July 10, 2025

The Best of June 2025

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

What happened last month? Oh I don’t know, nothing too monumental other than the fact that Nathan and I got engaged. WILD STUFF. Super jacked about it. But also here’s what else down last month…

I had no idea that Anthropologie had an entire bridal section where you can book try-on appointments! Obviously I went.

NOT my wedding dress, but good god do I love lace

I started doing weekly Summer Saturdays posts again this year.
I compiled the best tweets of the month.
We took a day trip to see the filming locations of Friday the 13th in New Jersey.
I never wear strapless bras because they’re all terrible, so for years when I need to wear one I’ll just put on a corset (it sounds uncomfortable, but I swear it’s not). The first one I bought was about ten years ago from this great place (Orchard Corset on the Lower East Side) that only specializes in corsets. You walk in, there are boxes everywhere, it’s owned by a couple - one of them looks at you, tells you the exact right size to get and you’re set. I updated the one I got recently (it lasted ten years) and they cost around $70. They fit like a dream. Praying this place stays in business for eternity. (I also learned the proper way (below) to clasp one, how did it take me so long to learn this??)

The chain Jersey Mike’s came to Canada so I tried their signature sub (swimming in vinegar) and it was good. I wish it had even more vinegar, though.
I wrote about the newest costume exhibit at The Met.
My cousin made this piano key holder out of my grandmother’s piano (from the early 1900s)! Isn’t it gorgeous??

My friend Marla made these incredible pistachio thumbprint cookies and I can’t stop thinking about them.
DO NOT sleep on the incredible sushi from Hillstone.

The new brown sugar foam at Starbucks is a problem, it’s so good.
Nathan and I saw Stranger Things on Broadway and visually it was fantastic! The story wasn’t the best and it’s way too long, but the plushies they sold are wonderful.

Still dreaming about this House of CB strapless gown.
In love with the concord grape Schweppes seltzer. Tastes so similar to 90s purple Crush.

My nephew Rome started a YouTube channel!
Lemax released their Halloween collection this year and I might have to buy the new wedding party, I don’t make the rules.

Visited the Cheese Boutique in Toronto and I can’t believe how huge it is. It’s this giant cheese/meat/butcher/specialty foods haven.
This raccoon (below) came up to my parent’s window and I’m in love.

My parent’s car had an air conditioning issue so I took it to our mechanic and they quoted us a minimum of $900 (!). Then I took it to Canadian Tire and they did the entire job for $275 and completely fixed the issue. Unbelievable. Love Canadian Tire so much.
I hate a sugar cookie, but the Crumbl wedding cookie was really good.

Something about having a Blue Moon on draft at a restaurant makes me so happy.

Some things I watched:
- Sirens (Netflix) - it was like a poor man’s White Lotus. Nice visuals, not much story, though.
- Another Simple Favor - truly terrible. It’s as if AI wrote a movie about dumb hats in Capri.
- The Mist - pretty good! Love a horror movie watch in June.
- Milli Vanilli documentary - really good, so much I didn’t know about these guys.
- Titan documentary - I wish it were more about the people on board and the details around the specific disaster rather than the company history, but maybe that’s just me.

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Some things I’m looking forward to this month: going to Montreal with Nathan, a million things to plan before the wedding, lane swimming and seeing the new I Know What You Did Last Summer in theatres.

You can read last month’s roundup over here.

July 3, 2024

June Jaunts 2024

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

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

Truly a great June. I haven’t eaten as many strawberries as I’d have hoped, so I need to make that happen. Other than that, I might actually be excited about summer? Here’s what went down last month:

The best tweets of the month can be seen over here.
I started up my Summer Saturdays series again!
I finally made my way to Smorgasburg in the city.
I recapped how my spring list went.
Made this year’s new summer list of things I want to do.
I went to visit my parents to celebrate my dad’s 101st birthday (!), which was so great. Always love a spring visit.

Ate an incredible conch salad from this Bahamian place Old Nassau in Toronto. My parents loved the conch fritters, too.
Went to Corleone’s in Mississauga for a quick lunch and got the junior meatball. Nothing spectacular but decent.
My oldest niece Tianna graduated from teacher’s college!! Beyond proud of this beauty.

