Mondetta Performance Gear Fall 2013 Collection

Folks, I am Fashionable, Functional, and ready for Fall. Whoo wee.

As part of my FitFluential Ambassadorship I was introduced to Mondetta Performance Gear (MPG) last fall.I’m no stranger to MPG — I’ve been actively (see what I did there?) sporting my hot pink zip up from last year’s fall collection, and you can see plastered all over my instagram photos. Now for my unbiased opinion as always.
MPG jacket in pink

I feel like I’ve been wearing that jacket year round since I got it last Fall. I basically have since we had much cooler temps than average this summer. It’s just the perfect length where it covered your butt and has sleeves long enough for my monkey arms. It never fails that I get a compliment on the pink jacket whenever I wear it out. I think they should bring this favorite (of mine) back and have it available in tons of colors. Hot item, that one. That and the fact they’ve definitely mastered having a flattering silhouette on this jacket. Often for our warm up runs at CrossFit I wear this, and I always wrap my hands around into the thumb loops to keep my scaly man hands warm.

Not only that? MPG is Canadian and I absolutely love supporting companies in Canada.

The colour palette and items that has been launched for fall (love that orange is making an appearance) is fantastic. I’m not just saying this because I’m writing a review about MPG, but my favorite colors are a coral-orange, and magenta. While they don’t have a magenta this season, they do have a nice purple in the Essence top I ordered. I picked out pink for myself though.mpg-purple-top

I was given the opportunity to pick out a few items from their Fall collection to test and try out. Thank you for feeding my obsession, MPG. I tweeted out to MPG in the past that they need not let their Designer go, ever. My one dresser drawer that I use primarily for active-wear is overflowing and can barely close shut. Instead of opting for more fitness apparel I wanted something comfortable I could potentially wear to work out, or to sit around at home in, and be content either way.

Last year I mistakenly sized up in their bottoms. I do not suggest this. MPG‘s clothing  fits true to size, so stick with what you are regularly. While they’re the only bottoms I wear during the winter (much thicker material than Lululemon) at CrossFit, I have to tie them really uncomfortably tight. Thank goodness they had a draw-string. This year, I received the Avert Legging and my heart was calling out to get the hot pink. It was so very tempting, but I figured I’d get much more use out of the black pair. Even though the pink would be fun for a change.

close-up-of-pant-seamNote the leggings has three different seams on it? That’s because you can customize the leggings to your required length! No sewing necessary. I’ve kept mine as long as possible because I love pants that cover my ankles, especially getting into the colder months.

I took a break from climbing this summer. Three months off in fact. Just right after I received some new climbing shoes for my Birthday. Figures as much. I activated another 1 month membership and have been going consistently 2-3 times per week. Surprisingly I am not that rusty. I’m still bouldering pretty solid, and I haven’t had a chance to top rope. But since bouldering is more for power and less endurance I’ve decided to amp up both. I’ve been doing extremely easy problems by climbing up, then down climbing, then back up. Doing laps I suppose you could call it. It makes your forearms burn. I’m trying to get as many laps in as possible. My first night back I did 3.5 laps (jumped off the climb before I did my final down climb). I’ve been wearing the Avert legging while I climbed and didn’t feel like I was worrying about hiking up my pants at all. Most importantly though, the items that I’ve all received are made of great sweat wicking fabric and quite comfortable. Thankfully the leggings are not see-through so I can move around without flashing anyone on the wall.

MPG-Valencia-hoodyAnyway, back on track. I’ve been wearing the Valencia hoody in BRIGHT coral fire back and forth from Climbing to CrossFit. It’s thick and form fitting, yet has this stitched design on the front which makes the valencia more unique than the average hoodie which seemed to pique my interest. I had a purple zip up from a different company a few years ago which is literally fraying at the seams since I’ve completely worn it out. Now it’s time to welcome my little valencia into my home and wardrobe.

mpg-while-lifting-alfieBadda-bing badda-boom I really enjoy wearing functional work out clothing that is also fashionable and thankfully MPG has created a great collection for Fall.

mpg-valencia-hoody-look-dowLove the thumb holes!

I can’t leave ya guys hanging talking about how fun the people are at MPG and the wonderful experience I’ve had with them regarding Customer Service. So MPG has allowed me to host a giveaway for my readers. Even though I said I hate to leave ya hanging. I’m going to, only for today. Because this blog post is getting a little too long. Come back tomorrow and see what you get to win! Wahoo!

  • Whats your favorite thing to wear when working out?
  • How often do you work out?
  • Before today, have you ever heard of MPG?

I was not compensated for this review, in fact —I asked MPG if I could work with them again. They sent me three items from their Fall collection at no cost. All opinions are my own.

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Rent Frock Repeat Party

How many times have you bought a pretty new party dress, and only worn it once? Waste of money, right?

