Yes/No Detroit

It's been a long two weeks—last weekend was supposed to be the "fun" weekend where we went to Indiana (my husband for a bachelor party day, for a friend who is getting married, and then us both celebrating birthdays with my in-laws), but unfortunately Baby K had a fever that Friday, so we ended up staying put. This weekend is the "not fun" weekend, as I have colonoscopy prep ...  Green Lantern deep dish round pizza with pepperoni, from Southfield What I've been up to this week: Eating good food. Definitely eating whatever I want this week because I can't eat hardly anything Saturday, Sunday, and Monday due to prep ... we had Great Greek takeout a few days ago, I think maybe last weekend, and also Noori via Doordash. Last night we had Thai Fresh (in Northville) via Doordash as well, so I'll have some of those leftovers for lunch today, and on Wednesday night, we had Green Lantern, from the Southfield location—they sometimes send me free pizza or chees...

Well, the first week of March went by FAST, and I'm headed to Orlando on Sunday for work, for a candy convention.  The Outsiders at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit What I've been up to this week: Seeing The Outsiders at the Fisher. I didn't know much about The Outsiders going into it, except I believe I read the book back in high school, and it's also a movie (released in 1983) with a pretty A-list cast. I saw the musical on Wednesday, with a friend, which ended up being pretty fantastic, and I'd highly recommend it; it's a sad story but also very compelling. It'll be at the Fisher until March 15 . Seeing Bert Kreischer at the Fox.  About a month ago, I started watching a show called Free Bert  on Netflix. My husband saw me watching it and said, hey, that's the Machine ! (aka, he recognized him because Berk Kreischer is a real-life comic) I looked Bert up online and saw he would be at the Fox on the 2nd and 3rd stops of his new tour, and we were able to get ...

This week has been super busy; the weekend will also be, but I should have time to sit and relax a bit as well. Pesto pizza from Bigalora, Southfield What I've been up to this week: Doctors appointments. I had one yesterday and I have my annual physical today. The one yesterday was very quick but they took bloodwork, which I wasn't expecting, and I'm pretty sure I have to do bloodwork today too ... and I had my Crohn's infusion last Saturday ... so for those of you keeping count, that's three (bloodwork) pokes in one week. Yay.  Seeing Peter Pan at the Fox. On Tuesday, myself and three friends went to the Fox in Detroit to see Peter Pan . Oddly, I have never seen the musical, although I've seen most movie iterations of the show, and probably have read the book before. The musical was a bit chaotic/action-packed, for lack of a better description, but overall I liked it. I'll be at the Fox until Sunday, and you can read more info at my blog post . Seeing Kimbe...

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. MJ the Musical ("MJ") is coming to the Fisher Theatre this fall, and as a fan of Michael Jackson's music, I'm looking forward to it. Tickets go on sale July 12th at 10am.  Read more about the musical below, and also see how you can win two tickets  to opening night! About the show: Producers Lia Vollack, John Branca, John McClain and Broadway in Detroit are thrilled to announce that MJ will make its Detroit premiere at the Fisher Theatre October 23 – November 3.  Tickets go on sale Friday, July 12 and can be purchased online at BroadwayInDetroit.com at 10:00 a.m. or in person at the Fisher Theatre box office at noon. He is one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Now, Michael Jackson’s unique and unparalleled artistry comes to Detroit in MJ, the multiple Tony Award®-winning musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tou...

We are now past what is dubbed "Fool's Spring," because we probably have one to two inches of snow here already today in Michigan, and there will be more later, which I am not happy about because I need to drive somewhere later. EveryPlate mushroom, pea, cream pasta What I've been up to this week: Birthday/housewarming party . A friend of mine who lives in South Lyon had a 40th birthday/housewarming party, which was nice because I got to see her condo (and of course, her)—she moved in last year. I think this was the first time I've been to a party/get-together with 10-20 people since 2020, although I'm probably wrong on that ... it was nice not to wear a mask. She also had food catered from a local Mediterranean place, which was also tasty.  Hanging out with friends . After the housewarming party, we actually headed to another friend's house nearby in South Lyon, and we had drinks and pizza with them; they live only about 5 minutes from my friend. We had f...

