Maybe you can go home again... (Part 1)

Get ready for an epically long post... ;)
This summer, I took advantage of our shutdown time at work to take a full week off and drive back to Michigan. Yes, a little insane (especially with my insistence on making the drive each way in one day), but worth it to have the mobility once I made it there. It was so wonderful to get to catch up with friends from so many stages of my life, from childhood to my last job before leaving for Boston.
I drove into the Metro Detroit area first (after a slight disagreement with Pennsylvania, where road construction added a couple hours onto my drive...sigh) to stay with Shelley, one of my (old) work besties. She was dog/housesitting, so as a bonus I got to play with an adorable pup!

On Sunday, we participated in a fundraiser event put on by her barre studio, Barre Code Metro Detroit, at Atwater Brewery. Nothing better than barre + beer + raising money for an animal shelter! Naturally we followed this up with brunch-at Vinsetta Garage, a restaurant I had actually been wanting to try back when I did a show with Birmingham Village Players. It was worth the wait!

On Monday morning I drove into Ann Arbor to spend some time just wandering around my hometown (and shopping for Alvan's birthday present!) and spend time with friends who live there. I hit up Roo's Roast for breakfast-my favorite avocado toast in Michigan and amazing coffee-then wandered around all my favorite stores downtown. Naturally I went to the M Den (where I limited myself to just one sweatshirt!), but also made it into Shinola, Cherry Republic, Rock Paper Scissors, and Literati (where I did not manage to limit myself to just one book...oops). I need to do some more research into Boston bookstores, as I'm sure there are wonderful ones...but I just miss Literati so!

obsessed with the food & drink section here!

I then met Elizabeth, a friend from the Ann Arbor theatre scene (particularly Brass Tacks Ensemble) for lunch at Sava's and a stroll through the Arboretum. It was a hot and humid day, but there was no way I was passing on the Arb-I love it not only for the natural beauty but also memories it holds from my childhood all the way through Shakespeare comedy performances with the Residential College Players (you never forget it when you have to spring through the woods on a hot summer night in Elizabethan dress to beat the audience!).

I had to get some ice cream at Blank Slate Creamery, of course-they have the best flavors and I love that it is all made fresh from quality ingredients! I then decided to take full advantage of happy hour (as it doesn't exist in Boston-which just drives me crazy) at the Raven's Club. I always love trying out their seasonal infused vodkas!

That evening I got see a number of people-first dinner with Alex (we became friends in middle school when I did my first play with Ann Arbor Civic Theatre) at Jolly Pumpkin, then sangria with Megan (friends since I volunteered to be her buddy when she transferred schools in 6th grade) at Aventura, then some of my trivia crew-Joe, Steve A, and PJ-where Megan and I helped them secure first place in the final round.

Tuesday was pretty chill, as it was planned entirely around lunch and dinner plans. I did make sure to go by Zingerman's for breakfast-and a couple drinks to take home-where I wondered why I couldn't just have leisurely mornings with pain au chocolat and café au lait all the time.

Megan and I had made reservations at the Lunch Room's new restaurant, the Detroit Street Filling Station, as it was their soft open-perfect timing, right? The food was fantastic and I cannot wait to go back (someday) now that they have a full menu-and to hit up the Diner & Canteen for some vegan ice cream treats!

Megan refused to take a photo with me...so I made her dog, Sophie, take one instead!

Tuesday evening I got to have a reunion of sorts with my old coworkers, my warriors of love. Binh hosted us all and it was truly fantastic to get to catch up with everybody. I have become close with some of my coworkers here, but there was something magical about our relationships there.

Stay tuned for part 2...I promise it is waaaay shorter!

xoxoxo
Emma

Holiday Weekend Recap

My oh my, what a weekend! Going back to work today was a real struggle...not least because of staying up a little too late after the fireworks, enjoying the beautiful summer night.

On Friday night, I got to experience a gorgeous space-the Liberty Hotel. I felt a little weird about the whole concept of it being a converted prison, but I will admit it was gorgeous-and the cocktails were delicious. They have several bars and restaurants there, and I would definitely enjoy experiencing some more of them. It's also the kind of place that seems like it would be perfect in the winter for a staycation...making note of that for the future!

