This month I’ve started limited my social media/internet time on Sundays (I’ve only done it twice so far, but I’m loving it) and I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve been doing either 10am-3pm or 10am-5pm, depending on certain factors and if you’ve ever felt like you get caught in endless scrolling, then this is the activity for you. I wake up early, make a list of non-online things I want to do that day (some fun, some necessary) and then focus on that solely for the day. I like to turn my internet completely off and go on airplane mode, but if you want to keep it online for texts then by all means, you’re in charge.
12 Quarantine Things To Do
Well, here we are! How did we get here? When will normal life return? I’ve got zero answers for you. All I can offer you are some ideas of what you can do now that you’re at home. Let’s do this.
Put music (that you enjoy) on in the background of your house in the morning or in the evening as a way to single out the start or end of the day. Maybe this sounds dumb, but it really helps break up times of the day. (Lately I’ve been in a very nostalgic mood and I’ve been listening to old Smashing Pumpkins albums I haven’t listened to in about twenty years, it’s been really nice.)
Watch episodes of TV shows that you’ve already seen and loved. There’s something nice about not just binging certain new shows but instead watching things that have already made you happy in the past. Or maybe that’s just me. Are you seeing a pattern here with me and the past? Fuck am I depressed?
If that show or movie you really want to watch isn’t available on any of your streaming services, I use putlockers.chat pretty regularly and it’s been great. I think it works whatever country you’re in.
If you’ve ever been a fan of The Simpsons, I have cultivated a favourite episodes list from over the years that I’d happily send anyone looking for especially good episodes to watch. Tell me your favourite character and I can tailor the list to their best episodes.
Call people. It’s so weird and great that it’s becoming socially acceptable to call people again (and not just text). Call even if you have nothing to say.
Improvise with your cooking habits. I usually follow every single instruction when I’m reading a recipe, so this one was hard for me to try. I did it yesterday though and it worked out great! You just have to make sure you’re trying out ingredients that you already love, and then incorporate them with regular old recipes.
Take more photos of your pets and send them to me. Or your other friends. Definitely me, though.
Write letters to your people and mail them. I’ll continue to love doing this until I’m dead in the ground since it really does make me happy. Even if all you have to write is a tiny little update. Be honest about how you’re feeling in this crazy time and share it with someone you love. This kind of thing helps me more than so many other things.
I started a Things That Made Me Laugh highlight reel on my Instagram and fuck I wish every single person I knew had one of these. I’d watch them endlessly. Love seeing what other people laugh at. (Sorry about my laugh in all of the videos. It doesn’t get cuter with time.)
Do face masks, hair masks, do your fingernails and toenails (BEGGING Nathan to do this with me), make an at-home body scrub out of stuff definitely in your kitchen. Yes this stuff is boring, but it make you feel so fucking together sometimes.
If you find yourself reading or listening to the news too much, literally just turn your phone off for an agreed upon time. Like, actually turn it off. Don’t put it on silent or Do Not Disturb, turn that fucker off. You’re allowed.
Try not to wear the same pajamas every day. Just for your sanity. And the sanity of anyone in your home who has to look at you. It’s exhausting to see the same tattered gym shorts daily on someone you love.
If I think of more things (I definitely will), then I’ll add to this list. Stay safe!
February Feats
So happy that February flew by this year, although with no snow in New York it felt a little sacrilegious. I think this has been the least snow I’ve ever experienced in a winter in my life and it feels awful. There’s still a few weeks left of the season, so I guess that could change but I mean snow in March? Give me a break. Here’s what went down this month.
NATHAN DID THE TONIGHT SHOW! And it was amazing. So crazy proud. I got to go with him to 30 Rock and everyone was so nice and it was incredible.
I rewatched As Good As It Gets and what a terrible movie! No way in hell would Helen Hunt get together with Jack Nicholson. C’mon.
I started watching The Haunting of Hill House and I don’t think I’ll continue. Reasons? 1. I don’t think I like horror shows. Movies? Sure, that’s a fun time with an end date of a few hours. 2. What awful parents would keep their millions of children in a house like that? 3. Maybe it was a bad idea to start this in February, when it’s nowhere near spooky season, that might be my fault.
