Des Moines at its finest

Ahoy, Monday!

It was such an awesome weekend to be kickin' it in Central Iowa. Friday, I went and got my hair all done up, plus some big fun makeup, which I never do. Then, I hopped my newly chic self on a Bcycle and pedaled to meet Hubs and friends at the Art Fest.

I've finally hoped on the neon train. Hello, beach tan!

We tried out Host for the first time and I have to say, the curried chicken salad was delectable.

All dressed up!

Saturday, we ran errands like monsters and stocked up on groceries before getting all primped and primed for our friends' wedding. They held it at the Teachout Building in the East Village, which is the same place we had our reception, so it was fun to get back in there and party it up. Hubs brewed a special IPA ("Here's to the Hoppy Couple") for the wedding and it went over really well. Of course, lots of good beer led to lots of dancing and shenanigans.

Delicious!

Hubs and pal enjoying the hoppy goodness.

Any tips for taking better nighttime action shots? We never did get it right.

Sunday, we headed out to the High Trestle Trail and managed to power through 54 miles before calling it a day. We got a later start than expected, so we left from Ankeny instead of doing our planned 80 mile ride from our house to the bridge. With a heat index of 100, it was a pretty wise move on our part.

On our way to the bridge, we passed a little biking family - all on one bike! Ma and pa on a tandem with two kids hitched on a kiddie-tandem. My poor little heart almost exploded at the cuteness. One family - one bike! Could there be anything more freaking adorable in the entire universe?

Doubtful.

Room with a view

Check out the view from our bedroom window. Summer is officially here the second that redneck pool is full.

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A lot to live up to

I hope you all had a Most Stellar Memorial Day Weekend. I did. My accomplishments were as follows:

• Slept in for four glorious days.
• Successfully drove a total of twelve hours with two cats. No one pooped in the car and no one scratched a person or passenger seat to shreds.
• Browsed DSW and HomeGoods without buying a thing for myself.
• Bought gas for under $3.50.
• Watched a wedding. 
• Ate my weight in taquitos at the wedding.
• Recognized the opening strands of Sweet Caroline before anyone else and was first on the dance floor.
• Spent quality time with my people and possibly awed them with my newly amazing shoulder muscles.
• Commandeered a hotel pool for a family party.
• Did not get sunburnt.
• Finally figured out how to eat a chicken wing.
• Visited Jefferson Barracks Cemetery and made the customary post-cemetery trip to TGI Fridays. 
• Discovered the Trader Joe's baked version of Funions, which aren't terrible for you. Ate a whole bag.
• Transplanted two tiny pine trees from my Nana's house to The Pit.
• I Fast Eddie'd.

 My first weekend of summer was perfect. Here's to hoping all remaining summer weekends are as productive, as fun, as full of my favorite people and as lacking in sunburntness as this one was.

Hawt

Ooo, girls (and dudes?).

Milestone day: first milkshake of the season!

It’s a ceremonial event in my world. Milkshakes were born to be enjoyed on breezy days with big sunglasses and thumping tunes.

Granted, I enjoyed my first milkshake of 2010 rushing back to work after lunch (but! with the windows down) and listening to classical music – after all, I’m a mature woman in her late twenties now. I did nail the big sunglasses, though, thanks to a small weekend indulgence at Old Navy.

In other news, make these. I whipped some up this weekend and hubs and I scarfed down half of the poor little crackers in 45 minutes.

Bumbling ball of summer-ready

In my mind, my birthday signals the real start of spring. I remember growing up, it seemed like my birthday was always sunny and 72 and involved lots of trees with full-blown leaves. With the happy occasion coming up in two weeks and nary a leaf nor a bud on any tree within 100 miles of DeMo, I’m a little disappointed. Last year, it had the audacity to snow on my big day. Unappreciated. It’s not looking quite that bad, we’ve hit 60 a few times and we even opened our windows Sunday to air the old homestead out.

But, I’m dreaming of more. For Mother Nature’s convenience, I have listed out my late spring/summertime demands:

• An entire day spent in my redneck inflatable swimming pool with good mellow music, hubs and a smattering of cold beverages.
• An after dinner bike ride to get ice cream at Snookie’s.
• Morning runs.
• Float trips with sunburns, snacks, pups and hippies.
• Naps on my couch with the windows open.
• Watching my now-seeds, plants-to-be Moonflowers open up at dusk.
• Bonfires and tank tops at night.
• Bocce tournaments.
• Snacking on homegrown cherry tomatoes.
• Fried zucchini.
• Bunches of flowers from the Farmer’s Market.
• Eating on patios, both mine and those of restaurants.
• The smell of fresh cut grass.
• Sweating outside of the gym.
• Demo-ing the old deck with a ragtag group of friendly volunteers.
• Barefootedness.
• Movie night in the backyard.
• Cats that look like this.

What are your seasonal demands?