Winter List 2021 Revisited

One of the best time of years has arrived! I’ll never understand people who aren’t overjoyed by the springtime. It’s full of beginnings, how is there anything better?

Here’s a recap of what I did from my winter list.

1. “I would love to either ride a snowmobile or go skiing. Either one will be an acceptable snow transaction.”

• Ugh, I didn’t do either. To be fair, there was little to no snow this year in New York soooo is this one really my fault? Well, yes. I could have easily ventured upstate to find a slope. Next year!

2. “Eat a latke. I never have and I’d like to.”

• Yeep. Didn’t even kinda remember this one.

3. “Waste away in Margaritaville. In Times Square. I know that this sounds so insanely lame, but I really want to and I refuse your judgement.”

• Oh lord, this one I really wanted to do! What is wrong with me?

4. “Visit the Transit Museum because I’ve never gone and it seems like my kinda place.”

• I did it! Finally! A thing I did! Full review over here.

5. “Eat moussaka. I never have and it seems like a good winter dish.”

• NOPE! I’d still like to, but here we are.

Okay so 1/5 is pathetic, yes. But it’s springtime and anything is possible now. If you thought that this kind of failure would deter me from making a spring list tomorrow, you’d be wrong, baby!

In America: A Lexicon of Fashion Exhibit at The Met

One of my favourite things to do each year is to visit The Costume Institute inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Next to the rooftop exhibit, it’s my second favourite thing to do there. Here’s a description of the exhibit that’s been on display since September.

“Approximately 100 men’s and women’s ensembles by a diverse range of designers from the 1940s to the present are featured. Enclosed in scrimmed cases that represent three-dimensional “patches” of a quilt, they are organized into 12 sections that explore defining emotional qualities: Nostalgia, Belonging, Delight, Joy, Wonder, Affinity, Confidence, Strength, Desire, Assurance, Comfort, and Consciousness.”

— The Met

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I think I stood here staring at it for five minutes

It’s a two part exhibit and the second part will be opening on May 7, 2022 and I absolutely cannot wait for it. Here were my favourites from part one.

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Michael Kors, Autumn/Winter 2021-2022

“For his autumn/winter 2021–22 collection, Michael Kors celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his womenswear line with a presentation that included reinterpretations of designs from his past collections. This gold-sequined dress, paired here with a cashmere coat that has a coordinating sequin-embroidered lining, is a reprisal of a design he debuted in 2000 and a nod to one of Norman Norell’s favored combinations. The ensemble exemplifies Kors’s facility for executing opulent garments in a relaxed manner intended to offer the wearer a sense of confidence and ease.”

— The Met

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Tom Ford, Spring/Summer 2018

“Tom Ford is well known for the overt sex appeal of his designs, which reveal and accentuate the body with fluid fabrics and body-conscious silhouettes. Ford’s spring/summer 2018 collection borrowed from the sharp lines of his men’s suits. This evening dress is constructed of tightly ruched black net wrapped over the broad, padded shoulders and around the upper arms, mimicking the square shape of a man’s jacket. From the waist to the hem, the net is loosely draped in sheer folds, revealing the hips and legs beneath. ”

— The Met

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Donna Karan New York, 1985

“In Donna Karan’s first collection for her own label, she introduced a concept that became known as “Seven Easy Pieces.” This series of coordinated separates—bodysuits, trousers, skirts, and jackets—could be variously combined for different occasions and formed the foundation of a modular wardrobe. These fashions offered the wearer an alternative language of professional dress that was both commanding and feminine, while providing a sense of assurance due to their comfort, ease of coordination, and compatibility with work and personal life. ”

— The Met

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Lavie by Claude Kameni, 2021

“In her designs, Claude Kameni uses fabrics often referred to as African wax prints. These vividly colored and densely patterned textiles, which have an enduring history of popular use in West and Central Africa, were originally inspired by batik, or wax-resist, cloth from Indonesia. The dynamism of Kameni’s work is indebted to the synergy she creates between these vibrant patterns, her strong silhouettes, and the body of the wearer. In this dress, the pattern is arranged to complement the curves of the figure and accentuate the flowing tiers of the skirt.”

