CASIE STEWART

Casie January 25, 2012

You can’t fly with the eagles if you’re with the seagulls.

Title is advice from Mum. She said that to me a few years ago when I was trying to sort out where I wanted to go with my life. I always thought I wanted to work in fashion, then I did. After that, I thought wearing a suit, working long hours and being part of the downtown financial district was my dream. I stayed in that job as an IT recruiter having meetings at 8am (yeah omg, it was hell) and 2pm every single day. I hated it so much (job not the people!). One day my boss said “Casie, it doesn’t seem like you are having fun?” I replied “No, I’m not having fun at all. I badly want to quit but I need two weeks pay”. I left at the end of that very day, cheque on the way and started a job at Toronto’s most famous Kiwi restaurant shortly after. I knew the owner (HI MARTIN) and that because of my Kiwi citizenship I had a bloody good chance of getting hired. Working in the bar gave me the freedom (and same money TBH) to do what I wanted with my time. It was stress free and I loved chatting to the regulars and new customers. I worked at Hemingways for a few months and met some really rad people, it was like a family there. One of my recruiter friends sent me on an interview and moved into a job in IT. I worked for an online casino (it was cool, we had catered lunches) for two years and despite almost getting fired for doing it, worked on my blog A LOT. If my old boss reads this he will totally be shaking his head. Thanks Mike! When they caught on to all my blog activity, I decided I wanted to be in media full time. I left the IT job to do what I thought was my dream doing the social media for MuchMusic & MTV Canada. 299 Queen Street was a really fun place to work and the people were unique. It’s been over a year and a half working for myself and I must say that THIS is by far my most favourite ever job. It is sometimes the hardest and but totally the most fun.

Notice a pattern? I never stopped chasing my dream, although it is/was always changing. Nothing really great comes easy and if you work hard it will pay off. If you are in a job you hate and are reading this from your desk or something, realize you have the ability to go and find your dream too. You can’t fly with the eagles if you’re with the seagulls. Find the eagles you wanna roll with and make a decision to SOAR HIGHER. You only live once.

Casie January 25, 2012 LIFE

Good things come to those who…
GO OUT AND GET THEM.

Watched State of The Union last night (sounds like a movie, no?). Obama is a great speaker. I find him really charming. I used to blog about him heaps before he was President. Love this photo essay from his college years in Time Magazine. Click image to see it all again.

When I was growing up I used to go to dance competitions in New York and Myrtle Beach fairly often. I was in love/obsessed with the American flag. I had jackets, shorts, shirts, hats GALORE. Jenie and I had matching full sequin flag hats. Snapped this photo at the Boston airport the other day. I love Instagram.

In other American news my young Canadian friend from the west coast, Alex Kazemi recently interviewed LANA DEL REY. I love her. Check out his interview here.

I’ve been on a bit of an optimism kick this week. I’m working on some exciting projects with awesome people that I will tell you about in DUE TIME. Reminded myself of Optimism Girl last night. Did you know she’s over 16 now? Crazy. This will perk you up no matter what kind of day you’re having.

This morning I have a car service taking Sammy & I to Pearson Airport for a luncheon with HP & Air Canada. No, not leaving the country yet though! Will be at the DX3 conference later in the afternoon. Getting really stoked for Austin & SXSW in March. Started prep with my panel mates and loving our ‘Narcism Notes’. Chuckle to myself there haha 😉

Couple goodies from friends for the day:

Album download of Toronto band The Slakadeliqs feat. babe Justin Nozuka (free!)
Win a ticket to the CONDO SHOW OR a trip to BAHAMAS from condooutlet.com (on FB)
Did you know MIT is starting to offer FREE classes? Oh yeah.

Have a wonderful day. I hope the sun shines bright on your beautiful face.

What time is it?

Time to get up. Time to get off the couch. Time to pick up the phone and make that call. Time to start living. Time to start loving. Time to make that list of things you want to accomplish and not let anything get in the way. Time to let go. Time to take abreak. Time to make a move. Time to sit back and relax. Time to do something. Time to break free.

You’ve got the whole world in your hands.

Casie January 24, 2012 LIFE

Stewart. Brand.

I’ve very quickly developed an addiction to Pinterest. I got lost in there last night pinning all kinds of things I love, style, travel and places I’ve been. It’s amazingly easy to browse and stumble through all kinds of pretty, smart, inspiring and wonderful things. Mine looks like this so far:

I came across this panting and it automatically caught my eye because it’s by Stewart Brand. Do you know Stewart Brand?

How about a ‘Stewart’ brand like Martha, Rod, Jon, Kristen, or French?

A few of my fav are Lloyd, Judy, Jenie, Donald, Matthew, and Lisa (hi family!).

Source: butdoesitfloat.com via Alex on Pinterest

First thing after finding the painting was google ‘stewart brand’ and it turns out he is QUITE the FUTURIST who ” has been a critical thinker and innovator who helped lay the foundations of our internetworked world” according to TED. I stayed up way to late listening him talk. TED really sucks you in! My brain must have been hungry.

I watched him talk then somehow got into Stewart history and patterns and learned about the different Stewart tartans. I always knew the red one but they’re all quite pretty.

I love the internet because I learn and consume so many things in a day. Think back to when you had to go to a library or an expert for answers?! Some of you might not even remember. We are the digital generation. WHAT DID/WILL YOU LEARN TODAY?

Now, I’m going to dress up in some type of amazing outfit like this and do work all day that relates to my blog and life. HAVE AN AWESOMER DAY.

