Happy Friday, folks! I hope your day is off to a wonderful start! 
This morning, Chandra and I met up again and went to see the Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines. It was really neat! My favorite sculpture was the Nomade as seen below.
About the sculpture:
The figure’s sheer size dominates the park’s landscape, and its human form made from scrambled steel letters seems to suit the city’s vision of itself in the Information Age. The artist envisioned the letters as building blocks for words and ideas in the same way human cells for tissues, organs and bodies. They’re painted with white enamel that appears dark against the sunlit sky and glows at night, thanks to dramatic spotlights at the sculpture’s base. The effect is surprisingly ethereal for something that weighs about 4 tons.
I didn’t think that I was a huge fan of sculptures, but these ones were cool! đ
Very funky and modern.
Breakfast
After wandering around the sculpture park for a little while, Chandra and I headed to Smokey Row Coffee for breakfast.
We met Amanda there! đ It was so nice to spend time with her.
Smoke Row was such an adorable place– perfect for sipping coffee and working on a laptop! đ
I was surprised how busy it was for a Friday morning!
I started with a cup of Kahlua Caramel Cream coffee. I made the switch to hot coffee just to try this flavor. It was awesome– flavorful and sweet, but not too sweet.
To eat, I ordered the Early Riser sandwich, which was made with egg, bacon, spinach, and provolone cheese on ciabatta bread.
Mmm!
Once we finished eating, Chandra and I decided to celebrate Cookie Friday. She went with a chocolate chip cookie as big as her face. Literally!
I chose a sugar cookie with thick frosting and sprinkles. I ended up eating the whole thing before we left Smokey Row! đ
Lunch next and then off to the hog farm! Oh, boy! đ
those sculptures are fantastic! Love that you chose the cookie for its frosting – the best part in my book! Have a great day đ
I wish I had one of those cookies with my lucnh!
Glad you’re having fun! That sandwich looks fantastic…I’m going to go see what I have in the fridge so I can make something similar for breakfast!
My favorite sculpture has to be the white tree. It looks like it came out of the movie Chronicles of Narnia or the Neverending story :)That sugar cookie looks so yummy! You know those crazy ridiculously good sugar cookies from Jewel Osco/Dominicks. You know the ones where they are as fluffy as cake and super sweet. Love those đ Yay for cookie Friday!
oh.my.gosh. that cookie is the biggest one i’ve seen (well, that’s not a birthday cake or something)! des moines sounds like a really great town!
I’m only an hour from Des Moines! Wish I could come meet you. BTW – I grew up on a hog farm so I know what you are in for…
Cookie Friday is the best!!!
I love sculpture gardens — I really like that white tree — it is spooky and creepy and yet very beautiful!
LOVE THOSE COOKIES!!! I call them cake cookies and the frosting + sprinkles make me so happy đ Hope you have a great day!
Wow that chocolate chip is HUGE. That’s like 5 cookies in one.
Cookies as big as your head? Win!
Cookies with sprinkles? Win!
Enjoy the piggies!
I absolutely love the public art like that! I feel so lucky that Chicago does a lot of temporary sculptures around the city- it’s always fun to hunt them down!
Love Plensa (the artist who created Nomade) – the sculpture park in my city had a Plensa exhibit, including that piece, about a year ago!
Love the sculptures!
wow, HUGE cookie!! đ and yours looks good… I would have chosen that one too, probably because it’s pink đ
have fun with the piggies!
Oh my gosh! I opened Google Reader, saw your blog and thought, “Wow, it looks like she’s in Des Moines.” And, as I read more, I realized you are indeed in my town!! What brings you to Des Moines? Have you tried any other local restaurants?Love Centro, Django, Lucca, Miyabi 9.
OK, that one sculpture, with the wide smile and pointy teeth? Totally creepy. It’s like a nightmare in stone.
I saw a very similar one to that letter man at the Frederick Meijer Sculpture Gardens in Grand Rapids Michigan.
You should head there some time. it’s so cool!
Sculptures have a way of growing on you. We have a beautiful sculpture garden in Minneapolis, it’s a unusual and fun twist on the idea of a garden.
Chandra’s cookie looks delish… almost too good… must mean it’s time for lunch for this girl! Have a great weekend!
Have fun at the farm! That bread on the sandwich looks sooo good!
