November 4, 2021

October Occurrences 2021

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

October is complete and I’m exhausted. Every year I try to make the most of October and every year I feel like I accomplish just that. And then November arrives and I feel like I can relax again for a minute before the rush and excitement of December begins. I complain, but I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way. Here’s what went down last month!

You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I visited the new rooftop terrace at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (a branch of the NYPL) and wrote about it.
I did three episodes of Nathan’s podcast throughout the month: #1, #2, & #3.
Your annual reminder that Christmas starts November 1st, these are the rules.
New nails alert!

Liz Heather nails — Smokey grey for autumn

I finally made the journey to Salem, Massachusetts and it was everything I’d hoped it would be.

I got this great temporary tattoo from Etsy that I kind of really want to get as a real tattoo now. Could this ever happen? Could I change my entire non-tattoo personality overnight? And if there’s a reality in which this could happen, what would I tell people is the reasoning behind it? That I love Halloween? That it’s a reminder to just live? (← Okay that might be the corniest thought on this entire blog but aren’t all reasons behind tattoos corny as hell? Do people even have reasoning behind their tattoos anymore? DID THEY EVER? Do you see why I’m not made for this??)

Liz Heather temporary ghost tattoo Halloween — Temporary ghost tattoo available on Etsy

I’ve seen most of the new SNLs this season and here are some thoughts:
- Owen Wilson ep. - based on the monologue alone, how is this man not considered the most charming celebrity on this planet? He’s so likable, it almost hurts. Love that whole family. (I still dream of Luke Wilson as my third husband or something. He just seems like he might treat me so good?) And the episode wasn’t bad overall but mostly because I think Owen’s just… so nice.
- Kim K. ep. - I won’t spell out the K word, I just won’t do it. This episode was an alien-level of bad. It blew my mind to find out that a lot of people thought differently and even liked it. Not even mainly because she was terrible (she was), but the writing was like… what the fuck is going on? These people are WRITERS? It made me so mad for a bit. Just agonizingly awful.
- Rami Malek ep. - entirely forgettable but not especially terrible.
- Jason Sudeikis ep. - okay, now this makes NO sense after the Kim episode, but this was the funniest episode I’ve seen in maybe years. What is going ON? Sudeikis was, obviously, perfect but of course he was gonna be. Can’t love this sketch more.
- SO EXCITED for Simu Liu to host next month, seems wild to have someone who knows where Square One is hosting this show.

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I tried the new apple cider truffles from Milk Bar and you guessed it: great.

Some of the family went on a mini trip to Niagara Falls and it was nice to get away, even for just a night. We were missing a few people though and that never feels right.

Tianna Heather Baby Dog Niagara Falls 2021 — Tianna & Baby Dog, Niagara Falls, October 2021

I attempted to get passes to Open House New York’s annual weekend and it went horribly. The site crashed immediately upon opening and then everything good was instantly sold out when it came back online. This damn city sometimes, I’m telling you.

I tried the pie crust cookies from Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods on the Upper West Side and they did not disappoint. Honestly just love the bold name choice.

The chocolate pie crust cookie from Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods, Upper West Side

I have watched so many movies this past month, they’re all kind of a blur. No true standouts, but one. Hubie Halloween. Do not watch it. A movie hasn’t made me that irrationally mad in years. Just unwatchable shit. Can that man just go somewhere and sit on all his money and be happy? He needs to be stopped.

I finished the series On My Block and it’s really just a sweet little show. Happy it ended the way it did and when it did. Fully recommend (the first two seasons mostly).
So I’m in the middle of giving up meat for a month for some health reasons (they’re boring reasons so I’m not going into details) and have you ever heard of meat withdrawal? I hadn’t but it’s real, baby. Thought I had the flu or COVID for awhile (I got tested and it was negative) but all the symptoms aligned with cutting meat. Who knew?
So I’m not going to buy the entire Simpsons collection because I’m not wildly irresponsible anymore, but I really want to buy this makeup bag.
My 16 year old niece visited New York for the first time and it was such a great trip. Highlights from the trip: we saw the Joker steps in the Bronx, we saw the musical Wicked (which was TOO good), she went to a cat cafe, we listened to jazz in Harlem, we had dessert at Serendipity, we went to Coney Island to walk around and ride the Wonder Wheel, it was such a busy weekend, I’m so glad we were able to do so much. Loved having her here.

I made an apple fritter cake for Thanksgiving in Canada that was heavenly. Definitely going to make it again at some point.

Links I’m Loving:

After reading so many good reviews, we got Mexican takeout from Ruta in Astoria and good god, that salsa. It’s incredible and deep red and I can’t wait to have it again.

