May 2, 2025

The Best of April 2025

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

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.

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.

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.)

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

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.

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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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.

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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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.

September 1, 2024

August Actions 2024

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

SUMMER IS OVER! Extremely pumped to say goodbye to August. So many things are changing right now and I kind of can’t wait for what’s ahead. But before that, here were the highlights of the month.

Finished my Summer Saturdays series.
The best tweets of the month can be found over here.
Why don’t all cheese boards have corresponding cheeses labels?? SOMEBODY PUT ME IN CHARGE OF SOMETHING.

In love with these blue sky bran muffins. Who have I become? I like her?
The Freshly Brewed Coffee candle at Bath & Body Works smells like heaven on earth.

I found Walla Walla onions at my farmer’s market and they remain the greatest onion on the scene today.
My friend Richard made the best tomato pie I’ve ever tasted.

I got the new Alex Trebek Jeopardy stamps and they’re a bit disappointing. I was hoping for more than just one design.
Marla came for a visit and we did so many fun things. We saw Suffs on Broadway, ate at Thyme & Tonic (incredible), tried on a million gorgeous things at both locations of Beacon’s Closet, we rode the Staten Island Ferry, ate at the always-great Rubirosa, went to Little Island for the first time, went to some of the Chelsea Thursday galleries and we perused Chelsea Market so we obviously had to get some Seed + Mill.

A rat scared us out of Central Park approx. five seconds after this photo was taken

Manhattan skyline from the (free) Staten Island Ferry

Seed + Mill now has a chocolate drizzle option

I read Jennette McCurdy’s book and it was too real and too good.
My favourite pesto recipe is the How Sweet Eats one, but with walnuts instead of pine nuts.
Summer is the time to make peach daiquiris and this peach rose slushy.

Fell in love with the restaurant Hillstone. On a mission now to visit all the locations eventually. The best parts about this place are the chilled salad plates, the chilled martini glasses that are replaced midway through your drink, an insane French dip sandwich (David Chang says that this sandwich “haunts him” and he’s right), a wildly good chicken caesar salad, servers only have three tables at a time so they can really focus on each customer, they don’t have food runners or bussers, the tables are drilled into the ground so there aren’t any wobbly ones, there’s freshly squeezed orange juice AND each table is designed to feel like it’s in its very own little VIP section. So impressed by the level of thoughtfulness at this place, I love it so much.

And speaking of hospitality, I read something recently that explains why I think I love restaurants so much. I’m the one who cooks at home (which I enjoy), but it’s nice to escape that sometimes and have someone take care of me in that way. It’s such a simple thought, but it blew my mind for a minute.
I finally deep cleaned my beauty blender by putting Dawn in some boiled water and then I let the sponge sit in that mixture for five minutes before rinsing in water. Reddit has all the answers.
I found a Sabon body scrub on sale at Marshall’s, which reminded me how much I love any Sabon products.
I’ve been living in the Essie colour Seas The Day.

Annoyance of the day: I absolutely hate that all brow pencils now come in that little mechanical tube (that always breaks). Remember when the Anastasia brow pencil was actually a real pencil that you could sharpen?? We’ve strayed too far from the light of god. It’s impossible to find a real, high quality pencil anymore.
Nathan and I spent our anniversary in Cooperstown, New York to go to the incredible Baseball Hall of Fame, so I’ll do a post about that later this week.
Denny’s has a Beetlejuice-themed menu right now that is a full party, even if it does sound somewhat gross.
Loved reading Pete Wells’ final NY Times piece.
Some things I watched:
- Patriot Games - wow. Love 90s movies like this.
- Six Days, Seven Nights - even Harrison Ford can’t save this movie.
- Trap - I liked the first two thirds of it, but everything went downhill as soon as they left the stadium. This review sums up my feelings almost precisely.
- Falling Down - great movie.
- Wall Street - weird that I’d never seen it before, Martin Sheen was a smokeshow.
- Consenting Adults - great idea for a movie.
- Longlegs - love an original horror script.

I would normally list the things I’m looking forward to this month, but things are changing so fast right now that I have no idea what the end of the month will look like. I’m hopeful and excited, but I’m also terrified and I sort of just want to let this month happen.

