The Estrella Damm Tapas Journey

Last week I had the opportunity to check out the Estralla Damm Tapas Journey at Kanpai in Toronto’s East End. Tapas and pintxos are staples of Spanish cuisine, small plate snacks meant to be enjoyed & shared with friends. It was my first visit to Kanpai and we were treated to amazing service that made a great date night. Estrella Damm launched Canada’s inaugural Tapas Journey in Toronto on August 14th and it goes until TOMORROW ONLY  it’s over now.. This was my first time trying Estrella Damm and it reminded me of Sapporo (my fav beer). It was lite, refreshing, and delicious. I would know because I sampled it MORE than a few times that night. Heh heh. ? Just sat down at @KanpaiSnackBar for our #TapasJourney! Holy ? @estrelladamm is… https://t.co/7DOzAPAOmJ pic.twitter.com/39fItEGr2R — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) August 15, 2015 Twenty of the city’s best restaurants were featuring three mouth-watering tapas served with a cold Estrella Damm for $20. Participating restaurants include: Barsa Taberna, Beast, Byblos, Carmen, Cava, East Thirty-Six, El Catrin, Kanpai Snack Bar, Los Colibrís, Mamakas Taverna, Marben, Mata Petisco Bar, Nota Bene, Patria, Raca Café & Bar, Salt Wine Bar, Taverna Mercatto, The Good Son, Valdez, Weslodge ALSO, pick up a passport at any of the 20 participating Tapas Journey restaurants and get it stamped. When you share a picture of your Tapas Journey stamp on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #TapasJourney you’ll be entered to win a trip for 2 to Miami to attend the Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress and see Ferran Adrià, the world’s most awarded chef. If you check out somewhere great tonight/tomorrow or want to share your Tapas Journey, tweet me! [symple_button url=”http://twitter.com/casiestewart” color=”pink” size=”small” border_radius=”3px” target=”self” rel=”” icon_left=”” icon_right=””]Tweet Me![/symple_button] Hope you’re having a great weekend. I’m still in my hometown hanging out with mum.  ? CASIE     Photography credit Jeffrey Chan courtesy of Estrella Damm.Except for my tweet of course!

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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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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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New Things I Love! Short Hair, Tesla Cruisin’, MacBook Pro, Meat Pies ✌?️

It’s almost the weekend. I’ve worked hard. I’m ready to reeeeeeeeelaxxxx! Looks like we’re gonna get some rain, I’m working on a blog makeover so I’m ok with that. Won’t feel bad missing sunshine to nerd out ON MY NEW COMPUTER! Sean picked it up for me yesterday and I can’t WAIT to tour around this amazingly fast little machine. He also came home with meat pies from The Pie Comission. Seriously, what a dreamboat! I’m so stoked. It’s been a few years since I upgraded my Mac Game and I’m proudly replacing my 11″ MacBook Air with a 13″ MacBook Pro. Welcome to the family! Sean recommended that I got an external monitor for my MacBook to make my life a bit easier so I’m looking at reviews on bestbezellessmonitor and will keep you updated on whether I get one or not! I’m also going to be a lot more careful with this one, as I know that they’re susceptible to cracked screens if not looked after properly – I don’t want to have to fork out to repair it any time soon. All my Apple gadgets over the years have been named after famous men in history. This guy is yet to be named… Went to the Indie Ale House last night. Food was really good! She moved to the junction recently so I have another friend in the hood. Woot! The desserts, so good. Loving my hair short. Getting it trimmed a BIT shorter today too. Rode in my first TESLA yesterday. What a car! It’s so fast, smart, good looking, efficient, I can’t get enough. Snapped this out the sunroof. Beautiful day! Back seat is quite roomy and with TWO trunks you can fit heaps of clothes and food for a weekend getaway. Three cheers for…

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Polette Eyewear – Celebrate Summer w/ a 30% Off Discount Code!

