August Actions 2020

by Liz Heather in , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

First things first, welcome to (under normal circumstances) the best time of the year. Will this perfect time of year be different than previous years? Of course. Weā€™re all still trying to function in this modern version of hell. SO that being said, I am still going to try and make the most of the seasonal things I like to do (minus seeing the people that I love and havenā€™t seen for almost a year, eating the baked goods from places that Iā€™m not allowed to visit, or being able to just hug my family). MINUS ALL OF THAT. I will cook what I cannot go out to eat. I will watch the movies in my home that Iā€™d normally insist on watching with others. I will decorate. I will light all of the autumn-scented candles that I can get my grubby hands on. Autumn will happen and I will do the best that I can. And I encourage you to do the same. Hereā€™s what happened last month:

  • Two more songs that I love off of Taylor Swiftā€™s new album: epiphany and mad woman. Itā€™s fast becoming my album of the summer (Iā€™m, like, super indie, I know).

  • Blue Diamond has these flavoured almonds out right now and the salt & vinegar as well as the dill pickle flavoursā€¦ are insanely good.

  • I sent this to my mom and she loved it as much as I do (below).

Scott Hubbard (@scottyhubs) has created a short video on TikTok with music sonido original. | This was in my drafts šŸ˜‚ #fyp #tiktokpets #dog #cosplay

  • I tried samples of the Verb Ghost Shampoo, Hair Mask and Spray and they were all equal parts bullshit. Who sends out a spray sample in a small packet, so that it canā€™t be sprayed? Ignoring the idiotic packaging, the products themselves just fell flat. Absolutely nothing special here.

  • I tried Ops Pizza in Brooklyn and it was great! Better than Prince Street or Mamaā€™s Too? Not a chance. Still good, though.

  • My friend Dusty has a movie premiering at TIFF! Too incredible.

  • I finally got to eat the tomato focaccia from Lilia and now I canā€™t get it off my mind and have to go get it again before summer is over.

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Tomato focaccia @caffelilia #KeepItSimple

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  • I bought this mask off of Etsy in anticipation of Octoberā€™s arrival.

  • I also got this Tan Lines candle that smells incredible. I know itā€™s basic as hell but candles might be saving my life.

  • I tried beef carpaccio for the first time (!) at Lā€™Artusi and it was great! Iā€™d describe it as a lighter, more dainty steak tartare.

  • I also tried the vegan chicken parm sandwich at VSPOT and dear lord was it good. Tasted exactly like a regular chicken parm. Must remember this place and go again.

Oneya (@angryreactions) has created a short video on TikTok with music original sound. | #duet with @bobbysrey that cake is beautiful. #fyp #foryou

  • I vote for more light-hearted news items, please/thanks.

  • I must try these vegan sandwiches SOON, they sound so good.

  • Iā€™m not sure when Iā€™ll feel okay about visiting the new Krispy Kreme flagship, but Iā€™ll tell you one thing: I canā€™t wait. I remember when they opened their first Canadian location and my dad was so excited, I think thatā€™s where my love of the company comes from.

  • Jerry Seinfeld continues to be great.

  • I watched the movie Phantasm and even though the fear scene was great, this is one baaaaaaad movie. Just complete shit.

  • Best tweets of the month ahead.

  • Some movies that I rewatched: Itā€™s Complicated (the family of children is so annoying in this movie, but I love all of the adults and the food and itā€™s just comforting to watch) and Adventures in Babysitting (a perfect movie).

  • I started rewatching Moesha and itā€™s great to see again, but I canā€™t believe I didnā€™t notice how incredible the side character of Kim is! She holds the show together! Obviously, this realization makes me excited for when her spinoff show The Parkers comes to Netflix next month.

  • I bought this strawberry shampoo from The Body Shop (impulse buy for $5) and the smell reminds me so much of being in middle school (meaning this in a good way). Is it a great shampoo? Meh.

  • I tried a decent sized sample of the moisturizing cream from Sunday Riley and the best part about it is the smell. I canā€™t imagine a world in which Iā€™d pay $65 for a basic moisturizer, though, so that says it all.

  • Forever in love with this summer panzanella salad.

  • I tried that anchovy pasta that Mindy Kaling recommended and itā€™s basic as hell, wouldnā€™t make again.

