Yes/No Detroit

Well, we are definitely into September—the weather has been a lot cooler, which I've been liking, as I was not a fan of the 90 degree temps all summer (especially when being pregnant!).  Spicy Italian pizza from Buddy's What I've been up to this week: Getting tasty takeout/delivery . My other in-laws came to visit this past weekend (FIL and SIL, from Indiana) and we got Buddy's takeout one day, which was very tasty, including the Spicy Italian pizza pictured above ... I can't really do spicy foods but this is not very spicy, IMO. My MIL, husband, and I got takeout from The Great Greek (WB) on Wednesday but unfortunately my tzatziki was ordered on the side, and they forgot to include it—that's one of the best parts of the gyro. On Thursday, we got Potbelly's for lunch, which I hadn't had in a while; I used to really like their pizza subs, until they started adding more to it (I like it with just mushrooms, now it has mushrooms, pepperoni, meatballs, and c...

Well, August went by fast. Apologies for no Friday Five posts the past few weeks but I was a little busy having a baby and then keeping said baby alive :) see more below ... Hospital pictures What I've been up to *the past three weeks*: Having a baby . So right after I posted my Friday Five on Friday, August 8th, I had an OB appt., and my water (amniotic fluid) was low. They wanted me to be induced that day, but I said no—I needed to get my affairs in order, so to speak—and they were going to re-check me on August 11th (Monday), and they scheduled an induction for 8pm that day. On August 11th, my water level was slightly improved, but still low, so we went ahead with the induction, and my husband and I checked into the hospital at 8pm that day.  By around 10am on Wednesday, August 13th, I still hadn't progressed much—you need to be 10 cm dilated before they tell you to start pushing, and even on Pitocin I was 3-4 cm dilated, and in pain, until I had an epidural the night before...

This week went by fast (maybe because it was a 4-day work week?) and now it's basically June, and I am not entirely ready ... the spring/summer is going by fast.  Bloom Bar at my friend's bridal shower What I've been up to this week: Bridal shower for a friend . The friend that had the engagement dinner last Thursday had her bridal shower on Saturday, in Marshall, MI (a bit of a drive, about 1.5 hours for me) at The Millhaven, which ended up being a very nice event venue. They had the Greenhouse, where we were situated, and the Pickle Factory, which was more for wedding receptions. My friend is a great party planner and no detail was spared here (the shower was Bridgerton -themed!) which was a lot of fun—I wore a green floral dress which I've had for a few years, and a green fascinator that I bought off Amazon. I was glad to be able to celebrate my friend again, because her wedding is over Labor Day weekend when I will most likely have a one-week-old baby (or, a few wee...

It's been another busy week, and I'm glad for a three-day weekend to hopefully do some relaxing, although I have a bridal shower in Marshall, MI (about a 1.5-hour drive) to go tomorrow, so it'll still be a bit busy. Engagement dinner at Royal Park Hotel, Rochester, MI What I've been up to this week: Engagement dinner at the Royal Park Hotel, Rochester. Last night I attended an engagement dinner for my friend Margarita—I believe we met in line for movie screenings, so probably around 2009-10 or so, and we've been in touch since then. It was a beautiful party—I had never been to the Royal Park Hotel, but I had seen it before, because I have another friend who lives very close by, and it ended up being gorgeous. My friend is hosting a bridal shower tomorrow too, which I'm also attending—I'm glad she's having these events because her wedding is over Labor Day weekend, in Saugatuck, when, ironically, I might *be* in labor (my due date is late August), so unfo...

I am guessing I am probably not the only one in Southeast Michigan who is tired today: tornado sirens went off around 12:15am last night, then abruptly stopped 5-10 minutes later. In addition, our power went out for maybe an hour or so. I just got back from my work trip last night so today will be a busy work day, as well.  Mascots at the Expo What I've been up to this week: Traveling to Indianapolis for Sweets & Snacks Expo . This was the big thing this week, my work trip, since I was there Monday afternoon through Thursday afternoon. I attended the Sweets & Snack Expo, one of the biggest snack/candy industry conferences in the U.S., from Tuesday morning through Thursday early afternoon. This was my third time at the Expo, and it used to be in Chicago; now their schedule is every two years in Indy, and every third in Vegas, so next year it'll be in Vegas. I prefer it being in Indy vs. Chicago because it's a lot more walkable (it was at McCormick Place, so if you we...

