BIG Deal Toronto!!!

Hey Guys!

I'm still totally reeling from planning BIG Deal Toronto! I know I haven't been writing very many posts lately, but I was so busy with figuring out all the details for the event. Now that it's done, I have a lot of blog writing to catch up on!

The event went really well (if I do say so myself!) and I have SO many people to thank for it. I am still so amazed by how many amazing and beautiful women came out. If you couldn't make it this time, I'm sure I'll be planning another awesome event soon. ;-)

Some lovely shoppers

Our fantastic raffle table, designed by Gillian MacDonald, full of amazing prizes from very generous sponsors!

Our grand prize, from Addition Elle, a $250 gift card, won by Stephanie Agosta! Congrats Stephanie!

Palm Beach Jewellery Prizes, won by Veronica Hurtado, Catherine Ward, and Tiina Veer!

A prize pack from Blo, won by Jennifer French! Congrats!

Yoga/Zumba Zone Plus Eight Week Sessions won by Heather Sanderson and Stephanie Agosta (lucky girl!) and five individual passes won by Sam Mooney, "smellycat," Alison Little, Marney, and Heather Sanderson

Vegan Handbag from Urban Expressions won by Aeryn Lynne 

Statement Jewellery from Lavishy won by Shari Misner

Gift Card to Fashion to Figure won by Shari Misner

Crocs won by Veronica Hurtado

Crema Gift Card won by Sam Mooney

Lane Bryant Genius Fit Jeans won by Alison Little

Yoga for Round Bodies Series won by Alison Little, single class passes won by Karen Burns, Shari Misner, Heather Sanderson, and "gakubi"

$50 Gift Card to Gussied Up Plus won by Aeryn Lynne

eShakti Gift Card won by Gillian MacDonald

Penningtons Gift Cards won by Catherine Ward, Monique Siqouin, "gakubi", Karen Burns, and Nora Langan. Congrats Ladies!!!

Check out the racks of beautiful clothes the bloggers brought in!

Brownies, purses, and friends - what more could a girl ask for?

Sarah from Queen Sized Flava (all the way from Montreal!) eyeing the accessory table

Happy shopper =D

Our Boudoir Inspired Change Screen

Bags!

Wrap Station

Lovely Bloggers Courtney from The Glitter Thread and Karyn from Killer Kurves

Sarah from Queen Sized Flava

Peter and his little sis Sharon hard at work at the cash and wrap station =D

My Mammy buying up everyone's beautiful stuff. She found some great pieces!

Our first winner of the day, Veronica Hurtado, picking up her PalmBeach Jewellery bracelet and earrings

Sarah drawing our next winner...

And there she is! She won a beautiful vegan handbag from Urban Expressions

Alison from Round Raglan Road - she was a big winner and took home a yoga package from Yoga for Round Bodies, a single class from Yoga Zone Plus and a pair of Genius Fit Jeans from Lane Bryant!

Aeryn from Geek With Style won the $50 gift card from Gussied Up Plus. Congrats!

My sister Gill keeping track of who won what... thanks Gill!

Reagan from Sodapop Sweetheart drawing for our final prize of the day, for the grand prize of a $250 gift card from Addition Elle... Congrats to our winner, Stephanie Agosta!

All in all, it was an absolutely fantastic day that I won't soon forget! I have so many people to thank, including all the bloggers who participated, especially the fantastic Dayna Barron, who created the amazing graphic designs for our event! The designs were so perfect for the feel of the event, and made it look so polished and professional. Thank you so much!!! I also have to thank my sister Gill for all the beautiful decor, including the stunning raffle table, and for driving me all around the city to pick things up in the days leading up to the event. Everything looked so pretty! I want to thank my sister-in-law Sharon for all her help. So many thanks to my partner (in crime and love, hehehe) Peter. You are always there for me in every way imaginable. I don't know where I'd be without you. :')

Our amazing prize table would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of a number of brands. Many thanks to Addition Elle, Penningtons, eShakti, Gussied Up Plus, Blo Blow Dry Bar, Lavishy Jewelry, Crocs, Fashion to Figure, Yoga for Round Bodies, Lane Bryant, Crema Coffee, Urban Expressions, YogaZonePlus, ZumbaZonePlus, and PalmBeach Jewelry.

I hope you can all make it out to my next event! This one was so much fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Many congrats to all those of you who won prizes! I will be emailing you shortly to arrange getting them to you. 

YogaZonePLUS offers Yoga Classes for Bigger Bodies in Toronto

A short while ago, I was invited, by owner/creator Suzanne Gracan, to attend a complimentary yoga class at YogaZonePLUS, a yoga class designed specifically for those with bigger bodies. It was a fantastic experience.

The studio was bright, open, and clean. It was a lovely night out, and so the windows were open and a lovely breeze came into the studio. Suzanne lit candles and placed them at each of the windows and dimmed the lights so that the atmosphere was very relaxing. All the equipment was laid out for us before we entered the studio, and the uses of each piece was explained to us in case we were unfamiliar with it.

It was very comforting to be in a body positive space while practising yoga. Often times, I have been to yoga studios and I feel as though some of the slimmer students are looking at me (even though they're probably not) and just knowing that I am in a non-judgemental space helps me to focus on my practice instead of what other people might or might-not be thinking about me and my body.

Both Suzanne and Mary (the instructor) were very welcoming and made me feel totally at ease. They both demonstrated each of the asanas (yoga poses) so that you could see what the posture should look like from the front and the side.

We started the class with shavasana, a pose where the student lies on their back with their eyes closed and meditates on their upcoming practice.

Mary came along and gave us each a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil to help invigorate us and our practices. It was lovely!

Then we began some of the more active poses.

Owner/Creator - Suzanne Gracan (left), Instructor - Mary (right)

Warrior Pose

And for our final shavasana, Mary came around, gave us some lavender essential oil to ease us in to a very relaxed state, put a bolster underneath our knees to ensure our backs were making perfect contact with the floor, and tucked us in under a blanket to make sure we were nice and warm. I could have fallen asleep right there! It was like mixing a yoga class with a spa session. I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed!

All in all it was a really great yoga session, and I think that uniting plus size women for exercise in a body positive space is a wonderful idea. If you are interested in taking yoga or other fitness classes with Suzanne, check out her page here. Many thanks to Suzanne and Mary for a wonderful class!