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LIZ HEATHER

October 1, 2023

September Shenanigans 2023

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


Simpsons foliage >

Simpsons foliage >

September has come and gone! Welcome to grade 33, as Martin Short would say. Before we can sing the praises of this perfect time of year, here’s what went down last month:

  • The best tweets of September can be found over here.

  • I compiled my favourite photos from the summer.

  • I finally wrote about my dad’s 100th birthday party from June and Global News Canada did a short segment on my dad!

Mom & dad at his 100th party

  • I started a new series (Fall Fridays) and I’m probably more excited about it than you are? And that’s okay?

  • I found 20 new Halloween decor/kitchen things that I need to buy immediately.

  • I recapped how I did with my summer list, then made a new autumn one for the season.

  • Had my favourite meal of the entire season at Shukette.

  • I made this tomato tart and it was pretty good. It felt cool to make the bread base even though I have zero bread-making abilities (though next time I might just stick with store-bought puff pastry since it’s eons better).

Heirloom tomato tart

  • Made this chocolate zucchini banana cake for Nathan’s birthday because he loves it and it’s always so good.

Zucchini chocolate banana cake with coffee cream cheese frosting

  • This batch of pumpkin spice coffee syrup is my new favourite seasonal recipe (especially if you add milk to it before adding to iced coffee).

  • So I made these pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and yes they’re good, but they need some sort of frosting I think. Cookie recipes are so plain these days and someone needs to take a stand against them.

Pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

  • Jimmy Buffett passed away Labour Day weekend, so I finally made my way to Margaritaville in Times Square and it was actually great. The food was rough, but the drinks and the key lime pie were perfection.

Just realized now that I wore funeral clothing to Margaritaville in Times Square, NYC

  • Got drinks at the Chelsea Hotel and saw Matthew Broderick sitting with John Slattery, who were both babes.

  • Caught up with my dear friend Sarah who was visiting from Montreal!

Margaritas with Sarah

  • I went to Shopsin’s in Essex Market and whoa. Any time I’m craving a sandwich, I should always just come here. It’s hard for a chicken sandwich to impress anyone these days, but theirs was memorably fantastic. All sandwich bread should be garlic bread.

Fried chicken sandwich at Shopsin’s

  • Nathan and I went to Shot of Art to paint and it was kind of really fun.

I mean… we’re really cute here

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  • I have been using the scar cream Mederma on this brutal wound that I’ve had since July and it’s almost magical. The scar isn’t completely gone yet, but as soon as it is I’ll do a side-by-side comparison.

  • I met R.L. Stine!

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  • Some things I’ve watched:

    • Night Beast: great. Tubi has such good old horror movies.

    • Tourist Trap: okay, not a great example of a good Tubi horror movie, but definitely unique. Loved the ending.

    • The Black Phone: YIKES. Not good. To everyone who enjoyed this movie: it’s sad that your love for Ethan Hawke has clouded your vision because this was utter trash.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I have to get my hands on these snow globes stamps as soon as heavenly possible, I have to put the final touches on my Halloween costume, seeing The Shark is Broken on Broadway with Nathan and spending Thanksgiving in Canada with the family.

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

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TAGS: September, September 2023, September Shenanigans, September Shenanigans 2023, monthly roundup, monthly, monthly post, The Simpsons autumn foliage, best tweets, Dad's birthday, Global News Canada, Hassina Heather, Stanley H, Liz Heather, Fall Fridays, Halloween, Halloween decorations, new Halloween decorations, Halloween decor, Halloween kitchen, Shukette NYC, tomato tart, heirloom tomato, chocolate zucchini banana cake, Nathan Macintosh, pumpkin spice coffee syrup, pecan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, NYC, best of NYC, Times Square, Chelsea Hotel, Matthew Broderick, John Slattery, Shopsin's, Essex Market, fried chicken sandwich, fried chicken sandwich NYC, Shot of Art, Shot of Art NYC, paint NYC, paint class NYC, R.L. Stine, Mederma, scar cream, scar gel, best scar cream, best scar gel, fade scar, Night Beast, Tourist Trap, The Black Phone, movies, Baby Dog


January 7, 2023

December Dalliances 2022

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


Christmas Eve view, December 2022

  • You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here. (I also made a list of my very favourite Christmas tweets.)

