Beach Volleyball @ Pan Am Games 2015

This morning Hann and I went to a beach volleyball match at Pan Am Park. I’ve never been to a Pan Am (or Olympic) event so it was pretty neat to take the stands and get in on the action. The park is massive and takes up the whole Exibition Place parking lot. I imagine it gets pretty happening later in the day. The activations inside were just getting set up when we walked in.      Argentina took on Cuba and the girls were awesome. The last time I played volleyball was probably in grade 6 and I’ve not played since. Was really impressive to see them pound the ball and dive right into the sand.  They’re super fit!          Thanks Chevrolet Canada and Klout for the tickets. I was given them last week along with tickets to the opening ceremony.  Worth checking out the park while the games are on. You can sit on Muskoka chairs and watch the games on a massive screen. I recommend taking TTC or an Uber, parking was $30! 😂 ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️ CASIE  

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The Perfect Cottage Weekend #SummerCovered

If you’re new here or you’ve been around the blog for a while, you’ll be well aware just how much I love to cottage. I like spending weekends in Muskoka, on the dock, on the boat, tanning, floating, or cooking up a big feast for our guests. I’ve partnered with Shoppers Drug Mart to share a few of my cottage weekend essentials. One of the neat things about this post, my next post about The Perfect Summer Road Trip and working with Shoppers Drug Mart is, I’m truly an expert in their products. I used to work at Shoppers in my hometown! I spent the better part of evenings and weekends behind the cosmetics counter during college. Ok, now onto a few items to make.. THE PERFECT COTTAGE WEEKEND: President’s Choice S’mores Bites: No cottage weekend is complete without S’mores. Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen Lotion SPF 45 – This is a great sunscreen. Dove Revive Dry Spray Antiperspirant: Quick spray after SPF/bug spray and you’re ready to roll. Off! Deep Woods Dry Insect Repellant – Cottage ESSENTIAL. Life Brand Allergy Caplets – Being in the woods can be a wonderful thing, unless you get allergies. St. Ives Naturally Soothing Oatmeal & Shea Butter Body Lotion:  Swim and sun can dry out our skin. A long day in the sun can be really draining, it’s hard work being cottage fabulous! It’s really important to make sure you stay hydrated, drink lots of water, and ALWAYS wear sunscreen. Even if it’s not sunny! I like this Neutrogena product because it’s dry and not greasy. I keep this Dove antiperspirant in the shared bathroom because aside from smelling nice, the spray means any of our guests can have a little spritz should they need it. Wink, wink. I recommend wearing this bug spray with deet in the daytime, not just at night.…

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Toronto Wine & Spirit Festival + Schick Hydro Hotel

I recently went to the Food and Wine Festival at Sugar Beach, it was my first time there! It was such a beautiful day! At the festival I stopped by the Schick Hydro Silk Hotel for a relaxing break. Sugar Beach has really cute pink umbrellas. Fish taco + lobster poutine. So good. From June to August, the Schick Hydro Silk Hotel will be travelling to different festivals in Canada, at the hotel you can  drop by to get yourself a sample of Schick Hydro Silk TrimStyle razor and Hawaiian Tropic after sun moisturizer or get a chance to spend some time in the Schick Hydro Silk Hotel, where you can relax, have some water, charge your phone, or even have a massage. In order to receive a sample of the new Hydro Silk TrimStyle razor, Hawaiian Tropic After Sun moisturizer, and Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration sunscreen, people are asked to snap a photo with the bushes from the commercial (get it? haha!). You may have seen it on tv. I picked the heart one of course. Hooked up w/ samples and a massage. I’m always down for a massage!   The Schick Hydro Silk Hotel will be at the following locations across Canada this summer.  For your chance to win a trip for 2 worth of $5,000 or 1 of 6 $500 prepaid credit cards visit hydrosilkhotel.ca. Thanks Schick Hydro for event tickets, samples, the charge-up, and massage! As an avid traveller, getting ready for vacation is one of the skills I’ve got done to a science.  Here’s a few items I keep in my summer travel bag or tucked away in my purse to help me look and feel fresh. Everything is small and compact, just what you need when you’re on the go from one destination to the another. A refresher kit of my own 🙂 Eye makeup remover…

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After 5 Years, We’re Taking Our Relationship Next Level…

