Self-Care: Cold Plunge, Meditation, Sunshine, Mani

This is me right before spending a good 2.5 minutes in Lake Ontario in the middle of winter, on a windy -11 day. Sean and I joined Meghan Yuri Young & Chloe Wild for a cold plunge hosted by Soho House Toronto. It was, as you would expect, cold, but fun. I had a full day of self-care and it was lovely.

Sean dropped me off at the 1 Hotel (the old Thompson!) as I was attending a workshop hosted by NüLove featuring my friend, Coach Carey. The best thing happened, walked into the lobby and looked over to see Lisa Sonshine, who was also attending! Both Lisa & Coach Carey have been guests on our Cast of Creators podcast watch or listen to all our eps here.

The workshop was so good, we meditated, had a healthy lunch, got inspired, and wrote letters to our future selves. 1 Hotel is going to mail the letters to us in a couple of weeks. I really love this idea and might send my future self a few letters this year.

My wonderful day of self-care continued with a walk down Queen Street in the sunshine, popping into shops. My friend Angela has just re-opened her new shop in her old shop’s old location. Check out aka The Store on IG or in person at 662 Queen. There are so many cute things, clothes, shoes, jewelry, glitz, and glam!

My final stop (before spending a quiet night at home) was a bright mani with my girl Amanda. Her manicures last WEEKS and I love how she’s helped my nails grow longer & stronger than ever. If you’re looking for a great gel mani, book an appt here. (I realized after that these colors are a little Mcdonald’s but IDGAF, I like it.) Smiley ring is from Santa Isla. 😊

A Break From All The Hustle and Bustle

Took the train to Kitchener recently to spend a weekend with dad & family. Was nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, have a nice slow weekend.

I didn’t realize I could catch a train to KW from the Bloor Up station right near our house. It was a nice ride! Up until about a week before I don’t think I’d taken the Go Train, ever! The train goes out near the airport, past Brampton, Guelph, and into downtown Kitchener. I had a window seat and watched the sun go down the whole ride.

Dad and I got up early on Saturday and went to St. Jacobs Market. I hadn’t been there in a *very* long time, it was just as I remembered it (even though dad said it’s changed a lot).

Took a nap on Saturday afternoon and noticed this cutie grabbing a snack outside the window. I watched quietly and admired her beauty.

Went for a 7km walk w/ dad on Sunday morning, it was perfect. The greatest gift is spending time together hanging out. It was quite cold but energizing. We looked at houses in the neighborhood, walked through a park beside the grand river, and tackled a few hills.

She Does The City: Taking The Plunge

Over the holidays I was interviewed by Jen McNeely, founder of She Does The City about cold water therapy. If you’ve been here a while, or follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I’ve been dipping myself into cold water for the last couple of years. It started at the cottage just before the pandemic and when we lived up there in 2020, I really got into it. Check out my interview here

READ THE FEATURE HERE

I’ve got my galvanized stock tank set up on the roof at home and go in it 3-4 times a week, usually after my run and before a shower. I need to get some new lights set up for night dips.

If you’re interested in taking a guided dip, check out Unbounded Well or Othership. See my past posts on cold water therapy here.

Use this link for a $10 credit at Unbounded in the Stackt Market. Their outdoor experience has cold plunge wells, Scandinavian saunas, a geodesic breathwork studio, and bonfire lounges. It’s great!

I’ll be there in the evening on January 18th if you want to join. 😁

HELLO 2023, IT’S ME!

After a nice relaxing winter break, I’m relaxed, recharged, and ready for a new year. You can’t deny the fresh feeling of January, it’s like a reset. My theme for this year is TRYING NEW THINGS. I’m applying it in a few different areas and have no doubt it will bring me closer to my goals.

I started the year not hungover and went for a nice run through High Park.😁 Sean and I stayed in for NYE, watched a show on Apple TV (Tehran), and went to bed around 12:15. It was glorious!

cold hands / shop Titika – code CASIE20

Today was my first 2023 workout at the gym & I’ve joined a 6-week challenge. I’m dedicated to making some serious gains by the end of it. I love working out, it really helped me get through some hard stuff last year.

Last week I tried my first Lyra Class at a studio in my neighborhood. It was fun but hard! Working out the past year definitely helped, upper body strength is key.

In other news, tomorrow I’m starting a weekly pottery course that will take me into the spring. It’s a dream come true! Have wanted to try pottery since watching Ghost as a kid haha. I’ve got a few things I’d like to make and look forward to learning a new skill.

Here’s to a New Year & trying new things!

TITIKA’S 100 Fit Women – Casie Stewart!

I guess my workouts have paid off in more ways than one! I’ve been chosen as one of Titika Active’s 100 Fit Women. The image below is from their November newsletter that went out to their entire database! That same day I attended an event they were sponsoring and was totally caught off guard when someone from their team said “hey I recognize you“. 😁

Titika 2023 Ambassador

I picked out a whole bunch of my fav items from the website that you can see here. As an ambassador, I have been given a discount code ‘CASIE20’ that works sitewide, even on sale items. I’ve been wearing Titika to the gym and running for the past two months. I love how stylish their collections are and the buttery soft leggings.

Check out my picks from Titika & use code CASIE20

Titika is a female-founded, Canadian company, started by Eileen Zhang, a George Browm College grad. In 2015, she was highlighted as a change maker in the fashion industry by the BBC, and in 2016, she designed sportswear for Madonna’s Hard Candy gym in Toronto. There’s a great feature on Eileen here on Style Canada (2021).

