#Muskoka: Life For Me Is A Riverboat Fantasy

Had a great weekend lounging at the cottage up in Muskoka. The weather was a bit cloudy on Saturday when we arrived but it was warm and I have no complaints! Boat is in the water so we got to do some cruisin’ around the lake. I’ve had David Wilcox ‘Riverboat Fantasy’ stuck in my head since yesterday. It always comes on 104.1 The Dock when we’re driving in cottage country. If you’re looking for some good oldies and classic rock, you can listen online here. My activities on Sunday included floating, reading, snacking, and sun tanning. Magazine reading has me thinking about layering. I know Autumn is a while away but fall fashion is just so dreamy. Brock & Jenn came up for the weekend and we are all obsessed w/ Doritos Roulette. They’re so freaking good! I’ve ordered two of these donut floaties and they should arrive before the long weekend. Squeeee! Watchin’the sun go down… Hope your weekend was great too. Next weekend Sean and I are heading to Boston and the weekend after that is a long one. Yeahooooooo! I can’t get enough summer, I love it so much. This week is supposed to be nice and HOT! <3 CASIE

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Love Your Life: Shangri-La, Hollywood, Netflix, Art

Remember last week when I went to the Vitamin A show at Shangri-La? Well, I shot the show with my GoPro and posted a video on Instagram as an entry to their contest…and I WON. The prize is amazing! I’ll be visiting the health club and spa at the Shangri-La in Toronto once a month for the next 12 months AND I get a new Vitamin A bathing suit once a month for the next year. Other parts of the prize include a gift basket from L’Oréal and a pendant from Birks. Huzzah! The contest was to post your fav look from the show and when I found out the prize I put some elbow grease into making something great. Here’s my winning entry! In other news, I’ve been playing Kardashian and I made the A-List. I know it’s stupid but it’s also kinda fun. I have a few friends who are also playing and it’s a hoot chatting about it with them over Twitter. Sean can’t understand why I would want to play this game when my real life actually has some similarities to the game. Next weekend we’re flying to Boston t visit friends and I hope to get to NY very soon. Finished The Fall on Netflix and really enjoyed the series. I’m practically a professional binger! Jillian Anderson stars in this BBC thriller. I love watching Criminal Minds and cop dramas so this one was like a really long good episode. There’s only 5 eps in the series. Been walking past these stars on my way to work and finally decided to take their picture. There’s art everywhere! Hope your week is going well. Remember, you’ll never been younger than you are right now so make the most of each day. Heading up to the cottage this weekend and I can’t wait.…

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It’s your life. Make the most of it. #TasteLife

One of the things I love most about summer is heading up to the cottage, taking in all the fresh air, and boating on the lake. It’s an amazing way to really soak up life’s greatness. Over the next few weeks I’ll he sharing some of my fav ways to #TasteLife in partnership w/ [yellow tail] wines from Australia. I’ll be encouraging you to share the great things life has to offer on Instagram by tagging @YellowTailCanadawith the hashtag #TasteLife. Each week over the summer, [yellow tail] will post a new inspiration on Instagram and you’ll be able to win a weekly prize by participating. One winner will be selected to win an ultimate grand prize adventure worth $10,000.  Their winning photo will influence the label design on two [yellow tail] bottles next summer (2015). Here’s my first Taste Life photo, underwater blogging! I was using a DryCase product to project my iPhone while I was in the pool during a film shoot. To me, the ‘taste life’ mentality means making the most of each day, embracing those around you., taking in the simple pleasures, being spontaneous, and having a positive attitude. I look forward to seeing how you taste life this summer! Stay tuned for the weekly challenges and in the mean time, get out there and do something awesome! <3 CASIE

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Blog Life: Sometimes I don’t feel like it. #9

It’s a weird and wonderful thing having a blog, a public diary about your life. I love going back and reading about my adventures, Googling photos and finding lost memories, but, sometimes I don’t feel like it. This week, is one of those. Although, there’s no shortage of Instagrams and Tweets, Pins and reblogs on Tumblr flooding the Internet daily, all posted by me. This weekend I’m packing up my condo to move to the new house and I couldn’t be more happy about it don’t feel like it. I wanna play outside! I can’t wait for my trips to NY & LA next month. I’ll be back up at the cottage next weekend too. I reckon I’ll catch up on posts this weekend and we’ll be back business in no time! Hope you’re having a stellar day and sitting in somewhere with AC. Remember you can always find me on the Twitter! Much love, CASIE

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Dailybooth Archive 2009-2012, This Is My Life in Photos.