— The Met

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Bstroy, 2018

“The double-hooded sweatshirt displayed here features two neck holes with only one set of sleeves. Part of Bstroy’s “Sweet Screams” collection, it was presented on the runway on two models as if they were craving companionship. Intended for an individual wearer, the garment’s second hood effectively lays limp on the shoulder, suggesting a dystopian future of loneliness and isolation.”

— The Met

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Fabrice, 1980s

“A piece of embroidery executed in his native Haiti and shared with him by his sister Brigitte inspired the first of Fabrice Simon’s beaded designs. Beaded garments based on embroidery patterns he drafted himself would become his signature. As in this dress, they often retain the lively and spontaneous quality of a drawing. Previous experience as a textile designer likely honed his ability to create patterns that harmonize with the body in the finished garment.”

— The Met

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Rodarte, Autumn/Winter 2019−2020

“Musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age provided inspiration for Rodarte’s autumn/winter 2019–20 collection, which featured designs that offer a fantastical counterpoint to the costumes brought to life on screen by women such as Ginger Rogers. In this dress, the designers created a sense of animation through their careful handling of the fabric. Dense, cascading ruffles enveloping the skirt spring gently in tandem with the wearer’s movement, giving way to open, petal-like layers at the shoulders that generate more buoyancy. ”

— The Met

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Vaquera, Spring/Summer 2021

“Titled “Nothing Is Forever,” Vaquera’s spring/summer 2021 collection explored the potential of an “anything goes” approach to dressing in a post-pandemic world. The design trio—known for its campy sensibility and fashion-outsider status—played with the idea of innerwear as everyday outerwear, incorporating lingerie and bedroom details throughout the collection. This oversized boa boasts an exuberant jumble of jersey, tulle, and lace, as if the wearer wrapped themselves in lingerie-strewn bedding and unabashedly walked out the door.”

— The Met

You can see glimpses of the past exhibits if you’re at all interested…

• Manus x Machina (2016)

• Heavenly Bodies (2018)

• Camp (2019)

And if you don’t find yourself in NYC and still want to take a look at some of the exhibit, then take a look at this video below or you can see all of the pieces on display over here.

UPDATE: The Met also added new pieces to this collection in 2022 and I wrote about them over here.

February Feats 2022

My favourite month has arrived! Spring is coming and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

• You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.

• I compiled my favourite tweets about love for Valentine’s Day.

• I read and review Elvira’s new memoir.

• I know that it’s older, but I’ve kept the song Gypsy by Lady Gaga on repeat for about two weeks now.

• I made garlic confit and I’ll be real with you - it looks way better than it tastes. And that’s coming from someone who adores garlic. By cooking it down, it actually makes the garlic flavour quite mild so it’s truly not worth making again. I put a boatload of it on some toast and it was beyond lackluster. One more con? Expect to be gassy as hell if you eat this stuff.

• I tried a sample of this Tata Harper (christ that name) cleanser and it was really good. Thankfully there are cheaper, better options out there (literally anything in the tea tree line at The Body Shop), but this was great to try.

• I was getting pretty sick of the Spotify commercials in my (free) account, so I made to the movie to Apple Music to try their three month trial. We shall see how it goes. (That goddam Stone Cold Steve Austin & Ice-T commercial may have been the final straw to leave Spotify.)

• I went to Sarabeth’s for their Restaurant Week lunch menu and it was extremely good. I love blue cheese and pear together in a salad, why can’t that be as common as caesar salads? And the mussels and fries were heavenly.

• I have been in such a funk with nail polish lately, every colour seems to look disgusting. I got a short, red, gel manicure recently and had to remove it within a week, it was so repulsive to look at. What is my problem? …What’s that? You don’t care? Hahah. Honestly, same.

• I finally tried SLT (it’s one of the options when you try ClassPass for a free month trial), and what even is SLT? It’s like if spin classes + pilates classes had an obnoxious baby. And you know what? NOT FOR ME. I think I hate any pilates class that uses a machine.

• In love with the larger citrus green tea candles that just came out from Trader Joe’s. Fucking love a wooden wick.

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Citrus Green Tea candle from Trader Joe’s, February 2022

• Two new things I made for the first time this month? Risotto and scallops. It’s well known how annoying risotto is to make yourself since it’s such a long process, but I didn’t fully grasp that concept until I did it firsthand. And it wasn’t even that amazing, so that was a letdown. As for the scallops? Very fast and extremely easy.