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

June 13, 2024

May Musings 2024

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

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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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.

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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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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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

Completely forgot about my love for 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.

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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November 8, 2023

October Occurrences 2023

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

That was one of the longest Octobers I’ve ever experienced and it couldn’t have been better. Here’s everything that went down last month:

The best tweets of October can be found over here, and I also did a post about the best Halloween tweets.
Our costume!
I started doing weekly Fall Fridays recaps because I can’t shut the hell up.
Made Halloween cake pops with Maya with meltable chocolate from Michaels (the funfetti vanilla is the best one) and I think these might be among my favourite desserts now. Nothing says ‘I’m almost 40’ like discovering how good cake pops are 15 years after they became popular?

Got a drink at Beetle House (the Beetlejuice-esque bar in the East Village) and that place is a party. Cocktails with dry ice should be mandatory at all bars for the prices we’re paying these days (I’d run on this platform alone if I were up for mayor).

I used a few of the single packets of the Dennis Gross triple eye serum and I could really see slight results in only a couple days. So annoying when expensive skincare products actually work well.
This chicken marsala remains one of my favourite top three dinners to make.

It’s a tall order, but please serve this chicken marsala at my funeral

TIP: if a recipe calls for softened butter but you forgot to soften it in advance, you should just brown the butter instead. This works for me literally every time. Browned butter is incredible.
Finally went to the Oscar Wilde bar and it was beautifully decorated for Halloween. It also had one of the best lighted washrooms I’ve ever seen in NYC.

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It’s one week into November so have I already had the Thanksgiving dumplings from Mimi Cheng’s as well as the Bobbie (Thanksgiving) sandwich from Capriotti’s? We both know the answer, don’t make me say it.
Made pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, but they were only okay. I think I’ll steer clear of the baking recipes from Bon Appétit for awhile. Independent bloggers almost always have better dessert recipes.

Underwhelming pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Okay, the flagship Nordstrom in Manhattan? New favourite place to shop for dresses. There’s also a great happy hour bar on the fifth floor with this incredible locker that charges your phone while you walk around.
I’ve made the Chrissy Teigen jalapeno corn pudding for the past few years as part of our Thanksgiving meal and I might finally be sick of it? Looking for new corn recipes.

My favourite freezable meal right now is this short rib bolognese.
Walked through a section of Central Park that I’d never seen before (the north woods) and it felt like an entirely different park.

Made apple cider doughnut cookies that turned out great. I thought the cinnamon sugar topping sounded a bit boring, but it was perfect.

It is both a blessing and a curse that I learned of Nuts Factory existence (it’s basically American Bulk Barn).
Made this coconut chicken tikka masala in the slow cooker and it was pretty good. I doubt I’ll make it again though because I never cook rice anymore and this is a recipe begging for rice. (Why don’t I like to cook rice? Um, it takes forever? And I threw out my rice cooker because I hate having useless appliances that I’ll use once a year.)
The focaccia ready-made sandwiches at Eataly? Holy shit. Unbelievably good.

Went to Canada for Thanksgiving and it was so lovely, as always.

Some things I watched:
- Sabrina The Teenage Witch (the movie): I had no idea it was a movie before it was a show. I’ll always love Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina, so this was a great find.
- Urban Legend: totally forgot about how good this movie was. With the exception of the dog-in-a-microwave scene, obviously.
- Knock At The Cabin: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, M. Night Shyamalan’s movies are always so hit or miss and this one? STUNK. I really hate that he insists on making cameos in them, too.
- Prom Night: Great! Jamie Lee Curtis is a phenomenal dancer. Nobody talks about that.
- Blades: it’s literally just a Jaws parody but with a lawnmower instead of a shark. So what I’m saying is that it was fantastic.
- Trick R Treat: so terrible.
- Halloween (the Rob Zombie one): UGH! Awful! Nathan claims that I hated it because apparently I don’t like “dysfunction or reality.” WHO DOES.
- Coherence: so good! Everyone should see it.
- The Fog: loved it! So fun when the villain is weather. And I LOVE the fact that when it was first released, they installed fog machines in some movie theatres where the movie was showing. God, that’s great.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: Nathan’s big Gramercy show this weekend, buying new cookware finally because our pots specifically are pretty toxic, might make these salted chocolate pecan pie bars for (fake) Thanksgiving later this month and I can’t wait to finally eat at the Christmas restaurant in the city Rolf’s.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went on in September over here. And my autumn highlights on Instagram can be found here.