Ok computer, anyone remember Dailybooth? DailyBooth was the original photoblogging site for people to take a photo each day with a caption. The goal was “your life in photos” in order to document and share. It allowed you to post on Twitter and follow other users within the service for  real-time updates. I loved it. Wrote about my Dailybooth romance in this post. Last year in Auston for SXSW I met a Dailybooth friend IRL. It was awesome! In August, 2009, the site had over 3 million unique visitors a month with a growth rate of about 35% a month.[2] On 11 November 2012, it was announced that Dailybooth was closing down, with users able to access and download their content until 31 December. The site was completely deleted after that.  Demi, Ashton, and iJustine used to use it heaps. I download all my nearly 800 photos from my database and put them in a video as a memory. That’s why I started blogging in the first place, to keep more memories. I learned how beat map photos in iMovie when I made this. I’m no expert video editor but I’d like to get better at it. I’m hoping to get a new camera soon so I can start filming some epic si*t. Huzzah! I’m the couch at the cottage watching movies and computing all day. It’s great! Happy Sunday 🙂 <3 CASIE  RIP!

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Day 581: Woodland Creature

It was so nice to wake up here today. I love being at the cottage w/ Sean, this beautiful view never gets old. It’s hard to have a favourite season up here because they each have their own beauty. Right now the leaves are bright with colour, days warm, and the night cool enough to put on a fire. Soaking up every moment of cottage life like a woodland creature. I’m working today but taking a trip to town mid-day to go to Curries Music w/ Sean. This weekend we’re having two guests for a harvest dinner. I’m planning to do food prep tomorrow night so Saturday can be stress-free. Wish me luck haha.

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Day 400: Staring At The Wall

How you doing? I’m feeling the weight of everything this week and it is heavy. My new job is great but adjusting from 6+ years of freelance to work 40 hours a week has been tiring. Watching the news and seeing things get worse is extremely draining. Not being able to see family when they’re going through their own things is heartbreaking. We’re not even allowed to meet friends in the park anymore.  Each day this week I opened my blog admin to write something and ended up writing the title and staring at the screen. I couldn’t find the words to document the day. I try to appreciate something good each day like the sun, a call from mum, a good outfit, or laughing over DM’s with a friend. It’s hard to stay motivated/positive right now. Things are pretty bad. We can only hope things will get better but perspective is hard when we’re stuck in the middle of a storm that’s been going on for 13 months.  Today I woke up thinking about work and excited to get things done. My motivation slowly declined when I checked my phone, laid back down in my fully made bed, and stared at the wall for a while. Do you find yourself staring at the wall too? Next, I watered my plants and moved some around, grabbed some snacks, made coffee, and turned into the couch.  In other news, keeping this pandemic diary is surprisingly therapeutic. Despite some days where I’m completely exhausted, there have been a lot of good days. I find myself looking back and remembering park hangs in the summer, bike rides, cottage life, and great meals we made at home. Thankful for friends and family, also Netflix/Prime, good wifi, and snacks.  Sending you love, hang in there. ?

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Day 110: Full Moon Energy

Went to a garage sale in the morning and found a few treasures! I got a new mirror for the bedroom, a great picnic blanket, a couple of baking pans, and a super cute pair of black/brown cowboy boots. We met a few more neighbours who just purchased their parent’s cottage on our road. We’re really settling into cottage life and living in the woods. We drove to Haliburton in the evening to have dinner with April and her family at her aunt’s cottage. They have a great beach and we shared lots of laughs over dinner on the patio. We talked about taking this photo before we got there and couldn’t stop laughing when Sean was taking it. The moon was shining bright and the sky was so clear for our drive home. Looking forward to the hot weekend weather, lots of sunshine, and visiting another friend tomorrow.

