September 23, 2023

Autumn List 2023

Is there anything greater than an autumn backyard? (Yes, a snow-covered one obviously, but let’s not be choosy)

The first day of autumn! This is my Christmas morning. I wait all year for this season because it’s the beginning of everything pure: a cold breeze to wake you up in the morning, taking candlelit baths, maple and apple cider flavoured everything, 90s Halloween sitcom episodes and bite-sized candy. A perfect season. Here’s what I’d love to do this fall.

Make an apple flavoured dessert.
Taste a turnip.
Make a homemade pumpkin syrup for iced coffee.
Wear bolder lipsticks.
Watch at least ten horror movies I haven’t seen before.

I’m keeping the list brief because of the million other things I’m planning for the season. I’ll likely go to Downey’s Farm with the family. Costume planning is well underway. I’ll unpack and display all of our autumn/Halloween stuff later today. I have to make final decisions on what’s getting cooked this year for (Canadian/real) Thanksgiving in October. I’m definitely going to make these leftover stuffing muffins. I’ve already been to Salem and to Sleepy Hollow, so I don’t think there’s any seasonal traveling this year. Of course I’ll get Milk Bar’s Thanksgiving croissant IF it’s available in November (last year they stupidly didn’t do them). I will also find leaves and then proceed to look at them. And every year I make a leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich but with a different bread each time, so that will obviously happen again.

Here are some of my past autumn lists incase you’re looking for more ideas of things you might want to do this season. (I really hope you make a list of your own. Yes you may be an adult, but you’re not above it like you think you are.)

I’m also doing an autumn 2023 highlight reel on Instagram that I’ll update each day of the season because I’m a lunatic who’s powers only grow stronger this time of year.

November 2, 2022

October Occurrences 2022

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC, Family, Food, Halloween, Ideas, Links, Movies, Music, Personal, Recipes, Television, Travel

ontario canada autumn leaves trees fall weather changing Liz Heather October 2022 — Ontario, Canada - October 2022

This might be the hardest week of the year because it’s officially the longest period of time until next Halloween. I tend to take a few days to decompress a bit, so by this coming weekend I’ll be fully ready for holiday-mode. That being said, October was such a great month that felt like almost a year long - in a good way. Here’s what went down.

You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I think it’s clear that I watched every good 90s Halloween sitcom episode that I could find links for.
For Halloween, I dressed up as Tony Montana (Al Pacino) from Scarface and Baby Dog was, umm, my main accessory.
In love with this article, “The Secret To Marriage Is Never Getting Married.”
I’ve always wanted to make the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip oatmeal cookies recipe (on the back of the Toll House package) and they were really, really good. Might become a staple in my cookie repertoire.
I made these soft pumpkin cookies with salted maple icing again this year and they continue to be incredible - and that’s coming from someone who truly hates soft cookies.
I also made these garlic butter chicken meatballs with creamy orzo (in a slow cooker) and the meatballs were great, I’ll definitely make those again. But the orzo cooked in a crockpot? Hard pass. Pasta always tastes terrible from a crockpot, I knew this and still went ahead, so it’s my fault really.
I was in Canada for awhile, so I…
- Went to the new(ish) Keg near Square One and it kind of sucked? What the hell? The meat was nowhere worth the price, which is weird because I remember that it used to be better. I’m trying to find my new Canyon Creek (since it closed) and it’s a hard task to undertake but I won’t give up.
- I had the burger from Ozzy’s Burgers and the lamb was terrible, but the regular burgers were fantastic.
- My niece Layla turned 17 (!) so thankfully we were able to get the Milk Bar birthday cake from the Toronto location. It’s such a shame that location is closing at the end of the year.
- I also planted some bulbs in the garden with my mom, which makes me even more excited for spring to come next year to see if anything blooms.
- I tried the new Lays flavour Fries & Gravy and good god I love this country.
- I made the apple fritter cake (again) for (Canadian) (real) Thanksgiving and I. love. this. cake.
- My dad put up his seasonal bird feeder and I think I’ve said this before, but the answer to life is getting a bird feeder and then sitting down to watch it. Nothing better.

bird feeder cardinal bird watching Canada — Heaven on earth?

baby dog Liz Heather Canada — My dad & Baby Dog, October 2022

Mississauga Ontario Canada Liz Heather October 2022 autumn leaves fall trees — Mississauga, Ontario - October 2022

lays limited edition potato chips fries and gravy flavour Liz Heather October 2022 — Fries & Gravy Lays

autumn leaves Canada Liz Heather — Oakville, Ontario - October 2022

I made my way to the Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard in North Salem, NY (with my friend Diana) where we had the best warm apple cider donuts and cider mimosas. Afterward we went for brunch at The Arch restaurant, which was beautiful & old, but nothing really spectacular food-wise.