Last weekend (my birthday weekend, technically) was epic, so I have a lot of things to write about today! This week has been a bit tough BUT I am leaving for Vegas on Sunday, which should be a lot of fun.   "Pretzel nuggz" from HopCat Ann Arbor What I've been up to this week: Dining out . My last time dining in at a restaurant prior to this weekend was December 13th, aka the doomed dinner where two of the six of us got COVID. Not sure why I didn't mention this in last week's Friday Five, but on Thursday I went out to Fogo de Chao, in Troy, for my birthday, which is always excellent. I hadn't been since before the pandemic, I think they had less "meat men" (servers) walking around but other than that everything was very good. On Friday, I went to Phoenicia in Birmingham, a Mediterranean restaurant that I had not tried before, and everything was fantastic; I don't usually like hummus, but theirs was great. For Friday lunch I also did Cheesecake Fac...

As of yesterday—which felt like three days in a row, am I right?—everything is canceled. My hope is to sneak in a few movies this weekend before they close theaters, too ... we'll see what happens. Creme brulee at Ruth's Chris, Troy What I've been up to this week: Eating out, mostly for Troy Restaurant Week . Troy Restaurant Week continues until today, despite coronavirus, and I've been eating out a little too much (the scale reflected that this morning, ugh). On Sunday, Yelp friends and I met up at Seasons 52 for lunch; on Wednesday, we did Ruth's Chris for dinner, which is always a fantastic treat. Coworkers and I tried out Mon Jin Lau for the first time for Wednesday lunch, and for Thursday lunch, I met a Yelp friend at Brio, although at that point my stomach had started hating me :( so today I have Brio leftovers for lunch. In non-TRW foods, my parents and I went to Granite City on Tuesday before a Fisher show, and a friend and I tried out Harbor House ...

I'm glad it's the weekend, for some reason I've been tired all week even though I've been getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night. The new Caramel Apple cheesecake, at Cheesecake Factory, Novi What I've been up to this week: Eating out. Last Friday, my boyfriend and I finally tried ima (i-ma? ee-ma? Still not sure how to pronounce it) in Madison Heights. It's a bit pricey, but the food was very good; I got the Yaki Udon, and it came with butter noodles and without broth. I also added ginger beef. After that, we had a Groupon for St. Julian Winery , which was a great deal—a wine tasting for two, with a commemorative glass to take home each, for about $8 (normally like $8 each, so it was like a BOGO). I had never been there before but it's near Oakland Mall, in the same plaza. On Saturday, friends were in town this week, so met them at Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and I got to use my two free cheesecake slices, which were expiring on 3/31. For dinner we...

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical *Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own . Broadway in Detroit is bringing FIVE new shows to the city this winter! The shows will take place at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit Opera House, and Music Hall. They include: Fiddler on the Roof, Beautiful  –  The Carole King Musical, The Naked Magicians, The Color Purple , and The Last Ship. Beautiful - The Carole King Musical About the shows: Broadway In Detroit has announced that tickets will go on sale Friday, November 29 for four, Broadway blockbusters. Appearing at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre are Fiddler On The Roof, March 10-15, 2020, and Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, May 5-17, 2020. Appearing at The Music Hall in Detroit will be The Naked Magicians , March 6 & 7, 2020, and The Color Purple , April 21-26, 2020. Tickets for Fiddler on the Roof start at $45. Tickets for The Color Pur...