On Saturday, Michelle and I finally made it to Five Horses Tavern so she could get her sour beer. I opted for another tasty cocktail to go with my falafel sandwich and jalapeno cheddar mashed potatoes (yeah, some eclectic combinations happening there), while Michelle had a special with her beer-a hot dog with mac&cheese! If I ate meat, you know I would have been all over that...
We attempted to go to Spoke, but didn't feel like waiting, so opted for ice cream at J.P. Licks instead. We're grown-ass ladies and can do what we want! :)

Sunday I made it to yet another new restaurant for dinner, Machu Picchu, after a productive morning of barre, church, and errands. It is an excellent Peruvian establishment-I had never had that cuisine before and definitely enjoyed it. We then meandered over to Brass Union for another beer...I hadn't been since my girls' night before I moved to Boston, and their patio was a lovely place to enjoy the evening!

Monday I was dead tired, so Michelle's and my plan to lay by the pool, drink some wine, and make empanadas was absolutely perfect. I may have swung by Blackbird Doughnuts on my way back from my friend Molly's for some patriotic treats...

And finally, the actual 4th of July! Naturally I went to barre in the morning before another day of eating and drinking. Dad had a flight out of Boston in the evening, so he came in early and we went to lunch at City Tap House, where they were having a BeerBQ competition-both the brews and BBQ were in it. Of course I could only partake in half, but I think it's safe to say Dad enjoyed 100% of it! The salad and tapenade I ordered off the standard menu were excellent as well.

I also had to make a point to embrace the upgrade to a childhood treat-a bomb pop frozen cocktail! A little sweet for my taste (which I think I could have guessed) but oh so fun. It's so nice to have Dad so close by that we can have a (fairly) spontaneous lunch like that-thanks, Dad!

I made plans with some friends to watch the fireworks from a restaurant in Charlestown, Blackmoor, which boasted views from their patio and dining room. I wouldn't say it was the best view, but the food and drinks were good and the service was fantastic-they were so very kind as I changed the reservation 3 times within a few hours! Suffice to say if I ever want to go back, I don't think the reservation can be under my name...whoops. I did make sure to leave a solid tip at least-I hate to be that person! Plus, we didn't have to deal with crowds at all which I definitely appreciated.

All in all, a fantastic long weekend...but thank goodness the upcoming weekend is only 2 days away! Hope you all had as much fun (and maybe more rest) than I did!

xoxoxo
Emma

Can't stop won't stop...socializing?

I usually like to take a significant part of my weekend to recharge solo-I'm an extroverted introvert so I definitely require a fair amount of "me time". However, there were just too many fun things to do this weekend, apparently! Michelle and I had a good laugh at how much we were both socializing (and together)!

Friday night we went out for her roommate's birthday, starting at Jacob Wirth and continuing on to Highball Lounge. I love a good piano bar, but was a little weirded out by how bright it was in JW, ha. Highball was not exactly my speed-I literally had to use the flashlight on my phone to read the drink menu-but we had a good time regardless. We didn't manage any photos (of course-we never do when we get dressed up!) before we headed on our way to snack food. I had to take a screenshot, though, of my Yelp search from that night. Michelle hadn't gotten any donuts to celebrate the holiday, so of course we had to find them for her. Thankfully, I remembered that Doughboy is open 24/7!

Saturday afternoon we headed down to Providence for PVDFest and to see Wonder Woman with Dad. I'll be doing a full post just about the movie later, but suffice to say it was great! Dad even got his own poster, ha.

PVDFest was pretty cool, though unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to spend there. We mostly walked through and ended up going to dinner at AS220, where we feasted! Tofu binh mi, veggie burger, chicken tacos, chips & guac, fries, and Mexican street corn...oh boy.

Michelle and I did find room in our second stomachs for ice cream sandwiches from Tricycle Ice Cream. I've been wanting to check them out, so I was pretty excited to come across them at PVDFest! They were sold out of a few by the time we got there, but the strawberry ice cream with vanilla shortbread and the chocolate ice cream with pretzel shortbread were pretty fantastic.

We rounded out our weekend with some fitness on Sunday-Bar Method and Recycle Studio teamed up to do a 30/30 BikerBar event: 30 minutes of barre and 30 minutes of spin followed by rose! My kind of people for sure. I haven't done a spin class in years-and have only done one or two before with Hannah. Man was that tough...but I can see why people love it. If only I could afford both memberships!

We decided to finish our bourgie/healthy Sunday with lunch at Dig Inn. I love that place for a quick and pretty healthy meal. With adding a bonus side, it's plenty for two meals-so I'm even happier about the leftovers! Though it would be awesome to get the same amount of tofu as they give chicken...two slices is not quite enough for me, ha.

Hope you all had as fun a weekend as I did! Now, to recharge during the week? No idea how this is going to go... ;)

xoxoxo
Emma