Luckily, things went uphill from there. We walked the two blocks over to the PBR Big Sky bar, paid our $5 to get in, and stayed there all night. We thought we might bar hop a bit, but we were all having a blast drowning in flannel and cowboy hats. The bachelorette may have even rode the mechanical bull; I am unable to confirm or deny that accusation. The only part I disliked about the bar was that during my favorite jam of the month, Timber by Kesha and Pitbull, we all got pushed to the side of the dance floor so the go-go cowgirl dancers could perform a dance. This isn't a strip club, and I'm not paying to watch them dance. Oh, and all the broken glass on the floor was getting ridiculous. I don't recall getting into a bar brawl so it must have been one of the rowdy cowboys. While I'm no rowdy cowgirl myself, I'm glad my husband has made me just country enough to fit right in.
Getting married isn't a decision to make lightly. Celebrating your final days as a single lady isn't to be taken lightly either. That's why eight of us got together to bid my sister-in-law's final days as a bachelorette farewell in Kansas City. We started the party with a few cocktails, games and gifts at the hotel. We kept it classy by staying at the Holiday Inn.
After a few hours, we headed to the Power and Light district for the evening. Dinner at BRGR was a little disappointing for me. I ordered the first turkey burger of my life here. The only reason I did was because it had avocado, bacon, and a poblano pesto sauce. That all sounded amazing - even if it was on turkey and not beef. Not so much. The burger patty itself was dry and unseasoned. I couldn't finish it. Everyone else really enjoyed their meals and a raspberry tequila cocktail. Luckily, things went uphill from there. We walked the two blocks over to the PBR Big Sky bar, paid our $5 to get in, and stayed there all night. We thought we might bar hop a bit, but we were all having a blast drowning in flannel and cowboy hats. The bachelorette may have even rode the mechanical bull; I am unable to confirm or deny that accusation. The only part I disliked about the bar was that during my favorite jam of the month, Timber by Kesha and Pitbull, we all got pushed to the side of the dance floor so the go-go cowgirl dancers could perform a dance. This isn't a strip club, and I'm not paying to watch them dance. Oh, and all the broken glass on the floor was getting ridiculous. I don't recall getting into a bar brawl so it must have been one of the rowdy cowboys. While I'm no rowdy cowgirl myself, I'm glad my husband has made me just country enough to fit right in. T-28 days until Tessa says goodbye to being a Wardenburg!
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(Every now and again I like to get on my high horse about what a great little city I live in. Fair warning: this is one such post.)
I awoke Saturday morning - like many other mornings this winter - to see snow falling quickly but peacefully from the sky. While I wasn't looking forward to driving through it, I was very much looking forward to what I was driving to. My friend and I set up a lunch date for Court Avenue Brewery downtown. The entertainment district wasn't completely dead given the weather; there was a decent crowd at the brew pub. My CABCo sandwich, which is their take on a French dip, was very tasty and the french fries hit the spot. (To be fair, I have eaten here before, which is why I am briefly including them.) Next, we were off to Jasper Winery to meet a few other friends for a cupcake/wine/beer pairing. This was my first time as Jasper for such an event. For $15, we got two samples of wine and two of beer plus two cupcakes and some candy. It was a great afternoon chatting, drinking and eating. I would have easy forgotten about the snow except for the fact that Jasper's building has two walls of floor to ceiling windows. Still, sitting next to the big fireplace made the modern space feel very cozy. After two hours and polishing off our flights, we headed home to prepare for the next event. Our evening started out with a drink at The Hub Spot on the Riverwalk. It's been on my to do list since it opened late last summer. I have a special place in my heart for The Hub because my husband and I took our wedding photos there last spring when construction had just finished. Now, the triangular-shaped, glass building on the riverfront is a chic bistro ready to quench your thirst. Starting April 1st, they will serve food again and have extended hours. Right now, they are just serving drinks and closing at 8:00pm. We were the only ones there and took our time ordering. We each got something different: glass of wine, mineral water, coffee and cappuccino. We all had a different game plan to prepare for the Des Moines Symphony. The Civic Center is just two blocks away from The Hub, and even in the cold, was an easy walk. I attended two of the Symphony's shows two years ago. I thought they were great then, and this time was no different. This show paid tribute to the music of George and Ira Gerswhin. The show incorporated photos, videos, sound clips, interviews, and special guests to tell the story of the Gershwins rather than to only play the music. It was extremely entertaining. My husband, who had never been before, was very impressed. We were not the youngest people there but pretty close. I would say about 25 percent did not have gray or white hair. Maybe the younger folks were at the Iowa Wild game, which was going on at the same time just up the road. We kept the classy feeling going by ending the night at Coda in the Renaissance Savery Hotel. I am so thankful my friend suggested Coda. Somehow, I had never heard of this little gem, and I like to think I know a thing or two about entertainment in Des Moines. We took the skywalk to the swanky lounge, ordered a drink and appetizers and were able to hold a conversation without screaming over blaring music. My husband, in his not-so-old age of 29, can't stand loud bars. So when we didn't have to squeeze past belligerent 21 year olds to find a seat at a dirty table and not be able to hear ourselves think, he was about as close to heaven as he could be. We ordered a cheese pizza and the spinach cream corn dip, which was amazing. The chill, up-scale ambiance was refreshing and surprisingly unique for the metro. With all the proposals for new development on Court Ave, I really hope to see another lounge like Coda pop up to entertain everyone who isn't 22 looking to get schwasted. It's never too late to kick off the new year. Well, until about June. By then half the year is down the drain. Even though much of January has already passed, Friday night I attended the YPC annual kick off party. It may sound lame, but for the last three years I've been wanting to go. I'm glad I can finally say I've made it to one (even though I arrived late due to another commitment). The event is a chance to give everyone a preview for the year, hear from some of the board members, win prizes, network, and of course, have some fun.
