The best tweets of March 2022.
Read MoreSpring List 2022
Springtime in NYC
Springtime in NYC
Spring has arrived! Time open the windows! Time to breathe in the cherry blossoms! Time to dry clean and put away your winter coats! Time to still be careful because there’s a deadly pandemic affecting literally everyone around you! But I don’t mean to be a downer. Just, like, keep that in the back part of your mind.
Here’s what I’d love to do this season.
See at least one Broadway play.
Make as many recipes as possible that incorporate spring peas (I love peas and I constantly forget about them).
Deep clean my apartment.
Plan out all of the outfits I want to wear on my big trip in June.
Visit a winery in the Hamptons.
As always, I encourage you to make your own spring list! We’re all busy and exhausted, so if you don’t section off some time for the things you’d enjoy then you’re missing out on… life?
If you’re looking for some ideas for yourself, here are some past spring lists I’ve made:
Spring 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 and Spring 2016.
Winter List 2021 Revisited
Central Park, NYC, January 2022
Central Park, NYC, January 2022
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!
The Best Tweets of March 2022 So Far
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.”
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.
“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.”
“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. ”
“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. ”
“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 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.”
“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.”
“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. ”
“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.”
You can see glimpses of the past exhibits if you’re at all interested…
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 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.
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.
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.)
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…
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.
The Best Tweets of February 2022
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.
