GreenMarket - Christmas Edition

This weekend, I stopped by the GreenMarket at Union Square to see what was going on.
Believe it or not, this outdoor market stays open all year round. I don't often visit in the winter, so I was curious what would be available. Of course there were a variety of Christmas trees (although they were kind of sad)...
And small bunches of branches for big bucks (I thought my uncle, who is a forester, would get a kick out of these prices).
There were also oodles of apples...
Crates of carrots...
Piles of potatoes (check out all those different kinds!)...
And gobs of gourds!
I had a blast walking around and checking out all the stalls- almost as much fun as I had coming up with those alliterations! I was pretty surprised not to see more Christmas-themed goods, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. But I did spot this beautiful swag which looked pretty festive to me!
So while the GreenMarket may not be the most "merry" space in NYC, it's still a pretty fun place to stop- even during the winter!

Thanks for visiting my blog- I hope you have a great day!

Farm fresh

This is where I exit the subway on my way to work every morning. Most days of the week, it's just another busy corner.
But on Thursdays, the Farmer's Market comes to town!
There are all sorts of delectable delights... from heirloom tomatoes...
To pumpkins just PERFECT for a pie or two.
The mums remind me that it's fall... though the chilly weather helps a bit, too!
I really like this farm's stand... they have all sorts of different apples.
With all the fruits and veggie crates, it's easy to forget that you're on a busy corner on the Upper West Side!
It's got to be quite a deal for the farmers- I can't imagine who can head through this area on the way to work and NOT buy something!
But don't worry- if fruit isn't your thing, there are LOTS of other things to tempt your palate.
I might have walked away with some cinnamon sugar donuts...
And boy, were my coworkers pleased with that! Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great weekend!

Saturday Shenanigans

On Saturday, SFS and I made a trip to the GreenMarket at Union Square. We decided to check it out before breakfast, and boy, was it a nice experience! We usually make it there in the early afternoon, and consequently have throngs of people to maneuver between... but in the morning, it's a much slower pace- we were able to enjoy a pleasant stroll through the stalls, while I snapped away.

Now that it's August, you know what's starting to arrive at the market?
TOMATOES! I love how yummy tomatoes taste... you can eat them like an apple this time of year... plus, the heirloom ones are so beautiful to look at- if I were Martha Stewart, I would use them almost exclusively!
Of course I admired the peppers, since SFS seems enjoy singing his taste buds! (NOTE: I'm totally ignorant of peppers- I hope these aren't lame, mild ones or something.)
One tent had some pretty hanging plants for sale, like this pink one...
And this fuzzy red one!
There's one BIG tent that always piles their produce in stacks, and I think it's SO pretty! I've become a little obsessed with red onions (I eat at least one a week, I swear), so I thought these looked really yummy!
How about some celery? Or green onions? (Are they leeks maybe? They look a little large to be onions, now that I've typed that...)
Well, I'm not confused about these... they're definitely carrots!
I like the colors in the this photo, but I'm not too keen on eating radishes.
Mmmmm.... more heirlooms! Aren't they just beautiful?
I thought this looked like fun, although I didn't try any because there are lots of germs floating about in NYC...
Pretty, cut flowers for sale...
And more pretty flowers (later this week I'll have to show you some pics of REALLY pretty sunflowers that I've been hanging onto)...
Lots of different kinds of honey... this stand reminds me a little of that movie "Baby Boom"- have you seen it?
Ooooh- Black Eyed Susans!
I think this is my second favorite picture of the whole day... GLADIOLAS are just so beautiful!
One our way out of Union Square (we were foraging for breakfast), we ran across an art instillation of sorts.
Yep- just big chunks of ice. We didn't see any information on the exhibit while we were there, but after a little Internet research I found this:

Artist Chin Chih Yang will invite people into an environment made up of 21,000 lbs of ice where they will be encouraged to sit on the giant blocks. The melting caused by the warmth of the participants’ bodies, will trigger increasingly frantic emergency lights embedded within the ice, making it glow in alarm—a simple yet forceful reminder of how human activity is hastening the melting of the world’s ice caps.

Apparently the instillation was called Burning Ice. Don't worry- SFS didn't really do this!
We decided to grab some grub at a local diner... one of my favorite ways to eat breakfast! I had some tomato juice (guess all those heirlooms got me in the mood)...
While SFS had bacon!
Just kidding- he had more that just bacon... see?
And I had a yummy egg-white omelet.
After breakfast we spent the day walking through Central Park- boy, was it hot out! After a nice, long walk, and a few hours spent unpacking SFS's room (he recently moved), it was time for dinner. We headed to Charm Thai for a little, you guessed it, Thai food. I had the Panang Curry with chicken...
While SFS had shrimp Pad Thai. I decided this is my favorite picture of the day- I don't know why, but I really like it!
That's it for my shenanigans of the weekend. We had lots of fun- I hope you had a good weekend as well- happy Monday!

GreenMarket fun

So this weekend I had the opportunity to peruse the GreenMarket not once, but TWICE! (The GreenMarket is the farmer's market that sets up shop on Union Square every Wednesday and Saturday... and apparently Friday!) I had an hour or two to kill on Friday, so I walked up to Union Square. I very rarely have my camera for "everyday" shots, so I was pleased that I had it with me. Here are a couple shots of Grace Church... so beautiful!
On the way to 14th street, I kept noticing that people were carrying bunches of lilacs. It never occurred to me, but there's a very short window of availability for these flowers in the city. So when I arrived at the GreenMarket, I was pleased to find buckets of lilacs is almost every booth!
At $10 a bunch, I didn't end up taking any home... but I smelled a lot of bunches, and couldn't help but think of my backyard growing up...
And Mackinaw Island, of course! :)
SFS said it reminded him of Spokane, WA!
Of course, no trip to the GreenMarket is complete without a sweet treat... I thought these looked especially interesting!
Another vendor was selling asparagus... YUM!
There are tons of produce and flowers to drool over... check out these Irises! (Woah- what's the plural of that? Iri?)
Not to be outdone, there were plenty of tulips, too!
So many colors... I love it!
On Saturday, SFS and I did a little shopping and strolling. We came upon this little alcove of a garden on the NYU campus, and the security guard welcomed us in to look around. Of course, I started snapping away...
Uh oh... am I in trouble?
No... he just wanted a shot with Cervantes! (See? They're doing the same pose...)
I was playing around with the focus on my camera... lucky for me, I have a very patient model!
Of all the shots I took on Saturday, this is my absolute favorite. I'm not sure if it's a Popeye thing, or merely an invitation to the "Gun Show"... but I think it's hilarious!
Wow- that's a lot of photos! Thanks for checking them out- I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!