Sean and I had a really romantic weekend, we cleaned house and went to the dump about 4 times. To be honest, chucking furniture into a huge bin is exhilarating. We managed to move a massive fridge then, on the way it fell off the trailer, it was so mashed up! Also kinda satisfying seeing it so mangled! haha ? We got it back on the truck with no fuss and Sean moved another fridge later in the day.
This spring we’ve been up here quite a bit. It’s been nice. Though, unless you have a cottage or something like it, you won’t know how much work it is. We’ve been husting every weekend since we opened this place in March. This weekend I managed to carve out time to finish a book I picked up Friday. [Sister of Mine, it was good! Toronto based author, Ryerson Professor]
Check this out, the author and I chatted on Twitter. Love reaching out after a read a good book to thank the author, even cooler when they reply!
Over the last little while, I’ve been working on a thing that’s really exciting and I can’t wait to share with the world. I think it’s important to have something not everybody knows, a secret project, a magic motivation to focus on. If you tell everyone everything, you have no surprises!
This week I’m also working on blogging more. I often chat with people who have blogs and they set really high goals and rules for themselves, then, beat themselves up when they don’t blog every day or publish as much as they imagined. Don’t do that! Write when you feel like writing, if it’s your own blog and you’re your own boss, be a good boss to yourself! A blog is your creative expression, it’s always there for you when you need it.
Over the last 13 years, some months I blogged 50+ times and others only a handful. That is a-ok. The main thing is you don’t give up.
Sending sunshine from Muskoka. I got my first damn mozzie bite today. FML. LOL!
I am so happy it’s finally NICE OUT. I know I’ve been a bit quiet and not posting as much the last couple weeks but I needed a break. Sometimes I go through stages where I don’t feel like sharing my life online.
It can honestly be kind of overwhelming. Last week we spent 6 days at the cottage and it was just the reset I needed. This weekend we’re heading back up for 3 days and I’m going to do some gardening with Sean’s mum.
Sean calls this look ‘weekend Casie”
YEAH BABY FINALLY
I think it’s important to recognize when you need a break. I’m feeling a bit more inspired to wrote and share. I’ve been working on a few things behind the scenes with 1188 and other clients. On a side note, the tray and plates in the first post were on sale at Loblaws, I love them!
This weekend I’ll spend some time catching up on posts and fill you in on what I’ve been up to.
I was sitting here feeling a bit of Monday blerghs and then I looked at my computer and around me and said: “WTF, stop it!”. Actually out loud to myself. I’m working from home and I’m drinking a coffee I made downstairs with the patio door open and my plants are in the sun while I look at my little space and suddenly think I will eventually need a sliding door repair for my patio as the latch is becoming stuck more often than not, but that’s a different days job. I spent most of yesterday updating my speaker’s agency profile information sitting in my room watching Netflix. THIS IS ONCE WHAT I DREAMED OF.
Ok, it’s not all roses and rainbows but I wanted to be here. I worked hard for this. I put in hours and days and years of work to get here and I have nothing to be so damn salty about.
Sometimes all you need to do is remind yourself this is right where you wanted to be and fully be IN that moment.The sun is out and I am feeling good.
It’s easy to get down or distracted and feel like your neverending list of tasks is piling up but there is a lot you can be grateful for. I talked to a friend this morning and a reminded her to make a list of things she’d already done, then she wouldn’t feel bad about the other list she had been meaning to do. There is enough time in the day or week to do the things you need to do. Some of the things I want to get done are not necessarily what I need to get done. Ex. my hair is a shag and the house is a little messy but that’s totally ok. Prioritize and manage your time, it takes work but you can do it.
In other news, this weekend our furnace broke and today we have a guy here fixing it. Not ideal, but I CAN DEAL. GIRL, YOU GOT THIS.
Feel the sunshine on your face, soak it up.
We’ve waited for this moment.
P.S. People have been posting their old headshots so here are some of mine, haha. I was a teen model. WTF is up w/ the tree!? ??
Helloooooo and happy Monday! We’re up at the cottage after a few relaxing days of sun and snow. Yep, the lake is STILL frozen. Mostly frozen. Sean tested it out and there’s a pretty thick layer under the top bit of crunchy snow. It’s usually all melted by now which is kinda crazy.
