WMCFW: Tips on Shooting Fashion from @SteveCarty & Canon Canada

I recently met up with the Canadian Canon Ambassadors for a professional photo session with Steve Carty (you’ve seen him here on the blog before!). I’m really getting the hang of using my DSLR! It may sound silly but it took me a while to get shutter speed and aperture. After the last session, I finally hold my camera like a professional and not a n00b. No really though! In this session we learned how to shoot moving subjects on the runway, portraits, and about the built in filters on our cameras. To be honest, I discovered  the filters in my Canon Rebel SL1 right away! I’ve been using Canon since I got my first digital camera pre-blog back in 2004 and I’ve  always loved the creative filters. [Way to be ahead of Instagram guys!] A Word About Fashion GIFs I really love GIFs as you know.  I took all these photos the night of our fashion photography session with Carty and made them into GIFS to see the differences with using the Canon filters. Please note, photo quality was drastically reduced when I put these together. I need a photoshop session before I learn to make high quality GIFs! I think they’re fun. I love when designers and bloggers put out GIFs from runway shows so I wanted to test my skills. Scroll down for some tips from Carty and Canon! 1. Try Canon’s Creative Filters Canon’s Creative Filters can be applied both before and after shooting and can take a photo from average to spectacular You can also stack the filters and create your own unique combinations like Miniature Effect + Soft Focus or Toy Camera + Grainy B&W (The order that you apply the filters also makes a difference in the final output!) If you’ve snapped a photo that seems unsalvageable, try out some…

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StyleMint now ships to Canada!

There’s nothing like a surprise gift in the mail to perk up a cold winter day. It’s even better when it’s something you can wear and it comes from a company owned by your favourite famous twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen! Nice packaging too.  Seriously though, I love them. Once I dressed up as MK&A for Halloween. We had venti Starbucks cups and huge purses as accessories with heaps more accessories on top. Other members of team JewelMint  & ShoeMint, are Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson and celeb stylist Cher Coulter and Nicole Chavez. This ‘Le Beau Necklace‘ is silver plated chains wrapped around 14K gold plated ring on a brass faceted cable chain. Love. At StyleMint you pick a bunch of things you like, then MK&A ‘style you’. Once I connected with FB they picked my style matched with famous short haired blonde’s and even styled me with a boyfiend who was tall with long hair and a beard. If you know anything about me you know that those boys are my fav. ♥! Spot on with the outfit choices. I love buying shoes online and have gone a *bit* overboard lately on Solestruck so it was nice to see heaps of styles I wold totally buy on ShoeMint at a lower price point. Getting shoes is the mail is like SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! JewelMint is like having Kate Bosworth as yout stylish. She picked for this ring for me. I think I have one kinda like it somewhere. I need to organize my jewellery. She has really beautiful different coloured eyes.

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sometimes informally considered as marking the beginning of the summer season in Canada

The weekend has been so nice, I don’t even mind if it rains today. Actually, I like it. I’ve got lots to get done, report, expenses etc. Off to a Jukari class at King West Fitness now. Might cruize somewhere after and car office with my computer and rocketstick. I’d like to take a second to say thanks to the following awesome companies for being part of this weekend & my life (blog).

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canada goose 2010 preview: i wanna get goosed

Last night Keri and I went to the Canada Goose 2010 preview. I’ve never owned any Goose gear. Saw heaps of peeps, checked out lots of merch and it was nice to get to know the brand a little better. How cute is this jacket? And this hat? We look good together, don’t we? Jacket is from the kids line. Loves the brightness and it felt really snug & warm. I’d love to be wearing it when I’m going around to Virgin events and  doing all kinds of cool stuff this winter. hint hint 😉 Winter is coming guys. Let shope it’s not too damn cold this year aiiight. I’m ready for hibernation station when it hits.  Actually, I don’t mind winter that much. It doesn’t get nearly as cold now as it did when we were kids. Remember how much show we used to get? Like CRAZY amounts. Canada Goose has these Goose People who brave the elements and do amazing things. I got a prety neat book about them all. I reckon I can do some pretty amazing things too? Maybe I should climb a massive mountain in my spare time. I really like way the companies/agencies are starting to get creative with event activities and take aways. Last night we each got our photo taken in Goose gear, were given it on a branded USB key, then the image was made into a snow globe. (Dad, you are getting this for Christmas. Love you! ) Spotted a couple babes, look at these dashing young men, Paul & Kevin. Twerk. These young fashion bloggers are takin’ ovah. Represent. L-R Nick Sean, Jay Strut, Julio. The shirt I’m wearing is by Andy Hall and Toronto based Canadian designer. Wore a bunch of Andy Hall stuff at NZFW and really…