  • I made my first purchase from Everlane and the quality of the shirt is beautiful, if not a little shapeless. Will I buy from them again? Probably not. Itā€™s just so bland for the price point.

  • New songs I keep playing on repeat: Surrender by Natalie Taylor, Savage by Megan Thee Stallion, and (*drops head*) this dance remix to a Taylor Swift song (stop judging me).

  • I own it already, but Iā€™m so happy to hear that Safety Not Guaranteed is back on Netflix. Everyone should watch it. The ending is amazing.

  • Iā€™m using the new Trader Joeā€™s Strawberry Lemon Sugar Scrub and does it do anything magical? Not really. The smell is incredible, but thereā€™s something gross about the little strawberry seeds in the scrub. No thanks.

  • New watch alert! $25 at Nordstrom. Iā€™ve been making fun of Nathan having a gold watch for some time now and then realized it might be because I was jealous and wanted one of my own. So here we are.

  • Idea: take hot baths in the summer. I never used to do this and itā€™s so relaxing. It doesnā€™t make any sense.

  • I tried the vegan burger patties from Trader Joeā€™s and theyā€™re only okay, I wouldnā€™t get them again. The Impossible Burger is hands down the best one Iā€™ve tried, with a close second place to the Beyond Burger.

  • I love this idea for basil breadcrumbs on top of a lasagna.

  • The Met reopened (as well as their rooftop installation) and I canā€™t bring myself to go. I know theyā€™re taking precautions and all, but I just donā€™t want to do it. It does look incredible, though.

  • I tried the brunch burger at Vite Vinosteria in Astoria and I know I say this a lot, but holy shit. Might be the best burger in Astoria? What the hell is with Italian restaurants having these sleeper hit burgers all of a sudden? Vesta is the same way! Either way, Iā€™m not complaining. I mean, look at this beast.

Brunch burger at Vite Vinosteria in Astoria

  • I started a Might Buy bookmark category in my browser window, to cut down on impulse buying and really care about what I spend my money on. Hereā€™s a list of things that I canā€™t decide if I want to buy or not:

Some things Iā€™m looking forward to this month: I think Iā€™m going to start rewatching Friday Night Lights, Iā€™m also working on my October list of what to watch each day that month, Iā€™m so excited that Ijeoma Oluoā€™s new book has a release date of December 2020, and Iā€™m excited to finish the new book Iā€™m reading (that youā€™ll be hearing about imminently).

If youā€™ve got any interest in reading last monthā€™s roundup, you can see what went down in July over here.

July Jiffs 2020

by Liz Heather in , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This was me all month.

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The key word being was. We bought an air conditioner! Weā€™ve been an A/C-free family for some time now, but since weā€™re spending so much time at home, we figured now was the time to be cool. In other news, everything still blows! What a shock! Hereā€™s how I spent July.

  • I didnā€™t even know another Halloween movie was being made but of course Iā€™ll go see it even if it turns out to be trash, you gotta support classic horror franchises, thatā€™s just basic horror etiquette 101.

  • This is the most basic, boring-sounding sandwich on planet earth, but it tastes incredible I promise you (I didnā€™t add bacon, but I did add fresh mozzarella) and whatever bread you use, itā€™ll still be great. I find myself constantly forgetting about the greatness of mayo because I, my dear, am an idiot.

  • I ordered a bunch of new address labels on Zazzle because they were having a Christmas in July sale, so I bought some seasonally inspired labels to use over the next few months. If youā€™re not seasonally co-ordinating your return address labels, are you even living?

  • Iā€™m still doing Nathanā€™s podcast on Patreon incase youā€™re interested. (You can find more clips on his Instagram.)

  • I attempted to watch the new Baby-Sitterā€™s Club on Netflix and itā€™s really not meant for me. I was never into the books or the movie or any of it, I never liked the idea of kids caring about making money, it seemed too sad to me. ā€œJust be a kid!ā€ Iā€™d always thought.

  • Speaking of childhood nostalgia, I have started to watch reruns online of Sweet Valley High, which I loved as a kid. Itā€™s no Breaker High, but itā€™s still pretty great to rewatch. God, Jessica really was an absolute bitch.

