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LIZ HEATHER

June 2, 2025

The Best of May 2025

by Liz Heather in Beauty, Best of NYC, Food, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Television


Forever favourite blue

Forever favourite blue

This has been the longest spring of all time and I’m not complaining. Here’s what went down last month.

  • The best tweets of the month can be found over here.

  • I finally reviewed last year’s Met costume exhibit (this year’s 2025 exhibit review can be read over here).

  • Bought/love this travel box for jewelry. Also got these great swim trunks for Nathan (love non-bland menswear).

  • A bunch of new candles came out at Trader Joe’s so obviously I’m on it.

  • Got this great quilted sweatshirt for $10 on sale at Banana Republic Factory.

  • Made this sausage, pesto, ricotta pasta on repeat for a few nights. Also made this bread pudding with vanilla sauce for a friend’s birthday that really turned out well.

  • I visited the new Printemps (french department store) in the city, which is really lovely. The design of the space is worth seeing if you’re in the area. Keep in mind that practically nothing is priced under $100.

Printemps in NYC

  • We went to Ruta in Astoria, which is probably the best Mexican in the neighborhood by far. Their deep red salsa will fix you.

At Ruta in Astoria, Queens

  • Here were my favourite Met Gala looks this year:

Kerry Washington at the Met Gala, 2025

Katy Perry at the Met Gala, 2025

Nicole Kidman at the Met Gala, 2025

Cardi B at the Met Gala, 2025

  • So I tried a retinol night serum on my face and I was warned that some flakiness might occur but this was next level flake city. I had to stop. I also do not care about the benefits of retinol, so let’s never speak of it again.

  • The chain Toasties in the city? What garbage! Never again. How do you mess up lunch?

  • I can’t stop texting this image to people (below).

  • I was looking for a new (not drugstore) mascara and I found a fantastic one - the Glossier Lash Slick. In love with the wand, it catches every single little hair.

  • I tried the Trader Joe’s strawberry gluten free muffins and they were okay, but nothing can top their GF cinnamon coffee cake ones.

  • I was invited to see Mel Robbins at The Beacon (with a very lovely new friend) and I’ve got to be honest. This woman is… just not for me. I’m happy that people seem to get something out of what she says, but I just can’t. Wellness can’t be bought and I will die on that hill.

  • Marla came for a visit and it was a blast. She stayed at The New Yorker hotel (which was old, wonderful and perfect), we did a million things in 48 hours and ate at Modern Bread & Bagel approx. twenty times. It was perfect.

  • Was so, so pleased that she agreed with me about how incredible the tart frozen yogurt is at Madison Fare.

Madison Fare frozen yogurt with raspberry

  • She also treated us to a Broadway show (this woman cannot be stopped in her generosity), so we saw Real Women Have Curves. And it was good!

  • I poached some salmon in a coconut cream sauce and it didn’t come out that great, so I think I’ll just stick to baked salmon.

  • I think I’m suffering from Pinterest-aesthetic-brain-overload because I was on such a mission (for some reason?) to find a perfect black cardigan to layer with some outfits I have - and I found one at Uniqlo. But once I tried it on I realized how very basic-white-woman it is and put it back. It can be very hard to fight these things that the internet tells me that I’m supposed to have. (I did buy this great baseball t-shirt, though.)

  • I went to Edith’s for the tahini iced coffee and it was very good. I also tried a bite of their chicken caesar and it was nothing special. Main reason to go here is definitely the coffee.

Edith’s tahini iced coffee in the West Village, NYC

Edith’s in the West Village, NYC

  • I got a lash lift and it’s only week one, but I can see the appeal of getting them done. I’ve been using Nulastin for a few months and I’ve been seeing length, but they’re not very curly so I guess we’ll see if this makes a longterm difference or not.

  • We went to visit the town where the original Friday the 13th was filmed (it’s just under two hours from NYC) and it was so much fun. I’ll do a full post on it here soon. We also went to a wedding in the Poconos and it was such a great weekend.

  • Some things I watched:

    • Final Destination Bloodlines - not as awful as I expected! The beginning scene was the most memorable/best part.

    • And Just Like That (newest season) - okay, this was the craziest part of the first episode:

  • …what the hell? Were we all supposed to think that is a normal thing to say? Infact this insane sentence is making me want to do a deep dive on ALL of the wildly dumb things these women have said over decades and we all have just eaten it right up and accepted as normal! Madness.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I really want to go to Modern Bread & Bread for their night menu, I want to make this chicken Diane recipe at home, I think I’m going to start doing my Summer Saturday posts again starting this week (the season starts when I says it does) and I might have to pre-order the Jaws popcorn bucket (below).


You can read last month’s roundup over here.

Just a reminder that you should take way more photos of your friends everywhere

TAGS: Liz Heather, Irene Morales, Nathan Macintosh, Marla Garvey, NYC, best of NYC, NYC subway, Jaws, Jaws popcorn bucket, And Just Like That..., And Just Like That, Final Destination, Final Destination Bloodlines, Friday the 13th, wedding, Nulastin, lash lift, Edith's, Edith's tahini iced coffee, Edith's West Village NYC, tahini coffee NYC, Uniqlo, Pinterest, cardigan, baseball shirt, poached salmon, Real Women Have Curves, Real Women Have Curves Broadway, Broadway NYC, Madison Fare, Madison Fare frozen yogurt, best frozen yogurt NYC, best frozen yogurt, Modern Bread and Bagel, GF NYC, gluten free NYC, best gluten free New York City, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's candles, The New Yorker hotel, Mel Robbins, The Beacon NYC, wellness, wellness industry, strawberry gluten free muffins, Glossier, Glossier mascara, Glossier lash slick, best mascara, work really hard, Toasties, Toasties NYC, Trader Joe's night serum, retinol, retinol flakiness, Cardi B, Nicole Kidman, Katy Perry, Kerry Washington, best dressed Met Gala 2025, The Met Gala, Ruta Astoria, best Mexican Astoria Queens, Astoria, Astoria Queens, amazing salsa Astoria, Printemps, Printemps NYC, best pasta recipe, best paste ricotta recipe, sausage pasta, pesto pasta, Banana Republic Factory, quilted sweatshirt, garden party candle Trader Joe's, summer candles, summer candle trio Trader Joe's, jewelry travel box, Target mens swim trunks, The Best of May 2025, monthly, monthly roundup, monthly post


May 2, 2025

The Best of April 2025

by Liz Heather in Beauty, Best of NYC, Food, Ideas, Links, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Reviews


Upper East Side, April 2025

Upper East Side, April 2025

Spring marches on! Is that good? Bad? I am the wrong person to ask. But May is here so we keep going. Here’s what went down last month!

  • The best tweets of the month can be found over here.

  • I compiled a separate list of my favourite White Lotus tweets since the season ended (includes spoilers), too.

  • I read and reviewed Viola Davis’ new memoir - as well as Ina Garten’s.

  • I did that viral onion ring snack recipe and it was really good. This is definitely an end-of-times recipe, though. Absolutely not fussy in any way.

Viral onion rings snack recipe

  • Nathan and I went to Central Park for the first time without Baby Dog and it was brutal but nice at the same time. Why does it feel like every person on earth right now has at least four dogs? It’s an epidemic.

Central Park, April 2025

  • The gluten-free restaurant Thyme & Tonic remains my favourite place on the Upper West Side. That popcorn chicken is everything.

Gluten-free popcorn chicken at Thyme & Tonic, Upper West Side

  • The mini cubano at Guantanamera reminded me (and fell flat) of how good the best cubano on this planet is at La Cubana in Toronto. So that was sad.

  • The summer felt friends were released and I might have bought them all because their faces bring me joy. (Nope, absolutely nobody’s depressed over here.)

Okay, but I would die for them

  • The happy hour at STK midtown might be one of the most reasonably-priced places still in this city. With a patio, too!

