“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 went to visit my parents to celebrate my dad’s 101st birthday (!), which was so great. Always love a spring visit.
Dad’s 101st birthday
Nathan mowing my parent’s backyard
Rome strugglin’
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.
My baby!
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.
Drawn by Tianna
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 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.
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?!
Fruit pizza
Spaghetti salad
Me with Richard & Paul’s dog, Hatcher and their insane view
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).
Whipped garlic (toum) at Shukette, NYC
Strawberry labneh at Shukette, NYC
Went to Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village and got an Obama coffee with vanilla ice cream. Fully recommend.
Inside Ray’s Candy Store, NYC
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?).
Tres leche at Bad Habit, NYC
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.)
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.
If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in May over here.
In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write to a famous author & ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond and his words are too good not to share. (It also reminds me of how this man was filled with good advice.)
I finally made my way to the Park Avenue Armory - AND I'M SO GLAD I WENT! Here's what's on display there right now.
Yeah, it's literally a room full of white balloons that you get to walk through. Why? For art, I'm assuming. In any case, it was a well spent afternoon. And the rest of the exhibits on display were actually pretty neat, too. Go, go, go! Definitely the most fun you'll have at any museum in NYC right now.
“Once, Picasso was asked what his paintings meant. He said, “Do you ever know what the birds are singing? You don’t. But you listen to them anyway.” So, sometimes with art, it is important just to look.”
Every summer, The Met has a different rooftop exhibit - you know this, because I've mentioned it before. Here's what's up there this year...
The project’s full name is “Transitional Object: (PsychoBarn)” and it's done by the artist Cornelia Parker. It is assembled at two-thirds of the scale of a real house and with only two finished sides, just like the film set of the 1960 Hitchcock film “Psycho” that gave Ms. Parker part of her inspiration.
The back of the project — which Ms. Parker doesn’t hide, but rather emphasizes — reveals it as fake, supported by metal scaffolding and tamped down with large black water tanks, providing ballast so it won’t blow over in a strong wind.
It'll stay up there until October 31st. Gotta go see this!
I saw this image somewhere online many years ago and printed it out, put it in a frame and gave it to my friend Harmeet since she seemed to enjoy it as much as I do. I can’t help but wonder how large it would be in real life and where it came from exactly. If anyone knows, please speak up.
I know, I know - how could this youthful, ageless beauty be turning a fully functioning adult age? Beats me, but it's happening. And I think I'm kind of pumped about it. Why, you ask? 'Cause these past 29 years have been some of the most fortunate ones that any human could have asked for. Really. And I want to list some of the greatest things that I've experienced thus far.
(If you judge me for making this list and/or being proud of it, then I think you might be missing my point here. In which case, skip the list altogether and proceed to the final two paragraphs.)
Highlights Of The Past 29 Years
I was a co-lead in my fifth grade musical production of Newsies (or the more accurately titled "Extra! Extra! Read All About It!")
I've learned to play the piano, alto saxophone and bass guitar.
I met someone who lives in Ireland in a Foo Fighters chatroom about 15 years ago and we still mail letters to keep in touch.
In Amsterdam, I fell hard for a Frenchman and followed him to Paris.
In Paris, I celebrated New Year's, ate crepes outside the Eiffel Tower, learned cooking techniques from a master French chef, walked to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, sailed across the river Seine and kissed Oscar Wilde's grave.
In Venice, I stole wine, rode in a gondola and had a brief (but memorable) Italian romance.
Acquired the entire Perfect Strangers series as Russian bootleg DVDs.
In Cape Cod, I exclusively ate red meat for five straight days.
In Chicago, I saw great art.
Robbie in Chicago, 2009.
In Miami, I ate the finest steak of my life at (the now closed) Emeril's.
In St. Maarten, I went to a nude beach with my parents.
In Niagara Falls, I stayed in a vice presidential suite and won a ton at the casino.
Niagara Falls, June 2013.
In Las Vegas, I rode that roller coaster that Grissom loved.
In Costa Rica, I went canyoneering, ziplined through the rainforest and saw some sloths.
Canyoneering with Marla, Costa Rica 2010.
Ziplining in Costa Rica, 2010.
I've seen The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway over 10 times and will see it again.
I have buried time capsules with loved ones.
In Aruba, I experienced my first all-inclusive vacation and vowed to never go all-inclusive again.
My parents in Aruba 2011.
I have broken both of my feet on separate occasions.
I've become proficient in pilates.
In Atlantic City, I saw Lady Gaga perform and roamed the gorgeous boardwalk.
In Montreal, I listened to more jazz than ever before.
Montreal, 2011.
I have dined and dashed.
I have never dyed my hair.
In Ontario, I've made out with strangers on dance floors, had hundreds of sleepovers at my brother's apartment, ate an abnormal amount of poutine, blown bubbles off balconies, learned how to play poker and swam in an infinity pool overlooking the city.
Toronto, 2012.
Poker night in Mississauga, 2015.
In Jamaica, I parasailed, helped Nathan learn how to swim and experienced the clearest sea water in the history of mankind.
The view from parasailing, Jamaica 2011.
In the sea, Jamaica 2011.
I've maintained a daily blog for two full years with some degree of success.
I'm a (magazine) published writer.
I became the type of person who enters a dog in a costume contest.
October 2013.
October 2014.
I've found work as an editor, greeting card store cashier, HMV seasonal employee, video store clerk, management assistant, daycare worker and part time nanny.
In Florida, I had numerous memorable family vacations.
Florida, 2014.
Florida, 1993.
I became a godmother.
With Camden, 2014.
For almost six years, I've been in love with a man who treats me so well and happens to be handsome as hell.
Nathan, 2014.
If this post seems boastful, I sincerely don't mean it to. I'm so proud of what's happened thus far - and don't think that I don't know for a goddam minute how lucky I am. Everything on this list was possible because of my family and friends. I know how fortunate I am. So what reason is there not to be excited about whatever happens after 30?
If you're to take anything away from this post, I hope that you start to compile your own list, at whatever age you currently are. The bullet points won't all come to you at once, but they'll trickle in over weeks and you'll slowly start to see how fortunate you are in your own life, if you don't already know. It's important to look back on these things and realize we're all immensely lucky in more ways than we realize, I think.
I don't know about you, but I ADORE THIS. It's just such a fun idea. The Whitney has put on this life-size 3D installation of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" painting in New York as part of their Hopper exhibition that's going on at the museum right now. I went and saw the exhibition (which was great). Why was it especially so great, you ask? Well, because it was pay-what-you-can Friday and the whole evening cost me about $1. So that was great, but also - I stumbled into a room with a guide talking about a lot of Hopper pieces and became excited, since I actually really like his stuff ("New York Movie" is definitely the standout best one in my head), so it was great to hear all about these pieces I'd actually want to hear about. After all that I then headed down to 23rd Street to see the life-sized version, which is too cool for words. Such a neat idea. If you're anywhere near 23rd & Madison, definitely go take a look. It's up until the beginning of October.
