Yes/No Detroit

For a four-day work week, this week has seemed super long, for some reason. Tonight my boyfriend and I are headed to Indiana to visit his parents for the weekend, also (to celebrate his birthday + his mom's), and that's about a 4-hour drive with no stops, usually a 5-hour drive with one restroom stop and one stop for dinner. Lychee martini at Nara, West Bloomfield What I've been up to this week: Dining out/getting takeout . On Saturday night, I took my boyfriend to Nara, in West Bloomfield, for hibachi for his birthday. I had never been before—it was a Shogun in 2018 and earlier (another hibachi place), and a long time ago, back when Hiller's was in that plaza and not Planet Fitness, I remember it being a seafood place. The food was very, very good—I'd give it 5/5 just for food—as was waitservice. I did think the prices were a bit high but that's WB for you. On Monday, my parents and I got Hungry Howie's takeout, per usual, and last night I just wanted somet

This week has been super busy, as I've basically had two back-to-back trips: we went to Frankenmuth Saturday through Sunday, and then Monday through Wednesday I was in Chicago for a work trip, for the Sweets & Snacks Expo.  My new Nerds friend and I What I've been up to this week: Overnight trip to Frankenmuth . My boyfriend and I headed to the Frankenmuth beer festival for the second year in a row, and I had booked a room at the Hampton Inn in Birch Run, also for the second year in a row, since I had Hilton points. The beer expo is always a fun time—each person gets six tickets, aka six tastings, and you can buy three more for $5, too, which we also did. The Cheese Haus's food truck and others are on-site too, so we had cheese curds and fried pickles, as well. That night, we headed to Zehnder's for dinner, one of my favorites, and the next day we went to Prost, another favorite, for lunch. We also hit up the Cheese Haus, the Fudge Kitchen, and Bronner's, per us

I am pretty tired today—around 5:50am, my CPAP machine dropped onto the floor from my dresser (it's stacked on top of an old clock radio I use, so that's probably why), and woke me up, since the "breathing tube" is attached to that. I tried wearing it after that, but with no luck. I am probably going to discontinue using it next month, since it's caused me more stress then assistance, as of yet—I have mild sleep apnea and that is why, because from what I've read online people with mild apnea have the hardest time with it.  Margherita pizza at Crispelli's, West Bloomfield What I've been up to this week: Working out . You don't see that often on here, do you? Haha. On Monday, I did elliptical and treadmill at my new gym—when I used to work out at LA Fitness, in Troy, if I wasn't doing zumba classes (95% of the time), I would be doing the elliptical, and I'd manage to do 20-30 minutes on it. A few weeks ago I could only do 5 minutes, and on Mo

May seems to be flying by—work has been busy, and a week from Monday I'm going to Chicago for the Sweets & Snacks Expo. This weekend, I'm heading to the Melting Pot tonight, since I won free cheese fondue from them via their Instagram (yay), and I'm seeing Madagascar the Musical at the Fox tomorrow.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory What I've been up to this week: Eating well . Last Saturday, some friends and I got Cheesecake Factory delivered—always a treat, because CF itself is usually expensive—and I got their Pasta Da Vinci, my favorite dish there, and a slice of their Reese's peanut butter cheesecake. On Saturday night, we headed to my boyfriend's coworker's house in Canton, and his wife cooked us homemade Indian food, which was also tasty. On Sunday, I saw my parents for lunch and we got our usual Hungry Howie's takeout, and my boyfriend also got Popeye's delivered, so I had a biscuit from that. I finished cookin

This was a super busy week, and the weekend should be fun, too: I'm having lunch with a friend and her family on Saturday, and then dinner will be with one of my boyfriend's coworkers and his wife.  Marley Spoon steak with compound butter, mashed potatoes, and string beans What I've been up to this week: One day/night in Frankenmuth . I was invited by Bavarian Inn Lodge to stay overnight, which my boyfriend and I did this past Friday, and it was a lot of fun—you can read the review here . I'm a big fan of Frankenmuth, as it's an easy hour-long drive from the Metro Detroit area, and there is always plenty of cheese (Cheese Haus), fudge (Frankenmuth Fudge Kitchen), and all-you-can-eat (AYCE) chicken dinners (Bavarian Inn or Zehnder's) to eat. The Lodge ended up being fun too, as they have four pools, three whirlpools, mini golf, and a Family Fun Center, so I'd recommend it.  Cooking . I had Marley Spoon this week and I believe HelloFresh the week before. Last

*Disclosure: I received a free Butcher Box in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.  This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. If you follow me here or on my Instagram , you know I'm a foodie—but what you might not know is that I also love to cook, with steak being my favorite meal to cook. When I was offered the chance to try ButcherBox , I was excited to try it out, and definitely requested some of their beef; they also sent me some of their organic chicken, too. The meats I received included: Strip steak Flat iron steak Ground Beef Eye of round steak Sirloin tips Chicken nuggets I cooked the steaks a few weeks ago—the flat iron steak—and they were very good. I did not know that there were actually four smaller steaks in the package, I had assumed it was two large steaks, but either way, it worked out ... I had enough for leftovers. The chicken tenders are actually some of

