photo by Liz Brown
What's up, guys? I've started a newsletter as a way to keep you informed about things happening here on the site, as well as various events throughout the City.
If you sign up, you'll receive Say Hello to the City in your inbox every week and there will be links to articles you might have missed and also a few tidbits about fun happenings in Des Moines (there are so many art shows lately, you wouldn't even believe it!)
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A few weeks ago I asked my readers over on my Facebook page who I should interview next. I received a couple of suggestions and one of them was local henna artist, Rayna Gasteiger.
Read MoreAs a kid we were a mere twenty minutes away from the local drive-in theater and we only went once. I still remember the movies that were playing: the Princess Diaries and Pearl Harbor. Obviously, that was a very long time ago. The last couple of years I've written up "to do lists" for the summer and the drive-in has always been high on the list, but somehow I've neglected to go. Until this year!
Read MoreDid you hear? I wrote a guide to Des Moines over on Design*Sponge (which you can read by clicking here.) It was super hard to narrow down all the places I thought were worth visiting, but I ended up putting together a list I feel proud to share. After the jump are a few pictures that didn't make it onto the guide, but that I thought were too good not to show you guys.
Read MoreYesterday I got off work early and drove down to Tulip Time with some of my family. When my cousins got in my car, one of them looked at me and said, "My mom told me to wear a nice shirt because I might be on your blog." That made me laugh so hard!
Read MoreA few days ago, I spent some time at Mars Coffee Bar down in the East Village. It’s one of my favorite places to grab a cup of coffee (e.g. the Sputnik - their honey and cinnamon latte) and catch up with a friend.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I co-hosted a popup dinner and it was magical. Nineteen guests joined us in the heart of the Historic East Village for a five course meal and endless conversation. Someday I'll do a post about how these pop-ups came to be, but for now take a look at some pictures from the evening's event.
The popup was hosted by Around the Table, a local creative collective that seeks to connect people through a shared culinary experience. Throughout the last few years, I've found that something special happens when you feed people a good meal and invite them into a beautiful experience. When I first started hosting these events, I noticed that people paid for a good meal, but that what kept them seated afterwards was the communal aspect that the meal fostered so well.
While these events take lots of planning and the logistics can be difficult (I speak from personal experience when I say that hauling tables all the way down Grand Avenue is a chore) that frenzy tends to fade into the background once everyone is seated. Once we're around the table, everything just flows: conversation, laughter, and, yes, also wine.
I think that the popularity of social media has created a hunger in people for tangible experiences that occur offline and I think that these dinners fill that void nicely. I hope you're able to join us someday at one of our events. It's unforgettable and it makes the world feel a little bit smaller.
Special to Liz Brown for the spectacular pictures, Mars for their barista and pour-overs, and Chrissy over at Domestica for allowing us to utilize her gorgeous retail space.
Copyright 2020. Designed by Cait Goodman.
