April Activities 2021

by Liz Heather in , , , , , , , , , ,

The major news of the month? I can’t believe I get to be fully vaccinated. It’s hard to describe how incredible it feels but I’m so ready to really start this next phase and I can’t wait for everyone I love to feel this feeling soon. Here’s what went down last month.

  • Here are my favourite tweets from last month. Also, I’ve decided to compile the best tweets list every two weeks rather than only once a month mostly because I love re-reading them and want that sort of joy in my life twice a month, not just once.

  • I did Nathan’s podcast and we talked about Rogers, sex robots & god only knows what else.

  • Two new nail polishes that I bought and love: English Lavender by butter and Cold Brew Crew by essie. Beautiful colours.

  • I’ve made this lamb ragu from Alison Roman twice so far, it’s so luxurious but somehow easy to make. I’ve put it on tagliatelle as well as zucchini noodles and both have been wonderful. Small tip: it does get better after it sits in the fridge for a bit, for some reason. (Also, the recipe doesn’t call for it, but I added basil at the end. I tend to add basil anytime something calls for parsley because it’s just so much more flavourful and fun.)

  • I want to buy new underwear and I’m looking for any suggestions that aren’t Victoria’s Secret, Aerie or The Gap. I might just bite the bullet and try the ones from Blush (love love love the models they use).

  • I tried the strawberry short cake soft serve from Milk Bar and it was heavenly. The soft serve is even better than the strawberry cake (although the cookie crumbles within the cake always make my knees weak). In fact, I’ve yet to try a Milk Bar soft serve that I didn’t love (their vegan apple pie soft serve was out of this world), should I have been buying their pints this whole time? Yes.

  • I gave a chance to Ouai’s Air Dry Foam and it didn’t impress me or anyone else for that matter, so I guess I’ll just stick with the Wave Spray instead.

  • The rain boots that I bought a few years ago from Winners have disintegrated and I’m in search of new ones, but please don’t recommend Hunter ones. I hate Hunter. Open to any other suggestions!

  • Influenced by a TikTok video, I bought Falscara and holy shit. I know I promise this a lot, but I’m going to do a video on it so you can see how good a product it is. So many videos are coming, I vow.

  • There milk chocolate coconut almonds from CVS are UNHOLY.

  • I tried a sample of Glamglow’s Glowstarter moisturizer and was pleasantly surprised at how it really does give you a pleasant glow. What’s that about.

  • It’s uncivil how expensive body suit/swimwear hangers are. Who is this benefiting? I just want to hang my delicate bodysuits and carry on with my day.

  • Trader Joe’s has started selling their own vodka and I’m hoping they’ll start to sell it in New York soon. Seems weird that they don’t already.

  • I tried a small sample of Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Elixir and discovered that the true magic behind the elixir is how she got anyone to believe that it does anything at all. Makeup products truly enrage me at times.

  • Nathan and I went to a movie theatre and it was everything I wanted it to be and more. We saw Godzilla vs. Kong and I found myself beaming through every inane scene. Perfect movie to see after a year of no theatres. Would I ever watch it again? Good lord no.

  • I bought a lotion bar from Gift Box on Broadway in Astoria and I love it. I think I’d use it more if it were slightly smaller and more manageable, but I love it nonetheless.

  • I tried Rao’s spaghetti and it was incredible, so now I’m forced to seek out their other types of pasta. Such a quality pasta.

  • I ate at The Pineapple Club and the basil fried rice and frozen pina coladas were both outrageously good.

  • I bought this bag from Zara and I’m honestly nervous to even wear it out for some weird reason. Like, am I the person who would have a bag like this? Do I want to be that person? Am I feeling this way because of having nowhere to go for so long? Have I always been this fearful? Some of these questions I shouldn’t answer, I realize.

  • Just bought these shoes in tan and I think I have my life all figured out now. Now if I can just leave the house wearing said shoes and holding said bag.

  • Speaking of shoes, I truly can’t decide if I love or loathe these slippers.

  • Last shoe thing: head over HEELS (not sorry) in love with these feet hugging sandals. Should’ve bought four more pairs.

  • I made these chocolate banana muffins and they were great but the real standout is the recipe at the bottom for the salted honey butter. Christ, you should make that butter.

  • I perused Molly Baz’s new cookbook and it’s a big one. Some standout recipes: The Big Italian salad, a dilly horseradish cream sauce for shrimp, and of course her caesar salad recipe.