It felt like a beach outside the sun was so warm and reflecting from the lake. I got a slight tan like from my top and Sean was doing lumberjack things with no shirt on. ?
I posted a bunch on Stories over the weekend, you can check out the Cottage Story here. We invented a new game, ‘throw the brick and try to break the ice’. It’s more fun than it sounds, trust me. Last night he did a bunch of fireworks on the lake and it is the coolest thing. The colours reflect on the white snow ice and light up the sky.
Ice, nature’s filter.
Oh, Life!
This morning I posted an article from Gary Vee about not comparing yourself to people on Instagram. This has been a topic around friends and events lately. It’s important to remember people only post their best photos and part of their life they want to share. I am not showing you a photo of me right now as I’ve been wearing the same clothes all weekend and they’re a mess from cooking, cleaning the cottage, and doing yard work. Without this hat, my hair stands right up like a troll doll and my face feels fresh with no makeup. It’s great, I feel awesome. I don’t feel like sharing a photo of myself right now though, might scare ya, haha.
Yaaaaay! GUYS, spring. It’s like almost hereeeeeee! If you go outside today there are so many smiling people. ??????????????????
I mean it’s mostly the sun but it could also be 420. We are having pizza at the office. Tonight I’ve got a double date with one of my bffs to the Tokyo Smoke event at The Design Exchange. We’re planning a cottage visit this weekend and I wonder if the lake has thawed? It’s about time to start looking at water pipes for sale for my bff maybe to make use of it at the cottage!
Today I posted on Instagram for the first time in over a week. I haven’t felt like posting on my own account. Behind the scenes, I’ve been manning client IG accounts but with the long, grey, freezing days, I’ve been so BLARGHHH. I stook outside on the roof patio with my arms up facing the sun, trying to charge my batteries. It’s amazing how much of a difference sunshine makes.
I wish I was wearing this outfit right now and every day after. I love it so much. It’s a rental from the girls at Studio Fitzroy.
Sequins, so hot right now and forever. I’m pretty sure my 10 years in dance as a kid are to thank for my love of sequins. I could wear them any time of day, any day of the week.
I didn’t realize how many days it has been since I blogged. There’s a handful of photos ready to publish in posts with no words. I haven’t had them to write. I mean they’re always floating around my head and in notes on my phone. Sometimes I don’t feel like sharing. It all sounds so dramatic when I write it down, I’ve just been working on other stuff. A whole life happens behind scenes of a blog, with clients, speaking, freelance writing, new work, family time. This weather is 100% not helping my desire to stay cooped up in the house though. Binge-watching show after show, I’ve only gone to the store 1 block away since Sunday. Yesterday I watched a season and a half of Doctor Foster on Netflix. Today I’m going to make date scones and spaghetti bolognese.
It’s ok to stay inside. It’s ok to not want to share on social media. It’s cool to spend heaps of time hibernating and feeding your soul. Soon enough spring will come and we’ll all be outside spinning in the sunshine. I think of those days and feel warm inside. Until then, I’m ok staying cooped up in the house and keep a little quiet, low key.
This blog post is an extension of a conversation, an email, and a couple texts. I finally got around to it hahaha. I remember learning about the ‘multiple streams income’ concept from The Wealthy Barber, Dave Chilton back in college. I always wanted to get to point where I had multiple streams of income and wasn’t waiting for my next cheque to arrive. There’s working hard and working smart and I am a big fan of being creative and efficient. Depending on where you’re currently going in life, there are different options you can take. For instance, if you’re a retired homeowner, you may even be able to take out a loan using your home as security. A lot of retired people turn to equity release as a way of finding extra money. Check out EquityRelease.co.uk to learn more about some of the equity release options available. But what about ways to generate more income?
If you need to get more $$ in your pocket get smart about making more money. If you are in urgent need of cash then you may want to see what your local pawn shop can do for you.
I’ve earned over $100 on my purchases in the last couple months. I have both USA and Canada accounts. I (spend all my money on the internet and) love buying things at Sephora and Amazon.ca. It’s free money you get back on things you’re already buying! Sign up her
One of the other cool things is you get $$ for referring friends with your sign up link, so send this out to your fam and get them to sign up. BAM!