  • Some other things that Iā€™ve rewatched: Con Air (practically a perfect movie, will always love, *Nic Cage forever* might be the only tattoo Iā€™d ever get), Supermarket Sweep is on American Netflix and I was so excited (for about three episodes) then I moved on with my life, Sleepless in Seattle (still a very nice, average, reliable movie), Bill & Tedā€™s Excellent Adventure (actually a really great summer movie, will always be a fun time to watch, will forever be a huge Keanu fan, I just feel like I could trust him??), and Dick Tracy (will always love this movie even if it has eight million too many montages, the set design is gorgeous, and this one outfit that Madonna wears makes me questionā€¦ everything).

  • Some new movies that Iā€™ve watched: Always Be My Maybe (so, so great! How did it take me so long to see this! So many good scenes, such a good movie), The Karate Kid (insane that I hadnā€™t seen it before, kids were uncomfortably mean in the 80s, favourite part was when Mr. Miyagi beats up the children, great movie), The Stepfather (pretty fun time, so happy weā€™ve starting watching horror movies again), Eat Pray Love (ugh, I donā€™t know, I do love movies about women just leaving and doing fun shit alone and abandoning their lives, but this was pretty lame, I hated James Francoā€™s character more than life and truly didnā€™t understand how Julia Roberts was even briefly into him), and finally the original The Hills Have Eyes (which I loved weirdly enough despite being incredibly tense the entire movie, I just thought it was so well done and scary and incredible, the rape scene is of course awful and I shut my eyes for that part, but that was the only thing I hated, it doesnā€™t make sense that I liked this movie so much).

  • I donā€™t know how to word this, but something is off with the reasonably priced (and almost too cheap) parmesan sold at Trader Joeā€™s. It melts weird. It doesnā€™t taste like normal cheese. Something is afoot and I wonā€™t buy it any longer. Iā€™m truly dreading and equally anticipating the day that all of Trader Joeā€™s secrets are exposed. Be warned.

  • That being said, obviously Iā€™m in love with the seasonal summer candles that TJ just released. We have a complicated relationship.

Trader Joe summer candle trio, 2020

  • I made this gruyere mac and cheese with caramelized onions (I used almond milk and it still came out good) and can every recipe just include caramelized onions? The world is ending, letā€™s just put sweet, tiny, brown onions on everything and call it a day.

  • Ennio Morricone passed away last month and I find myself listening to the Cinema Paradiso soundtrack on repeat.

  • Read this great piece about summer blockbuster movies which also has just some great ideas for movies to rewatch right now.

  • I have to remember that Essieā€™s vibrant colours just f-ing suck. Only their muted/bland colours are good. They should really just stick to those. And if youā€™re looking for loud colours that stand out, the summer collection at Urban Outfitters is my go-to (and thereā€™s always a 3 for $10 sale with them).

  • I listened to Taylor Swiftā€™s new album and so far my favourites are definitely: the 1 and this is me trying.

  • Ugh, Astoriaaaaaa, DO BETTER.

  • Iā€™ve been thinking about cancelling my Ipsy subscription again (because I think I donā€™t care about makeup at this current moment in time) and when I logged on to cancel, they let me choose one of the items being sent next month as if they knew I wanted to leave! So I chose a Sunday Riley product (because any sample Iā€™ve tried from them, Iā€™ve loved) so maybe Iā€™ll cancel next month?

@jlomaxx

A lil something to make your day ā¤ļø ##dogsoftiktok ##petsoftiktok ##lovedogs

ā™¬ New Soul - Yael NaĆÆm

  • I tried a sample of Drunk Elephantā€™s shampoo & conditioner (which smelled so lovely) and my hair did seem softer the next day. Thereā€™s something about this brand though, I feel like they might be tricking us with their beautiful packaging and minimalist persona.

  • I bought and tried the ancient Biore Strips and I have absolutely no idea if they did what theyā€™re supposed to do. Are you supposed to see the blackheads or whiteheads come off onto the strip? It felt like it just tried to peel my face off. No idea whatā€™s going on with these.

  • I have been in love with the Peter Thomas Roth Correction Pads, I use one pad before bed each night and I think theyā€™re doing something good because I always wake up with no new pimples. It has even started erasing all of the redness Iā€™ve been experiencing lately from the summer heat and sweat and mask-wearing. At this point, I can definitely see myself rebuying when I run out, and if I do then Iā€™ll definitely not get them from Sephora because you can get them way cheaper at other online retailers.

