The Dr. Mario theme is on a loop in my head right now, it’s offensive how good I’ve become.
LOVING
Freshii frozen yogurt, playing basketball behind the school, playing Jenga with the kids, night food markets, orange moons, constantly swimming, there are too many things to love this week.
Summer orange moon
Basketball with Rome
SHOPPING
Excited to try these Ordinary products.
The Ordinary products
WATCHING
I saw Twisters in theatre and it was surprisingly good. Little annoyed that there was no Helen Hunt but what can you do. And <spoiler> they really did rob us of an incredible kiss scene.
With all the rain from last week, the kids and I made paper sailboats but the winds were too strong so we decided to wait to sail them. Now we need another, lighter storm so I can finally sail them.
Paper sailboats
DRINKING
Got a cider flight with my niece Tianna at Spirit Tree Estate Cidery in Caledon and that place is the absolute best. Their seasonal soup is almost the main reason to go.
Cider flight in Caledon, ON
EATING
My dear friend Marla brought me plums she grew and they are heavenly. Summer produce solves all.
EXPERIENCING
Went to Activate again and I love that place, especially the hoops room. Maybe I should buy a basketball?
Activate in Mississauga, ON
LISTENING
Swim playlist!
LOVING
Heirloom tomato season IS HERE. Right now I can only find them at Whole Foods, but I’ll take it.
Heirloom tomato
SHOPPING
My jaw will forever drop at specialty butters. Fact.
Butter with maple syrup
WATCHING
I made the kids watch all of the Naked Gun movies and they were a massive hit.
I saw a video of someone squeezing lemon on watermelon, so I tried it and whoa. Do it.
EXPERIENCING
Went to Blue Mountain with the family and it was so, so great. Outdoor pools might be the answer?
Blue Mountain, July 2024
LISTENING
My best of the 90s playlist.
LOVING
Remember how many frozen yogurt places there used to be? And how all of them closed at the very same time? No one misses them more than me. So the Menchie’s at Blue Mountain is everything that I could have wanted and more. Also rode the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster that was the absolute best.
Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster, Blue Mountain, Ontario
SHOPPING
Stopped at a country farm store on the way back and found some sponge toffee, which is so rare to find. Think it’s law to have to buy it when you spot it?
WATCHING
Rewatched the first Naked Gun and it remains fantastic.
WEARING
My J. Crew swimsuit is still going strong after four years and I’m still in love with it.
My parent’s house has a cake stand, so every time I visit I try to make a cake that first night solely so I can use that stand. There’s just something about seeing a cake in a cake stand that makes me feel like maybe life isn’t hard? So I’m going to make this triple berry coffee cake this week.
I always forget about how great Chelsea Market can be for an afternoon out. The crowds are awful, but some of the shops are wonderful. Chelsea Market Baskets might be the best place for food gifts in the whole city.
Why on earth didn’t I buy this perfect LEMON SOAP, Chelsea Market Baskets in NYC
LISTENING
My best of the 00’s playlist.
LOVING
The vegan tahini soft serve at Seed + Mill is magical and I’m angry that it took me this long to learn that fact. I’m neither vegan nor do I love tahini but I will continue to dream about how good this tasted.
Vegan tahini soft serve from Seed + Mill, NYC
SHOPPING
I bought some makeup spatulas to get out the last drops from my concealer tube and I can’t recommend these enough.
WATCHING
The newest season of The Bear. And let me just say, people have been way too critical of this season. Of course there are parts that aren’t as good as other seasons, but no content is perfect (except maybe Dave…).
WEARING
An oversized torn jean jacket that Nathan bought me years ago that’s proving to be the perfect thing to wear with tiny little rompers when I’m out and about in the city.
The caesar salad turns 100 today! I would have never guessed that it was invented in Tijuana, Mexico. How have I not visited its birthplace? Seems very un-me.
In celebration of today, I made the Canyon Creek caesar dressing that I got from one of their waiters before the chain closed in 2022. (I may or may not carry this piece of paper in my wallet alongside photos of my loved ones.)
Canyon Creek caesar dressing recipe
It doesn’t taste exactly the same, but I’ve been making slight adjustments each time I make it. For example, it needs way more than one garlic clove (I’d suggest four or five depending on how large they are). And you have to added shaved parmesan to the final salad. And obviously, you need to make your own croutons (it’s 2024, bagged croutons should embarrass you). Here’s the kale version I made earlier today (forgive the lack of cheese).
