As You Like It

Summer in Toronto is not complete without attending at least one Shakespere-in-the-Park ‘pay-what-you-can’ event! Pack a picnic, a blanket and a friend or two and it’s a perfect night of outdoor theatre. This year, CanadianStage is offering both comedy and tragedy in High Park. The shows will be playing on alternate nights through the summer. Last week, a gf via Facebook invite with a whopping 20+ of us who RSVPd a solid “YES, I’M IN”, were due to go. Which only yielded a total of three persons who – actually – physically – showed up to see the light-hearted As You Like It under the stars. (Why do people suck? Let’s leave that difficult to answer question for another day, shall we?) 😉

Witheth me doth be the most loveliest of maidens; healthy and svetly Sara and lusty and strong Natalie and in the bushes did lurk musical talents of a local school of young violinists. We were merry and gay and mosquito burdened. It was a joyous night had by all.

The performance doesn’t begin until about 8pm (dusk-ish). I got there an hour earlier to secure seats whilst the others were en route from their offices. The three of us managed to get fabulous dead-center seats of the graduated earth seating – cleverly lining our sit-on blanket with a $1 shower curtain to keep the damp out.

Dressing for summer evenings in Toronto hasn’t been easy this year with unseasonably cooler nights. Which means one must think about serious versatility when outfit planning to sit on one’s ass for 2+ hours, while the sun disappears and you’re left shivering cuddled under a blanket, while trying to stay cute. Plus, we can’t forget the inevitable use of a portapotty – dun dun dunnnnn.. 🙂

Keeping all of this in mind, here’s what I came up with to help keep me summer cute & comfortable while the sun was in full-force ,while protecting my freshly washed hair from bugs…

How I Got the Look: White patterned crop top and Tribal pants both from Forever21; Pink leather floral sandals (uber old from The Bay); Aviator sunnies from ElleHardware; Headscarf is vintage, picked it up at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show earlier this year.

My headscarf was a last-minute addition to my outfit of the day. Since much of my outfit was a simple black N white colour scheme….I made sure that the scarf had loud vibrant colours in it – a Summery punch, if you will. With light rain threats in the forecast that evening, I simply wanted to protect my hair…but didn’t want to wear a hat and possibly be an irritating obstacle to another play-goer with the unfortunate luck of sitting behind me in the park. So this seemed to be the best solution.

I wanted to do wear a more sophisticated head wrap but alas, none of them looked right on my pea-head. Maybe, with practice, I’ll rock a few more of these techniques in the near future — thoughts? 🙂

Fab video of 12 wraps in under 7-mins …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk4dgs93biE

Shakespeare isn’t everyones cupa tea … I never read/studied this particular play in school before, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it…and I didn’t even need to read the Coles Notes before hand. 🙂

There were some fantastic lines in this one…with some hilarious female characters, one of whom is AUDREY who won me over with the following line:

I am not a slut, though I thank the gods I am foul.

Over the past few years, I’ve been more of a “skirts and dresses kinda gal”….but for sitting outdoors at dusk with bugs and cool temperatures, and the possible use of a portapotty at some point in the evening, made pants the best option! These are lovely and light for summer-daytime, keeps your legs from getting bitten by bugs in the evening and comfortable enough to be sitting crossed legged cuddling on and under a blanket.

Are you a fan of theatre – outdoor theatre?

Which ones have you been to….any recommends for me?

Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus, Meow’s Facebook Page yet?

LIKE. Share. Tell A Friend, friend 🙂

Pre-Opening Sneak Peek at Tatyana’s new Boutique in Toronto!!!

As much as I love vintage/retro styles ….. sifting through smelly racks of ‘truly vintage’ clothing in hopes that a gem-of-a-find will fit my petite-plus sized bod in a flattering way is difficult and often an uneventful task. This is why I’m a huge fan of the world of vintage reproduction. 🙂

Toronto has been buzzing for months around rumours of getting the golden-era inspired dress company behind the Bettie Page brand – Tatyana!

Vintage and retro style lovers – from swing dancers to rockabilly fans – have been dying to get their hands on the full range of clothing since they were dreamed up in 2006. With sizes in both circle dresses and wiggle dresses going right up to size 4x! The Tatyana company has chosen Toronto to be it’s 20^th location AND it’s first international store….and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

About the Company – Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Tatyana Designs, Inc. is a growing retailer specializing in contemporary designs inspired by the 50’s. The merchandise offered through boutiques and active e-commerce and wholesale divisions is a diverse mix of high-quality and attractively priced apparel, jewelry, accessories and gifts. Tatyana collections target the 18-35 year-old, fashion conscious, female customer, but women of all ages are attracted to the unique retro look.

