Market Day

If you've been a reader here for any significant amount of time, you'll know that I have a slight obsession with farmers' markets. A foodie love affair, if you will. There's something so charming and natural about buying our food straight from the source that takes the chore out of grocery shopping.

This weekend we headed to the local monthly farmers' market in Camberley town centre for a little look around. I wasn't really planning to buy anything, but who can resist the siren song of crab pâté?!
Figs are also in season, round and ripe and dripping with goodness. It's one of the most bountiful times of the year, and a visit to a farmers' market really makes that evident. I just got a calendar with a list of other local markets in the coming month, so I'm really excited to check them out in the weekends ahead!

Dress: Similar here, Sweater: Olive & Oak, Shoes: JustFab, Crossbody bag: London Fog, Vintage necklace: my own

Diner Daze

Saturday left us with 6 hours to wander aimlessly around Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst. After dropping Doopy off at the vet, we did a little window shopping and a LOT of eating, ending up eventually in this diner. Stepping inside the door, we stepped back in time, to wood paneled and mirrored walls surrounding a retro coffee counter. About ten cups of coffee and a pile of curly fries later, the serenade of the D train running overhead almost disappeared under the orange lightbulbs in the diner that time forgot. 

Sunshiney Saturday

I embraced the perfect September weather on Saturday and dragged my hungover honey out of the apartment for a nice long walk. We stopped at the farmer's market in Park Slope to pick up some yummy stuff for our week's meals, and then sat on a park bench enjoying the afternoon light while some kids played baseball and a dog romped around with its family nearby. It smelled, looked, felt, and was, the most quintessential autumn afternoon. Few things make me happier than people watching in a park, with a scarf around my neck and a pumpkin spice latte in my hand. 

Bonjour Bonsai

My Saturday morning was spent at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden... and I believe I have found my new "happy place." Acres upon acres of sprawling yet compartmentalized natural habitats, in breathtaking arrangement. Highlighting my day was a room in the Conservancy building - a winding, small exhibit with only a dozen or so plants in it... but it still grasped my attention instantly. The Bonsai Museum is so striking to me;  I have such a respect for the Japanese art of focusing such meticulous and thoughtful arrangement into both placing a plant in a pot or garden, and actually directing it how to grow. The ability to focus so intently to finding a beautiful balance between the nature of a living thing, and a precise man-made art, is incredible. I have a new found love of bonsai, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a few books to further my understanding and appreciation of it. 

My original (limited) understanding of this craft had led me to believe that only a special kind of evergreen-like tree was used for bonsai. That is all I had ever really seen, so it was all that I knew. But, as you can see in my photos of some of the trees from the exhibit, almost and plant that develops a woody stem can be grown, tended to, and manipulated into bonsai. Below are a lemon tree and a fairly common houseplant, and both have been transformed into their present twisting, cascading, and graceful shapes.

Sandstorm

Spent a really mellow, relaxing afternoon at the beach with my roommate and his boyfriend.
After a blissfully short half-hour subway ride to fully escape the city, we ended up in Brighton Beach. It's never quite crowded, and today the warm-but-not-hot weather was perfect for packing some snacks (and drinks) and just relaxing.
Let the waves wash your worries away.

Scenes from a Saturday

Friday night was lovely; went to RAW artists show in Brooklyn with some lovelies. Head over to www.shopkult.com for some amazing handmade street wear from a very talented friend of mine.

Saturday was a lazy, rainy, working-from-home kind of day. I indulged in some treats though- made my own herbal tea from dried roses, ginger, and lime. And had to have a late night snack, of course!

Hope all had a lovely weekend, despite the dreary weather here!

xx
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