Yes/No Detroit

This week has gone by relatively quickly, and it's been pretty busy; I think next week hopefully won't be as busy for me.  Chicken wonton tacos, from Applebee's What I've been up to this week: Eating out/getting takeout . A bit too much, as the scale reflected it this morning. Last Friday I got Del Taco takeout before seeing a movie, and on Saturday I got Indian takeout from a new (to me) place called New Delhi, in Sterling Heights—it was good but I prefer Main St. Kitchen in Clawson more. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I got Condado Tacos takeout, which is always delicious, and on Tuesday we went to Applebee's for their happy hour, before a movie—they do a surprisingly good happy hour although I noticed the menu had been cut down a bit (i.e., the chicken wonton tacos pictured above, which are my favorite thing there, are no longer on the HH menu, so it's $8.99; however, we got soft pretzels with beer cheese for $4, which was a great deal). On Wednesday, I met a co

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) recently announced its Winter Tour for 2021, including a stop at Detroit's Little Caesars Arena on December 28th! Click HERE to purchase tickets. About the show: Multi-platinum, progressive rock group  Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) has announced its highly-anticipated Winter Tour will be back for 2021. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the group’s landmark album Christmas Eve and Other Stories, this year’s multi-sensory extravaganza kicks off on Wednesday, November 17th with performances in Green Bay and Council Bluffs, and will visit 59 cities for 99 performances across America before concluding on Thursday, December 30th in Cleveland and St. Louis (see full itinerary below and at www.trans-siberian.com ).   Certified 3X platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America® for selling three million copies in the U.S., Christmas Eve and Other Stories is one of the best-selling Christmas albums of all time. Including the mega-hit &q

I have *four* tickets for one of my readers to win for Pretty Woman: The Musical , November 2nd at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit! About the show: PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories of all time, is coming to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre as part of Broadway In Detroit’s 2021-2022 subscription season. Performances will run November 2-14 and tickets ($39 and up) are now on sale online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-982-2787, and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. Broadway superstar and Tony Award®-nominee Adam Pascal (Rent, AIDA, Something Rotten!) will once again step into the well-heeled shoes of Edward Lewis after thrilling audiences on Broadway for a limited set of performances in 2019. He will be joined by rising star Olivia Valli (Jersey Boys, Wicked) as the charming and charismatic Vivian Ward. For more information visit: PrettyWomanTheMusical.com . Click HERE to purchase tickets - they start at only $39!  credit: Morris Ma

I actually have too many tasty food photos to choose from to add to this post this week—not pictured are the two cookies I purchased from Crumbl in Rochester Hills yesterday (Pink Velvet, and Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake). I liked both, but Pink Velvet was definitely better. Brisket tacos from Isalita, Ann Arbor What I've been up to this week: Seeing live music!  This is only my second concert during the pandemic, the first being an outdoor one (Lindsey Stirling, at Freedom Hill in August). One of my new band obsessions is The Accidentals, whom are actually Michigan-based, and they were playing a show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The Ark is indoors, but their COVID policies are great—you are required to be vaccinated AND masked—so I felt safe going. I went with two friends and before the show we went to Isalita, a Mexican place in downtown Ann Arbor, which had pretty good food. Sawyer Fredericks from The Voice  opened for The Accidentals and he was pretty good too.  Eating out . Isa

I have *four* tickets for one of my readers to win for RENT, October 19th at the Fisher Theatre! About the show: Broadway In Detroit is excited to announce that Broadway shows will return to the Fisher Theatre October 19 with the RENT 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour with performances through Sunday, October 24. For a quarter of a century, Jonathan Larson’s RENT has inspired us to choose love over fear and to live without regret. This Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning phenomenon follows a year in the lives of a diverse group of artists and friends struggling to follow their dreams without selling out. It has become more than a musical – it’s a cultural touchstone, a rite of passage and a source of joy and strength for millions. RENT has become a part of us forever. Whether you’ve never seen RENT or have completely lost count, you can’t miss it this time around – the 25th Anniversary “Farewell Season of Love” is your FINAL CHANCE to experience this celebrated touring production.  Clic

I saw Free Guy  in the theater about a month ago , and really enjoyed it. It's now currently out on digital, and it will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 12th! Two of my lucky readers will win a digital copy of Free Guy ! See below for details. About the movie :  A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game decides to become the hero of his own story—one he rewrites himself. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way ... before it’s too late. My review : I really enjoyed this movie. I'm a big fan of Ryan Reynolds in general, and he was great here. I saw the movie in 3D although it wasn't really needed—it did enhance some scenes, though, which was pretty cool.  This movie was very unique and I can't say I've seen anything else like it, although it did give me some Ready Player One  vibes. In this case, though, instead of a h

Welcome to October! That happened fast. This past week I was in Vegas for PACK EXPO, a work event, and I got home Wednesday night around 11pm, and then it was back to work on Thursday morning.  Pastries at Bellagio Patisserie What I've been up to this week: Traveling to Vegas.  I left Sunday and got back on Wednesday night, so I'm still adjusting back to Eastern time which has been a PITA to say the least. On Sunday, I ended up meeting a Yelp friend who was also in town, and we had dinner at Giordano's, near Bally's, and went to Bellagio to see the fountain show and also the new conservatory exhibit, both of which are some of my favorite things to do in Vegas. The expo was Monday through Wednesday; on Monday night, I was on my own for dinner, so I did In-N-Out (my favorite burger in the U.S.) and walked around a bit. On Tuesday night, I met my friend Sydney, who lives in Vegas, and we did unlimited Korean BBQ, which is always delicious. After that I was also able to sto

