Drove up to the cottage last night and got in just before the sun went down. Woke up and went for a nice run in the woods today. The trees have all started changing and it was so beautiful. It feels good to be back running again! Dad & his wife arrived just after lunch. I made black bean brownies and sweet potato soup before they got in. We went into town for a little tour and to pick up some supplies. I’m so glad to have them here! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Have been calling my outfits costumes lately and made an IG highlight with my favs. [See here!] If I’m wearing a mask and glasses, it just feels more like a costume than an outfit. I’ve been considering getting spookier and more into costume dressing for the month of October. Why not right? Halloween and everything look different so we gotta have fun where we can. This weakened we’re heading up to the cottage and my dad is coming to visit with his wife. I’m so excited to see him! It’s been over 6 months, since my road trip to South Western Ontario in February. Can’t wait!

Met up with some of my fav media ladies in the west end for a little park hang. It was so nice out! Natalie arranged to have catering from Marben, we had a couple of their new boxes filled with all kinds of picnic snacks. It was so great to see everyone (distanced, obvs) and chat over wine in the sun. I’m not ready for summer to be over. Luckily, it looks like next week will have some hot days!

Go outside, beneath the trees, listen for wind dancing in the leaves. Look at the sky, breathe in the air. Throw your hands up, like you just don’t care. ✌️ Hoodie: Superette Shop – Sherbet Glasses RayBan Studio: Mother Nature

Different taking the subway these days but I like being back in the city. There are fewer people and the seats are marked for distancing. Felt so good to put on regular clothes and spend a few hours working outside the house. I miss being in that type of environment. Sean picked me up on the way home from 1188 and I made fresh pasta from Pusateri’s. In other news, I started watching Away on Netflix starring Hilary Swank, good show. Hooked!

On days I don’t document in real-time, I often go back and try to remember what happened that day. If there are no new photos, I hardly remember what happened, I have to really think about it. If you are reading this diary in daily order, I am writing this to you from the future on Day 183, September 13th, 2020. It’s Sunday, we’re getting ready to go back to the city from the cottage. I recommend watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix, it’s good, you’ll find it interesting.

The year is 2020. We wear masks inside public spaces and outside in crowds. This is my first time visiting a client office after six months of lockdown. Haven’t worn a hat in a while either! Mask fashion is on the rise and today I’m wearing Toronto based designer Considerate Goods with a mask chain from an old purse. Met up w/ Talia & had a snack on Yorkville patio. Hardly anyone eats inside these days. I still eat Avocado toast & drink kombucha. Sean and Emily picked me up and we went straight to the cottage for Labour Day Long Weekend. Here’s hoping we have good weather this weekend!

Spent most of the day at my computer. It was really hot today. Whenever I opened the patio door, I was instantly hit with a wave of heat. I’m not ready for summer to be over. I love fall fashion but cooler temps gets my mind thinking about winter. It’s already such a hard time with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that a pandemic sends my mind swirling with ways to try and cope. If a second wave comes, (and it looks like it might), should we go back to the cottage, or can I run away to Costa Rica? Hard to believe this is Day 170 of my daily pandemic blog diary, where did the time go? I’ve always loved September, the last decade has meant returning to events post-summer relaxation, TIFF, Fashion Week, seeing all my friends at once. I feel sad for the times we won’t have but grateful for the memories, all mostly documented here or on Instagram. I’ve got tickets to one TIFF screening so far and we’ll see how many more tickets I can snag for my at-home TIFF experience. Over the past month, I’ve been a bit slack with working out and keeping track of the days. This month I’m sticking to my goals. A fresh stary of sorts and there’s a full moon tonight. I didn’t run today but I did 100 situps and 10 pushups before bed. A small feat but one I’m trying to make a routine. I put some water and my crystals out last night, made 6 wishes at the moon and stared at it or a bit. Does the moon see me? I’ll do whatever I can do bring good vibes right now!

