Navigating November

by Liz Heather in , , ,


Yes, it’s insane that November is already over, but we’re all aware of that and it’s so boring to talk about time moving quickly so let’s not be boring, let’s be wicked. So much has happened this month, here’s a breakdown of what went on in my world this month:

  • The West Village restaurant Dante has forever been on my list of places to eat at, so I finally went and it was great. The pasta wasn’t as good as it is at L’Artusi, but that’s sort of an impossible demand. In any case, the food was good, the place is small & lovely, and the waiters are dreamboats.

  • I went to the movie theatre/bar/restaurant Syndicated in Brooklyn for the first time to see Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9 and both the place and the movie were great. I mean the movie’s pretty depressing, but obviously good. And the ticket was $8, which is amazing in 2018.

  • I ate at this great Mexican place Ofrenda twice so far, the quesadillas are so fucking light and good. Only con about the place is that it can get wildly loud inside.

  • I finished watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and it was great and dark but I wish there were more scenes with Prudence & Nick since they’re such good characters. The mortals are so boring I could scream. Looking forward to the holiday special they’re airing in a few weeks.

  • Gary came to town! So we did a lot of new things while he was visiting. The best thing? The restaurant Le Relais De Venise L’Entrecôte. They only serve steak frites. With this incredible sauce. You sit down, order drinks, then they ask how you like your meat cooked and that’s it. They also come around halfway through the meal to offer you seconds… of both the meat AND the fries. It’s insanity. Honestly, I heard the premise of this place and thought that there’s no way the quality would be great, but I was dead wrong. Every bite was incredible. The place doesn’t look like much from the outside (it’s way too bright) and the service is a little… weird? But the food was amazing. And so reasonably priced. Definitely keeping this one in the rotation.

  • Finally ate at Parm in Soho for the first time - I had the eggplant (which was okay) and Gary had the chicken which was eons better. Get the chicken. The service was notably great too.

  • Tried the ice cream at Morgenstern’s and whooooa, it’s good. They’re not fucking around here. Love their weird flavours. French fry ice cream legit tastes like French fries. Eager to try the “bread” and “popcorn” flavours. And if you’re sitting there going, “How could any ice cream be bad, Liz? C’mon!” you’ve obviously never tried the terrible Van Leeuwan.

  • Went to the Nintendo store in Times Square, discovered that it’s one cute-ass store.

  • Went to the Top of the Rock for the first time, waaaaay better view up there than from the Empire State Building. Hands down. Plus you get a Central Park view that’s gorgeous as well as a city view.

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love this trash-smelling paradise #newyorkcity

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  • Ate at Pil Pil on the Upper East Side: crazy good tapas. I always forget about tapas.

  • You already know how much I love Lady M cakes, so I tried their seasonal pumpkin nuage one and… meh! It’s nowhere as tasty as their banana chocolate slice.

  • Ate at Jacob’s Pickles on the Upper West Side finally and Jesus Christ the portion sizes here are laughably large. My brother got a poutine and maaaaaaan you gotta see this thing. And while everything tasted good, it’s just so wildly indulgent. And coming from a person who lives their life on the motto of “INDULGE, BITCH!” - this really means something. Probably not gonna make it back here a second time. It’s mayhem.

  • Finally watched Big Mouth after everyone on the planet told me to watch it and of course it’s good, you know this already, you don’t need me to tell you this. Jon Hamm as the voice of a scallop? Hilarious. Kristen Wiig as a vagina? Gimme more, I say! That goddam little ladybug? Best character. Flawless show. Maya Rudolph is my true queen and I hate anyone calling anyone their queen. (THERE’S ONE QUEEN GUYS AND SHE’S ENGLISH. SHOW SOME RESPECT.)

  • Visited the annual holiday miniature train show inside Grand Central station and it’s as beautiful as always. But really I dare you to show me a miniature train show I don’t like. It’s kind of a joke that they call this a “train show” when it’s, like, shoved in the back corner of a gift shop. Still lovely, but just funny.

  • There’s a new flavour (pumpkin gingersnap) of banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery and it AIN’T GOOD. Stick to the hits, guys. Gotta stick to the hits.