Want to step out of your comfort zone for a night? Have you always wanted to wear some sort of dress that wasn’t exactly your style but still wanted to rock it?

There’s such a thing as RENTING dresses now. A place called Rent Frock Repeat, and it’s based out of Toronto, but will ship to you if you wanted a particular dress. You can rent up to 4 or 8 days depending on what you need your dress for, and they can definitely work something out with you, if you needed the dress for a longer period of time.

Wednesday night, Jacqueline picked me up from work and we went straight there for a bit of wining and dining while trying on some dresses. I usually stick to pretty conservative dresses but since I was there I decided to go with it and try on things that I normally wouldn’t. the-wine-sisters

Wine provided by The Wine Sisters. I ended up having a little glass of white, with some pickings from this wonderful spread of snacks.food-at-rent-rock-repeat

Racks upon racks of designer dresses. racks-of-dressesThen accessories to go with your dress. rent-frock-repeat

I tried on a number of dresses and added two final dresses to my wishlist.

Badgley Mischka feather dressLike this Badgley Mischka feather dress which I didn’t realize until the day after that someone wore it on the red carpet at TIFF (Toronto Intentional Film Festival). Look at me being all fashion forward.

tara-spencer-tiffHave to be honest, as much as I loved the dress, I didn’t feel comfortable in it. I felt like an ostrich, but all the women there told me it looked amazing on me, especially with the hot pink shoes that were there for me to try on with it.

I think the star of the show, however, was this Sarah Stevenson dress which was form fitting and hugged me in all the right places. It’s my new BBM display picture, gotta admit — I kinda love the way it looked on me. I recently found out that she’s a Canadian Fashion designer based out of Toronto. The dress on Sarah’s website retails for $450. It’s not on Rent Frock Repeat’s site yet, so I’m not sure how much it would cost to rent it. But I love it so much, I may end up saving up for it. Eek…sarah stevenson dress

Jacqueline and Jennifer posing in their dresses. Jac ended up renting this Badgley Mischka green dress for a wedding that she’s going to later on in September. The color, the fit, and the style looked incredible on her. She will definitely rock this frock (Sorry, had to)! Photo from Shannons twitter.jennifer and jacqueline

Two hours flew by and then it was time for a BlissDom Canada party at Rent Frock Repeat (they too will be going to the conference). There’s my old co-worker Shan workin’ the internets.shash

It was such a fun night and I’m all reared up to go to the BlissDom Conference in October! Can’t wait. Thanks a million again to Chevrolet Canada for setting me up as their VIP guest to BlissDom Canada. WAHOO!

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Blogger Meet Up in Toronto

I’ve known some of these girls longer than I have known my boyfriend. That’s over 8 years, you guys! And last weekend was the first time that I’ve met some of them in person — finally!

erica nancy leanneLeanne (to your right) met me at Sephora right after the Make Up For Ever event I went to. We’ve been online friends for so many years that I can’t even remember when we “met”. She too, is originally from Newfoundland and moved to Ottawa a few years ago. Then, a few weeks ago she and her fiancé up and moved to Toronto. Uh, a meet up was certainly required at this point. We then left the Eaton Centre immediately to go snag Erica who was waiting for us at Union station. Also the first time that I met Erica and we’re not even that far away from each other. Oops.

We took the subway to Yorkdale mall where we all did a bit of shopping. Leanne picked up a pretty bracelet from Kate Spade and me? Well let’s just say that I don’t shop in Toronto often and when I do, look out. toronto-buys

Forever 21 had their already cheap jeans on sale for $7.80. I already have a pair of these from a year or two ago that I decided it was time to break the bank and spend another whopping eight bucks on a pair. Ouch, I’m not sure how I do it. pants-from-f21-and-zaraEver since last year I’ve been itching to get a pair of khaki green pants. Zara had them for $54 and it stung a little, especially after paying $8 for a different pair at the previous store. But I bought them. I wanted them. In my shopping cart they went.

Also picked up this cozy knit scarf from a different Zara location, along with some Aveda’s air control hair spray. My fav.aveda-air-control

We went to Hemingways in Yorkville for some grub and stayed for hours just chatting, telling stories and laughing. Thanks for the photo, Amy.hemingways-toronto-blogger-meetupMe, Noreen, Laura, Amy, Erica @ Wastemytime.ca, and Leanne @ Fresh-Season.

I ordered sweet potato fries and the Out of Bounds Chicken Salad.hemingways-menu

It was as great as it looks.salad-and-sp-fries

It was definitely well worth the trip into Toronto, specifically for the fact that I think I met some life-long REAL friends during this outing. Love to Leanne! I think I should probably make it a monthly occurrence to visit her in Toronto. Whatta ya say.

What do you have planned for this weekend?

What are some of your favorite restaurants in Toronto?

Don’t forget to enter my Philosophy gift set giveaway, for Canadians only.

 

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