Day 269: Instagram Verified!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, today is a special day because I now have the coveted blue checkmark of IG of verification! I’d like to thank me for all my hard work over the years, and not giving up on me, and for staying committed to my goals. Ha! Jk, I worked with a friend at an agency who helped initiate the process. I’m now verified on Twitter (2012) and Instagram (2020). If you haven’t seen Snoop give this award speech where he thanks himself, you’re welcome. Getting verified made me think about some of the cool stuff I’ve done over the years. The process involved submitting a bunch of references to verify my work and who I am in the world. If you ever wanna do a deep creep, I have another website at casiestewat.biz with speaking, directing, brand partnerships (over 100!), and press/media over the years. Here’s a little hilight of some videos, awards, commercials, etc. Canadian Academy – Academy Social Looking back, this was a pretty neat experience and I don’t think they ever did this section of the awards as a separate event again. I was up against someone I really wanted to beat and was SO NERVOUS I would lose. I remember drinking too much that night to try and escape the anxiety. The Canadian Academy awards (Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television) are kinda like the Canadian version of the Oscars, awarding excellence in film, TV, and digital. Sunwing Commercial We shot this over a 4 day stay in Mexico. One day to rest once we arrived, 2 days to shoot (all on iPhone!), and 3/4 of one day to rest before leaving. It was a fun shoot but very busy. The whole team was great to work with. This commercial ran during the Superbowl…

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Day 241: Pandemic Anxiety

I wasn’t feeling great today. Kept waking up in the night thinking someone was walking through the cottage. Woke up with serious anxiety, went for a run, did a meditation, took a nap. Called mum when after my rest and talked it out. Had a cry, felt a bit better. Mum has a magical way of calming me down, looking at things rationally, and helping me see clearly. A nap always helps too, everything seems more intense when you’re tired. Today, Toronto announced new ‘red zone’ restrictions as cases keep rising in the GTA. Ontario is now seeing over 1,000 cases/day which is kinda scary. As of Saturday, restaurants can no longer have indoor dining, gyms can’t hold fitness classes, no indoor meeting spaces, and bars have 9pm last call. They’re also encouraged people not to hang out with anyone who doesn’t live in their household. It’s crazy we are living through this right now. Being at the cottage feels like we’re escaping and sometimes I start doing something where I forget what’s going on, then I remember. It’s normal to have anxiety, especially now, I’ve found that exercise and meditation have been really helpful. A couple of years ago I was gifted a membership to the Calm app and really got into guided meditation. I found that I really missed using the app and purchased a new membership in the summer. I love the sleep stories by Matthew McConaughey or Harry Stiles. I swear I’ve never heard the end of the story, I always fall asleep! Their website is offering a free week if you’d like to give it a try. If you’re feeling pandemic anxiety, it’s normal, take some deep breaths, go outside for as walk, call a friend, or do something that makes you feel happy. We’ll…

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Day 219: Inspire Your Drive

These days it can be hard to find inspiration. I’ve always had a knack for finding it in the little things by showing gratitude for them, a sunny day, beautiful leaves, a fav song on the radio, or a nice long solo drive. I’ve never owned a car so when I get to borrow one from a major manufacturer it’s an exciting time. This past week I picked up car from MINI Canada (Countryman SE ALL4) with all-wheel drive in one of their new colours. I’ve loved MINI my whole life, a few years ago I took a solo trip to LA and cruised around in a convertible MINI Cooper for the week. It was heaven, I didn’t even mind the traffic! Since we’re in the middle of a bathroom renovation, it was really helpful to have my own car to pop out and get supplies from the paint store or Home Depot. I also took this as an opportunity to support local and actually pick up orders from local restaurants, instead of getting delivery. The entire time I had this car I took every opportunity to drive it. Friend needs a ride? I’ll drive you! We need something from the store? I’ll go get it! MINI Countryman: Favourite Features Besides being fun to drive in the city or on the highway, the MINI Countryman has an ALL 4 All-Wheel Drive System and was great on gas. lots of room inside the vehicle or in the trunk. Great little family car! Easy Opener for the back means you can swipe your foot under the bumper, and voila, the door opens! The rear camera makes parking or backing up a sinch. Apple CarPlay, is great for Audible, music, directions, or using Siri while driving. Safety first! I love the newly designed…

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Day 212: More Support Next Time

If you only knew then what you know now, right? If I only knew that one of these nicely stacked woodpiles would topple over in <24 hours, we might have stacked it differently. C’est la vie! I love stacking wood. It’s a great workout and you can do a lot in a short time if you hustle. I listened to Mariah Carey’s new book The Meaning of Mariah Carey on Audible, read by her! I love it. I’m 3.5 hours in with 7 to go. I like to listen to books for long drives, running, walks, or doing stuff around the house. Some of my fav audiobooks so far: In other news, last week I started watching Gossip Girl from the very beginning, for the first time. I love it, was searching for something with a dramatic/stylish vibe to zone out to after watching Emily in Paris. I’m almost done S1 and have 5 more seasons to go, should take me right through to December.

