The Friday Five, 5/10/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

This weekend is the first of the three back-to-back wedding weekends, and we are headed to Cincinnati today for wedding #1, at which my fiance is a groomsman. We get back Sunday night and then Monday night I head to Indianapolis for work.

HUGE 2-pc. cannoli from Zeoli's, Clawson
HUGE 2-pc. cannoli from Zeoli's, Clawson

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Dining out/getting takeout. Last Friday night, we were going to cook, but instead got Doordash from Sidecar Slider Bar, in Farmington—they're one of my favorites, but unfortunately they got my fried chicken slider wrong (it's normally drenched in maple syrup and delicious, but they forgot to NOT put hot sauce on so I couldn't eat it, which was a bummer). On Saturday, my fiance, two friends, their daughter, and I went to Highlands, which is the restaurant at the top of the RenCen; they are moving out of state and wanted to experience it. I've been there twice, but the first time was the very last week that Coach Insignia was open (just went for drinks), and the second time was to Hearth 71, which is now only used for private parties. The views were amazing and the food was delicious as well.
    On Saturday, I met some friends for lunch at Detroit St. Filling Station, a vegan place in Ann Arbor that ended up being quite good, and on Sunday I had Hungry Howie's takeout with my parents, per tradition. And last night, I ended up at Zeoli's (see pic above!) with a friend; I had only been one time, apparently in January 2020 per my Yelp review, and it was really good, especially the cannoli we had (only $6 for two ginormous ones!).
  2. Seeing movies. We watched the new movie about Pop-Tarts, Unfrosted, last Friday on Netflix—as a writer who writes about snacks and bakery products, I was curious about it. I'd give it maybe 3/5 or 3.5/5; it was fun but very corny in parts. On Wednesday, I went to the theater to see The Fall Guy, which was a lot of fun—I would give that one 4/5, although it was definitely a "popcorn movie" (I wasn't thinking about it the next day at all). 
  3. Getting RSVPs to our wedding! We mailed out our invitations last Saturday, right before USPS closed—around 2:30pm—and I wasn't sure if it would go out in Saturday's mail or Monday's. It must have been Saturday's, because some of our Michigan friends got it Monday, and other East Coast people (relatives and my DC friends) got theirs this week too! A few people have RSVPed already, also, which has been exciting—we use TheKnot.com so they send me an email every time someone RSVPs. 
  4. Going to the Ann Arbor Artisan Market. I was in Ann Arbor having lunch at a restaurant in Kerrytown (see above) on Sunday, and I completely forgot they do their Artisan Market on Sundays. My friends and I browsed it a bit after lunch, and I ended up buying this really unique turtle artwork for my fiance (who loves turtles)—it's made out of string. We hung it up in the downstairs bathroom and I love it. (see pic below)
  5. Getting ready for wedding #1 (of 3). The first wedding is in Cincinnati this weekend, and yesterday we packed for it. It's about a 4-hour drive, but with a stop for lunch and maybe another stop to use the bathroom, my guess is 4.5-5 hours. Since my fiance is a groomsman in it, we get to attend the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight, too, which should be interesting—I've never been a bridesmaid, so I've never experienced any of that. The other two upcoming weddings are in Chicago (next Sat.) and, thankfully, Detroit (Sat. after that), and I also have a work trip to Indianapolis on Monday, for a snacks and candy conference.
Turtle artwork from A2 Artisan Market! Made of string.
Turtle artwork from A2 Artisan Market! Made of string.

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