Day 373: Social and Culture

Today I started my new FT role at Funday Agency as Social & Culture Manager. My job is focused mostly on internal communications & operations relating to building company culture. Last year I came to the realization I didn’t want to work specifically in social media anymore. I was looking to expand and do more things related to general marketing. That beung said, it’s been 5+ years since I’ve worked FT and I expect there will be a *bit* of an adjustment. Today’s lunch was provided by Do Rueda in Spain who sent over a delicious selection of Spanish tapas and wine to taste. I saved the wine for after work but tuned in for a lunchtime seminar with several sommeliers from the region. Back in 2019, I went on a press trip to Spain where we spent a week visiting 13 wineries in Do Rueda, Spain’s top region for verdejo & white wine. See those posts here! Another great surprise today was the delivery of new blue light glasses from gry mattr, a new company from Joe Mimran (the founder of Joe Fresh). I picked this design on a whim without realizing they would look almost identical to my old fav glasses I wore when I first started Twitter (see small image here). I had this same black & white photo as my Twitter image from 2009-2012. Back then, I used to wear glasses ALL the time and I absolutely love these new ones from gry mattr. Thanks Joe!

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Day 372: Social and Culture Manager

Woke up with a killer toothache this morning and took an easy morning for my Advil and CBD to kick in. It was another beautiful day and I am loving the energy I get from this weather! I ended up taking an afternoon nap and felt nice and refreshed when I woke. Went for a nice walk to the grocery store to get supplies for the week. Sean is shooting something up north this week so I’m home by myself, which I don’t mind. ? This week I am starting full-time at Funday Agency and I am so excited! I absolutely love working with this team so it was a natural progression to move from contract to FT. My role is Social & Culture Manager and I’ll be working on Funday initiatives, branding, and merch. This is a new role that was created just for me and I’m really keen to develop the Funday brand. One of the recent tasks my team completed was our first round of Funday supplies including notebooks, note cards, Sharpies, and stickers. They turned out so good. Here’s to a great week! Sending sunshine!

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Vintage Ink Wine Celebrates 100 Years of Tattoo Culture 

Last weekend I was at 99 Sudbury for a gallery show called GENERATIONS by Vintage Ink wine celebrating 100 years of tattoo culture. It featured line drawings by several tattoo artists and photographs by Matt Barnes.  It was a great mix of drinks, food, music, art, and friends! I arrived early and spend a good amount of time admiring the photos and catching up with Tyler Kenny. He was on the scene representing the Freshly Educated Men blog.  We had heaps of laughs! TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER THE CONTEST You might remember a couple weeks ago I shared a few stories of MY tattoos and where/when I got them. Vintage Ink wine is holding a contest, in order to enter, upload a photo of your tattoo to Instagram or Twitter, adding the hashtag #MyVintageInk. Photos are displayed on via vintageink.ca. The winners will have their tattoo art displayed on 500 limited edition bottles of their wine along with a framed copy of their framed artwork. This photo by Matt Barnes was my fav of the night. I love the juxtaposition of this beautiful tattooed mama and this lil boy eating a hamburger. I wonder if it’s his mum? They’ve both got such a cute face. Chloe came by to enjoy the fun and have some wines. Vintage Ink wine is now available at the LCBO. Will share this video one it’s out, I think we’ve got a few cameos in there. Over the course of the night they filled up this wine bottle tree. Such a neat idea! I wonder if dad could make me one of these. It would be a great patio decoration or something to have at the holidays. Please let me know if you’ve entered the contest so I can share my love and vote for your tattoo. There will…

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Lovin’ the Crew – Tourism Calgary Arts & Culture Trip

