Restaurants & Venues – Page 2

2014 Vacation: Grenada

With project deliverables and timelines being pushed back, October was the first time I’ve been able to schedule a vacation all year!

The biggest pain with travelling solo is the ‘single supplement fee” many vacation destinations and travel packages charge travellers simply because they’re travelling solo. I had no real plans to go away this year, but not taking any time off since last November was starting to take its toll on me.

Luckily, a gf of mine was also looking to get away for some R&R…and we were able to snag a fabulous Air Canada Vacation deal at a 4-stars ALL INCLUSIVE 7-night stay at a beautiful resort in Grenada! TripAdvisor scored it pretty well, the dates worked and the price was right!

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ve likely already seen a few of these pics…

ppmeow in Grenada — Our 1st day in Grenada – complete with rainbows, drinks, sand & sunset!

The last few years of trips and travel have been more bucket-list-adventure focused (click here to see what I mean).

For this trip, I truly was a beach bum! There was a lot of lounging around the pool, drink in hand, reading my book while falling in & out of naps in the sun. To be honest friends, there weren’t too many outfit pictures taken on this week away. It was a SOLID rest and relaxation for the first time in a long time (vacation-wise).

Having said all that, this blogpost will be focus more on ‘What I Did”, rather than “What I Wore”.

Here we go….

Packing for the Trip

Seems that whenever I travel, somehow a pair of sunglasses goes missing. No matter what. So, I’ve gotten into the routine of buying a few ‘cheapy vacation pairs’ to combat my forgetfulness.

I picked up these three below: Heart shaped polka-dots from Clare’s Accessories ($5) and the other two from Forever21 ($7 each)

Packing outfits for this trip was pretty simple: I just looked back to the blog to see what Summertime looks I rocked and shoved those items into my suitcase. I’ve linked each image below with their respective blogpost if you’re curious about the specific outfit deets 😉

Grenada is an island country consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Known as the Spice Isle for the nutmeg and cinnamon, clove, ginger, vanilla, lemongrass, bay leaf, thyme, and turmeric that grow so abundantly here, Grenada is a wonderfully green peaceful place, that feels off the beaten tourist track. Which totally works for me!

The Vacation Package (Flight + Hotel)

As I said above, we found a last-min deal with Air Canada Vacation — advertised as a 4-star resort in Grenada: Grenadian by Rex Resorts.

Let me start by asking … when YOU hear 4-stars, what do you expect out of an ALL INCLUSIVE resort?

The ‘Garden View’ Rooms weren’t anything special. They were clean and the view really wasn’t a garden so much as it was a hilly batch of grass. But who cares about that stuff. My biggest disappointment was the fact that the bathroom was teeny-tiny and did not have a tub. Now, I realize that a tub isn’t essential….however the standup shower was soooo small that if you were to drop the soap, your bare ass would be completely out of the shower! Shaving ones legs all week in there was not easy friends.

Seriously!? 4-stars and I have to ASK for a four-piece bathroom – really? Just saying’…

This was the width of the shower. Zero place to put your toiletries, soap, shampoo, etc. It was Ridiculous!

The width of this shower … it was tight. 4-stars…I think NOT!

Outside of that bathroom disappointment, there weren’t any a la cart restaurants voucher included with our stay. The single restaurant on the resort grounds would give us a $40 credit, which didn’t mean much as each entrée started at the $80+ mark.

Lucky for us the buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinners were delicious! Super flavourful and authentic, which I appreciated. Hate it when resorts make their foods more “tourist friendly”.

The grounds of the resort were beautiful. There was only one pool, but since it was a off-season, there weren’t too many people there in general, and even fewer children. There seemed to be a lot of travellers from the UK there, but mostly honeymooning couples or retirees with tons of vacay time (upwards of 5-weeks). We did meet and hang with three Brit dudes that week – let’s call them Alvin, Simon and Theodore. And by mid-week there was an invasion of Caribbean Tennis Pros who happened to be conference at our resort. So there were plenty of friends to be made for drinking and dining with, all week-long 🙂

Things To Do in Grenada:

Coincidentally, earlier in the month I met a light-eyed, broad, tall, handsome stranger at a networking event who happened to be from Grenada. My immediate thoughts were…”If THAT’S how they grow their men in that country, then I need to get to there!’ 😉

He shared the following list of things I HAD to do while visiting (those listed in blue consider them completed off the list):