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Day 201: Dinner Date – Kibo Secret Garden

I had an incredible dinner at Kibo’s Sushi’s newest location, Kibo Secret Garden, an intimate, high-end omakase and sushi house in Yorkville. They have 23 locations in the GTA! Kibo Market in the Junction Triangle (near our place) is definitely a local favourite. I was excited to hang out with Natalie and attend my first dinner event in a LONG TIME. We wore masks and were socially distanced from other diners & staff. We sat at the omakase bar and had a great view of the dinner served by Chef Jin, with barriers between us and other guests. Omakase is a Japanese phrase meaning ‘I leave it up to you’ that describes the traditional Japanese dining style where the culinary experience is left in the hands of the chef. We also enjoyed their selection of Japanese sake and beer. ? Dinner Details The menu highlights the highest-quality fish, seafood, and premium-grade meats. Bo Seo, CEO & Founder, takes pride in only serving fish within 24 hours of its catch. We had the 20-course dinner omakase, starting with Kobacka Soup (sweet pumpkin & rice), Hirame nigiri (Japan), Kurodai (black seabream, Turkey), Kanpachi Nigiri (Japan), Madai Nigiri (red snapper, Japan). Next, we had a round of sashimi with king salmon, fluke, bluefin tuna, yellowtail, mackerel, and amberjack. Honestly, it was so good. Other items on our menu included bluefin tuna belly, ika (squid), oyster, Wagyu Beef, lobster, prawn, black cod, and sea eel from Japan. I haven’t had much sushi the past few months and everything was an absolute treat. The presentation was also incredible. I reckon it was the fanciest sushi dinner I’ve ever had. “Everything from the location to the design, to the menu has been thoughtfully chosen to create a luxury sushi dining experience. I can’t wait to welcome people in!”  Simeon…

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Day 170: It’s September

Spent most of the day at my computer. It was really hot today. Whenever I opened the patio door, I was instantly hit with a wave of heat. I’m not ready for summer to be over. I love fall fashion but cooler temps gets my mind thinking about winter. It’s already such a hard time with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that a pandemic sends my mind swirling with ways to try and cope. If a second wave comes, (and it looks like it might), should we go back to the cottage, or can I run away to Costa Rica? Hard to believe this is Day 170 of my daily pandemic blog diary, where did the time go? I’ve always loved September, the last decade has meant returning to events post-summer relaxation, TIFF, Fashion Week, seeing all my friends at once. I feel sad for the times we won’t have but grateful for the memories, all mostly documented here or on Instagram. I’ve got tickets to one TIFF screening so far and we’ll see how many more tickets I can snag for my at-home TIFF experience. Over the past month, I’ve been a bit slack with working out and keeping track of the days. This month I’m sticking to my goals. A fresh stary of sorts and there’s a full moon tonight. I didn’t run today but I did 100 situps and 10 pushups before bed. A small feat but one I’m trying to make a routine. I put some water and my crystals out last night, made 6 wishes at the moon and stared at it or a bit. Does the moon see me? I’ll do whatever I can do bring good vibes right now!

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Day 122: I Went To A Spa! Introducing YOUTH MEDISPA, Toronto

It’s been ages since I went to a spa so when I was invited to check out the brand new YOUTH Medispa in downtown Toronto, I was so excited! I had a Bespoke Medical Facial followed by Botox and filler. This is more than a beauty clinic, they’re a female-led, luxe anti-ageing spa with over 30 years in the business. They offer Injectables, advanced laser and facials, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT), hair restoration, skin tightening, vaginal rejuvenation, and plastic surgery consultation. Inside YOUTH Medispa, Toronto With the new Covid19 restrictions, they’re allowed to book patient appointments and are taking all the precautions necessary to make sure your visit is safe and enjoyable. The day before my appointment I was sent several forms and waivers to sign-off on my treatments and informed they would provide a mask if I didn’t have my own. I arrived 15 min early for my appointment and was greeted at the door with sanitizer and one of their specialists who was also wearing a mask. I was so excited I wore a dress and heels for the first time in months. I was the only patient at the time and as restrictions change for Toronto, they will continue to stagger appointments and have both entry and exit doors so no two clients cross paths. The entire space is 3,100 square feet with 4 floors, 4 main areas, and 9 treatment rooms. Big fan of the art displayed, their look is very minimal, black & white, with a pop of colour here and there. They’re paperless and wireless meaning you can pay for your services ahead of time or inside the treatment room without having to go back to through the building. YOUTH Medispa – Bespoke Facial My first treatment was a Bespoke Medical Facial that…

