743. Goodbye Toronto!

Hi everyone! I'm currently sitting at the airport waiting to board my flight. I have been too busy these days to update about it. But I will be going away for an indefinite number of months..first to Europe and hopefully will make it to Asia at some point too (when they open up their borders). I will definitely be updating more often during my travels! I am a bit nervous to be travelling during COVID but we will just be going to safer destinations (where there are not a lot of cases and with adequate healthcare). I guess it will also be quite interesting to experience the world during these times. The airport right now is pretty empty which I like.

So the first place we are going is Azores and will be there for a month. Can't wait to arrive and relax a bit!

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742. Recent Life | bambeau

These past few weeks I have been super busy with my new store - bambeau! It's an online store selling Korean skincare products which I started over a year ago. The name is pronounced similar to "bamboo" but the "-beau" is pronounced as in "beauty".

It was always a side project/hobby so I took a loooong (slow) time setting it up. I didn't really get any sales at first because I wasn't really promoting it. & to be honest I didn't think it could be really successful lol. I became busy with other things and lost interest in it for a few months..then in May for some weird reason, I started getting a lot of sales. Well, I started getting some sales which was "a lot" compared to none hahah. At that point I started putting a lot more work into it to keep the momentum. Then in June I got 3x more sales than in May..and now more than halfway through July I think I will at least double June's sales. I am really happy now it's a sustainable business and now I will keep it going. I've invested quite a bit so far.

I still work my usual job so this is a side thing for now. It feels really rewarding to grow something from nothing. Plus I'm really obsessed with skincare products so it's fun doing it. My rationale before was that if I wasn't able to sell anything, at least I would use everything myself eventually lol. Now I also have an excuse to buy a lot of skincare.

Please follow me there on Instagram! & message me if you'd like to purchase anything..I can offer a friends/Leftbanked followers discount ;)

One of the brands I stock is Laneige. I realize that the packaging is different for their North American market. The products I get are all with the Korea/Asian market packaging.


I don't know why it look me so long to discover Pangaia. They sell basic clothing which are made sustainably using methods and materials that are not harmful to the environment; recyclable materials, environmentally-friendly dye, material from recycled plastic bottles, and they plant one mangrove tree per item sold. I ordered my first set from them and have been living in it every day hahah. I ordered a second set already which is on the way (red/orange coral shade)..I plan to get more in the other shades of blue too. They are super comfortable and I love the colours!





A few weeks ago, restaurants were finally allowed to open for patio seating. This was the first restaurant meal I had in months with my mom and sister.





Another restaurant meal at Chotto Matte!


Their fluorescent washroom hallway


Yesterday we went on a day trip to Algonquin Park. We went on a long hike to reach Mizzy Lake while getting eaten by mosquitoes. I think I got at least 50 bites on me (my record was 80+ in one night in Hong Kong a few years ago lol).


Hennessy watching the drone


I guess I should have worn other shoes lol (they did get a bit muddier after this photo was taken). There was a severe thunderstorm on our drive there though so everything was wet. Luckily the sun came out when we arrived though.


So exhausted from the long hike!


& passed out on the way back.

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741. Recent Life | Long Overdue Update!

Hi everyone! It has been a long time since I last posted..I've been extremely busy these days that I've literally had no time. Also there isn't much to update about I guess. The COVID19 situation is still more or less the same. Places in Toronto are still not fully open yet..but are starting to slowly now. I just hope there will not be a second wave bringing us back to square one again.

I have gotten so use to living in quarantine though that I don't really care about stores or restaurants re-opening lol. I mean I do want things to go back to the way they were before eventually, but I've been busy with work, my course and my new store (that I will reveal in my next post) that I haven't had time to think about that. Living in quarantine actually helped me to be more productive these months which I really needed. I do look forward to travelling again though.



The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. Unfortunately I've also had to cut down on my reading time these days. I've been slowly reading this book about the mass extinctions that happened on earth and the 6th one which is happening now caused by humans. It talks about how humans have altered life on the planet for other animals/plants causing more and more extinctions of different species. I'd really love to go back in time and see some animals that are now extinct..in particular the large ones. Apparently there used to be sloths the size of a house.


Some more of my books collection..mostly the finance/investment ones


An hour long wait at TD bank one day







My favourite building in Toronto. It's nice and peaceful to be here when it's empty


The Shoppers across the street from me boarded up all the windows last (?) weekend due to the protests. Luckily there were no riots and looting. But it's sad it had to get to that point. I can't believe the state of the world we're living in right now.

My building/hotel has a restaurant which is closed for now..but they've been offering weekly meals for us residents. This was from a few weeks ago. So good!



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740. Recent Quarantined Life | Empty Streets of Toronto

It's almost mid-May now and we are still quarantined. At least the weather is still pretty bad here/cold so people are not as tempted to go out. I wonder how much longer this is going to last. It has been nearly 2 months of lockdown here in Toronto. I think I've stayed home more days during this period than all the days in the past 11 years I've lived here. Before living in downtown, I lived in the suburbs at my family house. During summers off from school, I sometimes stayed indoors for weeks at a time without realizing it lol. Then when I moved downtown, I was so happy to be in the middle of everything that I would be out most of the day every day.

I don't mind it now though. I've gotten used to this lifestyle. I just miss being able to travel.

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went on a long walk around our area to take photos of the deserted streets. I tried out my new camera (my birthday gift from him). We are in the Financial District which is normally packed with people (on weekdays at least).
















Stairwell cardio & home yoga..unfortunately this hasn't been so consistent

Been cooking and baking a lot. These are Hong Kong style pineapple buns. They turned out pretty well for the first time. Then we tried Mexican conchas (below) which are similar but with a different top. They don't look how they should, but apparently they taste pretty authentic.





Takeout from Hy's for our 31st Monthsiversary dinner.

Woke up to see this at the window. I guess it is a dove. I know some wildlife have been creeping into the cities now that there's less human presence..I wonder if this is a result of that. Or maybe they've always been around downtown and I never noticed? I think I've only seen regular pigeons here though.


One of our quarantine foods


The empty PATH..I'm glad it's still open (I go in there for Longo's)

Themed reading: At Home by Bill Bryson. So far I'm about a third of the way through..really love it so far. It's really interesting and contains a lot of facts on everyday items you probably never thought about.


Got a Kitchenaid citrus juicer attachment for orange juice. It takes a lot of oranges to make a full cup. We've tried a few different kinds. My favourite are the Cara Cara oranges.

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