CASIE STEWART
THIS IS MY LIFE • BLOG EST. 2005
LIFE

Return on Enjoyment: Finding That Work-Life Balance

Return on Enjoyment: Finding That Work-Life Balance

I find taking vacation or ‘staycations’ essential to my sanity. If you’re following my Twitter or Snapchat you’ll know that I’m always on the go doing something, events, speaking, dinner, travel. I love it, but tbh it’s pretty exhausting. Putting heaps of energy out (friends, work, or social) can take a lot out of you. In a recent TD survey, they found that us millennials have a hard time finding balance between financial and work commitments, and taking time to relax is a challenge. I can totally relate to this. TD found that 46% of millennials don’t take their allotted vacation days, mostly due to heavy workload (31%) and lack of travel funds (29%). Back when I was working in an agency, I hardly ever took vacation, felt pressure to work late, and when I did take vacation, found myself constantly checking my phone and responding to emails. I know I’m not alone here! The survey found, 90% of Canadian millennials agree that vacation time, even mini-vacations or “staycations”, are essential to keeping them happy. Taking time to recharge doesn’t have to be expensive, I find a good binge weekend with some cooking, takeout, and a nap (or two!) boosts me up. Having a financial plan and a budget will help you get that ROE – Return on Enjoyment. ? This weekend we opened the cottage, going there, even for a 24 hour getaway gives me leaps and bounds of energy. Don’t have a cottage? Make friends with someone who does (heh heh) or check out options like Airbnb or Glamping Hub for affordable getaways. Millennials like us can save for activities by creating a financial plan to account for funding life’s pleasures (or unexpected moments). We could all use a little more vitamin SEA, amiright? ? Other activities with…

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LIFE

IWD 2016 – Women @ Work Managing Career, Family & Legacy

IWD 2016 – Women @ Work Managing Career, Family & Legacy

Yesterday I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. I know we all have those days. I’ve been working on something with my speaker agent, prepping for a keynote in Edmonton, and then there’s a mounting email, and social updates. Sometimes I feel like I just need to shut down and take a break, I wonder how the heck I’m gonna do it all?! That’s usually when I ring mum and she talks me through, reminding me not to give up, and how hard I’ve worked to get here. She reminds me I’m probably tired, and maybe hungry. For this, I’m grateful. I call her almost everyday with something, so today on International Women’s Day, I’m especially thankful. When I got off the phone with mum the other night I arrived at the Rotman School of Business at U of T for a special presentation with TD, their 10 Lessons: Women @ Work Report. I was happy to see my friend & fellow social entrepreneur Gracie’s smiling face and we sat down together, all ears. Tweets from the night can be found at #YourStoryYourFuture. Excited to attend @TD_Canada's Women @ Work talk tonight with my girl @casiestewart! WERK! #yourstoryyourfuture pic.twitter.com/ZBtplnt3h1 — Gracie Carroll (@GracieCarroll) March 7, 2016 TD partnered with University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management to release a joint report that uncovers insights about how women across the country perceive the challenges and opportunities in advancing professionally. Career, relationships, family, finances, it’s hard (and often stressful) to manage this stuff all at the same time. I don’t have my own kids yet but there’s challenges with a blended family, we’ve got a sassy 8yr old 50% of the time, and Sean and I are both entrepreneurs, managing very different businesses. Learning about the challenges of other women in professional careers, really…

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LIFE

BMO’s #HelpGiven Will Warm Your Heart

BMO’s #HelpGiven Will Warm Your Heart

[iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/J4z5DiwzF68?list=PLeS2JeMvu-JvSVtq-hJWQkERb7LyJz_vL”] I absolutely love stories like this! Over the past few years I’ve had a few friends help me out and I don’t know if I’d be where I am without their generosity. Sometimes a little here is all you need to get on track or get closer to your goal. It warms my heart to see generous people being surprised with a gift that helps make their dreams come true. I feel it’s important to give unconditionally, giving is it’s own gift! Seeing peoples faces light up when they open a gift or receive a surprise is so wonderful. There’s a playlist of videos BMO created through this Help Given initiative. I love them all, get a tissue, I couldn’t help but have tears of joy. Seeing how happy Arash is when they give him a day off here is so great. [iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/JLtZPCR9h_s”] Kindness Brings Good Karma A couple weeks ago I helped out a friend who was going through a tough time, I was able to help them but it involved using money I’d been saving for travel. Yesterday, out of the blue, I was invited on a trip to a sunny destination. The two things weren’t related but in the whole grand scheme of the universe, I feel I’m somehow being rewarded for my generosity. More details about that next week! Sending my love for happy holidays, warm wishes for a great new year. To see more from BMO’s Help Given initiative, see here. With love,      * This blog post was sponsored by BMO but the opinions & stories are my own!      

