Welcome to a week of daily updates via mobile! I’ll be sharing my TIFF experiences to document them as I go. ✔️??????
Today I’ve got back to back media stuff all day. Exhausting but so fun, I love every minute of it. I hope the weather isn’t ugly!
Yesterday I topped by The #StylistSuite16 hosted by The Stylist Box where celebrities go to get dressed for the red carpet. I had a ball trying things on and having my hair and makeup done. Daniel from Salon Daniel in Yorkville tossed my hair then gave it a few snips.
The night before I dyed this dress by Sara Duke in my kitchen. It used to be white!
After the suite, I stopped by the ecco pop-up in the Eaton Centre to check out the new collection. I was gifted a pair of shoes and went home to order these right away! Leather, snakeskin, block heel = perfection!
They had delicious fresh, chocolate dipped strawberries ?, and an engraving station. I got this… ?✌?️
Earlier in the day I purchased these gorgeous 60s style boots from Top Shop. I love them!
Make sure you’re following me on the socials (@casiestewart everywhere!) for all kinds of fun and behind the scenes of the Toronto International Film Festival! Weeeee!
A couple weeks ago I had Emily help me at the cottage with hosting hacks for summer (see that post here!). The other night I gave a few of the recipes by Chef Sahir for buterball.ca a whirl. I made a spinach salad, tacos, and burgers for our last night as a fam at the cottage before back to school.
The directions weren’t hard to follow and the shopping list feature made it easy to see what things we needed/already had. Scroll down to compare my photos with the professional ones, we didn’t do too bad. ? I really got in the turkey mood and even found an extra recipe for a delicious grilled turkey sandwich! I’ll have to make it for work one day. Thanks to Sean for being an all star helper on this one! ILY!
There’s plenty of time to bbq before ‘old man winter’ so fire it up and give one of these recipes a go!
Recipe 1: Beet, Spinach and Apple Salad, w/ Pomegranate Vinaigrette
I love beets and they’re so good in salad. Instead of peeling, cooking, and cooling them I picked up pre-cooked from the salad section at Loblaws. No shame! The almonds are a nice touch with pomegranate dressing. ??
For dressing, place all ingredients except oil in blender container; cover. Blend well. With blender running, gradually add oil through opening at top of blender, blending well after each addition. Pour dressing into storage container and refrigerate until ready to use.
For salad, combine all ingredients, except almonds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Whisk dressing and toss with salad mixture just before serving. Sprinkle almonds on top.
Recipe 2: Turkey Tacos
These tacos were so good. I ended up making a breakfast taco and then having the rest of the leftovers after the cottage drive. I added to the filling with a great Chipotle & Cheddar salad from Dole that comes pre-mixed with kale, cabbage, and toppings. We grilled a few hot peppers to go with the tacos too. I love the spice!!!!!!
Heat oil in a skillet and sauté turkey and onion. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) to heat up taco shells.
Add garlic, turmeric, chili powder, salt, paprika, pepper, and water. Cook uncovered until water evaporates, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Heat taco shells for 3 minutes.
Using a spoon, fill shells with mixture and garnish with diced tomatoes, grated cheese, salsa, guacamole, or sour cream to taste.
Recipe 3: Athens Turkey Burger
I got small grape tomatoes instead of Roma tomatoes but they were still delicious. Obvs! I absolutely love cooking tomatoes in the oven like this. If you love garlic throw in a couple whole garlics cloves. I cooked some extra garlic and tomatoes to add to breakfast the next morning. I skipped the olive tapenade because I don’t like olives!
Combine Feta and whipping cream in a bowl. Whisk until mixture is smooth and slightly thickened. Tip: Can be made day in advance.
Combine kalamata and almond tapenade ingredients in a food processor until mostly smooth, but not a puree.
Combine roma tomato ingredients in mixing bowl then coat evenly with olive oil. Slowly roast in 275°f oven for 3 hours, until softened and flavors intensified.
Cook Frozen burgers on grill as per package directions (approximately. 5-7 minutes on medium heat, being careful not to cook outside too fast.)
