#TIFF14: CFC Annual BBQ Fundraiser for Canadian Film

Yesterday I attended the Annual CFC BBQ at the Canadian Film Centre w/ Sean and the team from 1188 Films. His company was an event sponsor and was demoing the latest Oculus Rift part of David Cronenberg’s Body Mind Change project. You may remember my slight obsession w/ POD and Body Mind Change last year.   CFC BBQ Highlights: The talented @SarahGadon show support for Canadian filmmakers at @cfccreates #TIFF14 BBQ! And she wows in @armani. pic.twitter.com/LUXNSUjYCB — ET Canada (@ETCanada) September 7, 2014 Wonderful to be at the @cfccreates for the annual #CFCBBQ. pic.twitter.com/lflaQzVFLP — Michael Chan (@Michael_KC_Chan) September 7, 2014   The Canadian Film Centre is absolutely gorgeous. Follow @CFCCreates for all kinds of news, info, and behind the scenes stuff about Canadian Film. I’ll be working with CFC later this year for the Buffer Festival celebrating top YouTube talent. Stay tuned right here for that! <3 CASIE

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Happiness depends upon ourselves. #TGIF

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha This week has been a busy one for me and probably for you. Back to school, back to work, TIFF, NYFW, and all the other little life things that pop up can really take a toll on your energy. I’m channeling this moment from last weekend when Sean and I went on a long drive through the Muskokas, from Gravengurse to Port Carling, Bala, and back. I asked him to stop the car so I could stand in the middle of the road and admire all that surrounded me. The trees, the fresh air, the silence. It made me think of one of my fav poems, Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken. It’s one of those things I dig up and read when I need to remind myself that taking the not so easy route and toughing through hard work is what makes all the difference in the end. “If it was easy, everyone would do it”, I’m sure someone older than you told you that before. If you’ve got that stress flow cramping your style, take a nap, take a bath, take a walk, take your phone out of your hand, and take a minute (or hour, or afternoon) to appreciate all the good things in your life. You’ll feel a stress release, I promise. <3 CASIE

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An Afternoon w/ Susur Lee at Bent Restauraunt

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Bent Restaurant w/ world-renowned chef Susur Lee, learning about his cooking an sampling the upcoming Veggielicious menu. The five-course vegetarian menu runs September 9th-20th at Bent, which he owns with his sons. Yes, he is holding two fish in the photo but they’re for the raw sushi bar! In the garden w/ @susurlee just down the street from @BentRestaurant checking out fresh veggies they use in-house. pic.twitter.com/wVvmBv4Gc1 — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) August 25, 2014 First on the Veggielicious menu is ‘Dip Three Ways’, a mixture of hummus, baba ganoush, olives, and spicy mustard seed tomato stew.  These didn’t last long!     We started by making meringue desserts so they could bake while we explored the menu. I’m quite familiar w/ meringue as the Pavlova is a famous New Zealand dessert I’ve been making with mum as long as I can remember. We were given Susur Lee’s merengue recipe so I’m planning whip up a batch at the cottage this weekend and impress Sean’s parents. Look out! Below on the left is the meringue Chef made and mine is on the right. Added some almonds to fancy it up a bit. It was delicious. Scroll down to see the dessert presentation, it was a thing of beauty. Chickpea Tempura Tofu    Wild Mushroom Quinoa Risotto    French Merengie w/ Golden Licorice, feat. wild blueberry, peaches, passionfruit syrup, raspberry coulis! They have some stellar cocktails you can check out on Instagram at @bentcocktails. This is the Asian Caesar, the most popular cocktail at Bent. It’s got a whole bunch of ingredients including soy & Hoisin sauce. Yep, that’s an oyster on there too. Veggielicious at Bent runs from Spet. 9-20th so make a reso and take your fav veggie lover for a nice meal. There’s a raw sushi bar too. For more info visit bentrestaurant.com. Huge thank you to Chef Susur Lee and the…

