Tiny In Toronto

I picked up this book because it was one of Belletrist’s (@belletrist) YA novel picks and I just needed a break from all these thrillers. I don’t even know how I managed to read three scary/thrilling novels in a row, but it happened. They were full of crime, drama, and suspense that kept me wanting more. I couldn’t help myself! “Permanent Record” by Mary H.K. Choi was the book I needed to switch it up. It was SO GOOD, guys. Honestly, why do we not bother with YA when we’re older? What’s wrong with it? Sometimes you just need to read something a little more lighthearted! Sometimes you’ll end up learning more than you expected, like I did!

Permanent Record is about this 20 year-old boy named Pablo. He works at a 24-hour organic foods store or a “bodega” (I’m still unfamiliar with this term lol, but that’s what they called it) and he usually works the overnight shift. Pablo was accepted to NYU but he didn’t have enough money saved to attend. He ended up dropping out because he also didn’t put enough effort, so now he’s working to *try* to pay off some serious credit card debt that the NYU situation put him in. He’s really trying to get back into NYU before his chance is completely ruined, but he can’t seem to find the motivation. Pablo is one of those guys that’s great at so many things but has no idea what he wants to do in life. He’s also pretty scared to fully commit to anything. His parents are concerned about him. His friends are concerned him. Mr. and Mrs. Kim, the owners of the bodega, are also concerned about him. Pablo’s just coasting and living with his head in the clouds. He’s in denial and does not want to face the reality that he needs to buckle down and do something more. One night (or morning, since it was 4AM) during his shift, Pablo is interrupted by a girl that he recognizes but doesn’t recognize – you know those ones? Her name is Leanna Smart. The two of them click and hit it off right away. They bond over their love for snacks and the weird but tasty snack combinations that they come up with. It’s kind of an art to Pablo. He has an Instagram dedicated to it. Leanna finds him refreshing, especially since he doesn’t recognize who she is right away. The Leanna Smart has been famous and successful since she was eight years old. Pablo had no idea he would soon be dating a superstar. You can find her face EVERYWHERE (billboards, radio, TV, etc.). It’s actually kind of concerning that he didn’t recognize her right away.

From then, it’s a whirlwind romance. They are absolutely crazy about each other, and Pablo is introduced to this lavish lifestyle that he can’t even believe. He can’t believe it so he doesn’t even bother to tell anyone in his life about her or what he’s been up to. He just takes off in her airplane and doesn’t tell anyone where he’s going! It’s not just the fact that he doesn’t want to do anything to ruin what seems like a dream to him, but Pablo also can’t say anything because he’s had to sign a NDA.

Now without basically telling you the entire story, Pablo and Leanna don’t work out. I know what you’re thinking. No happily ever after? But Pablo gets the push he needs! Although they don’t end up together, Pablo learns a lot from his experience with Leanna, and everything that happens after they break up. I learned a lot as well. I learned that life is about doing and not waiting. Everything also happens at its own pace. To be honest, this book came to me at the right time. I was confused and very distraught about not knowing what my calling is. Am I just going to work in retail forever? I know I can accomplish more. I know that I am capable of doing more, but it’s okay to not know what “more” is right now. This move to Free People has been what I needed to clear my head. I love customer service (as crazy as that sounds) and I love styling and shopping. I know that one day it will all click. There’s a higher calling and I know it will come to me when I’m ready!

It’s actually insane how I got this sort of epiphany from reading a YA novel like this. However, if you’re going through something similar, I strongly believe that you shouldn’t give up on yourself. Also, don’t expect anything to just happen right away! If it’s meant to be, it will be. And sometimes bad things happen, and you fail, and it hurts, but that’s life! Everything will get better, you just can’t give up on yourself. You. Are. Awesome.

Please check out this book if you’re looking for something new to read! Like I said, you can learn something! Why not YA? Don’t judge a book by it’s cover! ;))

Until next time,

– Tiny ❤

Holy moly. Three months left of the year 2019. Am I the only one that finds this hard to believe? Where did the time go?!! We’re approaching Winter, which is also my least favourite time of year. It’s a terrible time for my health. Terrible time for outfit photos. Terrible time for commuting to work. I think it’s an all-around terrible time!

But do you know what wasn’t a terrible time? September! I watched a ton of great shows, got the cutest accessories, read some good books and saw Shawn Mendes in the flesh!! If you want to know more, keep reading! Here are my September favourites!

