Toronto Wine & Spirit Festival + Schick Hydro Hotel

I recently went to the Food and Wine Festival at Sugar Beach, it was my first time there! It was such a beautiful day! At the festival I stopped by the Schick Hydro Silk Hotel for a relaxing break. Sugar Beach has really cute pink umbrellas. Fish taco + lobster poutine. So good. From June to August, the Schick Hydro Silk Hotel will be travelling to different festivals in Canada, at the hotel you can  drop by to get yourself a sample of Schick Hydro Silk TrimStyle razor and Hawaiian Tropic after sun moisturizer or get a chance to spend some time in the Schick Hydro Silk Hotel, where you can relax, have some water, charge your phone, or even have a massage. In order to receive a sample of the new Hydro Silk TrimStyle razor, Hawaiian Tropic After Sun moisturizer, and Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration sunscreen, people are asked to snap a photo with the bushes from the commercial (get it? haha!). You may have seen it on tv. I picked the heart one of course. Hooked up w/ samples and a massage. I’m always down for a massage!   The Schick Hydro Silk Hotel will be at the following locations across Canada this summer.  For your chance to win a trip for 2 worth of $5,000 or 1 of 6 $500 prepaid credit cards visit hydrosilkhotel.ca. Thanks Schick Hydro for event tickets, samples, the charge-up, and massage! As an avid traveller, getting ready for vacation is one of the skills I’ve got done to a science.  Here’s a few items I keep in my summer travel bag or tucked away in my purse to help me look and feel fresh. Everything is small and compact, just what you need when you’re on the go from one destination to the another. A refresher kit of my own 🙂 Eye makeup remover…

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Today in #Toronto: Tattoos, Water, Wine, Bikes, Blue Skies

Out on my bike this morning to put on a basket before hitting the road. I’ve got 2 things on today: EskaQuest giveaway w/ Eska Water at 2pm in Yorkville – find me first to win a $300 GC to StillWater Spa at the Park Hyatt Vintage Ink Wine presents: GENERATIONS, a celebration of tattoo culture through art at 99 Sudbury. It’s open to the public and you’re invited. Other than that, the day is mine! Gonna bike around and see what I can find.  Took a look at the new-ish street art under the bridge on Bloor at Dundas. It was all done a couple weeks ago and worth checking out. A bunch of Toronto artists’ work to see. Went on lock up and found my Schwinn Twinn! In case you missed it this week, I’ve been welcomed to the Schwinn Team as an official ambassador. They hooked me up with a sweet bike! Picked this one out, it suits me, good for cruising the city and just needs that basket. Bike selfie is dangerous but I’ve got it locked down. The city workers were taking down all the street art near the new Union Pearson Express station at Bloor-Dundas. I asked what was happening to it all and GO was giving some away but decided to keep it all. I would have dragged this one home and taken it to the cottage. I’ve been writing this while circling the Dollar Store for zip ties and now I’m gonna go riding. The PanAm Opening Ceremony last night was really neat. Loved watching all the athletes walk in. I posed a bunch of photos etc on twitter.com/casiestewart. Have an awesome day! CASIE ??

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#OfftotheRaces: The Queen’s Plate 2015 at Woodbine Racetrack

Last weekend I took Carla to Woodbine Racetrack for her very first Queen’s Plate. In case you missed my post about it last week, the Queen’s Plate is the oldest continuously run race in North America and Canada‘s oldest thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. (Wiki). We attended the Hats & Horseshoes party and dressed according to the ReThink at the Races theme in black and white. My dress is an oldie from JacFlash that has a cape and I absolutely love it. It’s that LBD I can always count on when I need to throw on a dress and feel fabulous.  (LBD = Little  Black Dress)   Picked up my hat at Winners while in Ottawa with Mum last week. Bag is Betsy Johnson, shoes Nasty Gal – Shoe Cult, necklace is vintage silver from Tiffany’s (Sean got me me a couple years ago). Glasses are from Polette Eyewear in France. These mirror men were awesome. It was the perfect day to be outside in the sunshine.  Felt like I was wearing a disguise hiding under my huge hat and glasses. It was great! Thought this was a funny moment. Once we arrived and did a tour we took a break to tweet about it. We did ACTUALLY talk to each other.     Caught up with Vanessa and the KP Squad. I decided to take my chances and bet on a whole bunch or horses for the Queen’s Plate. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick the RIGHT ONE. I’m learning to bet as I go here. The winner was Shaman Ghost by one and one-quarter lengths. I’ll be at all the big races for the rest of the season through a partnership with Woodbine Racetrack. Hope I pick a big winner at least ONCE. I did win $10 which is better than nothing. 🙂   Carla and…