“Our newest Tatyana boutique is situated in the heart of Toronto,” notes Tatyana Designs co-CEO Jan Glaser. “We continue to be gratified by the enthusiastic acceptance of Tatyana’s designs by women from all walks of life. This is especially true as we have an enormous Canadian following with thousands wearing our dresses representing a disproportionate percentage of our customers. Now we have the opportunity to honor their patronage with our first Canadian outlet in an amazing location.”

The Toronto Vintage Society are huge supporters of any new company that wants to join our ranks in bringing the retro inspired lifestyle to this city…and there is room for everyone!!! To find out more we reached out to the company. The lovely Hayley from the NYC Boutique and new Toronto Store Manager Martha made time to let the Toronto Vintage Society have a sneak peek at what’s in store. Click here for the complete blogpost and interview.

The Tatyana Boutique Soft Opening Event this Saturday (Location: 322 Queen West, near Spadina Ave) with goody bags for the first 10 people through the door; bubbly drinks and tasty treats; PLUS an exclusive discount just for US! Mention “Toronto Vintage Loves Tatyana” and receive 20% off your purchase!!! You’re welcome friends!!! 🙂

Happy Shopping! If you do pick up something fabulous this weekend…be sure to post a picture of yourself on Petite Plus, Meow’s Facebook page so I can oooo-and-ahhhh your purchases with you! xoxo

Flower Power

“Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

Miranda Priestley’s famed catty retort from The Devil Wears Prada may live on in infamy, but truth be told I’m not the biggest fan of floral prints. And I’m seemingly late to the party with this trend this year….with summer in full bloom and all (see what I did there 😉 …)

These pink hibiscus earrings I picked up at last year’s Toronto Vintage Society‘s Tiki Party — were the inspiration for my outfit of the day.

I have a hard time finding a good lipstick/gloss that actually appears PINK once applied to my lips. This RIMMEL LONDON Stay Glossy Lip Gloss – Jewel In The Crown is actually perfect…and has become by go-to summer colour.

This outfit of the day had to do double-duty as a office appropriate work-outfit AND comfortable enough to Lindy Hop in immediately after work with SWING TORONTO in front of the Gazebo of St. James Park (King/Jarvis Sts)!

For dancing in the park….the heels had to go. Sooooo these navy flat peep-toes (Payless) worked out perfectly….

As you can see, dancing in St. James Park isn’t the easiest thing to do…..the grounds are pretty beat up and kinda tricky for dancing on. Not like that stopped us or anything. Check me out friends!!! 🙂

Special thanks to Liz for taking this perfect shot 🙂

Turns out Old Town Toronto took a bunch of pictures too. Check out a few during the swing lesson by Swing Toronto before the band went on…..click here for their full photo album of this event.

Swing Toronto’s lesson before the Band went on….Photo courtesy of Old Town Toronto

Love that this city has soooooo many outdoor music & dancing opportunities….

Here’s a few snaps from at Harbourfront Centre’s Dancing on the Pier event earlier this month. I love this city!!!

Dancing on the Pier a few weeks ago….with fellow Toronto Vintage Society sistas: Liz (The Vintage Inn) and Erin (Delovely Delightful)

Yet another Swing Dancing in the Streets pic…from 2014 The Beaches Jazz Festival (this past weekend) with Toronto Lindy Hop Can you find me? Click here for outfit details on this Seafoam Swirl dress

How I Got The Look:

Floral pencil skirt from H&M; Navy top from Reitmans; Navy flat peep-toes from Payless; Pink heels from MTNY; Purse from Your Big Sister’s Closet

Have you made it out to any outdoor music and dancing events in Toronto this summer? Which ones? Tell me all about the in the comments section friends!

Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus, Meow’s Facebook Page yet?

LIKE. Share. Tell A Friend, friend 🙂

Summerlicious Nights

Toronto kick’s off their Summerlicious season!!! Which means this petite plus diva gets to get dolled up to discover and experience the diverse cuisine this city has to offer at exceptional value!!! For two mouth-watering weeks in July, foodies savour delicious three-course prix fixe lunch and dinner menus at more than 200 of the city’s top restaurants.

