CASIE STEWART
THIS IS MY LIFE • BLOG EST. 2005
LIFE Toronto, ON

You Are My Sunshine, My Summertime, My Love

You Are My Sunshine, My Summertime, My Love

Hard to believe it’s already September! Where did the summer go? Remember back to March when we had the winter that felt like three years? It was so cold. We all rejoiced for those warm spring days and bright sunshine.  This summer was great and lucky for us it’s still feeling hot af outside so it’s not over just yet. There’s still a few weeks of warm days and cool nights. I love this weather. Enjoy these moments while we have them!  This week is TIFF and Toronto Fashion Week. I’ve got an appointment at Sassoon, I think it’s back to bleach blonde for me. After TIFF we’ll spend some time at the cottage. Hopefully Thanksgiving too. I’m booked for Cancun before October. Will be heading up to Blue Mountain, then Stratford, and Montreal in October.  Booked my ticket for New Orleans in November. It’s going to be the holidays before we know it! We were at Costco on Friday and they already have Christmas cards & decorations out.  I  took last week off from the blog to give myself some space and time. I’ve still been writing, I’ve got some fun stuff to share. The next few weeks are full of exciting events and great opportunities. I love documenting it all and sharing what I learn and experience with you. I’ve learned I need to give myself breaks to recharge my batteries. We are like a vessel and if we’re constantly putting energy out into the world and to other people, we need to do things that fill us back up so we don’t get depleted. For me, that’s taking cooking, reading, naps, snacks, and a good Netflix binge. This weekend I watched most of Sisters, an Aussie TV show on Netflix and there is a girl from New Zealand named Kasey. Ha! Sending you love from…

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LIFE Aeroplan eStore

Amazon Prime Day is Today – Get 5x Aeroplan Miles!!

Amazon Prime Day is Today – Get 5x Aeroplan Miles!!

I look forward to Prime Day each summer! I bought my first Instant Pot on Prime Day years ago and I’ve been obsessed ever since. If you’re an Aeroplan Member, you can earn you 5x the Aeroplan Miles on Prime Day this year. Think about that for a hot second, get amazing deals AND rack up those miles! DYK what day it is tomorrow? Prime Day #PrimeDay gotta get deals on #PrimeDay ! So what i love amazon prime ok. pic.twitter.com/5RgkaFiFBo — CASIE STEWART ?? (@casiestewart) July 15, 2018 I’ve been earning Miles w/ Aeroplan as long as I can remember because mum was keen on getting any help we could in order to visit the fam back in New Zealand. I really love Amazon Deals and Amazon, in general, it’s such a great addition to life. An easy way to get just about anything sent to you in a day or two. If you don’t have a Prime Membership, sign up here. I love the future! Amazon Prime + Aeroplan Details WHAT IS AMAZON PRIME? The basic benefits of being a prime member are FREE 2-day shipping, access to Prime Video (Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle Transparent), access to Prime Music, AND special deals on Prime Day! There are over 100,000 deals across heaps of categories like electronics, fashion housewares, and more. How it works: Amazon + Aeroplan Visit aeroplan.com/estore Using the search function on the page, find Amazon.ca Enter your Aeroplan number and last name Click on the ‘Shop Now’ button to be redirected to Amazon.ca. GET ALL THE DEALS. Happy shopping! The Aeroplan eStore promotion starts on Prime Day and lasts until July 18th. Prime Day starts at 3pm ET on Monday, July 16 This week is an exciting one, today is Prime…

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Travel Lisbon, Portugal

Portugal: Europe’s Hottest Destination for 2018

Portugal: Europe’s Hottest Destination for 2018

I’ve always dreamed of summer in Europe and although I’ve travelled to heaps of countries, I’ve never done a Euro trip. I KNOW! Well, ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. As part of my ongoing partnership with Aeroplan, tomorrow I’m heading to PORTUGAL. We leave mid-month and we’re back on the 30th.  Have I said I’m excited, yet? I was originally heading to Paris with Sean but that trip is a little delayed and I’m so glad this worked out. It’s a great feeling to text your friend and say ‘hey want to come to Europe this summer?’. Ahhhhh pinch me, it’s times like this I’m like omg, this is my life! I am so excited. Portugal is the hottest spot to go this summer, just check your Facebook feed or of your fav online celebs and they’re all checking in to Lisboa, Porto, Sintra, and beautiful coastal beaches. Yesterday I was reading this article on W Magazine and it’s one of many about how Portugal is THE SPOT to be. We’ve planned out most of the adventure but I’ve left a few days up in the air to figure out as we go. I love not having a plan and the freedom to make things up as we learn more about secret beaches, hidden hideaways, and locals only spots. If you have any food & drink recommendations, family, friends, hotels, Airbnb, vacation properties, restaurant owner friends, anything, PLEASE COMMENT. We have a Google doc and Slack set up to manage everything (yes, we are nerds) so I will add all of your suggestions. So far we’re arriving in Lisbon, going to Sintra, then to Porto, we’ve got a few days with no plan, then back to Lisbon before coming home. We’re gone for almost 2 weeks. It is going to be so hot and…

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LIFE TORONTO, CANADA

Creativity: It’s Always There, You Just Have to Find It

Creativity: It’s Always There, You Just Have to Find It

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 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…

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Travel San Francisco, California

Travel Essentials: Don’t forget these on your next trip!

