Wonderful, a new month! Even Iām not sure when Iām being sarcastic anymore. You know what I realized this month? This is technically year three of Covid-19 since it started in late 2019. Should I have kept that information to myself? Probably. Iām sorry. In any case, time moves on and weāre in a new month, so hereās what went down last month.
Before I begin, every January I make sure to:
Mark down all important holidays/birthdays/anniversaries (also Daylight Saving Times, Motherās Day, Fatherās Day, Thanksgiving) on my calendar
Check expiration dates for passport/license/health card/insurance/vet vaccinations and write down any important renewal dates
I recapped how my 2020 resolutions turned out. Spoiler alert: itās not impressive.
I made my 2021 resolutions because Iām determined to live optimistically.
Here are some of my favourite photos from 2020.
I really want to make these A-Z foods that Iāve never made before throughout the year. Kind of really excited about this.
Iāve officially become obsessed with making end-of-the-year videos.
The new 2021 birthday gifts at Sephora have been announced! (Speaking of Sephora, have you seen the price point for Jennifer Lopezās new line of products? Hahahahah, just wild.)
I read and reviewed Alek Trebekās memoir, which was really good.
I made this carbonara from Bon Appetite and it BLEW! It was the first recipe that I made this year so I. was. PISSED.
I couldnāt find a Detroit style pizza place near my parentās house (grow up, Mississauga) so I had no other choice but to get takeout from Descendant in Toronto and it was incredible.
I listened to Taylor Swiftās evermore and the favourites are: champagne problems, tolerate it, and evermore.
Iāve been using my parentās air fryer and, surprise surprise, itās amazing. Obviously it makes everything taste great, but the best part is that itās so much faster than a regular oven. The best thing Iāve made so far was definitely these pickles.
These are the greatest frozen french fries in Canada. Eat them. I promise. Theyāre lightly coated, but still thin and crispy.
Iād never even heard of The Devilās Own which seems insane because two of the hottest nineties men are in it. Good movie? Not so much. Iād watch it again on mute though maybe.
If youād like to momentarily be transported back to your childhood on Saturday mornings, get your ass over here for a second.
Speaking of the past, do you remember Heritage Minutes in Canada? God, some of them were really, really good. My favourite ones were the Laura Secord one, the Superman one, the Winnie one, and definitely the Marconi one.
I bought another bodysuit from Aritzia, but I mean look at this one. Itās heavenly. I canāt wait to wear it for Baby Dog on my way to the kitchen.
And I mean since I was already on the site, I also bought this honey/beige-coloured headband and matching mittens. I officially look adorable.
Still in love with the Dennis Gross peels, I just wish they werenāt so unreasonably priced.
I made this BA pasta with mushrooms and it was waaay too salty, what the hell is going on with me fucking up recipes these days?!
I tried this frozen vegan pizza and it was actually not terrible! Like, not as terrible tasting as regular frozen pizza.
Remember Grand & Toy (it was near Walterās Music in Square One in the 90s)? I have to make a mental note to start using them instead of Staples. I loved that store for school supplies when I was a kid. Gotta support.
Iāve been watching the new Jeopardy! episodes with Ken Jennings and the first one was terrible in my opinion mainly because it just felt so wrong, but as Iāve kept watching I think itās becoming less weird. I am excited to see the other guest hosts just to see how different theyāll each be.
I tried this drugstore John Frieda sea spray and it was complete crap. I may have overused it, but thatās really not my fault. Why in the hell donāt hair product labels tell you how many pumps you should use?! I swear to god, if only I were running thingsā¦
I made popovers for the first time and they were surprisingly easy! I might never buy a dinner roll ever again.
I love the softness of these Indigo pajamas so much that I bought them twice (in both red & blue).
I heard the old Frank Sinatra song Thatās Life on the radio the other day and got so teary, maybe ācause I havenāt heard it in years? Maybe ācause itās just a perfect song? Am I slowly just losing it? While it was playing, I just kept saying to myself āThat IS life!ā Yeah, might have lost it.
I watched the newest season of Big Mouth and loved it. The anxiety mosquito might be the best new character introduced in the middle of a series OF ALL TIME. Such a great show.
I started watching Superstore (mostly in the background) and itās pretty good! Iāve only seen a few episodes, but I definitely get the appeal.
I made these ganache-stuffed chocolate chip cookies and they were just lovely. Love a ganache, love that word.
Also made these salted tahini butter chocolate chip cookies (quite good!) because Iām going through a light depression, evidently.
My friend Dusty got his film Violation into Sundance and itās wild that I know such immensely talented people. So, so proud of him.
I made blintzes with a Grand Marnier mascarpone (the blintz recipe is, of course, from Chef John and the mascarpone recipe is from one of Stanley Tucciās cookbooks). It was delicious. It seems so intimidating to make crepes, but it was actually so easy and fun. Plus it looks like itād be such a complicated thing to make, but Iād say itās even easier than baking cookies.
I tried to read Ijeoma Oluoās newest book Mediocre and I just couldnāt get into it. Even I was surprised because I love her work, so maybe Iāll give this one another try at a later date.
I had a real craving for a good bagel and since Iām not near Brooklyn Bagel in Astoria at the moment, I looked up the best place in this area for a bagel and went to the Old Bagel House on Lakeshore. And look, I respect what theyāre doing, but they donāt hold a candle to New York bagels. Hard pass.
Iāve been using this tea tree night lotion from The Body Shop for years now, it really calms down your face before bed. Their entire tea tree collection is hard to beat.
I bought this jewelry stand and jewelry box both from Simons and theyāre so divine.
Loving this makeup brush cleaner (especially the mini size for traveling). Expensive brush cleaners make zero sense to me.
I tried the Snoop Dogg wine and it was wine! (Thereās not a spelling error or word missing there, it really was just wine.)
I made Creamy Cod & Potato Gratin and it was delicious, god I love tarragon.
I recently started eating frozen Canadian wild blueberries and they taste so blueberry. Itās madness. Theyāre so tiny and full of flavour, I couldnāt believe it. Iām so used to the blandness of blueberries from literally everywhere else. NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THESE!
I also tried sumo citrus oranges and yes they were good, but nowhere NEAR as good as cara cara oranges.
Right now, Scaddabush has a pretty sweet family deal of a lasagna, salad & focaccia for $40 and it easily feeds four people, with leftovers.
Favourite tweets of the month ahead.
Some things that Iām looking forward to this month: I will continue to watch and love all upcoming new Riverdale episodes (thank you season five for bringing this song back into my life), I might make these french onion stuffed shells because they sound insane, Iām excited to watch Stanley Tucciās CNN cooking show Searching For Italy, I might fall into the world of focaccia bread art, Iād love to attempt ANY of these hairstyles, and Iām so excited to hear when the final season of Shrill will finally air.
If youāve got any interest in reading last monthās roundup, you can see what went down in December over here and you can see more posts like this on my latest newsletter.
