Weekend Reads + Things to Watch: Marketing Mag, NextIssue, News, Film

Casie Stewart, Toronto Blogger

  

Woke up feeling ok, battling a sore throat but dragged myself out for some sunshine and a coffee. Still rocking that winter fur but looks like next week will bring those spring temps we’ve all been waiting for.

Listened to CBC Radio q w/ Shad this morning wearing this face mask from The Face Shop (thanks Faulhaber!). Working away in the home office looking like Hannibal Lecter hoping Sean didn’t walk in and get a fright. Update: He didn’t.

Did you watch the Bruce Jenner interview last night with the rest of the world? I thought it was a good interview and it was interesting to hear Bruce’s story and struggles he’s been facing. I’m not a regular watcher of Kardashians so I’ve not seen much about him besides the tabloid stuff.

This week I upgraded my NextIssue Canada subscription so I can get ALL the magazines including Hello Canada and US Weekly. If you wanna test it out try code ’60free’ for 2 months. Follow this link -> NextIssue 60free. They just added some more French and English titles (see here) along with new search options.

 I’m anxiously watching for the Royal Baby. I’ve always had a love for the Royal Family, it stems from my mum. She named me Casie Diana Stewart after Diana, Princess of Wales.  Rest in Peace Dear Diana, ILU.

Read MORE magazine via NextIssue today as well, always one of mum’s favs. Loving these jumpsuits, looking good Jessica Alba. I could wear in these things all summer.

   

 In other news:

I was featured in a story about The Future of Social Media in Marketing Magazine this week. Read it here. New photo by Kayla Rocca.

Career Boosters - The Future of Social Media, Marketing Magazine, Casie Stewart 

 

Our film, Behind the Red Carpet is NOW ON iTunes IN CANADA. You can rent/buy it and watch me on your TV/tablet/phone screen in the comfort of your own home anywhere, anytime. Find it in iTunes by searching the title or my name.

Behind The Red Carpet Film, iTunes,  Casie Stewart

That’s all for now! I’m gonna go soak up some sunshine. Have a great weekend and happy reading/watching/resting!

<3 CASIE


If you could change anything about your body, what would it be?

CBC radio q w/ Shad, poetry

I’m working away and listening to the new q on CBC w/ Shad and the first episode has me moved.  I laughed at the jokes and just about cried listening to this poem. A letter from an 8-year-old boy inspired Shane Koyzan to write it, he asks ‘If you could change anything about your body, what would it be?’ I feel inspired now too.

I’m a huge fan of poetry and wrote a book of it when I was a teenager.  I’ve been working very slowly on putting together a second edition. Coincidently just stumbled on this poetically written post from a few years ago (2012). Read, listen. Explore. More posts tagged writing here and poetry here.

There Are No Walls In This Office

I said to myself as I peeked out from behind my computer. There are no walls in this office. I looked up. Looked around. Ideas floating freely between the trees and with a fresh haircut feeling quite fresh in general. A rain drop lands on the touchpad. There’s a faint sound of a boy guitar while a girl reads a book and spins a hula on her hips. (It’s quite amazing really.) The breeze is cool for the first time in days and I wish I had a sweater. In any other season this would feel warm.

 Another rain drop. Bugger.

This office has no walls but it has no roof either.

Hope you’re making the most of the day. 🙂

<3 CASIE

 

A Blog Post About Blogging for Bloggers – WP 4.2, Mobile

Is your blog optimized for mobile?

I don’t usually blog about blogging but this blog post is about blogging because I have some blog updates to share on my blog. You know that I like giving tips and advice to those of you who want to start blogging. I’ve told you about SEO, the articles on MangoMatter about web hosting, different ways to come up with content, the list goes one! But today I’m going to be talking about WordPress!

Ok, the new WordPress came out yesterday and this update has some neat things to help you as a blogger, communicate and share, globally. You can watch this quick video or read more about it after scrolling my list of favs from their post. If you blog you should watch it because it will make you a better (WordPress) blogger.

  • Even more embeds: Paste links from Tumblr.com and Kickstarter and watch them magically appear right in the editor. With every release, your publishing and editing experience get closer together.
  • Host of new characters: Native Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters, musical and mathematical symbols, and hieroglyphs.
  • Streamlined plugin updates: Goodbye boring loading screen, hello smooth and simple plugin updates.
  • OMG! Emoji are now available in WordPress! Get creative and decorate your content with ?, ?, ?, or?!!

IS YOUR BLOG OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE?