November 3, 2023

Fall Fridays Vol. 6

by Liz Heather in Fall Fridays

BAKING/COOKING

I physically cannot stop making chicken marsala. This recipe is restaurant quality.

Incredible chicken marsala recipe from Once Upon A Chef

CRAVING

It’s November so my radar is set on the Thanksgiving dumplings from Mimi Cheng’s as well as the Bobbie (Thanksgiving) sandwich from Capriotti’s.

DRINKING

So many blonde flat whites. There is no better hot beverage.

EATING

The heavenly duck croquettes at Satis Bistro in Jersey City.

EXPERIENCING

My dear friends Paul & Richard got me the (TikTok famous) bloody shower mat and it is great, if only slightly jarring. Nathan had a strong reaction to it, so we used it exclusively on Halloween and then I delicately packed it away for next year.

LISTENING

So I can’t stop listening to bad Christmas movies in the background while I wrap gifts. My logic: I don’t want good ones on in the background because I’ll want to watch those. If I have bad ones, then I can focus on what I’m doing but still have a Christmas vibe happening. And I can’t just put on Christmas music, it’s only November 3rd, I’m not a full psycho.

LOVING

All of the wildly nice messages about our costume this year.

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SHOPPING

I found these perfect (not expensive) high-end-looking gift tags for Christmas from Target. Sixteen of them for $5 is perfect.

WATCHING

God, so many horror movies - I’m 2% grateful October has come to a close. The last one I saw was Chucky 2 and it was actually pretty great.

WEARING

I tried on this Top Shop coat that I’m absolutely in love with. $170 isn’t insane, is it? I’m gonna wait for Black Friday.

My tombstone might say, “She took a lot of dressing room selfies”

And I’ve created an autumn highlight reel on my Instagram incase you care!

October 13, 2023

Fall Fridays Vol. 3

by Liz Heather in Fall Fridays

BAKING/COOKING

I make this chili basically every week because it’s such a good lunch option.

CRAVING

The hibachi fried rice at KanaHashi in Brooklyn. Best I’ve ever had in New York, by far.

DRINKING

Okay, I definitely overdid it this week by going to The Beekman, Nubeluz and Oscar Wilde. NOT GOING OUT AT ALL THIS WEEK.

EATING

No one told me that the Eataly pre-made focaccia sandwiches are actually good.

EXPERIENCING

I took Baby Dog on a walk through the North Woods of Central Park and it was unbelievably beautiful. Am I am the only idiot who didn’t know this park had waterfalls? I’d never walked this far north before.

LISTENING

Finally listened to the new Olivia Rodrigo album and the best songs are making the bed and pretty isn’t pretty.

LOVING

The KIND caramel almond & sea salt bars? Too good. Also the leaves have finally started changing and I can’t get enough.

SHOPPING

Hopefully this Trader Joe’s Woodlands candle will be the last candle I buy for a while, my candle storage area is a smidge out of control.

WATCHING

Out of all the horror movies I’ve been watching, The Fog has been the best one so far. I love a movie that starts and you’re immediately into it.

WEARING

I’m following through with one of my autumn goals of wearer bolder lipsticks.

Lipstick is MAC’s Lipglass in Woman of Mystery

And I’ve created an autumn highlight reel on my Instagram incase you care!

May 1, 2023

April Activities 2023

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

Spring is in full force and I couldn’t be happier about it. It usually feels like the shortest season since summer arrives obnoxiously early, but this year it’s been magical. Chilly nights, sweaters instead of winter coats, tons of rain, birds chirping their asses off, there’s nothing better. Here’s what happened in April!

The best tweets of April can be found over here.
I visited a tulip farm in New Jersey and had the greatest meatballs from the Your Sister’s Balls food truck.

Holland Ridge Farms with Diana in New Jersey

I toured the gorgeous Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.