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Montreal Roadtrip! #tbt

A couple of years ago Sean and I took a trip to Montreal for a weekend. We stayed at the W Montreal and had driven there in a car from Ford Canada. Montreal is dreamy in the summer. The W Hotel has a great breakfast, it’s own nightlife, and an in-suite tub you could stay in all afternoon. We had dinner in Old Montreal and took a stroll by the water the next day. This is a little video Sean made of our weekend. Original posts: August, 2012 I’m still at the cottage and thinking that living here would not be that horrible. I’ve gotten used to the silence and although it’s been cool and rainy the last few days, I’ve found comfort in having the fireplace on and wearing jogging hooded jumpers. Hope you are having a great week. 🙂 <3 CASIE  

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It may be raining outside but there’s sunshine in here.

It’s been a bit gloomy up here the last 24 hours but I don’t really mind it. Hopefully we get some sunshine tomorrow. Jenie is coming to visit w/ her BF today and I can’t wait! Made a time lapse of the rain storm yesterday. It was magical with the sun shining through most the time. Posted the 15 second on Instagram here. Been doing some travelling w/ Kim Kardashian. I just can’t quit her! Looked at Sean’s old family albums and I knew he was cute but SERIOUSLY he is JUST SO DAMN CUTE. Look at this Jr. Blondetourage member! What a little legend. Hoping we can float in those big donuts I got on Amazon in the sunshine tomorrow. The rain is relaxing but also makes me sleepy. Reckon I’ll take a trip to town before I get cabin fever. Hope your day is lovely! Can’t wait till @jeniestewart arrives today! Been cooped up in the cottage 4 days already… pic.twitter.com/VYaAGooaRu — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) August 13, 2014

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#Travel: A Weekend in Boston w/ My Loves

On Friday afternoon Sean and I hopped on a little plane at Toronto Island and flew Porter across the pond to Boston. I absolutely LOVE flying Porter. We arrived at the (worlds shortest commercial) ferry at 2:10pm, landed on the island at 2:15pm, and at 2:40 we had checked in at the gate and through security. There was even time for a sandwich and a drink & snack. Pop, juice, water, coffee, tea, cookies, almonds are all free in the lounge. WIFI too! The flight was a breeze and in just under an hour and a half we landed at Boston Logan. It was my first time using the automated US Customs and it was a total breeze. We had a chuckle that I took a glamour shot. Like, check out that photo? All my selfie taking is really paying off. I can’t wait till I go for my next Passport photo. We stopped at The Bell in Hand as usual. I’ve been going there with Bob since my first Boston trip about five years ago. It’s the oldest pub in America and our friend Meri works there. Some Heineken babes were dishing out free beers which was a nice start to the weekend! Our next stop was Nico’s Restaurant in Boston’s North End, Little Italy. I absolutely LOVE Italian food and our dinner here was FANTASTIC. I packed up the leftovers and snacked on them later.  A bunch of celebs have dined there and I was most interested to see The Rock had been there since that photo of him from the 90’s has been flying around this week. I spent Saturday by the pool from morning till night. It was SUCH a beautiful day. And with a pool like this, hwo could I go wrong? A bunch of friends joined us later in the…

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#LoveThisCity: Priceless Toronto w/ @MasterCardCA

To celebrate summer and help people in TO experience more of what our great city has to offer, Priceless Toronto is offering MasterCard holders a whole pile of awesome offers and discounts.  I took them up on on offer to see a show at Mirvish AND visit the Science of Rock n’ Roll at the Ontario Science Centre. Let me tell you, after seeing to Return to Grace, my love for Elvis has grown by about a million. I’ve always loved him and we used to listen to his music at my house as a kid. The show chronicled the life and times of Elvis Presley and the role of Elvis was played by Steve Michaels, a Toronto born Elvis impersonator who is one of the world’s best. The show finished with my fav Elvis of all, the 1973 concert Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii. It was like I was seeing the king himself, I swooned and sang along till the curtain closed. I also became obsessed with being this Elvis for Halloween for the next 24hours. Seeing a theatre show at Mirvish carries an element of elegance for me. I remember Dad taking us to see ‘Crazy for You’ when I was little. We got dressed up and had snacks at intermission. I highly recommend checking out Toronto’s vast array of musicals that roll through the city. Make sure you check out offers from MasterCard here before ordering tickets. There’s a ton of offers for you to eat, play, shop and stay at some of Toronto’s greatest attractions including The Ritz Carlton, Canada’s Wonderland, Toronto Zoo, CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, Legoland, Ontario Science Centre, Harbourfront Centre and more. My second adventure was to check out The Science of Rock n’ Roll at The Ontario Science Centre. Sean, Emily, and I played drums, guitar, and hit the mic…