Saw Happy Death Day 2U with Nathan on Valentine’s Day because I wanted to see something and WOOF, what a nightmare of a movie. I knew it would be terrible, but it still shocked me.
Finally caught up to the end of season four on Broad City and goddam is that a perfect show. Excited to start season five soon.
I rebought Essie’s Apricot Cuticle Oil because I used to love it and then finished it and forgot about it. It’s such a great product but you do have to use it at least semi-daily to see a real difference in your cuticles.
Went to Charlie Palmer Steak for a Restaurant Week lunch and even though the environment is kind of stuffy, the food was really good. I love when pasta is offered as an appetizer, it’s always the perfect amount. The tagliatelle was really good and the steak sandwich was great (if not a little too bread-y). That sandwich is also the “official sandwich of Madison Square Garden” which everyone tells you a thousand times upon entering the restaurant, so that’s something too, I guess?
CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS SHOW TO COME OUT mainly because of how amazing the book is. Airs March 15!
Love that Trader Joe’s keeps putting out new candle scents. The Lemon Cookie one is fantastic.
Loved the Big Mouth Valentine’s Day special. Obviously over the moon pleased that the lady bug was in it.
So I tried Ree Drummond’s Caesar salad dressing recipe and I wasn’t a huge fan of her dressing itself (Teigen’s dressing is better but of course it is because of the mayo), BUT I loved the way she does her croutons. They turn out really crunchy on the outside, but still super soft on the inside, it’s genius and I’ll include how to do it below.
Ree Drummond’s Croutons recipe: Slice the (French or ciabatta) bread into thick slices and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Throw them onto a baking sheet. Heat some olive oil in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat. Crush-but don't chop-the garlic and add them to the oil. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan. After 3 to 5 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the garlic from the pan. Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the bread cubes. Mix together with your hands, and then sprinkle lightly with salt. Toss and cook in the pan until golden brown and crisp. Add a little butter for more flavor.
Honestly, those croutons were so good that I had a few leftover that I put in a pappardelle tomato pasta the next day and… whoa. Have you ever put croutons in a pasta before? Holy fuck was it good. The crunch factor in an otherwise texture-less dish was unbelievable. How is this not a thing that everyone is doing? We all need to wake the fuck up.
I also made Ina Garten’s cauliflower toast and my god, IT WAS AMAZING.
A new bar opened in my neighborhood called The Huntress, so we went and it’s pretty good! It’s mostly a wings places and they were really tasty (and that’s coming from someone who does not enjoy wings - the bones are too tiny and gross and no thanks), but these were really good. They also have poutine (!) on the menu, and even though the gravy is much too salty, the beautifully authentic curds were appreciated.
I always forget about the one bottle of Tom Ford nail polish I have, but it lasts me a full week whenever I wear it. I mean, the price is stupid, but it does last a decent amount of time.
Have you heard of the site or the book Desserts For Two? Pretty self-explanatory, but it’s created by a woman who makes recipes specifically for two people. I tried her chocolate cake recipe for Valentine’s Day and it was delicious. The cake was so good, but I really didn’t care for her frosting, if you do try this one definitely find a better icing recipe online or better yet just buy the premade one they sell at grocery stores. Or even just top it with Nutella. Fuck, I’m hungry now.
Watched all of Difficult People and I mean… SUCH a great show, which everyone obviously knows by now, it just took me awhile to finally get there and see it. Other than it being a great show, I was completely in awe of Julie Klausner’s wardrobe. I wanted everything she wore.
This Lemon, Bacon, Kale, Cauliflower pasta blew my face off, I made it three days in a row.
I rewatched a lot of the last season (spoilers ahead) of Dawson’s Creek (does it sound like a don’t have a job? I do! I just don’t work very hard) and when Jen dies and then Grams says to her, “I’ll see you soon, child. Soon.” I fucking sobbed. BUCKETS. My god. I mean, see for yourself. (And if your reaction isn’t quite as strong as mine… look inside yourself, maybe.)