  • Iā€™ve also started using this Dr. Dennis Gross All-In-One face cleanser and I think itā€™s a good one. Itā€™s hard to tell because I started using it the same day at the correction pads I mentioned above (yes that was a bad idea but here we are), so maybe theyā€™re working together to make my face good? Weā€™ll revisit this.

  • I finally opened up this Belif set I bought a few months ago and itā€™s really nothing special. I think the face cream is probably the best item in there because you truly donā€™t need to use a lot to feel moisturized. But the face cleanser? Meh. I donā€™t think it does very much, it definitely didnā€™t help any redness. And the toner? Donā€™t get me started on how I kind of think toner might be a scam. And the ā€œeye moisturizerā€? Seems superfluous. My eye area is plenty moist, thanks.

  • Perfect summer soap scent: Fresh Rainfall. If I canā€™t travel this year, I will escape into this scent. (Send help.)

  • Very excited to hear about Lindy Westā€™s new book.

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ITā€™S FINALLY HERE!!! This is the official cover for my next book, Shit, Actually, which you can preorder now and receive in Oct! I am SO EXCITED TO RELEASE THIS BOOK. Obviously Shrill changed my life and I worked harder on The Witches Are Coming than anything Iā€™ve ever made, but frankly Shit, Actually is my favorite because it is just me in my purest form: being a bitch about movies. It was so therapeutic to write this book, a kind of return to myself and my beginnings, and it absolutely saved me to just sit and make myself laugh, day after day, during the early pandemic. I cannot wait for you to read this. (And letā€™s sell the shit out of it so I can write 10 sequels!) Also no joke I deserve a Grammy for the audiobook. šŸ’– ###### // New York Times opinion writer and bestselling author Lindy West was once the in-house movie critic for Seattleā€™s alternative newsweekly The Stranger, where she covered film with brutal honesty and giddy irreverence. In Shit, Actually, Lindy returns to those roots, re-examining beloved and iconic movies from the past 40 years with an eye toward the big questions of our time: Is Twilight the horniest movie in history? Why do the zebras in The Lion King trust Mufasa-WHO IS A LION-to look out for their best interests? Why did anyone bother making any more movies after The Fugitive achieved perfection? And, my god, why donā€™t any of the women in Love, Actually ever fucking talk?!?! From Forrest Gump, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Bad Boys II, to Face/Off, Top Gun, and The Notebook, Lindy combines her razor-sharp wit and trademark humor with a genuine adoration for nostalgic trash to shed new critical light on some of our defining cultural touchstones-the stories weā€™ve long been telling ourselves about who we are. At once outrageously funny and piercingly incisive, Shit, Actually reminds us to pause and ask, ā€œHow does this movie hold up?ā€, all while teaching us how to laugh at the things we love without ever letting them or ourselves off the hook. Shit, Actually is a love letter and a break-up note all in one: to the films that shaped us and the ones that ruined us. More often than not, Lindy finds, theyā€™re one and the same.

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  • So I heard that Lady M now ships their cakes to Canada and I was able to scream in excitement for approx. four seconds before looking into it and seeing that itā€™ll cost you over $100 to get ONE cake sent. THE GALL, I tell you. THE GALL.

  • I briefly looked into the app Sweatcoin after hearing good things, but it really just seems like an app where its main goal is to track you. And yes, your phone already does that whether youā€™re aware or not, but I think Iā€™ll pass on the extra tracking.

  • I heard that the upcoming Halloween Bobā€™s Burgers episode will ā€œfollow the kids as they try to deliver a burger to the hotel on their street.ā€ Itā€™s such a sad little bit of tiny information, but I love their seasonal episodes so much that Iā€™ll take any crumbs available.

  • Actually helpful tips on how to clean your home efficiently.

  • Christ, why do I keep forgetting that Bareburger is absolutely nothing special? Why in the good fuck is it taking so long for a Shake Shack to come to Astoria?!

  • I ate on the patio at Hoja Santa in Astoria and the tacos were nothing to write home about. The service, drinks and chips were outstanding though, so I may have just ordered badly.

  • New favourite beer alert.

  • Best tweets of the month ahead.

