Events | LCBO’s Harvest Menu w/ Love for Local w/ Chef Lynn Crawford

Thursday was a busy one! I went to 4 media events and was home just after 8pm. It’s fun but exhausting! Today is chill time, hair, nails, lunch, art show w/ bae.  Had a great kickoff to fall yesterday w/ LCBO & Wine Country Ontario over lunch hosted by Chef Lynn Crawford (Food Network Canada & The Cooking Channel). The event featured a Thanksgiving menu prepared by Chef Lynn, along with several other talented winemakers, chefs, and food artisans from Ontario. I don’t go to heaps of ‘foodie’ events, although I enjoy them! It’s always a bit funny for me because the foodies are REALLY serious about the food, flavours, textures, pairings. I love listening. My take is usually, much more relaxed, a lifestyle writer approach. Does it taste good? Can I cook this at home? Will my friends like it? Can I impress the BF/parents? Here’s some Tweet highlights from the #LCBOTasteLocal event: Ooh, this is a thing! @LCBO's taste local event w/ harvest menu. #lcbotastelocal pic.twitter.com/SWivcM1VOw — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) September 24, 2015 Oh my this looks good @LCBO! #lcbotastelocal pic.twitter.com/Lfb43EjWaW — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) September 24, 2015 So feellin' this @LCBO local Harvest Menu. Next up turkey, mashed, cheesecake. Not a bad afternoon! #lcbotastelocal pic.twitter.com/XTQuIiAVGd — CASiE STEWART (@casiestewart) September 24, 2015 We learned how to make a thanksgiving feats like a pro using preservatives, and items from local markets, and our own backyards. The menu is now available at LCBO stores across Ontario and looks like the top photo in this post. The little book features ideas for hosting, cocktail & cocktails, food/wine pairings, and recipes. I’m not 100% on our plans for thanksgiving yet this year but it’s one of my fav meals of the entire year. Would love to Chef Lynn’s cauliflower & celery root mash w/ onion thyme marmalade.…

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Events | Woodbine Ricoh Mile Rock N’ Racing Festival

Sunday marks a big weekend at Woodbine Racetrack with the $1 million Ricoh Woodbine Mile. Along with the races, there’s also a whole slew of live music, food trucks, and fun. If you’re just tuning in, I’ve partnered with Woodbine for the entire race season and went to a few races earlier this year including The Queen’s Plate and Woodbine Oaks. Over the past couple months I’ve learned how to bet, had some good times, and actually won a few $$. I’m yet to visit the horses up close though. To be honest, I’m kinda scared. I’ve never ridden a horse, only elephants! This is Obviously, I’m betting on him this weekend based on my research reading the Woodbine Entertainment site. #OfftotheRaces Contest Details Snap a selfie at the racetrack Post to Twitter using the hashtag #OffToTheRaces Cross your fingers! By posting your selfie at the track with the #OfftotheRaces hashtag you’ve got a chance to win a $1000 Woodbine Racetrack gift card at the end of the horse racing season. Please remember, your selfie MUST be taken in front of the racetrack!   Ricoh #WoMile Notes for Friday, September 11, 2015 – http://t.co/TfFD59oPSg #WinAndYoureIn #BC15 pic.twitter.com/6Ch5rYN58p — Woodbine Racetrack (@WoodbineRacing) September 11, 2015 I’ll be sharing my experience from the track on Twitter, IG, and Snapchat, hashtag #WoMile. If you’re looking for info about the Ricoh Woodbine event see here and if you’re looking for general racing info, see here. If you can’t make this event, hopefully you can join me in another racing event before the season is over in November. LMK if you’ll be there! ?????? CASIE    

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Game, Set, Match! Bacardi Canada Raquet Club & Cocktails

Last week I went to the Rogers Cup with April. It’d been a while since we had a good girl hang and the night was perfect. Huge thanks to Bacardi Canada for treating us like social royalty; they sent a car service and took good care food & drinks for the night. Great way to get back into city life after my cottage getaway! Rogers Cup with my girl @casiestewart! Lotsa balls flying around here! #BacardiCourtside #RogersCup A photo posted by April Wozny (@aprilwozny) on Aug 12, 2015 at 5:02pm PDT   Bacardi was serving (?) perfect summer cocktails inside the Bacardi Canada Raquet Club. Their goal was to capture the court side cocktail vibe with Bacardi classics: The Bacardí Mojito, Bacardí Cuba Libre, and Bacardí Limónade. April and I made the most of every moment by checking out all the booths and entering all contests or promotions happening. We laughed our heads off the whole time. Fingers crossed we win that Jamaica trip! Shoutout to Woodbine Racetrack for their photo booth (see SQUAD above), we had fun getting the right shot haha. I’ve been working with Woodbine this summer, see all my posts from the races here. Try making these selected summer favs from Bacardi Canada at home. They’re refreshing, and perfect for patios, poolside, or parties. I quite enjoy the lemonade and the Mojito is a close second. Bacardí Mojito: 1oz Bacardi Superior Rum 3-4 Lime wedges 6-8 Fresh Mint leaves 0.5oz – 0.75oz Simple Syrup Top with soda water/club soda Garnish: Fresh Mint Method: Gently press together the limes & sugar. Bruise the mint leaves by clapping them between your palms, rub them on the rim of the glass and drop them in. Next, half fill the glass with crushed ice, add the BACARDÍ Superior rum & stir. Top up with crushed ice, a splash…

