Day 402: My Blog is 16 Today

A 16th birthday is a coming of age year, you’re a bit more mature and figuring out who you are. You’re in high school, you can get your license. I can hardly wrap my brain around the fact that I’ve been writing this for so long. And for 400+ consecutive days of a global pandemic. I would love to have had a post written with all kinds of favorite moments in blog history: travel adventures, red carpets, film festivals, tweetups, and events, but that life seems so incredibly far away right now. I didn’t have the energy but now thinking about it, going back in time seems kinda fun. Looking back, the thing I’m most grateful for is all the people I’ve met through this blog. Nearly everyone I know today is somehow connected to my blog, by way of social media, work, or events. It’s changed my whole life. I changed my whole life. The thing is, if you want to achieve something, or be something, you have to work at it. You need to do something each day that brings you closer to that goal. You get up early and work on it before your job, you think about it on your run, you stay up late, you work on it. You skip going out with your friends to learn HTML and use what little extra money you have to make stickers and cards with your name on them. You do something each day to bring you closer to your goal. You take a step forward each day. A couple of things I’m pretty proud of are being recognized by the Canadian Academy of Film & Television as an innovator & pioneer, receiving an Alumni of Distinction award from Conestoga College, and being recognized by Ontario as a…

View Post

Preston High School: Welcome to the Future

Today I spoke to Preston High School’s grade 10 and 11 students. I was invited to talk about my career, taking a unique path, and the changing world of work. I graduated from PHS in the year 2000 and most of the kids in the group were born 2000-2002. Crazy! Where did the time go?! Back in 2000, wifi was getting popular, I’m pretty sure I had a Nokia phone, and a job at Blackberry seemed like a great career move. The world has changed so much since then and speaking at PHS today made me really proud to be part of the growing social media world. Going Back in Time I first learned about marketing at PHS and it lead me to a three-year Business Marketing diploma program at Conestoga before heading to Australia for university. I always a passion for marketing and entrepreneurship, I loved marketing because it allowed me to be creative in business. While at uni, I started an online diary to keep my friends & family informed of what I was up to using MSN Spaces. This was even before I discovered MySpace. I was my first step into having my own place on the internet. When I came back from school, I wanted to work in fashion. I met someone on my flight from LA to Toronto who connected me with one of his clients. I was home from school for two weeks before moving to Toronto to sublet a room in a house with 5 students. I took over the room from someone I met at school in Australia.  The skills in learned in marketing have carried me through my career and helped me to be a leader in a new industry as it developed. Creativity in business has helped me navigate situations where…

View Post

Rebuilding Your House: I Broke My Collarbone

A year ago today I slipped on some ice at mum’s house, breaking my collar bone, getting a massive black eye, and severe nerve damage to half my face. It was right after receiving an Alumni Award from the President of Conestoga College. What a DAY. It was horrible. I was in severe pain most of the winter and did you know that having nerves repair themselves feels like you have a hair on your face that’s not there? Something so simple as taking a selfie was hard for months because I couldn’t move my arm above 90 degrees. I felt like half my face looked different. Does it? I declined attending a lot of events because I didn’t feel good about myself. This is a couple of days after the accident and before it got worse. This night I was up for an Ontario Premier’s Award so I had to attend the ceremony. My eye was watering the whole time and I was so self-conscious about the makeup running. This past year has been all about rebuilding, reprogramming myself, changing old habits, and loving myself more. I’ve been working on strength and can finally Chaturanga Dandasana again. I’ve been thinking about what happened a lot the last few days and I want to remind you that what you see on the internet is only a fraction of someone’s life. I’ve always been honest and real on my blog but this was something I wasn’t ready to face head-on, I didn’t know how to deal with it so barely mentioned it at all. I felt bad about not being strong, my arm was so weak and my confidence was broken. A year later, I’m feeling better and have another X-ray tomorrow that is hopefully my last. I want to remind…

View Post

Interview: Vocab Comm Influencer Tuesdays

I recently did an interview w/ Chrissy, longtime friend, OG PR, and founder of Vocab Comm. I talk about the social media landscape, influencers, and my career. I included part of the interview below, read the whole thing here. Chrissy used to host MMVA and celebrity gifting lounges at the beginning of social media, we worked together on a few. This was a fun one. Tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in Cambridge, Ontario. My parents immigrated here from New Zealand and my dad had a custom Hot Rod shop growing up. I created my first business in grade 2 and at 14 I wrote a book and started a publishing company. I went to Conestoga College and last year was given an Alumni Award for my work from the President of the college. I went to university in Australia and have a B. Com in International Business. I have lived in Toronto since 2005 when I started my blog. Through my blog, I’ve built some amazing brand partnerships (Pepsi, Telus, Aeroplan, Sassoon) and traveled to incredible amazing places in the world (Thailand, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Disneyland). How do you define an influencer? I think the word ‘influencer’ has really taken on a whole new (kinda negative) meaning with the rise of Instagram influencers. To me, influence is a product of something someone does. It’s not something you get by having a lot of followers. My influence has grown from being a pioneer in a new industry and constantly innovating. I share my life with the world and love discovering new things, my influence comes from building trust with my audience. What advice do you have for other people looking to become an online influencer? Don’t do it. Find something you love and do that! Don’t…

