Listen up, I love a best of list. I know we’re bombarded with them this time of year, but I simply have to do it and you can’t stop me.

BEST EXPERIENCES

The Christian Dior exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum

Visiting the The Octagon House in Irvington, New York

Seeing the Treasures exhibit at The New York Public Library

Visiting Salem, Massachusetts in October

Having my 16 year old niece Layla visit me in NYC

Nathan creating a show!

Seeing the pumpkin flotilla in Central Park

The pumpkin flotilla in Central Park, NYC

Seeing the Halloween decorations on the Upper West Side

Seeing the new rooftop terrace at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library

Taking a day trip to Mystic, Connecticut

Swimming at the new Rockaway Hotel

BEST NEW RECIPES

Kale Caesar Salad with Chickpeas & Sweet Potatoes (but use this dressing instead) (I have made this salad approx. 500 times this year)

Caprese Chicken Pasta Salad (tastes even better if it’s been sitting in the fridge for a long time)

Crab Cakes (insanely easy and perfect way to make homemade crab cakes)

Crispy Hash Browns (ridiculously easy to make, I felt like a housewife in the 50s)

Green Garlic Toast (get it when green garlic is in season in the spring)

Lemon Basil Orzo (I eat this cold, straight out of the fridge it’s so delicious)

Lemon Butter Ricotta and Zucchini Pasta (with added fresh corn)

Cold Vegetable Noodle Salad (I wish the name weren’t so unappetizing, I love all cold noodle salads)

Lentil Bolognese (possibly the greatest vegan thing I’ve ever made)

Roast Beef Sandwiches (made these for Christmas Day lunch and might now become a tradition they were so easy and tasty)

Lamb Ragu (I can’t stop making this, it’s just such a solid meat sauce)

Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding (made as a side for Christmas dinner and it was spectacular, will definitely keep it in the sides rotation going forward)

Cheese Blintzes (why do I feel so fancy making these?)

Apple Fritter Cake (I didn’t think I’d enjoy a wet cake but here we are, it’s eons better than a dusty old apple fritter)

Strawberry Crumble Coffee Cake (truly a summer dessert that you must make with handpicked strawberries)

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Salted Maple Icing (an autumn cookie that people go nuts over)

Chocolate Zucchini Banana Cake with Coffee Frosting (wildly good)

Hummingbird Cake (I wish this cake was made more often as a dessert in restaurants, it’s heavenly)

White Chocolate Apricot Scones (my favourite combination for a scone)

BEST FOODS I ATE

Duck fat confit poutine from Duck Season (honestly tastes like a Canadian poutine, which is a huge compliment)

The duck fat confit poutine at Duck Season pop up, NYC

The salsa at Ruta in Astoria (it’s this deep dark red salsa that is mind blowing)

The seasonal winter soups at Il Bambino (all of them are good, it’s madness, and they always come with this basil oiled bread)

The seasonal focaccia at Lilia (this is the main reason to go here, yes the pasta is good but this bread is out of this world… and that salted green butter? Kill me)

The seasonal focaccia at Lilia, Brooklyn

Every single pasta at Forsythia (the short rib agnolotti especially but really every single dish I’ve tried I’ve loved)

Steak tartare at L’Artusi (not new but forever a favourite)

Anything (but mainly the croissants) from Mel Bakery

Ham and cheese croissant at Mel Bakery, NYC

Beyond Chicken Nuggets at A&W in Canada (does this one seem out of place in this list? I have diverse tastes!)

Emmy Burger Dumplings at Mimi Cheng’s (truly delicious and I’m not even a dumpling person)

The Emmy Cheeseburger Dumplings at Mimi Cheng’s, NYC

Turkey Club Sandwich at Marks Off Madison (a great club sandwich is an extremely hard thing to find and the search is now over)

The turkey club sandwich at Marks Off Madison, NYC

Croissant soft serve from Supermoon Bakehouse (love the imagination of this place, the summer soft serve is the absolute main reason to go)

Liz Heather nails croissant soft serve new york city — The croissant soft serve at Supermoon Bakehouse, NYC

The fish and chips at Dame (again, this was better than some Canadian fish and chips places, just so perfectly cooked)

The garlic bread at Carbone (it looks so boring but it is one of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating)

The pizza at Descendant in Toronto (worth the drive to Toronto from Mississauga)

BEST TV & MOVIES

Only Murders in the Building

Martin Short can do no wrong, but even ignoring that fact this is such a great new show. I’m so glad they’re doing a second season. Even if you can’t stand Selena Gomez’s voice, it’s fantastic.

The latest season of Dave (and especially this song)

Honestly, every episode has been better than the last. It’s wild. How are we not all constantly talking about what a great show this is?

Searching For Italy

Stanley Tucci + Italian food = all I’ll ever need.

The final season of Shrill

So upsetting that it was the final season, but what a perfect show.

Superstore

Completely didn’t expect to like this one as much as I did. Yes, the earlier seasons are better than the final ones but overall a great show.

Soul

Loved the entire message of this movie, more people should be forced into watching it. Comedians, specifically.

Pacific Heights

I LOVE this genre of movie. I’d never even heard of it, but Michael Keaton is phenomenal in it.

Promising Young Woman

Definitely the best movie of the year. Hands down.

BEST PURCHASES

Winter snowflake mug from Etsy

Temporary Ghost Tattoo from Etsy

Eyebrow Growth Serum

KKW Lip Liner Set

Banana Republic Factory pajamas

Drunk Elephant Tinted Face Sunscreen

I STAND BY EACH AND EVERY ITEM!

