Yes/No Detroit

This Friday Five will be Vegas-themed, because I was there from Sunday through Thursday and just got back. :)


What I've been up to this week:
Traveling to Vegas. We'll start with some general things about it ... we stayed at the Bellagio for one night, comped (thanks to the myVegas slots app! Which is free to download and play), and only had to pay the resort fee, about $50. We then stayed at Bally's for the next 3 nights. Oddly, we both liked Bally's better, even though the Bellagio room was super nice ... I liked that Bally's had a fridge (and not just a minibar, like at Bellagio) and also, we got upgraded to a Jubilee suite, so that might have had something to do with it, ha. The suite was huge and also had a nice whirlpool tub. I'm partial to Bally's too because I've been staying there with my family since the early 2000s, and recently they renovated it so the rooms are pretty nice now.Eating. Lots and lots of eating, I weighed myself today and thankf…

This week has seemed LONG, I think because I had 5 days of work (the horror. LOL) and other random things going on, like doctor's appointments. My nose is getting stuffy again even though I literally JUST got over a cold, so that's fun, too ... and my boyfriend and I leave for Vegas on Sunday for vacation. I did the math and I think this is actually my THIRTEENTH trip to Vegas—my parents and I started going in 2000, when I was a kid, and that also includes work trips.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out a lot (yes, again). I'm not going to say where, because I do mystery shopping for a company, but on Friday night, my boyfriend and I went to a restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, and on Saturday for lunch we went to a place in that same area, for that. On Sunday, my parents took me to the Cheesecake Factory, in Novi, for a birthday lunch; on Wednesday, I met a friend for lunch at Mr. Kabob Xpress, and used my birthday free meal; and then the rest of the week I have bee…

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.
I've heard nothing but good things about Dear Evan Hansen, so I'm excited that it's coming to Detroit this year!

About the show:
Broadway in Detroit announced today that individual tickets for the Detroit premiere of DEAR EVAN HANSEN will go on sale Friday, January 17 at 10:00 AM. Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased online at www.broadwayindetroit.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets may also be purchased by phone by calling 800-982-2787, and at the Fisher Theatre box office.

The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Grammy®, Tony® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman), and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal).


Declared “One of the most remarkable shows i…

Troop Zero will be in theaters on February 1st, but 40 of my lucky readers will be able to see it early at a screening next weekend!

The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum will also be in attendance, at 10am, for family activities.

**THE SCREENING HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE MICHIGAN THEATER.**

About the movie:
In a tiny Georgia town in 1977, a motherless girl dreams of life beyond the confines of her trailer-park home in Troop Zero. When her quest for connection leads her to reach for the stars in a competition to be included on NASA’s landmark Golden Record, it becomes clear she will have to depend on some new friends to take her the last mile.

Every night, Christmas Flint (Mckenna Grace) sits under a starry sky with a flashlight, signaling to extraterrestrial visitors that never arrive. Sensitive, imaginative and deeply lonely, Christmas and her equally eccentric best friend Joseph are the ultimate misfits in their rural hometown of Wiggly, Georgia. When Christmas learns that the winners of the ann…

This is the first Friday Five of 2020! It feels weird to say "2020" ... I kind of feel like the '90s were 10 years ago. Guess not.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out. I had the last week off of work and mostly stayed with my parents, aside from a quick jaunt home one day, and we ate out quite a bit. Last Friday, though, my boyfriend took me to Hearth 71, the new restaurant in the RenCen (where Coach Insignia used to be), for my Christmas present, and it was pretty tasty. On Saturday, my parents and I went to Noodles & Co. for dinner, and on Sunday I was visiting friends who have a baby so we did delivery; I got Siam Spicy (Thai food) from Novi. On Monday, my parents and I had a Sedona Taphouse gift card so we did their $7 steak special (my dad and I did, my mom got their $5 happy hour pizza), among other food, and yesterday my boyfriend and I went to Social Kitchen, in Birmingham, before Cirque du Soleil at Little Caesars Arena. Two LCA events. Last Saturd…

I have some Little Women prize packs to give away to my lucky readers - and there will be FOUR winners!

Each prize pack includes:
Little Women book: The Official Movie CompanionLittle Women book: The original classic novel, featuring photos from the filmLittle Women 2020 calendar, with photographs from the film Read my review of Little Womenhere, too, and see why I give it 4.5/5 stars!



GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Thursday, January 10th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner(s) will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Little Women prize pack - 4 winners!

I've come to the point in my Christmas/New Year's vacation where I no longer know what day or date it is, haha, but I do know it's Friday, which means this is the last Friday Five of 2019! I've been enjoying sleeping a bit more and also watching lots of movies and TV shows.


What I've been up to this week:
Influencer event at The Morrie, Birmingham. The Morrie recently opened up a second location, right on Old Woodward in Birmingham, and on Saturday morning I joined a group of my influencer friends to try them out for brunch. I definitely left stuffed, and everything there is delicious, though I highly recommend the Nashville hot chicken + waffles sandwich, as well as the ice cream sandwich for dessert. Hosting my annual white elephant party. Last Friday, I hosted my 3rd annual white elephant party, and had about 15-20 friends show up for it. It's always a good time and the gifts that people bring are funny; this year, we had everything from a super nice Star Wars…

I saw a fair amount of movies this year—it's hard to give an exact estimate, because plans often change, but based on my Google Calendar I'd say about 108 movies. Between movie screenings and my AMC A-List membership, I usually see about two per week. Here, in no particular order, are my top 10 favorites from 2019.


