Gary Lamkin, age 28, did his first stand up set at the age of 16 in “The Great Canadian Laugh Off” and he’s been going ever since. Now based in Toronto, Gary continues to make audiences laugh with his effective blend of material and improvisational crowd work. He was featured for the first time on television when he was 18; on the show “Comedy In The City” and has headlined and toured in various parts of Canada. He has also completed 2 years of training at Humber’s “Comedy Writing and Performance”’program. He hosts his own podcast “The Hump Day Podcast” which is available on iTunes/Spotify.
As hosts of these Humpday Wednesday YYZ events, Matt and I try to step it up with a little #casualcosplay as a nod to each film we’ve chosen to screen.
I got a chance to reuse part of my nun costume worn for the sound of music cosplay a few years ago. Just paired my homemade-sewed-by-moi nun’s habit with a black short sleeved frock from Shein…the delicate eyelit hem just gives this simple dress oomph!
Your Hosts of The Comedy Cinema: Luchador Announcer Matt Duffy and Sister Mary Irene
We still have tons more funny flicks lined up next week and beyond for the rest of the year – hope you’ll come join us for one, some or ALL of our Humpday Wednesday fun with the.ComedyCinema! Get your tickets now!
What I Wore: This lace and mesh duster overtop of an Ashley Gram slip-dress with little brown bootiesCheckout my Popcorn 🍿 earrings!
Super fun time coming up with Casual Cosplay for this classic funny flick
We still have tons more funny flicks lined up next week and beyond for the rest of the year – hope you’ll come join us for one, some or ALL of our Humpday Wednesday fun with the.ComedyCinema! Get your tickets now!
If you’re anything like me – you live for dressing up for a good THEME!
I’m not talking about a “Rose Garden Party” or typical “White Party” on a boat… (although I’d totally love rocking an outfit for either of those themes as well **wink**). What we were thinking was more accessible, everyday cosplay. More like the idea of “cosplay-lite” for a theme party. And since such events are few in Toronto, my partner Matty Duffy and I decided to host some ourselves.
Casual Cosplay at The Comedy Cinema X Comedians … alliteration for the win!
Our first screening will be the Mel Brook’s classic: Robin Hood Men In Tights!
Introducing THE COMEDY CINEMA x COMEDIANS …Every Wednesday beginning August 31st at 8pm at The Cameron House (408 Queen St. West) we will be screening a funny movie from our personal collection with a local comedian who will base their entire set on the movie!
Themed outfit inspirations and Costumes are strongly encouraged.
Popcorn and candy will be provided. Trivia and Prizes too!
Positive vibes, laughter and good times are certain!
HUMPDAY WEDNESDAYS just got a heck of a lot better, am I right? 🙂
Young people laugh at comedy movie in cinema theatre. Young people laughing at cinema watching amusing comedy. Cheerful people watching comedy film in slow motion
Here’s the movie screening line-up starting August 31st until the end of the year. Hope you can join us for one, some of ALL of these fun themed parties at The Cameron House’s Backroom!
I’ve been doing my best to shop my own closet before buying anything new. But sometimes, no matter how full your closet is, you still can’t find anything to wear. This is where Poshmark can help.
But sometimes, no matter how full your closet is, you still can’t find anything to wear.
Ever wish you could shop your friend’s closet? Now, you can. Poshmark connects you to people whose style you adore, allowing you to easily shop closets and boutiques. With over 80 million community members across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and 200 million items for sale, we know you’ll find something you love.
Have items just hanging in your closet? Home decor or new beauty items that you’d like to sell? We know the feeling. List items for sale on Poshmark in less than 60 seconds. Sell what you have in your closet so that you can shop for what you really love today!
Dino Purse, Dress and Duster… All found via Poshmark.
Trying to find hosiery that fit properly are one of the most frustrating things a petite person can shop for.
Often I end up having to pull them up to my armpits to ensure that they
don’t sag at the bottom avoiding that Elephant-ankle look…..that’s just not the sexiest or most comfortable look! Now, add on the fact that your a larger bodied plus-sized petite person … ugh!!!
So I was ecstatic to find that Sheertex not only had sizing with my height, they also designed cute patterned sheers with my body type/body size in mind.
My excitement grew even more when I found out that they also promised to be furry friend proof —they claim to be indestructible!
Sheertex – the world’s toughest pantyhose.
The fit was perfect and they were one of the most comfortable hosieries that I have ever worn. I wasn’t counting the hours down to when I could tear them off and get into my comfy clothes — my Sheertex *were* comfy clothes!
I wore my Sheertex for a full day at the office and walking the pups to test them out.
