The Friday Five, 2/28/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

I was going to say "this week has went by fast yet slowly" but I realized I said that last week too, ha. Tonight I am planning on going to St. Julian's Winery (in Troy, near Oakland Mall) for a wine tasting that we bought off Groupon, and also finally trying out Ima (Madison Heights) for some udon and ramen.

Homemade tiramisu + whipped cream from Giovanni's, Detroit
Homemade tiramisu + whipped cream from Giovanni's, Detroit

What I've been up to this week:

  1. Eating out. Last Friday, we tried out Giovanni's, in Detroit, for our rescheduled Valentine's Day dinner—I had food poisoning the Thursday before Valentine's Day, and didn't want to test my stomach like that. It was very good, although my favorite parts of the meal were actually the appetizers (portobello mushroom with garlic cream sauce) and dessert. I think I should have ordered pasta for my main dish, but I ordered chicken piccata, which was just okay. On Saturday, I had some coupons to use up at MOD Pizza, and we also stopped by Saigon Market to grab some banh mi sandwiches. On Sunday, my book club went to Penny Black's, in Rochester. On Thursday, we went to Melting Pot because they were doing a "pay the date" deal—ie, yesterday was February 27th, so we paid $27 per person for a 3-course meal (cheese fondue, salad, and entree) which was very tasty, though I'll admit I missed the chocolate fondue.
  2. Book club. My book club meets up one time per month, and this month's choice was Recursion, by Blake Crouch, which was excellent; I'd give it either 4.5/5 or 5/5 stars. We were going to meet at Rochester Brunch House but there was a 1.5 hour wait (!), so instead we moved to Penny Black's, down the street; service was excellent, but the food was just okay, though perhaps I chose the wrong entree (teriyaki turkey burger with sweet potato fries). 
  3. Seeing movies. On Saturday, we saw Downhill, which was just okay, although kind of worth seeing just for Julia Louis-Dreyfus's facial expressions; I'd give it 2.5/5 stars. On Sunday, I went to see Call of the Wild, at the AMC Forum's Dolby theater, and I actually liked it a lot; I'd give it 4/5 stars, and it exceeded my expectations. The dogs in it are CGI and that was a little distracting at first, but some of them look more realistic than others. Tomorrow we are going to see The Invisible Man ... I'm not a horror person so I hope it's not super scary, but I do love Elisabeth Moss from Handmaid's Tale
  4. Shopping. On Sunday after book club I headed to Kohl's, in Rochester Hills, because I had a $5 reward coupon to use, as well as a 20% off coupon. I really don't know what sizes I am anymore and I've always hated shopping for clothes ... I ended up leaving with a new pair of Dana Buchman earrings, which I actually really liked, because I couldn't find any clothes that I liked and/or that fit. (again, why I hate shopping for clothes ...)
  5. Watching the Democratic debates. I watched the one that was (last week? weekend?) for a good hour or two, and it was interesting to see everyone's positions on the issues. The one that was this Tuesday, I only watched for about 10-20 minutes, because really it was just everyone yelling over one another and trying to make themselves heard ... which can get tiring. I need to do more research before I decide whom I will vote for in the primary on March 10th, though.
Teriyaki turkey burger and sweet potato fries at Penny Black, Rochester
Teriyaki turkey burger and sweet potato fries at Penny Black, Rochester


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