Best Summer Photos
by Liz Heather in Family, Personal
Best Summer Photos
Summer Saturdays Vol. 9
Welcome to the final Summer Saturdays! Yes, I missed the last two weeks of this series but all we can do is move forward. I know that summer technically ends in a few weeks, but this year it’s over for me as of August 31st (today). Autumn will start as usual on September 22nd, but I would like the first three weeks on the month to remain seasonless. I can decide that, right? I have no desire to prolong summer and I refuse to start buying pumpkins. I intend to use this period of time to focus on myself and myself alone. The most self-involved three weeks I can imagine. But for now, here’s how my final week of summer went.
BAKING
These bran muffins are so incredible with added blueberries.
COOKING
Corn-on-the-cob is perfect right now, so it’s the only reason I turn on my stove these days.
CRAVING
One final lap swim of the season.
DRINKING
Nathan got this peanut butter coffee that’s actually delicious.
EATING
I had this perfect baked haddock when we were upstate that I’m still thinking about.
EXPERIENCING
Jeez, so many things have happened in the past few weeks. My dear friend Marla came to visit me and we had such a great time. Nathan and I also went to Cooperstown, NY this week, which was last minute but so nice. (There are highlights from that trip over here.)
Marla!
LISTENING
Since there was a roadtrip, I made this playlist for the drive.
LOVING
The gluten-free restaurant Thyme & Tonic on the upper west side. The noodles and the popcorn chicken were unholy.
Noodles from Thyme & Tonic
SHOPPING
The autumn candle trio from Bath & Body Works.
They always know how to take my money
WATCHING
Saw Longlegs in theatres and Nic Cage was great (duh). Love an original horror movie. My only notes? Legs could’ve been longer.
WEARING
I will continue to dream about this Dior skirt.
Dior skirt at Beacon's Closet
The previous Summer Saturdays Vol. 8 can be found over here and I have a summer highlights section over here.
Thank you for caring about any of these summer posts! I’ll likely be back for Fall Fridays on September 27th.
Summer Saturdays Vol. 8
BAKING
I made these blue sky bran muffins because Nathan loves a bran muffin and they turned out great! Will add walnuts to the next batch.
COOKING
I was walking through the farmer’s market and was hit with the greatest idea of something to make: CAPRESE SCONES. So I found a recipe and it’s happening tonight. I’m going to use my already-made basil pesto (I use walnuts instead of pine nuts) instead of just plain basil leaves, so I can’t wait to see how it goes.
CRAVING
The baby tomatoes this time of year taste like candy. They are incredible.
Baby tomatoes from the Union Square Green Market, NYC
DRINKING
I made peach daiquiris for us and the only time I love an alcoholic frozen drink is at home. They’re so easy to make and it’s completely satisfying to just have one.
Peach daiquiri
EATING
I tried a sample of the Tropicana orange soft serve at Milk Bar and wow was it gross. What is happening with Milk Bar? No Thanksgiving croissant last year and now this?
The orange soft serve at Milk Bar
EXPERIENCING
I went to the restaurant Hillstone (my first time) and I have fallen in love (thank you to Irene for introducing me!). The service was outstanding and the food was ridiculously perfect. (And if you’re from Ontario, the vibe is extremely Canyon Creek-y, which obviously made me happier than I can express.) They bring you a chilled glass midway through drinking your cocktail and the salad plates come chilled, too. Is the secret to a perfect restaurant just chilling stuff? IT MIGHT BE.
Chilled glass at Hillstone, NYC
LISTENING
It has been so rainy and windy this week, it’s been amazing. My desk is right between two large windows so I keep the windows open wide mainly to hear all the wild weather noise. It’s a nice change from the garbage trucks and horns that are usually the norm.
LOVING
I cannot get enough of the RFK jokes. Haven’t seen a bad one yet.
Can we please make, “Looks like the worm is at the wheel” a common expression when someone is acting insane?
SHOPPING
I stopped by the best post office in the city in Union Square and got an insanely good stamp haul. I’ve been looking for those Lichtenstein ones for months.