Happy hour at STK midtown

  • I saw a few shows!

    • Death Becomes Her - absolutely wonderful. The costumes were beyond gorgeous and fun. It was really funny and everyone did such a great job. Better than the movie.

    • Wonderful Town - so good! My dear friend Jessie is in it, but I swear I’m not biased at all. I loved the dancing; there isn’t enough modern tap these days.

    • Maybe Happy Ending - a new level of terrible. More thoughts over here.

  • I started using hydrocolloid bandages (that I cut up to smaller sizes) instead of branded pimple patches (that are more expensive) and they’ve been working so well. Such a cheaper option and they are way bigger than the Mighty Patch ones.

  • I made this egg and sweet potato dish that came out great, so I’ve already made it a few more times.

Sweet potato egg boat

  • I gave in and bought a night serum: the Trader Joe’s one. Might return it though because my face has been flakier than normal lately, so maybe that’s why? I don’t know what the hell to do with my face. Can I just let it be a face… can that be a thing?

I refuse to learn what retinol is or why I need it please don’t tell me

  • I did this plant hack (below) and it really helped, new leaves are growing and it’s wild.

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A post shared by Jill Dinnan (@curly_plant_mom)

  • I got pistachio milk in a cappuccino the other day and I hope they never stop introducing new nut milks (ick, sorry that’s a terrible phrase). Just when you think they’re done, there’s another one that tastes great.

  • The best frozen yogurt (the really tart kind) is back at Madison Fare. Cannot recommend enough.

Madison Fare frozen yogurt

  • Levain Bakery has limited edition lemon cookies and black and white cookies right now and they’re so good. Such a perfect host/hostess gift.

I don’t usually endorse cookies that are $5+ but these are the exception to the rule

  • Yes the gluten-free pizza at Rubirosa is good, but do not sleep on their caesar salad. Unbelievable.

  • And speaking of caesars, L’Industrie Pizzeria makes a special sandwich each Wednesday so I tried their chicken caesar and it blew my mind right to pieces. I was going to request that they omit the banana peppers on it because I thought that I didn’t like them, but I kept them on anyway because maybe my tastebuds have changed (I accidentally had a black olive a few months ago and it actually tasted good??) so of course it tasted incredible. It was honestly one of the greatest sandwiches I’ve ever had in this whole city. The lesson? Maybe you don’t know everything about yourself.

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A post shared by L'industrie Pizzeria ™️ (@lindustriebk)

  • Some things I watched:

    • Leaving Las Vegas - I’d never seen it before and never will again. Just awful. Anyone who liked it might be a moron.

    • Black Mirror (newest season) - my favourite episodes were definitely Common People and Eulogy. The Issa Rae one was appallingly bad.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: there’s a wedding at the end of the month that’ll be a nice weekend getaway so that’ll be fun, I really want to see the new Stranger Things on Broadway, and Marla comes for a visit! All great things.

You can read last month’s roundup over here.

Sunset in Queens

TAGS: Liz Heather, April 2025, monthly, monthly post, monthly roundup, Levain Bakery, lemon cookie NYC, black and white cookie NYC, sunset, sunset Queens, cherry blossoms, Central Park, red tulips, Jon Adams, Viola Davis, Ina Garten, viral onion ring recipe, viral recipe, Thyme & Tonic, best popcorn chicken NYC, Upper West Side, Upper East Side, midtown, midtown happy hour, STK midtown, Guantanamera, mini cubano sandwich NYC, La Cubana, summer felt friends duo, Death Becomes Her, Wonderful Town, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Maybe Happy Ending, Broadway NYC, Broadway, broadway play NYC, best of Broadway, Mighty Patch, healing pimples, hydrocolloid bandages, egg and sweet potato dish, Trader Joe's night serum, face serum, plant hack, plant growing hack, pistachio milk, Madison Fare, best frozen yogurt, best frozen yogurt NYC, Madison Fare frozen yogurt, Rubirosa, L'Industrie, best sandwich NYC, Leaving Las Vegas, Black Mirror, Issa Rae


April 1, 2025

The Best of March 2025

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Food, Movies, Personal, Recipes


Turks and Caicos

Turks and Caicos

Considering how bad January and February were, it’s kind of a miracle that this past month was so full of good things. I had the best birthday (of my life?) and it feels like there’s so much hope. Am I deluding myself? Anything is possible! But I’m going to try and ride this high as long as I can. Here’s what went down last month.

  • The best tweets of the month can be found over here.

  • I made these cottage cheese crackers that are ridiculously good. I’ll put the recipe below because I got it from someone’s mom on Facebook (jesus, that’s the most I-just-turned-40 statement I’ve made so far).

Cottage cheese crackers

I brush the parchment paper with olive oil as well so that nothing sticks

  • Speaking of turning 40, Nathan took me to Turks and Caicos to celebrate and it was an incredible trip. I should probably do a post about it. Yeah, I’ll do that. Stay tuned.

  • I finally visited The New York Earth Room art exhibit that’s been going on for decades and it was very neat.

The New York Earth Room art exhibit

  • Discovered the secret to amazing chicken parm: get bone-in. Changes the entire game.

  • I got these brown wedge heels from Target that I am currently living in, I love them so much. Might get them in black, too. I also bought this comically large bed pillow that might fix my life.

  • Lord, how I missed the Hillstone caesar salad.

Hillstone caesar salad

  • Nathan and I have started picking up garbage around our neighborhood twice a week and it’s been great. He got a trash grabber stick months ago, and it might seem insane but it makes us feel pretty good.

  • Some things I watched:

    • The Monkey - hated majority of it. And I realized just how much I loathe this new genre of body-harm horror. It’s gaining traction and I can’t stand it (think Hereditary, Smile 2 etc.)

    • I’m all caught up on The White Lotus and this season isn’t the greatest, so that’s been disappointing.

  • I’ve really been considering whether or not I should go to Dollywood this year. It’s the 40th anniversary (which we share), so that’s why I was thinking about it. Just a thought.

  • I saw The Jonathan Larsan Project (so good) and Buena Vista Social Club (stellar). I didn’t realize how much I really missed going to shows.

  • I’ve been using the Trader Joe’s facial sunscreen (the Goop dupe) for a few years now, but I saw actual proof of how good it is recently. When I was on vacation, I guess I forgot to sunscreen the very top part of my forehead and to see the difference between that small area and the rest of my sunscreened face after an afternoon in the sun? Wow. This stuff is a holy grail product.

  • I am in love with these duos that Target keeps releasing each season (below).

Friends

  • I had lunch at La Mercerie and it was good, I don’t know that I’d ever need to go back but it was fine. The older I get, the more I tend to be annoyed at trendy places.

  • I’m still making these GF bean muffins constantly. Yes they sound disgusting, but they might be the best chocolate chip muffins I’ve ever had. I should stop telling people that they have beans in them.

  • I did a spring french tip manicure and it turned out pretty good!

Spring french tips

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: it’ll be nice to pack away my winter clothing, I have to start looking for wedding guest dresses and I’d really like to make this firecracker chicken again.

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A post shared by Liz Heather (@lizheather)

You can read last month’s roundup over here.

TAGS: The Best of March, The Best of March 2025, Liz Heather, monthly, monthly post, monthly roundup, Buena Vista Social Club, best of Broadway, The Jonathan Larsan Project, Broadway NYC, best of NYC, Turks and Caicos, beach, beach sunset, cottage cheese, cottage cheese crackers, cottage cheese crackers recipe, The New York Earth Room, art exhibit NYC, earth room NYC, bone in chicken parm, wedge heels Target, best shoes Target, best heels Target, large bed pillow Target, Hillstone, Hillstone NYC, Hillstone caesar salad, picking up garbage, The Monkey, body harm horror, The White Lotus, Hereditary, Smile 2, Dollywood, Playbill, Trader Joe's facial sunscreen, Trader Joe's, facial sunscreen, Goop dupe, best facial sunscreen, Target felt friends, Target felt buddies, La Mercerie NYC, black bean muffins, best chocolate chip muffins recipe, spring french tip manicure


June 13, 2024

May Musings 2024

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Food, Links, Movies, Personal, Recipes


Baby Dog in Canada, May 2024

Baby Dog in Canada, May 2024

It has officially been six years of doing these monthly roundup posts since I started them in May of 2018. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. If there’s a lesson here, it’s that change is truly possible. I never would’ve thought I’d be doing these consistently for that long, so that’s wild to me. Thank you to anyone and everyone who has ever even read one. Here’s what went down in May!