harvest moon orchard and farm north salem new york Liz Heather cider mimosa October 2022 — Cider mimosa at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard, North Salem, New York

harvest moon farm and orchard north salem new york Liz Heather October 2022 — Cider donuts at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard, North Salem, New York

On Halloween, I took Baby Dog on our annual autumn visit to Central Park and it was bursting with beauty.

central park New York City autumn fall October 2022 Liz Heather leaves — Central Park, October 2022

When it comes to all purpose cleaners, I’m in love with Mrs. Meyers. The snowdrop scent is my favourite one (which should be coming out again soon), but I just got the apple cider one and yikes. It’s perfect. Is it sad to have favourite seasonal all purpose cleaners? Absolutely. But here we are. Welcome to your late 30s.

mrs. meyer's all purpose cleaner apple cider Liz Heather autumn cleaner — Mrs. Meyer’s Apple Cider Limited Edition Scent

Now if we’re talking seasonal coffee drinks? The Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew (only 1/2 shot of syrup, extra foam) makes me a little sick by the end of the drink, but I still love it. And the vanilla cream cold brew at Tim Hortons is also really good. Oooo and the Tim Hortons hazelnut cold brew with espresso foam? Get out of here, so good. I think I just like foam.
Loving the new Charlie Brown stamps from the USPS. Wait, who is in charge of deciding the new stamps? Oh god, have I discovered the greatest job on earth? I THINK I HAVE??
So I got a new Apple charger from The Apple Store, the one that apparently charges faster. Aaaaaand my battery dies even quicker now! Sweet!

I was scrambling to find a dress for a wedding this month and Bloomingdale’s saved me. How do I always forget about that place? I love an old, good department store. Yes they can be overwhelming, but they’re practically deserted. I have to remember this for the future. Oh! And Macy’s too! Such great dresses for special occasions.
So Nathan and I went to Los Angeles for a wedding (the dress code was “outdo us”) and we stayed at Citizen M hotel in downtown LA. Let me just say that this is not the type of hotel for two people to share a room, that’s the nicest way I can put it. It’s definitely clean and relatively nice, but the rooms are laughably small. The wedding was fun and I loved walking around downtown LA mostly because of the incredibly well preserved buildings. Sure, the area is pretty dicey but it’s beautifully ancient. We walked to Santee Alley (where I got my new favourite feather clutch) and three days was the perfect amount of time to stay in that area. And the baja tacos from Tocaya were insanely good. Also the Wolfgang Puck Express stand at LAX had really good food to take on the plane.

citizenm hotel citizen m hotel la downtown LA Liz Heather Baby Dog small hotel — Citizen M hotel room, this bed is literally the width of the room

tocaya modern mexican downtown la mexican food Liz Heather baja tacos fish taco — Baja taco from Tocaya, Downtown LA

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Los Angeles sunglasses in car — Ummm, is Nathan somehow cooler in LA??

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather citizenm hotel downtown LA elevator — Okay hold up, are we BOTH COOLER IN LA??

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Los Angeles downtown LA wedding — WE BAD

Nathan Macintosh Liz Heather Los Angeles wedding October 2022 — California blonde dreams coming true

Los Angeles downtown LA Liz Heather October 2022 — The Los Angeles Theatre opened in 1931 - Downtown LA

Speaking of airports, the restaurant The Hearth by Lynn Crawford at Pearson in Terminal 1 in Toronto is great! Get the meatballs. Love it when airport food is above average.