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Day 39: Book Recommendations

Last night I finished the first book I’d read a while and then we watched 1917. I’m not usually into period pieces or wartime moves but it kept me in suspense the whole time. I started another book in bed before falling asleep. I think an escape from reality was just what I needed yesterday. A couple of months ago I was wandering aimlessly at Chapters (remember doing that?) and surprised myself at how many books I’d actually read. I took photos of all the covers to make a blog post with recommendations. I guess I didn’t really find the time until waking up at 5:30 this morning saying, today’s the day! You’ll notice a theme, lots of thriller/suspense, almost no self-help. Reading for me is a distraction from the outside world and I love a good story involving some type of crime or murder. Idk why, I just do. This post isn’t sponsored, I bought my own Kindle and most of these books. A few in the list below were advance reader copies from the publisher via PR or Netgalley. All books are linked on Amazon and can be found in my reading list here. I love reading on the Kindle. Until I got an e-reader, it had been ages since I’d read a whole book. I love traditional books but with Kindle, you have almost any book at your fingertips, you can read in the sun, in the dark, in water, or highlight things to look back on later. I also quite enjoy Audible, especially when the book is read by the author. A great feature of both Audible and Kindle is you can preview the book before you buy it, this has really come in handy with recommendations and the discovery process of finding your next read.…

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Day 3: #stayhomechallenge

We had fun yesterday. I mean, it seems hard to have fun in this situation but, if you think about it. You can still have fun if you want to. Sean and I had a good time driving to the cottage, listening to oldies on 104.1 The Dock. We had fun driving over the mini snowbank driveway at the cottage right when Black Betty came on, I cranked it and we plowed through the driveway in the snow. As much as unpacking the car is work, it was still kinda fun. Navigating the snow, carrying bags & boxes, trying to balance, while inside started to warm up. We worked from about 4:30pm to 8pm getting the cottage ready. I remembered Alex was going Live on IG at 8pm, so I joined. We talked about life in isolation and doing a fireworks show on Friday night. It was really fun! We haven’t hung out IRL in ages but it was just as good. I chatted for about 15min and jumped out before she ended the chat at 8:30pm. I left to help Sean get wood and get batteries. At 9:30 I called my friend who recently came back from two months in Asia and traveled through China to get home. She’s been in quarantine for two weeks already. We chatted about everything from COVID-19 to workouts and she helped me with some ideas of what I can do up here. I want to share positivity. I want to be your sunshine at this hard time. I don’t know what else to do. I’m not sure exactly how and what I’m going to do but each day, I’ll try to share some good. If nothing else, I’ll share how I’m feeling. Maybe a smile or a beautiful sunset. I’m happy to be…

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Beat Winter SAD: 50 Self-care Ideas

Self-care can legit mean just about anything these days. For me, there are a lot of things I like to do and sometimes it’s as simple as putting away that pile of clothes or saying no to leaving the house. I made a list of things I like to do for myself, usually on a Sunday to prep for the week. Self-care is taking a few moments to yourself to do something for yourself, which makes you feel good and alleviate stress. Thankfully this winter hasn’t been as brutal as last year’s super cold months where everything was covered in ice. The 2019 winter blues really got me down and I am trying to best to make this winter not seem as dark, lonely, and depressing. It may seem like I am out on the town quite a bit but I assure you, it’s usually not for long. I love staying at home. I love hair masks, face masks, exfoliating, nice lotion, naps, cooking, and doing things inside the house. I started this list to make 10 things but kept going and now there are 50. Most of these you can do without leaving your house of opening your wallet. I added a shoppable section at the bottom in case you want to grab any of my favorites via Amazon Prime. If you are feeling down, do one little thing each day to bring happiness into your life. You DESERVE it. Treat yourself!

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Beat Winter SAD: Hire a Cleaner

Cleaning the house at any time of year can be a challenge. When you have the long dreary winter where it’s dark before work and dark when you get home, it’s even harder. Also, how do we go through so many dishes and kid’s clothes in a week? IDK. We have been meaning to do a deep clean on everything for longer than I care to admit. AskForTask gave me two hours of free cleaning to try the service and let me tell you, IT WAS AMAZING. I booked the cleaning via askfortask.com and was able to list the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and share comments. The whole process took about 5 minutes and I paid the difference (after my discount) with PayPal. I booked the recommended 3 hours and our Tasker arrived Sunday morning and cleaned for the requested time. They require you to be home for the cleaning so I booked a time that worked for us. Starting the week knowing the work is done has me feeling grateful. I can’t believe how much she deep cleaned! At one point I went to our first floor and she had completely moved our furniture to clean behind the couch. Our while place looks great. Highly recommend Maria with AskforTask, very thorough. For all the work you do in a day, a week, a month, treat yourself and hire a cleaner. There’s a handy app that allows you to communicate with your Tasker and add more hours if need be. Use code CASIESTEWART for $10 off your first task and give yourself some peace of mind. You deserve it.