It’s with great pride I announce my official Ambassadorship with Telus!  Over the past five years I’ve worked with Telus on a number of things (see here) and they’ve helped me out with service, covered roaming, and been there every single time I’ve lost/destroyed my phone.  This week they announced #TeamTelus, 15 hand selected bloggers from across the country. “The Team TELUS line up stars 15 awesome, interesting, smart, creative, down-to-earth, caring and stylish personalities from across the country. To recognize Team TELUS for their support, we are providing them with mobile (and in B.C. and Alberta, Optik TV) service, devices, VIP access to events and reader giveaways.” Read more about TeamTelus here and get to know the rest of the group! Tonight we’re all celebrating our awesomeness at TELUS HQ in Toronto. Earlier today a couple of my Telus peeps showed up with a HUGE box of goodies to welcome me to the team. My welcome box was picked specially for me and includes a few things they knew I’d love including a new Ted Baker iPhone case (my brands are colliding!), Kate Spade portable charger (fashion + tech together), selfie stick (obvious one there!), a gold Shine fitness/sleep tracker (wearables!), a Bluetooth speaker, chocolates, and a Shoppers gift card.  I’m really happy to make it official after working together since 2010. My first EVER mobile phone was with Telus back in the 90’s when they were Clearnet. I’m excited to see what fun adventures and things I’ll be covering with the team this year. Check out the rest of TEAM TELUS here. TIME TO CELEBRATE! CASIE  

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What a Day! Scavenger Hunt, Set Life, Zoo, and Shoes!

Started the yesterday meeting up with the #EskaQuest team in St. Lawrence Market. It was the first of my 2 giveaways with Eska Water. Read more about those here and follow @eska_water for clues. Saturday’s giveaway is for a $300 gift card for Stillwater Spa. Hellooooo! There were a few people waiting to meet me in order to win. ME! We had fun. Look at how cheezy I am in this photo, LOVE IT. Spent the afternoon working on an 1188 production. This is a RED Camera, fancy. Lauren, Steve, and I were extras on set. Years ago I spent an entire summer on set for a movie with my sister. We has heaps of fun and made tons of friends. I wrote about it not too long ago here: #TBT Diary of a Background Performer. I arrived back at the office to a super nice delivery from Nike Canada, NEW SHOES! The Nike Free Cross Bionic 2 is new in Canada and I’m looking forward to hitting the pavement with these guys tomorrow. This shoe is ultra-flexible, with breathable mesh upper and Flywire cables for dynamic support.  Yes, I run, but I don’t tell the whole free world every single time. I picked EmBot up from school for a girl date last night. We ate McDonald’s, ice cream, and went to the zoo. WILD TIMES. One of the zoo volunteers let us feed vegetables to the animals.   We were both especially fond of the peacock. Hope you’re having a great week. I’M READY FOR THE WEEEEEEEEKEND! <33333333 CASIE  

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TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

Last weekend mum and I went on a trip to Ottawa. I was invited by TD Canada & TD Music to bring a guest to see Serena Ryder and attend a special ceremony where TD Cafe & MusicCounts made a music announcement. It has been a loooooong time since mum and I went on a plane together (NZ in the 90’s) so we made the most of every moment and it was so much fun. We flew Porter Airlines which involves taking the worlds shortest commercial ferry to the island. It’s a wonderful flying experience! MusiCounts is Canada’s music education charity associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to help keep music alive in schools across Canada. TD Canada has been working with MusicCounts since 2012. They support Community based organizations, schools, and picka  MuciCounts teacher of the year. This year’s winner was Steve Sainas from BC and he received the award at the JUNOS. TD Canada has worked with some great Canadian artists through MusiCounts including Arkells, Kevin Drew, and Tegan & Sarah. They’re excited to add Serena Ryder to the mix.  WThey also work w/ the JUNOS team to partner with artists. TD Canada is committed to music as an organization with a genuine interest in music and communities. They’re not just a cheque signing bank, they actually follow through and make communities better. Serena made a $25K donation to Musicounts.ca! These kids were SO EXCITED to hear the donation news, receive violins, and to find out they were performing on stage WITH Serena Ryder herself. It was a magical moment.  A photo posted by Gracie Carroll (@graciecarroll) on Jul 3, 2015 at 2:39pm PDT The concert was at TD Place in the new Lansdowne Centre and was opened by The Strumbellas. They were amazing. The 6 piece band rocked…

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Monday, Make It Great!