Eat Oil Down – traditional dish of Grenada, its delicious!
Try to visit Cariacou (one of Grenada’s sister Islands, the other is Petite Martinique). I believe there is a ferry service daily
Grenada Chocolate Factory Co-Op (best chocolate ever! completely organic)
Nutmeg processing plant on one of the estates
Annadale Falls
Fort Fredrick (and old Fort built by the French in the 1790s i believe). One of the best views on the island!
Concord Falls
BEACHES – Grand Anse (Grenada’s “top” beach), BBC (nice and secluded. this is my favourite), Bathway (stay within the retaining wall area, the sea is very rough but manageable as long as you stay within that area), Levera (very rough water where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic. Also where the Leatherback Turtles come to lay their eggs. you might just want to take a walk along that beach if you’re not a strong swimmer. Bathway is around the corner, so you can always take a dip there), Pink Gin Beach (pinkish colour sand), Magazine Beach (I think my hotel was on might this beach)
River Antoine Distillery (organic white rum, Full Strength!! lol)
Sulphur Springs (great mud bath, close to Levera and Bathway)
Fish Friday in Gouyave

Things I DID in Grenada:

Great beaches, excellent Caribbean food and wonderful people. I’m told there is really good scuba diving (I’m a non-swimmer, but an excellent wader! I did manage to convince one of the wait staff to procure a noodle just for me to use ALL week for both the pool & beach. Seems I’m an excellent sweet-talker … especially in my bathing suit 😉

Leapers Cliff

Concord Falls

Nutmeg Processing Plant

Crater Lake

Rum Factory

River Antoine Distillery (organic white rum, Full Strength!!) One of the last places if not the last, that uses a water wheel in the distilling process, a system that goes back to the 1700’s and I believe the wheel they have running there is the original one from that time.

Fish Friday

Fish Friday in Gouyave – a weekly street party with lots of FRESH fish and seafood cooked up in a variety of ways plus music and other entertainment.

And one morning I even woke up bright and early for Bird Watching (yup…you heard me right).

I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it too. 🙂

Things I BOUGHT in Grenada

I did very little shopping while I was there. I did bring back with me bars of Grenada’s finest dark chocolate from both Jouvay and The Grenada Chocolate Company. AND a bottle of the fantastic West Indian hot sauce. As you can see I’ve used much of it already since being home. I’m a fan – the spicier the better 😉

Oh! And I bought a bottle of Rum Punch from the factory too…no pictures of that…. **hiccup**

There it is … my 2014 vacay summary recap. With Winter weather upon us, some of you may be looking for a sunny vacation destination to get away to. Having read my post, would Grenada be on your shortlist?

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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

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

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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!

#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 🙂

Little Black Dress (LBD) – You can’t really go wrong with this approach for Vegas Nightlife.

I’m thinking Audrey classy, not clubby-trashy….

There you have it friends – #MyVegasStyle done from a petite (short), curvy, large chested perspective! 🙂

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#OOTD: Go Canada Go! + Sunday Brunch

I’m not a sports fan. Buuuut when a work colleague instant messaged me Friday afternoon to give me grief about the fact that I was working…when I should be a patriotic Canadian, by stopping everything I was doing and watch the Olympic Men’s Hockey US vs. Canada Game… how could I argue?

As y’all know….Canada dominated moving into the finals! And at 6am this Sunday bars everywhere opened their doors to die-hard Canadians who support our athletes by drinking beers and cheering at big screen TVs with complete strangers in unison.

I too wanted to be apart of this hoopla! However, unable to commit to the extra early wake up call that is required to get up, dressed cute and out the door to a crowded bar to maybe find a seat at the wee hours of the AM with a possy of peeps, just wasn’t panning out. I ended up watching the game cozy in my snuggie with the pup from my couch instead. But I did venture into the city for long-standing Sunday brunch plans.

Sadly, try as I might, there is no way to get my hands on one of those cute 2014 Red-White-Black pomp-pomp HBC touques – If anyone has connections for getting me one of my very own – speak up friends! In an effort to make up for not representing in person at 6am, my Outfit of the Day (#OOTD) needed to be a nod to our Canadian Olympic athletes doing us proud over there is Sochi. So here’s what I’ve come up with:

Love this Dorothy Perkins dress I picked up a few years ago on sale. I especially love the detailed double-puff of the short-sleeves. It is a bit short to be worn on its own once all my T&A fill it out, so I often wear it as a long tunic or simply fold or tuck as I did today. The black n’ white polka dot Diva pants worked out perfect to add a bit of interest/pattern with this all solid colour look. Plus, these pants fit easily within my over-the-knee/thigh-high boots. I kept the make up uber simple, avoiding heavy eye-make up – just masscara and a bit of gloss.

I walked into The Annex from my place, to have a catch-up Sunday brunch at Insomnia Cafe with a few gfs – new & old! I’ve only been here once before, Xmas Eve two years ago after midnight mass with a few friends who were visiting from out-of-town. However, this spot is apparently known for their Brunch menu. And a fantastic little surprise – they have a $5 mimosa special!!! They have an entire section devoted to Eggs Benny (my fav!). I had the pull-pork option…and as they say, “you eat with your eyes first”…see my plate below…it was fantastic! We had a particularly lovely server today too – which really made leaving the comfy chairs/sofa area they sat us in, oh-so difficult. Looking forward to visiting this spot again, as they have daily deals on drinks as well as $10After10pm menu options! Woot! Woot!

