The Best of 80/35 2011

Best Accoustic Preformance
Jessica Lea Mayfield

Towards the end of her set, a generator blew and the stage lost power. She unplugged her guitar, sat on the end of the stage and sang the song Sleepless.



Best Way to Enjoy the Concert
VIP Pass



I decided to go for VIP tickets this year and they were totally worth it. As a VIP, I got two free meals, six free drink tickets (I couldn't use them all), free icecream, three dollar discount on merch as well as some free free merch, separate bathrooms, and a lounge tent. I also received access to a VIP area by the main stage which made it nice for bouncing from one stage to the next because I never have to worry about getting a good spot or getting stuck in the crowd.

Best Headliner
Girl Talk

I'd never heard of Girl Talk and thought a mash-up artist was kind of a silly headliner. I was pleasantly surprised though when I found that I liked him. He was able to get the crowd really energized and it was fun hearing all the different layers of sound and music.

Girl Talk at 80/35 fest 2011 from MPLS.TV on Vimeo.

Best Way to Past the Time While Waiting for the Shows to Start
Brunch at Americana

Best Lyric That I will Have Fun Repeating Even Though I Shouldn't
"Manifest this, motherf*cker!" - Bitch

I don't really need an explanation for that.

Best Guitar Player
Reverend Peyton

He played Dixie and Yankee Doodle Dandy on one guitar at the same time - one song a the top chords and one song on the bottom chords. It was awesome!





Best Locals
Christopher the Conquered and Parlours

I missed Christopher the Conquered last year but heard how amazing he was. I had to make sure I saw him this time around. He a great entertainer and has a great sound. I can see why he is developing a cult following.

The beautifully haunting melodies of the Parlours are great and make for a moving performance. Plus they were nice enough to sign my CD for me:)





Best Dressed
Man Wearing Snake, Painted Lady/Gentleman, and Pink Mohawk

Beauty For BoBos

1. butter London

Butter London's nail lacquers contain no formaldehyde, no toluene, and no DBP. The colors are really pretty and have been appearing on this seasons runways. Their Powder Room lacquer remover is acetone free and smells like baby powder. That being said - what really makes this polish cool is that the colors are named after (sometimes cheeky) British slang. I am wearing Artful Dodger right now.




2. Urban Decay

It's not just for '90's rocker girls. I loved this brand when I was in collage. At the time there was only one location in Iowa that sold the stuff. I was lucky enough to have one eyeshadow and one bottle of nail polish. My tastes moved away from the shimmery shades but I recently discovered their matte line. I was getting a bit frustrated with buying eyeshadows that said they were matte only to find out they weren't. Urban Decay's matte make-up is actually matte. Now I wear eyeshadow in Heist and lipstick in Rush for my basic make-up look.

3. Dry Shampoo

This stuff is awesome for those days that you are in a rush or just for Sunday mornings when you just want to crawl out of bed and go to brunch. You just spray it on your hair, brush, and go. It's also a great way to avoid over shampooing. Brands you can try are Salon Grafix, John Frieda, Oscar Blandi, and Ojon.

4. Dr. Bonner's

This gentle cleanser has been loved by hippies and bohemians for years. It cleanses well and makes your skin feel really soft. The ingredients are: water, saponified organic coconut & organic olive oils(w/ retained glycerin), organic hemp oil, organic jojoba oil, citric acid, and vitamin E. Plus if your soul is feeling a little dirty you can always read the scripture on the bottle.

5. Sugar or Salt Scrub

You may not always have the time and money to go to the spa for a salt glow or body scrub and honestly you don't really have too. Just stock up on tubs of sugar and salt scrubs and use in the shower once or twice a week. Your rough elbows and dry winter skin won't know what hit them. Recommended brands are Melaleuca Tangerine Sugar Scrub, Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub, C.O. Bigelow Body Polish, and Prairieland Herbs Body Scrubs.

6. Tocca/Tokyo Milk

If you have to pick one thing to spend a little extra on, I think perfume is a good choice. I found that a lot of perfumes can have kind of a synthetic smell about them. I think it is worth a little extra cash to get a quality scent. Plus you don't need to use as much if it has actual essential oils in it so it lasts longer anyways. Two brands that I really like are Tocca and Tokyo Milk (plus it's sister lines). The scents are multi-layer so you don't have to worry about them clashing with other fragrances from your body wash, shampoo, or lotion.