You guys know how much I LOVE my sunnies. I’ve amassed a huge collection over the years. The last 6 months I’ve upped my game and added some of my most stylish pairs EVER from polette Eyewear in France. To celebrate summer and my partnership, polette has created a discount code FOR YOU! Up until July 24th you will get a 30% discount off your order with the code: Coconut. Code is valid on all online catalog except for the Sales category. One of the greatest things about polette, (aside from the huge selection) is the prices. The company was started by a young entrepreneur with the goal of cutting out the middleman to offer great eyewear at affordable prices.  The team is young, artistic, and fun, which you can see shine through in their advertising. The polette blog has style advice and cute road trip diaries. Here’s a couple great looks you can find on the site right now:     A few of my fav pairs!    Visit  polette.com to make your first purchase and tag me when your order arrives. Love to know what ones you pick! I’m placing an order today too. ? Here’s to a great week! ❤️ CASIE

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After 5 Years, We’re Taking Our Relationship Next Level…

It’s with great pride I announce my official Ambassadorship with Telus!  Over the past five years I’ve worked with Telus on a number of things (see here) and they’ve helped me out with service, covered roaming, and been there every single time I’ve lost/destroyed my phone.  This week they announced #TeamTelus, 15 hand selected bloggers from across the country. “The Team TELUS line up stars 15 awesome, interesting, smart, creative, down-to-earth, caring and stylish personalities from across the country. To recognize Team TELUS for their support, we are providing them with mobile (and in B.C. and Alberta, Optik TV) service, devices, VIP access to events and reader giveaways.” Read more about TeamTelus here and get to know the rest of the group! Tonight we’re all celebrating our awesomeness at TELUS HQ in Toronto. Earlier today a couple of my Telus peeps showed up with a HUGE box of goodies to welcome me to the team. My welcome box was picked specially for me and includes a few things they knew I’d love including a new Ted Baker iPhone case (my brands are colliding!), Kate Spade portable charger (fashion + tech together), selfie stick (obvious one there!), a gold Shine fitness/sleep tracker (wearables!), a Bluetooth speaker, chocolates, and a Shoppers gift card.  I’m really happy to make it official after working together since 2010. My first EVER mobile phone was with Telus back in the 90’s when they were Clearnet. I’m excited to see what fun adventures and things I’ll be covering with the team this year. Check out the rest of TEAM TELUS here. TIME TO CELEBRATE! CASIE  

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TD Canada + MusiCounts + Serena Ryder in Ottawa

Last weekend mum and I went on a trip to Ottawa. I was invited by TD Canada & TD Music to bring a guest to see Serena Ryder and attend a special ceremony where TD Cafe & MusicCounts made a music announcement. It has been a loooooong time since mum and I went on a plane together (NZ in the 90’s) so we made the most of every moment and it was so much fun. We flew Porter Airlines which involves taking the worlds shortest commercial ferry to the island. It’s a wonderful flying experience! MusiCounts is Canada’s music education charity associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to help keep music alive in schools across Canada. TD Canada has been working with MusicCounts since 2012. They support Community based organizations, schools, and picka  MuciCounts teacher of the year. This year’s winner was Steve Sainas from BC and he received the award at the JUNOS. TD Canada has worked with some great Canadian artists through MusiCounts including Arkells, Kevin Drew, and Tegan & Sarah. They’re excited to add Serena Ryder to the mix.  WThey also work w/ the JUNOS team to partner with artists. TD Canada is committed to music as an organization with a genuine interest in music and communities. They’re not just a cheque signing bank, they actually follow through and make communities better. Serena made a $25K donation to Musicounts.ca! These kids were SO EXCITED to hear the donation news, receive violins, and to find out they were performing on stage WITH Serena Ryder herself. It was a magical moment.  A photo posted by Gracie Carroll (@graciecarroll) on Jul 3, 2015 at 2:39pm PDT The concert was at TD Place in the new Lansdowne Centre and was opened by The Strumbellas. They were amazing. The 6 piece band rocked…

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The Zombies Guide to Surviving Among the Living: How to Blend in at Dinner Parties 