Of course I listened to the new Taylor Swift album Midnights and the best songs are Question…?, Sweet Nothing, Anti-Hero, Bejeweled, Maroon and You’re On Your Own, Kid.
Some things I watched this month:
- Smile: such a fun time. Love a fun horror movie.
- I rewatched the first two Friday The 13th movies with Layla (her first time seeing them) and I’d forgotten how good they were. They really hold up well over time.
- Recent SNLs: Nothing super noteworthy in any of the episodes, I like the new guys. I was introduced to that great Megan Thee Stallion song Anxiety, which I can’t stop playing. The worst sketch I’ve seen in years was that Jack Harlow one with the joker. Just awful. Oh, and Colin Farrell looks alarmingly good.
- Celebrity Jeopardy: I solely watched because I love Ike Barinholtz (and he was great). But look, I know that Celebrity Jeopardy is, like, the easiest Jeopardy to exist. I understand that. But I had no idea how incredibly dumb most celebrities are. I mean, I know they’re not exactly known for their IQ levels but this was actually just wild to watch. Every single person on each episode I saw was a complete moron (with the exception of Ike and Simu Liu).
- Barbarian: so great, loved every bit of it. Bill Skarsgård remains as hot as always. (Sidenote: I was gushing about Skarsgård later to Nathan before bed and he scoffed and dismissed it so I asked him, “You probably don’t even have an answer, but who would you consider an attractive celebrity man?” and without even a second of hesitation he goes, “Pierce Brosnan in ‘97.” Hahahahahah, god I died. He’s not wrong.)

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I’ve already put my order in for this year’s bayberry candles, I’m finally going to read Dave Grohl’s book, of course I’ll get the Thanksgiving croissant from Milk Bar, I’m definitely gonna go to the NY postcard show, and I’ve already got my ticket to see the Thierry Mugler exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum which opens on the 18th. Oh! And a gentle reminder if you’ve started Christmas shopping: get the damn gift receipt.

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

Baby Dog Mississauga Ontario Canada autumn leaves trees changing Liz Heather October 2022 ray of sunshine — Ray of sunshine on my ray of sunshine

December 5, 2021

Navigating November 2021

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

Should I comment on how fast this year has gone by or is that just a commonality of general life now and never needs to be said again?

Here’s what went down in November.

You can find my favourite tweets of the month over here and here.
I wrote about the very best Thanksgiving recipes. I’m going to do this type of post again for Christmas recipes soon.
I detailed my visit to the Treasures exhibit at the New York Public Library.
My friend Irene & I tried the pizza at Di Fara’s in Brooklyn and while it was good, it was nowhere near worth the drive out there. Just way too far, we might as well have gone to New Jersey. Good pizza, though!

Here’s some advice on how to have a cheaper Christmas this year because everything costs a million dollars now?

If you’ve never been to the Octagon House in Irvington, New York then you now have no excuse not to go for yourself.
New things I watched:
- Only Murders in the Building - phenomenal! Everyone should watch! Can’t recommend it enough.
- Squid Game - yes I’m the last person on earth who watched it and yes it was fantastic. That old man! Fuck!
- The newest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm - yeah, I think I can’t watch anymore. I think I’m done with love/hate relationships because there’s no actual love here and why am I doing this to myself?
- The newest season of Big Mouth - the shame episode is phenomenal. This is just such a good show, I’m so glad it exists.
- The newest season of Nora From Queens - this season was really up and down for me, but it finished really strong. This is corny but the idea of not being lost if you have people you care for and who care for you? I love it. I’m in. The father is by far the best character and maybe the main reason I keep watching at this point.
- That’s Entertainment! Have you heard of this old movie? It’s not even a movie really, it’s a collection of moments from old Hollywood productions. I’d never even heard of Esther Williams, but oh my god what a woman.
I made these salty vanilla espresso chocolate chip cookies that exceeded expectations. I think I might only like cookies that have chocolate in them. It’s nice to finally realize this. It’s also nice to admit to fully being a child with this preference.
I can’t remember the last time autumn in New York looked this beautiful.

The Bow Bridge in Central Park, November 2021

A list of ten things you should do before Christmas (with the exception of visiting the Waldorf since it reopens in 2023).

Slightly obnoxious reminder: GET GIFT RECEIPTS.
Have you tried a satsuma mandarin? A seedless beauty.
New seasonal candles at Trader Joe’s!

New winter candles at Trader Joe’s, November 2021

My brother Gary’s podcast has returned and his first episode back was about Alf and it couldn’t be greater.

Nathan and I saw Jeff Daniels in To Kill A Mockingbird on Broadway and it was so, so good. Everyone should see him in it. But it was also just such a great feeling to be out on the town and dressed up.

to kill a mocking bird jeff daniels new york city broadway — November 2021

We’re redecorating our apartment right now and I couldn’t be more in love with our new washroom shelving. I feel like that sentence might make you sad for me, but don’t be! I’m actually living a really fun, cool life.
I’ve been craving tomato soup lately and the one at Il Bambino in Astoria is too perfect. But stay far far away from the one at Astoria Bier & Cheese because their tomato soup is putrid (which is weird because their sandwiches are great).

