9-to-5 & 5-to-9

I wrote this a while a go — and seeing the remaining ‘summer day’ left in Toronto are ones that require sweaters and closed-toed shoes, this post needed to be shared sooner than later.

Enjoy. xo

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The trickiest part to summer (I think) is figuring out what to wear to the office that’s professional, while keeping you cool and comfortable in the heat of summer days. Here’s a quick outfit of the day that got lost on my iPhone – pardon the sleepy expression – early morning sun and posing on my balcony clearly don’t mix:

9a-5p

I’ve owned these pieces for many moons…but have never paired them together, nor have I ever thought of creating an ‘office outfit’ with them.

How I Got The Look:

black peep-toed flats (Payless) these have become a fabulous ‘commuter’ shoe to get from home to office via TTC (usually with heels in my purse)
The white jacket (DressBarn) is super light and meant for summer wear, I think it was meant to be 3/4 length-sleeves…buuuut being petite it basically looks full-length on moi
Baby blue blouse (Forever21+) super light and airy fabric … I especially like the single pocket detail of this tank
Tribal drawstring pant (Reitmans) possibly the most comfortable pants I own. For the most part, these days, especially in summer (I’m a dresses & skirts kinda gal), but these pants are so light that I often find myself double-checking to make sure I’m wear bottoms at all when in these pants. 🙂

5p to 9p…..remove jacket head to nearest patio pub with co-workers & friends!

What do you think of this look? How do you keep comfortable and cool in the summer with your office looks? Tell me in the Comments Section

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Hello, Yellow!

It was a gloomy partly cloudy day in Toronto … and surprisingly chilly for a July day.

With an afternoon full of meetings in the downtown core (yuck), my mood needed some lifting. So I decided that my outfit needed to be bright, loud and fresh.

Here’s what I came up with:

I’ve been searching for “the perfect yellow” – very difficult to find. Found this lovely light-weight sweater in the clearance rack ($14) at Reitmans in The Duffrin Mall the other day, figured I’d be saving it for the Fall, but today was just cool enough to unveil it.

My favourite parts of this outfit are the shoes and purse!!! Picked up both pieces LAST summer…..when I was totally obsessing over this amazing turquoise colour. Even my earrings match in this outfit. Aren’t these shoes just fantastic!!!! Gawd! I love them! 🙂

So….Waddya think?

Multiple patterns! Loud colours! Too much for an afternoon in the office? Maybe…..buuuut I don’t care.

I like it! It totally lifted my mood – and I’m ready to face these meetings with a “passionately neutral” approach 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Yellow & white stripped summer sweater from Reitmans; Grey checkered pencil skirt (click here to see skirt in other posts), Dorothy Perkins from The Hudson Bay Co.; Fabulous patterned peep-toed pumps from Nine West; Turquoise purse from Aldo Accessories; Earrings gifted.

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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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Backless Nautical Navy

Ooo!! It’s summertime and I have to admit, I’ve been baring my arms and legs much more than I ever had in pervious summers.

Blogging has gotten me braver in my outfit choices and more confident to rock things I’d normally shy away from. Like this fantastic dress I picked up cross-border shopping recently … I was immediately drawn to it on the rack. Buuuuut upon picking it up I noticed that an important piece of fabric was missing ….that critical piece of fabric that covers up my giant bra clasps and that loveable back roll that gets formed upon wearing said giant bra.

Doesn’t this dress just SCREAM: Summer!!! I just love it!

The hi-lo skirt is perfect for petite beauties as there will be zero ‘tripping-up-the-stairs’ incidents as there might be with lengthy maxis (least it’s the case for moi…seems I’m terribly clumsy). I’ve already professed my love and devotion to all the nautical-ness in fashion since the Spring…so this dress just needed to be mine! Click here and here and here and here for all my previous nautical love posts friends!

A special shoutout to the lovely coral floral necklace and earring set I’m wearing in this post. Picked it up from this cute lil’ boutique called One Girl Who on St. Clair West in Toronto. Recently rediscovered it among all my jewellery….. doesn’t it just add to the summertime fun feeling of this outfit? 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Backless Navy Striped dress from Rainbow Clothing from recent Cross-Border shopping trip; Coral floral necklace & earring set from The Girl Who; Pink purse from Your Big Sister’s Closet; White & gold sandals from Le Chateau

So… waddya think about the backless-ness of this dress? Would you rock it? How would you style it? I wanna know what you think friends….tell me in the Comment Section below!

Black Summer Prints

I usually try and avoid wearing too much black … especially in the summer. But there are a number of fun black-summertime-prints that I just couldn’t resist!

This hi-lo maxi dress (Target) has been with me for a few summers now – don’t look too closely, as you’ll see the black bits fading due to wash and wears. It’s one of my easy-peasy-favourite pieces.

Being petite (short) the train of this dress does sometimes cause me trouble. I’ve been known to trip up the stairs in this dress and also had a horrible experience with an escalator that nearly ended this dress’ life! Luckily, I managed to rescue and repair it and keep it among my summertime wardrobe still 🙂

Since the dress has a giant pattern with solid black boarders, I added a pops of colour with my coral purse (Aldo) and bright green stoned earrings (Stella & Dot), plus my stroppy gold & white sandals (Le Chateau) plus my vintage cat-eye sunnies to keep the looks casual for weekend wear of errands and city roaming.