View Post

Thoughts on Graduating: Find Something You Love

Last week I spoke at the graduation for Conestoga College. There were 15 programs graduating and hundreds of students. I got to wear a gold cape as a ‘special guest’. I checked the colour of the cape before the event and came prepared with gold shoes. It was pretty cool! The top photo above is me with Conestoga College president John Tibbits at the presentation of my Alumni Award last year. I was in shock when I found out I’d been nominated for the Premiere’s Award then Conestoga surprised me with an Alumni Award. [The highest award from a college delivered by the president!] This isn’t the kind of award you can apply for, and I am so honored to be recognized. I took my mum, and her BFF (aka my second mum & Fairy Godmother!) to the ceremony. We had a great time! Looking Back… I’ve spent the last decade working in social media as the industry grew and developed. I’ve had my blog for 14 years. When I went to Conestoga College for Marketing, social media was not invented. Blogs were not invented, there was no Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. I was into marketing as soon as I knew what it was. I chose to study it in college because I had a *feeling* the internet would be something big. SMART THINKIN’ EH! Honestly, in college, I used to skip class and I hardly ever bought textbooks. I didn’t have much money in college or university, but I always did the work. I worked well in groups when I was the leader, I liked writing, I was really into presentations. I didn’t really know what I wanted to be when I left Conestoga College, so I went to university, in Australia. I liked business but I had no…

View Post

Travelling Europe w/ Telus Easy Roam

May was a bit of a crazy month! I touched down in Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Had an amazing press trip in Spain, went to Cannes Film Festival, Collision Conference, Lift&Co Expo, was in a fashion show, and gave the graduation address at Conestoga College. Today I’m writing this from the cottage in Muskoka and after a few days in the woods, I feel back to my old self again. I am so incredibly thankful to work with a partner like Telus. During my whole trip, I never once missed an email, text, or phone call because I didn’t have data or a working phone. I also always carry a spare phone battery while I’m on the road (I like this Mophie one). I look forward to the moment my plane lands and I get that familiar text from Telus that saying “Welcome to [insert country]. You have Easy Roam.” After long flights and meals on the go, it’s comforting! With Telus Easy Roam you can access your Canadian data plan from and you pay a daily fee to access the data in 190+ international destinations. Honestly, as an entrepreneur, the $12/day is so worth it to not be constntly hunting for wifi to share my adventure on social or reply to work email. Telus even has Cuba on their country roster which is so great, I can’t wait to plan a trip there over the winter. [You might remember when I went there last time and had NO SERVICE.] I love being in transit. Photos from Cannes Film Festival France I really loved Spain and want to go back to explore more. Read my post on our Spain trip here. Next week I’m heading to Vancouver for the Telus Creator Summit with the Canada-wide group of Telus Ambassadors.…

View Post

Stop Bullying Yourself!

We’ve been watching S3 of Queer Eye the last few days and I feel like this season is really personal. It’s the first time they’ve done makeovers on women, sisters, a wedding. It gave me all the feels, it’s hard not to cry. Since watching, I’ve found myself internalizing a lot of what they were saying. Themes that really stuck out to me were about celebrating yourself believing in yourself, not talking negatively about yourself, to yourself. We all do it and I’ve been pretty hard on myself lately. We all have things to be grateful for. We should be celebrating each day we wake up, our challenges as opportunities. Celebrating the bodies that carry us, the brain that all allows us to do things, the smile that greets strangers. We’re capable of so many things, so why do we stand in our own way? In one episode a father mentions he wants to cook better food for his kids and that one of them is a little rounder. Right away, Antoni said, “who’s feeding her?” RIGHT? Like hello, an eye-opener. So simple but this stuck with me. Do I want to lose weight and be more fit? Yes. I am in charge of feeding myself and doing exercise? Yes. Ok well, do it then!! The other day I called up a friend and we shared all the good things that happened to us lately. Who don’t we do this more? You should surround yourself with people who want to hear that stuff, who will embrace and encourage you. If you can’t share with the people around you, you’re around the wrong people. This week I started work on a film with 1188 and have been asked to give the Alumni Address at Conestoga College School of Business Convocation in…

