Winter Wednesdays Vol. 8

by Liz Heather in

BAKING/COOKING

I made this brioche berry bread pudding and it was actually pretty great. I don’t love boring desserts, but this one was a hit.

CRAVING

This baked goat cheese salad. When I first moved to New York in 2005, I ate a similar salad with a dijon vinaigrette but the goat cheese was encrusted in puff pastry at this great (obviously now-closed) French place downtown and I still think of that salad to this day. It should be illegal to be this nostalgic.

EATING

So much parmesan-topped asparagus. Oh! I also made a wildly lackluster cauliflower soup from the NYT. Not many things more disappointing than a giant batch of homemade soup that sucks.

EXPERIENCING

I started mixing body oil with body lotion and… why am I not in charge of more things? Truly life-changing. I always wondered what the purpose of pure body oil was and now everything makes sense.

LOVING

Since I don’t have Spotify Premium anymore, I started making more playlists on my free account so the variety alone will make up for the lack of control. New playlists include a best of the 90s and best of the 00s.

SHOPPING

I didn’t buy one this week. But I am thinking of overhauling my whole closet, there’s just so much I hate about my winter wardrobe.

WATCHING

I just learned that Pluto has a million Twilight Zone episodes available, so that’ll take up the rest of my year.

WEARING

I heard a styling tip that wearing brown stockings instead of black makes an outfit look more put-together (I swear there was some kind of real logic to this that I can’t remember now), so I tried it this week with these Aerie brown stockings and I loved how it looked.

You can read last week’s Winter Wednesdays Vol. 7 over here.

Femme Luxe - Part Deux

by Liz Heather in

In my ongoing quest to update my closet, I just got some more pieces from Femme Luxe that have dominated my end-of-summer wardrobe.

And look, I know that lounge suits existed before I started wearing them, but I never really understood their popularity before now. I never wanted to look too comfortable in public for whatever dumb reason. I was obviously wrong and I’m here to show you why.

I wore this outfit for about 80% of my time when I was away on vacation last week. It’s so light and airy, it was the easiest thing to throw on when I wanted to get out of the room fast. And while this was definitely my most-worn outfit, this black one (below) was a close second.

The material on both suits is incredibly soft and stretchy, so they could really be worn outside or as pajamas even, depending on your personality. And last but not least, these were the final two items that I tried.

I’ll be honest here, the pants are a little smaller than I expected (which is weird because I got the same ones in black and those fit perfectly), so be forewarned to order a size up if you’re buying. But the grey cropped shirt? One of my very favourites to wear. There’s just something about a loose-fitting cropped shirt that I’ve been loving lately. I feel like I’m making up lost time for the many years when I was so afraid to show my stomach in any way.

All in all, great pieces to have as the weather turns cooler.

July Jiffs 2020

by Liz Heather in , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This was me all month.

giphy.gif

The key word being was. We bought an air conditioner! We’ve been an A/C-free family for some time now, but since we’re spending so much time at home, we figured now was the time to be cool. In other news, everything still blows! What a shock! Here’s how I spent July.

  • I didn’t even know another Halloween movie was being made but of course I’ll go see it even if it turns out to be trash, you gotta support classic horror franchises, that’s just basic horror etiquette 101.

  • This is the most basic, boring-sounding sandwich on planet earth, but it tastes incredible I promise you (I didn’t add bacon, but I did add fresh mozzarella) and whatever bread you use, it’ll still be great. I find myself constantly forgetting about the greatness of mayo because I, my dear, am an idiot.

  • I ordered a bunch of new address labels on Zazzle because they were having a Christmas in July sale, so I bought some seasonally inspired labels to use over the next few months. If you’re not seasonally co-ordinating your return address labels, are you even living?

  • I’m still doing Nathan’s podcast on Patreon incase you’re interested. (You can find more clips on his Instagram.)

  • I attempted to watch the new Baby-Sitter’s Club on Netflix and it’s really not meant for me. I was never into the books or the movie or any of it, I never liked the idea of kids caring about making money, it seemed too sad to me. “Just be a kid!” I’d always thought.