Travel Essentials: Don’t forget these on your next trip!

I’ve been travelling a lot this year and have a routine when I pack.  I never forget, a hat, an eye mask, thongs (aka flip flops), multiple pairs of sunglasses (no matter what the temperature), a couple scarves, insurance, and my passport. Wardrobe and accessories always depend on where I’m going. Something  REALLY important people often forget is INSURANCE. Millennials, I’m lookin’ at you. Apparently, we’re more likely to hop on a plane without insurance (55%) than without our cell phone (45%). Raise your hand if this is you?! In a recent TD Insurance survey, more than 1/3 of Canadians forgot to purchase travel insurance at least once (37%) or said it’s the last thing they think of (36%). Over a third of Canadians think they have travel insurance with their credit card (37%) or their job (37%), but don’t check what coverage they really have. You should definitely double check before you get on that airplane and consider buying a supplemental health insurance policy if you don’t have out of country emergency medical coverage. We’ve all heard stories of people having accidents on trips and you don’t want to rely on a GoFundMe to get you home safe.  Almost half of Canadians travel outside the country/province more than once a year. It’s important to have Canada-wide coverage as well as international. DYK that government health plans won’t always cover out-of-province emergency expenses like bringing a family member to see you in hospital, returning you home, or ambulance rides? If you travel heaps like me, check out the TD Annual Plan that covers you for unlimited trips of 9, 17, 30 or 60 days throughout the year. This will save you from *forgetting* insurance again and save you unwanted expenses in the event that something bad happens.

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Travel ON THE ROAD

Go Ahead, Use Your Phone! Telus Has Easy Roam!

Go Ahead, Use Your Phone! Telus Has Easy Roam!

Even though I was really glad to be home from New Zealand, I would LOVE to be back there on the beach right now. This winter seems never-ending and I even missed a month of it! While I was away I didn’t miss a beat posting things to the internet. For three weeks I used Google maps as my navigator, Stories, Twitter, and Facebook to share photos, and was able to stay on to of emails.   A few people asked about my phone data usage and what plan I had. If you have ever travelled overseas, the phone/data situation can be stressful and very expensive. That was, until now! ? Telus has a great add-on called Easy Roam where for you can use your phone’s regular data plan in over 100 countries. If you’re in the USA, Easy Roam is $7/day and capped at $100 per billing cycle. For international destinations, like New Zealand, the $10/day fee is capped at $150 per billing cycle. Telus Easy Roam lets you use your Canadian rate plan while travelling in the US and 100+ international destinations – now and on all future trips.   Honestly, this is such a good deal. I remember travelling to the states for a weekend and a friend racked up $1,000 because she didn’t have a data plan like this. The good things is, you’re only charged for days that you access your Canadian plan in your destination. So, if you don’t need to use your Canadian data plan (hellooo wifi!) you’re not charged. While in NZ, I had wifi at almost every place I stayed, so that helped for nighttime/morning scrolling (just like home haha).  Safe to say, I didn’t go over my monthly data and or get a shocker of a bill when I came home. If you’re planning a winter…

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LIFE OMG FML

Theres A Butterfly In There Somewhere!

Theres A Butterfly In There Somewhere!

It’s crazy that when everything is going great you can also feel like everything is crumbling. I don’t mean Murphy’s Law but like just life, in general, has this up and down thing as much as you try to keep a plateau. This week I had two great things come to the table, one that I have been working on in the background of everything else for years, and another potential opportunity to do something I used to do well. I was feeling good about it but I’m at the point in my career that I don’t get too excited until I have the cheque in my bank or a signed contract and we’re making the thing. There was a time I’d get sooo excited about an email. I’d ring mum at work and be like ‘omg mum guess what?” and go on about how someone from some company or tv station sent an email about doing a thing. Sometimes it turned out and sometimes it didn’t. I don’t count chickens anymore. Yesterday I woke up barely breathing with a deathly chest cold and it was hard to talk. The whole day was been hard because being sick makes everything harder. I had to cancel 2 meetings. 1 of which I first cancelled last week because I was sick. I’m going on day 7. I feel really bad about cancelling twice and even worse because I’m sick and I can’t help it. I took the photo above while sitting on the floor in my living room with the camera on the back of a chair. I’ve been wearing this vintage wolf shirt for at least 24 hours and I feel like complete garbage. I put on makeup to go to shoppers to get cough medicine to make myself feel better but tbh…

