April Activities

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

April is one of the best months. It’s still cool enough to have my winter blanket on the bed, but warm enough to maybe go out without a coat. Nothing is better. Sorry about the weather-talk, but it’d be insane of me not to mention it’s so beautiful out. Onto this month’s happenings! So many things took place!

  • Firstly, the big news. We’ve moved! Only a few streets away, but into a waaaaay better apartment. It’s almost a joke how much better it is. We were coming from a basement apartment, so pretty much anything above ground floor would impress us, but there are a hundred little details about our new place that I’m in love with. So crazy thankful and happy with it all. We’re still getting settled into the place, but I’m planning on doing a post about all the little things I’m doing to it with the decor and storage and boring things (but oh so fun to me) like that, so keep an eye out for that post coming out most likely before the end of the month. So excited to get this place homey and lovely.

  • I went to a Rapters game at the Barclays Center and whoa, it was a dumb amount of fun. Nathan met someone in the audience at one of his shows who works at Barclays and got him a few VIP tickets (fifth row from court side!) and it was pretty incredible. There was tons of free food (shriiiiimp!) and soft serve ice cream and beef tenderloin and fancy water and free snacks, it was the best. I could list all the food specifics here, but I don’t want to seem like a dick who thinks she’s better than you (but might be?).

  • I went to the Glossier flagship store again to try this highlighter aaaaand it was pretty basic, so that was disappointing. I also tried their Boy Brow again and I think that yes, it is a good product. Although is it worth $16? Not sure. I’m still considering Benefit’s mini version for $12, so that’s likely the next eyebrow product I’ll buy/try.

  • I treated myself and bought the full size version of Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask (which is HUGE and should last me eight hundred years) as well as a new Fenty sponge because my old sponge was beginning to look nasty.

  • I tried the new basil foaming hand soap from Trader Joe’s because that’s an amazing idea for a scent. But the quality of the bottle itself is so cheap, it makes an awful squeaking sound when you use it. Don’t buy.

  • Loving these two songs lately.

  • Yes, I hate receiving foundation samples. You know this. That being said, I tried the one from Yves Saint Laurent and even though it was the wrong colour for me, it felt crazy nice and moisturizing on my skin. I can see why people go so crazy for this product. I still won’t buy it because I don’t really love wearing foundation, but maybe one day when I believe that foundation makes a difference?

  • I tried the Smile Foot Mask from The Face Shop and HOLY SHIT. It’s good enough that you can ignore the creepy baby feet on the packaging. And I mean, my feet are pretty well taken care of already, but this was some next-level shit. Definitely keeping this one in the rotation.

  • I know that I told you I was going to start taking collagen, but with the move I slacked a little so I don’t want to comment on it yet. I’m gonna start it again and take it on a daily basis starting tomorrow so I will definitely have thoughts on it this time next month.

  • Love this meme.

  • I went to Niagara Falls with my family and it was the best. Just a ton of fun.

That’s right

At the Healing Salt Caves with Mom

We’re missing Amanda & Tianna!

Camden’s first Shirley Temple!

Sweet Jesus

Mom & Dad

  • I started watching Schitt’s Creek and it’s pretty good so far. I only saw about five episodes, but that’s enough to have an opinion, yeah? I want to watch more, but those Frasier reruns aren’t gonna watch themselves.

  • Watched The Bye Bye Man and wooooooof, it was rough.

  • I also watched Crazy Rich Asians and it was great! I’d wanted to see it for awhile and it was just a fun movie. A friend of mine accidentally called it Crazy Sexy Asians and it made me laugh, but that’s a way better title. I love, love, love Elvis’ version of this song, so whenever it gets covered, I’ll love it to pieces. Also, the wedding scene? With the water? Jesus! So nice. Even watching it now makes me teary, it’s so beautiful.

  • Ate at The Cactus Club with the lovely Marla for her birthday (!) and it was goooood. The short rib pappardelle? Heavenly.

  • One of my favourite recipes that I haven’t been able to make for awhile since I used to live in a place WITH NO OVEN is this baked pickles one. Just made it last night and still holds up. So tasty.

  • There’s an upcoming lantern festival in Mississauga that I just heard about on August 10th that seems pretty lovely.

  • Have you ever tried chocolate mint coffee before? We just got some beans from a place near us and made some this morning and I was jacked for about three hours. Really tasty, I just don’t understand how a person could drink coffee every day.

  • I was in need of a fancy dress so I went to Burlington in Union Square and was shocked at how nice/inexpensive everything was. I got a Calvin Klein dress (that I later returned because I’m CLASSY) for $40! Such a great place. Easier to browse than Century 21, for SURE.

  • The reason I needed that fancy dress? I WENT TO THE OPENING NIGHT OF THE BEETLEJUICE MUSICAL! And it was incredible. I have a friend who’s in the ensemble and graciously invited me and it was everything. I’ve never been to an opening night before and the air was electric. Such a fun time. I met Richard Kind at the after party and gushed about Clifford for approx. two minutes before he ran away.

  • Really enjoyed the new Lizzo album, the best songs are definitely Like A Girl and Soulmate.