7. DIY

Sometimes reading the back of the bottle can be a little scary and confusing. You know exactly what's in something though if you made it yourself. You can control the quality of the ingredients also. There are several books and websites with recipes for cleansers, moisturizers, and the like. Do it Gorgeously is a book that I would recommend. Prairieland Herbs in Woodward, IA also has recipes on their website and classes available.

Places to shop in Des Moines: butter London - Ulta, Domestica; Urban Decay - Ulta, Sephora; Misc. Dry Shampoo - Ulta, Sephora, Walgreens; Dr Bonner's - Ulta, Walgreens, Campbell's, New City Market, Gateway Market; Tocca - Sephora, Eden; Tokyo Milk - Eden, Francesca's Collection

Big Hair Ball 2011

This year's Big Hair Ball was blast. My favorite runway show was Blonde's ode to Mad Max. Here are photo highlights.

Goodbye 2010

Yes, It is at the end of the first month of 2011 and I am finally blogging this. What can I say? I have a love/hate relationship with my blog. I'll give it lots of attention before I get bored and stop calling it. So anyways without any further delay here are my top highlights of the year that was in no particular order and by no means deep...

1. I ate but didn't make it to Pray or Love

I had this great idea that I would have my own stay-cation style spiritual journey a la Eat, Pray, Love. The eating part was easy for a foodie like me but then as you noticed the blogging just stopped. What happen? Well, I got a yoga mate, a yoga DVD, and some prayer beads but not as much time as I wanted. So, maybe what I ended up proving was that sometimes you do have to get away from it all in order for these things to work. Bitch magazine, you've made your point!

I do have to mention though that I did see the movie and started (but not finished) the book. They are both really good. Also, I think that Richard Jenkins should have gotten a nomination for his turn as Richard from Texas...but the academy never asks my opinion:)

Anyways, I might get back on track with this in the future but for now it's on the back burner.

2. A Farewell to Music Television


2010 was the year that MTV finally stopped kidding itself and dropped the "music television" from it's title. It was sad to see the music die and I will always have fond memories of watching it as a kid while staying at my grandparent's apartment during summer break. Sadly the MTV of my youth that I loved so much has warped itself into a reality show nightmare. It makes sense for them to adapt their name. Fortunately I can now watch a random assortment of music videos on The Cool TV.

On an unrelated MTV note for the year...Daria finally made it to DVD. La,la,la,la,la!

3. Jen Goes Glam

Okay, that's an exaggeration. I did re-embrace my girly side though this year. I finally got myself a stylist and stopped doing the random Famous Sams/Cost Cutter trips during my lunch breaks. My hair looks great because I have someone who knows what works for me. Also getting my hair done now is something I make time for instead of doing out of necessity while I'm in a rush. In addition I started visiting East Village Spa every few months for massages and facials and pampering, hanging out at Ultra and Sephora, continued my addition to Eden, expanded the amount of jewelry and shoes I own, and accidentally purchased myself a pricey hairdryer.

4. I Heart iMAC

In 2010 my poor computer decided it had enough of this world and kicked it right before Christmas. I was a little bummed but I had gotten it used for $50.00 with the help from a friend three years ago and it was getting old. It was the perfect time for an upgrade and a perfect way for me to decide what I was going to get myself for Christmas. I am now a very happy owner of an iMAC. It takes up less space because there is no tower and it comes with a cordless keyboard and mouse. Plus (and most importantly) it has enough juice to play World of Warcraft.

5. I Do Not Heart Twillight

This is a two parter (both vampire related). The first Twillight in question is Stephenie Meyer's vampire/werewolf saga. I had watched the first film when it came out in the theaters to see what the excitement was all about. It was fun to watch but only because I laughed all the way through it. It gave me no desire to want to see the next in the series. Then someone talked me into watching the second movie. Turns out it's about a love triangle between a self-destructive young girl, a boy who switches back and forth from telling her that he wants to protect her and telling her that if she isn't careful around him he'll hurt her and another boy who switches back and forth from telling her that he wants to protect her and telling her that if she isn't careful around him he'll hurt her. One of the guys doesn't wear a shirt and the other one sparkles. For some reason, I just can't put my arms around this series...