This week has been long, but I'm doing Schitt's Creek  trivia with some friends tonight, which should be interesting, and I leave for Vegas on Sunday for work. Delta apparently will let me switch to an earlier flight for free, if I like, but I have yet to find an aisle seat ... definitely not doing a middle seat for a 4.5-hour flight.  Low-cal popcorn chicken with avocado sauce from Dinnerly What I've been up to this week: Cooking . I had Dinnerly last week and I have Marley Spoon this week. I made a low-cal popcorn chicken dish (pictured above) from Dinnerly, with avocado sauce, which was interesting—it was a mix of guacamole, white wine vinegar, water, and a few other ingredients. Last night we made rosemary butter steak with string beans and mashed potatoes, from Marley Spoon, and tonight I'm cooking coffee-rubbed steak with chimichurri. On Sunday I will be cooking butter chicken with cauliflower rice. I probably should not have ordered a box this week but I'll m

credit: Matthew Murphy *Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Hadestown  will be coming to the Fisher Theatre in Detroit this November! I haven't seen this musical before, but it sounds fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. About the show: Hadestown, the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards® including Best New Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album, will come to Detroit in 2021. As part of the 2021-22 Broadway in Detroit Subscription Season, the show will play the Fisher Theatre, November 23 – December 5, 2021. Individual tickets for Hadestown start at $59 and will go on sale Friday, September 24 online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-982-2787, and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. Hadestown is the most honored show of the 2018-2019 Broadway season. In addition to the show’s eight Tony Awards®, it has been honored with four Drama Desk Awards, six Out

This week has felt slow, probably because I had a zillion doctor's appointments and also last week I only had to work two days. Next week is another 5-day week and then the week after that I go to Vegas for a work event! Peanut butter volcano cookie from Detroit Cookie Co. What I've been up to this week: Eating a lot of cookies, apparently . I was in Ann Arbor on Sunday to have brunch with friends, and after I stopped by the new(-ish) Detroit Cookie Company there, as I'm a big fan of the Ferndale location. This one is on William St. where Hunter House used to be, and they haven't changed the layout much, so it was kinda weird, since I used to go to Hunter House for late-night eats with friends. I bought my favorite cookie, their peanut butter volcano cookie, as pictured above (that big mound on top is filled with creamy PB!), and also their Salty Babe, which had Ritz crackers and was one of the monthly specials.  Then yesterday I hadn't eaten all day because of my g

credit: Morris Mac Matzen I'm a big fan of Pretty Woman  (the movie), so I'm excited to see it in musical form! It will be at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit this November, from November 2-14, 2021.  About the show: credit: Morris Mac Matzen PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, based on one of Hollywood’s most beloved romantic stories of all time, is coming to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre as part of Broadway In Detroit’s 2021-2022 subscription season. Performances will run November 2-14 and tickets ($39 and up) are now on sale online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-982-2787, and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office Broadway superstar and Tony Award®-nominee Adam Pascal (Rent, AIDA, Something Rotten!) will once again step into the well-heeled shoes of Edward Lewis after thrilling audiences on Broadway for a limited set of performances in 2019. He will be joined by rising star Olivia Valli (Jersey Boys, Wicked) as the charming and charismatic Vivian Ward. PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL is

I was able to see F9 in theaters when it premiered, and I'm excited to watch it again on digital! Three  of my lucky readers will win a digital copy of the movie, as well.  F9: The Director's Cut  is now available on digital, and will be available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 21st.   About the movie: The Fast family returns in the latest adrenaline-charged installment with a never-before-seen Director’s Cut of F9.  The blockbuster film has generated more than $600 million worldwide and now fans can own the global box-office phenomenon that features “unbelievable, jaw-dropping action” (io9) on Digital September 7, 2021 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD on September 21, 2021 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Featuring the original theatrical release, the Director’s Cut and more than an hour of exclusive bonus content – including a behind-the-scenes look at the gravity-defying stunts and nitro-charged cars, a gag reel and even more justice for Han – fans c

Today basically feels like Tuesday—yesterday was super busy at work, as I thought it would be, and I whittled my 60 unread emails down to like 15 emails for me to deal with today (and that was with a lot of deleting during vacation too). I have to go get bloodwork today which I'm not super happy about but UM requires me to get bloodwork done every 3-6 months now, I think.  Blue corn tortilla carne asada tacos at Diego's, Newport What I've been up to this week: More traveling . From Friday through Sunday, I was at my friend Heather's house in Sharon, MA, the city where my aunt and uncle on my mom's side live. On Friday, we went into Boston, to the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), where Heather's husband Sean works, and had a fun day at the museum; there is also a water taxi to take you across the bay to East Boston, which is where the ICA Watershed is (an additional exhibit). We had dinner at a delicious Italian place called Pastoral that night in Boston too