Fix-it List below):

2 dresses I picked up from ConsignYourCurves event – one needs a seam re-stichted, the other needs the arms & neckline taken in which means a whole new zipper moved
1 long dress from Reitmans I swapped a gf for many moons ago – it’s kinda of frumpy on me with its current length, so I’m shortening it significantly….dun dun dunnn
1 lace-illusion skirt from Lane Bryant – this needs to be taken in nearly 4 inches (yay!)
1 hi-low new-ish dresses from Forever21+… but being petite the entire hi-lo needs to begin higher.
And lastly…the below Groovy Polka Dot dress, also from Forever21+

This is what its suppose to look like…stopping mid-thigh. Isn’t it cute?

And here’s what it looks like on me: The front is wayyyy too long. The back is super cute with the cutouts…buuut not so easy to wear a bra. I love-love-loved this dress! So much that I have already worn it to the office a few times with the lenght as is, wearing a long open sweater cardi with it. But it def needs adjustments.

Since moving to Queen West, I’m yet to find new VIPs I need in my life: a Vet, a Dog Groomer, a Nail Salon , a Dry Cleaner and a Tailor/Seamstress. I’ve recently found a combination Dry Cleaner/Alterations spot on Duffrin @ King West Sts. They’ve promised to work their magic and have all my above items ready for pick-up by Monday.

Stay tuned for the results and for my review of their shop & sewing skills friends. Fingers crossed they make me love these pieces again! 🙂

Valentine’s Day Outfit for the Petite Plus

When it comes to finding perfect outfits for special occasions, unfortunately, petite plus-size options are few and far between. Not so often I’ve stumbled upon an articles or blog posts that specifically speak to being petite and plus sized. They’re out there if you’re willing to do a little searching.

With Valentine’s around the corner – a romantic day taking place during Toronto’s first long weekend since Xmas holidays, I’ve allowed myself a few extra days off work to just enjoy being single in the city. My plan is to combine lots of ME time with at least one day of complete indulgence at a Spa with a gf(s) + a fab dinner + good wine, where we have an excuse to get all dolled-up and paint the town red…or pink, my fav!

Marie Denee aka The Curvy Fashionista is a well-known plus sized diva and blogger who has put together a few Valentines Day looks specifically for the curvy petite woman. Take a look at what she’s come up with – just love her style!

2014 Liebster Blog Award

This past weekend I found that the lovely and talented vintage diva, Shermy from http://www.shermette.com, nominated moi for a Liebster award!

What the heck is the Liebster Blog Award you ask….

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn’t that lovely?
The value behind this award is for us to get to know other bloggers who might not be well-known, yet have a lot to share. Blogging is about building a community and it’s a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

Thank you Shermy for the nomination and kudos babe! Especially nice to know that in the extremely short time I’ve been apart of the blogosphere, you – the collective ‘you’- You like me! You really like me! 🙂

Shermy’s questions for me were the following in bold, my answers beneath each:

1. What is your favourite non-vintage related hobby?
Dog-walking or ‘urban hiking’. Can’t wait for the warmer weather to get here already so I can really explore my new hood and surrounding neighbourhoods of West Toronto.

2. Do you plan your blog posts far in advance, or do you post on a whim?
It’s a combination of both. Sometimes when I’m in ‘the zone’…I find writing multiple posts so easy. I try and save them as drafts and publish them sparingly so that I don’t bombard my followers inboxes. Also, when I’m less inspired to write, I’ll always have something pending to update and share.

3. What is your favourite place that you have ever visited?
Oooo that’s tough. The most recent trip tends to trump the last, likely because the memories of the most recent are still sitting in the front of my brain. This past October I explored Peru for a week on an organized tour group. Never done one of those before – and was pleasantly surprised at how many friendships that were developed that week, many of them have carried on via regularly Facebook chitchats and some even made it to Christmas Card exchanges this year. The trip itself was one that challenged me both physically and personally. Climbing Machu Picchu…thought I was gonna die on that mountian…alttitue is no joke, let me tell ya. The trip resulted in some major self-discovery and made me re-evaluate the types of people and friendships I’ve chosen to keep in my life.

4. What is your favourite thing about yourself?
Yikes! That’s a toughie. It’s taken me a long time to really embrace who I am…personality flaws, waistline, crazy upbringing and all. But I can honestly say, now, today I truly do like who I am! My most favourite thing about me is my ability to shine regardless of what cards are dealt to me. It may take me a minute to lick my wounds, get myself on track and back on my feet. But I always do. Um, I also like my eyes…and I have a fantastic rack too! 🙂

5. Do you have any pets? If yes, what are they?
Yes! I’ve got a beautiful 12-year old Pomeranian pup named Bert aka The Berto! He is by far the best well-behaved dog ever, and is a total flirt. Can’t go out for a walk without people stopping to ooo & ahh him. Can you blame them really…they’re only human. He’s my heart! These pics were taken two summers ago at Toronto’s Woofstock – a festival for dogs. A photographer insisted Bert be his muse…yup…that’s the kinda of attention this pup elicits from strangers. How can you not fall in love with that face.

6. What is your favourite makeup product?
To be honest, I’m not big into make up. I’m a press-powder, eyeliner and lipgloss type of gal. Occasionally I’ll find a fab shade of blush and eye-lash extending masscara that I’ll devour. But once it’s gone, I tend to pick up whatever’s on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart. Typically Cover Girl and Maybelline products. Easy peasy. That’s me in the makeup department.

7. Are you an early riser, or a night owl?
Over the last year I seemly have given up sleeping at night. My body just doesn’t want me to sleep anymore it seems. Afterall, I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I do seem to get my energies, gusto, enthusiasm to write and get work done in the wee hours of the AM. So I’d say these days’ I’m more of a night owl type chick.

8. What is your favourite piece of clothing?
Well lately I’ve been all over this circle scarf I picked up back in November from Aldo. It’s a light-weight simple beige toned bird patterned scarf, that I find myself adding to any and all outfits I whip up, especially on the weekends for running errands or impromptu meet-ups for brunch, drinks and the like.

9. If you could go back in time and attend a party (think Cinderella), whose party would it be?

Hummm….so Disney Princesses…I’m thinking Little Mermaid’s Ariel. She, by far, scored the handsomest prince of them all in the Disney sagas. Yup. Def wanna party with that fishy chick! 🙂

10. If you could erase one fashion faux-pas from your teenage years, what would it be?

Hair Crimping! It’s awesome! It’s always been awesome! For thin-dead-straight-haired girls like me….the giant full-bodied crimped crazy hair is da bomb!

11. Favourite movie?

Princess Bride. Hands down! Can watch that flick (and do!) multiple times a year…especially if I’m sick. And I can recite it word for word with the movie on mute. “inconceivable!” “Anybody want a peanut?” “Hello. My Name is Inigo Mantoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare To Die!” “I’m Not A Witch! I’m Your Wife!” “As You Wish.” Classic!

I now have to nominate 11 other up-and-coming bloggers/blog sites and come up with a series of questions for them to answer. Give me time friends…I’ve got to do more reading and exploring on the blogosphere before I can complete this step. Stay tuned…xo