View Post

Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like It #16

I’ve been laying low the last month, posting less, staying in. I just haven’t felt like it. The other day I wrote down something I overheard Sean said on the phone when someone asked how things were, he said “a mix of awesome and shitty“. It stuck with me, that’s how I’ve been feeling the last month. On November 21st I was given a prestigious award from the President of Conestoga College, Alumni of Distinction. It was a proud moment when I sat at the back of the crowd with my mum and my ‘Fairy Godmother‘ (mum’s best friend) who watched me walk up and make a speech in front of the group. It felt amazing to be recognized for my career, not something that was voted on by social media but actually recognized by people older than me who didn’t really know me personally.  This part of the night was awesome.  It was really cold that night we were happy to get home and cheers over a glass of wine. We were all filled with such excitement. We weren’t up late but I went outside for a minute before bed. This part of the night was shitty. I slipped on some ice on the concrete stairs outside mum’s house. I fell on the concrete steps resulting in a black eye and later found out I fractured my collarbone. I went to the doctor the next day, swollen and bruised. I got acupuncture. I felt like garbage, how could this happen? I barely remember falling, mum holding frozen peas on my head, the drive back home the following day. I tried to hide it, act like nothing was wrong. I covered up my face, wore glasses, stayed home from events. As for my shoulder, it was 1 week and a trip to New Orleans before I thought, ‘ I really…

View Post

Hall of Fame – 3 Things I Told the Graduating Class

On Friday my closest family members gathered at mum’s house (same house I great up in) to join me at my old high school in Cambridge to speak to the graduating class. I was indicated to the Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of some of Preston High School‘s most esteemed graduates. So cool!  Two of my old classmates Scott Thorman (Atlanta Braves) and Nathan Brannen (3x Olympian) are also in the HOF and were in the same graduating class. It was so weird/cool bring back there. I think the last time I walked those halls it was my very own commencement. My sister reminded me that the kids graduating in 2018 were born the year I graduated. Omg wtf, where did the time go!  I remember being in high school and a teacher asking what I want to be when I grow up, I said “Casie Stewart” and they said ‘that’s not a job‘. Well, well there teacher dear, I am here to prove you wrong! I spoke for about 5 minutes and then we went home and had Chinese food takeout. It was perfect. Lots of laughs. I was so grateful to have my parents, sister, fairy godmother, and the rest of the gang there.  3 Things for the Graduating Class Don’t worry about what you want to be when you grow up.  You’re probably going to work in a job that doesn’t exist yet with technology that’s not invented yet.  Don’t stress.  Find what you love and GO FOR IT.  You have so many tools and talents at your fingertips, you can do anything.  Don’t wait, start today, do something every single day that brings you closer to your goal.  When I started my blog I would stay home and work on it every day, my friends made fun of…

View Post

I’m Nominated for the 2018 Premier’s Awards!

Hello! If you’ve been following my IG or Stories the last few days, I’ve been all over the place. I spent 4 days driving from Regina to Calgary on a road trip w/ Ford Canada, then an overnight glamping trip with Up Cannabis. Both trips were very different and incredibly fun. I will share more about those soon but now I have a little announcement!  A couple weeks ago I received an email from my college asking to have an in-person meeting. Since I was travelling we had a call and it was then learned, I’ve been chosen as the Creative Arts nominee for the 2018 Premier’s Awards! Yes, ME!  The awards celebrate Ontario’s outstanding college graduates and winners are presented awards at a gala in November. More specifically, The Premier’s Awards honour the important social and economic contribution that college graduates make to Ontario and throughout the world. The awards were launched in 1992 and are administered by Colleges Ontario. Last week my nomination was officially submitted and today it’s online. Past winners in my category have included an internationally acclaimed TV director, top chefs, leading playwrights, and an Academy Award-winning animator. It’s a pretty broad category and more than anything, I’m honoured to be nominated. ? Check out my photo on the Conestoga College website here! buy Celebrex no prescription buy Cymbalta no prescription https://micgadget.com/wp-content/languages/new Lipitor no prescription

View Post

Capital One Canada – What Type of Leader Are You?