  • Speaking of childhood nostalgia, I have started to watch reruns online of Sweet Valley High, which I loved as a kid. It’s no Breaker High, but it’s still pretty great to rewatch. God, Jessica really was an absolute bitch.

  • Some other things that I’ve rewatched: Con Air (practically a perfect movie, will always love, *Nic Cage forever* might be the only tattoo I’d ever get), Supermarket Sweep is on American Netflix and I was so excited (for about three episodes) then I moved on with my life, Sleepless in Seattle (still a very nice, average, reliable movie), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (actually a really great summer movie, will always be a fun time to watch, will forever be a huge Keanu fan, I just feel like I could trust him??), and Dick Tracy (will always love this movie even if it has eight million too many montages, the set design is gorgeous, and this one outfit that Madonna wears makes me question… everything).

  • Some new movies that I’ve watched: Always Be My Maybe (so, so great! How did it take me so long to see this! So many good scenes, such a good movie), The Karate Kid (insane that I hadn’t seen it before, kids were uncomfortably mean in the 80s, favourite part was when Mr. Miyagi beats up the children, great movie), The Stepfather (pretty fun time, so happy we’ve starting watching horror movies again), Eat Pray Love (ugh, I don’t know, I do love movies about women just leaving and doing fun shit alone and abandoning their lives, but this was pretty lame, I hated James Franco’s character more than life and truly didn’t understand how Julia Roberts was even briefly into him), and finally the original The Hills Have Eyes (which I loved weirdly enough despite being incredibly tense the entire movie, I just thought it was so well done and scary and incredible, the rape scene is of course awful and I shut my eyes for that part, but that was the only thing I hated, it doesn’t make sense that I liked this movie so much).

  • I don’t know how to word this, but something is off with the reasonably priced (and almost too cheap) parmesan sold at Trader Joe’s. It melts weird. It doesn’t taste like normal cheese. Something is afoot and I won’t buy it any longer. I’m truly dreading and equally anticipating the day that all of Trader Joe’s secrets are exposed. Be warned.

  • That being said, obviously I’m in love with the seasonal summer candles that TJ just released. We have a complicated relationship.

Trader Joe summer candle trio, 2020

  • I made this gruyere mac and cheese with caramelized onions (I used almond milk and it still came out good) and can every recipe just include caramelized onions? The world is ending, let’s just put sweet, tiny, brown onions on everything and call it a day.

  • Ennio Morricone passed away last month and I find myself listening to the Cinema Paradiso soundtrack on repeat.

  • Read this great piece about summer blockbuster movies which also has just some great ideas for movies to rewatch right now.

  • I have to remember that Essie’s vibrant colours just f-ing suck. Only their muted/bland colours are good. They should really just stick to those. And if you’re looking for loud colours that stand out, the summer collection at Urban Outfitters is my go-to (and there’s always a 3 for $10 sale with them).

  • I listened to Taylor Swift’s new album and so far my favourites are definitely: the 1 and this is me trying.

  • Ugh, Astoriaaaaaa, DO BETTER.

  • I’ve been thinking about cancelling my Ipsy subscription again (because I think I don’t care about makeup at this current moment in time) and when I logged on to cancel, they let me choose one of the items being sent next month as if they knew I wanted to leave! So I chose a Sunday Riley product (because any sample I’ve tried from them, I’ve loved) so maybe I’ll cancel next month?

  • I tried a sample of Drunk Elephant’s shampoo & conditioner (which smelled so lovely) and my hair did seem softer the next day. There’s something about this brand though, I feel like they might be tricking us with their beautiful packaging and minimalist persona.

  • I bought and tried the ancient Biore Strips and I have absolutely no idea if they did what they’re supposed to do. Are you supposed to see the blackheads or whiteheads come off onto the strip? It felt like it just tried to peel my face off. No idea what’s going on with these.

  • I have been in love with the Peter Thomas Roth Correction Pads, I use one pad before bed each night and I think they’re doing something good because I always wake up with no new pimples. It has even started erasing all of the redness I’ve been experiencing lately from the summer heat and sweat and mask-wearing. At this point, I can definitely see myself rebuying when I run out, and if I do then I’ll definitely not get them from Sephora because you can get them way cheaper at other online retailers.

