Maybe The Best Cover I've Ever Heard

If you ever need to cry on demand for something, you should definitely play this in some earbuds. It is absolutely beautifully done. 

Starbucks Chestnut Praline Latte

Sometimes it bums me out that I don't love the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks at all. Isn't that a fucking sad sentence? It felt gross writing it. It feels grossing feeling it. But I'm serious, people love that fucking drink and I get jealous of that.. I don't hate the drink, I just don't think I understand why it's supposed to be a delicious thing...? 

In any case, I was excited to try their new drink. Why? I suppose you could say that I desperately want to have a drink there that I absolutely crave. They have so many goddam locations that I should have something I can call my own. (I used to be all about their apple fritters in the early 2000s but then they magically stopped appearing, which is probably a good thing 'cause those guys were mad bad for you.)

ANYWAY, this drink? Sucked. The aftertaste is... fishy. Not like tastes-like-fish fishy, but just fishy in the manner that made me question, "What have I ingested and why did I finish it?"

Anyway, I think that's it. Me and Starbucks really tried to make it work, but I guess in time I'll be able to fully move on and accept our fate.

P.S. $4.50 for a small drink is highway robbery, anyway, so it would've never worked out in the long run.

P.P.S. Can we all sign some sort of petition to get them to stop adding whipped cream to 90% of their drinks? I mean, c'mon, we're not 9 years old. We don't need any whipped cream.

Mom Says

“If you answer a witch’s question, she can take something from you.”

Best Slice in Mississauga, ON

Of all the slices I've had in Mississauga, the one (shown above) at the San Francesco's (the one located in a plaza at Britannia and Creditview) is BY FAR my favourite. And I know San Francesco's is a chain, but they're independently run - so you can't just go to any to get this great slice. You have to go to this specific location. It's right near my brother Robbie's work, so he was the one who introduced us (us meaning me and this slice). TRY THIS NOW.

If you care to see a recent list of other top slices in the fine city of Mississauga, you can check out this Insauga piece. I definitely have added the ones listed there on my to-eat list.

“Impatience is the thief of success.”

— Rebekah L. Pierce

Keep A 'New Words' Document

For about ten years now, I've kept a New Words document on my desktop. If you need a further explanation of what that is (well, you shouldn't because it's embarrassingly self-explanatory) - it simply means that every time I come across a word I've never heard before (whether it's from reading something or hearing someone), I write it down in this Word document. And at the end of each month, I look up the meanings and put them all on flashcards so I can carry them around in my purse and go over them in any free daily moments that I have. I eventually throw out each word after I'm completely positive I won't forget its meaning. 

I can't tell you how helpful I've found this. And maybe you're the type of person to hear a new word, look up its meaning, hold that information inside you immediately and move on with your life. I should wish to be so lucky. Anyway, it's a good idea if you have a bad memory. Or you just miss the general sense of school-like activities. 

You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.

Stop Motion Animation

I mentioned earlier how much I love the Museum of the Moving Image mainly due to its stop motion animation station on the third floor. This (above) is the most recent animation that I can proudly say is my own creation.

Shake Shack Teams Up With Big Gay Ice Cream for Layer Shakes

We're all aware of my feelings on Shake Shack as well as Big Gay Ice Cream. So I think it's safe to say that I will be ALL OVER THIS CROSSOVER.

These limited-time "layered shakes" cost $6.50 and are on sale from November 21 to 23. The one on the left (above) has got Bryan Petroff and Doug Quint's eggnog-flavored soft-serve at the base, then some Shack signature frozen pumpkin custard, shake-ified, on top, with a layer of La Newyorkina graham-cracker crumble in the middle. That order is flip-flopped on the right — it's eggnog shake atop pumpkin custard — and both are 16 ounces.

I'm not a huge fan of nog, but I'm still extremely pumped about this ludicrous concoction. 

“Can someone start putting Chapters and Barnes and Nobles in airports? ‘Cause the book selections in any “Hudson’s” currently fucking suck. Who’s running this world? Put a real bookstore in an airport! I swear you’ll make a lot of money!”

— #lizadvice

NYC's First Cat Cafe Opens Next Month

On December 15th, Meow Parlour (in the Lower East Side at 46 Hester Street) will be open for business. It'll be offering rentable half hour slots to scratch, pet, and play with some (I'd assume only adorable) cats whilst having some sort of hot beverage. Pretty sure the cats will be adoptable, too. Visitors can secure their spots ahead of time online, if they so wish. 

You can get half hour slots for $4 with the option to stay up to five hours, making use of their wifi and baked goods. The idea of eating food and being surrounded by cats seems to contort my face a bit, but I looked into and it says that "you can bring food into the cat area but not vice versa" so I suppose that's something.

Gimmicky as it may sound, places likes this are a pretty sweet opportunity for shelter cats to be surrounded by people who want to pet them a ton before they're (hopefully) adopted by cafe patrons. These cats come courtesy of KittyKind, a nonprofit rescue group, just one of many organizations dedicated to helping homeless kitties. All the more reason to help fund NYC's other potential cat cafe, which hopes to open next spring.