My parents recently got me a Cooks Illustrated subscription (why doesn’t anyone give subscriptions as gifts any more? I love them) and I absolutely loved this short piece from the latest issue. Guarantee you’ll like it.
The Best of July
So technically the end of August is the appropriate time to start any and all Halloween/autumn talk (I think I made up that rule, but it feels right), so I’ll respect that and wait. Just know that I’m inwardly filling up with joy in anticipation of the best time of the year. Here’s what went down this month!
I made a list of some of my favourite summer vacation-y movies that I like to watch to pass the ungodly slow summer hours.
I read and reviewed the book Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (the woman who wrote Wild).
We had a small party for July 4th and it was the best. Here’s what I made and loved: Panzanella Salad with Fresh Mozzarella (I used the How Sweet Eats recipe, but added mozzarella and omitted the corn and avocado - I also made the croutons the Ree Drummond way, because that’s the tastiest way), Spinach Bacon & Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms (because they’re so delicious I want to scream), I used bell peppers as the bowls for holding the ranch for the vegetables, Slow Cooker Ribs, Eggplant Lasagna (I can’t remember the recipe I used, but it was pretty basic), Peanut Butter & Nutella Cheesecake Bars (this was the second time I’ve made these and it’s a perfect dessert to make a night or two before so that it can really set up), Blueberry Lemon Bread, and a charcuterie board (which is like assembling food art & I love it).
My favourite fruit/vegetable season is the end of summer mainly because of the fresh tomatoes and corn, so I can’t wait to try some of these corn dishes available in NYC right now. Although I don’t know how any of them are going to compete with the corn gnocchi at Park Avenue Summer. (I just looked and there’s also a sweet corn agnolotti with black summer truffles on the menu now too, so things just got interesting.)
Jenn sent me a link to this lovely poem Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo that I just love.
I watched the AOC documentary Knock Down The House on Netflix and it’s so, so good. Cried at the ending.
I went on Nathan’s podcast to talk about dogs, cheating and movies.
I went for lunch at the cafe at Lilia in Brooklyn and it was ONLY AVERAGE. So that was disappointing. Maybe I ordered badly? I got the prosciutto, parmigiano butter, balsamic mustard sandwich - and even though it looks great (love whole grain mustard), it was really just too bready and not very flavourful.
I saw Midsommar (by the same guy who did Hereditary last year) and I really liked it. Some parts are just unnecessarily graphic (and the slow motion shots of this stuff are insane to watch), but the plot was great. Love an original movie.
Watched the entirety of Champions on Netflix and it really bums me out that it got cancelled, it was a really fun show.
Made this chocolate chunk coconut banana bread and it was goooooood.
I visited the new TWA Hotel at JFK and wrote about it over here.
So excited to hear that there will be three more seasons of Big Mouth!
I also rewatched Dante’s Peak (still a great movie) and Twister (again, it holds up). I think I was in a natural disaster kinda mood that week.
Do you remember experiencing or hearing about the ride Kongfrontation at Universal Studios in Florida? I’ve only ever heard of it, but it seems like it was probably the best ride that ever existed at that park. I hate how most rides these days are just 3D screens with no real interaction or animatronics, it’s bullshit.
Fucking obsessed with this strawberry lemonade kombucha that’s apparently only available at Trader Joe’s. I thought their gingerade was the best flavour, but now I have to reassess everything. (Also tried the “watermelon wonder” but it’s pure trash.)
Some songs that I can’t stop listening to: You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift, Blow Your Mind by Dua Lipa, Everybody by Elliphant feat. Azealia Banks, Boys by Lizzo, Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso feat. Florida Georgia Line & watt, Doin’ Time by Lana Del Ray, We Were Young by Petit Biscuit feat. JP Cooper, Calma (Remix) by Pedro Capo & Farruko
I refuse to shut up about how great the (square bottle) nail polishes are at Urban Outfitters. They’ve been consistently great for years. I’ve been wearing their neon pink Hot Tub off and on for at least five years, and they keep putting out wicked new colours. There’s almost always a 3 for $10 deal and recently I got Coffee Creamer, Sun Bunny & Optic White and they’re BEAUTIFUL.
It’s currently Restaurant Week again (it’s on until August 16th), so of course I went back to The Dutch for their beautiful wagyu steak tartare. I also had the corn cappelletti with chanterelle mushrooms and marjoram that was heavenly.
I saw The Farewell and it’s everything I wanted it to be and more! Definitely go see it. It also reminded me of this beautiful song that I had to sing for a competition once years ago, Caro Mio Ben.
