The Friday Five, 6/21/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

This week has seemed busy, so I'm glad it's Friday. I have a few things lined up for the weekend too, though—Walled Lake fireworks, wedding dress alterations, etc.

What I've been up to this week:

1. Cinetopia Film Festival, Ann Arbor. This was my SEVENTH (!) time attending this festival, as I started attending it in 2014 and my last time was in 2019, which was the last time it was held; it took a five-year hiatus due to COVID. The film festival goes on for about a week and a half, and this Sunday is the last day, but I only had Saturday and Sunday to experience it, so I stayed overnight in Ann Arbor this past Saturday—my Delta credit card gives me a $150 statement credit if I book through them, so I found a hotel for $175 (aka $25!) which was nice—and saw five films total. You can read my reviews of the films I saw here.
2. Seeing movies. Obviously the film fest ones, but last Friday I saw Tuesday, at my local AMC—it was actually a part of the film fest too, and looked good but weird, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in it. Unfortunately, it was a bit too weird for me, and I'd give it 1.5/5 stars (the half-star only because the acting was good). Yesterday I saw The Bikeriders, also at my local AMC, and that one was really good, with a fabulous cast and acting (Jodie Comer, whom for the whole movie I thought was AnnaSophia Robb; Austin Butler; and Tom Hardy). I did accidentally take a 20-30 minute nap during it (#reclinerlife ...) but I would still give it 4/5 stars, maybe higher if I hadn't done that and had seen the whole movie.
3. Dining out/getting takeout. Last Friday, I brought some Pink Garlic takeout to my fiance's house, which is always delicious. On Saturday, some friends and I went to a pita place in Ann Arbor between screenings, for a late lunch around 3pm, and for dinner we went to Aventura, which is also always good, albeit a bit pricey. On Sunday, I had free breakfast at the hotel, and also grabbed a bagel at the campus Panera, and later bought some NYPD (New York Pizza Depot) garlic knots as a snack, before driving back to my fiance's house and getting us Domino's takeout. On Wednesday, a friend and I did free yoga in downtown Farmington and then got Masa after, which is a Mexican place (tacos/etc.) nearby.
4. Free yoga in downtown Farmington. Downtown Farmington is having free exercise events every Wednesday at 6:30pm; an online sign-up is required. A friend and I looked at the list and decided on the yoga event; I MAYBE have done one yoga once in my life, but it sounded less strenuous than the other events (HIIT, etc.; I was a little bummed there was no zumba). Oddly, I *do* own a yoga mat—I think I maybe got it as a gift at BlogHer a few years ago, but not sure—so I brought that, a ton of water (it was 90 degrees on Wed.), and a towel (for sweat). It was not entirely my cup of tea but definitely something new to try, and the instructor was really good IMO. 
5. Watching TV shows. I started Presumed Innocent, on AppleTV, with Jake Gyllenhaal, which has been good so far; there are only three episodes up as of yet. I've been continuing Trying, also on AppleTV; Perfect Match, which wraps up today on Netflix; and Dark Matter, also AppleTV. I binged the new Bridgerton last week on Thursday, on Netflix, as well. Yesterday I also started Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, on Hulu, because I like the main actor in it; it's good, but it's in French, which I did not know (which means I need to pay more attention to it and can't have it on in the background)! It was good, though, so I will watch more of it, at some point.

Cucumber-infused vodka drink, at Aventura, Ann Arbor