Visit me on Instagram to see how they fit on me with their thick waistband.
😉 😉 😉
The true test would come with the dogs.
I have two furry pals that can be very loving. That’s awesome, but they tend to be hard on my closest when they attempt their daily climb of Mount Mommy.
More than one pair of hosiery has met an untimely death at the claws of Max the Maniac or Frodo the Frightful.
Frodo the Frightful…on my Polka-Dot Sheers…doggie nails and all!
My pups are lovely, but they are destructive doggies when it comes to hosiery…sigh.
Sheertex proved to be their foil!!!
I’m wearing the Polka-Dot Sheers and as you can see they held up to the riggers of both puppies perfectly.
Max the Maniac climbing Mount Mommy
If you are a someone who occasionally gets climbed by animals or has a tendency to catch hosier on desks, nails, chairs, shoes, shrubbery, whatevs …nearly immediately upon putting on a new pair of pantyhose…. then say hello to Sheertex and hosiery that doesn’t suck!
Use my discount code and get $10 off your first pair: MEOW10
Max the Maniac climbing Mount Mommy
Frodo the Frightful…on my Polka-Dot Sheers…doggie nails and all!
What’s old is new again and all that. The last concert of the summer, I took it to another level when I attended the Toronto date of Aqua, Prozzak and Whigfield’s Rewind Tour at Echo Beach.
Prozzak!
That’s Whigfield….singing about Saturday Night
It was a Saturday night so I now have had the delightful experience of hearing Whigfield’s famous song, Saturday Night, on a Saturday night!
I couldn’t go back in time without the look to match it, now could I?
Why yes, that is a little bit Britney influenced 🙂
Although the September air was little chilly, I rocked this baby blue Gingham checkered two piece. The concert was on a beach so I was damn well going to wear a beach outfit, 16° temperatures or not!
As it was a ‘90s bra look the bra, from additionElle was peekaboo-ing out the front to really add to the fun, sexy feel of the outfit.
The jelly shoes were purchased in Malaysia. You can read about those shoes and that trip here. The white purse belt was from Forever21.
Topping off the look was the Pom Pom accessories in the hair. They were re-purposed clip-on shoe embellishments from Aldo’s end of season sales.
The look proved to be a real head turner, which all kinds of folks asking for a photo with Brit during the evening.
How’d I Get The Look: 2pc gingham set from Forever21+, jellyshoes from travels in Malaysia, pom poms from Aldo, white lace bra from AdditionElle.
All and all it was a fun, throwback night with a fun retro look to match. With ‘90s retro becoming more and more popular you should shop your closet to find the gems ready to make a re-appearance!
You really can’t ever dress properly to keep it cute and combat the weather you’ve got to endure in The6ix these days. A few weeks ago I was invited to a birthday party — a Joggers Soca Winter Boat Cruise upon the Empress of Canada.
The boat wasn’t as um, Empress-like as its name implied… but the event did have 2 floors of dancing DJ’d fun to be had… AND apparently everyone’s ticket came with food (which they ran out of before our birthday loving toop could get any)
Um, looks like this empress needs a wash and paint job.
Those ominous clouds above held off for the most part … buuuut there was a sudden 7-min storm that totally wrecked some parts of the city. Including the party guests on the top deck of the boat…like US!
Once that was behind us, it was lit on the top deck as we floated around the lake catching views and busting moves!
Below are the many looks that took place as the weather and dancing lead to removal of layers and drowned-wet-rat hair. 😀
There were surprisingly a ton of people on this boat that were “blasts from my past” … gotta love those unexpected catch-ups of faces you haven’t seen in more than 10-15 years!
The day was pretty great dancing, drinking and floating with the birthday girl and the team that love her.
Me and the Birthday Girl as the sunsets on Toronto
Now that you know what I did, curious about what I wore to this Soca Joggers Winter Boat Cruise?
What I Wore
Y’all know I’m the biggest sports fan … and dressing “sporty” is a piece of cake for me. (**written dripping in sarcasm** ) #gosports
I really didn’t want to have to be worried about a jacket while on this boat. So layers was the name of the game for outfit strategy!
I found this cropped TFC sweatshirt from Winners a few days AFTER having attended my very first soccer game. So I was thrilled to have an excuse to wear this top somewhere where I’d stand out more than among crowded stands of similarly dressed fans.
Photo credit: Joel Colbourne
I wore a simple ribbed black tank underneath a plain white tee to give me warmth layers.