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Travel | Sky High in Cottage Country – My KD Golden Noodle Adventure

Travel | Sky High in Cottage Country – My KD Golden Noodle Adventure

Last weekend I went on an epic cottage adventure. If you were following Twitter or Snapchat you’d have seen a bunch of tweets from myself and Lauren as 2 planes landed on our lake and took us flying around Muskoka for the afternoon. My guests included Lauren, Steve, Sean, and one other special guest…a golden KD noodle. Ok so you’re thinking what? A Noodle? Yes, a NOODLE!  KD is celebrating the love it’s fans have for it in a way that’s truly worthy,  WITH GOLD. Until October 5, Canadians have the chance to win a 1-LB 24K Gold Noodle, worth approximately $30,000 CAN. To enter pop by your local grocer and pick up a limited edition box of KD Gold. Next, enter your unique PIN, found inside specially marked 4 and 12 pack bundles of KD Macaroni & Cheese, at kdgold.ca.  No the noodle is not in the KD box! It’s pretty heavy!  You can also win hundreds of instant prizes, including gold-plated KD cuff links, sunglasses, flip flips, or a gold plated coin. If you’re wondering how I like my KD, I like to switch it up, sometimes ketchup, maybe hot dogs, other times a healthy dash of black pepper. As a side note, I didn’t actually try Kraft Dinner until I went to college. My parents are from New Zealand and they don’t have KD there. Thankfully my college crew introduced me! It’s one of those things everyone has in their pantry and sometimes the perfect fix  to feed your hunger. My KD Golden Noodle Adventure in Muskoka Here’s a few snaps from our float plane experience. We flew from Bala to Port Carling, went for lunch, and flew back. It was beautiful to experience an aerial view of Muskoka this time of year, the leaves are all starting to change. Special…

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LIFE

Planning for Life’s Unexpected Moments w/ TD Canada 

Planning for Life’s Unexpected Moments w/ TD Canada 

When I was growing up I didn’t really think about kids, marriage, wedding etc, but I knew I wanted to be in business. I like setting goals but after spending years what felt like forever paying off my school debt, I didn’t really have a nest egg. I mean, I never prepared for unexpected life events, buying a house, retirement. One of the things I’ve learned from working with TD Canada the last year is that it’s never too early to build a financial plan and set goals for your future. If you work for a business and you already have retirement on the mind, then make sure your employer has Employee Benefits so this process can be made easier for when the time comes and that you get what you deserve. Y’Know What I Mean? For many Canadians (especially us millennials) things don’t always go planned the way they did for our parents ex. finish school, get married, buy a house, have kids, get a boat, retire early, move to the Bahamas for a year. (OK the last part is actually what my mum did, except ‘retire early’) So if you’re soon to be retired, make sure you look around and make sure you’re planning enough to ensure you’re retirement ready. A recent TD Canada Trust survey found: – Nearly 6/10 Canadians have completed or are on track to complete their life’s milestones in a different order than they originally expected – Gen X Canadians are more likely to complete or be on track to complete them in a different order 64% than Millennials 52% – Only 4/10 Canadians say they’ve properly budgeted or are properly budgeting for having their first child (39%) and for retirement (41%) – Only 24% of Millennials and 33% of Gen X Canadians say…

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LIFE

Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’

Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’

Spring, spring, I am so ready for you. We’re finally getting some nice sunshine the next few days and I can’t wait. This has been the longest winter ever and it’s been getting me down. Just yesterday I started feeling a true sign of spring, allergies! My eyes are kinda itchy so I’m trying hard to not make it worse. Have a bunch of spring cleaning to do around the house. I feel like no matter how much I clean up there’s always more to do! That being said, I do sometimes enjoy vacuuming. It is so important to stay on top of any dust in your home as this can trigger allergies! One of my friends recently purchased a new vacuum after reading this guide to the best hoover for pets hair. She has a couple of dogs and as lovely as they are, their hair can be difficult to clean up sometimes so it is important to find cleaning equipment that has been specially designed for this purpose! Popped out for a nice walk down Roncy this week. I live so close but always forget to spend time there. Love how Lit Espresso makes latte art. Always puts a smile on my face. 🙂 I’m dying to get back on a bike and tour the city. Anyone have one of these kicking around? I’m not sure if I should get a new bike or buy a used one. My old Linus Dutch bike (RIP) was so lovely but also expensive, I don’t think I can bear to go through losing another like that. Title of this post is a great quote my the one and only late Robin Williams from BrainyQuote. Loved that man. Truly felt heartbroken when he passes away. Channeling his great energy today and getting…

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Writing

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Writing each day is really good for you. It helps you get things done, assists in memory, and for me is really great therapy. If you’ve ever wanted to start a blog and think “what will I write about?”. Let me tell you, there’s so many things that happen in a day, you can find inspiration everywhere. What you eat, drink, wear, or where you travel to, even in your own city. If you open you eyes to the world and shift your perspective, you’ll see it in a new light. A photo posted by C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Jan 1, 2015 at 1:58pm PST Day 1/365, 2015: Here are some great things that happened Made notes about my day in a new notebook. I like spiral bound 5.5 x 8,5 in blank sketch paper. It’s for things I don’t blog like what I eat, vitamins, workout, how many Mason jars of water I drank. Did a new workout. Sweat my ass off. Ate good food. Nothing deep fried or heavily processed/takeout. Not being hungover really helped with that. Reclaimed my for love for granola. Yes, I like granola. Used to eat it heaps when I was a kid and my new found love for lactose free milk, it makes a delicious snack. Got a selfie stick. Sean bought one for me at Pacific Mall AND I LOVE IT.  Opened my new Clarisonic Pearl and used it. Started with Clarisonic in December 2014 and have noticed my skin is more soft and ugly.  It’s important to write this down so I always remember to use it. One minute can seem like a long time when you are in a rush. Put on fuzzy socks with Vaseline. If you read any beauty blogs…

