The Friday Five, 8/10/18: 5 things I've been up to this week

I'm again writing this post on a Thursday, since this weekend I'll be on my annual girls' weekend in Grand Haven - two friends and I have booked a cottage in Grand Haven, through Airbnb. Grand Haven is one of my favorite Michigan cities so it should be a fun trip. We usually visit Saugatuck and the surrounding towns as well.

Sweetwater's Donut Mill, Kalamazoo
Sweetwater's Donut Mill donuts, from Kalamazoo. Open 24/7!

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Eating a bit too much. And the scale is reflecting it, so after Grand Haven it's back to zumba for me - I haven't gone in 3 to 4 weeks because I had been sick.  On Wednesday, I met up with a friend at Camp Ticonderoga (in Troy) for dinner, and had a delicious pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries. On Thursday, a friend and I went to Granite City (loooove their happy hour deals) before seeing Wicked downtown, and since I was in Portage/Kalamazoo last weekend we ate a lot as well (like those donuts, pictured above). On the way back from Portage we stopped at Little Caesars for takeout, where I encountered their Pizza Portal (see pic below), which was actually very fun and high-tech ... I had ordered my pizza online and LC emailed me with a code to use to open the portal. I haven't done LC takeout in ages so I'm not sure how new this is, but my boyfriend and I got a kick out of it. 
  2. Traveling. Last weekend we went to Portage to visit a college friend and her husband, and we had a fun time playing lots of games (board games, Nintendo Switch Tetris and Mario Kart, etc.) as well as eating a lot. We did homemade fondue one night too which is always fun. 
  3. Living without A/C (for one night). I learned how much I take my A/C for granted when I got home Monday night from work and realized it wasn't working. It was about 75 outside when I went to sleep so I couldn't open the windows, either. I have a ceiling fan in my room and I dragged out an old personal-sized fan from college, too, so it wasn't too bad, but luckily it's now fixed.
  4. Seeing movies. MoviePass will soon be transitioning to only 3 movies per month (same price, $9.99/month), and although I'll probably be keeping my membership, my new plan kicks in on 8/24 so I'm hoping to see as many movies as I can before then. This week I only had time for Christopher Robin, which was very cute but I wanted it to be better ... I'd give it maybe 3.25 out of 5 stars. Next week I am hoping to see Crazy Rich Asians, The Meg, and BlacKkKlansman. I figure I can supplement my MoviePass with $5 Tuesday movies at MJR Troy but if there are still more I want to see, I may switch over to AMC's $19.99/month plan (3 movies per week, can book ahead of time, and 3D and IMAX movies are included). I enjoy MJR Troy a bit more than AMC John R, though (my local AMC theater), so we'll see.
  5. Cooking. This week my subscription box of choice was Martha by Marley Spoon, as they offer a tempting deal for new subscribers: $18 for two meals (four portions total). On Tuesday night I cooked a tasty steak with a cucumber + beans salad and toast, though I unfortunately burnt the toast—you had to cook it under the broiler and my broiler is hard to gauge, sometimes.. On Monday night I cooked my remaining Dinnerly meal, which was spicy Italian sausage with pasta and caramelized onions; the sausage and the caramelized onions were delicious, but the pasta itself was just okay. 
Little Caesars Pizza Portal
Millennials, rejoyce!


    Popular Posts

    Review: Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins

    Image
    *Disclosure: I received a gift card to try the new Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Baskin-Robbins launched its Polar Pizza last month (July), as I talked about in my recent post about them, and because this past month was crazy busy for me, I didn't get to try the Polar Pizza until this past Sunday. My parents and I went to the combined Dunkin' Donuts / Baskin-Robbins near them, in Novi, MI, to split one of the ice cream pizzas.
    Read more

    Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: Mamma Mia! at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit, April 23-28 {ends Dec. 12}

    Image
    *Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. MAMMA MIA! will be playing at the Fisher this April, from April 23-28, and I'm excited to see it—I'm a big fan of the movies but I've never seen the Broadway show. About the show: Since premiering in London in 1999 and on Broadway in 2001, the irresistible musical has captured the hearts of millions around the globe. The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island paradise, all unfolding to the storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs, has now been seen live on stage by 65 million people across the world and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again. To date, MAMMA MIA! has been seen in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $4 billion at the box office. MAMMA MIA! opened on Broadway in 2001 where it played for a record-breaking 14 year
    Keep reading

    GIVEAWAY: Duel in the D, February 10 at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit {ends 1/10}

    Image
    *Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I had a great time at Duel in the D last year—I'm a UM alum, but I had only ever seen ONE hockey game in my life at that point, and this was the second one.  I'm looking forward to it again this year, and one of my lucky readers will win a 4-pack of tickets to experience it as well! About the game: The return of college hockey is headed to Little Caesars Arena with the annual “Duel in the D,” presented by Meijer, set for Saturday, February 10 at 8:30 p.m.  The fans of Hockeytown will be treated to one of the most intense and exciting rivalries in college hockey, as the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans men’s ice hockey teams will add another chapter in their storied rivalry and clash for the “Iron D” Trophy.  The “Duel in the D” matchup features the most-played rivalry in college hockey. The game will mark the 346th all-time meeting between the h
    Keep reading