My bottoms are my very first pair of jeaggings (jean leggings) … in black…rolled up cuz I’m short. With my wedge high-top black kicks and red mini-crossbody that’s just large enough for my cellphone, money, sunnies and lipgloss. Keeping me free to ‘jump up’ for all the soca fete ‘big chune’ goodness. **insert loud horn noise here**
When you’re trying to take pictures for the blog…and swarm of handsome men come photobomb you. 🙂
How I Got The Look: TFC cropped hoodie, Winners; Round sunnies, Public Butter; Thin Cross-body purse, Necessities; Jeggings, Penningtons; High-top kicks, NineWest (layers of black tank and white tee both from Old Navy)
Photo credit: Joel Colbourne
Would you take a Winter Boat Cruise around the Toronto Harbour?
What did you think of my outfit strategy for this event?
Use the comment section below and tell me your thoughts!
Oh and a personal favourite: The Quadboob…ugh! #TheWorst
Well, have you heard of Sugar Candy Bras?
The Sugar Candy Everyday is a luxurious seamless bra that is specially engineered for the fuller bust. With support panels that are designed to maximize lift and support without compromise.
Your shape is unique, which makes it sometimes difficult to find bras that are made in standard sizes, work for you. Story of my life.
This Sugar Candy Bra comes in 6 easy sizes to suit over 35 cup and band size combinations.
I had the opportunity to try out this bra myself of a few months. And I have to say it really does meet all its brochure claims and has exceeded my expectations.
Those common bra-blems I rhymed off above, none of those were an issue when wearing the Sugar Candy Bra. ❤
Its one-piece cup construction was surprisingly supportive, with nice lift for Thelma & Louise … that’s what I call “The Girls”. 😉
I’ve never worn a bra that didn’t have an underwire before.
The soft, stretchy materials made of luxuriously soft yarn and its elasticized band made wearing this bad boy all day an easy thing to do.
Like all bras, with wash and wear over time it will lose its shape and fit more loosely. But with the many rows of snaps on back, you can adjust that with wear super easily.
Sugar Candy is not intended to replace your typical wired bra, but to provide you with comfort and support at home.
I have worn this bra around the house, during the few hot summer days we had here in Toronto when wearing clothes was just too much. Going bra-less can be uncomfortable and sweaty. This Sugar Candy Bra was super helpful in keeping me covered up just enough, while keeping “The Girls” up and separated.
Thank goodness Canadian weather allows for me to mostly follow this needlepoint philosophy instead. 😉
As a proud Torontonian, I am a bit embarrassed to say that I haven’t been to a TFC game in nearly 10-years.
So when the opportunity arose to go to a game and sit in the designated cheering-section with a boy you’re newly dating, how can a girl say no. 😉
Now, you may not know this, but I’m not exactly a sports fan. But, I’m all about dressing up appropriately for any kind of event. So I did a bit of research and asked a few questions and discovered that TFC colours were: RED, BLACK and WHITE.
Basic colour staples in any girls wardrobe – especially in mine. But instead of wearing something I already had, I chose to go the DIY route and get crafty!
TA-DAH!!! Here you see a custom, one of a kind, Irene creation. This tank top was on sale at Eddie Bauer for $10. Perfect TFC colour combos as the white fades into red.
The morning of the game, I had the bright idea to cut out felt letters and affix them on to the shirt, creating the be-all-and-end-all outfit requirements for any and all sporting event invitations in my life: GO SPORTS!
WHAT I WORE: Tank top, Eddie Bauer; Leggings with mesh calves, JoeFresh; R2D2 socks from Torrid; Sneakers (not seen here) and Lettering by moi 🙂
With unpredictable weather, I wrote a white checkered fleece zip-up (Old Navy), just in case and wore my gold-studded cross-body bag (Aldo) so that nothing would have to be place on the ground of a crowded and likely beer-covered floors of BMO Field’s stadium.
See that gifted scarf around my neck…completing my sporty-fan-girl outfit? That’s the 10th anniversary TFC scarf.
The soccer scarf phenomenon began in the early 1900s. This trend originated in the United Kingdom where fans needed a way to stay warm without sacrificing their team spirit. It was here that the idea of ‘team scarves’ was born.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that one of the fringe on each side of this scarf is made of blue wool. That’s meant to be a nod to the pre-Toronto FC history of soccer in the city. Specifically it was part of the colours worn by the Toronto Blizzards and Toronto Metros Croatia, who were both teams in North American Soccer League. See the things you learn when you date a soccer dude :p
Today, the team itself has simply been called “TFC” and “the Reds” by the media and the club.
Have you ever been to a TFC game? Here are some things you can do to participate:
Visually.
Wear Red. Black. White. Or a combination of the three.
