black maxi dress

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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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 🙂