Cut buns and half. Grill on direct heat until nicely toasted.
Spread 1 tbsp. of tapenade on bottom buns, and then evenly distribute Feta mousse.
Top with Romaine, burgers then slow roasted Tomatoes. Top and Enjoy!
Each recipe can be found at butterball.ca and I’ve linked to them above. The original recipe photos are below. See?! We did pretty good!
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Working with Butterball Canada this summer has also introduced me to a few new recipes to switch things up with my cottage cooking.I’ve got my eye on recipes for Thanksgiving and winter soups. Whiskey marinade? Yes.
It may be the end of ‘summer holidays‘ but remember it’s still officially summer until the 21st of September. Try a ‘summer of turkey’ recipe already! Check my hosting hacks from the last post for your next dinner party, link below.
Last week I went to two wearables events sponsored by Best Buy Canada. Fashion and tech are two of my fav things so being part of, and covering events like this is so much fun. On Wednesday night was the We Are Wearables event at MaRS where I took the runway as a model. Ya, me! Took me back to my teenage years! The following night I attended the Best By Life & Tech event at Yonge Dundas Square.
In this post, I’m sharing some of my fav tech and moments from the show. ???
In 2004, during TIFF, I was filmed for a documentary about the festival. I was followed around to events, parties, and interviewed about what it’s like behind the scenes, behind the red carpet. Alongside me, the films stars celebrity photographer George Pimentel, PR pro Natasha Koifman (NKPR), and national journalist Chris Jancelewicz.
Behind The Red Carpet introduces us to the movers, shakers and key players behind all the happenings and craziness of the Toronto International Film Festival. We follow five lead characters who are the top in their field including Toronto/New York based publicist Natasha Koifman, a foremost journalist, Chris Jancelewicz, Casie Stewart, world famous blogger, George Pimentel, Canada’s most renowned celebrity photographer, as well as Pierre Jutras, venue operator and president of The Spoke Club. Our key players are thrown into the fire as they try their very best to appease the biggest and brightest stars from around the globe. We are on the inside lines of the biggest red carpets with the hottest stars. It’s about being at the right place atthe right time, red carpet call times, media arrival times…photo opp…any time! After the whirlwind of festival…which of our characters is left standing…who has had the most success, who has thrown in the towel and who is ready for more?
This week is gonna be a busy one. Busy and exciting! We’re heading back from the cottage today and for the next week I’ve got films, afterparties, gifting lounges, and more. I’m planning to share them all on Snapchat, Instagram (and Stories), Facebook Live, and Twitter. FOLLOW ME!
I’m excited. Here’s to a great week back to school for the kids and great back to the hustle for everyone else!
This week has everyone talking about how summer is ‘over’ but tbh guys, there’s still a bunch of nice days left. It was so hot out yesterday. It’s that perfect time of year when the days are warm, nights cool for sleeping, and there are NO bugs. As I mentioned the other day it’s a great time to ditch old habits, clean out that closet, and make a new routine.
I really need to get my ass in gear when it comes to what I’m eating and exercise. Maybe I just need to workout more? People always said that after 30 your metabolism slows down and damnit they were right!
We hadn’t planned to be at the cottage this past weekend but in a twist of events, it was vacant so we jumped in the truck and hit the road. We never stop for anything but burgers (Webers!) on the way up BUT Sean asked if I wanted to go to the 400 Market. It’s just before Barrie on the 400 HWY and neither of us had ever been.
WELL, it’s a sight to be seen. Before we event went inside the building I fell in love with this fur coat. Sean tried on an awesome leather biker jacket with a half-naked lady on the back. I wish I took a photo but only posted it on Snap. ? Sorry! Follow me over there: casiestewart. There were so many treasures in there. We got some amazing hot sauce, samosas, a couple sausage rolls, sunglasses, and a few other knick knacks.
A photo posted by ? C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on
This weekend we are back up at the cottage for the last hurrah of the ‘summer’. September weekends are some of the best though, everything is a little more calm. Except for TIFF, next weekend!I’ve got the gifting lounges and parties for days. I can’t WAIT. BEST part of September! ?