I saw Champions in the theater back in mid-March, and thought it was very cute and engaging—I gave it 3.5/5 in my short Twitter review , but only because it was a little slow for me (otherwise, I would've given it 4/5).  One of my lucky readers now has a chance to win the movie on Blu-ray! About the film: Woody Harrelson stars in the hilarious and heartwarming story of a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined. (source: Rotten Tomatoes ) GIVEAWAY: Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, May 10th, at 11:59pm ET , and winner will be chosen the next day and notified via email, and will have 24 hours to respond , otherwise an alternate winner will be chosen. U.S. residents only, please. Good luck! Blu-ray copy of Champions

*Disclosure: I received a free one-night stay at Bavarian Inn Lodge in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of staying at the Bavarian Inn Lodge , in Frankenmuth, Michigan, for one night. I've been to Frankenmuth many times, and even stayed overnight in the neighboring Birch Run, but I had never stayed directly in the city before, so I was excited to stay at the Lodge. Friday was a rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We stopped at Halo Burger, in Birch Run, for lunch—there used to be locations in Novi and Troy, but both closed, and their food is very good—and then hit up Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which is the largest Christmas store in the world.  For those who are unfamiliar with Frankenmuth , it is a German/Bavaria-themed town, about an hour north of the Metro Detroit area, nicknamed "Michigan's Little Bavaria." There is always a lot of things to do in Fr

I'm taking the day off work today and my boyfriend and I are headed to Frankenmuth—I have a one-night blogger stay (hosted stay) at Bavarian Inn , which I'm excited about. I've been to their restaurant but never the hotel. We will be back to Frankenmuth in three weeks for the beer festival, too, but we are staying in Birch Run for that trip, I booked the Hampton Inn with some Hilton points. AYCE (all-you-can-eat) Korean BBQ at KPOT, Novi What I've been up to this week: Eating out.  Probably a little too much, but that's okay. On my Crohn's infusion days, I usually get takeout, but instead I got bubble tea from Kung Fu Tea, which was tasty. Last Friday I was supposed to meet a friend at Condado in Troy but it didn't work out, for lunch, so I got delivery from them—hot tip, it's actually cheaper to order delivery DIRECTLY from their website, versus DoorDash, even if you have DashPass like I do; it was surprisingly about $3 cheaper. Saturday night, my paren

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for Apple TV+. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. “Frog and Toad” will make its debut Friday, April 28, 2023 on Apple TV+. This looks like it will be a cute show for kids, and it's based on the children's book series by Arnold Lobel. About the show: Frog is a frog. Toad is a toad. They have a lot in common… but they are also very different. Frog and Toad are best friends who know that the true secret to friendship is not only enjoying the things you have in common, but embracing the things that make you different. Since our differences are what makes us special, Frog and Toad celebrate what makes them unique!  The talented voice cast includes Academy Award winner Nat Faxon ("Our Flag Means Death," "The Connors") and Emmy Award nominee Kevin Michael Richardson ("The Simpsons," "Family Guy") as Frog and Toad, as well as appearances by Ron Funches ("Trol

Not only am I extremely tired today, because I slept from about 11:30-5:30am at my sleep study (#3 for those who are counting: this one was a titration study), but when I got home I realized the mask they had me sleep in all night doesn't fit my CPAP machine. I'm hoping I'm wrong and I'm just missing something with the tubing, but I will have to investigate it later. I also have a bruised face from the mask so I'm not happy about that either. Steak at Mon Ami Gabi, Paris hotel, Las Vegas What I've been up to this week: Trip to Vegas. That's what most of these will be about this week, since I was in Vegas from Friday through Tuesday, for a friend's wedding on Sunday. From Friday through Sunday we stayed downtown at El Cortez, which surprisingly was very nice—this was my first time staying downtown—and from Sunday through Tuesday we stayed at the Bellagio, for $0 actually. It worked out to be $0 because my boyfriend and I each combined one free comp night

By the time you read this I will probably be on a plane to Vegas—I'm going there today for a friend's wedding on Sunday. We're actually staying downtown for two nights, which is new for me, and on the Strip for two nights, and it should be a fun time. Pineapple margarita at Bakersfield, Detroit What I've been up to this week: Weekend in Indiana. My boyfriend had Friday and Monday off work for the Easter holiday, and I took both days off as well, and we went to Indiana from Friday through Sunday to see his parents and sister—his dad and his sister both have April birthdays, so it was more of a birthday celebration then Easter. It was a good time and we DIDN'T have to drive back on the same day (in December, his furnace stopped working so we unexpectedly had to leave at like midnight and drive the five hours home), so that was also nice. My first-ever Red Wings game . I was supposed to go to a Red Wings game in December 2021 but got COVID and was not able to go, so th

*Disclosure: I received a digital copy of the movie in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Cocaine Bear will be out on digital tomorrow, April 14th, and will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on April 18th. I missed this one in the theaters, but it sounds crazy and fun, so I'm looking forward to watching it on digital soon. About the movie: From Director Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2), comes Cocaine Bear , the “wildly entertaining” (the Mary Sue) story inspired by the time an actual bear did cocaine. The comedy-laced, high-octane film phenomenon stars Keri Russell ( Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ), Margo Martindale ( American Crime Story ), and the late Ray Liotta ( Goodfellas ) in “a thrilling binge of adrenaline” (TheWrap).  The ‘Maximum Rampage Edition,’ loaded with behind-the-scenes extras including an alternate ending, deleted scenes and gag reel, will be yours to own on Digital April 14, 2023 and Blu-ray™ and DVD April