You searched for smart home

Casie March 27, 2017 Tech

Light Up Your Life with Best Buy Smart Home

Last week I went to the National Home Show as a guest of Best Buy Canada to check out smart home accessories. After CES and the Interior Design Show this year I’ve become obsessed with making our home more efficient with smart things. Upgrading appliances in your space can help save energy (thermostats/appliances), make things more comfortable (lighting), and keep you safe (security camera). For the National Home Show, Best Buy partnered with designer Christine Dovey to design a fully stocked smart home pop-up where you could see all kinds ways to pimp your place with technology. I left dreaming about new appliances for the whole house complete with a super skinny & smart Samsung QLED tv. I was obsessed with the Samsung ‘Family Hub’ fridge, this thing is totally from THE FUTURE. It’s got a wifi touchscreen and three inside cameras that take a photo every time the fridge closes. Then, you can check your phone to see what’s inside, it also knows what’s inside, it make recipes, it can track expiration dates. Kinda hard to wrap the old brain around! I LOVE THE FUTURE. My friend was telling me about how they recently got a new smart AV system from Crestron System and I think she is as much in love with the future as I am! When I was at CES in Vegas this year, one of the award winning new products was the Nanoleaf Aurora light panel.All the lights connect to my iPhone and can change a zillion colours and different shades of white (warm vs cool). I was so excited to order this for our house! I would love to say I went for the cool lights knowing Emily (9) would love them but they were totally for me too. We had guests over this…

View Post

Smart Tech to Help You Through The Winter

We all know it’s coming, the dark and cold months of winter where all hibernate a little more and give thanks to the Netflix gods. I’ve been trying to stay on track with being productive when I’m at home and working out and am determined this winter to exercise just as much time as I spend binge-watching. Luckily, we live in a tech world that allows us to have all kinds of smart devices to help our minds and homes running smoothly through the dark seasons. A site like Wired Smart has some great info on practically every type of smart device that can be useful but today I decided to focus more on the tech that will help get you through winter. Scroll down for tech accessories I find help me through colder days. Finess Tracker: FitBit I have been using a Fitbit on and off for the past 5 years. I love the reminders to move every hour and getting those steps in each day. It’s a small thing that keeps me accountable to move. I also love seeing my heart rate, the interval tracking, and getting text messages on my wrist. The weekly reporting is a great way to motivate yourself to be more active. I’m currently using the FitBit Versa and Sean has the FitBit Iconic. I still use my FitBit Alta HR sometimes because it’s slimmer and looks more like a bracelet. Telus also has Apple Watch if that’s more your speed. A Home Assistant: Alexa I love her, I ask her things every day. Mostly ‘what’s the weather’ so I know how many layers to put on and what type of jacket to wear. I love the weekly email from Amazon telling me with ‘What’s New with Alexa?” and all the skills you can…

View Post

The Internet of Things – Protecting Your Smart TV

We just got a new Smart TV and I’m super stoked. Sean and I worked from home the day it arrived and we also ordered tacos which turned into a great game of tv or tacos?! It’s my first time having a *brand new* TV. Our previous model was bought 2nd hand years ago, we’re retiring it to the cottage now. The Sony 4K Android Smart TV is so clear and it was really easy to set up. It comes with Google Play, Netflix, and internet connectivity making it easy to watch your fav shows, download movies, or watch videos on YouTube. Over the last year, I’ve been making our home smarter with the addition of Hue Lights which I’ve heard a friend managed to build some of his own, wow! He told me he built some with parts he found at Octopart but I digress, a Dyson fan, Alexa, and now an Android Smart TV. As we start to make our home smarter, we’ve got so many entry points putting us at risk for privacy and hacks. 90 percent of Android TVs are reportedly vulnerable to hacking The solution is to make sure we can browse the internet and watch all our fav shows without having personal data compromised. ESET is a leader in security solutions for home computer & mobile. They’ve created the world’s first ever security solution for Android Smart TVs, using tech to guard against cybercriminals with their eyes on connected TVs. I quite like their i-Robot style dude below. There’s a free version available for download as well as a paid version that gives you premium features for a year at $14.99. I went for Premium. If you have a Sony Android TV, the app is already downloaded you just have to pop into the HOME section from the remote and click Accept. Android…