How I got The Look:

Red puffed sleeved dress by Dorothy Perkins, from The Hudson Bay Co. (Yonge & Bloor Sts)
Accessories from Laura Petite – Earrings & Neclace (picked them up yesterday in my kill-time-in-the-mall-mini-haul)
White wide-belt with silver details from Lane Bryant
Black n’ white tiny polka dot, Diva cut from Old Navy [see Best. Pants. Ever!]
Over-the-knee/Thigh-high black wedge boots from AdditionElle (Queen & Yonge Sts)

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

Cherry Bomb

I bought this Cherry Bomb dress last year as my Happy-Birthday splurge. It is a sexy ultra form-fitting pin-up/vintage/ultimate bombshell dress…and oh so comfortable. This dress has a wrap twist in the bust area, enhancing ‘the girls’ and cap sleeves that look great on all arms. It even has helpful gathers in the front skirt to help hide any possible flaws in your waistline. The dress is a classy below knee-length, and has a nice slit in the back for ease in cat-walking. Being petite, I did have to get a few alterations to both the length (shorten) and have the arm holes taken in a bit more so that it neckline would stay-put.

Being a September baby, it was warm enough to simply be worn all on its own from dinner to dancing into the wee hours of the morning. I really wanted to wear this fab dress for this past weekend’s #DUSTED event I was invited to, but I would need to transform this Cherry Bomb dress into a more winter-friendly one. So here’s what I did:

Gave up the flower in my hair and the peep-toed pumps. Put on black hose and short rocker-chick booties, along with a black leather and suede open jacket that helps keep that rocker-chick look alive – plus helps keep me warm under the winter coat when waiting for the notoriously late Queen streetcar to get around Toronto on a Saturday Night.

Let’s talk about the event, the venue and Saturday night. Seeing as I only knew the DJ who would be busy working at this event, I invited a gf I recently reconnected with to be my +1 …someone to drink and dance with, flirt with boys with, someone to act as my paparazzi for blog-worthy photos. 🙂 Unfortunately, mere hours before waking up from my required ‘nap-before-I-have-a-night-out’ nap, I get a text and phone call from said gf, weeping about her on-again-off-again relationship that ended a few hours ago. Listening to her emphatically, I encouraged her to do whatever she needed to, and not worry about coming out with me…unless of course getting cute and dancing her cares away would help. She opted not to come. And I waffled – do I go to this event…ALONE…knowing nobody…completely friendless?

Why the heck not!? After all, I made a commitment to go, I’m dressed oh-so cute, and I’m chatty enough to manage a few hours of small-talk with strangers I’ll never see again, right? I was going!

The event was at Atelier Resto-Lounge (366 Queen Street East at Parliament St) – a beautifully converted space with exposed brick walls, that acts as a new casual restaurant for the neighbourhood sandwiched between small independent restaurants and shops on the north side of the street. I didn’t come early enough to taste their dinner offerings from their menu unfortunately, but the bar staff were lovely and I got to meet the owner, a young entrepreneur who seemed very pleased at the turn out for the launch party of this trendy new spot.

The venue is long rather than wide, with the DJ stage at the very back with a large screen that displayed various vids on mute and the occasional shout-out for the event name. I got there a little after midnight and from what I saw, it was a mature clientele (30+) who for the most part were dressed to impress. As I stood along the side-lines of the bar sipping my drink to people-watch I couldn’t help but observe how many more men there were to women in this place. And of this ratio, the women were all dressed fantastically, whereas I couldn’t say that about all the men there. In fact, it got me thinking about how much more of an effort chicks seem to put into everything that seemingly goes unappreciated yielding limited results, when compared with a guy who gets ready for a night out to meet or take out their lady.

I met a few nice women actually – they complimented me on my outfit and we got to chatting. Even danced around with a few, complete with fancy dips and spins on the floor. There was a professional photographer afoot, don’t know where/how I can get my hands on those pics just yet, so unfortunately my iPhone pics will have to do for now folks.

As the evening went on and the dance floor crowd diminished, I noticed a gaggle of guys who were dressed in jeans and hoodies – seriously – who, one by one, made their way to the group of ottomans where I was sitting waiting for my DJ friend. Listening to these 24-year-old boys tell me they’re 26, impress me with questionable humor and unnecessary close-talking, I have never been more acutely aware of how much I’ve grown and changed as a person who was able to politely tolerate my current situation. Don’t get me wrong, it is always flattering to be approached, but looking at the effort I put into my outfit vs. the results it yielded (young boys in hoodies) it’s a sad truth indeed friends. Luckily I was rescued by the DJ shortly after… {Insert “Last night a DJ saved my life” tune here :)}. Overall, the night was a success – I was glad I pushed past my fear of going to something like this alone, but in the end anything involving a dance floor is always better with a friend or two.