You got this, girl. Monday is a new week. A new opportunity to make magic happen. Focus on what you need to get done and try not to get distracted. When you catch yourself scrolling mindlessly, STOP, and go back to that list. You will thank you later. Check things off when you’re done. Exercise when you can. It may be the morning one day or the night the next but it all counts. Smile. Forget about things that don’t matter and focus on people who do. Love yourself, you are amazing. Monday means the start of a new week and anything can happen. Make something happen.
You got this.
The photo is from Happy Place in Toronto, I went to the media preview last week. It’s in TO until January. Tickets here! (not sponsored lol)
We all know it’s coming, the dark and cold months of winter where all hibernate a little more and give thanks to the Netflix gods. I’ve been trying to stay on track with being productive when I’m at home and working out and am determined this winter to exercise just as much time as I spend binge-watching. Luckily, we live in a tech world that allows us to have all kinds of smart devices to help our minds and homes running smoothly through the dark seasons. A site like Wired Smart has some great info on practically every type of smart device that can be useful but today I decided to focus more on the tech that will help get you through winter. Scroll down for tech accessories I find help me through colder days.
I have been using a Fitbit on and off for the past 5 years. I love the reminders to move every hour and getting those steps in each day. It’s a small thing that keeps me accountable to move. I also love seeing my heart rate, the interval tracking, and getting text messages on my wrist. The weekly reporting is a great way to motivate yourself to be more active. I’m currently using the FitBit Versa and Sean has the FitBit Iconic. I still use my FitBit Alta HR sometimes because it’s slimmer and looks more like a bracelet. Telus also has Apple Watch if that’s more your speed.
I love her, I ask her things every day. Mostly ‘what’s the weather’ so I know how many layers to put on and what type of jacket to wear. I love the weekly email from Amazon telling me with ‘What’s New with Alexa?” and all the skills you can add to help her help you. I am particularly fond of CBC News and Entertainment Tonight. Check out her top & trending skill here and pick up an Amazon Eco that suits your needs and budget. The Echo Dot is a great entry level device at $54.99. I don’t have a Google Home but same kind of thing!
Last winter I added Phillips Hue Smart Home Lights and I love them so much. Almost every night I set them to a certain mood before bed, they’re also timed for sleep and wakeup. I spend a lot of time working from home and during the day I can set the white to a bright daylight that makes me forget it might be gloomy outside. This may seem like a small thing but it really helps my mood when I’m feeling down. My favs are the Phillips Hue starter pack of 4 lights and the Hue Go portable LED. Sometimes I want to concentrate or be in a tropical paradise, a millennial pink world, or be reminded of a cottage sunset on the lake.
Get a good speaker so you can have dance parties, listen to your fav podcast or escape in an audiobook with great sound. These are lots of different available depending on your budget, see here.
I’ve been using the UE Wonderboom for the last couple months and it’s got great sound and is surprisingly loud for a little guy. It’s small enough to pack in your purse for outdoor hangs or in your suitcase for a getaway. It also has a 10hr battery, is waterproof, and you can pair more than one for surround sound. So, go ahead, play your fav music in a relaxing bath and pretend you’re on vacation at a sunny resort.
All my recos can be found online at telus.com or your local Telus store. They have heaps of other cool tech things for holiday and gifting your loved ones, or yourself ha! I’ll be sharing my holiday favs soon, how is it almost NOVEMBER!
The other non-tech thing I recommend for winter is to get outside. Even if it’s cold, bundle up and get some fresh air. A 15-minute walk is great to start your day or clear your head at any other time. I try to get out for a few minutes in the morning so I don’t fall into a work-from-home hibernation slump. It’s the little things that make all the difference!
