#IMakeALiving MicroConference w/ FreshBooks: June 24th, 11am!

Hi, I am doing a short talk at an online conference on Wednesday, at 11 am. I’m the opener and will be chatting creativity, content, & social media tips. I think it will be fun! ? It’s the shortest presentation I’ve ever done and it looks kinda zany as a visual! #imakealiving By FreshBooks presents 5-Minute Mentors Signup is free and there are 9 great speakers each talking about business for 5 mins + Q&A. Get To Know The Other Speakers: Jon Rettinger is a tech YouTuber w/ over 15M views/month Lisa Carmen Wang is a former USA National Champion and Hall of Fame gymnast turned Serial Entrepreneur Dr. Nicole Garner Scott is a highly sought after serial entrepreneur, finance expert and coach. Mark Asquith, ‘the British podcast guy‘ is a U.K. podcast expert and CEO & co-founder of Rebel Base Media, a podcast tech and strategy company. Dani Nagel is the owner and designer behind popular art apparel line Dazey LA (@dazey_la), a brand with a mission to empower people through conversation. Follow her! I am obsessed with her whole social media presence and style! Neal Schaffer wrote ‘The Age of Influence‘ and I am really looking forward to what he has to share. Corissa Saint Laurent is a serial entrepreneur, professional speaker, and trainer on entrepreneurial wellness, marketing, and branding. Elaine Pofeldt is an independent journalist who specializes in small business and entrepreneurship. She is author of The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, a look at how solopreneurs are making bank. Meghan Telpner is a Toronto-based author, speaker, nutritionist, and founder of the Academy of Culinary Nutrition. Forbes, and ranked her as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada! I’ve been following her for years! REGISTER HERE

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#Takeoutday: My First Writeup on Muskoka411!

#TakeOutDay is a nationwide effort to help our favourite local restaurants by ordering takeout. The national campaign was started by Canada Takeout in an effort to help Canada’s hard-hit food industry and is now being co-signed by celebrities, chefs, and notable Canadians nationwide. I chatted with a few notable Canadians to find out their fav spots to eat in the Muskoka region. See tweet below or read it here. Last week we ordered takeout from Muskoka Beer Spa, they’re offering pizza from pie Muskoka, beer & food from Clear Lake Brewing, and several other local items. We even got meat pies! ? For more information on how you can help, visit CanadaTakeout.com.

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Day 43: Isolation is Exhausting

Was not feeling great today. Felt sluggish and unmotivated. Did not exercise. Started a new book, read outside in the sun. Hung some new plants in the kitchen window. Had a dip in the hot tub. My arm has been very sore. Have been applying CBD cream and heating pad all day. Made a nice lentil coconut curry for dinner with rice. Took an afternoon nap and then went to bed at 8 pm. Tomorrow is a new day. Still have about 10k to conquer on my monthly NTC Challenge so hoping to get up early and go outside like I used to. I think my body and mind are exhausted. It’s ok to rest. This whole experience is tiring. Read a great article on Medium, see below.

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Day 8: Alone Together

Hi from the woods! ☀️??❄️Went for a nice walk this morning. It’s very cold but refreshing. Saw one neighbour out for a run and shared a smile & wave with the 2 cars that passed us. There is true beauty in the way we are all connecting right now through technology. ? How are you doing? I did yoga this morning w/ Misfits Studio and watched Snoop Dogg on IG Live. I think today I will try some new recipes and see what other workouts I can join in on IG Live. At noon I did a bit of the Fit Factory and some Barry’s for about 15 each. I didn’t feel like doing the whole class but something each day is better than nothing. Sean packed a couple of film cameras and has been shooting film. Yesterday he cleaned the whole fireplace. He hasn’t seen it that clean since he was a kid. He put a GoPro on the remote control truck. It’s pretty rad! Yesterday was so cold & gloomy I didn’t feel like doing anything. I basically lazed around all day eating snacks. The sunshine today makes me feel alive again. I have a feeling tonight’s internet part will be LIT, lol. If the internet was ever going to crap out, tonight’s the night! Everyone will be online. I wonder who will be going live? I might hang out with my BFFs on FaceTime and put IG Live on the iPad. Tonight is going to be the biggest internet party in history. — CASIE STEWART ☀️ (@casiestewart) March 21, 2020 Sending you love & sunshine!

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Interview: Vocab Comm Influencer Tuesdays

I recently did an interview w/ Chrissy, longtime friend, OG PR, and founder of Vocab Comm. I talk about the social media landscape, influencers, and my career. I included part of the interview below, read the whole thing here. Chrissy used to host MMVA and celebrity gifting lounges at the beginning of social media, we worked together on a few. This was a fun one. Tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in Cambridge, Ontario. My parents immigrated here from New Zealand and my dad had a custom Hot Rod shop growing up. I created my first business in grade 2 and at 14 I wrote a book and started a publishing company. I went to Conestoga College and last year was given an Alumni Award for my work from the President of the college. I went to university in Australia and have a B. Com in International Business. I have lived in Toronto since 2005 when I started my blog. Through my blog, I’ve built some amazing brand partnerships (Pepsi, Telus, Aeroplan, Sassoon) and traveled to incredible amazing places in the world (Thailand, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Disneyland). How do you define an influencer? I think the word ‘influencer’ has really taken on a whole new (kinda negative) meaning with the rise of Instagram influencers. To me, influence is a product of something someone does. It’s not something you get by having a lot of followers. My influence has grown from being a pioneer in a new industry and constantly innovating. I share my life with the world and love discovering new things, my influence comes from building trust with my audience. What advice do you have for other people looking to become an online influencer? Don’t do it. Find something you love and do that! Don’t…

