This morning I made a happy discovery.  My usual peek at Grace Bonney’s Design*Sponge turned up an incredibly thorough guide to purposeful living in Des Moines, Iowa.  Our capitol city often gets a bad rap, mostly due to its close proximity to West Des Moines, a bastion of strip malls and cookie cutter tract homes that seems to suck a little bit of life out of you each time you pass through it.  Downtown Des Moines, with more than a bit of purposeful revitalization and a rechanneling of the energy and resources that run through it with each campaign season, is working hard to build a different kind of community.

Upon my return to Iowa five years ago, I spent about five months living and working in downtown Des Moines.  I remember being surprised by the slow food movement that was gaining momentum, the fast growth of the areas’ farmer’s markets, and the boom of new and interesting restaurants.  I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was and then glad to have a fun, new place to explore while I was adjusting to being back in the Midwest after many years.

So much time has passed since I moved to Iowa City that I am grateful for Annie May’s detailed guest post on the city and its hidden and not-so-hidden gems.  I think its time for a road trip and a day of exploration!