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Beat Winter SAD: Book a Staycation

We are almost through January and the countdown to spring is ON! OK, it’s 50 days, and yes I’m counting. I’m really working on finding ways to make this winter not seem as long, cold, or depressing as 2019. Last week, I shared a post about beating winter Seasonal Affective Disorder by taking a vacation. This week, I’m sharing an AWESOME recommendation for a staycation. Sean and I spent a relaxing ~24-hours at Hotel X Toronto in downtown Toronto and it was a really nice mini-getaway. If you’d like to see more of my stay in video, check out my Staycation highlight on Instagram. I magically picked the BEST day for a staycation because we had a major snowstorm that morning. I arrived at noon for a hot yoga class and to see the amenities before checking in at 3pm. From the moment you walk in the hotel, it feels luxurious. It makes for a great staycation because there are lots of plants, several restaurants, a great gym, and amenities, meaning you don’t have to leave the hotel. There’s also a kid’s play center if you have little ones. I have added the Guerlain Spa to my ‘must visit‘ list for next time. Hotel X Toronto definitely has a resort-type feel. There’s a pool on the roof that I imagine is absolutely stunning in the summer. Yes, I did test it out in the winter. Scroll down!

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Cali Sober & The Holidays

Here’ an excerpt from a piece I wrote for Twisted Extracts about the term ‘Cali Sober‘ and the holidays. If you’re not familiar with the new-ish term, it’s essentially not drinking (or drinking less) but still using cannabis. When I learned it at the Pretty Elevated event a while back I thought ‘hey, that’s me!’. I shared some thoughts on how the holidays are often all about drinking and to have some other options than beer and wine at your holiday hangout. Scroll down to read a snippet or check out the whole article on twistedextracts.com here. Side note, if you haven’t tried Twisted Extracts, I highly recommend them! I absolutely love their cara-melts or jelly bombs that come in CBD, THC, or a 1:1 combo. They’re the perfect dosage and the CBD is good quality. RESHARED FROM TWISTED EXTRACTS, READ IN FULL HERE: I’m not here to define exactly what sobriety means to you, but navigating the holidays as someone who doesn’t drink can be a bit awkward. Drinking culture is such a big part of society and I think it’s time to redefine holiday hosting without all the booze. This year, if you are hosting a holiday get together, please have other options than just beer or wine for your guests. Making a signature cocktail? Try creating a temperance cocktail or an option without alcohol. If there’s someone who isn’t drinking, be considerate of their choices, and if they don’t mention it, don’t pry with questions. We all have our own reasons for making changes, maybe they’re not drinking that night, that month, or ever again. That’s their decision to make! If you’re attending holiday events, be respectful of where and when you are using cannabis. Check with your host to see if they have a preferred place…

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Sassoon Style: A Breakdown on Colour Technique

It’s been years since I’ve had my hair long as it is right now. I can’t remember the last time I was able to put my hair up in a pony, do french braids, or pop in extensions. I love it! It’s so fun to be able to play around with barrettes and accessories to change my look. At the start of summer, I stopped into Sassoon Toronto to brighten up my blonde and trim my little bob. LET’S COLOUR In this post, I’m breaking down some of the different colour options you can get at Sassoon and what they mean. I use to do all-over colour (blonde) but in effort to grow my hair longer and healthier, I’ve switched to highlights. They’re BALAYAGE This popular technique is pretty low maintenance if you’re looking for a look that doesn’t need a lot of upkeep. At Sassoon, they mix freehand painting with foiled highlights meaning you can have a natural sun-kissed look or something more dramatic. Commitment: 2-3 Months Great For: Creating soft, sun-kissed hair that is natural-looking, wearable, versatile View this post on Instagram A post shared by SASSOON TORONTO (@sassoontoronto) on Jul 6, 2019 at 4:33am PDT TWO TONE I love this look and it is VERY Sassoon. This technique uses darker tones underneath laters of lighter colors to create depth and tone. It’s a bit more of a commitment than balayage but so stylish! It really accentuates a haircut like this one I had a couple of years ago. Commitment: 6-8 Weeks Great For: Adding depth and tone to an amazing cut FACE FRAMING Face frames blend into your natural colour accentuating your face and can be a variety of colours. This helps to illuminate your look and brighten your face without a big commitment. Commitment: 2-3 Months…

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