Are you a fan of wearing black in the summertime? How do you incorporate it into your summer looks? Use the comment section below and let me know how YOU’D style this dress?

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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.

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Rainy Day Office OOTD

Rainy Hump Day in Toronto … which led me to put together this multi-patterned fresh office look of navy and white + a combination of polka dots, stripes and paisley. Yup – three patterns, one outfit. AND White Pants!!! Crazytown, I know! 🙂

At first glance, the outfit looks pretty monochromatic and simple. Navy button-up sleeveless blouse with fabulous white bib, and white pants with wedge platform sandals.

But, if you look real close, these crisp white pants have a delightful paisley pattern on them. I introduced a third pattern by unveiling my new paten-leather Kate Spade purse today (isn’t she a beauty — another spectacular find on my recent cross-border shopping trip – click here for a blogpost on my haul from that extravaganza folks!)

Like most offices, it’s either freezing cold or ridiculously hot – so keeping a blazer handy always works well, and gives you that polished look in case you’re pulled into a meeting last-minute. Today, I went with my navy polka dot ¾ sleeved blazer which is perfect for summer time wear, as the lining is cotton. #winning 😉

Overall, this was a pretty functional and fashionable office outfit – minus the pain of breaking in new shoes. Picked up these fantastic beige-tan-black platforms in that same shopping trip (click here for blogpost)….but as you can see, they’ve massacred my left-foot’s baby toe. #fashionbeforefunction.

My hair started out looking relatively lovely….buuuut throughout the workday it got rained-on repeatedly while running in between buildings from meeting to meeting. The hair situation continued to diminish, finally it ending up getting tied back and outta-da-way. Sigh…

How do you keep yourself looking versatile and cute on rainy days friends? Tell me all about it in the Comments section below!

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How I Got The Look

Navy button-up sleeveless blouse from Reitmans

Navy polka dot blazer, Jessica Simpson from The Hudson Bay Company

White paisley Diva pants from Old Navy

Beige, tan & black platform sandals from NineWest

Black and white paten-leather purse from Kate Spade

White bib from Aldo Accessories, White ceramic Michael Kors watch, White & clear Birdcage umbrella from Shoppers Drug Mart

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 🙂

Tribal Kimono

Toronto got its first glimpse of summer weather this weekend friends! Happy to say I got to enjoy a patio or two …hope you did too.

Saturday I put together a real casual run-about-town-doing-nothing daytime look by giving a simple tank maxi dress a trendy tribal feel.

H&M – a store I typically never venture into…but signs for a One-Day-Sale lured me in. Y’all know I’m weak when it comes to sales. 😉 Discovered a selection of basics for fab prices…. I was happy to find that these maxi dresses in straight sizes (size L) fit me! And was only $10!!! Bonus – the length was perfect for a petite gal like me. Typically with maxi dresses I’ll have to wear sky-high platform sandals to avoid hemming the dress…..buuuuuut this maxi stopped well above my ankles, which meant I could do flats easily! With all of these benefits…I HAD to pickup this mauve one AND its twin, in black.

I picked up this sheer kimono from Marshall’s a few weeks ago with a gift card I nearly forgot I had.

Not only is this tribal print on trend, but the light sheer fabric is perfect for a comfortable coverup/outerwear layer to help you ‘closet swap’ whist we enjoy this in-between weather from Spring to Summer. Most of the kimonos in straight sizes fit me nicely – the one I’m wearing here is a size L.

I’m really loving the tribal patterns that seem to be going strong into the Summer, and even happier to have incorporated this trendy piece into my wardrobe with a gift card that was totally forgotten about in my wallet. Did you know that you can sell gift cards for cash at the price you choose? Raise Marketplace accepts gift cards and merchandise credit from any brand or restaurant, and you get paid when the gift card sells. Good to know, huh… 😉

Alternative to pairing this tribal kimono with this maxi, I think it would look lovely with a crop top and loose-fitting drawstring pants – for a more summertime easy-breazy look.

Waddya think? Would you rock a kimono or tribal prints this Spring/Summer season?

How I got the Look:

Sheer tribal kimono from Marshalls; Mauve maxi tank dress from H&M; black flat peep-toe with cutouts from Payless; Jade & gold drop earrings from Stella & Dot; Cat-eye sunnies from Public Butter Vintage

Weekend OOTD: Flirty Hi-Lo Dress

It finally happened — I got to enjoy a weekend in Toronto without wearing a jacket!!!

Yup! I’ve been working like a dog lately…..but this weekend I was determined to enjoy at least one of the amazingly sunny days out & about the city! This past Saturday I barred my arms, legs and toes! HAZZA! Even busted out my summer fedora!

As y’all know I’m not a big wearer of make up….especially daytime during the weekend. I also hate doing my hair. Sooooo wearing a cute little summer fedora (or any woven hat) is my solution to looking like I know what I’m doing…outfit-wise 😉

I’m not a big wearer of jeans …but I think a woven hat like this one, would also good pair of worn-in jeans and a simple white blouse – perfect weekend look.

But since I work from home, leaving the house is an EVENT to be celebrated…. so instead I decided to wear this light and airy dress:

I picked up this great flowy Aztec patterned dress from Forever21 during the fall…and never officially worn it out. I had to get it altered (shortened) so that the hi-lo would really be notable and above my knees. Pairing this dress with a simple sandal kept this look daytime casual… for last-minute plans of Saturday Flea Market shopping and lunching with a girlfriend.