The lobby of Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York

I went to the Museum of Failure with my friend Casey in Industry City.
I helped review some Last Crumb cookies on my friend Paul’s TikTok.
I made one of my favourite steak recipes for the first time (steak Diane) and it was really, really good. I didn’t really ignite it properly since that’s the part that scares me the most, but there were partial flames so I’m counting this as a success.

Notice: you’re using your potato peeler wrong.

The Alison Roman chocolate chip shortbread cookies are fast becoming a staple in our home.

I physically cannot stop making this asparagus soup (the cream is optional), it’s so good. Best to double up the recipe if you’re making it for more than two people.

When will I learn that fancy coffee shops simply don’t do it for me? I went to Ten Thousand Coffee and it was fine, but definitely overrated. One day we’ll all revolt against coffee costing over $5 and I vow to lead the revolution.
Speaking of coffee, have I already mentioned the incredible hazelnut beans we order from San Francisco Bay Coffee? Best beans I’ve ever used for iced coffee at home, by far. All you need is a french press, a small spice grinder and beans. The fact that we’re not all making iced coffee at home each day is mind boggling.
Some things I watched:
- Surviving R. Kelly (the newest season): Nathan and I watched two episodes and then abandoned it. It’s so hard to watch and really makes you wonder, “Why the hell am I watching this if it makes me feel this way?”
- Dave (newest season): Words can’t express how much I love this show. Every episode is better than the last.
- Succession: Okay, yes I already complained about this show. But the thing is - I haven’t hate-watched a new show in a really long time, so I think that’s why I keep going with it. The dialogue is objectively bad and I think the real appeal of the show is the fact that you can’t binge it all at once, we’re all so desperate for the days of cable and once-a-week viewing. And small side note: Adrian Brody is not a good actor, so of course he had to appear in an episode.
- The Intern: What is wrong with me? Why was this on my list of movies to watch? It was so bad, but IT LOOKED BAD. Hated Anne Hathaway’s character. There was ZERO chemistry between her and De Niro. And it’s a mind-numbingly boring script. Christ.
- Who Done It: The Clue Documentary: Okay, if you even kind of liked the movie Clue (1985), then you really have to watch this. It’s fan-made, but it’s so good. I didn’t know that so many playwrights attempted to write it, I had no idea that Carrie Fisher was supposed to be Miss Scarlett but couldn’t because of her drug problem?? Absolutely adored Jonathan Lynn. And loved all of Michael McKean’s anecdotes.

How many beach blankets does one person need? And why is this Target one so damn perfect?
I’ve made so much green garlic butter, I’m considering starting a butter stand outside my building.

Green garlic from the Union Square Greenmarket, NYC

This month in good-but-nothing-special restaurants I’ve tried: Hawksmoor (flashy and beautiful inside, but no real substance) and Pete’s Tavern (space is great, food is fine and service was attentive but odd).
That being said, I also ate at some wonderful places! Saint George Bistro in Hastings had great escargot even if the service wasn’t great, Figlia in Astoria was as good as everyone says it is so I’ll definitely return, Sunken Harbor Club was beautiful and had great drinks and it felt like you weren’t in NYC but in a good way, Amelie Wine Bar was perfect and had $13 wine flights with stellar service, and finally Satis Bistro in Jersey City which was so lovely (the duck croquettes, my god, I’ll dream about those until I return).

Outside Saint George Bistro in Hastings, New York with Diana & Crystal

Amelie Wine Bar with Jessie, West Village

I got a facial at Glow Bar and I really don’t see the big deal with facials. This sounds psychotic, but maybe my face doesn’t… need… facials…?
My brother Gary sent me this Happy & Polly stamp of Baby Dog’s face and I can’t get over it. It’s horrifyingly perfect.
I went to a sample sale for Rent The Runway put on by 260 and it was depressing as hell, it was all so disorganized and chaotic. Think that might be the last sample sale for me.
I visited the exterior of Alder Manor since I was in the area and it’s so beautiful from the outside, I can’t imagine how gorgeous the interior must be.

Dying over the entire Adidas x Farm Rio collaboration (thanks Marla for telling me about it!).

