The Friday Five, 12/27/19: 5 things I've been up to this week

I've come to the point in my Christmas/New Year's vacation where I no longer know what day or date it is, haha, but I do know it's Friday, which means this is the last Friday Five of 2019! I've been enjoying sleeping a bit more and also watching lots of movies and TV shows.

The Morrie, Birmingham, MI

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Influencer event at The Morrie, Birmingham. The Morrie recently opened up a second location, right on Old Woodward in Birmingham, and on Saturday morning I joined a group of my influencer friends to try them out for brunch. I definitely left stuffed, and everything there is delicious, though I highly recommend the Nashville hot chicken + waffles sandwich, as well as the ice cream sandwich for dessert. 
  2. Hosting my annual white elephant party. Last Friday, I hosted my 3rd annual white elephant party, and had about 15-20 friends show up for it. It's always a good time and the gifts that people bring are funny; this year, we had everything from a super nice Star Wars hardcover book (brought by my boyfriend, actually) to potato peelers to an Amazon Echo Dot. I brought some Silicon Valley Blu-rays, socks, and a money magic thing I received last year, and I ended up with some chocolate and some sort of pasta boat thing that you can put in the microwave. 
  3. Seeing movies. TONS of movies this week. Last Saturday night, we saw the new Star Wars, which I'd give 3.5/5 stars; on Monday, just for fun I went to see CATS, even though I knew it would be terrible, and I'd give it 2/5 stars, although the singing was quite good. On Tuesday, my parents and I saw Bombshell, which I'd give 3.5/5 stars, and yesterday I did a double-header, with Spies in Disguise and Uncut Gems. I'd give Spies in Disguise 4 out of 5 stars, and it was great in 3D, as well; Uncut Gems, I would give 3.5/5 stars, but I can see why Adam Sandler is getting so much praise for it. It was just way too frenetically-paced for me. 
  4. Holiday celebrations. I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah, so on Wednesday my parents and I opened some Christmas presents; my aunt sends us a box every year, and then we also give each other gifts. Later that day I headed to my boyfriend's parents' house and there were more celebrations there. We also have been celebrating Hanukkah all week but mostly just with presents and latkes ... I'm not super religious.
  5. Watching TV, mostly on Netflix. My parents have recently gotten into The Kominsky Method, so I've been rewatching that with them. I started and finished watching season one of Virgin River, also on Netflix, which has been renewed for season two, and I'm hoping to finish The Crown soon too. I also started season two of You last night, which is still fantastically creepy; I watched season 1 when it was on Lifetime, and when no one knew about it, and then when Netflix picked it up, it started to get some attention.
  6. Eating out. Bonus one this week, mostly so I can explain the below picture, haha - I've been eating out a lot this week. Last Friday, I met my boyfriend at Granite City in Troy for lunch, and they do a really good lunch menu; I had their BBQ chicken pizza and an Asian chicken salad. The Morrie influencer event was on Saturday, for brunch, and for dinner that night, my boyfriend and I went to Kaizen Ramen, since I had a Groupon, before Star Wars. On Tuesday after Bombshell, my parents and I went to Blaze Pizza, and last night we went to Jersey Mike's for dinner, which is always tasty.
Lunch special at Granite City, Troy: half salad and BBQ chicken pizza
Lunch special at Granite City, Troy: half salad, and BBQ chicken pizza

Popular Posts

Review: Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins

Image
*Disclosure: I received a gift card to try the new Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Baskin-Robbins launched its Polar Pizza last month (July), as I talked about in my recent post about them, and because this past month was crazy busy for me, I didn't get to try the Polar Pizza until this past Sunday. My parents and I went to the combined Dunkin' Donuts / Baskin-Robbins near them, in Novi, MI, to split one of the ice cream pizzas.
Read more

Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: Mamma Mia! at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit, April 23-28 {ends Dec. 12}

Image
*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. MAMMA MIA! will be playing at the Fisher this April, from April 23-28, and I'm excited to see it—I'm a big fan of the movies but I've never seen the Broadway show. About the show: Since premiering in London in 1999 and on Broadway in 2001, the irresistible musical has captured the hearts of millions around the globe. The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island paradise, all unfolding to the storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs, has now been seen live on stage by 65 million people across the world and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again. To date, MAMMA MIA! has been seen in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $4 billion at the box office. MAMMA MIA! opened on Broadway in 2001 where it played for a record-breaking 14 year
Keep reading

GIVEAWAY: Duel in the D, February 10 at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit {ends 1/10}

Image
*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I had a great time at Duel in the D last year—I'm a UM alum, but I had only ever seen ONE hockey game in my life at that point, and this was the second one.  I'm looking forward to it again this year, and one of my lucky readers will win a 4-pack of tickets to experience it as well! About the game: The return of college hockey is headed to Little Caesars Arena with the annual “Duel in the D,” presented by Meijer, set for Saturday, February 10 at 8:30 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 346th all-time meeting between the h
Keep reading