April seems to be flying by, which is bad because I have a lot of things I still need to do, LOL. No travel this month at least, although we are going to Indiana at the end of the month to celebrate my in-laws' birthdays.
 |
| Pesto chicken pasta at Pops for Italian, Ferndale |
What I've been up to this week:
- Birthday party for a friend. A friend had her birthday party at Painting with a Twist in Ferndale last Saturday, which gave me an excuse to visit Ferndale—I hadn't been in a while, but parking was a PITA because there was also a protest going on (it was a national day of protest). I've only done a Painting with a Twist-type of place one other time, in 2016 for a friend's bachelorette in New Orleans, and it was a lot of fun, even though I am definitely not artistically inclined, haha. I ended up taking home two paintings, actually, because I won a contest they had going on, and the other painting was more professional-looking, and I really enjoy it. We also went to Pops for Italian for dinner after (more on that below).
- Getting takeout/dining out. Last Friday my husband and I got Doordash from Pink Garlic, in Oak Park—it's exciting that they now deliver to Farmington Hills, as it's my favorite Indian place in Metro Detroit, although if I'm checking on my condo or working at the office I will still stop by for takeout, as it's cheaper than delivery. On Saturday, the birthday girl and about 13-15 other people and I went to Pops for Italian, which is a great Italian place in Ferndale that I haven't been to in a few years, and I got the pesto pasta pictured above, which was delicious; I am pretty sure they make their pasta in-house. I think the last time I went there was actually on a date in late 2021, but a long time ago I went there for a FABULOUS Yelp Elite event, where I ended up taking home literally boxes of leftovers, which was great.
On Sunday, my parents and I had Hungry Howie's takeout for lunch, and my husband and I met friends for dinner at Pho Vinh, at 12 Mile/Orchard Lake. This was a new place for me, and it was very good, but the prices were high, IMO; about 1.5-2x what you would pay in Madison Heights for pho or a banh mi.
On Tuesday, my mom and I saw David Sedaris at the Fisher (more on that below) and went to The Great Greek for dinner, in WB (there's a Troy location too, though)—if you use code BOGO at their kiosk or online this week, they're doing BOGO gyros, which was a great deal ($12 each, otherwise) and I also threw in a chicken lemon soup for $3, which ended up being HUGE (so, also a good deal). On Wednesday, my husband and I were feeling lazy and we Doordash'ed 2941 Street Food—I no longer have Dashpass on my personal DD account, but DD had sent me 50% off three orders, so it ended up being a good deal. - David Sedaris at the Fisher. This was either my 4th or 5th time seeing him in person, and he's always lovely, with funny stories to tell and read. If you wait around after his performance, too, he will sign your book, but be prepared for a late night; this time, we ran to the signing line when he was almost done speaking, only to find there was already a lineup. He takes about 5 minutes per person or group, so it took us about an hour to get through the line, and we left the Fisher around 11pm; I had a friend who was in line maybe 10-20 people behind me, and she didn't get to leave until midnight! Regardless, his books are great and it's always fun speaking with him, so if you get the chance to go, I would highly recommend.
- Speaking of authors ... I was surfing Threads this week and saw this one from Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, saying that Taylor Jenkins Reid is coming to Rackham Auditorium (at UM) in June! I was pretty excited by this, because she's another of my favorite authors, whom I've never seen in-person, so I bought a ticket and another friend is also going to go. It looks like tickets are now sold out, which is pretty impressive—that means it took about 3-4 days to sell out—but there's a waitlist, if you are interested. My ticket was about $32 with fees and includes a signed copy of her newest upcoming novel, Atmosphere, which wasn't too bad, IMO; that's about what I paid for my Nicholas Sparks ticket last year too, in WB.
- Watching movies and TV shows. I saw Drop at the theater last night, and when the Blumhouse logo came on the screen, I was like ... uh oh, what did I get myself in to? (Blumhouse is usually horror or gory)
However, it was more like a thriller/cat and mouse game, and it was a very, very good popcorn movie—I'd give it 4.5/5 stars, and Meghann Fahy and the ensemble cast were great in it. I also started Dying for Sex on Hulu this week, and binged it in about two days; it's one of the better shows, if not the best one, I've seen this year, and Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate were perfectly casted in it. Your Friends and Neighbors, with Jon Hamm, debuts on AppleTV today, too, and I'm hoping to watch it at some point.
 |
| David Sedaris reading and signing at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit |