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Muskoka Living: Lake, Boat, Babes, Dock, Drinks #cottagelife

Spent the weekend at the cottage and went to WayHome Music Festival. There was NO WAY I was camping the festival grounds.  We had absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather.  I know it’s only Monday but I really can’t wait to get back up there. We had a nice brunch on Saturday at the Muskoka Inn. Sean in my glasses 🙂 Totally my MCM! Next weekend we’re seeing The Trews at The Kee to Bala. Stopped by the Balacade to play some games. “If you think romance is dead and gone Find an old jukebox full of 45’s Pop a nickel in it and it all comes back to me” This grandma totally creeps me out.  We went to get groceries and saw a cowboy who decided to ride his HORSE to the store. I love the country!    We had a girls party at the lake in the afternoon.   On Sunday we went to WayHome but it was SO HOT OUT. After walking around for a bit and seeing Weaves, The Sheepdogs, and checking out the Etsy shop, we went back to the cottage and jumped in the lake. Feeling today like I might have a bit of heat stroke. Next week we’re up at the cottage for a while. I can’t wait! Counting down the days. This week will be a good one, it’s going to be hot and SUNNY till Sunday. Tomorrow night I’m heading to the Island Yacht Club for a little party. Who knows what else the week will bring! <3 CASIE

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Thomas Sabo AW ’15 Press Cocktail: LoveBridge + #CharmClub10

Last week I went to a beautiful event at Malaparte in side the TIFF Bell Lightbox. It’s a great event space that’s bright, with a bar, and theatre screen. I was last there for the Nike Women NTC training sessions earlier this summer. Media and editors gathered to sip champagne and check out the latest Fall Collection for Thomas Sabo. You might remember a couple posts about Thomas Sabo and my trip to England with the brand a few years ago (see here!). The brand is originally from Germany and is planning to open 6 more stores in the GTA. I had an opportunity to meet the founder in England in 2012. The Canadian flagship is at Yorkdale Mall. Thanks Ryan Emberley for this snap. I’m wearing one of my favourite Ted Baker dresses. They gifted us all with a customized Love Bridge bracelet from the new line. Mine says CASIE. I’m kinda wishing I got something a little more creative or inspiring. Next time. Thanks Ryan for this snap too. Love it. I saw the balloon, looked at him, and he knew immediately what was about to happen. After the event I was invited to an intimate dinner with bloggers and editors. We each had little cakes at our table setting and an invite to join the Thomas Sabo Charm Club. Over the course of the dinner we picked out charms to add to our bracelets. Mine’s been ordered and I’m looking forward to it arriving. Mostly because it will be a huge surprise given I don’t remember what I picked! Doh. Thanks Faulhaber and Thomas Sabo teams for the invite and gifts. Find Thomas Sabo Canada on Twitter at @ThomasSaboCDN and see all charms and available jewellery at thomassabo.com. <3 CASIE * All photos except last 3 by Ryan Emberley. Check out some of his work…

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Artist Designed Hitsu Socks! You’re Late, Order Nate!

People need presents. You haven’t checked off your list. It’s ok. Check out hitsu.com or Order Nate. I’ve been a friend /fan of Nate Kogan for a long time now and I’m happy to support his latest venture, Hitsu Socks. There’s a surprise in every box! They make a great gift. I’ve gotten Sean a few pairs already. It’s ok, it wasn’t a surprise. Here’s an old snap of Nate and I as Elfster & Santa 🙂 <3 Happy Christmas & Hanukkah! All the cheer! CASIE

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Tech | Oculus, Wearables, and My Connected Life

