The mouse for my computer died so I ordered a new one from Apple to be picked up with click and collect. The process was very organized but still, a bit weird. I drove up to Yorkdale Mall, parked, and went to the entrance where I had to show the order on my phone to get past security. Once inside, I was directed down a walkway where I showed my order again. I was instructed to take my place on my given numbered spot where my order would be delivered to me. It took about 15 minutes and everyone was wearing masks. I have to admit it was strange to be inside the mall like this. I couldn’t’ help think about all the stores and how empty the parking lot was. I drove home feeling sad for lost jobs, revenue, and how the pandemic has hurt small businesses. I wonder how long we’ll be in lockdown? The cases keep going up and things don’t seem to be getting better. ? I try not to read the news too much but this is the reality we’re living in now. Please be safe and wear a mask when you go out!

Feels great to be home! Who would have thought we’d spend most of 2020 up at the cottage. Being home has a different vibe and feels a bit more like normal life, despite the fact we can’t really go anywhere because of lockdown. I’ve been playing around with my iPad pro a bit more. I’ve dreamed of making fabric, more art, and creating. It’s such a great little tool! I mostly use Procreate App with the Apple Pencil. What does 2021 have in store for me? According to my 12 most used emojis (this is social science haha), it’s looking like 2021 will have: Happiness, praise (clapping), love (red heart + pink heart to me means friends & family), star (success), more cute hearts, a crown, laughter, high fives, art/creativity, brains/nerding out, silliness, home, kindness, and rock on (hopefully this means some partying with people!).

Hello gorgeous, beautiful new year! I greet you with my love, kindness, hope, and joy! I have high hopes, a renewed sense of self, and a positive outlook. I know the world we live in is going through a rough patch but each of us has the ability to shift our perspective and see the light. There are heaps of things to be grateful for each day, the moon and a pink sky on a cold January morning, a new book, exercise, food, love, health, friendship. We have all grown so much in the past year as the world has changed, we’ve learned and unlearned. The world will never be the same and neither will we. This morning I did Peloton cardio and ran 5k on the treadmill. Listened to my latest read on Audible while cleaning. We’re heading back to the city today and I’ll be at home for a little while. I’m looking forward to going back to work on Monday and being at my desk. Here’s to a fresh start and high hopes!

I’ve had this suit from The Drake General Store for ages and finally decided to wear it. ? A onesie makes great winter wear, cute, cozy, and warm. FYI The Drake has a great habanero hot sauce you can order online or with your takeout order. Highly recommend! I like to add it to pasta, stir-fry, or just about anything deep-fried. In other news, my latest round of scrunchies are white organza! The fabric is from a sheer curtain I ordered on Amazon ages ago but was the wrong size. This one turned out so good, she pretty! I can’t wait to gift a few of these to friends as a surprise by mail. I’m quite behind on sending out anything Christmas-related (as planned) but maybe Valentine’s Day is a better time to send love anyway. ? This was the moon last night over the cottage, the last full moon of 2020. I stared at its beauty, then closed my eyes, and took a few deep breaths. Before going inside, I made six wishes and gave a howl like the wild woman I am, as a way to say: ‘BYE 2020 I AM READY FOR NEW!’

What a year it’s been! I’m planning to write something thoughtful about the things I’ve learned this year before the end of the week. We’ve all grown and changed so much. It’s crazy to think we’re almost at 300 days of the pandemic with no end in sight. As this is the last Monday of 2020, think about how you can make Monday your fav day of the week in 2021. Today is a holiday (Boxing Day) and I’m looking forward to being back in business tomorrow and meeting with a colleague (over Zoom of course!). We have to clear off some snow from the last couple of days but we’ve got a skating rink and cold-plunge pool down by the lake. Sean has really been into cold immersion this year. I’m not as experienced but I love the idea and how it feels (after, not during!). Planning to do at least one more dip before 2020 is over.

Drove back up to the cottage today to spend the last week of 2020 in the woods. It’s SO snowy! The roads were pretty crazy once we got out of the city as we drove through the snow storm. Sean did a bit of shovelling as I collected wood for the fire. I’m gonna bo back to eating less meat after indulging a bit over the holidays. I’ve also ate more chocolate and candy in the last few days than the entire year. Felt good tho, I earned a good binge. One of my fav things to make is a simple chickpea curry in the Instant Pot. While soaking the chickpeas, I sauté onions & garlic with olive oil, then add spices to activate them. I add in some broth and chickpeas without the shells. I like to throw in tomatoes, potatoes, or cauliflower depending on what’s in the fridge. I set the timer for 12 minutes and once done, I add in chopped spinach. It is so incredibly good, especially on cold winter days.

