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

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:

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 ??

#OfftotheRaces: The Queen’s Plate 2015 at Woodbine Racetrack

Last weekend I took Carla to Woodbine Racetrack for her very first Queen's Plate.

Last weekend I took Carla to Woodbine Racetrack for her very first Queen’s Plate. In case you missed my post about it last week, the Queen’s Plate is the oldest continuously run race in North America and Canada‘s oldest thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. (Wiki).

We attended the Hats & Horseshoes party and dressed according to the ReThink at the Races theme in black and white. My dress is an oldie from JacFlash that has a cape and I absolutely love it. It’s that LBD I can always count on when I need to throw on a dress and feel fabulous.  (LBD = Little  Black Dress)

 

Picked up my hat at Winners while in Ottawa with Mum last week. Bag is Betsy Johnson, shoes Nasty Gal – Shoe Cult, necklace is vintage silver from Tiffany’s (Sean got me me a couple years ago). Glasses are from Polette Eyewear in France.

These mirror men were awesome.

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It was the perfect day to be outside in the sunshine.  Felt like I was wearing a disguise hiding under my huge hat and glasses. It was great!

Thought this was a funny moment. Once we arrived and did a tour we took a break to tweet about it. We did ACTUALLY talk to each other.

 

 

Caught up with Vanessa and the KP Squad.

I decided to take my chances and bet on a whole bunch or horses for the Queen’s Plate. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick the RIGHT ONE. I’m learning to bet as I go here. The winner was Shaman Ghost by one and one-quarter lengths.

I’ll be at all the big races for the rest of the season through a partnership with Woodbine Racetrack. Hope I pick a big winner at least ONCE. I did win $10 which is better than nothing. 🙂


 

Carla and I were sitting beside this lovely lady and made friends. This was her first selfie ever.

Did you snap a selfie? Woodbine is hosting a selfie contest where you can win a $1,000 gift card. It’s easy to enter, take a selfie with the racetrack in the background, post to Twitter or Instagram with #OfftotheRaces and you’re entered. Winner will be announed end of season.

If you took a photo on the red carpet you can find it on the Woodbine Racetrack Facebook page here.

Thanks Woodbine for the fun and Carla for being such a great date.

The next big race is the Ricoh Woodbine Mile on Sunday September 13th at 1pm. Find more information about all the races and what’s happening at Woodbine at woodbineentertainment.com.

Bon weekend!

CASIE

After 5 Years, We’re Taking Our Relationship Next Level…

After 5 Years, We’re Taking Our Relationship Next Level…

It’s with great pride I announce my official Ambassadorship with Telus! 

Over the past five years I’ve worked with Telus on a number of things (see here) and they’ve helped me out with service, covered roaming, and been there every single time I’ve lost/destroyed my phone.  This week they announced #TeamTelus, 15 hand selected bloggers from across the country.

“The Team TELUS line up stars 15 awesome, interesting, smart, creative, down-to-earth, caring and stylish personalities from across the country. To recognize Team TELUS for their support, we are providing them with mobile (and in B.C. and Alberta, Optik TV) service, devices, VIP access to events and reader giveaways.”

Read more about TeamTelus here and get to know the rest of the group!

Tonight we’re all celebrating our awesomeness at TELUS HQ in Toronto. Earlier today a couple of my Telus peeps showed up with a HUGE box of goodies to welcome me to the team.

My welcome box was picked specially for me and includes a few things they knew I’d love including a new Ted Baker iPhone case (my brands are colliding!), Kate Spade portable charger (fashion + tech together), selfie stick (obvious one there!), a gold Shine fitness/sleep tracker (wearables!), a Bluetooth speaker, chocolates, and a Shoppers gift card. 

I’m really happy to make it official after working together since 2010. My first EVER mobile phone was with Telus back in the 90’s when they were Clearnet. I’m excited to see what fun adventures and things I’ll be covering with the team this year. Check out the rest of TEAM TELUS here.

TIME TO CELEBRATE!

CASIE

 

What a Day! Scavenger Hunt, Set Life, Zoo, and Shoes!

What a Day! Scavenger Hunt, Set Life, Zoo, and Shoes!

Started the yesterday meeting up with the #EskaQuest team in St. Lawrence Market. It was the first of my 2 giveaways with Eska Water. Read more about those here and follow @eska_water for clues. Saturday’s giveaway is for a $300 gift card for Stillwater Spa. Hellooooo!

There were a few people waiting to meet me in order to win. ME! We had fun. Look at how cheezy I am in this photo, LOVE IT.

Spent the afternoon working on an 1188 production. This is a RED Camera, fancy.

Lauren, Steve, and I were extras on set.