• Had dinner at the extremely cute French place La Petit Joie in Brooklyn with Diana. Love any place that does oysters rockefeller every night of the week. Also, can more restaurants bring back BYOB? It’s so thoughtful to even offer.

• I tried out this Ulta eyeshadow palette and it came off with hand soap. The quality of makeup these days is just wild. And the prices keep going up, WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?

• Went to The Independent in midtown and their mussels and harvest salad were truly memorable. Great place to go if you’re in the area seeing a show.

• Tried the new french toast soft serve at Milk Bar and yes it was good, but not as good as their apple pie soft serve.

• I have found my new favourite hair mask: AG Hair Colour Savour Mask. I’m not sure if it’s for all blondes or just dyed blondes, but I love it. You’d think the bubblegum scent would repel me, but I find it whimsical. Of course it’s made by a Canadian company.

• There was a beautiful, pre-spring day so I took Baby Dog to Central Park and just look at this mug.

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Baby Dog in Central Park, February 2022

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Baby Dog in Central Park, February 2022

• I bought some gorgeous new address labels from Zazzle. Are you doing this? You really should. Don’t you want to be better than everyone else?

• So I went to Suprema Provisions finally and look the burger was good, but not nearly as good as the burger at Sparrow Tavern in Astoria (or even The Spaniard). Their mushroom pasta was saucy and great. And I never thought I’d say this, but I think it’s time to retire burrata from all restaurant menus. It is always the same. Always uninspired. We need to move on with ours lives, I think.

• Okay, so I bought some eucalyptus to hang from my shower head (pardon me for being DEEPLY ORIGINAL) and unlike every Pinterest pin that encourages you to do this, I fully recommend NOT EVEN BOTHERING. It’s pointless. There is no smell. There is no point. And I think it might attract moths (!), but that last point is unconfirmed. Instead, if you’re really obsessed with this idea, just buy a can of this eucalyptus shower mist. You spray it into the hot water and it does actually make it seem like a steam room for the length of your shower.

• Went to Van Dam diner in Queens with Irene and it’s like you fell into 1983, loved it.

• Truly sorry for telling you about this, but if I had to hear about it so do you: lip blushing. One more reason that this world hates women. If I had any real money, I’d buy up as much ad space as I could and just have signs that tell women, “Hey you! You’re good! You don’t need to buy anything to be better! Relax!”

• And speaking of buying things to make you feel better, I just bought these strappy black heels and they feel so lovely & I can’t wait to destroy anyone in my path the first time I wear them.

• I also bought these Steven Madden heels online and does that man hate women? Or just their feet? The most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. Returning as soon as possible.

• I was in Harlem so I went to Oso for their happy hour (good guacamole, I want to go back mainly to try the cake place next door) and then to Lido for their happy hour, which was fantastic. I love when a happy hour menu gives a fuck. Definitely want to go back to Lido for a meal.

• What I watched this month:

  • Tried rewatching The Mindy Project and while the first few seasons are pretty good (Morgan is the best character by far), I just couldn’t get into the entire series again for some reason. I think I stopped around the episode where she talks about how she doesn’t like men seeing her naked ever. Some things are just better as a memory, I guess.

  • I’m rewatching old Sex and the City episodes to get the AJLT taste out of my mouth and they’re all pretty hit or miss. Samantha is so much funnier than I remember, which was been great. Also, you know when Carrie is with Aiden and he has his dog Pete with him - did you ever notice that this dog is NEVER excited to see Carrie when she enters a scene? I get that it’s not real life and he’s just a dog on a set, but it made me laugh so much that this dog just does not fucking care about her. Pete was right all along. Also, for all the credit that this show gets for the outfits, good god are there a lot of terrible wardrobe decisions. But I guess that’s part of the good thing about it maybe? Like not everything has to be your taste or even look good - it’s more important to be fun and confident and have these characters wear what they think looks good? What side am I even on?? Do I hate the show or not?? Look, even I don’t know.

  • The John Mulaney SNL: Why did I watch this one specifically? Who knows. I don’t think I even like him, but it was a really good episode. Makes zero sense, but I was dying at the monkey sketch.