  • I tried the relatively new chicken pieces from Shake Shack and there’s literally NOTHING DANNY MEYER CAN DO WRONG. They’re delicious, obviously.

  • I had no idea that The Strand will buy your old books. Amazing.

  • There are no Home Sense stores in the States (as far as I know), which sucks. But I came across Home Goods on the Upper West Side (thank you for the suggestion Harmeet!) and even though it’s really not as good, it’s actually okay. I appreciate the attempt of them trying to be a Home Sense.

  • I went to the new Rec Room in Square One and it was pretty good, I thought. Obviously you need to walk in with a full wallet, but I mean… it’s something to do? It’s pretty much Playdium with better food.

And that was April! Some things to look out for in next month’s roundup: highlights from Tianna’s visit to NYC, I’m going to a screening of Booksmart, and I swear I’ll do that apartment post. Honestly that’s the only thing I’m really, really looking forward to - I love this new place so much. Thanks for reading!

(If you have any interest in past monthly roundups, they can be found here: March 2019, February 2019, January 2019, December 2018, November 2018, October 2018, September 2018, August 2018, July 2018, June 2018 & May 2018.)

October Occurrences

by Liz Heather in , , , , ,

This is how I feel when October comes to a close.

nooooo.gif

Even though this is technically still the best time of year (the leaves are gorgeous, Christmas is coming, the first snowfall is only a few weeks away, a fresh year is quickly approaching), it’s always hard for me to say goodbye to October. Maybe that’s one reason why this post is so late? I couldn’t bring myself to actually move on? In any case, November has begun. So here’s what went down in my world last month.

  • The family and I took a train ride along the South Simcoe Railway on their autumn leaves tour and it was prrrretty cute.

Mom & Dad

Gary!

Me & Camden

  • I have officially introduced Riverdale into the lives of four other human beings in my life. Do you understand how crazy that is? I feel like every person on the planet is constantly telling everyone else what show they should be watching and we’re all silently ignoring so many of these recommendations because there’s simply not enough time to watch everything that everyone says is great. So when someone actually gets into this show - it makes me immensely happy. It’s just a pure show. Anyway, the new season started and it’s great and I’ll continue to scream about how much I love it. I’ve also started following Skeet Ulrich on Instagram and I think this is the first time I’ve intensely wanted to send inappropriate things to a stranger since I was a teenager? Feels weird.

  • Watched the first episode of Kidding and really couldn't get into it. Will always love Jim Carrey but this one seems like a hard one to latch onto.

  • Watched an episode of Rel and all I can really say about it is that Sinbad is the best part. So I guess that’s something. I don’t think it’s possible to make a good family sitcom these days and I don’t know why that is.

  • Watched the movie Wild and it was really good. In the same way that I really liked Under The Tuscan Sun. I love love love movies about women that aren’t centered around a love interest. The scene where the little boy sings to her made me weep for some reason.

  • Took a break from The Twilight Zone for a bit and then got right back into it with the episodes The Mask & Number 12 Looks Like You - and man… this is one of the best shows of all time. Better than Black Mirror. Better than everything!

  • Rewatched Friday the 13th Part 4 and it’s still a good horror movie, but not as good as I remember. Hate when that happens.

  • Have you ever seen the kids movie The Halloween Tree? I’d never seen or heard of it before recently and I really liked it. I know this is a common thought amongst people who cling to the past, but the animation back then was way better than it is today.

  • Speaking of kids movies, I saw the second Goosebumps movie with my family and the first one was better? Needed more Jack Black.

  • Finally watched Popstar at my brother’s insistence and it was really funny.

  • So obviously I saw the new Halloween. There was no way it could’ve been good, I realize this, but I went anyway because you have to go. The main problem with it? You see Michael Myers WAY too much. It’s ridiculous. It’s not scary if you’re constantly seeing his face. Anyway, the original is really the only good one anyway and I’m fine with that. I forced my niece Layla to watch that one on VHS and that’s the only way that movie should ever be watched, in my opinion. It’s perfect.

  • FINALLY saw Trick R Treat and of course it’s terrible! Don’t even remember why I’d wanted to see this one so badly. Maybe ‘cause the cover looks so good. I love bags on heads.

  • Watched Fright Night for the first time and it wasn’t terrible, but dear Christ, that kid who played the best friend? Definitely the worst actor on planet earth. WOOF.

  • I’ve only watched the first episode of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina but I’m in love with how dark it is so far. I could also relate to all the half breed talk! And Balki’s in it! Excited to see if the coming episodes are as good.

  • I was on Nathan’s podcast again! Think this is the best one we’ve done together.

  • I have seen so many posts about how good On The Bun is in Mississauga and… what the hell? It’s average at best. The Burger’s Priest is eons better (and there’s a Mississauga location at Eglinton & Hurontario now too).

  • Speaking of good food places in Mississauga, Luca Pizza will now and forever be the only place I’ll force my family to order pizza from. So crazy good!

  • Tried some of the poutine at Costco and it’s almost identical to the old St. Hubert one that existed years ago. It’s eerie.

