The Best of January & February 2025
The beginning of this year has been rough to say the least. There’s no way to know when things might get easier, but in the meantime - here’s what went down these past two months.
The best tweets of January can be found here and the best tweets of February can be found here.
Very in love with this Patcha Soap Co. salt scrub I got from Healthy Planet. A salt scrub is forever a good gift, especially the Sabon ones.
I ate at the gluten-free place Gud Daae on Lakeshore and it was so good.
Potato Pucks at Gud Daae
Brown Chicken Sandwich at Gud Daae
Sundae at Gud Daae
I’ve come to the newish conclusion that Sephora has nothing for me. Every single time I enter that store, I feel an alarming amount of rage. Stop telling women what they need.
Andrew Dismukes has been so good on SNL lately. I’m not sure how I didn’t notice this sooner.
I took my niece Maya to see Come From Away and it was even better than the New York production (maybe because the accents were better?).
Come From Away in Toronto, ON
I bought (and had tailored) these Gap jeans and I also bought a pair of tan loafers. Really testing out a new aesthetic here.
I finally tried out the Mel Brooks idea of slicing a bagel into three parts instead of two and I feel enlightened.
Mel Brooks is a genius mainly because of this idea
I took the kids to a maple syrup farm (Elliot Tree Farm) because it should be law that every Canadian child must see how sap is made at some point. Of course their gift shop had some gems (below).
The most Canadian candle
Incredible
I cancelled my Costco membership because I’m trying to support less American companies, so I found Bulk Mart (which is Canadian) and it’s great so far.
Some things I watched:
The Substance - such a great movie. The sounds/audio was brutal to hear at times, but all in all one of the best movies of last year for sure.
Babygirl - loved it.
Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action (documentary) - pretty despicable, hard to watch.
Child Star (documentary) - it was good, but there was too much of a focus on Demi Lovato (which makes sense because she made it) but I was expecting less of her.
Enlightened - I hated Laura Dern’s character so much that it made it hard to watch.
The Apprentice (movie) - meh. But Jeremy Strong was fantastic.
The Resort - the first half of the series was good, but then it took a turn.
Mommy Meanest - I love watching a bad Lifetime TV movie maybe once a year.
Little Women (the 90s one) - how have I never seen this before? Absolutely loved it.
Big Little Lies - I was expecting more since the cast is so wild, but it kind of sucked. I really don’t think Laura Dern is a good actress and the writing was so bad.
Succession (rewatch) - Logan is so much funnier upon second viewing, I didn’t notice that before.
Lost (rewatch) - still great. Still can’t really explain the ending.
The Last Showgirl - I do like Pamela Anderson but wow is she a bad actress. Also Jamie Lee Curtis overacts in every single thing she does these days and Bautista was so hollow. The script was awful, but since it had a nepo director it’s not surprising that it wasn’t good. I did like that I could tell it was shot at the Rio in Vegas but otherwise, hard pass.
Heart Eyes - love Devon Sawa, but this was nothing special. I do love a themed horror movie always, though.
The White Lotus - god, this season sucks so far. It’s just so slow, I can’t stand it.
It would be insane if I didn’t mention it here, but Baby Dog passed away in January and everything collapsed around me. It happened quickly, but I was with her until the end and it’s hard to speak about it at all even now. Every time it snows it makes me think of her so of course there was record snowfall this year. It still doesn’t feel real, so I’m just trying to take it day by day.
Baby Dog
Baby Dog, January 2025
The Best Tweets of February 2025
The Best Tweets of January 2025
December Dalliances 2024
Love an outdoor bulb
Love an outdoor bulb
The last monthly post of a year that was intense and full of change! Here’s what went down last month.
The best tweets of December can be found over here.
I recapped how my autumn list of things to do went.
The President’s Choice Elk Crossing ice cream is unbelievably good.
Elk Crossing ice cream
The restaurant Earl’s put out a cookbook and I can’t stop making their chicken hunan kung pao.
I found out that the house from the movie The Santa Clause is in Oakville, so I had to drive past it. And look at their perfect decorations.
The Santa Clause house in Oakville, ON
The Santa Clause house decorations
I found a dupe recipe for the Levain dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookies and I truly can’t tell the difference.
Levain peanut butter chip cookies
Got a Philly cheesesteak from Gladiator Burger and wow. Will definitely return.
