CASIE STEWART
THIS IS MY LIFE • BLOG EST. 2005
Fashion

Fashion | Gifts that Keep on Giving, TOMS for Target

Fashion | Gifts that Keep on Giving, TOMS for Target

Starting November 16th you can find a special collection by TOMS at Target stores across North America. The limited-edition collection is co-designed by TOMS founder and chief shoe giver, Blake Mycoskie and goes along with TOMS One for One® giving model where every purchase helps a person in need. Along withe the collection they also created this totally awesome ‘Together Sweater’ inspired by TOMS One for One. Naturall, I tried it on with all my fav people. I love togetherness. Sean has agreed to wear it to a ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater Party’ and I reckon it’s a contest winner! Sorry guys, the sweater ISN’T for sale. They’ve got items for for men, women, kids, and home and with this collection, Target is donating a blanket, meals or shoes in partnership with TOMS and North America-based charities American Red Cross Disaster Relief, Canadian Red Cross, Feeding America and Food Banks Canada. Each product displays the corresponding donations so you can easily see how your purchase is helping someone out. I’ve got a couple pairs of TOMS and have picked a few of my fav items from the Target collection below. Love this poncho and am hoping to score one bright and early tomorrow morning. Each purchase will give a blanket so someone in need. Sean’s fav outfit is chambray shirts and jeans, aka the Canadian tuxedo. The plan is to pick one of these up for him and by doing that, TOMS will provide one week of meals through one of their selected charities. The kids clothes are especially cute and by picking something up for your fav lil’ shorty you’re doing some good.  This t-shirt gives 1 week of meals and the hoodie 1 blanket. The housewares items are all under $30 and make great gifts. I’m a fan of these little journals. Nothing like afresh new…

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Music

Weekend Tune: “Making a Scene” by Fritz Helder & The Phantoms

Weekend Tune: “Making a Scene” by Fritz Helder & The Phantoms

C’est le week-end! That’s French for it’s the weekend! Is everyone having a good fashion week? Are you très chic? It’s been fun but it’s almost at a close – or should I say clothes? Bahaha puns! Sorry couldn’t help myself. Anyways! Here’s a music video for you to enjoy and reminisce about LG Fashion Week to. Strike a pose! It’s Toronto’s own Fritz Helder & The Phantoms with “Making a Scene”! “Making a Scene” – Fritz Helder & The Phantoms from sammy rawal on Vimeo. Fun fact: Both this music video and “Stumble” by Bonjay were directed by Sammy Rawal! Good job Sammy Rawal! Have a great weekend everyone! xo Kate

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Tech

Hvr: Where Browsing Meets Social

Hvr: Where Browsing Meets Social

Right before the pandemic hit, Sean and I spent a weekend hanging out with my good friend Talia and her husband Nelson. I’d met Nelson briefly in passing but we’d never really chatted. Once we got to talking, he shared what he was working on and we bonded over our thoughts about the web, publishing, and social. Nelson grew up in the publishing business as his family were co-owners of the Toronto Star. He and his brother Henry were building an app called Hvr that blends the features of browsing and social, bringing engagement back to websites. One of the first things he said was “We’re making browsing fun again” and from that moment, I was on board. As a long-time creator and publisher to the web, I’d never seen something so exciting! Since 2005 my blog has been my home base on the internet. As social media emerged in 2010, conversations moved to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, taking engagement with them and away from websites. Today, when I hit publish on a blog post, then copy-paste the URL from a browser to a social platform, people will talk about it there. This gives engagement to huge platforms but doesn’t do much for me as a creator or for my website. Fast forward to 2022, the web is changing, social media is just rented space, the best thing you can do as a creator is have a place you own online, a website. Introducing Hvr, Where Browsing Meets Social For the past year, I’ve been working closely with the Hvr team to develop the app by sharing my experience on the web and contributing to everything from design to copy and marketing. We’re changing the browsing experience by making it easy to follow your favourite sites, discover new content,…

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LIFE Stoney Lake

Day 520: Stoney Saturday

Day 520: Stoney Saturday

We drove up to ‘Scottage‘ on Stoney Lake to spend a couple of days with our friend Jake. It was such a relaxing time. I spent most of Saturday laying in the sun, floating, and reading my book. I was due for a battery recharge and couldn’t have asked for a better place to do it. We had a big bbq for dinner and finished it off with a delicious birthday cake for Sean from Pusateri’s. His birthday is Sunday but since there were other guests, it was the perfect way to celebrate. Jake is the Manager for The Tragically Hip and their drummer Johnny Fay was staying there with his partner too. So cool! Young me never imagined I’d be hanging out with the Tragically HIp and singing HBD to Sean togetehr. What a trip!

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LIFE TORONTO

Day 459: SHE’S BACK!

Day 459: SHE’S BACK!

