CASIE STEWART
THIS IS MY LIFE • BLOG EST. 2005
Travel New Orleans, LA

Sunny New Orleans w/ Blue Skies & Beignets

Sunny New Orleans w/ Blue Skies & Beignets

Hello from down south! This week I’m in New Orleans staying at Mardi Gran Manor with a few friends from TO. We each have our own apartment in a beautiful set of units behind a big gate in the French Quarter. I’m stocked up on groceries and all moved in for the week. Hoping to catch some sun and start off December with a nice tan. I’m sitting at a small table outside my unit by the pool as I write this. I was here in September to speak at a conference so spent a few hours then getting my bearings. In the French Quarter, we’re a few doors down from Brad & Angelina’s old place and Nicholas Cage has a spot down the street. I love the architecture and the streets are alive with music. All the buildings are hidden behind huge window shutters and or large gates. At first, I thought it seemed kind of run down but as soon you’re lucky to get a glimpse into someone’s house or behind a gate, there’s see nothing but beauty. Chandeliers, fountains, and gardens all over the place. This morning Natalie and  I went to Cafe Du Monde for coffee & beignets then walked down the Mississippi River to the shopping outlets. It’s not nearly as hot as it was in September but it’s warmer than home and lovely in the sunshine. Tonight we’re all having dinner together in at Compère Lapin owned by Chef Nina Compton and her husband. She was a runner-up on Top Chef and I met her a couple years ago in Toronto. Also coincidently, Sean and my really great friends from Muskoka are also here in NOLA so we’re all meeting up on Frenchman for drinks tonight. Can’t wait for @natalie_deane‘s birthday tonight at Compère Lapin! I met Chef @nina_compton…

View Post

Related Posts

Travel NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, USA

Speaking in New Orleans + Cute Dress from Studio Fitzroy

Speaking in New Orleans + Cute Dress from Studio Fitzroy

Last week I flew to New Orleans to speak at a conference, first talk outside Canada. Woo hoo! It was also my first time in NOLA! I’m heading back to New Orleans in November for a week vacation w/ some friends. I was booked via my agency, the National Speakers Bureau, I’ve been with them for about 2 years now. Check out my NSB profile here. My talk was ‘Get Trending: Building Campus Engagement with Digital Media‘ and it went great! Conference attendees stuck around for half an hour after to chat, take selfies, and ask questions. I get a little nervous/excited in the 5min before I go on stage, then, once I get going it’s over before I know it. The Q&A at the end is always my favourite part. I even met someone from who was from my hometown in Cambridge, Ontario. Hi David! The hotel was right beside the Superdome and U2 played while I was there. I was tucked away in my room putting finishing touches on my preso so didn’t make it over. The view was pretty cool and the Superdome photo was taken from one of the huge glass hotel elevators. I wore the cutest little, crushed velvet dress by For Love & Lemons from Studio Fitzroy. I loved it! They have heaps of beautiful new dresses for rent, you’ll love it. Visit shopfitzroy.com to scroll the gowns or your dreams. Took a little walk around the hotel early Friday before I got ready to hit the stage. It was so warm and sunny. There was a Starbucks inside the Hyatt, so convenient! I imagine that happens a lot in the USA. I wasn’t sure if conference attendees knew I was a speaker or not but I definitely had a *different* style. I got heaps of positive feedback from organizers and attendees.…