I will fully admit that crumbl cookies are overrated, but their monthly dessert specials are wondrous. Look at this eggnog tres leche (below). She’s beautiful.
Eggnog tres leche
I perused the new Half Baked Harvest cookbook and it’s absolutely nothing revolutionary, there’s a cheeseburger pasta in it for christsake. I still think we should force a limit on how many books a food blogger can release.
I did make these white wine mushroom stuffed shells and they were (as most HBH recipes are) probably too cheesy, but the vegetarians liked them so I guess it was a win.
White wine mushroom stuffed shells
I also made this slow cooker roast and it was so easy and perfect for lunch sandwiches on Christmas day. And secured the greatest (Canadian)grocery store cake: the caramel crunch cake.
Caramel crunch cake
Ate at this great Mexican place The Mule in Hamilton.
The Mule in Hamilton, ON
Some things I watched:
Die Hard - yes, it’s insane that I’ve never seen it before now. So good.
Challengers - LOVED Zendaya’s character. Second favourite movie of the year (first was Anora). Only question was HOW was that hotel bed that big??
Jagged Edge - pretty good. I love this genre of movies (80s/early 90s thriller/mystery).
Carry On - anticlimactic ending, but overall not terrible.
Nosferatu - liked it! Honestly it could’ve just been the fun of who I saw it with, but truly hard to tell.
These little guys (below) continue to make me smile each day.
Would die for them
Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’m going to start using this first-of-the-month checklist again and I’ll recap my resolutions from last year as well as make new 2025 ones.
If you have any interest in the other monthly roundups of 2024, they can be found here: November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February and January.
The Best Tweets of December 2024
Navigating November 2024
Gingerbread season >>
Gingerbread season >>
All of the Christmas gifts are bought and under the tree, why the hell don’t I do this every year? People are mean in those mall parking lots, so I’m grateful to be done the shopping portion of the season. Now there’s just decorating and cooking left, which is kind of the best part. Here’s what went down last month!
The best tweets of November can be found over here.
I read and reviewed Anna Marie' Tendler’s memoir Men Have Called Her Crazy.
Got an oil change for $66 with no appointment at Royal Lube (perfect name, no notes) in Mississauga. Am I nuts or is that really good in 2024?
I tried the 10 3 2 1 method and it sucked! Completely did not work for me.
I made these ricotta beef shells that were good, but honestly a lasagna would be more satisfying.
Will never tire of my favourite chicken marsala recipe.
Chicken marsala over tres leche mashed potatoes
I took a day trip to Buffalo (and woof, I really don’t like that city), but I’m happy to report that the Wegman’s ultimate chocolate cake remains the greatest cake in the history of grocery store cakes.
I made tres leche mashed potatoes and they were phenomenal. Making them again for Christmas.
Tres leche mashed potatoes
Hot take: suburban Targets are too big. It’s enough already.
I got a tub of white chocolate raspberry butter from a holiday market and it’s changed all of our lives, it’s so good. (It’s made me want to make a bunch of different butter combinations for the holidays, so I’ll report back.)
Love a seasonal flavour and these (below) are pretty great.
Turkey Dinner Lays
Some things I watched:
Perfect Days - pretty long, but liked it.
Getting Lost (the documentary about the show Lost) - look, I was a fan of the show but I wasn’t a superfan so maybe I’m not the key demographic here. It definitely could’ve been edited/shortened, but I did love Kate’s explanation of the finale.
The Martha documentary on Netflix - loved it. Yes, she’s a bitch (with the way she talks to her staff) but she’s insanely rich so I don’t see why that’s surprising. Nice people aren’t exceedingly rich, it’s that simple.
The Weekend Away (Netflix) - not terrible!
Anora - best movie of the year, hands down.
Cast Away - god, it’s still such a great movie, especially this monologue.
The John Mulaney SNL - okay, the man is not funny. I’d say it’s bewildering that he’s so popular but so many famous comedians are terrible…? So this makes sense?
Bowen Yang in this Shrek sketch is so goddam funny, I’ve watched it five times.
Some things I’m looking forward to this month: cannot wait for that first snowfall, there’s a maple syrup museum I want to take the kids to, already bought my bayberry candles for Christmas Eve, I’d love to make homemade ricotta after watching Ina do it and I will definitely be watching some of these movies.
If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in October over here.
Unreal sunset
