friends

because, at the end of a long day, sometimes nothing else will do.

i had a very girl-centric weekend, and i continue to be so grateful for the female friendships in my life. friday night was dinner at la rosa and games at mars with emily and tracy, and saturday night was elizabeth's bachelorette party with some legendary uni friends (martha, ashleigh, elizabeth, pictured above). sunday was a refreshing girls group, with lots of good perspective and vulnerability.

as exciting as it is to merge 2 lives into 1 through marriage, i am finding there are some things that only another woman will understand. there is still a language women possess that is older than words.

tonight, david begrudgingly went grocery shopping with me. he's sick, we were grumpy, and let's just say it will not go down in the record books as our most memorable trip to hy-vee ever. i needed tampons. i led the way, pausing the cart to compare prices between kotex, tampax, always, etc. i turned around to say something to david, but he'd disappeared. i noticed him, a good 10 paces back at the end of the aisle, suddenly mesmerized by an irrelevant grilling tools display. we don't grill. and it's october.

and so, i guess, that is where the line will continue to be drawn. somewhere between grilling tools and kotex, there is a place no man will tread. i don't blame him. and i don't need him to tread there. i've got my girls for that sort of thing.

boone scenic valley railroad

the husband and i had a date planned this weekend, that turned into quite the adventure/photo op. nevermind that we got in trouble for trespassing on federal property. it was worth it.

we explored a train graveyard for a few hours and got to play with our cameras

on the train, with his fancy film camera
what a babe!

and then i auditioned for a horror movie inside a burned out caboose

the little train that could
reliving our senior pictures, by a barn covered in green moss

husband feet

junkyard collectables

departures

october never dissapoints.

weekend eating

many of this weekend's events centered around 2 things: being outside, and food.

friday night, david and i met up with my parents, aunt and uncle, and some zion folks for a johnston football game. the real reason i went was to see my cousin play in the marching band, especially since they were doing a Beatles medley. beforehand, i'd gone for a monumental run, so i got some chipotle before the game, and ate the whole burrito. never done that before. yikes.

the football game was pathetic, johnston lost 42-0, but the marching band was fabulous, and it was funny to watch my parents' friends try to shout out which Beatles song was being played. the weather was pristine too - i didn't even need a jacket.

saturday was a late morning jaunt to the farmers market. we didn't need much - a couple onions, peppers, asian pears. i grabbed my signature pupusa, knowing my days of getting these salvadorian delights are numbered.

in the early afternoon, david and i went for run in the toasty sunshine, up grand avenue and back. then we ventured to the world food festival in the east village. we love this event, and have pictures of us at it from 4 years ago. we met up with zach, mary, dana, and timothy, and wandered from tent to tent sampling the eclectic cuisine. i tried alligator, jasmine rice, an indian potato cutlet, an authentic taco topped with cilantro, and had rice pudding for dessert.

as if that wasn't enough, we later met up with a huge group (matt, aimee, anu, ryan, zach, mary, ben, kristen, justin, emily) at fong's pizza downtown. this place is a great dive, and is known for having really unique pizza options. we shared pitchers, breadsticks, and 3 pizzas (cheeseburger, crab rangoon, and thai chicken). we then wandered over to the lift to check out jon pearson's art display. we ended the night at the des moines social club, where a live art exhibition was taking place.

david and i ducked out a little before the rest to catch some snl. we made our signature air-popped popcorn and enjoyed jane lynche as a host, even if the show as a whole is going downhill. it hasn't been funny for awhile now, but we keep hoping.

sunday, after digging through all our leftovers, we made the most unhealthy lunch on record (grilled cheese, twice baked potatoes, and toasted ravioli), but tried to make up for it with a long walk around the neighborhood. in the late afternoon, we met up with zach, mary, and abby to go to a "nav connect" bbq. i found it a little comical, considering i am hardly a life-long navigator, but we wanted to support steve, so we went to see what it was all about.

we ended up seeing a lot of people that looked vaguely familiar, and ate some good burgers out on a someone's huge deck in waukee. steve talked for awhile about the vision of nav connect, and i walked away being rather impressed with the whole idea.

david and i went our separate ways for our sunday night bible studies, and i met the girls over at smokey row. we had a really interesting conversation about social media and technology in general, and how we ought to utilize it/respond to it as christians. i felt like everyone had a lot of insight. i got a carmel apple cider to end my weekend of crappy eating. to make up for it, i'm going to make a huge salad for lunch today.

so much of community centralizes around food, and in some cultures, once you share a meal, you are family. i like these notions... and who could ever pass up a crab rangoon pizza?

we were walking downtown

october skies last night as the sun was going down. this is my favorite month. we're trying to be outside as much as possible - the slight chill in the air a pressing reminder of the season to come.

birmingham is for lovers

okay, maybe not. but david and i did have a fantastic get-away weekend there these past few days. we attended quite possibly my 2nd favorite wedding ever (next to my own, of course).

mike and natalie got married outdoors, on the sprawling lawn of a gorgeous old white mansion on a sunday afternoon in october. her dress was classy and retro, the food defied description, and david and i were able to dance the night away under the stars. it was like a movie. i decided if we ever renew our vows, 25, 40, 50 years from now, we'd do it like that - outside in the fall, an intimate gathering with family and great food and dancing.

david and mike have known each other since kindergarten.

typical cowger posers, in the hotel room at the end of the evening.

we spent monday meandering through the downtown streets of birmingham, and stumbled upon the most incredible antique shop. i just kept taking pictures, because the whole set-up was like someone inviting you into their attic/basement/closet, and letting you dig through all their stuff. i could have spent days in this place. the best part, besides all the old cameras, was the owner's dog, who followed us around with a sweet, curious disposition.

as we continued to explore, we asked the advice of another local shop-owner where to eat, and she recommended this panini/soup/salad restaurant called brick&tin. the best part was the side menu that cited where each ingredient came from, and all of it was local - from urban gardens and nearby farms! i had a veggie panini with grilled eggplant, zucchini, and goat cheese, with cold cucumber soup on the side. it was heavenly.

photo credit must be given to my new ipod for almost all the pictures in this post (except the wedding day ones). i only wish the resolution was a bit higher, but i'll take what i can get.

wide open birmingham streets.

our lovely rental car and the broken parking meter we found - that eternally gave us an hour and 36 minutes to do as we pleased.

(completely cheesy alert) the best part about the whole trip was getting so much unfiltered david time. we travel well together. we keep each other entertained, we goof around, we laugh a lot. we love stories - whether we are listening to them or reading them or repeating them. we gravitate towards the same types of adventures and off-the-beaten-path shops and dives.

we even play solitaire together.

our lives have merged so effortlessly into the other's, and when we get to stretch our newly married wings, we do it best on the open road, with a little unknown and a lot of excitement... and a couple nasty taquitos from QT for added flavor.