You get money and in the form of a big fat cheque or they’ll deposit it right into your PayPal (so you can buy more things on the internet!).
Years ago I was on a tv show called Maxed Out, through that show I learned the first steps to making/managing money and paying back debt. The host helped kick my ass into gear and get a better job. If you are struggling for money and you hate your job, make a change in your damn life.
There is no point in doing something you hate. We live in a world of opportunity and there are jobs doing literally everything from decorating cupcakes, to delivering food, to playing video games. If you need a recruiter or some direction, I used to be a recruiter, just ask. You should also consider doing some freelance work if you have a talent in a particular field. You can learn more about this on websites like The Money Sack.
I spend a good chunk of time doing this when I moved to Toronto ages ago (see here). Both my sister and I were on Degrassi and spent an entire summer as extras on a big movie. It was super fun.
You’ll spend a lot of your time just sitting around in Background Holding but it’s not hard work. If you’re lucky you’ll get called up to do a role or maybe earn some acting credits. Regardless, you’ll get paid hourly and it’s a great way to meet some people in film & entertainment. Here is a list of Toronto background agents.
You’ll never find us in this old photo but it’s the entire background cast from the movie.
This company is owned by my friend Sergio. He casts all kinds of reality and scripted reality, commercials, and more. We use him at Occupied VR and 1188.
IF YOU HAVE A BAD DATING STORY THEY ARE CASTING RIGHT NOW.
Please email a short description of your nightmare date to [email protected]
You have too many clothes. We all do. If you have some nice ones that you never wear, haven’t worn in the last year, and they aren’t seasonal or really, really special, GET RID OF THAT CRAP. Hang it nicely to make it look nice and take it to your local KindExhange or a consignment shop. I am forever getting rid of things and the less I have the better I feel. KindExchange gives you more back in store credit but they will also give you cash on the spot.
Love Amazon Prime? ME TOO! Tell people how much you love it? Me too! Sign up for Amazon Associates and make $$$ sharing something you love with people you care about. You will make money and it comes in the form of Amazon gift card directly to your account, so you can spend more money on Amazon.
If you’ve been looking to make a change in your life there’s no time like SPRING right now!
Don’t wait for spring to arrive. Get your booty in gear now so that when spring finally (if it ever) comes you can go play outside with more money and no worries.
I recently got 5 bins of stuff I’ve had in storage for years. What a time capsule! On Saturday night I had some drinks and opened them, going through all my books and writing. It was just as I imagined! I’d been thinking of doing that just that and I sprawled everything out on the floor feeling inspired with fond memories. It’s amazing how books can do that, I’ve read and collected so many poetry books. It was so nice to re-read things and see all the PostIt notes on pages. Glad I never got rid of them.
I love being up at the cottage and doing creative things. I really wanted to do some woodworking with the pieces in the garage but it’s still too cold. Finished my latest Kindle (The Perfect Roommate) on Saturday then took a thick nap in the sun. It was great.
Last weekend Sarah and I had so much fun at Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. We took off Friday from Porter and flew back Sunday afternoon in time for Easter. Overall the entire experience was super fun, our favourite was the food and great service. Awesome local getaway if you’re in Ottawa, Toronto, or surrounding area and looking for a Vegassy getaway without crossing the border.
Here’s a video recap of our girls getaway!
Lac-leamy Casino Recap Here’s a little recap of our BFF weekend at Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. It was super fun and relaxing! See more about our experience on the blog! Their Now Boarding theme runs till April 22. 🙂 https://casiestewart.com/lac-leamy-casino-review Posted by casie stewart: this is my life on Friday, April 6, 2018
Casino Lac-Leamy sent me and my lovely guest to experience their ‘Now Boarding’ promotion that runs till April 22nd. All the staff were dressed in flight attendant uniforms, they had dancers performing each night, and a variety of other games and promotions happening. We tried to do it all! Sarah and I had two great dinners, checked out the cafe, learned to play table games, hit the slot machines, played Blackjack, got a massage, went to the pools, hit the club, slept in, ate chips in bed, and had brunch in the executive lounge. I was very glad I had practiced on the two up casino on my phone before playing!It was perfect.