Speaking of my friend Marla, she mentioned how she gives her young sons a small amount of money for birthday gifts for people in their lives and then each kid comes up with an idea based on what that person enjoys and buys the gift. And honestly, what a perfect idea. Gift giving is a skill and absolutely should be taught to young kids (especially boys) since it’s such an important part of living. Love this so, so much. Every parent should be doing this.
I am so in love with the rhubarb and strawberry soda from Trader Joe’s that I think I might finally be ready to try rhubarb for real.

Rhubarb and strawberry soda from Trader Joe’s

I’d never heard about the children’s book In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak but it was mentioned in that performance about Philip Glass I saw last month, so I bought the book and it’s incredible.
And finally, behold my new favourite photo of Baby Dog.

Hahahahah this expression! She’s so sick of my shit I love it.

Things I’m looking forward to this month: I’m going to do a post about my recent visit to the abandoned City Hall subway station, I’m definitely going to go see the new fashion exhibit that opens at The Met, I know that H&M is shit now but I’m gonna have to take a look at this Mugler collab in person, I kinda need to eat these duck fries in Toronto and I absolutely need to track down these Lichtenstein stamps ASAP.

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

She brought her boyfriend (Walrus) beside her to get some sun

January 10, 2023

The Best of 2022

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

The very best of 2022.

November 2, 2022

October Occurrences 2022

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Family, Food, Halloween, Ideas, Links, Movies, Music, Personal, Recipes, Television, Travel

ontario canada autumn leaves trees fall weather changing Liz Heather October 2022 — Ontario, Canada - October 2022

This might be the hardest week of the year because it’s officially the longest period of time until next Halloween. I tend to take a few days to decompress a bit, so by this coming weekend I’ll be fully ready for holiday-mode. That being said, October was such a great month that felt like almost a year long - in a good way. Here’s what went down.

You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I think it’s clear that I watched every good 90s Halloween sitcom episode that I could find links for.
For Halloween, I dressed up as Tony Montana (Al Pacino) from Scarface and Baby Dog was, umm, my main accessory.
In love with this article, “The Secret To Marriage Is Never Getting Married.”
I’ve always wanted to make the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip oatmeal cookies recipe (on the back of the Toll House package) and they were really, really good. Might become a staple in my cookie repertoire.
I made these soft pumpkin cookies with salted maple icing again this year and they continue to be incredible - and that’s coming from someone who truly hates soft cookies.
I also made these garlic butter chicken meatballs with creamy orzo (in a slow cooker) and the meatballs were great, I’ll definitely make those again. But the orzo cooked in a crockpot? Hard pass. Pasta always tastes terrible from a crockpot, I knew this and still went ahead, so it’s my fault really.
I was in Canada for awhile, so I…
- Went to the new(ish) Keg near Square One and it kind of sucked? What the hell? The meat was nowhere worth the price, which is weird because I remember that it used to be better. I’m trying to find my new Canyon Creek (since it closed) and it’s a hard task to undertake but I won’t give up.
- I had the burger from Ozzy’s Burgers and the lamb was terrible, but the regular burgers were fantastic.
- My niece Layla turned 17 (!) so thankfully we were able to get the Milk Bar birthday cake from the Toronto location. It’s such a shame that location is closing at the end of the year.
- I also planted some bulbs in the garden with my mom, which makes me even more excited for spring to come next year to see if anything blooms.
- I tried the new Lays flavour Fries & Gravy and good god I love this country.
- I made the apple fritter cake (again) for (Canadian) (real) Thanksgiving and I. love. this. cake.
- My dad put up his seasonal bird feeder and I think I’ve said this before, but the answer to life is getting a bird feeder and then sitting down to watch it. Nothing better.

bird feeder cardinal bird watching Canada — Heaven on earth?

baby dog Liz Heather Canada — My dad & Baby Dog, October 2022

Mississauga Ontario Canada Liz Heather October 2022 autumn leaves fall trees — Mississauga, Ontario - October 2022

lays limited edition potato chips fries and gravy flavour Liz Heather October 2022 — Fries & Gravy Lays

autumn leaves Canada Liz Heather — Oakville, Ontario - October 2022

I made my way to the Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard in North Salem, NY (with my friend Diana) where we had the best warm apple cider donuts and cider mimosas. Afterward we went for brunch at The Arch restaurant, which was beautiful & old, but nothing really spectacular food-wise.

