The Friday Five, 1/22/21: 5 things I've been up to this week

This week has seemed both slow and fast, for some reason, and I'm glad it's Friday. 

Bulgogi Lime Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato/Bell Pepper Jumble, from HelloFresh
Bulgogi Lime Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potato/Bell Pepper Jumble, from HelloFresh

What I've been up to this week:

  1. Getting more birthday freebies. A lot of them expire at the end of January, so I've been trying to use them up. Last Friday I used my $5 off at Detroit Wing Co., in Troy, and they were actually super excited I was using a birthday reward, which was fun. Yesterday I redeemed my free small pizza from Green Lantern, over on Rochester Rd. in Royal Oak—I always forget that one is there because their sit-down restaurant (one of a few, now) is in Madison Heights. What's interesting about that one is that this was my first year getting that freebie, and when you go to their site to sign up for their email list/rewards club, there's no spot to input your birthday ... so I have no idea how that happened, but I'll take it! And later today I'm stopping by Grand Traverse Pie to get my free mini pie. Worth noting: GTPie is doing a free slice of Cherry Crumb or Apple Crumb pie TODAY with a purchase, in an early celebration of National Pie Day.
  2. Watching TV shows. I've been obsessed with season 3 of MAFS (Married at First Sight) recently, since two of the people on there were just on MAFS: Second Chances which I recently watched, and the new season of MAFS (season 12) has also started, so my boyfriend and I watched that last night. I'm looking forward to the new WandaVision episode today, too, and I binged the three new episodes of Search Party yesterday. I'm also trying to finish up Insatiable, on Netflix, which has been fun and campy; there are only two seasons, and I'm almost done with season one. 
  3. Going out to eat for my birthday! I hadn't been "out" to a restaurant (read: sitting outside at their patio) since early November, when we had an unseasonably warm 70-degree weekend, and after much researching, I chose Cafe Cortina in Farmington for my birthday; I don't feel comfortable doing the igloos because I don't know how well they are sanitized, and Cafe Cortina has an open-air patio with heaters. It kinda felt like a secret club, and both the service and the food were excellent; I gave them 5/5 stars in my Yelp review. It's definitely more of a special occasion place—the pastas run from $38-48, and cocktails were about $15—but it was my boyfriend's birthday present to me, as we like to take each other out for special occasions, and it was a very pleasant meal (and I did not freeze, with the heaters, either!). I know Michigan is re-opening inside dining on February 1st, but honestly, with the pandemic still going on, I feel like that's not super safe (as always, this is just my opinion, but since I'm high risk for COVID, I've been sticking to outdoor dining). 
  4. Doing zumba. Funny story—so one of the zumba classes is a "toning class," and I have no weights here, so I had been using a hammer and a set of wrenches (still in the box) for weights ... last Saturday I finally bought some "big girl" weights (1 lb. each, haha) at Dick's Sporting Goods in Novi, as I was able to do curbside pickup. Kung Fu Tea is in that same plaza so after I received my order at Dick's, I pre-ordered my KFT drink on their app and then drove over there. I made the mistake of doing this on a Saturday night, though, so it was pretty busy. 
  5. Picking up my Instagram winnings. A few weeks ago I won $10 at Great Lakes Pot Pie, in Clawson, through my Instagram friend @jeyang.foodfunadventures. I wanted to redeem it during my week off work in December, but turns out they were closed for the holidays, so I finally got to stop by on Saturday. I purchased a 5" (mini) chicken pot pie, which I plan on baking for lunch today, and a 5" chocolate pecan pie, which my mom and I have already eaten, and which was fantastic. I highly recommend checking them out if you live in this area.
Tiramisu from Cafe Cortina, Farmington—super light and fluffy!
Tiramisu from Cafe Cortina, Farmington—super light and fluffy!

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