LADIES & GENTS, I AM HAPPT TO REPORT I AM NOT SICK ANYMORE. At this point, I am pretty certain I had a reaction to getting my first Pfizer shot I got just over a week ago. During this process, I learned that *if* you had Covid, you might have a more severe reaction to the vaccine. I had never been tested for Covid and didn’t have any symptoms during the pandemic, but will never 100% know unless I take an antibody test. I have no regrets about getting the vaccine and will 100% still be getting my second dose as soon as I can.

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LIFE LOVE YOU MAMAS

Day 56: For The Mamas

Day 56: For The Mamas

Mums, step-moms, grandmas, sisters, pet mums, plant mums, sister and friends who are there for us with mum love, today is for you. Had a nice chat with my mum and then went to a garden centre. We Facetimed Sean’s mum and had her pick out a big beautiful hanging plant to go at the cottage front door. In the evening, I did a self-care spa including a foot mask, face mask, and watched Dead to Me in bed while drinking rosé. It was nice! Good show. Sending special love to my mum who had been a source of strength and inspiration every day of my life. I love you so much! She always has good advice, a creative idea, or the right thing to say when I need it.

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Tech Toronto, ON

A Morning Walk for Good Health

A Morning Walk for Good Health

As part of my 4-month test of AfterShokz Trekz Air, I’m sharing how I’ve grown to really love these headphones. Also, save $50!

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LIFE MOCA, Toronto

Happiness & The Benefits of Light Therapy

Happiness & The Benefits of Light Therapy

It’s a bit more work stay my sunshiney self during the winter. Today we had freezing rain that looks and feels like kosher salt. The last few weeks have involved a lot of staying inside and I wrote about a few ways to boost your mood here. Today I had my first Light Therapy session at MOCA Toronto. It was cool!  Light Therapy is included with your museum membership unless there is a private session booked. I had purchased a membership because I thought it was only open to members. I booked weekly sessions for the next few weeks and today I found out I have the room ALL TO MYSELF for each one! There’s a cafe on the first floor and drinks are permitted inside the installation. There’s parking across the street and coat check on the first floor. If you are interested in coming to check it out, please let me know. I have the room booked weekly and can bring a few people each time. We can chat or you can do your own thing! What is Light Therapy? Light therapy involves exposure to intensive light under controlled conditions. The installation is designed to simulate a bright, sunny day with LEDs generating 5,600 K of low Ultraviolet, full spectrum daylight-balanced light. Everything in the room is white and you’re encouraged to wear a lab coat and white shoe covers to maintain the brightness. I am very into the lab coat. Light therapy can help with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). In winter we lack vitamin D from the sun, our skin is dry, and sometimes, depression sets in. This installation is an experiment as part of the Art in Use project and Light Therapy is by Apolonija Šušteršič. History of Light Therapy Light Therapy was originally produced for the Moderna Museet in Sweden in 1999, to…

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DIY CREATIVE STUDIO

We Made Cement Planters! ?

We Made Cement Planters! ?

I really wanted to make some of these after seeing they looked pretty easy on Pinterest. AND WELL THEY WERE! Embot and I gave it a go this weekend so she could give one to Grandma for her 70th birthday this week. I followed this video by TO’s own Sorry Girls but I have a few tips to add because they made it look more graceful. ? I used the smallest bag of sand concrete you can get at Canadian Tire. You mix it with water 4/1. We used old juice containers (ie. tetra pack bottoms) and put empty water bottles cut in half with a weight inside to hold the form. The bottle will rise up without a weight. Next time I’ll round up some juice containers before we do it. The concrete can also be messy make sure you put something down on your work space and I high reco doing in the garage our outside. One of the planters was made from a 2L pop bottle and it looks kinda neat because of the bottoms.The concrete takes 24 hours to dry. The water bottles inside the form were kinda hard to get out so we’ll switch to paper cups next (they use Tim’s cups in the video). This was a last minute idea I was kinda just wingin’ it with what we had around the cottage. They still turned out fine! I’ve been dying to get some copper (rose gold!) Krylon paint. I follow/girl crush on Tiffany Pratt and she’s been using it to paint things a lot lately. I put tape on the design I wanted and put on a couple thin coats of Krylon spray paint. Let it dry. Apply a thin layer of wet look concrete sealer to protect the concrete from staining and…