And speaking of Tianna, look at this gorgeous card she drew (below). How on earth did I not know she had this talent?? Really blows my mind (in a good way) when there are still new things to learn about the people who make up the fabric of your life.

Got dinner at Golden Diner and my god, those pancakes aren’t messing around. And that’s coming from a person who absolutely never orders/eats/likes/tolerates pancakes. They also had incredibly crispy home fries, and even the caesar salad was good if not a little too overdressed. Definitely skip the chicken katsu, though.

I’ll never stop loving dingy carnivals, you know the ones I mean. Where everything it set up overnight. I’m not sure if I had ever rode the Superman ride but it fully rocked my core. (Here’s a great (updated often) list of carnivals in the NYC area.)

I watched the new Jiminy Glick clips and when he asked Nick Kroll where he was when “Queen Latifah’s show got cancelled” I fully lost it. So damn funny.
Found a lovely little bar inside Hotel Rivington with a $10 cocktail happy hour. Absolutely will return.
I promise to stop mentioning it soon (not yet), but I can’t describe how much I love the Scrubbing Bubbles Bleach Cleaner for bathrooms. It makes my life so much easier. (Don’t feel sadness for me for that last sentence, it truly brings me joy!)
I made this lemon cake and it sucked! Do you know how depressing it is to make a lackluster baked good? So unbelievably disappointing.
My summer go-to dessert recipe? The Magnolia Bakery banana pudding. Gotta remember to double up on the Nilla wafers next time.

The best cubano sandwich ever is at La Cubana in Toronto. I’ll forever love that neighborhood (Roncesvalles).
My dear friend Richard made me (a Reno specialty?) spaghetti salad and fruit pizza and both were too good. Nobody cooks for their friends anymore! Can we please bring this back?!

Me with Richard & Paul’s dog, Hatcher and their insane view

Finally learned how to cook perfect bacon in the oven.
Really liked this steak marinade.
I read and reviewed Priscilla Presley’s book.
Cannot express how glad I am that I took some of the kids to the Ontario Science Center recently. It’s horrifying to think that it might not be there anymore. So many memories in that place.

Visited Shukette again and it remains amazing. The only bad thing we ordered were the squash blossoms (they just weren’t crispy and the batter tasted old), but bury me in the toum (whipped garlic).

Went to Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village and got an Obama coffee with vanilla ice cream. Fully recommend.

Got the tres leche ice cream at Bad Habit (which closes for good later this month) and it’s so smart that they sell freezer transport bags (why don’t all ice cream places do this?).

Two things I can’t stop making:
- Hummus Dip: To store-bought hummus, I add chopped red onion, cucumbers, feta and tomatoes. It’s unreal. It’d also be good as a spread on a sandwich.
- Tuna Salad: To canned tuna, I mix in red onion, dijon, a small amount of mayo, grated garlic, sliced pickles, salt and pepper. Then I put it on top of a bun that’s been toasted with garlic butter and then broiled with cheddar on top. Phenomenal.
Some things I watched:
- What Jennifer Did: Jesus! How did I not hear about this awful story?
- I Saw The TV Glow: wow, did I hate it. Especially since the reviews made it seem incredible.
- Meg 2: The Trench: couldn’t get through more than half an hour, just an abomination.
- The Cannonball Run 1 & 2: I watched these movies over and over as a kid and I was feeling nostalgic this week so I put them on and OH MY GOD I finally figured out why I’m obsessed with finding the right zippered jumpsuit. (See the scene below.)

A gentle reminder: your beach body is already here.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I can’t wait to finally go lane swimming I feel like I’ve been talking about this for months I’m so sorry if you’ve heard me say it a million times, the cheeseburger dumplings have returned to Mimi Cheng’s so that’s definitely on the list, I can’t wait to see my family a ton next week when I visit again, I’ll probably watch at least a few of these summer classics and these summer vacations movies, Nathan has some crazy big news later this month that I’m so proud of and I’d really love to finally get Baby Dog in a kiddie pool to see how she likes the water.