Meet my crew! Sean and I were shooting w/ Tourism Calgary this week. If you follow me on the Twitter or IG you’ll know this already. Shooting in the pool was fun. Sean was a really good sport! Met up w/ Mike Morrison aka @MikesBloggity  to tour around downtown in the new bike lanes. He recently founded Calgary Bike, tours around Calgary by bike with landmarks, photo spots, facts, and history. We are inside this giant head, art sculpture.   It’s called Wonderland and is a female head that’s about 12 metres high.  It was created by Barcelona-based designer Jaume Plensa. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Rock show at Sloth Records for Sled Island. Picked him up a new hat. When in Rome, right? Went to the East End block party. Finally got him to let me do this. So cute. Had our caricature drawn by epic moustache guy. Finished the day at Wreck City, pre-demo car wash turned interactive art exhibit.    The sun sets just after 10pm. It was also super hot. Loved every minute of it. The video we shot will be shared by Calgary Tourism in a few weeks. I’ll post it too! 💛✈️👍CASIE

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Looking forward to culture & lifestyle.

It’s been so beautiful out the last couple days.My week has been pretty chilled out which makes me reallllly happy. Everyone needs  a break once in a while. I wasn’t outside for long yesterday but I did have a charming stroll in the sunshine mixed with a few short Bixi rides (thanks Telus). Was almost ‘unplugged’ all say Sunday while we watched a marathon of movies eating Chinese takeout. Perfect day if you ask me. So good to disconnect once in a while. I’ll be less connected next week but not offline. Decidedly detoxing right now (sugar, carbs, drinking lots of water) so I’m cleansed & ready for nine full days of surf, sun, sand and yoga starting this weekend. I booked a room in a 1920’s mansion turned hotel for my first night before I get to Anamaya Resort. Yeowwww. This is going to be me:  My mouth is watering just thinking about fresh fish, bowls of fruit, salty skin and the smell of the ocean. The more I read about CR, I think I might fall in love. Pure love. Pura vida! * Actual Hipster Mermaid wig via Lauren O’Nizzle!  

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arts & culture writer = me

I wrote an article a few months back about a fascinating artist named Michael Golland. Afterwards, I found out that it was going to be the feature cover story! I was quite excited given I’m yet to have ‘write a cover story’ checked off my list. An excerpt is below. You can read the whole article here. “He wants people to be captivated, to find and immerse themselves in their flow of consciousness. Michael’s art is about finding the Zen within and connecting to its powerful energy. His paintings are unique and recognizable. Fluid lines dance across the canvas creating trajectory spaces filled with monochromatic colors. He aims to draw connections between the objects, the lines, the space, the spirit within and the essence of life itself. Michael was born in Yorkshire, England during the Second World War.” [get all the juice]

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TIFF 2022: Twitter x The Woman King

I didn’t go to many TIFF events this year but I hate to miss a Twitter event! I had the day off from work to prepare for Lauren’s wedding so it worked out perfect that Twitter hosted a TIFF lunch that day for ‘The Woman King’. It was a panel Q&A w/ Academy Award winner Viola Davis & the cast of the upcoming film. Joining Ms. Davis were four other stars of the film: Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, & Sheila Atim. Leveraging the important themes from the film, this panel conversation was focused on celebrating Black women & how we can all #TakeUpSpace. i can’t even begin to explain how powerful the conversation was. Twitter’s global director of culture and community God-is Rivera (@GodisRivera) was the moderator and TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey (@cameron_tiff) was also there to introduce the guests and give opening remarks. After, I took a stroll with Natalie before going to Yorkville to pick up Lauren’s dress. Traffic was insane, it took me almost an hour to get from Yorkville to my place in Dundas West. I look forward to seeing The Woman King in theatres., Find your local times here! Thank you Twitter Canada for another amazing event!

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Day 556: TIFF 2021

TIFF 2021 looks a little different than past years! We went to the Visa Skyline Drive-In at Ontario place to see Lakewood. Thank you Proof for hooking us up! The movie was pretty good but I think our fav was the local food trucks. I thought sean would enjoy this film as it’s called Lakewood and was shot in northern Ontario. It follows Naomi Watts as the main character and she spends most of her time running through the woods and dealing with a tragedy at her kid’s school. We both left thinking about what we could shoot up and around the cottage with a couple of cameras and the drone.

