Yes/No Detroit

Somehow we are almost halfway through June. I took off a half day from work yesterday to see The Accidentals, one of my favorite bands, in Ann Arbor, and today I'm taking today off to hang out with an out-of-town friend who is visiting. The Accidentals at Sonic Lunch, Ann Arbor What I've been up to this week: Seeing Taylor Jenkins Reid in Ann Arbor. Last Friday, a friend and I went to Rackham Auditorium (a UM building) to see one of my favorite authors, Taylor Jenkins Reid. Tickets were about $30, which IMO is a bargain since the hardcover copy of her new book is about that price (and a signed hardcover copy was included!). Her new book is called Atmosphere and I've been reading it this week—it's a little different than some of her others but it's very good. The conversation with her (it was a Q&A live on the Rackham stage) was very interesting, too ... this book focuses on NASA and she said how she was able to talk to a head honcho there to get some background...

This has been a busy week, and the weekend will be busy too: my mom and I are driving to Ann Arbor tomorrow to pick up my wedding dress (from the seamstress) and then my fiance and I are hosting a small, locals-only wedding shower at his house. Lindsey Stirling at Freedom Hill What I've been up to this week: Dining out/getting takeout.  Last Friday, my fiance and I went to Ale Mary's after getting our rings cleaned at Metals in Time, in Royal Oak, where we bought them. Ale Mary's is always good, and they usually have a deal on Groupon that I snagged, too: $11 for two vegan milkshakes (they're generally $11-14 each). On Saturday, we went to the Witch's Hat to meet one of my friends (more on that below), and Sunday I visited UNO for my Instagram . On Tuesday, I picked up Noori, in Clawson, for my fiance and I, for a quick dinner before the Lindsey Stirling concert; Noori is always delicious, I get the combo meal which includes four (gigantic) boneless Korean fried chi...

This was a fast week but had a lot of moving parts, so I'm glad it's over. I'm headed to Chicago on Sunday for a work trip; I get back Wednesday night; and then Saturday to Monday next week we are headed back to Grand Haven, this time with friends and a rented VRBO condo, which should be fun (but busy!). Owl at Birds of Prey show at Michigan RenFest, Holly What I've been up to this week: Attending the Michigan Renaissance Festival . I had blogger tix to attend this and it turned out it was only valid for the first four weekends, so we ended up going opening day, last Saturday—kind of ironic because last year we went CLOSING day. Parking is $10 this year, but they have a service organizing parking now, and it was better than last year. If you park in the South lot, you have about a 15-min walk through a forest to get to the Renfest, FYI; last year we parked in the North lot, and the walk is through the parking lot itself. My favorite things this year were the wire walker...

This week has seemed very, very long so I'm extremely glad it's Friday. Charminar Biryani House Ramadan buffet, Troy What I've been up to this week: Dining out / getting takeout . Last Friday, I was invited to try the Charminar Biryani House buffet, in Troy, as an influencer—they'll be doing a buffet, starting this week, for Ramadan (see my reel here —unfortunately, IG did something weird with the colors/transitions). Everything was very good but my favorites were the (fried veggie fritters? Not sure the official name) and their butter chicken, which is always my favorite. The naan was good also, as pictured above.  On Sunday, my parents and I used a T-Mobile Little Caesars deal, where we got one of their Hot-N-Ready pizzas for $3.15—side note, I thought those were still $5, but they went up in price to $6, and now are $6.49—and we also threw in some of their Italian cheesy bread, which is always tasty. Cooking . So much cooking this week, because I got four EveryPlate ...

