May was a bit of a crazy month! I touched down in Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Had an amazing press trip in Spain, went to Cannes Film Festival, Collision Conference, Lift&Co Expo, was in a fashion show, and gave the graduation address at Conestoga College. Today I’m writing this from the cottage in Muskoka and after a few days in the woods, I feel back to my old self again.
I am so incredibly thankful to work with a partner like Telus. During my whole trip, I never once missed an email, text, or phone call because I didn’t have data or a working phone. I also always carry a spare phone battery while I’m on the road (I like this Mophie one). I look forward to the moment my plane lands and I get that familiar text from Telus that saying “Welcome to [insert country]. You have Easy Roam.” After long flights and meals on the go, it’s comforting!
With Telus Easy Roam you can access your Canadian data plan from and you pay a daily fee to access the data in 190+ international destinations. Honestly, as an entrepreneur, the $12/day is so worth it to not be constntly hunting for wifi to share my adventure on social or reply to work email. Telus even has Cuba on their country roster which is so great, I can’t wait to plan a trip there over the winter. [You might remember when I went there last time and had NO SERVICE.]
I love being in transit.
Munich Airport
Somewhere over
Zurich & Swiss Airlines, great croissant!
Zurich Airport
Swiss Alps
I love airplanes.
Photos from Cannes Film Festival France
I really loved Spain and want to go back to explore more. Read my post on our Spain trip here.
Next week I’m heading to Vancouver for the Telus Creator Summit with the Canada-wide group of Telus Ambassadors. I can’t wait! I went last year and it was heaps of fun, plus we created some really cool content in their studio and volunteered to help out a local organization benefitting youth.
I’ll be sharing our whole adventure on IG and Twitter and doing a wrap-up post here after.
For more information on US & International roaming with Telus, visit the Telus website at telus.com.
In May I went on a press trip to Spain hosted by D.O. Rueda (Denomination of Origin Rueda) wine region and Glo Communications.
DO Rueda Wine Tour Crew
We drank heaps of wine, explored Spanish cuisine, ate lots of tapas, met great people and explored a few historic sites. It was my first time visiting Spain and I was lucky to travel with a great group including Jen Kirsch, Jess Glover, wine expert Konrad Ejbich, and wine podcaster Matthew Cauz.
I loved learning more about wine, touring vineyards, meeting winemakers, and learning how their wines are made. I’m not a wine expert but I definitely know more than when I left and sampled my fair share along the way!
We went to 13 wineries and countless restaurants over the course of the week and I’m sure I’ll be sharing stories about the trip for a lifetime. In this post, you’ll find some of my favorite moments including beautiful wineries and unforgettable experiences.
On the first night, we met for a great dinner at Lobo 8 in Madrid and tasted wines from the D.O. Rueda that paired with our meal. We stayed at Hotel Ibis Styles, a cute boutique hotel in the heart of Madrid that was walking distance from just about everything.
Rueda, located in Castile and Léon, is about 2hr northwest of Madrid and comprised of 72 municipalities in the provinces of Valladolid, Segovia and Avila. Rueda is the only region that specializes in white wine and is a leader in the commercialization of quality white wines.
Segovia
On our first full day, we ventured to Segovia, a historical town centered around a Roman aqueduct with 160 massive arches. I absolutely LOVED it there!
Right beside the base of the aqueduct is a famous restaurant Meson de Candido where we were served a traditional meal from the area of Segovia suckling pig. Next, we took a great walking tour to the aqueduct and visited at Alcázar de Segovia castle. This castle inspired Walt Disney to create Cinderella‘s castle at Disneyworld.
Hotel Real Segovia – Nice hotel in Segovia with great rooftop view & a fav with celebrities.
Valladolid
We left Segovia to spend the next three days in Vallodolid about an hour north. Before visiting our first vineyard, we had a wine tasting at the DO Rueda office to learn about the region and to get familiar with local wines.
