Last week Gracie and I had the opportunity to attend TD’s Your Story Your Future Speakers Series with Cheryl Strayed at the AGO. Name sound familiar? Cheryl Strayed is the author of WILD, which was made into an Oscar nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon. The story documents Strayed’s solo hike up the Pacific Crest Trail. I’d watched the movie before attending the talk but hearing her stories in real life was really inspiring. Something that stood out was Strayed’s advice from her mum that reminded me of something my mum would say ‘this is character building’ in regards to getting through hard times. TD’s “Your Story Your Future” program combines workshops and inspirational speaker events to help women feel confident about setting and achieving their financial goals. I’ve written about a few of my financial accomplishments over the last few years (read those here). I feel it’s really important for us as women to grab the reigns of our finances and set goals so we can prepare for our future. I remember when my parents got divorced, I was a teenager, and my mum was going back into the workforce after 16+ years. She stressed the importance of having my own money, not getting into a position where I had to rely on someone else when it came to my finances. Only 3 out of 10 women have a financial plan for their future and TD’s Women Investor Program wants to change that. The program was created for the growing number of women who influence a growing share of wealth in Canada and might be looking for a more personalized investment experience from men. According to a representative from TD Bank: “One of the key differences between men and women investors is a desire for a more holistic financial advisory relationship – one that is…

Last Week of Summer? Doesn’tFeel Like It! Today is SO HOT OMG. I’m wearing shorts and t-shirt and feeling so happy. We had a great weekend at the cottage. It was just Sean and I for a few days. Lots of relaxing, naps, great food, laughs. I love the VIEWS but something else I really love about the cottage is the drive up together and driving long, winding country roads. There’s something so magical about it, laughing together, singing old songs.  The leaves are just starting to change and I said ‘I LOVE IT THIS TIME OF YEAR’, his reply? YOU LOVE IT ALL TIMES OF THE YEAR! It’s true, I really do. Each season and type of weather has it’s beauty. Today I’ve got an afternoon with TELUS to meet with 2016/2017 Team TELUS Advocates. I wrote about that here. They sent a welcome package last week with the INSTAX printer! I love this thing so much. I’ve been carrying it around in my purse ever since. THANK YOU GUYS! On our way to the cottage we stopped at Rocket Fireworks, Sean loves fireworks so much. I got up each morning and went out on my stand up paddle board. I love this outfit, denim bathing suit, flannel. Perfect fall cottage attire. Finished reading ‘in a dark, dark wood’ this weekend. Good book. crazy story about old friends and one of them getting married, a hen party gone wrong. Received it at the Essentials Lounge by EGPR during TIFF. I have to admit, it was kinda weird picking up a book-book spending the summer w/ my Kobo. [See my list of summer favs here!] While out for a Sunday drive we discovered Wahta Reserve, aka the BEST PLACE TO BUY FIREWORKS. Look how happy this guys is! Spent the last night out for…

Welcome to a week of daily updates via mobile! I’ll be sharing my TIFF experiences to document them as I go. ✔️?????? Today I’ve got back to back media stuff all day. Exhausting but so fun, I love every minute of it. I hope the weather isn’t ugly!  Yesterday I topped by The #StylistSuite16 hosted by The Stylist Box where celebrities go to get dressed for the red carpet. I had a ball trying things on and having my hair and makeup done. Daniel from Salon Daniel in Yorkville tossed my hair then gave it a few snips.  The night before I dyed this dress by Sara Duke in my kitchen. It used to be white! After the suite, I stopped by the ecco pop-up in the Eaton Centre to check out the new collection. I was gifted a pair of shoes and went home to order these right away! Leather, snakeskin, block heel = perfection! They had delicious fresh, chocolate dipped strawberries ?, and an engraving station. I got this… ?✌?️ Earlier in the day I purchased these gorgeous 60s style boots from Top Shop. I love them!  Make sure you’re following me on the socials (@casiestewart everywhere!) for all kinds of fun and behind the scenes of the Toronto International Film Festival! Weeeee! 