View Post

At Home w/ My Biggest Fan: Dyson Pure Cool Link

When this was delivered Sean said ‘look, it’s your biggest fan!‘ ? I don’t do product reviews often but when a piece of really cool tech comes along I’m happy to test it out and share my thoughts. A few people asked about the fan when it arrived early spring so scroll down for my fav features. tl;dr: This fancy fan is the best one I’ve ever owned. It’s quiet and you can monitor your home air quality from the iPhone app. Also, at high speed, you can be just like Beyonce! Since I was a kid I’ve been prone to seasonal allergies. They usually kick in around the worst times like March Break or Back to School. A member of the PR team from Dyson saw my tweets about allergies and offered I try the Dyson Pure Cool Link Tower. This fan has no blades and is easy to clean, plus it removes 99.97% of allergens and pollutants as small as 0.3 microns. Allergies can actually be made worse by indoor dust and pollens. I received the fan in the spring and used it in the living room for the last couple months. It’s great for cleaning the air of smells (when cooking), making the house feel fresh, and cleaning toxins out of the air. You don’t even want to know how much dirt is in the air or carpets. I can’t 100% say it was just the fan but I hardly had any reactions this spring. I found the fan really helped with the air quality in our house. It’ll be nice to see how the app tracks and monitors our air quality. COOL THINGS ABOUT THIS FAN: It has wifi! I downloaded the app and have been monitoring the air quality in my workspace. I also have smart lights up in here, helloooo future! Set it, forget…

View Post

Review: Sonos x IKEA Speaker Collab

This week I went to the 2020 Ikea Catalogue media preview where they announced their partnership with Sonos. I love IKEA and smart home accessories so was keen to learn more. Through this partnership, IKEA is focussed on enhancing your home with sound and lighting. This post is not sponsored by Ikea but I would love if it was! I was given the new SYMFONISK speaker and set it up as soon as I got home. Wanted to share my thoughts right away because I’m super impressed. It’s my first Sonos and by far the nicest speaker I’ve ever personally owned. Symfonisk Setup In a few minutes, I set it up on my home wifi, connected it to Apple Music, and my Amazon Echo to work with Alexa. The SYMFONISK I received is a bookshelf speaker which is quite the coincidence because I have been looking for the best bookshelf speakers recently so this was perfect timing! It can go vertical or horizontal and be mounted as a shelf that can hold up to 7lbs. Multiple speakers can be paired for surround sound, paired over wifi, or to your TV. You control the speaker with the Sonos app and can set up voice controls. Mine is connected to Alexa and works perfectly! Symfonisk Design x Quality Both speakers in the series come in black or white and are designed to blend in with your home decor. The bookshelf speaker is $149 and table lamp speaker is $249. Pretty good price for the sound quality and Sonos brand. For the one with the light, you can add in smart bulbs like Phillips Hue or Ikea’s own smart bulbs to make the light change colour. At the media preview, they had a bunch of the speakers paired together for ‘party mode’ which…

