SO FAR SO GOOD, SXSW

[View the story “HEY AUSTIN, ILU. #SXSW” on Storify]

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Don’t mess with Texas Blondes

    Still driving! Road tripping is as road tripping does. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

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YOU ARE INVITED, YES, YOU. YOU AND YOUR MOM TOO.

SXSW first @keek update.  SX3B.COM

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FRINGE, FLOWERS, GLITTER, GIRLS

Yesterday Lau and I went shopping for some new SXSW digs. West49 hooked us up with a whole bunch of gear from Billabong & Element’s SS 2012 collection. I’m a long time huge fan of surf life & culture so this was totally rad. Safe to say, we had fun! I tried on a bunch and you’ll see all the goodies I picked over the next 10 days while we’re in Texas. There’s a whole bunch of pretty things the full West 49 lookbook here. Billabong recently partnered up with Aussie style blogger Oracle Fox and she designed 15 new items. I’d love to do that! “Growing up by the sea with all my girlfriends, we had an entire lifestyle that revolved around surfing and having fun – we pretty much still do. Most sunny days we have off you can find us surfing, sun baking, chilling a tour local beach kiosk/organic café or going on some road trip adventure. The pieces I designed with Billabong encompass that freedom.” – Oracle Fox Lauren and I both got this totally rad fringe sweater from her collection.  Glittery shorts? Yep, they’re mine now. Follow @West49 on Twitter & Facebook here. Yesterday Kate showed me this totally RAD chose-your-own-adventure HTML5 music video for Chairlift’s new video for “Met Before”. There’s more story lines than I’m sure you have time for in your busy day. However, I suggest you check it out for it’s sheer creativity & production value. Can we make one of these please?  HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!

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NOW THIS IS WHAT WE CALL DOWNTIME

Sun on the face. Senators only. Reflection. Welcome to Canada. Baby blue. “I’m melting” The Blondetourage: expressed as neon wolves made of ice at Winterlude 2012. Full circle. Walked from my hotel down to the mall, through the market, around Parliament, through Winterlude, across the canal and back. Kevin was a great tour guide and I posted all kinds of beautiful things you won’t see here I saw on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Keek, Facebook and a 360 view from Parliament Hill. It’s fairly mild and the sun felt good on my face. I will remember this day forever. Don’t have hair & makeup till 7:30pm, it’s nap time. Might watch a movie too.  

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A LIFESTYLE IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE

Ladies your car is here! View from my room at the Westin Ottawa. Once I got settled in I did what I always do when I get to a hotel, jump on the bed, jump into a robe, then jump into bed. I wanted to stay there but we it was time for dinner then shows. Cute boy in red pants. Rachel Sin & her models.

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First Class Ticket to Capitol Hill

Snapped this last night just before my talk at The Working Group. The sun sets so beautifully on Queen Street West. I love Toronto. I thought I was going to miss my train this morning. Luckily, I thought it was at 6am but it was really at 6:40am so I had more than enough time. Unfortunately I rushed out of the house and my luggage is all smushed in a bad and I only have two pairs of shoes. TRAGEDY! The platform was cold and dark but I sat down in my first class seat and went back to sleep. Sitting on the train to Ottawa now with Gabrielle Miller (Corner Gas/Call Me Fitz), Gail McInnes (TDot TV), and Cory Lee (Degrassi). We’ve got rehearsals this afternoon for tomorrow’s “Runway for a Better Way” charity show in support of Unicef. Cory and I are wearing Canadian designer Rachel Sin who’s an architect turned fashion designer. I slept most of the way here. Last time I took the train it was meant to be a short little ride but we got stuck by flooding or snow and I made this video; 420 consecutive photos, one train ride. Via Rail won’t let you watch videos or “download big files” so I’m unable to embed it. One of my most fav things I’ve ever created. I’d love to make a new one on the way home Monday. There was a Zombie Girl on my money last night. I hear a limo is picking us up when we arrive then we head to rehearsals for 1pm. At 2pm I’ve have an interview for a book about Canadian media. So much going on I feel like a whirlwind but I love every minute of it. Last night at the SM Cafe closing party for Social Media Week they asked what tips…

