My Des Moines Top 10

My Top Eight Favorite Places in Des Moines...so far. I wanted to make it ten, but I'm out of time and ideas. Suggestions are great.



8. Dahl's Foods on Ingersoll Avenue

Finally a grocer that caters to us that live by ourselves. The hardest part of cooking for yourself when you enjoy cooking isn't deciding what to make. It's paying money for groceries that go bad before you use them because you have to buy to0 much. Dahl's has helped me solved this problem. I can walk out of this Dahl's with 2 new potatoes, 1 carrot, 2 fresh mushrooms, 2 stalks of celery, and some snow peas and all will be go in my tummy and not my trash can. Plus, every one is friendly and real. Often you don't get that anywhere else.



7. Beaverdale

My aunt and uncle have lived in this neighborhood for almost 30 years and I now know why. There's not place quite like it in the city, with nice older homes that aren't pretentious and local businesses that really care about their customers. When I have some time to kill and I'm close to it I love to explore its streets.



6. Gray's Lake

New York City has the urban park figured out, but in central Iowa's largest city Gray's is a nice oasis from the hustle and bustle of downtown and the chaos that is Jordan Creek Mall (the lake there will never match this, especially since all you smell there is Joe's Crab Shack). The path is nice, mostly flat and a good distance around. Not to long or too short. It's good place take a date!



5. Centro

There's a reason why this place was voted Best Restaurant. Period. by Cityview - because it is. I love that I can go to Centro in jeans and feel at home and well taken care of, and yet dress up and feel special. George Formano knows what he's doing, and I don't say that just because his sister is a co-worker.



4. The West Des Moines Library

This is Netflix for the poor and their selection is pretty good.



3. The Gateway Market

The vibe here is hip but Midwest. You can go to buy groceries or have coffee in your wind pants and feel comfortable either way. My favorite TV chef, Ina Garten, is always shopping at these gorgeous Euro markets on the East Coast and I always wanted to find a place where she would feel like home. This is it. Although I have to be wise about what I buy because the income isn't the largest, there are several treats I splurge on. You can get the small purple fingerling potatoes you see in Gourmet and buy pizza dough to take home. They also have 99c foccacia rounds from South Union that are to die for. I'm still saving to buy a cupcake...someday!



2. Ingersoll Avenue

This street amazes me. Des Moines is a local business town for many of the die hards, which is probably why Ingersoll is so successful. Chains don't survive here. They put up a Walgreens only to have it close and be converted to Palmer's Deli, one of the best lunch spots if you can swing it. I have yet to really explore many of the shops. I just enjoy that we have a neighborhood that nurtures and supports them so we don't get the same old stuff all time.



1. Sherman Hill

For an old house person this is Disneyland. I suppose it's because my parents lived in Oak Park, Illinois before they came to Iowa that has given me my fascination with old stuff. It seems almost every house here has a story, whether is been restored, is in the process or hasn't been started yet. There are people moving in there that really care about realizing all the potential in those old places. The neighborhood is also framed by Hoyt Sherman Place and the Gateway Market. Now if they get a few more cool stores it will be fabulous.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I am not going to attempt to entertain or have profound bits of wisdom, but mostly sporadic thoughts from a girl that is becoming, growing and trying to figure out who she is and what this life is all about.

I've thought a lot lately about the word becoming, hence the title of the project. As I've said goodbye to some and met so many new people over the past year I've thought about who I am and how so many of the pieces of the puzzle that make up me are so different. Do people really know me or just part of me.? I asked a new friend recently if there was more to him than his job, because that was the only thing that was on his mind. What makes him passionate, what gives joy, and what brings sadness? He couldn't answer. Are we really that simple? I beg to differ that we're not.



My family knows the most. My dad knows that I love to take old things and make them new again and in the process fill up his garage and house with my stuff! My mother knows that politics have changed in the last 8 years and that if I had a few minutes with Dubya I'd give him a few pieces of my mind. That's for another entry! My sister has been by my side since January of 1981. We've laughed, we've played, we've fought, and until she got married our life milestones were all 15 months apart.



What is it certain friends know that others don't?

I'm a proud Irish lass...
Yes, I am and I didn't really discover it until a year or so ago. With a name like McWilliams it's inevitable that I wondered, but I had never given it much thought...until I met my friend Katie and Stephen's Green. Who wouldn't love a land that is beautiful, rich with history and wonderful music too! At the top of my list of places to visit is Ireland. I can't think of another place on earth I want to visit first.

I'm a HUGE fan of everything Elton John...
What it was I'm not sure, but ever since I bought his greatest his compliation a few years ago I have fascinated by how this man can write. At the top of the list of concerts to see before I pass is him...and that's over Michael W. Smith!

I love musical theater....
Yes, I love to listen to it and see it, but someday I hope I get the nerve to really try it. Other than the role of Mother Rabbit in Mrs. Lenherr's production of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" in 1st grade, playing twins in the 8th grade musical, a stint as a nun in "The Sound of Music" and an shaft as a "pit munchkin" in the Wizard of Oz, which I am still bitter about I haven't done much else, even though I believe I can. I directed 3 junior high productions but haven't been on stage since high school, which I forgot my last stage show was Guys and Dolls as a member of the mission band. I put in my bio in the Aquin musical last year that someday I want to the play the part of Elphaba in Wicked, which isn't just a pipe dream...I really do!

I love American Idol...

I want to be a parent someday...

I can't stand people with no common sense...

I would like people to think I read more than I do, or at least think that I read more serious stuff than People magazine....

I think Ryan Seacrest is a genius...we'll get into that later.

I wish I had a brother, because just maybe I could relate to the opposite more and he could help me when I have to move all my stuff...

There is so much more...but like me this blog is becoming and I'm getting hungry...