Yes/No Detroit

Guest post by: Karen Doerr

Hello. My name is Karen and I’m chubby. In an attempt to be less chubby and healthier overall, I like to exercise. My goal is to have about 150 active minutes of dedicated exercise a week. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I do not. I decided that it was time for me to switch up my routine and try to find something new for exercise. My goal was to try as much as I could for as cheap as I could. I have a long history with yoga, so I purposefully avoided that area. I’m not done with my exploration of fitness classes yet in the metro Detroit area, but so far, this is how I would rank them in order from worst to best.


5. The Barre Code

Locations: Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Northville, Rochester Hills, and Royal Oak

Start Up Costs: First class is free

I hadn’t heard much about Barre classes before. I assumed this this would be similar to yoga with a lot of stretching in front of a ballet barre. I was very, VERY wrong. This class reminded me the most of aerobics class…

I can tell that we are in the throes of December because my schedule is chock-packed—this week was pretty busy and next week I literally have no days to myself ... every single day I have something on my Google Calendar.


What I've been up to this week:
Toledo mini road trip to see Lindsey Stirling. Lindsey Stirling is one of my favorite performers, so when I found out she was coming to Toledo this year, I shelled out like $100 per ticket to see her ... front of the auditorium (Stranahan) was like $100 and the back was $88 or so, so I figured why not have great seats? She put on a great concert per usual, although it was mostly Christmas songs and I would have rather seen her perform her new album, Artemis.Eating out, and trying new places. Last Friday, a friend and I went to BJ's Brewhouse before a movie. On Saturday, my boyfriend and I tried to go to Kengo Sushi, in Toledo, but it's a teeny place and there was a long wait, so we ended up at Spaghetti Warehouse, across the s…

I went into Jumanji: The Next Level with low expectation, because I wasn't a huge fan of the previous incarnation, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which came out almost exactly two years ago, in December 2017. Turns out my expectation were correct: although I enjoyed this one more than the previous, it was still just okay overall.

It's college winter break, and Martha, Spencer, Bethany, and Fridge are back in town. Spencer and Martha used to date, and haven't really talked since they broke up, and the gang makes plans to reunite for brunch. However, when Spencer (Alex Wolff) never shows up, they go to his house to see if he's around, running into his grandpa, Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his friend Milo (Danny Glover). When they can't find Spencer at all, they correctly deduce that he's jumped back into the Jumanji game, and the three of them get sucked into the game again so that they can help him get out; however, Eddie and Milo accidentally get taken into the g…

Little Women will be in theaters on Christmas Day, but 30 of my lucky readers will be able to see it beforehand at a screening!

Screening will take place on Wednesday, December 18th, at 7pm at the Maple Theater (Bloomfield Township, MI).

Make sure to read my Little Women reviewhere, too, and see why I give it 4.5/5 stars!

About the movie:
Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig’s take, the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on her own terms -- is both timeless and timely. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.

Directed by: …

Well here we are all of a sudden, in the last month of 2019. The year went by fast! My December is looking chock-full of activities, including this weekend, when I'm going to a Kroger influencer event in Brighton on Saturday, as well as the Lindsey Stirling concert, in Toledo, which I'm very excited about.


What I've been up to this week:
Eating out. I had last Thursday and Friday off of work for the Thanksgiving holiday, and was at my parents' place for a few days, so I ended up meeting up with friends and also eating out a lot. On Friday, my parents and I went to the Tiki Boil Bar & Grill (aka the old Bayside) in Walled Lake, which was just okay. On Saturday, I met a friend at Turmerican Indian Cuisine, in Novi, which was surprisingly good ... it's vegetarian Indian cuisine, as my friend is both vegetarian and gluten-free. Their mango lassi was also vegan, which was great. On Sunday, I met a friend at Uptown Grille, in Commerce Township (love their chicken picca…

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

TSO is returning to the Detroit area this year on Saturday, December 28th, at Little Caesars Arena! They always put on a fantastic show. Showtimes include 3pm and 8pm. Click here for tickets.


About the show:
2019’s Winter Tour to Bring Classic Album to the Stage With Brand-New Production, Staging & Effects

Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO): The multi-platinum, critically-acclaimed progressive rock group today announced its highly-anticipated Winter Tour 2019. Returning with all-new staging and effects is the unforgettable show that started it all, “Christmas Eve and Other Stories.” TSO’s show that started small, performed to 12,000 people in five cities in 1999, which then exploded onto the national scene, eventually playing to 9 million fans over the course of an incredible 12 years (through 2011), the mega-hit “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” has grossed an incredible $377 million over 1224 perfo…

I had yesterday off work for the holiday and I have today off too, which is nice. I plan on doing a double header for movies today—I'm going to see The Good Liar at AMC Livonia using A-List, then my parents and I will see 21 Bridges at Emagine Novi later.


What I've been up to this week:
Seeing movies. Putting my A-List membership to the max! I saw Knives Out at an early AMC showing last Friday, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be ... one reviewer friend gave it an A+. I would give it 3.5/5 stars. I saw Frozen 2 in 3D on Sunday and I'd give that one 3.5/5 as well, it was cute but the songs were not as memorable as the first one. I do highly recommend seeing it in 3D though—the cinematography was gorgeous. On Wednesday, I finished up my work early so I caught a showing of Queen & Slim, which was excellent, albeit very sad ... I'd give that one 4 out of 5 stars. Daniel Kaluuya (who was also fabulous in Get Out) and Jodie Turner-…

I have to say, although I am a fan of Little Women the novel, I have never found a movie or TV adaptation that I liked. In fact, most of the adaptations I have seen in the past have been mediocre, at best. However, I have to eat my words after seeing this rendition of Little Women—not only was it charming, but I enjoyed it quite a bit, mostly due to the talent of its all-star cast.

Although there are four March sisters in Little Women, the focus of the movie is on Jo, short for Josephine (Saoirse Ronan). At the beginning of the film, she's a writer in New York, trying to make a name for herself. We are eventually introduced to the other sisters: Meg (Emma Watson), who is now married with two children; Amy (Florence Pugh, Midsommar) who is off being an artist in Paris; and Beth (Eliza Scanlen), who has a talent for the piano. Their mother, Marmee (Laura Dern), is the matriarch of the household, and we eventually meet their handsome next-door neighbor, "Laurie" (Timothee …

Jumanji: The Next Level will be in theaters on December 13th, but forty of my lucky readers will win screening passes to see it beforehand!

Screening will take place on Monday, December 9th, at 7pm at Emagine Royal Oak.


About the movie: In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world’s most dangerous game.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Monday, December 2nd, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be contacted via email the next day.

Metro Detroit + Detroit residents only, please.

Good luck!
Entry-Form

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

Broadway in Detroit is bringing FIVE new shows to the city this winter! The shows will take place at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit Opera House, and Music Hall.

They include: Fiddler on the Roof, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, The Naked Magicians, The Color Purple, and The Last Ship.



About the shows:
Broadway In Detroit has announced that tickets will go on sale Friday, November 29 for four, Broadway blockbusters. Appearing at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre are Fiddler On The Roof, March 10-15, 2020, and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, May 5-17, 2020. Appearing at The Music Hall in Detroit will be The Naked Magicians, March 6 & 7, 2020, and The Color Purple, April 21-26, 2020.

Tickets for Fiddler on the Roof start at $45. Tickets for The Color Purple start at $29. Tickets for Beautiful – The Carole King Musical and The Naked Magicians start at $39.

Ticket…