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The Friday Five, 9/18/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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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. 
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 their wrap sandwiches; and an interesting milky dessert, which …
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The Friday Five, 9/11/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 26, which makes this 50% of the year. But more importantly: where were you on 9/11/2001? I still remember it: I was in my freshman year English class, and they announced over the loudspeaker that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I turned to a friend and was like "What's going on?" and she said something like "I don't know but this is very bad." All after-school activities were canceled that day (swim team, for me), and for most of the day we just watched TV coverage. Pretty crazy that it was 19 years ago today.


What I've been up to this week:
A much-needed vacation. My last vacation or even my last trip was January in Vegas, before COVID-19 began. I've literally taken 0 days off of work this summer except for the Monday after the weekend of July 4th. Between that and my house stuff, I really needed a vacation. My boyfriend has Mondays and Tuesdays off work so we traveled to the west side of Michigan from Su…
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The Friday Five, 9/4/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 25. My house is STILL not done but I at least now have carpet! There are only small things left to do. This week went by pretty fast, and I've started patio dining, at least until the weather gets colder.


What I've been up to this week:
Being poked. Had my B12 shot yesterday—in the past 6 months, I was allowed into the actual doctor's office like once, and usually they just do it in the hallway of the building—and tomorrow is infusion day. I had to see a skin doctor earlier in the week for an issue, too, which also involved me being poked :(. After my infusion the fun part of the weekend begins though—we are going out for my boyfriend's birthday, either to Chop House (Ann Arbor) or Eddie V's (Troy) and then will be going to the Holland/Grand Haven area for the long weekend. Eating out. I'm comfortable with patio dining as long as there is social distancing and it's outdoors. We snagged one of Ale Mary's (Royal Oak) TWO patio tables…
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The Friday Five, 8/28/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 24 ... crazy that this has been going on almost HALF a year (26 weeks). It's rainy out today but I'll be working at the office while carpet is being installed at my condo.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out/doing takeout. Had my first "dine-in" experience since March, last Sunday at Red Coat Tavern, in West Bloomfield. We originally wanted Smashburger for dinner but it was only open for carry-out—which rather annoys me because I called ahead, and they said their patio was open ... I guess technically it was still open? ... and they never mentioned they were carryout only. Red Coat's $12.50 burger was fine but overpriced. Last Friday, my boyfriend and I waited like 30 or 40 minutes for the Culver's (Madison Heights) drive-thru, which was kind of crazy—it's only open for drive-thru currently, the dining room isn't open—and on Saturday, I met a friend at the Corner Cafe in South Lyon, which is a quick-serve place. Their …
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The Friday Five, 8/21/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 23, and things are finally getting back to normal(-ish) ... I have ceilings! (low bar for 2020, I know)

I also redid the foyer this week (at my own cost, but I wanted the same materials as the kitchen) and I'll be getting new carpet hopefully sometime next week.


What I've been up to this week:
Binge-watching the Twilight movies. I think I have hit peak quarantine. I started reading Midnight Sunon Wednesday, which is basically Twilight but from Edward's point of view (and, fun fact, was actually written BEFORE Twilight), and because of that, I wanted to rewatch the first Twilight movie, which I did on Wednesday night. After that, I figured, may as well rewatch the whole series, and they're conveniently on Prime right now ... but being removed on Sept. 1st. Yesterday I watched New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn: Part 1, and like 30 minutes of Breaking Dawn: Part 2 ... and then I had to go to sleep. I will finish BD: Part 2 today, most likely. Getting …
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The Friday Five, 8/14/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 22, and I'm finally home from the hotel! Construction isn't done yet—drywall/painting is done, except for a few tiny things I found, and flooring starts today (most likely kitchen/bathroom floors today, and carpet next week) so I'm up early and off to the office today. I'll be there Monday and Tuesday as well.


What I've been up to this week: Eating out. Because I had to ... my hotel room has a small kitchenette, with a tiny cooktop, but I mostly just used the fridge, freezer, and microwave. Last Friday night, I got Outback via Uber Eats, which was tasty; on Sunday, my boyfriend and I got takeout from Main Street Kitchen, an Indian restaurant in Clawson, which was delicious. They also have a 25% off coupon in the Entertainment book and Entertainment book app. I also had Bahama Breeze takeout on Sunday for lunch, because I was looking for something light, but it was just okay. On Monday, I got boneless wings from Detroit Wing Co. (during their 4…
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The Friday Five, 8/7/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 21, and this week I'm in a hotel, which I was not expecting; however, my place ended up being very dusty while they are doing drywall and painting. I'll be here for another few days and originally was going to check out today, too.


What I've been up to this week:
Cooking. I received a Dinnerly box last week, and the recipes were pretty good; one of them was a skillet ravioli "lasagna," pictured above. I also got a box this week—I didn't know I wasn't going to be able to use my kitchen—but luckily there wasn't a lot of produce in it, so I froze the meats and also the snap peas. Hoping to be able to cook those starting Tuesday. I was able to skip my order for next week so that I have time to play catchup.Living in a hotel. I was supposed to only be here till Friday, but I extended it until Tuesday ... and I'm very lucky I was ABLE to extend it, because when I called and asked, they had 0 rooms left. I actually was able to find …
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The Friday Five, 7/31/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 20 ... not sure when to stop using the term "quarantine"  but I guess I'll stop whenever things go back to "normal"? Whatever that means anymore ...