harvest moon orchard and farm north salem new york Liz Heather cider mimosa October 2022 — Cider mimosa at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard, North Salem, New York

harvest moon farm and orchard north salem new york Liz Heather October 2022 — Cider donuts at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard, North Salem, New York

On Halloween, I took Baby Dog on our annual autumn visit to Central Park and it was bursting with beauty.

central park New York City autumn fall October 2022 Liz Heather leaves — Central Park, October 2022

When it comes to all purpose cleaners, I’m in love with Mrs. Meyers. The snowdrop scent is my favourite one (which should be coming out again soon), but I just got the apple cider one and yikes. It’s perfect. Is it sad to have favourite seasonal all purpose cleaners? Absolutely. But here we are. Welcome to your late 30s.

mrs. meyer's all purpose cleaner apple cider Liz Heather autumn cleaner — Mrs. Meyer’s Apple Cider Limited Edition Scent

Now if we’re talking seasonal coffee drinks? The Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew (only 1/2 shot of syrup, extra foam) makes me a little sick by the end of the drink, but I still love it. And the vanilla cream cold brew at Tim Hortons is also really good. Oooo and the Tim Hortons hazelnut cold brew with espresso foam? Get out of here, so good. I think I just like foam.
Loving the new Charlie Brown stamps from the USPS. Wait, who is in charge of deciding the new stamps? Oh god, have I discovered the greatest job on earth? I THINK I HAVE??
So I got a new Apple charger from The Apple Store, the one that apparently charges faster. Aaaaaand my battery dies even quicker now! Sweet!

I was scrambling to find a dress for a wedding this month and Bloomingdale’s saved me. How do I always forget about that place? I love an old, good department store. Yes they can be overwhelming, but they’re practically deserted. I have to remember this for the future. Oh! And Macy’s too! Such great dresses for special occasions.
So Nathan and I went to Los Angeles for a wedding (the dress code was “outdo us”) and we stayed at Citizen M hotel in downtown LA. Let me just say that this is not the type of hotel for two people to share a room, that’s the nicest way I can put it. It’s definitely clean and relatively nice, but the rooms are laughably small. The wedding was fun and I loved walking around downtown LA mostly because of the incredibly well preserved buildings. Sure, the area is pretty dicey but it’s beautifully ancient. We walked to Santee Alley (where I got my new favourite feather clutch) and three days was the perfect amount of time to stay in that area. And the baja tacos from Tocaya were insanely good. Also the Wolfgang Puck Express stand at LAX had really good food to take on the plane.

citizenm hotel citizen m hotel la downtown LA Liz Heather Baby Dog small hotel — Citizen M hotel room, this bed is literally the width of the room

tocaya modern mexican downtown la mexican food Liz Heather baja tacos fish taco — Baja taco from Tocaya, Downtown LA

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Los Angeles sunglasses in car — Ummm, is Nathan somehow cooler in LA??

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather citizenm hotel downtown LA elevator — Okay hold up, are we BOTH COOLER IN LA??

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Los Angeles downtown LA wedding — WE BAD

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Los Angeles wedding October 2022 — California blonde dreams coming true

Los Angeles downtown LA Liz Heather October 2022 — The Los Angeles Theatre opened in 1931 - Downtown LA

Speaking of airports, the restaurant The Hearth by Lynn Crawford at Pearson in Terminal 1 in Toronto is great! Get the meatballs. Love it when airport food is above average.

Of course I listened to the new Taylor Swift album Midnights and the best songs are Question…?, Sweet Nothing, Anti-Hero, Bejeweled, Maroon and You’re On Your Own, Kid.
Some things I watched this month:
- Smile: such a fun time. Love a fun horror movie.
- I rewatched the first two Friday The 13th movies with Layla (her first time seeing them) and I’d forgotten how good they were. They really hold up well over time.
- Recent SNLs: Nothing super noteworthy in any of the episodes, I like the new guys. I was introduced to that great Megan Thee Stallion song Anxiety, which I can’t stop playing. The worst sketch I’ve seen in years was that Jack Harlow one with the joker. Just awful. Oh, and Colin Farrell looks alarmingly good.
- Celebrity Jeopardy: I solely watched because I love Ike Barinholtz (and he was great). But look, I know that Celebrity Jeopardy is, like, the easiest Jeopardy to exist. I understand that. But I had no idea how incredibly dumb most celebrities are. I mean, I know they’re not exactly known for their IQ levels but this was actually just wild to watch. Every single person on each episode I saw was a complete moron (with the exception of Ike and Simu Liu).
- Barbarian: so great, loved every bit of it. Bill Skarsgård remains as hot as always. (Sidenote: I was gushing about Skarsgård later to Nathan before bed and he scoffed and dismissed it so I asked him, “You probably don’t even have an answer, but who would you consider an attractive celebrity man?” and without even a second of hesitation he goes, “Pierce Brosnan in ‘97.” Hahahahahah, god I died. He’s not wrong.)

