Summer List 2024 Recap

All right so that was the longest summer that ever summered. I don’t think I’ve ever had highs and lows are big as the ones that have happened these past few months, but I wouldn’t change a single second. Here’s a recap of how my summer list of things to do went.

1. Go to a carnival.

• Went! It was in a parking lot in Queens, but that still counts.

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Queens carnival

2. Eat the soft serve at either Seed + Mill in Chelsea Market or at L’Industrie.

• Did it! The Seed + Mill (vegan) tahini soft serve changed my life.

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Seed + Mill vegan tahini soft serve

3. Get out of town somewhere fun to celebrate our 15 year anniversary.

• We went to Cooperstown! And I wrote about it over here.

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Cooperstown, New York

4. Go swimming at least five times.

• Oh, I demolished this one. Went over ten times for sure.

5. Make this truffled garlic bread with ricotta.

• Did not do! Definitely forgot about this one. But really this is more of a holiday appetizer so stay tuned.

4/5! Very proud of that. Should I be proud of mostly completely a list of purely fun things to do? Absolutely yes. Organized fun should never be reserved only for children.

Autumn list coming tomorrow!

Summer List 2024

Welcome to the absolute worst time of year! Rather than ranting about exactly why this is the worst season (ie. sweating into the sheets as you sleep, the buzzing of mosquitoes near your ears, the awful body odor of strangers too close to you on the subway), there may be just a few things that can be enjoyed this time of year. Unexpected summer rainstorms, late sunsets, ice cold pools, sandal tan lines, frozen pina coladas, absolutely all of the produce in season and children that you love not having to go to school. And best of all - eating as much heirloom tomato toast as humanly possible.

So let’s try to get through these next three months as best we can until the sweet scent of September arrives. Here’s the plan.

1. Go to a carnival.

2. Eat the soft serve at either Seed + Mill in Chelsea Market or at L’Industrie.

3. Get out of town somewhere fun to celebrate our 15 year anniversary.

4. Go swimming at least five times.

5. Make this truffled garlic bread with ricotta.

As always, I beg you to make a list of your own. If you’re looking for some ideas, here are some past summer lists I’ve made: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2015.

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Summer List 2023 Revisited

I’m a little sad to see this summer end since this was probably the best one I’ve had in decades. We had my dad’s huge 100th birthday party, Marla came to visit me in New York, we went on a family trip to Scotland to see my brother Gary’s family, I had such a fun August with the kids in Canada and I finally got a contact lens that fit my left eye. This summer was huge. But how did I do with my summer list?

1. Bake some sort of tomato pie.

• Did it! Should I get a medal for hand-making the dough? Yes, yes I should.

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Tomato pie with heirloom tomatoes

2. Go jet skiing.

• Not even kinda close to doing this one. Hopefully one day!

3. Eat at the new Superiority Burger.

• Went! The veggie burger is as good as they claim, but the sides were only okay. I’d go again definitely for the burger and for the dessert.

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The veggie burger at Superiority Burger, NYC

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The peanut butter pie at Superiority Burger, NYC

4. Finally visit Smorgasburg.

• Did not go! I went to countless other markets, but that absolutely does not count.

5. Swim at least five times.

• Damnit I only went three times (so I’m taking a half point). I really wanted to get in some lane swimming, but there just wasn’t any time for it. That will be priority next summer.

So all in all, 2.5/5 - I’ll take it! For a season that I usually loathe, a passing grade is a win for me. Don’t judge my low expectations for myself, please. To see further proof that this summer was so great, I posted my favourite summer photos over here.

AUTUMN LIST COMING TOMORROW!

Summer List 2023

Summer is awful for countless reasons, but let me count a few. Sun burns, endless humidity, children off school so they’re everywhere, the worry that you’re not enjoying it as much as everyone else, mosquitos that somehow get through my window screens, overcrowded patios, the underground hot, stagnant air that accompanies any subway wait. I could go on, but this is getting depressing.

On the other hand, there are the tiniest amount of great things about this, the worst season of all. Summer rainstorms, late sunsets, pools, frozen pina coladas, sandal tan lines, oh hell the perfect corn and tomatoes and nectarines and strawberries. Christ, I always forget about the produce, it’s unmatched. That being said, let’s try to get through these next three months as best we can until the sweet scent of September arrives.

Here’s what I’d love to do this summer (in addition to watching some of these and definitely some of these).

1. Bake some sort of tomato pie.

2. Go jet skiing.

3. Eat at the new Superiority Burger.

4. Finally visit Smorgasburg.

5. Swim at least five times.

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As always, I encourage you to make a list of your own because as I’ve said before - we are all barreling towards death. So have some fun.

If you’re looking for some ideas for yourself, here are some past summer lists I’ve made: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2015.

Summer List 2022 Revisited

I’ve been patient and it’s finally arrived… THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER. Today always feel slightly like Christmas Eve to me, there’s such anticipation in the air right now. Here’s how my summer list of things to do went!

1. Tan on Governor’s Island.

   • I did not do this BUT I tanned in so many places, I’m taking a half point here. Sue me.

2. Make a summer buckle.

   • I did! A blueberry buckle! And it was wonderful. What’s the difference between a buckle and a cake? Absolutely nothing as far as I can tell. (This was the recipe I used.)