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A post shared by Liz Heather (@lizheather)

  • The best tweets of the month are over here.

  • I reviewed the hip hop jewelry exhibit at the Natural History Museum.

  • I saw the new rooftop installation at The Met.

  • Vulture wrote about Nathan’s special twice this month and I couldn’t be prouder.

  • The New York Times also loved Nathan’s newest special Down With Tech!

  • I made this one pan pepper steak with added mushrooms that I will absolutely do again.

  • My favourite Met gala looks:

The hair, the makeup, the dress = all of it is perfection, she just needs to leave Justin to fully become perfect in this moment

The back of Mindy Kaling’s dress is HIGH ART

  • The author of my favourite book, Paul Auster, passed away so I think a re-reading of Mr. Vertigo is in order soon.

  • I visited the newly opened Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn to see Belle & Sebastian (they were great) and what a beautiful venue.

God, this was a fun night

  • I tried cottage cheese for the first time and it wasn’t terrible! I still say that “cottage cheese” is the most disgusting thing it could have been named, though. I made this fake chocolate mousse with it and Nathan ate every last bite. I also made a fake “ice cream” with cottage cheese + frozen blueberries that was actually good. I won’t pretend to tell you it tasted like real ice cream, but it was surprisingly edible.

Cottage cheese + frozen blueberry ice cream that’s not actually ice cream, I can’t lie to you

  • We had a huge Baby Dog scare where she tore a ligament in her leg and our vet was an absolute nightmare with prescribing her these insanely strong pills that made our lives a living hell for a week. Thankfully she’s back to normal and better than ever. We also started her on these cataract eye drops that may actually help her sight, will report back on these in a few more weeks.

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A post shared by Liz Heather (@lizheather)

  • I tried the new chickpea pasta from Trader Joe’s and I like it better than Banza (it’s cheaper, too). Also tried their new, incredible honeycomb candy.

Chocolate covered toffee is the answer

  • Love this essay by Glynnis MacNicol and I can’t wait to read her upcoming memoir entitled I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself.

  • Embarrassed to say how much I love the Shake Shack lettuce wrap.

Shake Shack for life.

  • The white chocolate macadamia cream at Starbucks is a problem. I’m really in the macadamia era of my life. No one tells you that your late-30s era is intensely boring?

  • There’s nothing sadder than disappointing soft serve. Marvel: do better.

Even the sprinkles look sad.

  • Truly in love with the shortbread foam hand soap from Bath & Body Works. (Don’t forget their annual sale is going on right now.)

Unreal.

  • Loving the entire ButterBliss line at Target. How is it so damn soft??

  • Tried the new sandwich place Nomad, which is incredible. Took me 39 years to understand that I truly love coleslaw. Again, terrible name choice. Beginning to learn that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? What a concept?

Burrata sandwich, Nomad

Chicken katsu sandwich, Nomad

  • Quick note: if you ever shop in store at Staples, you should really look up their online prices vs. the in-store price when you’re there. The in-store price is almost always wildly more expensive than the same item listed online and if you show the cashier when you’re checking out - they’ll price match it for the lower price.

  • So I was on a morning walk and I found a lost cat! It was wild and the owners were so sweet about it.

  • Saw Mary Jane with Rachel McAdams on Broadway with Nathan and it was great.

Mary Jane on Broadway, NYC

  • There is an exhibit of old literary posters right now at The Met that is absolutely beautiful.

The Met, May 2024

The Met, May 2024

The Met, May 2024

The Met, May 2024

  • The latkes at Modern Bread and Bagel remain the best in NYC.

Latkes from heaven, Upper West Side

  • Got the new summer scents from Mrs. Meyers and they. are. incredible.

Seasonally scented cleaning products? FUCK ME UP

  • Took Baby Dog to Central Park and she loved it, even if you can’t tell by this forcibly posed photograph.

Baby Dog in Central Park, May 2024

  • I love a street fair because you’ll always find something unique. Creepy-faced magnets? Forever yes.

Street fair magnets

  • Completely forgot about my love for rainbow sherbert.

Rainbow sherbert >>

  • Some things I watched:

    • The Idea of You (Amazon Prime): low maintenance and intensely watchable. The line, “People hate happy women” PERFECT. And Michael Showalter directed it?? What the hell? That’s great.

    • How Stella Got Her Groove Back: it’s pretty gross that the main love interest is a 20 year old boy. And the real life story that it’s based on is AWFUL (spoiler alert: he was actually gay and married her for a green card!!).

    • Under The Tuscan Sun: still great.

    • Twister (the Helen Hunt one): such a great movie. There’s really no need for the remake. Best part? The sheer amount of twisters in the movie. That may seem like a dumb observation, but it really isn’t. It’s just so fast-paced and there’s basically another twister every ten minutes or so.

    • Dream Scenerio: good! Some of the abuse scenes are hard to sit through, but as a whole a really good movie.

    • The Danny Meyer episode of Ina Garten’s show: I was not aware that he basically invented eating at the bar instead of at a table in a restaurant (was also not aware that it needed to be invented??) and I must make the pasta (orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage) that he made for Ina in that episode.

    • Emily in Paris (season two): can you tell how desperate I am in finding new shows to watch? It’s not a good show. I hate all the singing, I had to fast-forward those scenes. But I did love these pink shoes.

Bury me in these pink boots

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: finishing off some final spring activities, writing my summer list, I need to dry clean and officially pack away my winter coats, I’ll start doing my Summer Saturdays weekly series again, excited for the new season of The Bear at the end of the month and I’d love to find some new strawberry recipes to make the most of the season.

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

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TAGS: May, May Musings, May Musings 2024, Liz Heather, Baby Dog, Nathan Macintosh, The New York Times, hip hop exhibit NYC, rooftop The Met, The Met, The Met Gala, Vulture, Down With Tech comedy special, pepper steak, steak recipe, best steak recipe, Jessica Biel, Mindy Kaling, Paul Auster, Mr. Vertigo, Paramount Theatre, Belle and Sebastian, Brooklyn, cottage cheese, cottage cheese chocolate mousse, cottage cheese blueberry ice cream, cottage cheese dessert recipe, cataract eye drops dogs, chihuahua, chihuahua cataract eye drops, chickpea pasta Trader Joe's, honeycomb candy Trader Joe's, Glynnic MacNicol, I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, Shake Shack, white chocolate macadamia Starbucks, Marvel soft serve, shortbread foam soap, Bath and Body Works, ButterBliss Target, Nomad sandwiches NYC, coleslaw, burrata sandwich, chicken katsu, Staples, price match Staples, Mary Jane Broadway, Rachel McAdams, Broadway NYC, old literary posters. exhibit The Met, best latkes NYC, Modern Bread and Bagel, Mrs. Meyers Clean Day, Mrs. Meyers, tomato vine Mrs. Meyers, fresh cut grass Mrs. Meyers, Central Park, magnets, vegetable magnets, Baskin Robbins, The Idea of You, Michael Showalter, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Under The Tuscan Sun, Twister, Helen Hunt, Dream Scenerio, Danny Meyer, Ina Garten, pasta recipe, Emily in Paris, rainbow sherbert, May 2024, May Musings 2024 Liz Heather, Baby Dog grass, Baby Dog summer, green grass, summer treat, Vulture blog


March 1, 2024

February Feats 2024

by Liz Heather in Beauty, Best of NYC, Food, Links, Movies, Personal, Television


NYC, February 2024

NYC, February 2024

Welcome to March! You’re well aware of how much I love this month. Will I overdo it and be left a shell of a person come April 1st? Most likely, but there’s nothing that can be done about that! Here’s what went down last month.

