The Friday Five, 9/8/23: 5 things I've been up to this week

I have maybe overbooked myself this September ... we were in Grand Haven from Saturday through Monday for the long weekend, with two friends, and we leave for Vegas around 8pm Sunday night. I'm working one day when there, too, so I will be bringing my laptop with me.

Pickle pizza at New Holland Brewery, my favorite
Pickle pizza at New Holland Brewery, my favorite

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Trip to Grand Haven with friends. My boyfriend and I went to Grand Haven this weekend with two of his friends who live in Cincinnati—they came up Friday night, we went to GH Saturday through Monday, and then they drove home Monday night. I love Grand Haven, and even though we just went in July (we had a hotel in Holland that time; this time we had VRBO right in Grand Haven that I found), it was a good time. I also have some good news there that I can't share right now, but probably next Friday Five (which may have to be Saturday, now that I think of it, since I'll be in Vegas next Friday!). 
  2. Eating out. Lots of dining in the GH area. We started off at Boatwerks on Sunday, one of my favorites, in Holland, and had dinner at New Holland Brewery that night, home of my favorite pickle pizza (pictured above)—they put melted cheese curds on it too, and it's amazing, although I do get it without bacon. Lunch the next day was supposed to be at the Southerner, but unfortunately they had a 40-minute wait, so we ended up going to Crane's in Fennville instead, which was also packed; we had some hot dogs outside then 30 minutes later our table was ready, and we had pie and more sandwiches inside. On Monday, we all ate snacks at the VRBO for breakfast, then stopped at Fazoli's in Lansing on the way home; I really enjoy their breadsticks, and the closest location to Metro Detroit is either Lansing (1-hour drive, from Farmington area) or Monroe. 
  3. Cooking. We had Dinnerly this week, and everything was good, although for my chicken shawarma meatballs last night, they accidentally sent chicken strips, so I made myself kind of a panko chicken dish instead; with the tzatziki it was still pretty tasty though. 
  4. Dealing with plumbing emergencies. On Tuesday, I tried flushing one of the toilets upstairs at my boyfriend's house and it did not flush. We decided to deal with it after work; later that day, I tried using the toilet in the master bathroom and that one didn't flush either, PLUS water started dripping out one of the lights in the living room, which unfortunately has happened before, too. On Wed. AM my boyfriend called his usual plumber but they said they aren't free for a WEEK, so I called the one I used in 2020 for my flood (to redo the washer machine cords) and they were free; later they asked if it would be okay for them to route me to one of their affiliates instead, and I said yes, so around 2:30pm on Wednesday, Zoom Plumbing came over, and did a great job unclogging it and rooting around in the pipes, I believe. Because of all this, the living room is still in disarray, though, so hopefully we will move the couch back (sectional, so lots of different parts) today or tomorrow before our trip.
  5. Planning Vegas. This is another group trip, but kind of a "choose your own adventure" type of deal; the reason we chose this week is that originally I was supposed to be in town for a work trip, and then it turned out just my boss and publisher are going, and not me, but everyone in the group had already booked airfare. Because of that, I'm bringing my laptop and will work from the hotel room (Flamingo—five nights comped, which was fabulous!) on Tuesday. In-N-Out is literally next door, in the Linq Promenade area, so I plan on dropping by there for lunch. A lot of my boyfriend's friends are going on this trip and we do have a group itinerary, but in addition, he and I are seeing Piff the Magic Dragon at the Flamingo on Monday night (bought off Groupon this week) and HOPING to see Shin Lim at the Mirage on Thursday, but going to buy tickets in-person on Monday to avoid Ticketmaster (the devil) fees. 
Grand Haven State Park, one of my favorite beaches
Grand Haven State Park, one of my favorite beaches

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