I have wanted to try this Serious Eats potato recipe forever so I did and it just didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. Some of the potatoes turned out the way they were supposed to, but you’re really supposed to do this technique with a real oven and not a tiny convection one like I have. The few that came out the way they were supposed to were really good and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but the effort involved in this recipe was too next-level. Maybe as a Thanksgiving recipe it’d make sense?
I watched the Versace series on Netflix and holy heavenly fuck, it’s a bad one. I only lasted about three episodes before I just couldn’t go any further. SO terrible.
Had a slice at Scarr’s in the Lower East Side and it was very decent, definitely one of the most solid pepperoni slices in that area. UPDATE: Definitely don’t go late at night, they’ve been sitting around all day and they suuuuuuck right before closing.
I now know how to make a steak at home and there’s no turning back now. I’ve been forever intimidated by cooking steak at home because it seemed like such a hard thing to do properly. (I did it once a few years ago and, like, tripled the amount of cream sauce I put on top and felt so sick I didn’t ever want to do it again.) But I did it on two separate occasions this month and I think I’m maybe kind of a pro at it now? This Tasty video helped so much. The only tip I can offer is to use normal salt and not the course kosher salt that I did on steak #1, that baby was inedible because of that course salt. Oh! And for the sauce that you obviously have to serve your steak with, it’s best to grind your own peppercorns in a spice grinder. I don’t know why, but I feel like this was the most important step. I have a lot of steak thoughts. I’ll stop.
I tried the tacos at Empellon Al Pastor in the East Village and while they were pretty good, I found them slightly on the expensive side for a place on Avenue A. We can all calm down a bit.
I visited Sweet Moment in Chinatown for a latte and it was a pretty cute experience even if the service was a little salty. If we’re being real, people only come here because Instagram exists, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The cream art choco latte that I had was ridiculous good, which makes sense because I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s just melted chocolate in a cup.
I visited the Glossier flagship store again because I was in the neighborhood and I (finally) tried out their Boy Brow. And let’s get this straight, I tried it on even though I already had other eyebrow products on (ColourPop’s Brow Boss Pencil as well as a little Milani Easybrow) which was maybe a dumb idea, but I didn’t want to wipe my eyebrows off and try the Glossier one incase it sucked and then had to walk around the rest of the day looking like a psychopath. SO, that being said, here’s what it looked like using all three products.
They look pretty full, right? I kind of think too full. I don’t know, maybe I’m a maniac. I should’ve done a before and after photo, not just an after. I just don’t see the big deal about their products. I feel like every item Glossier sells is something you need to use in combination with something else so it’ll actually look like something’s working. In conclusion, I have no idea if this is a good product or not and that’s really irritating, even to me.
Chrissy Teigen just announced that she’s gonna start her own website with new recipes! Amazing news!
I ate the pepperoni slice at Mama’s Too on the Upper West Side and all the good reviews about it ain’t lying. Crazy good slices. Might even be better than Prince Street Pizza.
I tried the mini Thickening Spray from Bumble & Bumble in my continued attempt at hair domination (and may I suggest that you always buy the mini size of any new hair product you’re trying? It makes so much more sense and is much cheaper) and it worked out well! I’ve only used it once but I think it’s a good product, next time I’ll definitely try it on my roots as well to see what it can really do. UPDATE: Definitely don’t spray it on your roots, it works much better if you use it sparsely on the rest of your hair when damp.
I saw Waitress on Broadway and just wow. I haven’t been to a show in years and I forgot how much fun they are. This one was absolutely no exception. I went because a friend of mine that I met at the restaurant is in it, so I went to see her and not only was she phenomenal (Jessie Hooker-Bailey), the entire show was incredible. Joey McIntyre was great. Also? They had these mini pies for sale at intermission (genius) and the Salted Caramel Chocolate Pie is literally reason enough to go see this show. I need that recipe and I need it badly.