Last Night a gf and I tried out CHURCH APERITIVO BAR. Located in an old church at Queen and Dovercourt….this spot’s speciality is Italian cuisine. The food was delish with very generous portions. The meatballs were just like my ex’s Nona used to make (once you added some of their chili-flake sauce). There’s a built-in 18% gratuity, and the paired wine with the menu turned out to be $15 PER GLASS. A little outrageous, I think, but waddya gonna do once your belly is full and the bill comes. Sadly, I failed to take any photos of my food … which is very unusual for me… guess we were more hungry than we thought. 🙂

Here’s what I wore:

Does this dress look familiar? That’s cuz … it was one of the dresses I wore for the collaboration photo shoot entitled “IS IT SPRING YET?” with Rebecca Northcott Photography and Your Big Sister’s Closet this past Spring.

I fell in love with this dress immediately! So much so that I had to buy it BEFORE we even got to the location for the photoshoot 🙂

If you look closely at the photo shoot pictures you’ll see my bra strap is showing … sigh. At the time I didn’t have one that was suitable of the way the back of this dress is cut. Buuuuuuut in the newer pictures from this post – this has been corrected with Cacique’s Lace Racerback Bra!!

Black suede platform sandals (Nine West) give me the height needed to wear this lovely maxi dress without any alterations!

Short Diva Trick – I tied a wee knot in the bottom of my dress so that I don’t trip over the length whist indoors without those sky-high platform sandals.

It was a bit on the cooler side that night – with temperatures threatening to dip into high teens tonight (+18) … so keeping that in mind, I paired this gorgeous maxi with an open black 3/4 sleeved cardi (Reitmans). In an effort to keep it ‘summertime fun’, I tied it in front rather than keeping it open so that the lovely paisley pattern doesn’t get hidden. 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Black & paisley maxi dress from Your Big Sister’s Closet (click here to see the photoshoot I did for them that prompted me to buy this dress)

Sandals from Nine West Outlet (click here to see my cross-boarder shopping haul post)

Black open cardi, Reitmans; Silver teardrop earrings, Payless; Black clutch wallet, Ardene

Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus Meow Facebook Page yet —- LIKE. Share. Tell A Friend, friend 🙂

Vintage Gypsy Cabaret?

I was at it again, representing with the Toronto Vintage Society at last weekend’s Electro Swing night-o-fun … looking for Best Dressed guy and gal. This time the theme was: Vintage Gypsy Cabaret. My immediate reaction was…..Whaaat!?! This made me dig deep when coming up with an appropriate look to match my TVS Sistas.

Outfit planning has been tricky to say the least….what the heck is Vintage-Gypsy-Cabaret anyway?! Google’s answer was the following…

….and from which inspired my overall outfit of excessive accessories (Thank You Jacquie, Founder of TVS) and giant hair inspiration of Kate Moss Biba.

I’ve been dying to somehow create a look with these fabulous silky Ali-Baba/Harem Pants I picked up on my trip to the Motherland a few years ago … just never really found an occasion where they would really fit. But they totally worked to help create that Gypsy feeling for this fantastic themed event!!!!

The evening began with pre-drinking at Erin’s … followed by excessive photo-taking of our outfits:

The Event & Best Dressed Winners:

Me and my TVS Sistas on stage….asking the audience to determine who BEST DRESSED was for the night.

10421503_809591515718406_4837104656577647159_n — Final Three for “Dapper Dude”: Alex, Patrick and Daniel

10430492_809591785718379_9162443959395387830_n — Final Three for “Darling Dame”: Sam, Foxy and Clair

10410576_809591332385091_8536558676859040825_n — Moi …. introducing TVS and the Best Dressed Contest. Clearly I enjoy having the mic in my hand

10443456_809591629051728_5430756783390965308_n — TVS selected these three for Best Dressed ‘Dapper Dude’

The ladies really stepped it up tonight….It was uber difficult to pick ‘Darling Dame’ based on these three finalists. Check out their costumes up close – all three were fantastic!

Best dressed guy and gal went to: Daniel and Sam – winners of gift certificates from Gaddabout Vintage Clothing – congratulations you two!!!

10456821_809591899051701_4628860598226836655_n — TVS with the Winners of the Best Dressed Contest!