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Day 503: Bloom with D Luxe Lab in Yorkville

My friend invited me to stop into the re-opening of D Luxe Lab, a premier cosmetic treatment clinic located in the heart of Yorkville. It’s absolutely beautiful! I sat down for a chat with the female founder, Dema Najjar scroll down for my interview with her. Dema is an immigrant to Canada from Syria and a graduate of Rotman Business School’s MBA program, alongside many other talents. I had a consultation followed by treatment with Dr. Basil. I’m very happy with the results, workin’ to keep my face looking rested and refreshed! As a female immigrant in Canada, how did you best prepare yourself for becoming a business owner? I moved to Canada with the intention of establishing a connection with Canadian culture and community. I completed an Executive MBA at Rotman School of Business and then integrated the Canadian work force. I spent 5 years working in the financial industry at MCAP, which allowed me to build and expand my knowledge base of this industry, as well as to grant me exposure to meet new and different people. From this, I was able to better understand Canadian culture and experience daily life as a Canadian. Through my work with MCAP, I gained valuable insight into agreements and deal-making, which encouraged me to pursue a Global Professional Masters of Laws at U of T.  During the past ten years in Canada, I have had the chance to work in finance, marketing and accounting, and through my network, I have been fortunate enough to be exposed to many wonderful people who have encouraged me along the way. A couple of years ago, I took a step back and began thinking of how I could combine my Canadian experience with that of my family’s in Syria. After evaluating the cosmetic beauty industry market and establishing that…

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Day 347: Toronto Creator Power Hour

Went for a nice walk went near High Park today. It was so lovely outside, felt like spring. Last night I was a co-host of Toronto Creator Power Hour, a Clubhouse room hosted by Joëlle Anello, Casey Palmer, Solmaz Khosrowshahian, Trisha Enriquez. I pitched the idea to have a chat about blogging and we had Hawley Dunbar from Sidewalk Hustle join us. We had a GREAT chat about blogging and how as a creator, it’s important to have an online home for your content that you own. When it comes to social media, it’s more like renting space as you do not own the platform and you can’t control what happens on IG, Facebook, etc. After work, I listened to my latest book on Audible, ‘Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol‘. This is the viral book Chrissy Tiegen read before getting sober. I also made a delicious sandwich, I love sandwiches. ?

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Day 314: Friday, Chill House

I usually start out the week with high energy. On Monday, I get getting fully dressed, have coffee, exercise, and get ready for the week. I was quite productive for the first few days but by the end of the week, I felt drained. It’s not that I was doing a lot, it’s just life these days, pandemic fatigue. I didn’t really leave the house from Wednesday-Friday, except for the odd trip to the corner store. By Friday, I was tired, wearing jogging pants, a messy bun, and spent the day on the couch with my computer. Friday, chill house vibes all around. I successfully watched the entire first season of Bling Empire on Netflix in none day. Next, I watched Y&R (as usual!) then Death of Me on Netflix. Sean arrived back home just after 6 pm and we ordered takeout pho (Vietnamese soup, so good!). Looking forward to a relaxing weekend at home, maybe some self-care, and catching up on blog posts. I try to write each day but if I don’t, I batch update with photos from the week. Hope you are hanging in there, we’ll get through this. The next couple months will be hard but before we know it, grass will be growing, flowers blooming, and spring will be in the air.

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Day 59: Support Your Friends!