I finally ate at Sardi’s (which is something I’ve wanted to do for years) and sat at (in my opinion) the best corner booth under Dr. Ruth. And while I wish I had more to gush about, I… don’t. Ugh! I really think I just ordered bad. I only got the steak tartare and it was probably the most disappointing one I’ve ever had, which sucks considering it was also the most expensive. I knew I should’ve ordered the crab cake. That being said, I will definitely return mainly because the service was so impeccable that you’d have to return. Everyone was crazy nice and accommodating and pleasant, this one is just my fault I think. Also, I need to stop ordering streak tartare. I’ve already found the place that makes it the best (The Dutch) so why the hell am I still looking? I feel like a happily married man who can’t stop looking for something better to come along. STOP!
HELLO BEST MONTH OF THE YEAR, MARCH!
(If you have any interest in past monthly roundups, they can be found here: January 2019, December 2018, November 2018, October 2018, September 2018, August 2018, July 2018, June 2018 & May 2018.)
Whoa
Autumn Decorations
We all fall into two categories of people - those who seasonally decorate and those who do not. Guess which one I fall into.
I love walking into a home and being able to feel what time of year it is. There's something that makes me so happy about someone putting that much effort into their daily surroundings. Here are a few that I made and put up when I was visiting my parent's house recently.
I know these are little subtle, but that doesn't make them any less lovely, in my opinion. And if you think I'm a snob about the kinds of decorations that people put up, you'd be dead wrong. I find the most gaudy of decorations just as pleasurable to see as the more demure ones. I'm really just a fan of people celebrating any kind of holiday or season. And when you're ready to move on to the next season, you can always store them in your handy holiday decorations box.
Food For Thought
Do you have any idea how much I love it when someone I know (ie. an acquaintance or higher) eats off of my plate without asking? DO YOU KNOW? I understand why some people might be aggravated by such an act since it might be considered rude - but I love, love, love it. It's so bold and almost, like, a friendly kind of bold. I really think that we, as a society, need to stop viewing this act in such a negative light. Why? Here are some reasons.
- Sharing is caring. We learned that a long time ago, let's bring that phrase back.
- When someone is too hungry to ask for a bite, it's a lot faster to just take it - we've all been at that level of hunger before.
- It's so loving! I might have germs, but does this food-snatcher care? Nope! Not a care in the world! If I've got a cold, well, now you've got a cold, bud. Doesn't bother me, we're friends!
- Offering someone a taste of your meal with the hope that the person you're with will offer you some of their dish is almost MEDIEVAL at this point. JUST GRAB IT AND EAT IT.
- If I've made a bad decision when ordering my meal, I need a backup. Your meal is my backup. Get on board with this. If you find that to be selfish, please keep in mind that this is a two-way street.
Do you need more reasons that that? Seriously, I will email you more reasons if you ask me.
In any case, if you and I are ever in a restaurant together - be prepared to have your food eaten by me. It's 'cause I love you.
LiquiGlide
“LiquiGlide is the first and only company to create permanently wet slippery surfaces. There is no other durable solution that makes viscous liquids slide easily.”
Ummm, THIS IS AMAZING. If you're like me and have a billion questions, it's best for you to just go on over here for some answers.
Do you understand how cool an idea this is? You'll never waste a drop of anything again IN YOUR LIFE. Is it just me or is that ketchup video fucking mesmerizing to watch? It's so silky, damnit. You can watch other things slide out of glasses and tubes over here, ya know, if you're into it.
THE FUTURE!
“Bake a batch (or two) of Christmas cookies, wrap them up in a few different tins and keep them (wrapped) and in your refrigerator. So when someone surprisingly shows up with a gift for you, you have one in return for them. ”
Autumn Punch Bowl
Of course this pumpkin-punch-bowl idea comes from Martha Stewart. OF COURSE IT DOES. She's better than us all - when it comes to parties and when it comes to living.
Love this idea.
Tip of the Day
I, in no way, encourage you to make these - but if you find yourself in a situation where you are in the process of making pot brownies, please please please use this lone tip.
You see this guy?
Magic Bullet
He's your best friend in the world for this act. You know how people use those tiny little grinders? THROW THAT SHIT AWAY! If you're making these brownies, you MUST grind it up in the Magic Bullet. After it's blended in here, you will see more crystals ground up than you ever thought possible. It's insane. I wish they could somehow include this tip in the complimentary booklet of recipes or something. Maybe someday they will, they definitely should.
Anyway, YOU'RE WELCOME.