  • The best tweets of the month can be found over here.

  • I kept up with my weekly Winter Wednesdays series.

  • I finally finished the Mel Brooks memoir I’ve been reading for months.

  • If this coat (below) was under $100, then I would’ve had no choice but to buy it.

Bury me at the Nordstrom flagship

  • Some things I baked:

    • God, I love a small batch cookie recipe.

    • People won’t shut up about this New York Times marry-me chicken recipe but I absolutely would reject that proposal. I made it and it was FINE at best. And more recently, I made a cauliflower soup of theirs and it was bland as hell! I definitely need to take a step back from their recipes. Maybe the food styling is what’s tricking me? Gorgeous looking food doesn’t always taste amazing. There’s a lesson there??

    • I made this brioche berry bread pudding that was delicious. Something feels very wrong about using strawberries in February, but the Grand Marnier soak really helped the flavour.

Brioche berry bread pudding

  • I can’t stop wearing these Aerie brown stockings.

  • Found a new coffee shop that I’m loving - Sonbobs in Astoria.

  • We bought Baby Dog a ramp to get on and off our bed and it’s been a huge help. Sometimes she’ll just leap off into the pillows alongside it, so it may take some time for her to trust this new inanimate object in her life.

Baby Dog begrudgingly on her new ramp

  • I tried out a colour corrector from Huda because the internet told me to and it did absolutely nothing different to my face hahah?? Sometimes I seem smart and other times I do stuff like this.

  • Nathan and I saw the play An Enemy Of The People with Jeremy Strong (from Succession) and Michael Imperioli (from The Sopranos & The White Lotus) and it was great! Absolutely love the Circle in the Square theatre. $40 tickets straight from the box office can’t be beat.

  • The winter kale salad at Uva Next Door on the Upper East Side was top tier.

  • The patty melt at Daily Provisions? Wow. Makes zero sense that a coffee shop has that good a sandwich.

  • I’ve finally learned my lesson and I’ve stopped using third-party websites for booking travel. Took me decades to learn this lesson.

  • Also, I’m sure no one but me buys Visa gift cards - but just incase, stay very far away from the brand Vanilla. I’ve had so many issues with money that was loaded improperly and their customer service is nonexistent.

  • Some things I watched:

    • Sometimes I Think About Dying: so great! Our friend Dave does such a great job in it.

    • Two Weeks Notice and The Wedding Date (combining them because they don’t deserve individual billing): WOOF. Why do I do this to myself when I have a list full of actually watchable movies?

    • If Lucy Fell: an old Sarah Jessica Parker movie? Course I’d watch that. It actually wouldn’t have been so terrible if the main guy wasn’t such an awful actor. He wrote, directed and starred in it, which was the wrong decision.

    • Waiting To Exhale: such a great rewatch.

    • Once Upon A Crime: perfect rewatch. It’s baffling that this movie did so bad at the box office.

    • New season of Curb: ugh. I don’t want to be mean, but I really hate this show now. The storylines are so tired and it really didn’t need to come back at all. (Richard Lewis will remain the best thing about the whole show.)

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: taking Baby Dog to Niagara Falls, I really want to try the vodka chicken parm from Compton’s in Astoria, excited to spend some time with my brother + family visiting from Scotland and there are so many birthday cakes I get to make for other people this month.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can read what went on in January over here.

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November 17, 2023

Fall Fridays Vol. 8

by Liz Heather in Fall Fridays


BAKING/COOKING

It’s almost American Thanksgiving so that means I’m gonna make my s’mores pie, which is truly the easiest pie recipe of all time.

CRAVING

A hot chocolate with a smidge of toffee syrup in it. I’ve only thought about it in theory, so as soon as the temperature drops below zero I’ll go get one.

DRINKING

Blonde flat whites for life. I’m a creature of habit.

EATING

So I finally went to the new Wegman’s in the city and the best deals? Three pounds of family pack ground chicken for $12. I’m sorry, but that’s wild. Also their $9 frozen wild blueberries family pack, get out of here. Deals for days in there.

EXPERIENCING

I’ve started arranging my saved reels into categories (makeup, funny stuff, etc.) and it’s made my life so much easier. Didn’t even know that was an option.

LISTENING

90s Disney soundtracks. They’re so soothing. Aladdin especially.

LOVING

Nathan did the Gramercy Theatre for the New York Comedy Festival and it was so phenomenal. I understand how you could think I’m biased but I truly don’t see him on stage that much, so when I do I’m usually pretty excited for it. And this tech stuff was so good. He works incredibly hard and I’m so happy that it was such a success.

SHOPPING

I DO NOT NEED MORE CANDLES. So obviously I bought the new chocolate croissant one from Trader Joe’s.

WATCHING

We saw The Shark is Broken on Broadway and it’s hard to accurately express how wonderful it was. It closes this Sunday and I’m grateful that we got to see it. Every single element (acting, script, set) was overwhelmingly good.

WEARING

I’m currently going through my entire closet and trying to arrange full outfits so that I don’t have to think too much about what I’ll wear each day. I’d just love to be a little bit more put together next year - or at least give more of a shit about that stuff. I only started thinking more about this when I realized how much I love putting together my vacation outfits and how happy that makes me, so here we are. Let’s see what happens.

TAGS: Fall Fridays, fall, Fall Fridays Volume 8, autumn, Thanksgiving, s'mores pie, easy pie recipe, Thanksgiving pie, hot chocolate, toffee syrup, blonde flat white, Wegman's, best grocery NYC, 90s Disney soundtracks, Aladdin, Nathan Macintosh, Liz Heather, Gramercy Theatre, New York Comedy Festival, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's candles, Trader Joe's chocolate croissant candle, fall candles, The Shark Is Broken, best of Broadway, NYC, Broadway NYC, best play Broadway NYC, Jaws, Jaws play, style


February 7, 2023

January Jewels 2023

by Liz Heather in Beauty, Best of NYC, Food, Links, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Television


The best Costco parking lot view, hands down.

Oh my god, this month is the ten year anniversary of this blog.

How.

If you don’t know me very well, let’s just say that I don’t have a great reputation for following through with things, so this seems a little crazy.

Okay, I wrote that last sentence and now I’m thinking about it and lately I do try really hard to follow through with things. What the hell was I talking about? Years ago, I used to be terrible at it and my head still gets stuck in that mindset sometimes. I think it’s really easy to think you haven’t changed since we’re hardest on ourselves, but maybe it’s smart to take a moment to actually see how far you’ve come. Clearly I can follow through with things because it’s ten years later and I still love writing in this space. I’m rambling when I’m really just trying to say thank you for even wanting to read this. Any of this. I do it because I love it, so anyone who even kind of cares about it makes me so happy.

ANYWAY, here’s what went down last month.

  • I finally wrote about the Thierry Mugler exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum, as well as the new Museum of Broadway.

  • I wrote my annual best of the year list.

  • I recapped how my 2022 resolutions went.

  • I found my favourite photos of 2022.

  • I made my resolutions for this year.

  • Nathan’s special came out and it’s so, so good. (If it weren’t, I would’ve “forgot” to mention it here, so you can trust me.)

  • I compiled the best tweets of the month.

  • I stopped by FIT to see the student creations in the lobby.

  • Nathan and I saw Death of a Salesman on Broadway and yes it’s good, but it would’ve been smarter of me to look up the plot beforehand. Sometimes you need to prep yourself for a horribly depressing, but beautifully written piece of work.

