Yes/No Detroit

I really haven't done much this week, so I was kind of surprised to see I had gained two pounds between today and my last weigh-in ... and then I remembered that Thanksgiving was last week, and then THIS week I've been eating leftovers and also takeout leftovers. Oops. However! I started doing zumba  online, with a zumba teacher that used to teach at LA Fitness in Troy, and that has been fun and also pretty good for my Fitbit numbers; I got in about 8,000 steps on Monday and Tuesday when I did her classes (compared to my usual paltry like ~2000 steps/day nowadays).  Chicken Piccata from The Cheesecake Factory What I've been up to this week: Not that much takeout, surprisingly.  I'm not seeing my boyfriend for the next 2 weeks to be safe (1 week left to go) because he went to a 10-person Thanksgiving, so I haven't had any takeout this week since Saturday; however, I am thinking about getting Uber Eats tonight, maybe Thai food, because I have an Uber Eats gift card. L

Didn't really do much this week, but it has been nice to have two days off of work ... since I'm not traveling at much (read: at all) this year because of the pandemic, days off work don't happen as much. (not counting my colonoscopy because ... that definitely wasn't a vacation ...)  Brown sugar bourbon meatloaf from HelloFresh What I've been up to this week: Cooking.  I had a HelloFresh box last week, and Dinnerly this week. I debated if I needed a box this week or not because of Thanksgiving, but I didn't stay with my parents this year (and won't be for my Christmas break, too) because of the pandemic so I got my box on Monday instead of Tuesday this week, and already have cooked two of the three meals. HelloFresh is always a treat for me because it's a bit more expensive than Dinnerly ... I've been getting Dinnerly for $18.96 a box which is a fantastic price (it's $38.96 normally) and I did HelloFresh for $35.96 this week, an old discount tha

This week seemed really long for some reason, and I also didn't do much; I spent a lot of time at home, which is both good and bad I suppose (good because I'm staying safe from the virus, bad because I get really antsy and also overeat).  Beef Banh Mi bowl, from EveryPlate What I've been up to this week: Cooking.  More so than going out. I had an EveryPlate box last week and I made the Beef Banh Mi bowl pictured above, and I had HelloFresh this week; so far I made turkey flautas with pico de gallo and lime crema, and chicken banh mi tacos. Yesterday my stomach was hating me (Crohn's) and I really just wanted something simple for dinner so I made pasta with some old (unopened) Meijer pasta sauce ... I had extra and I might try it with some pesto sauce from Kroger today for lunch.  Getting takeout. Since cases are up this week and also indoor dining is closed (not that I've dined indoor recently, but still ...), I've been laying low this week and only doing takeou

*Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Mulan for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Recently I received a digital code of the new Mulan , which was released earlier this year on Disney+ but at a premium price for subscribers ($30). I had seen the older Mulan , from 1998, but not recently, so yesterday I watched both that version (on Disney+) as well as the new version. Read on for my thoughts, and also enter to win a digital copy of the new Mulan  movie! Mulan (1998) This is a beloved Disney movie, and I was curious to see if it would stand up to my memories of it. This one is a musical (the 2020 one is not) and also has some fun characters like Mushu, voiced by Eddie Murphy, and Cri-Kee, a "lucky cricket" belonging to Mulan.  Overall, the songs here were great, including my favorite, a toe-tapper called "I'll Make a Man Out of You" (although prior to Googling, I thought the name was "Let's Get Down to Business," as t

Today is Friday the 13th, and I saw a funny meme saying something like "good luck: it's Friday the 13th, in 2020." However, 13th's are usually a lucky day for me (my birthday is Jan. 13), so we will see. A friend is having a birthday bonfire later tonight and I'm excited to get some social interaction in, even though it'll be cold outside ... the high today is 48, and on Tuesday I wore shorts because it was 75 here. #PureMichigan Selection of pastries at White Wolf Japanese Patisserie, Clawson What I've been up to this week: Eating out/getting takeout. I still am not doing indoor dining due to the pandemic, but on Sunday, a friend and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and finally tried Pumachug, in Clawson, for lunch. Afterwards we went down the street to White Wolf, which is a Japanese patisserie, and I got the extra-large macaron that you see in the bottom left of the above pic, as well as the Earl Grey creme brulee for my boyfriend and I to split

Welcome to Election Day, again, as I've seen some memes say this week. It's three days after everyone has voted in the U.S. and we are STILL counting the ballots, so there is no clear winner yet. Needless to say, most people I know have been glued to the news this week, myself included, though I've mostly just been refreshing electoral maps on my phone ...  Goodies for the Virtual Honey Board Summit What I've been up to this week: Virtual Honey Board Summit for work.  One of my very first work trips in 2016 was actually for this, as well—that time, I traveled to Chicago, but obviously this year's was virtual. We got to try a bunch of different honeys, and they also sent us some honey goodies, like that LARABAR you see above in the picture.  Seeing friends. I didn't realize how much I've been missing human interaction until I met up with some friends (outside, socially distanced) yesterday on another friend's patio. We talked for a few hours and it was re

This week was busy but it also felt like I didn't really do much. I have to shlep to Canton later for a COVID test—not because I have symptoms, but because it's required for my colonoscopy, which is Monday ... I feel like UM should have developed a rapid test already? Seems kind of a moot point to get a COVID test on Friday, when I could contract it Saturday or Sunday. I was hoping to take the test in Troy, but it has to be at a UM center, and my choices were Canton or Brighton. Caramel apples from ALDI What I've been up to this week: Getting takeout. Last Saturday, I visited a friend who was in town, and her parents live in the Novi area, so for the first time since January I was able to get Cheesecake Factory takeout. I also got Hungry Howie's pizza for dinner with my parents that night. On Tuesday, my boyfriend and I got Sy Thai takeout, from Troy, too.  Cooking . I had Dinnerly last week and this week. Yesterday I made beef taquitos, which I've actually made bef

