The Friday Five, 10/8/26: 5 things I've been up to this week

It's been a super busy past two weeks—last week I was in Massachusetts on a press trip for work, through Ocean Spray, and even got to go into a cranberry bog, hence no Friday Five. This week I finally have some time, so let's recap the past two weeks!

A cranberry bog in Massachusetts
A cranberry bog in Massachusetts

What I've been up to the past two weeks:
  1. Work trip to Massachusetts. Two weeks ago, on a Monday, I got an email inviting me to Lakeville, MA, courtesy of Ocean Spray, to learn about how a cranberry gets from the bog to consumers' tables. It was a fast turn-around though: the trip was a week after that (aka last week), Wednesday to Friday. I asked my MIL if she could come help with the baby, and last week, I headed to the East Coast—where I was born, and lived until I was five years old—to check out some cranberries! The bog was definitely an interesting experience, I felt a little like an Oompa Loompa in the waders but it was cool to see how the cranberries get harvested—after the bog we went to a station nearby, where the trucks drop off the cranberries, as well as Ocean State HQ and also one of their plants. 
    The trip was technically over on Friday morning, but I extended my trip until Saturday afternoon, so I could see family—more on that below.
  2. Seeing East Coast family and friends. On Friday AM, I drove from Plymouth, MA, where our hotel was, to South Kingstown, RI, where my aunt lives—about a 1.5-hour drive—and we had lunch and hung out, which was really nice. I was on my way to my Warwick, RI hotel for the night when I got a call from Delta Travel saying my hotel was OVERBOOKED, and they had to rebook me ... very stressful to be navigating highway traffic AND that call, but they actually got me rebooked—at no additional charge to me—at a really nice Hilton nearby, The Loom, so I can't complain. I booked through Delta Travel because I get a $150 credit each year with my credit card.
    On Friday night, I drove to Providence (~20-min. drive) to meet a high school friend and his husband for dinner, at a great Peruvian place, and on Saturday, I drove from Warwick to Attleboro, MA (~30 min. drive) to meet up with my MA aunt, uncle, one cousin, and his son; my other cousin, their kids, and my first cousin's wife + daughter couldn't make it, unfortunately. It was nice to see them too, but after that, I had to drive back to PVD airport (Providence airport, but in Warwick) to return my rental car and make it back to Michigan. 
  3. Dining out. We went to two really tasty restaurants while on the trip, both of which were in Plymouth—one was called Cork + Table, and the other was called Solstice. Additionally, I met up with a friend this week (more on that below) and we went to Spiedo, in Ann Arbor; it was only my second time there but both times have been really tasty. 
  4. Seeing Jodi Picoult in Ann Arbor! This was a treat because she's one of my favorite authors, and although her book tours often bring her Up North, I've noticed (well, Traverse City), I believe this was the first time she had a Metro Detroit stop. I went with a friend and the ~$35 ticket price also included a SIGNED hardcover copy of her new book, so I'm excited to read that—I started it yesterday but didn't have a lot of time before bed, so I only read about 20 pages or so. 
  5. Seeing Practical Magic 2. This was two weeks ago now, on that Friday, but would still count for this roundup. Practical Magic, which came out in 1998, is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I was really hoping the sequel would be good ... admittedly, I slept about 1/3 of the movie (hazard of having a 13-month-old who dislikes sleeping ...) but what I did see, I thought was good. Overall I did think it was a way different vibe than the first one though—this was definitely more about witchcraft, and the first one was more like a fluffy film about a family who just happened to be witches, IMO. From what I saw, I'd give it 4/5 stars, though, but I will certainly see it again when it comes to streaming.
Jodi Picoult at Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor
Jodi Picoult at Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor

Popular Posts

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

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, 3/27/26: 5 things I've been up to this week

Image
Well this week flew by, and it's suddenly the end of March! Today will be busy because I am both dropping off and picking up Baby K at daycare, and I also have PT at 9am ... I usually have it on Wednesdays but had to move it this week.  Rana "Marry Me" pasta from Costco What I've been up to this week: Working in the office . The last time I worked at my company's office (in Birmingham) was in July, because Baby K came early in August; I was on maternity leave until early November; my company then said I could come back in for February, but Baby K was sick the day I had signed up for; and lo and behold, it's now March. We have an office dog, and he was there yesterday (a bulldog), so that was fun, and I also got to go to La Pecora Nera for lunch—they have deli sandwiches, and last time I was there (just to get a cannoli), I was pregnant, so I couldn't have deli meat. They also give you a free cannoli if you sign up for their app, FYI, and they have three lo...
Keep reading