This year's party was held at the new location of the Des Moines Social Club at the old firehouse downtown. There are two buildings on the site: the firehouse and the garage/shop out back. The main floor of the shop has been renovated into a black box theater. It has no set stage or seating. As you can see by the above picture, it's really quite dark. It was a great setting for the event as many of us will probably find ourselves at the Social Club once programming is up and running later this year. The main firehouse is still under construction. Between YPC and the Social Club, there will be a lot to do in 2014. I'm sure a good chunk of those will be new experiences for me, and hopefully, for you too. It’s always a great day when I can check off another local restaurant from my To Eat At List. This time Mi Mexico was my victim. Some friends and I got together for a cookie exchange, and in order to stop gorging on the cookies, we decided to head out to dinner. I named off a few restaurants I’d been to that I really like, but when Mi Mexico in West Des Moines was mentioned, I was ready to try someplace new.
The brick square building next to Baker’s Square and McDonald’s doesn’t look like much, but colors and culture explode once you open the doors. Vibrant paintings are splashed on the walls and chairs. The staff was quick and courteous. The Original Margarita comes in the shaker, and the enchiladas suizas were delicious. The server brought me a massive plate over half full of beans and rice with my enchiladas taking up the remainder. I can’t say there was anything special or unique about my meal compared to other Mexican restaurants but tasty nonetheless. The meals started at about $9 and went up from there. Had I wanted to splurge, the fajitas would have been my pick. Snob: A person with an exaggerated respect for high social position or wealth who seeks to associate with social superiors and dislikes people or activities regarded as lower-class.
I most definitely consider myself as an egg nog snob. Growing up in my family, you believe from infancy there is only one egg nog, and that's AE egg nog. Every other egg nog is inferior, from a lower class. In recent years, I tried to be open minded and re-write the egg nog caste system. I struck out with Roberts and some other brand (it was so bad I can't even remember the name). It was then that I realized AE egg nog was, in fact, the superior egg nog. I have stayed cautiously far away from the lower class nogs until this week... My husband had a craving to try something new (how dare he) - specifically, flavored egg nog. Reluctantly, I agreed to try J.R. Watkins vanilla egg nog. To my surprise, it tastes just like AE egg nog. The only difference being it's a thinner liquid, which I think some people would prefer. Does this mean I open my arms and tummy to every brand of egg nog. Most certainly not. It just means J.R. can join the ranks of the superior nogs. Who doesn't enjoy a good old fashion promenade? I mean, in this day and age it's quite difficult to find a proper promenade. Keeping that in mind, I think the annual East Village Promenade Friday night was a great event. (I actually covered it last year when I was reporting for ABC5, but as you should know by now, things I do for work do not count as a first time.)
A few of my co-workers and I did dinner at The Continental and then strolled around the quaint shopping district. The Christmas lights, street performers and free cookies and wine put me in the holiday spirit. We popped into the shop called AllSpice which I'd never been in before. Wow! It's a cook's dream. Stacks and stacks of spices, rubs, and mixes plus three rows of flavored olive oils and vinegars. Each one had a little spout so you could taste before buying. What a great idea! Shots of olive oil on me! After the shopping, we went to check out the new(er) "barcade" called Up Down, which was formerly The Underground. It was so packed of hipsters I didn't know what to do. I was afraid this army of 22-year-olds with dark-framed glasses, plaid shirts and greasy hair would pounce at the first sign of an arcade game breaking. We stayed just long enough to use the one-stall bathroom which was disgusting. Our next stop was Quinton's. One of the bartenders there was super great and made me hot chocolate with Bailey's. Our third and final stop of the night was Lime Lounge. It was also my first time there. I walked it and was very surprised. It was very dimly lit with some great colored lights. It definitely lived up to it's name. It has a lounge-like feeling with a touch of swankiness. The DJ and bartenders were awesome, and it wasn't overflowing with hipsters. We had a great time dancing the night away and never had to wait more than 4 minutes for a drink. The old adage "When in Rome..." seemed perfectly fitting this past weekend when we were in Wisconsin. What do Wisconsinites drink? Spotted Cow beer, of course. This was my first time drinking Spotted Cow. It's an ale from the New Glarus Brewing Co. based in New Glarus, Wis. It was an easy to drink beer with some fruity notes. It was definitely a good choice after watching football in the rain all day. After satisfying my thirst with the Spotted Cow, I moved on to wine. I picked out a red moscato from the grocery store. I like red wines and I like moscatos, but I've never seen a red moscato before. I clearly couldn't pass up this opportunity. I laid out the $7 and took the bottle back to the apartment. My first sip reminded me of communion wine. After a few more sips, that notion dissolved away. It wasn't as sweet as a normal white moscato and it wasn't as dry as a cabernet or merlot. It was a great combination that made for easy drinking until... the bottle was empty.
