Chilean Girls Night In w/ Montes Wine

Last week my BFFs and I celebrated Jen’s birthday with a wine tasting thanks to Montes Wine.  Montes was founded  in 1987 and is the the pioneer producer of premium quality Chilean wines. Our night started with an informal tasting with a totally awesome sommelier, Lesley Prevost, followed by a delicious selection of Chilean catering. Learning heaps from @purplelips! She’s awesome. TY @MontesWines! pic.twitter.com/NPODF26IkL — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) April 26, 2016 We were treated to four of their premium wines you can now find at the LCBO: Montes Twins Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Montes Twins Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Montes Alpha Malbec 2o12 Montes Alpha Cab Sav 2013 We all really enjoyed the Sauv Blanc, it was light and fruity, with nodes of tropical fruits pineapple, grapefruit and orange blossom. I could deff see myself drinking this all summer. I think it would be really nice w/with some fruit/Perrier on ice. I really enjoyed the Malbec/Cab Sav blend, it has 14% alcohol and low acid (good for me with acid reflux ? ). The other two reds pair really well with meat & cheese. Look at those angelic faces, Montes Angels!  Nice discussion over these two. ??#MontesAngel pic.twitter.com/nDfFgBhJki — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) April 27, 2016 If you’re looking to try something new at the LCBO (and love Chilean wine), give Montes Wines a try. They’ve also got a carmenère at the LCBO I’d like to pair with a nice BBQ at the cottage. Spring, get here alreadyyyyy!  Later this month I’ve got a giveaway with Montes Wine that’s open to anyone in Ontario. Will let you know when it’s live! 

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1,776 Steps! Did The CN Tower Climb for WWF Canada

I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do the CN Tower climb and this month the opportunity came to climb with CLIF Bar for WWF Canada. I asked April to join me and we conquered it in 23 minutes! That’s 144 official flights plus the few it takes to get to the first numbered stairs and then a couple extra flights to the glass floor lookout. Thank you to the @ClifBar team for feeding our climbers and getting them warmed up! #CNTowerClimb #FeedYourAdventure pic.twitter.com/f6XnRuu6Hy — WWF-Canada (@WWFCanada) April 16, 2016

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Sweet April Showers Do Spring May flowers

Last weekend I spent heaps of time outside doing stuff and today my allergies kicked in. HELLOOOOO MONDAY! I also think I have glass in my foot. I feel like I’m on extended digital detox since Costa Rica. Today I return the Ford Edge, it’s been so great having my own car. Just love getting up and hitting the road! My goal this week is to spend heaps of time writing my blog. I quite like Monday, it’s an opportunity to hustle hard, do your best work and take it a bit easier each day till the weekend. Here’s to a great week!  Title quote is a short poem, by  Thomas Tusser 

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FYI Spring Sale @ Polette Eyewear – 25% off!

It’s spring and who doesn’t love new sunnies! The eyewear company in France I’ve been rocking for the past 2 years has a sale on rn for 25% off! Use code ‘Spring’ at the checkout, sale ends on April 26th. Writing a quick post from the cottage as I’ve been working my BOOTY off doing yard week etc around this place to get it ready for summer.  I’ve been taking time to relax since my Costa Rica trip, that digital detox was like hitting the reset button. I’m looking forward to a great week! I’ve been part of the Polette Blogger team for a bit now and amassed a big collection. I love that they’ve got heaps of different styles, new ones all the time, and you can afford to pick up more than one pair. They’re got a new means of distribution cutting out rhe middle man and sending you glasses right from their factory where they have a lab and lenses. They’ve got great prices and so many original frames. I love getting their emails because there are SO MANY NEW ONES all the time. I never leave home without my sunnies no matter time of day or season, but I also find I lose/break a few along the way. These are a few of my favs! A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Jan 18, 2016 at 12:10pm PST A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Jan 3, 2016 at 9:33am PST A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Oct 22, 2015 at 4:20pm PDT

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Cottage Open, Spring is Finally Here! 

Had a great time at the cottage this weekend. The weather was fabulous! Spent some time reading my book in the sun yesterday between yard work.  There are heaps of leaves to rake, gardening, cleaning, etc. Check my Snapchat story HERE for videos and the wonderful sounds of nature ?

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Travel | My Digital Detox Diary on The Co.