Right now, more than ever we need to support our friends! We are all in this together and we will get through it by being there for each other, at a distance! Social media is an amazing tool to share the things you love, you like, and support others. This tweet has been pinned to the top of my Twitter profile for over a year! Last night I joined in a pop-culture trivia game on Facebook hosted by my friend Alex. Follow her on IG @lexniko, I love the content she creates and she’s funny AF. Today my friend Mariah sent me a message about her latest project, a film called Pamela & Ivy. I know I don’t do movies reviews often but today her message came just as I was about to have lunch. So, I watched it and put a few notes into a post here. You can also watch the full 16-minute film in the post or on YouTube. Mariah and I had been internet friends for a little while and last year we met for a coffee date. It was so since to meet face-to-face! I am inspired by her work and how much she has accomplished at a young age. She founded GTE Productions at 21 and is an award-winning actress & filmmaker. Her talent is out of this world! After lunch, I went to the post office to ship a wee package of a card & friendship bracelet + an item from Knixwear. I am so impressed with their customer service! A couple of weeks ago I placed an order from the warehouse sale and when the package arrived, the order wasn’t correct. That same afternoon I was refunded for the missing items and they asked that the wrong size item I received was…

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Day 24: Lake Life

This morning I woke up and really felt like I needed a workout. Sean was up before me (as usual!) and suggested we go for a canoe. We had to take a bunch of stuff out from the basement including the hot tub, which we might set up later today. I am so happy it’s finally getting warmer, we’ve been waiting for this. The sun has such an influence on my mood, it always makes me feel like everything is ok. The first canoe of the season is always pretty magical. We were hoping to be the first ones on the lake but there was a rower passing by before we set out. Saw a few other canoes out later in the morning. There is still a bit of thin ice across the lake but most of it is all melted. There were so many birds out singing in the sun. Today I am making sweet potato brownies, pasta salad, and tuna salad. The other day I made this great granola recipe and I made a another batch yesterday. It’s so easy and we’ve all been enjoying it for breakfast or a snack. I’m planning to go for a long run today and get in a yoga class in the afternoon. I’m hoping it’s warm enough to do it outside! Video: First Canoe of 2020

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Day 22: Make Something Each Day

Yesterday I made granola, a chickpea lentil curry, spicy roasted chickpeas, roast potatoes, and Sean made meatballs. I spent some time drawing on my iPad and decided to test out my old Crimper. It still works! The granola was a recipe from Pay Chen in The Kit. I modified for what I had and MY GOD IT IS DELICIOUS. I forgot how much I love granola. I am now a forest dwelling, yoga lady, who makes her own granola. I am not surprised at all. Em made a mask from an old bathing suit and we went through my art supplies. I did Soca Yoga and some stretches while watching movie in front of the fire. TY Amy for the reco, great class! There was an Amber Alert to stay home that came thorough our phones. This is the second time it’s happened, the last alert was for anyone who had travelled outside the country. We have not left the compound for one full week and Sean is planning to get supplies Monday. I’m gonna stay here with Em while he goes out. We made the strategic decision for him to go during the week so people who can’t go M-F, can have the weekend. We have a running Google doc with everything we need for the house and he will wear gloves, a mask, and change clothes as soon as he gets home. Aside from some groceries, need a part to fix the washing machine. Made a pavlova for Jake Gold’s birthday party on Zoom. We don’t have birthday candles so a big one had to do. It was BYOC – Bring Your Own Cake, everyone lit candles and sung HBD at the same time. Welcome to life in the year 2020. Sean and I started Unorthodox on Netflix…

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byMINISTRY Enlightened Dining Club

I recently attended a new kind of dinner with amazing food that was infused with cannabis (THC & CBD). The entire experience was highly curated to take us on a journey through incredible food and unique experience. The team at byMINISTRY aims to show how cannabis can be integrated into life through food & drink, culture, and wellness. They’re taking your plant-forward lifestyle to a higher place and I am here for it. The Experience Sean and I arrived to be greeted with a non-infused temperance cocktail as there was no alcohol on site. Before each course, the chef (Ted Corrado) walked us through what we were about to eat and if it contained CBD or THC. It was nice to learn about the food before eating it, including how the mushrooms were foraged or fish arrived at our plates.