Wow, this month has really flown by! I’ve been working a new gig for the last couple of weeks and have been really slacking on blog updates. I’m still here but I’ve been finding it harder to update and have also not really felt like sharing too much. This weekend we came back to the cottage to get it ready for Sean’s sister and her fam to have a week here. On Saturday we had a nice distanced hang with our cottage bubble, floating in the lake and enjoying the sun. It’s crazy that August is almost over. March and April felt like they were never-ending and somehow, we’re near the end of summer. This time of year I’m usually gearing up for a busy September with TIFF and Fashion Week. Not sure what the next few weeks are gonna look like. I did, however, book a hair appointment for this week and I am so excited. Not planning to change the cut or colour too much, I’ve really grown to love this darker, covid shag. Heading back to the city for a bit and will be back to the cottage for the long weekend. Here’s to a great week!

It was pretty chilly this morning! Warmed up in the day but I can feel change is coming. For the past five month’s I’ve been on CERB and this month, I’m back to work. I’d been feeling a need for change for a year and I think I’ve finally figured out that I want and where I’m going. I’ve taken a gig with a studio doing social media and project management, all remote. Today was my first full day on the job and I really liked it! I’m not certain what the future holds but I’ve got a plan for now. I was texting a friend saying ‘I’m back bitchessss’ and she said “this feels like September energy“. Been wondering if it’s time to stop the daily diary on Day 150? I know the pandemic isn’t over, maybe I should keep it going? Tomorrow will tell!

A little bit of a different birthday than previous years but we made the most of it! Last night we had a family sushi picnic. It’s been over 6mo since I had sushi and it was delicious! I packed a cake and sparklers and we sang to Sean in the park. I biked home with the cake before the picnic so it was a little dishevelled but still tasty! Gave Emily one of my Masks for Music by Melanie Goldman. She’s created hundreds of masks and raised over $15,000 for the Unison Benevolent Fund’s Covid-19 Relief Project. Learn more or donate here. This morning we drive back up to the cottage and there was so much traffic. Sean and I were both pretty exhausted and fell asleep in the afternoon watching Netflix on the couch. Woke up to a beautiful sunset over the lake. At night we heard pretty loud music and a cottage down the road had a live band! We were just about to head over when our friends rolled up in their boat to check it out from the lake. There were about 20 boats in the water jamming along to the tunes. We also did a few fireworks on the dock and everyone in the boats cheered. It was a nice ending to a few days of celebrating Sean’s birthday! HBD ILY!

For about a week of this month, I fell off my fitness game, I just didn’t feel like it. I’ve learned over the past few months of working out that consistency matters more than exactly what you do. I find I’m happiest and most productive when I get moving and sweat at the start of the day. It helps me relax, relieves stress, and opens my mind. Some days I totally zone out to music or a podcast. This week, I’m back at it! Since January, I’ve joined monthly challenges on the Nike Running app hosted by Amy (aka @lesbest) and they’ve been SO HELPFUL with motivation. This week I need to run 20k to make up for the week I missed, so I can get 60km for the month. Today I broke my own record for fastest 1 mile and I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Late 2019 when I started, it was a struggle to run one full kilometre and now I feel great when I run 5Km. For the record, I usually walk a little of the 5km but I’m getting there. Today I dreamed about running a 5km for charity, a race but only really to beat my own best time. Today was a great day! We had a BBQ for dinner then took a family trip to town. Picked Em up a new bathing suit and I got two new plants. Watched Floor Is Lava on Netflix before Em went to bed and I finished reading my latest book Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewel. GOOD READ. If you’re looking to get running or join a challenge, add me to the Nike Running Club app (CASIE STEWART) and join my challenge for August. We’re gonna start with 2km a day! I’d love to have some new…

Slept in. Watched Netflix. Took naps. Made vegan spaghetti. Ate snacks. Did some work. All around lazy Sunday. It was really hot and we stayed inside the whole day, lazying on the couch in front of the fan. It started raining as I was heading to bed, it’s gonna be a great sleep. Tomorrow Emily’s mum is dropping her off to spend a few days up here with us. I think my sister might visit for a day this week too. I’d really love to see her! Here’s to a great week! And a great sleep!

We went for a nice slow cruise around the lake in the morning. It’s very hot this weekend! In the afternoon, we ventured out to Bracebridge, visited a couple of shops, got groceries, and had some lunch. Wherever we go to town we try to stick to the list and be efficient, by the time we get home we’re exhausted. Shopping and getting supplies during quarantine is stressful. I used to love going to the grocery store and dilly-dallying around the aisles but it’s not like that anymore! Found a cute second-hand shop inside the Muskoka Natural Food Market called Revolution with heaps of nice clothes. I didn’t get anything but I might take a few nicer items from my closet to donate. Check them out on IG at @revolution.mnfm. Yes, I wore my fav outfit 2 days in a row. ? At night we had a little hangout with some cottage friends on the lake. Sometimes I miss being in the city but I love being here with Sean so much. ❤️

I ordered this outfit at the start of quarantine and tbh it’s one of my favs!. Sean likes to say I’m riding in the Tour de France in it haha. We’ve got a pretty nice indoor garden growing in the kitchen now. I put a little disco ball in the window and each day around 4 pm the sun hits it just right sending glitter dots all over the room. It’s a simple thing that makes me smile! This is the most populat tweet I’ve had in a while. I had a little meltdown about a project but everything was a-ok. Sometimes you just need to cry it out and make yourself a bowl of tiny pancakes. In other news, my roots are so long now that I had to get darker bobby pins! I don’t mind the way it looks now it’s just a change, longest and most natural I’ve had it in over a decade! I don’t think I’ll be having a hair appt for a while so I have to get used to it. ? Spent the night watching Love on The Spectrum on Netflix and had a Facetime hangout with two of my BFFs. Feeling good!

Yesterday Sean went golfing with some colleagues and I spent the afternoon with Emily. We met up with my sister and Ryder to visit High Park then cool down at the splash pad near our place. We all got soaked in the sprinklers and it felt so nice to laugh like kids together. I braided Jenie’s hair in the park then we got popsicles. It was such a beautiful day! When we got home I tried on this dress I got from Lauren a couple of weeks ago, made dinner, and did some writing. I watched Crazy Rich Asians (again!) on Netflix and before I knew it, Sean was home. He said it was REALLY hot on the course, it feels like 41 degrees today.

Today I slept in and had a nice lazy day. It was really hot outside so we spent the afternoon watching Snowpiercer on Netflix and then started Unsolved Mysteries after dinner. I made a delicious vegan pasta with avocado pesto sauce. I found the recipe on Pinterest and it turned out great without the parsley (we didn’t’ have any!). In other news, I finished my new book ‘A Borrowed Life‘ by Kerry Anne King. I mostly read psychological thrillers but I saw this was available as an advance copy on NetGalley and decided to give it a go. I flew through this book! It starts with Liz losing her husband of 26 years (a pastor) to a heart attack and it documents her journey to self-discovery, finding the woman she was before she married him. It was a good read with a nice ending.

Today we went to visit Talia & Nelson at their cottage on Lake Simcoe. We had lunch then went to Lagoon City in the boat. I had no idea this place existed! It’s a whole subdivision on the water lined with cottages, a restaurant, and a hotel. Such a cool little spot! After boating, we relaxed in the pool. Talia and I had a little photo shoot while the boys were out on their own adventure. It was really nice to float, eat chips, and have ice cream in the sun. Before our visit, I ran 4 miles for my NRC July 4th challenge. It worked out to be 7km which is one of the longest runs I’ve done yet. When I started, I thought ‘how am I going to do this‘ but then before I knew it, I was on the home stretch passing 5km. I’m really proud of myself and have learned to love running.