I’m not a giant pumpkin fan but I made pumpkin pecan scones with a maple glaze that were very good. I tend to prefer a lighter, fluffier scone, but the pumpkin weighed these down a bit to make them a bit more dense. I also had so much leftover pumpkin, so I made some soft pumpkin cookies with salted maple icing that were really, really good. Both recipes can be made vegan if you’re better than the rest of us.

I found a new waxing place in Astoria that is incredible: Rio Wax Studio. Not only is it priced reasonably, but the service is incredible. She gets your ingrown hairs like a fucking scientist with special glasses and a magnifying device, it’s amazing. Never going anywhere else again.
I went to see the pumpkin flotilla in Central Park and it was wonderful. (People bring in their carved pumpkins and then the Central Park staff arrange them on these little planks to be floated across the water and lit up.) Yes, it’s an event aimed at children, but I like cute/fun things as much as any child.

The pumpkin flotilla in Central Park, October 2021

So I entered the Broadway ticket lottery and somehow won (why doesn’t everyone in NY enter this lottery, like, every day?), so I saw Aladdin on Broadway and look, it was cute. It isn’t for me, though. Off and on throughout the whole production I kept thinking about how the 1992 version is so far superior, but I looked around and the kids in that theatre were wowed. So that’s great. One thing that was incredible? The flying magic carpet scene. That was true beauty. Another highlight of the night was being able to walk around and see the inside of the New Amsterdam theatre. Just an architectural beauty. Every view in that theatre is magnificent.

Inside the New Amsterdam theatre in NYC, October 2021

It’s finally soup season, so you can find me most days at Il Bambino in Astoria. Every soup they’ve ever done has been spectacular.

Cream of spinach soup at Il Bambino in Astoria, Queens

I’d always heard good things about the Halloween decorations on the brownstones in the Upper West Side, so I spent the day wandering around up there and had such a nice walk searching for them. Here were the best streets should you want to see for yourself next year.
- 87th Street (between Columbus & Amsterdam)
- 95th Street (between Columbus & Central Park West)
- 94th Street (between Central Park West & Columbus)
- West 88th Street (between Central Park West & Columbus)
- West 69th Street (between Broadway and Central Park West)

For Halloween, Baby Dog dressed as Anne of Green Gables and Nathan & I were Bella & Mortimer Goth from The Sims.

Baby Dog Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Anne of Green Gables halloween dog costume 2021 — Baby Dog as Anne of Green Gables, Halloween 2021

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I have to get my hands on Dave Grohl’s new book, it’s Thanksgiving croissant time (the best time of the year), the casual outpost of L’Artusi just opened (B’Artusi) so I’ll have to head over there soon, the new holiday stamps just came out and I can’t get to the post office fast enough, I got my ticket for the Dior exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum which should be great, I may or may be headed to another old mansion upstate for a holiday tour of the grounds, and I’m definitely going to write about recent visits to the fashion exhibit at the Met and about visiting The Octagon House upstate, too. Oh and if you care, don’t forget that the Sephora sale starts on November 5th if you’re doing any Christmas shopping.

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

August 2, 2019

July Jiffs 2019

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

So technically the end of August is the appropriate time to start any and all Halloween/autumn talk (I think I made up that rule, but it feels right), so I’ll respect that and wait. Just know that I’m inwardly filling up with joy in anticipation of the best time of the year. Here’s what went down this month!

I made a list of some of my favourite summer vacation-y movies that I like to watch to pass the ungodly slow summer hours.
I read and reviewed the book Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (the woman who wrote Wild).
We had a small party for July 4th and it was the best. Here’s what I made and loved: Panzanella Salad with Fresh Mozzarella (I used the How Sweet Eats recipe, but added mozzarella and omitted the corn and avocado - I also made the croutons the Ree Drummond way, because that’s the tastiest way), Spinach Bacon & Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms (because they’re so delicious I want to scream), I used bell peppers as the bowls for holding the ranch for the vegetables, Slow Cooker Ribs, Eggplant Lasagna (I can’t remember the recipe I used, but it was pretty basic), Peanut Butter & Nutella Cheesecake Bars (this was the second time I’ve made these and it’s a perfect dessert to make a night or two before so that it can really set up), Blueberry Lemon Bread, and a charcuterie board (which is like assembling food art & I love it).
My favourite fruit/vegetable season is the end of summer mainly because of the fresh tomatoes and corn, so I can’t wait to try some of these corn dishes available in NYC right now. Although I don’t know how any of them are going to compete with the corn gnocchi at Park Avenue Summer. (I just looked and there’s also a sweet corn agnolotti with black summer truffles on the menu now too, so things just got interesting.)
Jenn sent me a link to this lovely poem Perhaps the World Ends Here by Joy Harjo that I just love.
I watched the AOC documentary Knock Down The House on Netflix and it’s so, so good. Cried at the ending.
I went on Nathan’s podcast to talk about dogs, cheating and movies.
I went for lunch at the cafe at Lilia in Brooklyn and it was ONLY AVERAGE. So that was disappointing. Maybe I ordered badly? I got the prosciutto, parmigiano butter, balsamic mustard sandwich - and even though it looks great (love whole grain mustard), it was really just too bready and not very flavourful.

