CottageLife | So Long Sweet Summer Home

I rolled down the window as soon as we got to cottage county this weekend, Toronto didn’t have snow yet and I wanted fresh air. It smelled like winter, crisp and clean. Closing the cottage is bittersweet, it looks so nice all covered in snow but we can’t stay. I wanted to. I imagined staying up for weeks, making fires, taking trips to town for groceries. Wearing jogging pants. There was more snow than I thought and it crunched with each step.  Tossed a few snowballs in the lake and watched them stay in little circles. The water is really, really, cold, small ponds alongside the road are freezing over. Picked up this blanket and mugs from the Target for TOMS collection. They were sold out of the poncho I wanted but I got Sean one of the chambray shirts. He has at least five that look similar but this one was nice. He’s totally one of those ‘Lumbersexuals’  everyone is talking about with a beard, who wears plaid and the Canadian tuxedo (denim on denim). Had to pour out our homemade beer and tried snow painting. No Picasso! Winter is a season I find inspiring.  I’m planning to lay low and hibernate the next few months. Working on something I hope to launch in April. In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. Albert Camus For now, lights out at the cottage. The very last step of closing for the season. Until next time Muskoka, see you in the spring. <3 CASIE

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Travel | Montreal Moments

Yesterday I had brunch w/ Montreal Tourism at The Richmond. They were in town promoting all the wonderful events that happen in their great city over the next few months. I was treated to Montreal’s mouthwatering cuisine, charming joie de vivre, and a look into fall and winter adventures. Tourism partners and chefs included Guillaume Cantin from Les 400 Coups, Sophie Ouellet from EVO and Christian Faure from Maison Christian Faure along with Via Rail, Igloofest, Montréal en Lumière, Quartier des Spectacles, Phi Centre, The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, McCord Museum and Grévin Montréal. Earlier this month I was in Montreal to get a look at MTL à TABLE, their food festival starting October 30th. Three Ontario blogs were matched with three Montreal blogs then paired with a Chef to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into making their MTL à TABLE menu. A photo posted by CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:42pm PDT A photo posted by CASIE STEWART (@casiestewart) on Oct 10, 2014 at 6:12am PDT The group included tour included myself, Amanda Cosco (Girl About Toronto), Taylor Stinson and Natalie Sehgal (Girls on Bloor) from Ontario and Jason Lee (Shut Up and Eat), Adnan Albakri (514 eats), and Na’eem Adam (Mechant Mangeur) from Montreal. Check out this vid Amanda, Girl About Toronto, made of her experience. Read about my trip to a farm and fromagerie w/ Chef Jason Nelson here. For more info about what’s happening in and around Montreal visit their blog at tourisme-montreal.org. To learn about MTL à TABLE  and participating restaurants tourisme-montreal.org/mtlatable. BON WEEKEND! <3 CASIE

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CottageLife | A Boy And A Girl In A Little Canoe

Back to the grind today after an absolutely wonderful weekend up at the cottage. Sean and I went for a nice long canoe jaunt yesterday in the sunshine. How lucky are we to have this weather!? You can like this photo on Instagram right here. We attempted to go through this tunnel to another lake where our friends cottage is. It was like being inside a beautiful painting. The colours of the leaves are so vibrant and the sky was incredibly blue. We were ill prepared to portage the canoe over this little blunder. Next time I’ll wear better shoes and put my phone in something more secure than a ziplock bag. Did you know you can still use your phone while it’s in a ziplock? The more you know. Learned that trick in Thailand last year. I finally got to float in my donut. The water was pretty cold but I really didn’t care! Went on a crazy fast seadoo. Heaps of fun! MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, MY FAV. This week is gonna be a busy! Tonight my sister and I have a date for the premiere of Gone Girl starring Ben Affleck. I’m hosting a Twitter chat with Hotels.com X Nine West tomorrow then speaking to fashion students at Seneca College. Thursday I fly to Montreal for a couple days exploring culinary awesomeness with Tourism Montreal. It will be the weekend again before we know it! Happy Monday, make sure you soak up some of that sunshine!  <3 CASIE

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Travel |My Stay at Trump Toronto w/ HotelTonight