1. Green bags (?) lol – This wasn’t a planned favourite. Then again, none of them are! What I’m trying to say is that I subconsciously purchased/wore a weird amount of green bags last month. I don’t even know how to explain it. I do know that I am only showing two bags in the photo (there’s more, trust me!). But I like green and for some reason a green bag looked great with every outfit last month. I actually have my eyes on another green bag but she’s a pretty penny. Have you guys seen THE pillow bag by Marc Jacobs? I want it in the muted green colour if I can save the money and know where to find it. So far, the places that carry THE pillow bag don’t carry the colour I want. I’ve been really obsessed with Marc Jacobs all of a sudden. I also really like the quilted camera bag so I’m torn! But seriously, I love what he’s doing right now. His fashion show in New York was amazing! Hopefully I can get my hands on THE pillow bag in the colour I want so I can add to this green bag collection/obsession.

2. Crime shows and movies (Mindhunter, The Wire, When They See Us, True Detective) – My boyfriend and I got on this train of crime shows and only crime shows. I can’t quite remember how it all began because we’ve blown through so many! We enjoyed them so much. It’s quite interesting to see how the mind of a criminal works and what conditioned them to be the way they are. Surprisingly, and I doubt most of what I watched is accurate, most criminals seem to have mommy issues? Maybe I’m creating a generalization but if I wasn’t scared about the responsibility and pressure of being a mom, I sure am now! After watching all these shows, I also find myself really interested in human psychology. If you guys know any good books regarding human psychology, I would love to read them! I’m going to say that my most favourite show that we watched was Mindhunter. I was truly hooked on that show and was very adamant about us finishing it. I think the next season isn’t for a while and I’m quite upset about it. I’m listing The Wire here for the sake of my boyfriend because he truly loves it but I can’t say that I was as hooked. It progressed slowly for me. I feel bad because I fell asleep about 40% of the time we watched it. Maybe I didn’t give it a proper chance? Maybe I’ll go back to it? I’ve tried but I won’t say that I have completely given up on The Wire. Another show we love and haven’t finished yet is True Detective. The first season with Matthew McConaughey was so good. When They See Us was also really good, and made me super emotional. This is a movie on Netflix and I think everyone should watch it. If you guys know more crime shows or movies that you think we might like, please suggest them in the comment section below! I’d freaking love that.

3. En Route Jewelry (new earrings x2) – It’s official. I can say that I’m a full-on En Route Jewelry (@enroutejewelry_) addict. I made another order with them last month and I just received a second order the other day! I’m hooked! Their jewelry is so good! I love how fast they ship. I really feel like I’m getting more for what I’m paying for. I’ve been bouncing back and forth between wearing these two pairs of earrings for a month now and I can’t wait to add a few more to the rotation. The first pair are these dangly stars that I think are sooo cute. I love how they’re stars in different sizes and they don’t dangle too low. They’re dainty and adorable. The other pair is also dainty and very much adorable. They’re these clouds that have tiny chains dangling from them, and with colourful little diamanté’s! I can’t wait to wear the new pieces that I just received and share them with you guys! If any of you have thought about ordering with En Route but were afraid of the shipping or the quality and other concerning things, I definitely recommend them and think you should go for it! I know I’ll be making more orders in the near future.

4. ColourPop makeup – In September, I made my first ColourPop order! I recorded an unboxing video on IGTV if you want to check out my Instagram: @tinyintoronto! I’ve been only using these two eyeshadow palettes, the glitter, and the eyeliners since I got them. They’re so much fun and I’ve received so many compliments! If I’m going to give an honest review after using them, I have to say that I probably won’t purchase these eyeliners again. They kept breaking on me! For a decent application, I had to really press them on my lid and that lead them to just continuously snapping. I don’t think I have any colour but the green one that’s in good shape/ready to be used. The pot of glitter is lovely. My only thing about this product is that it’s really hard to evenly distribute the sparkles on my eyes. I think that’s just the case when you’re working with chunky glitter but I still found it a little annoying. I’ve learned to embrace it. Glitter on the lids is like your eyebrows, they’re not supposed to look exactly the same. Sisters not twins? Or is it cousins not sisters? You get what I mean, right? These eyeshadow palettes on the other hand, I do not regret at all. One has been more loved than the other because I find the colours more wearable and when I’m getting ready for work I don’t have to think as much. That’s the “California Love” palette. I think I’ve used almost all of the colours. I’m happy with the pigmentation of them. And I definitely will buy another eyeshadow palette from ColourPop, that’s for sure.

5. Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi – I’m still working on a review of this novel so I’m not going to say too much about it. Just know that I absolutely loved it! Reading this book was such a pleasure! I couldn’t put the book down! Sometimes you need a little young adult fiction, y’know? It was just really refreshing and actually gave me some insight! This book had me reflecting on my own life and how I want to grow. I’m super impressed that a book like this got me thinking. Like I said, sometimes you just need to read a little YA and I highly recommend you start with this book.

7. Shawn Mendes concert – One of my best friends, Meghan, messaged me before she went on a trip to Italy about going to the Shawn Mendes concert when she came back and obviously I couldn’t say no! Shawn Mendes. In the flesh. Up there on stage and singing with his real voice?! Sounds pretty freaking amazing to me!! It really was amazing though. It was such a good concert and I think it was the last show of his tour. Camila Cabello was there! I don’t really have much else to say. I’m never going to forget it. I think I need to see more artists live and in concert. I love the feeling I get when I’m there. It just makes me feel “alive”, you know? Concerts are an amazing experience and if I don’t get to go to another before the end of the year, I’m definitely going to make this a resolution for 2020.

8. Essie Fall collection – I got so lucky with this Essie collection. When a new collection is released or advertised on Instagram, I usually expect it to show up in my closest Shoppers Drug Mart a month later (at least). It was honestly less than a week after seeing it marketed on Instagram that I found it at Shoppers and all the colours were there this time! I didn’t want to go overboard because I do already own a lot of Essie nail polishes that are probably similar to some in this collection, so I got the colours that I think I don’t already have. I got a really cute and creamy yellow called “Hay There” and the perfect pumpkin orange called “On the Bright Cider“. Like always, when I find colours that I love, I usually rotate and wear the crap out of them for an entire month. These colours were no exception. If you can still find Essie’s Fall collection, I highly recommend you pick up the yellow! You think it’d require a million coats but it doesn’t, and I think it’s such a cute colour to wear in transition to Fall/Winter!

9. Fleabag – I was recommended to watch this show by my best friend Jericho. I also saw Ryan Reynolds tweet about how great it is. Then it was nominated for a bunch of Emmys (and won). I only heard good things about Fleabag so I thought I’d try it and get Amazon Prime Video. I’m telling you, I actually blew through the two seasons. It was so good and so funny. I just love how original it is! If you haven’t watched Fleabag yet and have been meaning to, I definitely think you should stop reading this blog post and watch it right now.

With that being said, I am concluding this blog post and I want you to know that the next few posts might be book reviews. Please stay tuned and get excited for that! I also have no clue how I am going to continue my “What I Wore Last Week” posts now that I don’t have a personal shopping suite/huge mirrors to work with every day. I have a full length mirror at home but I can’t find the perfect spot to place it without sharing all the clutter in my room! I may take a break this week and try to sort this out. I’ve been also thinking I might rename the series? Does “Outfits of the Week” sound better? Should I do a poll on Instagram? Help me!!! I’d love to know!

Until next time!

– Tiny ❤

Hey everyone! As promised, I’m here to update you on some big changes and what has been currently going on in my life. It’s quite a bit to unpack so I advise you make a coffee or tea, or something, and relax. Here we go.

I want to start by sharing some really tough news. It definitely has kept me away from creating content and from a lot of things in general lately. I had to say goodbye to one of my bestest friends almost two weeks ago. My dog that I’ve had since I was 10 years-old had to be put down. She had a heart condition and a really infected eye. The eye needed to be removed, there was no question about it. The surgery would have cost us $2,000. There obviously is no price on the amount of love that we have for Abby but we thought it would be best to put her down because with her heart condition, she may not have survived the surgery anyway. I never expected to hurt so much and to be so sad over a dog and to be honest, I’m not sure if I have the emotional strength to love and own a dog again. She was there for me through everything in the last 15 years. I felt like I could always depend on her to be there and pick me up when I’m down. She was a light in my life and I miss her so much. However, I know we did the right thing and I know it would have only gotten worse. I’ll always miss her but I think I’m finally starting to get back to focusing on everyday things. We ordered a mould with her paw print embedded in it, so we’ll always have a bit of Abby with us.