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After 5 Years, We’re Taking Our Relationship Next Level…

It’s with great pride I announce my official Ambassadorship with Telus!  Over the past five years I’ve worked with Telus on a number of things (see here) and they’ve helped me out with service, covered roaming, and been there every single time I’ve lost/destroyed my phone.  This week they announced #TeamTelus, 15 hand selected bloggers from across the country. “The Team TELUS line up stars 15 awesome, interesting, smart, creative, down-to-earth, caring and stylish personalities from across the country. To recognize Team TELUS for their support, we are providing them with mobile (and in B.C. and Alberta, Optik TV) service, devices, VIP access to events and reader giveaways.” Read more about TeamTelus here and get to know the rest of the group! Tonight we’re all celebrating our awesomeness at TELUS HQ in Toronto. Earlier today a couple of my Telus peeps showed up with a HUGE box of goodies to welcome me to the team. My welcome box was picked specially for me and includes a few things they knew I’d love including a new Ted Baker iPhone case (my brands are colliding!), Kate Spade portable charger (fashion + tech together), selfie stick (obvious one there!), a gold Shine fitness/sleep tracker (wearables!), a Bluetooth speaker, chocolates, and a Shoppers gift card.  I’m really happy to make it official after working together since 2010. My first EVER mobile phone was with Telus back in the 90’s when they were Clearnet. I’m excited to see what fun adventures and things I’ll be covering with the team this year. Check out the rest of TEAM TELUS here. TIME TO CELEBRATE! CASIE  

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What a Day! Scavenger Hunt, Set Life, Zoo, and Shoes!

Started the yesterday meeting up with the #EskaQuest team in St. Lawrence Market. It was the first of my 2 giveaways with Eska Water. Read more about those here and follow @eska_water for clues. Saturday’s giveaway is for a $300 gift card for Stillwater Spa. Hellooooo! There were a few people waiting to meet me in order to win. ME! We had fun. Look at how cheezy I am in this photo, LOVE IT. Spent the afternoon working on an 1188 production. This is a RED Camera, fancy. Lauren, Steve, and I were extras on set. Years ago I spent an entire summer on set for a movie with my sister. We has heaps of fun and made tons of friends. I wrote about it not too long ago here: #TBT Diary of a Background Performer. I arrived back at the office to a super nice delivery from Nike Canada, NEW SHOES! The Nike Free Cross Bionic 2 is new in Canada and I’m looking forward to hitting the pavement with these guys tomorrow. This shoe is ultra-flexible, with breathable mesh upper and Flywire cables for dynamic support.  Yes, I run, but I don’t tell the whole free world every single time. I picked EmBot up from school for a girl date last night. We ate McDonald’s, ice cream, and went to the zoo. WILD TIMES. One of the zoo volunteers let us feed vegetables to the animals.   We were both especially fond of the peacock. Hope you’re having a great week. I’M READY FOR THE WEEEEEEEEKEND! <33333333 CASIE  

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TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

Last weekend mum and I went on a trip to Ottawa. I was invited by TD Canada & TD Music to bring a guest to see Serena Ryder and attend a special ceremony where TD Cafe & MusicCounts made a music announcement. It has been a loooooong time since mum and I went on a plane together (NZ in the 90’s) so we made the most of every moment and it was so much fun. We flew Porter Airlines which involves taking the worlds shortest commercial ferry to the island. It’s a wonderful flying experience! MusiCounts is Canada’s music education charity associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to help keep music alive in schools across Canada. TD Canada has been working with MusicCounts since 2012. They support Community based organizations, schools, and picka  MuciCounts teacher of the year. This year’s winner was Steve Sainas from BC and he received the award at the JUNOS. TD Canada has worked with some great Canadian artists through MusiCounts including Arkells, Kevin Drew, and Tegan & Sarah. They’re excited to add Serena Ryder to the mix.  WThey also work w/ the JUNOS team to partner with artists. TD Canada is committed to music as an organization with a genuine interest in music and communities. They’re not just a cheque signing bank, they actually follow through and make communities better. Serena made a $25K donation to Musicounts.ca! These kids were SO EXCITED to hear the donation news, receive violins, and to find out they were performing on stage WITH Serena Ryder herself. It was a magical moment.  A photo posted by Gracie Carroll (@graciecarroll) on Jul 3, 2015 at 2:39pm PDT The concert was at TD Place in the new Lansdowne Centre and was opened by The Strumbellas. They were amazing. The 6 piece band rocked…

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Monday, Make It Great!

