Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Des Moines Trip

So, I said I would write about the weekend so I guess I will.

T hursday after work my parents and I drove to Des Moines because I had a design event to attend Friday (more on that soon.) We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner which was delicious (shrimp!) and then hung out in the hotel room for the rest of the night which was nice. Friday I met up with Christina and four other design classmates to attend Neocan't 2011 which is a design expo for those who can't attend the NEOCON expo. This is a place where tons of vendors gather and there are also little sessions designers can attend to learn about different design topics. We got lots of information and free stuff! After we walked around the trade show, we went to lunch at downtown Court Avenue Brewing Co. I had Chicken Pot Pub Pie and it was delicious. After lunch we met up with one of Laura's friends who happens to work at RDG, a design firm in Des Moines. The firm itself was awesome- lots of natural light, industrial elements, and levels! They said it used to be a parking lot previous to the building of the firm and you could really tell, especially by the lines that were still painted on some of the pavement they kept!
After the tour, we split up and went our different ways. My parents picked me up and I went back to the hotel and passed out for a couple hours. That evening, my parents and I met my sister & family at the mall and we did some "looking." Shopping at Jordan Creek mall with no money is one of the hardest self control tests I've ever endured. I didn't by a thing! (Other than part of my sister's birthday present.)
Saturday we went to my sister's house and visited during the morning hours and then went to Ankeny for the afternoon. My mom wanted to go to a scrapbooking store but my dad and I went to Goodwill. Talk about deals galore! I got a big stack of books (hardcovers were only $1.49-WHAT!) a couple old cds, and a dvd of a DMB concert!! I also picked up what I thought was a curtain to make a purse out of but it's actually a valence so it will be even EASIER to do! I'm really excited about that. Then we went to the Pro Bass Shops store and spent a good couple hours in there. I did manage to get a pair of white wedges on sale which I'm excited about. After that, we met up with my sister&family to go out to eat for her birthday. We went to Dos Rios but they had too long of a wait so...we went to Court Avenue Brewing Co.! haha After that we went to the Sculpture Park which is in downtown Des Moines and it was cool! (I will upload some pictures later.) My dad and I had to go to the bathroom so we stopped in this little coffee shop. We picked up some beverages and there was a live musician playing so we stuck around and listened for a little while. It was awesome and made me really excited to move to a big city where that is a common establishment.
Sunday, we went to sister&family's house to visit a little more then we went out for lunch at the Drake Diner. It was delicious! I wish we had something that great in Cedar Falls. It was kind of a bittersweet day because it was our last time at my sister&family's current house because they sold it and are moving to a bigger house in a couple of weeks (which I am helping with.) Their current house is so cute, quaint, and old --I love it! But they have easily out grown it so it's time to move. We drove by their new house (can't go in yet) and looks really nice so that will be exciting!!
After lunch we left Des Moines and stopped at the Williamsburg outlet mall where I DID shop a little bit because the deals were so great! That was the extent of my long weekend. This week isn't as interesting except one of my best friends Lindsay comes home from her two week trip to Nicaragua tomorrow (Wednesday) so I'm excited to see her!

That is all for now.

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