There’s a deal with ClassPass where you can use the service for free for two weeks, so I tried it and it’s not that great. It’s just too expensive to justify having it when I already have a monthly gym membership somewhere else. I did try an aqua cycling class through Aqua Studio during the free trial and it was… only okay. I mean, it’s fun and great to be in the salt water, but it wasn’t all that challenging as a workout.
I wasn’t planning on buying it, but I tried it, loved it, so had to buy it: Glossier’s Brow Flick. I’m still learning how to use it properly, but so far I’m really into it. It inspired this eyebrow products video that I posted last week.
I saw Toy Story 4 and I really hope this is the final one they make because the ending was so good. That’s all I’ll say. Quality series of movies, right here.
Some friends of mine recently opened up a small, late night food place called Foodstruck in Astoria and the food is really good. They’ve just opened, so they’re still figuring out their hours but I think they’re catering to the late night crowd, especially servers/bartenders who get off work late. Check out some of the food specials from this past week.
My too-kind friend Irene got us a housewarming gift of a Diptyque candle (in eucalyptus) and somehow it’s still going after three months of daily use, which is incredible. Do not look up how expensive this candle is.
I watched To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix and really liked it! Especially the hot tub scene. But let’s not get into it. I double-checked to make sure they’re both over 21 and they are, so all’s good.
Made this pappardelle pasta with mushroom ragu when Nathan was out of town (I like to get my mushroom recipes in when he’s gone) and it’s definitely going on my favourite-dinner-recipes list.
I ate at Misi in Brooklyn because I’ve wanted to go for ages and the pasta was solid as hell, I’d definitely go back. We had the charred peppers, marjoram, and whipped ricotta crostini, the corzetti with marinated sungold (peeled) tomatoes, garlic, pecorino & summer herbs (have you ever eaten a PEELED tomato? It almost feels wrong. The good kind of wrong), the strangozzi with pork sugo, nutmeg and parmigiana and for dessert we had the strawberries and cream gelato (it was a special that night) and the espresso gelato. Everything was so crazy good. The service was fantastic and the space is huge. Is it better than Lilia or L'Artusi (pasta-wise)? Ugh, that's such a hard question. It's really good. I'll have to revisit to get more intel to make a final decision on that.
I went to Coney Island with Irene and it was great, as it always should be.
I visited the Profundo Day Club (mainly to get my ass in a pool) earlier this month, and I highly doubt that I’ll return. Mostly because even though the pool was nice (small, but nice) and refreshing, the blaring house music in the middle of the day was a little excessive. There’s also a disco ball above the pool itself. And a unicorn floatie that drifts around the water. And waitresses who shoot sparklers off when someone buys a bottle of liquor. It’s… not for me, let’s say. And the cheapest pass was $70 (tax included), which is waaaay too expensive for Queens. Let’s be real.
There’s a new season of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee and the Martin Short episode is just lovely. It almost killed me when he was talking about when he bought his house and said, “We bought it in 1986” even though his wife passed away years ago. Am I being ridiculous in thinking that him using the word “we” is so sad and sweet and nice? Or maybe that’s a normal thing to say and I’d melt at anything to come out of his mouth. And while it was a good episode, I got so fucking sick of all the filler shots of coffee being brewed, coffee being poured into a cup, beans being tossed in a can, flowers sitting in vases - for fuck sake JUST TALK TO MARTIN SHORT AND SHOW ME THAT. Annoying as hell.
Nathan and I started watching season three of Stranger Things and… it’s not good? We saw all of the first season, which was pretty good. Attempted season two and never finished it because it became boring. And last week, we watched the first couple episodes of season three and I think we’ve silently agreed on just stopping it altogether. And look, I’m happy other people like it, but it’s just not for me. Demogorgons are too close to being dragons, maybe that’s why I can’t care about them?
I like to go to at least one baseball game each season, so I went to a Mets game last weekend and got this beauty that was the giveaway (below) since it was the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.
I mean, there was even a promo video for it. How amazing is that?
Honestly, this bobblehead makes me so happy for some reason. I love going to Citi Field especially ‘cause the food is always so good. We got the filet mignon steak sandwich from the aptly named Pat LaFrieda’s Original Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich, incredible fries from Box Frites, souvenir cups & drinks from Effen Vodka Bar, mozzarella sticks from Big Mozz, and chips & queso with ginger lime margaritas from Cantina.
Two new things that I’m going to start doing:
1. Buying less things off of Amazon. If there’s an alternative, independently run company that I can find the item at (and if the price isn’t wildly more expensive) then I’ll shop there instead. Every new thing I hear about Amazon makes me shudder, and I hate that it’s become my default place for me to buy anything.
