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The Friday Five, 3/15/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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The fevers are back, and continuing ... super fun. I saw a different doctor this week and she wants me to keep a fever diary of sorts, so I will start doing that. I love waking up not knowing if I'll feel good in the morning! (/sarcasm)

What I've been up to this week:
Cooking. I had a Dinnerly delivery from last week, so I made caramel chicken (see pic above), which was tasty, as well as some pan-fried gnocchi, which was excellent. I skipped a box delivery this week because I was too busy doing this:Eating out. Last Friday we were in Toledo, so we had (free, yay) breakfast at the hotel and then went to a random Chinese place in Port Clinton for lunch. Dinner was RO Restaurant Week at Cafe Muse ... the food was good but overall it was kind of meh. On Sunday, I did Troy Restaurant Week with Yelp friends at Fogo de Chao; the food is always excellent there, but waitservice wasn't great this time. I did TRW again on Tuesday, with coworkers, for lunch at Cantoro—first time there a…
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Review: African Safari Wildlife Park (Port Clinton, OH) is great for kids and adults alike

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*Disclosure: I received free admission to the park in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

 Last week, I traveled to Toledo to see William Shatner and Star Wars II at the Stranahan Theater, and I realized that the African Safari Wildlife Park was a mere 50-minute drive from there. This was my third time at the park, but my boyfriend had never been before, so we decided to make the drive.

I previously had visited the park in 2015 with a friend and one other time before that, with a few friends. If you enjoy wildlife, it's definitely an experience!


It was a little odd to be there in the winter, because we were the only car there (more on that later, too)—in the summer, there is usually a line of cars to get in to the park. We waited for the ranger to let us in, and were soon approached by some hungry alpacas.


The alpacas are overall very friendly. After you pass the alpacas, though, you get to the deer, who are a little more feisty ... hold on t…
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The Friday Five, 3/8/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Other than going to Portage, I really didn't do much last week or this week. By the time you read this I will be in Toledo, though—I went there yesterday for a screening of Star Trek II and a Q&A with William Shatner, at the Stranahan Theater, which should be fun. I saw William Shatner a few years ago at Motor City Comic Con, too, and he's a funny guy.


What I've been up to this week:
Traveling. We took a quick trip to Portage to visit friends last week (Thursday and Friday), which mostly consisted of eating and and also playing games ... Machi Koro in particular is a favorite. This week is Toledo, but I still worked until about 2pm on Thursday. Fevers. My fever is back ... ugh. It just pops up randomly, whenever it wants. On Wednesday, I woke up feeling crappy, with a 101.0 fever, so I worked from home that day. I'm trying to see a new doctor for it but of course no one ever returns phone calls ... that would be way too much to ask ... Cooking. I had a Plated deliver…
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GIVEAWAY: 4 tickets for Waitress, 5/8 at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit {ends 3/13}

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Waitress will be playing at the Fisher Theatre from May 7th through 19th, and one of my lucky readers will win a 4-pack of tickets for the Wednesday, May 8th show!

 I was able to see Waitress when I was in New York in January and I loved it.

Click here to purchase tickets for the show.



GIVEAWAY:

Enter to win via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, March 13th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

Winner will receive a 4-pack of tickets to the May 8th show, 8pm at the Fisher Theatre. Tickets will be available at the Fisher Theatre box office on the day of the show.

Metro Detroit/Detroit area residents only, please.

 Good luck!

4 tickets to Waitress, 5/8 at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit
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The Friday Five, 3/1/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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This has been a busy week, and I am writing this post on a Thursday since I will be in Portage, MI today and tomorrow, by the time you read this, to visit some college friends. Next week I am going to Toledo for a short mini vacation as well.


What I've been up to this week: Visiting Ann Arbor. Last Friday through Saturday I went to Ann Arbor to visit a friend and go out for karaoke. On Saturday we went out to Aut Bar to celebrate her birthday, with a few of her others friends, too. Ann Arbor is always a fun time and I think I hadn't been back since September or October, actually; I usually try to go once every 1-2 months. Going out to eat. Definitely too much this week ... besides Ann Arbor, my boyfriend and I went to Shields on Saturday night, and on Sunday I went out to 24grille, at the Westin Detroit, with Yelpers for Detroit Restaurant Week. That meal was definitely disappointing, unfortunately, and also rather pricey. Monday night was Melting Pot with some friends, and Wedn…
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Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: The Sound of Music at the Fox Theatre, April 13-14

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*Disclosure: I have an ongoing relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.
I'm excited to announce that The Sound of Music will be back in Detroit this year, for two days only! (April 13-14) 
Read about the show below and also see how you can win 4 tickets to the Saturday, April 13th performance, 8pm at the Fox.

About the show: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is coming to the Fox Theatre for three performances from Saturday, April 13 through Sunday, April 14. The spirited, romantic and beloved musical story of Maria and the von Trapp Family will once again thrill audiences with its Tony®, Grammy® and Academy Award® winning Best Score, including “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Edelweiss” and the title song.

The Sound of Music features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp.

The Sound of…
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The Friday Five, 2/22/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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This week has been fairly busy and tonight I am headed to Ann Arbor—I usually go about once a month but I think the last time I was there was in October, and that was only to see Death of a Salesman starring Alec Baldwin (who was actually seen in Flint this week!). I will be staying overnight and then tomorrow doing brunch with some friends, too.


