Foodie Pen Pals | April Edition

I am behind the times! This month has been so crazy I almost forgot to post about my Foodie Pen Pal for this month! Eeek!

For this month, I was paired with two lovely ladies. I sent my box to Sarah at the Smart Kitchen. You can check out what I sent her here. I was lucky enough to receive a box from Beatriz from Delectable Nonsense. Check out what she sent me!

 My lovely little assortment! Lots of yummy sweet items!

These are almost melt in your mouth deliciousness. I may or may have not eaten the whole box.

I told Beatriz that I loved lemon and she got this lovely green tea with lemon. She recommended it was lovely when she is sick for helping with a sour throat. I love tea and I love lemon, so this is perfect!

Okay, seriously. Raspberry Peach CHAMPAGNE jam. OK, I die. So yummy sounding. Can't wait to make scones so I can try  with them! Also, the Chili Con Queso sounds amazing too! What I love about both these products is they are all natural and have no weird ingredients. Fabulous!

Seriously, the largest whoopee pie I have ever seen and it's Red Velvet people. It got a little squished on the plane trip over, but otherwise totally awesome. You know you want one.

A great month for Foodie Pen Pals! I will be skipping the month of May as I will be on vacation when I need to send the box out, but if you are interested in participating, check out the details below!

San Francisco Loving!

This past weekend I had the joy of heading to one of my favorite cities with one of my favorite people! My dear friend Kacie is leaving for the Peace Corp. in approximately one month and we've always talked of taking airplane trip adventures, so I figured I better get on that before she leaves for 27 months! I could not be more excited for her new adventure with the Peace Corp in Nicaragua but I will miss my friend and fellow-travel buddy! Here's some highlights from our trip!

We had lovely sushi on Thursday night around the corner from my Uncle's condo. Both Kacie and I were brave and tried sashimi! It was actually pretty good although some of the textures were not my cup of tea. Although I could eat a whole bowl of edamame all by myself.

My favorite thing to do in San Francisco is take this long long walk starting in Union Square, heading through Chinatown, up through North Beach to Coit Tower, down telegraph hill to the Embargedero, over to the Ferry building, then jump on a street car to Fishermans Wharf walk along the wharf to Ghirardelli square and then catch the cable car back to Union square. Takes a bit, but it's leisurely, beautiful and a great way to see San Francisco. Perfect way to spend a sunny day. BONUS: There is lots of fun little shops and lovely places to eat along the way. So you can't possibly get bored or more importantly hungry.

GIANT and delicious (and gluten free!) macaroon at a tiny little bakery in North Beach. We may or may not have gone back the next day to get another one and eat it within 5 minutes.

Hi.

Pretty door.

From the top of Coit tower.

The Ferry Building Farmers Market on the waterfront is one of my other favorite little spots to wonder along. It's also a fun little place to build a picnic and get some Gelato.

Notice the name of the special sandwich of the day... "The Mess Piggy."

Chocolate. Hazelnut. Gelato. Enough. Said.

Two of my favorite people.

Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista. Ah-mah-zing!

Dinner Friday night at my Uncle David's. Simple, but oh so lovely.

Oh how I will miss her! Love you my friend!

Farmers Markets!

As I'm slowly getting my yard and garden ready for Spring and Summer, I'm also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Farmers Markets! We have a couple year-round markets in Seattle, but for the most part our Farmers Markets are limited to late spring, summer and early fall. I'm a regular at at least three! I keep them all on my calendar in case I happen to be in a different neighborhood. I also love that we have Farmers Markets that occur during the week. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Saturday market, but they are usually VERY crowded and honestly, I don't want to get up early enough to avoid the crowds. 

Here are my favorites and ones I visit the most!

Mukilteo

Wednesdays, June - September, 3-7pm

Right on the waterfront, in "downtown" Mukilteo. I usually go after work, get some Whidbey Island Ice Cream, fresh fruit and veggies and of course some flowers!

Bellevue

Thursdays, May 10 - Oct 11,  3-7 pm

Love this market! It's a little bit bigger, lots of veggie vendors and usually lots of good restaurants set-up so you can have dinner at the market. If you are lucky, Molly Moon shows up as well.

Juanita

Fridays, May 11 - October 5, 3-7pm

This one is in the neighborhood I grew up in. I usually go with my parents, pick up stuff for dinner, then head back to their house to relax. On the smaller side, but it's a nice neighborhood market.

Woodinville

Saturdays, May - October, 9am-3pm

This is actually the closest market to me, but it's very small. I think most of the vendors in the area are over at the Redmond market which is MUCH bigger. But I still like the Woodinville market because it's close to home and I can always get some pretty flowers.

Ballard

Sunday, Year-Round ,10am-3 pm

The Ballard market actually meets all year, but in the summer I've found it to have lots more vendors and it is oh-so-fun! If I'm heading into town for a Farmers Market, then this one is my favorite. As a bonus, it's located right in historic old Ballard so there are tons of other fun little shops and restaurants.

Edmonds

Saturdays, May - October, 9am-3pm

This can be a very busy market as well, but is quite wonderful, especially if you want an "Edmonds kind of day!" Can't go to wrong here. Great to just wander around, then walk down to the Edmonds waterfront, catch a ferry or have picnic. 

A few other good links for other local markets:

Seattle Markets

Snohomish County Markets

Enjoy!

It's planting time!

I just got my order of Heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds! I cannot wait to start planting!

I ordered celery root, celery, three kinds of tomatoes, two types of lettuce, four types of squash, spinich, peas, parsnips and kale! I don't know where it's all going to go yet, but I'm.going to find a spot!