Had a wonderful weekend! Mum and I really enjoyed Ottawa and seeing Serena Ryder, photos and stories about that tomorrow. Queen’s Plate yesterday was really fun too.  Today I went to Vaughan Mills to do some shopping for an upcoming project. I’d not been to the mall there before and HOLY MOLY there are so many stores and great deals.      In between doing work today I also got a new mani. 💅🏼   Saw this sweet Camaro.     Absolutely loving this warm weather. We’ve planned some dedicated time up at the cottage this month and I CAN’T WAIT.   Hoping your week is off to a great start! 💛 CASIE  

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Heading to Our Nations Capital, Ottawa!

Friday morning Mum and I are heading to Ottawa and it’s her first time flying Porter Airlines. I’m so excited to be travelling with her! Last time mum and I went on a trip together I was in middle school. We don’t often get to hang much, especially not in the summer is mum is usually at the boat and we spend heaps of time at the cottage. We’ll be seeing Serena Ryder, with special guests The Strumbellas at TD Place Stadium to celebrate Canada Day weekend. Earlier in the day, TD Bank and MusiCounts will be be announcing the 2015 MusiCounts grant recipients and have a special surprise planned for a local Ottawa recipient.  I’ll be doing a short interview w/ TD Canada about TD MusicCounts and sharing it with you next week. Oh hey @serenaryder! See you on July 3rd! #tdmusic #lansdowne #tdplace A photo posted by TD Place (@tdplace) on Jun 18, 2015 at 1:09pm PDT Feeling excited to take mum on a press trip and hang out at the hotel together. We don’t leave until 4pm the following day so hoping to take a walk on Parliament Hill. I’ve never been to Ottawa around Canada Day. Last time I was in Ottawa was March 2012 for Ottawa Fashion Week and it was very snowy. Looking forward to some fun times w/ mum and lots of laughs! 💛 CASIE

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Make The Most of Each Day ☀️

Took the subway earlier this week as the thought of driving across the city seemed like a nightmare.  Especially the highway.  There’s new HOV lanes that require 3 passengers so the others are all jammed up. People have been buying mannequins and jacking up their cars w/ ‘passengers’. Haha.   In case you don’t know, Toronto is hosting the PanAm Games and the city is preparing for it all to start this weekend. There’s a ton of things affecting the regular city flow and none of the people have arrived yet. I don’t have tickets yet but I’m sure I’ll check out something. I’m hoping to retreat to cottage country after next weekend. There I can watch the chaos unfold via mobile from the dock. I like riding the subway during the day. It’s peaceful without crowds of people around. I used to take the TTC over an hour headway to work when I first moved to Toronto.  I worked in the fashion industry and it wasn’t glamorous but I was certain about following that path. Excited about visiting Ottawa this weekend. Calgary last week was fun. It’s been a while since I discovered my own country. All in a days work! ?? CASIE

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New Bike, Snacks, Shoppers, #SMDay

Well hello my friends. 😎✌This photo was taken yesterday and although I look very smiley, I’m not feeling great. I’m so tired. I’m not sure if it’s the small time change last week with my trip to Calgary or lack of sleep but I’m lethargic. I miss the cottage. It’s been weeks since we’ve got to have a good cottage hang and it’ll be at least a week before we get back up to Muskoka. I’m in Ottawa this weekend then back for The Queen’s Plate. In other news, I had some good things yesterday… I used to have a Red Schwinn cruiser bike that I LOVED. I rode that baby all over town for a coue simmers, Junction to Beaches and back. Unfortunately some jerk vandalized my bike and it was unridable, went to the bike graveyard. RIP. 2 years ago I purchased a new one from Bikes On Wheels, Queen West and it was stolen before summer was over. Last year I didn’t ride at all it made me sad. YESTERDAY, my brand new Schwinn Cruiser was ready for pickup. 🚲👍 Schwinn Canada has welcomed me as a bike ambassador and I’m back on the road baby! I’ve got a few things to add (bell, basket, lights) before we’re full time but one little cruise yesterday made my heart sing. 💛 If you stop by your local Shoppers Drug Mart you might see their new ‘Summer Covered’ Campaign. Next week I’ll be sharing some of my fav products for summer roadtrips and cottaging. I’ll also be featured on the SDM social + website. Received a shipment of this yesterday. Have you tried it yet? It’s Social Media Day today and in 2010 and 2011 I spoke at Toronto events. It’s amazing how social media has changed my life and taken…

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