The second Twillight in question is the "big bad" from the Buffy Season 8 comic book. I am a big fan of the series and enjoy comics but reading Season 8 was like watching Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko and then watching his Southland Tales. The big reveal of the main villain wasn't as much of a "wow" as a WTF...literally! I did like some of the tiny subplots (slayer's with pink mohawks are way cooler than crazy ex-boyfirends who talk to dogs) and one-shots though. The last issue was also enjoyable. Here's hoping Season 9 is better .

6. Books


This year I actually read a lot of books. I contribute this to joining a book club and Stieg Larsson. Higher education had made me sick of reading for many years so it was nice to get back into enjoying it again. I am reading at least one book a month now and loving every word of it. It's also fun to compare books to their movie adaptations:)

7. Ingersoll Avenue Went Through Some Changes

This year after much debate a bike lane was added onto Ingersoll Avenue. Now while a bike lane does sound like a great idea there is one problem. Nobody uses it. I've been keeping a tally all year of the number of bikers I have seen on Ingersoll. The total for the year was four. I'm not kidding.

Luckily that wasn't the only interesting thing that happened on Ingersoll though this year. In the fall, DART (the metro bus system) had a free bus that took you to the East Village every Friday night. The bus driver told me there would be a vote on whether they would continue. I haven't heard anything about it since but hopefully this is something they will do again in the future. Also Red China Bistro opened as well as Copa Cavana. I haven't tried the later yet but Red is enjoyable. There was another Ingersoll Live and Art Stop as well. Plus Chocolate Stam started serving alcohol and having live music on the weekends.

Eat part 3: Baru 66

After I finished my dinner at the recently opened restaurant Baru 66, the waitress came up to my table and asked how everything how was. My response was "I think I just found a new favorite restaurant." I'm not sure if the chef is single or not (or even what he looks like and if he has a nice personality) but I think I may be in love.

My first course was the potato leek soup and, before you start yawning, I must mention this was not your typical potato leek soup. The soup was a creamy bisque with salmon fillet in the middle circled by escargot and then topped with caviar. And yes, it was as good as it sounds. The second course was the Parisienne gnocchi which was wonderful. The gnocchi actually tasted like potatoes with a hint of chive making it kind of an upscale comfort food. The final course was a peach creme brulee. It had whole chunks of peach in it and was served in a long shallow dish which meant more sugar to crack on the top (if you've seen the movie Amelie, you know what I'm talking about.

This was my favorite Restaurant Week stop and I will checking it out again hopefully in the near future. You can check out some pictures at their facebook page.

EAT part 2 : Alba

First day of Des Moines Restaurant Week 2010! I started by trying the East Village restaurant Alba. My three courses were as follows - carrot and mint soup, pork cheeks, and apricot clafloutis. The highlight for me was the carrot and mint soup and I was lucky enough to get the last bowl. The carrot and mint complemanted each other and were a refreshing combination. Neither of the main ingredients overwhelmed the other. The pork cheek was quite yummy as well and came with a lovely succotash. The dessert was good but I wasn't wowed by it and the presentation wasn't as pretty as the other courses.

My guest had the salmon tartar with homemade crackers which was very enjoyable. The only downside was that the dish came with a small jar of pickled veggies which were apparently too sour and absolutely dreadful. I would recommend the dish as long as you don't eat you vegatables.

All in all though, I'd go back for the soup alone. I don't think this will be my favorite stop during restaurant week though.

EAT Part 1 : The Iowa State Fair

Ah, the Iowa State Fair - golden fried indulgence at its best. In fact if you asked anyone what there favorite part of the fair is they would probably start listing of forms of junk food of the fried on a stick persuasion. The worst/most life threatening thing I ate was the deep-fried candybar. I actually ate the whole thing this year. Most years I can only get through about a third before I have to stop. I'm crediting this to the fact that I had been fasting on cold cereal the two previous days in anticipation of my gluttony.

Other than the fried candybar of death, I also had a turkey wrap, lamb walking taco, pancakes, and chocolate milk. I also enjoyed an assortment of samples. I can't want for A&E's chocolate banana milk and sea salt cottage cheese to hit the stands.

I, of course, had to make several stops by the Butter Cow. Who could resist looking upon a cow sculpted entirely out of butter. Food as art!

