The Friday Five, 1/31/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

Everyone always complains that January feels like a year in itself—I always feel kind of compelled to defend my birth month, when that happens, but I do agree it feels long. Today is the last day of January, though, and my husband and I took the day off work to head up to Frankenmuth for their Snowfest, which is basically an ice festival, and to get my free birthday chicken at Zehnders. We will also go to Prost for lunch, which is a wine and charcuterie bar.

Tasty pizza leftovers: Buddy's (top), Green Lantern circular deep dish
Tasty pizza leftovers: Buddy's (top), Green Lantern circular deep dish

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Watching movies. Last Friday I went to see A Complete Unknown at Birmingham 8 after work, since I was working in the office that day. I unfortunately fell asleep for a bit of it (recliners ...) but Timothee Chalamet was very good in it, as was Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and the girl who played Joan Baez, another folk musician. From what I saw, I'd give it 4-4.5/5, but it was a bit long (2h20m, I believe). On Wednesday, I headed to Emagine Novi to see Nickel Boys, another Oscar Best Picture nominee that I had heard a bit about, and it was very good albeit very unusual (first person POV, and square-shaped screen vs. widescreen). I'd give that one 4-4.5/5 as well, again with the caveat that it felt long (another 2h20m one). It's based on the book, by Colson Whitehead, which also looks good.
    The last movie I saw this week was You're Cordially Invited, which debuted on Prime yesterday, and that was a rom-com and a lot of fun, with Reese Witherspoon, Will Ferrell, and a great supporting cast. I'd give that one 3.5/5 but it's worth watching, I laughed out loud a few times during it. 
  2. Getting takeout. Last Friday, I got takeout from Pink Garlic for my husband and I—I always do that when I work in the office (once a month) or when I'm visiting my condo on that side of town. On Saturday, some friends and I had a game night and we got takeout from Siam Spicy, in Novi, which is usually very good; I like their Thai tea a lot. On Sunday, my parents and I got takeout from Buddy's, for only like $3—the way that worked out is that I had a free 4-square pizza for my birthday, and my parents had bought us some Buddy's gift cards for Christmas, which came with a free 4-square pizza, so we added one topping (pepperoni for me, chicken for them) to each and it was around $3 for that. Not sure if this counts as takeout, but on Friday I also headed to Paris Baguette, which I enjoy doing each time I'm at the office, and got some of my usual favorites, such as its strawberry mochi donut and sweet potato stick. 
  3. Hanging out with friends. On Friday, I met up with a girl whom I met on my Mexico trip, since she lives in Birmingham, and we went to Paris Baguette together. On Saturday, two friends and I had a game night, which I mentioned above, which was fun; we played Machi Koro, which is a favorite of mine. This weekend, I was supposed to meet up with friends in Ann Arbor but unfortunately adulting stuff got in the way, so we will reschedule; I am seeing a different friend on Sunday for lunch, though. 
  4. Watching TV shows. A lot of good ones on now, including Severance, which is back on AppleTV. I also watched Married at First Sight, The Way Home, High Potential, Prime Target (new for me, on AppleTV), Paradise, which was fantastic (new on Hulu), Abbott Elementary, and Shifting Gears. I saw there is a new season of Mythic Quest up on AppleTV this week too, another favorite, so I will check that out. All of my CBS/Paramount+ shows are back this week, too, so I will catch up on those tomorrow (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Matlock, and Elsbeth). Paradise on Hulu was really, really good, so I'm looking forward to more episodes of that; with a cast including Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden, that wasn't super surprising to me, though. 
  5. Cooking. We had HelloFresh this week and cooked our third meal yesterday. The meals included: mustard pork tenderloin with string beans and parmesan potatoes (yesterday's); mushroom chicken with zucchini and potatoes (Tuesday); and dill pork tenderloin with Israeli couscous and string beans (Monday). They unfortunately forgot the couscous but luckily we have some on hand here. Normally I'd complain about that but I got my box at a discount (like $25 instead of the normal $60-70!) so I did not.
KitKat Chunky, acquired in Mexico. Fun fact: in the U.S., Kit Kat (with a space) is owned by Hershey; everywhere else, KitKat (no space) is owned by Nestle.
KitKat Chunky, acquired in Mexico. Fun fact: in the U.S., Kit Kat (with a space) is owned by Hershey; everywhere else, KitKat (no space) is owned by Nestle.

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