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BLOG DEAR DIARY

Let’s Talk

Let’s Talk

Three events today. Ignore…. 33 Facebook notifications. Too many unread emails. Twitter notifications. Instagram notifications. Unread messages. It’s overwhelming. Then add on [that you’ve been keeping a public diary about your life for a decade and] all kinds of people who don’t really know you who think they ‘like totally’ know you because they’ve known you for 5+ years. They know about the cottage and people, places, things, thoughts. Boyfriends, birthdays, best friends. They’ve had babies and you’d recognize their kids now, but you don’t really know them. They know you, part of you, the sunshiney part where you’re always smiling and wearing bright colours, or going somewhere great looking good. They don’t see behind the screen, in the pile of clothes or messy closet. The days when you just can’t even, when you think about leaving the house. Or going to that event. When all you want to really do is stay home and cook in your kitchen or go to yoga because it makes you feel better. I feel like I need a break and maybe it’s the winter blues talking post vacation SAD*.  Maybe it’s because I’m on the waitlist for yoga at noon. Maybe it’s Time’s Up or Me Too. I don’t know. It’s freezing outside and blowing snow gives limited visibility. It’s also Bell Let’s Talk and Spring is just a few weeks away. It’s ok not to be ok. I’m not always ok. The last few weeks have been really hard. The trip to New Zealand was super fucking hard. My nana died and one of my uncles was being super controlling from the day I arrived to the point where I blocked him on Facebook. Travelling with your mum is not easy. I cried a lot for the first week of the trip. I cried…

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BLOG DEAR DIARY

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Hellooooooo! Hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty quiet and it started with me not feeling so great on Friday. I spent most the day in bed and had a quiet night. On Saturday morning I went to yoga and made some stuff in the kitchen. I used the Instant Pot to make a great black bean soup, the most delicious Instant Pot rice infused with coconut oil, and bran muffins. On Saturday afternoon a few friends and I went to my friend’s Aunt’s vintage shop and played dress up. It was so fun! On Sunday I was also a slug and hardly did anything. We finished watching Unibomber which I highly recommend. On Sunday night I watched The Grammys which I thought were pretty boring. Next, we watched Get Out which was crazy and super good. Real edge of your seat thriller that gave me nightmares. This week I have two things planned I’m really looking forward to. I signed up and bought my own tickets. This year I’m continuing my personal mantra to do more self-care and these kinds of events are right up that alley. Tuesday – Practical Magic: Awakening Your Self-Healing Potential hosted by She Does the City Wednesday – Bad Girls Colelctive, Read 005 –  The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion – Wine + Cheese + Women + Words THE READ: Votes are in. We’ll be closing the year off finding perspective with Joan Didion and her Year of Magical Thinking. Now read women! #Read005 A post shared by Bad Girls Book Club (@badgirlscollective) on Nov 27, 2017 at 9:22am PST  

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Travel SOMEWHERE OVER THE SOUTH PACIFIC

JUST HOLD ON WE’RE GOING HOME: live blog from 35,000ft!

JUST HOLD ON WE’RE GOING HOME: live blog from 35,000ft!

Helloo! I’m on United flight 916 from Auckland, New Zealand to San Francisco, California. Mum and I are watching Battle of the Sexes movie about the Billie Jean King story. For years I’ve had a Billie Jean King quote framed on my wall that was given to me by mum when I was a teenager. Perfect timing for this movie considering what’s happening in the world right now. As the plane took off I put through an order for a ‘Time’s Up’ shirt via PayPal on my phone. Mum thought that was pretty cool and such a ‘me’ thing to do as the plane was taking off. As we were boarding I got a notification a new game of HQ Trivia was starting. I’ve got mum hooked on it this trip. We haven’t got higher than 7 questions but what does it matter?! we both love Scotty (the hilar host) and we have a bunch of laughs every single time. Passport in 1 hand @ScottRogowsky in the other. Boarding in AKL heading to SFO! HQ BABYYYYYY! pic.twitter.com/JJPK4vzzI7 — CASIE STEWART ☀️ (@casiestewart) January 15, 2018 Before driving to the airport I bought 2 books of stamps and sent off a pile of postcards I’ve written this trip. I asked people to give me their address and also sent them to people I’ve worked with or haven’t seen in a while. I love travelling so much. Sending postcards is something I’ve been doing the last few years and it always makes me feel great writing them and sending sunshine to people around the world. Sent heaps of postcards before I came to the airport! ??☀️?✌??❤️ pic.twitter.com/pBNxGrS0wO — CASIE STEWART ☀️ (@casiestewart) January 15, 2018 This trip was really awesome. I saw parts of NZ I’ve always wanted to and spend a…

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