Yes/No Detroit

*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

This will mostly be a Vegas post, as I was there Saturday through Wednesday. I'm unfortunately still on West Coast time today/last night, and I'm definitely dragging today, as I stayed up way too late last night. At the Venetian What I've been up to this week: Eating a lot of tasty foods . Best meals of the trip included Giordano's—yes, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in Vegas is maybe cliche, but we don't have it and I always look forward to it—Bugsy & Meyer's Steakhouse at the Flamingo, all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ at Captain 6, and dinner at OTORO (Japanese food) at Mirage/Hard Rock Hotel/whatever they are calling themselves these days. We also ate at Pizza Rock downtown—my second time there, and the pizza is always good, plus they have some $7 pizzas during their weekday happy hour—plus got some Krispy Kreme takeout from Excalibur for breakfasts. (Krispy Kreme is my ALL-TIME favorite doughnut place, and I live 10 minutes away from the Troy one and never allo

This week has been very busy, but I managed to squeeze in a movie yesterday, and hopefully today as well. Tomorrow I am leaving for a Vegas vacation (not a movie reference, LOL) and we will be there for 5 days and 4 nights. It should be pretty fun—I'm a huge Vegas fan, I go about 2x a year for both personal and work (I'll be back in September for a packaging expo, for work).  Drinks at The Last Word, Ann Arbor What I've been up to this week: Birthday celebration weekend . My birthday was last Friday, January 13th, and I took the day off work and went to The Cheesecake Factory with my parents for lunch, which was nice. On Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to Ann Arbor to The Chop House for dinner, and we had drinks at Vinology beforehand, as well as some tasty brie, and The Last Word afterwards. I had only been to The Chop House one time before, and both times it has continued to impress me. Watching movies . Last Thursday I saw House Party  at the theater, which was terribl

I was not able to see  The Fablemans at the theater, but it already won a few Golden Globes, and I'm excited to view it on digital soon. Two of my lucky readers will each win a digital code to own the movie! The movie is already out on digital, and will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 14. About the film: Director Steven Spielberg brings a deeply personal portrait of a 20th century American childhood in the semi-autobiographical film, THE FABELMANS, available to own on Digital January 17, 2023 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD on February 14, 2023 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Hailed by critics as “An enduring classic” (Peter Travers, ABC NEWS), THE FABELMANS is a heartfelt tale that “we’ve been waiting 45 years for Steven Spielberg to make” (Rolling Stone). THE FABELMANS comes with exclusive bonus content that takes viewers behind the scenes with Spielberg, filmmakers and the all-star cast as they bring the audience into the world that brou

Today is my birthday and I am 36! I took the day off work and I'm having lunch with my parents later at Cheesecake Factory, so I'm looking forward to that—it's the first time since January 2020 that we'll be dining in there, versus doing takeout. Tomorrow my boyfriend and I are going to Ann Arbor for Chop House, Nightcap, and hopefully The Last Word, too—Nightcap and The Last Word are two of my favorite bars/speakeasies there. UNOs pizza, at the Delta Hotel, Farmington Hills What I've been up to this week: Staycation at the Delta Hotel by Marriott, in Farmington Hills . I was invited to stay in their holiday-themed room for a one-night stay, Saturday through Sunday (see my reel here ). The benefits of their holiday room is that they have a hot chocolate bar in-room (with a Keurig), which was super cute; lots of holiday decor; and a late 2 p.m. checkout. The hotel also comped us a pizza at UNOs in their lobby (their lobby restaurant), which was great; we had that and

Welcome to the first Friday Five of 2023 , which is kind of crazy to say. I'm back to work this week and it has been busy, but this weekend I'm doing a staycation at the Delta hotel in Farmington (where UNO's is located), which I was invited for, and I'm pretty excited about that.  HelloFresh Katsu pork chops, with lemony green beans & candied sweet potatoes What I've been up to this week: Dealing with my knee and ankle . I took a spill right outside Little Caesars Arena last Thursday, immediately before the TSO concert, which was not fun—I banged up both my left knee and my right ankle. I've been icing the ankle all week, and my nice neighbor gave me a compression sock to wear, too, so I'm hoping that will help. I've also been bandaging my knee up with Neosporin nightly. I think I may have sprained the ankle—I can walk but it hurts. Cooking . On New Year's Eve, my boyfriend made a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, with a new pan he got from Christm

*Disclosure: I received something of value in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I saw The Menu in theaters a few weeks ago, going in mostly blind, although I knew there was a twist ending. I did NOT correctly guess the twist, and it's a movie I've still been thinking about now, almost two months later. The movie is now available on digital and will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on January 17. It's also currently streaming on HBO Max. Two of my lucky winners will win a digital code for The Menu ! Read below for more details.  About the movie: From Searchlight Pictures and director Mark Mylod (Succession) comes the satirical thriller The Menu . This outrageous tale of fine dining has been celebrated by critics as “gloriously twisted” (Chris Evangelista, Slash Film) “wildly entertaining” (Alan Cerny, Vital Thrills) and “undeniably fun” (Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com). The film is C