I’ve been doing TIFF for a few years now, it’s so fun. Check out some previous posts here. If you’re keen to know what goes on behind the scenes for PR, photographers, journalists, bloggers, I’m one of the leads in Behind The Red Carpet, a documentary about the Toronto International Film Festival. Get it on iTunes, Google Play, etc.
There must be something in the air bc I’m feeling really jazzed about everything right now!
Last weekend I had my first Enterprise CarShare experience. I applied for a membership a couple weeks before, then downloaded the app for iPhone, logged in using my Member ID, and started browsing cars and dates. In my experience it’s nice to have a small car for city driving that’s convenient to park and good on gas.
Mini Countryman booked w/ Enterprise Carshare App
Once my car was booked in the app I was ready to roll. I scheduled pickup for Friday at noon and arrived at the pickup location shortly after. Tapped my card on the windshield sensor and it was unlocked. Spent the afternoon running errands in Queen West then popped over to visit my sister in the Beaches. It took a few tries to get used to locking and unlocking the car but it was a breeze overall (instead of using the power locks you tap your member card to the windshield sensor).View Post
I really love award show tweeting. I joined Twitter in 2008 and since then my experience watching almost everything on TV has been enhanced. Hello, The Bachelor? In 2009 I joined Much/MTV Canada as their resident social media wizard and tweeted award shows, Jersey Shore, MMVAs, MMVAs and everything in between.
givin’ a kiss to an MTV Award at MTV Canada in 2010
This weekend I’m doing a Twitter Takeover of the Dippity-Do Gel account for the MVT VMAs. They have heaps of fun hair chalk I’ve been using since last year to make my hair violet, pink, blue, etc. It’s great bc washes out with shampoo. ??
This weekend I’m taking a little drive to Cambridge to visit my parents for a few hours and I’m so stoked. It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over! I love September, it feels like a little reset, opportunity to move forward, ditch old habits, and set new goals.
mum picking flowers for me in her garden
I talk to mum almost everyday but haven’t seen her since before my birthday in May. She spends most of the summer on her boat and I’m at the cottage most weekends. It’s also been ages since I’ve seen Dad! Neither of my parents have seen me since my BR surgery in June, so I’m quite keen to visit. I’ve arranged a car that can fit both parents and their partners so I can take the whole gang out for brekky!
It’s not THAT far away but since I don’t own a car it’s a bit of a hassle to get there and back, especially for a short visit. I’ve booked a carshare for Saturday morning and it’s pretty affordable & managed in an app.
I’m totally guilty of being ‘busy‘ all the time and the rest of the time I feel like I’m tired. Sometimes I just need to sit on the couch and do nothing or tweet alongside something like The Bachelor to give my brain a break.
On that note, I’m making more time to exercise, I’m looking to try just about ANY workout class that gets me off the couch right now. Since my surgery I feel A LOT better in workout clothes, I was REALLY self conscious before. Was gifted a 30 day membership to justtryit.ca so my plan is to try 10 classes at 10 gyms. I’ve gone to a few more aerial yoga and reformer pilates classes since my class last week. My two week pass is up on Tuesday. I really like reformer pilates I need to commit to that with my wallet and my intentions.
Coincidently I am writing this post on a rainy day, and despite always hearing this expression, I didn’t know exactly what it meant. “Save for a rainy day?” more like “save for a rainy three to six months” in case you lose your job, break a limb, or god forbid some other unexpected life moment goes down.
Over the past two years I’ve written a few posts with money tips for millennials. If you missed those, let me give you a little background on my situation, in 2005 I returned from Australia, tiny, tanned, and educated. I brought something else home with me tho, a HUGE debt. I owed over $30k in student loans and credit cards!? It was a tragic look at reality when all the bills started rolling in and I’d barely started my first full-time job in Toronto making under $30k/year. It seemed literally impossible to dig out of the hole I was in. I found myself saying “I need cash now ” more often than I wanted too. Having to find quick ways to get cash is difficult and I did struggle. Payday loans such as Fresh Loan were constantly recommended to me for a short term solution. Soon enough, I’d had enough and decided I needed to gey myself in gear. There is no way I was going to live in this debt forever. For many others it’s the same circumstance, they find themselves in a vicious circle, having to take out loans, ending in debt and hardly seeing a way to get out. Small loan lenders like this Norwegian based company, små-lån, can help people finding themselves in the same situation. Before taking out a small loan, you should read every detail carefully and fully understand your repayment methods.