  • Went to the MoMA and it was great, haven’t been in so long, love the fact that they incorporated some performance art!

  • Had lunch at Del Frisco’s since Gary was in a wagyu mood & oh yes it was good.

  • Went for happy hour at Clinton Hall, where the prices are amazing for what you’re getting (I mean, Pat LaFrieda sliders for $3 is fucking nuts).

  • My dear friend Sarah moved back to France and I shouldn’t be shocked when anyone leaves New York, but it always stings when it’s one of the good ones.

  • Finally got my hands on the Cauliflower Gnocchi from Trader Joe’s and holy fuck I now understand why it’s ALWAYS SOLD OUT. Tastes exactly like regular gnocchi. No idea how Trader Joe’s can make these remarkable tasting products, so I’ll just assume that some sort of deal with the devil has been made.

  • If you are ever on the Upper East Side around dinnertime craving ravioli, I promise you that the Mezzelune Alla Boscaiola at Uva will eternally please you in a way that no human can. It’s a half moon shaped ravioli filled with prosciutto and mozzarella served in a creamy wild mushroom sauce. And it will forever be my favourite thing to eat in that area.

  • Don’t ask me why but I watched both Princess Diaries movies and OF COURSE THEY’RE TERRIBLE I KNEW THAT BEFORE PRESSING PLAY WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME.

  • I also watched Four Christmases and initially it seemed like it could’ve been an actually okay movie but NOPE. I mean, there are worse movies, don’t get me wrong. At the beginning, I really liked the fact that the couple in it had super strong opinions about marriage and kids and oh man, it would’ve been great if the ending was just “and we were right all along!” instead of them having a kid at the end. Am I projecting my own shit on this movie? Yes! Sue me!

  • Watched Rumor Has It and I don’t know if I was either feeling tired or defeated or what, but I think I liked it at the moment. I mean, Kevin Costner has a nice smile. All that needs to be said.

  • Tried the eyeliner from Elf Cosmetics and BOOOOOOOOOOOO, never again! What a piece of garbage!

  • Once in awhile, the Rainbow Room hosts a seasonal pop up bar on the 65th floor of 30 Rock in Rockefeller Center sooooo Nathan and I went this week and it was so, so great. The menu always changes and the dishes are wildly inventive and from what we tried - crazy delicious. We only got a charcuterie plate but there was this pâté that was almost… unholy? It was incredible. It was an insanely rainy night, so the view wasn’t much because of the clouds but that’s really only one more reason for us to return. The service was perfect and it wasn’t even that expensive.

  • For the past year or so, whenever I’m having a day where my face feels rougher than normal, I’ve been using this Vitamin E cream from The Body Shop at night that’s been working like a dream. I mostly just use it on my cheeks (moreso in the wintertime) and I wake up and have perfect skin again. It says that it’s used as a face sleep mask, but I don’t think you need to use that much, this one jar has lasted me forever since I use so little of it at a time.

  • So there’s this pesto that I’m in love with that they serve on a panini I love at Bite in the city and the owner told me why this pesto is so great: they use walnuts instead of pine nuts to make it. So obviously this is the only way that I’ll make pesto from now on. It’s so crazy good, you could eat it with a spoon if you have lunatic tendencies like I do apparently? IT’S SO GOOD.

  • Are you aware that you can recycle your used/empty makeup containers at Origins? I’m sure you’re already aware of the program that MAC does, but for every other brand? I feel like this is probably the best option. They have a little box in each store, and it’s not exactly policy but if you go in to recycle something, you can show them that you’re recycling something and then ask for a sample of something and they’ll definitely give you a crazy-generously sized portion of a product that you want to try as a sample. I just did this and got a huuuuuuge sample of this eye brightener I’ve been wanting to use. Also! They’ll give you a code after you recycle that you can use online to earn Origins points on your account.

  • Nathan was on the Guys We Fucked podcast this week which I think is pretty huge and great, so you can listen to that if you like.

And that was November! If you’ve missed any of the other months I’ve done (and actually care to hear the intricate details of a stranger’s life), here’s a list of what’s been discovered over the past few months! Hellooooooo December!