I was recently on a panel at House of VR hosted by AltaVie, a recreational cannabis brand by MedReleaf. It was broadcast live on The 4:19, a daily show by Jay Rosenthal & The Business of Cannabis. We had a great chat about how we use cannabis in our lives and how is changing the world and becoming accessible to those who need it, for example, from somewhere like this shop weed online. That was not all though. Cannabis is being transformed into other forms like oils which can be used for people with health problems and not to smoke, you can visit Yours Nutrition to get your hands on some CBD oil. I actually know quite a few people who use cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes so I was fascinated by this opportunity to explore cannabis in more detail. For example, a friend of mine has recently started to use the purple space cookies strain to manage her stress levels. I will definitely be telling her to check out this talk. Scroll down to listen and watch a few snippets on video.
Listen to ‘Cannabis Everyday on the 4:19
The panel starts around the 3-minute mark and is just over half an hour. Hit play below to listen and check out more episodes of the 4:19 here.
Joining me on the panel were Shannon O’Hearn, Manager, Clinic Affairs, MedReleaf, Ming Bérubé-Sam, Yoga instructor, cannabis patient. The panel looked at a series of meanings of “Cannabis Everyday” – from medical applications to incorporation into wellness regimes to adult-use recreational use.
Thank you AltaVie & MedReleaf for providing the space for us to have these conversations. I’m looking forward to more like this in the future as Canada becomes a world leader in legal cannabis. You can already see fantastic progress from weed online companies like West Coast Supply.
I recently became a medical cannabis patient, if you are interested or have any questions about the process, feel free to ask!
Do you have a will? No, of course, you don’t! Who thinks about that while you’re out living your best life? Hate to remind you but along with taxes, we can’t avoid death. You should have a will and you can get one with Willful in 20 min for less than $100 today. If you’re in a situation where you’re looking to contest a will, you might want to seek out will contest lawyers to help with this matter.
This weekend my friends got hitched, Erin Bury married Kevin Oulds, the creator of Willful. I’ve knows this duo for 10 years and am not surprised that they had the most unique wedding guest gifts I’ve ever seen, they gave every one of their guest a will. Till Death Do Us Part, right?
Kevin created Willful after dealing with a difficult family situation, something none of us wants to deal with. To be honest, I’ve learned anything from TV or The Young & The Restless, it’s really important to have a will. Do you have any idea what will happen if you don’t? Read this. If you’re common law, your partner gets nothing, the government will get involved in your finances, your family could have to vacate your family home, it’s not pretty.
I saw first hand what can happen to families when certain aspects are unknown and what happens when there’s not a proper plan in place. I set out to make that experience easier to navigate and make it more affordable and accessible for people.
Kevin Oulds, Willful Founder & CEO
Their mission is to move estate planning from the back of your mind to the same spot as insurance, retirement, or financial planning. Stuff we might not want to think about and but get more intense the less attention you pay to them. Even if you don’t have a lot of stuff, you still have something, protect your future and the ones you love. Having estate planning at the front of your mind is very important and doing this can make sure everything is completed to your specifications with the way you want it done without the worry that you haven’t covered your bases. I made special notes for who gets my notebooks, tech, sunglasses, vintage clothes, and shoes. That stuff is important to me!
Over 56% of Canadian adults don’t have a will.
If you don’t have a will, don’t worry, you aren’t alone, 56% of Canadian adults don’t have them. Mum had me make one when I was 21 before moving to Australia, it was with a lawyer and I don’t have any idea what it says or how to access it. This year Kevin gave me a code to set up my own will onWillful and it was so easy. I was done in 20min and can access or change it anytime. Willful helps you create a fully legal will and gives you the ability to add anything you own that’s important including house/car, electronics, clothes, and pets.
What if something happened to you, what would happen to your stuff?
Willful is offering my friends & readers 15% off all plans. Their Essential plan is $99 at full price and gets you Last Will and Testament so you can take care of your estate, children, and final wishes with unlimited changes.