With Taste of Little Italy happening that night just outside of Revival’s Electro Swing — the TVS Sistas took to the street to dance along side this One-Man-Band!

Other shenanigans of the evening included….

Photo Credit: David Tom — for the full album of photos taken from Electro Swing’s Vintage-Gypsy-Cabaret night click here

How I got the Look:

Black crochet tank from Forever21+; Black lace bra from Lane Bryant; Golden-green Harem/Ali-Baba pants from my travels in Jaipur, India; excessive accessories, plus turban and feathers courtesy of Jacquie of TVS; sandals from Payless

Stay tuned to the Toronto Vintage Society and Electro Swing Facebook pages for the next speakeasy event!

Speed Dating with 25Dates.com

So, if you’re a 30-something who’s looking to meet a good guy to date before (hopefully) finding one to call your ‘boyfriend’ …. how does one find HIM? Dating is tough. Dating after divorce, tougher. Dating as a petite plus sized beauty, even tougher. (Click here to link to a clip from Louie to see what I’m talking about). I’m not one to write about dating advice nor do I want to start recapping all my adventures in dating via this forum…but I recently found a GroupOn for a speed dating event with 25Dates.com … and since Petite Plus, Meow! is both a fashion AND lifestyle blog, I wanted to share my experience and thoughts in this review with ya …. along with my outfit choice.

How It Works:

In one night, you will sit down, one on one for up to 25 three-minute dates. You will decide who you like, and who you would like to see again. It could be 5 people, it could be all 25! Now we all know there’s nothing without mutual chemistry, so the 25 people you talk to will also be deciding if they want to see you again. If there is a mutual match, your contact info is forwarded to them, and theirs to you. You are then free to explore your connection. Typically, the cost for a ‘regular event’ like the one I attended is $50.

The GroupOn voucher allowed me to attend this event for $25…plus HST once you secure your spot for an upcoming event via 25Dates.com’s site for a date and location and age group that best suited your preference.

Sounded like a good deal. But then I thought, “Do I really want to be meeting men who used a GroupOn to participate in this dating avenue?”

I’ve found with dating in general, it’s best to keep hopes high, but expectations looooow! 😉 I’m thinking these men clearly made some effort in searching out and investing in this event and possibly share a similar view on value vs. money – which is an important characteristic to have in common I think – so why the heck not!

What I Wore:

I picked up this dress from my recent cross border shopping trip from Rainbow Clothing at a fantastic $15!! I decided that it was smart-casual enough with just the right about of cleavage to be “date appropriate”. After all, the mission was to get handsome, eligible bachelors to mark ‘yes’ beside my name in their scorecards after a mere 3-mins of chit-chat and banter. A girl’s gotta use all her assets, so to speak, to hook a guy’s interest at warp-hyper-speed 😉

The Event:

The event I signed up for fell on a Thursday night hosted by Vagabondo Italian Resto + Lounge, a really nice upscale spot just east of the Financial District, specific to Women 30-40 and Men 35-45.

Upon arrival I found the facilitators of 25Dates.com to be a bit disinterested. In fact, there were no official welcomes or icebreakers or formal introductions by the 25Dates.com reps at all. As participants trickled into the venue they were given a scorecard, name tag and a quick rundown as to how the evening was going to unfold: Women to sit on one side of table, Men would do the actual rotating around from table to table. And that was it. If you arrived at the designated time, you were then left on your own until the event official began. I made my way to the bar and ordered a drink – as you’re left to fend for yourself – the fee for this event supposedly covered hors d’oeuvres, but I personally didn’t see any. Those who did said they were sad state of affairs and not nearly enough for everyone in attendance to have a taste.

Considering how much time was allotted to the ‘registration’ portion of the evening, I think 25Dates.com should have included a free drink (or two) instead of hors d’oeuvres with the price of the ticket. This way EVERYONE gets one and a little liquid courage is always helpful, possibly needed and appreciated in a meet-market-event like this one. Also, another benefit to this ‘first drink free’ approach … the facilitators could/should be encouraging everyone to mingle in the bar, rather than having people sit alone at tables until the event was ready to begin. I mean, isn’t that the whole point of this event? An opportunity to meet new people. It’s uber difficult to get motivated enough to come out and try an event like this in the first place, so it’s critical that the facilitators create a more welcoming environment, create rapport building opportunities perhaps by way of some general ice breaker activities to get people comfortable and chatting, prior to the exclusive 3-min one on one dates. Just my two cents.