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Cali Sober & The Holidays

Here’ an excerpt from a piece I wrote for Twisted Extracts about the term ‘Cali Sober‘ and the holidays. If you’re not familiar with the new-ish term, it’s essentially not drinking (or drinking less) but still using cannabis. When I learned it at the Pretty Elevated event a while back I thought ‘hey, that’s me!’. I shared some thoughts on how the holidays are often all about drinking and to have some other options than beer and wine at your holiday hangout. Scroll down to read a snippet or check out the whole article on twistedextracts.com here. Side note, if you haven’t tried Twisted Extracts, I highly recommend them! I absolutely love their cara-melts or jelly bombs that come in CBD, THC, or a 1:1 combo. They’re the perfect dosage and the CBD is good quality. RESHARED FROM TWISTED EXTRACTS, READ IN FULL HERE: I’m not here to define exactly what sobriety means to you, but navigating the holidays as someone who doesn’t drink can be a bit awkward. Drinking culture is such a big part of society and I think it’s time to redefine holiday hosting without all the booze. This year, if you are hosting a holiday get together, please have other options than just beer or wine for your guests. Making a signature cocktail? Try creating a temperance cocktail or an option without alcohol. If there’s someone who isn’t drinking, be considerate of their choices, and if they don’t mention it, don’t pry with questions. We all have our own reasons for making changes, maybe they’re not drinking that night, that month, or ever again. That’s their decision to make! If you’re attending holiday events, be respectful of where and when you are using cannabis. Check with your host to see if they have a preferred place…

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CBD: What Works For Me

I’ve been asked about CBD a bunch over the past few months so I’ve finally put down some thoughts. This post is IN NO WAY medical, I am not a professional, this my personal experience. You should 100% consult some kind of professional before trying something for medical purposes. You can’t go wrong with someone who can tell you the difference between cbg and cbd, and their different medical uses. On the other hand, if you are already familiar with the cannabis plant or have been self-medicating for some period of time, you’ll enjoy this! The photo above is from Sugar High Love Stoned and I bought the sweater while I was writing this post. ? I’ve tried a bunch of products and these are my favorites. There are HEAPS of products out there, my recommendation is to get any cannabis product from somewhere credible or recommended by a trusted friend. If you are using CBD for a specific reason such as your an athlete, then I suggest you go to aethics for specialist products. A lot of beauty, health, food products are coming out claiming to have cannabis or CBD, where it could be low-grade CBD or hemp seed oil. You can also get help derived CBD products, which can be confusing. My friend Ama Scriver wrote a great piece on cannabis and the beauty industry for healthline.com here. CBD To Calm Down + Focus + Sleep Aurora CBD Liquid Gels Product: Small gel capsules, each with 8.5mg of CDB and 0.3mg of THC. You can find them at Nova Cannabis on Queen, OCS, or through your accredited Licenced Producer. They look like mini Advil. Thoughts: These are great. The THC content is pretty low (0.3mg) so they don’t make me high, just relaxed. I find they’re good when…

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Podcast: #WiththeJoneses – Episode 3 – The OG #Blondetourage

Last week, my bff  Lauren O’Nizzle and I were on the Jones Media Podcast – Keeping Up with the Joneses. It was super fun! If you know Lauren and I or have been on the internet for a long time, you’ll enjoy this. We talk a lot about influencers, brand partnerships, and how social media has changed over the 10 years we’ve been friends. This week on Keeping Up with the Joneses, we have Casie Stewart and Lauren Neil in conversation about starting as OG bloggers, tweet ups, their first paid gigs, how they transitioned into today’s influencer culture and tips for parents on how to engagement their kids in conversations about the internet.  Memory Lane – Stuff Mentioned in Podcast Thanks for tuning in! I’ve opened up comments on this post to feel free to leave one if while listening!