Death of a Salesman, January 2023

Before the most depressing play of all time

  • I also saw Moulin Rouge with my dear friend Diana and it was a beautiful spectacle. We had such a fun time, but maybe because we had an edible and we’d have fun anywhere together? The musical itself was like diabolical karaoke. The sets and performers were unbelievably good, though.

You should always dress for the musical/play you’re about to see

  • Sephora birthday gifts are back as well as the always-underwhelming Ulta birthday gifts as well.

  • Made and loved these sweet and spicy chicken meatballs.

  • I’d never made penne alla vodka at home before, so I made the Half Baked Harvest spicy one and it was terrible. Crushed red pepper flakes should be banned as an ingredient, it always tries to bring life to a dish that is seasoned poorly.

  • Okay, so I might need to do goat yoga.

  • Love this list of little changes you can make to your home.

  • There’s never a bad time to head to a pool, so Diana and I went to the one at the TWA Hotel that’s open all winter long.

The pool at the TWA Hotel at JFK, NYC

  • My friend Paul introduced me to apple nachos and after I made fun of him for a few minutes I ate them and now I make them multiple times a week. (Sliced apples, almond or peanut butter, grainless or normal granola pieces and chocolate chips.)

Apple nachos that are unfortunately amazing

  • Speaking of Paul, he has a TikTok account with his husband Richard and it’s perfect, you should take a look.

@thingsmyhusbandlikes Rhymes with “did I stutter?” #thingsmyhusbandlikes #butter #tastetesting #gayfoodie #testofthegays ♬ original sound - Paul + Richard
@thingsmyhusbandlikes Butter girl is her new nickname @thingsmyhusbandlikes #thingsmyhusbandlikes #buttertok #butter ♬ original sound - Paul + Richard
  • I made lasagna soup and it was exactly what’s needed on a cold night. Leftovers were a nightmare because Nathan was out of town so it was just me eating beef soup for four days straight, but nonetheless! Great recipe for a family.

  • God, I love Mercer Street in Soho. I didn’t even know they had a Zimmerman store. I bought one of their swimsuits years ago and it’s still my favourite to this day. Look at these beautiful pieces.

Zimmermann, Soho

Zimmermann, Soho

Zimmermann, Soho

Zimmermann, Soho

  • And are you kidding me with these coats from ZCRAVE (also on Mercer)?? I want a closet full of these beauties. One for every mood.

ZCRAVE, Soho

ZCRAVE, Soho

  • I went to a sale at Showplace Backstage where they sell used/vintage pieces from film & television.

  • Got drinks at the lounge inside the Mandarin Oriental and it was nice, obviously overpriced but still nice.

  • Had dinner at Carne Mare, which has such a beautiful space, it’s perfect for a special occasion. The caviar mozzarella sticks were slightly overrated but everything else was good and the service was stellar. Can't wait to go again.

Mozzarella sticks with caviar at Carne Mare, NYC

  • The Body Shop came out with a new winter scent (Wild Pine) and I’m head over heels in love. I’ve always wanted to smell like a big, beautiful Christmas tree year-round and now I can. (This sounds sarcastic, but I’m deathly serious.)

  • Tried the pistachio cream cold brew at Starbucks and yep, I forgot again how sick that cream makes me. Can they please stop introducing new cream flavours?? I think it’s abundantly clear that I will not learn, so they just need to stop.

  • I know absolutely nothing about wine (other than South African reds taste like trash) but oh my god, the wine brand Josh? Truly putrid.

  • I think I’ve finally learned that hair serums do absolutely nothing for my hair. I’ve been going through all of my hair products that I never use and it’s really wild what we’re told we need for our hair. Getting rid of it all. I can’t wait to have a clearer dresser top.

  • I like to sit and peruse the new cookbooks at Barnes & Noble every so often and the Don Angie one seems kind of great (the spicy crab panzanella and the spiced lamb ragu with marsala and fennel, specifically). The new Via Carota one however was a real letdown. I hated that it was organized seasonally for some reason.

  • So I got a frother recently and wow was it not worth it. Returned it immediately. I think I was expecting espresso-machine-level frothing, so I kind of set myself up for disappointment.

  • I got a new Kipozi straightener after using my niece Layla’s over the holidays and oh my god it’s insanely good. I’m gonna do a short video about it because I still can’t believe how long the curls last.

  • The winter mushroom soup at Giorgio’s of Gramercy continues to be untouchable.

  • Went to Little Ruby’s Cafe in Soho and it was a perfect lunch spot. Also rediscovered Blue Ribbon after completely forgetting about its existence and it remains a great late night place.

Little Ruby’s Cafe, Soho

  • I know it’s pretty dated, but I always love Bistro Les Amis. I hope it never shuts down.

  • I finally went to Bistro Eloise for the first time in Queens and it’s wild that such a great restaurant is in a little plaza mall. Maybe not wild actually, but unexpected. Had the best onion soup in all of NYC (that broth was unreal). Escargots was fantastic, the specials were wonderful and the service was perfect, too. Go, go, go.

  • Had one of the worst banking experiences of life with TD Canada recently, so I’m gonna transfer everything completely to another bank. Don’t fuck with me, CORPORATIONS.

  • I made this short rib bolognese and it was heavenly. I will now always make short rib at home. It’s overpriced when you order it out and the fat is always kept on it when it’s served, so it’s absolutely not worth it. When I made the recipe, I did everything instructed but at the end when the meat is cooked, I separated all of the fatty bits to throw away and it elevated the sauce times a million.

Short rib bolognese

  • Some things I watched:

    • The Banshees of Inisherin - so incredibly good and unexpected. Cannot sing enough praises about it. To anyone who thought it was boring: grow up.

    • The White Lotus (both seasons) - obviously season two is juicier, but both were good. Love Steve Zahn. Is the show as great as everyone laments? Maybe? It’s hard to say because yes it’s good, but aren’t we all so sad and broken right now that anything even mildly good is considered revolutionary? Personally I liked it mainly because I like to watch people on vacation.

    • Jennifer’s Body - holy god did it suck. Why the hell was this on my must watch list for over a decade? SUCKFEST.

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’d love to go ice skating at least once more this season, I know it’s lofty but I’d also love to go skiing and I really want to make a tres leche cake after recently discovering that it’s my favourite cake in the world.

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

Baby Dog thinks you should come to bed

TAGS: January, January Jewels, January Jewels 2023, Liz Heather, Nathan Macintosh, Baby Dog, monthly post, monthly roundup, Costco, Costco parking lot, Death of a Salesman, Broadway, Moulin Rouge, Broadway NYC, things to do NYC, Sephora birthday gift, Ulta birthday gift, chicken meatballs, penne alla vodka, Half Baked Harvest, red pepper flakes, TWA Hotel JFK, winter pool NYC, goat yoga, Diana Varga, Paul Fishman, Richard Darby, apple nachos, butter, lasagna soup, Zimmermann, Soho, best of Soho, Soho NYC, ZCRAVE, Mercer Street, fur coat, fur coats, Showplace Backstage, Mandarin Oriental, Carne Mare, caviar mozzarella, The Body Shop, wild pine The Body Shop, The Body Shop wild pine, pistachio cream cold brew, Starbucks, Josh wine, hair serums, Don Angie, Don Angie cookbook, Via Carota cookbook, frother, Kipozi straightener, Giorgio's of Gramercy, best mushroom soup NYC, Little Ruby's Cafe Soho, Blue Ribbon, Bistro Des Amis, Bistro Eloise, Queens, Queens restaurant, TD, TD Canada, banking, short rib, short rib recipe, short rib bolognese, pasta, best pasta recipe, The Banshees of Inisherin, The White Lotus, Steve Zahn, Jennifer's Body


August 7, 2022

July Jiffs 2022

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Food, Links, Movies, Personal, Recipes, Television


The beginning of August is basically the best time of year because it ushers in the anticipation for autumn and the holidays. Am I reaching? The anticipation of something is almost as sweet as the actual arrival of whatever it is you’re waiting for.

In any case, here’s what went down last month!

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

  • I wrote about the first leg of my summer trip to London, England.

  • I went to the American Dream mall in New Jersey with my friend Diana, so thankfully I never have to go again! It’s really just a spectacle, and not in a good way. Why would you ever need a mall to have indoor skiing available? Isn’t the best part of skiing the scenery that surrounds the hills? Am I crazy? Regardless, the mall is terrible. It’s way too big, there are countless empty storefronts (because of the ludicrous rent, I’m assuming) and the furniture is gaudy as hell. Absolutely no reason to go again.

Even she is thinking, “Why are we here and what is this.”

Beautiful Diana sitting amongst the idea that money does not equal taste.

“Take me home.”

  • I went to Brighton Beach for the first time with my great friend Paul (who just moved back to NY) and what a fine beach it was. Not as filthy as Coney Island, but almost as nice as Rockaway. I can’t really put into words how incredible it is that he moved back here, so just know that this fact is the highlight of my summer.

Paul! In New York!

  • Speaking of Paul, his perfect husband Richard made us a meal one night using ground beef from Stoudemire Farms (which I’ve always wanted to try) and it was spectacular. Must remember to buy it the next time I’m at the Union Square market on a Friday.

  • I also went to Bar Marseille with Diana and the food was great! It’s right near Rockaway, so I wasn’t expecting a lot from a beachside place but I’d definitely go back. The steak sandwich was perfect.

  • It only took 18 months, but the dog volunteering that Baby Dog and I used to do is finally back! It was cancelled in February 2020 for obvious reasons and just started up again this month. It’s organized through New York Cares and it happens once a month on the Upper West Side. Essentially, you bring your dog to the auditorium of an elderly care center and any residents who love dogs come down to play with them for an hour. We do it each month and the more dogs that come the better, so I should really post about it more on Instagram. Yeah, I’ll get on that. (The next one is scheduled for August 10th, email me for more information if you’re interested.)

Can you tell how excited she is?

  • Since it’s Restaurant Week, Irene and I went to The Grid restaurant at the Great Jones Distillery mainly because I was intensely craving good halibut. And yes, the food was good but it’s extremely overrated. I’m sorry but no restaurant ever should charge for basic bread and butter. It’s offensive. The service was good, but you can just tell people weren’t trained very well. And for a place so new and beautiful, you’d expect a lot more.

  • I saw Mr. Saturday Night on Broadway and all that I can say is wow. A perfect show and a beautiful theatre. Can every single comedian in this town go see it immediately before it closes next month? It’s wildly good. I’ve never felt more seen than I did in this song sung by a comedian’s wife.

Mr. Saturday Night on Broadway, July 2022

  • The only time I like to drink rose is in the summer (I’m pretty original, I know) and I think I found the best tasting one of life.

Ruby Red Rose with Grapefruit

  • I’ve started making garlic butter almost once a week now and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop? It’s so superior to every other thing inside my fridge. Sure you could buy garlic butter, but it tastes infinitely better if you make it yourself, I promise.

Homemade garlic butter

  • I made this lamb bolognese from Antoni Porowski and I think it’s even better than the Alison Roman one that I love so much (it might be because I bought the coriander seeds whole and then ground them up in my spice grinder? The flavour of that individual spice is so crazy good, I had no idea). Obviously one is a fast lamb recipe and one is a leisurely one, so I’ll continue to keep both in my rotation. But you absolutely have to make the three hour one at least once to see what I’m talking about. Especially since Costco sells ground lamb now.

Antoni Porowski’s heavenly lamb bolognese

  • I went to the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn for the first time and what a perfect theatre. Love that they have a beautiful bar attached (House of Wax).

  • Some Things I Watched:

    • I really had low expectations, but I went to see Marcel The Shell With Shoes On and it was beyond sweet.

    • Indecent Proposal is on HBO right now so I watched it for the first time and loved it.

    • I saw The Thomas Crown Affair and it’s such a party. I love this kind of 90s movie. Perfect in every way.

    • I watched the first episode of Loot and it really just wasn’t for me.

    • Of course I saw the whole first season of The Bear and it’s as good as everyone says it is. With the exception of the sister, I don’t know if she’s just written badly as a character or the actress is just wretched. Either way, it’s the worst part of a great show. Episode seven is clearly the best one. (Also, I badly want to make this recipe now.)

    • I also saw the whole first season of The Summer I Turned Pretty and this really scratched my summer/teen itch. Perfect summer show.

    • I saw the Victoria’s Secret documentary and oh my god, I might have to stop shopping at Bath & Body Works now.

    • I started the new season of Only Murders In The Building and other than the inclusion of Amy Schumer, it’s been good so far.

    • I also watched Porky’s and Screwballs for some reason?? Obviously I hated both? I think I was just so desperate for an old teen movie that I haven’t seen.

    • After those two disasters I have no other choice but to cleanse my palette and rewatch Clueless.

My absolute favourite Cher outfit

  • I’ve been there a few times, but I think it’s time to declare how much I officially hate Astoria Park. The RFK bridge above makes it way too loud, the jet skis in the water blast the worst music, the grass has more brown patches than any other park in the city, the train is at least a 15 minute walk away, there are zero food or water vendors anywhere. WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE THIS PARK? God, it’s awful.

  • I made these cheesy poblano corn enchiladas and they were really good. In hindsight I should’ve added some shredded chicken or something to them to make them slightly heartier.

Cheesy poblano corn enchiladas

  • I finally went to see the Amityville house and even though they changed the eerie window frames, it’s definitely still creepy. One thing I wasn’t expecting? How nice that town is! It’s like some big secret, I think. Would totally live there.

The house from The Amityville Horror, July 2022

  • I made my favourite strawberry crumble coffee cake and it’s always a winner. Pro tip: use cake flour for the cake part and use regular flour for the crumble topping to really make it perfect.

Strawberry crumble coffee cake

  • I ate the July-only-special Emmy cheeseburger dumplings from Mimi Cheng’s and they were good but not as good as the first time I had the last year. Am I evolving past cheeseburger dumplings…? God I hope not.

Emmy Burger Dumplings (Emmy cheeseburger dumplings in collaboration with Pizza Loves Emily/Emmy Squared, dry-aged beef, aged white cheddar, crushed pretzels, caramelized onions, and Emmy Sauce) Pan-fried only. (8 pieces) $17.25

  • Incase you care, August is the only month you can apply for SNL tickets so get on that, if you so desire.

  • Also, if you’re going to the CNE in Toronto next month, you can get free tickets for kids under 13 if you fill out this form.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I’ll continue to mark things off of my summer list, I can’t wait to see my friend Dusty’s movie that’s being screened at the MoMA next week, and I can’t wait to take a few more little summer trips (stay tuned).