(And here are my favourites from 2020 if you’re interested.)

I've been out of high school for what feels like an eternity and yet I still have an affinity for watching these movies this time of year. Is it because I loved and really miss high school? God no, absolutely not. It’s because I remember watching some of these when I was in middle school and really, really anticipating my high school years and hoping they’d be something like these movies. They were not. But that’s cool, ‘cause, as it tends to, life gets a lot better once you turn 21. In so many respects. But that’s another post.

You may not agree with some of these choices since, you know, you’re a human with opinions of your own, so be forewarned.

10. With Honors

Considering that I haven’t seen this movie in over twenty years, it still deserves to be list-worthy. When I was a kid I was bold enough to list it as my favourite movie up until I was twelve years old. I feel like Joe Pesci was really hoping for this to be the role he'd be remembered for (maybe I'm way off on that), and he made quite an impression on me at the time. I saw this and thought, “That man’s an actor.” He couldn’t be greater. Brendan Fraser's in it, too. I don't know why I told you that, though. That helps nothing here.

9. Pretty In Pink

Now this is really on the list 'cause of James Spader. Look at that man. What a dick and what a dreamboat. I saw this movie when I was nine and it was the first time I thought, “God, he's such an asshole... but I could probably change him, though.” So that's memorable for me and made it even more enjoyable. (Sidenote: I never understood why any teen boy was ever into Molly Ringwald. I always thought it was 'cause of her adorable name 'Molly' but then abandoned that idea since boys seemed to care more about thinness and boobs and not how precious a girl's name was?)

8. Fast Times at Ridgemont High

I saw this when I was probably too young, but will cherish it forever. That moment when Judge Reinhold is dreaming about Phoebe Cates taking her swimsuit off? Christ. I was just a kid, but that was intense for anyone who saw it. Also, all the abortion stuff in the movie? That was pretty risqué for me to see at such a tender age, so that made me love it even more. The one thought that I remember having after seeing this at the time? "All those kids are having sex too young. Where the hell are their parents?" I also remember thinking, "Sean Penn doesn't seem like a good actor, I hope he has other skills."

7. Adventureland

I can't really pinpoint why I liked this one so much. Maybe 'cause it seems so hard to do an end-of-school movie that's actually good nowadays? Maybe that's what impressed me? Or maybe it's 'cause Kristen Wiig can do no wrong and Bill Hader is perfect. They should've had way more screen time.

6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Everything about this movie makes me happy. Cameron, the reckless driving, the sneakiness, the fancy lunch, the shitty sister, the pool, the dancing, the parade, all of it. Just makes me feel good inside. I've been waiting for the day that I can find a replica of Sloane Peterson's jacket so I can complete the finest Halloween costume that no one will ever get (those shorts were surprising easy to find).

5. Police Academy 2

Now this one definitely does not fall into the aforementioned category, I'm aware. Why am I including it? Only because I would watch this movie and the beautiful sequels almost every other day during any of my summers off school. It's hard to remember why I found them so entertaining, to be honest. It was probably their image of what "the city" was like. So rugged, so dangerous. To this day, they make me immensely happy. I think we've all been searching for our Sgt. Mahoney. Guttenberg was/is a gem. Did you see him on Party Down? Just great.

4. Can't Hardly Wait

All right, all right, I know what you're thinking. But have you seen this movie? Did you see it when it came out? 'Cause it's still great. Maybe I'm swayed by my brother thinking that this was the greatest thing to come out of the nineties, or maybe in time you'll see how good this movie actually was. Ethan Embry just looks like a puppy in it, does that make sense? How is that a bad thing? Just sweet as hell.

3. Jack

This is my absolute favourite Francis Ford Coppola movie. Say what you will and cast your judgements - Robin Williams is perfection in this movie. PERFECTION. Love, love, love. And young Jennifer Lopez? Yikes. Too hot.

2. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

I love this movie intimately. Definitely better than Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Why? No idea. Just watched it a billion times as a child and fell in love with the Robbi Rob song "In Time" that's on the soundtrack. Also, the story is original as hell (or it was to a child’s mind). My brother recently told me that he thought of the perfect way that someone should propose to me. (Is that normal? It's fine, we're just close.) He said that the man should play that song in the movie for me and strum his hands in the air à la Bill & Ted in this scene, and then say, "Let's be excellent to each other." ...And my mouth fucking DROPPED at how perfect an idea that was. In reality, I don't actually want that, but what a brilliant idea. Maybe if I marry Keanu Reeves - yeah, that'd be amazing in that case.

1. Dazed & Confused

If this is an obvious choice for number one, well, good! I hope it is! There is no other option, in my opinion. I make sure to watch this every single June, I love it. Makes me feel young again. Maybe it's that Aerosmith song that makes it perfect - or maybe it's because it forces me to remember the incomparable Nicky Katt from Boston Public. Whatever it is, just a fine piece of movie right here.

Please don't raise your voice at the fact that movies like American Pie or Ghost World didn't make the cut. You want to include them on your list? Go ahead! I'd love to hear what you got and why. (Edit note: Sorry about being rough on Brendan Fraser. Don't know where that came from.)

2024 UPDATE: I might need to make this post a top 11 list instead of 10 because it’s a sin that Booksmart isn’t mentioned. Absolutely great movie.

The Best of 2021

The 10 Best End-of-School Movies