Prosciutto, parmigiano butter, balsamic mustard sandwich at Lilia Cafe, Brooklyn

I saw Midsommar (by the same guy who did Hereditary last year) and I really liked it. Some parts are just unnecessarily graphic (and the slow motion shots of this stuff are insane to watch), but the plot was great. Love an original movie.
Watched the entirety of Champions on Netflix and it really bums me out that it got cancelled, it was a really fun show.
Made this chocolate chunk coconut banana bread and it was goooooood.
I visited the new TWA Hotel at JFK and wrote about it over here.
So excited to hear that there will be three more seasons of Big Mouth!

I also rewatched Dante’s Peak (still a great movie) and Twister (again, it holds up). I think I was in a natural disaster kinda mood that week.
Do you remember experiencing or hearing about the ride Kongfrontation at Universal Studios in Florida? I’ve only ever heard of it, but it seems like it was probably the best ride that ever existed at that park. I hate how most rides these days are just 3D screens with no real interaction or animatronics, it’s bullshit.
Fucking obsessed with this strawberry lemonade kombucha that’s apparently only available at Trader Joe’s. I thought their gingerade was the best flavour, but now I have to reassess everything. (Also tried the “watermelon wonder” but it’s pure trash.)
Some songs that I can’t stop listening to: You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift, Blow Your Mind by Dua Lipa, Everybody by Elliphant feat. Azealia Banks, Boys by Lizzo, Let Me Go by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso feat. Florida Georgia Line & watt, Doin’ Time by Lana Del Ray, We Were Young by Petit Biscuit feat. JP Cooper, Calma (Remix) by Pedro Capo & Farruko
Apparently I can’t get enough of Bill Hader.
I refuse to shut up about how great the (square bottle) nail polishes are at Urban Outfitters. They’ve been consistently great for years. I’ve been wearing their neon pink Hot Tub off and on for at least five years, and they keep putting out wicked new colours. There’s almost always a 3 for $10 deal and recently I got Coffee Creamer, Sun Bunny & Optic White and they’re BEAUTIFUL.
It’s currently Restaurant Week again (it’s on until August 16th), so of course I went back to The Dutch for their beautiful wagyu steak tartare. I also had the corn cappelletti with chanterelle mushrooms and marjoram that was heavenly.

I saw The Farewell and it’s everything I wanted it to be and more! Definitely go see it. It also reminded me of this beautiful song that I had to sing for a competition once years ago, Caro Mio Ben.
There’s a deal with ClassPass where you can use the service for free for two weeks, so I tried it and it’s not that great. It’s just too expensive to justify having it when I already have a monthly gym membership somewhere else. I did try an aqua cycling class through Aqua Studio during the free trial and it was… only okay. I mean, it’s fun and great to be in the salt water, but it wasn’t all that challenging as a workout.

I wasn’t planning on buying it, but I tried it, loved it, so had to buy it: Glossier’s Brow Flick. I’m still learning how to use it properly, but so far I’m really into it. It inspired this eyebrow products video that I posted last week.
I saw Toy Story 4 and I really hope this is the final one they make because the ending was so good. That’s all I’ll say. Quality series of movies, right here.
Some friends of mine recently opened up a small, late night food place called Foodstruck in Astoria and the food is really good. They’ve just opened, so they’re still figuring out their hours but I think they’re catering to the late night crowd, especially servers/bartenders who get off work late. Check out some of the food specials from this past week.

Burger with gruyere, onion marmalade, sun dried tomatoes & a rosemary garlic butter on a potato bun

Fried boneless chicken thighs with a garlic soy tamarind glaze

Fried chicken sandwich with a spicy mayo, cheese sauce & pickles on a potato bun

My too-kind friend Irene got us a housewarming gift of a Diptyque candle (in eucalyptus) and somehow it’s still going after three months of daily use, which is incredible. Do not look up how expensive this candle is.