Years ago I spent an entire summer on set for a movie with my sister. We has heaps of fun and made tons of friends. I wrote about it not too long ago here: #TBT Diary of a Background Performer.

I arrived back at the office to a super nice delivery from Nike Canada, NEW SHOES! The Nike Free Cross Bionic 2 is new in Canada and I’m looking forward to hitting the pavement with these guys tomorrow. This shoe is ultra-flexible, with breathable mesh upper and Flywire cables for dynamic support.  Yes, I run, but I don’t tell the whole free world every single time.

I picked EmBot up from school for a girl date last night. We ate McDonald’s, ice cream, and went to the zoo. WILD TIMES. One of the zoo volunteers let us feed vegetables to the animals.

 

We were both especially fond of the peacock.


Hope you’re having a great week. I’M READY FOR THE WEEEEEEEEKEND!

<33333333 CASIE

 

TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

Last weekend mum and I went on a trip to Ottawa. I was invited by TD Canada & TD Music to bring a guest to see Serena Ryder and attend a special ceremony where TD Cafe & MusicCounts made a music announcement. It has been a loooooong time since mum and I went on a plane together (NZ in the 90’s) so we made the most of every moment and it was so much fun.

We flew Porter Airlines which involves taking the worlds shortest commercial ferry to the island. It’s a wonderful flying experience!

MusiCounts is Canada’s music education charity associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to help keep music alive in schools across Canada.

TD Canada has been working with MusicCounts since 2012. They support Community based organizations, schools, and picka  MuciCounts teacher of the year. This year’s winner was Steve Sainas from BC and he received the award at the JUNOS.

TD Canada has worked with some great Canadian artists through MusiCounts including Arkells, Kevin Drew, and Tegan & Sarah. They’re excited to add Serena Ryder to the mix.  WThey also work w/ the JUNOS team to partner with artists.

TD Canada is committed to music as an organization with a genuine interest in music and communities. They’re not just a cheque signing bank, they actually follow through and make communities better.

Serena made a $25K donation to Musicounts.ca! These kids were SO EXCITED to hear the donation news, receive violins, and to find out they were performing on stage WITH Serena Ryder herself. It was a magical moment. 

The concert was at TD Place in the new Lansdowne Centre and was opened by The Strumbellas. They were amazing. The 6 piece band rocked the house.

Saw this sweet rat rod outside. My dad is a hot rod builder so I had to snap it and send him a pic.

The Serena Ryder concert was so much fun. Mum and I sang along and loved every minute of it.

After the show we went to the hotel bar at the Weston where we were staying and not 5 minutes after we sat down Serena walked in. She was with bunch of friends and I didn’t want to be a fan girl so no selfie this time but it was neat to be at the same place.

TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

For more info on TD’s involvement with music and music festivals in Canada visit tdmusic.com. Learn more about MusiCounts program at musicounts.ca.  They’re got some exciting things coming up including involvement in 70 festivals across Canada and next year at the Junos they plan to ‘paint Calgary green’. I heard they’re got a big announcement coming up later this month too.

Check out some of my involvement with TD Canada over the last year:

Huge thanks to TD Canada and NKPR for inviting me on a memorable experience. it was really special to share that with my mum. It’s always great to visit our nations capital too.

TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

<3 CASIE

Monday, Make It Great!

Monday, Make It Great!

Had a wonderful weekend! Mum and I really enjoyed Ottawa and seeing Serena Ryder, photos and stories about that tomorrow. Queen’s Plate yesterday was really fun too. 

Today I went to Vaughan Mills to do some shopping for an upcoming project. I’d not been to the mall there before and HOLY MOLY there are so many stores and great deals.  
  

In between doing work today I also got a new mani. 💅🏼  

Saw this sweet Camaro.   

 Absolutely loving this warm weather. We’ve planned some dedicated time up at the cottage this month and I CAN’T WAIT.  

Hoping your week is off to a great start! 💛

CASIE

 

Heading to Our Nations Capital, Ottawa!

Heading to Our Nations Capital, Ottawa!

Friday morning Mum and I are heading to Ottawa and it’s her first time flying Porter Airlines. I’m so excited to be travelling with her!

Last time mum and I went on a trip together I was in middle school. We don’t often get to hang much, especially not in the summer is mum is usually at the boat and we spend heaps of time at the cottage.

We’ll be seeing Serena Ryder, with special guests The Strumbellas at TD Place Stadium to celebrate Canada Day weekend. Earlier in the day, TD Bank and MusiCounts will be be announcing the 2015 MusiCounts grant recipients and have a special surprise planned for a local Ottawa recipient.  I’ll be doing a short interview w/ TD Canada about TD MusicCounts and sharing it with you next week.