  • The Worst Person In The World: I liked it! Not as much as I thought I would given how highly praised it is, but it was nice to be in a theatre. (And that chocolate peanut butter pie slice at The Angelika? Oof. Always worth it.)

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Chocolate peanut butter pie at The Angelika, NYC

• I made this sesame garlic chili oil noodle dish that suhuuuuuucked. I think I need a moment away from Half Baked Harvest. So many misses lately.

• Recipes I want to make this month:

  • Tuscan Kale Salad with Gorgonzola Croutons - I always forget how much I love blue cheese.

  • Truffled Garlic Bread with Ricotta - okay, this looks maddeningly incredible. I could either make this myself OR I could visit any North Italia restaurant where they have it on the menu… which is just a two hour drive from me to the Pennsylvania location… mental note…

  • Hummingbird Cake Scones with Mascarpone Glaze!! Christ!!

  • Prosciutto, Peas & Orzo - my love affair with orzo has not ended.

  • Banana Sheet Cake with Walnut Streusel and Rum Glaze - can sheet cake come back in style already? Fuck.

  • Grilled Asparagus Caesar Salad - love new ways to ingest caesar dressing.

  • Lemon Almond Pudding Cake - pudding CAKE? This must be the future.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I won a lottery ticket to see Harry Potter on Broadway this coming week, obviously I want to find and drink the space Coke, I really want to try the happy hour at Bistro Les Amis (the poutine looks Canadian), the second season of Stanley Tucci’s Searching For Italy starts on March 13th, my best friend Harmeet is coming for a visit (!), I found a place in NYC serving Steak Diane (!!!) so that’ll likely be my birthday meal, I got a ticket for opening night of the Broadway play Birthday Candles with Debra Messing on the 18th, and I will most certainly go get my free birthday gifts from The Body Shop, Sephora, and Ulta. (And I mean… should I drive two hours purely for some amazing garlic bread? I’m thinking I should? That sort of tracks with who I am as a person? Also it’s my birthday soon? And the world is slowly but surely burning? And garlic bread might solve everything? And by “might” I mean “definitely will”?)

If you have any interest in reading what went on in January, come on over here.

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Yours Cruelly, Elvira Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson - A Review

I’ve always loved Elvira (that should be obvious based on my entire personality), so I was elated when I found out she’d be writing a memoir. It’s as juicy and entertaining as I’d hoped it would be and so much more. This woman has had an insane life. Highlights below.

• “My dad soon landed a job at Sears selling Kenmore appliances, so every shred of clothing on our backs came from Sears from then on. (Which explains why, to this day, I have no fashion sense.)” - I can’t explain why, but I absolutely love a woman saying that about herself. I don’t think it’s even true in this case, but I love hearing that she thinks that and doesn’t care. She couldn’t be cooler.

• “Halloween took over as my new favorite holiday. As our ex-first lady so eloquently put it, “Who gives a fuck about Christmas?”” - hahahahahah

• This isn’t really notable but Lorne Michaels was such a complete dick to her, I wonder what the story is there.

• Jimmy Page and Eric Burdon are both gross, awful men for what they did to her when she was only a child. And in that same vein, Wilt Chamberlain sexually assaulted her in the most disgusting way that’s difficult to read about, but also so wildly brave of her to speak of it.

• Christ, she has had so many cool things happen to her, a short list:

  • She was a teenage showgirl in Las Vegas

  • She spit in Frank Sinatra’s hat

  • She was in a Bond movie

  • She passed on casting Brad Pitt and Hilary Swank in parts before they were famous

  • Drank in a limo with Ray Bradbury

  • Been to Zsa Zsa Gabor’s Christmas parties

  • She mailed letters back and forth with Vincent Price

  • Michael Jackson said that he loved her and that she should’ve done the voiceover in Thriller

  • She got to shoot a scene at the original Psycho house

  • Elvis told her to leave Las Vegas before it was too late

  • Was a tour guide to Goldie Hawn

  • Went on a double date with Arnold Schwarzenegger

  • Offered coke from Liza Minnelli

  • Had sex with Tom Jones, Jon Voight, Robert De Niro and almost Jimi Hendrix

I’ve never read a memoir that was juicier than this one. And all that stuff aside, she’s just had this incredible, full life in show business. It’s weird that the only thing I heard about this book after it was initially released was about how she’s now in a relationship with a woman, that was always mentioned in the headline of every single review. Yes, that’s in the book (in the last two chapters) but it’s such a footnote compared to every other part of the memoir. Seems a little annoying that people would focus in on that aspect alone, since there are so many more things to focus on. Even if you’re not very familiar with her work, this is such a great read.