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LIFE TORONTO

The Hardest Part is Through

The Hardest Part is Through

This past week was a hard one for me. Actually, this entire month has been a challenge, I’ve been on the verge of a meltdown since May 2017 started with birthday anxiety. I had a trip to Jamaica that started with an allergic reaction in my eyes, where I couldn’t see that well, it rained heaps, I missed my bf, and I got my period. When I got home I was overwhelmed with anxiety about work I needed to get done, and it was a short week. I went to the 1188 office every day to get the music video I directed wrapped up, and didn’t really have time to work (at home like usual) on blog things. The week finished week with a full day on set. I was so tired. Finally, on Saturday, it happened. I legit had a meltdown. Our car had a problem with the tire so I rented a car for the afternoon with my car sharing app and left around 11:15 to make it to Scarborough by 12:15. Well, no, that wasn’t happening. It took me 45 min to get to the DVP (highway downtown for non-TO peeps) and by then I was feeling super stressed after leaving the house in a huff w/ Sean. Then mum called and it opened the floodgates to me balling my eyes out, stuck in traffic. It seemed like everything around me was collapsing. Then, it started raining and the event I was about to drive an hour to was canceled. BUT, I was already on the DVP and still in traffic. I took a few deep breaths and decided to get off the highway. Didn’t really know where I was heading but the end goal was home. I decided to put on the Lumineers album and for…

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LIFE

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

Honesty, I woke up this morning and put on Michael Buble’s Christmas album with NO SHAME. Ripped the halloween decorations off the walls and mirrors. I’m ready for the season! I won’t rush putting up all the decorations just yet but I won’t hold back the spirit! One of my fav Christmas albums is She & Him. When Sean and I started dating, I remember him singing ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ to me at our first christmas saying I should stay a little while longer.  So much love in the air this time of year. Still swooning 6 years later! ❤️?? [arve url=”https://youtu.be/iigfts-sJFg?list=RDRz4oG4eh5J0″] On Thursday eve I’m going to Saks/Hudson Bay for the Christmas Tree lighting and holiday window reveal. AND in a christmas miracle twist MARIAH CAREY WILL BE THERE TO LIGHT THE TREE. I can’t wait. It’s only a matter of time before we bust out this wonderful ‘Togetherness Sweater’ that TOMS X Target sent a couple years ago. Last year Netflix sent over THIS amazing Christmas Sweater feat. Bill Murray. Here’s to kicking off the holiday season! I’m excited. Can you tell!? ??????  

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Fashion

The Boxed Water #ReTree Project & Brands That Give Back

The Boxed Water #ReTree Project & Brands That Give Back

It doesn’t seem that long ago I was at WayHome North of Barrie. It was a lot more Coachella-ish this year with the huge ferris wheel. Aside from going to the festival, I spent a bunch of time in the lake at the cottage because it was SO HOT. I kept hydrated with Boxed Water and paired that with my TOMS sunnies & shoes for comfort & style, all while doing a bit of good for the world. ? ? I love when brands adopt a business model that gives back to an organization or cause. If you read my recent post on Skincare Stuff You’ll Find in My Summer Bag you’ll know that Boxed Water donates 2 trees for each mention of #ReTree on social. This summer alone, Boxed Water has planted 250,000 trees with the help of people like us. Their goal is to plant 1 million!  How is Boxed Water helping the environment? – 74% of packaging is made from trees, a renewable resource – They ship boxes flat to their filler, lowering our carbon footprint – They use a thin foil barrier for freshness and HDPE for the waterproof liner and cap – The entire carton is recyclable and 100% BPA free – Trees used in their boxes come from well-managed forests – As a member of 1% For The Planet, Boxed Water commits at least one percent of their total sales annually to reforestation The Biz Model of Giving Back I’ve gotten a few compliments on these shoes and glasses (above) and would you believe they’re TOMS? They’ve moved on from those canvas shoes we were all wearing a couple years ago to more fashion forward items that adopt their one-for-one model. It started with shoes and now the company provide glasses & sight surgery through eyewear, improved access to water, and more. TOMS paved the way for the buy-one give one model, inspiring others…

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LIFE

Travel | Treehouse Glamping in Ontario w/ Glamping Hub

Travel | Treehouse Glamping in Ontario w/ Glamping Hub

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″]

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Beauty

Beauty | Touched For the Very First Time – I Got a Brazilian!

Beauty | Touched For the Very First Time – I Got a Brazilian!

Yesterday I got my first Brazilian Wax. Yes it hurt, but only for a second. No, it didn’t take long. Yes, I would do it again. As there are many options out there when it comes to caring for down there, doing some research into something as simple as Brazilian bikini could help you make a decision as to what might be best for you. Click here if you’re interested in getting a wax yourseld and you can scroll for details, don’t worry, this post is SFW and not TMI. [symple_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”5″ margin_bottom=”5″] Ok, so I was pretty nervous and didn’t really know what I was getting into here. I’ve never had anything waxed because my hair is quite fair and I’ve never needed to. I parked and got one hour parking not knowing just how quick a wax job is. I arrived at Allure Body bar in the East end (Pape/Danforth) and was greeted by a lovely lady who ready to roll. They were voted Toronto’s BEST waxing spot and have been featured in countless magazines including Elle, Flare, etc. This is my before face. I hopped on the table with bottoms removed and she consulted me about a design. The wax was warm and she asked me to take a deep breath before ripping it off. I screamed. It hurt. The pain was temporary and the whole thing and the entire thing took <10 minutes.

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