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Pack Your Bags! Earn More Miles with Aeroplan

Over the last few years, I’ve had some amazing adventures with Aeroplan. In this post, I’m excited to share that Aeroplan has a booking tool that will help you earn more miles, faster. Making Memories with Aeroplan Looking through travel photos gives me so much joy. I was browsing iCloud finding photos for this post and was reminded of how travelling is truly one of the greatest things in life. You learn so much about yourself, other cultures, and it enriches your life, leaving you lasting memories. Portugal 2018: On this day I took a bus tour around Lisbon by myself, listening to facts about history and architecture. I went shopping, ate a fresh Portuguese egg tart by the Belem Tower, and had ice cream on the beach. I took heaps of photos of the city and hardly any of myself. When I think back to this moment I was so warm and free, happy in the sunshine. It was one of my all-time favourite adventures with Aeroplan. If you’re heading to Lisbon and looking for some tips, check out this post. Aeroplan’s Booking Tool In addition to earning Aeroplan Miles on flights and purchases, Members can earn miles with 250,000 hotels and more than 11,000 car rental locations in 50 countries. You also earn miles on bookings made through aeroplan.com when you book using cash. My friend did the same when booking her trip to Crete, she then checked out e-mietwagenkreta for car rental deals, so I hear and it just made her trip so much better. “travel has never been easier and more achievable” Aeroplan They’ve made it super convenient and enhanced the online experience so you can add multiple items to your shopping cart and check out with ease. One of my favourite ways to earn is…

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Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like It #17

Next month my blog is 14 years old, can you believe that? I’ve been building my little piece of the internet and sharing stories longer than the time I’ve had this blog. Before WordPress, there was Blogger, MySpace, and MSN Spaces. I love sharing and being an ‘internet person’ but it can take a toll on you. I love it most the time, but sometimes, I don‘t feel like it. It’s Not Easy Being On The Internet It’s crazy the things people say on the internet when they’ve got a screen barrier to give them extra confidence. Often forgetting there’s a human on the other side, manning the comments. Like, a real human being with feelings. One little comment can stay in your head all day or a tweet can jump right through the screen and punch you in the heart. The other day I tweeted how ‘Having a sister is legit the best.” and a friend replied, “Yes it was”. I had to fight back tears. I know he lost his sister and maybe was having a hard day, I was too. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I called my sister crying. This comment made me think how ‘influencer culture’ has kinda made the internet worse. This was in response to a post I shared about #PinkShirtDay with Telus. I didn’t have to post about it, I wanted to. Telus has a great program and is invested in making a difference in communities across Canada. I love this about them. It seems like everything is sponsored these days. Is it bad? I don’t know! To each their own! We all have the ability to curate our feeds and if you think someone has too many sponsored posts, mute or unfollow them. Your feed, your life. I started…

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Planty Places in Toronto

Last night I went deep into a hole of finding and following Instagram accounts that are beautiful plants and planty places. Scrolling through Instagram content has become so much easier now that you can put multiple links in Instagram bio. I’m sure a lot of you at home will be desperate to do this too! Some were very easy to find because they had large followings on platforms like Instagram. Although, I did wonder if they had used Buzzoid.com to achieve such fantastic figures. Over the last month, I’ve really pared down everything I personally own and cleaned TF out of my bedroom, closet, and set up a new home office space. It’s been a lot of work, to say the least. I want to reward myself and bring life to the space with MORE PLANTS. This post is not sponsored I was just looking for some planty places in Toronto and I put them here because I found some really good stuff! Allan Gardens Conservatory Warm, beautiful, green, great spot to lift your spirits, take some photos, and make you forget it’s arctic outside. This place has a long history you can read about on toronto.ca. The have 2 Tropical Houses, a Cool Temperate House, Palm House, Tropical Landscape House and the Arid House which has unusual cacti and succulents. It’ open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days/year, with free admission, and is wheelchair accessible. Super cute for dates or BFF hangs. Afternoon sun is best. I’m sure I’ve been there since this photo was taken on a cold day in November, 2011 for FAJO Magazine. I loved those Jeffrey Campbell shoes from Nasty Gal so much. Plant World THERE IS A PLANT SALE FOR ALL OF THIS MONTH. Saw this on FB and you can find more…

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Great Reasons to Visit Stratford, Ontario