People don’t really make banners or anything. But if you wanna make one and if you got TFC swag like a flag or scarf… bring them and wave them proudly. 🙂
Verbally.
There were SOOOOO many chants you can participate in. Sadly, I was too into it myself during the game, that I didn’t record any myself from the enthusiastic fans around me calling themselves THE U-SECTORS (fans sitting in the U section of BMO Field, I was told later). THE U-Sector vocally leads the entire south stand, and has also contributed to the highly visual nature of TFC support.
But here’s a clip of what goes down among these chanting fans:
There were many more creative chants sung to the tune of many well known songs. One of my personal favourites was done to the Jesus Christ Superstartune:
T-O-R…. O-N-T …Oooooooh….. T-F-C! ❤
IF you’re the type that needs to know the lyrics before confidently yelling them to a tune among a stadium full of day-drinking fans…here’s one for you along with its YouTube vid so you can study up 🙂
Just Cant Get Enough (this one is usually sung after a goal)
When I see Toronto, I go out of my head
I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough
All the things you do to me and all the things you said
I just can’t get enough, I just cant get enough
We slip and slide when we fall in love
and I just can’t seem to get enough of…
(Repeat with Doo’s and jumping)
I’m always down to try out new make up products if it means making my 5-min face look even more fabulous! 😉
Earlier this summer I tried a product called LipSense – a long-lasting liquid lip colour. This product boasts claims that are pretty tough to ignore: its waterproof, does not kiss-off, smear-off, or rub-off. Each lip colour lasts for up to 18 hours with 1 application! With over 30 colors to choose from and thousands of layering possibilities…I couldn’t wait to try this out~!!!
Ani Novshadian of “Lovely Lasting Looks” is a LipSense product distributor, and gave me the 3-part starter kit to use. Here’s how it worked for me.
The 3-part Starter Kit
The colour ($30CAD) + the gloss ($25CAD) + the oops remover ($12CAD)
The colour needs to be applied to dry, clean lips in several layers, spread in a fluid sweeping motion without lifting the applicator. 3 even layers – with 5 seconds of drying time in between each layer.
Then the gloss needs to be applied generously. And you are encouraged to apply this gloss often throughout the day for long-lasting results of the colour.
The prices listing in this image are in USD
MY Results: Round 1 – Salmon
Ani was kind enough to show me how to apply the product. And together we picked a fun, loud, summertime colour for me to try: SALMON!!! ❤
For 3-weeks, I followed all the steps, being very diligent and steady with the colour application of thin, even layers…allowing for drying time before the next layer.
As you can see…. MY lips looked nothing like the lips advertised above 😦
The biggest excitment to me for using this product was its long-lasting never needing to reapply colour claims. Let’s see how that worked out for me:
What the Salmon LipSense colour looked like on my lips into the evening 😦
The below were my lips the morning AFTER using the Oops Remover (the 3rd piece of the starter kit).
As you can see my lips were super dried-out and some of the colour was still adhering to my lips. 😦
MY Results: Round 2 – Aussie Rose
Sigh… needless to say I was super discouraged. But I wasn’t ready to give up.
Ani asked me to try with a different colour as sometimes certain colours weren’t as “easy”. So for the next 3-weeks I used a different, lighter lip colour to see if it might work better for me.
Here’s how that went…
At this point, applying generous amount of the LipSense gloss seemed to have giving the colour new life ❤
But then as the day went on, this colour quit on me too:
This product just made me hyper aware of my lips. It wasn’t a comfortable wear. It seemed to suck the moisture out of my lips. And sadly, this “lasting colour” barely made it with me through a day out-and-about
This is not the look I wanna suddenly notice on my face while out and about …yikes!
Here’s the results of the Oops Remover on my lips after a day of wearing the Aussie Rose lip colour. As you can see, the colour was really tough to remove, leaving my lips with every line visible and lip crease super dry.
Overall, this was a fun product to try out – lots of colours to choose from – sadly, it just didn’t hold true in terms of long-lasting effects it claims.
And as much as I’d love, love, love to be known as “Makeup Mama Me-Ow” 😉 …. LipSense just isn’t a product for me.
What do you think of these results LipSense? Have you used it before? What were your results? Tell me in the comment section below.
Think these products might be right for you? Want them? Thinking of becoming distributor yourself?
Ani offered so much product support to me, as a consultant, when I was struggling to get the results. If you’re looking to better understand the business model of this company, contact Ani as she is terrific coach.
Contact Ani Novshadian, Independent Distributor visit her site here.
It seems that the 1990s are everywhere right now.
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PPMeow! 