The Friday Five, 8/28/26: 5 things I've been up to this week

I just got back around 10pm yesterday from Fort Myers—I was there starting Monday night for a work conference—and I have to work today. Semi-busy weekend, too, as we are going to a birthday party at a petting zoo tomorrow. 

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs, FL
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs, FL

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Traveling for work. My flight from DTW to RSW (Fort Myers, FL) was around 2pm on Monday, and I was supposed to get back at 8:45pm last night but instead got back at 9:45pm, so I'm tired today. I was there for the ECRM conference, which is kind of like speed dating (the first day I met with about 15 candy companies, then about 20 the next day, in 10- and 20-minute meetings). Their August iteration is everyday candy, and the February conference is Christmas and seasonal; in February, I went to Dallas for it. 
  2. 1st birthday party for Baby K. Baby K's real birthday was in mid-August, but we were in Indiana that weekend for a wedding, so instead we had her party at our house last Saturday. Because it had been raining most of the day, people primarily stayed in the house (for most of our house parties, we try to keep people outdoors, it's just easier)—at one point we had maybe 25 adults and 9 to 10 kids but it worked out. I think everyone had a good time, although we are still moving stuff back to where it was, a week later (i.e. the smoker, which my husband used to make brisket for everyone, is still in my car space in the garage). 
  3. Watching movies. I got to watch Michael on the plane on the way to Fort Myers, and it was very good; I'd probably give it 4/5 or 4.5/5. On the way home, I was going to watch a new Jason Segel movie but instead watched I Love Boosters, and despite its high Rotten Tomatoes rating, I couldn't really get into it—I'd give it 2/5, although all of the acting (especially Keke Palmer and Demi Moore) was very good. I also watched a movie on Netflix called Don't Say Good Luck, and I've been thinking about it since then—it was sad but very good, and I'd probably give it 4.5/5. It starred Sunny Sandler (Adam Sandler's daughter), Melanie Lynskey, Max Greenfield from New Girl, and others, and the Broadway musical Waitress (one of my faves) played a big part in it, too.
  4. Watching TV shows. I started The Shards, on Hulu/FX, and it took me a little bit to get into it but now I really like it; thankfully, all of the episodes except one, the finale, are now streaming, and I watched yesterday's two newest on the plane coming home. I finished Married at First Sight, which wrapped yesterday, and I watched Furious on Monday and Trying on Wednesday night. It was nice to have some time to myself while traveling, as I don't usually get that with a baby, so I was able to catch up on some of my shows.
  5. Getting in some pool time. The waterslides (three of them!) at the resort I stayed at were only open till 6pm each day. On Wednesday, my meetings ended at 5pm instead of 6pm, so I ran back upstairs and changed quickly, then ran back down to the pool area so I could try out the slides and the lazy river (which also closed at 6pm). The pools themselves were open until maybe 10pm daily, though. The hotel had a pretty nice pool area, with like four or five different ones, including an adult-only one, plus the waterslides and lazy river.
ECRM conference
ECRM conference

Popular Posts

Trip Review: Bavarian Inn Lodge, Frankenmuth, MI

Image
*Disclosure: I received a free one-night stay at Bavarian Inn Lodge in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of staying at the Bavarian Inn Lodge , in Frankenmuth, Michigan, for one night. I've been to Frankenmuth many times, and even stayed overnight in the neighboring Birch Run, but I had never stayed directly in the city before, so I was excited to stay at the Lodge. Friday was a rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. We stopped at Halo Burger, in Birch Run, for lunch—there used to be locations in Novi and Troy, but both closed, and their food is very good—and then hit up Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which is the largest Christmas store in the world.  For those who are unfamiliar with Frankenmuth , it is a German/Bavaria-themed town, about an hour north of the Metro Detroit area, nicknamed "Michigan's Little Bavaria." There is always a lot of things to do in Fr...
Keep reading

The Friday Five, 4/24/26: 5 things I've been up to this week

Image
The past week was pretty busy, because my husband and Baby K and I went to Indiana on Thursday, and then he and I were in Louisville from Friday through Monday with my sister-in-law (Baby K stayed with my in-laws).  Boudin balls at North of Bourbon, Louisville What I've been up to this week: Having good food . We kicked off the trip with dinner at North of Bourbon, one of my favorites—this is my third trip to Louisville (Nov. 2024 and Dec. 2025 were the others) and it's a very tasty restaurant. We always get the boudin balls (with pork, see pic above) and this time I split the chicken gumbo and a mushroom risotto-type dish with my SIL.  On Saturday, we ended up going to a food hall close to Rabbit Hole distillery (more on that below), and had some tapas-type items, like empanadas, which was good, and we also had really good charcuterie at the Garden and Gun Club, at Stitzel-Weller (see below) plus had good Italian food at Volare, which we had been to last December. On Sunday, ...
Keep reading

Review: Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins

Image
*Disclosure: I received a gift card to try the new Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Baskin-Robbins launched its Polar Pizza last month (July), as I talked about in my recent post about them, and because this past month was crazy busy for me, I didn't get to try the Polar Pizza until this past Sunday. My parents and I went to the combined Dunkin' Donuts / Baskin-Robbins near them, in Novi, MI, to split one of the ice cream pizzas.
Read more