  • I recapped my autumn list of things to do and made a new seasonal list of things I’d like to do this winter.

  • I compiled my favourite photos of 2022.

  • I finally wrote about my trip to Las Vegas from back in September.

  • I read and reviewed Dave Grohl’s memoir.

  • I went to the newly opened (and fantastic) Museum of Broadway.

  • I got a seasonal latte at Elevenses Cafe in Astoria and it was very cute, I’d go again.

  • I have fallen in love with The Body Shop’s new scent Wild Pine. I’m fearful that it may be a seasonal scent, so I’ve already stocked up.

  • I ate at Soothr and it was so, so good. Love a new thai place.

Paul at Soothr, NYC

  • Some things I watched this month:

    • The Santa Clauses (the new Tim Allen show): Ugh, it was terrible. Maybe I’m not the audience it’s supposed to be for, but still - just a stinkfest.

    • Jack Frost: I love Michael Keaton, but I just couldn’t get past the first half hour. It’s way too sad.

    • The Crown (seasons 3-5): Loved the season three Wales episode. The moon landing one was also perfect. It’s a great show, but extremely depressing if you’re binging it over a short period of time.

    • Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?: God, I hated it. Netflix has this annoying habit of making documentary series out of things that could easily be 40 minutes long and it is obnoxious as hell. You do not need to watch this. Read the Wikipedia page about it instead, you’ll save yourself so much wasted time.

  • I was looking up trivia for the movie Scrooged and learned that the childhood house in the movie is a real place in Queens! So obviously I walked over to see it in person. Insanity that it hasn’t changed after all of this time.

Frank Cross’ childhood home from Scrooged (1988) in Queens, New York

  • I won a lottery ticket to see A Christmas Carol on Broadway and… YIKES. I can’t describe how bad it was. First of all, IT WAS A ONE MAN SHOW. And I didn’t know that beforehand, so yes that’s my fault. But oh my god, it was agony.

A Christmas Carol on Broadway in New York, December 2022

  • Are we all aware of how garbage the brand Silani is? I tried it for the first time and lord was it bad. Never again. Spend the extra dollar and eat something edible.

  • I watched the final World Cup game with my parents and I’m glad France lost, give others a chance to win too, ya know?

World Cup final with my parents, December 2022

  • I will never be above latte art.

Latte art from San Remo’s in Etobicoke, Ontario

  • I went to Bell, Book & Candle for some Christmas themed drinks and it was great. Love a divey, but good bar.

With Irene at Bell, Book & Candle, NYC

  • Is it even Christmas if I don’t make Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies? I also made a few batches of Alison Roman’s amazing chocolate chunk shortbread cookies that were a big hit.

The Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies from Ambitious Kitchen

  • Obviously I went to my parent’s house for Christmas and it was exactly what I wanted & needed.

My nephews watching Jingle All The Way, December 2022

My mom’s Christmas window can’t be beat

Christmas Day, December 2022

Our Christmas tree

Snowfall before Christmas is everything to me

  • Went ice skating for the first time in twenty years and it was great. Think I’m gonna buy some skates and make this a yearly thing.

Ice skating at Celebration Square in Mississauga, Ontario

  • Jackbox and Nintendo Switch games remain the perfect family activity around the holidays.

The game Use Your Words on Nintendo Switch

The game Use Your Words on Nintendo Switch

  • My mom and I saw a wild fox in her backyard and it. was. incredible. It was just playing in the snow and I can’t believe we got to see him/her.

  • Winter skies might be the best skies.

December 2022

If only I could bottle this kind of blue and keep it in my pocket

  • I made the Christmas tree spinach and artichoke dip and it was a hit. It did not look pretty, but the flavours were great.

  • I also made a leftover turkey sandwich with STUFFING WAFFLES and it was so, so good. Again it photographed rough, but tasted incredible. I used this recipe to make the waffles. Definitely have to do this again.