The vineyards of Rueda specialize in the production and development of their 1000-year-old indigenous grape variety Verdejo (a top-selling white wine in Spain).
The wines’ from this region have a taste profile more complex than Pinot Grigio and a great substitute if you’re into Sauvignon Blanc. High elevations and gravelly stone soils here allow the Verdejo grapes to ripen by mid-September and develop deep aromas and flavors resulting in dry, fresh wines that are food-friendly and accessible. The vineyards are about 600-700 meters above sea level keeping temperatures cooler, even during hot summers, which maintains the acidity Rueda wines are known for.
Bodegas Palacio 1894– a major Spanish winery that is absolutely stunning! This was our last spot and I was so in love with this place.
Bodegas Emina – This winery had a pretty big selection and was very modern in design. They also make a nice rosé!
Bodega Javier Sanz – Five generations of winemakers who have continued the tradition for more than 150 years.
Jose Pariente – This winery is all female owned AND run by women. I feel like you could tell, it was so beautiful!
Bodega Museo Ontañón – we had a great time here tasting all their wines. They also make INCREDIBLE olive oil. It was my birthday when we were here and they surprised me with a cake! Amazing venue too.
D.O. Rueda Office
D.O. Rueda Office
El Hilo de Ariadna
Campo Eliseo
Campo Eliseo
Campo Eliseo
Campo Eliseo
Campo Eliseo
José Pariente
José Pariente
José Pariente
As you can see there was a lot to take in! I have another post next week outlining the wines from Rueda you can get in Canada through the LCBO and wine agents.
I highly recommend checking out the D.O. Rueda if you’re planning a trip to Spain. It’s a great place to visit with girlfriends, a significant other, or even to plan a wedding!
Vineyard in D.O. Rueda
Thank you to the whole team at D.O. Rueda and GLO Communications for organizing an amazing trip.
I had a dream last night that I lived somewhere else. Somewhere without wifi and lots of plant life. It was beautiful and the air smelled warm and sweet. Kind of like the other side of Paihia Beach where the manuka honey grows. The waves crash on the rocks with such gusto it makes you scared for your life but you breathe it in. Sometimes when I need to calm down I think of that and take a deep breath.
I’ve been asked about CBD a bunch over the past few months so I’ve finally put down some thoughts. This post is IN NO WAY medical, I am not a professional, this my personal experience. You should 100% consult some kind of professional before trying something for medical purposes. You can’t go wrong with someone who can tell you the difference between cbg and cbd, and their different medical uses. On the other hand, if you are already familiar with the cannabis plant or have been self-medicating for some period of time, you’ll enjoy this!
I’ve tried a bunch of products and these are my favorites. There are HEAPS of products out there, my recommendation is to get any cannabis product from somewhere credible or recommended by a trusted friend. If you are using CBD for a specific reason such as your an athlete, then I suggest you go to aethics for specialist products.
A lot of beauty, health, food products are coming out claiming to have cannabis or CBD, where it could be low-grade CBD or hemp seed oil. You can also get help derived CBD products, which can be confusing. My friend Ama Scriver wrote a great piece on cannabis and the beauty industry for healthline.com here.
Product: Small gel capsules, each with 8.5mg of CDB and 0.3mg of THC. You can find them at Nova Cannabis on Queen, OCS, or through your accredited Licenced Producer. They look like mini Advil.
Thoughts: These are great. The THC content is pretty low (0.3mg) so they don’t make me high, just relaxed. I find they’re good when I want to sit down and get work done. Also good for social situations that often give me anxiety or doing activities at home, they’re good anytime tbh. Sean and I have been taking them for a couple of weeks.
Product: I ordered a Juul starter kit with the vape and 4 pods from vapevine.ca a couple of months ago. My friend uses a vaporizer to smoke cannabis and she told me that she loves it. There are quite a few different types of vaporizers so if you want to check out vaporizers for sale today, you’ll certainly have a lot to choose from!! I was keen to try cannabis in the vape and found pods available in Canada from Birch & Fog. They have both CBD & THC. I ordered Charlottes Web, a non-psychoactive, 280 mg CBD Juul compatible pod.
