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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#TIFF14: The Annual Essentials Lounge #ESSENTIALSLOUNGE5

Yesterday I went to the Essential Lounge by EGPR and at the Templar Hotel, Toronto. I can’t lie, going to lounges is one of the most fun parts of TIFF! It’s a gathering of media, friends, brands, and it takes a great PR team to pull it all together. We get a glimpse of how the stars in town for TIFF are treated and to see what brands are gifting. I love rummaging through the goodies and sharing them with Mum, my sisters, bf, friends that come over. Here’s some of my fav moments all shot by Ryan Emberley. You’ll recognize a few faces! I started out with an express facial by Skinceuticals and went on to have my makeup done by tarte Cosmetics and hair by Schwarzkopf. I was gifted a fantastic new bra from Calvin Klein and switched into it, tossing my old one before picking up a cute new pair of flats from Rockport.   Lauren O’Nizzle, BFF from CBC & laurenoutloud.com Liem Vu from Global’s Morning Show Nelia from styleblog.ca The essentials lounge happens right before TIFF to hook up press with products that’ll help them survice the TIFF madness and recover after the whirlwind.  and a swift recovery. Canon Blogtography crew Andrew Dobson (Metro & dobbernationLOVES.com) & Nelia Thank you Esther, Jess, and EGPR’s team far having me! Here’s to Essentals Lounge 6 and a happy TIFF ’14! <3 CASIE

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Seasons Change: September I Greet You w/ A Smile

Good morning! Bit chilly out there this AM. Crazy that September is next week. I love this time of year. There’s lots of energy in the air, back to school, back to work, seasons change, NYFW, and TIFF. I just noticed that a documentary I’m in has been added to my IMDB. ‘Behind the Red Carpet’ premiere is Tuesday at The Spoke Club and I can’t WAIT to see it. When I shot w/ George Pimentel for YYZ Magazine last month I found out he’d added a whole bunch of his work from Getty and award shows and it was looking good. On Wednesday next week I’ve got a portrait session w/ Caitlin Cronenberg at the IT lounge. She took my photo last year too (see here). See what people are saying about #NKPRIT14 on Twitter. Really loving this violet hair. I think I’m gonna keep it! It’s the first time I’ve permanently dyed my hair anything other than blonde in about 10 years. I really wanna grow it into a bob so this will help it be healthier along the process because  i t    t a  k e s   f o r e v e r .  If you’re looking to add some colour to your hair in a non-permanent way, see my Easy as 1-2-3 post here. The sweater I’m wearing has a hot rod on it that my Dad built for Paul Horton in the early 80’s. It was Mum’s. 🙂 This afternoon I’m heading to Sirius XM Radio Canada to be a guest on The Todd Shapiro Show. Read about the show here. You can listen by tuning into Sirius XM channel 168 at 4pm or subscribe to the podcast Toddcast in iTunes. This show is rated explicit and it deff not for kids. I don’t think I’ve…

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An Afternoon w/ Susur Lee at Bent Restauraunt

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Bent Restaurant w/ world-renowned chef Susur Lee, learning about his cooking an sampling the upcoming Veggielicious menu. The five-course vegetarian menu runs September 9th-20th at Bent, which he owns with his sons. Yes, he is holding two fish in the photo but they’re for the raw sushi bar! In the garden w/ @susurlee just down the street from @BentRestaurant checking out fresh veggies they use in-house. pic.twitter.com/wVvmBv4Gc1 — CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) August 25, 2014 First on the Veggielicious menu is ‘Dip Three Ways’, a mixture of hummus, baba ganoush, olives, and spicy mustard seed tomato stew.  These didn’t last long!     We started by making meringue desserts so they could bake while we explored the menu. I’m quite familiar w/ meringue as the Pavlova is a famous New Zealand dessert I’ve been making with mum as long as I can remember. We were given Susur Lee’s merengue recipe so I’m planning whip up a batch at the cottage this weekend and impress Sean’s parents. Look out! Below on the left is the meringue Chef made and mine is on the right. Added some almonds to fancy it up a bit. It was delicious. Scroll down to see the dessert presentation, it was a thing of beauty. Chickpea Tempura Tofu    Wild Mushroom Quinoa Risotto    French Merengie w/ Golden Licorice, feat. wild blueberry, peaches, passionfruit syrup, raspberry coulis! They have some stellar cocktails you can check out on Instagram at @bentcocktails. This is the Asian Caesar, the most popular cocktail at Bent. It’s got a whole bunch of ingredients including soy & Hoisin sauce. Yep, that’s an oyster on there too. Veggielicious at Bent runs from Spet. 9-20th so make a reso and take your fav veggie lover for a nice meal. There’s a raw sushi bar too. For more info visit bentrestaurant.com. Huge thank you to Chef Susur Lee and the…

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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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#TBT: Fashion Throwback! Vintage + Value Village

I didn’t grow up with lots of money but one things Mum always made sure of was that we were well dressed. I reckon my love for fashion and finding a good bargain or vintage find comes from Mum. We used to hit up Value Village and Winners clearance on weekends and see what we could find. Over the years my sister and I found some real gems!  Jenie still has a pair of heeled 18-hold Doc Martens, I’ve gathered a few pairs of great cowboy boots, and a couple leather jackets. This week, Value Village has invited me to takeover their Instagram and share some recent goodies I picked up. Follow @valuevillage_thrift on Instagram so see what I found! If you’ve found any real beauties over the years, I’dlove to know! Leave a comment on Instagram or below. Have an awesome day! <3 CASIE      

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