Your Cruelly, Elvira Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark is available over here.

January Jewels 2022

This is obvious, but was that the longest January that ever Januaried? Also, I had to sit down and do the math yesterday to remind myself of my age, what is happening? Time isn’t real anymore so we should all just silently, but confidently stop looking at clocks. Like when a clock’s battery dies, just don’t replace it…? I don’t know, but that feels like it could be an answer to something.

• You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.

• I made a list of the best of 2021 (recipes, experiences, etc.).

• I compiled my favourite photos from 2021.

• I recapped how my 2021 resolutions went - why don’t more people do this? If they did, then maybe there wouldn’t be such a stigma around making resolutions in the first place. I completely failed in getting some of mine done, but like… that’s okay? Not everything has to be a success.

• I also wrote out my 2022 resolutions that I’m actually very excited about.

• I read Stanley Tucci’s new book Taste and reviewed it.

• There were giant snowstorms in Toronto & NYC so I made a list of the best TV snow day episodes to watch. (And there’s also a list of the best snowy movies to watch over here.)

• The best opening scene of a movie ever quite possibly?

• The Broadway shows I saw this month:

  • The Phantom of The Opera - went with Nathan (his first time, my gazillionth) and he loved it! Thank god too, because if he didn’t… let’s just say I’d TAKE UMBRAGE.

  • MJ: The Musical - it was really good. It does seem insane that it was still made after everything, but the actors were great and the dancing was incredible. I’m sure it won’t last and maybe that’s a good thing? I don’t know.

  • Come From Away - went with Nathan and it was good! I can’t see myself ever wanting to see it again, but it was good.

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Phantom of the Opera, January 2022

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MJ: The Musical, January 2022

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Come From Away, January 2022

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I promise you I wash this Raptors mask a lot, January 2022

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Seeing The Phantom of the Opera with Nathan, January 2022

• Restaurant Week has returned and so has the heavenly wild mushroom soup with truffle oil & mascarpone at Giorgio’s of Gramercy.

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Didn’t even mind how burned this bread was THAT’S HOW GOOD THIS SOUP IS, Giorgio’s of Gramercy, January 2022

• The Sparrow Tavern just reopened and good christ, they might have the most incredible burger in Astoria. Just wild, wild stuff.

• It’s winter and I can’t stop making this zucchini lasagna.

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Zucchini lasagna

• I made these ginger sesame noodles with caramelized mushrooms and while they were good, there were way too many steps to get to the eventual meal. Noodles need not be so complicated! Just as a sidenote: I feel like 90% of food bloggers should take, like, a yearlong break or something. There’s too much content when it comes to new recipes online and so much of it just isn’t any good and might be wasting all of our time. Am I wrong?

• Bookmarked this helpful piece: The Best Restaurant at Every Major U.S. Airport.

• I made the Momofuku Soy & Scallion noodles from the package sold at Target and it was pretty good! I added zero ingredients other than what came with the package and yes that was a mistake, but I’ll add more to it next time since there are five packets left. I’m thinking caramelized onions, mushrooms and maybe actual chopped raw scallions too. Ooo yeah, that sounds good.

• I went to Bench Flour Bakers for the first time and what a sweet little place, I just wish it were closer to civilization. I had a scone that was incredible, great coffee and I can’t wait to go back to try their duck burger. The soup was a bit of a yikes situation but that’s my fault, I never like English pea soup so that was my mistake to order it.

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Scone from Bench Flour Bakers, Astoria, New York

• I’ve been using the brightening powder from dpHUE and I can’t really tell if it’s working. It also has this weirdly strong metallic smell, which can’t be good?? Probably should return.

• I tried a sandwich from Alidoro in the West Village and WOW is that place overrated and laughably expensive for what you’re getting. I’ve made better sandwiches AT HOME. There are better sandwiches in literally every corner bodega. How on earth is this place succeeding?

