This week we are working form the cottage.☀️?✌?  I find I’m really productive up here. It’s a nice mix of working hard, writing, and taking breaks, snacks, and naps. I usually spend the day writing and doing blog biz things then after 2pm, I go down to the dock, float in the lake, or read on my Kobo. I’m about to finish She’s Not There by Joy Fielding today. ?? ? This will be my 10th book since April, summer goals ✔️!!! A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Aug 8, 2016 at 8:22am PDT Today is Sean’s 40th birthday! I know, he looks so young, what a babe! I baked a layered red velvet cake yesterday for later and we opened presents this morning. We’ve got some friends joining us end of the week to celebrate together. If you’re following my Snapchat you’ll have seen these photos and the MASSIVE WATERMELON I got the other day. It’s seriously the biggest one I’ve EVER SEEN. I might cut into it this afternoon. ??? In other news, SEAN GOT ME A CLAWFOOT TUB. I’m in love with it. It’s SO BIG. It’s not set up yet but it will be eventually. I’ve dreamed of having one of these and I’m absolutely over the moon. I sat in it, inside the garage for about 20 minutes yesterday, with no water. It’s MASSIVE! Sending you sunshine from cottage country, here’s to a great week!

This weekend in Boston was really fun. ?? ✈️  The friends I was visiting totally surprised me and flew in a couple we both know from San Francisco, (who used to live in Boston). I totally screamed when they walked in the backyard! ? I love surprises and they totally hid this from me for the last week. THANK YOU BOB AND ELLEN ILU! ?   They pulled together all my Boston BFFs and we had heaps of fun eating great food and lounging by the pool. On Friday night we had dinner with Kristen (in photo) and from then till Sunday morning when I left I was smiling and laughing. I took a break from Snapchat and Pokemon to spend some real FACE TIME with my friends. It was great! It’s been 2 years since I saw any of the crew and some even longer! They always say I bring the sunshine and I totally did, it was an absolute perfect day on Saturday. ☀️? I got home last night after another great flight with Porter Airlines. I absolutely love flying Porter. I’m not 100% on my next vacation destination  *yet* but early August we are up at the cottage for 9 days and I can’t WAIT. It’s Sean’s birthday that week and last year we rented a Seadoo. Have a post-op appt with my surgeon today and hopefully everything is a-ok. Still recovering and in some pain. I’m really happy with the results tho, it’s the first time in my life I’ve been able to comfortable wearing a bathing suit top! ☀️ Here’s to a great week! ☀️  

Had a great time at the cottage this weekend. The weather was fabulous! Spent some time reading my book in the sun yesterday between yard work.  There are heaps of leaves to rake, gardening, cleaning, etc. Check my Snapchat story HERE for videos and the wonderful sounds of nature ?

I’m home. The last week has been so wonderful. I wrote down some thoughts about my Anamaya Resort/Costa Rica experience last night and it’s hard to explain it all in words, but I’m gonna try. Working on an article about my first real digital detox (SPOILER: it was awesome!), and posts about staying at Anamaya Resort, the yoga retreat, the INCREDIBLE food, activities, new friends, the circle (I’ll explain), the treehouse, and a style guide to packing light for jungle living. One things is, Anamaya is an incredibly amazing place to go alone, with a family member, partner, or when you really need to hit the reset button on your life. After 7 days of gluten, dairy, and mostly sugar free free, with no red meat, heaps of fresh juice, tons of water, sunshine, and fresh warm air, I feel alive, and calm. [iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/5tiGSZ4KAJU”] Picked up groceries today and loaded up on healthy grains, coconut milk (instead of my usual lactose free), heaps of veggies, fruits (papaya and plantain too), and I’m going try and keep this way of life going. Made a new BFF and am hopefully going back to stay with her in Costa Rica in October. Here’s to a wonderful week and *hopefully* spring like temperatures!

Good morning from Anamaya Retreats in Costa Rica! Yesterday was our first full day here and it was magnificent. I’m really making an effort to take a digital detox on this trip but documenting is something I love. I’m running on wifi and often not able to connect with the online world. I’ve been taking photos, making notes, voice recordings, I wanna remember all my thoughts and feeling on this journey. It’s absolutely beautiful, photos don’t do it justice! Feels good to be back on the yoga mat too, I’ve been a bit slack this winter and this trip is like hitting the reset button. Our menu this week is all gluten free and local, Anamaya has a farm that we’re visiting Wednesday to see where a lot of our food comes from. We are staying in a treehouse that is 50ft up with a yoga/hammock deck, and a loft bedroom. It’s the most beautiful treehouse I’ve ever been into, it’s fully equipped a king size bed, drinkable running water, and AC. It’s giving us some good inspiration to build one at the cottage.

I find taking vacation or ‘staycations’ essential to my sanity. If you’re following my Twitter or Snapchat you’ll know that I’m always on the go doing something, events, speaking, dinner, travel. I love it, but tbh it’s pretty exhausting. Putting heaps of energy out (friends, work, or social) can take a lot out of you. In a recent TD survey, they found that us millennials have a hard time finding balance between financial and work commitments, and taking time to relax is a challenge. I can totally relate to this. TD found that 46% of millennials don’t take their allotted vacation days, mostly due to heavy workload (31%) and lack of travel funds (29%). Back when I was working in an agency, I hardly ever took vacation, felt pressure to work late, and when I did take vacation, found myself constantly checking my phone and responding to emails. I know I’m not alone here! The survey found, 90% of Canadian millennials agree that vacation time, even mini-vacations or “staycations”, are essential to keeping them happy. Taking time to recharge doesn’t have to be expensive, I find a good binge weekend with some cooking, takeout, and a nap (or two!) boosts me up. Having a financial plan and a budget will help you get that ROE – Return on Enjoyment. ? This weekend we opened the cottage, going there, even for a 24 hour getaway gives me leaps and bounds of energy. Don’t have a cottage? Make friends with someone who does (heh heh) or check out options like Airbnb or Glamping Hub for affordable getaways. Millennials like us can save for activities by creating a financial plan to account for funding life’s pleasures (or unexpected moments). We could all use a little more vitamin SEA, amiright? ? Other activities with…

