I did Nathan’s podcast this week and we talked about Louis CK in Toronto, ads that lie to you and how I don’t understand vaping! Enjoy!
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Are You Afraid Of The Dark Reboot
Nickelodeon has announced that it will debut the first two hour-long episodes of the three-part limited series at an event at this year’s Beyond Fest, on Monday October 7 at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater. It is an “all-ages, family-friendly event” designed for fans both old and new. It’s also free for those with a ticket obtained via RSVP, which you can get now at EventBrite. However, “seating is subject to availability on a first-come, first-serve basis,” so if you plan on attending, you might want to get there early for the 7:30 pm start.
No, I am not a fan of reboots, but this a specific situation here. As long as the writers are creating NEW episodes, I’ll be a huge fan of this. It’s sort of the same situation when they created The Haunting Hour, which is like an updated/scarier version of Goosebumps for kids. Love both those shows. So hopefully this is what’s happening here. In any case, I can’t wait to watch.
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SNL Apple Picking Ad
Fantastic.
The Best of September
This is how I feel about the beginning of October.
To put it mildly, I’m excited. But before we start the greatest time of the year, here’s what went down in September!
I can’t seem to stop going to L’Artusi in the West Village, I might have a problem. This will be the only place I take all visitors for pasta from here onward. Recently I went to try this beast (shown below): the summer ricotta gnudi with chanterelles, sweet corn and chilies. They also had their wagyu steak tartare as a special (they do this every once in awhile) and it’s by far the best steak tartare in this damn city. SO GOOD. And since summer was still well under way, I also got the corn with pepperoni, chilies and scallion ash as a side dish. (What the hell is scallion ash? Absolutely couldn’t tell you, but I gobbled it up.) SIDENOTE: I still can’t stop making their mushroom ragu at home. I tried it with Banza and holy shit, it was still good. I think I’ll be taking a break from making it any time soon since I’ve made it approximately 12,000 times, but you should definitely try it out if you haven’t already.
I’ve made this Crispy Balsamic Chicken a few times now because it’s insanely easy to make and comes together crazy fast. Also, I think I’ve learned the secret to crispy skin every time: PAT THE CHICKEN TOTALLY DRY! Maybe everyone knew this already, but I certainly did not.
Nathan and I saw It: Chapter Two and loved it! I wasn’t expecting to since the first one is so great, but I might have liked this one even better! Also, hot tip: you know the Chinese restaurant they’re eating at in the beginning of the movie? Apparently (sources say) that was filmed inside the Mandarin on Matheson in Mississauga! That’s my Mandarin! I’m definitely going to ask about it the next time I’m there, because if that’s true that is MADNESS. So cool.
Since horror movie season has begun, Nathan and I watched Halloween 2 and Halloween 3: Season of the Witch and you know what? Not terrible! I remember seeing them as a teenager and bitching about how lame they were, but I was just acting my age, I think. Solid ass movies.
We also watched Psycho II and Psycho III and thought the same thing! Great movies! Okay, not great - but definitely not bad. Psycho II was a delight. We’re not better than horror sequels, people. We might think we are, but we ain’t.
I tried the new eyebrow pencil from Fenty and even though it’s a good product, it’s definitely not worth $20. I could get three Colourpop ones for less than that and it’s pretty much an identical product.
I’m a stone cold sucker for new Trader Joe’s products, so obviously I tried the new Organic Sparkling Apple Cider Drinking Vinegars and they. were. delicious. Both flavours. Insanely good.
I have been on a mission to find yellow underwear lately and finally found the motherlode at PINK. Yes, I hate that it’s part of the Victoria’s Secret brand, but I’m still on the hunt. Recommendations welcome.
I watched the new, short 9/11 documentary In the Shadow of the Towers: Stuyvesant High about the kids who went to school near the towers and it was really well done. Obviously incredibly sad, but I can’t help but watch any new 9/11 stuff that comes out for some reason.
I also watched Chelsea Handler’s new documentary about white privilege and parts of it were good, while other parts just made me roll my eyes a lot. The fact that there’s ever even a debate about white privilege will forever blow my mind. I get what she was trying to do with this project, but it kind of just missed the mark ultimately.
I finally wrote about my experience at the new TWA Hotel at JFK.
I have been toasting garlic and breadcrumbs in a saucepan until it’s lightly golden brown and then adding it as a heavy garnish to my pasta dishes lately and… I think I’m a new woman. Tastes unreal.
Here are some of my favourite photos from the summer and yes it looks like I love summer but I still think it’s the worst season, I promise you.
I wrote about our trip to Vermont last month.
I assessed how many things got done off of my summer list.
I rarely listen to new, whole albums anymore because… actually I don’t know why I don’t do that anymore. But people really wouldn’t shut up about Taylor Swift’s Lover, so I listened to it on Spotify and it was actually pretty good. Not all of it, god no. But my favourites include: Cruel Summer, The Archer and Paper Rings. And of course, I still can’t stop listening to this song.
