The Best of August

Wow, this is by far the latest monthly post, sorry about that. I wish I had an excuse for my lateness, but this is a free site so I don’t owe you a damn thing!

Summer is almost at an end and I couldn’t be happier about it. This will soon be me.

Here’s what went down in August!

• You can find my favourites tweets of the month over here and here.

• I got coffee at Cafe Renis in Astoria and it’s perfect. Love an independent coffee place.

• I’ve decided that the best canned tomatoes you can get in the U.S. come from the brand Afeltra and they’re sold at Eataly.

• The Chelsea Hotel finally reopened so I stopped by for a (ridiculously overpriced) coffee and yes the renovation took forever, but damn it’s gorgeous.

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The Chelsea Hotel lobby, August 2022

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The Chelsea Hotel, August 2022

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The Chelsea Hotel, August 2022

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The Chelsea Hotel, August 2022

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The Chelsea Hotel, August 2022

• I bought these running shoes I found at Marshalls and I loooooove them. Who doesn’t love a shoe that feels like a heavy sock?

• I also can’t stop taking photos in this Zara dress. Clearly.

• It’s finally the time of year when Lemax (the worldwide leader in collectable village miniatures) releases their new Halloween collection and I’m fighting every urge inside my body to buy THE GLOOM ROOM.

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The Gloom Room from Lemax, 2022 Collection (not shown: the figures DANCING IN THE ROOFTOP BALLROOM)

• Completely out of nowhere, but does everyone know how cool-looking the Tommy Bahama wrapping paper is? Just beautiful.

• I tried these Lays West Indies’ Hot ‘n’ Sweet Chilli and they were tasty as hell.

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• I have forever loved the top of this building (below) and have always wondered what the inside looks like. Now I know and it’s shot to the top of my must-live-in list.

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The Cupola Penthouse at 141 Fifth Avenue, NYC

• I had dinner at the breathtaking Riverpark with Irene and the food was really good.

• It’s almost embarrassing how many times I’ve listened to Beach House by Carly Rae Jepsen.

• Some things I watched this month:

  • Bodies Bodies Bodies - Did I see this solely because of Lee Pace? Yes. And he wasn’t in it nearly enough. Also, it is not a good movie.

  • The Rehearsal - Look, I get it, it was fine. Definitely not the masterpiece that everyone claims it is. Love Nathan Fielder, though. A Canadian king.

  • Sister Act - Okay, I haven’t rewatched this in maybe… twenty years? It’s still amazing. And god, that soundtrack. All hits.

  • Violation - My friend Dusty made this movie and it’s incredible. No bias either, I promise you - he’s just wildly talented.

• I also got to go to Canada for a short visit to see some friends and family, which is always great.

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• I finally got to visit my best friend Harmeet’s lake house in Ontario and it. was. unreal. Such a fun few days away.

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Harmeet!

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• Is it weird that I’ve never done a tea service before? Wait, is that how I even word that? In any case, my dear friend Marla took me to my first one! I can’t believe how many things you get. We went to The Wild Tart in Elora, Ontario and it was wonderful.

• While we were in Elora, we also went to see the gorge and quarry (where scenes from It were filmed!). I had no idea that Elora was such a nice little town. I also discovered this greeting card company that I’m absolutely in love with.

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Elora Quarry, August 2022

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Marla!

Some things I’m looking forward to this month: I’m pretty excited about coming up with my autumn list of things to do this year, I need to catch up on writing some travel posts that I’ve been putting off since July, I need to make some final decisions on our Halloween costumes, and we’re getting a brand new oven that I’m pretty jacked about.

If you have any interest in what went on in July, come on over here and you can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.

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That’s her excited-for-September face

First of the Month Checklist

I love the first day of the month. There's just something about starting a new month that makes you feel like you can get tons and tons of stuff done. And whether that's true or not, the idea behind it makes me hopeful. Is it just me who feels that way?

The one thing I do every time this day comes around is check off my list of monthly things that need to get done. I really think that everyone should have one of these lists. How else are you supposed to stay on top of things? And if you're unsure of what types of things should be on this list, feel free to take a glance at mine.

My Monthly Checklist

1. Clear out any old food from the fridge and clean the shelves. 

2. Choose my next book to read.

3. Set a goal of how many times I expect myself to go to the gym (this varies depending on the season - I go less in the summertime since I'm outdoors more compared with the winter when I need to up my gym dosage since I spend so much time indoors, not moving as much).

4. Set a spending budget (which takes into consideration birthday gifts, holidays, etc.)

5. Clean out my car (this was, obviously, for the times when I had a car).

6. Check Barnes & Noble for any author events that I might want to go to.

7. Buy greeting cards if there are any family or friends' birthdays this month.

8. Wash the bed sheets (should I be doing this more than once a month? Hope not. That's a lot of work).

9. Clean and polish any shoes that are looking rough.

10. Go through emails and respond to anything that's ridiculously late.

That's it! Pretty good list, eh? I think so.

You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.

Greenwich Letterpress in NYC

The other day (on my to Dominique Ansel Kitchen), I stumbled upon this card shop in the West Village that I'd never even heard of (and, if you know me, you should be well aware that I'm a dominant figure in the greeting-card-store scene*). They've had a storefront since 2005 and surprise, surprise - it's great!

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They sell a lot of independently published greeting cards (ie. the best ones), some stationary, wall decor, etc. If you find yourself on Christopher Street, you should definitely stop inside. 

*Yes, there is a greeting-card-store scene and no I'm not embarrassed to be in it.

You can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.

“Write something more than just “Happy Birthday” in cards. A joke, a compliment, a wish, ANYTHING.”

— #lizadvice

“If you’re still buying greeting cards at CVS or Shoppers Drug Mart - please stop. They are EONS cheaper at any dollar store. Same quality, too. Unless you’re buying singing cards. And if you are buying singing cards, well, you and I are in different income brackets so carry on.”

— #lizadvice

And don't forgot about this tip for Easter!

Happy Valentine's Day!

“Just because you’re out of elementary school doesn’t mean you’re incapable of sending Valentine’s Day cards to your friends.”

— #lizadvice

Maximizing Your Instagram Photos

Apparently, there are dozens of places on the internet where you can turn your Instagram photos into other things. Things like:

• Wrapping paper
• Greeting cards - I just ordered some of these and cannot WAIT to get them.
• Magnets

I would probably get the magnets done at some point, too. Such a sweet little idea. What these sites should really have is a way to purchase these as gifts to give to other people. As of right now, you need an Instagram password and login to choose what you want to print, but it's such a good gift idea for another person since receiving one's own photos as magnets would be such a welcome surprise since we all think we're individually such great photographers. (We are... right?)