This my one technically "free" weekend before I head to Indianapolis for Sweets & Snacks on Monday—by "free" I mean I have my Crohn's infusion tomorrow, and will see my parents and pack for Indy, but it's not a traveling weekend like the last two. I will also work a half day on Monday before heading to DTW. Blue Apron pesto rigatoni with peppers and ricotta What I've been up to this week: Traveling to Cincinnati . As I mentioned in last week's Friday Five, I believe, we drove down to Cincinnati on Friday and came back Sunday, for a friend's dad's memorial on Saturday. We got to hang out with said friend and other friends that came down for it, too, which was nice. On Sunday, we headed to Jungle Jim's, one of my favorite grocery stores (it's like Costco meets Epcot, is how I usually describe it) to buy some tasty cheeses and other things (we definitely brought a cooler with ice for that!), they have a massively huge store with groc...

This was a busy week and this weekend will also be busy, as we are heading to Cincinnati sometime today for a memorial tomorrow.  Machi Koro 2 game What I've been up to this week: Going to Indiana. Last weekend (Friday through Sunday), my husband and I drove up to Indiana for a birthday get-together, as his birthday, plus my in-laws', are all in April and May. Even though I have a January birthday, I actually received a few gifts as well, including the board game Machi Koro 2, pictured above (Machi Koro, plus the expansions, is one of my favorites!). We also had Dairy Queen ice cream cake, which is another of my favorites—at a job I worked right after college (2009-12), it was a small office, so we'd always celebrate birthdays with that, and it was always delicious. Watching movies. I saw The Accountant 2 at the theater on Wednesday, at the Riviera, and it was good but had a very different vibe from the first one. I rewatched the first one the day before that, and would act...

April seems to be flying by, which is bad because I have a lot of things I still need to do, LOL. No travel this month at least, although we are going to Indiana at the end of the month to celebrate my in-laws' birthdays. Pesto chicken pasta at Pops for Italian, Ferndale What I've been up to this week: Birthday party for a friend . A friend had her birthday party at Painting with a Twist in Ferndale last Saturday, which gave me an excuse to visit Ferndale—I hadn't been in a while, but parking was a PITA because there was also a protest going on (it was a national day of protest). I've only done a Painting with a Twist-type of place one other time, in 2016 for a friend's bachelorette in New Orleans, and it was a lot of fun, even though I am definitely not artistically inclined, haha. I ended up taking home two paintings, actually, because I won a contest they had going on, and the other painting was more professional-looking, and I really enjoy it. We also went to Po...

Another busy week, and today I'm working in the office (about a 30-minute drive, including parking in the parking structure in Birmingham) so I have to crank this week's post out quickly. The weekend is shaping up to be a bit busy too, including a Ford House tour; I've never been, so I'm interested in seeing it. Steak board! At WL Socialhouse, Kzoo What I've been up to this week: Cooking . We finished up a Blue Apron box from last week and we had Green Chef this week. Green Chef used to be one of my top favorites, but it was a bit expensive; I got this box for $32 or so, which isn't bad, but I do feel like they're a little more limited now in meal choices compared to their sister companies, Hello Fresh and EveryPlate. Last night we cooked an Asian peanut chicken and udon noodles meal, and sometime this weekend we still have chicken tacos to cook.  Friends get-together . On Saturday night, we headed to South Lyon to hang out with some friends, one of whom is...

I spent the first half of this week in lovely Miami for work, where it was nice and warm (except for one day where it DOWNPOURED on me as I walked back to my hotel from the conference hotel ...). Looking forward to relaxing a bit this weekend, except I have my Crohn's infusion tomorrow so I have to be up early-ish for that. Chai-spiced macaron (left) and delicious Reese's tart What I've been up to this week: Traveling to Miami for work . I had a very early flight on Sunday, at 7am (had to get up at 3:30am and be in a Lyft by 4:30am...) because the other choice was 2pm, and the conference kicked off around 5:30pm. I stayed at the Residence Inn Aventura Mall, which is where I stayed last year as well—the conference was at the JW Marriott resort across the street, so it's a quick walk. The conference was mostly Monday and Tuesday, and then Wednesday I flew home. Dining out/getting takeout.  On Friday, I went to go check on my condo and then I got Pink Garlic takeout for my...

The first week of February has gone by pretty fast. I'm headed to the office for my once-per-month day there soon, but not a fan of the fact that it's 14 degrees out right now ...  AYCE chicken meal at Zehnder's, Frankenmuth What I've been up to this week: Frankenmuth for Snowfest. Last Friday, my husband and I played hooky from work (aka, we both put in for time off, lol) and went to Snowfest, which is a favorite of ours. Snowfest is (unsurprisingly) primarily snow sculptures, but they also have ice sculptures. We had lunch at Prost, my favorite charcuterie/wine bar there, then also went to the Fudge Kitchen, Cheese Haus, and a few other shops, like the board game shop at the outdoor mall there. We finished up with dinner at Zehnder's, and because it was still January 31st, I had my free AYCE (all-you-can-eat) chicken meal on my Zehnder's card for my birthday. If you haven't been there (or Bavarian Inn) for their AYCE meal, and you like fried chicken, I hig...