  • I’ve also started using this Dr. Dennis Gross All-In-One face cleanser and I think it’s a good one. It’s hard to tell because I started using it the same day at the correction pads I mentioned above (yes that was a bad idea but here we are), so maybe they’re working together to make my face good? We’ll revisit this.

  • I finally opened up this Belif set I bought a few months ago and it’s really nothing special. I think the face cream is probably the best item in there because you truly don’t need to use a lot to feel moisturized. But the face cleanser? Meh. I don’t think it does very much, it definitely didn’t help any redness. And the toner? Don’t get me started on how I kind of think toner might be a scam. And the “eye moisturizer”? Seems superfluous. My eye area is plenty moist, thanks.

  • Perfect summer soap scent: Fresh Rainfall. If I can’t travel this year, I will escape into this scent. (Send help.)

  • Very excited to hear about Lindy West’s new book.

View this post on Instagram

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!! This is the official cover for my next book, Shit, Actually, which you can preorder now and receive in Oct! I am SO EXCITED TO RELEASE THIS BOOK. Obviously Shrill changed my life and I worked harder on The Witches Are Coming than anything I’ve ever made, but frankly Shit, Actually is my favorite because it is just me in my purest form: being a bitch about movies. It was so therapeutic to write this book, a kind of return to myself and my beginnings, and it absolutely saved me to just sit and make myself laugh, day after day, during the early pandemic. I cannot wait for you to read this. (And let’s sell the shit out of it so I can write 10 sequels!) Also no joke I deserve a Grammy for the audiobook. 💖 ###### // New York Times opinion writer and bestselling author Lindy West was once the in-house movie critic for Seattle’s alternative newsweekly The Stranger, where she covered film with brutal honesty and giddy irreverence. In Shit, Actually, Lindy returns to those roots, re-examining beloved and iconic movies from the past 40 years with an eye toward the big questions of our time: Is Twilight the horniest movie in history? Why do the zebras in The Lion King trust Mufasa-WHO IS A LION-to look out for their best interests? Why did anyone bother making any more movies after The Fugitive achieved perfection? And, my god, why don’t any of the women in Love, Actually ever fucking talk?!?! From Forrest Gump, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Bad Boys II, to Face/Off, Top Gun, and The Notebook, Lindy combines her razor-sharp wit and trademark humor with a genuine adoration for nostalgic trash to shed new critical light on some of our defining cultural touchstones-the stories we’ve long been telling ourselves about who we are. At once outrageously funny and piercingly incisive, Shit, Actually reminds us to pause and ask, “How does this movie hold up?”, all while teaching us how to laugh at the things we love without ever letting them or ourselves off the hook. Shit, Actually is a love letter and a break-up note all in one: to the films that shaped us and the ones that ruined us. More often than not, Lindy finds, they’re one and the same.

A post shared by Lindy West (@thelindywest) on

  • So I heard that Lady M now ships their cakes to Canada and I was able to scream in excitement for approx. four seconds before looking into it and seeing that it’ll cost you over $100 to get ONE cake sent. THE GALL, I tell you. THE GALL.

  • I briefly looked into the app Sweatcoin after hearing good things, but it really just seems like an app where its main goal is to track you. And yes, your phone already does that whether you’re aware or not, but I think I’ll pass on the extra tracking.

  • I heard that the upcoming Halloween Bob’s Burgers episode will “follow the kids as they try to deliver a burger to the hotel on their street.” It’s such a sad little bit of tiny information, but I love their seasonal episodes so much that I’ll take any crumbs available.

  • Actually helpful tips on how to clean your home efficiently.

  • Christ, why do I keep forgetting that Bareburger is absolutely nothing special? Why in the good fuck is it taking so long for a Shake Shack to come to Astoria?!

  • I ate on the patio at Hoja Santa in Astoria and the tacos were nothing to write home about. The service, drinks and chips were outstanding though, so I may have just ordered badly.

  • New favourite beer alert.

  • Best tweets of the month ahead.