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Day 79: Take a Minute, Meditate

This morning I felt like I needed meditation to start my day. To stop, pause. Think. Take a minute. I took a break from posting sunshiney selfies and cottage life to share content by black creators, friends, and use my platform to share their voices. I did a morning meditation by Elaisha Jade and signed up for her 30-day daily course. I love her voice, it’s so soothing and you can head her smile. Elaisha started her company after working in tech for years and feeling the burn out all often go through. At Your Mindful, she focusses on bringing mindfulness and meditation in-person or online to people around the world. Thank you Elaisha! If you want to book a private online session with her, book it here. She also has a self-guided silent retreat you can sign up for here. To sign up and join me for 30-days of meditation for free, scroll down! 30 Days of Meditation: Sign Up Here! In other news, I broke my personal 5K record on Nike Training and have been officially running for 6 months! Extremely grateful to Amy Shio aka @lesbest for her monthly challenges, she’s really motivated me to get off my booty and hit the pavement. I ran 100Km last month! P.S. If you are looking for anti-racism links, check this document or see these resources in Canada. You can also check the link in my Instagram bio here for a list of resources, places to donate, and petitions to sign! ?

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Sharing the Love w/ Ford Canada – Weekend Getaway at JW Muskoka

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. it’s amazing what a weekend away can do for your happiness, health, relationship, and spirit. Over the winter we don’t get away too often so when Ford Canada offered up the new Ford Expedition and hotel stay, I was so down. We stayed at the JW Marriott Muskoka, one of Canada’s top 10 luxury resorts as voted by Conde Nast. I’ve wanted to stay here for ages and tweeting back in forth about Muskoka and cottage life for years. The staff were nice, the food was good, it was quiet. We didn’t do much other than eat and sleep but it was just the relaxing 24 hours we needed. The lobby is quite modern and the whole place has a country house vibe. There was warm apple cider in the lobby, complimentary snowshoeing, snow bikes, and valet. We were upgraded from a standard room to an apartment style suite which was verrrrrry roomy. A family of 4 could have stayed here no problem. It had a full kitchen, fireplace, two tvs, a private bedroom, washroom with 2 sinks, and a separate toilet/bath/glass shower, so you could use each independently. I could have honestly stayed there for a week working on the great Americancan novel, or my blog. Inside the JW Mariott Muskoka The hallways feel a bit like you’re in a movie. We’re definitely going back in the summer to take in the outdoor spaces and activities. The weather wasn’t great and neither were the roads. I was happy we were in a vehicle with 4 wheel-drive. The 2019 Ford Expedition Platinum is huge, especially when you are only 5’2 driving an SUV that seats 8! It’s also rollin’ on 22’s so you’re seated above most cars on the road. Great for…

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Balance + Books + Blogs

Sean and I had a really romantic weekend, we cleaned house and went to the dump about 4 times. To be honest, chucking furniture into a huge bin is exhilarating. We managed to move a massive fridge then, on the way it fell off the trailer, it was so mashed up! Also kinda satisfying seeing it so mangled! haha ? We got it back on the truck with no fuss and Sean moved another fridge later in the day. This spring we’ve been up here quite a bit. It’s been nice. Though, unless you have a cottage or something like it, you won’t know how much work it is. We’ve been husting every weekend since we opened this place in March. This weekend I managed to carve out time to finish a book I picked up Friday. [Sister of Mine, it was good! Toronto based author, Ryerson Professor] Check this out, the author and I chatted on Twitter. Love reaching out after a read a good book to thank the author, even cooler when they reply! Over the last little while, I’ve been working on a thing that’s really exciting and I can’t wait to share with the world. I think it’s important to have something not everybody knows, a secret project, a magic motivation to focus on. If you tell everyone everything, you have no surprises! This week I’m also working on blogging more. I often chat with people who have blogs and they set really high goals and rules for themselves, then, beat themselves up when they don’t blog every day or publish as much as they imagined. Don’t do that! Write when you feel like writing, if it’s your own blog and you’re your own boss, be a good boss to yourself!  A blog is your creative expression, it’s always there for…

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Great Week Ahead!

