The Friday Five, 12/20/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

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:
  1. 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 get over to Grosse Pointe Woods so we also hit up Garrido's, which has these insanely large milkshakes (example: we got a Reese's one and it was TOPPED with a Choco Taco, a piece of Reeses cheesecake, and an ice cream sandwich...) since my boyfriend had never been there before. Then on Wednesday, three friends and I went to Melting Pot for their ladies' night out - they were doing an ugly Christmas sweater-themed party, and had a three-course meal for $25.95, which for them is a good deal. 
  2. Influencer event at Josef's European Pastry Shop. I mentioned this in the above paragraph, but Julian over at @motorcitymunchers hosted a bunch of us for an influencer event. I had heard good things about Josef's but had never been, and I may need to make the trek over to Grosse Pointe Woods (okay, like 30 minutes, lol) more often for their cakes and cookies. We also tried some savory items like their sandwiches and focaccias (kinda like pizzas), and everything I had was delicious.
  3. Secret Santa party. On Saturday night (yes, after all our Grosse Pointe Woods trekking), we headed to Waterford, because a friend was doing a Secret Santa party. I ended up getting some fun stackable gummies (4D) and these movie and book scratch off posters (you scratch off what books you've read/movies you've seen). My boyfriend got a Moscow Mule cups set. Unfortunately, the person I bought Secret Santa items for was sick, so I didn't get to give my gift that night, but the hostess will give her my gifts next time she sees her.
  4. Getting a massage. MassageLuXe, in Troy (Wattles/Rochester Rds), was doing a $35 Black Friday deal, and I only get massages about once ever few years, so I decided to buy it. It was probably one of the best massages I've ever had, and I signed up for their membership program, because my next massage is $10; the one after that is $65, and after that I will probably cancel, since I don't have room for monthly massages in my budget (that's the dream, though!). 
  5. Returning my Ring doorbell. I was excited about my Ring video doorbell purchase from Groupon on Black Friday, but unfortunately it didn't fit over my existing doorbell, so I had to return it (weird, because a neighbor has the Ring doorbell, which is how I first found out about it ...). My boyfriend was able to drop the package off at USPS yesterday, since I'm sick this week, so hopefully I will get my refund soon.
Fruit tart at Josef's, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

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