UPDATE IT TODAY. LIKE NOW. Google announced that the Mobile Friendly Update began rolling out YESTERDAY. This update is going to be the largest Google update ever and if you don’t get on it, you’ll notice a drop in traffic. And it might be huge. If you don’t know if your site is optimized for mobile, check this link to find out google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly.

There’s a good blog post on searchengineland.com from yesterday that states:

Postscript: SEO Clarity’s Ryan Heuser sent me some early data at 1:45pm EDT saying as of this morning they are now seeing “1.7% difference in ranking domains between desktop and mobile versus the previous few days.” He said the big winners thus far are sites like Wikipedia that are mobile friendly, you can see their jump in visibility in the mobile results in the chart below.

I recently switched back to using the WPTouch plugin and my mobile is experience is waaaaaay cuter. Have you checked? Are you on your phone right now? It’s a free plugin and the WPTouch Pro (paid) version has some fancier features. These screenshots don’t do it justice. Optimizing your website for mobile can be a complex process. Therefore, if you would like some help with designing your website so that mobile users can access it more easily, you might want to reach out to a website design professional for some advice.

Is your blog optimized for mobile?

It’s insane how much blogging has changed over the years. It did NOT used to be this easy to create, publish, and share. YAY Internet! Ever have a blog question, Tweet me or call me! Here’s me on the news last night w/ the gang, Justin Bieber, PSY, Chris Crocker. Oh, y’know, just a regular day.

In light of the YouTube 10 Year anniversary yesterday, I’m really inspired to make more vids. Here’s one inspired by something that happened today. My BF thinks I am so weird but he loves it.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND GUYS!

<3 CASIE

Internet, TV, Fried Chicken, Fur Coat – Just a Regular Day!

Internet, TV, Fried Chicken, Fur Coat – Just a Regular Day!

Left the house today all like WHAAAAAAAAAAT IS THIS COLDDDDD? Grabbed a fur from the closet and shut the door. Can’t even believe it snowed yesterday.

One of the only good things about winter is you can throw on a huge jacket like this (from LeChateau) with a pair of sunnies (YSL/Smart Buy Glasses) and you look like a cool old granny. The rings help! They’re part of that haul from the Shop for Jayu SS15 look book shoot.

Today I was interviewed for tonight’s Global National news about YouTube’s 10th birthday. I didn’t really know that YouTube and my blog are the same age.  THREE CHEERS FOR INTERNET OGs.

Mike Drolet and I chatted about how YouTube has changed the world, jobs, trolls, and more. Tune in tonight at 6:30pm for the full interview. I’ll post a link to it here tomorrow once it’s live.

I rung mum to tell her I was gonna be on TV and said, “that’s why I always have my nails done, never know when tv will be calling!”. Ha. I kill me.  I would like to do more tv. I love the lights and being on camera.

When I was done I came downstairs and Sean and the 1188 boys had picked up lunch from The Chickery (David Adjey’s place).  IT WAS SO GOOD. I didn’t fill up in the mac n’ cheese but it was good too.

That’s all for now. From the Internet to the TV tonight! Hopefully I look ok now that I’ve told y’all I’ll be on there. Ha! If I have lipstick on my teeth I will just die.

<3 CASIE

Earth Day + The Ford Eco Tour 2015

Earth Day + The Ford Eco Tour 2015

I arrived in Detroit nice and early for a quick media trip about how Ford is making their business green. I’ve been on a few media trips with Ford Canada to Dearborn, Michigan and absolutely love working with them. They always cover every single little detail so I was kinda excited to see what we’d be getting up to.

The Marriott I stayed at was quite lovely and I was really into the rugs/floors.

Look at this place! Regal!

  

This happens all the time. Remember how excited I was that for ONE TIME Starbucks got it right the other day? THE STRUGGLE IS REAL GUYS.  My driver was really nice though.

Kicking myself for not trying to see if this bad boy worked. Do you think it did? It would have a made a good Snapchat regardless.

Got a warm welcome and my itinerary before heading to my room for a refresh. I was lucky enough to catch 30 min of Young & The Restless before lunch.  The two Jacks thing is weird.

Had to stroll past these beautiful trees before getting to my room and my god did they ever smell amazing. It was SOOOOO windy though. That probably helped with me being able to smell them but I really didn’t mind.

Impressed with how Ford integrates innovation to every element of their business. Their commitment to sustainability was the foundation of everything we learned. Carol Kordich spoke about spearheading the adoption of aggressive Ford guidelines for using recycled content in car fabric.

I loved her energy and passion for this stuff. It’s wonderful to see someone who really loves their job. They’re the FIRST automaker to use REPREVE brand yarn in seat fabric and plastic bottles in fabric. The REPRIVE microfibre was insanely soft. It would be neat to see clothes made out of these fabrics.  Like my notes?