  • I never thought I’d be the type of person to buy fake plants, but this one is so lifelike and pretty that I had to get it. Plus it’s perfect for the top of a bookshelf.

Fake plant from Target

  • It’s ramp season and I couldn’t be happier about it, you’ll hear more about my ramp creations next month.

  • I watched This is a Robbery on Netflix and don’t waste your time. Yes, it’s an interesting story, but save yourself a few hours and go read this instead.

  • I’m watching The Nanny and loving it. I’ve only ever watched a few episodes growing up, and I thought I would hate it because of how much everyone makes fun of Fran’s voice but her voice is fine! It’s wild that anyone ever said it was annoying. Also, the theme song is catchy as hell.

  • I rewatched Speed and it’s, of course, still great. What can’t Keanu do.

  • I watched the 90s movie The Crush and it’s really weird that movies like that would never have a chance being made today.

  • I’m all caught up on Riverdale now and… it’s hard to remember when it was really good. Maybe it was all Skeet Ulrich? Was that the main draw in my mind? I can see that making sense. In any case, it’s taken a turn.

  • There’s something so inviting about having good washroom rugs, I just got these soft-as-hell Threshold ones and I’ll never buy another brand again.

  • I visited the midtown Ideal Cheese Shop (been meaning to forever) and it’s such a great spot for NYC delicacies as well as, obviously, cheese. They had pre-packed bacon from Peter Luger and salmon from Daniel Boulud.

  • Things are already changing fast with new restrictions loosing in NYC, but did you know you can rent out a bar for an hour?

  • I tried the breakfast Beyond Meat sausage patties and surprise, surprise, they’re great. There’s nothing this company can do wrong. I’m becoming suspicious.

  • I got drinks and some small bites at Bar Dalia in Astoria and what a sweet little place! Would go again.

  • I finally got my hands on the kitchen-scented mini candles from Trader Joe’s (the scents are lemongrass, tomato leaf, fresh mint). They fill me with joy, unfortunately. I also got their grapefruit scented body butter, which goes on very smoothly but I’ve noticed it has a scent that’s slightly off-putting over time. I will not dwell on that fact further.

  • Had no idea that Banza made a pizza crust but I tried it and it’s wonderful.

  • I love seeing what promotional giveaways are planned for the upcoming baseball season but since we’re technically still in a pandemic, the Mets are only releasing what the promotions are each month (makes sense). So I’ve bookmarked the page to go look at on the first of each month.

  • I don’t eat a ton of fast food, but I’m sorry, some of these are genius ideas.

  • I’ll regret it if I don’t buy a box of these, right?

  • I know that it’s common to read an article about something and feel “that’s me!” but this one really resonates with me: “There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing.”

  • The best brand at Target: A New Day.

  • Love and fully agree with all of this woman’s questions about things that don’t make sense.

  • I was walking past a Home Depot in Queens and the smell of the sandwiches at Rocco’s was heavenly. I had just eaten, otherwise I would have leaped into line. Must remember to get a Philly cheese steak here next time. The Yelp reviews are calling me.

  • I bought this earring organizer from The Container Store and it’s perfect. Fully recommend. I also finally got a purse organizer and some shoe boxes that make me feel like I might be a successful woman in her prime.

Left: purse storage holder, Right: shoe storage boxes, Not Shown: me, opening & closing my closet door ten times to bask in my new found organizational skills

  • I had no idea Zara had a home section. I wish I didn’t have this knowledge, but now that I do, you must too. Literally ALL of these glasses are gorgeous. Tempted to go smash each glass in my kitchen cupboard right this instant.

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: the new/final season of Shrill comes out this week (!), I might be going to a Mets game (!!), dying to eat at Under The Volcano, really want to visit the new Dippin' Dots store, I’ve been craving a good club sandwich for months so I might try to get brunch at Mark’s Off Madison, I know it might be early but I can’t wait to go tan on Governors Island soon, and at some point I’d really love to take one of these pasta cooking classes.

The club sandwich at Mark’s Off Madison, photo courtesy of Front of House

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in March over here.

September Shenanigans 2019

by Liz Heather in , , , , , , , ,

This is how I feel about the beginning of October.

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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.

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  • 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.

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Helloooooooo October, get your spooky ass in my bed.

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If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in August over here!