The Friday Five, 7/22/22: 5 things I've been up to this week

I didn't sleep well last night, so I am super tired today. However, I am seeing Nope at the theater later, the newest Jordan Peele movie, so that should be fun. 

Marley Spoon Butter-Basted Steak and Parmesan Squash and Green Beans
Marley Spoon Butter-Basted Steak and Parmesan Squash and Green Beans

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Influencer events. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I drove down to the new Insomnia Cookies location, on Wayne State's campus in Detroit, as I had been invited via Instagram to try them out. We left with FOUR boxes of cookies, some of which I gifted to a coworker friend and my parents, and they were really good. For those who asked: they are different from Crumbl (definitely a lot thinner) but still delicious; if you get the standard-size cookie, it's only $2, too, and like 180-280 calories, which for one cookie (if you can JUST eat one, haha) isn't too bad. They also have Deluxe cookies for $3.50, and like 400-500 calories (aka Crumbl territory). My favorites were the S'mores (Deluxe one) and their regular chocolate chip, it had HUGE chunks of chocolate in it. Check out my IG reel about the store here.
    Then, ironically, I received an invite to an UNO's influencer event at the Delta hotel in Farmington Hills, which took place this Tuesday—I say "ironically" because I had finally been able to do takeout there the week before, as you may have seen in last week's Friday Five. We were able to sample a variety of pizzas on the menu, as well as some entrees like their burger and chicken pasta dish; I also tried the Windy City Hurricane drink, which was great. They have a "gluten-sensitive" option too (it's gluten-free but made in the same oven as the gluten pizzas, so would not work for people who have Celiac), with cauliflower crust, and that was surprisingly good. View my IG reel about the restaurant here. They also gave me a discount code to share! Use code "HOT DISCOUNT" for 30% off your bill—cannot be used online, but you can either call in your order or dine-in. 
  2. Dining out. Last Friday I had lunch with a friend at Condado Royal Oak, which is always tasty. I like their guac a lot but this was my first time trying their queso, and that was very good too. On Saturday night, my parents and I did our usual Hungry Howie's takeout but we had some free two-topping pizzas to redeem, so we tried pickle on one which was pretty good. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I got Doordash from a Mexican restaurant in Waterford, which was also tasty, and on Sunday night we went out to Rusty Bucket in Bingham Farms with some friends. Tonight I'll also be redeeming my free Green Lantern bread, I swear they send me a freebie coupon like once a month, lol, but it's delicious. 
  3. Cooking. I had Marley Spoon last week and this week, as it's been giving me some discounts. Last night I cooked the dish pictured above, butter-basted steak with parmesan squash and green beans, and it also came with a garlic aioli (mayo) sauce, which was really good. I have two more Marley Spoon meals to cook this weekend, and then next week is Home Chef, which is rare for me but they gave me a discount to reactivate (they rarely give me discounts). 
  4. Helping with a friend's maternity photos. The wife of one of my boyfriend's friends is due late next month, and wanted a maternity shoot done in the water (in a pool). They booked a room at the Holiday Inn Express in Southfield, and we grabbed our bathing suits and went down to the hotel's pool to help them take pictures; my boyfriend dabbles in photography sometimes. The pool ended up being pretty busy—I guess that should've been expected, for a Sunday—but it was fun to swim for a bit too. 
  5. Having my own photo shoot. I got accepted for a BJ's Wholesale Club campaign, so stay tuned to my Instagram for those photos—some will be up mid-August and some will be up in late August. BJ's is opening a new club in Canton at the end of August, so I'll be helping promote that, and the influencer group sent me a BJ's tote bag with which to take some photos; I'll be visiting the new club immediately after my MA/RI trip too, for the second round of IG posts.
Meat deep dish pizza from UNO's, Farmington Hills
Meat deep dish pizza from UNO's, Farmington Hills

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