Over the past couple weeks I’ve shared a few tips for surviving among the living them you’re a zombie in partnership with shomi Canada to promote the new show iZombie. This week for chapter 3 of The Zombies Guide to Surviving Among the Living, we look at easy ways to blend in at dinner parties. Always make sure you’ve got your phone close by, if we learned anything from the first two chapters it’s that humans are totally addicted to texting and are never without a mobile device. Don’t even think about taking a bite before snapping a photo of your food. You’ll notice this human behaviour is very common at any public eating facility. It’s a trend that’s totally taken over human eating rituals. Once you’re managed to get past the small talk and are seated at the table, snap a selfie. Then snap another after your first bite. Share how great our food it with the world on your fav social network. Avoid making eye contact and if you’re feeling bored, pick up your phone and text like you’ve got something really important happening. Even if it’s just jargon. Humans will assume you’re engaged in an intense text conversation. These tips will help any zombie trying to make it in a human world. This is my last post about The Zombies Guide but I’m passing the torch to Will Wong and Daniel (Do The Daniel) for the next  chapters. Check out the trailer for iZombie here and get yourself a free 30-day trial here. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags #shomi #TheZombiesGuide. CASIE

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Good Coffee, Paris Dreams, Always a Good Idea

Well hello there! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNANG. Yesterday was super nice out. It was hot by 8am! I’ve been leaving the house bright and early lately visiting my new fav coffee shop, Cafe Neon. They’ve got a killer BLT and the coffee is fair trade and delicious. The latte art is lovely too. In fact, it has inspired me to invest in some new coffee making equipment for back home. To be honest, I have wanted a new coffee grinder for some time now. Which reminds me, one of my friends has sent me some coffee grinder recommendations from thefullmooncafe.com so I must take a look to see if I can find one that catches my eye. Do you like to make your own coffee at home? Let me know your coffee making tips! Anyway, in between working from the home office I visited the garden centre across the bridge and picked up a few new herbs for my garden. I’ve actually got real things growing this year. ??? Last year was a doozy and nothing lasted longer than 2 weeks. By the time we have a larger garden area, I’ll be a pro! Received a nice gift from Dove in NYC, a canvas with a collage of words I’ve used in tweets. Very thoughtful and personalize, it came with a handwritten note. THANK YOU. A photo posted by C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on May 26, 2015 at 6:22pm PDT Yesterday I was lucky to find a copy of VICE magazine at Rock Lobster (Queen West). Haven’t picked one up in ages. I’ve collected heaps over the years, a bunch from Australia when I lived there. When I first moved to Toronto in 2005, one of my fav things to do on the…

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My Experience with an Uber Driver Yesterday

As you may know from the news, there’s lots of talk about Uber around the world and especially in Toronto. Last week I went to the rally at city hall with my friend to show support for Uber & UberX (non-taxi people doing pickups) with heaps of other riders and drivers.   Yesterday I took a record (for me), 5 UberX cars in one day. Home to 1188 Office 1188 to The Brewers Plate Brewers Plate to Netflix Thowback Party Netflix to Army of Sass dance rehearsal Rehearsal to Home When I ran to dance class from the 4th car I left my wallet in the car. I didn’t realize till after dance. This was after frantically tearing my bag apart and scouring the studio. I sent a DM (private message on Twitter) to @UberCanada and asked if they could help.  It was 10:36pm.    By 10:42, my wallet was found and Uber Canada text me a contact number for my UberX driver who had my little wallet.  I rung him and arranged it to be dropped off at my HOUSE. THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IN ANOTHER TAXI. Have you ever left something in a taxi? It’s basically a lost cause. I lost a wallet and an iPhone last year and there was no way to track down the driver or car.  With Uber, my stuff was safe and sound with the driver and back to within an hour of realizing it was missing. There’s a bunch of things I really love about Uber (especially UberX) and it’s that drivers are never on the phone, cars are clean, and they’re generally really nice. Also the following list that you will not find with a traditional or Beck taxi. You know who is picking up and when. You’ve got the drivers name, contact. You can see on…

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Celebrating 40 Years! Over The Rainbow X Fidelity Denim