A beautiful stamp might cure depression?
WATCHING
Saw Trap in theatres and liked two thirds of it! I also watched the horror movie Thanksgiving, which was actually pretty great. Surprising for me because I don’t love Eli Roth.
WEARING
I’ve abandoned my pink nails in search of something new. ‘Seas the Day’ by Essie is a minty-blue that I’m kind of loving.
Essie ‘Seas the Day’
Last week’s Summer Saturdays Vol. 7 can be found over here and I’m keeping a summer highlights section over here.
July Jiffs 2024
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
I might have to stop complaining about how I’m not a summer person because this past month was such a memorable one. Here’s what went down last month!
Nathan made Variety’s 10 Comics To Watch list this year!
I continued my Summer Saturdays series because apparently I’m obsessed with summer?
The best tweets of the month can be found over here. I also made a list of my favourite summer tweets.
I wrote about my favourite caesar salad dressing recipe in honour of its 100th birthday.
I tried the soft serve from Seed + Mill and it was unbelievably good. Top three in NYC, hands down.
Soft serve from Seed + Mill, Chelsea Market
I finally got to go lane swimming in Mississauga and it was all that I’d hoped it would be and so much more. Fuck Eric Adams for cancelling the lap swims in NYC for yet another summer.
The watermelon sangria at Bite is summer in a glass.
I finally visited the food hall at Queensboro Plaza and the options looked pretty good! The chicken caesar wrap at Bobwhite Counter was decent, but it’ll always amaze me when places don’t make their own croutons. It’s one tiny little step that makes or breaks it.
Chicken caesar wrap at Bobwhite Counter
The coronation chicken salad at Nomad Sandwiches is too good. Cold, curried chicken is not on enough menus in this city.
I just saw an ad for this, but Arby’s has a burger now?? Am I the only one this offends?? Their whole thing is that they DON’T do burgers?? That roast beef and cheddar is better than any fast food burger, what the hell is going on? I can handle a lot of things (really I can), but this crosses a line.
A reel told me to squeeze lemon on top of watermelon, so I did and it was fantastic.
I went to Canada for a little bit since the kids are off for summer break and I think I’m onto something here: yardwork is fun when it’s not your own house.
Airport pickup!
I used a screwdriver to do this and I’m kinda proud of that fact?
One of my most beloved hobbies? Before/after photoshoots, apparently.
It’s an illness, really
Went to Blue Mountain on a small trip with my family and it was perfect. We swam so much (once in the rain, and I hope everyone swims in the rain at least once in their life) and we also rode the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster (something that’s been on my list for years), which was so much fun. I also won’t disclose how many times I went to the frozen yogurt place Menchies.
Blue Mountain, Ontario
Before the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster
On the mountain coaster!
Swimming in the rain >>
Sunset w/ Layla, Blue Mountain
Parents, Blue Mountain
On the drive back from Blue Mountain, we found a farmer’s market-type store in hopes of finding some sponge toffee and dreams can come true.
Worth every penny
Ate at Lucia in Toronto and it wasn’t anything special, which was a bit disappointing but the company was everything I wanted so that made up for it.
Marla w/ the best gifts
Made these ricotta meatballs that turned out great, if not a bit too soft.
We went to Ribfest and I tried my first blooming onion. It was absolutely unreal. How did it take me this long to try one. Also got an oxtail poutine and (finally) the tri-colour popsicle I’ve been waiting on since last summer.
There are cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see
Oxtail poutine, I love this country
I wanted this so badly, I didn’t even care how bad my nails looked
The passport office in Mississauga is such a nightmare, it literally took four hours to get renewed (and that’s only because I showed up two hours before it even opened).
Tried this soft foot reel I saw (below) and it worked pretty well! I think you have to do it multiple times a week to really see longterm results, though.
Went to Spirit Tree Estate Cidery again with my niece Tianna and it remains great. Their daily soup is the main attraction here (we got the seafood chowder).