Summer bitches

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

TAGS: July Jiffs, July Jiffs 2022, Liz Heather, monthly roundup, monthly post, July, summer, summer sky, American Dream mall, New Jersey, American Dream New Jersey, indoor ski slope, gaudy, Brighton Beach, best beach, best beach NYC, NYC, New York, New York City, Paul Fishman, best ground beef, Stoudemire Farms, Union Square market, Union Square greenmarket, Bar Marseille, beach restaurant, Rockaway restaurant, best Rockaway restaurant, steak sandwich, steak sandwich NYC, Baby Dog, dog volunteering, New York Cares, Restaurant Week NYC, The Grid restaurant, Great Jones Distillery, halibut NYC, bread and butter, Mr. Saturday Night NYC, Mr. Saturday Night Broadway, Broadway NYC, best on Broadway, Billy Crystal, Tahiti song, comedian play, rose, best rose, grapefruit rose, best grapefruit rose, summer rose, garlic butter, homemade garlic butter, lamb bolognese, Antoni, Antoni Porowski, Alison Roman, best lamb recipe, ground lamb, best ground lamb recipe, best ground lamb pasta, best pasta recipe, Costco ground lamb, Alamo Drafthouse, Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, Indecent Proposal, The Thomas Crown Affair, movies, best summer movies, best summer TV show, Loot, The Bear, The Bear spaghetti recipe, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Victoria Secret documentary, Bath and Body Works, Only Murders in the Building, Porkys, Screwballs, Clueless, Clueless best outfit Cher, Cher best outfit, summer show, summer TV, summer TV show 2022, summer movie, summer movie 2022, summer teen movie, Astoria Park, RFK bridge, worst park NYC, cheesy poblano corn enchiladas, recipes, best recipe, dinner recipe, Amityville, Amityville horror house, Amityville house 2022, strawberry recipe, strawberry crumble coffee cake, summer recipes, best summer recipes, cake flour, baking tips, summer baking tips, Mimi Cheng's, cheeseburger dumplings, dumplings NYC, CNE Toronto, CNE, CNE tickets, CNE free tickets, CNE free tickets 2022, August SNL tickets, SNL tickets 2022, SNL tickets, tomatoes, summer tomatoes


April 21, 2022

Birthday Candles on Broadway

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC


NYC, March, 2022

NYC, March, 2022

I haven’t loved a play like this in a very long time. It’s extremely sentimental, but I love sentimentality. The play (by Noah Haidle) is about a woman (Debra Messing) baking the same golden butter cake for herself over 90 birthdays, which we live through with her in the course of the 90 minute play. In one sentence, it could be described as a play about the preciousness of life. You experience the births, deaths, mistakes, triumphs and everything that we all have in common.

The fact that it’s 90 minutes is insanity, it’s so heavy but nuanced. Everyone in it was incredible, the set is gorgeous. I laughed, I sobbed, I can’t believe how good it was. When I was leaving the theatre, some man asked his friend what he thought of it and the other man hesitated and then said, “Cute.” I wanted to shove him down the stairs. CUTE? You moron. Shut up and go hug your mother.

So of course I HATED the review in the Times about it. The critic complained of emotional manipulation?? Any time someone writes a play with heart, this is always the complaint. I’m sorry that you’re too hollow inside to understand what’s right infront of you. People are so odd when it comes to sentimentality, most people just seem to hate it, but I adore it. What is the opposite of it? Dispassionate or practical? (I looked it up.) UGH! I’d rather die that be accused of either of those traits. Just a wildly inaccurate review of one of the best new plays in years. Take your sentimental ass to go see it immediately OR sit your practical ass down at home and live your sad life.

It’s on until May 29th at the American Airlines Theatre & tickets are available here.

TAGS: Birthday Candles, Birthday Candles play, Debra Messing, new play, Broadway, Broadway NYC, broadway play NYC, American Airlines Theatre, best of NYC, The New York Times, Noah Haidle, new play NYC, best new play NYC 2022, best new play NYC, Liz Heather, sentimentality, sentimental


April 6, 2022

March Magic 2022

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Family, Food, Ideas, Links, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Reviews, Television


View from the Staten Island Ferry as it crosses the bay, March 2022

View from the Staten Island Ferry as it crosses the bay, March 2022

“Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom.”
— Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Sometimes I write these monthly posts and think, “How the hell did I do all of that in one month?” I mean, obviously I love it but sometimes it just seems bewildering that I get to do all of these things that make me so happy. I wish I could go back in time and tell kid Liz what a sweet life she’ll have. She’d never believe it. Anywaaaay, maybe that paragraph should’ve been a diary entry…? Here’s what went down in March, babies.

  • The best tweets of March can be found over here and here.

  • I recapped what I did from my winter list of things to do.

  • I made a spring list of things I want to do.

  • I wrote about the fashion exhibit on now at The Met (In America: A Lexicon of Fashion).

  • I tried out the new Vicks bath salts and they are incredible. I know that all bath salts hit hard, but these? Just beyond relaxing. I also tried the Vicks scented Puffs tissue paper and oh my god. Take all my money, Vicks. Such a genius idea to incorporate that smell when you blow your nose.

Puffs with Vicks

  • I went to the downtown location of Eataly and it’s less chaotic than the Flatiron one. And I don’t hate Eataly, but you definitely have to know why to go here. It’s overpriced and terrible if you’re going for a sit down meal or even their pre-packaged meals. But if you’re going for high quality dried pasta, incredible canned tomatoes and specialty items like anchovy paste and canned seafood, then it’s a cook’s dream.

  • I dyed my hair even blonder and… I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to natural. I love this look so much. I think my goal this year is to… become… untouchable?

  • The New York Times had a piece on the former mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion!

  • Sometimes I like to sit in Barnes & Noble and peruse the cookbooks for inspiration and meal ideas since one day B&N will definitely go bankrupt and cease to exist. I give it ten more years, max. So in the meantime, I will take advantage. I looked through The Pepper Thai Cookbook (Chrissy Teigen’s mom) and it wasn’t anything special. I swear, her and her daughter make 90% of their recipes with fish sauce. And look, fish sauce is great when used sparsely, but it’s enough already. I also looked through The Milk Bar cookbook and again, nothing special.

  • I got coffee at the fancy coffee place Felix Roasting Co. and yes it’s a pretty space, but they really need to clean the fabric of their booths because they look ROUGH. I can’t stand it when a business puts so much effort and time into creating a different, beautiful space and then there is zero upkeep. Why spend all that money up front and then get lazy with the actual management of the place? It’s such a waste. And not to be a bitch, but the Starbucks flat white is better than whatever they’re serving here. Never again. And if you’d like to see the most pretentious coffee shop menu of all time, gently look below.

$15 for a S’MORES LATTE? We’ve entered hell on earth.

  • I can never find them, but damn those North Fork BBQ potato chips are everything.

  • Kind of over-the-moon in love with this Levi’s x The Simpsons collab. God, that cloud vest is perfect.

  • Obviously, you know how Ulta & Sephora give you a birthday gift during your birthday month, so add Kiehl’s to that list now too. Got their pear scented lip balm for free.

  • My brothers and I all surprised my mom and came to Canada for her 70th birthday and it was so nice. Can’t believe it actually happened.

The Heathers, March 2022

  • I bought this fake suede green coat from Zara that is the absolute softest and will be completely ruined if it rains.

  • I tried the new croissant croutons from Trader Joe’s and they taste like little butter cubes. Just an insane amount of butter in these. They should’ve crumbled these up and sold them as a croissant breadcrumb instead. But what do I know (other than everything).

  • Every single time I go to Mimi Cheng’s, I remember how much I love them all over again. Not really for their every day items, but their monthly specials are always incredible. In March they had French onion soup dumplings that were so intensely flavourful, they didn’t even need a dipping sauce. Love this place.

  • My best friend Harmeet was visiting, so we had drinks at The Palm Court at The Plaza before going over to see Plaza Suite on Broadway (her idea to do both, a genius one at that). The play was too good. When did they start letting you order a whole bottle of wine to take to your seat? Love that. And Sarah Jessica Parker was magnificent, but Matthew Broderick? Not so great! He just seemed… tired. Or unenthusiastic. Which seems weird because doesn’t he have tons of Broadway experience?

  • I had my steak Diane at The Dowlings at The Carlyle and it was divine. Ordered the raviolo carbonara, the wedge salad and the table-side flambéed steak and what a glorious night it was. The Carlyle is such a beautiful hotel, I love that they still have mail chutes prominently shown (below).

I love embossed butter (at Dowlings At The Carlyle, NYC)

Appetizers, Dowlings At The Carlyle, NYC

Mail chute at The Carlyle, March 2022

  • I had lunch at Robert for the first time and it was perfectly all right. The food/service/view were all good, but who decorated this place? Bit of a yikes situation with the colour scheme.