I went to Bar Sardine for the first time and here’s what I didn’t like: the seating is wildly uncomfortable (stool seating? in 2019? pick it up, industry), the food was extremely decent but overpriced and the waitstaff (at least our waiter) was too pushy. Yes, the burger was good (I mean, what burger isn’t?), but for $17? Eat me. No. What are we doing here.
Also went to The Happiest Hour and passssssss. I’m so sick of this trend of TINY ASS BURGERS costing more than $15. Fucking done with it. I’m THIS CLOSE in vowing to never eat a restaurant burger again and just get Shake Shack instead. So sick of this shit.
I made my autumn list of things I want to do!
Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: new Big Mouth episodes on the 4th, I might take a day trip out to Sleepy Hollow, I plan to decorate, I’d really love to have an autumn party (and make use of this great punch bowl idea), think of Baby Dog’s Halloween costume, I’ll definitely watch a few of these, I may partake in the Pumpkin Float, I’m intending on doing my 31-days-of-Halloween celebration yet again (which means that I’ll try to do at least one spookily themed thing each day), and I cannot wait for the return of Riverdale (!) on the 9th.
Helloooooooo October, get your spooky ass in my bed.
If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in August over here and you can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
Autumn List
There are so many things I want to do this season, it makes me want to collapse out of excitement. Here are some of my ideas:
Drink at least one cup of tea each day. (In an attempt to get rid of the old-ass tea that I’m sick of having in the house, but also because autumn mornings & tea are a such a sweet pairing and apparently I’m an old white lady now.)
Finally make Ina Garten’s famous roast chicken.
Host an autumn party (!) with spookily themed delicacies.
Eat the new caramel apple cruller from Daily Provisions.
Eat spaghetti squash for the first time. This is the year to take on this disgusting task.
Indulge in the greatest thing this season has to offer: the thanksgiving croissant from Momofuku Milk Bar. (Bonus point if I can force Nathan to eat one, too.) (Why would I have to force someone to eat something so delicious? He’s a complicated man, let’s not get into it.)
Make a savory souffle because fuck they fancy.
Visit the real Sleepy Hollow (can’t believe how close it is to NYC).
Decorate the house as if this is the last autumn season I’ll ever see. There shall be a pumpkin in every windowsill before week’s end, so help me god.
Try some sort of pumpkin coffee that’s not overly sweet (I’ve never cared for PSLs before because 1) they seem too sugary and 2) I’m only half white).
Some other small things that I do each autumn? I’ll break out the warmer comforter for the bed this week, cannot wait. I’ve started the official planning of this year’s Halloween costume. This is also the time of year when I have to remember to lotion my elbows as much as possible (daily) because as soon as the temperature drops, it’s ash-city. I’ll officially unpack and display all of our autumn/Halloween stuff this week. This will be the first year in a long time that I won’t be going to Downey’s with my family, so that’ll be weird and sad so let’s not talk about it. Other than that, I’m really just going to try and enjoy this time of year as much as humanly possible because spooky season comes but once a year and it’s fun as hell.
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Summer List Revisited
THE END OF SUMMER IS HERE.
I REPEAT: THE END OF SUMMER IS HERE.
How much of my summer list did I complete? Well, let’s see.
“Eat the burger at Whit’s End in Rockaway.” - Totally ate it and it was wildly tiny. Good, but tiny. (You can see it over here.)
“Successfully keep my houseplants alive for at least a full season.” - All right, look. I’ve learned that this is not my thing. Nathan is much better at keeping them alive, so it’s officially become his job in our house. I’ll collect no points for learning this fact.
“Go on some sort of trip with Nathan to celebrate our ten year anniversary in August.” - Hell yeah we did! I wrote about it on my Vermont Part Two post.
“Wear at least ten of my lipsticks over the course of summer (bonus point if I buy nothing from Sephora this summer).” - I think I wore five over the whole summer, which is pretty great for me considering I rarely wear the makeup I buy. And I did end up buying one thing from Sephora (the NARS concealer I like) as a replacement, so I won’t get the bonus point.
“Go swimming at least twice.” - Fuck. Yes. SIX TIMES! Scatter my remains in someone’s pool, please. I belong there.
“Go to the beach at least three times.” - Yep, three times! And really, three is enough. Anyone going more than three times should figure their life out.
“See The Farewell in theatres.” - I did and loved it, everyone should see it.
“Make these meatball stuffed garlic bread sliders.” - Okay, I did not. But only because July 4th was too hot to really use our oven, and I’m not gonna make 16 sliders for just Nathan & I (we’re not depressed anymore). Still want to make this someday, though.
“Make the mushroom garganelli from L’Artusi.” - I made it and it was beautiful. I think I made it three times this summer? It even tastes good with the Banza pasta. It wasn’t the exact same as it is at the restaurant, but I mean… pretty close. I also didn’t make homemade pasta (too intimidating), so that’s probably why it wasn’t 100% the same.
