260: Use What You Got pt. 2

I spent hours this weekend sewing at the kitchen table making big floofy scrunchies. Each one is 100% unique and handmade with recycled fabric from my personal wardrobe.

I had planned to donate items at the start of the year, then lockdown happened. Instead of buying new fabric, I decided to make them into new things. Since I didn’t buy new fabric, I could work my way through learning to sew again after 20 years, without worrying about fucking up.

At the start of quarantine I shared my theme of ‘use what you got‘, I think that’s really carried through the rest of the year. Each tag on my floofy scrunchies says ‘Handmade by Casie w/ recycled fabric.‘ and has a little background story on the original item.

Today picked up some clear plastic packaging and thread (and glitter thread!) from Dollerama and I can’t wait to put everything together.

Put my wreath up on the front of the cottage. First time making one since I was a kid!

In other news…

Use What You Got pt. 1 was Day 34!

Day 258: LIGHT IT UP! Luminaire Authentik

Today I had virtual lighting consultation with Luminaire Authentik. The meeting was set up by my friend & PR maven Kate Makinson, to create a custom light for my space. Started in 2015 by Maude Rondeau, Luminaire Authentik has become known for its Scandinavian aesthetic, made-in-Canada craftsmanship, and limitless customization options. I fell in love with their designs and started to visualize new lighting in our home using their 3D Creation Tool.

Instead of physically going to their location in Leslieville, I opted to have an online consultation with Alana who was in the showroom. She was so helpful! Over Zoom, I took her on a tour of my space and shared what I was thinking. I fell in love with a large hanging light that’s white on the inside, with a large bulb, and BRIGHT yellow on the outside.

It’s going to hang so nice and be a focal point of the room. It takes a couple of weeks to make and will arrive at my door in early January. I’ve never had a custom light and after spending the last year transforming my space, it’s going to be a bright, beautiful, final touch.

This is the old light that is being replaced. Goodbye! ?

Here’s a preview of my new light using the Luminaire Authentik 3D Creator tool. I can’t WAIT!


Visit luminaireauthentik.com to browse their beautiful designs and play with the 3D Tool. They have so many customizable options depending on what you’re looking for. The Toronto showroom is located in Leslieville but you can also do an online consultation like me.

If you have any questions, LMK! I will share an update once it arrives and I set it up. Excited to bring this custom, Canadian-made sunshine to my room.

Day 255: The Magic of The Universe

Well hello there! Spent the whole day inside, did not run today. Curled my hair with vintage hot rollers and I looked like a cherub. Decided to pop on a nice yellow jumper to brighten the day.

Tomorrow I’m meeting Talia in the morning for a socially distanced coffee date. I really miss seeing friends!

Usually, at this time of the year, I would be getting ready for a week away in New Orleans with some of my best friends. Seeing Facebook memories pop up makes me really miss travel. Seven years ago during this time, I was in Thailand with Contiki and 20 YouTubers. Such a great trip.

Today I was dreaming about going on vacation and the first place I would go back to is Costa Rica. If I was going to move to a tropical climate, I would love to live in CR.

In other news, remember how I mentioned wanting a treadmill? Well, ladies & gentlemen, the magic of the universe has shined its light in my direction! Sean’s dad emailed him to say they have one in their garage. AHHH! I am so thankful! It’s amazing how you can manifest great things in your life if you put positive messages out there.

Keith, if you are reading this I am sending you my love!!

Day 254: Get Up, Dress Up, Show Up

My marketing professor in college used to say this to us. Each day we had her class, she expected us all to dress like we were going to work. I have always loved a good outfit and dressing nice for school was something I took pride in.

Even though I’m not going anywhere or seeing anyone, I like to dress up on Monday to start the week feeling good. Today I did my hair, put on makeup, and a dress. Each time I popped downstairs my dress fluttered around like I was flying. A simple pleasure. I felt great all day and had a wonderful burst of creativity in the afternoon before my last meeting.

I don’t dress up every day but in my experience, putting on a great outfit is usually a great way to make yourself feel better. By Friday, I’m usually in a cozy outfit with messy hair and no makeup, but it’s the end of the week. ?

I finally looked up the quote! Turns out, the full text is “no matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up, and never give up.” It’s by NYT best-selling author Regina Brett and I am now following her on Twitter.

Isn’t the Internet great?!

Day 253: Find Me In The Woods or Jungle

I’m glad I spent some time outside on Friday because we got snow today! Yesterday I spent almost the entire day in my room watching shows, napping, and reading. We all need a day of rest sometimes.

We’re heading back to the city shortly and spending the week there as Emily has school. I’m really looking forward to being back at the house. I’ve been in the woods for 3-weeks, except for 2 short 24-hour trips to the city and back.

All of my plants have been fertilized and boxed up for the trip back home. They’ve all done so well during the pandemic and I’ve really enjoyed having them at the cottage. I hope they’re happy too! I’m sure they will enjoy the warmth of our house for the winter. My room is going to be a jungle and I can’t wait.

Day 251: Synchronicity. Greenlight.

Sean went to the city after sunrise for a meeting. I spent the morning working until lunchtime. It was so lovely outside I decided to put on my gloves and get to work. 13 degrees in November, I’ll take it! I’m sure we’ll have snow in no time, so I wanted to make the most of the warm air.