  • I tried Thai iced coffee and it was so wildly sweet and too aromatic, I probably wouldnā€™t get it again. And I also tried a Vietnamese iced coffee and it was the perfect level of sweet! Whatā€™s the difference between the two, you ask?

  • I finally tried the katsu sandwich at Hi-Collar as takeout in the East Village and it was absolutely nothing special. No idea why people are so into it.

  • I havenā€™t been to Bite in so many months, so it was nice to get takeout earlier this week. God how Iā€™ve missed their ciabatta bread. They use it on their sandwiches and it comes from Balthazar each morning and itā€™s always heavenly.

  • I have found the perfect, light summer blanket and Iā€™m trying not to focus on the fact that it came from Amazon.

  • I tried a grapefruit shandy and holy shit, it might be my favourite new summer drink.

  • I ate on the patio at Lā€™Artusi since it just reopened and good god, that carbonara will change you. So psyched to see they have the wagyu steak tartare on the menu now, too. The burger, the panzanella salad and the charred corn were all great, but that carbonara was the standout.

Yeah, Iā€™m NOT gonna get a Manhattan??

Carbonara heaven, 'Lā€™Artusi

Lā€™Burger with roasted potatoes at Lā€™Artusi

Sweet Irene!

Some things Iā€™d like to do this month: Iā€™d love to try this tomato toast with blue cheese mayo, Iā€™m going to start using a new clothes steamer I just bought with the hopes of getting rid of my iron & ironing board, I rebought a tube of Revitalash because of how great my lashes were looking when I used it a few years ago so Iā€™ll start using it on August 1st and track my progress to prove how great this product is, I canā€™t wait for Moesha to be coming to Netflix this month, and I am waiting waiting waiting until I can find time to return to Lilia (on the patio) to eat this incredible tomato focaccia & garlic butter (shown below).

If youā€™ve got any interest in reading last monthā€™s roundup, you can see what went down in June over here.

Summer List 2020

by Liz Heather in

Well, welcome to summer.

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The worst season in the worst year is suddenly upon us! Look at that! With everything a few weeks away from shutting down again (itā€™s happening, I can feel it), hereā€™s what Iā€™m going to try to do this season.

  1. If I can make it to Canada in the next few months, Iā€™d love to go see Tew Falls finally.

  2. Go swimming at least twice. (Where? No idea.)

  3. Try a Vietnamese iced coffee for the first time.

  4. Eat the burger at Lā€™Artusi.

  5. Start planning San Francisco (and area) trip.

Other summer things I wouldā€™ve loved to do if the world was safe and normal: I wouldā€™ve gone to go see the installation on the rooftop at The Met, but I wouldnā€™t feel very comfortable being around that many people even if it does open, so next year it is. I wish carnivals were still happening this year, even small street ones, but that doesnā€™t seem likely. I am looking forward to summer tomatoes and corn, so thatā€™s something. Iā€™ve got to start planning my Halloween costume, too. Maybe this season wonā€™t be a giant train wreck?

Spring List 2020 Revisited

by Liz Heather in

So Iā€™ll cut to the chase, I didnā€™t get a ton done off my spring list. Was that because of the collapse of the world around us and a pandemic that has no end in sight? Partly. But moreso I really couldnā€™t summon the energy to care about a lot this season.

  1. Sit on my fire escape.

    • I didnā€™t do this. This was the easiest thing on the list and I couldnā€™t do it. Iā€™m a little afraid to do it, I think. I keep thinking ā€œthe dumbest way to die would be falling off a fire escapeā€ and that tends to make me put it off. Iā€™ll try to face this fear soon.

  2. Bake something spring inspired.

  3. Rewatch my favourite Hitchcock movies.

    • Did it! Vertigo, Rear Window, Rope, The Birds, Dial M For Murder. Love ā€˜em.

  4. Try some new hairstyles and new makeup routines.

    • DID NOT EVEN ATTEMPT. But I am thinking about making a big hair change, so stay tuned.

  5. Watch at least ten things off of my To Be Watched list of movies and TV shows.

    • I think I did about five. Itā€™s so hard for me not to just rewatch stuff I love. Taking a half point.

2.5 / 5 - disappointing, but not the worst Iā€™ve ever done. Letā€™s see what I can get done in summer.

Hello, worstseasonoftheyear! Welcome to worstyearofallyears!