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I’ve already put my order in for this year’s bayberry candles, I’m finally going to read Dave Grohl’s book, of course I’ll get the Thanksgiving croissant from Milk Bar, I’m definitely gonna go to the NY postcard show, and I’ve already got my ticket to see the Thierry Mugler exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum which opens on the 18th. Oh! And a gentle reminder if you’ve started Christmas shopping: get the damn gift receipt.

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

Baby Dog Mississauga Ontario Canada autumn leaves trees changing Liz Heather October 2022 ray of sunshine — Ray of sunshine on my ray of sunshine

March 1, 2022

February Feats 2022

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

nyc bryant park fountain 2022 — The partially frozen fountain at Bryant Park, February 2022

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

You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I compiled my favourite tweets about love for Valentine’s Day.
I read and review Elvira’s new memoir.
I know that it’s older, but I’ve kept the song Gypsy by Lady Gaga on repeat for about two weeks now.
I made garlic confit and I’ll be real with you - it looks way better than it tastes. And that’s coming from someone who adores garlic. By cooking it down, it actually makes the garlic flavour quite mild so it’s truly not worth making again. I put a boatload of it on some toast and it was beyond lackluster. One more con? Expect to be gassy as hell if you eat this stuff.
I tried a sample of this Tata Harper (christ that name) cleanser and it was really good. Thankfully there are cheaper, better options out there (literally anything in the tea tree line at The Body Shop), but this was great to try.
I was getting pretty sick of the Spotify commercials in my (free) account, so I made to the movie to Apple Music to try their three month trial. We shall see how it goes. (That goddam Stone Cold Steve Austin & Ice-T commercial may have been the final straw to leave Spotify.)
I went to Sarabeth’s for their Restaurant Week lunch menu and it was extremely good. I love blue cheese and pear together in a salad, why can’t that be as common as caesar salads? And the mussels and fries were heavenly.
I have been in such a funk with nail polish lately, every colour seems to look disgusting. I got a short, red, gel manicure recently and had to remove it within a week, it was so repulsive to look at. What is my problem? …What’s that? You don’t care? Hahah. Honestly, same.
I finally tried SLT (it’s one of the options when you try ClassPass for a free month trial), and what even is SLT? It’s like if spin classes + pilates classes had an obnoxious baby. And you know what? NOT FOR ME. I think I hate any pilates class that uses a machine.
In love with the larger citrus green tea candles that just came out from Trader Joe’s. Fucking love a wooden wick.

trader joe's candle citrus green tea — Citrus Green Tea candle from Trader Joe’s, February 2022

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

Had dinner at the extremely cute French place La Petit Joie in Brooklyn with Diana. Love any place that does oysters rockefeller every night of the week. Also, can more restaurants bring back BYOB? It’s so thoughtful to even offer.
I tried out this Ulta eyeshadow palette and it came off with hand soap. The quality of makeup these days is just wild. And the prices keep going up, WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?
Went to The Independent in midtown and their mussels and harvest salad were truly memorable. Great place to go if you’re in the area seeing a show.
Tried the new french toast soft serve at Milk Bar and yes it was good, but not as good as their apple pie soft serve.
I have found my new favourite hair mask: AG Hair Colour Savour Mask. I’m not sure if it’s for all blondes or just dyed blondes, but I love it. You’d think the bubblegum scent would repel me, but I find it whimsical. Of course it’s made by a Canadian company.
There was a beautiful, pre-spring day so I took Baby Dog to Central Park and just look at this mug.