Eat, Pray, Love for the Underprivileged

Unless you've been seriously not paying attention, you know that the new Julia Roberts film Eat, Pray, Love just opened in theaters. I have not seen the movie yet or read the best selling novel it is based on although I plan on at least doing one or the other. I have however read articles in Entertainment Weekly as well as online reviews and critiques. So that's basically where my expertise in this subject lies.

After being slammed with numerous ads, trailers, teasers, and promotions (and getting that awesome Florence + The Machine song stuck in my head), I decided to check out what others were saying about the phenomenon. This "journey" of mine lead me to an article from Bitch Magazine called Eat, Pray, Spend, Priv-lit and the new, enlightened American dream which criticizes the novel as being part of the costly enlightenment industry which for the most part seems to be focused towards women. Having of course not read the novel yet, I'm not sure if it does indeed deserve this criticism or not however I'm inclined to think that the Bitch does have a point. I would love to spend a year traveling to Italy, Indonesia, and India but alas I can't afford it.

So, I'm going to do this staycation style and over a shorter time frame...

EAT

My new journey to enlightenment will begin of course with Eat and I have have to say this is all perfect timing for the Iowa State Fair and Des Moines Restaurant Week are upon us. Last night I made my first stop at Stam Chocolaterie on Ingersoll. For those who don't know, this European candy store does have a hidden night life on the weekends. The patio/garden on the side on the shop has a stage for live music which is played every Friday and Saturday and there is a full wine menu which features Sangria's and wine and chocolate flights (samples of four different wines paired with four different types of chocolate). I tried the Chocolaty Dutchman - wine with Picket Fence Creamery chocolate milk garnished with a dark chocolate medallion. This sexy drink is as good as it sounds. I paired it with a small bag of chocolates. Not the best dinner but I not ashamed to say that it was very satisfying:)

To Be Continued...

My Top Movies of 2009 (in no particular order)

Yes, like many bloggers before me, I am blogging about my favorite movies of 2009. I usually try not to do this not because of the "movie blogger cliche" but because I can only watch so many movies in the theater during the year because unfortunately I don't get paid to watch movies and by the time January comes along and all the critics are sharing their top ten lists and I am looking through these lists thinking to myself "that's not on video yet but I really want to see that" and...I'll just stop my rambling now. Long story short with some help from Blockbuster and a month delay, here is my list of favorite films for 2009. Hope you enjoy!

1. Fantastic Mr. Fox - "Here, put this bandit hat on." I love stop motion animation and the book Fantastic Mr. Fox and this movie is a wonderful representation of both. It is adorable, humorous, fun, and a cussing good time. Anyone other than Wes Anderson would have cussed it up.

2. Is Anybody There? - "I remember looking up at the stars and thinking what a great big universe this is. Now it's very very small." A movie about death set in a retirement home doesn't seem like something that would be appealing. But the story of the friendship that develops between an old magician and death-obsessed 10 year old is touching and uplifting.

3. (500) Days of Summer - "This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story." This quirky non-love story made me both laugh and cry (damn Regina Spektor song). Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel are perfect as anti-Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan. And props for best use of a split screen since Carrie.

4. Inglourous Basterds - "You know somethin', Utivich? I think this might just be my masterpiece." How could one not love a spaghetti western revenge flick set in World War II? The tense opening scene is cinematic genius. Tarantino's dialog gets a little wording during the bar scene in the middle but I can forgive him for that.

5. The Proposal - "Do you prefer Margaret or "Satan's Mistress?' " This was just a fun movie to watch. Unlike a lot of recent romantic comedies, the cast is actually funny.

6. Sunshine Cleaning - "Um, we come into people's lives when they have experienced something profound - and sad. And they've lost somebody, you know? And um, the circumstances, they're always different. But that's the same. And we help. In some small way we, um, we help." There's nothing like finding a job that you are truly good at and can take pride in. And if that dream job happens to be cleaning up crime scenes, then so be it.

7. An Education - "I feel old. But not very wise." The young girl/older man plot has been done before and I thought this movie would fit into what has become the same basic plot. But this movie is different. The title actually refers to an education (the one with school books), the girl isn't naive or misunderstood (she's just young), and the man is charming without the creepy under tone that makes you wonder why nobody has mace him yet.