A couple weeks ago at the Enactus World Cup with Capital One Canada I did a survey to see what type of leader I was. I love doing these types of tests. (I have a tattoo based on a personality test I did a few times in high school & university.) What I love about the Enactus program is how it’s helping create young leaders around the world collaborate, implement, and celebrate, ideas. Their businesses are having an impact on global food, water, and sustainability. These leaders are socials conscious innovators, who take matters into their own hands, they look at the world and think ‘how can I make a difference?’ Aside from being super inspired by this experience, it was also awesome that Canada WON the competition on home soil in Toronto. Read about their innovative hydroponics system that’s bringing fresh produce to Canadian communities HERE. My first result in the Capital One Survey survey was ‘Visionary Leader’ but I think there’s characteristics of all the different types I can identify with. What kind of leader are you? Take the survey below to find out! My Test Result – Visionary Leader: Big goals + big picture = big payoff! “The dreamer who likes to operate at 30,000 feet. You have a vision of what the world will be like in the future and you set about to make things happen. There’s no idea too big for you to tackle.” I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In primary school there was a rule implemented where you needed a gym bag to put your clothes in for class. So, I went home that night and made a bunch of drawstring bags on the sewing machine with mum. The next day I had three sizes and sold them to kids at school.…

View Post

TD Savvy Saver Quiz – Are Your Finances on Track?

Whether you’re a recent grad or mid-career, each stage of your life calls for some money management. Something I know I can always use help with! It’s Financial Planning Week here in Canada (November 16-20) and  TD has launched an Savvy Saver Quiz, to help you understand your personal finances. By answering a few quick questions, TD will help you determine your financial stage and what considerations you should be making at this point in your life. After going to college (Marketing @ Conestoga) and university in Australia (10 years, where did the time go!) I had a sizeable debt to tackle and I wasn’t really sure how I was going to manage it. I consulted a financial planner and put a plan in place. My hard work paid off and my debt was replayed by the time I was 30. Words can’t explain the joy I felt opening a letter stating it was done. Going to school overseas was a pricy but I wouldn’t change that experience. Living at Bondi Beach was a DREAM! Not sure where to start? Take the TD Savvy Saver quiz to help figure out your current situation and where you need to be. By answering a few multiple choice questions, you can determine what stage you’re at financially, considerations you should be making, and find tips and advice to help you along the way. I’m in the stage where I’m getting all my financials sorted but buying a new house and family are on my radar. ☺️ If you’re keen to learn more about making your financial future positive, check out tdcanadatrust.com or my previous posts with TD on Planning for Life’s Unexpected Moments and Money Tips for Millennials. XO * post sponsored by TD, opinions and story my own obvs. Thanks for supporting me and following along ?

View Post

i’m not from around here (recently)

This was the start of our Tri-Cities Cruze yesterday: Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge. I LOVED having a car this weekend. This was me listenin’ to 50 Cent, imma gangsta. My sis. So pretty, ILU. Great hair. Windows down, sun on face. WIN. We went to Fairview Park Mall then the Cambridge Centre. I used to work at both. I did a season at Conestoga Mall too. When I was younger I worked at so many different stores in the mall, total mall rat.  First job ever was at Gap #989 Kitchener, I was 16. I would like to be in a car commercial. Chicopee Ski has this wicked tube hill. Looked fun. I wanna try it some time. We just did a drive-by.  SEE, so gangsta. I kid, I kid. Born This Way is playing on the radio like every 5 minutes. I don’t mind yet. Cruze with me baby. SUN SUN Thank you again GM for hooking me up with the opportunity to go home and see my papa and friends. The Chevy Cruze was an absolute pleasure to drive on the highway, in the city and on the country roads near Dad’s place. I felt safe and awesome. Sister totally loved being my passenger too. So great driving when the sun is out/going down. BTW the #FF winner is… DDDDDD-DANA McBride. Fab photo sista. We’ve never met but we will on March 23rd at Abode public Residence. If you would like to join us, here’s  the deets where you can get a ticket. This was her entry, love the shoes, love the dress, pose is fab. We’re gonna have a good time. She has a pretty cute tumblr too, glitter and skulls. Just did some creepin’, found this there. Peace out my friends! I’m at The Art of Marketing…

View Post

get it fired up in a hurry, wanna get dirrty

I’m watching Holiday Wrap’s 100 top vids and it’s great. Christina’s Dirty is on right now. I LOVED this song so hard. We had a dance to the whole thing. We used to do it at the bar. We’d even go early to practice. Loose Change Louie’s & The Rev in Waterloo were THE SPOTS back then. I was living at Mum’s and in College at Conestoga in Kitchener. Sarah Baker, Buddy, Gay, I know you remember that shit! It was awesome. We were always dancing back then… Is Rev still cool? I checked out the site and it made me think of Jersey Shore right away. haha

View Post