While this was going on, I also accepted a new position! I have a new job! It was such a difficult time trying to figure out what to do with Abby while also trying to figure out whether or not to accept this job offer. I have been with TOPSHOP TOPMAN since I was in college. I have been with the brand for 5 years and it became really comfortable being there. My position as Personal Shopper at Yorkdale was not fulfilling me in the way I wanted it to. There was no way for me to grow. I felt like I had stopped learning. Things were becoming stale and the job is really stressful. As a personal shopper, your responsibility is to create a clientele, a relationship with a bunch of different customers so that they keep coming back to shop with you. I also had really huge sales goals that I was struggling to meet. I lost the passion and I lost the reason I wanted to become a personal shopper to begin with. It just wasn’t fun anymore and I love styling. I love helping people put together outfits and I love when they leave confident and happy with their purchases. Although I was still doing that, I was always haunted by the fact that I had this huge sales goal and what I was doing wasn’t enough. To say that I gave up really upsets me, but I just feel like the job was demoralizing me as a whole. I was feeling like a failure and I feel like this new job creates growth and opportunity for me. I am happy to announce that I will be the Senior Stylist at Free People in the Eaton Centre! You can now shop with me downtown!! This position allows me to do the same thing I was doing at TOPSHOP TOPMAN but it doesn’t have the same amount of pressure. There’s also so many avenues to take with this job. I can become a part of management. I can consider visual merchandising. Free People is also one of three brands under the URBN Inc. company. I could also work for Urban Outfitters or Anthropology! Maybe I’ll work my way into a position in their head office? I’m feeling super optimistic and really happy with my choice. I’m really excited to work for Free People because I have always been in love with their aesthetic and their merchandise. Their products have always been outside of my budget but now I get a discount so I’m excited about that, too! Change is good. I feel like this move will open plenty of other doors for me. Just by being located downtown might even open some doors! The amount of traffic and the types of people that you can meet downtown Toronto are great! Who knows who I’ll meet! To everyone that I have met while working at TOPSHOP TOPMAN, thank you for contributing to my growth and to who I am today. Whether you’re a co-worker, a manager or a client, it was a pleasure working with you. I will always remember my time there but I am now moving on to bigger and better things.

Now that I have accepted a position that does not require me to basically run my own business, I feel like I have the capacity to work on more content! I was constantly stressing at TOPSHOP TOPMAN to find ways to make my sales goals, or ways to get clients to come back and shop some more, that I was too exhausted to be creative. I love to be creative and content creating has become one of my favourite things to do! Now that I’ll be styling at Free People with less pressure, I think I’m going to focus more on creating fresh and original content. I want to put more heart and soul into my blog, I want to be more consistent with posting new YouTube videos, and I want to partner with more brands! I also want to take more photos of my outfits. Hopefully I can get more comfortable and good at taking photos with a self timer. I’ve got a lot that I want to accomplish. This fresh start has made me very optimistic, happy and motivated to do more with my life! I just pray that I don’t get stuck feeling the same things I felt at TOPSHOP. But I don’t want to think negatively! I’m only hoping for the best!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I want you guys to know that you can’t grow when you’re comfortable! You only grow from uncomfortable situations and therefore I’m an advocate for trying new things. Don’t settle. If it doesn’t make you happy, why are you doing it? We only have one life so you gotta make the best of it, right?

Until next time!

– Tiny ❤

I’m a little late because of the long weekend, I’m sorry! Work got a little tiresome and absolutely crazy yesterday. Why do people think to go to the mall during a long weekend? Aren’t you all supposed to be with your families? Nonetheless, I didn’t forget about my weekly “What I Wore Last Week”! I’ve got five looks to share this week! A full week of looks so I’m just going to get right into it!

Outfit #1: I’m not sure if these are in proper order. I think they’re pretty close but I’ll go ahead and start with this first outfit in the top left corner. I did a lot of layering with this outfit because I had to compensate for the crop top that I’m wearing underneath. You see? This is what I dislike most about Fall. You have to worry about getting sick if you expose too much skin to the cold air. Do you ever worry about this in the Summer? No, you don’t. Anyways, on top of this white cropped t-shirt I wore an open striped button-down shirt. I really like this shirt because it gives me a thrifty/old school vibe. I’m pretty sure I got it on clearance. On top of this second shirt I wore my oversized denim jacket and for pants, I wore my black distressed Straight jeans. To keep it casual I added my slip-on Vans and my cute black nylon shoulder bag. Everything but the shoes are from TOPSHOP. For earrings, I wore my Hannah G-inspired hoops that look woven and cute.

