Hello…. it’s me….. 😉
Sorry, forgot I wasn’t Grammy award winning singer Adele for a second there.
So let me tell you about a wonderful place that you probably never considered visiting….
DES MOINES, IOWA!
I feel like I were to settle down with a nice farmer and raise a slew of children, I would be very happy in Des Moines. There is still a J. Crew in the area and a Trader Joe’s so I would be ok. There is NO traffic, which is almost reason enough for me to move. I did not set up an account on FarmersOnly.com this trip, but who knows what the future holds. 😉
Let’s be serious, I will probably never marry a farmer, but Des Moines does show promise as an up-and-coming town. It is probably the smallest capital that I have ever been in, but there are tons of cool little shops and restaurants in the downtown area closest to the capital building. The capital building also has the top covered in GOLD. It is rather impressive. It has been dubbed “the new Portland”. Everything in the city is super easy to get to and it’s not quite as spread out the way Dallas is.
You might be thinking: “Savannah, you’re just soooo sophisticated. How did you end up in IOWA??” (just kidding, no one says that to me) Well let me tell ya, there are two very special people in my life, Nathan and Elly, who have been asking me for months to come visit them.
I was hesitant at first, but decided to throw caution (and some airline miles) to the wind and take a trip to Des Moines. I went to high school with Nathan and then he met Elly in college. They got married a few years ago and I still remember their wedding as one of my favorites. Elly and I share a love for Star Wars and all things geeky so of course we always have a good time whenever we get together.
Things we did:
- Visited downtown especially this awesome store called Raygun. If you’re from Dallas, it is similar to Bullzerk on Greenville. Of course I had to buy some souvenirs/Christmas presents
- Visited the Drake University Campus where the Democratic Debate was happening.
- Took a picture with the Drake University bulldog, Spike
- Went to the infamous Zombie Burger (kinda like Hopdoddy)
- Went running twice (!) and on some walks
- Went shopping with Nathan for Elly’s Christmas present. I do this every year 😉 I’m a pro!
- Went to an Apple Orchard! I felt like it was really fall at that point.
- Ate Qudoba and Noodles and Co twice… each…. maybe in the same day sometimes…
- Made tacos and cookies and lotssss of coffee
- Watched lots of movies and Arrested Development
- Went to The Brass Armadillo Antique Mall (then saw a huge fire!!)
Generally just had a great time being with friends. I am very much a people person and I do better the more I am around people. When living alone and kinda far from even surrounding friends my mood tends to get more introverted and I don’t like that so it was great to be with two of my best friends literally almost the entire time I was there. They both have fairly flexible jobs, which was very conducive to having a guest. They have the cutest little cat named Nelly (their celebrity mash-up name) who was totally cool with snuggling with me on the couch.
Now it is Tuesday evening and I am back to reality, wishing I was sitting on Nathan and Elly’s couch watching Tobias paint himself blue in the hopes of becoming famous. *sigh*.
Until next time,Â
-Savvy
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