Had a wonderful weekend! Mum and I really enjoyed Ottawa and seeing Serena Ryder, photos and stories about that tomorrow. Queen’s Plate yesterday was really fun too.  Today I went to Vaughan Mills to do some shopping for an upcoming project. I’d not been to the mall there before and HOLY MOLY there are so many stores and great deals.      In between doing work today I also got a new mani. 💅🏼   Saw this sweet Camaro.     Absolutely loving this warm weather. We’ve planned some dedicated time up at the cottage this month and I CAN’T WAIT.   Hoping your week is off to a great start! 💛 CASIE  

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Heading to Our Nations Capital, Ottawa!

Friday morning Mum and I are heading to Ottawa and it’s her first time flying Porter Airlines. I’m so excited to be travelling with her! Last time mum and I went on a trip together I was in middle school. We don’t often get to hang much, especially not in the summer is mum is usually at the boat and we spend heaps of time at the cottage. We’ll be seeing Serena Ryder, with special guests The Strumbellas at TD Place Stadium to celebrate Canada Day weekend. Earlier in the day, TD Bank and MusiCounts will be be announcing the 2015 MusiCounts grant recipients and have a special surprise planned for a local Ottawa recipient.  I’ll be doing a short interview w/ TD Canada about TD MusicCounts and sharing it with you next week. Oh hey @serenaryder! See you on July 3rd! #tdmusic #lansdowne #tdplace A photo posted by TD Place (@tdplace) on Jun 18, 2015 at 1:09pm PDT Feeling excited to take mum on a press trip and hang out at the hotel together. We don’t leave until 4pm the following day so hoping to take a walk on Parliament Hill. I’ve never been to Ottawa around Canada Day. Last time I was in Ottawa was March 2012 for Ottawa Fashion Week and it was very snowy. Looking forward to some fun times w/ mum and lots of laughs! 💛 CASIE

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Make The Most of Each Day ☀️

Took the subway earlier this week as the thought of driving across the city seemed like a nightmare.  Especially the highway.  There’s new HOV lanes that require 3 passengers so the others are all jammed up. People have been buying mannequins and jacking up their cars w/ ‘passengers’. Haha.   In case you don’t know, Toronto is hosting the PanAm Games and the city is preparing for it all to start this weekend. There’s a ton of things affecting the regular city flow and none of the people have arrived yet. I don’t have tickets yet but I’m sure I’ll check out something. I’m hoping to retreat to cottage country after next weekend. There I can watch the chaos unfold via mobile from the dock. I like riding the subway during the day. It’s peaceful without crowds of people around. I used to take the TTC over an hour headway to work when I first moved to Toronto.  I worked in the fashion industry and it wasn’t glamorous but I was certain about following that path. Excited about visiting Ottawa this weekend. Calgary last week was fun. It’s been a while since I discovered my own country. All in a days work! ?? CASIE

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#Esakaquest 2015 – Find Eska, Win Prizes!

This summer Eska Water is back for round 2 of Eskaquest. Torontonians are invited to explore the city in a Toronto-wide scavenger hunt. This year, ESKA will is teaming up with six Toronto influencers (including me!), and challenging Toronto to ‘Find ESKA’ for the chance to win tickets and prizes from June 22nd to July 31st. During the six week campaign,we’re each giving away 2 prizes per week. There’s two ways to get in the game, follow clues that ESKA releases on social media, or take a peek on the microsite (here), which contains a map hinting at the general location for each giveaway. The first person to successfully find the influencer wins the prize. Follow Eska for Clues Follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as we release daily clues to help you find the next #eskaquest giveaway location. My Eska Prize Giveaways are July 8th & July 11th Stillwater Spa gift certificate$300 Dinner for 2 at a Summerlicious restaurant The rest of the Eskaquest crew includes blogger Yashy Murphy, Indie 88 radio host Brent Albrecht, MTV Live alumni Paul Lemieux, Sheena Snively, and  Daryn Jones. We’ve planned a really fun giveaway so I’m pretty excited to put the plan in motion. I’ll have more details next week! Until then follow ESKA water for another giveaway on Saturday. CASIE

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