3. Visit Storm King.

   • Did not go, but some day maybe. I wish it were easier to access by transit.

4. Go swimming at least five times.

   • I’ve never swam as much as I did this season and it feels majestic to say that. It’s probably the main reason why I didn’t hate this whole summer. And now I know that going forward, in order for me to enjoy this wretched time of year, I need to be placed in water.

5. Visit the new Kim’s Video because it seems cool as hell.

   • I did and it was really neat. Have to take Nathan.

3.5/5 whoa! That’s pretty good. Am I trying to cut down my list of the ten things I want to do this autumn that will be posted tomorrow? Yes. Is there a chance it will be more than ten? Also, yes.

SO LONG, SUMMER!

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Summer List 2022

Welcome to hell.

It’s officially the most disgusting time of year! Other than eating this tomato sandwich on repeat or watching these vacation movies or these TV episodes or these perfect summer movies, what shall we do to pass the time until the best time of the year arrives?

1. Tan on Governor’s Island. I have to get a tan somewhere, so why not there? I love the idea of renting a bike, taking the ferry, riding around that car-less paradise and then just lounging anywhere in the sun. Shit, is that maybe the answer… to life?

2. Make a summer buckle. I never have before and the main reason I want to? It has a fun name.

3. Visit Storm King. See what the big deal is.

4. Go swimming at least five times. This is really for my sanity, I need to be in water.

5. Visit the new Kim’s Video because it seems cool as hell.

Again, I encourage you to make a list of your own because this life is not long and you should maybe eat a buckle while you still can.

And if you can’t think of ideas on your own, here are some past summer lists of mine to peruse for inspiration.

Summer List 2015

Summer List 2017

Summer List 2018

Summer List 2019

Summer List 2020

Summer List 2021

Summer List 2021

The worst season is officially upon us! How will it be spent? Only time will tell. I do have some loftier-than-normal ideas of how to spend this summer, so this list will be slightly longer than my usual seasonal list. After the past year, it only makes sense to be ambitious about everything. Here’s the plan.

1. See the rooftop exhibit at The Met.

2. Go swimming at least twice.

3. Go to a carnival.

4. Go to a baseball game.

5. Tan on Governor’s Island.

6. Eat oysters by the water.

7. Make homemade crab cakes.

8. Go fruit picking somewhere outside of NYC.

9. Make the Milk Bar cake.

10. Make pina coladas at home.

Again, I encourage you to make your own summer list. How else are you supposed to have any fun this summer if you don’t think ahead?

Summer List Revisited

I can’t express the joy I’m feeling right now as I write this post. Summer is no more. We did it. Here’s what I managed to do off of my summer list that I made in June.

1. Go to the beach at least five times.

   • Done! And yes I love the beach and all, but five times is definitely the right amount of times to go there. Anything more would just be over-indulgent.

2. See the new rooftop exhibition at The Met.

   • Done! And I didn’t think much of it. I’ll speak more about this in my end of September post coming in a few days.

3. Spend the day doing stuff in Harlem.

   • Nope, still haven’t done this. It really seems like this would be more fun to do with someone who’s visiting from out of town, so I’ll try to make that happen in the near future when someone comes to visit me.

4. Make at least three new recipes from Chrissy Teigen's first cookbook, Cravings.

   • Not even close. No idea why I didn’t attempt this. It’s especially not gonna happen now since I just bought her second cookbook.

5. Try the frozen Irish coffee at Passage in Astoria.

   • Done! Delicious.

6. Visit Chateau Le Woof with Baby Dog in Astoria.

   • Yep! And it’s wasn’t that spectacular. I definitely like Boris & Horton in the city better.

7. See the Scarborough Bluffs since I never have before.

   • Oh yeah I did! Special thanks to my friend Marla for making this one happen. Such a lovely spot.

8. See Tew Falls in Hamilton.

   • My time was pretty limited in Canada this summer, so I had to skip this one. But one day I’ll get there.

9. Go away, anywhere, for a few days with Nathan for our anniversary.

   • We did! Vermont! And it was so, so nice. We might even go away again before the year is up, which is absolutely wild.

10. Try SLT finally.

    • Not a chance. Again, this would be great to do with someone visiting me who’d be into it.

6/10! A passing grade! Honestly it’s a miracle that I did any of these considering how much I loathe summer.

Autumn list coming tomorrow! See you in hell, summer!

Summer List 2018

There are a million reasons that summer is the worst season (the heat, the stink of people, the unwelcome desire to constantly fill your time with fun things), but let's not focus on the negative. I like to think of summer as pre-fall. You know how the time leading up to Christmas is always more exciting than Christmas Day itself? That's how I like to treat summer. So while I wait for autumn, here are the things that will fill my time until September.

1. Go to the beach at least five times.

2. See the new rooftop exhibition at The Met.

3. Spend the day doing stuff in Harlem.

4. Make at least three new recipes from Chrissy Teigen's first cookbook, Cravings.

5. Try the frozen Irish coffee at Passage.

6. Visit Chateau Le Woof with Baby Dog in Astoria.

7. See the Scarborough Bluffs since I never have before.

8. See Tew Falls in Hamilton.

9. Go away, anywhere, for a few days with Nathan for our anniversary.

10. Try SLT finally.

As always, I encourage you to make a list of your own since, well, you're not that busy.