Blog Life: This Is How We Do

You know face you make when you’re looking deep into the computer working away on something? It’s on  we all know well! This was me yesterday afternoon..and most days actually. Concentrating, editing, writing, coding, emailing, blogging, thinking, working, twerking. Ok, only sometimes on the last one! Went for a run this morning and pushed myself a bit harder. Feeling fresh and inspired. It’s so nice out, you should go outside. It was 21 at 9am! This is how we do! I’ve learned a lot of thing blogging the last (almost) 10 years. I can hardly believe it’s been so long. Persistence is a big part if making your dreams a reality. I thought about giving up a few times and doing something more traditional, like not keeping a diary of my life on the internet but each time I decide to go on, something amazing happens. This was a good little read: I’d Like to Be a Fashion Blogger, But I’m Mostly Wearing Sweatpants http://t.co/ZQnOVbqFTY via @thecoveted Thx for sharing @crystalgibson! — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) August 20, 2014 I’ve seen a ton of bloggers come and go over the years and I think that’s due the fact that people don’t realize how much work and energy it is. TBH, sometimes it’s totally exhausting! It also takes a time to build a brand, trust, a reputation, all which can be destroyed in an instant. I always remember this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt and think it’s best to surround your self with great minds. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” I’ve always counted on Mum to be my first phone when something exciting happens instead of telling friends or the world right away. She can always tell when i’s something big. I’ll ring her at work and say ‘OMG Mum, guess what?!”.…

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#TBT: Fashion Throwback! Vintage + Value Village

I didn’t grow up with lots of money but one things Mum always made sure of was that we were well dressed. I reckon my love for fashion and finding a good bargain or vintage find comes from Mum. We used to hit up Value Village and Winners clearance on weekends and see what we could find. Over the years my sister and I found some real gems!  Jenie still has a pair of heeled 18-hold Doc Martens, I’ve gathered a few pairs of great cowboy boots, and a couple leather jackets. This week, Value Village has invited me to takeover their Instagram and share some recent goodies I picked up. Follow @valuevillage_thrift on Instagram so see what I found! If you’ve found any real beauties over the years, I’dlove to know! Leave a comment on Instagram or below. Have an awesome day! <3 CASIE      

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Let’s Do The Time Warp Again! Blog History #TBT

Today I’m taking you back in time and showing you some memories from June 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. The main reason I started THIS IS MY LIFE was to keep memories. Writing things down has improved my ability to retain information over the last 10 years. June 2008 – SATC Movie came out and I went to a pink carpet party. Gave away an Energi to Go charger for iPod on the blog. It was one of the first things I gave away to readers like you. It was also one of my first pieces of branded YouTube content. Here’s the video. This hair, omg so long and dark! June 2009 – Pink hair for Pride. Blogged about Dermalogica for the first time. I use their products now and love them still. This old shirt of Dads. Bare arms with hardly any tattoos. June 2010 – Gladstone Hotel event, that feather tattoo has been covered by more tattoos. It was a nice one though. Sheldon, Hawley, Tristan Went home to see Mum, she gave me flowers from the garden. It was also summer of G20, I retreated to the island to escape the madness. I also protested in the G20. Well kinda, mine was more like a sexy protest. I wore lace leggins and combat boots and took photos of cute boys. 2011 – Katy Perry concert and I wore a sequin bodysuit with ruffles on the bum. It was so freaking cute. Always great to go back in time and remember fun moments in blog history. <3 CASIE

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Salt in the Air, Sand in My Hair

This dress belonged to Mum. She got it in Hawaii on a stopover vacation when I was about 2 years old. It’s one of my favs. Photo was taken by Kelly Kruschel. I would really love to be at a beach right now. Went up to the cottage this weekend but it wasn’t very warm and the bugs were brutal. Still have the Chevy Camaro until 8pm tonight so Sean and I are gonna go for a cruise after work. I had a burrito for lunch again from Playa Cabana, we’re in a relationship now haha. He didn’t win at the MMVA last ngiht but he DID win in the style deportment. Got him decked out in Ted Baker and will share some pix of that soon.  Hope you had a nice weekend 🙂 <3 CASIE SALT IN THE AIR, SAND IN MY HAIR

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There is Such a Thing as Too Much Nature

And I discovered it it this weekend. Once again, I was attached by bugs. One little jerk even bit me on the eyelid and not it looks like somebody socked me one in the face. We had a relaxing time at the cottage with Sean’s parents, great dinners, and lovely weather. Next weekend is Field Trip so I’ll be staying in the city. Mum just informed me that if you take lots of B12 they won’t bite. Good thing I know that now for the rest of the summer! I’m really behind on blogging but it was SO NICE OUT this weekend I couldn’t bring myself to stay inside and do work. I’ve got a bunch of things to share this week! Stay tuned 🙂 If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to THIS IS MY LIFE and get a nice little email delivery when I update. Each email includes 4-5 blog posts and is send once a week. I have spent a lot of time working on these emails, so I hope you enjoy. For any newbie bloggers out there looking for an email service provider, you might want to take a look at PieSync (the Mailgun vs Sendgrid blog post is particularly useful). It has certainly helped me. Here’s to a great week!