I didn't know much about A Man Called Otto  going into it, except I had a suspicion it was based off the book  A Man Called Ove , and I was right. The book was first made into a movie in 2016 (currently streaming on Prime ), and this is the American adaptation of the book, starring Tom Hanks. Otto Anderson (Hanks) lives alone and is a cranky older man. He shows up at his job for his last day, presumably because he's retiring, then we found out he took a buyout package once his much-younger protegee got promoted to be his boss. He does "rounds" every morning in which he yells at passerby breaking the rules, moves recyclables around to the correct recycling bins, and judges everyone. There is nothing left for him in this world, and after his last day of work, he attempts to commit suicide—and fails. However, when a new family moves in across the street, and he becomes close with them, he does find that life, perhaps, may still be worth living.  Hanks is great in everyth

This has been kind of a crazy week but it's been nice being a "lady of leisure," aka not working this week.  TSO at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit What I've been up to this week: Driving to Indiana and back, all within 24 hours . The original plan was to drive to Indiana on Christmas morning, to do Christmas with my boyfriend's parents and sister, and then stay until Tuesday or Wednesday. We woke up Christmas morning to a cold house—his thermostat said it was 66, I believe, and normally it's set to 71-72. My boyfriend looked at the furnace and fixed it, so we drove to Indiana around noontime, arriving around 5pm. Around midnight that same day (technically next day), he noticed the thermostat (via his app) dropping again—it was down to 68. This was a problem because he has two cats, and also it was so cold out (10-15 degrees those days) that the pipes could freeze and burst. So instead of staying in Indiana the 2-3 days as planned, we drove back, 12am-5am that d

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. The Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans will battle on February 11, 2023, at the "Duel at the D," at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and one of my lucky readers will win four tickets to attend! Click here to purchase tickets. About the game: Tickets are now on sale starting at $25 for the return of college hockey to Little Caesars Arena with the annual “Duel in the D,” presented by Meijer, set for Saturday, February 11 at 8 p.m.  The fans of Hockeytown will be treated to one of the most intense and exciting rivalries in college hockey, as the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans men’s ice hockey teams will add another chapter in their storied rivalry and clash for the “Iron D” Trophy. The “Duel in the D” matchup features the most-played rivalry in college hockey. The game will mark the 342nd  all-time meeting between the historic prog

This week has felt both slow and fast. I'm working a half-day today and then I'm off of work until January 3rd, which is nice. We were going to see my parents today for a Christmas lunch of sorts but because of the weather (7 degrees but feels like -15, and not much snow yet but it's supposed to arrive today), we will postpone. We're off to Indiana to see my boyfriend's family either tomorrow or Sunday, though, provided the roads are good. Banh mi burger from EveryPlate, with carrot fries What I've been up to this week: Watching movies . On Sunday, we saw the new Avatar at Emagine Novi, but in 2D not 3D. It was a pretty good movie but way too long (3 hours 15 minutes) and I'll confess I fell asleep for a good 30-45 minutes in the beginning (damn Emagine Novi comfy recliners!). That being said, I'd still give it 4/5. I'd like to see it in 3D sometime with my AMC membership, if I have time. Last night, we watched the new Pinocchio , from Guillermo del

This week has again felt long but there were a lot of fun elements too. I'm looking forward to my week off work—I'm taking a half-day next Friday so that we can celebrate Christmas with my parents/have lunch with them at their place, and then the next Monday through Friday I am off work, for the most part. UNO deep dish pizza, from its Farmington Hills, MI restaurant What I've been up to this week: Dining out . My boyfriend's mom was visiting us from Indiana this weekend so we did a lot of dining out, which was fun. In addition, on Sat. for lunch I met a friend at Browndog Northville, which is always tasty (I love their ice cream flights). For Saturday dinner, my boyfriend, his mom, and I went to Detroit and had Detroit Shipping Co. for dinner—it's kind of like a food court/dining hall, and I mostly go to Bangkok 96 there for its Chicken Pad Thai roll (think sushi but with tortilla instead of rice as the holder) and mango sticky rice. We also had dumplings from Momo

This week has seemed really long, for some reason, so I'm glad it's Friday. I have plans with two friends for lunch (Saturday/Sunday) this weekend and I'll be heading to Detroit for a Yelp pick-up event at City Bird (for chocolate!) and will probably go to Detroit Shipping Company or Jolly Pumpkin after for dinner. Chicken tikka pizza at Gift of India, Farmington, MI What I've been up to this week: Influencer events.  Well—one was an event, and one was more of an invite just for me. Last Friday, I drove to Leila's Lebanese Kitchen, in Clinton Township, as an influencer friend had invited me to a foodie event there. I love Mediterranean food but had never been to Leila's, and all of the food was excellent; my favorite of the things we tried was probably the beef shawarma, which surprised me because I'm normally all about chicken shawarma. (see the reel here ) Then on Monday, my boyfriend and I drove to Gift of India, in Farmington, which is pretty close to hi