Eggs Benedict on a Budget

The McDonald's Egg McMuffin is essentially a variation of eggs benedict. It was created by Herb Peterson, a McDonald's franchisee, in 1972 as a "poor man's version" by replacing the hollandaise with a slice of American cheese. So if you are having a craving for eggs benedict, munching on the McMuffin in it's "natural" state is perfectly acceptable. However if you want a more traditional version of eggs benedict, just follow these easy steps.

1. Order the Egg McMuffin.
2. Ask for a small container of breakfast sauce (the sauce that they put on the bagel sandwiches - it's hollandaise) and a knife and fork
3. Find a booth and start assembling
4. Take the top off the sandwich
5. Pour/scoop the breakfast sauce onto the sandwich
6. Dash a little black pepper on top if desire
7. Eat and enjoy!

I love Eggs Benedict, I hate every other kind. - Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) from Runaway Bride

Got my insides out, and it feels all right.

I just got back from seeing Anni Rossi and Kaisercartel at the Vaudeville Mews! I was really excited that two of my favorite acts from 80/35's past were going to be playing together. Anni Rossi was great of course and the audience really liked her. She actually remember me from 80/35 which was cool.

It was a lot of fun to see Kaisercartel again. The duo formed of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel are best described as emo's with sunny dispositions. Their album march forth is one of my favorites. They have an indy/folk pop sound that is just makes you feel kind of good when you listen to it. Two of their songs - Inside Out and Favorite Song - are going to be on the new HBO show Bored To Death.

As well as the old favorites, they also played some songs from their new album Rock Island which will be out in October. It's available for pre-order on their website www.kaisercartel.com where you can also check out lots of band info.

Get Your Foodie On

It's the beginning of the second annual Des Moines Restaurant Week! It runs from August 21st to August 30th and is a good way to check out some of DSM's posh restaurants. For $25 you can either split a lunch with a friend or treat yourself to a three course dinner. You can check out a list of participating restaurants and get other info at DSM Magazine. To kick things off I made a list of some of my favorite eateries.

1. Simo's Cafistro in Valley Junction

Simo's serves wonderful Cajun food. The menu includes appetizers such as escargot w/crawfish and scallops served over mashed potatoes and main courses such as black beans and rice, etouffee, swordfish, and stuffed porkchop. My personal favorite is the sashimi tuna which is a common nightly special. There is live music on the weekends for you to enjoy with your sangaria.

2. Miyabi 9 in East Village

Miyabi 9 has the best sushi ever! My favorites are the Captain Crunch and the Miami Heat rolls. I also enjoy the sashimi plate and maki icecream. It has a bigger kitchen that dinning area so I recommend getting there a bit early to make sure to get a seat right away so that you don't have to wait.

3. La Mie on 42nd Street

Whether you just want to grab a pastry on your way to work or enjoy a meal, Le Mie always makes you feel a little bit special. Some of my favorite things at this French bakery are the chocolate pitachio rolls, carmel pecan rolls, and avocado tarrine.

4. Teacups and Tiaras in Valley Junction

This girly tearoom is a great place to visit when you're in the mood for a light lunch. Take your mom here when she visits...she'll love it. The Mediterranean quiche and almond soup are my favs and the owner is a delight.

5. Mezzodi's on Fleur Drive

Located near the Fleur Cinemas this is a great place to go if your in the mood for dinner and a movie. The homemade pasta dishes are fabulous. My picks are the pear and toasted walnut salad and the chicken piccata. The service here is also wonderful.

6. The Gateway Market on MLK

I love the soups and lobster roll sandwich. It's also one of my favorite brunch places. Hands down the best eggs benedict in Des Moines.

7. El Patio on 37th

This slightly hidden gem is my favorite Mexican restaurant. The high quality ingredients make this stand above chains such as Chi Chi's. I enjoy the chicken enchiladas, tacos, and chimichanga and the fried icecream is a perfect way to end any meal.

A Rockin' July 4th at 80/35

I had a great Independence Day at the second annual 80/35 Music Festival! (The only bad news I have to report is that is seems that there is an epidemic of males that are dressing like the Jonas Brothers. Guys, the skinny jeans and poofy hair doesn't even look that good on them. Stop...Please!) The weather was overcast all day but with no rain so it keep things cool...which was great because I spent the whole day.