View Post

Vancouver: The Telus Innovation Centre

Earlier this year I was in Vancouver for a city planning conference and stayed an extra day to pop by the Telus office and have lunch with a friend. I’ve been working with Telus since my days at Much/MTV Canada, about 8 years ago. I’ve had the opportunity to do some really neat stuff like volunteering, videos, city adventures, and making friends. A couple years ago I helped them with some ideas to create their influencer program and it’s really grown into something awesome. Next month, they’re taking the ENTIRE GROUP of Canadian influencers (including me!) to their HQ in Vancouver. Telus Garden I was really stoked to visit this building. I remember when it started in 2012 and was opened in 2016. The Telus Garden building takes up an entire city block downtown Vancouver, totalling 1M sq ft. It has amazing energy saving features, a fantastic garden, and has won a bunch of awards for the design and sustainability. Unfortunately, I was there in winter so I didn’t get to see the outside areas, it snowed! [symple_testimonial by=”” fade_in=”false”]“TELUS Garden is Canada’s most beautiful and ambitious LEED Platinum building, and one of the most environmentally-friendly developments in North America,” Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO[/symple_testimonial] Telus Innovation Centre I met up with Ana from Telus (check out her IG @msanadouglas) and she took us up to the Innovation Centre where. I was amazed to see a beautiful bright space filled with technology. One of the coolest features were the doors. Telus has created a set of doors that have screens instead of windows. Hello, why didn’t I think of that!? They’re the only 4 doors like this IN THE WORLD and they’re right here at Telus in Vancouver. A couple of them have cameras where you can host meetings and…

View Post

Best Buy Life and Tech Show 2017

Earlier this month I attended the Best Buy #LifeandTech event at YD Square. This is my second year attending and honestly, it feels like Christmas for tech lovers! I got to test out and bring home some of the coolest tech around. You can find everything mentioned in this post at BestBuy.ca. I’ve been working with Best Buy Canada for the last couple years and it makes ME SO HAPPY. I love being invited to test out the latest wearable tech, smart home gadgets, and overall life-enhancing products. Here’s a few of my favourite things from the Best Buy Life and Tech show! SMART HOME SECURITY: One of my ultimate favs is this Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Pro. I haven’t set it up yet but I can’t wait to creep anyone who comes to my door or walks past. Since moving into a house with a front door (from a high-rise condo) I get so freaked out when I’m home alone and someone knocks on the door. Who does that! Unexpected! Gah! I get all packages delivered to the office so it’s extra weird if someone sends something to the house. I feel that this new burglar alarm will give me peace of mind and make me feel much safer. I like that I can see everything in real-time too, so if there was a burglar, I would be able to have an instant description of them! With the new Ring, you are able to monitor hour home with audio and video from anywhere. The rep I chatted with was from Minnesota and he showed me his backyard while we were chatting in YD Square. He’s able to record video, sound an alarm, or say something to an intruder if he see’s someone suspicious around. So cool! Imagine yelling ‘HEY…

View Post

Best Buy Appliances Dinner at Baro w/ Celebrity Chef David Rocco

This week I had a totally amazing dinner on Wednesday night with about 100 other media people from around the city. We were ushered up to the 3rd floor of Baro, King West, and greeted by an amazing tablescape and cocktail bar. I was happy to see Ryan Emberley, friend and amazing photographer who I credit for the great photos! The dinner was hosted by Chef David Rocco and Baro Executive Chef Steve Gonzalez presented by Best Buy Canada to showcase their new appliances. We are hoping to renovate our kitchen, so checking out new appliances is something I do now. Yay, adulting! The chefs used the most pimped out badass appliances I can only dream of having! LG’s 4-Door French Door Refrigerator with Ice & Water, Samsung Smooth Top Induction stove, Bosch Built-In Dishwasher, and a few other smaller kitchen appliances for making the meal. They all cater to the new trends of being energy efficient, compact, stylish, and connected. I wrote about Best Buy Smart Home earlier this year here. It was great to see a bunch of friends. I’ve been really hibernating this summer so it was nice to be out of the house and share laughs over a great dinner. I sat with Gunnarolla and Gracie. We were all invited into the kitchen to help David Rocco and it was amazing. He is so nice and fun. He was prepping some cheese to put into the risotto when he cut a piece and handed it to me on the end of a sharp knife. I was totally swooning at that moment! Dolce Vita! David Rocco Interview Time! What is one ingredient you always have in the kitchen? Always have two olive oils on hand. One for drizzling and one for cooking. One litre of olive oil is made up of 1,375…

View Post

Day 185: Mum’s Birthday!