This was another super busy week, but I suppose I should take advantage of the nice summer weather we've been having (no more 90 degrees days for a week or two!) before it starts to get cooler out.  "Cookie Bomb," from Iceburg Dearborn What I've been up to this week: Hanging out with friends . Two of my UM friends and I try to do a kayaking trip once a summer, but with the pandemic we keep getting foiled: last year we chose a weekend, and the kayak livery was shut down due to COVID, and this year the Huron River apparently had hazardous substances in it. Instead, we decided to do a UM Museum of Art (UMMA) day (see the reel here !), and had lunch at HopCat beforehand. We also visited Pinball Pete's, which is always fun.  Sonic Lunch with The Accidentals and Ceolsige . I also returned to Ann Arbor yesterday, meeting up with one of those same friends again, because The Accidentals was playing Sonic Lunch, a free outdoor concert in Ann Arbor which I've been to num...

I actually have too many tasty food photos to choose from to add to this post this week—not pictured are the two cookies I purchased from Crumbl in Rochester Hills yesterday (Pink Velvet, and Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake). I liked both, but Pink Velvet was definitely better. Brisket tacos from Isalita, Ann Arbor What I've been up to this week: Seeing live music!  This is only my second concert during the pandemic, the first being an outdoor one (Lindsey Stirling, at Freedom Hill in August). One of my new band obsessions is The Accidentals, whom are actually Michigan-based, and they were playing a show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The Ark is indoors, but their COVID policies are great—you are required to be vaccinated AND masked—so I felt safe going. I went with two friends and before the show we went to Isalita, a Mexican place in downtown Ann Arbor, which had pretty good food. Sawyer Fredericks from The Voice  opened for The Accidentals and he was pretty good too.  E...

This week went by faster than last week, but I still have some things to do today before it's *officially* the weekend. Vegan Cookies & Cream ice cream from iFreeze Creamery, Sterling Heights What I've been up to this week: Eating out.  Last Friday, my boyfriend and I FINALLY tried the "elusive" (not so much anymore...) Popeye's chicken sandwich. We went to the Van Dyke location, in Sterling Heights, and although it wasn't busy there, from the time we placed our order to the time we received it was 25 minutes, which is ridiculous. I took my first bite and it was delicious but SUPER SPICY—they had accidentally given us one spicy and one regular sandwich (we ordered two regulars). After that, we did an impromptu stop at iFreeze Creamery, since it was on the way home—they do nitrogen ice cream—and they had a surprising amount of vegan flavors, which was great. On Saturday, we went to Buddy's, in Warren, and on Monday night, us and two Yelp frien...

This has been a very long week and all I want right now is a nap, but instead I am seeing Kinky Boots  downtown later, with a friend. We are going to Rusted Crow beforehand, for dinner, which should be tasty, too. The Market Bar at the new Fogo de Chao, Troy What I've been up to this week: Winning things.  On Saturday night, I believe, I got the notification from a blogger friend of mine that I had won her Instagram contest - which has a value of about $500! It includes a Le Cruset 5 qt. Dutch oven, a year's supply of bread from La Brea Bakery (12 coupons), a cutting board, an apron, and salt and pepper shakers. Not going to lie, I've been coveting Le Creuset cookware for forever, so I'm pretty excited about it. The Dutch oven retails for $250-350 on Amazon. Eating things . Last Sunday, my boyfriend and I went to IKEA and then to New Peking, for Chinese food , which is where Jay Leno recently ate and raved about. The food was pretty good, and even though the...

*Disclosure: I received the Polka Christmas Party CD for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own . I'll admit it: I'm a bit of a grinch  not that enthusiastic about Christmas music most of the time. I have a good reason for it, though: radio stations seem to start playing Christmas music earlier and earlier every year, and I actually heard some playing at my local Walmart a MONTH ago, back in September. Way  too early! However, I otherwise enjoy Christmas music, and the Polka Christmas Party CD puts a new twist on it by adding a Polka spin to it. A bit about the musician: Craig Duncan is no stranger to the Nashville music community. His talents on violin, fiddle, hammered dulcimer, mandolin, guitar, bass, and viola can be heard on numerous Nashville recordings. A graduate of Appalachian State University and Tennessee State University, Craig is a member of the North American Fiddler's Hall of Fame and Who's Who in Music and Musicians...