Yes/No Detroit

Last weekend was kind of a blur, and I'll tell you more about that below. Other than that, this week I have not been doing much ... I haven't left the house since Tuesday, but I have a B12 shot today and bloodwork, so I have to drive to Farmington for that. I've been doing weekly B12 shots but I'm hoping it can go back to monthly after this week's.  Hello Fresh beef tenderloin, mashed sweet potatoes, & Brussels sprouts almondine What I've been up to this week: Watching new shows/movies . I opened up HBO Max yesterday with the intention of watching that new-ish Mark Ruffalo show, but instead they advertised a show called Made for Love. I started it and it's kind of dystopian-ish and weird, which are exactly the types of shows I like ... Cristin Milioti ( Palm Springs , A to Z , a short-lived show which I also liked) is in it and she plays the wife of a tech billionaire (last name "Gogol" ... haha ...) who ended up implanting a chip in her head.

Haven't been doing much this week, so I might not have much to talk about here. Also, anyone else feel like March was crazy long?  Red Pepper Gnocchi and garlic bread, from Home Chef What I've been up to this week: Cooking . Home Chef rarely sends me deals but they sent me half off a box ($30 off), so I ordered from them last week. I compare them to HelloFresh in terms of tastiness and packaging—they group meals in individual bags, which is super nice. This week I actually screwed up so I had to order EveryPlate last minute—I thought I had Dinnerly scheduled, but actually deactivated my account—and I'll be doing HelloFresh for the next 4-5 weeks, as they sent me a ton of free boxes, randomly! Watching TV and movies.  My parents and I saw Godzilla vs. Kong  yesterday on HBO Max and maybe it was because I was booking vaccine appts. on my phone, but I found it kind of hard to follow. The action scenes were awesome though, and I was thinking it would have been great in a theate

I guess the theme of this week is tacos, which I didn't realize until I looked at my Google Photos for this week, haha—I had Dinnerly Mexican street corn tacos on Saturday night, tried out a new (to me) taco restaurant in Clawson on Tuesday, for patio seating, and also had tacos and pupusas from El Guanaco (Troy) last night.  Corn tacos from Whiskey Taco Foxtrot, Clawson What I've been up to this week: Patio dining.  Tuesday was super warm, so my boyfriend and I wanted to do patio dining. I decided on Whiskey Taco Foxtrot—I had been there once before but at the time it was Montage Grill, about three summers ago—and the tacos were very tasty. They do $5 margarita specials for happy hour, Monday through Friday, 4-6pm or 3-6pm I believe, and the tacos were $4 each ... definitely more than El Guanaco down the street, but also more gourmet. The tacos in the picture are (L to R) shrimp taco, chicken with pico, and steak fajita; my tacos were the chicken with pico, steak chimichurri,

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for Netflix. This Friday, March 26th, Netflix is releasing the movie A Week Away , with Bailee Madison and Kevin Quinn. About the movie: A Week Away is Netflix’s first musical film of its kind, releasing March 26th. Troubled teen Will Hawkins (Kevin Quinn) has a choice to make - go to juvenile detention, or attend a Christian summer camp. While at camp, and with the help of his music, new friends and love interest (Bailee Madison), he learns the healing powers of kindness, forgiveness, and faith can be found in the most unlikely of places. You can find the movie on Netflix here . I will probably be checking this one out, because I love teen movies. Also, Bailee Madison looks so grown up! I remember her in some of her younger roles.  Will you be watching A Week Away when it hits Netflix this Friday?

Working with about 7 hours of sleep today (maybe a lot for some, but not a lot for me, 9 hours is ideal for me) because I've been doing vaccine appointments all week. Some of the people's responses make it worth it though—people are excited to be able to see their grandchildren again, for example. Nutella Mudslide, Peanut Butter, Macadamia, and Raspberry Cheesecake, from Crumbl Cookies What I've been up to this week: Foodie adventures . Last Friday, we went to the Grand Opening of the new Crumbl Cookies, in Rochester Hills. I saw on their Facebook that they would be opening last week, and I was super excited because I've been to the Ann Arbor location and their cookies are fabulous. We each received a chocolate chip cookie for free, for attending and downloading the app, and then I bought the four cookies pictured above, all of which were pretty delicious. We also got takeout from Sukho Thai, across the street, which was also very good.  The Courier   virtual movie scre

Not much going on this week but I've still been "vaccine hunting" for people, which has taken up a lot of my free time, plus work has been very busy.  Two Portillo's Chicago hot dogs and fries What I've been up to this week: Getting takeout.  Last Friday, my boyfriend and I got Pita Way takeout, since I had a B1G1 half-off coupon; it's not QUITE as good as Mr. Kabob in Troy, but it's pretty tasty. On Saturday, my parents and I got Domino's, and I also stopped by Saigon Market in Madison Heights to buy my mom a chicken banh mi sandwich to try, since she had never had it. They had some tasty boxed taro mochi too that I bought. On Sunday, Charminar Biryani House had invited me to try their new Hariyali wrap , so I stopped by there, in Troy, for takeout, and it was very delicious. Tuesday was Portillo's Day!!! (more about that below) And on Wednesday, I stopped by Green Lantern Pizza, the takeout-only location in Royal Oak, to get free cheese bread, si