Today was a great day! Had so much fun at home for mum’s birthday. Jenie and I drove to the house in the afternoon and hung out with her and Steve, ate snacks, got takeout, and had cake. My sister’s childhood bff also came over and it was like we never missed a beat. Laughed so hard, it was brilliant! I love mum so much! She’s smart, funny, stylish, and the biggest inspiration in my life. She’s always there with wise words when I need them and I am so grateful for her love. HI MUM LOVE YOU, THANK YOU. ? One of our fav things to do is go to Winners and look for treasures. I found this amazing merino wool sweater from Zara and my sister got one to match. It was a steal! Jenie found the yellow sweater she was wearing and got it for mum. Now we all match! I dressed up for the day in my fav bodysuit, Pretty Denim (designed by my friend Tahnee), and loafers from Everlane. My mask was handmade in Toronto by my other friend Considerate Goods. I almost forgot how much I love wearing a full outfit, really sets the tone for your day!

View Post

Day 1: Social Distancing

It’s not often that I have nothing to say. I’m not sure how to handle everything that’s going on. It’s hard to believe this is happening. I feel like hitting pause on everything because our health is really what matters. How can life continue in any normal way? But things do continue like payments and deadlines. It’s hard to take a break when you need to monitor the situation. You know you should look away but you can’t because it’s right here affecting everything you do. On the computer, in your email, on social media, tv, every time you go to the fridge and think about your food. I should do something to make myself feel better. I haven’t gone to the gym in a couple of days and I don’t want to lose my mojo. I finally got it going after a struggle up fitness hill. Today I made a nice curry and cooked some of our favourites. Did a face mask and a hair mask but it didn’t take away the knot of anxiety in my chest. Last winter I spent a lot of time at home because of my injury and the insane amount of ice outside. Since then, I really benefitted from the work I did around the house during that time. I completely moved my room around so I had a nice workspace, organized my closet, sorted every bin, reorganized the cupboards, spice drawer. It gave me sanity in a time where I felt I couldn’t go anywhere and I didn’t feel like myself. It was hard but I made it through and learned a lot about myself in the process. I’ve been trying not to touch my face if I’m outside and it’s really hard to not touch your face. I wish I had…

View Post

Beat Winter SAD: Take A Vacation

Last winter was really hard, we had one of the coldest seasons in ages, there was ice everywhere, and my arm was messed up. I spent most of the winter inside our house going Marie Kondo through every cupboard and drawer. This winter, I’m determined to find joy in simple things and actively make an effort to warm myself up and beat winter SAD. I wrote a few posts with ways I’m trying to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder with the hope it will help make our days a bit brighter. Some take a little more money/planning but others you can do at home right now. I’ll update this post with a link to each so you can scroll once they’re live. Vacation The easiest way to boost your mood in winter? Take a vacation. I know this isn’t an option for everyone with work/family/finances but if you can do it, it’s so nice. This year, I took a 7-day all-inclusive trip to Cuba with a friend. We have been talking about doing a low-key beach getaway at the start of January for 2+ years and finally did it! Cuba was a good option because we were not going for luxury, our conditions for the trip were affordable, beach, sun. The beach was beautiful and the sun was hot. The food wasn’t luxe but we managed to eat simple, the main things I ate were bread, rice, fruit, pasta, and eggs. I read an entire book, took heaps of photos, and finished the week well-rested and refreshed. We went to bed early (and sober) most nights. I stuck to Amy’s 1K a day challenge and did some type of activity each day (long walk, dance, NTC). It was just what I needed and a perfect reset to start the year. I…

