Words cannot express… the emotions going on inside me right now.

AUTUMN IS A FEW SHORT WEEKS AWAY. This is absolutely the start of the best time of the year because it’s basically autumn eve. That’s how I treat all of early September. Last year I went a little nuts in celebrating every single day of autumn and… I want to go even harder this year. I sort of winged it last year, but this year I’ve already started planning ways to celebrate the best time of the year. I have a problem. I know. But I’ve come to terms with that, so you should too. So let me tell you what went down last month so that we can fully move into the GREATEST, PUREST TIME OF YEAR.

I watched Why Do Fools Fall In Love on Netflix and jesus christ, the dog-being-thrown-out-the-window part? WHY DID NO ONE WARN ME. Will not watch again.
I love a good summer shark/alligator/dumb movie, so we obviously saw Crawl and it was very fun. The dog was the best part. (Are you seeing a pattern here? I’M NOT HARD TO PLEASE, HOLLYWOOD.)
I forced Maya to come to a sunflower farm with me and it was lovely. Why would a person with a bee allergy want to go to such a place? I’m not well.

I rewatched my favourite John Ritter movie Stay Tuned because it’s just something everyone should do once in awhile. Such a weird, perfect movie.

I attempted to read Samantha Irby’s book We Are Never Meeting In Real Life and I just couldn’t get into it, so I stopped. It’s weird ‘cause I really enjoyed Meaty, so I don’t know what happened here. Maybe ‘cause it’s summer and I think I hate reading in the summer? Haven’t picked up a book in months that I wanted to read.
I do not need to be the one who tells you how good hazelnut Kit Kats are, but I guess that’s what I’m doing at the moment - SO GOOD.
I watched part of the new 90210 reboot and ughhhh. It’s awful. In every way. Also, Luke Perry JUST died. They couldn’t have postponed or cancelled this trash?
I watched the first season of Tuca & Bertie and it’s so, so crazy good. Absolutely love it. Thank you to Harmeet for making me watch! I was so skeptical at first, but it’s incredible. So many similarities to Broad City in its goodness.
I went to the CNE with my Mom for the first time is yeeeears and it was so nice.

She did my braids, I can’t do nice braids on myself

Since Restaurant Week is always a big part of my life, I went to Park Avenue Summer for lunch earlier in the month and got the corn bread, corn gnocchi and corn creme brulee. YES, YOU’RE READING THAT RIGHT. Love a fucking cob. It was all very tasty, if not a little too corny (but that’s my fault, let’s be real). I also got the chicken and it was incredible. I’d love to be able to crisp a chicken skin as perfectly as they did.

Absolutely love this short piece about food and getting together with loved ones.
I got a Fanta Apple from the new section at Square One and holy shit, it was delicious.
I saw Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark with Layla and it was so good! I’ll have nightmares from this image.

I made this hot honey salmon and if salmon weren’t such a disgusting fish, this would be a killer recipe. (And if you actually enjoy salmon, this really is great.)

I finally watched the rest of the new Black Mirror episodes and I stand by my thoughts that the Striking Vipers one was the best one of the season. Smithereens was okay and all, I’ll always love a Topher Grace. The main actor (Andrew Scott) did a great job, too. And the Miley Cyrus one was just okay? I don’t understand why that’s the common favourite of the season. It’s average, at best.
Favourite thing I’ve bought this summer: this jumpsuit with lace from Zara.
I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but I love reading the (monthly?) Grub Street Diet columns from New York Magazine. They profile different (semi-known, sometimes-famous) people and what they eat in the span of a few days. I mostly love it for recommendations of good things to eat around New York, but also I love hearing about what people do for snacks and routine meals.
Someone buy me this Danny Meyer Chocolate Cream Pie. Please.
I watched all of On My Block on Netflix and it’s so, so good (thank you, Marla!). I’m an idiot for not watching it sooner. My favourite character is definitely Jamal, I love the florist with the gnomes, and the musical choices are phenomenal. Such a great show. If you haven’t seen it, I’d describe it as a modern day coming of age story set in South Central LA inspired by The Goonies. SO GOOD.
Did you know that eating tomatoes helps prevent colon cancer? Did not know. I’m forcing Nathan to eat them now, enough of this “I don’t like tomatoes” shit. Not standing for it anymore!
I went to two weddings this month, which were both beautiful. LOVE a wedding.

I tried the seasonal tomato gelato at Il Laboratorio Del Gelato and it was rough. I did taste the corn gelato and that one was actually pretty good, I should’ve gotten that one. This was my first time here and my main thought: it has a horrifying interior. Like if Patrick Bateman ran an ice cream shop.

Lately I’ve started shopping more at small businesses and less at chains. Partially because these places will disappear if I keep doing what I’m doing and I hate that idea. So no more writing/drinking at Starbucks. No more books from Amazon. No more crazy cheap dish soap at Dollar General. No more plants from Home Depot. Enough of this shit!
Nathan and I celebrated our ten year anniversary and went to Vermont (again, haha) and I did a full post on it, so take a look if you like. While we were away, we did rewatch the first It (still great), Sleeping With The Enemy (always a favourite of mine) and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (which is even better than we remembered, SUCH a good movie). Also, if you enjoy Instagram stories of vacations as much as I do, I posted our whole Vermont one on my Instagram.
This sounds like a broken record, but I did Nathan’s podcast again! We talked about our relationship and why we think it works, etc. etc. Very self-indulgent stuff here, guys.
So you know how I tried and loved that chocolate dessert hummus a few months ago? TRADER JOE’S IS RIPPING IT OFF & has made their own version. For two dollars. Now look, I know companies get ripped off all the time by bigger corporations who steal the idea and make their own… but fuck. This fucking sucks. I first heard and tried dessert hummus because of seeing it on Shark Tank (the company is Delighted By Hummus) and I want to say that they invented the idea, but I can’t say for sure. I hate this.