Thoughts: Cool. Kinda like CBD micro-dosing. Handy to have around, not super strong. I love my Juul and keep the CBD pod around for a little dose of chill throughout the day.
Product: Fruit gummy with 8 x 10mg doses of CBD. They come in pineapple and peach. They’re currently sold out on Birch & Fog but you can use this link for $10 off your first order from mykush.ca.
Thoughts: These are good! Tasty little lego-like brick with 8 squares. Each dose is 10mg CBD. Good for pain management, sleep, or if feeling stressed.
In France, we found a CBD shop near our place and got some dried flower. It looks and smells like regular cannabis (w/ THC) but it won’t get you high. Cannabis is not legal in France and we were there for 8 days so this was a nice substitute.
If you’re keen to try CBD dominant strain, Leafly has a list of their top 10 as voted by their community here.
Product: Highly concentrated, vegan, handmade topical cream you can put anywhere on your body. It has a light scent of shea butter and contains 50ml medical grade CDB isolate. Also contains grapeseed extract, vitamin e, avocado oil, jojoba oil, and apricot kernel oil. Good for anti-aging, scars, pain relief, or sensitive areas.
Thoughts: I am obsessed with this cream, it’s so good. Not smelly, feels great on the face. I like to put it on at night and use my jade roller & gua sha. I find it also reduces inflammation in my carpal tunnel. You can also check Gua Sha Tools for Face.
Product: This stick is for all your aches and pains. It smells like Tiger Balm and contains 30mg CBD in a 2oz rub on balm. It includes all natural ingredients, is paraben-free, cruelty-free, and THC free.
Thoughts: Ordered this from Birch & Fog. I have been rubbing it on my feet days where I did a lot of walking and it calms them down to calm them down. Also neck, shoulders, hands. It’s also good for aches, pains, arthritis. You can rub on the stomach if you have cramps. It does smell like Tiger Balm so I only use it at home. Do not put near eye area!
Over the last year, I’ve been prescribed cannabis and CBD for my shoulder (collarbone) and previous injuries. I also like CBD oil for pain/anxiety/sleep but I haven’t quite got a favorite one yet. I’m keen to try some of the products from Calyx Wellness.
You can be referred to a cannabis clinic by a doctor or visit ocannabisclinic.com to make an appointment to speak to a nurse via video chat. The clinic will register you with a Licenced Producer (LP) and you can order products directly from them online.
If you have any questions please ask an expert or me, and if I don’t have the answer, I’ll find it for you. ??
This week I joined Tilley and a bunch of friends to clean up a Toronto trail. We each got to pick them out a new Tilley hat before the event and I chose the Charlie Fedora Straw hat. I am obsessed with it!
This photo of Andrew and I basically sums up our relationship. LOL. ?I can 100% imagine what we were chuckling about. I love events like this, we were doing good for the environment, everyone got new hats, and it was a chance to spend quality time with friends. Attending media events you never really know who is going to be there but luckily, there’s almost always have someone there I’ve been wanting to hang out with!
Andrew and I went to Thailand with Contiki a few years back and have done some other cool stuff. If you’re not familiar with Andrew, aka Gunnarolla, he is a VERY talented creator. Find him on YouTube or hosting Nom Voyage on Travel Channel.
Today is National Trails Day and Tilley is encouraging everyone to get out and Clean a Trail. Seriously though, you can clean a trail anytime. This is the only earth we have and we all need to do our part to clean the environment.
Today, Emily are heading out along the West Toronto Railpath to do a little cleanup and ride bikes. I’m on the hunt for a couple of garage sales in the neighborhood! Yay, spring!
I’m on another podcast! In this episode of the Legit Lady Podcast, I join host Julie Federman to talk about my life and career path. I talk about my entrepreneurial spirit, the importance of innovation, and the power in believing in yourself. I also love that I am episode #18, a number which has a lot of numerical significance in my life. I think you’ll enjoy listening to this!