  • I tried Thai iced coffee and it was so wildly sweet and too aromatic, I probably wouldn’t get it again. And I also tried a Vietnamese iced coffee and it was the perfect level of sweet! What’s the difference between the two, you ask?

  • I finally tried the katsu sandwich at Hi-Collar as takeout in the East Village and it was absolutely nothing special. No idea why people are so into it.

  • I haven’t been to Bite in so many months, so it was nice to get takeout earlier this week. God how I’ve missed their ciabatta bread. They use it on their sandwiches and it comes from Balthazar each morning and it’s always heavenly.

  • I have found the perfect, light summer blanket and I’m trying not to focus on the fact that it came from Amazon.

  • I tried a grapefruit shandy and holy shit, it might be my favourite new summer drink.

  • I ate on the patio at L’Artusi since it just reopened and good god, that carbonara will change you. So psyched to see they have the wagyu steak tartare on the menu now, too. The burger, the panzanella salad and the charred corn were all great, but that carbonara was the standout.

Yeah, I’m NOT gonna get a Manhattan??

Carbonara heaven, 'L’Artusi

L’Burger with roasted potatoes at L’Artusi

Sweet Irene!

Some things I’d like to do this month: I’d love to try this tomato toast with blue cheese mayo, I’m going to start using a new clothes steamer I just bought with the hopes of getting rid of my iron & ironing board, I rebought a tube of Revitalash because of how great my lashes were looking when I used it a few years ago so I’ll start using it on August 1st and track my progress to prove how great this product is, I can’t wait for Moesha to be coming to Netflix this month, and I am waiting waiting waiting until I can find time to return to Lilia (on the patio) to eat this incredible tomato focaccia & garlic butter (shown below).

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in June over here.

December Dalliances

by Liz Heather in , , , , ,

So many things happened last month, highlights ahead!

  • I literally started doing my hair instead of just letting it air dry and it’s kind of nuts how easy it is to do.

  • I started using Origin’s GinZing Eye Cream and even though it’s only been a few weeks, I’m really liking it. Is it actually lightening my dark circles? I’ll be able to tell within a few more weeks, I think, so I’ll come back to this next month.

  • I made cauliflower hummus for the first time and it was not a hit. Maybe ‘cause I couldn’t get it as smooth as I imagined it should be, but still - not good at all.

  • I visited the Glossier flagship store in Soho and it was pretty fun and only slightly ridiculous. The robot mechanism that delivers your purchase to you at the end made me laugh. No opinions on their products as of right now since I only went to buy a Christmas gift for someone, although I did try a sample of their Milky Jelly Cleanser that felt pretty nice. The big drawback of the place is that it’s credit-card-only (no cash), which I have pretty strong opinions on. This is a great piece on that whole issue.

  • I went for food at Lillie’s Victorian Establishment in Union Square for their $13 lunch special (which includes a drink) and it’s probably one of the best lunch deals in that area for sure. Also the decorations at Christmastime are insanely lovely and aggressive.

  • Ate the smash burger at The Spaniard, which was really, really good but of course it was because it was a Pat LaFrieda blend. The bun was so perfectly toasted and it’s now definitely one of my favourite burgers in the West Village. Only thing I didn’t like were their onion rings - waaaay too doughy. Gotta keep it real with letting the onion shine through.

Smash burger at The Spaniard

  • Finally tried the Bite Agave Lip Balm that was part of Sephora’s yearly birthday gift and it’s definitely nothing special, way too sticky!

  • Also tried the Bite Lip Crayon in Glacé that was also part of the Sephora birthday gift and it’s so wearable and lovely, I’m excited for the 2019 Sephora birthday gift options (they just announced them!)

  • I got my hair cut! I went to Davidov Salon in the city for the second time, and I think this’ll be my regular place from now on.

  • Made a ton of chickpea nuts and they’re such a good and fast snack to have around. Favourite’s probably the BBQ.

  • HUGE fan of this eggplant lasagna.

  • Watched the latest Chilling Adventures of Sabrina holiday special and for a few scenes, it was actually kind of scary, which weirded me out. I still can’t decide if I hate or like this show.

