Granite City Food and Brewery

My mom and I went to Granite City restaurant today for lunch and I LOVED IT!!! I have driven by this restaurant so many times only glancing at it thinking it was a tiling or countertop store because of the name. It is located on University in Clive. Well a few weeks ago Mitch was doing one of his rotations and they had their lunch catered by Granite City and he told me it was delicious. My mom and I ordered these yummy salads which were gigantic and they also have a relatively inexpensive kids menu. The entrees are gorgeous and as I looked around at everyone else's plates I thought everything looked delicious! It is kind of pricey but would make a fun date night if you are looking for a yummy place to eat. It was also very busy so that tells you it is well liked!

Click here for the Granite City Website, with their menus.

Parks.

Now that the weather is beautiful, we have found ourselves ending up at the park.
A lot.
Which can get old when you go to the same 3 every time.
So, if you are like me at all, THIS might be helpful.
It's a list of all the parks in West Des Moines with info. about restrooms, tables, grills, shelters, play equipment, dogs, etc.

THIS link is way less exciting but has more parks located in Waukee.

THIS link is even less exciting and has info. for Clive parks.

THIS link has all the info. for all 59 of the parks that are located in Des Moines.


Also, for anyone who has not heard...
there will be a Memorial Day BBQ at Wild Rose Park at 5 pm on Monday.
Please bring your own meat to BBQ and a side dish to share with everyone.
See you there!!

South Union Bread Cafe

If you like Focaccia bread, this place is a must!!

And if you don't, you will after you taste it here

This is such a fun, delicious place to grab a bite for lunch.

Their sandwiches are to die for and I hear their spicy potato soup is too.

And the bread, seriously.... I don't understand how they make it so good! 

Open Monday- Friday

10:30-2:30

Located right next to Centro Restaurant

1007 Locust Street

Downtown Des Moines 

Menu

Directions

Hope you love it as much as we did!!

Free Chick-Fil-A Sandwich

Click here to get yours.

Farmer's Markets

If you live in Iowa

(which you do)
you must go here at least once in your life.

And if you go once,
you'll go twice.

West Glen Town Center's Farmer's Market starts on June 5th at 10 am.

Downtown Des Moines also has one that is amazing. It's already going on every Saturday from 7 to noon (right by where the Science Center is).

A Whole Buncha Stuff

I found some fun stuff, so here it is:

#1: A-MAY-zing days is on Saturday, May 29th from 3 to 10 pm at Valley Junction. It includes food, drinks, live music, inflatables, BBQ Contest, and Kids activities. Sounds like fun to me.

#2: I discovered a potentially cool little place called Glazed Expressions. It's paint your own pottery. Kinda pricey, but you can find coupons in the newspaper every now and then.
#3: Tokens Family Fun Center. Lazer tag. Mini golf. Pizza. Arcades. Fun. (Again, it's pretty pricey, but could be fun for a special occasion...)

#4: Sleepy Hollow Sports Park. Bumper Boats. Golfing. Batting Cages. Go Karts. Climbing Wall. And more. (Super pricey (what's new?!), but they do have special combo. offers that knock the price down a little.)

#5: Adventureland Amusement Park. I'm thinking it's adventurous. Children 3 and under are free. It's as close as you'll get to Disneyland. (Oh, and it's a water park too.) There are a lot of height restrictions on the rides though, so make sure you check!
#6: The Heritage Carousel of Des Moines. Cutest darn Carousel ever. 50 cents for kids and free for adults to stand. There's also a punch card - pay for 5 rides, get one free. Woohoo!!! Check website for times and days.
#7: Jumping Jacks. 2 for 1 every Tuesday. (I'll just warn you though - this one is so much more fun with a friend.)

#8: Des Moines Botanical Gardens. May 25th at 10am, they are having Toddler Time. Games, music, and a treasure hunt. $1 for kids 1 to 3. Adults are $5. (I have always wanted to go here - it looks enchanting. If you plan on going - call me!!)

#9: Field of Dreams Movie Site. They have built it, you should go... It's 3 hours away, so use good judgment. Could be cool; could be lame. You decide.

#10: If you're looking for cool "staycations" for the summer, check out this list. It could save you some time.

Now go do something fun!!

A high class version of Maple Grove in the making!

So, as many know, we have had out share of problems with Maple Grove. We tried to find another place to live, I wanted out of here so badly. The only problem was that this was the nicest, biggest, cheapest place to live. Not anymore! We have a neighbor that is moving to Whisper Ridge Apartments. It is on the dirt road off of Ashworth close to the water park. It is opening in June. It is part of the equal housing opportunity, just like Maple Grove. They are brand new. Only problem I can see is that they are two-story apartments. I will say that if we were staying here we would be moving into these nice apartments. Prices almost the same, water is included, they even include a washer and dryer in each apartment. I just thought I would pass the word along, for the students who are thinking of transferring and don't want to pay there ridiculous transfer fee. Also for those of you who know students moving here. Now there is another option for us poor students!
Whisper Ridge Apartment Homes Apartments For Rent in West Des Moines, Iowa - Apartment Rental and Community Amenities - ForRent.com

Garage Sales

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know of some killer garage sales in a neighborhood in Urbandale. I went yesterday (Thurs) so I don't know if much is left but it is worth checking out!!! If you go to the stoplight by Dahl's on Hickman turn right, then turn left on 152nd (only a few blocks from the stoplight). There are a bunch of signs. I seriously could have bought so much stuff but had to refrain because of our lack of room. They had several outdoor toys for cheap and in excellent shape, tool benches for kids etc! A ton of boy clothes, newborn and up. I did score a little tikes coupe car that looks brand new for 10 bucks. There are about 12 houses participating! Hope this benefits someone!

The Machine Shed restaurant

We first heard about this restaurant from my nieces who claimed that on TV (in WA) they saw a restaurant near Des Moines with gigantic cinnamon rolls. We kind of blew it off at the time but then had heard from a few people that we needed to go and try this place out. The restaurant is called "The Machine Shed" and is located on Hickman Rd. right by the Living History Farms in Urbandale. We went for breakfast since my primary purpose was to try these famous cinnamon rolls I kept hearing about. The breakfast was great. The portions were quite large, but nothing compared to the gigantic cinnamon rolls. We are talking about probably 3 lbs worth of cinnamony ooey gooey goodness! If you go for breakfast go later because their cinnamon rolls are half off after 11am (only $1.50) or you could always just get a cinnamon roll to go after this time. Also while you are ordering your breakfast if you say the phrase, "AND I LOVE EGGS" they will add an extra egg to your meal for free.

(Sorry pic is blurry, taken with my phone, but you can see how big the cinnamon rolls are compared to Hallie)

Overall it was just a fun little place to visit. It kind of had a "Cracker Barrel" country restaurant feel to it, nothing fancy. We thought it was fun. Not sure how their lunch and dinner are but we did get to see a sneak peak of their salad bar and a few entrees as we were leaving that looked delicious! We will definitely be going back!

Click on the BOLDED words above for more information and for their menus.