As the name of the event and company implies, I was expecting to meet at least 25 guys. But there were maybe 16 men at most. With this reduced attendance turnout, you’d think the facilitators could/would modify the event and increase the 1:1 time for each meeting, but this wasn’t the case. Again, another improvement that could have been made that would ultimately benefit all attendees. Also, it seemed that the facilitators didn’t really factor in the time it takes for these men to get up and rotate from table to next table…which ate into the precious 3-min timeline of the next mini-date. Not cool.

When the event ended, everyone hands in their scorecards to the facilitators….if you have matches (that is, you picked them AND they picked you), 25Dates.com will send you an email with your matches’ email address – and then its up to the two of you to take it from there! What I found interesting about the attendees of this event is how quickly people cleared out of the venue once the event concluded. I mean, if you did select ‘YES’ to someone, isn’t this now the perfect opportunity to chat them up a bit more, have a drink with them, grab a bite to eat, etc.?! Since I had plans to meet up with a gf afterwards, I made my way back to the bar and chatted up the last two participants (a guy and girl, friends who work together) and we debriefed our experiences of the night together. Much of my above thoughts and overall mediocre impressions of the event resonated with them also.

The Results:

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised at the calibre of men at this event. Most of whom worked for financial institutions, like myself, were dressed well and seemed generally positive. This is a nice change from what I’ve been finding on free internet dating sites. It does seem that if men have some ‘skin in the game’, i.e. made an effort and shelled out some cash to be a part of a dating/introduction event like this, they seemingly put in more of an effort. Click here and here for my previous thoughts on the Art of Manliness.)

Needless to say that after my 16-mini dates, there wasn’t an instant love connection with any of them. 11 of them seemed very interested in reviewing my CV in full, asking job-realted-interview type questions. Sigh… guess its sort of default topic, but seriously, asking me ANYTHING else would have made for a more enjoyable mini-date. Of all the dudes I met….5 gents really held my attention. Those who made it to the YES category of my scorecard were those who DIDN’T ask me about work right off the bat, those who not only dressed well but uniquely with a bit of swagger in their own personal style, and last but certainly not least, were Tall and Handsome 🙂

Turns out 4 of the 5 men I selected YES to, picked me as well! Since I couldn’t remember what any of these dudes looked like, I used their email addy’s to find and friend them on Facebook. And so far have already begun chatting and making plans with two in particular ……weeeeeee! So there you have it – speed dating, way better experience than online dating. Buying the voucher via GroupOn pricing for this event was of fair value, but had I paid the full price for this event with 25Dates.com I would have been very disappointed.

How I Got The Look:

Coral & navy patterned faux wrap dress from Rainbow Clothing; Brown sandals from Payless; Purse from Guess; Gold bracelet Michael Kors watch + gold drop earrings AND new fantastic lipstick: Rouge Artist Intense by Make Up Forever

Have you ever gone Speed Dating? What were your thoughts and experience like? Would you go again? Why/Why not? Tell me in the Comments section friends.

Subscribe. Share. Tell a Friend!

The TVS Pin Up Picnic

The Toronto Vintage Society hosted a lovely Pin Up Picnic at Trinity Bellwoods Park a few weekends ago…. A simple social gathering to celebrate the amazing whether, show off our summer vintage gear and meet new people in our vintage community. Celebrating Sun, Fun and Vintage!

The Admin & Events Teams met up earlier in the afternoon for photo ops, to set up and to pow-wow about the various other exciting events TVS is planning for the upcoming months (stay tuned to the TVS FB Page and new blog site so you don’t miss a thing friends!)

Outfit planning was done with careful colour consideration, with special instructions and effort to keeping the ‘patterns’ to a minimum of 10-25% of the look. Our team photo was going for a more monochromatic look. I was to wear RED! I used the following image as my inspiration…..