On Friday night I stayed at the Trump Hotel and booked my room using Hotel Tonight. I’ve known about the app for a while but was yet to use it. I was contacted to take part in an exclusive influencer event where a group of notable Torontonians met up for cocktails with HotelTonight co-founder Jared Simon. We were asked to pack a bag and come to the event where we’d leave to stay in a hotel later that night. Exciting!  We were each given a unique code that allowed us a stay that night at one of Toronto’s best hotels. I was gunning for the Trump Hotel as I’ve never stayed there before and it’s oh so fancy. Others in the group stayed at The Gladstone, The Beverly, and the Thompson Hotel. Earlier in the day I chatted HotelTonight co-counder & COO Jared Simon about the app and what’s next. HT is the world’s leading last minute hotel app with a rotating selection of rooms made available each day with bookings open until 2am. After working in the travel/hospitality industry they were inspired to create HotelTonight, knowing that most hotels operate at a 60% occupancy. I personally think it’s an awesome idea and recommend the app when someone visits my city or when friends are looking to do something special with their partner.  It was very easy to book my room using the app; pick a hotel, add credit card, book, arrive at hotel, checkin, stay, checkout. I asked Jared what’s next for HotelTonight and he told me expanding to even more than the current 500 cities, growing consumers (like us!), and innovating the app experience. I love adventure so next time I travel somewhere I’m gonna wing it and book a random night w/ HotelTonight. Jared dared me! Not a bad place to…

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Travel | Postcard from Montreal

A couple years ago Sean and I drove to Montreal in a Fiesta for a weekend sponsored by Ford Canada. It was really fun and the weather was warm. We stayed at the W Montreal which I totally love, ate good food, and spent afternoons in the sunshine. This is the video Sean edited of our weekend ‘Postcard from Montreal’. Summer, please come back soon. I’m dying to get back up the the cottage ♥ CASIE

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Events | I just love Canada so much. #sochi2014

Bearded bobsledders representing Canadian culture #Sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/x1Ai59AkAN — Justin Kripps (@justinkripps) February 5, 2014 Canadian athletes pose with Olympic rings in Sochi: http://t.co/13s41DzBUm #Sochi2014 #cbcolympics pic.twitter.com/R3MgPEGzPi — CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 6, 2014   And speaking of Canada, can’t ignore this little rascal. Puffing up the airwaves in his pot plane. According to an official report obtained by NBC News, there was so much marijuana smoke in Justin Bieber’s Super Bowl-bound plane that pilots were forced to wear oxygen masks. The report also states that Bieber and his father were “extremely abusive” to a flight attendant. What a little btch that Bieber! lol <3 CASIE Isotretinoin no prescription Kamagra no prescription Lasix no prescription Levaquin no prescription

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The Wilderness, Downtown People

It’s hard to sleep in up here. The air is so fresh and it’s oh so quiet. The lake is still as a rock, frozen in time. Watched the sunset on the roof. It was realllllly cold. I had tears running down my face, almost turning to icicles. Sean took some snaps with the camera, camera. Nice to have a break from the city and be back up here. It’s warm inside with the fire and heat but I can’t wait for summer! Good luck to all my peeps running in marathons today. Sending love to Boston too. Enjoy the day xo ❤ CASIE

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Tia Maria Room in Montreal on Thursday. Wanna come?

Helloooooooo from London, England! This week is a busy one as I arrived here early today and will be in Montreal come Thursday afternoon then, back at the office Friday afternoon, and on stage in the Santa Baby holiday burlesque show Friday night.  Yikes! I live for this though. I love being on the road, I find it really enhances my creativity and inspires me. I’m excited for all the things I learn and people I meet on each trip. I met two dudes while boarding the plane who get their biz cards printed through my office! Cray. I’d like to invite any of YOU  to meet up with me in Montreal on Thursday for the  Tia Maria Room. If you can make it please Tweet, test, comment, email, or do something to let me know so I can add you to the list! There will be lushious cocktails, sensual tunes, a performance by Jarvis Church, and of course, me! I’ll be working and tweeting for Tia Maria and would love to see you there. LMK! Time for a wee nap then I’m going to take in the city! <3 CASIE

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From MYL to YYZ, here we go! Now say it again in French.

Adieu Montréal! Temps de rentrer à l’Ontario et à retourner au travail. Ça a été une tranche. Merci W Montréal pour un excellent séjour, Ford Canada pour une voiture douce et la technologie pour rendre tout cela possible. La vidéo nous avons fait est rad. J’ai utilisé Google Translate. J’ai une amie française qui pense qu’il est tout à fait hilarant et c’est pour elle. Vous avez un super journée! <3 CASIE

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Amour de la vie et de Montréal aussi!

Great weekend in Montreal so far. Filmed w/ GoPro in the car today. I am going to be GoPro obsessed now. The Ford Fiesta is fun. Really good on gas. I love the old cobblestone streets in Old Montreal, this is such a great city. Beautiful day out today, super hot. Heading back to Toronto Monday. Hope you had a nice weekend! CASIE

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