December 9, 2023

Navigating November 2023

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

Can someone please make me a Nordstrom flagship store ambassador?

I truly love autumn weather, there’s just so much vest action. I couldn’t be happier. Here’s what went down last month!

The best tweets of the month can be found over here.
I finished up the Fall Fridays series because autumn ends in my brain November 1st.
I have friends who are kind of a big deal and I make appearances on their TikToks.

@thingsmyhusbandlikes These are so fun and easy to make! #holidaycocktail #holidayhostingtips #gincocktailrecipes ♬ original sound - Paul + Richard

Finally bought new nonstick pots and pans and IS THIS HOW EVERYONE IS LIVING? Had no idea this kind of kitchen ease was possible. My eggs are gliding in these babies, it’s almost sensual.
Loved Kaia Wine Bar on the Upper East Side. $8 martinis in 2023 is so unbelievable, I really should shut my mouth about it. I also tried birria tacos for the first time and lord almighty. Who wouldn’t want to dunk something delicious in something else delicious? Duck tacos were incredible, too.

I think these took off in popularity because someone smart decided not to call them “wet tacos”

I heard a great baking tip: make whipped cream fast in a food processor. So smart.
Experienced the awfulness that is Rolf’s German (Christmas) restaurant in the city. DO NOT GO. I let loose on a Google review and maybe that’s cold, but I had to, man.

A place this pretty has to be absolute trash.

Nathan was featured again in the New York Times recommending his Gramercy show (which he’s going to tape on February 5th), so that was huge. I’m becoming a regular at the framing place near my house and it’s wonderful.

So in love with the new Wegman’s in the city. I wish I could go back in time and tell kid Liz how much time she’d spend in grocery stores as an adult - she’d lose her little mind. There are just too many good deals at different grocers! I’ll never be above a good deal.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know how much I loved The Shark is Broken on Broadway. Best play I’ve seen in years. The Times critic Jesse Green is absolutely out of his mind for his review of it. (A deep dive of this man showed that he loved Shucked, so now I know he’s not the brightest.)
I made a pumpkin pie rice krispies fake pie because my dear friend Casey wanted one for Thanksgiving and it was cute as hell.

Vowing to get the Baskin-Robbins ice cream turkey cake next fake Thanksgiving. I did sample their Turkey Day Fixin’s flavour of the month and you know what? I respect it.
I saw too many outfit reels on Instagram and it altered my brain in thinking that I needed that one boring black, basic, long, “evening” coat that every white woman under 40 owns for every winter outfit so I bought the $50 one at Zara and returned it within two days. I’M NOT THAT WOMAN! Also that coat has the worst material, every single piece of lint in the air is attracted to it. Remember when Zara was good quality?
If you’ve ever used a Half Baked Harvest recipe, you might find this article interesting. The blogger apparently responded to the piece on Martha Stewart’s podcast, but I haven’t heard it yet.
Absolutely gutted that Duck Season is permanently closed! It had the only good poutine in this entire country. I’m not being dramatic.
So I’ve been doing this morning routine for about three weeks now and it’s wild how much happier it has made me. I wake up, make a spinach smoothie, walk Baby Dog, come home and eat an omelet and then open my email/look at my phone, etc. It’s been incredible. Also, not to overshare but I’ve also been drinking three liters of water each day and I don’t necessarily see a difference yet, but I do have an underlying better-than-you vibe that has been hard to shake off.
I don’t want to get you too excited but I am in possession of THE GLOOM ROOM. My overly generous friend Yassir got it for us and my life might now be complete? Words can’t express the beauty of this piece. (I couldn’t stop saying how “coveted” it is in the “miniature community” at fake Thanksgiving and I think it might have ended the party early?)
My wonderful friend Richard made stuffing as a main entree for a dinner at home and CAN WE MAKE THIS A THING? Genius idea.

You’re already Christmas shopping so just a gentle reminder: get the gift receipt.
The snow is coming and you will slip and possibly fall. Act accordingly.
I saw Priscilla in theatres and loved it. It was a little slow, but still great. I also bought the book it was based on, so that review is coming soon.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: of course I’ll be lighting my bayberry candles on Christmas Eve as well as New Year’s Eve, December is always the most expensive month but it doesn’t have to be, don’t forget to buy your mistletoe, I’ll definitely watch some of these, I’ll absolutely watch The Snowman yet again and once again I’m begging you not to give lottery tickets as gifts.

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

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.

September 5, 2023

August Actions 2023

by Liz Heather in Beauty, Family, Food, Links, Movies, Personal, Products, Recipes, Television, Travel

Summer is almost over and I think this is the first time in years that I’ve been a little sad to see it go. I was able to visit Scotland with my family, Marla came to see me in New York, I spent the majority of August in Ontario with friends and the kids, we played so much of Wii’s Warioware: Smooth Moves, I’m maintaining the tan of my dreams and I’ve never eaten so much fresh corn in my life. What kind of summer-loving fiend have I become?? In any case, here’s what went down in August.

I finished my Summer Saturdays series that I loved doing. I’ll definitely do this again (maybe sooner than you think).
The best tweets of August can be found over here.
Loving the new Urban Outfitters Cherry ICEEEE nail polish.

