Audible.ca launches w/ Margaret Atwood + Elisabeth Moss Reading Handmaid’s Tale

Last week was full of adventure! On Wednesday morning I was at Union Station for the launch announcement of audible.ca where Margaret Atwood spoke and Elisabeth Moss read from Handmaid’s Tale. My fav moment was when Atwood was talking about Handmaid’s Tale and said ‘there’ll be no makeup in the dystopian future, WORST!‘. I didn’t expect that from her, she’s the best! I showed up just before it started and jumped into one of the last media seats. I love the opportunity to do this stuff! I took the UP Train from Bloor (near my house) and was there in about 10min. Audible is an Amazon company (love Amazon!) and their Canadian programming includes 100 new titles from Canadian authors in (Eng & Fr), original programs, lectures, and comedy. There’s a whole bunch of books on Audible read by celebrities including Samuel L. Jackson reading Adam Mansbach’s “Go the F— to Sleep”, Anne Hathaway reading L. Frank Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’, Naomi Watts  reading ‘Summer‘ by Edith Wharton, Kim Basinger reading ‘The Awakening’ by Kate Chopin, and Dustin Hoffman reading ‘Being There‘ by Jerzy Kosinski. I love that you can listen to familiar voices. Don Katz, CEO of Audible, said they hope to be the largest employer of actors in Hollywood.  That’s a lofty goal but possible I reckon. Maybe I’ll read one someday! Later in the day a bunch of media peeps boarded a branded Audible train to Montreal. They hooked us up with Audible swag and iPod Touches charged, and loaded with books. After about an hour on the train, I went into the last car, behind us to find a full-on charcuterie spread w/ full bar, candy, popcorn, coffee, shrimp, and more. It was fantastic! The fanciest train ride of my life! I grabbed my computer and sat back there for…

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Speaking in New Orleans + Cute Dress from Studio Fitzroy

Last week I flew to New Orleans to speak at a conference, first talk outside Canada. Woo hoo! It was also my first time in NOLA! I’m heading back to New Orleans in November for a week vacation w/ some friends. I was booked via my agency, the National Speakers Bureau, I’ve been with them for about 2 years now. Check out my NSB profile here. My talk was ‘Get Trending: Building Campus Engagement with Digital Media‘ and it went great! Conference attendees stuck around for half an hour after to chat, take selfies, and ask questions. I get a little nervous/excited in the 5min before I go on stage, then, once I get going it’s over before I know it. The Q&A at the end is always my favourite part. I even met someone from who was from my hometown in Cambridge, Ontario. Hi David! The hotel was right beside the Superdome and U2 played while I was there. I was tucked away in my room putting finishing touches on my preso so didn’t make it over. The view was pretty cool and the Superdome photo was taken from one of the huge glass hotel elevators. I wore the cutest little, crushed velvet dress by For Love & Lemons from Studio Fitzroy. I loved it! They have heaps of beautiful new dresses for rent, you’ll love it. Visit shopfitzroy.com to scroll the gowns or your dreams. Took a little walk around the hotel early Friday before I got ready to hit the stage. It was so warm and sunny. There was a Starbucks inside the Hyatt, so convenient! I imagine that happens a lot in the USA. I wasn’t sure if conference attendees knew I was a speaker or not but I definitely had a *different* style. I got heaps of positive feedback from organizers and attendees.…

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Bonjour! In Montreal for a Hot Minute ✈️????

Spent the day w/ Audible taking the train to Montreal. I listened to Claire Danes read The Handmaids Tail. Feeling pretty exhausted and will be up early for a 6am flight back to Toronto. I fly to New Orleans at noon.  Ordered a pizza. It was ok. The hotel is really beautiful. Stayed here in 2015 and they’ve really made some beautiful design changes since!  They have Le Labo products and you can bet I asked for an extra couple lotions! My fav scent from Le Labo is Santal 33, it’s amazing! XO Montreal! Have a great day! 

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Where Would You Go with 1 Million Miles?

