Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week. We made a trip to Pittsburgh over the holiday weekend to visit family, and it was wonderful to see loved ones we haven't seen in over a year.
1) My sister-in-law took us on a quick tour of the area, and we made a stop at one of their favorite breweries, Hitchhiker Brewing Company. There was a food truck parked there, Bridge City Brinery, and we got some delicious food to go with the beer. Bridge City has a Korean inspired menu, and I loved the Onion Tots with Honey Mustard best.
2) We also visited the Strip District which has lots of cute shops, including some great foodie shops. Shop In The Kitchen has every possible kitchen gadget you could want (and many you didn't know that you needed). We spent too much time in there. Pittsburgh Macaroni Co. is an amazing Italian food import shop. They have so many pastas, sauces, meats, prepared foods, and my daughter-in-law was excited to find a cheese from back home in Catalonia that she has never seen in the United States. Check out their their website, they ship.
3) We stayed at the Marriott hotel near the airport, and they gave people the option of using a qr code to put the television remote on your phone via an app. What a great idea! The remote is one of those things that I don't like touching in a hotel, and this eliminates that. This is a photo of what it looks like.
4) I started watching Hacks on HBO Max. Jean Smart is phenomenal as a Joan Rivers-type stand-up comedian who has been around a long time. She's based in Las Vegas now, and works constantly, hawking items on a shopping channel and even showing up at the opening of a pizza joint. She is forced to hire a struggling young writer, wonderfully played by Hannah Einbinder, to update her act for the 21st century. It's a fantastic show, with the brilliant Mike Schur (The Good Place) executive producing. You can the watch the trailer here. 
5) Romance was on the menu this week in my reading. Historical romance novelist Eloisa James moves into contemporary fiction under her real name, Mary Bly, with Lizzie & Dante. Lizzie is a Shakepearean scholar traveling with her best friend to the Italian island of Elba to help his boyfriend, a famous mega movie star, write a script for his version of Romeo & Juliet. Lizzie meets a handsome Italian chef and falls in love with him, his twelve year-old daughter Etta, and their dog. But Lizzie has a serious illness and if they get more involved, she could hurt Dante and Etta deeply. You can feel the warmth of the Italian sun, hear the sea roar, and taste the delicious food Dante creates in his restaurant in this novel that appeals to all your senses. You'll be packing your bags for Elba before you finish this wonderful book.
Kate Bromley's contemporary romance novel, Talk Bookish to Me, is about a historical romance novelist. Kara is struggling to complete her latest novel as she prepares to be maid of honor at her best friend's wedding. When she discovers that Ryan, the man who broke her heart in college ten years ago, is one of the groomsmen, she is unhappy. After Ryan and his bulldog Duke are kicked out their hotel, Kara offers to let them stay at her apartment for the weekend of the wedding. The banter between Kara and Ryan made me laugh out loud, and you'll learn about romance novel genres, subgenres and tropes in this delightful, sexy story. My full review is here. 
After last weekend's freezing cold weather, we're getting ready for 90 degrees for the next few days. Stay safe and cool everyone.