October Occurrences

September Shenanigans

August Actions

July Jiffs

June Jaunts

May Musings


August Actions

by Liz Heather in , ,


This is me right now.

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SUMMER'S OVER, GEEKS! And look, I know the official end of it is in a few weeks, but I don't give a damn and neither should you. Here's what I did this month.

  • I finally tried oat milk and yuuuuuck. Both my dad and Nathan made such a stink about how stupid a product it is that I had to buy it for myself to see if it was any good and WOOF. It was just weird and terrible and stay away.

  • I tried the watermelon soft serve at Dominique Ansel Kitchen and although it was really pretty and refreshing, that thing was huge and waaaay too sweet. Happy I tried it though.

  • I saw Sorry To Bother You in theatres and wow, it was unique and good and made me scream to myself even louder about how it's so stupid how remakes keep being made when money should really be being put into new, original screenplays.

  • Also saw The Meg in theatres with Nathan, which was probably a perfect summer movie because of how ridiculous it was. We literally only went because of that one scene with the tiny dog in the preview. WORTH IT.

  • I finally saw Dead Poets Society (yes, I'm aware it came out almost 30 years ago) and what a good movie. I miss Robin Williams. On another note, it made me really mad that the speech he says in that one scene was used in that iPad commercial and I never realized that that's where it came from, fuck Apple!

  • I've been limiting my horror movies since it was technically still the summertime, but the mood was right so Nathan and I watched The Strangers (I'd not seen it before) and it. was. good.

  • I also watched Steel Magnolias on Netflix and even though it was pretty sad, it's such a fun movie.

  • Also, finally watched The Little Prince and oh good god, was it perfect. Such a sweet movie, with maybe one of the sweetest endings on earth.

  • I started watching Disenchantment because I sort of have to, don't I? I'm only on episode three, but a few things have made me laugh so far. I'm hoping for the best? Full review coming next month.

  • No idea why I watched so many movies this month --oh wait, yes I do because ONLY MURDERERS LIKE TO GO OUT AND BASK IN THE DEATHLY HEAT ALL DAY. Sooo that meant some rewatching of some good movies like The Fugitive (holy shit, this is still such a good movie, so suspenseful and Harrison Ford is a fucking dreamboat) and Under The Tuscan Sun with the delightful Diane Lane (I love this movie in a way that's hard to explain. It's a perfect movie. It always boosts my spirits. Plus the idea of someone just fucking off to Italy is my dream).

  • I mean, it wasn't all great movies, though. The terrible ones I saw? Barbershop - wow. And Made In America - just insanely bad.

  • I read Penny Marshall's biography and it was really, really good.

  • I went to the Russian Tea Room for the first time and MEH, it really wasn't as good as it's touted to be. I mean, what the hell is up with stroganoff? It's like a soupy version of pasta, where's the thick sauce!? What are we even doing here?!

  • I went to the Commodore in Brooklyn to try their fried chicken sandwich and while it was good, it definitely wasn't as good as the one at The Penrose. Also, I hate Brooklyn. Why on earth would a restaurant/bar NOT have a name out front saying who they are? Oh, I know why, because you're in Brooklyn and you think you can get away with that shit. Losers.

  • I tried Van Leeuwen's non dairy coffee ice cream and it really wasn't that good, which surprised me. I still want to try some other brands of non dairy until I find a really good one, so the search continues.

  • I made this homemade hummus and it was really, really good. Never gonna buy hummus again.

  • I made these black bean muffins from an Ambitious Kitchen recipe and holy hell, they were fantastic. I made them for the road trip that Nathan and I took to go to Vermont for our anniversary and they were so unexpectedly delicious.

  • Speaking of which, I'll definitely do a post on that Vermont trip in a few days and put a link to it here. Such a great trip.

  • I know that you know how loyal I am to Seche Vite's Top Coat, but I ran out of it recently and had to use a backup - Essie's No-Chip Top Coat that actually was kind of amazing for keeping a lasting manicure for at least a week. Now if I can just combine the two into some kind of super top coat, I'll be queen of life.

SEE YOU IN HELL, SUMMER!

(If you have any interest in past monthly roundups, they can be found here: July 2018, June 2018 & May 2018.)