Here’s what I wore:

Click here to see this dress in a ‘wintery’ look 🙂

I studied the following Hair Tutorial to get my hair into Pin Up perfection:

…But ended up cheating by creating a faux bang with half a foam hair donut instead 🙂

The TVS Admin & Events Team took some long awaited shots for the website – along with some fun candid ones too. Take a look at all the shenanigans that took place that afternoon amongst Vintage Pin Ups, Greasers, Teddy Boys, Retro Divas and Rockers:

10301053_576860285762585_1121986207842699136_n — TVS Admin & Events Team! Photo taken by Shermette

TVS Admin Team – photo taken by Shermette

A few snaps taken by Bianca Baumann Photography ‘behind the scenes’ as we got ourselves organized for the group pic:

Photo Credits: Shermy Freeman of Shermette and Bianca Baumann of Bianca Baumann Photography

How I got the Look:

Red Swing Dress from Collectif + white short-crinoline from Rosie The Rebel; White crop sweater from Old Navy (was wayyyy too hot to actually wear during the day tho); Vintage wicker purse earrings and bangles; Zebra stripped head tie & wedges from Payless

The Toronto Vintage Society did a great blogpost of their own….check it out for more Pin Up Picnic pics and fun, complete with other picnic-ers and favourite pin-up poses 🙂

Swing Dancing: LHR End of Year Party

9-weeks ago…. I began Lindy Hop Swing Dancing Lessons with the lovely instructors, Luis & Natalia of Lindy Hop Revolution. And I can proudly say that they’ve officially turned me into a solid Beginner Level Swing Dancer!!!

I blogged about my very first swing lesson – describing myself as a hot mess. My arms did not want to cooperate what-so-ever. And the constant ‘bouncing’ that is required didn’t seem to keep the beat in my feet as it should.

It was tricky at first, but week after week I felt more and more confident of the steps, felt myself improving and I couldn’t wait for class to learn the next big move. 🙂

I couldn’t get enough! In addition to my weekly scheduled lesson, I found myself showing up at the weekly LHR ‘social dances’ …dancing with swing dancers from all over Toronto …. dancers with varying skill-levels! These drop-in socials I think were key to my overall improvement and confidence in becoming a better Follower – and just have fun with it! 🙂

LHR threw a ‘End of Year’ Party last week — as this cute couple is taking summer off to tie the knot in Spain!!! (Congratulations again you two, xoxo!) Giving all the students, new and old, an opportunity to swing, swing, swing until the wee hours of the AM potluck style.

Being silly with the fab LHR Instructors: Luis & Natalia

Erin, fellow blogger of Delovely has been in the Beginner classes with me for the last two months….she’s terrific! We met up on a patio before the party to get some liquid courage in us before the party began. 😉

Check out the lovely crafty contribution to the potluck she brought, complete with punny-humor: Try a Lindy Pop! Isn’t she clever? 🙂 Definitely check out her blog for more creative crafts friends.

Natalia & I making silly Lindy Hop faces

Wanna see what 9-weeks of Lindy Hop Lessons looks like? Check out my debut swing dancing vid below!

Special Thank You to Erin for your steady hand in filming and to Donald for being my patient go-to dance partner 🙂

It’s official: Swing Dancing is my happy drug!!!

Can’t wait to continue with lessons into the Fall, and beyond with Lindy Hop Revolution!

As for What I Wore … turns out I wore the same dress from my very first lesson – minus the cardi & tights. Click here for details on that outfit 🙂

So, waddya think of me and my Lindy Hop moves? If I can learn it…anyone can friends. Would you ever try lessons yourself? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.

Also ….. Have you LIKE’d Petite Plus, Meow on Facebook yet? You should….I really really want you to!

Choir! Choir! Choir!

I love to sing. I’m an off-key karaoke fiend, and often have broken into song on the streets whilst listening to my iPod. I’m not particularly good at it … except when I’m singing “Drunk In Love” in my shower – then I sound EXACTLY like Queen B 🙂

Singing makes me happy. And I’m determine to discover and DO more of those things – that make me happy. I’ve been told of social choirs outside of a ‘church type choir’ before, however many of the ones I’ve been looking at have strict rules and restrictions before one can become a member. Plus, most of these chapters are located in Whitby, Mississauga and Oakville. Not at all what this Downtown Toronto gal is looking for.

SIDE NOTE: Just recently found this BlogT.O. article: Karaoke Nights in Toronto – every night of the week?! I’m definitely gonna have to investigate this list and the different spots this summer FO SHO!!!

I often sing the praises (see what I did there…ya, I’m clever like that) of Toronto being the best city ever — and I’ve recently discovered yet another reason why this city is so great: Choir! Choir! Choir!