• I also went into Sullivan Street Bakery next to Alidoro and what the hell? Why is that place so small? Isn’t it supposed to be a big deal? This whole street was a joke.

• I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, checked out the Time Out Market in DUMBO and then walked over to visit the New York Transit Museum and I did a full post on the museum over here.

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Brooklyn Bridge, January 2022

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View from the Time Out Market rooftop in DUMBO, New York

• I’ve been using the Three Ships lip exfoliator, lip mask and face mask and they’re all really good products. Love the act of having to mix up your own mask in a little bowl before it goes on your face. Seems like a great company. (Thank you, Harmeet!)

• I was a little disappointed to hear that Forsythia is introducing a $75/per person tasting menu now, but then I realized they’re doing a $40/per person two course meal with wine at the bar so I can’t wait to return.

• I finally ate at Mamo with my dear friend Diana and it was good! Truthfully the food was very okay, but the addition of truffles to everything is the main draw here. It’s also a beautiful place, so it’s definitely worth a visit.

• Diana then took me to Angelina Bakery in Bryant Park for dessert since she had heard good things about it, and bless her heart but I think this place slightly misses the mark. They’re big on chestnut cream here, which in my opinion tastes like air? It’s weird because once you taste it you think, “Oo this texture is nice” and then you wait for the flavour to kick in, but it never does. It’s odd. Usually the French are good at desserts. And they do look beautiful, but that’s where the intrigue ends. Oh god, and the hot chocolate! Waaaay too chocolatey, but this is a personal preference. For comparison, I’ve always hated the City Bakery hot chocolate that most people adore, so take this with a grain of salt. (If you are in the area for something sweet, I vote that you go to the Lady M around the block or the Japanese chocolate king Royce.) (And Diana, please continue to introduce me to new places - even if they’re trash, I want to go with you!)

• In love with the seasonal lemon poppy seed cruller at Daily Provisions. God, I love a cruller, they’re lighter/tastier than a donut but sweeter than a boring croissant. And those sexy ridges? Get out of here.

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Lemon poppy seed cruller, Daily Provisions, New York City

• There was a big snowstorm last week, so I woke up at 6am and took the train to Central Park. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and it was so worth it. I arrived before sunrise and it was absolutely breathtaking. It snowed the entire time and all you could hear were the birds. I can’t truly express how magical it felt. It also led to a crazy amount of people liking one of the photos I took that morning, which, you know, feels nice unfortunately. I’m a whore for likes.

Not quite a blizzard, not quite a bomb cyclone but still dreamy as hell #NewYorkCity #WinterStorm #CentralPark pic.twitter.com/HZqf7vI75G

— Liz Heather (@itslizheather) January 29, 2022

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Central Park, New York City, January 2022

• Sephora birthday gifts are back and… they don’t seem that great? What nonsense is this?? (The Ulta birthday gifts have been announced too and why is everything so disappointing?)

• Speaking of Sephora, I tried the lip oil from Merit and returned it the next day. Lip oil just isn’t necessary. You get the same effect when you use lip balm, when will women see this scam??

• I also sampled some Kylie Skin products (I know, don’t judge, I really just wanted to try them to have an opinion) and they were all awful. The face wash leaves your face tight and extremely dry, the toner does absolutely nothing but burn a bit (in a bad way) and the face lotion is thick as hell and leaves this gross film on your face. And the “high gloss” looks like it’s a kid’s product to use at playtime. Returned everything obviously.

• I tried the Impossible chicken nuggets and they taste identical to regular chicken nuggets. If I were an eight year old vegetarian, I’d be jacked right about now.

• I stopped by Leonelli inside The Evelyn and their slice was incredible, I’m dying to try the roast chicken sandwich next time.

• I know I mentioned it last month, but I have to make a mental note to remember to buy all of the snowdrop scented Mrs. Meyer’s items that come out again in November (minus the hand wash because I’m loyal to my foam soap). This scent has given my life meaning?

• I had a Chip City cookie and it’s nothing too crazy, Levain is definitely better.

• I made this sour cream banana bread and how could it not be good? Love a banana bread.