Robert dining room, NYC

View onto Columbus Circle from Robert, NYC

  • This week in things that are too beautiful + too expensive:

    • This gorgeous Marchesa Notte Greer Gown

    • This breathtaking neon Coach purse

    • I would wear this to fill my bird feeder

    • Oh my god, THE BEADING

  • I’ve mentioned my love of Bread Alone bakery (they always have a stand at the Union Square farmer’s market), but I hadn’t tried their oat chocolate chip cookie until now and it’s even better than the basic chocolate chip one. They also have incredible whole wheat sourdough.

  • I saw the Harry Potter play (SPOILERS) even though I’ve never read the books nor cared about the movies, so maybe that’s why I didn’t love it. One standout part, though? Those damn dementors, they were WILD. Do not see this play high. The effects of them were true insanity and if you liked the series even 1%, this is the main reason to see the play.

  • I love the spring collection of colours that Essie puts out and my favourite colour right now is definitely their Well Nested Energy.

  • I had the Vallata lunch special ($29 for a pasta & glass of wine) which was really, really good. Especially for that price. In 2022. Couldn’t believe it. I’m sure it won’t last.

  • Sweetest Irene treated me to birthday dinner at Rezdôra (I’ve been dying to go here for ages) and it was phenomenal. We had the Cacio E Pepe in Emilia, this puffed up prosciutto thing and some toasted bread to start and then for our entrees, the truffle Raviolo (the giant raviolo with black truffles), the Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia (the green pasta), and the Maccheroni al Pettine with duck ragu (truly heaven on earth). NOTE: I just noticed on their new, updated menu that the duck ragu is gone and replaced with a sausage ragu! I’ve already sent out an email to those in charge questioning this decision. I’ll do everything in my power to get it back on that menu.

Cacio E Pepe in Emilia, Rezdôra NYC, March 2022

Truffle Raviolo (the giant raviolo with black truffles), the Grandma Walking Through Forest in Emilia (the green pasta), the Maccheroni al Pettine with duck ragu, Rezdôra NYC, March 2022

  • Things I’ve Watched:

    • To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday: Okay, I watched this because I was turning 37 this month and I thought “that sounds fun” so of course it wasn’t. Spoiler but Gillian IS DEAD. She died on her 35th birthday! I had no idea the whole movie was about the grief of her death, so obviously this wasn’t a fun watch. Also, all the gross flirting with minors was… a lot.

    • Malice: Okay, do you know anything about this movie? If not, don’t look it up. Just watch it. I was ON CLOUD NINE watching this one. So many twists, there’s a great Alec Baldwin monologue in it, it’s just a party of a movie. Especially if you love early 90s semi-sexy psychological thrillers, WHICH I DO. Such a great movie.

    • Impeachment: Great watch. Started watching it at the airport out of boredom and then it really picked up. Fully recommend.

  • I tried these great Vicks-like patches called Salonpas that you can stick on any area that needs pain relief but without the stickiness of an ointment.

  • I visited Argosy Book Store (one of the oldest book stores in NYC) and it’s wild that this place has managed to stay alive.

Argosy Book Store, March 2022

Argosy Book Store, March 2022

  • Did you know that every night at 11:57pm, fifteen screens in Times Square shut down at the same time and display art for three minutes? It’s called the Midnight Moment.

  • This Welsh restaurant in Astoria Snowdonia has started to do tacos on Tuesday that are beyond incredible, especially the lamb.

  • I’m over the moon that Manhatta finally reopened, so Nathan and I went for my birthday and it’s still as beautiful as ever. So thankful they were able to reopen.

Cocktail menu at Manhatta, NYC, March 2022

View from Manhatta, NYC, March 2022

  • So my dear friend Diana and I had brunch together and I found potentially my favourite burger (au poivre) in all of NYC at Raoul’s and I can’t recommend it enough. They only serve it for brunch on the weekends and then a limited amount at the bar on week days. Find this burger. Eat this burger. This is your only option. Christ, it’s a revelation.

  • Since when did Tim Hortons bring back the apple fritter? So messy and good. Not better than San Remo’s, but a respectable alternative. Now all they need to bring back are the salted caramel Timbits and I’ll stop complaining.

  • I made this lemon orzo with peas and parmesan and it tasted so flat, it was weird. I love all those ingredients in it, I was just confused eating it. It’s like when you meet someone you think is so gorgeous and you talk to them and there’s zero chemistry. Like, what the fuck… we coulda been something here.

  • I made this crazy easy lasagna (with jarred sauce instead of tomatoes) last minute and it came out great. Love a fast lasagna. No one has time for a béchamel sauce.

  • One of the best dishes I’ve eaten in a loooong time: the roasted corn and couscous risotto with parmesan from Glass House Tavern. Holy hell, was it good.

  • I made scallops for the first time at home and they tasted so ordinary. They might just be one of those dishes that taste better when somebody else makes it.

  • Some spring inspired recipes I’d love to make soon:

    • Caprese Pesto Orzo Bake

    • Couscous Bowls with Lemon Feta Vinaigrette

    • Truffled Garlic Bread with Ricotta

  • So I saw one of the best plays I’ve ever seen on Broadway: Birthday Candles with Debra Messing. I wrote about it here, but oh my god. I laughed, I cried, I can’t believe how good it was.

Things I’m looking forward to: I’ve gone to the open galleries in Chelsea on Thursdays but I didn’t know that on the third Thursday of every month most of the galleries on the Lower East Side remain open from 4pm-8pm so I’m definitely going to do that if the weather’s nice, I’m excited for all the rain that’s coming (does this sound insane?) because it’s a known fact that spring rain is the least depressing rain, and I really want to make a dent in my “movies to watch” list.

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

TAGS: monthly post, monthly roundup, Liz Heather, March 2022, March Magic, March Magic 2022, Vicks bath salts, Vicks Puffs, Vicks tissue paper, best products, Eataly, Eataly NYC, blonde hair, new blonde hair, dyed blonde, Hazel McCallion, Mississauga, Barnes and Noble, cookbooks, Pepper Thai, Milk Bar cookbook, Chrissy Teigen, Felix Roasting Co., best of NYC, Starbucks, flat white, North Fork potato chips, Levis Simpsons collection, The Simpsons clothes, The Simpsons, Ulta birthday gift, Sephora birthday gift, Kiehl's birthday gift, free birthday gifts, Canada, Hassina Heather, Gary Heather, Robbie Heather, Stanley Heather, family, family photo, Zara, suede green coat, croissant croutons, Trader Joe's, Mimi Cheng's, NYC dumplings, french onion soup dumpings, Harmeet Litt, The Plaza, Plaza Suite, The Palm Court, Broadway NYC, broadway play NYC, Broadway, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Playbill, steak Diane, The Dowlings at The Carlyle, The Carlyle Hotel, best of NYC 2022, mail chute, mail chute NYC, The Carlyle mail chute, Robert NYC, Columbus Circle restaurant view, too beautiful, too expensive, Coach purse, Marchesa gown, beaded shirt, Bread Alone bakery, chocolate chip oat cookie, Harry Potter, Harry Potter play, Well Nested Energy nail polish, nail polish, Essie, Vallata, lunch special NYC, Rezdora, best pasta NYC, pasta NYC, duck ragu NYC, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, movies, Malice, Alec Baldwin, god speech, Alec Baldwin god speech, Impeachment, Salonpas, Argosy Book Store, oldest book store NYC, Times Square, Times Square art, Snowdonia, Snowdonia Astoria, Manhatta, Raoul's, Raoul's burger, au poivre burger NYC, best burger NYC, best burger, Tim Hortons, apple fritter, apple fritter Tim Hortons, lemon orzo peas parmesan, best recipes, easy lasagna, Glass House Tavern, scallops, corn and couscous risotto, parmesan, caprese pesto orzo bake, couscous bowls lemon feta, truffled garlic bread ricotta, Birthday Candles, Birthday Candles play, Debra Messing, LES galleries, life has no meaning


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