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Travelling Europe w/ Telus Easy Roam

May was a bit of a crazy month! I touched down in Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Had an amazing press trip in Spain, went to Cannes Film Festival, Collision Conference, Lift&Co Expo, was in a fashion show, and gave the graduation address at Conestoga College. Today I’m writing this from the cottage in Muskoka and after a few days in the woods, I feel back to my old self again. I am so incredibly thankful to work with a partner like Telus. During my whole trip, I never once missed an email, text, or phone call because I didn’t have data or a working phone. I also always carry a spare phone battery while I’m on the road (I like this Mophie one). I look forward to the moment my plane lands and I get that familiar text from Telus that saying “Welcome to [insert country]. You have Easy Roam.” After long flights and meals on the go, it’s comforting! With Telus Easy Roam you can access your Canadian data plan from and you pay a daily fee to access the data in 190+ international destinations. Honestly, as an entrepreneur, the $12/day is so worth it to not be constntly hunting for wifi to share my adventure on social or reply to work email. Telus even has Cuba on their country roster which is so great, I can’t wait to plan a trip there over the winter. [You might remember when I went there last time and had NO SERVICE.] I love being in transit. Photos from Cannes Film Festival France I really loved Spain and want to go back to explore more. Read my post on our Spain trip here. Next week I’m heading to Vancouver for the Telus Creator Summit with the Canada-wide group of Telus Ambassadors.…

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Wine Touring in Spain: Get to Know Rueda

In May I went on a press trip to Spain hosted by D.O. Rueda (Denomination of Origin Rueda) wine region and Glo Communications. We drank heaps of wine, explored Spanish cuisine, ate lots of tapas, met great people and explored a few historic sites. It was my first time visiting Spain and I was lucky to travel with a great group including Jen Kirsch, Jess Glover, wine expert Konrad Ejbich, and wine podcaster Matthew Cauz. I loved learning more about wine, touring vineyards, meeting winemakers, and learning how their wines are made. I’m not a wine expert but I definitely know more than when I left and sampled my fair share along the way! We went to 13 wineries and countless restaurants over the course of the week and I’m sure I’ll be sharing stories about the trip for a lifetime. In this post, you’ll find some of my favorite moments including beautiful wineries and unforgettable experiences. On the first night, we met for a great dinner at Lobo 8 in Madrid and tasted wines from the D.O. Rueda that paired with our meal. We stayed at Hotel Ibis Styles, a cute boutique hotel in the heart of Madrid that was walking distance from just about everything. Rueda, located in Castile and Léon, is about 2hr northwest of Madrid and comprised of 72 municipalities in the provinces of Valladolid, Segovia and Avila.  Rueda is the only region that specializes in white wine and is a leader in the commercialization of quality white wines. Segovia On our first full day, we ventured to Segovia, a historical town centered around a Roman aqueduct with 160 massive arches. I absolutely LOVED it there! Right beside the base of the aqueduct is a famous restaurant Meson de Candido where we were served a traditional meal from the area…

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Tips to Get Your Car Ready For Spring from OK Tire

It’s almost spring! This post has some handy tips to get your car ready for warmer weather. Read my interview with OK Tire.

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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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Review: AfterShokz – Trekz Air, Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones

A few weeks ago I was looking for wireless headphones, I wanted something to wear to the gym but I wasn’t sure if I wanted noise cancelling or something else. There was a whole debate about what’s better on my Facebook page and I ended up ordering a pair of noise cancelling but they made everything…too quiet! I’m rarely in a situation where I want to silence everything, I feel safer when I can hear. I like to know what’s going on around me when I’m walking around outside, working out, or in transit. Then something great happened! I got asked to review AfterShokz headphones with bone conduction technology in a program with PTPA. Over the next 4 months, I’ll be testing out the headphones in my daily life and sharing my experience. I was really keen to try how bone-conducting headphones work and the technology behind them. First Impression I can tell you right now that my first day I was pretty blown away. The cool thing is, since AfterShokz headphones don’t go IN your ear, you can still hear your music, a podcast, an emergency siren, or someone calling your name in the office. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m really quite into them, plus you can hardly notice when they’re on. [Don’t mind my hair it’s so wild right now!] Comfort Comfort is a big factor for me and these are small and lightweight, you can hardly feel you’re wearing them. I’m not that into earbuds, I’ve found most of them uncomfortable in the past. I feel like a bit of a dork telling you this but there’s been a few times I’ve had them on, forgot I was wearing them, then wondered where the music was coming from. Ha! They come with a handy carrying…

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