A summer tradition I'll miss

Many of our Saturdays in the summer start like this. A walk downtown to the Farmer's Market.

We always stop to throw a few pennies in the fountain. 

Then it's onto the market. I love this building. It's big, airy, kind of dark, and always bustling.



And the variety of foods and plants you'll find inside is pretty impressive.  

There's also antiques and vintage do-dads.

 
I buy veggies, herbs, meats, cheese, bread, flowers and more at the market. I love going without a list, just buying whatever inspires me that week. Once this summer it was homemade gnocchi one week. Last week, we brought home a locally produced spicy chorizo that I used this week to make delicious egg and chorizo tacos. I also bought a pint of cherry tomatoes that were so sweet, they were like candy. I snacked on them all week and am now daydreaming about them, they were that flavorful. And we bought basil to make pesto. So tasty.

Sigh. I can't believe this is the last weekend of summer. Where did it go? I know the market stays open through some of the fall, but it's really a summer thing in my mind.

What summer things are you going to miss as the fall comes? And did you shop your local farmer's market this summer?

Up, up and away

See this? Little guy is pulling up his own a bit. Oh yes.



Oh. And he's crawling some, too.

And he's not even seven months until tomorrow. He's an over-achiever if you ask. I wouldn't mind if he just slowed down a bit and stayed my little baby a while longer.

We first saw him do those thing on Saturday night, when we drove about an hour away to go to a balloon festival. I need these sorts of diversions in my life -- little adventures like that, where you hop in the car and go somewhere and see something you normally wouldn't. 

It was a beautiful Michigan summer evening. There aren't too many left. I am trying to soak up as much of them as I can.

We ate dinner on a blanket in the grass. Luke played on a playground and ran to catch marshmellows thrown from a fire truck.

It was serene.

And soon, the balloons started to fill the sky.

A lot of photos, I know. Aren't they pretty, though?

It was a really lovely night in what has been a really lovely summer and an even lovelier year. I know this is filled to the brim with cheese, this post. But I want to be thankful and notice these days. They're amazing.

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241 Tote finished!

Meet my new finished project, the 241 tote!

It has two small side pockets -- perfect for a cell phone in one and my sunglasses in another.

And an interior pocket, where I like to stash my keys.

It's not too big, not too small. Very light on your shoulder.

Loving the orange as fall is approaching. The fabrics are from the Heather Ross Far Far Away II collection. I got a bundle of them from Pink Chalk Fabrics for my birthday last month. I finally cut into them for this project. Only a little scary. I was pretty sure I'd love this bag. And I do! It worked on it little by little all week long, cutting the pieces out one day, applying the interfacing the next night. Then one night I made the exterior, another night I did the interior, and finally on the last night I finished it up. Five nights of sewing in my busy life, but I'd say the whole project really is a quick one. That's just how things are for me now -- even quick projects take five days to complete in the bits and pieces of the day I can find to actually sew.

It feels so good to finish something I really love. So good! It's an addictive feeling, that one. Whenever I find it, I'm like a junkie. Right now, I want to make 10 more 241 totes. And I guess given 10 weeks of time, I might!

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