I started stacking all the wood that had fallen down from our first attempt a couple of weeks ago. I put away most of the patio furniture for winter, got the shutters on the front of the cottage, and a few of the big ones on the windows facing the lake. I was listening to Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey on Audible and it was great motivation. I really love this book and I’m thinking about getting a hardcover copy of it so I can look back on his notes, poems, and quotes.

Ok, this is kinda crazy. I looked it up on Amazon and found this page. That quote about style on the right is from a daily quote calendar from the ’90s (maybe ’80s?). I know this because we had the same one at our house. Mum still has one of the pages in her fridge today. I know I have a photo of it somewhere but I will ask her to send a photo so I can update this post. I think it’s a sign I should get the hardcopy, who knows what else I’ll find in there.

In life, I like to think small similarities like this are a sign I’m on the right track. Synchronicity. I am certain mum is going to ring me when she reads this because you won’t believe what happened next. The following page I looked up has a poem on it, look at the date. It was written on May 8th, my birthday.

The world we’re living in is full of things to stress us out but it’s little moments like this that give me inspiration. Have faith that everything will be ok.

Look for synchronicity in your life, your day, you might find it in the most unlikely place.

You never know what light will shine on you when you are open to receiving it.

Day 250: Turtleneck Season

As much as I really don’t enjoy being cold, I love wearing wool, scarves, tights, and turtlenecks in winter. I recently ordered a couple of cashmere-cotton blend turtlenecks from Joe Fresh and they’re great. You can use Sasha’s code SASHA25 to save 25% making them under $20! They can also double as a mask. ? Leopard jacket is also from JF, it’s the ‘Jilly Jacket’ in kids xl. The scrunchie I made about a month ago matches the print perfectly!

Ran a few KMs in the city before heading to the office. Found this sculpture not far from the house, not sure if it’s Drake OVO or something by birdo?!

We arrived back at the cottage just after 7 pm and Sean opened his new Oculus Quest 2. I’m really keen to try some of the VR fitness with this. Last winter I was able to go to the gym and use the treadmill but this year, once it gets icy, I won’t be running outside. Looking for more ways to stay fit without having to go outside. I’ll post a review of Oculus Quest 2 once I’ve tried a few games.

Day 249: Behind The Gram!

This week I had a shoot in the city and it was so fun! I was at the Influence Agency studio where we shot an episode of their Behind The Gram series, Holiday Edition. I’m excited to share it with you next month!

The shoot was covid-safe (obvs!) and so much fun. As soon as I saw Brigitte we did a happy dance. I miss seeing friends and doing stuff like this. I wore my fav beret from Hayley Elsassaer I got last winter and this super-soft cashmere shirt from mum.

When I got home I started listening to Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey on Audible. It’s so good. I really enjoy listening to audiobooks when I’m running. I love the way he talks, his cadence, accent, inspiration. Highly recommend. This quote is from part one ‘Outlaw Logic’.

“I’d rather lose money having fun than make money being bored.”

Matthew McConnahey of his dads quote

Day 248: Focus on Gratitude

The little things like catching the sun in your face. A beautiful tree. Smiling at someone as you drive by. A fresh cup of hot coffee on a cold morning. When you focus on gratitude, even the simplest things can be a source of joy. Do this and I promise it will have a big impact on your entire life. 

Woke up to a blanket of snow today. It’s cold but beautiful. I ran through the winter wonderland, seeing my breath as I jogged down the road. The sun was shining and the snow painted glitter all around. It was so nice.

On the way home, there was even more snow and it’s been a long time since we’ve driven in those conditions. Although it took longer to make it back to the city, we kept saying ‘WOW’ as we drove the winding roads through the snow.

I’m excited about my shoot today. Ahh! I’ve been up in the woods so long, being in a studio has me quite excited. 

Day 247: The Great Windstorm of 2020

Well, the last 24 hours have been something else! It’s not often that we have a power outage at the cottage but yesterday, there was a massive wind storm in South Western Ontario and it hit us hard. We lost power around 3pm and I was only on 50% phone battery. We charged up devices best we could, made a fire for heat, and pulled out the candles. Sean and I slept in the living room near the fire with doors to the rest of the cottage closed off. It was pretty scary at times, since it was dark around 5pm, we had only candles & flashlights to make it through the night. The wind outside was the fiercest I’ve ever experienced here, with rain, snow, hail, and cold temperatures.

Sean woke up a couple of times in the night to add wood to the fire and by 6 am we were both awake. The power didn’t return until about 3 pm but we managed to still stay connected and avoid any meltdowns (me lol). Monday is the busiest day at my job so I charged my phone in the car so I could make out weekly status update calls. After that, I organized the spice cupboard and did some exercise. I figured since I was trying to conserve my device batteries, I could make good use of my ‘offline’ time.

In other news, I got a big beautiful Monstera plant at Walmart yesterday for $34.99! I’ve wanted one for a while so I am pretty happy to watch her grow. There’s some bright new growth and she seems to be pretty healthy. Kinda wish I picked up a second one! Over the next few months, I’d like to add Monstera to my propagating. They had fiddle leaf fig plants too FYI.

Tomorrow we’re back in the city and I have a covid-safe shoot, on camera! It’s been MONTHS since I was in a studio and I can’t wait.

Hope you are safe & warm.