I’ve got more updates about my little jaunt across the pond with Ford, this was only the start of Day 1. Thanks Ford Canada and NPR for educating me and making Earth Day special. If you’re interested in a behind the scenes look at Ford production or thoughts on sustainability visit their blog at blog.ford.ca.

<3 CASIE

The Kit: Toronto Street Style Feature

casiestewart_April2015_kaylarocca

Yesterday I was featured on Canada’s leading fashion + beauty site, The Kit. Check it out here! Photos by the lovely Kayla Rocca.

Inspired by the era of punk and print, today’s Toronto street style encounter mixes and matches pieces with a retro vibe to create a modern look.

WEARING: Lucian Matis top, American Apparel dress, Rudsak moto jacket and handbag, Nasty Gal hat, Shellys London booties, YSL sunglasses, M.A.C lipstick in Lady Danger
STYLE INSPIRATION: “My mom and her best friend had really great style growing up, lots of prints, patterns, sequins, and big jewelry in the ’80s. That’s where my love of clothes comes from!”

Photographer: Kayla Rocca, kaylarocca.com.

 

Hop, Skip, and a Jump to the USA! 

Hop, Skip, and a Jump to the USA! 

 

Hi from Pearson Airport, YYZ. Just had a DELICIOUS chicken sandwich and am about to board my plane. Heading to…wait for it…DETROIT! Taking a quick trip to visit the Ford HQ in Dearborn, MI. It’s my 3rd trip there and I’ll be back early tomorrow.  

 Saw this being painted yesterday, it’s a sign. (Get it haha, ok, not THAT FUNNY.)
Distressed a pair of old jeans the other day. They turned out great. Think I might rough them up a little more before next wash. You can find how to do your own distressed denim on Pinterest. It’s super easy!  

 
Thanks for all the kind words yesterday about me and bloggy. Here’s to the next 10 years! 

Have an awesome day,

CASIE 

 

My Blog is 10 Years Old Today.

Casie Stewart celebrates 10 years of blogging!

My how  time flies. I’m happy to celebrate ten years of  CASIE STEWART : THIS IS MY LIFE  blog. Since 2005, I’ve been documenting my global adventures in fashion, travel, and technology.  I’ve been to Thailand, England, Costa Rica, LA, New York, and more. When I look back it hardly seems real. Thank GOD I’ve got it documented so I can relive all those exciting moments. Thank you for coming along with me.  Thinking I’ll do a post with some of my fav moments later this week.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working on casiestewart.biz,  a brand new hub of work and media accomplishments.  I’m really excited for this year and what the next 10 years will be like. If the last five are any indication of awesomeness, I imagine my 20 year blog post will be from the MOON.

Hop on over to CASIE STEWART : THIS IS MY WORK  and take a peek at casiestewart.biz.

Thank you again for following along and being part of my life. I’m truly filled with joy when I think about all the relationships I’ve built the last ten years.

With love,

<3 CASIE

 

Wanna Go to Love Art Fair? Use this code.

Free Tickets to @LoveArtTO!

I’m out of town this weekend but my friends at NKPR gave me a code for you to visit Love Art Fair this weekend at Exhibition Place in Toronto.

USE CODE: GALOVEART or this link

This gives you general admission for the entire weekend (tickets are $10). I went last year and there’s HEAPS of beautiful art to feast your eyes on. LMK if you pick up something great!

CASIE 🙂

 

A video posted by LoveArtTO (@loveartto) on

Friday! Beaches, Bondi, and It’s Not Cassie! 

Friday! Beaches, Bondi, and It’s Not Cassie! 

Went to Starbucks with my sister this morning and as usual I said my name for the order. I don’t know if I’ve EVER had my name spelled right by a barista there. Today is clearly a special one!

Stayed at Jenie’s house and went for a stroll on the boardwalk in the morning. 

It’s SO beautiful down there. I alsolutely love it. Vow to spend more time there this summer. As a West end girl it always feels so far away but one trip on the streetcar and it’s like you’re in a different city. 

Today reminded me of living at Bondi Beach in Australia. I loved it there so much. Left and piece of my heart and will definitely be back someday. Hope to take Sean to NZ and Australia for a tour! 

Came across this old throwback to 2004 when I lived there. Long brown hair! I was so tanned and thin back then. Ahhh, the beach life! 

  

Heading home to see my parents and go to a friends baby shower this weekend. She’s having twins!  Really looking forward to seeing all my old friends from back home. It’s been AGES! 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend. It’s absolutely beautiful outside today!