Imagine you're at an all-inclusive, adult-only beach front resort in the Riviera Maya. It's a gorgeous day. You don't have a care in the world and couldn't be more excited to spend the day relaxing with your hunny. That was my reality the Wednesday of our honeymoon. And what better what to celebrate the amazingness of the day than by consuming ridiculous amounts of tequila? Think about it, think about it... none! Every time we met someone knew I would order a tequila shot. When you take a shot in Mexico, they say "arriba, abajo, al centro, pa'dentro!" It roughly translates to "up, down, in the center and inside." Thank you to our tour guide Sexy Rexy and favorite bartender Enrique for teaching us this tradition. All that tequila just seemed like the right thing to do. Until the next morning... See, we had a day trip set up to check out this adventure place called Xplor on Thursday. We were leaving the resort at 8:15am. I woke up around 7am and knew right away I was going to pay for my "friendship" with tequila the day before. There was no backing out of the trip though, so we got our gear together, ate some breakfast and hopped on the bus to Xplore. It took everything in my power to not lose my breakfast on the ride there. Our driver was a bit aggressive so the breaking, accelerating, and changing lanes was not helping my cause. Luckily we got there with my breakfast intact. I didn't start to feel normal again until about 2pm. Needless to say, do NOT go to Xplor hungover. OK, enough complaining. Xplor was fantastic! The 145-acre park is set in between the ocean and a highway. We got to go on zip lines over the jungle, drive an ATV, paddle a raft through caves full of stalactites and stalagmites and swim in a beautiful crystal clear river with two waterfalls. So pretty much we were arriba y abajo y al centro of the jungle. How fitting. We got there early enough - around 9am - that we only waited for about 20 minutes for the first zipline and maybe 5 minutes for each of the next 13 zip lines. People getting in line around 11am probably waited an hour or more for their first zip line ride. There was no wait for the ATVs, rafts, swim or even lunch, which was a buffet. For an 8-hour day of adventure plus all food and drinks included and private transportation to and from the resort to Xplore, we paid $130 each. Was it worth it? Si! Should you go. Claro! Not convinced? Just look at the pictures! Hat trick. Power play. Icing. 3 periods. Penalty Box. Flying V. That's about all I know about hockey. And yes, the Flying V is a reference from the Mighty Ducks which means it might not even be a real hockey thing. I could take or leave hockey. I didn't grow up watching it, and only went to my high school hockey team's games to get extra credit from my teacher who was the head coach. The funny thing is my husband and I met at a Buccaneers hockey game in Des Moines. We haven't been to a game since, but when I heard about the Minnesota Wild's farm team moving to Des Moines, I knew I wanted to attend. It's not really about the game for me. It's about the atmosphere, the togetherness, and the fun of it all. The opening game on Saturday night pulled in an impressive crowd of 10,200 fans. The Iowa Wild will be a fun, affordable night (or day) out for families, friends, and co-workers. I think this is just one more amenity that makes Des Moines an amazing place to live or visit. Things continued to get wild even after the game... I met up with some friends at Rewind in the East Village. I have never even heard of this place let alone been there. Lucas and I walked up and the bouncer told us he didn't have to card us because he remembers us from last time. Wait, what?! Lucas and I just shrugged and said thanks and proceeded in. We're clearly over 21, so what's the point of telling the guy his memory is failing him? We walked in to see about 15-20 people spread around the bar. The DJ was spinning the classics from the '80s and '90s, most of which I knew. While I'm not a classic rock fan (I know, I'm a terrible person), Whitney Houston and Tainted Love never get old to me. We had fun dancing like fools on the dance floor since it was so practically just us, and two of my friends even strutted their stuff in the cage above the bar. Is Rewind the best club in Des Moines? No. Is it perfectly acceptable when you don't want to me shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of bros at Johnny's and wait 10 minutes for a drink? Yes. I love that Des Moines really gets behind the holidays. Well, at least the holidays that revolve around drinking like St. Patty's Day and Oktoberfest. Thursday at noon the latter holiday kicked off with a Taste of Oktoberfest. Held at Capital Square on 5th and Walnut, the Taste offered $1 brats to the first 200 people and $3 brats for everyone after that. A few co-workers and I walked over from our office and arrived at 12:30. Apparently 200 people beat us there because my brat was $3 and luke-warm. But now, the place was dead. About a dozen downtown workers sat sporadically around the atrium as the Polka Club of Iowa slowly spun around the middle. The star was an 80+ year old woman, pictured to the left, who didn't miss a step. So if you really, really love brats and polka music, this is a must attend event.
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