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Got Wood | New Stuff for the House from Artemano

On Monday night Sean and I took a little trip up to the Toronto Artemano store. It’s located just north of Eglington on Caledonia. With furniture stores in Montreal, Toronto, Quebec and more, they specialize in high quality wood furniture and home décor shipped anywhere in North America. I know Mum would really love this place. After a busy day it was lovely to escape to such a peaceful atmosphere. Janaya welcomes us into the store for a private shopping experience. They’ll be featuring my five fav items from the store in an upcoming post on their blog. There are heaps of magical pieces for yout home made from salvaged wood, boats from Thailand, and massive fallen trees. It’s not for the bargain shoppers, but if you are looking for a beautiful statement piece to join your family, this is the spot.

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Isn’t life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?

One of the things I loved about DailyBooth (RIP) and love about selfies is they are a way to document your life as you grow and change. I wonder how many times I’ve taken a similar photo of my own face? This video is 4 years of my life on DailyBooth. I exported my archive before it shut down in 2012 and made this so I never forget this stuff.. So many memories here. Any you remember? Today is Anzac day in Australia/New Zealand. It’s like remembrance day in North America. My granddad was in the war. I remember him telling us stories of how he wasn’t old enough and snuck in then worked as a cook. He used to have a butcher shop in Palmerston North, NZ when Mum was growing up. I think he would be really glad to know I kept a blog diary because he was a writer too.  I can’t believe I’m still wearing a scarf and it’s almost May! Urgh! Longest fattest winter of my life.  Loving this new jacked I scored at the Rudsak sale this (deets here, it’s on till Sunday).   Saw this yesterday in my hood when I was walking home from school with EmBot. Here’s to an awesome weekend! <3 CASIE

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Forever Inspired, Shakespeare

We read heaps at my house when I was growing up. I used to collect old poetry and English literature books from garage sales. I still love second hand books and tucked away in a bin at Dad’s house, are many of my old book treasures. I once made a heap Shakespeare quotes into magnets and stuck them on the fridge. I imagine I was about 13. (Mum, is that true?) I think some of them are still on her fridge. These are two of my favourite Shakespeare Quotes

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You Light Up My Life, Sunshine

I’ve had this coat for what seems like a million years. I got it at Gap when I worked at the Fairview Park Mall store during highschool. I guess it was almost a million years. Took some photos with my GoPro this morning and didn’t realize there was water droplets on the camera. Got some good news about a project this morning and as I usually do, called up Mum with a big smile on my face. She can always tell that something good happened by sound of my voice. The funny thing about this tweet is that the stupid basic pants from Zara just got a broken zipper. SO BASIC. haha. Made me laugh. Shut up Zara. #basic pic.twitter.com/dSwcq4ACgM — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) April 22, 2014 Tonight Lauren and I are going to a documentary about selfies, we are gonna take so many selfies. I’m pretty sure she’s in it. I remember meeting up one day and her saying ‘I was just in a movie about selfies’. Appropriate. I just ate this taco Tuesday magic for lunch. It was delicious. Here comes the sun 🙂  <3 CASIE

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The Joy of Gardening | Landscape Painting

Yesterday was so lovely and warm. Sean and I were at Home Depot before 9:30am. We sussed out our options and went for brekky. I picked out some nice seeds, organic soil, bamboo, planters, and a pots. I’m so glad we were there together because all this stuff is super heavy! The new patio was perfect for a bbq so I invited a few friends over to show off my work. It feels so relaxing up there. I cleaned the deck so I can do yoga out there once we get past tomorrow’s frost. Whilst I was in the cleaning mindset I did a few other jobs on my own for the patio but also on the exterior of the house itself. Some things obviously I couldn’t do like cleaning out the gutters, so I had to get in touch with Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning Oklahoma City to give me a helping hand. This was great because now they’re clean, it’s most likely there won’t be any soil erosion going on and my plants can grow wild! I’m excited to get everything planted and watch it grow now. I always loved gardening with Mum. Started a Gardening board on Pinterest here. If you have any tips or things I should check out. LET ME KNOW!     Now that it’s getting warmer don’t forget your sunscreen. Nothing will make you look old like sun damage (or boozing super hard). I’ve been loving this Cover from Dermalogica, there’s also a Sheer that’s perfect once you’re a little tanned. I never leave the house without sunscreen on my face!   Enjoy the day!

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