The Des Moines Social Club made a nice pit stop between shows. They had local musicians playing in their Sideshow Lounge and cupcake shots in the main room. It was a great place to find a spot to sit to rest your feet or eat your spam sushi (the food vendors were excellent). It also had bathrooms with flushing toilets and sinks for washing up:)


The music of course was awesome! I started out the day with folk-rockish Anni Rossi. The only instrument that she use other than her voice was the viola. The highlight was her hauntingly beautiful cover of the Ace Of Base song "Living in Danger." I won't have realized it was of cover of the 90's song if she hadn't told us. I also enjoyed "Machine" and "Wheelpusher."

We listen to a little bit of Baby Teeth who were okay before we moved onto local band Beati Paoli who were quite enjoyable. I'm not quite sure how to describe their music but it had elements of punk, rock, and new wave. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of them. I already plan on stopping by next time they play show.

Beati Paoli was followed by Miss Derringer which ended up being my favorite act of the day. I guess you would call them punk/country. They had honky-tonk lyrics with a vintage rock sound and reminded me a lot of Blondie. They were a lot of fun to watch and the lead singer Liz McGrath was very nice and autographed my CD for me. It looked like they had a really good time at 80/35 as well. I keep seeing them walking around the festival eating food, drinking beer, and listening to the other bands.



Miss Derringer is currently touring with Girl In A Coma who playing shortly after them. They had a really great punk rock girl band sound to them which reminded me of the Breeders and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They're signed with Joan Jett's label Blackheart Records which totally suits them.

Later we listen to local darlings Cleo's Apartment (who remind me a lot of British band Morcheeba), Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, and Maximilian Eubank before joining the large crowd of Envy Corp fans. The local band has toured with the Killers and had one of their songs featured in the movie "Run Fat Boy Run." They hit a little bit of red tape with their first full album but they have a new one coming out under their own record label, Tempo Club. I usually describe them as a less depressed Radiohead. They had a huge audience and said that they hoped to play the main stage next year. I ended up twisting my ankle while watching them so I can now claim that I was injured at a rock concert:) You can read an article about the band here.

The night ended with a fireworks show to celebrate the holiday. I had a lot of fun can't wait 'till next year's fest. You can get some more info at the offical website www.80-35.com

Vacation Pictures of Omaha Part Deux

While in Omaha I also visited the Old Market. It's kind of like an expanded version of Des Moines East Village. I really enjoyed the Soul Desires Bookstore, the french bakery, and the art gallery that featured Eva Aeppli's scultures (made from sewed silk and then bronzed). It was a lovely place to spend the whole day.

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I am another year older as of last Wednesday.  My sister made me the pillow pictured to the left.  It's pretty cute and matches my couch too!  The button in the middle of it has a chandelier on it.  I also got a really nice neckless from my parents.

I got some freebees for my birthday as well.  If you sign up for the STAR 102.5's e-mail newsletter, you get a free lunch at Splash and a box of chocolates from Chocolate Storybook.  And if you get Sephora's Beauty Insider e-mails, you get a free lip gloss trio.

Vacation Pictures of Omaha

For this year's vacation I went to Omaha, NE.  Above is the pedestrian bridge that connects Iowa to Nebraska.  I didn't actually walk it myself (heights!) but I had fun talking lot of pictures of it.

This is the sign outside of Joe Tess Place a.k.a home of the best fish sandwich EVER! My dad use to take me here all the time when I was little and for sentimental reasons it was probably the part of my trip I was most looking forward to. Joe Tess Place was also on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network. Below are the before and after pictures (see it's a sandwich because there is a slice of bread at the bottom).













Omaha was pretty packed because of the college games (silly jocks) but we still made it to the zoo. We just made sure to go between games since the zoo is right next to the stadium. Omaha has one of the best zoos. I ended up taking a lot of "wild life" photos.

Foodies and Greeks

Saturday, I was such a foodie!  The Top Chef Tour Bus was in town at the Downtown Farmers Market.  This year Richard (season 4) and Jamie (season 5) came to Des Moines.  They autographed my cookbook right next to Dale and CJ's signatures (which I got last year).  Richard made ribs and Jamie made strawberry gazpacho.  In between shows, they had a Top Chef spin-the-wheel game you could play and if you got your answer right you won a prize.  I got a Top Chef slinky, key chain, fake tattoo, and mints.