2. If a store/restaurant is cashless (ie. credit cards only), then I’ll refuse to shop there. It’s insane that this isn’t illegal everywhere yet. I’m so sick of it and cash should be accepted everywhere, it’s nuts that I even need to say that. (I was excited to have lunch at Ole & Steen in Union Square for lunch the other day, but they’re “cashfree” so fuck them!)
Some things that I’m looking forward to doing this month: I’ve already sent in my email requesting tickets for Saturday Night Live (you can only request tickets during the entire month of August), I can’t wait to see Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark with Layla, there’s a tomato gelato that I want to try that sounds either awful or life-affirming, going on our anniversary trip at the end of the month, excited for a Canyon Creek caesar salad with Harmeet, planning on going to the CNE with my mom (haven’t done this in years), going to two weddings (!!) and I love weddings, being in a pool with Marla and a bunch of our kids, and taking advantage of a few more Restaurant Week specials. Excited for the last month of trash weather!
If you’re some kind of monster who loves reading these monthly roundups, you can find last month’s over here and you can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
New Positive Anger!
Did Nathan’s podcast again! Lots of bickering! Good times!
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The Best of June
Happy Canada Day! Here’s what went down last month.
I finally started taking collagen powder and I really think it’s working (thanks for the tip, Harmeet!) because my nails are longer than ever and my hair seems more luscious? I could just be feeling myself on the hair, though. Hard to tell for sure.
I made the mushroom garganelli pasta that I dream about from L’Artusi and it was phenomenal. The mushroom ragu tastes EXACTLY like it could be a meat sauce. Even Nathan agreed that it was amazing and he hates mushrooms. Makes zero sense. This dish is witchcraft.
Earlier this month, I finally overshared about what our new apartment looks like, if you’d care to take a look.
Made my way to see the new Camp exhibit at The Met.
Saw Late Night, and while I will always support that vision of a woman, the movie was only okay. Very specific opinion, but I wish Cate Blanchett had played the main character.
Speaking of Mindy, look at this gorgeous, perfect outfit.
Remember those flavoured powders for popcorn that were popular a few years ago? How have I never thought of making a homemade dill topping for at-home popcorn?! HOW?! Such a good idea.
Watched the Black Mirror episode Striking Vipers and loved it, I don’t want to even watch the other two new ones because how could they possibly be better than that one. (Also, are we really calling three episodes a season? Get real.)
I have made Ina Garten’s rigatoni with sausage & fennel so many times this month and I’m still not sick of it, such a crazy good pasta. Especially if you’re trying to impress someone.
IDEA: Turn burger buns into garlic bread, THEN eat as part of a burger.
I don’t know why but I finished The Big Bang Theory. I know, it’s embarrassing to admit. It was not a good show!
‘NOTHER IDEA: Clean your Apple headphones with toothpicks! Totally didn’t know you could do this. And if you haven’t, you really should. Some nasty stuff gets up in there. It’s pretty satisfying to clean, too. Just do it in private.
Tried the (super tiny) burger at Whit’s End in Rockaway and yes it was good, but WHERE WAS THE REST OF IT?!
I rewatched Waiting To Exhale (I think I saw it when I was a kid) and man, that movie holds up. So, so good.
So in love with this brand. I don’t love the phrase Toronto VS. Everybody, but if they make a Mississauga one? WATCH OUT.
Love this New Yorker piece my Dad sent me about getting a dog.
Gotta be honest, kinda excited to see the glaze waterfall. You know what makes Krispy Kreme better than most donuts? Not a lot of doughiness inside. The best kind of donut showcases the outside coating. A KK donut is all outside coating. It’s practically hollow on the inside. This is the secret. I could go on about this, but I’ve already said too much.
Completely forgot about the show You Wish, which I can’t stop watching. Summertime sadness?
Saw the new Child’s Play as well as the old one. Obviously the old one is better, but the new one really isn’t that bad. Human murderers are always better than robot murderers.
Excited for Samantha Irby’s book that comes out next year.
Everyone should make this panzanella salad. It is profoundly good. I added fresh mozzarella to it and it only got better. I didn’t even add the avocado OR corn and still licked the bowl.
I keep reading this over and over, trying to make it stick.
I will forever hate places that are cashless. How are we not all on the same page about this?! (I’m looking at you, ARGO TEA.)
SUCH a good fish recipe. And these are hard to come by. Or maybe it was just the sauce. A good sauce can trick you sometimes.