A couple weeks ago I went on an autumn adventure to Stratford, Ontario.  Home of Justin Bieber and the Stratford Festival, the city has lots to offer and is just a 2hr drive from downtown Toronto. We have so many great plces to visit within a 2hr drive of Toronto and it was so nice to visit Stratford again. I hadn’t been since I was a kid! I spent the day with Stratford Tourism and learned it’s quite the quaint destination for culture, food, shopping, and of course theatre. I was happy to find a few cute boutiques with vintage finds, local brands, unique jewellery, and beautiful housewares. Luckily I drove so I had room to fit my purchases in the boot!  What to Do: Stratford Ontario Here’s a few of the things I really loved about Stratford aside from catching a show. If theatre is your jam it’s definitely worth seeing one of the many nightly shows, we saw To Kill A Mockingbird which was great. (I did not know this story which is like whoaaa btw). The Stratford Festival is world renowned and for $29 you can get a bus to and from the theatre from Downtown Toronto. Upcoming shows include Billy Elliot, Othello, The Neverending Story and more. See the full list here. Shopping La Osa Vintage – This store is amazing. It’s on a side street from Market Square and FULL of vintage and new items from Canadian designers. They also carry heaps of unique jewellery. I could have really lit some $$$ on ??? in there! Wills & Prior – This spot in the heart of Market Square has heaps of beautiful items for your home. The owner used to live in TO and work in PR and she’s left the city for small-town life. I was kinda jealous hearing about her journey and the…

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San Francisco: 5 Great Things to Do

There’s no shortage of things to do in San Francisco, you have the water, the Wharf, the city, parks the hills, and over 3,500 restaurants. The key is finding a few ways to see the city with enough time to explore. If I’m on a short trip to a new city, I like to pick 3-5 things I really want to see and give myself lots of time to do it. That way I can leave early in the day and take the scenic route, enjoy meals, take streets without a map, and follow the sunshine. In this list, you’ll find five great things to do in San Francisco if you’re on a short trip but want to see a lot. I’ve also included my runner-up for street art and FOOD.  Fisherman’s Wharf & The Grotto  There is no shortage of great food in SF but if you’re looking for fresh (and sustainably served) seafood, you’ll want to book a table here. The Grotto was first opened in 1935 and the first sit down restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s recently been renovated, restoring many of the original features, giving a modern touch to the 1930’s decor. Here you’ll find great views of the bay, the bridge, and boats while taking in the incredible menu by Executive Chef Paul Bruno. Make sure you check out the new beehive on the roof as you walk in the dining area, it’s not be missed! Golden Gate Bridge & Alcatraz Tour I was keen on getting to Alcatraz and biking across the bridge but found myself a bit short on time. I found the perfect way to get some sun and see the sighs from the water with Blue & Gold Boat Tour. Over the course of an hour, you’ll get a great view of the city from the bay, get up close to the bridge…

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Bueno Has an Awesome Trip Giveaway Right Now. ✈️ You Should Enter!

I spent a while going through all my travel posts to write this one. I love adventure and travel, going places and discovering new things. It makes me feel alive. I’m in a constant state of ‘where and I going next?!’. Heard about the Bueno Getaway contest and had to tell you about it. Aside from winning an amazing trip, you will probably get some chocolate! I’ve loved Bueno since I was a kid, the soft, creamy, hazelnut goodness just melts in your mouth. You should enter, the prize is a trip to one of 15 incredible places in the world valued at $8,500. I’d so love to visit all the great places on the Bueno Getaway:   Paris, Cape Town, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Goa, Xi’an (Terracotta Army), Lisbon, Moscow,  Lima, Santiago. I’ve been to the North American destinations Austin, TX, NYC, and Tulum. There’s 3 easy steps to enter the contest:   Pick your continent Choose your destination Enter your PIN  Take the Bueno Quiz to Find Out Your Dream Destination It’s my dream to one day visit Marrakesh, Morocco. The winning trip there is described so beautifully, totally sounds like my kind of adventure. Marrakesh, Morocco:Living on the edge, everything for the moment, a walking “yolo”: these are just a few ways to describe your philosophy on life. (Right?!!!) Funny enough, they are also a few ways to describe the culture of Marrakesh. Your adventure could start in the ancient Medina Market, overwhelmed by craftsmen and artists. It could continue in Ville Nouvelle, where you’d explore dinner featuring flavours you never dreamed existed. There is only one constant in Marrakesh: beautiful unpredictability. A Few of My Fav Trips Travelling gives you a feeling you can’t get anywhere else, it takes you places physically but also mentally, it opens your mind to new experiences, people, and food. These are…

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Valentines Day | Do You Have Kissability?