Traditionally Sean and I give each other our gifts on Christmas Eve Eve. We’re back downtown and it’s so nice to be home. I met up with a friend for a brief distance hang then Sean and I celebrated the holidays with some drinks. We’re both officially off work for a few days and it feels GREAT.  Today, Sean gave me an Apple Watch and I’m really excited about it. I’ve wanted one for ages and we’re gonna do so much working out together. This year I was really focused on getting to a weight where I felt good. For 2021, I really want to work on strength and muscle.

This year we decided to take a ‘whatever is better’ approach to Christmas. Meaning, we don’t need to do everything according to tradition and whatever we do is good enough. We opened presents and burned the wrapping paper in the fire with intentions, letting go of things we want to leave in 2020. We had a casual Christmas style dinner on the 22nd with a turkey breast, gravy, vegetables, and cranberry sauce. It was good. We haven’t been eating meat much this year so it was a treat. I’ll make some brother with the turkey leftovers. Spent a bit of time playing outside on the lake but it was SO WINDY. We were hoping to do some fireworks but they’ll have to wait for another day!

Needed to clear my head. Went for a nice long walk in the woods,, about 8km. The air was brisk and fresh, just what I needed. Stopped to watch the water at this little creek and on my way back saw something on the road the resembled a snowman (see above). It was squished and a bit abstract but it made me smile. So simple, just sitting there in the wild. Had a nice long chat with dad then listened to the final chapter of Greenlights on Audible.

Spent the day at home then decided to venture out for a walk before the sun went down. The street were surprisingly busy and there was a line at the LCBO. Today is the last day of school for 2020 and Emily is back with us now. I added some pink to her hair and mine too. She was happy to have ‘Mermaid Hair’. My new ‘indoor’ shoes arrived and I love them! Ordered from ASOS and was happy to get them on sale, however, the duty was $46 so they weren’t really a deal. Here’s to working from home in style for 2021!

It was so nice and sunny today. Sean was outside with his chainsaw so I decided to pop out for a bit to get some vitamin D. It was FREEZING! I love being up in the woods but I wasn’t ready for the wind to hit my face, making my eyes water. Winter is here, baby! Made a little video on Instagram. Today was a good day at work and once the sun went down, I closed my computer and we watched Designated Survivor. We’ve been watching it on Netflix the fast few days, it’s filmed in Toronto, and there are three seasons so it will keep us busy for a while haha. Remember back in October when I watched 6 seasons of Gossip Girl in just over a month? Perks of having nowhere to go! ? My guess is we’ll finish Designated Survivor in mid-January unless we kill the final 2 seasons over the holidays. The tree is looking extra cute, especially at night. We’re planning to do a Christmas-style dinner and gifts here with Emily on Tuesday before going back to the city on Wednesday. With love from the woods!

Monday is my business day at work and I look forward to it each week. I spend some time yesterday working on brand development for a new client just to get a jump start & start the week off right. I really love being back in an agency and it’s great to work from home. I met our agency co-founder at a party once almost a decade ago saw him briefly for a few meetings this summer when we could. Other than that, I’ve only met everyone virtually! I wonder how many companies will keep doing things this way? I did my first run on the treadmill before my first meeting and it’s SO GOOD. I really loved using the treadmill at the gym last year so I feel like I’m back on my groove. I’ve also got similar weights to those at the gym so no excuses, gonna be even more fit in 2021!

I woke up pretty emo and it was not a great start to the day. Idk exactly whether it was being cold, not having coffee, or the general state of the world! Sean and I decided to reset and make it Christmas. Tis’ the season! We set up the tree, lights, and some decorations. It looks cute ’round here! We took a load of stuff to the dump, tbh, one of our fav activities. It’s so fun to toss things into a giant garbage can! Dropped off the trailer near Gravenhurst and went to Walmart to get some groceries & Christmas stuff. These days, going out for stuff like this is as close to a date as you can get. Spent the afternoon baking banana bread and getting ready for the week. Feeling good all around!

I have been searching for Marmite for weeks, months! We used to be able to get it at Loblaws or Sobey’s but I haven’t found it. I grew up eating Marmite on toast, Marmite sandwiches, or a kiwi pizza (Marmite on toast w/ cheese!). I love it, always makes me think of mum. Sean and I drove back up to the cottage today and stopped at the 400 Market where there’s a British shop. I left Sean to walk around on his own and when I found him, he was there and bought all the Marmite she had! I’m so happy! Marmite for life! I had a really great call w/ the CEO of Funday Agency today and I am SO EXCITED about the project I’ll be working on for the next 8 weeks (and beyond!). At the start of this year, I wasn’t sure where my career was going and now, at the end of 2020, it’s looking BRIGHT. We’ll be up at the cottage for a few days before going back at the end of the week. I’m excited to set up the treadmill we picked up yesterday from Sean’s a parents!