View Post

Related Posts

LIFE TORONTO

Day 188: New Coat & Hilary MacMillan Fall 2020

Day 188: New Coat & Hilary MacMillan Fall 2020

Yesterday I went to the fall 2020 preview for Hilary MacMillan in the east end. It was my first time at the studio but definitely not my first interaction with the brand. I’ve been a fan of her looks for years after attending her shows at Toronto Fashion Week. Hilary is also part of the gang I’ve been going to New Orleans with for the last couple of years, love her! Last year I ordered one of her varsity jackets that says ‘Bad Girls Club’ on the back with my name embroidered over the heart. MacMillan’s ‘EQUAL PAY’ varsity jackets in black and grey are donating 100% of the proceeds in perpetuity to ‘Black Women in Motion’ here in Canada to continue the fight for racial equity. I was really excited for the preview to see humans I’ve not seen in ages and of course to see the new items. It was my first media event since being back in the city and each person had an individual appointment, they checked temperatures at entry, and masks were required. Hilary MacMillan Fall 2020 is a mix of rich colours and elevated textures all inspired by the 70’s. I took the opportunity to try on a bunch of items and am 100% obsessed with the rich cognac, vegan leather, and long coats. The Hilary MacMillan Capsules include the (biodegradable, 100% cupro, vegetable-dyed) SUSTAINABLE BLOUSE collection and the (custom embroidery) VARSITY JACKET collection, both of which will continue to be a part of the brand’s DNA moving forward. I picked one item to take home and it is this INCREDIBLE faux fur floor-length jacket. It’s so warm, soft, and luxe. THANK YOU HILARY & TEAM!

View Post

Related Posts

Tech ON THE LINE

Unpopular Opinion: I Like The New WordPress 5.0

Unpopular Opinion: I Like The New WordPress 5.0

I installed the new WP 5.0 that came out last week right away. I like to be the first to try things out. I’ve always been an early adopter. There are a few glitches but I believe this is the start of a new, modern, flexible WordPress. It gives you so much more customization in the way your work is displayed, photos, galleries, quotes. I ran into an issue when I first installed WP 5.0 where it reverted me back to the Classic Editor. I lost Gutenberg when I installed 5.0 then I installed the Classic Editor and couldn’t get Gutenberg back. I searched a whole bunch of WP developer forums and it was VERY CLEAR, people HATE Gutenberg and they HATE Blocks. To fix it I disabled the Classic Editor plugin, and deleted, reinstalled the Gutenberg editor. I also disabled Page Builder (Site Origin) and a couple other plugins that I wasn’t using and probably weren’t updated for WP 5.0. I blogged about my fav parts of the new Gutenberg Editor back in August when it was released here. One of my favourite things in the new editor is how you can display images wide across the page. I love the way galleries look stretched out instead of just within the pixel width of your blog text. So pretty. These photos are from Ashley Longshore gallery in New Orleans, LA. What are your thoughts on the new WordPress, do you love it or do you hate it? Comments open!

View Post

Related Posts

LIFE NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana

Need New Headshots? No Problemo!

Need New Headshots? No Problemo!

Last weekend on my way home from New Orleans I popped into the Iris Photobooth at the MSY Airport. I’d seen these booths on the internet and really wanted to give it a try. I thought the company was owned by LinkedIn but I have since learned it is not. The pop-up headshot station is marketed to LinkedIn users for new profile photos. Amazing idea if you ask me. However, you may want to use the services of a photographer who specializes in headshot photography instead. Photos are $20 for 6 photos including retouching and you get 1 hi-res download. I unlocked the remaining 5 for $5. I also did 2 sessions because I love having my photo taken! ? I think the photos turned out really good despite the fact that my hair wasn’t done, I did my makeup in the car, and had rushed to the airport. The lighting is super bright, almost better than a human headshot setup. (Sorry photographers, the robots are coming!) You can edit the photos right in the booth before saving in a FaceTune kinda way (smoothing, remove blemishes, whiten teeth etc). If you’re looking to get some new photos done in Toronto there’s a booth at Ryerson near YD Square or you can catch them at airports around the USA. See locations here. I would love to be able to book it for a day at our office. I think I’ll pop into the Ryerson one next time I’m on the area. I had been meaning to get a couple photos for ages and this was SO EASY. OK THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY OFF TO GET MY HAIR DONE BYE!