Tianna at the cidery
We also went to Activate again and I think I enjoyed it even more than last time. Obsessed with the hoops room. Makes me wish I had a basketball net.
Activate in Mississauga, ON
Went to the Asian Night Market in Mississauga with Harmeet and we got the cold noodles, which were spicy/great. Afterward we went to the Mexican restaurant in the food hall section of Square One (La Carnita) and had such a terrible experience. The short ribs we ordered were awful and our waiter absolutely hated us. And then we went next door to Farzi Cafe, where the drinks were fine but insanely overpriced. What the hell is going on at Square One?
I finally got Baby Dog in a kiddie pool and she could actually doggy paddle. It was the cutest thing anyone has ever seen.
I just learned about the ready-made sandwiches at Lazar Bakery in Mississauga and my lunches will never be the same again.
The foam soaps are the main reason I go to Bath & Body Works, but their bar soaps last such a long time. If you live in the United States then you should definitely get their app - they give you at least one free item every few weeks.
Baskin-Robbins rainbow sherbert continues to solve all.
Rainbow sherbert for life
I know it’s early, but the pumpkin pie M&Ms are outrageously good.
Pumpkin pie M&Ms
Some things I watched:
The Bear (season three): Cons first. Okay, I hated the first episode but it’s the weakest one of the whole season. Some of the dialogue is so badly written, it’s hard to watch sometimes. Why the hell was John Cena in it? He isn’t a good actor, let’s cut the shit. Now pros. Ebon is flawless. The Napkins episode was so well written. Jon Bernthal is such a great actor. The Al-Anon support group scene was so good. My jaw dropped at Josh Hartnett making an appearance, I’ll continue to love his renaissance. And I know I’ve complained about the overacting of Jamie Lee Curtis from last season, but I thought the birth episode was the best one of the entire season. That whole episode just captured mothers and daughters so well and how we see that our mothers fail us so much because our expectations of them are too insanely high so when they fall flat of those expectations, how crushing it can be to realize that they’re just human. That episode alone is why I’ll keep watching the show. I do think that a lot can be done towards the development of characters so that we have the time to care about them in the ways that the writers want us to, but there are these pocket episodes that are just so alarmingly true and good. It’s a fantastic show with absolute faults, but the reviews of this season were way too harsh.
All of the Naked Gun movies (rewatch): Okay these movies really hold up well. It was too much fun to watch them with the kids who actually really laughed and enjoyed them too. Romeo even referenced one scene weeks later to laugh about it, my heart swelled to say the least.
Blowout: It started out interesting and then took a sharp turn, hard pass.
Sabrina (rewatch): I was on a Harrison Ford kick and would’ve settled for anything, so this was nice to see again.
Twisters (theatres): I really wanted to hate it, but it was a party.
Creep (rewatch): Still great!
Mulan (live action): Rome insisted on us watching this and it wasn’t bad! I’m pretty anti-live-action, but this was surprisingly good.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (rewatch): Love a summer horror movie. There needs to be more seasonal horror movies.
The Craft (rewatch): I always forget how much I hate the bug stuff at the end, but it’s still a solid 90s movie.
Some things I’m looking forward to this month: my dear friend Marla is coming to visit (!), cannot wait to see Trap next week, I’m keeping my eye out for any corn based seasonal dishes at the restaurants I love and I can’t wait to start preparations on this year’s costume…
Baby Dog in my baby blanket
If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in June over here.
Summer Saturdays Vol. 7
BAKING
Found this old recipe from an 80s desserts book and there’s no human way it isn’t the greatest tasting thing of all time.
Butterscotch apple squares
COOKING
Looking up every way possible to make the most of these perfect summer heirlooms.
Look at these mutant beauties
CRAVING
The new M. Night movie Trap came out yesterday so we’re going on Tuesday (the cheap day) and I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a movie.
DRINKING
Making this frozen peach rose slushy tonight.
EATING
The pink lemonade flavoured Oikos yogurt is surprisingly good. Whoever is in charge of their seasonal flavours needs a raise.