The Farmer's Market was enjoyable as always.  I got a new book called Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman- West that I recommend to anyone that likes to frequent the farmer's markets.  It tells you what is in season and provides seasonal recipes.  Joining Buy Fresh, Buy Local is also a good way to keep up to date on what's in season and local product news.  Here's their link http://www.drake.edu/news/dbletter/buyfreshbuylocal/

Later I checked out the 2009 Greek Food Fair.  This annual event is a great way to try different Greek dishes such as souvlakia (shish kabob), spanakopita, keftedes, orzo, and baklava.  The baklava sells out fast so make sure you get their early if you're a fan of the pastry.  If you missed the Greek Food Fair but I've now made you hungry, check out Mythos Grill at 7450 Bridgewood Blvd in West Des Moines across from Costco near the Jordan Creek Mall. 

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Big Hair Ball 2009!

It was time again for the Des Moines Art Center's bi-annual Big Hair Ball.  This time around the theme was "Glam Revolution."  The glitter was everywhere!  

The doors were guarded by ladies with painted on fishnets and brightly colored toy guns.  Inside Techno music pounded while drinks and hors d'oeurves awaited. In addition to the usual hairstylists on hand (ready to make your hair big for you), there was also face painting and (faux) tattoos.  They had actual tattoo artists from Iron Heart Tatoo doing the inking, so you ended up with a gorgeous, intricate design on your arm, leg, etc.  I got an angel on my calf (see below).  

The main event was a runway show featuring different hair designs/sculptures from various local salons.  Each salon had their own theme such as "Revolution around the world" and "Charmed Revolt."  Atelier Hairspace's "Inner Beauty Revolution" also featured fashions from Smash.  This year burlesque dancers entertained between runways instead of drag queens.

Les Artistes

Lucky me, I got to spend my Friday night at a Santigold concert at Peoples!  I was so excited when I found out one of my favorite Indy artists was going to be in Des Moines.  Her debut CD is by far one of my favorite all time albums.  And also one of my most listened to... my poor CD case's hinges are just hanging on by a thread.

I spent my whole work day telling my co-workers about how raring I was to be going to the show that night (I hope everyone wasn't sick of me by the end of the day) and I was surprised that a lot of people didn't know her.  Well if you haven't heard of Santigold, you should give her a listen.  Musically she can't really be categorized.  She is part Hip-Hop, part New Wave, part Electronic and a little bit Punk.  She has had a few songs on the show Gossip Girl so if you watch that show you've probably heard her.

The concert was great!  The audience loved her.  She told the crowd that she had the choice of either coming to Des Moines or Chicago but she had never been the Des Moines before so she came here.  She also compared our capitol building to Paris which was kind of cool.  Hopefully she'll make it back here again:)

How to be a Not-So-Snobby Music Snob or How to Maintain a Rock-N-Roll Lifestyle in Des Moines, Iowa

1. Know your independent music.  Subscribe to Paste Magazine or Off The Radar.  Most of the bands that play Iowa are not the mainstream stuff that you hear on the radio or see on MTV (our hear in the background of an episode of The Hills or whatever).  This can be a good thing though.  A lot of independent artists tend to be very talented and actually enjoy what they do.   They're not in it for the money.
   
2. Go to Starbucks.  (It's okay.  We all do it.  It's nothing to be ashamed of...)  Every week they have a different "Pick of the Week"  free download from iTunes.  It gives you a chance to check out bands such as The Boxer Rebellion, Andrew Bird, and Airborne Toxic Event.  Plus they have some cool CDs for sale.
   
3. Check out locally owned music shops.  Go to Zzz Records and Homers to get local music and buy your vinyl.  
4. Visit live music venues such as Peoples and Vaudeville Mews.  Check out there websites or The Juice for a list of upcoming acts.  I just got my Santigold tickets the other day!
5. Stop by some of our local coffee houses.  Java Joes and The Ritual Cafe frequently have live music.  I have seen Brenda Weiler, The Honeybees, and Joan Jett at these places.
6. Go to the 80/35 Music Festival.  Kaisercartel autographed my CD for me last year and I can't wait to see who I get to mingle with this year. Flavor Flav (ewww!) is going to be here but not to worry there will be plenty of other cool artists.  Check out this year's line up at http://80-35.com/
7. Shop at Target.  Target sells CDs for up-and-coming artists for between $7.99-9.99.