My Walk To Manhattan

by Liz Heather in

We are still in lockdown mode in New York City and I feel powerless, numb and useless. Iā€™m an editor with no clients on the horizon and a waitress whose restaurant shut down in March. The days have been bleeding into one another for months and I wanted to change that, even for just one day.

Yesterday I walked for 15.6 miles to get from Astoria in Queens to Soho in Manhattan and back. I started the walk thinking that Iā€™d just walk to Central Park, but that only took me about an hour and sort of ignited something inside of me to keep going. Hereā€™s how it went and why you should maybe consider taking your own wandering walk.

(Sidenote: I had a mask on the entire time and didnā€™t come in contact with anyone, Iā€™m not an idiot.)

(Sidenote #2: In order to take a walk like this, you have to have amazing bladder control because every store is closed and the ones that are open may not let you use their bathroom. I didnā€™t go to the bathroom for seven straight hours during this walk because I, ahem, have a fat-ass bladder that Iā€™m abnormally proud of.)

Walking across the Queensboro Bridge

Iā€™ve never walked across this bridge before (Iā€™ve only walked across the Brooklyn Bridge) and it took so much longer than I thought it would, but it was still a decent walk. Not as nice as the Brooklyn Bridge (maybe because itā€™s not as ornamental and old) but still, who doesnā€™t love a bridge walk?

Queens on the right, Roosevelt Island on the left

These apartment buildings remind me so much of an old Jack Lemmon movie

The perimeter of Central Park

Despite everything, spring is still happening

Believe me when I say that there was practically no one in Central Park and the people that I did see stayed very far apart from each other. Granted, a lot of areas were blocked off, but still. For moments throughout my walk in the park, there was absolute silence and it felt unreal.

Inside Central Park, looking at The Plaza hotel

I didnā€™t want to stay inside the park too long mostly because I had my mask on and the sun was shining so it was getting really hot, so I ventured on. Iā€™ll forever love the fact that you can dedicate a park bench to someone. (I just looked it up and it costs $10,000 to ā€œadoptā€ a bench because of course it does, this city is nuts sometimes, nothing too nice can ever be affordable.)

Regardless of the insane cost, I still love reading the inscriptions on these benches

After I left the park, I walked past Carnegie Hall (which always makes me think of both Home Alone 2: Lost in New York as well as Bill Cunningham) and then headed through Times Square.

Carnegie Hall

The Naked Cowboy alone in Times Square

Iā€™ve never seen an empty Times Square before and it just felt sad. The city has never looked this way before. There are no crowds of people, only massive amounts of road construction going on against the backdrop of empty storefronts. Everything was turned off so fast and so easily, itā€™s insane to see the leftover realities of that.

Tuesday May 26, 2020 at 12:52pm

I took this photo while crossing 42nd street at 1pm. Lunacy.

From 42nd street, I headed past Bryant Park and down Fifth Avenue.

This library will forever remind me of Ghostbusters

Photo taken in the Flatiron District

At this point I was just wandering. It still blows my mind that the subway closes at night now.

Wild.

Around this point, I was getting pretty hungry so I started heading more south since I had a place in mind. I passed Madison Square Park and kept going down Broadway through an empty Union Square to get to Soho.

Soho, my Adidas shoes

Lovely Day on Elizabeth Street

I got some takeout at Lovely Day (my forever favourite pad thai place) with the intention of eating it somewhere alone, not sure where yet, but Iā€™d figure it out along the way. So I walked along Bowery heading back uptown through the East Village to get to the ferry at 34th Street.

On the ferry headed to Long Island City

Iā€™ve never taken the ferry before and it was refreshing. It felt so nice to be on the water, even if it was only for a few minutes. It took me right into Gantry Plaza State Park where I found a bench chair to eat my late lunch. I stayed there for awhile and no one even walked by. That park is so great because there are a few little hidden walkways with these slanted chairs that are way more comfortable than they look. Then I started my final stretch heading home.

15.6 miles in the span of about 7 hours and hereā€™s my face at the end of it in the lobby of my building.

I didnā€™t notice until posting this right now that the top of my face is clearly more tan because of the mask (pardon my glistening skin). Incase youā€™re going to do a walk like this of your own (you should!), hereā€™s what I took in my backpack: a hat (forgot to use), a large full water bottle, a snack bar, my wallet, a scrunchie, my phone charger (which came in so handy, I used it three times at different LinkNYC USB ports around the city) and sunglasses. I also used the free app Map My Walk so I could have a map of the entire journey (shown below).