baby dog central park winter day nyc chihuahua — Baby Dog in Central Park, February 2022

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

So I went to Suprema Provisions finally and look the burger was good, but not nearly as good as the burger at Sparrow Tavern in Astoria (or even The Spaniard). Their mushroom pasta was saucy and great. And I never thought I’d say this, but I think it’s time to retire burrata from all restaurant menus. It is always the same. Always uninspired. We need to move on with ours lives, I think.
Okay, so I bought some eucalyptus to hang from my shower head (pardon me for being DEEPLY ORIGINAL) and unlike every Pinterest pin that encourages you to do this, I fully recommend NOT EVEN BOTHERING. It’s pointless. There is no smell. There is no point. And I think it might attract moths (!), but that last point is unconfirmed. Instead, if you’re really obsessed with this idea, just buy a can of this eucalyptus shower mist. You spray it into the hot water and it does actually make it seem like a steam room for the length of your shower.
Went to Van Dam diner in Queens with Irene and it’s like you fell into 1983, loved it.
Truly sorry for telling you about this, but if I had to hear about it so do you: lip blushing. One more reason that this world hates women. If I had any real money, I’d buy up as much ad space as I could and just have signs that tell women, “Hey you! You’re good! You don’t need to buy anything to be better! Relax!”
And speaking of buying things to make you feel better, I just bought these strappy black heels and they feel so lovely & I can’t wait to destroy anyone in my path the first time I wear them.
I also bought these Steven Madden heels online and does that man hate women? Or just their feet? The most uncomfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. Returning as soon as possible.
I was in Harlem so I went to Oso for their happy hour (good guacamole, I want to go back mainly to try the cake place next door) and then to Lido for their happy hour, which was fantastic. I love when a happy hour menu gives a fuck. Definitely want to go back to Lido for a meal.
What I watched this month:
- Tried rewatching The Mindy Project and while the first few seasons are pretty good (Morgan is the best character by far), I just couldn’t get into the entire series again for some reason. I think I stopped around the episode where she talks about how she doesn’t like men seeing her naked ever. Some things are just better as a memory, I guess.
- I’m rewatching old Sex and the City episodes to get the AJLT taste out of my mouth and they’re all pretty hit or miss. Samantha is so much funnier than I remember, which was been great. Also, you know when Carrie is with Aiden and he has his dog Pete with him - did you ever notice that this dog is NEVER excited to see Carrie when she enters a scene? I get that it’s not real life and he’s just a dog on a set, but it made me laugh so much that this dog just does not fucking care about her. Pete was right all along. Also, for all the credit that this show gets for the outfits, good god are there a lot of terrible wardrobe decisions. But I guess that’s part of the good thing about it maybe? Like not everything has to be your taste or even look good - it’s more important to be fun and confident and have these characters wear what they think looks good? What side am I even on?? Do I hate the show or not?? Look, even I don’t know.
- The John Mulaney SNL: Why did I watch this one specifically? Who knows. I don’t think I even like him, but it was a really good episode. Makes zero sense, but I was dying at the monkey sketch.
- The Worst Person In The World: I liked it! Not as much as I thought I would given how highly praised it is, but it was nice to be in a theatre. (And that chocolate peanut butter pie slice at The Angelika? Oof. Always worth it.)

chocolate peanut butter pie the angelika theatre nyc dessert — Chocolate peanut butter pie at The Angelika, NYC

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

Recipes I want to make this month:
- Tuscan Kale Salad with Gorgonzola Croutons - I always forget how much I love blue cheese.
- Truffled Garlic Bread with Ricotta - okay, this looks maddeningly incredible. I could either make this myself OR I could visit any North Italia restaurant where they have it on the menu… which is just a two hour drive from me to the Pennsylvania location… mental note…
- Hummingbird Cake Scones with Mascarpone Glaze!! Christ!!
- Prosciutto, Peas & Orzo - my love affair with orzo has not ended.
- Banana Sheet Cake with Walnut Streusel and Rum Glaze - can sheet cake come back in style already? Fuck.
- Grilled Asparagus Caesar Salad - love new ways to ingest caesar dressing.
- Lemon Almond Pudding Cake - pudding CAKE? This must be the future.

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

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