In 2004, during TIFF, I was filmed for a documentary about the festival. I was followed around to events, parties, and interviewed about what it’s like behind the scenes, behind the red carpet. Alongside me, the films stars celebrity photographer George Pimentel, PR pro Natasha Koifman (NKPR), and national journalist Chris Jancelewicz. The film is playing on Hollywood Suite network in Canada all month. If you are keen to watch it and don’t the channel, you can get it on iTunes, Amazon, Playstation, GooglePlay, or xBox. Details on the website here. About Behind The Red Carpet Behind The Red Carpet introduces us to the movers, shakers and key players behind all the happenings and craziness of the Toronto International Film Festival. We follow five lead characters who are the top in their field including Toronto/New York based publicist Natasha Koifman, a foremost journalist, Chris Jancelewicz, Casie Stewart, world famous blogger, George Pimentel, Canada’s most renowned celebrity photographer, as well as Pierre Jutras, venue operator and president of The Spoke Club. Our key players are thrown into the fire as they try their very best to appease the biggest and brightest stars from around the globe. We are on the inside lines of the biggest red carpets with the hottest stars. It’s about being at the right place atthe right time, red carpet call times, media arrival times…photo opp…any time! After the whirlwind of festival…which of our characters is left standing…who has had the most success, who has thrown in the towel and who is ready for more? This week is gonna be a busy one. Busy and exciting! We’re heading back from the cottage today and for the next week I’ve got films, afterparties, gifting lounges, and more. I’m planning to share them all on Snapchat, Instagram (and Stories), Facebook Live, and Twitter. FOLLOW…

This week has everyone talking about how summer is ‘over’ but tbh guys, there’s still a bunch of nice days left. It was so hot out yesterday. It’s that perfect time of year when the days are warm, nights cool for sleeping, and there are NO bugs. As I mentioned the other day it’s a great time to ditch old habits, clean out that closet, and make a new routine. I really need to get my ass in gear when it comes to what I’m eating and exercise. Maybe I just need to workout more? People always said that after 30 your metabolism slows down and damnit they were right!  A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Aug 30, 2016 at 6:07am PDT We hadn’t planned to be at the cottage this past weekend but in a twist of events, it was vacant so we jumped in the truck and hit the road. We never stop for anything but burgers (Webers!) on the way up BUT Sean asked if I wanted to go to the 400 Market. It’s just before Barrie on the 400 HWY and neither of us had ever been. WELL, it’s a sight to be seen. Before we event went inside the building I fell in love with this fur coat. Sean tried on an awesome leather biker jacket with a half-naked lady on the back. I wish I took a photo but only posted it on Snap. ? Sorry! Follow me over there: casiestewart.  There were so many treasures in there. We got some amazing hot sauce, samosas, a couple sausage rolls, sunglasses, and a few other knick knacks. SUMMER OVER? ??WHATEVER. ✌?️ New jacket from market. ? @weare1188 ? #furbaby #winter #cottagelife A photo…

This weekend I’m taking a little drive to Cambridge to visit my parents for a few hours and I’m so stoked.  It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over! I love September, it feels like a little reset, opportunity to move forward, ditch old habits, and set new goals. I talk to mum almost everyday but haven’t seen her since before my birthday in May. She spends most of the summer on her boat and I’m at the cottage most weekends. It’s also been ages since I’ve seen Dad! Neither of my parents have seen me since my BR surgery in June, so I’m quite keen to visit. I’ve arranged a car that can fit both parents and their partners so I can take the whole gang out for brekky! It’s not THAT far away but since I don’t own a car it’s a bit of a hassle to get there and back, especially for a short visit. I’ve booked a carshare for Saturday morning and it’s pretty affordable & managed in an app. I’m totally guilty of being ‘busy‘ all the time and the rest of the time I feel like I’m tired. Sometimes I just need to sit on the couch and do nothing or tweet alongside something like The Bachelor to give my brain a break. On that note, I’m making more time to exercise, I’m looking to try just about ANY workout class that gets me off the couch right now. Since my surgery I feel A LOT better in workout clothes, I was REALLY self conscious before. Was gifted a 30 day membership to justtryit.ca so my plan is to try 10 classes at 10 gyms. I’ve gone to a few more aerial yoga and reformer pilates classes since my class last week. My two week pass is up on Tuesday. I really like…

We’ve had great food, heaps of naps, swam in the lake, daily boat rides, relaxed, and caught up on work. It’s amazing what a week away will do for your health, hair, skin, creativity. Still have a few more days then back to the city by Tuesday. Our weekend guests bailed so it’s just the two of us enjoying the cottage to ourselves.  I’ve got an interview on Zoomer Radio Tuesday morning then my first aerial yoga class. Here’s to a few more days of paradise! ☀️ ILY Canada! ??

