The Friday Five, 7/23/21: 5 things I've been up to this week

This week has seemed really long, for some reason, so I'm glad the weekend is almost here. Lots of stuff going on but this weekend should be a bit slower-paced; I have some plans, but not a ton. 

Treats from Culinary Combo Bakery, Southfield: (L to R) S'mores brownie, cherry bar, magic bar

What I've been up to this week:

1. Yelp Elite event at Culinary Combo Bakery, Southfield. Not really an "event," per say, but during the pandemic Yelp Detroit has been doing a lot of "pick up at your own convenience" treats, which has been fun. I never would have found this bakery otherwise: it's near the Franklin Rd. / Lodge area in Southfield and it's tucked away in the back of an apartment complex, on the first floor. It's a mother/daughter-owned bakery and all of the treats I selected were very tasty, although the magic bar was definitely my favorite (bottom left in the pic). The S'mores brownie was my second favorite but too rich for me. Check them out if you're in the area. 
2. Seeing movies. I'm back on the (AMC) A-List, lol, so I can now see 3 movies per week. I try to pick seats where I'm not sitting near anyone, because if it's busy I definitely wear my mask when I'm not eating. On Friday, I saw an early showing of Escape Room 2, which I enjoyed, but I also enjoyed the first one. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I saw Pig, with Nicolas Cage; originally, I was going to give it 3.5/5 stars, but I kept thinking about it the next day, so I'd now give it 4/5. It's a slower movie but Cage's acting was excellent, and Alex Wolff (brother of Nat) was also in the movie. Today I am going to go see Snake Eyes, and on Sunday we are planning to see Old, the new M. Night Shymalan movie. I also just reserved a ticket for Jungle Cruise for next week, on Friday. Also, although not in the theater, my parents and I watched The Tomorrow War on Prime last Saturday and it was actually very good—a lot better than I thought it would be. I would give it 4/5 stars.
3. Going out to eat. Last Saturday, after I picked up my bakery treats, I met a friend at Turmerican Indian Cuisine in Novi. It's vegetarian Indian food and they also have some vegan options—they're the only place I know of that has VEGAN mango lassis, which are fantastic. They're just not as thick as the "regular" mango lassis I've had in the past. We both purchased the Groupon and we probably should have just split one ... we paid $18 and had $25 to use, so we ordered a lot of food! You can find the Groupon here, and if you're going Tues-Thurs for carryout or dine-in, it looks like it's only $14 today ... good deal. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I tried the new Chick'nCone place in Madison Heights, before the movie—I had passed by it before, on 14 Mile, and it had just opened. I thought it was just okay ... I had the chicken and waffle cone with cinna-maple syrup, and it had too much cinnamon for my taste. However, I would return and try it with BBQ or ranch sauce; they also have Peri-Peri or buffalo sauce options. On Tuesday, I finally used some of the myVegas Outback gift cards I accumulated last year, and we had dinner at the Madison Heights Outback; that location is always hit or miss with me but our visit this time was fine, and I have always enjoyed their steak. 
4. In-person zumba! This was exciting because I'm still not going into gyms, but my virtual zumba instructor, who is from here but lives in Atlanta, was back in town for the weekend and hosted an outdoors in-person zumba class at her mom's house in Shelby Township. I had not done in-person zumba since March 2020, and it was a lot of fun, although I'm glad I brought a water bottle and a towel. 
5. Cooking. I had EveryPlate last week and someone on Reddit gifted me a Green Chef box (free) this week, which has been a treat ... last night we made a Chili-Ginger Pork Salad. Green Chef is normally about $80 a week but the last time I tried them, they were extremely tasty—and it was the Keto/Paleo menu, which is what I also selected this time, so overall it's pretty healthy, too. Next week I will return to EveryPlate and I have a few EP and HelloFresh boxes coming up for August. 
6. Bonus #6: booking travel! I'll be attending PACK EXPO in Vegas for work in September, which is exciting. I last attended that conference in 2019, and stayed at the Renaissance hotel nearby, which is where I'll be staying this time as well. I haven't been on an airplane since January 2020, when I also went to Vegas (but for a personal trip, not work), and my first time back will be in early September when I visit family in the MA/RI area. 

EveryPlate Southwest Beef Tacos with pickled onion