Tomorrow's To Dos

Glitter and sparkles

Posted on August 19, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Prix fixe for me update: I’m in such a food coma that I can barely type. We just got back from our date night dinner at 801 Chophouse and man, was it ever good! We both decided to take them up on the Restaurant Week offerings. I went with the iceberg wedge salad-filet mignon-creme brulee combo, and Marcus chose the Caesar salad-prime rib-creme brulee trio. Don’t worry, I savored every last bite! We also decided to bring our own bottle of wine that we had been saving for quite some time, and that, too, did not disappoint!

DSM Restaurant Week 2011 - 801 Chophouse

Oh, how sweet.

Marcus is in a golf tourney all day tomorrow and my mom and sisters are spending the weekend in Chicago, so my plan is to get in a little ME time. Well, that and spending time with the Bean of course. Nothing new there.

Included in that “me” time is also, hopefully, a little go at a self-manicure. I recently came across the blog Cupcakes and Cashmere via my little sister Morgan. The author is so stylish and I love her look.

While reading through some old posts, I came across these two super cute mani designs that I’d like to try out. If I get around to it, I’ll show you the outcome in Sunday night’s post. Hopefully I acquire a steady hand by then, or else things could get a bit sloppy.

Just a touch of shimmery sparkle on the ring finger nail.

The perfect amount of sparkle.

Posted in Beauty, Local Spots | Tagged Local Eats, manicure, Restaurant week | 1 Comment

Prix fixe for me

Posted on August 18, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Corn sweet corn update:Well the rain didn’t keep us from eating some great Iowa sweet corn this evening. In fact, the thunder is still rollin’ outside as I write this entry. The Strawberry Feta Couscous Salad from Iowa Girl Eats was a hit! And so was the Cookies and Cream cupcake that I devoured from FancyPants Cupcake Co. You should definitely order a dozen or two from them for your next party!

The process...using fresh basil from our garden.

Finished product, and yes, those are camouflage seat covers that my husband had to have for his truck.

And they even have an Oreo cookie on the bottom. Amazing!

Earlier this week I mentioned to my husband that we are due for a date night soon – so we decided to make a reservation for tomorrow night, which just so happens to be the first night of Des Moines’ restaurant week. Our choice? 801 Chophouse. I cannot wait to sink my teeth into a juicy piece of meat and maybe enjoy a glass of wine or two! There is still time for you to enjoy restaurant week too – it runs through the 28th, but I encourage you to make a reservation.

Des Moines Restaurant Week: August 19-28

Posted in Friends, Local Spots | Tagged Local Eats | Leave a comment

Corn sweet corn

Posted on August 17, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Just another Manic Monday update: And manic it was. Although, I will say that I think this hot yoga thing is getting a smidge bit easier each week. I am definitely in need of one of those special sticky towels though to help soak up all of my sweat that I’m constantly dripping everywhere.

Last night I had a G.N.O. (Girls Night Out) with some of my friends from high school who still live in Des Moines and we picked Alba this time around. I had the gnocchi which was amazing – but really, how can you go wrong with little balls of dough? Coolest part about Alba? The doors suspended from the ceiling of the restaurant. Such a neat and unexpected touch.

Tonight after dinner I decided to go through my closet for a very good cause. I get e-newsletters from every store and company that I encounter and most I just delete, but this one, from the East Village Spa, caught my eye. They are currently (until this Friday at 6 p.m.) collecting gently used accessories (purses, jewelry, scarves, belts) to donate to the Young Women’s Resource Center’s Career Closet to help women in need to find career clothing. I have been meaning to de-clutter this specific area of my closet and drawers for some time now, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to do so.

And I've only scratched the surface!

Tomorrow we are going to a friends’ sweet corn feed – I know, only in Iowa – and we are supposed to bring a side dish. I have just the thing! I found this recipe in the Q Magazine of the Des Moines Register about a month ago and made it for a pool party and it was a HIT! Lo and behold the owner of the recipe is one of my new favorite blogs to follow. It’s called Iowa Girl Eats and it’s full a great simple recipes that anyone can whip up in their own homes. I highly suggest you check it out!

Posted in Accessories, Local Spots, Recipes, Restaurants | Tagged Local Eats, Local Shops | Leave a comment

Just another manic Monday

Posted on August 14, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Hays seed update: Just got back from the greatest little city that was ever made – Hays, Kansas. We had such a great time there that it was tough to load up the car this morning and leave. My favorite memory from the trip: my 96-year-old grandma dancing a polka with her children.

The sights of Hays

The smells of Hays

The Bean in Hays

Hays' very own, Thecla Haas

Man, I love this town!

Another Monday is ahead of us and this cowgirl is all tuckered out – catch up with you all tomorrow after round three of hot yoga. Third time is the charm!

Posted in Birthdays, Family | 2 Comments

Hays seed

Posted on August 10, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

It’s gettin’ hot in here update: Hot yoga was a lot better this week – well, the actual class part was at least. Post-class was a little rough for me. I think I overheated a little bit and rushed the exit. What happened next isn’t pretty – nor blog-worthy, so I’ll leave it out. Once again, I’m planning on going back next week. Third time’s the charm, right?

In other news, I caught a glimpse of the highly anticipated (well, for some people) Missoni for Target line that debuts in September. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to make it out of the store without going overboard!