Saw Ma in theatres and you know what it really wasn’t bad, whatever anyone tells you. I think I’d classify it as wacky as hell.
This is honestly the best egg salad I’ve ever had. It’s definitely due to the addition of dill pickle juice (fucking nuts for dill this month) and the elimination of celery.
Found maybe the best poutine in this country at The Astorian in Queens.
I started using Benefit’s Mini Gimme Brow and it’s cool?? Honestly, I don’t even know. Sometimes I think I need another, smarter woman to just sit me down and tell me what’s good and what’s not. This is supposed to help make thin eyebrows look bushy, right? If that is actually its intent, then it’s doing its job correctly.
All right, look. You KNOW that I hate having opinions on celebrities (ie. people NONE OF US KNOW), but I’m putting a hold on that for a sec. Here’s who I hated this month: Amber Rose (or anyone repping any fucking laxative tea), Bernie Sanders (the arrogance that comes off of this man… I can’t stand it, he doesn’t have all of the answers, can we please stop acting like he’s some sort of savior), and Chris Brown. How is Chris Brown still someone people are in love with? How are people still okay with him? MAN BEATS PEOPLE. For fuck sake.
Love this exchange so much.
Never had Georgian food before but it’s pretty much just bread and cheese and I’m 100% fine with that, culturally speaking.
I will never make all of her recipes, but a third cookbook very much excites me.
It’s taken me years to understand that Modern Family just isn’t good. There are two good characters. That’s it, that’s the trick they’re playing on us all.
Is it a good idea to watch How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Always.
I have zero opinion on Harry Potter, but I can’t wait to experience this new ride in Florida.
And that was June! Some things I’d like to do this month: visit Profundo Day Club for the rooftop pool, find some humidity-proof houseplants (recommendations welcome), spend some time in Coney Island, try to see Crawl and maybe make some fun food for the 4th of July.
If you enjoy reading these monthly posts, you can find the one from last month over here and you can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
Smash The Wellness Industry
So very into this piece on the wellness industry written by Jessica Knoll.
The Best of May
I have officially done a year’s worth of these monthly roundup posts.
Is it clear how much I love to write them? I guess I’ll keep doing them until they become a bother. Here’s what went down in May!
I’m still screaming from the rooftops about how great Booksmart was, can’t get over it.
Losing my mind over how good these Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups are.
And look, I tried to try more of the collagen powder but Nathan finished it all (and his hair has been looking pretty good lately now that I think about it) and I’m waiting to get more. I promise to finally take this regularly next month.
One of the regulars in my snack rotation has been these zucchini pizza bites that are surprisingly delightful, especially if you’re adding sopressata and/or jalapeños as part of the toppings.
I saw Jason Mantzoukas walking in Soho and he was so handsome I was afraid to say anything. Like alarmingly handsome. I knew he was good looking, but in real life? Whoa.
I am in love with this font. Someone tell me if it has a name.
I attempted to start season two of Barry, but it’s been so long since I saw the first season that I forgot most of what has happened. Could I have just rewatched the finale of season one and then moved on to number two? Sure. Will I? Now that’s another question.
Someone was singing this on the subway and I’d never heard it before, but Jesus Christ. So lovely.
This was a pretty heavy podcast month for me (kill me for that sentence), I did three of them! The first one is with Nathan talking about the new apartment, the second one is with Irene talking advice and the third one is with Nathan again talking abortion.
I just bought a pair of these heavenly, high-waisted, button-fly Gap jeans and I think everyone should go buy them ($42 right now with the sale), they fit like a dream. I might go back and get another pair in a different colour. Actually, yeah. I’m definitely doing that.
Ate at La Contenta and it was absolutely nothing special. Everything was too salty, overpriced and crowded.
I’ve already made three batches of these banana walnut muffins, they’re so perfect for the morning or for a snack. Ignore that they’re paleo, I promise you they’re good. Definitely not a party muffin, but a good-for-you muffin.
So excited that people will finally stop talking about Game of Thrones. Usually I don’t mind when other people love something that I don’t care about, but with this show it’s just been overkill. We get it. It was a show. Let’s move on?
So excited to hear that there’s going to be a new Mindy Kaling book next summer!
Nobody told me about how smokey it gets when you attempt to make burgers in your kitchen at home? Or was everyone aware of this already but me?
I just bought pink sunglasses (at Nathan’s encouragement) and I just became cool. May 2019. That’s when it happened. (I’d post of photo of them but I’ll be wearing them until I’m cold and dead in the ground, so believe me, you’ll see them on me soon.)