View Post

Related Posts

LIFE TORONTO

Day 255: The Magic of The Universe

Day 255: The Magic of The Universe

Well hello there! Spent the whole day inside, did not run today. Curled my hair with vintage hot rollers and I looked like a cherub. Decided to pop on a nice yellow jumper to brighten the day. Tomorrow I’m meeting Talia in the morning for a socially distanced coffee date. I really miss seeing friends! Usually, at this time of the year, I would be getting ready for a week away in New Orleans with some of my best friends. Seeing Facebook memories pop up makes me really miss travel. Seven years ago during this time, I was in Thailand with Contiki and 20 YouTubers. Such a great trip. Today I was dreaming about going on vacation and the first place I would go back to is Costa Rica. If I was going to move to a tropical climate, I would love to live in CR. In other news, remember how I mentioned wanting a treadmill? Well, ladies & gentlemen, the magic of the universe has shined its light in my direction! Sean’s dad emailed him to say they have one in their garage. AHHH! I am so thankful! It’s amazing how you can manifest great things in your life if you put positive messages out there. Keith, if you are reading this I am sending you my love!!

View Post

Related Posts

LIFE QUARANTINE

Day 127: Girls Night!

Day 127: Girls Night!

Today we had our first summer guest since the start of quarantine, the one and only Jen Kirsch! Jen and I have been friends for years, we’ve travelled to Spain, New Orleans and been to hundreds of events together. She’s been isolated with her dad in Richmond Hill and we thought it was a-ok to finally have her up. We played games in the living room, danced, and went to our Monday night regular hangout, ‘Vinyl Night’ at Communist Daughter via Zoom. It was so much fun! I’ve really loved her new podcast Lockdown Love with eOne Entertainment, download it here and follow her on IG here.

View Post

Related Posts

Fashion QUARANTINE

Day 61: It’s Not Always Black & White

Day 61: It’s Not Always Black & White

Today was a good day. I did some work in the morning. We picked up the boat. Sean is dying to go wakeboarding. We went to Canadian Tire and I got my own, brand new lifejacket. I love it! At 5 pm I joined Natalie and Christian for Truth, Dare, & Cocktails. It was hilarious. I miss them so much. Glad we all got to spend a week together in New Orleans in December. I also spent some time reading in the sun. At night, I had a super fun Zoom hang out with some of my old besties from high school/college days. I miss them too. We laughed about the good ol’ days and shared how our lives have changed. I can’t wait to hang out in person once this is all over. I really hope we get some sun tomorrow!

View Post
2020 I THINK I FOUND HER.

Did You Lose Yourself?

Did You Lose Yourself?

I think I found her. I had to go on a journey but the fire is starting to burn again and it’s lighting up the sky.

View Post
LIFE TORONTO, ON

ROLLERCOASTER DAY

ROLLERCOASTER DAY

Some days I have it all together and others I am just a mess. This morning I woke up and started planning my outfit for Booby Ball on Friday in support of ReThink Breast Cancer. I left the house feeling positive and ready to attend a talk with the Rebel Mamas on talking to kids about cannabis put on by Drug-Free Kids Canada & Aphira. Dropped my stuff off at the office grabbed my ‘Rebel Mama’ clutch and jotted down the street to be there for 11am and GUESS WHAT?! The restaurant said ‘CLOSED’, not like, just for the day, closed as not-yet-a-functioning-establishment-closed. Checked the email again, then the initial DM. Location changed. I could have easily gone to the right location but it was too late now. Or, had I not left the house, I could have casually worked from home until late afternoon. Urghhhhhh. And I stepped in a puddle, in Converse. I’d planned to stop by Dollerama so I went there to get some supplies for Friday’s costume. Grabbed a sandwich. Set up my computer at the office. Stared at the screen. Felt garbadgey. LIFE IS SO EMOTIONAL. I considered going home again but I’ve got hair & makeup for the Fashion heals for Sick Kids show at 5. I stay at the office downtown. Felt distracted. I decided to look into flights to New Orleans for the group trip I’ve been doing for years. Forgot about my Aeroplan miles, booked the trip, only had to pay tax. Put this song on and wow, I feel so much better. I love how a song can change your mood. Sometimes it’s your boyfriend bringing you a cookie from his morning meeting. Sometimes it’s finding an old gift card or remembering travel rewards. I wore a yellow shirt today…

View Post

Related Posts