En route back to the city after a v chill time at the cottage this weekend. I took a bunch of naps and spent hours reading. I’m at so it’s important to recharge your batteries.  I like to take breaks from my phone and totally zone out. It was pretty windy/cool out so we’ve not started on the outdoor yard work (hence the naps/?). Cottage life is great but it is also a lot of work!   Last week I wasn’t feeling super great or inspired but the cottage cured me and I’m so ready to make this week awesome. It’s finally spring and each week is nicer than the one before.  I’m looking forward to a couple events I’ll be covering this week. Emily and I are doing Tae Kwon Do and I’m liking it. Feels good to be back in a uniform after being away from martial arts for…oh y’know, 20 YEARS! I book my yoga classes at the start of the week and try not to miss them as things get busy, hopefully I make them all. Threw some SPIN in the mix too!

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Enjoy A Little, Endure a Lot

This week felt like a long one and it’s finally Thursday. As Keri would say, “Best night of the week!”. Tonight I’m heading to my BFFs house out of the city and tomorrow we rented a sweet hotel room in a random Ontario town, not too far, for a well deserved girls getaway. Sometimes when I look back at my story of the day, on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook, my short term memory forgets things even happen. This was the case a few times this week. I started the week slow, was super tired, and had a sore shoulder from an awkward sleep on Sunday. Tuesday I spent most the day dragging my a$$ through the motions, but, by the end of the day I was so inspired I couldn’t sleep! I was a judge at the Women in Wearables Tech Meetup for the Female Founders Cup.  It was  great to be surrounded by incredibly amazing women making waves in the tech community. You can watch the livestream here if you’re looking for some inspiration.  Women & Wearables: An evening of celebration, discussion & activism Full house for #WWTO! #techtuesday (@ MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, ON) https://t.co/YBfoWuGYVy pic.twitter.com/Rhlijqql5j — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) March 28, 2017 Wednesday seems like a blur. Did yoga at 7:30 then drove home, picked up Emily and took her to school. Shawn Hawaii came over for quick head shot shoot around 9am and by 10:30, Sean and I we were heading to 1188. The rest of the day was non-stop and by 9:30pm I was finally ready to sit down and do things on my computer. I am SOOOOO looking forward to a 2 night getaway with my BFF and a s-l-o-w pace. I love what I do but life is exhausting and I’ve had to teach myself to take breaks. Also, I can’t wait till we open the…

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Travel Goals: RV Adventure 2017

When I was a kid my grandpa Doug converted an old school bus into the ultimate traveller complete w/ stove, bbq, and a few beds. We would drive about 2hrs to the Down Under Summer Games with heaps of Kiwis and Aussies. It was so much fun, we would sing, dance, have a a hangi, go fishing, and watch the dads do a gumboot toss. It’s a down under thing haha. This summer I’m planning to live out one of my dreams and so an RV adventure. GoRVing Canada has invited me and I’ve not set out the details but it’s going down. ? Or East, West, who knows! GoRVing.ca helps RVers in Canada with information about RV dealers, RV rentals, RV parks and campgrounds. Find all kinds of info at gorving.ca. ???? The airstream section was my favourite. It’s totally hipster of me but I love the hyyge, cozy, retro of it all. I think I could do a summer living in one of these as long as I had wifi and freshwater. I’ve learned to need way fewer things over the last few years. There are so many different kitchen/sleep/bathroom options, sizes, and pries in RVs. I knew there would be a lot to consider as a friend told me about the campingfunzone.com RV/trailer article she read and what you need to take into consideration but I was overwhelmed! I was impressed by the luxe of some, full kitchens, big fridge, queen beds. Overheard a conversation of a few people talking about how they used to live on their boat and now are looking for a nice RV to travel land on. So cool! A few years back my mum & her bf lived on their boat for a year and sailed to the Bahamas. I’ve always admired…

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