  • The main reason to go to the Union Square Holiday Market? Duck confit poutine at Duck Season. It’s honestly a better poutine than some Canadian places.

Duck confit poutine at Duck Season in NYC

  • I fell absolutely in love with the newest Bob’s Burgers Christmas episode, The Plight Before Christmas.

  • Crate & Barrel continues to have the cutest fabric Christmas ornaments.

Harry Potter-looking cat ornament at Crate & Barrel

Fabric snowman ornament at Crate & Barrel

  • Trader Joe’s had Christmas wreaths this year, so I got one and it was perfect. It makes me feel so together to have a wreath on my door. I still have it up. I don’t want to say goodbye.

Christmas wreath from Trader Joe’s

  • I went to see Noah Baumbach talk about his new movie White Noise at a NYPL event and it was very all right. I wish he’d talked more about older movies of his that I’ve loved, but I guess it makes sense that he didn’t since he was promoting this one.

Noah Baumbach speaking at an NYPL event promoting White Noise, December 2022

  • The candy cane cold brew from Blank Street? Unparalleled.

  • One of my favourite things to do in December in New York is to walk around the city looking at the holiday lights and listen to that Darlene Love song on repeat.

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree, December 2022

Saks holiday lights, December 2022

Macy’s holiday decorations, December 2022

Holiday taxi display on Fifth Avenue, December 2022

  • I went to Essex Market to see their Gingerbread Village display, which was cute but I wish it was bigger. And since I was there, I took a look at the sandwich menu at Shopsin’s and holy christ I need to go back.

Gingerbread Village at Essex Market in NYC, December 2022

  • Nothing better than a Boxing Day puzzle.

Boxing Day, December 2022

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’m going to get real dressed up and go see Moulin Rouge on Broadway with my friend Diana, I’m excited about seeing the Restaurant Week menus for this season, I’m going to start using this first-of-the-month checklist again, Classpass is doing a free monthly promotion right now so I’ll keep doing that until it starts charging again, and I really can’t wait to make this lasagna soup.

The Heathers 2022

If you have any interest in the other monthly roundups of 2022, they can be found here: November 2022, October 2022, September 2022, August 2022, July 2022, June 2022, May 2022, April 2022, March 2022, February 2022 & January 2022.

Baby Dog, December 2022

TAGS: December, December 2022, December Dalliances 2022, December Dalliances, Liz Heather, Christmas, monthly roundup, monthly post, Elevens Cafe, Astoria, Astoria coffee shop, The Body Shop, Wild Pine scene, Soothr, best of NYC, NYC, NYC restaurants, thai NYC, Paul Fishman, Tim Allen, The Santa Clauses, Jack Frost, Michael Keaton, The Crown, Netflix, Pepsi, Pepsi documentary, Pepsi Where's My Jet, Netflix documentaries, Scrooged, Queens, Scrooged filming locations, Scrooged childhood home, Christmas movies, A Christmas Carol, Broadway, A Christmas Carol Broadway, Playbill, Silani, World Cup final, family, family photos, latte art, Santa latte art, Santa Claus, San Remo's, Bell Book and Candle, Christmas drinks NYC, Irene Morales, Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies, Alison Roman, salted chocolate chunk shortbread cookies, cookies, Christmas cookies, Christmas tree, Christmas display, holiday lights, snow falling, winter sky, winter skies, ice skating, Celebration Square, Mississauga Ontario, Jackbox, Nintendo Switch, Phantom of the Opera, fox, backyard fox, spinach and artichoke Christmas tree, leftover turkey sandwich, stuffing waffles, duck poutine, duck season, duck confit poutine, Union Square Holiday Market, cheese curds, Bob's Burgers Christmas episodes, Crate & Barrel, Christmas fabric ornaments, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's wreath, Noah Baumbach, NYPL, candy cane cold brew, Blank Street, Darlene Love, Christmas in NY, Christmas in NYC, Christmas in New York City, Rockefeller Christmas Tree, Saks holiday display, Macy's holiday display, NYC taxi cab Christmas decoration, Essex Market, Gingerbread Village NYC, Shopsin's, boxing day puzzle, family photo