  • Watched Salt Fat Acid Heat and loved it. Samin Nosrat has such an approachable nature, I wish there were tons more episodes. I also loved the last bit of the series when she says, “For me, cooking has never been about the food. It’s about what happens at the table. Making good food accessible is really important to me. And any little way that I can do that, from inviting a bunch of friends over for a simple meal, to making them help out in the kitchen when they arrive, just helps make it feel like good cooking is within reach for everyone. My ultimate goal is to make people feel comfortable and taken care of so that they can just enjoy the moment. And maybe eventually pass that kindness onto others. Cooking for them, with them, just happens to be the easiest way I can do that. Anyone can learn to cook and do it well. Be thoughtful. Be curious. And use salt, fat, acid and heat to guide you to delicious food. And if for some reason a dish doesn’t turn out well, it’s okay. You can always try again tomorrow.“

  • I’ve been using Kate Somerville’s ExfoliKate as a face exfoliator once/twice a week for the past few months and I absolutely love it. It’s crazy gentle and smells so weird that you feel like it must work.

  • Can’t stop making this incredible firecracker chicken. Tastes like take out.

  • Why do I continue to watch the new Fuller House episodes? I wish I could tell you. It’s the only show I hate watch at the moment. I fully hate it. The jokes are bad. Everything is corny. I’m unhappy when I watch it. Okay, it’s over. I’ll never watch it again.

  • I have so many thoughts on this dog cloning article and I have absolutely no idea which side I’m on. Obviously it’s seems like a wildly controversial and terrible idea… but also what if you just miss your dog so much and it can bring you happiness? Also, the fact that people with money are already doing this makes me all kinds of mad/crazy/excited? I don’t know, man. I’m all over the place with this.

  • I tried the hair mask from Trader Joe’s and I love it, I just wish the packaging were bigger.

  • As you already know, I started watching This Is Us and even though I’m only halfway through the first season, I have a couple thoughts. I hate the character of Kevin so much - it’s either him or the actor, I don’t know. His storyline is just so boring, I want to scream. Also, I’m not actually convinced it’s a good show. Everyone won’t shut up about how good it is, but it’s definitely got its moments of pure cheese. I’m just not convinced. I'll give it a few more episodes to make sure I’m not wrong.

  • I watched The Year Without A Santa Claus for the first time and it was cuuuute. Love that old school animation so much.

  • Tried Smashbox’s Super Fan Mascara - and it’s not great so I’m thinking I’ll exchange it for the Make Up For Ever one (Smoky Extravagant Mascara) that I really like.

  • Ate the French onion soup burger at Le Rivage and it was only okay. They kept bragging about how many awards that burger has won, but I mean… it wasn’t anything special. I think that if they replaced their English muffin bun with a potato bun then maybe they’d be cookin’. Their escargots, however, were dynamite - I love it when they’re served while they’re still in the shells. So fancy.

  • Have you ever had a dunkaccino? It’s a half hot chocolate & half coffee drink from Dunkin Donuts. I recommend.

  • In love with this new shirt that I got from Uniqlo. Every woman on earth should get this crazy soft, perfect shirt.

  • Baking Hack: if you don’t have any brown sugar, do you know that you can make some by combining white sugar and molasses? Insanity. It really works. Check online for specific measurements.

  • Went to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree with Nathan!

(If you have any interest in past monthly roundups, they can be found here: November 2018, October 2018, September 2018, August 2018, July 2018, June 2018 & May 2018.)

Heattech Clothing at Uniqlo

by Liz Heather in

Available for $15

Available for $15

Nathan got me that Heattech outfit (shown above) last year and, quite honestly, it saved my life. We live in a basement that used to not have any heating (I know, that's a sad story, but we have heat now!) and I wore this set almost exclusively for four months. If that sounds like a joke, I apologize. It was a reality that we had to get comfortable with - and wearing this outfit made that winter bearable. It's such a warm outfit that they sort of remind me of stylish long johns. I think you can wear them underneath your regular clothing too since they're so slim-fitting. And if you're a fan of being warm, but not bulky-warm - then these are the perfect at-home clothes that you need to buy immediately for winter. They have mens sizes as well, so they're kind of the perfect gift for anyone who has ever been affected by warmth.