One of 1188’s latest ventures is Occupied VR and last night they were on ETalk! Ben Mulroney tried the experience they designed for David Cronenberg’s Body Mind Change. (You might remember me taking part in Body Mind Change last year.) The Rift Teaser launches on the 24th of November. I tried it at the office and it was intense. It’s amazing how immersive Oculus is when you’re tapped into sight and sound. It totally freaked me out, I jumped up out my seat and screamed!   Later this week I’m attending the monthly We Are Wearables meet up at MaRS Discovery District. There’s still a few tickets if you’d like to join! (Free) There’s a Smartwatch Panel w/Motorola & TELUS with a discussion on Nielsen’s recent Connected Life survey on Canadian Trends in wearables and wearable consumers. I was really into social media before it hit the mainstream and I’m really into wearables lately. Sometimes it’s hard to believe how huge social media has become, I can only imagine the impact wearable technology will have on us over the next five years. I want to know and learn as much as I can! I’ve been thinking about how connected I am to the internet and it’s rare I go 15 5minutes without my phone having a notification, checking email, or taking a photo.  I was working away and my battery died this morning and to be honest, I was so productive for that period of time!  Techlogy makes us more productive and distracts us all the same. I’ve got lots to get done today so here’s to productivity! It may be freezing cold outside (if you are in NA) but try not to let it get you down. Put on all your winter warmies and greet the day with a smile. <3 CASIE      

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Events | Give the Gift of Sight w/ ClearlyContacts on Oct. 9th

Last night I got an email from my friends at Clearly Contacts about World Sight Day tomorrow. I’ve worked with Clearly Contacts to share new products and contests for a while (see posts here) and I’m happy to share their latest charity initiative. In exchange for this post, Clearly Contacts is donating a pair of prescription glasses to someone via Change the View on my behalf. The global  #WHOBLINKEDFIRST campaign that kicks off tomorrow. Over the last few years documenting my life, I’ve really taken time to smell the flowers, literally and figuratively. I take heaps of photos each day and really value my eyesight and ability to see beauty in the little things. I can only imagine how my life would change if I lost my eyesight. For every video shared with #WHOBLINKEDFIRST, ClearlyContacts.ca will donate a pair of prescription eyeglasses, Vitamin A tablets, or UV protective sunglasses to someone in need through Change the View. Challenge your bff to a staring contest and upload to the WSD Gallery here to win new glasses and other prizes for yourself. To learn more at clearlycontacts.ca/worldsightday   Here’s lookin’ at you loves! Share this post to spread the good. <3 CASIE

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Travel | Throwback! Virgin America Provocateur

This morning in my Timehop notifications I was reminded that four years ago today, I was riding the streetcar when I got a phone call from San Francisco saying I’d won Richard Branson’s Virgin America Contest. I was so excited that I left my phone on the streetcar! Luckily, the stars were aligned and it was returned to me within the hour. The contest went for about three months and there were about 10K entries. We had to make a YouTube video saying why we’d be the perfect ambassador to represent the world’s loudest and sexiest airline. As the Virgin America Provocateur, I travelled North America with Virgin and gave away heaps of flights. It was a great experience and the campaign got heaps of attention.      Some of my fav moments from being the Virgin America Provocateur 2010-2011: VIRGIN AMERICA TORONTO PROVOCATEUR CASIE STEWART. from Victors & Spoils on Vimeo. Casie Stewart was chosen as the Toronto Provocateur for Virgin America. = = = The crazy folks at Virgin America contacted us with an opportunity. They were about to launch service to Toronto, the first destination outside the U.S. for Virgin America. And they wanted a way to garner excitement for the launch of this service among local Torontonians. Together with Jesse McMillin – Creative Director at Virgin America – we devised a plan. Let’s create a web platform and initiative whereby we search to find one Toronto local to be our brand ambassador in Canada. The perfect person who embodies the sexy and cheeky brand attributes of Virgin America and can work to be a firebrand for the brand itself. So we decided to create a competition where the best video entry would win this coveted position. We decided we would call it “The Search for Virgin America’s Toronto…

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Speaking | Social Summit in Kitchener-Waterloo

Are you in KW? I’m heading to my hometown later this week to speak at Social Summit in Kitchener, and visit my parents of course. It’s been ages since I was back in my old stomping ground so I’m pretty excited to be going there to talk about my travels and adventures over the past few years. Speakers throughout the morning will enrich the audience with social media tips, tricks, lessons and more. I’ve been added to the mix to share stories from my social media travels around the world with brands and my blog. I’m digging up photos for my presentation and I hope to leave everyone feeling they can accomplish anything they put their mind to.  🙂     Click to Read More About Each Speaker + Session   If any of you new or old friends want to come out, get a ticket for $20! Use PROMO10 to knock $10 off the $30 ticket. I’d really love to see some familiar faces and make new friends. Thanks to the sponsors, Mad hatter Tech and the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre for having me. If you’ll be there, especially if we have never met, please say HI. I’m a hugger. (Please don’t call me CASSIE.) My Mum will be there too. Here’s to a wonderful week! Looking forward to it. 🙂 <3 CASIE

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