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Hipster Hop: @vicecanada & @INQmobile Pheromone Party

Now this was a fun time. INQ Mobile & Vice teamed up to throw this donut party complete with bottled pheromones to turn up the temperature even hotter. Gimme pheromone pumps girl. The party was for a new phone. I didn’t really get to try it out. Open bar, good tunes and more babes with beards than I could handle. Fritz Helder & crew. (Note beards/babes ratio – told ya!) Party was at Air­ship 37, a ware­house just south of the Dis­tillery. Team Stewart happening here. Good Looks obvs run in the family. Hottest photog ever w/ Violca from Masion. I brought my business cards as you can see. Hi cuties. This babe was the art director of the party. He just flew in from France. He was very cute. He had a strong French accent. I got him with my URL too. Danced a bit to DJ’s Ryne­col­o­gist and Your Boy Brian. This is my friend Stephen. Saw a couple of the actual cool kids from MuchMTV too. Fistpump w/ Renee. It was def a lovely time. Happy Monday suckas. Make it a good one 🙂

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LOOK OUT @WAKESTOCKCANADA! IT’S PARTY TIME!

I’ve been having a blast this Summer and y’know what, it be gon’ get much bettahh. I’m heading to Wakestock August 6-8 with three of the hottest most awesome bloggers in Canada – Raymi the Minx, Carly Anne, Lauren O’Nizzle. Playing this year  are Public Enemy, Alexisonfire (AOF), Crash Kings, U.S.S., Maestro Fresh Wes., Hollerado and KO. I loooooove outdoor events and concerts. I’m sure to see a whole heap of cute baes too. Yahooooo PARTY! We’ll be on the ground, back stage and anywhere you can find beers. Haha! This weekend is gonna be off the hizzle!  I’m STOKED. If you wanna come party with us Wakestock has been kind enough to give you a special discount and you can get a weekend social pass for only $55 bones. MAD DEALIO. Get tickets here THE PASSWORD IS: PARTYGIRL. Come join us if ya wanna have fun, and like, duh, who doesn’t wanna haz fun times? Excting day ahead of me, heading to an audition for a Bell commercial then to Lilith Fair with Carly Anne. Yahoooo! I love Summer. Happy Saturday! k.thx.bai xo

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happy birthday canada you sexy thang

In 1996, on the weekend before Canada Day in my hometown of Cambridge, I was a contestant in the annual Miss Teen pageant. Since I was little I had always wanted to ride in the convertible waving like the Queen with a sash and tiara. That year I was in a group of about 18 girls all competing for a chance represent our city for a year at events as the Miss Teen. I had to write a speech about why I was proud to be Canadian. Before our speeches we had preliminaries and I was the first person to ever get 100%. They asked about Canadian history and politics, good thing Mum prepped me before my interview. I got up on stage in the middle of the mall podium to recite my speech for the audience. I was a natural. The judges scored me the highest and that day I won my first (and so far only) beauty pageant. I got to ride in the convertible for the Canada Day parade like it was my job. That was my favorite Canada Day ever. Canada Blog friends wrote about me recently, check it out!  

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Money Hacks for Millennials: Have You Saved for a Rainy Day?

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…

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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 Jun 18, 2015 at 1:09pm PDT 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

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What’s your fav room in the house??? #housie

In my latest little project with TD Canada I’ve joined them in celebrating the places we live. Whether it’s your first place or a fresh start somewhere new, there’s always one room in the house you like the most. In my last place I loved the living room, remember this view overlooking Lake Ontario and downtown Toronto? I spent hours staring out those windows. TD Canada is encouraging people to share their fav room in the house with a #housie, a 360-degree video selfie of your home. My fav room in our house is the roof top patio. Last summer I had a lovely garden up there and spruced up the place with some new furniture. My TD Canada #housie A video posted by C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Apr 6, 2015 at 9:11am PDT How to create your own – I’m sure you know! Love to see your fav room in the house and how you celebrate your home. I need to celebrate today by doing some cleaning! Once uploaded to Twitter or Instagram your vid will be added to the others on tdhousie.com. <3 CASIE  

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Travel Tuesday: Vacations Aren’t Just for Soaking Up Sun!