I watched To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before on Netflix and really liked it! Especially the hot tub scene. But let’s not get into it. I double-checked to make sure they’re both over 21 and they are, so all’s good.
Made this pappardelle pasta with mushroom ragu when Nathan was out of town (I like to get my mushroom recipes in when he’s gone) and it’s definitely going on my favourite-dinner-recipes list.
I ate at Misi in Brooklyn because I’ve wanted to go for ages and the pasta was solid as hell, I’d definitely go back. We had the charred peppers, marjoram, and whipped ricotta crostini, the corzetti with marinated sungold (peeled) tomatoes, garlic, pecorino & summer herbs (have you ever eaten a PEELED tomato? It almost feels wrong. The good kind of wrong), the strangozzi with pork sugo, nutmeg and parmigiana and for dessert we had the strawberries and cream gelato (it was a special that night) and the espresso gelato. Everything was so crazy good. The service was fantastic and the space is huge. Is it better than Lilia or L'Artusi (pasta-wise)? Ugh, that's such a hard question. It's really good. I'll have to revisit to get more intel to make a final decision on that.
I went to Coney Island with Irene and it was great, as it always should be.

I visited the Profundo Day Club (mainly to get my ass in a pool) earlier this month, and I highly doubt that I’ll return. Mostly because even though the pool was nice (small, but nice) and refreshing, the blaring house music in the middle of the day was a little excessive. There’s also a disco ball above the pool itself. And a unicorn floatie that drifts around the water. And waitresses who shoot sparklers off when someone buys a bottle of liquor. It’s… not for me, let’s say. And the cheapest pass was $70 (tax included), which is waaaay too expensive for Queens. Let’s be real.
There’s a new season of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee and the Martin Short episode is just lovely. It almost killed me when he was talking about when he bought his house and said, “We bought it in 1986” even though his wife passed away years ago. Am I being ridiculous in thinking that him using the word “we” is so sad and sweet and nice? Or maybe that’s a normal thing to say and I’d melt at anything to come out of his mouth. And while it was a good episode, I got so fucking sick of all the filler shots of coffee being brewed, coffee being poured into a cup, beans being tossed in a can, flowers sitting in vases - for fuck sake JUST TALK TO MARTIN SHORT AND SHOW ME THAT. Annoying as hell.
Nathan and I started watching season three of Stranger Things and… it’s not good? We saw all of the first season, which was pretty good. Attempted season two and never finished it because it became boring. And last week, we watched the first couple episodes of season three and I think we’ve silently agreed on just stopping it altogether. And look, I’m happy other people like it, but it’s just not for me. Demogorgons are too close to being dragons, maybe that’s why I can’t care about them?
I like to go to at least one baseball game each season, so I went to a Mets game last weekend and got this beauty that was the giveaway (below) since it was the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

I mean, there was even a promo video for it. How amazing is that?

My bobble head day is truly out of this world! 👨‍🚀🚀

Thanks @CradleAviation for letting me hangout!

Prepare for takeoff: https://t.co/OIPsrmubxx pic.twitter.com/BAKyxy54o1
— Mr. Met (@MrMet) July 10, 2019

Honestly, this bobblehead makes me so happy for some reason. I love going to Citi Field especially ‘cause the food is always so good. We got the filet mignon steak sandwich from the aptly named Pat LaFrieda’s Original Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich, incredible fries from Box Frites, souvenir cups & drinks from Effen Vodka Bar, mozzarella sticks from Big Mozz, and chips & queso with ginger lime margaritas from Cantina.

Pat LaFrieda’s filet mignon steak sandwich, Citi Field

Fries with parmesan ranch and cheese sauce from Box Frites, Citi Field

Two new things that I’m going to start doing:
- 1. Buying less things off of Amazon. If there’s an alternative, independently run company that I can find the item at (and if the price isn’t wildly more expensive) then I’ll shop there instead. Every new thing I hear about Amazon makes me shudder, and I hate that it’s become my default place for me to buy anything.
- 2. If a store/restaurant is cashless (ie. credit cards only), then I’ll refuse to shop there. It’s insane that this isn’t illegal everywhere yet. I’m so sick of it and cash should be accepted everywhere, it’s nuts that I even need to say that. (I was excited to have lunch at Ole & Steen in Union Square for lunch the other day, but they’re “cashfree” so fuck them!)

Some things that I’m looking forward to doing this month: I’ve already sent in my email requesting tickets for Saturday Night Live (you can only request tickets during the entire month of August), I can’t wait to see Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark with Layla, there’s a tomato gelato that I want to try that sounds either awful or life-affirming, going on our anniversary trip at the end of the month, excited for a Canyon Creek caesar salad with Harmeet, planning on going to the CNE with my mom (haven’t done this in years), going to two weddings (!!) and I love weddings, being in a pool with Marla and a bunch of our kids, and taking advantage of a few more Restaurant Week specials. Excited for the last month of trash weather!

If you’re some kind of monster who loves reading these monthly roundups, you can find last month’s over here.