This podcast features women who are “nailing it” in life. From artists to professionals, they’re sharing unfiltered real talk and tough life lessons. The Legit Lady Podcast is a platform for impressive women to inspire the world. Hosted by Julie Federman.
Thank you, Julie, for asking me to be on your show and hosting me at your place! It was so lovely to sit down and chat and meet you IRL. Here's to many more episodes and inspiring women around the world!
This month has been one of the most exciting OF MY LIFE. Six hours after I landed from the press trip in Spain, I walked in the @Fitzroy #BabeYoureMagic fashion show with an INCREDIBLE group of power women. 36hr later I was en route to @festivaldecannes! In other news, adding a new @imdb credit to my roster for my role in the film #Astronaut that will be coming out soon. Ahhh!
I am so behind on blog life but I’m hoping this weekend to really, actually, get everything documented. One of the reasons I started this blog was an attempt to keep more memories. It’s easy to forget everything you do if you don’t write it down.
I’m so excited about what’s coming down the pipeline and all the joy life brings. Here’s some amazing photos from the Fitzroy fashion show.
It’s been a few wild weeks! Hard to believe we’re halfway through 2019. I’ve been away for most of May and also managed to model in a fashion show and attend the world’s largest tech conference. It’s been a lot of work, long days, and filled with lessons but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
I’ll be back to regularly scheduled blogging after this weekend. I need to catch up with my life, it’s been moving fast for weeks! I’ve got heaps of photos and stories from my adventures and I’m excited to share them with you. I got some great news that Astronaut, the feature film I am in is going to start posting behind the scenes content ahead of the release. Ahhhh!
Segovia, Spain + wine tour in the DO Rueda Region outside Madrid
Had a few great days at the cottage for getting caught up on writing, reading, and relaxing. I spent more time gardening than I thought I would but I feel rejuvenated. Here’s to a great week!
This week an article I wrote for the Twisted Extracts blog went live. My relationship with the brand grew over the last couple of months after they sent me a few of their cbd edibles to try. I completely fell IN LOVE with the Twisted Extracts CBD gummies and CBD caramels. I found they really chilled me out and helped me be calm/focussed, without getting high. I ordered a bunch with my own money when the samples ran out! If you’d like to research more into the compound CBD, head on over to educational websites such as CBD School.
This blog post includes 5 podcasts by talented Canadians that will inform you about what’s going on in the cannabis industry, legalization, benefits of the plant, and ways to consume. The blog also goes on to discuss the different strains of cannabis. For example, did you know that strains such as blue city diesel can be used for their euphoric and happy mental effects? The different strains of cannabis can have a unique impact on your wellbeing and therefore it is important to educate yourself about the key differences if you intend on using this drug. Within each podcast, you’ll find stories by interesting people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and learn how they got into the weeds. Each show is hosted by someone I know or have met and can vouch for their knowledge of the cannabis space and passion for the plant that is the hemp flower.
If you’re keen to try a CBD edible, use this link to get $10 off your first order of Twisted Extracts. I’m quite keen on these Cara-Melts and they’re $13 for a pack of 8, containing 8x10mg CBD. Any questions, lmk!
Canadian Cannabis Week is coming up at the start of June and I’ll be covering the conference. If you were following me this week, you’ll know I LOVE CONFERENCES. I also have a giveaway coming up with a few tickets to attend, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out!
Hellooooo! I’m excited to share this review with you and announce the giveaway I mentioned in previous posts. My favourite thing about AfterShokz Trekz Air is how you can hear the world around you while wearing them. This month in my final post, I got a second opinion from my tech-loving friend Dan Levy and have a great prize pack up for grabs.
Dan and I have known each other since the early years of Twitter 10 years ago. He’s written about heaps of tech gadgets in the time I’ve known him. Dan has a love for great music so I was keen to see what he thought of AfterShokz Trekz Air. Find his edited review below and make sure you enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post.
