Yes/No Detroit

Since we're not sure how long quarantine is going to last, I renamed this post back to "Five things I've been up to this week," though I'll admit it might be a struggle to find five things ...

This is quarantine week two, and day 10 of working from home, for me. It's also the first week I have to do this alone/by myself—the governor of Michigan issued a mandatory "shelter-in-place" on Monday which means we technically aren't allowed to leave our houses except for work, food (groceries/takeout), or gas, for the most part.


What I've been up to this week:
Cooking. More so than eating out—because of germs, my goal is to only get takeout two times a week max (and grocery shop one time per week). I had a Hello Fresh box last week and we made a Thai beef bowl, as pictured above, and I have Dinnerly this week and for most of the next 5 weeks, since they're giving me a lot of deals, although my delivery next week is EveryPlate. Last night I made st…

I'm not going to lie, it's been a LONG week. I started working from home on Monday, to self-quarantine—I took my laptop home on Friday, luckily, thinking I might need it—and I live by myself, so I haven't seen many people this week. I'm really hoping that I will only have to work at home for 2-3 weeks, but I have a feeling it might be longer than that. :(


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out, kinda. I think it was Monday or Tuesday when Governor Whitmer decided that all restaurants will be carryout or delivery only, but on Saturday I had a last hurrah of sorts; I met a friend at Anna's House, in Farmington Hills, for lunch, and my parents I went to Basement Burger Bar and then Browndog Barlor, in downtown Farmington. I'm glad we did that because it's probably the last time we will get a proper sit-down meal at a restaurant in a while. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I did City BBQ takeout, though, and on Wednesday, we did Mr. Kabob takeout; Mr. Kabob is…

I checked out Spies in Disguisein theaters a while back, and it was a fun animated movie. Three of my lucky readers will win a digital code to download their own copy of the movie!

About the movie:
In this high-flying animated comedy, super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is none of the above. But this unlikely duo must team up for the ultimate mission to save the world when a “biodynamic concealment” experiment transforms Lance into a brave, fierce, majestic...pigeon!


Experience the hilarious thrills of SPIES IN DISGUISE, which is Certified-Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, from the comfort of your own home, along with Blu-ray bonus features including multiple making-of featurettes and two awesome music videos. Additionally, the Blu-ray edition of SPIES IN DISGUISE includes “Super Secret Spy Mode,” an immersive, in-movie experience that takes you deeper into the story with Easter…

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

I recently was invited to try out Basic Invite, and I'm pleased with the stationery that I received from them. I was able to choose five pieces, and to mix and match if I wanted.

Basic Invite has stationery and invites for all occasions, including high school graduation party invitations and even graduation thank you notes. I'm a little past the high school/college graduation stage, though (okay, okay, about ten years past college ...) so I decided to order some personalized stationery for myself. 
Even though I love the internet and all that it offers, there's still something so fun about getting a piece of "snail mail" from friends and family. I'm a big fan of both sending and receiving snail mail, especially birthday cards and thank you notes. 

I loved the stationery that I chose, and the quality seems really nice as well. Each one comes with an envelope for mailing, t…

As of yesterday—which felt like three days in a row, am I right?—everything is canceled. My hope is to sneak in a few movies this weekend before they close theaters, too ... we'll see what happens.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out, mostly for Troy Restaurant Week. Troy Restaurant Week continues until today, despite coronavirus, and I've been eating out a little too much (the scale reflected that this morning, ugh). On Sunday, Yelp friends and I met up at Seasons 52 for lunch; on Wednesday, we did Ruth's Chris for dinner, which is always a fantastic treat. Coworkers and I tried out Mon Jin Lau for the first time for Wednesday lunch, and for Thursday lunch, I met a Yelp friend at Brio, although at that point my stomach had started hating me :( so today I have Brio leftovers for lunch. In non-TRW foods, my parents and I went to Granite City on Tuesday before a Fisher show, and a friend and I tried out Harbor House in Detroit before a show last Friday. On Saturday,…

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.


UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to the current recommendations around the Covid-19 virus, Elevation Pictures has decided to postpone The Grizzlies from opening in theaters this weekend. They look forward to bringing the film to theaters and audiences at a later date.

HOWEVER: This will not affect the Fandango giveaway, and the winner will still receive Fandango vouchers that will be good for further use.

The Grizzlies is in theaters on March 20th, and one of my lucky readers will win two Fandango tickets (Fandango Movie Money) to see the movie in theaters!

I'm a sucker for "sports movies" and this one looks interesting.

About the movie:
THE GRIZZLIES is an inspiring, true story based on a group of Inuit students in a small Canadian town who are struggling to find their way. With nothing to do in their extremely tightknit community, many of them turn to alcohol and drug abuse to ignore thei…

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

Blue Man Group is coming to Detroit this April! I saw them way back in 2010, when I was visiting New York, and I'm excited to see them again.

One of my lucky readers will win a 4-pack of tickets to the Sunday, April 12th show!