Tomorrow we are hitting the open road after work to head westward to Hays, Kansas – both of my parent’s hometown. I absolutely love going back there because as soon as you enter the town things just slow down – in a good way. Plus, they have some of the cutest shops I’ve ever seen. My favorite is called C.S. Post and I can’t wait to check out what they’ve got in stock right after I pick up a latte at the quaint little coffee shop across the street, Cafe Semolino.

I, of course, have a few local eateries I like to check out: ordering late night food from the Taco Shop, Diet Mountain Dew snoballs from Cerv’s, and a freshly brewed beer from Gella’s Diner.

If you ever find yourself in western Kansas, I highly suggest you stop by!

Posted in Fashion, Travel | Tagged collaborations, Hays | 2 Comments

It’s gettin’ hot in here

Posted on August 7, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Something smells fishy update: The birthday dinner at Waterfront was a success full of sushi, wine and the tilapia for me. After dinner we went over to my sister-in-law’s house of some delicious chocolate cake. It was heaven!

The rest of the weekend was a blur filled with a lot of Bean time, a stock the bar party, fresh flowers and a trip to the pool among other things…

Back to work tomorrow for a shortened week because the fam is headed to the great state of Kansas at the end of the week for my Grandma Haas’ 96th birthday. I am really looking forward to going back to Hays for a long weekend, but up first tomorrow – HOT YOGA (again). I have to force myself to suck down a few liters of H2O throughout the day in order to have enough liquids stored up to sweat out!

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Something smells fishy

Posted on August 4, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

One bean update: So I’m sticking with the cupcake themed birthday for the Bean and I’ve put together a little inspiration board/photo collage to get the juices flowin’.

Earlier tonight my friend Molly and I headed over to Fleur Cinema to check out the 48 Hour Film Project. It was definitely a spur of the moment deal and I enjoyed it. Each “team” was given a certain genre and also a few other specifics and they were off. Filming and editing a short movie within 48 hours. Glad it was them and not me!

Tomorrow night I am attending a family dinner for my brother-in-law’s birthday. He has chosen Waterfront as his restaurant of choice and I can’t wait to have some fresh seafood. Another one of Des Moines’ gems for dining – it’s too bad Marcus will be missing it as he and some of his buddies will be catching some fresh fish of their own up at Lake of the Woods.

All I know is that I am ready for the weekend!

Posted in Birthdays, Local Spots, Movies | Tagged Local Eats | Leave a comment

One bean

Posted on August 2, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Feelin’ HOT HOT HOT update: Sorry I didn’t post last night – I was too tired to type.

Yep, it was as hot and sweaty as I thought it was going to be. Maybe I shouldn’t have decided to do hot yoga as my first step into the yoga world. Meh.

So let me tell you a little bit about my experience. I couldn’t stop sweating which made my downward dogs difficult since I was slipping and sliding everywhere. If I decide to continue after my 10 classes (jury is still out) I will definitely need to invest in a Yogitoes towel to help diminish the slippage. About half way through the class I felt like I was going to pass out, but I forced myself to just take a break and drink some water while I sat back and watched everyone else around me pose perfectly. I finished strong (kinda) and after exiting the room decided I would be back next week. What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment. I can tell you that about 15-20 minutes after class I felt so rejuvenated and cleansed, probably because I’d just sweated out a weeks worth of toxins from my body, but it’s the one bright spot in my first experience of hot yoga.

A whole bunch of these bad boys in a small room = one sweaty gal

Next up on the docket for Wednesday, some Pilates and possibly some planning for the Bean’s first birthday – which will be here in less than two months. I’m thinking cupcake themed…crazy how time flies! She’s growing up so fast – slow down!

She's so photogenic!

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Feelin’ HOT HOT HOT

Posted on July 31, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Weekend bliss update: The last post’s title could not have been more true. That is exactly how this weekend was – blissful. It started out Friday night with a little golf outing and continued Saturday with a day full of fun with my sisters and the little bean. We worked out in the morning followed by Sid’s first trip to the pool and a little shopping. Then we headed to one of our fam’s favorite dinner places, Marino’s in Beaverdale. We rounded out the day with a stop at our favorite ice cream shop, Snookies. Today was relaxing and included a trip to the pool to catch some rays immediately followed by a SkinnyGirl marg in bed while I watched Sister Act 2 and wrote some thank you notes with Marcus. Karl decided not to help and slept instead – typical! Tonight we decided to have a little date night out on the town and enjoyed the Sunday no corkage fee at Centro.

Should be interesting, but tomorrow I am going to try hot yoga for the first time. I purchased a 10-class card for Breathe Studio and haven’t had the time to try it out yet. That is, until tomorrow. This should be comical. Stories, I’m sure, in tomorrow’s post!

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Weekend bliss

Posted on July 29, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Twilight update: No we were not the big winners of the evening, but we did have a lot of fun. Who knew I could actually hit the ball? It wasn’t all that bad. I might just have to try it out again sometime this summer. But I’m not buying my own set of clubs yet…

TGIF! I am so glad that this week is finally over and that I can hopefully enjoy some sunnin’ at the pool over the next two days. But first, Pilates class in the A.M. Gotta hit the hay.

Posted in Family, Sports | Tagged golf | Leave a comment