I look forward to sharing more activewear with you soon! I did a photoshoot with my gym recently so will hopefully be able to share some images of me actually working out.

In the words of Hal Johnson & Joanne Mcleod, keep fit & have fun!

Playsuit Party w/ Biddell!

The other day I joined a bunch of Toronto fashion ladies to hang out with Evan Biddell at a gorgeous studio where we modeled his new line of Playsuits. It was a Playsuit party!

If you haven’t heard of the Biddell Playsuit, it’s ‘an oversized flying squirrel-shaped onesie for any body type that inspires movement and creativity.’ I swear, as soon as you put one on you feel fabulous. I. ordered my first one in 2020 and now I have 3!

Black & White Playsuit

The Black & White Playsuit has pockets! This new edition to the lineup is 92% Bamboo, 8% spandex, machine washable, and “equal parts casual & dressy”. I love it. It’s super soft and so comfortable.

Gold Lamé Playsuit

An absolute stunner. Perfect for the holidays, or any day. This one looks so nice layered with big jacket, a belt, and great shoes. She fancy.

All The Playsuits

I also have one in yellow and this glamorous black & gold chain print. Seriously comfortable and can be worn around the house (for hosting?!), with heels/accessories, or as a casual look for any time, really. The best thing about the Playsuit is it fits EVERY BODY.

This photo from the 2021 summer Playsuit show is so fun. Look at all these beauties.

More photos here!

I love you Evan Biddell! Thank you for your friendship and fun times!

P.S. We talked about having an actual Playsuit party. Do you have one? Download our Hvr browser on your phone so you can comment on my blog & LMK if you’re interested.

History Revealed: Augmented-Reality Art + Ancestry

Had such a lovely night last week for the opening of History Revealed, an augmented reality art exhibit that runs till November 11th. Scroll down for ticket details!

I saw so many faces I hadn’t seen in ages! This magical moment when I saw Maria was caught by the photographer. I think we screamed and hugged with joy for 30-seconds. We’ve been friends for ages, since before the burlesque era.

History Revealed: A Unique Gallery Experience

Presented by Anestry.ca, the exhibit shows the works of Canadian wartime artist Molly Lamb Bobak. At just 25, she was the first and only woman to be appointed as an official Canadian war artist.

Uncover the wartime stories of Molly Lamb Bobak, a Canadian artist who enlisted in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps during WW2.

When you walk in, it appears the picture frames are empty, but through the iPads & headphones, the photos come alive and are accompanied by audio stories.

The free exhibit runs until Friday, November 11th. Book an appointment to see it here.


As part of the opening night, we had portraits taken by George Pimentel.

All photos by George Pimentel except my mirror selfies. 😁

Thank you to the team at Coveted Co. for the invite!

Cold Plunge Season 2022

Did my first cold plunge of the season this weekend! It was with 1,700 people at Woodbine Beach, the largest group plunge ever. It was incredible!

Everyone set up their stations 9-10 am, the music was great, we all did breathwork, got our blood pumping, then went in as a group. Lots of screaming as we went in, then the volunteers encouraged everyone to breathe through the cold and focus. By the time we hit the 2-minute mark, everyone was smiling and screaming.

I didn’t take that many photos but shared a bit on Stories here. Kinda wish I took my phone in the water. The energetic vibes were so inspiring.

Swipe through this post from @bowen416 to see what it was like

Thank you to the event hosts Othership, CityShred, JayBird, and Unbounded. This photo was from last year, today there was 4x the amount of people!

The weather has been so warm the past week I’ve not filled my cold plunge tank on the roof yet. I always hated the cold but I really love it now. Have written about cold plunge experiences for the past few years, see posts here.

Looking forward to running this week, it’s lighter an hour earlier. 😁

Mean Girls The Musical

My sister and I went to see Mean Girls the musical last week and IT WAS SO FUN. Cute show. Good music. A bit different from the movie but entertaining! Jenie and I got fully dressed up in pink outfits.

Getting ready was super fun and we did car karaoke to Taylor Swift on the Uber ride. Was kinda surprised to see most people were NOT wearing pink but tbh that didn’t bother me, I love wearing a statement look!

Mean Girls runs until November 27th at The Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. Get tickets here!!

Direct from Broadway, Mean Girls is the hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team, including book writer Tina Fey (30 Rock), composer Jeff Richmond (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), director Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), and producer/proud Torontonian Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live).

Halloween 2022: Witchy Woman

This year’s Halloween was pretty chill, although I wore a witch costume almost everywhere I went from Friday to Monday. She’s a witchy woman!

Like this photo on Instagram!

On Friday night Sean and I were at his office and saw there was a show at Velvet Underground. It turned out to be TikTok star Akintoye and he was INCREDIBLE. Next, we stopped by Baby G on Dundas and saw Fluffio, I hadn’t heard of them but they were GREAT.

On Saturday, we took a family adventure to the Parkdale Spooky Market which was fun. The sun was shining and it was SO WARM OUT. We picked up a few things then I walked home.

On Monday, I dressed up for our all-hands meeting and wore a family heirloom, this scary old lady mask my dad used to wear to take us trick or treating. It’s a classic with my friends and we always laugh at it. Was fun to see how many people dressed up for the meeting this year!

Our Funday office in Armenia carved pumpkins and I ran polls to guess who did each one.

I did not get wild on actual Halloween, went to my fav class at the gym, and wore my fav Valfre outfit. Look at me, a workout witch! Abs are coming in! I was really slack with my workouts this summer, feels good to be back on my game.

That’s a wrap on Spooky Season 2022, time for Christmas music!