The Friday Five, 9/21/18: 5 things I've been up to this week

This is the week where everything decides to break and/or need to be replaced, apparently. I cooked a meal in my microwave on Sunday, but on Monday it wasn't working. I took my car for an oil change last week and was told the air filters need replacing as well as the battery ... yay.

Pentatonix at DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Hanging out with friends. Last Saturday, a friend hosted a macaron taste-test gathering, which was delicious (read about that here), and that night, I went to DTE to see Pentatonix with another friend. It was a treat to have pavilion seats at DTE for this concert because I've had lawn seats (aka, choose a spot on their lawn area) all summer. 
  2. Spending money on household things. Ugh. Like I mentioned above, my (over the counter) microwave decided to break ... it acts like it cooks but doesn't ... so today I'm going to head to Best Buy to buy a new one and schedule an appointment with them to install it. I'm fortunate in that I have some Best Buy gift cards from posts I've done for them through their Blogger Network, at least. 
  3. Attending my first gender reveal party. My boyfriend's sister is pregnant, and they did a cute pumpkin-themed party, with a pumpkin cake, as well. She's having a girl so the inside of the cake was pink.
  4. Seeing movies. I saw A Simple Favor on Tuesday, which was EXCELLENT—I'd probably give it 4.5/5 stars but maybe even 5/5—and a screening of Life Itself on Wednesday, which I would give 3/5 stars (click here for my full review). I am planning on attending a screening of Small Foot tomorrow because it looks super cute, and I also reviewed a screener of Little Women—check back Monday for my review of that film. 
  5. Cooking. The good thing is that the Liz of a few years ago would have had a much harder time with having no microwave ... the Liz of 2018 enjoys cooking, and I had a Home Chef delivery both last week and this week. On Friday, I made pork with pesto butter and broccoli, which was fine but rather simple to make. On Tuesday, I made orange chicken lettuce wraps, which again were just fine—I love lettuce wraps but I've had better. Yesterday, I made a pork banh mi bowl, and tonight, I plan on cooking my last Home Chef dish, which is a Japanese sirloin steak with mirin demi-glace. (and to get $30 off your first Home Chef box, click here)
Chocolate Nutella crunch cake from Cannelle Patisserie, Birmingham, MI - rich but delicious

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