On Friday night we had had dinner at La Baccara, a great spot for foodies. It’s no wonder they’ve won so many awards, the food and service were both incredible. Sarah had a specially prepared vegan meal (they knew she was coming) and I went for the lamb (I love lamb, I’m kiwi!). The food presentation was out of this world and our entree was delivered each with its own server on a silver platter. It was one of the best meals both of us have ever had.
The most beautiful salad.
We sat at the chef’s table.
After our meal, we grabbed drinks and took some lessons in table games. Some of my friends often use websites such as www.norgescasino.com/ to check out all the latest online casino games so I was glad I had asked them for a few words of gambling advice before our trip! Using a site like dream casino is sure to get you up to scratch with how all the games operate and is also where you can have great fun gambling from the comfort of your home. At least there are options for people to play Casino games online, as well as visiting a real casino. Although both experiences differ, it depends on the individual. Not everyone can get to a casino, which is where the idea of playing these sorts of games online becomes a lot easier.
You can have open alcohol in the casino and there is no smoking inside (thankfully!). There was a live band and an area called The Zone where you can play a variety of table games with a live dealer running a few games at once. We played a fun airplane game and it was on ALL THE TVs IN THE WHOLE CASINO. LOL. A little embarrassing but it was totally fun haha. The next day we both slept in and went to the indoor/outdoor pools before massages at the spa. We ate chips/takeout in our beds for lunch and watched tv/napped before dinner. It was the most relaxing day, an A+ recharge. Our second dinner was at Arôme, Sarah had tofu and I ate a HUGE seafood platter. The service here was also really good. After dinner, we had a drink at Banco Bistro then went at back to the casino to try our hand at Blackjack (no luck!) and hit up ALÉA nightclub. It was definitely a younger crowd in the club but it was still fun. (We were the cougars LOL!)
I would 100% go back for a romantic weekend or in the summer. The Hilton Hotel attached to the casino looks out over a small lake with a marina. In the summer people kayak/paddleboard and there’s a nice running trail.
Thank you Casinos Quebec for the invite and hosting us! Travel adventures are my most favourite and it’s the absolute best when you get to bring a friend.
Hope you have a great weekend!
This post is in partnership with Casinos Quebec I've been compensated for my time and most of the weekend was covered.
I haven’t written much in the last week. I’ve been busy but I’ve also been tired/lazy. Last week I directed a commercial, went to a conference, and had a press trip. It was non-stop go-go-go and although I relaxed over the weekend, come Monday I felt drained. I love my work and what I do but I am much more of a homebody and introvert than you might realize. I love staying home! Being a blogger (writer) means you spend a lot of time at home on your computer.
I’m listening to the Call Me By Your Name Soundtrack, did you see that movie? It’s beautiful. I saw it on one of the flights I’ve taken since January. By the end of February, I’d seen almost every new movie on Air Canada. I was happy to see this one pop up, it’s good. After coming back from New Zealand I was pretty relaxed and ready to start 2018 business. But now, I can’t believe it’s April and I feel like the last two months have been a blur. I was super sick for half of February then I had a week in Vancouver, a week in San Francisco, a couple weekends at the cottage, and few days in Ottawa (Gatineau). Where did the time go?!
This extended winter is not helping, I totally wore the wrong coat.
This weekend we are heading up to the cottage and I can’t wait. Before we head north, I’m attending a creativity workshop with FITC. I’m hoping for an electric charge that inspires me to make things. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day routine, feeling tired but your creativity is always there, you just have to find it. I’m a very creative person but I go through waves of stopping and starting, staring at my computer, into hour-long blackholes of scrolling FB or IG.
It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day routine, feeling tired, but your creativity is always there you, you just have to find it.
You have to find something that inspires you every single day. I love going for walks, riding my bike, or calling someone (on the actual phone) to chat a few minutes. Workouts are good too if you’re into that haha.
Today I tweeted about the sunshine because this damn long ass winter seems to be never ending but you can’t let it get you down. Spring is around the corner, a time of renewal, growth, change. Take inventory of the things around you, make your bed, close your eyes and think for a minute, go outside, read your old journal, buy flowers, draw something. You control your thoughts and you are in charge of the way you feel. If you find the sunshine within, you can share it with the world.
Feel the sunshine on your face, soak it up.
This company is owned by my friend Sergio. He casts all kinds of reality and scripted reality, commercials, and more. We use him at Occupied VR and 1188.
