Day 201: Dinner Date – Kibo Secret Garden

I had an incredible dinner at Kibo’s Sushi’s newest location, Kibo Secret Garden, an intimate, high-end omakase and sushi house in Yorkville. They have 23 locations in the GTA! Kibo Market in the Junction Triangle (near our place) is definitely a local favourite. I was excited to hang out with Natalie and attend my first dinner event in a LONG TIME. We wore masks and were socially distanced from other diners & staff. We sat at the omakase bar and had a great view of the dinner served by Chef Jin, with barriers between us and other guests. Omakase is a Japanese phrase meaning ‘I leave it up to you’ that describes the traditional Japanese dining style where the culinary experience is left in the hands of the chef. We also enjoyed their selection of Japanese sake and beer. ? Dinner Details The menu highlights the highest-quality fish, seafood, and premium-grade meats. Bo Seo, CEO & Founder, takes pride in only serving fish within 24 hours of its catch. We had the 20-course dinner omakase, starting with Kobacka Soup (sweet pumpkin & rice), Hirame nigiri (Japan), Kurodai (black seabream, Turkey), Kanpachi Nigiri (Japan), Madai Nigiri (red snapper, Japan). Next, we had a round of sashimi with king salmon, fluke, bluefin tuna, yellowtail, mackerel, and amberjack. Honestly, it was so good. Other items on our menu included bluefin tuna belly, ika (squid), oyster, Wagyu Beef, lobster, prawn, black cod, and sea eel from Japan. I haven’t had much sushi the past few months and everything was an absolute treat. The presentation was also incredible. I reckon it was the fanciest sushi dinner I’ve ever had. “Everything from the location to the design, to the menu has been thoughtfully chosen to create a luxury sushi dining experience. I can’t wait to welcome people in!”  Simeon…

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Day 200: Pandemic 2020

Wow, 200 days, here we are. What a time to be alive. I met up with Blair for coffee and we both wore our jumpsuits from Zara Kids. We sat outside, distanced on Jimmy’s patio and it was cute to see how people smiled at our outfits. Gotta appreciate the small joys these days! I came back home after our date to make a 1pm meeting. I don’t know exactly if it was the news, the weather, or just life, but I felt totally tired in the afternoon. Sean and I finished Ratched on Netflix and then I remembered tomorrow is Halloween. I was ready for bed at 6pm, then had a burst of energy around 9pm when I put on some spooky tunes and danced around the kitchen. I’m excited about Halloween this year, I love dressing up. Halloween is a spirit, a feeling, and if you’ve got it, go ahead and let it out. I’ve been wearing ‘costumes‘ for the last few weeks and things are about to get a little more creative. I’m tempted to go out dressed as a witch for a bunch of days in October. Zombie? Why the hell not!?

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Day 199: Remember Precedented Times?

What would you do differently if you could go back the way things were before? How can you make those changes in your life now? This is the world we are living in and only you can make the life you’ve always wanted. It’s up to you to find joy each day, to do something kind, to see the good in people. Tomorrow is day 200, I am so glad I’ve been keeping this diary so I can go back one day and read about how I survived the 2020 Pandemic. Writing that is so out of this world. Remember Day 1, Social Distancing? Some days it’s like we’re living in a movie, a really long one and everyone is playing a role in how it ends. Cases are going up and things are not looking good. I thought we might go back to Stage 2 when the Premiere gave his address today. In other news, today I had Zoom with Facebook Canada to learn about some new features coming to the platform for Creators.

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Day 198: Love Yourself First

Spent the morning with calls and meetings then went to the 1188 office to work for a bit. I cleaned out my desk there a few weeks ago to de-personalize it, the desks work more like co-working now. People aren’t really coming into the office much these days but if someone needs to for production or a meeting, there’s space. It was so nice and warm out once 3pm hit I had to get outside. I think it’s the last summer0like day we’re gonna have…for a while. Stopped into Visit Zane for a little hangout, Zane is one of my oldest friends in the city. We’re both from Cambridge and used to hang out in high school! Next, I had a margarita in the sun on the Squirly”s patio, read my book a bit, and caught up with an old friend in New Zealand over DM. Forgot I had this great shirt from LX Factory in Lisbon, it says “The love of my life is myself.” You gotta LOVE YOURSELF before you can truly love anyone else. Y’know?! The weather was perfect so I decided to walk back to the house in the Junction Triangle. It was lovely but my feet were not a fan, walking 7km in platform Converse is not recommended. Spotted some Briony street art along the way!

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Day 195: Find Me In The Woods

Drove up to the cottage last night and got in just before the sun went down. Woke up and went for a nice run in the woods today. The trees have all started changing and it was so beautiful. It feels good to be back running again! Dad & his wife arrived just after lunch. I made black bean brownies and sweet potato soup before they got in. We went into town for a little tour and to pick up some supplies. I’m so glad to have them here! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

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Day 194: The World is Changing and So Are We

Another day, another costume! Today I wore one of my fav recent purchases (from an Instagram ad!), love this dress. The scrunchie in my hand is one I made. This weekend at the cottage I’m planning to whip up a few more for friends made from recycled materials. Really looking forward to our weekend in the woods and spending some quality time with my dad. Mask is from my friend Considerate Goods, use code CASIE15% for a discount!

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Day 193: A Mask & Glasses Makes It a Costume

Have been calling my outfits costumes lately and made an IG highlight with my favs. [See here!] If I’m wearing a mask and glasses, it just feels more like a costume than an outfit. I’ve been considering getting spookier and more into costume dressing for the month of October. Why not right? Halloween and everything look different so we gotta have fun where we can. This weakened we’re heading up to the cottage and my dad is coming to visit with his wife. I’m so excited to see him! It’s been over 6 months, since my road trip to South Western Ontario in February. Can’t wait!

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Day 192: Follow the Sunshine

Did a 30 min guided run today with the Nike Running Club app. Pretty sure my legs will be sore! I love this app so much, the guided runs connect with Apple Music and the playlist today was so good. I’m not going to make my 70Km Monthly challenge but I’m happy to be back into my groove of at least doing 1km/day. There’s always next month! Spent most of the day working at home on a couple different projects. It feels SO GOOD to be back working. I loved the creative-COVID break but I also really enjoy being part of a team and contributing to something bigger than me. Went for a bike ride to meet Michelle after work and it was so nice out. Stopped at a bar on Dundas west and grabbed one of these cutie-cute little strawberry vodka sodas from Ace Hill. Love supporting local!

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Day 190: Hiding Out At Home

I can’t remember the last time we were home for the weekend as a family. I got groceries in the morning and did some food prep in the afternoon. It kinda felt like things were normal. Emily is back at school and making her own lunches this year. ? Last night we had one of Sean’s oldest friends and his GF over for dinner with her daughter. Em is old enough to take on babysitting duties and we had so many laughs while the kids played upstairs. Today we’ve been watching Ratched on Netflix and it’s so good. I love the styling, Sharon Stone’s looks are so good. I don’t have much planned this week aside from work but I hope it’s nice out. Please stay safe and WEAR YOUR MASK.

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Day 189: Lady Gang Park Picnic

Met up with some of my fav media ladies in the west end for a little park hang. It was so nice out! Natalie arranged to have catering from Marben, we had a couple of their new boxes filled with all kinds of picnic snacks. It was so great to see everyone (distanced, obvs) and chat over wine in the sun. I’m not ready for summer to be over. Luckily, it looks like next week will have some hot days!

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