barn tour part two // washington

barn tour part 1 // washington

Although a great barn, this is not the one we almost bought

I have a love affair with barns. Show me a great barn, be it simple, intricate, or failling to pieces and I will show you its future glory.

In fact, Nic and I were this close to digging our roots into the rich Iowa soil even deeper when a beautiful acreage went up on the market. Four visits to the homestead later, one lasting at least three hours with a contractor and another with my mom and her husband who travelled from Minnesota to be our voices of reason, we decided to forgo the opportunity. 

The house wasn't what we were looking for, the barn though - holds a place in my dreams forever.

pizza on the farm // wellman, iowa

A destination, pop-up pizza place that is worth the 20 minute drive from Washington to Wellman, Iowa - Stone Wall Brick Oven Pizza is the place to be every other Monday night this summer. If your busy those Monday nights, check them out at the Keota Farmers Market on alternate Mondays and at home Iowa games this fall.


For ten dollars, they supply the pizza (all you can eat), that they make on site in one of two brick ovens. One of which is mobile and you can rent out for parties! Unfortunately, they are going to be at a Hawkeye game on the day of my 30th birthday celebration - so that's a bummer.



Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets, your beverage of choice, and enjoy a beautiful summer evening dining al fresco with your family and friends.



Great views (and sometimes great music) included.

spring forward and savor washington

Last night Nic and I met up with a group of 8 of our closest friends in Washington (okay, okay - our only 8 friends) to Spring Forward and Savor Washington, a progressive dinner event put on by Main Street.

We started off dinner the RIGHT way - with dessert from Cafe Dodici.

Yumm - a nice chilled glass of Moscato - my favorite summer wine.

Next we headed over to La Casa Grande for a huge enchilada plate.  Nic and I shared a plate at each restaurant - this way we could savor more.

Dessert (number 2 of the night) was next on the list - baklava from Dino's!  It was good, but I have to say (as did Laurie and Matt) that mine was better.  Sorry Dino - and you say you are Greek?! :)

Look - Relay stuff!

The guys taking a break from their Relay crossword puzzle.

We are cute, eh?!

We stopped off to check out some old cars to cleanse our palettes, and wait for my co-worker Steph to get to town before we headed to the Panda Palace for some orange chicken, crab rangoons, warm sake and warm wine...

The sake (I didn't partake) was bad sake. It was dubbed toilette water for the night. YUM.

The wine was served up in the classiest form - single serving bottles of WARM white wine. Gross.  Steph took it to the next level and drank her wine with a load of ice. Classy Steph, classy.

What's next? Why dessert of course!  The Korner Kremery offered up a huge sundae topped with strawberries, pound cake, whipped cream and a cherry on the top!

                               

We ended the night at the 207 - a swanky basement bar right off of main street. The drinks were sexy, the music was loud and it was a great way to end the night.

Sockum Ridge Hike

A 208 acre woodland area, this hike is one of our favorites. Only minutes from Washington, Nic and I get out here quite a bit.

Backyard Candle Co.

So our virtual tour of Washington continues with my favorite store...Backyard Candle Company.  YUM!  You all have have to check out their new Etsy site - seriously.  DO. IT. NOW.  You don't even have to read the rest of this post.  I won't even write anymore, just GO!  Backyard Candle Company on Etsy. 

Well okay, I will write some more.  This is a new store on the supersquare in Washington.  They opened up shop a little over a year ago after making candles from their homes.  Not only do they offer the most amazingly delicious smelling soy candles, they also offer gifts and home decor with "a vintage feel and French flair."  While you are at their Etsy site, be sure to add a 'pumpkin cheescake' candle to your order...an all time favorite and a must have in every house!

More from our hike at Clemons Creek

I have a new found love-hate relationship with photoshop. Thank goodness for actions! These photos were edited with actions from The Pioneer Woman.

Tour of Washington - Hike at Clemons Creek

Sunday mornings are usually set aside for hikes with the pup. This past Sunday was finally nice enough to go out and spend a few hours hiking. Clemons Creek is one of our go to places for a nice hike. There is also a shooting range and some public hunting land that Nic gets out to a few times a year. Here are just a few photos from our hike. I will get some more posted tomorrow - have to rest up for a long day tomorrow!