stitch

A few weeks ago this amazing little fabric/yarn/embroidery shop opened up in the East Village called Stitch. I went on their opening day and bought some amazing bamboo knitting needles and some embroidery supplies, but was surprised that there weren't that many people there. Little did I know, they were going to have a grand opening the following week. I was happy to see a huge turnout and I hope this shop thrives, because I love it! They have a selection of interesting printed fabrics, hundreds of colors of embroidery floss, shelves of quality yarn, as well as other supplies you might need, like knitting needles, embroidery hoops, embroidery needles, rotary cutters, etc.etc. They will soon be offering different classes, and have some couches and coffee if you just want to bring your project in there to work on. They also have a few sewing machines set up for you to use if you want to try sewing but don't have a machine. I can't wait to sign up for some of the classes and get my craft on!

Had to show off my new wedge sneakers from Nasty Gal's Shoe Cult. Love them. 

vintage salvation

photo courtesy of vintage salvation 

Suze & I did some coat modeling for Nikole (owner of Vintage Salvation). Even though it takes me a bit to come out of my shell and really get my "model" on, I had a lot of fun! Hopefully the shots turn out well and she sells a lot of beautiful, great stuff :) 

photo courtesy of vintage salvation 

photo courtesy of suzanne 

creepy/cool old elevator shaft in their studio 

creepy face i'm making because i never wear eye makeup and i kind of felt like a victoria's secret model 

80/35: Day 2

80/35: Day 1

Last weekend was the 6th annual 80/35 music festival held in the Western Gateway of downtown Des Moines. If you're unfamiliar with 80/35, check out this scintillating blog post written by my boss at Raygun! This year's acts included David Byrne & St. Vincent, Wu-Tang Clan, Yeasayer, Wavves, Deerhunter, and Menomena, among a myriad of others. The festival started Friday at 5pm until about 12am, and then picked up again Saturday all day long. I didn't get to go during the day on Saturday because I was working, but I did get there in time to see Wu-Tang. All in all I had a great time, and I can't wait to see who they get for next year!

Terrible picture of Yeasayer.

Menomena

David Byrne & St. Vincent 

tell me i'm your national anthem

My 4th was pretty uneventful, for the most part. Apparently the city Des Moines only does fireworks on the 3rd of July, but since I thought there would be some on the actual holiday, I decided not to fight the hoards of families that were flooding into the East Village for Yankee Doodle Pops as I was getting off of work. I'm not too sad about it, though, since they shoot off fireworks after Friday night I-Cubs home games. Anyways, I spent most of the 4th in my apartment; sleeping in and watching daytime tv. In the evening I headed over to the Murillo apartments for a bbq. I ate 3 cheese hot dogs and played 3 games of ping pong, so it was a pretty good night.

awesome possum

Suzanne & her creation. 

my piñata haul 

des moines arts festival 2013

Earlier today my friend Amy and I ventured out a few blocks from my apartment to the Des Moines Arts Festival. I've been feeling guilty for not going since it's a pretty big, weekend-long event that is hosted basically outside my front door. When I woke up this morning with a stomach ache (the result of last night's "awesome 'possum" party, which I'll talk about in another post), I was sad, because I really wanted to go to the arts festival. Luckily I was able to sleep off my hangover and we made it the Western Gateway Park at around 2:00. The weather was perfect; 80 or so degrees, coupled with a nice breeze. We made our way around all the art vendors and food vendors and somehow I ended up spending $20 and spent some time just sitting in the grass, basking in the sun.

oh you nasty boys

This week it finally warmed up, so it gave me the chance to start wearing my summer clothes! I bought this Nasty Gal dress back in January, eagerly awaiting the moment when I would finally be able to take it out of my closet. I've also acquired the help of my photographer friend/coworker. She has been nice enough to do little impromptu "photoshoots" with me after work. I'm still not up to DSLR status yet, but maybe someday. 

Dress: Nasty Gal (similar) | Bandeau: Groceries | Ankle booties: DSW

eden

On Friday Eden celebrated their 10 year anniversary. 10 years in Des Moines' East Village! I can only imagine how much the E.V. has changed and grown over the past 10 years. I love the inside of Eden. I wish I could live in there, to be honest. Everything smells so good and looks so good. Congratulations on 10 years, Jen! Here's to 10 more!