This week has been busy, I had to leave the house twice (lol) for doctor appointments, and I've been busy helping lots of people schedule vaccine appointments, too! Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple, from The Cheesecake Factory What I've been up to this week: Helping people get vaccine appointments!  It's kind of a rush because they are so hard to get, at least on the Rite-Aid site . A friend has said I should do a blog post with some tips and maybe I will, eventually. The biggest tip is to check between 11:40pm to 12:20am most days, except Sunday and Monday, because that's when new appointments are usually posted—otherwise, it's just scrounging for cancellations. The good news is that the state of Michigan is opening it up to ages 50+ with health conditions starting MONDAY, and you can start booking on Rite-Aid's site today, as long as you put in a different year (and make sure to put their correct birthdate on the end screen). Don't quote me on tha

Did not do very much this week, except try to get vaccine for people in Michigan and Massachusetts (my uncle, plus a friend's dad), so this week's Friday Five might be a little sparse. (related: if you're 65+ and looking for a Michigan or Ohio vaccine, email me! I've been lucky with the Rite-Aid site.) Vday meal: steak with creamy mushroom sauce, Brussels with balsamic & parmesan What I've been up to this week: Eating good food . After I cooked the Coq Au Vin recipe for my boyfriend last week, it was his turn to cook for me this week, and I chose filet mignon (beef tenderloin). He found a recipe online for filet mignon with a creamy mushroom sauce, and cooked the above meal for me, which was delicious ... probably one of the best meals I've had in the pandemic so far, and definitely the best steak. He paired it with a glass of Merlot (which was also used in the mushroom sauce) and some Brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and fresh parmesan. Pretty tasty

Not much going on this week except work stuff. I actually haven't even had any takeout, except for Sunday (Valentine's Day) when we got Buddy's Pizza, and some bubble tea at the new place in Troy, Onezo.  Bon Bon Bon Valentine's Day collection What I've been up to this week: Watching a lot of movies.  Last Friday, To All the Boys: Always and Forever  debuted on Netflix, so of course I watched that right away ... I'm a huge fan of both the Netflix series and the books  (on sale today actually, $17 for all three paperbacks! Good deal). On Saturday, my parents and I watched Judas and the Black Messiah , which was okay; great acting by Daniel Kaluuya, whom I loved in Get Out , but a bit slow for me. It's based on a true story, though, which was interesting. I also tried watching The Map of Tiny Perfect Things  on Prime and although that's normally the type of movie I like (teen romance movies), I couldn't get into it. Last night, I saw a screening of Che

This week has seemed really long, for some reason. I was trying to cut back a bit on sugar, but then three boxes of cookies (like three BOXES, with 3-5 boxes of cookies EACH, inside) showed up at my doorstep for work samples ... so much for that! They are delicious, too. I've also been working my way through my Bon Bon Bon Valentine's Day collection—each one is like a present, and also like a piece of art. Srodek's Farmer's Cheese pierogies and HUGE potato pancakes What I've been up to this week: Cooking. As you can see above, I made a Srodek's run last week, to the Sterling Heights location, and I fried up some of their Farmer's Cheese pierogies, along with their gigantic potato pancakes, for lunch one day. I had the pierogies with sour cream and the potato pancakes with applesauce, both left over from our Polish Village Cafe takeout the week before. I also had a Dinnerly box this week and I think Dinnerly last week, too, and I will have a few EveryPlate bo

*Disclosure: Elegear provided me the below product at no cost to myself, for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I was recently contacted by Elegear, who offered me a few products to review. I chose the Cooling Comforter , because my current comforter is about nine years old, and I was intrigued to see if it did indeed keep me cool during sleeptime.  I am the type that tends to be cold all of the time, so in the winter, I like a thick, cozy comforter. My boyfriend, whom I call "polar bear," likes to have the fan on when we sleep, and tends to burn up. So it can often be tricky to find a balance between the two; my (nine-year-old) comforter is thick, which I like, but he isn't the biggest fan of it, because of that.  We tried out the cooling comforter last night. I do sleep with regular sheets on too—I just noticed in the picture that the cooling blanket/comforter is meant to be put directly on your skin, it seems. My sheets are a dark blu

I made the mistake of not putting my car cover on last night, and then we got walloped. A kind neighbor texted me saying my boyfriend could park in another resident's carport spot, who apparently is away for the month, so I might take advantage of that myself at some point, if he's not over and we get big snow.  Free dozen Krispy Kremes for my birthday perk! What I've been up to this week: Getting the last of my birthday freebies . Most of them expired 1/31, and last Saturday I went to Krispy Kreme to get my free DOZEN doughnuts ... in past years, the birthday freebies has been one doughnut and one free coffee (and I don't drink coffee), but this year I got an email saying it was a free DOZEN doughnuts! So of course I took advantage of that, haha. I split with my boyfriend and parents. Sad news though, they got rid of my favorite doughnut, the creme-filled one—they technically still have it, but it now has a hole in the middle, and isn't the same. I also still have

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this movie for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Last night, my parents and I watched Let Him Go , with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. It was released in theaters and on VOD recently. Read on to see how you can win a digital code for the movie! Official movie synopsis: Following the loss of their son, a retired sheriff and his wife leave their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas. (courtesy: Google) ^ To say any more would spoil the plot of the movie. I will say this: this movie starts off very slowly, with the death of a retired sheriff's son (Costner in the sheriff's role), and later the son's wife remarries. The man she chooses to remarry isn't a good guy—Lane's character sees him slapping the wife and also the child around—and later he and his wife abscond with their grandson.  My parents and I actually really li