sunday brunch | louie's wine dive

Peri's des moines brunch post a couple weeks ago got us all hungry for a great brunch, so this morning the three of us got together and brunched!  we decided on louie's wine dive, and it was delicious!  we would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a great place for brunch or dinner.

pictured is the louie's blue plate, the corned pork hash, and the biscuits & gravy 

- E

weekend getaway | arizona

while arizona isn't the obvious choice for a weekend getaway in july, it does happen to be where the hubby is for military training, so off i went for the holiday!  besides that i was going to be there for the long weekend, we had no plans - deciding it would be more fun to just wing it.  after flying into tucson, we decided to drive up to phoenix, and while on the way, made a hotel reservation from hotwire.  the hotel turned out to be the most colorful, funkiest little place in scottsdale, the saguaro.  (you know it's gonna be fun when your door is bright blue!)

after exploring the area, and of course, some shopping, we decided to go to dinner at petite maison, an adorable little french restaurant.  the food - and french press coffee - was de.licious. 

check out these desserts ... an enormous chocolate whoopie pie, and grilled pineapple ... yum.

 

we did manage to catch the fireworks show in tempe, although sadly, no photographic proof exists.

we started saturday off on our own personal porch, with a view of palm tress (!), and then headed south to the military base.



the southwest really does have a beauty that's all its own.  they just started "monsoon season," so we did run into a few crazy rain storms, but mostly the weather was lovely, albeit hot.

hope you all had a fabulous and safe holiday weekend!

- E

Des Moines' foodie culture

let's talk about Des Moines - it has a lot of great things going for it. it is up-and-coming and is continually building and expanding its cultural base. the art scene is amazing not to mention its many specialty boutiques that continue to pop up, especially in the East Village. the foodie in me, however, loves the many cafes, restaurants and specialty food shops associated with Des Moines' growing food scene. i have a list of course, but there are just so many to choose from and go to!

i plan on making and commenting on a list of places next week, but for now, here are a couple of photos from places in Des Moines - just to make your mouth water a little until next time.

 

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with love - P