Not long after that I was on a TV show called Maxed Out where I got some solid financial advice, consolidated my loads, and began my journey to financial freedom. It wasn’t easy but by the time I was 30 I’d paid back everything, boosted my credit rating, and could set new financial goals.
solo trip to Mexico at 30
In this post, I’m breaking down that age-old advice and putting some measurable ‘money hacks’ out there. According to a recent TD survey, the top three pieces of advice millennials get from parents/guardians are:
Don’t live beyond your means 55%
Saving a percentage of every paycheque 52%
Save for a rainy day 47%
Although this advice is useful, it doesn’t realllllly give us a blueprint of how to get out of debt and build that nest egg. With the help of Shirley Malloy at TD Canada, it’s time to turn those old money tales into measurable things you can implement.
Money Hacks for Millennials from Shirley Malloy at TD
“Don’t live beyond your means” What that means: “Don’t mistake credit for cash”
– Malloy suggests credit can be a valuable tool when used responsibly, and reminds us that not all debt is bad.
– A mortgage or student line of credit can be considered an investment that helps generate income in the long term and increases overall net worth. The key is to have a plan in place to pay it back. MAJOR KEY ?
– TD’s money management app, My Spend, can help track expenses and keep essential and discretionary spending in check.
“Save for a rainy day” | What that means: “Save for a rainy three to six months”
– Everyone should aim to set aside three to six months’ income to provide a financial buffer against any unexpected life events.
– Plan to save a two month buffer this year, and increase to four months once you’ve reached your goal.
– The Simply Save program is a great tool to help build savings. Every time you use your TD Canada Trust Access Card for debit purchases or ATM withdrawals, an amount of your choice is transferred into your savings account.
“Save a percentage of every paycheque” | What that means: “Save 10 per cent of EVERY paycheque”
– Malloy suggests that 10 per cent of every pay should be the goal, but start small if that figure isn’t realistic.
– Set up an automatic transfer of $50 to a savings account. Then, set a bi-monthly meeting to revisit the budget.
– Challenge yourself to reach your goal of saving 10 per cent each paycheque over time.
If reading this gives you a bit of anxiety, that’s ok. It’s uncomfortable to deal with things that take you out of your zone. Something I’ve learned is that the sooner you face this stuff head on and make a plan, the better you’ll feel about it. After a few months or years, you can look back and see how far you’ve come. Once you’ve got saving down to a science, start setting bigger goals!
* Post sponsored by TD Canada, debt story and lessons learned all mine!
Last night I went to an aerial yoga class at Fly Fitness . It was a media class and my first time trying it. Small group, couple friends in there, but MY GOD did I need that. I feel so fucking good! Seriously. I don’t usually swear (sorry mum) but that’s really how I feel.
This summer has been a life changer, having the BR surgery, recovering, reading, thinking, and setting some goals has really made me feel good. I’ve spent a lot of time cottage chilling but September is like a fresh start, a new start. Last night took me back to sitting at opening circle at Anamaya in Costa Rica. We all sat around together and had an uplifting talk about intentions, positive thoughts, it was so wonderful. We connected and smiled and tbh thinking about it makes me feel all warm inside. Yes, it’s a bit cheese but if you were there, or you have been in a moment after a great class like like that, you know what I mean.
Thank you Lisa Simone Richards for the invite. They studio gave me a 2 week unlimited pass so if anyone out there in the world wants to join me for a class I’m gonna give it a go. I’m going back for hardCORE reformer pilates tonight after I pick up Em from school.
I’m really keen to get fit again and want to keep this momentum! Also, not having to wear multiple bras makes it that much better. Ha!