I took this walk mainly because I just wanted to feel in control of something for the day, since there are so many things that I canā€™t control right now. And I wanted my body and its capabilities to show me what Iā€™m capable of. Itā€™s becoming so normalized to be hateful of your own body right now and truthfully Iā€™m too tired to participate in this ideology anymore. Itā€™s miraculous that your body does so much for you on a daily basis and yet we still think & say such awful things to ourselves for not looking the way we think weā€™re supposed to look. To be so critical of something that literally gives you breath is absurd under normal circumstances, but especially right now. Iā€™ve been saying and thinking awful things about the way I look for years and Iā€™m exhausted. I just wanted a day where I wouldnā€™t be so negative about what my body isnā€™t and focus more on what it is and the possibilities that come with that. I shouldnā€™t be so hard on this body sometimes, I wanted to show myself that maybe itā€™s actually kind of a good body? Not good because it looks like what good should look like, but good because it can do things that make me feel powerful.

Spring List 2020

by Liz Heather in

Itā€™s spring.

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It seems almost insane to have a list of fun things to do this season when we need stay inside for the safety of ourselves and of others. And yet, here I am! So Iā€™ve come up with some things that are appropriate for right now. I encourage you to make a list of your own, as always, because we all need things to look forward to, I canā€™t imagine not looking forward to anything.

  1. Sit on my fire escape. We havenā€™t done this once since we moved in last May and Iā€™ve always wanted to. What better time than now.

  2. Bake something spring inspired.

  3. Rewatch my favourite Hitchcock movies. I was a huge fan of his when I was younger and I havenā€™t watched any of his movies in years, so Iā€™ve been really wanting to lately. Nathan and I watched The Birds the other night and itā€™s such a good, calming movie (I know itā€™s about birds attacking and killing people, but thereā€™s no background music in the whole movie and itā€™s just so gentle without being terrifying).

  4. Try some new hairstyles and new makeup routines. I (like many women) get into such a basic routine when it comes to hair and makeup and I want to venture outside of that.

  5. Watch at least ten things off of my To Be Watched list of movies and TV shows. Iā€™ve had a growing list on my phone of recommendations from other people for years and even though some of them get watched, I really should make more of an effort.

Here we goā€¦

Winter List 2019 Revisited

by Liz Heather in

Well, that was complete bullshit. Where in the FUCK was winter? ā€˜CAUSE IT WASNā€™T IN NYC. This was originally a very angry post, but anger is not what is needed at this time, so it was heavily edited.

  1. Visit Fantasy Explosion.

    • I went! I thought it was going to be a regular sized store, but it was a tiny corner in a weird little mini-mall space. Even still, they had great stuff. If I ever find myself in Brooklyn again in this lifetime, Iā€™ll return!

  2. See a movie at The Roxy Cinema in Tribeca.

    • Damnit, I didnā€™t do this one. I did keep checking their listings and nothing seemed appealing! I should have put more effort in, though, and just went to see one of the Nicholas Cage movies from the past month. This is my fault.

  3. Finally eat at I Sodi in the West Village.

    • Irene and I went! And it wasā€¦ disappointing! Food was average and the service wasnā€™t even amazing and itā€™s a little pretentious and WAY too expensive for what it is. Maybe the build-up in my mind was too high?

  4. Start a binder full of ideas for the big Euro trip in June and July.

    • Ugh, I did start doing this but with the state of the world, who knows what will happen throughout the next few months. But since I hate that kind of thinking, Iā€™ll continue to add to this binder because thatā€™s what you do when youā€™re faced with obstacles, you press on and hope for the very best.

  5. Take at least five bubble baths.

    • So I took four. Not bad. but not perfect. To be fair, this decade hasnā€™t gotten off to the greatest start, so I havenā€™t exactly felt like I could bask in a bubble bath most nights.

So all in all, I got 3 out of 5. Not terrible! Christ, now I have to come up with a Spring List. Itā€™ll have to be Spring 2020 appropriate too, like making a dress out of leftover plastic bags or some shit. All right, Iā€™m gonna go brainstorm.