“Lay out & look at the stars.” - This sort of happened, only I didn’t lay on the ground. There are night bugs that live in the grass and I 1) didn’t want to kill them and 2) didn’t want them to kill me. But in Vermont, the sky was absolutely unreal at night, so I spent some time looking at them when we walked Baby Dog. Gotta do this more.
7.5 / 10 - Whoa! I mean, I’m impressed with that.
I really never thought this day would arrive… the last day of summer. Let us all bask in it in preparation for THE GREATEST TIME OF THE YEAR!
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Favourite Summer Photos
I’ll be honest, this was a great summer. Favourite photos ahead!
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In love with this song.
Another Year in Manchester, Vermont
For our ten year anniversary, Nathan and I (yet again) returned to Vermont. It was a last minute decision and I’m so glad we did. We didn’t stay at the same place as last time, we chose The Manchester View instead and… whoa. Such a lovely place to stay. It had the feel of a hotel from the ‘90s, if that makes any sense. It just sort of felt untouched. It was more rustic than modern, but still well maintained and in the middle of seemingly nowhere in the middle of the mountains. The front desk so graciously upgraded us to stay in the Robert Frost suite when I mentioned (not casually) that we were celebrating our anniversary (SIDENOTE: always tell people when you’re celebrating something, everyone always wants to help you celebrate in any way and it’s always sweet) (and if you feel weird telling someone that you’re celebrating: grow up! Everything should be celebrated, we’ll be dead one day). Robert Frost lived and wrote in Vermont for some of his life and he’s a pretty celebrated figure in Vermont, thus the room name choice.
They were very pet friendly and the grounds had tons and tons of grass for Baby Dog to run around in. The pool was great, although I’d find greatness in any pool, let’s be real.
The staff was so friendly and accommodating, I’m so, so glad we chose to stay here.
There were so many frogs and chipmunks, it was unreal. As if someone requested only the cutest creatures surround this beautiful property.
So what I’m saying is… I guess we’re Vermont people now? Even Nathan said, “Maybe next year we should just book Vermont a little earlier to get a price break” and my jaw sort of dropped at the notion of obviously we’re Vermont people now. And honestly, maybe we are? Is this my life? Living a cool, Vermont-in-the-summer, better-than-you kind of life? In any case, great vacation, great place. Other highlights of the town:
There’s a little meat & cheese shop in town (Fortuna’s Sausage & Italian Market) where they put out SAMPLES FOR PRETTY MUCH EVERY CHEESE & MEAT THEY SELL. Tianna would’ve been in heaven. Why on earth don’t all cheese places do this? So fucking smart. The cheese that I loved and left was this one.
Always love an independent bookstore.
The burgers at Zoey’s Double Hex are still great.
Great service and food at Gringo Jack’s (Baja fish tacos, especially).
For our anniversary dinner, we were treated laughably bad at The Chantecleer (scathing Yelp review coming soon) so we got our asses out of there and went to Copper Grouse at the Kimpton Taconic Hotel (where we stayed last year) and had a great meal/time. It’s wild to me what a trained chef can do to an ordinary chicken. Medals should be given out.
Such a great trip, love a Vermont.
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TWA Hotel at JFK Airport
I’ve been waiting for this hotel to open for ages. I first heard about it a few years ago when there were whispers of a million dollar renovation that was being planned to reopen the former TWA Flight Center terminal, which was designed in 1962. How does that not sound amazing?
I honestly had no words walking through the whole place. It feels like you’re in a museum or on a movie set. It’s completely surreal and incredible. The red carpeting is everything. There’s also a plane parked outside the hotel (called The Connie) that you can go into - there’s a cocktail bar inside and it’s heavenly.
These photos don’t even do it justice. There’s a waiting/sitting area called The Sunken Lounge and it… is… beautiful. You can order drinks from there as well. There are no outlets near any of the chairs or couches to maintain the ‘60s aesthetic that they’re striving for. Kind of love that.
The main reason for my visit was to swim in the rooftop infinity pool and it, of course, did not disappoint. The pool’s open 365 days a year (!) and you can make reservations to visit if you’re not staying at the hotel. The food at the pool bar was great and not at all expensive.
The only thing that didn’t sit well with me was the fact that the entire hotel is cash-free (ie. credit card ONLY), which really should be illegal, it’s so wrong. It’s also slightly ironic since the entire establishment is aiming to have a pure 1960s vibe, when cash was king. Hopefully this policy will change in time.
Overall, I really shouldn’t have written this post at all because I don’t want anyone to find out about this hotel. It’s such a perfect place to take out-of-town visitors. Absolutely going back. If you’d like to see more of my visit first-hand, I highlighted my experience on Instagram and it’s titled TWA Hotel.
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