Pella Road Trip

Called my friend Amber today to go for a walk at Gray's Lake. She had an even better idea. ROAD TRIP! We made a quick loop around the lake and headed to Pella. She wanted to get some bakery items at their yummy Jaarsma Bakery and just get out of town for a while.
She saw this little lonely tree on the way there and demanded I take a picture.Once we got the bakery it was packed! Surprising for a Monday. But we browsed the almond flavored goodies and picked out our share.My favorite part of the trip were the windmills.

They reminded me of this picture I took on my trip to Holland.

Sequins for the Emmys

I'm trying to get better at blogging every day, in hopes that I'll begin to participate in blog-worthy activities.
Today I went looking for a dress for the Emmys. No, not THOSE Emmys... The Upper Midwest Emmys in Minneapolis next weekend.
Luckily Younkers was having a Goodwill sale! (I can hear my mom now... "She actually brought clothes to Goodwill instead of shopping there!)
You bring in some clothes for Goodwill to Younkers and they give you a 20% off coupon for each item of clothing. I had just edited my wardrobe so I brought a pair of jeans, a shirt and 3 t-shirts I was planning to bring to GW anyway.
I wandered around because there was a Jessica Simpson dress I had my eye on, but it was $168.I ended up getting a similar $129 Calvin Klein dress (similar only because it's sequined) for $40. I'm morning the lack of sleeves, and I wish it was a smidge shorter. But I love it more and more every time I show it to someone.

Now if only I could get my hands on these babies:

Zombie Burger and Back to School?

Today I finally got to check out the new Zombie Burger in the East Village. My old friend Katie and I relived the college rec center glory days while my friend Jason ate as quickly as he could.
The burgers were okay. And the shake was alright. But I think I was expecting more because of all the hype. It's definitely the new "it" place.
The burgers seemed like Smashburger burgers, with the same flavor combos (fried stuff and blue cheese, caramelized onions...) but not quite as juicy. And the fries were shoestring (just like Smashburger) but they didn't have that delicious Smashburger butter/herb sauce all over them. I'll also say, I had a hard time finding a "healthy" burger. And by that I mean, a burger with bacon=healthy compared to their bacon=chicken fried. I would have opted for more fresh ingredients and less cheese balls (literally and figuratively). PS, neither a fried macaroni and cheese bun nor 2 grilled cheese sandwiches are acceptable for a lunch burger in my book.
The shake was a "chocolate cake shake" and I was expecting bits of chocolate cake and icing ala Portillo's in Chicagoland.
Anyway, I think the lesson learned is; Hungry? Go to Smashburger. Less of a crowd and more of what I want.
Want to see and be seen? Go to Zombie Burger.
I won't make less of this one little factoid though... They have a full bar at Zombie Burger.

I got to work today and my coworker said I looked like a back to school ad. I suppose my outfit is pretty "All American".

"Back to School" by alisalink featuring locket jewelry

Wednesday Market

I know it's probably blasphemy to say this, but I like the fall Wednesday DSM Farmers Market WAY more than I like the Saturday morning Downtown Farmer's Market.


They just started it up a few weeks ago in hopes that yuppies would go down during their lunch break and snatch up some local produce. If all goes well, it might be a summer staple next year.


I like it for a few reasons.
1. There aren't as many people. The DTFM just gets too crowded, and 7 a.m. isn't exactly my finest hour as far as patience goes.
2. There were less "fake farmers". Less of those people who buy the same chile-grown limes and bananas that the local grocery stores buy. (really? limes and bananas in Iowa?) And more "yeah this is definitely from Iowa" produce.
3. It's not nearly as massive. It's comparable to the Ames farmers market (which I love). I can get through it and choose my produce without worrying I'll miss something or having to climb over some lady with a dog in a stroller to get to the 17th tomato stand.

I had taken out some cash-o-la to last me till payday, so I snatched up about $6 worth of perfect Iowa produce. 2 sweet potatoes, 1 giant onion, a little plump eggplant and my first squash of the fall.Don't worry, most of it's already gone...

Trip to Chicago

I went to Chicago for a much needed visit. My friend's baby, Amara, is almost a teenager! She's 2... But she talks in full sentences. Like, "Can I hold you?" When she wants you to hold her. Too presh.