What I've been up to this week:
Girl Scout cookies and wine pairing event. Four friends and I went to the Michigan by the Bottle tasting room in Auburn Hills for this event, which was a lot of fun. $20 got you five Girl Scout cookies and five 2 oz. pours of wine. I'm not usually a big red wine person but I found a sweet one that I liked, and since we also received a $5 off credit for attending the event, I bought a bottle to take home, too. Seeing lots of movies. Last Friday, I saw Alita: Battle Angel in IMAX 3D at the AMC Forum; originally we were going to see it in regular 3D at AMC John R, but we were running late so opted for the Fo…
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The Friday Five, 2/15/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Apologies for skipping the Friday Five on 2/8—I completely forgot about it, as I was in Nashville for work and would have had to write and set up the post on Tuesday of that week. Oops ...

As for this week, it's been playing catch-up at work from my work trip, seeing a few shows (including movies), and eating lots of good food, per usual.


What I've been up to this week:
Seeing plays and musicals. Last Saturday night, two friends and I went to see Legally Blonde: the Musical at the Fox Theatre. Legally Blonde is one of my favorite movies, and although the show was definitely "fluffy," it didn't disappoint, especially the sexy UPS guy! Ha. On Wednesday, a friend and I saw The Play That Goes Wrong, at the Fisher Theatre; she loved it, I thought it was okay, but still worth seeing—I'd give it like 3.5/5 stars. The set design was awesome, though, as it keeps falling down during the play (literally everything that can go "wrong" during this play does...).Se…
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Choosing the right meal delivery service for you: Home Chef, Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, and more

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Last March, I wrote a post comparing Hello Fresh to Home Chef, which you can read here. At that point, I was kind of a newbie to the "meal delivery service" game; those were the only two I had tried, and I started after a friend gave me a free Hello Fresh code to try back in January.

Fast-forward to almost a year later, and I'm definitely hooked. I love not having to go grocery shopping, and having gourmet meals for both dinners and then work lunches the next day, when I keep both portions for myself.

However, there are a ton of choices out there for meal services. I am now going to share what I've learned with you over the past year, and tell you which services are my favorites and least favorites.

My favorites:

1) Hello Fresh

Hello Fresh continues to impress me. They are the most generous of the services—I routinely get emails for $20 off my boxes, which definitely helps because I don't like to pay more than $30-40 for the week for the boxes (they generally run …
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Dunkin' Valentine's Day doughnuts {and $25 giveaway!}

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*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

 Valentine's Day is coming up this week, and Dunkin' has released some seasonal doughnuts to celebrate!

About the doughnuts:
Valentine’s Day is all about love, but why stay trapped in the clichés of the holiday to express it? To help guests say it with donuts, and ease some of the holiday’s stress and high expectations, this year Dunkin’ is offering new choices as rich, diverse and dynamic as love itself. Dunkin’ today unveiled its Valentine’s Day lineup, including new Bling Sprinkles Donuts, the return of heart-shaped donuts and its first ever donut that features a perfect pairing of two delicious fillings.

A beloved symbol of the season, heart-shaped donuts are back in several varieties, including Boston Kreme and Jelly, for a limited time at participating Dunkin’ locations nationwide. Additionally, this year classic frosted donut varieties are getting dressed up for the season of love wit…
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Exclusive interview: Q&A with James Rodriguez, Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief musical

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Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thiefwill be playing at the Fisher Theater this month, from February 26 through March 9. I recently was able to ask James Rodriguez, who plays Luke as well as Fight Captain, some questions about the musical.


Liz Parker: Which adaptation of Percy Jackson is the musical based on? (book or movie?)
James Rodriguez: Our musical is based off of the first book in the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series, The Lightning Thief.

LP: Did you either read the book or see the movie to prep for your role in the show?
JR: I've read the entire book series but all of my preparation for this role came from the first book
and my own personal experience.

LP: How long have you been acting, and what is your dream role?
JR: I started acting in high school. I think I was 14 or 15, but I have been singing since I could talk.
My dream role has always been to play Simba in The Lion King on Broadway. I grew up
watching the movie every single day so I need to cross that one off my …
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The Friday Five, 2/1/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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This has been a super busy week and I'm hoping to squeeze in a nap tonight before Birmingham Restaurant Week dinner with Yelpers. The Polar Vortex hasn't helped—yesterday it was -13 REAL TEMP when I woke up ("feels like -32") and eventually went up to a balmy 0 degrees.


What I've been up to this week:
Seeing Phantom of the Opera, at the Detroit Opera House. Phantom is one of my favorite shows, so I was pretty excited about this. I first saw it in January 2017, also at the Detroit Opera House. We also had fantastic seats, as Broadway in Detroit is very generous—we were row C, on the right-hand side of the theaters. Great show!Hanging out with friends. On Saturday night, a friend hosted a fancy wine and cheese party—I say "fancy" because the dress was formal, so we all wore nice dresses and everyone brought wine and some cheese. I've also been eating out a lot this week with friends, which leads me to ... Eating out ... probably a bit too much. On Frida…
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Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: Tap Dogs at the Fox Theatre, March 14th {ends 2/8}

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*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

Tap Dogs will be performing at the Fox Theatre on Thursday, March 14th, and one of my lucky readers will win a 4-pack of tickets to the show!

About the show:
Australia’s most successful theatrical export, Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs, will make its debut performance at the Fox Theatre on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. For one night only, the award-winning show will dazzle with its performers energy and unique imagination for an experience that has been described as "Part theatre, part dance, part rock concert and part construction site!” BBC UK. The global dance sensation’s performance is the latest addition to the 2018-19 Fox Theatre Series.

Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs features high-energy dance, theatrical performance and live music performed by a cast of six dancers and two musicians who bring the steel works to life in a fast paced, unstoppable spectacular that is the p…
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