The Friday Five, 12/25/20: 5 things I've been up to this week

Merry Christmas! I think this might be the first Christmas Day edition of the Friday Five. I feel like I didn't do much this week, but looking through my Google Photos I did, although most things were virtual, of course. 

Chicago deep-dish pizza from Uncle Andy's Pizza, Clawson

What I've been up to this week:

1. Yelp Cookie Exchange event. It's a Yelp Detroit tradition to do a cookie exchange—in the past, I went to one at a bowling alley in Ferndale, and another time they've had it in Detroit, but obviously that wasn't happening this year. Instead, Annette (our CM, or Community Manager) hosted a virtual event where she made cookies, and Yelpers were encouraged to submit their cookie recipes to her, which she then sent to us in PDF form. They also did a partnership with Castalia and Sfumato in Detroit, and Yelpers were able to pick up a cocktail from Castalia, which was paired with a signature scent from Sfumato, which was very cool. Becki B. was able to pick up my cocktail for me, and it was a bourbon drink which was interesting; when paired with the scent, it did taste a little different!
2. Getting takeout. Last Friday, my parents and I *tried* to get Jersey Mike's takeout from Novi. We ordered ahead on the app, and when my parents arrived, Jersey Mike's had no bread ... really?! Apparently they had tried to call my dad beforehand too but it was coming up as a Northville number, so he didn't pick up. Then they tried doing McDonald's drive-thru, and McDonald's apparently didn't get my mobile order, which was six nuggets + a small order of fries ... so instead they ended up giving my parents ten nuggets, two small orders of fries, and an apple pie, to make up for it. I guess that ended up working out but it wasn't worth the frustration (and yes, I know these are SUPER first world problems ...). 
   On Sunday, my boyfriend and I got Mr. Kabob takeout—they had sent me a 25% off app coupon which was nice—and on Wednesday, we finally tried out Uncle Andy's Pizza, in Clawson (see pic above), which was delicious! They are on Groupon currently (click here) and it's about $8, and you get $15 to spend. Their pizzas are about $12-20 and I hadn't had Chicago-style pizza for a while; although it's not as epic as Giordanos or local Chicago brands, it was pretty good. I bought another Groupon to use in January or February, too; next time I want to try either their Detroit-style pizza or NY-style. 
3. Cooking. I had EveryPlate last week and Dinnerly this week; I'll have Dinnerly next week too. I made a few good burger recipes. My friend Maggie got me some pierogies from Srodek's, in Hamtramck, a week ago, and was able to deliver them last weekend; I ordered potato, garlic, & chives pierogies, which is what the package said too, but I'm fairly certain they gave me farmer's cheese pierogies instead. It was still delicious but now I want to try the ones I ordered, so I might go to the Sterling Heights location next week. I cooked them up with some Trader Joe's potato pancakes, too. I also ordered some mushroom ones so I'll make those next week. 
4. Buying a new TV, and assembling a new TV cart. I had been wanting a new TV for years, but hoarding my Best Buy gift cards that I got for blogging for them (since I haven't been blogging for them much recently). I finally decided to take the plunge, and I got a Samsung 50" TV; I was debating between that or a TCL, but I like and trust the Samsung brand more. Last Friday, my boyfriend and I picked it up from Best Buy; it didn't fit in my (Honda Accord) trunk but luckily fit in the backseat. I soon realized my TV cart—which was actually an IKEA coffee table—was too small for it, so then I had to buy a new TV cart, which I got from Walmart.com. It arrived two days later and we assembled it on Tuesday; however, I would not recommend the one I bought because two of the six legs on the bottom broke. If even 1 more leg had broken, we would've had to disassemble the whole thing and return it to Walmart, so I consider myself lucky in that regard. I'm going to call the company (Mainstays) next week to see if they'll send me just the parts that were broken, because I'd feel a little more comfortable if all six legs (two to stabilize the middle) were on the cart; however, it DOES work with four. It does look nice in my living room but it was a beast to assemble; my boyfriend did most of the work and we finished it in about 1.5 hours (which was unsurprising because reviews on the site had mentioned 1-2 hours to put it together). I will say it looks nice in my living room, though. (see below pic)
5. Virtual Secret Santa, plus virtual holiday party for work. I usually hold a white elephant party every year, but obviously that would not work this year, so I decided to hold a virtual Secret Santa. About 15 of my friends and I met via Facebook Rooms, and it ended up being a good time! The hard part was the work beforehand, as I tried for every Santa to have a different recipient than the person who was their Santa, if that makes sense (for example: my recipient was my friend Lauren, and my Santa was my friend Melissa, who gave me an awesome "movie night" pack, including The Princess Bride on DVD, plus a ridiculous amount of sodas, gummy bears, and Reeses—all of my favorites, which was super thoughtful). 
   My virtual holiday party for work was on Wednesday, for just the editorial staff for my two brands plus two others on which our publisher works. It ended up being a good time, and I won a Dunkin' gift card during one of the games, too.  

Samsung 50" TV with my new TV cart