Feeling good today! I love Monday, it’s a day full of opportunity, a fresh start to the week. Yesterday’s outing left me feeling all kinds of happiness. When I posted this today on IG, a few people were surprised at how long my hair is now. It’s growing like crazy! Longest I’ve had it in over a decade. One friend even said they weren’t sure if it was my sister until the mask came off! Did you like the IG post yet?! This mask is a new design by my friend Anela, the designer behind Considerate Goods (posted about her here). I picked up a few new masks from last time I was in the city and they are SO STYLISH. I even got a special one for holiday and I look forward to sharing it with you! I also got the houndstooth which is super nice. I know things are hard right now and we wish it could be different but it’s important to see the joy in little things, to get outside each day, and find things to be happy about. Last winter I wrote a series about dealing with winter SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), you can find those suggestions here. As it gets colder and we have nowhere to go, it’s gonna be hard but WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS. HANG IN THERE MY FRIENDS! This post was featured on Links à la Mode fashion roundup by Independent Fashion Bloggers. More fashion articles: Day 268: A Monday MOOD by Casie Stewart: This Is My Life Made-to-Measure and Custom by Oliver Wicks Belgrade diaries: Life is a collection of moments by Ivana’s World 10 Most Relaxing Nintendo Switch Games For Mindfulness by Emily Underworld

Today was a much needed day to just be with my thoughts, my bed, my snacks, and holiday movies. I took a much-needed ‘do nothing’ day to relax and recharge. I can’t even remember the last time I had SUCH a lazy day. It was so nice. I made coffee & tucked myself into the couch for a holiday movie in the morning. Then I took a nap. In the late afternoon, I ordered McDonald’s on UberEats and ate it in IN MY BED. No shame! Selfcare! It is more than ok to take a day or an afternoon to just BE. To do nothing. Actually, I highly recommend it. Take a personal day when you need it, it will revive your soul. If you are looking for a little mini escape, play this song with headphones on and let your mind wander. It’s one of my favs.

New boots from L’Intervalle in Montreal arrived and I love them. Popped over to safely visit Michelle before she moved out of her apartment. It was so nice out today, felt like spring at 7 degrees in the sun. In the afternoon Sean and I drove out to Oakville to visit Sean’s parents and pick up the treadmill. Can’t wait to set it up! Sean’s mum also gave me some fabric to work with. THANK YOU! Looking forward to a few days up in the woods. I feel like my creativity is really popping these days, ready to bloom!

I spent hours this weekend sewing at the kitchen table making big floofy scrunchies. Each one is 100% unique and handmade with recycled fabric from my personal wardrobe. I had planned to donate items at the start of the year, then lockdown happened. Instead of buying new fabric, I decided to make them into new things. Since I didn’t buy new fabric, I could work my way through learning to sew again after 20 years, without worrying about fucking up. At the start of quarantine I shared my theme of ‘use what you got‘, I think that’s really carried through the rest of the year. Each tag on my floofy scrunchies says ‘Handmade by Casie w/ recycled fabric.‘ and has a little background story on the original item. Today picked up some clear plastic packaging and thread (and glitter thread!) from Dollerama and I can’t wait to put everything together. Put my wreath up on the front of the cottage. First time making one since I was a kid! In other news… Use What You Got pt. 1 was Day 34!

Well hello there! Spent the whole day inside, did not run today. Curled my hair with vintage hot rollers and I looked like a cherub. Decided to pop on a nice yellow jumper to brighten the day. Tomorrow I’m meeting Talia in the morning for a socially distanced coffee date. I really miss seeing friends! Usually, at this time of the year, I would be getting ready for a week away in New Orleans with some of my best friends. Seeing Facebook memories pop up makes me really miss travel. Seven years ago during this time, I was in Thailand with Contiki and 20 YouTubers. Such a great trip. Today I was dreaming about going on vacation and the first place I would go back to is Costa Rica. If I was going to move to a tropical climate, I would love to live in CR. In other news, remember how I mentioned wanting a treadmill? Well, ladies & gentlemen, the magic of the universe has shined its light in my direction! Sean’s dad emailed him to say they have one in their garage. AHHH! I am so thankful! It’s amazing how you can manifest great things in your life if you put positive messages out there. Keith, if you are reading this I am sending you my love!!