View Post

Review: iRobot Braava jet m6 Robot Mop

I don’t have an actual pet but when our little robot is cleaning the office floor and docking near my desk, I feel some kinda love. For the last few weeks, I’ve been testing out the new Braava jet m6 Robot Mop. This latest innovation from iRobot is a smart mop that cleans your floors, charges itself, maps your space, and keeps you updated on what it’s doing through the iRobot HOME app. Cleaning The Braava jet m6 Robot Mop definitely does a good job of cleaning floors. The last few weeks have had a lot of messy shoes, drink spills, and holiday snacks so we gave it a good test. It’s easy to use and able to get in close quarters like around desks & close to walls. One of my fav features is that it’s small enough to get under the edge of the kitchen cabinets where it can get pretty messy. Wifi + iRobot HOME App The app is pretty great and sends push notifications when a job is completed or the device needs your attention. iRobot uses Imprint Smart Mapping technology, mapping your space, creating a digital document in the app of where it’s been or it needs to clean. You can also pause and resume the cleaning job at any time. If you have a Roomba sweeping device, you can sync both so that once the Roomba is done cleaning dust & dirt, it can signal the Braava jet to start mopping the floor. You can also set the cleaning time within the app so it gets to work while you’re out for the day, sleeping, or at work. We have ours set to clean at 10am, 3 nights a week when the office is free of humans. Other things to Note It’s pretty quiet,…

View Post

Make Time For Yourself

You only live each day once, tomorrow is a new day. How are you spending your time? A few months ago I was feeling really burnt out and over everything. I had no energy to go out, write, do anything creative. May was a really stressful month and by the time June/July rolled around I was stressed TF out. All I wanted to do was stay home, watch Netflix, my room was a mess, I’d piled up boxes and paper that needed to be processed. I didn’t have the energy to do it. So I rested. I took time to chill. I’m grateful for the privilege to mostly work from home, to work on myself, and to breathe. I started spending a bit less time on asocial, taking breaks. I began to really love seeing the + beside my name on IG Stories, showing I hadn’t posted anything in 24 hours. That felt like a win with me. I’ve been updating the internet for 15+ years about my life and what I’m doing, burnout is real and it’s ok to take a break. I thought about what I wanted (even though I’m constantly trying to figure out exactly what that looks like!) and I focussed on it. Made some other changes too. I got serious about drinking less and explored being sober curious. I even spoke at an event where I shared some stuff I’ve never talked about. I was hesitant at first but I figure, if I can make this change in my life, it might be helpful to someone else going through the same things. It was the first TIFF in 10 years where I didn’t get drunk, I didn’t even drink at parties. And y’ know what? IT WAS AWESOME AND I STILL HAD FUN. I started intermittent…

View Post

We All Wear Crowns ?

Feeling excited today! The sun is out, it’s layering weather, and I’m expecting mail. I’m really looking forward to the weekend, Sean and I are going to the cottage for five days, just the two of us. I’m planning to cook, read books, have a fire, relax, it’s going to be so great., The photo above is my outfit from the Booby Ball ‘Under The Sea’ event on Friday night. Thank you Ryan Emberley for the snap! I went as a mermaid queen and made a crown + shell phone to complete my look. I’m so happy with how it turned out., This winter will be all about DIY projects in my little boudoir studio at home. I got a couple of shipping notices today for stuff I ordered recently and I can’t WAIT for them to arrive. These Chloe glasses are on their way from SmartBuyGlasses.ca. I wanted these in the summer and when they reached out about doing a post on the blog, I was so happy to pick these out! This weekend I finally ordered a hat from Lack Of Colour Australia. I’ve been creeping the website and Instagram for months and have wanted one of these for ages. I’ve also found a few great hats on Amazon lately like this black boater hat. See my store here! Two weeks ago I went to a plant event with Native Shoes and was given a gift card. I finally decided on these super cute, warm, waterproof boots ‘Chamonix Junior‘. They fit a bit big so I went for the kid’s ones. They’re out on the truck for delivery today! We have an exciting meeting today at 1188 and I really hope it all works out. Here’s to good vibes and great things happening!

View Post

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

HI, I’M CASIE.

SCROLL THE ARCHIVES

CATEGORIES

Looking for something?

Shop my amazon favs!

Pinterest

2020: 15 YEARS OF BLOGGING!

have a good day

OUR PODCAST: CAST OF CREATORS