This week has gone by slowly, probably because it was my first week back at work in two weeks, and my birthday is Monday, although it doesn't feel like it, for some reason. We leave for Mexico on Thursday for a wedding and I'm excited to get out of the Michigan cold and snow. Wild mushroom pizza and margherita pizza at Crispelli's, WB What I've been up to this week: Doing DoorDash/dining in. On Saturday, my husband and I tried out DoorDash from Siegel's Deli, in Commerce Twp., because I had been craving latkes for a while. Theirs were huge and legit, and I also got some kreplach soup ($11; bit overpriced for the portion). The latkes were $3.90 each though and worth it, as they are ginormous. On Tuesday, I saw Six at the Fisher with a friend (more about that below) and we went to Crispelli's in West Bloomfield ahead of time, which is always tasty; we split a wild mushroom pizza and a margherita pizza. Their pizza is always delicious but the margherita one is my a...

Welcome to December, aka snow already, it seems. I had a busy week, the weekend isn't super busy but I'm looking forward to a game night tonight with some friends. HelloFresh ravioli with Panko, zucchini, and garlic cream sauce What I've been up to this week: Thanksgiving in Indiana. On Friday, my husband and I drove the five hours-ish (four hours with no stops, we usually stop for lunch at Culver's and one other time to use the restroom) to Indiana to see his parents and sister. On Saturday, we had a Thanksgiving meal with them, and we left on Sunday, so it was a quick trip, but we'll be back in a few weeks for Christmas.  Cooking . I had HelloFresh this week and we made a lackluster meatloaf meal (not pictures), some very tasty sweet and spicy cashew pork tacos, and the ravioli pictured above, with Panko and cream sauce, which was also super delicious but not super filling (we each got about five ravioli each). Seeing movies . I watched Sweethearts on Max and woul...

This week has been an odd one but went by fast, and tomorrow we are going to Houston for a few days to visit friends and attend the Texas Renaissance Festival (our 3rd year going together) which is always a fun time.  MJ the Musical, Fisher Theatre, Detroit What I've been up to this week: MJ the Musical, at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit.  On Wednesday night, my mom and I attended this, and I was blown away by how good the dancing was—the actor who plays Michael Jackson in it is SUPER talented. It's playing at the Fisher through November 3rd, and I highly recommend seeing it; you can read more info about it here at my initial blog post. Seeing movies . I officially canceled my AMC A-List subscription after seeing Goodrich at the Forum last Friday night, which pained me to do, but I'm now at my "new place" (husband's house) full-time and the closest AMC is AMC Livonia, which is old and does not have recliners. I decided to try out the new MoviePass, and so far it...

Not sure how it's already MID October, but I made it through colonoscopy prep weekend—oddly enough, it was bad but seemed easier than 2022's prep—and it has been nice to be able to eat solid foods again this week.  Bee pollen and honey drink at Candy Bar, Detroit What I've been up to this week: Dining out/getting takeout . I had a nice sort of "last hurrah" last Friday before my prep—it was a friend's birthday, and we had a night out in Detroit for it. We went to Wright & Co. for dinner, a small plates restaurant that I had been wanting to try for a while (apparently it opened in 2014?), and then went to Candy Bar and Monarch Club after for drinks. What's funny is that a few years ago, I guess in July 2019, I also went to Candy Bar and Monarch Club one night for drinks, and swore I'd never got back to Monarch—my friends and I had a pretty bad experience with a bouncer that thought he was a god, basically, and took forever to let us in—but this time...

This week went by fast, for some reason. This weekend I have to go to Meijer, because next weekend is the *most fun* one of the year (being sarcastic here) ... colonoscopy prep, in which I can't have food for 2.5 days, basically (just liquids). Cat pumpkin from ALDI What I've been up to this week: Getting takeout/going out to eat. Last Friday, we got Pink Garlic takeout, which is my favorite Indian restaurant in this area. On Sunday, my husband and I went to see my parents, and we got Hungry Howie's takeout. On Monday, I was hoping to resume going back to the gym—I wasn't able to go right before the wedding much, because of all the last-minute things to do—but unfortunately the light fixture in the kitchen decided to malfunction, so we spent an hour or so fixing it, then decided to call it a day and get Doordash from Sidecar Slider Bar. On Wednesday, my mom and I went to Panera before seeing a show at the Fisher (more on that below), and yesterday, a friend gave me a Sh...