The coolest job of life would be to come up with nail polish names

Obsessed with making this heirloom tomato toast as long as it’s in season.
Made these stuffed summer shells that I’d definitely make again. Summer pasta is underrated.

Went to a Blue Jays game with my brother Robbie and some of his kids and it was so great.

I need to bite the bullet and just buy the Lemax pumpkin patch train, right?
Maple syrup greek yogurt? I never knew how much I needed you.
Also made cake pops for the first time with my niece Maya and they turned out perfect. Halloween cake pops up next.
At my parent’s house, I found myself constantly making pizza (with store-bought dough) and it’s so much better than I remember homemade pizza being. Maybe it’s because you need to heat the spread-out dough (on parchment, with olive oil rubbed on top) for ten minutes at 450 degrees and THEN put all the sauce/toppings/cheese on it and put it back in for another ten minutes at 500 degrees.

If you’re anywhere near Woodstock, Ontario then you need to get these incredibly squeaky cheese curds.
Went to the Humber Bay Shores Farmers Market and got this great honey soda.

My greatest discovery this summer? Sponge toffee is ungodly perfect. NO ONE TOLD ME.
In my shopping cart:
- These gorgeous creamy nude polish collection.
- Snow globe Christmas stamps from the USPS.
- Warm Apple Pie candle at Bath & Body Works
- Witches dancing in the moonlight from Lemax (okay, I legit might have a problem)

I’m in love with the Silk Creamy Maple Almond milk flavour for iced coffee.
My dad got a letter from King Charles for his 100th birthday, which is a big deal whether you care about the royals or not. And since his coronation was in the middle of May and my dad’s birthday was the first week of June, there’s a very good chance that this was the very first 100th birthday letter signed by THE KING OF ENGLAND, which is absolutely the neatest thing on the planet.

Dad’s 100th Birthday letter from King Charles

I went to the CNE with my mom and it was lovely. Tried the footlong freak fries that were texturally amazing. I was intrigued by the street corn soft serve but was unwilling to spend over $5 for it. And nobody should pay over $20 for a pina colada in a pineapple so we made them at home instead.

I tried the Benefit brow pencil (because I was temporarily out of the Colourpop one I love) and it was absolute trash. Returned it immediately.
Also flew in a Harvard airplane!

Some things I watched:
- Barbie (for the second time): would honestly go a third time if anyone’s into it.
- The Summer I Turned Pretty (season two): I think I loved this season even more than the first. I loved that almost every episode had some fun event that took over the entire episode (the carnival one, the house party one, the motel one, etc.).
- Outer Banks (first two seasons): I can’t explain the grip this show has on me. The disgust-turned-to-love I have for JOHN B confuses even me.
- Simply Irresistible: so laughably awful, I’m surprised Sarah Michelle Gellar got any work after this. The magical crab was the best character.
- M3GAN: first of all, it’s not a horror movie so it’s weird it was sold that way. It’s really not good, but also very fun to watch with kids.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit: I forced the kids to watch this one because my brothers and I saw it about ten thousand times when we grew up. Heathers love this movie.
- Junior: how did I never see this 90s classic? It should be law to watch one 90s movie each month. They’re so uncomplicated and good.
- The last ten minutes of Beverly Hills Chihuahua: I came home to my niece Tianna watching this with my mom and Baby Dog and I saw literal minutes of it and cried. I can’t see pretend-dead-dogs even when they turn out to not be dead. I’M ONLY HUMAN. (The movie itself seemed actually adorable, maybe.)
- And So It Goes (the Michael Douglas/Diane Keaton movie): ugh! So bad. When you get Rob Reiner to do a job meant for Nora Ephron - you get this piece of shit.
- And Just Like That (season two): are there people out there who don’t see what a train wreck this show is? I want to talk to them. Also, Carrie is not a cat person. Whoever made that choice truly does not understand this character. Since when does Steve speak Italian? Charlotte was the real winner of the season.
- Only Murders In The Building (season three): love how it’s starting out so far, but it’s not really as exciting as the previous seasons.
- Summer Rental: truly the worst John Candy movie of all time.
- Talk To Me: good/original, but too much gross-out horror for me.
Since it’s the first day of school today, I always think of what we should’ve been learning in school instead this time of year.
I got Baby Dog’s teeth cleaned for the first time in her life and it was a phenomenal experience. I was at Pet Valu and saw that they worked with an organization that cleans your dog’s teeth without putting them under anesthesia. The team at KissableK9 Care was beyond impressive and kind and the whole thing took thirty minutes. I have before and after photos that are pure insanity. I would post them here, but like… even a chihuahua likes her privacy sometimes. Cannot recommend KissableK9 enough!
Visited the Applewood outdoor pool in Mississauga a few times and I can’t wait to try their lane swimming next summer.

My babies! (Yes their boyfriends are my babies too I guess…?)

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: putting the final touches on my Halloween costume, creating an autumn list of things to do, taking Nathan to see The Shark Is Broken on Broadway and I really want to eat the tomato salad at Shukette.

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