Exploring our new city

Well, it happens to be that we live approximately 10 minutes from a great big huge MALL! Good shopping. Macys, Nordys, Dicks, Pottery Barn, all of it. Its very similar to Jordan Creek (in West Des Moines), in that it is surrounded by restaurants on the perimeter. Also nearby is a Petsmart (a frequent stop for us), Super Target (with a 2 level parking garage and an escalator for the carts!) and a Container Store. I love that place. There are some incredible restaurants around town also. There is a vast array of cuisines to choose from. Now we just need to branch out from Italian and Mexican! We got a tip to try a Cuban place (which Chad is excited about, having lived in Miami for 5 years) and a Brazilian steakhouse. Downtown is fun to explore. Never have I lived in a city where I can walk around and see people wanting to give me an e-meter reading (think Tom Cruise), 'ladies of the night', 13 year olds with Louis Vuitton purses, cross dressers, cowboys and people on Segways all at the same time! This weekend we checked out the Art Museum in the city. They house the original Campbells soup can prints from Andy Warhol, several beautiful works by Matisse and Georgia O'Keefe and a HUGE broom out front. The broom was done by the same guys that did the Umbrella & Spade in Des Moines and the cherry/spoon bridge in Minneapolis. They have works all over the world. Turns out one is in Lincoln, NE. The next time we cross that huge empty state, I plan on stopping to check it out! We also had the "best Margaritas in town" with a few of Chads buddies. Rio Grande has a secret recipe. Equal parts tequila, triple sec, lime juice and... apple juice! Who knew? They sure were tasty. The buddies were fun too. I made a contact in the event planning industry here in town, so yay! Last weekend, a friend of mine from HS came to visit. She and her hubby live about 3 hours north of us. We had a blast playing board games, bowling, and gossiping about mutual friends. I was a bit homesick after she left. Some of Chads family have had a hard time lately with a loss in the family. I was also homesick during that. They seem to be doing well, now. More places I hope to check out: the Center for Performing Arts, cultural parts of the city, trails and out West into the mountains! I visited Breckenridge & other places out there when I was young with my parents - can't wait to go back!