I’ve made this 10-ingredient lentil bolognese a few times and I think it’ll be in my permanent recipe rotation. It’s really hearty, but not at all bland and you really don’t miss the meat.

I’ll forever love Boursin cheese, this will always be true. And their new fig & balsamic flavour? Out of this world good.

I went to the beautiful restaurant on the water Red Hat on the River with my dear friend Diana and it was good! Nothing spectacular, but good. The mussels are the main reason to go, in my opinion. Tasty as hell.
I’m really on the fence about reusable gift wrap, but it does look simplistic and pretty.
I visited the Lyndhurst mansion that has been newly decorated for the holidays and it was very quaint. I will admit that the Octagon House was a little bit more exciting, but I’ll never turn down a visit to a nice house in the country.

Beautiful Diana inside the front door at Lyndhurst Mansion

Tiffany windows inside Lyndhurst Mansion

I’ve never wanted to live in a bathroom more

Loved this list of 90s Dad Thrillers, it’s just such a good genre.
Have you heard of the dollar-store-esque store Five Below? I hadn’t until this month and I’m mad I didn’t know about it sooner.
Can someone please buy me the winter spiced cranberry Sprite? Why does it look so damn good?
Loved, loved, loved this performance (below).

So I perused the new Chrissy Teigen cookbook and there’s really nothing exciting in it. And is it just me or does she use fish sauce as her “special ingredient” in almost every dish she has? And I like fish sauce, but this is getting ridiculous.

The fabric ornaments at West Elm are extremely cute this year. Did I need to buy a mouse wearing a sweater when I saw it and fell in love with it? I guess this is my life now?

Absolutely addicted to the new herbaceous cheesy bites from Trader Joe’s. A smaller, fancier mozzarella stick? I’m in, baby. (Also their seasonal rosemary nuts are fantastic.)
I had THE worst eyelash extension experience at Wow Threading Studio on 26th Street and no one should ever ever ever get eyelash “cluster” extensions. They couldn’t be worse. (Scathing review in the Yelp link.)
Incase you love seasonal episodes:

I bought a new winter mug with white snowflakes on Etsy and I’m in love.

Tried a donut from Mochi Mochi and you know what? I don’t like donuts that much these days, but this one I liked. Less dense than other donuts. (Tip: if you’re looking for Squid Game Dalgona candy, they sell them here at their location in Herald Square.)

The Union Square Holiday Market has begun and the duck fat poutine from Duck Season was INSANITY. So, so good. Better than some Canadian poutines. Go immediately.

Seasonal Poutine at Duck Season with duck fat fries, duck confit, fresh cheese curds, duck gravy $17

As soon as the colder weather starts, I always buy one new couch blanket (I guess adults call them throw blankets) and I’m in love with this Banana Republic Factory one (in the Burnt Umber colour). What is umber? Couldn’t tell you. But I can tell you that it’s chocolate coloured.

The Metropolitan Postcard Club sponsors a special two day show every November where approximately thirty-five to forty postcard dealers from around the nation and the world attend to introduce their cards to the public, so of course I went and here are some of the best ones I came across.

Found at the Metropolitan Postcard Fair, November 2021

I went to see the Dior exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum and I reviewed it over here.

The Thanksgiving croissant returned in all its glory! It is now $9 (because 2021 won’t let you have affordable things anymore), but it’s still amazing tasting. I also tried Milk Bar’s apple cake which was good but way too sweet. And their cinnamon pretzel soft serve was delicious. This place exhausts me with their new menu items, I don’t know how they continuously keep it up.

Details of the Thanksgiving croissant, November 2021

I think I’ve found the greatest scent of all time at Bath & Body Works: Fall Citrus Harvest.
I’ve mentioned my love of Supermoon Bakehouse before and my sweet friends Katie & Greg (thankyouthankyou!) got me a giant box treats from them that was absolutely decadent and incredible. Everyone must visit this bakery.

Some things I’m looking forward to this month:

I made this home movie of the holidays a few years ago that I might make again this year since we haven’t been together as a full family since December 2019 and I beg you to maybe do one of your own as well because you will watch it over and over, I promise.
If you’re at all superstitious or just, like, a cool person - don’t forget to buy your bayberry candles!
Will I be watching all of the snowy movies on this list? I’m only human, I have to.

While I’m in Ontario, I really want to get my hands on this vegan cheese that’s supposed to be incredible.

I’m planning on making roast beef on Christmas Eve mainly so I can make these roast beef sandwiches for lunch on Christmas Day.

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