I’ve been using the AfterShokz Trekz Air headset for a couple of weeks after Casie asked me for a “guy’s perspective” on this new Bluetooth headset.
Out of the gate, the coolest thing about this headset is how it delivers sound to your brain without going into your actual ears. Instead, they use a technology called “bone conduction” where the headset’s audio is delivered to you via your jaw bone under your ears as opposed to going into or over your ears like other headsets you’ve used before. [Read more about this in a previous post by Casie]
I have really enjoyed using these headphones for walks and just day to day audio. Aftershokz greatest strength is also their greatest weakness – that they allow you to be aware of all that is going on around you because they don’t block your ears from hearing ambient noises. This is FANTASTIC for when you need to be present to the sounds around you but also want to be able to listen to your own personal soundtrack.
Aftershokz bone conduction technology is an absolute joy for getting out and exercising in your neighbourhood without risking lack of awareness of your surroundings. They helpfully include a pair of disposable ear plugs in the Aftershokz Trekz Air package so you can still listen in loud environments but where these headphones truly shine is for fitness users. They are IP55 rated which means that they are made to withstand dust particles and that they are “protected against powerful water jets and heavy seas”. You can sweat in them or get caught in the rain and not be concerned you kick up dust on the sidewalk/road while you’re running because these are built and certified to withstand such hazards.
I’ve been wondering if bone conduction audio delivery at full blast is better for your ears than putting a pair of earbuds to full volume (which is very much not advisable and can damage your hearing). I’m guessing it is!
If you’ve given these a try let us know what you thought of them. If you have any questions about them, be sure to reach out!
OK, giveaway time. After spending the last couple of months with these headphones I have to stay I’ve really grown to like wearing them.
As someone who likes to always be aware of what’s going on around me, they’re awesome. In the last few weeks, I’ve been wearing them around the house to listen to books & podcasts and wearing them to do my BBG workouts.
If you have any questions, please let me know and GOOD LUCK.
The giveaway is open to US and Canada residents and AfterShokz are giving away 3 units. This post is part of my 4-month partnership with PTPA and Aftershokz Canada.
The other day, Cory Lee and I went to HideSeek, a “pop-up experience inspired by childhood nostalgia“. We spent over an hour taking photos, changing outfits and laughing our heads off and got to meet the team behind the experience. It was heaps of fun.
DYK I’ve never had Trix or Lucky Charms?! Suer fun to take so many photos with my girl Cory Lee. See her post on thefashionset.net.
I’ve been to a bunch of Instagram friendly pop-ups over the last year (Happy Place, Museum of Ice cream, Museum of Illusions) and this was was my favourite one in Canada so far. There are 15 installations with multiple photo ops in each. Grab your BFF, kid, parent, partner, or a date and go back in time. I have heaps of photos from the experience so if you follow me on Instagram (HERE) you’ll see some of these rolling out over the next few weeks.
HideSeek is at 305 Dundas St. West. Toronto and you can find them on Instagram at @gohideseek. It’s running until June 2nd so you have a little while to get in on the action.
When you get invited to have lunch with Kim Kardashian’s BFF, you go! A couple weeks ago I joined a suite of media babes for a late lunch at Square One Mall’s soon to be epic food market. The almost 40,000 sq ft Food District opens later this month is now OPEN and aims to provide shoppers with an elevated culinary experience.
There’s a few downtown Toronto favourites like Pie Commission, Hale Coffee, La Carnita, Sweet Jesus, and other options including Italian, Indian, bbq, Danish, and DIY cupcakes. There’s also a fresh flower shop. The space was still under construction during our visit but it’s now open. For more info about the Food District, check out Blog TO and read about the opening on Toronto Sun.
I've been working with Telus for 9 years and I'm part of their current Telus Partner program. Read about all my Telus adventures here or visit their website to see how they're helping communities across Canada through their #GiveWhereWeLive program. 
