Bars Are Open Again: Hemingways!

Went for dinner with Erin & Natalie at Hemingway’s. Was nice to be out! I had fish & chips and it was kinda greasy (obvs) but I wanted something that reminded me of New Zealand. Wore a cute outfit and wasn’t out late. Sean picked me up at 8:30 and I got takeaway tacos. My last visit there was summer 2021 when bars opened after lockdown, Natalie and I had a ball of a time lol. If you’ve been reading my blog a long while you’ll know I used to work at Hemingway’s 10+ years ago. I love that place and all the New Zealand nostalgia. Always a good time!

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Day 453: Patios Are Open!

The day has finally come! Patios are open in Toronto so of course, I went to one! Natalie and I met up for a girl’s night and snagged a spot at Hemingway’s. I used to work there over a decade ago and it hadn’t been back in ages. It was nice to be back and we had a bunch of drinks, so fun. One of the bartenders I used to work with was still there and we laughed a lot. Hemingways is owned by a Kiwi and there is memorabilia from new Zealand all over, love it. Over the summer, I’ve booked off Friday afternoon so pretty excited to make the most of an almost-long weekend, every weekend. Woo hoo!

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TIFF DAY 1 – Tastemakers Lounge & Swarovski 007 Red Carpet

Whoa. It’s here. Today might busiest day in my 2012 calendar. Not. Even. Kidding. If I can make all my appointments and events I will question my humanity. Am I robot/alien? You will never know. (Shhh you in the back there, keep your secrets!) I have so much gratitude to give for my sister being PA (Production Assistant) on my show today, BMW sponsoring drivers for our Fashion’s Night Out team, tech related media interview in the AM, so may awesome events, my hair growing (don’t laugh), having my nails done (this is serious), and my bestie Lozzie Lauren O’Nizz being invited to all the same things as me. Thank you universe. Yesterday I went to media day at the TIFF Tastemakers Lounge put on by Rock-It Promo and I was SPOILED. Rotten! TIFF is truly more fun than a birthday or holidays because all the media friends are out, everyone is receiving gifts, and celebrating. Films take the first place for TIFF but trust me that fashion is a verrrrry close second. This is the eighth annual Tastemakers Lounge, it’s a Canadian gifting suite hosted during the Toronto International Film Festival. It brings local and international guests to indulge in exceptional products that Tastemakers Lounge is known for.  This was my third year and perhaps the best! Scroll my Instagram Photos: This is a sample (yes, really) of what celebrities will be getting at the Tastemakers Lounge this year. I feel a bit bad showing off but I made a care package for Barbie, gave a Le Dolci cupcake to the hotel concierge, Pop Chips to my concierge, and will treat Mum & Jenie too. Some of my favs are the  zillion nail designs from Kiss Products, amazing arc touch mouse from Yorkdale/Microsoft (that I am now using), 4 scents…

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You can’t fly with the eagles if you’re with the seagulls.

Title is advice from Mum. She said that to me a few years ago when I was trying to sort out where I wanted to go with my life. I always thought I wanted to work in fashion, then I did. After that, I thought wearing a suit, working long hours and being part of the downtown financial district was my dream. I stayed in that job as an IT recruiter having meetings at 8am (yeah omg, it was hell) and 2pm every single day. I hated it so much (job not the people!). One day my boss said “Casie, it doesn’t seem like you are having fun?” I replied “No, I’m not having fun at all. I badly want to quit but I need two weeks pay”. I left at the end of that very day, cheque on the way and started a job at Toronto’s most famous Kiwi restaurant shortly after. I knew the owner (HI MARTIN) and that because of my Kiwi citizenship I had a bloody good chance of getting hired. Working in the bar gave me the freedom (and same money TBH) to do what I wanted with my time. It was stress free and I loved chatting to the regulars and new customers. I worked at Hemingways for a few months and met some really rad people, it was like a family there. One of my recruiter friends sent me on an interview and moved into a job in IT. I worked for an online casino (it was cool, we had catered lunches) for two years and despite almost getting fired for doing it, worked on my blog A LOT. If my old boss reads this he will totally be shaking his head. Thanks Mike! When they caught on to all my blog activity, I decided…

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Feel It From The Inside

This one time I tried to do a cleanse. I made/drank the cayenne pepper, lemon, honey, water blend for about 8 hours. I hated it. I was so hungry after a long starving day at the office that I grabbed a big mac on the way home. I used to work in an office in the financial district and wear a suit every day. I had a meeting each morning called “Red Zone” where we went over accounts and urgent business. We had “Red Zone” again at 2pm and I worked really long hours. One day my boss called me into his office and said something like “Case, you don’t seem like you’re having fun anymore?“. I wasn’t. I was doing freelance PR on the side, I had a blog, I hated my job. I told him I didn’t like what I was doing and I thought about quitting but needed my two weeks pay. He said I could take my two weeks and be done end of day. I was thrilled! Freedom at last. I worked at Hemingways for a few months, a well known Kiwi restaurant in Yorkville. It was way more fun and I made the same money. Anyhow this whole story started with the idea that I am once again revisiting the idea of doing a cleanse this week. Starting Thursday, Total Cleanse is sending me 3 days of juice to drink and I’m kinda excited about it. (Starting it right after a Wednesday’s Jack Daniels party.)  Our condo gym gets new treadmills Friday which is good motivation to finally get back to the gym. Yippee. Have you ever done a cleanse? Tips, tricks. Anything is appreciated. I know some of you kids out there are real healthy.

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