It’s Valentine’s Day and I know it’s cheezy, but I love it all! ? Hearts on everything, love in the air, planning secret things for someone you love. I sent Sean a V-Day gift on Tuesday because I couldn’t wait till the weekend. Show love all year, right? According to the latest Emervel Kissability Report, Canadians are a pretty kissable bunch. Raise your hand if you’ve kissed a Canadian? I know I have! ??? 80% of Canadians rated their last kissing partner as “very or somewhat kissable,” and respondents said they lock lips with their partner about three times a day on average. I can tell you, I kiss his beard as much as I can, I just can’t help myself! Scroll for some interesting stats about kissing and making those lips more kissable.

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Cottage Life | Video + Wood, Boats, Dock, A Fall Beard

[youtube id=”uEihYSAjbKA”] This weekend we did a few big jobs involved with closing up the cottage. On thanksgiving morning we took the big boat out of the water (which involved me driving the truck with big trailer attached). Add that to my skills! Once the boat was away we stacked HEAPS of wood. Skills include driving truck w/ massive trailer. pic.twitter.com/WauYIFPu1j — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) October 12, 2015 Was pretty exhausted after so Sean and I took a break and I did a festive thanksgiving take on the ‘flower beard’ we did in Calgary this summer. So cute. We stacked HEAPS of wood. It’s was big job but the weather was nice, worked up quite a sweat. Last task of the day was taking out the other small boat and the dock. We put on wetsuits and went for it. I think we were both surprised we did it by ourselves (and my strength!). Sean is strong, my muscles are not as good for heavy lifting. Over the winter I’m planning to work on my editing skills so I can make more + better videos. I would love if you subscribe! Kowing you’re subscribed motivates me to work harder and produce more entertaining things for you. I’ve also signed up for Skillshare, if you use this link you can sign up for a free month. I figure this year I should learn some new skills/perfect old ones instead of just sitting on the couch or Netflix & chilling. 😛

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Today in #Toronto: Tattoos, Water, Wine, Bikes, Blue Skies

Out on my bike this morning to put on a basket before hitting the road. I’ve got 2 things on today: EskaQuest giveaway w/ Eska Water at 2pm in Yorkville – find me first to win a $300 GC to StillWater Spa at the Park Hyatt Vintage Ink Wine presents: GENERATIONS, a celebration of tattoo culture through art at 99 Sudbury. It’s open to the public and you’re invited. Other than that, the day is mine! Gonna bike around and see what I can find.  Took a look at the new-ish street art under the bridge on Bloor at Dundas. It was all done a couple weeks ago and worth checking out. A bunch of Toronto artists’ work to see. Went on lock up and found my Schwinn Twinn! In case you missed it this week, I’ve been welcomed to the Schwinn Team as an official ambassador. They hooked me up with a sweet bike! Picked this one out, it suits me, good for cruising the city and just needs that basket. Bike selfie is dangerous but I’ve got it locked down. The city workers were taking down all the street art near the new Union Pearson Express station at Bloor-Dundas. I asked what was happening to it all and GO was giving some away but decided to keep it all. I would have dragged this one home and taken it to the cottage. I’ve been writing this while circling the Dollar Store for zip ties and now I’m gonna go riding. The PanAm Opening Ceremony last night was really neat. Loved watching all the athletes walk in. I posed a bunch of photos etc on twitter.com/casiestewart. Have an awesome day! CASIE ??

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