Oh hey @serenaryder! See you on July 3rd! #tdmusic #lansdowne #tdplace

A photo posted by TD Place (@tdplace) on

Feeling excited to take mum on a press trip and hang out at the hotel together. We don’t leave until 4pm the following day so hoping to take a walk on Parliament Hill. I’ve never been to Ottawa around Canada Day. Last time I was in Ottawa was March 2012 for Ottawa Fashion Week and it was very snowy.

Looking forward to some fun times w/ mum and lots of laughs!

💛 CASIE

Make The Most of Each Day ☀️

Make The Most of Each Day ☀️

Took the subway earlier this week as the thought of driving across the city seemed like a nightmare.  Especially the highway.  There’s new HOV lanes that require 3 passengers so the others are all jammed up. People have been buying mannequins and jacking up their cars w/ ‘passengers’. Haha.

 

In case you don’t know, Toronto is hosting the PanAm Games and the city is preparing for it all to start this weekend. There’s a ton of things affecting the regular city flow and none of the people have arrived yet. I don’t have tickets yet but I’m sure I’ll check out something. I’m hoping to retreat to cottage country after next weekend. There I can watch the chaos unfold via mobile from the dock.

I like riding the subway during the day. It’s peaceful without crowds of people around. I used to take the TTC over an hour headway to work when I first moved to Toronto.  I worked in the fashion industry and it wasn’t glamorous but I was certain about following that path.

Excited about visiting Ottawa this weekend. Calgary last week was fun. It’s been a while since I discovered my own country.

All in a days work!

?? CASIE

#Esakaquest 2015 – Find Eska, Win Prizes!

#Esakaquest 2015 – Find Eska, Win Prizes!

This summer Eska Water is back for round 2 of Eskaquest. Torontonians are invited to explore the city in a Toronto-wide scavenger hunt. This year, ESKA will is teaming up with six Toronto influencers (including me!), and challenging Toronto to ‘Find ESKA’ for the chance to win tickets and prizes from June 22nd to July 31st.

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During the six week campaign,we’re each giving away 2 prizes per week. There’s two ways to get in the game, follow clues that ESKA releases on social media, or take a peek on the microsite (here), which contains a map hinting at the general location for each giveaway. The first person to successfully find the influencer wins the prize.

Follow Eska for Clues

Follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as we release daily clues to help you find the next #eskaquest giveaway location.

My Eska Prize Giveaways are July 8th & July 11th

  • Stillwater Spa gift certificate$300
  • Dinner for 2 at a Summerlicious restaurant
#eskaquest w/ @casiestewart & @eska_canada

The rest of the Eskaquest crew includes blogger Yashy MurphyIndie 88 radio host Brent Albrecht, MTV Live alumni Paul LemieuxSheena Snively, and  Daryn Jones.

We’ve planned a really fun giveaway so I’m pretty excited to put the plan in motion. I’ll have more details next week! Until then follow ESKA water for another giveaway on Saturday.

CASIE

New Bike, Snacks, Shoppers, #SMDay

New Bike, Snacks, Shoppers, #SMDay

Well hello my friends. 😎✌This photo was taken yesterday and although I look very smiley, I’m not feeling great. I’m so tired. I’m not sure if it’s the small time change last week with my trip to Calgary or lack of sleep but I’m lethargic. I miss the cottage. It’s been weeks since we’ve got to have a good cottage hang and it’ll be at least a week before we get back up to Muskoka. I’m in Ottawa this weekend then back for The Queen’s Plate.

In other news, I had some good things yesterday…

I used to have a Red Schwinn cruiser bike that I LOVED. I rode that baby all over town for a coue simmers, Junction to Beaches and back.

Unfortunately some jerk vandalized my bike and it was unridable, went to the bike graveyard. RIP. 2 years ago I purchased a new one from Bikes On Wheels, Queen West and it was stolen before summer was over. Last year I didn’t ride at all it made me sad.

YESTERDAY, my brand new Schwinn Cruiser was ready for pickup. 🚲👍 Schwinn Canada has welcomed me as a bike ambassador and I’m back on the road baby! I’ve got a few things to add (bell, basket, lights) before we’re full time but one little cruise yesterday made my heart sing. 💛

If you stop by your local Shoppers Drug Mart you might see their new ‘Summer Covered’ Campaign. Next week I’ll be sharing some of my fav products for summer roadtrips and cottaging. I’ll also be featured on the SDM social + website.

Received a shipment of this yesterday. Have you tried it yet?

It’s Social Media Day today and in 2010 and 2011 I spoke at Toronto events. It’s amazing how social media has changed my life and taken me around the world. Thinking I’ll write something about SMDay and share it with you later today.

Anything exciting planned for Canada Day? This is the first Canada Day we’re spending in the city in the last 4 years. I don’t even know what to do! 🙆

❤️ CASIE