The Friday Five, 2/21/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

This week has felt long even though it's only been two work days for me—I was in Chicago from Sunday through Wednesday for a work trip. Looking forward to sleeping in a bit this weekend.

View of Navy Pier from the Sheraton Grand hotel, Chicago
View of Navy Pier from the Sheraton Grand hotel, Chicago

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Traveling for work. I had a three-night stay at the Sheraton Grand, in Chicago—this was actually my third time staying there, the first was for a blogger conference, BlogHer, in 2013, and the second was for this same work conference in August 2023. The hotel is very nice, I was a tiny bit disappointed because last time I had a ridiculously large room (it had three windows!) and this time I had a standard one, but I still had a nice view of Lake Michigan and the river from it. I was there for a candy conference that's basically like speed-dating—I had about 11-12 appointments on Monday and Tuesday with companies, and three on Wednesday before I left. 
  2. Dining out/getting delivery. On Saturday, I think it was, we got Pink Garlic via Doordash for dinner, which is always tasty. On Sunday, I walked around the city a bit but it was freezing out, so I got Giordanos via Doordash for dinner at my hotel, and tossed in a Levain Bakery cookie too; both were delicious. On Monday, the conference was serving us dinner, but by 5pm I was hungry, so I decided to Doordash the burger from Au Cheval, which I've heard is the best in the city; it was pretty tasty, but not sure about it being the BEST burger I've ever had. On Tuesday, I met a coworker friend at The Smith, which I had never been to before, but it had really good steak, and also a good burrata appetizer. And on Wednesday, my husband and I got Doordash from Sy Thai (Bham, not Troy) since we wanted a quick dinner for when I got home from the airport. 
    Not eating out, but honorable mention: last Friday, my husband made us a Detroit-style deep dish by hand (premade crust, but homemade sauce), which was also tasty—see pic below.
  3. Watching TV shows. A new season of Love is Blind (Netflix) premiered last week, and I binged the first six episodes that were up; three more are up today. The White Lotus (HBO Max) also came back on Sunday, for season three, but they changed the intro music, and I don't like it as much; the actual show is good, though. Paradise on Hulu was again really good this week, also. 
  4. Watching movies. HBO Max now has Waitress: The Musical up—I've seen it two or three times total, I think (the actual musical), and once was in January 2019 with Sara Bareilles in the lead, as she is in the HBO movie. It's definitely worth watching, even if you've never seen the musical (though I may be biased, as Waitress is one of my favorite musicals!). I also watched the second Bridget Jones movie yesterday; after watching the most-recent one on Peacock, I've been rewatching the "originals," and they're all fun. 
  5. Casino night. On Monday, the conference fed us dinner—at this conference, in the past, one time it was off-site, but this time it was at the hotel—and did a casino night of sorts, where they gave us fake money to gamble with. It was fun and probably the closest I'll come to being in Vegas this year (no plans to return in 2025), so I had a good time; I played roulette, which I've never done before, and blackjack. 
Homemade Detroit-style deep dish pizza
Homemade Detroit-style deep dish pizza

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

Trip Review: Bavarian Inn Lodge, Frankenmuth, MI

Image
*Disclosure: I received a free one-night stay at Bavarian Inn Lodge in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of staying at the Bavarian Inn Lodge , in Frankenmuth, Michigan, for one night. I've been to Frankenmuth many times, and even stayed overnight in the neighboring Birch Run, but I had never stayed directly in the city before, so I was excited to stay at the Lodge. Friday was a rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We stopped at Halo Burger, in Birch Run, for lunch—there used to be locations in Novi and Troy, but both closed, and their food is very good—and then hit up Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which is the largest Christmas store in the world.  For those who are unfamiliar with Frankenmuth , it is a German/Bavaria-themed town, about an hour north of the Metro Detroit area, nicknamed "Michigan's Little Bavaria." There is always a lot of things to do in Fr...
Keep reading

Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: MJ the Musical, Oct. 23–Nov. 3, Fisher Theatre, Detroit {ends 7/8}

Image
*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...
Keep reading