Kale was all I had, don’t judge
I wish I remembered the very first time I tried this salad - I’m sure that I was at dinner with my parents. Whenever they’d take me anywhere fancy as a child, I would always get a caesar salad or a shrimp cocktail since those were the two least intimidating items to my kid eyes.
The caesar at Canyon Creek remains my favourite version, but I’ve absolutely had other great ones. The Nordstrom one is fantastic, love the Rubirosa one for the parmesan croutons. I am dying to try the ones at Hillstone and The Fly. It’s surprising that I don’t make it more at home, but that’s probably because I love eating new ones and searching for a new favourite. That being said, I do make this How Sweet Eats dressing on a regular basis for Nathan.
Why don’t all recipes have birthdays? When the hell is steak Diane day? In any case, happy 100th birthday, my love. You continue to make our lives more delicious with each year.
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald
Truly a great June. I haven’t eaten as many strawberries as I’d have hoped, so I need to make that happen. Other than that, I might actually be excited about summer? Here’s what went down last month:
The best tweets of the month can be seen over here.
I went to visit my parents to celebrate my dad’s 101st birthday (!), which was so great. Always love a spring visit.
Dad’s 101st birthday
Nathan mowing my parent’s backyard
Rome strugglin’
Ate an incredible conch salad from this Bahamian place Old Nassau in Toronto. My parents loved the conch fritters, too.
Went to Corleone’s in Mississauga for a quick lunch and got the junior meatball. Nothing spectacular but decent.
My oldest niece Tianna graduated from teacher’s college!! Beyond proud of this beauty.
My baby!
And speaking of Tianna, look at this gorgeous card she drew (below). How on earth did I not know she had this talent?? Really blows my mind (in a good way) when there are still new things to learn about the people who make up the fabric of your life.
Drawn by Tianna
Got dinner at Golden Diner and my god, those pancakes aren’t messing around. And that’s coming from a person who absolutely never orders/eats/likes/tolerates pancakes. They also had incredibly crispy home fries, and even the caesar salad was good if not a little too overdressed. Definitely skip the chicken katsu, though.
I watched the new Jiminy Glick clips and when he asked Nick Kroll where he was when “Queen Latifah’s show got cancelled” I fully lost it. So damn funny.
Found a lovely little bar inside Hotel Rivington with a $10 cocktail happy hour. Absolutely will return.
I promise to stop mentioning it soon (not yet), but I can’t describe how much I love the Scrubbing Bubbles Bleach Cleaner for bathrooms. It makes my life so much easier. (Don’t feel sadness for me for that last sentence, it truly brings me joy!)
I made this lemon cake and it sucked! Do you know how depressing it is to make a lackluster baked good? So unbelievably disappointing.
The best cubano sandwich ever is at La Cubana in Toronto. I’ll forever love that neighborhood (Roncesvalles).
My dear friend Richard made me (a Reno specialty?) spaghetti salad and fruit pizza and both were too good. Nobody cooks for their friends anymore! Can we please bring this back?!
Fruit pizza
Spaghetti salad
Me with Richard & Paul’s dog, Hatcher and their insane view
Visited Shukette again and it remains amazing. The only bad thing we ordered were the squash blossoms (they just weren’t crispy and the batter tasted old), but bury me in the toum (whipped garlic).
Whipped garlic (toum) at Shukette, NYC
Strawberry labneh at Shukette, NYC
Went to Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village and got an Obama coffee with vanilla ice cream. Fully recommend.
Inside Ray’s Candy Store, NYC
Got the tres leche ice cream at Bad Habit (which closes for good later this month) and it’s so smart that they sell freezer transport bags (why don’t all ice cream places do this?).
Tres leche at Bad Habit, NYC
Two things I can’t stop making:
Hummus Dip: To store-bought hummus, I add chopped red onion, cucumbers, feta and tomatoes. It’s unreal. It’d also be good as a spread on a sandwich.
Tuna Salad: To canned tuna, I mix in red onion, dijon, a small amount of mayo, grated garlic, sliced pickles, salt and pepper. Then I put it on top of a bun that’s been toasted with garlic butter and then broiled with cheddar on top. Phenomenal.
Some things I watched:
What Jennifer Did: Jesus! How did I not hear about this awful story?
I Saw The TV Glow: wow, did I hate it. Especially since the reviews made it seem incredible.
Meg 2: The Trench: couldn’t get through more than half an hour, just an abomination.
The Cannonball Run 1 & 2: I watched these movies over and over as a kid and I was feeling nostalgic this week so I put them on and OH MY GOD I finally figured out why I’m obsessed with finding the right zippered jumpsuit. (See the scene below.)
Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I can’t wait to finally go lane swimming I feel like I’ve been talking about this for months I’m so sorry if you’ve heard me say it a million times, the cheeseburger dumplings have returned to Mimi Cheng’s so that’s definitely on the list, I can’t wait to see my family a ton next week when I visit again, I’ll probably watch at least a few of these summer classics and these summer vacations movies, Nathan has some crazy big news later this month that I’m so proud of and I’d really love to finally get Baby Dog in a kiddie pool to see how she likes the water.
If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in May over here.
— archivist barbie 💌 (@daiquiriheiress) June 11, 2024
My friend requested fried chicken Caesar salad on garlic bread for her birthday dinner, so that’s what I made. Maybe one of the top ten things I’ve ever eaten pic.twitter.com/nymo79K2n7
this dress is too pretty for 2024. this dress should be among oil paintings and victorian era accoutrement, this dress should never be in a room where it could risk hearing the words “DJ KHALID” https://t.co/8wPr41TNJw
— ashley ray🍦stream ice cream money (@theashleyray) June 16, 2024
there are so many things about carrie that i find abhorrent but her unflappable sense of whimsy is not one of them. i love a person who experiences life so loudly and earnestly. is it cool to act like this? no. but there's nothing so uncool to me as apathy. https://t.co/A9Dj26xp6O
I’ve perfected my tuna salad sandwich recipe and here it is. Canned tuna mixed with sliced pickles, chopped red onion, dijon, a drop mayo, pickle juice, grated garlic, salt & pepper on a bun that’s been toasted in garlic butter then broiled with cheddar on top. IT IS EVERYTHING.
CRAVING
Why will I always love Lay’s? Two reasons. 1) Their original chips taste the best at parties. 2) The fact that each summer they put out seasonal flavours. Will a cuban sandwich flavour taste incredible? Does it even matter? It’s the EFFORT of creating something new. I’m a woman who will appreciate effort until the day I die.
Lay’s Cuban Sandwich Seasonal Flavour
DRINKING
Snow cones for life.
Sno-Kone
EATING
Finally went to Golden Diner and fully recommend. I am not a pancake person (because they’re so boring?) but these were other-worldly. Better than Clinton St. Baking Company.
Golden Diner, NYC
EXPERIENCING
A grimy, Queens carnival! And can I just tell you, the Superman ride truly scared the living hell out of me. I didn’t think I could still feel that way from rides, so that was alarming (but in a fun way?).
Carnival in Queens, NY
LISTENING
The Jiminy Glick Bill Maher interview and it’s so good.
LOVING
The happy hour at Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side. $10 martinis in Manhattan? Get the hell out of here.
SHOPPING
Is it sad that I’m over the moon about the Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Bleach Cleaner I got for the grout in my washroom? If your answer is yes, then I suggest you look inward because holy mother of god, this is a dream cleaner. How have I only discovered it NOW?
WATCHING
Reruns of Living Single on HBO. Now this is a reboot that would heal the world.
WEARING
Technically you don’t wear face wash, so yes I’m reaching here but stay with me. I finally started to use my Dennis Gross all-in-one face wash and I will forever be loyal to that man. A perfect face wash.
I’ve always loved having seasonal return address labels for the holidays (it must be intimidating knowing someone this cool, I know), but this is the first year I ordered some summer labels and they’re gorgeous.
WATCHING
Since there’s no new season of The Summer I Turned Pretty this year, I’ve just started rewatching the last season and man it’s such a perfect summer show. Once you get past the slight corniness, it’s really enjoyable.
WEARING
Yes it’s the most basic thing possible, but I should probably buy a few more of these Target white shirts since it’s all I wear lately. Why did it take me decades to start wearing white?
