Yes/No Detroit

This week has seemed very, very long so I'm extremely glad it's Friday. Charminar Biryani House Ramadan buffet, Troy What I've been up to this week: Dining out / getting takeout . Last Friday, I was invited to try the Charminar Biryani House buffet, in Troy, as an influencer—they'll be doing a buffet, starting this week, for Ramadan (see my reel here —unfortunately, IG did something weird with the colors/transitions). Everything was very good but my favorites were the (fried veggie fritters? Not sure the official name) and their butter chicken, which is always my favorite. The naan was good also, as pictured above.  On Sunday, my parents and I used a T-Mobile Little Caesars deal, where we got one of their Hot-N-Ready pizzas for $3.15—side note, I thought those were still $5, but they went up in price to $6, and now are $6.49—and we also threw in some of their Italian cheesy bread, which is always tasty. Cooking . So much cooking this week, because I got four EveryPlate

This week has been busy but fun, with the caveat that I don't think I've stayed home any day this week (other than when I'm working, of course). Tonight I was going to see Shazam in theaters but then got an influencer invite to an Indian buffet in Troy, so I'll be doing that instead—I love Indian food. Fried chicken at The Eagle, Cincinnati What I've been up to this week: Going to Cincinnati for the weekend . On Saturday, my boyfriend and I drove the 4 hours (about 4.5-5 with a stop for lunch at Culver's) to Cincinnati—the main reason being that a friend was doing a belated 40th birthday dinner at The Eagle, which we went to last year too and it has fabulous fried chicken, and the secondary reason being that we were visiting his friends who live about 40 minutes north of the city (and whom we stayed with, this trip; last April I had won a 2-night hotel stay so we stayed right in the city). Other than parking being a little stressful in downtown on Saturday night

Welcome to Friday, where we get snow every week, always at the end of the week. Looks like Clawson has maybe 2-3 inches so far, but it's still snowing now, which is a problem because we are going to Cincinnati tomorrow for the weekend, for a friend's birthday dinner.  New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve beers What I've been up to this week: New Holland Dragon's Milk Reserve tasting . My boyfriend has a lot of foodie/drink friends, like myself, and two of them had been collecting Dragon's Milk Reserve beers—check out the picture, ten different varieties—for a bit. We had a tasting party with them, another couple, and ourselves, and they were pretty good. I'm not a huge beer person but I think Maple Cinnamon, the breakfast one, was my favorite.  Cooking . I had Dinnerly last week and also this week, and I am getting Marley Spoon (its parent company) on discount this next week. Although Dinnerly doesn't give you printed recipe cards (boo), they are easy enoug

This week has felt LONG—it didn't help that I fell on my butt in the hotel bathroom when in Florida, and I haven't been able to walk well *or* lay down *or* sit this week. Very glad it's Friday so that maybe I can get some sleep this weekend, however we are getting 3-5 inches of snow (or is it 6-8? I've lost track ...) today so I won't be going anywhere tonight. Green Chef Thai chicken curry, very tasty What I've been up to this week: Watching movies and TV shows . Last night I finally got to see Magic Mike's Last Dance , at the theater—I was the only person there, for their only showing that day (5:50pm, thankfully working well for me) and I'll admit to being on my phone/on the internet for a good chunk of it, but overall I really liked it. I'd probably give it 3.5/5 or 4/5 stars. There's a lot of TV shows debuting this week that I want to check out— Daisy Jones and the Six premiered today on Prime, and it's the ONLY Taylor Jenkins Reid book

This week was much better than last week, probably because I was in Destin, FL (technically, Miramar Beach) from Sunday through Thursday for a work trip. It was about 68 to 73 degrees daily, and I was able to squeeze in some beach time Sunday and Wednesday, as well. Hilton Sandestin, probably one of the best views from a room I've ever had What I've been up to this week: Attending ECRM in Destin, FL . ECRM is a conference that connected buyers and brands, for the most part. They have a few every year, and this one was the Christmas and Halloween edition (for Halloween/Christmas 2023), so I got to check out new products that will be hitting stores later this year.  Staying at the Hilton Sandestin . This was a beautiful resort, and my room had a full beach view, which was fabulous—some of the others had a partial beach view (most of my meetings were in other hotel rooms, which had been reset for meetings—i.e., beds were taken out, and there were tables or desks involved). The onl

This has been a tough week, even though I'm now COVID-free. Starting in November, I did two sleep studies, which showed I had mild sleep apnea, and I decided to try a CPAP machine because of that—I never get good sleep and I never feel rested. It is a LOT to get used to, and I started it Sunday but yesterday (Thursday) has been the only night I was able to wear it for the whole night (7 hours); however, I still woke up multiple times, which was one of my original problems, so if that continues I may not continue with it.  Duel in the D, at Little Caesars Arena What I've been up to this week: Duel in the D hockey game at LCA.  A few days after I tested negative for COVID, my boyfriend, two friends, and I went to see UM vs. MSU hockey at Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena (LCA). I had only been to one other hockey game in my life—ironically, also a UM game, while I was a student—and this ended up being fun. UM won in overtime with only about a half-second left, so that was pre

all photos courtesy of: Bavarian Inn *Disclosure: I will receive something of value in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. If you follow me on Instagram , you already know that I'm a fan of Frankenmuth—I try to go at least once a year, and I think last year I went two or three times, for my free birthday chicken dinner and for its Beer Fest in May. I recently went for Snowfest at the end of January this year, too. One of the places I stop by is the Bavarian Inn, which has both a restaurant and lodge. I have never actually stayed at the lodge but I'm looking forward to it later this year.  If you're a fan of fried chicken, you will definitely want to stop by the restaurant, which features all-you-can-eat chicken dinner and sides. If you stop by the building's basement, too, there are also some shops; I bought a super cute magnet there a few years ago and a few other things, and of course they sell fudge (another Frankenmuth thing) an