1. Parasite
I went into this movie not knowing much about it, and I highly recommend doing just that: it's an insane ride, and took some CRAZY turns that I wasn't expecting. It's currently still playing in theaters, but you may have a hard time finding it. You can preorder it on Amazon here. I give PARASITE 4.5 stars out of 5. I went in only knowing a vague synopsis of the movie, and WOW, was I surprised. Lots of twists and turns, and worth seeing. #Parasite#movies#moviereview — Liz Parker (@yesnodetroit) December 4, 2019

2. Them That Follow 
Movies #2, 3, and 4 on this list are films that I saw at the Cinetopia Film Festival this summer, in Ann Arbor and …

Jesus Christ Superstar will be at the Detroit Opera House this February, and I haven't seen it before so I'm excited to attend.
About the show: Following critically acclaimed, sold-out engagements in the UK, the reimagined 50th Anniversary tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will come to the Detroit Opera House, February 4 – 9, 2020.

Tickets for the 2017 Olivier awarding-winning production from Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre start at $34 and are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased online at broadwayindetroit.com or ticketmaster.com and by phone at 800-982-2787. Tickets may also be purchased at the Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theatre box offices.

Featuring award-winning music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, the North American tour of this iconic musical will be helmed by acclaimed director Timothy Sheader and cutting-edge choreographer Drew McOnie. Rounding out the creative team is set and costume design by 2016 Tony Award nominee, Tom Scutt, lighting design by Le…

This has been a very busy week and to top it off, I've somehow acquired a cold. I'm hosting my third annual white elephant party tonight too, so fingers crossed that it all somehow works out. Next week should be more relaxing, I'm working on Monday but from home and then I have the rest of the week off until January 2nd.


What I've been up to this week:
Going out to eat. My boyfriend and I like to give "experiences" for our Christmas presents rather than tangible things, so last Friday I took him to The Whitney, in Detroit, for his Christmas present. I had only been once, I think in 2010 or 2011 for lunch with coworkers, and it was his first time there. (If you're not from this area: The Whitney is this old mansion from 1894, which has been converted to a restaurant, and it's gorgeous - you can read about it here)
On Saturday, I went to an influencer event at Josef's, in Grosse Pointe Woods, and ate pretty much all of their pastry selection. I rarely …

If you're a fan of Criminal Minds like I am, you undoubtedly know Mandy Patinkin - and he'll be at Detroit's Fisher Theatre for one night only, on February 6, 2020. More details below:
Broadway’s master songman, Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Adam Ben-David on piano, will bring his newest theatre concert Mandy Patinkin in Concert: DIARIES, to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre for one performance only on Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets start at $55 and can now be purchased online at www.broadwayindetroit.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets may also be purchased by phone by calling 800-982-2787, and at the Fisher Theatre box office.

Mandy Patinkin in Concert: DIARIES presents the acclaimed actor / singer / storyteller in his most electrifying role: concert performer. “Mandy Patinkin is in the business of showstopping,” raves The New Yorker, and that’s exactly what he does in this powerful, passionate evening of song. DIARIES is a marriage of many of Mandy’s favorite Br…

Guest post by: Karen Doerr

Hello. My name is Karen and I’m chubby. In an attempt to be less chubby and healthier overall, I like to exercise. My goal is to have about 150 active minutes of dedicated exercise a week. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I do not. I decided that it was time for me to switch up my routine and try to find something new for exercise. My goal was to try as much as I could for as cheap as I could. I have a long history with yoga, so I purposefully avoided that area. I’m not done with my exploration of fitness classes yet in the metro Detroit area, but so far, this is how I would rank them in order from worst to best.


5. The Barre Code

Locations: Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Northville, Rochester Hills, and Royal Oak

Start Up Costs: First class is free

I hadn’t heard much about Barre classes before. I assumed this this would be similar to yoga with a lot of stretching in front of a ballet barre. I was very, VERY wrong. This class reminded me the most of aerobics class…

I can tell that we are in the throes of December because my schedule is chock-packed—this week was pretty busy and next week I literally have no days to myself ... every single day I have something on my Google Calendar.


What I've been up to this week:
Toledo mini road trip to see Lindsey Stirling. Lindsey Stirling is one of my favorite performers, so when I found out she was coming to Toledo this year, I shelled out like $100 per ticket to see her ... front of the auditorium (Stranahan) was like $100 and the back was $88 or so, so I figured why not have great seats? She put on a great concert per usual, although it was mostly Christmas songs and I would have rather seen her perform her new album, Artemis.Eating out, and trying new places. Last Friday, a friend and I went to BJ's Brewhouse before a movie. On Saturday, my boyfriend and I tried to go to Kengo Sushi, in Toledo, but it's a teeny place and there was a long wait, so we ended up at Spaghetti Warehouse, across the s…