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Sour cream banana bread

• I’ve never been a giant fan of salmon but I’ve made this lemon brown buttered salmon recipe twice now and it’s oddly delicious. Is browned butter the answer to typically gross food? Yes. Yes, it is.

• If you’re Canadian, do you remember Christine Cushing? I’d completely forgotten about her but recently came across her YouTube channel and I forgot how much I liked her and the way she cooks.

• What I’ve watched this month:

  • The Golden Girls - honestly…. just a fun, great time. I never watched it as a kid but I randomly put on one episode while I was cooking and it’s wonderful. I’m almost done the whole series. Few thoughts? There’s an entire episode about Blanche’s husband coming back to life (she thought he was dead) and the whole storyline is about how he faked his death and how it turns her life upside down and then this scene happens at the end <spoiler> that reveals it was just a recurring dream that she has about her husband and how it isn’t a sad dream because it helps her remember him to keep his spirit alive and I don’t know if I’m doing it justice, but it’s the sweetest scene and so unexpected somehow. Also, Rose is definitely the best character. And last thought? I really don’t care for Sophia, she’s much too mean. I understand that she’s supposed to be, but I wince every time she enters a scene.

  • Scream (5) <spoilers> - look, I’ll always love the franchise but here’s the ranking of the best ones to worst: Scream, Scream 2 (Scream: The College Years), Scream 3 (Scream Goes Hollywood), Scream 5, and finally Scream 4. And that’s not me hating it! There just… there didn’t need to be this many movies. The original will never be matched and that’s okay! Certain parts of the new one were great of course - Dewey’s “I’ve been stabbed nine times” and I loved the Skeet Ulrich hallucinations because they were hilarious. It’s really just a fun movie that revisits the original in a decent way. Scream 4 is the real bad one of the franchise, so let’s all just agree that that’s the one we’ll collectively forget.

• I was thinking about watching the new Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee thing on Hulu but then I heard that she didn’t even want it made! At first I thought that seems impossible because how could it get made without their approval, but like… that tape was released without their approval, so I guess it kind of makes sense? In any case, there’s no way I’ll watch it now.

• I had lunch at The Regency Bar & Grill and oh what a nice little spot. The caesar salad was perfectly dressed and the eight hour short rib was decadent and perfect. Service was great, too. Love a good hotel restaurant.

• New habits I’ve adopted this past month:

  • When I buy something in a store, I do a quick check on my phone to see if there’s a cheaper price for the same item on their company’s website OR if they price-match with other stores, I quickly look that up as well. This last week alone I think I’ve saved maybe $20. Is everyone doing this and no one is talking about it? Or am I a little too proud of my cheapness?

  • If someone mentions a name of someone famous that I don’t know, I’ve decided to stop looking them up to find out who they are. Frankly, I shouldn’t care and I love not knowing things that do not affect me directly.

  • I am going to stop buying flights through third party websites. It’s always such an annoying hassle to deal with them if something goes wrong with your flight, and yes airlines are complete scumbags but at least if you book directly, the chances of being treated better are higher.

  • This last habit isn’t really for me, it’s for you: you’re not using Q-tips in your ears, are you? Please stop! Apparently it even says on the packaging that you shouldn’t use them in your ears. Please, please stop! Ear health! It’s important!

  • I’ve learned the secret to what you’re supposed to do when you’re done having acrylic/artificial nails - get a gel manicure as soon as the fake ones are removed. That way your little baby nails are protected for a few weeks while they re-adjust to being normal sized again.

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Gel nails after taking off artificial nails

Some things I’m looking forward to this month:

• Cooking something special for Valentine’s Day, I’m not sure what yet but I’d like to try and make something new/fancy. Maybe these browned butter scallops with champagne risotto. Maybe a duck ragu pasta. Oooo or maybe these incredible cauliflower toasts as an appetizer.

• I would really love to learn how to do the splits. You might think it’s impossible, but I’ve seen some videos that will make you eat your hat in a few months time.

• I officially started keeping track of my receipts (I should be embarrassed that I haven’t done this before but here we are), so I’m kind of excited to see how that goes. I want to go through every one at the end of each month and see what the hell I’m spending too much on. This might be a terrible idea.

If you have any interest in reading what went on in December, come on over here.

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Still not sick of this hair