Your breakfast looks awesome, but nothing tops a beautiful cookie on a Friday!
Those sculptures are really cool, and that sandwich looks very tasty!
Smokey Row is my favorite! Have fun at the hog farm…the county I live in is known as the hog capitol of the world…or so I’ve been told.
What cool looking art! I love when cities have art around town. It’s so cool.
#1 Chandra is big freakin’ trouble for going to the sculpture garden without me. I HOPE YOU READ THAT MISSY!! đ
#2 I heard a little rumor that you may possibly be joining us for Beaverdash and celebratory breakfast and booze. That would be WAY more fun than a rainy day farmer’s market. Just sayin’ đ
Cool sculptures! Des Moines looks like a cool area:)
Oh my! I love sugar cookies like that. I haven’t had one in too long.
Those sculptures look really cool. I love art like that. It’s much more interesting to look at.
that’s so cool!
a lot of my friends went to iowa to get their masters in creative writing– oddly, IU has the best program in the country. and being one of the only other states that allows gay marriage? never thought iowa would be so damn cool!
Looks like you are having fun in Iowa. You should drive up to Minneapolis for some more fun đ We would love to have you!
Those cookies look so good!!
love the sculptures! des moines is so cool!
Those sculptures are funk-ay! Have you ever been to the sculpture park in Minneapolis? I love the giant cherry in the giant spoon at that one!
And Smokey Row looks like such a wonderful cafe – great food pics!!
Enjoy your weekend đ
Those sculptures are so cool – the first one is definitely my favourite. Looks like such a fun day so far – enjoy the rest of the afternoon! đ
I’m so happy your posts are making people love Des Moines/Iowa! đ Hope you’re having fun at PiggyProm!
Yay for cookie Friday!
Love the coffee house! The sugar cookie looked great too.
Can’t wait to see pictures of the pig farm.
My son just raised a hog for our county fair, it was a lot of fun.
ooh! I love a cookie that is literally the size of my face!
All those sculptures look so cool!!! Kinda creepy, too…but still cool. So glad that I read this-I forgot it was cookie Friday!!
smokey row looks like such a fun cute place and the food looks simple and good.
those sculptures are down right amazing! i want to come co iowa now just to see them..haha
Looks like so much fun. I am having cookies tonight, but Chandra’s cookie looks like a little bit more fun than mine!
Oh my goodness the sugar cookie with frosting and sprinkles looks delicious! I LOVE those kinds of cookies.
It looks like a tasty place to eat at.
I love the sculptures too! đ
For some reason I think that is an extra great looking pic of the sugar cookie. The sunlight or something was just right when you snapped it! Mmm.
I love that Information Age sculpture. Letters and words are so beautiful.
Those sculptures are awesome! I think it takes seeing them outdoors in a park to really appreciate sculptures. đ
I wouldn’t mind a cookie the size of my face! đ
I must have be behind in reading your posts because I didn’t realize you were in good ole’ Des Moines! That is where I am from as well! I actually haven’t been to Smokey Row before and it looks super YUM! I will have to get there soon. It’s insane – Des Moines isn’t that big, but I sure have missed a lot of our newer restaurants!
Have fun while you are here!
I read you blog on a regular bases and thought it was the oddest thing when I was catching up today that i just checked out of that exact hotel this morning!
I live in GA but travel every week for work in Des Moines and love staying downtown. Right down the street from smokey row is an orgainc grocery store (Gateway Market)if you are interested in finding some good snacks.
Hope you have a wonderful time!
And if you are interested in going to a beer dive try el Bait shop (only for the beer) or great french food check out Django’s (10th st)
Those are really cool sculptures. If I was there I probably would have taken a ton of pictures.
I’ve never been there but reading about it seems cool.
Oh my! I don’t know if I would last in Des Moines! Chocolate Chip cookies are huge weakness of mine đ Looks like you’re having fun, keep enjoying your trip
That breakfast place looks so good!! I love the name Smokey Row too. I love breakfast sandwiches with egg and cheese and I lovveee spinach too. Both of those cookies look amazing… I think I’m going to have to partake in cookie friday as well đ
Those sugar cookies are the bessst! Walmart sells ones a lot like them..they’re so rich I could only handle one- and that was as a kid!
I love sculpture gardens. They’re so fun to go through đ