This week has seemed pretty long for some reason, and I accidentally stayed up until like 2am yesterday, so I'm tired today ... ready to maybe get some sleep this weekend, though I have a lot of things upcoming, too. Quesadilla appetizer at Rusty Bucket What I've been up to this week: Eating out, probably too much ...  The prednisone I'm on makes me want to eat all day and all night, too, so that also doesn't help. Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I tried out Que Huong, for pho, in Madison Heights, and it was my first pho experience; it was very good, and the portions were huge. Later in the week I ventured over to Saigon Market, across the street, and picked up two of their $4 banh mi's, which were fantastic (a little better than Que Huong's, too). On Wednesday, my parents and I went to Rusty Bucket for their happy hour—the one in Bingham Farms—and that was good too, and yesterday a friend and I went to El Guanaco, in Troy, before seeing a musical at th...

This has been a very busy week, and today is my last work day before I essentially get a week off work for the holidays, so I'm looking forward to doing some relaxing (and, of course, seeing lots of movies!). "The Porky" sandwich and onion rings, at Loaded Links, Troy What I've been up to this week: Eating lots of good food, both at restaurants and via cooking.  Last Friday, my boyfriend and I went to Loaded Links in Troy for dinner—I hadn't been back since my blog post, and he had never tried it. I had The Porky for my hot dog, which includes BBQ pulled pork, bacon aioli, tomato, and green onions, and he had The Gold Standard (smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, roast tomato, arugula, and garlic aioli). We also got their beer-battered onion rings, which continue to be among the best I've had in this area. On Saturday, before a show at the Fox, we introduced a friend to Mr. Kabob Xpress, in Troy, which is always tasty. And on Monday, I got to try out Seas...

Lots of stuff going on this week. I had yesterday and today off work, as well, which is a nice break, and I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, which is our tradition. Marvel Universe Live at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit What I've been up to this week: Hanging out with friends.  On Saturday, one of my friends threw a cookie party (more like a cookie "get-together" because there were only a few of us), and we used her new Kitchen-Aid mixer to make all sorts of cookies. It was very tasty, to say the least, and I found a Rolo cookies recipe off of Pinterest that we made, too. On Sunday, three friends and I went to Marvel Universe Live, in Detroit (at LCA), which was fun, and afterwards we checked out the new Bucharest Grill location downtown. Seeing movies, of course.  I recently canceled MoviePass (RIP ...) and joined AMC A-List, where you can see 3 movies per week, and even 3D and IMAX movies. My boyfriend and I tested it out on Tuesday and saw Creed II...

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. A Charlie Brown Christmas Live on Stage  will be at the Fox Theatre this December, and one of my lucky readers will win a family 4-pack of tickets for it! About the show: ‘Tis the season to celebrate as A Charlie Brown Christmas Live on Stage brings holiday cheer to the Fox Theatre on Saturday, December 15. The classic story will host two performances at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. as part of the Fox Theatre 2018-19 Theatre Series. Tickets (starting at $29) are on sale now and can be purchased at 313Presents.com , Little Caesars Arena XFINITY box office and Ticketmaster.com . To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. Fox Theatre Series subscription packages and discounts for groups of 10+ are available by calling the Olympia Entertainment Group Sales Department at (313) 471-3099. Subscription packages include savings of up to 20 percent when purchasing t...

*Disclosure: I will be receiving TSO tickets in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This year is the FIFTH year that I will be seeing the TSO! Their concerts are always fantastic, and I look forward to them each year. In the Detroit area, they're now performing at Little Caesars Arena ( Saturday, Dec. 29 at 3pm and 8pm ) - see below for other cities' dates and times. About the show: Marking the band’s 20th consecutive year of touring, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) has announced its highly-anticipated Winter Tour 2018. TSO’s annual November-December multi-sensory extravaganza, which sells out venues year after year, has cemented the group’s status as a must-attend, multi-generational, holiday tradition. This year’s 20th anniversary tour, a presentation of TSO’s unforgettable “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” featuring founder/composer/lyricist Paul O’Neill’s timeless story of a runaway who finds her way into a mysterious abandoned th...