My first trip of the year wasn’t to a sunny destination, it was up north to a tiny little solar-powered treehouse north of Toronto. Glamping Hub invited me to stay at a destination of my choice, so naturally I picked a cool one. Glamping Hub is home to some of the coolest non-traditional camping spots around the world. They’ve got luxury camping available in tree houses, yurts, tipis, camper vans, safari and fancy tents. I’m hoping to explore a few more of their destinations in South/Central Ontario. Here’s my first Glamping Hub experience!  [symple_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”5″ margin_bottom=”5″]

Cabo was amazing! More about our trip later. Some photos till then!  

One thing I love about my job is getting to try new products and experiences I (probably) wouldn’t  get to do otherwise. Growing up my dad had a hot rod shop and my love for cars started early. I used to spend heaps of time in the garage playing, sanding, hammering, and listening to golden oldies. So, when I get to drive a brand new car ‘for work’ it’s pretty freaking awesome. Here’s my experience with the brand new Scion iM. [symple_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”5″ margin_bottom=”5″] I picked up the Scion at Toronto HQ in Scarborough on a nice sunny day in November. I had a great week of planned for us including a trip to London, Ontario to speak at TEDx Western University. The car had five doors which were great for packing in all my things for a weekend away. I could have taken a couple passengers with ease.  Mileage was great, filled up once during the week for about $45 and again before I returned it (as you do). I took the car on a couple road trip including a visit to mum’s house in Cambridge, ON with my sister. This is us singing LOUDLY to ‘Hello’ by Adele. The sound system was pretty good and I was able to connect my iPhone to the NAV system in a couple seconds. One of the first things I test in a new car. The body kit gives this little racer a sporty feel and 17″ wheels (standard) look pretty pimp. Since it’s a hatchback, the Scion iM makes a great city car; easy parking and zipping around downtown. On my way home from visiting the parents after my TEDx talk I drove through a beautiful (double rainbow (you can’t see the second part in this photo but I saw it. Overall, good little vehicle,…

2016 is almost here and I’m feeling excited, finally. The last couple of months my energy has been low and I’ve been spending more time at home recharging. Well, it worked!  I’ve got three trips planned for January and this year will be full of adventure. [symple_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”10″ margin_bottom=”10″] The first on my travels is a short stay at a treehouse North of Toronto via glampinghhub.com. I’ve been working with them to plan a stay at one of their many glamping (glamourous camping) locations in Ontario. I’ve never been one for camping but glamping or a quaint cabin in the woods is right up my alley. This is a new take on the winter cottage, cottage life! We’ve chatted about building a tree house at the cottage in Muskoka and something like would be a DREAM. I can’t wait to take you on my adventures! The Glamping Hub location I’m staying at with April next week is a solar-powered treehouse hidden between trees, located on 6,000 acres of forest and trails. It’s the peaceful escape I’m looking for without being TOO far from the city. I hope that it’s snowy and we spend our days reading by the fire and cooking up hearty, healthy meals. If winter has left by then (you never know these days!), we’ll take advantage of the trails. If you’re keen to book a weekend in a fancy tent, cabin, treehouse, cozy cottage, or some other unique space, check out Canadian Weekend Getaway or other glamping spots around the world at glampinghub.com.

After working with travelcuts earlier this year, I’m happy to share they’ve hired me as a travel expert to judge their travelcuts Doc Film Fest. Yeah baby! The festival will be a collection of short travel docs covering awesome featuring young travellers on exciting and unique adventures. This contest gives aspiring filmmakers a chance to show off their talents. It’s expected that a lot of people will enter this competition, meaning that the standard will probably be high. To ensure your film stands out amongst other entries, it might be worth looking into some specialized software. As many professional filmmakers make use of digital cinema package editing software, people entering this competition might want to look for an online DCP guide to include some advertising in your travel film. This is the first teaser trailer for the four-part mini-series. [iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/-lQOwG2XNAQ”] Now it’s YOUR chance to show us where you’ve been. At the end of November, we’ll have an official screening where the top three submissions will be showcased as well as the full-length videos from the mini-series. One finalist will be announced as the winner of the $2,000 travel card. Look out world! How to Enter the Travel Cuts Doc Film Fest Upload your video to YouTube and include your first name + last initial and #travelcutsDOC in the description. Videos should be 2-5 minutes in length, and must be created by YOU! If you’re using footage from a trip you took a while ago, make a nice new cut for your entry. Contestants must fill out the form on travelcuts.com/filmfest, only entries accepted will be those submitted using the entry form. On October 21st, we’re hosting on online Twitter chat from from 9-10PM and Id love you to join. I’ll make sure to remind you closer to the…

Hello, hello? What’s that sound? Waves crashing in the background! Stayed a little longer at the cottage this weekend and am working from this little spot after spending 2 hours on emails + editing in the hammock. It’s a rough life! Biebs just released the video for What Do You Mean and I’ve been playing this tune over and over. I’ve always been a fan of his! Back in my days at MuchMusic & MTV he performed at the MMVAs and I was SO close. Once I got to meet in him NYC. Here’s to a great week my friends. SUMMER IS NOT OVER. This week is gonna be mega hot, get your togs on an hit the beach! ☀️? CASIE