I didn't do that much this week but work has been super busy, so it feels like I did a lot. Hoping to sneak in a walk today ... weighed myself and the scale is still being unkind (my fault, of course, but it is HARD to exercise during quarantine as I have no gym access) so I'm hoping to start walking more. Sweet Soy Glazed Steak Tacos from HelloFresh What I've been up to this week: Cooking.  More so than eating out this week. I had HelloFresh last week, and on Friday I made the Sweet Soy Glazed Steak Tacos that you see above. I have Dinnerly this week, and last night we made Cowboy Burgers with fries—they're called that because the sauce was BBQ sauce mixed with ranch dressing. Very Midwest, lol, but it actually tasted pretty good. Next week I will be doing Dinnerly as well.  Getting takeout . It's getting a bit cold to do patio dining now (although today is supposed to be 75! Albeit rainy), and my parents and I got Cottage Inn takeout on Saturday night. On Sunday,

Quarantine, end of week 31. I had my Ann Arbor "staycation" last week and have also been eating out a LOT this week ... however, I've also been doing a lot of walking, so I suppose that's good. Crumbl Cookies, Ann Arbor What I've been up to this week: Ann Arbor staycation.  As I mentioned above, my boyfriend and I did a 1-night stay at Weber's in Ann Arbor, from Friday to Saturday. I needed a vacation, and Ann Arbor is one of my favorite places. On Friday night, we got dinner at Blimpy Burger, one of my favorites (and they had picnic tables outside, yay! I didn't think they had outdoor seating) then a drink at "The Grotto" (formerly "The Beer Grotto"). We also stopped at Crumbl Cookies (see above), which were pricey but delicious. Crumbl is a chain but they just opened their Ann Arbor location two weeks ago, and it's their first Michigan location. We also tried out the pool at Weber's which, to my surprise, ended up being saltwa

Quarantine, end of week 30. This week seemed busy, I think because I had some errands to do and also got my B12 shot. Hoping to get my flu shot next week, but I'm doing a staycation in Ann Arbor tonight so I didn't want to chance any side effects beforehand (rare, for me, but you never know).  Spiced Chicken Tagine, from EveryPlate - delicious! What I've been up to this week: Eating out.  Last Friday, I had a DoorDash gift card to use so I got delivery from LC's Asian Kitchen, my first time trying them—they're located in Madison Heights. On Saturday, my parents and I had a DoorDash gift card to use (we all won them through myVegas) and we got Noodles takeout. On Tuesday, I saw my parents again, since I'm not seeing them this weekend, and we got Happy's Pizza takeout, which was surprisingly delicious. And yesterday my boyfriend and I got Pita Way takeout—I did their "buy a $50 gift card, get a $50 gift card" deal about a month ago, and it's the

Quarantine, end of week 29. Obviously anything I tell you about my week won't trump the biggest news of today, but I'll still share some highlights from my week regardless.  Butter noodles and candied beef at Ima, Madison Heights What I've been up to this week: Eating out.  Per usual, takeout or patios only. On Friday, my boyfriend and I went to Ima, in Madison Heights, because they were doing 15% off for Madison Heights Restaurant Week; this is the first year MHRW has taken place. On Saturday, my parents and I got Outback takeout, and on Wednesday, my parents finally came to my area to see my renovated condo and also get MOD takeout, which we ate at my house since the weather wasn't good.  Cooking.  I had Dinnerly last week and this week, and I'll be getting EveryPlate next week, which will be nice since it involves already-printed recipe cards. Last night we made a "steakhouse cheeseburger" with homemade fries, and on Sunday I made bruschetta chicken.  Y

Quarantine, end of week 28. (Should I keep keeping track of this? It's not like we are restricted to our homes now ... but I'm also curious to see how many weeks it ends up being.) This was kind of a week of excess ... ate out quite a bit but also had some very tasty meals.  Peanut Butter Pave at Prime + Proper, Detroit What I've been up to this week: Eating out.  Lots of good meals, too. Last Friday, my boyfriend and I went to Granite City's patio, in Troy (and were the only ones there, because it was FREEZING out) for their happy hour. I was hoping maybe their heat lamps would be on but apparently they didn't have gas for it. Their pizzas are always delicious, but we ate fast because it was cold. Saturday was much more pleasant, and I met a friend at Browndog Northville (and was also able to use my localflavor.com deal, yay! It's for Farmington but that location is temporarily closed). On Wednesday, my boyfriend took me out to Prime + Proper, in Detroit, for m

Quarantine, end of week 27. Not much going on this week ... Blogger (the platform I use for this blog, most bloggers either use Blogger or WordPress) is finally making me switch over to their new revamped platform, which I don't like—I had been using "Legacy" Blogger for quite a while. And in TV news, Hulu's PEN15  is back for a second season today! The first season was hilarious, so I definitely plan on watching it.  Chicken tikka pizza from Gift of India, Farmington, MI What I've been up to this week: Dining out for my Instagram.  It's been a hot minute since I went to a foodie event or was invited anywhere for my blog, but Gift of India , in Farmington, invited me to try some of their menu items. They are more of a carryout place but they do have two tables outside, which worked for me, and I was told I could use their employee bathroom too if needed. We sampled the chicken tikka pizza, pictured above; their mango lassi as well as an appetizer; some of thei