EXPERIENCING
There’s something about my parent’s backyard that just makes me feel like I know who I am, I’ll never not love every single season back there.
Parent’s backyard
LISTENING
Don’t get me wrong I love her, but I have a theory that Taylor Swift solely makes certain songs that she thinks people will use over TikToks (ie. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys… c’mon! There’s no way that’s meant as a real song and not dog-owner-bait).
LOVING
Another week of too many things to love:
The phone game Heads Up, perfect for passing time with someone.
I finally got Baby Dog in a kiddie pool and the girl can swim! Might have been the cutest thing I’ve seen on this green earth.
Michaels always puts their Lemax Halloween display up this time of year (someone explain why?) and it sells out within weeks so by the time September comes around that area is (ironically) a ghost town. That being said, I still love getting to see the displays in all their glory.
Fright Night Cinema at Michaels
Phantom Castle at Michaels
The extremely dog-friendly Pearson airport (in Toronto) pet relief area - honestly, it’s the best one I’ve ever seen. It’s eons better than the horrid urine-closet they call a pet relief room at LaGuardia.
Pet relief area in Toronto Pearson airport
SHOPPING
The DVD section at suburban thrift stores remains magical. Insanely good finds.
WATCHING
My 13 year niece Maya stayed with me for awhile so I made her watch Creep, I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Craft. It’s called parenting.
WEARING
Last week’s Summer Saturdays Vol. 6 can be found over here and I’m keeping a summer highlights section over here.
Best Summer Tweets
Summer Saturdays Vol. 5
BAKING
Made a batch of oven cooked bacon to add to the tomato toast for the week.
COOKING
Officially time to make the world’s greatest panzanella salad.
CRAVING
With all the rain from last week, the kids and I made paper sailboats but the winds were too strong so we decided to wait to sail them. Now we need another, lighter storm so I can finally sail them.
Paper sailboats
DRINKING
Got a cider flight with my niece Tianna at Spirit Tree Estate Cidery in Caledon and that place is the absolute best. Their seasonal soup is almost the main reason to go.
Cider flight in Caledon, ON
EATING
My dear friend Marla brought me plums she grew and they are heavenly. Summer produce solves all.
EXPERIENCING
Went to Activate again and I love that place, especially the hoops room. Maybe I should buy a basketball?
Activate in Mississauga, ON
LISTENING
Swim playlist!
LOVING
Heirloom tomato season IS HERE. Right now I can only find them at Whole Foods, but I’ll take it.
Heirloom tomato
SHOPPING
My jaw will forever drop at specialty butters. Fact.
Butter with maple syrup
WATCHING
I made the kids watch all of the Naked Gun movies and they were a massive hit.
WEARING
Summer outfits >>
Oh yeah!
Last week’s Summer Saturdays Vol. 4 can be found over here and I’m keeping a summer highlights section over here.
Summer Saturdays Vol. 4
BAKING
It’s the perfect time to make these strawberry white chocolate cookies.
COOKING
Buying and eating all of the summer corn. You can’t stop me.
CRAVING
It’s July so I’ve got the cheeseburger dumplings from Mimi Cheng’s on my mind.
DRINKING
Watermelon sangria. It’s perfect from Bite.
EATING
I saw a video of someone squeezing lemon on watermelon, so I tried it and whoa. Do it.
EXPERIENCING
Went to Blue Mountain with the family and it was so, so great. Outdoor pools might be the answer?
Blue Mountain, July 2024
LISTENING
My best of the 90s playlist.
LOVING
Remember how many frozen yogurt places there used to be? And how all of them closed at the very same time? No one misses them more than me. So the Menchie’s at Blue Mountain is everything that I could have wanted and more. Also rode the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster that was the absolute best.
Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster, Blue Mountain, Ontario
SHOPPING
Stopped at a country farm store on the way back and found some sponge toffee, which is so rare to find. Think it’s law to have to buy it when you spot it?
WATCHING
Rewatched the first Naked Gun and it remains fantastic.
WEARING
My J. Crew swimsuit is still going strong after four years and I’m still in love with it.