Last week I stopped by Toronto’s iconic Over The Rainbow to celebrate as they turn 40. In honour of this exciting milestone, OTR is doing a series of fashion collabs throughout the year. The first is a limited-edition jean designed by Canadian denim darling Jason Trotzuk of FIDELITY.   I had a chance to have a few laughs with Jason, who flew in from Jason flew in from LA – where the FIDELITY factory is located, just for the event. The jeans come in a classic blue denim or white, with OTR details including rainbow striped detailing on the back pockets and inside waistband. Over The Rainbow is THE place to go for a great pair of jeans, they’re known for honest service, knowledgeable staff, and innovative products. I’ve had some good memories there including last summer  2 summers ago when I hosted the Back to School Blogger blowout (see post here). Enjoyed the beverage selection. Fresh cold pressed juice in a rainbow of colours! Every month for the rest of the year, Over The Rainbow will be doing collaboration with some really rad brands including Tuck Shop Co., Naked & Famous Denim, Line Knitwear, Moose Knuckles, and more. See the full list here. I’ll make sure to keep you updated so you can pick up something from the limited collections yourself!  A photo posted by C A S I E S T E W A R T (@casiestewart) on Apr 28, 2015 at 9:47am PDT Thanks Faulhaber Communications x FIDELITY x Over the Rainbow for my own pair of the limited edition denim. They’re super comfortable! Follow the hashtag #OTR40TRS for all their best moments! <3 CASIE

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A Blog Post About Blogging for Bloggers – WP 4.2, Mobile

I don’t usually blog about blogging but this blog post is about blogging because I have some blog updates to share on my blog. You know that I like giving tips and advice to those of you who want to start blogging. I’ve told you about SEO, the articles on MangoMatter about web hosting, different ways to come up with content, the list goes one! But today I’m going to be talking about WordPress! Ok, the new WordPress came out yesterday and this update has some neat things to help you as a blogger, communicate and share, globally. You can watch this quick video or read more about it after scrolling my list of favs from their post. If you blog you should watch it because it will make you a better (WordPress) blogger. Even more embeds: Paste links from Tumblr.com and Kickstarter and watch them magically appear right in the editor. With every release, your publishing and editing experience get closer together. Host of new characters: Native Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters, musical and mathematical symbols, and hieroglyphs. Streamlined plugin updates: Goodbye boring loading screen, hello smooth and simple plugin updates. OMG! Emoji are now available in WordPress! Get creative and decorate your content with ?, ?, ?, or?!! IS YOUR BLOG OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE? UPDATE IT TODAY. LIKE NOW. Google announced that the Mobile Friendly Update began rolling out YESTERDAY. This update is going to be the largest Google update ever and if you don’t get on it, you’ll notice a drop in traffic. And it might be huge. If you don’t know if your site is optimized for mobile, check this link to find out google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly. There’s a good blog post on searchengineland.com from yesterday that states: Postscript: SEO Clarity’s Ryan Heuser sent me some early data…

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Muse, The Brain Sensing Headband

I first tried Muse a few months ago when the weare1188 office got one. It was right at the start of film fest and my calmness level was nonexistent. By the end of TIFF, my Muse session showed a very high level of calm. This, I’m sure you can understand. “Muse is the mental equivalent of a treadmill, which helps you exercise your brain with focused attention training.” As an easily distracted person who’s always on the go, focussed attention training is something I could work on. I have been working on it the last month with a new headset fro Future Shop as part of the Tech Crew I’ve joined. Over the next few months I’ll be sharing my experiences with new gadgets and also giving some away for you to try.   First up, Muse, the brain sensing headband.  “It improves your attention by training you to become aware of your distractions quicker and react faster to regain focus on what you’re doing.” You can read more about Muse and brain training at choosemuse.com. Scroll down to see some of my session data and WIN your very own Muse. How Muse Works Once you download the app, you connect headphones, and place the headband on your forehead. The 5 sensors light up in different colours to let you know it’s connected. In order to calibrate the device you need to make sure the sensors are working. This is a screenshot of mine fully connected. After a brain training session you’e given some data about how active/calm your brain was. As you can see in this session, I was pretty calm. Until the end! Please enter below win a Muse headset from Future Shop. Contest is open to anyone in Canada except Quebec (Sorry MTL friends!). You’re able to enter each day.…

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Give Your Facebook Page a Checkup!

Do you know about the Likealyzer? It’s a free service from Meltwater (social analytics) that pulls in data from your Facebook page. I’ve not been using my Facebook page much the last year but it’s a GREAT resource. This tool with help you know more about what posts your followers like and how to grow your audience .Just thought I’d share this tidbit with you! Make sure you LIKE my Facebook page while you’re Facebooking. Find me Facebook.com/casiestewart.blog. <3 CASIE  

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