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Berlin Party Time

Where did I leave off? It seemed like only the beginning of Fashion Week… yesterday. This city moves so fast you gotta catch up with it. There is no time to waste, let alone sleep. The best thing is that “fashion week” is more than just fashion. It’s about the city and the style on the streets and the parties and the people. And that’s exactly what I did. Wednesday: Attended the invite-only VICE/Rdio party where a friend was DJing… something we all adore by solomun Lots of hipsters and the usual, but good music and good friends and good drinks and good fun. Made it home just in time for the last train. Party win! Thursday: Skipped out on a fashion party to attend a geeky girls dinner at a restaurant in Mitte (the middle) where I chatted about the tech side of life with girls from other startups in Berlin. Friday: Went to a sexy club called Watergate where it was the Diynamic Nacht party, a record label based in Hamburg that specializes in sexy house music. And damn, was it hot. Danced until dawn and took the tram home (Berlin’s version of the streetcar). Saturday: Went to a tiny tiny club, Paloma Bar Sunday: Went to mauerpark Monday: Picked up my friend from Osaka from the train station and he cooked me some soba noodles and 豆大福 Tuesday: Went to the Berliner Philharmonie and listened to some Brahms, Tchaikovsky Wednesday: Boiler Room. That is all. Just an average week in the living of my life. – Jessica, in Berlin

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INSPIRATION: TRAVEL

It’s contagious. I peeled myself out of bed today after a super deep sleep. Was greeted by a delicious smooth in the fridge, thanks Barbie. The sun is shining and sparkling like glitter on the lake. Turned off the news for the aquarium channel, the fish tell less depressing stories. I want to travel. I know I just got back and I know I’m going places but I just can not seem to sit still. I caught a travel bug and it’s never going away. Had dinner with a friend last night who is off to England then Copenhagen and will be there for fashion week. (One day I will too.) She told me that she will be staying in a hotel called the Holiday Inn hotel in Kensington and it sounds amazing. She can’t wait to visit England and she’s equally excited about exploring Copenhagen too. I’m so jealous! We talked about how determined I am/we are to break out of Canada and move to a bigger ‘pond’. Canada is a wonderful country but I really want to do more international travel writing, working, and exploring. These photos are from a shoot I did with fashion photog & friend Lynsie Roberts when I signed the deal to go to New Zealand for Fashion Week in 2010. I was incredibly excited for my first international blogging adventure. I was radiant. Three places I REALLY want to go in 2012 year are: Cape Town, South Africa London, England Toyko, Japan If you have any thoughts, ideas or connections to make this dream a reality. LET ME KNOW. Send a note to [email protected] or leave a comment. I’m determined to take on the world! Life moves pretty fast sometimes, if you don’t look around, you’ll miss it” This commercial is great. Enjoy!…

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Things to do before you ___.

I can kinda speak French, but I’m much better after some wine. I took French from grade four until I graduated from high school. It’s a share they spent so much time on conjugating verbs when we could have been talking about how to get around France or hold a conversation. Would really come in handy now!  I’m planning a trip with jaunt.ca in the next few weeks where I’ll be spending a few days in old Quebec where it is predominantly French speaking. I downloaded some courses from iTunesU and a French language app to get more familiar. I’ve always been inspired by my friend Aga who could speak about seven languages. I witnessed her at dinner parties and events carrying on conversations in a variety of languages, at once. It was amazing! I want that ability! I’m determined to work on my Spanish & French this year. Next time I go surfing in Costa Rica I wanna be able to hold my own. There’s only one way to get there… Source: Uploaded by user via Julie on Pinterest

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How can I be more grateful for the love & abundance around me and share it with the world?

