And the debate continues...

I spent a lovely evening at my good friend Con's house. Enjoyed a very nice bottle of wine. Sadly not on the new patio because it's FREEZING here. July in Iowa is usually HOT but right now we are in the 60's. So we ate and drank at the island in the kitchen. Very hot topics were discussed. One being whether or not Connie lives in the country...so I leave it to you to decide.

I just want to point out the corn field directly across the street from her driveway. And the beautiful pond in the backyard (if you want to call it a backyard.)

Patio Update

Con's patio is done! And it beautiful. I think the color is amazing. And the shape is perfection. I can't wait to be sitting in a lounge chair, sipping a glass of chardonnay and trading stories while enjoying the view.

Patio Update

A little update on Con's patio for you. Doesn't it look amazing?!? I really can't wait to see it with some furniture and plants. But as we all know things happen in stages. I know Con isn't running out right now to buy new chairs. I think she will wait until the end of the season to see if she can get a deal on some things. None-the-less I look forward to hanging out on Con's new patio with a nice glass of wine.

On another note - I met a very interesting fellow at Gray's Lake last night. He was hanging out with his daughter and their little chihuahua, Birthday. (Cute name huh?) We chatted for a little bit and we both said, "Look forward to seeing you tomorrow." Could be interesting since he is totally not my type. (Meaning he's total punk and tattoos and I'm more of the girl-next-door kind of girl.)

Patio Update

Thought I would give you another look at Con's patio progress. Looking good isn't it? I can't wait to see the end result.

Weekend Update

It was a busy weekend my friends. My friend, Con and I decided to go to Kansas City for a little get-away. All we needed was food, shopping, beverages and a pool - everything else was a bonus.

The Plaza was in walking distance from the hotel. I'm pretty sure we hit every store.

Brio had the best flat bread pizza. Appetizers were $2.50. Of course, our wine was $10 a glass so I guess it all evened out.

I can't remember what store this chandelier was in but it was so cool. And the sales people were awesome.

My favorite apartment building we walked by, The Ponce de Leon with the Fountain of Ewes right in front of the building.

Tons of art everywhere. This guy was right across the street from our hotel.

The Kemper Museum was also right by our hotel.

This was probably my favorite art piece I saw all weekend. It was a No Parking sign with this crazy lady on the back.

Large shuttlecocks by the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. There were 5 shuttlecocks in various positions. They were made by a husband and wife team...I leave the rest of the interpretation to you.

And this was another sculpture that Con and I didn't know what to think. It's called the Sheep Piece.

I can't remember what this is called but it was cool. It's totally made of wood, yet it looks like stone.

A little creepy...

And of course good food was a priority and any chance I got to eat on a patio that's what we did. I believe this place was called Baja Bar and Grill. Very good food!

And the margaritas were splendid!

We went to McCormick and Schmick's for dinner on Saturday and all I can say is....Wow. It was that good.

Con had the filet mignon and I went with the Miko shark. I was going to go with swordfish but the waitress suggested the shark so I said, "What the hell..sure."

And then the houses....so many cool houses all around downtown. This greystone was right by the hotel.

Con is going to use this house's front porch for inspiration for her front porch.

Love this arts and crafts home.

Incredible arch. Love the stone work.

Probably my favorite house that we saw all weekend. It was so amazing.

Look at the door and that arch! Freakin' brilliant!

Have no idea what this is...cool though.

As soon as you get close to the state border you will find tons of places like this one. Fireworks are illegal in Iowa yet, you can go get enough fire power to blow up your house one state away. Con wanted a couple of safe (and legal) things for her little red headed munchkins. We were so out of our element in this store. Thank god the high school sales boy helped us. We were clueless. I did end up getting some loud poppers for my nephews.

So that's the story of my great weekend. This weekend is the Art Festival in Des Moines. I can't wait! I just hope it's not 100 degrees with 100% humidity.

Before

My good friend, Con is building a new patio for her house. I told her I needed photos for my blog. Con and Bill live in the house that Bill grew up in. They have completely renovated the house and are now working on the outside. I like to say they live in the country. I'm pretty sure Con would disagree with me. But if it's not Des Moines, then it's the country to me. I'll have more photos of the patio progress this weekend.