After my trip to the Farmer's Market, Shannon and I headed back downtown for a visit to the Des Moines Art Festival. This year's festival was head in Western Gateway Park, very close to both BCA and BNIM's Des Moines offices and my favorite sculpture, 'Nomade' by Jaume Plensa. It was fun to introduce Shannon to a few of our favorite artists who we've met through trips to the Plaza Art Fair including Ginny Herzog and Mark Kawell.

It was fun to experience so much of Des Moines this weekend, but the real reason for the trip was a wedding reception for Mike's second cousin, Kelly and her husband, Michael. While Shannon's parents watched Lukas, Olivia and Vokey, the adults enjoyed a quick trip to Iowa City and a visit with the family.

to market, to market

I don't know how many weekends we've spent in Des Moines, yet, until today I'd never been to the Farmer's Market! After a fun night of dinner and drinks with Stacy and Shannon, I got up early for a solo trip to the market. It is a beautiful, cool morning making my morning coffee and scone AND Dutch letter (and samples of loccal cheeses, homemade jams and organic breads) extra yummy!

jazz in the woods

After a busy day that started early with a 10 mile run, we spent a relaxing evening in folding chairs at Jazz in the Woods. We joined met up with some friends and shared picnic fare while listening to local jazz musicians. We didn't get a garden planted this year, but our mint (planted 2 years ago) is prolific, so our food offerings included tomatoes and mozzerella with a mint and basil pesto, a pasta salad with a different variation of pesto (also using mint) and Symphony brownies.

jazzoo

Some friends invited us to join them at Jazzoo, a fantastic fundraiser to support the special diets of over 800 animals at the Kansas City zoo . It was our first time at the event, and, our first time at the KC zoo! I can't think of a better way to spend an evening than sampling food from over 80 local restaurants in a beautiful setting! The 'creative black tie' attire made for interesting people watching as well!

I don't remember eating anything that wasn't delicious but a few samplings stood out. Several of us agreed that "best in show" went to the sea salt ice cream with black pepper brittle served by Trezo Mare (their wagu beef tartare was delicious, too)! I'm not a big fan of Ruth's Chris Steak House, however, their steak sandwich was amazing and while I can't remember which restaurant served them, I'm craving another goat cheese stuffed roasted red bell pepper with balsamic reduction. Yum!

photo finish

Mike's sister, Stacy, just called to say that the cover of the Des Moines Register Metro section has a photo of the Dam to Dam 5K winner crossing the finish line. In the background (to the left), you can spot Mike (white hat and white shirt) and Stacy (pink shirt). For the record, the 5K started LONG after the 20K!!!

dam!

So far, it's been a whirlwind weekend. We left Kansas City mid afternoon on Friday and headed to my second home, Des Moines. We enjoyed dinner with friends on Friday night and then ran the Dam to Dam, a 20K (12.4 mile) run that begins at Sailorville Dam and ends in downtown Des Moines. Afterwards, it was a birthday lunch for Mackenzie at Stacy's before we got back in the car and made the 3 hour drive back to KC. We got back in town just in time to surprise Mickey for her birthday and then enjoyed barbeque at Oklahoma Joe's with Jay and Karen Mulligan.

This morning, the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivor's Park will be rededicated in conjunction with the National Cancer Day Rally.