If not now, when?

Ask yourself this every single day.

I’m sitting in the Boston Logan Airport lounge listening to music and soaking up as much free wifi as a girl can. I got to thinking about life and goals and what I dreamed of doing and where I’m going. Not like, back to Toronto but where am I really going? I think January is a time everyone does that introspective look into their life and wonders, what am I doing? It’s probably also why people get sad and maybe have breakdowns! Last year in January I considered giving up blogging and getting a 9-5 job. I’m really glad I didn’t.

The last two years have been filled with all kinds of things I only ever dreamed would happen. How did I get to do them? How did I make them a reality? I feel inspired to tell you today.

When I was in Australia at Uni (2004 & pre-blog) I often felt homesick. I missed my sister terribly and everyone from home seemed light years away. One fine day I went to a bookstore in search of ‘something’ that would give me guidance or direction or make me feel better. I picked up The Power of Kabbalah by Yehuda Berg, a book that claimed to be ‘technology for the soul’. I went home and read it cover to cover in one sitting, staying up all night, moving from couch to bed to floor until it was finished. I was not raised religious and this book wasn’t about that at all. It was about the power of the universe and creating the life you wanted. It was spiritual wisdom. It helped me realize that I could have everything I ever wanted. It helped me understand that I already did.

As I embarked on this journey of self-discovery (I know how gay that sounds but it is true) I started to change how I thought about things. I’ve always been fairly positive but I really shifted my consciousness to see the light in every situation. By making this change I opened up a whole new realm of my life to accept positivity and my life began to change, for the better. I started writing things down, setting clear goals and striving to surround myself with inspiring people.

I learned something during that time that has stuck with me much longer than the red Kabbalah string on my wrist. It’s a quote by Hillel the Elder and it really inspired me. It’s been adopted by lots of people & things over history including the song “If not now, when?” by Incubus. I ask myself this every single day…

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?

Paint a positive picture of your future and go for it. There is nothing holding you back or standing in your way. Your life is your movie and you are the director. Go out there and GET IT. It’s TIME.

I used to write all the time and this year I’m going to write more. Next up on the blog is goal setting and people who positively influence me. I meant to write ‘block’ in that sentence but typed blog instinctively. The blog becomes you, I swear! Time to catch up on my Young & the Restless and fly home.

Love & light my friends,

<3 CASIE

* photo by Taylor Jackson at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada 2012

Casie January 23, 2012 LIFE

I woke up to a feeling, every little thing has meaning.

Went to a really cool Boston bar last night called Lucky’s. They have a drink named after me called Firecracker. Omg it was so good. I think I had too many. Preparing for a 2pm hangover.

My flight today was cancelled so I’m getting home later tonight then planned. Bob and I are going for breakfast and I’m going to get the greasiest thing I can. Extra time at the airport (cause of delay) is good for getting work done. I’m sure I’ll have a breaking life report by then!

Happy Monday. Keep fit & have fun xoxo

How can I be more grateful for the love & abundance around me and share it with the world?

Went to this lovely little diner for breakfast today. It’s in Newton called Johnny’s Luncheonette, they have awesome latkes & matzo balls and all kinds of other good stuff. Been top of the ‘Best in Boston’ lists for years.

I had the most divine sampler with crunchy toast, french toast, bacon, sausage, eggs and strawberries all topped off with icing sugar and a cup of maple syrup. It’s been a few hours and I’m still full.

It was really sunny.

Title of this post is from a photo I saw of something in Courtney Love’s West Village Townhouse. She’s a contributing editor to XO Jane and the photos & captions done by Jane are simply beautiful. See it here.

I think I will live in New York at least once.

This weekend has been a wonderfully chilled out break from the first 20 days of the year traveling to and from parties and conferences in Toronto, Detroit & Vegas. I’m at my friends house for a couple hours, their backyard is like a winter wonderland forrest.

Ellen and I are doing a yoga class in about an hour. She’s a yoga teacher but were going to a new studio. After class we head back to the house for BBQ steak dinner. I’m back to Toronto tomorrow afternoon and will be happily at home for a few weeks. Yay!

Weekend Tune: “Settle Down” by Kimbra

Happy weekend everyone! Hope it’s going along splendidly! For this week’s weekend tune I thought I’d vibe off of something Casie posted earlier this week. Remember Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”? It truly does deserve a double post so let me refresh your memory…

Pretty great stuff eh? Yeah. Enjoy that on repeat for a while until you’re ready for the weekend tune…….
You good? Ready? Alright then we’ll move on.

Now some of you might be wondering, “Hey Kate! Who was that stunning lady songstress featured in the about amazingness?” That ladies and gents in Kimbra. She’s from New Zealand and her debut album Vows just came out last summer. She’s kinda of a St. Vincent meets tUnE-yArDs turned pop act! Here’s the video for her song “Settle Down”!

Enjoy!
xo Kate

We got snow from here to Nantucket

I think I might hibernate in my hotel all day. There’s a couple inches of snow out my window and a few dozen Japanese girls outside my door. No idea what we are doing tonight. The Rocky Horror show last night was AMAZING. I need to be part of a show on stage this year. I spent most of my childhood performing on stage. I miss it!!

Have an awesome (lazy) day xo

Dear Mum, landed safe & sound. xo

I’m in Boston! My home for the weekend is downtown Double Tree, they have the best cookies. Follow my tweets for the adventure. We’re at The Bell right now. Bob is a regular and our friend Meri is on the bar. Going to Rocky Horror later!

With love from Boston,
CASIE xo