The Friday Five, 3/7/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

I spent the first half of this week in lovely Miami for work, where it was nice and warm (except for one day where it DOWNPOURED on me as I walked back to my hotel from the conference hotel ...). Looking forward to relaxing a bit this weekend, except I have my Crohn's infusion tomorrow so I have to be up early-ish for that.

Chai-spiced macaron (left) and delicious Reese's tart

What I've been up to this week:

1. Traveling to Miami for work. I had a very early flight on Sunday, at 7am (had to get up at 3:30am and be in a Lyft by 4:30am...) because the other choice was 2pm, and the conference kicked off around 5:30pm. I stayed at the Residence Inn Aventura Mall, which is where I stayed last year as well—the conference was at the JW Marriott resort across the street, so it's a quick walk. The conference was mostly Monday and Tuesday, and then Wednesday I flew home.
2. Dining out/getting takeout. On Friday, I went to go check on my condo and then I got Pink Garlic takeout for my husband and I. On Saturday, we got Doordash from Sidecar Slider Bar, one of my faves, and on Sunday, I had a quick lunch at the Aventura Mall—think fancyness-level on par with Somerset—since my hotel room wasn't ready yet; I had Shake Shack at the food court, but they also have an Israeli food place, an empanadas place, and a lot of other interesting restaurants. On Sunday night, I got DoorDash to my hotel (empanadas, yum), and on Monday night, I met my boss—technically my boss's boss now, he's our publisher, but for many years before he got promoted he was my direct boss—for dinner at Bourbon Steak, a Michael Mina restaurant inside the JW Marriott, which was very good. And finally, on Wed. when I got back, my husband and I didn't feel like cooking so we got DoorDash from Bangkok Cuisine (Thai food) since they were running a coupon. 
3. Attending a conference. The conference this time is the NCA SOTIC (National Confectioners Association's State of the Industry), and it's kind of like a "family reunion" (as they put it) of people in the candy industry (including me, since I write about it). This was my second year attending, and the second time it was in Miami (technically Aventura, FL), but next year it will be in Orlando. NCA also is the host of the Sweets & Snacks Expo, which I am attending in Indianapolis in May; that will be my 3rd time attending, since I attended it in Indy last year and Chicago in 2023. 
4. Watching movies. Whenever I board a Delta plane I always look at their movie selection—I was really hoping they'd have Anora or The Substance, since the Oscars was that night (Sunday), but I was out of luck. They did have Conclave, Nickel Boys, and a few others, but I have seen all of those, so I ended up watching Before Sunrise (1995), which is an older movie but I had never seen it; it was very cute. On the way home, I downloaded Molly's Game on Netflix to watch—it's an Aaron Sorkin movie from 2017 that I had seen, but at SOTIC, one of the keynote speakers was Molly Bloom, and the movie is based on her life story (which is a crazy story, btw!) so I wanted to rewatch it. 
   
5. Watching TV shows. Still a lot of good ones out right now; on Fridays or close to it, I watch Severance, Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, Elsbeth, Matlock, Surface, Yellowjackets, and Love is Blind (I'm excited to finally see the wedding episodes today, speaking of which!). On Sundays and Mondays I watch The White Lotus, The Way Home (Hallmark Channel/Peacock), and Grosse Pointe Garden Society, a new one on NBC/Peacock. I watched the Paradise season finale last week, too, which was phenomenal—I highly recommend that show if you haven't seen it yet, it's on ABC/Hulu—and yesterday I caught up on Married at First Sight, Abbott Elementary, and Shifting Gears (Hulu). 

JW Marriott resort, Aventura, FL