In Muskoka for the weekend. ☀️???? The weather is so nice. We came up today instead of last night because it was a long week! Finished Stranger Things on Netflix, great show. ?  I hate that empty feeling when you’ve binged something good and then it’s over. ? We’re at PIE right now waiting for pizza. ?????  There’s a couple locations in Barrie, this is the first in Muskoka. The pizza is SO GOOD. We order a coulple then take some home each time. Cold pizza is my fav breakfast. ? Saw this sweet Corvette outside. Sean has one from 1982 sitting in our garage. ? This weekend I’m driving a new Cruze from Chevrolet Canada, it’s sweet! I borrowed a tent from Mountain Equipment Co-op and Emily and I put it together with no sweat. ?☀️??  The last time I put up a tent I think I was her age. Things have gotten easier since then!  Tonight we’re having fireworks and a fire.  ??  PIZZA IS HERE, OK BYE. ❤️?

Yesterday I went out on my bike for the first time in weeks. Since my surgery I’ve been trying to get out for a walk in the morning and then before sunset. I find leaving the house in the morning gets me in a good groove for the day. I have a coffee, soak up some sunshine, catch a  few Pokemon, take some photos, update Snapchat, all before 9am. ?✌? I caught a JYNX today and then saw a man drawing a Poké Ball in his notebook at the coffee shop. It’s amazing how much you learn about yourself going though a surgery or big life event. It was pretty hard at first not being able to reach for things or lift things but I managed. Sean has been really helpful in this whole process and tbh I’ve kinda liked not having to load the car for the cottage or carry groceries! (Thanks babe love you! He prob won’t read this ?)  I’m back in the kitchen making great snacks and have perfected a trick of using tongs to grab things high up. I found this darling little Tuck Shop around the corner from home yesterday. I was there just as it closed but they make all kinds of delicious (sounding) food I can’t wait to try. So, I popped into Wallace Espresso on Dupont instead and picked up some real fruit pops and a cup of the most incredibly delicious chocolate ice cream. The Junction Triangle is seriously evolving, there’s a bunch of great spots in the area now. There’s also a Rancho Relaxo on this same corner to fulfill the need for tacos. HUzzahhhh! This is a happy person on bike with wind in her hair. Watch the story on Snapchat here.  Perfect top for coffee walk @sarasaraduke @StoriaPR! ☀️☕️#butfirstcoffee…

Not gonna lie, I spent a significant amount of time yesterday searching and catching Pokemon. I never thought I’d be saying this! When I got home from the cottage it was so nice out I decided to go for a run (to see if there were any Pokestops or Pokemon Gyms near my house, there were!). I ran around going to all the closest stops collecting Pokeballs, whist stopping do a few exercises in between each one. I managed to get up to level 5 so I could finally join a team and battle someone at a gym. Pokemon is always fun, Pokemon Go is even more fun. Of course, finding a site like www.kigurumi.co, is downright amazing. I had a friend who used to play Pokemon all the time when I was younger. He loved Pokemon Fire Red and would spend hours trying to catch all the different Pokemon to complete his Pokedex! We recently discovered that you can actually play the classic Pokemon games like Fire Red online using a site called Royal Roms, just click the link to find out more. This all may seem foreign to you if you haven’t tried the game but let me tell you, it’s a phenomenon taking over with more daily users than Snapchat, Tinder, Instagram, OR Twitter. Pokemon Go is the fastest growing thing we’ve seen in a long time. Here’s a few great resources I found on how you can use Pokemon for business and how it’s helping peoples mental and physical health, really. #PokemonGO has amassed 21 million active users in days. It is now the biggest mobile game in U.S. history. pic.twitter.com/ihpknLYDEm — Ryan Brown (@Toadsanime) July 13, 2016 Pokemon Go Is Driving Insane Amounts of Sales at Small Local Businesses What not drop a lure and…

Hello and good morning from Muskoka! We drove up to the cottage yesterday for a couple days of paradise. This week is a short one for us as we’re here till tomorrow, back to the city, then Friday we fly out to Boston for the weekend to see some friends. I am so excited! Went for a nice little walk this morning but there were heaps of bugs swarming our heads. It’s a warm sunny 22 degrees so far. If you stay still the bugs will get you, so you have to keep moving. #mondaymotivation #muskoka pic.twitter.com/A8AIWVUF58 — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) July 11, 2016 After doing work all morning I’m heading out in to the water on my paddle board to get some sun and exercise. I absolutely love being up here. At the start of August we’re up here for an entire WEEK! The sun is calling me… Enjoy the day! Update: I don’t think I’m quite ready to get back on the board yet. My arm strength/chest muscles are still tender. Looks like I’ll be reading on the dock instead!