  • There’s a (somewhat new) Nordstrom Rack in Heartland in Mississauga and IT IS GREAT. If I were to describe why it’s so good, I’d go so far as to say it’s a higher-end/better/still affordable version of Winners.

  • Gary came to visit from Scotland and whenever he comes I try to make him sightread something that I love on piano and he never disappoints.

  • Of course the family and I went on our annual Downey’s visit.

  • I never go to Krispy Kreme mainly because, well, do I have to have a reason? Their donuts are insanity on a plate so I just need to not be near the building. That being said, my niece Layla really wanted to go so we did. And if you ever happen to be there right when the apple fritters come out of the oven? It will easily be the best tasting thing you’ll ever put in your mouth. That being said, they are dense and pretty rough once cold. Not sure how that makes sense, but it’s probably a good thing. The longstanding best apple fritters are still at San Remo’s in Etobicoke.

  • I hadn’t been to Playdium in Mississauga in maybe fifteen years, I can’t believe it’s still even there. STILL SO FUN. Really hope teenagers are still going on dates here and making out in the go kart line.

  • My friend Marla gave birth to the sweetest little boy, her second son!

  • Went to the ROM for I think the first time (?) and it was very meh! I mean, I think it was good technically? I don’t know what I was expecting. Also, maybe I’m being mean about it because the museums in New York are so much bigger and better? I realize that’s a pretty dickish thing to say and yet I’m not deleting it.

  • Absolutely love everything about this video (below).

  • Went to the CN Tower with my family and I haven’t been in such a long time, still a good time.

  • I finally started trying out recipes from Chrissy Teigen’s newest cookbook. The “Taters, Shrooms & Peas with Parmesan Cream” recipe was incredibly annoying to make mainly due to the instruction of “microwaving your potatoes” - why on earth would that ever be an easier way to cook a potato? It took so long with the trial and error of deciding how much water was needed to actually cook them in a microwave, and incredibly frustrating. And it didn’t even taste amazing! So I’ll definitely never make that one again. Her “Jalapeño-Cheddar Corn Pudding” though? AMAZING. I was blown away at how good that tasted. The serving size was so crazy off, though, which seemed odd. It could’ve fed twenty people. So since I’m one for two, I’m excited to try other recipes from the book soon.

  • I went to Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland with Layla, her friends and Harmeet and it was such a fun time. The best part of the whole thing are the actors who jump out to scare you, for sure.

Me & Lay

Me & Har

  • I’m not a huge Starbucks fan (I can’t seem to find a drink that’s not terrible for you & actually tastes good), but since they put out a Halloween drink, obviously I had to try it. The witch’s brew frappuccino was actually pretty good! PURE sugar, but good for exactly two sips. The chia seeds were so weird and good.

  • I finally saw Tews Falls! Been wanting to see this baby for awhile.

Tews Falls

Maya & Layla

  • I took Harmeet to Long Point Eco Adventures to stay in a camping pod for one night and it was really, really nice. Our stargazing tour did get cancelled because of the clouds, so we made the most of the evening by going across the street to the Burning Kiln Winery and it was a great time. If you know anything about me, you should be aware that this is the only way that I’d ever “camp.” On the drive back, we saw some insanely large pumpkins for sale so I obviously bought one and it’s probably the greatest thing I’ve ever spent money on.

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ten more days... ☠️🎃👻🍁

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  • Will never get sick of how New York looks at night.

  • Baby Dog had an extremely relaxing month.

  • It should be obvious, but of course this Halloween was the best one in years, mainly because it’s been so long since I’ve given out candy to trick-or-treaters. You already saw my costume. A huge thank you goes to my mom who sewed the zipper onto that red sweater and who allowed me to yell at her for an hour whilst trying to take the perfect costume photo. No idea why some of the people in my life let me get away with murder sometimes, but super thankful for them. So many things happened on Halloween that it’s kind of a blur to me now. I made this craft that really worked out well, I got sick of my costume so I did a Halloween inspired makeup look for the evening, I watched horror movies on a loop all day - everything was perfect.

The lawn of my parent’s house

The front of their house

Can’t get over how much stuff happened this month. Excited for November!

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

Montauk

by Liz Heather in

Montauk from Liz on Vimeo.

My best friend and I went to Montauk in the winter because we loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It snowed while we were there, so this montage had to be made.

Honestly, waking up that morning to that amount of snow on the beach will rank among my top two favourite moments of life so far, I’ll never be able to describe how it felt.

UberYACHT

by Liz Heather in

Uber, the online transportation network company, has already brought us cars, boats and helicopters to help with getting from A to B and now it's turning its hand to luxury vessels.
UberYACHT launches in Dubai this week, allowing residents to access a deluxe yacht party through their Uber app.

Food, drink, resident DJs and views of the city's iconic shoreline come with the ride (at a cost of $82) for those who request their spot using the app 48 hours before the ship sets sail. 

Uber, which was founded in 2009, has often dabbled outside the world of cars, offering boat rides across the Bosphorus in Istanbul (UberBOAT) and helicopter trips through California's Coachella Valley (UberCHOPPER).

Somebody take me to Dubai, please.