I had a list of people to visit and I'd like to say, I did pretty well for my short visit. I got there by noon (Emily said if I didn't, she'd murder me) after leaving DSM at 6:30 am. We had lunch and headed to our fav thrift store, Unique. When we got back we waited for Andy (Emily's husband) and Aunt Feather (the 3rd of our Three Musketeers) and ordered burritos as large as our heads.
We ordered 3 for the 4 of us, and ended up eating about 1...

On Tuesday I had plans for breakfast with Kelly, but she slept through her alarm, so I got my eyebrows waxed on the cheep at my favorite Chicago nail salon. My flesh colored eyebrows were so unruly that the lady gave me a super discount, gave me a card and told me to come back in 3 weeks. Thanks lady!
So I headed to Longman and Eagle, a trendy up-and-coming place in Logan Square with my friend Kaysie, where Kelly (her sister and my aforementioned breakfast date) came for a drink.
Longman and Eagle had a great feel and a full page of whiskey on their drink menu, but I had a few quams.

1. The tables were so close together that my ample rear end knocked over the hot sauce on the next table.
2. My chicken wasn't quite done, and the Chicago food scene is so pretentious I didn't want to say anything for fear that I just always overcook Chicken... After I left I came to my senses and realized a "rare" drumstick isn't ever trendy. Needless to say I didn't eat much of it.
3. The place was 1/2 empty and the lady wouldn't seat us because Kelly wasn't there yet, even though she had just jumped in the shower and wasn't going to be there for a while... I told the waitress Kelly ditched so she finally seated us, and then she looked annoyed when Kelly plopped down an hour later at the (empty) table next to us...

The things I LOVED about this place
1. The amaretto stone sour wasn't overly acidic, and it was perfect with an egg white.
2. The Gin Fizz I had changed my life
3. The soap in the ladies room smelled intoxicatingly pepperminty.

After lunch Kaysie and I stopped for some coffee at the Worm Hole, a super hipstery coffee shop in Wicker Park, and I dropped her off downtown at work.

I headed back to Wicker Park and hit all my favorite thrift stores and stumbled on some great finds. A few of my favorite shops were gone. :( But there were some new surprises that I would have checked out had I not been on a gently-used mission.

I met Emily, Heather and Andy back at home base and went to Caponies for yummy pizza. Em had a Groupon, and we chatted about the coupon mogul over dinner because miss Heather just got a full time job there after temping for months! woot! Ah 9-5 Mon-Fri... How I miss you...

After dinner I met up with Kaysie, Kelly, HapNerd, Joel (awesome friend from England who was in Chicago for a wedding and convinced me to visit while he was visiting) and some new friends at... You guessed it... Longman and Eagle.

Wild Turkey Honey and fancy desserts welcomed me back to Chicago night life.

At midnight Kelly and her crew ditched out and Kaysie, Joel and I went to a few late night bars, one of which had applique pictures on the walls.

It was fun to see everyone in Chicago, and I was reminded why I loved living there. It also inspired me to make more of this CITY I live in right now! I can go to trendy dinner spots and drink Whiskey with the best of them, right here in Des Moines

LIFE photos I love

Summer Eye Shadow Dilemma

I've run into a dilemma I don't remember having in past summers... have I not worn eye shadow in the sweltering heat of Iowa or Illinois? Have I kept my winter hues and inadvertently clashed with the spring flowers? Why, oh WHY are all my shades dark and gloomy? This will just not do. I'm in the market for a new summer tint.

But I'm being pulled in a million different directions! (Well, 4 really...)



1. Metallics. Really? in the summer? I'm a little bit afraid they will draw the sun to my face like a tanning reflector a la 1953.




2. Bridget Bardot cat eyes. MEOW! However, I'm usually "the bomb" at makeup application but I just can't do the cat eye! I don't have any liquid liner right now, but even when I do, I do the cat eye and move back to look at my handy work, and the corner comes to a point in the strangest place! But I am leaning toward this look...




3. Apricot. This or any orangey tone might be really cute! But will it give me the pink eye look? Sure, it looks good here on Scarlett Johansen, but come on! Perfect skin, perfect eye brows...




4. Lilac! I just happen to HATE the color purple, but I LOVE to wear it! It looks great on me (red hair- like the chick on the right) and I find all my favorite clothes in that color. I think this may be the winner folks, but what do you think?