USE THIS CODE TO SAVE AN 15% OFF ANY PLAN: CASIE15
Ever be working from home and then wondering you have been talking to your self out loud or just in your head? I’m on hold with the OCS and it’s been over an hour. I’m watching the Y&R, making soup from scratch. I wonder if they can hear me I should have been on mute lol.
I’m on mute now. Soup smells amazing,. I had a super day today. I feel like I can’t tell anyone but mum. It’s hard when you have exciting things that happen in your day and you want to just yell it out but you know it will seem a certain way so you keep quiet. The only person I usually tell is mum. Rung her 3x at work today and sent a text. I booked a speaking thing, an on-camera deal, a trip overseas, and a directing gig. We also had a great meeting for Occupied VR. This doesn’t happen every day but the great thing about working for yourself is celebrating when amazingthings do happen. Today specifically, celebrating looks a lot like cooking in my jogging pants, putting away laundry, and catching up on the show. Some days it’s wine in the afternoon! In between the great days, there are days I don’t want to do anything or I cry and can’t leave the house. Balance is key. I find yoga really helps. DYK Amazon Prime has yoga shows. I like Yoga For Everyone because it’s fast and they have level variations.
I am still on hold, it’s been so long now I feel like the music is part of my life soundtrack, I’m 10 years older. I hung up after 2.5 hours and sent a tweet. They are yet to respond. Apparently, they only have 5 people manning the phones. yes, 5 for an entire province of millions.
Last week Sassoon celebrated its 50th year in Toronto. Imagine how much the city has changed in that time!? Yorkville transformed from a small eclectic bohemian village to a leading luxury destination.
In celebration of Sassoon Toronto, I had a chat with Ian Wookey, son of Richard Wookey, the developer behind Yorkville who was friends with Vidal Sassoon and ultimately brought his salon to our city.
An Interview w/ Sassoon Toronto’s Ian Wookey
Richard Wookey is known as the grandfather of Yorkville and in the 1950’s bought a lot of property in the area. Hazelton Lanes wasn’t always the luxurious residences you see today, those buildings were rooming houses for hippies and motorcycle gangs, surrounded by coffee houses playing live music with the likes of Joni Mitchell. Ian Wookey tol me there were eclectic fashion shops, strip clubs, and paraphernalia stores. His father spent a lot of time in London, UK in the 60’s Beatles era where he met Vidal Sassoon. They partied together, took summer trips to the Mediterranean, and Wookey mentioned he was doing a big development in Toronto. This was around the same time Vidal Sassoon gave Mia Farrow the iconic pixie haircut. (Not far from mine today!) Wookey said ‘I can build you a salon in Toronto‘ and that was Vidal Sassoon’s first salon outside London, UK.
Mia Farrow & the iconic Sassoon haircut for Rosemary’s Baby
Vidal Sassoon arrived toCanada in 1968, opening his first and what would be the only (at the time) salon in the heart of Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood. The 3 level salon was way ahead of its time and they hosted a huge opening party with all the local notables and coverage in the news. The rest Wookey said, is history.
Vidal Sassoon went on to be a huge trend-setting name internationally and was a 50% partner in Sassoon Toronto.
1970, The Halo
1970, The Havington
1976 Box Bob
The model for the salon has changed a little bit over the years where they now offer training and have apprentices that go through a long and rigorous process to learn the old-fashioned way. Stylists at Sassoon Toronto are highly regarded and often sent around the world for teaching. My colourist Kim is sent to the states on the regular.
I have been going to Sassoon Toronto for about two years now and I love how they cut and colour my hair. One fundamental aspect of Sassoon is understanding how a head is shaped and how to cut the hair according to how it grows. I love the clean lines and amazing short haircuts. I’ve had so many different ‘Sassoon Looks‘ over the years.
If you’re looking for a great cut/colour, friendly stylists, and acute attention to detail, I highly recommend Sassoon Toronto. I’m about due for a cut and will be heading there this week!
Congrats Sassoon Toronto on 50 years and here’s to 100 more!
