The East Village (in Des Moines)…Really
When most people hear or speak of the East Village, they are referring to the trendy neighborhood in New York City but there is another East Village well worth visiting in Des Moines, Iowa. Known as the Historic East Village, this 6 square block area in downtown Des Moines (on the east side of the Des Moines River) is near the 23-carat gold domed Capital Building (which can be seen for miles).
Originally established as a commerce area more than 150 years ago, the East Village has an abundance of historic buildings that now house a museum, restaurants, cafes, bars, retail stores, an ice skating rink, an outdoor amphitheater and loft-style housing. Read more 
Handwoven Cotton Throws
Several years ago, I restored my husband’s great grandmother’s farmhouse in Iowa: a 2-story 900 square foot 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom little brown house that sits on a hill overlooking rolling hills of corn and soybeans. The project took nearly two years to complete but when finished, the “Little Brown House” looked like the little farm house my husband remembered visiting as a child.
With softly pleated green and white pinstriped curtains covering every window, multicolored braided rugs on the old wooden floors, and an upholstered sofa and rocking chair swathed in shades of “sage” and “celery” colored fabric, the Little Brown House was nearly perfect when the final touch was added: a handwoven apple green cotton throw by Nantucket Looms. Read more
Charity Checkout Contributions
In the United States, nearly every retail organization asks if you would like to make a charitable contribution to a good cause at the check out counter. Retailers love it because it makes them look caring (even if it’s on the back of customers) and often gives a tax write-off while charities love it because a lot of money is raised with very little cost (some companies do take a percentage as an administrative fee) while most customers dread it because they feel trapped and shamed into giving and this happens over and over every single day. Read more
The Robert Lambert Fruitcake
It’s that time of year when we are all thinking about decadent desserts so before David Letterman delivers his top ten list of fruitcake uses or the NRA suggests using slices of Aunt Martha’s fruitcake in the next skeet shooting contest, consider for a moment that fruitcake isn’t as bad as the masses make it out to be.
Most people believe there are two truths to fruitcake: people either love it or hate it but nearly everyone would love this traditional holiday dessert if they tasted a fruitcake made by Robert Lambert of San Rafael, California, a man totally dedicated to the art of making decadent, delicious fruitcake that can make even the most vocal critic grin and beg for seconds. Read more
Christopher’s Kitchen
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida is known for sunshine, beaches, golf courses, and Christopher’s Kitchen (“CK”) – a restaurant, juice bar, and market offering the highest quality certified organic plant-based food. Christopher Slawson is the culinary genius behind the CK brand and the bold flavors of the soups, sandwiches, burgers, wraps, noodle and grain bowls, pasta dishes, rolls, pizzas, desserts, juices, and more. That an organic plant-based chef has the word “slaw” in his name is a metaphoric coincidence. Read more
Finding Compassion
Years ago in Sunday School, I was told the story of the beggar on the side of the road and remember thinking how unkind the people ignoring this human being were. He obviously needed help and yet most people walked right by. Fast forward a few thousand years and the dirt roads are now paved but men and women are still on the sidelines asking for help. Most people ignore them because they are afraid, think the person should be working, or that the money will be used to buy drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. Read more
Cleveland’s West Side Market
On a recent trip to Oberlin, Ohio which is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farmland, and about 30 miles southwest of Cleveland, I suggested to my husband and daughter that we visit West Side Market: one of the largest and oldest European-style markets in America. Read more
“This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage”
Only writing kept me from being swept into the dust heap of third grade, and for this reason I not only loved writing, I felt a strong sense of loyalty to it. I may have been shaky about tying my shoes or telling time, but I was sure about my career, and I consider this certainty the greatest gift of my life.
Miyoko’s Kitchen: Vegan “Cheese”
A vegetarian lifestyle has always been a natural fit for me and the only two things that really hold me back from becoming a vegan is butter and cheese. Although infrequent, I do indulge in a Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie or a Salty Oats oatmeal cookie by Kayak Cookies – both of which are made with butter (and eggs). And, then there is cheese. A slice of Comte or Vermont Cheddar on a toasted bagel with lettuce, tomato, and red onion is my dream bagelwich and my go-to snack when I’m on the road and fresh out of energy bars. I can go to any bagel shop and get my fix. “Hold the meat, keep the cheese, and add the veggies” and I’m off and running. Read more
Almond Crack
Almond Crack is one of the most appropriately named chocolates ever tasted: a sinfully addicting flaky butter-toffee (made with toasted organic Kashiwase Farms almonds, Gilt Edge Creamery butter, organic, fair-trade cane sugar and healthy dose of esprit du sel) dipped in 72% cacao Guittard chocolate.
Made by Nosh This, a San Francisco based company that specializes in handmade toffee, caramel, marshmallow, chocolate treats and sauces, Almond Crack is decadent, rich, and truly scrumptious. Did I mention addicting? Read more
Paddock Post 