I know I’ve Mentioned how great my last trip to Costa Rica was but was the first real vacation I’ve taken in a while. I’m feeling inspired and I’ve got a fresh perspective on life. I wrote about the experience on The Co. by Jones Media and it’s on the front page today! Read it here!  Today I’m picking up a little Ford Fiesta and cruising home to spend some time with mum. Tomorrow I’m speaking to the grade 6-8 kids at her school about bullying and following your dreams. I wish i had someone like me come and tell me everything will be ok, it’s cool to be weird, and that the job I’d be doing didn’t exist yet. Still eating healthy since my trip and exercising daily. About to go for a run! ? It’s truly amazing what a good getaway will do, staying at Anamaya Resort is a magical experience. Here’s to a wonderful day! A photo posted by The Co. (@voiceoftheco) on Apr 12, 2016 at 11:31am PDT

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Gettin’ Fit in the 6ix w/ The New FitBit Alta

Before vacay I joined a bunch of blogger buds at Sport Chek to test out the new FitBit Alta. Remember, with companies like PromoCodeWatch that offer discounts on Fitbit products, make sure you use this when before you hit the checkout button! I’m sure you would like to save as much money as possible on something as cool as a Fitbit. Since receiving the device, I’ve become obsessed with making my 10K steps each day. It wasn’t hard to surpass my daily goal in Costa Rica, I was so active! I forgot to pack my charger so after about 5 days, it died. I was super impressed it lasted that long tho, if only an iPhone could do that! Here’s a couple snaps by George Pimentel from our workout with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternack. We were set to train outside but it was pouring down with rain, hence the raincoat, but we picked out head to toe New Balance gear and set up our devices for an indoor workout. I am seriously loving the leggings, they’ve got a drawstring and are super soft, comfortable. Ready to hit the road! We took a brisk walk through the PATH underground walkway then arrived at the Toronto Athletic Club to sweat it out.

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Travel| Refreshed, Recharged from Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica!

I’m home. The last week has been so wonderful. I wrote down some thoughts about my Anamaya Resort/Costa Rica experience last night and it’s hard to explain it all in words, but I’m gonna try. Working on an article about my first real digital detox (SPOILER: it was awesome!), and posts about staying at Anamaya Resort, the yoga retreat, the INCREDIBLE food, activities, new friends, the circle (I’ll explain), the treehouse, and a style guide to packing light for jungle living. One things is, Anamaya is an incredibly amazing place to go alone, with a family member, partner, or when you really need to hit the reset button on your life. After 7 days of gluten, dairy, and mostly sugar free free, with no red meat, heaps of fresh juice, tons of water, sunshine, and fresh warm air, I feel alive, and calm. [iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/5tiGSZ4KAJU”] Picked up groceries today and loaded up on healthy grains, coconut milk (instead of my usual lactose free), heaps of veggies, fruits (papaya and plantain too), and I’m going try and keep this way of life going. Made a new BFF and am hopefully going back to stay with her in Costa Rica in October. Here’s to a wonderful week and *hopefully* spring like temperatures!

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This is My Life | Treehouse ✔︎ Hammock ✔︎ Sunshine ✔︎

Today has been a great day, the whole week! Really taking  a break from my phone. I’m sitting in this hammock right now blogging via WordPress Mobile. Have yoga shortly, then dinner, and a circus performance at Anamaya Resort. This trip is incredible. Have so many photos to process and share when I get back home. Hope you’re having a great day! PURA VIDA!

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Fashion | Celebrating Spring Style w/ Hudson’s Bay & Fashion Magazine

During fashion week I worked with   Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren to celebrate spring style with Hudson’s Bay and Fashion Magazine. The event was in the contemporary department on the 3rd floor and there was no shortage of activations including a Sandro sponsored photo booth, Maje sponsored nail bar (gold nails!), BCBG sponsored gelato bar (chocolate coconut? yes, yum), an amazing fashion illustrator, candy bar, and mojito bar.  Here’s some of my fav ? from the night. Most are from Snapchat & iPhone 6s but the pro ones are by David A Pike. Before the event I stopped by the Denim & Supply section at HBC to check out key trends for Spring/Summer 16 season. Things to note – cropped denim (cute for tall and perfect for short peeps like moi), dresses (top I’m wearing is a dress), wovens, anything white, and shredded denim. I really love white denim for summer, and picked a pair of the cropped whites for myself. I was really torn between this white dress and the military jacket. There are a bunch of great jeans and tops as well. I think I’ll go back for the cropped denim jacket. Gotta have at least one of those in the wardrobe.

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Anamaya Resort – Welcome to the Jungle, Pura Vida!

Good morning from Anamaya Retreats in Costa Rica! Yesterday was our first full day here and it was magnificent. I’m really making an effort to take a digital detox on this trip but documenting is something I love. I’m running on wifi and often not able to connect with the online world. I’ve been taking photos, making notes, voice recordings, I wanna remember all my thoughts and feeling on this journey. It’s absolutely beautiful, photos don’t do it justice! Feels good to be back on the yoga mat too, I’ve been a bit slack this winter and this trip is like hitting the reset button. Our menu this week is all gluten free and local, Anamaya has a farm that we’re visiting Wednesday to see where a lot of our food comes from. We are staying in a treehouse that is 50ft up with a yoga/hammock deck, and a loft bedroom. It’s the most beautiful treehouse I’ve ever been into, it’s fully equipped a king size bed, drinkable running water, and AC. It’s giving us some good inspiration to build one at the cottage.

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