Dreaming of an experiential vacation – wine tasting in Italy, yoga in India, surfing in Costa Rica, visiting Lower Shotover New Zealand to go Bungee Jumping? People often think of vacations as a jaunt away to soak up the sun but one way to REALLY enrich your life is a vacation where you learn something or take on a new experience. An RV vacation is a very popular choice for many people who want to go and see new sights and cultures from the comfort of their own vehicle. Those that do embark on such a vacation will want to make sure they have quality equipment, like Lifeline rv batteries, on board before doing so. A couple years ago I went on a solo surf + yoga vacation to Costa Rica, it was so much fun. Visiting this country was on my bucket list and I had always wanted to tick it off. With this being said, if it wasn’t for a friend of mine recommending I checked out a site like https://små-lån.com (as she knew I was struggling financially), I don’t think this trip would have been possible, but I am glad that I was able to make this happen. While I was there, I learnt how to do aerial silks and perfected my wave riding skills in the ocean. This was the little cabin I stayed at in the jungle at Anamaya Resort. In 2013, I ventured to Thailand and took a cooking class in one of my fav cuisines. I came home with new skills and a bright outlook on a different culture. I recently chatted with TD Canada Trust about how to make an experiential vacation a reality. These types of vacations are often seen as more costly and harder to plan. BUT, if you knuckle…

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Global News at Noon: Money tips for Millennials

I was recently included in a press release with TD for a study they did about millennials and money. They found that kids like us are better off if we see a financial advisor. When they called me about the study I said I agree 100%. About 5 years ago I set out a payment plan with a financial advisor to pay back my $30K. My goal was to be debt free by the time I turned 30 and I DID IT. I blogged about it recently here. Philistine Toronto shirt, Tiffany & Co silver pearls, Joe Fresh boyfriend jeans, NastyGal shoes It’s almost hard to believe this actually happened because there was a long stretch there where I wondered how I was ever gonna pay back my school and credit cards (from school). I honestly and sincerely encourage you to talk to a financial advisor because there’s nothing like having control over your debt instead of it controlling you. From millennial home buyers to millennials in the workplace, there are many stereotypes that the previous generation have on people in this age group, which isn’t always true. Although times are hard for this generation, it won’t get an better unless you decide to take charge! Here’s me on Global news at noon today with Faisal Yousuf from TD Bank. Millennials and money the two don’t always mix so well. The generation is often accused of mismanaging funds and wasteful spending. So we’ve brought in TD Canada’s Faisal Yousef, and blogger Casie Stewart to offer some solutions to gen y’s money woes.

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Tips for Planning the Perfect Glamping Getaway

If you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and immerse yourself in nature, glamping in Ontario is the perfect solution! Combining the comforts of modern amenities with the tranquility of the outdoors, glamping offers a unique and luxurious experience. To ensure that your glamping trip is a success, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind.

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Day 21: Reality Check

The news today is a very sobering reality of just how intense this situation is. I have been watching the live news reports on CP24 from 1 pm-3 pm and my chest is tight with anxiety. It is hard to believe the world we are living in, it’s not a movie or simulation, this is real life. It’s heartbreaking. Ontario alone could see 15K deaths and over 1M cases have been recorded around the world. Today I sent a couple of invoices for the last round of work I did and to be honest, I’m not sure what’s next? This Day in History: Covid-19 The Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020. I am putting this information here as a reminder to look back on one day when this is all over (it has been floating around on Facebook). Premier Ford said we are looking at 2 years for this to fully be over and once the first round of the virus starts to ease up, we could see a second and third wave. There are now 11,283 Confirmed Cases in Canada on this day with 173 deaths. Gas prices are at a record low 68 cents.  School cancelled since March 13th until May 1st (kids aren’t likely going back until September) Self-distancing measures on the rise. Tape on the floors at grocery stores and other stores to help distance shoppers 2m from each other. Limited number of people inside stores, with 1 per family, therefore lineups are outside the store doors. Hand washing stations in the Store Entrances and Pexi-glass barriers installed around the Cashiers/Check-out Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed. Parks, trails, entire cities locked up. Entire sports seasons cancelled. Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events – cancelled. Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings – cancelled. No…

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