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’m SO excited to see It: Chapter Two, possibly planning out details for a trip to Salem, finishing up the last of the summer things to do list, I’ve gotta find something new and good to read, there are so many photos that I love from visiting my family/friends this summer so I might do a photo post solely of my favourite ones, finalizing my AUTUMN THINGS TO DO list, and I’d really love to pack away all of my summer clothes at some point this month to make room for the gazillion sweaters I’m waiting to wear.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, go on over here!

I will always be into lists. I keep them in my purse, around my house, on my laptop, on my phone - it's a sickness.

I also happen to enjoy theme movies when watched during their appropriate time-of-year. You know what I mean - scary movies in October, Christmas movies in December, high school movies in June and the following movies listed below in the summer months. Why these particular films? Well, most of them are on here 'cause they take place in the heat, but some are on here because of how much I was entertained by them when I binge-watched them on summer break when I was a kid out of school for the season.

Anyway, they're really just listed here on the off-chance that you're looking for something good to watch. (Oh! And on every single rainy day from the years 1993 to approximately 1999, I had to watch Clue. It was a must because it's the perfect movie to watch when it's raining and IT'S MAGICAL it's so good. Everyone who knew me during those years saw this movie.) List time!

1. The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Is it feminist to say LOOK AT THAT ASS? Yes, yes it is. Is the movie actually any good? I think it's all right - actually no, it's terrible. I've only seen it a few times and while I hate the storyline more than a smidge, I love watching her in it. I feel like it puts me in a bit of a trance, she's so lovely to look at. Her clothing, the way she moves. You think that it's stupid to hate this movie and still put it on the list? Well, what can I tell you. Take it up with consumer affairs.

2. Take That Waltz (2011)

Anything that Sarah Polley gets her hands on will be good. That should just be a known sentiment. It's hard to describe why I liked this movie so much, I've only seen it twice. I love the way it shows how grossly in love and embarrassingly unbearable a couple can be with one another. Also, the nudity was great. And how it touched a bit on the expectations of marriage and relationships - loved all that.

3. Some Like It Hot (1959)

I know, I know. I'm sorry that two of her movies are on here. This one made the list mainly because this was the first movie of hers I'd seen and I really loved the whole story. I feel like kids would really like this movie, am I wrong? I'm gonna make one of my nieces watch it and I'll update you.

4. 12 Angry Men (1957)

I know this looks boring. Or was it just me who thought that? I'd been putting off seeing this for YEARS and finally saw it last night. It inspired this post! Such a good movie! "At the beginning, the cameras are all positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses to give the appearance of greater distance between the subjects and as the film progresses the cameras slip down to eye level. By the end of the film, nearly all of it is shot below eye level, in close-up and with telephoto lenses to increase the encroaching sense of claustrophobia." - IMDB - Is it just me or is that cool as hell? Such a great movie.

5. Stealing Beauty (1996)

I will always love this movie. It's about a 19 year old girl (Liv Tyler) who goes on a trip alone to Italy, hoping to lose her virginity. Ummmm, best synopsis ever? Or at least that's how it sounded to me (and still does?) when I first read the back cover at Rogers Video fifteen years ago. It still holds up over time. Also, nudity. I feel like teen girls are way more into nudity than teen boys. Just me?

6. Field of Dreams (1989)

"They should have stopped making movies after they made this movie. Nothing will ever be as good." - my dad, about Field of Dreams. Now even if I don't feel as strongly as he does, this movie is fantastic and beautiful and everything you could want in a movie. Am I overselling it? No way, man. If you haven't seen it yet? Yikes. Delete my number.

7. Little Children (2006)

There are so many instances in this movie that made me repeatedly think, "Ugh, that's so wrong," and yet I still purchased and still love watching it. I think it might have something to do with Kate Winslet finally being so unlikable in a movie. I love her when she's likable, but this side of her is just fun as hell to watch. Also, all the sex. OH! And the pedophilia storyline? Memorable as hell.

8. Now and Then (1995)

There's a moment in this movie where you can press pause and (for a split-second) see Devon Sawa's junk. I know this because I've done this many times. You do things like this when you're a kid. It blew my mind. He was such a babe in Casper so discovering a gem like this? C'mon. You're not gonna look? Get off your high horse. It grossed me out, but I still watched it endlessly.

Boyhood & weird feelings down there about the one on the left

9. The Sandlot (1993)

I always wished I could play sports well after watching movies like this one and Little Giants. I wasn't fast (in the daylight) and I wasn't tall, so I pretty much decided to stick with band when I was younger. That doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy movies like this one, though. And boy howdy, did I ever.

10. Stay Tuned (1992)

This is John Ritter's finest piece of work. I've seen it over a hundred times. It's about a man who watches too much television and then him and his wife get sucked into it and have to go through different kinds of (not regular, but hell-inspired versions of) shows to get out. It is amazing.

Well, that's the list. Don't care for it? That's weird. 'Cause they're all great. 'Except number one, remember.

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