I love to travel and have been jet setting round the world since my first NZ/Hawaii trip when I was 2. When I was a kid mum was adamant about us collecting Aeroplan miles on those long trips and we’ve since redeemed a bunch towards other trips and non-flight rewards. I’m currently saving up money and racking up miles on my Aeroplan Visa to go visit my family in New Zealand. However, with the latest contest from Aeroplan, you and I could be there in a heartbeat, WITH an entourage!   Aeroplan has announced a new contest where they’re giving away 1 MILLION MILES A WEEK for 5 weeks. This is their biggest giveaway ever and honesty, a life changer for each person who wins. Do you have any idea how many things you can do with miles like that?! Take 20 girlfriends to Hawaii in for Economy Class Take your 8 fav rellies to Paris, ride bikes, and eat baguettes by the Eiffel Tower   Be the best bae ever and take your one true love on a FIRST CLASS trip around the world. Fly Premum Economy to Dubai w/ 7 friends OR YOU take 40 trips in Economy from TO to LA (or Toronto to Vancouver) How to Enter?! Aeroplan wants to know where your Aeroplan miles have taken you and the amazing memories you’ve created. Show and tell a little bit about your adventure by posting photos, videos, and stories and tag them #withAeroplan on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  Each post is a chance to win 1 of 5 prizes of 1 million miles. For more information and rules/regs on the Aeroplan Memories Worth MIllions contest visit this page on aeroplan.com.  If you’re curious about how many miles you need to take your dream trip, there’s a chart right here.…

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I Loved The Eclipse

???????

I loved every minute of that magical experience.  Powerful day for connection and setting goals. I went to the gym this morning and caught the sunrise. Checked a bunch of things off my list at the office and watched the eclipse with the 1188 team. We got to Best Buy Yonge Dundas last night *just* in time to get a couple pairs before they ran out. There was a pretty big lineup and they were selling them at the counter 1 per person for $1.50. I set intentions for things I want to bring into my life and habits I’m working to change. Very powerful day. Sharing a couple updates from Amy (@lesbest) below. MAKE THE MOST OF EACH DAY!

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Yes, I am Still At The Cottage

But I’m starting to get cabin fever. I’m ready to come home. It’s been about two weeks up here and mostly just Sean and I here together. I’m so looking forward to friends, events, a conference, and my good blue shampoo. (If you are blonde, you’ll understand! My hair is yellow!) I also really need a manicure. Today I screamed at a chipmunk that startled me, like a total crazy woman. I want a Starbucks. I got a couple new bug bites taking out the garbage this morning (it comes on Mondays) and I just about lost my shit. Enough damn bugs! The views are beautiful but everyone has a breaking point. Sean and I cooked a great surf & turf BBQ last night w/ aglio olio (Italian pasta). Then we had a dip in the hot tub and watched a beautiful sunset. But I’m still ready to come home. Tomorrow Lauren and I are attending an entrepreneurship conference that includes an aerial yoga class. So fun! I’ve got a media preview at the Spoke Club after then a Sweat yoga class. I miss yoga. I’m not as good as I would like to be at self-starting a practice on my own up here. I do at home! I don’t know what it is about the cottage that makes me so lazy and eat all the snacks, I guess that’s what they call ‘relaxing’. I sent an RSVP for a TIFF event this morning and I am really getting excited about it. I’ve been doing TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) for about 10 years now and it’s fun. The city is so alive! The first couple days are the best and I love media day before the official opening. I’m going away to adult summer camp (Two Islands) on the…

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VACATION MODE ✔️

This week has been super chill so far. Tuesday was Sean’s birthday and we’ve been taking it pretty easy. The weather called for rain but it’s been absolutely beautiful every day! I finished a great book by Jill Dodd, the founder of ROXY called The Courage of Love. I don’t read many memoirs but the story was so good, I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend! My friend and her BF were up over the weekend. We had so much fun. They were getting ready to leave and I was like ‘omg we haven’t even taken one selfie!’. The sign of a good ol‘ analogue good time! Ordered this Bardot top and shorts from SheIn recently and we had a mini portrait shoot on the dock. Love it. Tonight we had our first sunset cocktail in the hot tub together. It was so nice. This week has been really relaxing, long days of reading books, scrolling, boast rides, simple meals, alone time, silence, and naps. Finally started Ozark on Netflix too, good show.  

