The Friday Five, 7/10/26: 5 things I've been up to this week

This has been a busy week and will be a busy weekend—yesterday I went to Ann Arbor for Sonic Lunch, a noontime concert series, to meet up with some friends while Baby K was in daycare, and today my MIL and I are going to the Tigers game tonight courtesy of a candy brand I write about.

Madtown Grilled Cheese at HopCat, Ann Arbor
Madtown Grilled Cheese at HopCat, Ann Arbor

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Fourth of July get-together. Two of our friends have held a get-together for a few years now, but this year they have a three-month-old baby and we also brought Baby K. The food is always super tasty (and there's usually brisket), plus it's fun to hang out with friends. Their neighbors pool funds together to put on a fireworks show, too—this was Baby K's second fireworks show and she reacted better than the first time, but her reactions swung between interested and disinterested, LOL. 
  2. Visiting with my sister-in-law. My SIL lives in Indiana, and came up to visit Friday to Monday of 4th of July weekend, to hang with us and Baby K (and also came to the get-together mentioned above). I ended up being able to watch a few movies with her, too, which was nice, and we will hopefully see her again next month when we are in Indiana to attend a wedding. 
  3. Watching movies. As mentioned above, my husband, SIL, and I got to watch Project Hail Mary—we streamed it on MGM+ but it's on both that and Prime right now—and I really enjoyed it. I'd probably give it 4.5/5 stars, only deducting the half-star because it was too long (about 2.5 hours). My SIL and I also streamed The Sheep Detectives, also on Prime, because it popped up on Prime's main page and I had heard good things about it. I'd give that one 3.5/5—it was definitely a fun movie, and Hugh Jackman was good in it too, but it's not one I need to see a second time. 
    On Monday, after my SIL left, my husband and I got to see Toy Story 5 in the theater, too, which was super nice. I had been rewatching the other four Toy Story movies in preparation for this one. I'd give this one maybe 4/5 or 4.5/5, and it's just as good as the others in the series ... in order, my favorites are TS3, TS2, TS1 (and maybe tied with TS5 now), and TS4.
  4. Going to Ann Arbor for Sonic Lunch. Sonic Lunch is in its 19th year this year, and I usually try to see 1-2 concerts at it each summer ... and because it's on a weekday during work hours, I had childcare this year, since Baby K was at daycare! Two friends and I saw Theo Katzman, who I have seen before—he used to play with one of my all-time favorite bands, My Dear Disco (later renamed Ella Riot)—but this was my first time seeing him at the Michigan Theater, as the concert series is usually outside. I'm a huge fan of the Michigan (and, fun fact, the orchestra I was in when I was at UM, the Michigan Pops Orchestra, used to host its concerts there, so I have played on the stage before) and it was really nice to have an indoor concert when it was so hot outside, too.
    After the concert, my friends and I got lunch at HopCat, which was also super nice because their Madtown Grilled Cheese is one of my favorites ever—it has garlic aioli, apples, and three types of cheeses. They now have a $15 special which was a pretty good deal—you can choose one of four entrees (the grilled cheese was an option, so I did that), plus a side of your choosing, and a soft drink. If you want a beer or cocktail there's only a slight upcharge, too.
  5. Eating good foods. My husband cooked a bit this week and we had burgers and tacos, and we also got Noori via Doordash a few days ago. Our friends cooked for the 4th of July get-together, and we had brisket, cucumber and feta salad, pickle dip, and more. HopCat in Ann Arbor was also delicious yesterday, and I just made plans for a friend to finally meet Baby K next Sunday, so we will go out to eat somewhere for that.
Theo Katzman at Sonic Lunch, Ann Arbor, at Michigan Theater
Theo Katzman at Sonic Lunch, Ann Arbor, at Michigan Theater

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