As you might expect, I didn't do much this week. The good news is, I've started testing negative for COVID; I finished the Paxlovid on Monday, and on both Monday and Tuesday mornings, I was testing negative. The bad news is, I still have cold-like symptoms, mostly a stuffy nose. This upcoming Monday, I will test again to make sure I did not experience a Paxlovid "rebound." I have blogger tickets to Duel in the D this weekend and I will still go, albeit with a KN95 mask on, though. Making dill pickle soup What I've been up to this week: Still working. The caveat here being, I've been sleeping in till 8:30am and starting work a little later, since I've still been sick. I did do a half-day on Friday but otherwise, other than being really tired and stuffed up, I have still been able to work. On Friday, I was super, super tired for some reason, so I finally "called it" and did a few hours of work and then napped.  Cooking . I had a Marley Spoon box ar

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Disney Theatrical Productions, under the direction of Thomas Schumacher, and Broadway In Detroit announced today that tickets for the Detroit return engagement of Disney’s Aladdin are now on sale. Tickets will be available online at Ticketmaster.com, BroadwayinDetroit.com and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. The hit Broadway musical comedy will begin performances in Detroit at the Fisher Theatre on Tuesday, May 9 for a limited engagement of 1 week through Sunday, May 14.  In Detroit, Aladdin will play at the Fisher Theatre Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday, May 9. Tickets will be available online at Ticketmaster.com , BroadwayinDetroit.com and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office beginning Friday, February 3. Orders for groups of 10 or more may be pla

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.   I saw ANNIE at the Fisher Theatre about nine years ago, and it was great, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again. One of my lucky readers will win a 4-pack of tickets for opening night, April 25th, as well! Tickets can be purchased here and will be on sale February 10. About the show: Leapin’ Lizards! Broadway In Detroit announced today that an all-new tour of the iconic Tony Award®-winning musical ANNIE will play at the Fisher Theatre from April 25-30. Tickets for the Detroit engagement go on sale Friday, February 10 at 10:00 a.m. and will be available online at Ticketmaster.com , BroadwayinDetroit.com , and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office.   “This show, with its iconic title character, continues to delight generations of theatre-lovers old and new by joyfully singing directly into the face of great adversity with perseverance, guts and gui

Well, the first part of this week was fun, at least—on Saturday, my boyfriend, his mom (in visiting from Indiana), and I went to Frankenmuth for the Zehnder's Snowfest. The very next day, I started getting cold symptoms, which I attributed to being outside in the winter weather all day in Frankenmuth; I took a COVID test and it was negative, so I went to go see my parents, with masks on, thankfully. On Tuesday night, I took another COVID test and it lit up fast —I'm positive for COVID. For the second time. (First time was Dec. 2021) Owl ice sculpture at Snowfest, Frankenmuth What I've been up to this week: Day trip to Frankenmuth . I have only been to Snowfest one other time, in 2013 with friends, and I remember it being cold but fun. My boyfriend's mom was in town from Indiana, and the three of us went on Saturday, partially for Snowfest and partially to use my free birthday chicken dinner perk at Zehnder's. It was very busy there but we did some shopping and went

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I am a HUGE David Sedaris fan and was pretty excited when I heard he would be coming back to Detroit again this year; I have seen him do readings three times now, I believe, twice in Ann Arbor and once at the Fisher. Click here  to purchase tickets. About the reading: WDET presents An Evening With David Sedaris, author of the previous bestsellers Calypso, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and regular National Public Radio contributor will be appearing for one night only at the Fisher Theatre on April 19 at 7:30 p.m., following the release of his newest books Happy-Go-Lucky and A Carnival of Snackery. Tickets are now on sale, and can be purchased online at broadwayindetroit.com , ticketmaster.com , davidsedarisontour.com , and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. This is a unique opportunity to see the best-selling hum

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I am a fan of Simon & Garfunkel's music, so I'm looking forward to seeing The Simon & Garfunkel story on March 18 at Music Hall. A 2pm performance on the same day was just added, too (originally it was only playing at 8pm). Click here for tickets. About the show: The internationally-acclaimed hit theater show The Simon & Garfunkel Story will criss-cross the U.S. to more than 50 cities including Detroit on Saturday, March 18 at Music Hall. The immersive concert-style theater show chronicles the amazing journey shared by the folk-rock duo, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It tells the story from their humble beginnings as Tom & Jerry, to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the ‘60s, and to their dramatic split in 1970. The show culminates with the pair’s famous “The Concert in Central Park” reunion in 1981 whic