Went to this lovely little diner for breakfast today. It’s in Newton called Johnny’s Luncheonette, they have awesome latkes & matzo balls and all kinds of other good stuff. Been top of the ‘Best in Boston’ lists for years. I had the most divine sampler with crunchy toast, french toast, bacon, sausage, eggs and strawberries all topped off with icing sugar and a cup of maple syrup. It’s been a few hours and I’m still full. It was really sunny. Title of this post is from a photo I saw of something in Courtney Love’s West Village Townhouse. She’s a contributing editor to XO Jane and the photos & captions done by Jane are simply beautiful. See it here. I think I will live in New York at least once. This weekend has been a wonderfully chilled out break from the first 20 days of the year traveling to and from parties and conferences in Toronto, Detroit & Vegas. I’m at my friends house for a couple hours, their backyard is like a winter wonderland forrest. Ellen and I are doing a yoga class in about an hour. She’s a yoga teacher but were going to a new studio. After class we head back to the house for BBQ steak dinner. I’m back to Toronto tomorrow afternoon and will be happily at home for a few weeks. Yay!  

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We got snow from here to Nantucket

I think I might hibernate in my hotel all day. There’s a couple inches of snow out my window and a few dozen Japanese girls outside my door. No idea what we are doing tonight. The Rocky Horror show last night was AMAZING. I need to be part of a show on stage this year. I spent most of my childhood performing on stage. I miss it!! Have an awesome (lazy) day xo

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Ich Bin in Berlin

Hallo from Germany!!! Fashion Week in Berlin kicked off today–EXCITING! Since I’ve been anxiously waiting 4 months since my arrival, I’m totally pumped to be covering BFW! In true #ALT fashion I wasn’t even going to attend any shows or parties tonight–after all, even though it is opening night, it’s almost better to be too cool to bother going to the mainstream stuff. Instead of making my way down to the defunct airplane hangar playing host to the international trade fair Bread & Butter, I decided to walk around Kreuzberg (read: hipster’s playground) and see what came my way. It turned out that right around the corner after having a sushi dinner was an awesome photography exhibition party starring the edgy fashion photographer Tea Xuxu Nanuti happening at Galleria Butterfly Summit, a multi purpose gallery & store for design, art and photography. Took a few snaps, had a few shots, all and all it was a great little warm up for what’s to come this week. Auf wiedersehen for now my lieblings… xoxo  jgrdnr PS. If you guys are tired of using Instagram you should check out EYEEM, a social photo sharing app which I used for the cool effects you see on the photos. & I made the gif on Loopcam, both of which you can download for free. Made in Berlin baby! This city is not just the capital of Germany but it is pretty much the startup capital of Europe right now. On fiyaaaa!

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Welcome to Fabulous. Dream it. Do it.

Last pic in the hotel before Leaving Las Vegas. Classic movie.  My hair is slowly growing crazy, crazy growing slowly. Hurry up. Gelatin will make you hair & nails grow fast. Buying Jello tomorrow. Whenever I’m in the USA people always stop & compliment my hair. It’s unique there I guess. I see cute short haired blonde girls in Toronto and on the internet all the time so it always catches me off guard. Roots are quite popular too. Getting them done by Darren Kwik this week.  The night before I left was CRAZY. When I got to the door at TAO I gave the word I was here and a tall hot VIP host named Logan walked me through the crowd to the private party. (Exactly how I imagined it should would be in Vegas TBH.) I remember always ready about Paris Hilton hanging out there.  Thanks NextGen & my friends for a fun night. Met some rad people. The dance floor was insane, so crowded. I only went there for 5 minutes at a time before scurrying back to bottle service. I don’t care if that sounds snobby, it was awesome and I was livin’ it up. Check out this dancing girl covered in neon body paint. Shake that! Keek/casiestewart: Neon dancing girl at #TAO #Vegascom There are these huge faces of CT all over the Luxor for his show. He creeps me out. Bonga is kinda obsessed with him. (I hope he reads this HAHA!) I did not gamble or see any shows the entire time I was in Vegas. I did make it to Spearmint Rhino for a lap dance from a lovely shoe model. It’s like one of those things you just have to do. While wastng time before the airport I wandered into a little shop in the hotel and met…