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The Flight Pack Kickstarter is LIVE!

I love travel and as you know am always on the go. My next trips (aside from the cottage) are Two Islands Weekend and a speaking gig in New Orleans. Travelling all the time means I almost always only take carry-on and keep my tech accessories/toiletries to a minimum. Seeing people who haven’t packed things up properly or don’t have their things organized at airport security is a pet peeve. Gloria, one of my friends and long time blogging babe created something to solve this problem, THE FLIGHT PACK. They’re almost half funded and only launched today, congrats girl! The Flight Pack is a travel bag that’s meticulously designed to keep your essentials the way you want it. Minimal: We decided less is definitely more. The Flight Pack has a simple, sleek silhouette created for a hassle-free experience at the airport. Modular: Carefully designed to keep your travel essentials organized your way with a removable vanity panel and detachable compartments that snap in and out of the bag. Durable: Well made for people on the move – this is not the kind of bag you’ll want to replace anytime soon. This bag is simple to clean, and builds character over time. The Flight Pack launches on Kickstarter TODAY and they’ve got some great options available including the EARLY BIRD for $85 CAD which includes 1 product and you save $55 off future retail cost ($140), with free shipping worldwide. CHECK OUT THE KICKSTARTER Gloria is an awesome human, you might recognize her from the last couple GIVING BACK VIBES lunches we cooked up at Evangel Hall. Love supporting friends doing cool things. If you have a cool side-hustle or project on the go, lmk!  

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Into the Wild! We’re Going on an Airstream Adventure Next Week!

I can’t believe it’s almost time! Wanted to do this for as long as I can remember! A couple months ago I received an email from GoRving Canada about going on an RV adventure and documenting my trip. It was like the universe was responding! So, over the last while we’ve been working out the details and next week it’s happening. Sean, Embot, and I will be picking the Airstream up from London, ON, staying in Grand Bend for a night, then travelling around Ontario for 5 days. I’ll be sharing more about the trip at we get closer to the date and on the road. This is the plan. ⬇️ I’ve never stayed over in Algonquin so we’ll be parking the airstream and spending a night there. Next, we head up to Deep River so Sean can show us where he grew up. I went camping with my parents at Sandbanks Park as a kid so we’ll be spending a night there too. If you have any tips about travelling via airstream or RV, please let me know!

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Showin’ Her the Ropes! Girls Trip to Vancouver, British Columbia ✈️

It’s just after 10om in Vancouver and I’ve been up since 5:30am EST. Emily and I have been travelling all day. It’s been pretty great! This is her first trip alone with me and it’s her first media trip ever. Tomorrow we’re on location with Subway Canada visiting Windset Farms for a planting & picking day while we enjoy beautiful British Columbia. We landed here about 11:30 PST and she was swimming in the hotel pool by 12:30. Since it’s our first trip together, I wanted to make it special. Instead of doing touristy things, I shared a few of my favourite activities to do on a media trip the day before our scheduled activities.  Travel can be exhausting and there’s nothing I really love more than sitting in a hotel room, having room service, and working away on my computer recharging my batteries. Here’s what we got up to today! Safe to say she said things like “we have the best lives” and “we’re queens“. Looking forward to tomorrow! We’ll be at the farm at 9am for a day of fun and to see where Subway harvests vegetables for locations across the country. I made a storyboard on the plane ride here to direct the video we’re creating. It’s gonna be great! Follow along on Instagram Stories or Twitter. In the afternoon we’ll be back at the hotel for some pool, and Friday night room service + movies in bed before heading home Saturday. My hope for this trip is to leave her with some great memories and good travel habits. Ok, I might be setting her up for ‘fancy’ travel habits but there’s nothing wrong with starting that young! OK, Boss Baby is almost over, time for bed!  

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