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

This was a busy week and I came back from Chicago having lost my voice, which was not fun. There is ONE more wedding this weekend and then wedding season is done for us this year ... until September, at least. :) 

downtown Chicago
Downtown Chicago

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Trip to Chicago. I got back from Indianapolis last Wednesday from my work conference, and on Friday we flew on SWA (using points) to Chicago. We stayed at the Intercontinental—a hotel I actually stayed at in 1997, a year after we had moved to Michigan from Chicago—and because my fiance has status with IHG, they upgraded us to what I think was a junior suite, and it was super nice. We used IHG points to book it, and generally when you do that, the cost is covered, but unfortunately they did slap us with a $30/n "resort fee" (pool, wifi, etc.) upon checkout. 
  2. Wedding in Chicago. The reason we went to Chicago was the wedding of one of my fiance's friends from college. This was truly an EVENT: they had a pre-wedding dinner on Friday, at the Peninsula hotel; the actual wedding on Saturday, at the University Club, where this friend took us two years ago for drinks (the only time I had met him, actually); and a post-wedding brunch, also at the University Club, on Sunday, which unfortunately we didn't have time to go to. The pre-wedding dinner was an Asian buffet, as the groom is Taiwanese, and was delicious; mostly dim sum-type bites and also lo mein, duck, things like that, along with cocktail hour. The wedding ceremony was at the Cancer Survivors' Garden in Chicago, and they had perfect weather for it, and then we were all bussed to the University Club. They also had a boba (bubble tea) bar, which was amazing, a string quartet, and a band. Probably one of the nicest weddings I've been to, and it was great. 
  3. Dining out/getting takeout. On Friday at DTW, we had Pei Wei (remember that place?) at the North terminal, and then headed to the Peninsula for the pre-wedding dinner. On Saturday, we had Lou Malnati's for lunch (mostly kitty-corner to the hotel; convenient), and ate at the wedding for dinner. On Sunday we grabbed a quick meal at The Corner Bakery (Panera-like chain in Chicago) before going to the airport for our flight home. Tuesday we didn't feel like cooking so we did Doordash from Irish Tavern, which IMO was just okay; unfortunately their cheese curds were kinda sweet-tasting and I wasn't a fan. Tonight I am planning on getting us Pink Garlic for dinner, also, my favorite Indian restaurant in the area.
  4. Cooking. We received a HelloFresh box on Monday and so far have made two of the meals—a chicken limone-type dish, which we actually made into three portions (I just had the remaining yesterday for lunch), and a maple-mustard chicken. The last one is a burger and at this rate we will probably cook it on Sunday, since tomorrow is the last wedding, one of MY friends' this time. 
  5. Watching TV shows. Two of my regular shows had their series finales this week: The Good Doctor (ABC/Hulu), and I didn't even know that episode 10 was the finale, and Young Sheldon—which, I caution, make sure you have Kleenex nearby, when you watch. (if you're a fan of Big Bang Theory, you may remember that Sheldon's father died when he was young ... and the episodes show how it played out)
    My fiance and I also started Dark Matter, on AppleTV, based on the Blake Crouch book, and so far it's really good; I just got the book from the library yesterday, too, as I'm a fan of Crouch's work. I started The Ultimatum: South Africa yesterday too and it's also fun. I've been continuing to watch Loot, and I was able to binge Acapulco season 3 (the whole season; I still have some press access with AppleTV, admittedly only certain shows) and it was really good—I hope they make a 4th season. 
University Club, Chicago; very Hogwarts-esque!
University Club, Chicago; very Hogwarts-esque!

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