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Trendspotting

Had a photo shoot on the strip today with Canadian photog Taylor Jackson. Noticed a bit of a trend eh! There were more drunken Disney characters that I didn’t snap. The man in the Minnie Mouse is a sure way to scare some kids. Saw a leprechaun midget on a mic too. Count on hearing “only in Vegas”? About a million. Thinking we should do a drunken Disney parade some time. I’m guessing there is nothing Walt’s company can really do about it! Mooohahahaha. Leaving for the airport soon and will be home tomorrow. Toronto I love & miss you <3 xo * Taylor snapped that creep shot w/ iPhone 🙂

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Thank God I’m Going Home Today

Seriously. Vegas is crazy. I tried to stay home last night but went to the CES closing party w/ NextGen & some friends at TAO. What a fun time. My tweets tell the whole story… @casiestewart Have a photoshoot I am rushing to get to right now. I really hope I don’t get delayed by snow on my way home. Back in TO tomorrow. xo CASIE

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Conference Crashing At It’s Finest #CES2012

I’m sitting here in the sun. It’s lovely.

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Viva Las Casie

I reckon three days in Vegas is too long. I’m over it. Spent most of last night going to lame parties and taking taxis. The coolest thing is that we found the ‘secret pizza’ place in the Cosmo and had a pizza party. It is hidden behind a sushi place and outside of it is a pool table with gorgeous vintage furniture. I drank PBR and played with my iPhone while the others played pool. There were a bunch of celebrities at one of the parties but I really don’t care. That chandelier is the worlds largest Swarovski. It’s beautiful and spans three stories with stairs and an elevator. I had a great sleep and today I’m planning to walk the strip and check out the sights. I would love to see Chris Angel!

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I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying.

This is where I live for the next few days. Luxor pyramid. can you believe I (randomly) had an Egyptian cab driver drop me off who wish me well in a language I didn’t understand. You should see how it lights up at night. Disco pyramid! I’ve heard the expression ‘only in Vegas’ a bunch since arriving less than 24 hours ago. I get it now. What a crazy place. Driving the strip last night was surreal after seeing it in movies and on tv my whole life. Hello, hello is anybody out there? Today I’m working from this massive Whole Foods market where they sell everything from booze to Toms and every single type of food. I made myself some pho which was really good but I put in WAY too many onions. Last night I met my friends at the Bellagio where we went to a party at The Bank then Hyde then Spearmint Rhino. Super fun. We had security and a driver, things I could totally get used to. The DJ was THE one and only DJ Jazzy Jeff and bubbles were falling from the ceiling. At one point I think the smoke set off the fire alarm and the whole place spent about 3 minutes with no music. I wonder how people that live here 24/7/365.25 days of the year handle it? I guess you get used to it. In other news I have a photoshoot on Friday and am doing something on TV back home on Monday. Scooting back to hotel now to change shoes and go to YouTube party. Ran into Twitter friend/fan Alex Kinsela from home at a party last night and he invited me to today’s Mashable party. We have never met and we finally do in Vegas. Crazy. I guess anything can happen…

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I’m having the time of my life. ILU Vegas!

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Sunrise to Sunset: a bloggers work is never done always fun

View from my hotel at The Henry today at 8am. I really should get up early more often. The last few days Ford has dome a really great job of making sure we never go hungry. Food everywhere. Remember the candy bar the other day? At one of our stops today I raided this only ate one of these I promise. Some of the other kids have really good versions of this photo with more of us in it. It’s so incredibly cool to meet other international bloggers. There were all kinds of media represented including LifeHacker, Gawker, About.com, heaps of design magazines, tech writers, fashion bloggers. This car so CRAY CLAY! Look who it is…. We’re actually a LOT alike, seeeeeee. Meet Dylan, artist & uber babe from South Africa(the one I was creeping yesterday). Check out VISI design mag and his tweets here. I think he looks kinda like Johnny Depp. A little message for you Jan 10, 2012 | Source: Keek.com

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Travel Diary: 416 -> 313

This tunnel was so cray. Crazy awesome! Detroit airport #inception #disco Jan 8, 2012 | Source: Keek.com Now en route to hotel to meet the other kids. Sun is shining bright in Detroit! Enjoy the day!