Tickets are on sale now and start at only $25.00—see below for ticket link.

About the show:
More than 35 million people around the world have experienced the smash hit phenomenon that is BLUE MAN GROUP and now it’s your turn! BLUE MAN GROUP returns to Detroit for a limited engagement on their new North American tour. It’s everything you know and love about BLUE MAN GROUP—signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy—the men are still blue but the rest is all new! Featuring pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity, join the Blue Men in a joyful experience tha…

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. However, the opinions expressed here are my own.


I recently visited Vegas last month, which was my first personal trip there since 2013 (I go about every 2 years or so for work, though), and this was also my first time redeeming rewards from the myVegas app.

The app is free to download and to play, although you get more perks if you do spend some money in the app.


First off, there are four apps to download: myVegas, Konami, myVegas Blackjack, and POP! Slots. You could choose to just download one, but I like to maximize my gold coins (or "Loyalty Points," as they are officially named) so that I can get more rewards. If you want to earn faster, checkout www.mypopslots.com and you will find free daily chips for all the different myVegas games!

My favorites of these are the myVegas app and POP! Slots. Again, remember to grab your daily Pop Slots free chips and myVegas free chips! My luck seems to be worse on Konami, and Blackjack is fun…

I'm glad it's the weekend, for some reason I've been tired all week even though I've been getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out. Last Friday, my boyfriend and I finally tried ima (i-ma? ee-ma? Still not sure how to pronounce it) in Madison Heights. It's a bit pricey, but the food was very good; I got the Yaki Udon, and it came with butter noodles and without broth. I also added ginger beef. After that, we had a Groupon for St. Julian Winery, which was a great deal—a wine tasting for two, with a commemorative glass to take home each, for about $8 (normally like $8 each, so it was like a BOGO). I had never been there before but it's near Oakland Mall, in the same plaza. On Saturday, friends were in town this week, so met them at Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and I got to use my two free cheesecake slices, which were expiring on 3/31. For dinner we did a quick stop at Jersey Mike's before a movie. On Sunday, I went…

Bloodshot will be in theaters on March 13th, but some of lucky readers will be able to see it early at a screening on March 8th at Emagine Novi!

About the movie:
Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out.



GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Sunday, March 8th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified via email the next day.

Detroit/Metro Detroit residents only, please.

Good luck!

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I was going to say "this week has went by fast yet slowly" but I realized I said that last week too, ha. Tonight I am planning on going to St. Julian's Winery (in Troy, near Oakland Mall) for a wine tasting that we bought off Groupon, and also finally trying out Ima (Madison Heights) for some udon and ramen.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out. Last Friday, we tried out Giovanni's, in Detroit, for our rescheduled Valentine's Day dinner—I had food poisoning the Thursday before Valentine's Day, and didn't want to test my stomach like that. It was very good, although my favorite parts of the meal were actually the appetizers (portobello mushroom with garlic cream sauce) and dessert. I think I should have ordered pasta for my main dish, but I ordered chicken piccata, which was just okay. On Saturday, I had some coupons to use up at MOD Pizza, and we also stopped by Saigon Market to grab some banh mi sandwiches. On Sunday, my book club went to Penny B…

Queen & Slim is now out on Digital, and will be arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on 3/3.

One of my lucky readers will win a copy! I saw this movie a few months ago and really enjoyed it.


About the movie:
Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Black Panther) and Jodie Turner-Smith (“The Last Ship, “Nightflyers”) bring QUEEN & SLIM to life as the titular characters. Kaluuya and Turner-Smith are accompanied by outstanding supporting performances from Bokeem Woodbine (“Fargo,” Spider-Man: Homecoming), Chloë Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry, “Big Love”), legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, Flea (Baby Driver, Boy Erased), American country singer, Sturgill Simpson (The Dead Don’t Die, “One Dollar”) and Indya Moore (“Pose,” Saturday Church). QUEEN & SLIM comes from production company Makeready.

While on a forgettable first date together in Ohio, a black man (Kaluuya) and a black woman (Turner-Smith), are pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. The situation escalates, with sudden and tr…

This week went by fast but also slowly, for some reason. I had to drive to Ann Arbor on Wednesday for my first doctor's appointment with a new UM doctor, and because of that my Thursday was super busy.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out. Way too much, again. Last Friday we were supposed to go to Giovanni's for our Valentine's Day celebration but because of my food poisoning we actually postponed it to tonight, so I'm excited to try it out. On Saturday we used my last Groupon for Kaizen Ramen, in Royal Oak, and on Tuesday I went to Granite City with a friend for their happy hour, before a show downtown. On Thursday, I had Chick-fil-A for lunch—I don't like supporting them but I'll admit their food is delicious, and the app gave me a free sandwich, for some reason—and met up with friends at Browndog Barlor, in Farmington, for dinner. Having my last massage. Back during Black Friday, I bought a $35 deal for MassageLuXe, in Troy, and shortly after that I …