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LIFE

Tech | We’re All Just Trying to Figure It Out

Tech | We’re All Just Trying to Figure It Out

This might be one of my fav photos I’ve ever taken. I love it. Snapped with iPhone on a whim while leaving my sisters place. It brings back memories, nostalgia, I’m not even certain what exactly, just old times. Found the quote below over the weekend and it resonated with me. I’ve been reading here and there about impostor syndrome, the inability to unable to internalize accomplishments. When you feel like someone is going ‘figure you out’, realize you don’t know what you’re doing, see right through your whole charade. ‘Impostor Syndrome is the domain of the high achiever. Those who set the bar low are rarely it’s victim’ (Forbes). — CASIE STEWART November 24, 2014 It’s ok to not know what you’re doing, We’re all trying to figure it out as we go. I used to get severe anxiety before going to events, being on stage, speaking. It’s not that people wouldn’t like me, it’s that they would, and sometimes I didn’t know exactly what I was doing but I was going on experience, and making it up as I go. Being in the world of social media before it was a business (or industry!) has taught me to realx and roll with it. Preparation, constant innovation, and trying new things has kept me ahead, made me a ‘pioneer’. (It always weirds me out when someone calls me that, the thought of ME being part of the start of something.) A photo posted by C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:17pm PST So I got to thinking about blogs and authenticity and why people even blog these days, and I thought about why they started. A blog, formerly WebLog was a place for non-tecnical users of the…

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LIFE

Blog Life: This Is How We Do

Blog Life: This Is How We Do

You know face you make when you’re looking deep into the computer working away on something? It’s on  we all know well! This was me yesterday afternoon..and most days actually. Concentrating, editing, writing, coding, emailing, blogging, thinking, working, twerking. Ok, only sometimes on the last one! Went for a run this morning and pushed myself a bit harder. Feeling fresh and inspired. It’s so nice out, you should go outside. It was 21 at 9am! This is how we do! I’ve learned a lot of thing blogging the last (almost) 10 years. I can hardly believe it’s been so long. Persistence is a big part if making your dreams a reality. I thought about giving up a few times and doing something more traditional, like not keeping a diary of my life on the internet but each time I decide to go on, something amazing happens. This was a good little read: I’d Like to Be a Fashion Blogger, But I’m Mostly Wearing Sweatpants http://t.co/ZQnOVbqFTY via @thecoveted Thx for sharing @crystalgibson! — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) August 20, 2014 I’ve seen a ton of bloggers come and go over the years and I think that’s due the fact that people don’t realize how much work and energy it is. TBH, sometimes it’s totally exhausting! It also takes a time to build a brand, trust, a reputation, all which can be destroyed in an instant. I always remember this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt and think it’s best to surround your self with great minds. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” I’ve always counted on Mum to be my first phone when something exciting happens instead of telling friends or the world right away. She can always tell when i’s something big. I’ll ring her at work and say ‘OMG Mum, guess what?!”.…

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LIFE

If You Want Someone To Do Work, Pay them!

If You Want Someone To Do Work, Pay them!

Ok, it’s Social Media Week around the world and whether you are part of it or not, one thing you can’t deny is that social + media has become an integrated part of our lives. Raise your hand if you’re on Facebook? Bloggers are taking front row seats at fashion shows, writing for magazines, being written about in magazines, appearing on TV, travelling on sponsors dimes and snatching up newly created jobs in just about every industry. You can’t avoid the shift in how media is now delivered or consumed. Something happened today that inspired me… I was scolded by a PR person (from an agency that I really like whom I have been posting & making videos about their things FOR FREE for over a year) because I didn’t promote a contest on MY blog to MY Twitter, enough. Some, but not enough. The second part of the scolding was because I didn’t make it to opening night for their ticketed event AND the winner I picked for my contest cancelled. So, the tickets went to waste. I’m sorry, I was ditched on Valentines Day ok!  The thing is, if they had of made a little contract and sent me some money, I would have been there (regardless of what happened) and promoted it. I probably would have asked friends to take part so we could go together. I often get people wanting to me to post about an event, run a contest, share with my friends, and attend events. Do you know how long that takes? To and from event easy 2 hours, blog 1-5 hour, contesting, sharing online, writing copy, taking photos, coordinating winners. It takes hours to make and create content. If you paid me minimum wage I’d barely have enough to take myself out for…

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