C! C! C! is a singing group based in Toronto. Since February of 2011, they have been throwing down and saving lives. www.choirchoirchoir.com

I’ve actually been a member of this Facebook group for a few months now. Always wanting to go to an event, but feeling shy and discouraged to go alone. Alas, my social circle’s avaliability has dwindled due to life, marriages and babies….. and of those who still remain, they are less than enthusiastic about singing loudly in public than I am 🙂

But when I received the invite to last week’s session – I was def gonna check it out not matter what!

Don’t You Want Me (Human League) and Tainted Love (Soft Cell) – Yup! Two classics. One glorious night!

Typically, C! C! C! meets at two different pubs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Toronto’s Little Italy (College/Shaw area) …

Daveed Goldman & Nobu Adilman are the musical leads/directors who kick off the evening with riffs and banter before corralling us all to stand tightly as close to the stage as possible, grouping those who sing “highs and mids” separate from “lows and base”.

With minimum practice, Daveed and Nobu were able to make us sound amazing in 3-hours of fun filled singing with beers! Don’t believe me – check out the SoundCloud clips … thrilled that MY voice will be among a few of these renditions now. Oooop Boop!

I really can’t describe how amazing it was to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers singing our hearts out in unison and harmony. The only way to capture that feeling is to show you friends. Check out this clip of C! C! C! singing Neil Diamond’s hit “Sweet Caroline”.… if you’re not smiling ear-to-ear by the end of it, then you are a robot.

Oh … here’s what I wore done collage-style (as I forgot to take pics of the actual outfit) – my #ootd was uber casual for pub singing with C! C! C!:

How I got the Look: Black tank maxi dress from H&M; Great back lace sweatshirt from Penningtons (click here and here for other posts featuring this one); Medina Bib from Stella & Dot; Purple patterned scarf and memory foam soled Sketcher — essential for all the STANDING required for 3+ hours of singing with C! C! C! 🙂

Can’t wait for the next sing-a-long event with this fantastic group of people! Just thinking about it makes my heart happy! Weeeeee!

Want more details about C! C! C!? – Read Here, New People 🙂

#MyVegasStyle

Now…I’ve never been to Vegas myself. I was close last summer when I was a California Girl for a week (see my Wanderlust page for a few pics of that trip). Sadly my trip was too short to include a jaunt to down to The Gambling Capital. Vegas is definitely on my travel-list…and I would certainly need to pack weeks in advance to make sure I was Vegas Ready when it came to Daytime and Nighttime looks.

I was approached by the Content Director of Vegas.com to participate in their current blog challenge: #MyVegasStyle.

Challenge accepted!!! 😉

Vegas Style: Daytime

I’m usually for fashion over function. Buuuuut for daytime looks in desert heat, my vote is for fashion with function! Light, easy fabrics that could easily take you to a nice lunch spot, like at Aria’s Lemongrass resturant, and would keep you comfortable if you wanted to explore the sights of Vegas on foot (which would mean swapping heels for fun flats and sandals). Take a look at these collages of daytime #myvegasstyle – including a ton of sun hats, my newest obsession! I included a personal #ootd from a previous post that I think would totally fit into this category of Vegas Daytime Style too!

Swimwear

Frankly, any of the swimwear from Monif C. would totally fall into #MyVegasStyle category! Love! Love! Love!

This Peru Fringe Swimsuit would definitely be in my carry-on to Vegas. A dream come true for chesty chicks like me, and the sexy fringe details help distract from any thigh insecurities. Sexy! Brilliant! Love!

Vegas Style: Nighttime

Titty City – I would definitely play up the cleavage in Sin City! I think for a nice dinner followed by a show and gambling I could finally rock my Valentina Illusion Dress from Kiyonna. I think this number should bring someone a bit of luck, gambling if not otherwise…don’t you think? 😉

Leopard – I’m wearing this faux wrap Joseph Ribkoff dress a few weeks ago for a girlfriend’s birthday celebration. All three of us look like we were Vegas Nighttime Ready already, don’t you think? Meow indeed!!! 😉 Maybe we could wear these outfits to club Haze in the Aria Hotel.

Sequins – Where better to wear a glittery number if not in the “Entertainment Capital of the World”! I would def pack and rock my sequins tank and dress, depending on the time of year, I’d swap the tall boots for sexy pumps for nighttime fun in Vegas. Check out my previous post, How to Wear Sequins for other ideas to incorporate into a Vegas style look 🙂