Last week’s Summer Saturdays Vol. 3 can be found over here and I’m keeping a summer highlights section over here.
Summer Saturdays Vol. 3
BAKING
My parent’s house has a cake stand, so every time I visit I try to make a cake that first night solely so I can use that stand. There’s just something about seeing a cake in a cake stand that makes me feel like maybe life isn’t hard? So I’m going to make this triple berry coffee cake this week.
COOKING
Need this lemon chicken artichoke pasta salad immediately.
CRAVING
The incredible coronation chicken salad at Nomad Sandwiches.
DRINKING
The Irish Coffee with cheese foam at Murray’s in LIC.
Irish coffee with cheese foam at Murray’s, LIC
EATING
Caesar salads for life.
EXPERIENCING
I always forget about how great Chelsea Market can be for an afternoon out. The crowds are awful, but some of the shops are wonderful. Chelsea Market Baskets might be the best place for food gifts in the whole city.
Why on earth didn’t I buy this perfect LEMON SOAP, Chelsea Market Baskets in NYC
LISTENING
My best of the 00’s playlist.
LOVING
The vegan tahini soft serve at Seed + Mill is magical and I’m angry that it took me this long to learn that fact. I’m neither vegan nor do I love tahini but I will continue to dream about how good this tasted.
Vegan tahini soft serve from Seed + Mill, NYC
SHOPPING
I bought some makeup spatulas to get out the last drops from my concealer tube and I can’t recommend these enough.
WATCHING
The newest season of The Bear. And let me just say, people have been way too critical of this season. Of course there are parts that aren’t as good as other seasons, but no content is perfect (except maybe Dave…).
WEARING
An oversized torn jean jacket that Nathan bought me years ago that’s proving to be the perfect thing to wear with tiny little rompers when I’m out and about in the city.
Last week’s Summer Saturdays Vol. 2 can be found over here and I’m keeping a summer highlights section over here.
Summer Saturdays Vol. 2
BAKING
Will make a batch of these heavenly blueberry breakfast cookies later today.
COOKING
I’ve perfected my tuna salad sandwich recipe and here it is. Canned tuna mixed with sliced pickles, chopped red onion, dijon, a drop mayo, pickle juice, grated garlic, salt & pepper on a bun that’s been toasted in garlic butter then broiled with cheddar on top. IT IS EVERYTHING.
CRAVING
Why will I always love Lay’s? Two reasons. 1) Their original chips taste the best at parties. 2) The fact that each summer they put out seasonal flavours. Will a cuban sandwich flavour taste incredible? Does it even matter? It’s the EFFORT of creating something new. I’m a woman who will appreciate effort until the day I die.
Lay’s Cuban Sandwich Seasonal Flavour
DRINKING
Snow cones for life.
Sno-Kone
EATING
Finally went to Golden Diner and fully recommend. I am not a pancake person (because they’re so boring?) but these were other-worldly. Better than Clinton St. Baking Company.
Golden Diner, NYC
EXPERIENCING
A grimy, Queens carnival! And can I just tell you, the Superman ride truly scared the living hell out of me. I didn’t think I could still feel that way from rides, so that was alarming (but in a fun way?).
Carnival in Queens, NY
LISTENING
The Jiminy Glick Bill Maher interview and it’s so good.
LOVING
The happy hour at Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side. $10 martinis in Manhattan? Get the hell out of here.
SHOPPING
Is it sad that I’m over the moon about the Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Bleach Cleaner I got for the grout in my washroom? If your answer is yes, then I suggest you look inward because holy mother of god, this is a dream cleaner. How have I only discovered it NOW?
WATCHING
Reruns of Living Single on HBO. Now this is a reboot that would heal the world.
WEARING
Technically you don’t wear face wash, so yes I’m reaching here but stay with me. I finally started to use my Dennis Gross all-in-one face wash and I will forever be loyal to that man. A perfect face wash.
Last week’s Summer Saturdays Vol. 1 can be found over here and I’m keeping a summer highlights section over here.