What I've been up to this week:
Getting takeout. My boyfriend and I got Hungry Howie's last Friday—they're doing a $12.99 deal which gets you a pizza cookie (see below for pic) and a large 1-topping pizza. On Saturday, my parents and I got takeout from Sidecar Slider Bar, in Commerce, using the Groupon that I purchased—pretty good deal, normally it's $18 and you get $30 to spend, but today there's a 25% off sale so your final price would only be $13.50!
On Tuesday, my boyfriend and I tried the new-ish Troy Kabob—$4.99 gets you a chicken shawarma meal which includes a shawarma wrap, fries, and a can of soda, or $5.99 for beef shawarma (another great deal, that a Yelp friend told me about). And on Wednesday, I visited a friend in Ann Arbor after my doctor's appointment the…
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Piff the Magic Dragon virtual event: August 5 + 16 {and a giveaway!}

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Piff the Magic Dragon: Live from Las Vegas will be showing on two days next month, August 5th and 16th, and two of my lucky readers will win passes to the August 5th event!
I have never seen Piff in person (in Vegas) but my parents have, and really enjoyed it.

About the (virtual) show: Piff the Magic Dragon: Live from Las Vegas brings the magic to you at home with a hilarious, interactive magic show to entertain the entire family, with the ease and convenience of Zoom.

Hot off his record-breaking Vegas residency, Piff presents a completely new show created for online viewing, featuring never-before-seen magic, with tricks happening in your hands and homes.

Passes ($35.75 per device) to access this live streaming event are on sale now and only available at https://passportshows.com/portfolio/piff-313-presents/.

Host the star of America’s Got Talent and Las Vegas’ ‘Best Headliner,’ ‘Best Comedian,’ and ‘Best Magician’ award winner in your very own living room. And you don’t even have to p…
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The Friday Five, 7/24/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 19. I *finally* have a start date for my condo construction, and it is a week from Monday, so I will probably be going to the office during that time.


What I've been up to this week:
Trying new places. Last Friday, I had to bring my car into Belle Tire to be looked at ... the Troy location was unfortunately too busy to see me, but I got to try out the new matcha cafe instead, since it's across the street. It's pricey but the drinks are good; I got a Matcha Chocolate drink and a regular matcha drink, and I liked the chocolate one the best. Next time I want to go back for ice cream. On Saturday, my parents and I got takeout from Bar Verona near them, and the pizzas were delicious; we got a chicken pesto one and a margherita pizza.Cooking. Last week I had Dinnerly and this week I splurged for Hello Fresh ("splurged"—I still had a discounted box but it was like twice the price of Dinnerly, lol). Last Friday, I cooked steaks for my boyfriend and …
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Review and GIVEAWAY: Don Marcos Brand tortilla chips - a local Michigan brand! {ends 7/26}

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*Disclosure: I received Don Marcos products in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

 I recently was able to try some products from a local Michigan brand, Don Marcos—they're based right around the corner from me, in Southfield!

Most likely, if you live in the metro Detroit area, you have tried their tortilla chips without even knowing it, because they are major distributor to a lot of local restaurants.

I guess this makes sense, but I never really put two and two together: that tortilla chips are made out of cut up tortillas, which are then baked. Don Marcos sells the unbaked version, so I got to make them myself at home!


They were super hot and fresh directly out of the oven, and very crispy, too. To make them was easy: I preheated my oven to 375 degrees, I sprayed the chips with vegetable oil, and I sprinkled some salt across them. You only have to cook them for 7-8 minutes.


Don Marcos also sells tortillas, like the ones pictured above, and ch…
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The Friday Five, 7/17/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 18. I kind of wonder when I should stop keeping track—technically we are not quarantined anymore and can go as we please, but until there is a COVID-19 vaccine, I still feel quarantined. I've still been avoiding eating-in at restaurants, and I miss traveling, too.


What I've been up to this week:
Buying masks. I bought a cute mask from Vera Bradley (see pic below) and also a corgi/bubble tea one (!) from PawtyThings.com. The VB one initially showed up in a shredded package, and the mask got a little dirty too; this was my first time buying from them and I was surprised, because they have a good reputation usually. I contacted them on Twitter and they sent me a new mask PLUS filters, and they sent it with expedited shipping too—good customer service. The VB one works really well and fits well around my ears; the corgi one is adorable but a little tight on my ears. Choosing flooring for my condo! Things are progressing, slowly but surely (hopefully). I chose…
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The Friday Five, 7/10/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

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Quarantine, end of week 17. The scale says I gained FOUR pounds this week, which is ridiculous ... I don't think it's accurate, I think it's a combination of "salt fingers" (my dinner last night was maybe a little salty) and other "woman stuff" that I won't get into here, lol. I've been gaining about a pound a week during quarantine but unfortunately the only exercise I have available to me is walking, and it's been like 90+ degrees all week. :(


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out. Hence where the +4 gain came from, maybe. Last Friday I did get El Guanaco, and I got my $5 AmEx credit too, which was nice—I ordered two pupusas and two tacos, so that I would have enough for two meals. On Saturday, I did Culver's, and the Madison Heights location is still drive-thru only, apparently. On Sunday, I saw my parents, and we had Buddy's Pizza (takeout) for my dad's birthday. On Tuesday, I FINALLY saw my boyfriend (after 4 months o…
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