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#Muskoka: Life For Me Is A Riverboat Fantasy

Had a great weekend lounging at the cottage up in Muskoka. The weather was a bit cloudy on Saturday when we arrived but it was warm and I have no complaints! Boat is in the water so we got to do some cruisin’ around the lake. I’ve had David Wilcox ‘Riverboat Fantasy’ stuck in my head since yesterday. It always comes on 104.1 The Dock when we’re driving in cottage country. If you’re looking for some good oldies and classic rock, you can listen online here. My activities on Sunday included floating, reading, snacking, and sun tanning. Magazine reading has me thinking about layering. I know Autumn is a while away but fall fashion is just so dreamy. Brock & Jenn came up for the weekend and we are all obsessed w/ Doritos Roulette. They’re so freaking good! I’ve ordered two of these donut floaties and they should arrive before the long weekend. Squeeee! Watchin’the sun go down… Hope your weekend was great too. Next weekend Sean and I are heading to Boston and the weekend after that is a long one. Yeahooooooo! I can’t get enough summer, I love it so much. This week is supposed to be nice and HOT! <3 CASIE

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Love Your Life: Shangri-La, Hollywood, Netflix, Art

Remember last week when I went to the Vitamin A show at Shangri-La? Well, I shot the show with my GoPro and posted a video on Instagram as an entry to their contest…and I WON. The prize is amazing! I’ll be visiting the health club and spa at the Shangri-La in Toronto once a month for the next 12 months AND I get a new Vitamin A bathing suit once a month for the next year. Other parts of the prize include a gift basket from L’Oréal and a pendant from Birks. Huzzah! The contest was to post your fav look from the show and when I found out the prize I put some elbow grease into making something great. Here’s my winning entry! In other news, I’ve been playing Kardashian and I made the A-List. I know it’s stupid but it’s also kinda fun. I have a few friends who are also playing and it’s a hoot chatting about it with them over Twitter. Sean can’t understand why I would want to play this game when my real life actually has some similarities to the game. Next weekend we’re flying to Boston t visit friends and I hope to get to NY very soon. Finished The Fall on Netflix and really enjoyed the series. I’m practically a professional binger! Jillian Anderson stars in this BBC thriller. I love watching Criminal Minds and cop dramas so this one was like a really long good episode. There’s only 5 eps in the series. Been walking past these stars on my way to work and finally decided to take their picture. There’s art everywhere! Hope your week is going well. Remember, you’ll never been younger than you are right now so make the most of each day. Heading up to the cottage this weekend and I can’t wait.…

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Off to the Races! Queen’s Plate 2014 #QP14

From the cottage to the red carpet! Yesterday Sean and I went to the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine Raceway as soon as we got back from the cottage. We both rushed around to find an outfit and Queen West vintage shops saved the day for me once again. Picked up this purple hat from the Public Butter and dress from another little shop near Queen/Lansdowne (Parkdale). We bet on the last 4 races and unfortunately didn’t win. I’m not a fan of horses, for some reason they really creep me out but I do love horse racing. When I lived in Australia it was such a huge event to attend the races. Everyone there was dressed to the nines! I remember going surfing and rushing back to the house, throwing on a dress, makeup, and a huge hat before gracing the red carpet. Post by Woodbine Racetrack. Big thanks to the Sharon from the Backseat Stylers blog and Flare Canada for having us as their guests. Hoping to go back to the racetrack to place some bets before the next Queen’s Plate rolls around. It’s so fun! Song of the day… <3 CASIE

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