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When opportunity knocks? I’m waiting by the door.

Well, here we go packed and ready for a week of two cities, two climates, two time zones and two conferences. It’s a beautiful day to fly and my sister is coming to meet me for brekky then wisk me off to YYZ for afternoon takeoff. Luggage packed carefully last night. Layers and all the same colour scheme to accommodate the many activities. I’m really not sure why I need two cameras but I’m testing the new Nikon and the Olympus is my baby. Now that I have iPhone I hardly use my camera. I took, edited and am posting all this from it now. THE FUTURE. All that stuff goes in my purse for easy access. My passport photo always gets a giggle cause I’m wearing bright red lipstick with a bow in my hair. I love this painting. It’s the last thing I see before going out the door. The title is “keep this one” and it was done by Hinto in 2008.

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Take a Different Look, See Things Differently

Had a good day working at home yesterday. Finished it off with a bevy downstairs at the Fox with Shan. My trend of winter hibernating has a bit of a new meaning now that I have to go less than 20 steps to a place where real humans hang out. Arrived there with two day old hair in a headband, huge Nana sweater, baggy harem pants from Raymi and an over sized fur. Trust me it sounds more glam than it looked. Man repelling hard. Watched a few episodes of United Stated of Tara on Netflix when I got home and discovered this cool thing from Google Earth. Check out these cool interactive polar panorama images. Nana’s old house in New Zealand: Napier Road, Palmerston North, Manawatu-Wanganui. Behind Nana’s house are these massive windmills and huge hills like in Lord of the Rings,. My old house on Curlewis in Bondi Beach, Australia. It was a fave min ute walk from the beach. I loved living there. You might love this photo, depending what you’re into. 😉 Been thinking heaps about moving back there. Some days the desire is so strong. Yesterday was one of them. The house I live in until I was 21 in Cambridge. Condo city, heaps of tall glass buildings, concrete jungle and the CN Tower. I love this city, it will always be home no matter where I end up. Check out this creepy “Like a Doll” shoot I saw on Valfre’s blog. Man I love that girl. I don’t know her but I love her style and creativity.  She posts the cutest things and I really rad drawings. Isn’t it cool how you get to know a blogger through their creative expression? Starting to plan things for SXSW in March. Super stoked to go, I’ve been dreaming…

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Travel Tuesday: I wanna see the world!

On my recent trip I didn’t stay at a resort or all inclusive, I really took time to seek out adventure and make my own path. It was awesome and exciting! Please vote for me (and my cute little cheezy video) in the G Adventures contest. If I’m chosen, I’ll be one of three winners to embark on an unforgettable trip which will be featured in print and online as part of the next G Adventures campaign. You can vote once daily . Ultimately, the finalists & winners are chosen by the GAdventures team but all your help is GREATLY APPRECIATED!  Plus, I made it ALL ON MY iPHONE. First iMovie ever FTW! 🙂

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I have a thing for cars.

Saw this old Chevy truck in Mexico and it reminded me of Dad. When I was growing up I spent heaps of time round old cars as Dad owned a chassis shop called “Toys for Boys” where he custom built hot rods & cool cars like a pro street s10, as well as many others that would be now considered vintage. We always had people coming by the house with the sickest rides. I guess that’s where my love for nice cars comes from. Thanks Dad (and Mum of course!) 🙂 Next week I’ll be on the road driving the cute little Sonic from Chevrolet. Remember a couple months ago when I won A Sonic in Yonge Dundas Square LIVE on YouTube.ca? What a crazy experience. In January I’m attending the 2012 North American International Auto Show. Ford is sending 150 of the worlds top bloggers to NAIAS for a few days of press conferences, dinners, discussions & influencer activities. Can’t wait till my itinerary arrives to I can FW it to my Tripit app on iPhone. Mum informed me that I cisited the Ford Motor Company plant when I was a wee little kiddio. My how times flies!

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Barbie Style

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