Outfit #2: There’s something missing in this outfit but I’m not sure what. When I look at it, I think it needs a certain ingredient to bring it all together. Maybe a necklace? I can’t quite put my finger on it but I definitely want to make a second attempt with this look. I wore this sheer black turtleneck that I already think I’m going to be wearing a lot of this season. I’m actually making a mental note that I should probably buy another and maybe one in a different colour. On the bottom, I wore my picnic pants. I love how you can transition pants like these from Summer to Fall, and just by changing the colour you pair it with and making the top a long sleeve instead of a crop top! I wore my black patent combat boots for shoes and to keep me warm, I added this cute fluffy hoodie in a pretty cream colour! To accessorize, I wore these silver chainlink earrings and added my translucent tortoiseshell purse.

Outfit #3: This is one of my favourite looks of the week. I am obsessed with these pants. I can’t get enough of them. They are super flattering and I love that they were made in this cute burgundy corduroy material. I’m starting to see a lot of corduroy for this season and I have a plan to go thrifting for some more corduroy pieces. I’m also thinking about doing a post on how to style corduroy? Would you guys be interested in seeing that? Another thing I love about these pants are that they’re flares. I love the bottoms because I think they make me look taller? I mean, they kind of give that illusion, right? Again, I’m trying to practice my layering and see what works and what doesn’t. As of right now, I think everything looks great with a turtleneck! This means I gotta stock up! I don’t know if you can tell in this photo but I’m wearing this oatmeal coloured turtleneck with a ruffled trim. It’s super cute and I’ve gotten a lot of wear out of it. Overtop of it I wore this silk-like blouse in a mustard colour with black stripes. I love the way mustard compliments burgundy. I think it’s a more elevated take on the McDonald’s red and yellow combo lol. I thought my “snakeskin” booties matched well with the oatmeal turtleneck and to break it up a bit, I added this cream crossbody with a cute tortoiseshell chainlink strap. Everything is from TOPSHOP (again), including my earrings and my scrunchie.

Outfit #4: This is another one of my favourites this week!! I also am really digging the low pony. For this outfit, I tried to do a gray-on-gray thing (with a pop of colour). I wore this black body suit under a cardigan because I’m not as bold as Katie Holmes. I didn’t want to just wear my bra. And since I’m in Canada, I also didn’t want my boobs to fall off (even though there’s not much to lose). On the bottom, I wore these new check-print pants. I bought a matching blazer last year and they surprised me this year with matching pants in Petite! I had to grab them. I’m still debating on wearing the two of them together because the jacket is a little oversized and it seems like a heck of a lot of pattern. As a pop of colour, I wore my white booties and my yellow fuzzy bucket bag!

Outfit #5: Okay, three new favourite looks in one week?!! What is going on?! I’ve felt super inspired and refreshed lately. A lot will be explained in my “Life Update” that I’ll be posting on Tuesday (if everything works out as planned!). I’m feeling creative again. I’m feeling free again. I wore this leopard midi skirt with these cute slits. I think this makes the skirt way more flattering on a short person like me. I paired it with one of my favourite graphic t-shirts. It’s a pastel purple with a lady’s face embroidered on the front. Should I give her a name? I should probably give her a name. Let’s name her Dolores. On top of Dolores, I wore this cute lace-y bralette/cropped top. I’ve had this piece for a while and I am reminded every time I wear it of how cute it is and that I need to wear it more often. Underneath my skirt I wore these fishnet tights and for shoes, I obviously wore my cowboy boots. For a bag, I wore the same black nylon shoulder bag that I wore earlier in the week. In the last two outfits, I didn’t want to forget to mention that I’m wearing this cute new necklace! I went to Durumi (the little Korean boutique downtown that I love so much) and got this gold curbed chain necklace that I have been obsessed with ever since I saw it on their Instagram (@thedurumi). I honestly couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks. A trip to Durumi is so out of my way but for this necklace, I had to.

That’s all for this week’s “What I Wore Last Week”! I hope you love these looks as much as I do! Stay tuned for a lot more content coming your way. I have a couple of book reviews that I’m working on, my “September Favourites” and like I previously mentioned, a “life update”!

Until then!

– Tiny ❤