The Friday Five, 12/15/17: 5 things I've been up to this week

This week, on Wednesday night we got walloped with snow—the first really big snow of winter, like 4 to 7 inches—and that's kind of a metaphor for how the whole week has been. Just really, really long. I am extremely fortunate to be driving a 2017 Toyota RAV4 this week (heated seats and a heated steering wheel are SO NICE to have during this type of freezing cold weather), so check back soon for a review on that vehicle.

2017 Toyota RAV4 ... last Friday, before all the snowyness commenced

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Driving ... a lot. I've had the 2017 Toyota RAV4 since last Friday, and I get to keep this one for a little longer this time: about 9-10 days, instead of the normal 7. Both Friday and Sunday, I drove to Detroit—on Friday, I went to Green Dot Stables for dinner with friends, and then we went to Campus Martius to see the Christmas displays, and on Sunday, my boyfriend and I went to see Broadway Holiday at the Fisher, and I finally got to try out the new Giordano's location in Detroit beforehand. 
  2. Buying "ugly" Christmas sweaters. I'm hosting a small white elephant/game night get-together on Saturday, and I also was invited to an ugly sweater party next week, so I needed to find myself one. At Meijer, of all places, I found a Star Wars one for my boyfriend (it says "Merry Sithmas" on it ... hilarious) and a Nightmare Before Christmas sweater for myself. They were on sale, too ($16.99, normal price was $30) which was a bonus. 
  3. Doing a lot of cooking. I bought two steaks at Fresh Thyme over the weekend—when they have flat iron steaks, they are only about $2.50 per steak ($4.99/pound) and are quite tasty—and I cooked one on Monday night and one on Wednesday. On Monday, I did my usual butter/garlic combo, which was delicious, and on Wednesday I tried doing soy sauce and garlic instead, which was unfortunately just okay. 
  4. ... but also eating out a bit. I had McDonald's takeout on Saturday night, which I rarely do (fast food, though I love their fries) and Giordano's on Sunday. On Tuesday, a friend held a book swap/holiday party and we ordered pizza, which was tasty. On Thursday, a coworker and I tried out Kyoto, in Royal Oak, for some hibachi (I'm still full as I write this, actually...) and today, another friend and I are going to Social Kitchen (Birmingham, MI) for a blog post - check back soon for that. I've been wanting to try out Social for a while so I'm definitely excited to try them out.
  5. Catching up on some reading. I read two YA (Young Adult) books: Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green (which of course was great, because his books are always great) and I also read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, because it's being released as a movie on March 16, 2018, called Love, Simon. I liked Simon a little bit better than Turtles, but both are worth reading.
glorious cheesiness from Giordano's, Detroit

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