I can’t believe how good this looks. I love it when fall movies just say fuck it and come out in late summer.
I can’t say that I 100% relate to everything in this piece, but some parts of it are so on the money: “Men Have No Friends and Women Bear The Burden.“
I tried the mozzarella sticks at Big Mozz in Chelsea Market and whoa. They’re pretty serious. The tomato sauce that comes with them is insanity, too.
My niece Tianna came to visit New York for the first time! Some highlights: I finally ate a cronut and they’re waaaaay too sweet, and coming from me that should mean something because I love all things dessert. Maybe it’s because we ate it so early in the morning? I don’t know. I really don’t understand the big deal about them, though. We also walked through Chinatown and down to the financial district to get lunch at Manhatta, which was lovely. I forced her to eat my favourite pad thai at Lovely Day in Soho. We shared a cheese plate at The Cellar at Beecher’s, walked around the west village to see the Friends building and the stoop from The Cosby Show, we had dinner at L’Artusi where she had her first steak tartare. We walked through Grand Central Terminal to get to the dog museum (which is cute as hell), we saw and went backstage at the musical Waitress, had dinner at Shake Shack, saw the 9/11 memorial, shopped at Century 21, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, got pizza at Juliana’s (which wasn’t as good as I remembered?), walked with Baby Dog in Central Park to see the Balto statue, perused Chelsea Market and walked along The High Line, went to the galleries on Thursday night where we met Luis Guzman (!), and ate gelato at Grom. This was all within four days. No idea how we did that much stuff, but I slept for 13 straight hours the day after she left, so maybe I’m not as young as I once was.
I started watching the new version of The Twilight Zone with the assumption that I’d dislike it since the original is so great, however I’ve only seen one episode so far (the blue scorpion one) and I think I really like it. Obviously the classic series is untouchable, but this one is done really well.
I learned about the existence of Book Off in midtown, it’s a store “for the people who don’t want to waste.” They buy your old CDs, DVDs, books, action figures, electronics. It’s amazing.
Season three of Riverdale is over! This is the only show that I watch every week, so it was a big deal for me. And honestly, it was a fun season, despite everyone on earth’s opinions of it. Favourite tweet from the finale?
Strawberries are about to be in season, so I got a huge carton of them from a farmer’s market and made these strawberry oatmeal bars. Pretty good! They also work well crumbled up in greek yogurt.
Another good snack idea? These baked sweet potato fries.
I have made this chicken marsala so many times that I’m taking a break from them. But for the first few times I made it, it was so, so satisfying.
All right, look. I fully expected to love Wine Country on Netflix, but maaaaaan. It is not good. It isn’t funny or sweet or anything. I think I also hate it when Tina Fey tries to be a character actor, it’s always just the worst. Do not watch.
Here’s your semi-annual reminder that Bath & Body Works is having their huge twice-a-year sale starting on June 1st, I think. It’s never advertised in advance, but I’m almost positive that it’s the first week of June. Apologies that this sounds like an ad, I just really like their foaming hand soaps and I’m cheap as hell.
Made the roasted cauliflower, feta, orzo salad from Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook and yes it was really, really good. The only issue is that the portion size is way too big. We had leftovers for days and got pretty sick of eating it, so if you’re doing this for two people, definitely size it down. Also, I had no idea there were different types of feta. French feta is creamier than traditional Greek and maaaan is it good.
Loving this kale salad lemon dressing.
This shall be my June mantra.
And this is just great.
What am I looking forward to next month? I’m planning on seeing Mindy’s new movie Late Night, watching some more of the new Twilight Zone episodes, polishing off my spring list, preparing my summer list, thinking about if I’ll ignore or celebrate National Best Friend Day on June 8th, figuring out a Father’s Day gift for the 16th, I do want to see Toy Story 4 but it feels weird to not see it with a niece/nephew, and I’ll definitely take photos of the new apartment and my favourite items that I bought for the apartment post I promised last month.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, here’s a years worth of other ones like it: April 2019, March 2019, February 2019, January 2019, December 2018, November 2018, October 2018, September 2018, August 2018, July 2018, June 2018 & May 2018.
And you can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
I could promise you that I’ll stop doing podcasts soon or I could be real and tell you how much I love doing them.
You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
Dear Nana Podcast
My friend Irene has a podcast and I was her guest this week! I promise I’ll stop doing podcasts. (UPDATE: I lied.)
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Hahahah, love this so much.
On Nathan's Podcast Again This Week!
Oooooooh yeah! Listen!
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