I thought I would start the summer with a “Tuesday Water Cooler” series. I’m sharing with you what we did on the weekend (I need Monday to put together the post). So this was two weekends ago, but we did yard work this past weekend, and I’m sure you don’t want to see pictures of my enormous piles of weeds or me pH testing my soil in the yard.

We hopped on the train, which was so nice because it was empty, and headed into the city for the Greenway Open Market. The market is close to South Station if you take the red line, the Aquarium if you take the blue and Haymarket if you take the green.

The Greenway Open Market is open on Saturdays from 11am – 5pm (and every 1st and 3rd Sunday), with over 60 New England artisans. Locally produced goods include: jewelry, ceramics, crafts, apparel, and accessories. The market runs from May through October. I especially love “It’s Sew You”, a little shop by Kirsten Cole, who makes cool appliquéd items. I picked up this cute lobster shirt and how cute is that little whale?! She has great shirts, onesies, banners and more. Check out her Facebook page here.

I love this vintage inspired piece by Rusty and Ingrid, a husband and wife team from Gloucester, that creates limited edition screen prints. They hand print each piece, one color at a time. They have some really great Massachusetts themed prints, I happen to love the ones that are nautical themed the most.

Grab a bite at any one of the food trucks parked along the Greenway and then take a ride, like we did, on the Greenway Carousel. The carousel is located right outside Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Christopher Columbus Park. Tickets are $3 per ride or a 10 pack from $25. You can also stop by on Friday, August 4th for Free Fun Fridays, where they will be giving free carousel rides!

A little more background from the Greenway Website:

The Greenway Carousel features 14 different characters native to the land, sea and sky of Massachusetts including a sea turtle, a cod, a peregrine falcon, a grasshopper, a harbor seal, a fox, a skunk, a whale, three types of butterflies, a barn owl, and a sea serpent. The characters were inspired by the drawings of Boston school children and fabricated by Newburyport, Massachusetts artist Jeff Briggs. There are a total of 36 seats on the Greenway Carousel, considered New England’s most accessible carousel for adults and youth with physical or auditory disabilities.

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So a co-worker revealed a hidden talent – he’s a canner. Lucky me, he decided to bring me in the last jar of carrots within days of us meeting!

It took me a while to get the lid open, but well worth the wait. Zared makes these at home, along with all sorts of wonderful goodies. I’m hoping I stay in his good graces to continue to get such tasty treats! The carrots are crisp, with this kick to them at the end – really flavorful. Oh, did I mention that they’re award winning!

And just recently I was able to score some horseradish mustard. Have to admit, not really a mustard loving kind of gal, but will try most anything once. Not your typical mustard and this stuff has a big kick to it. Whew! Can’t wait to try out the kimchee he’s always talking about.

The blueberry cinnamon jam seemed like it might be an unlikely combination, but it was delicious.

I love this on toast, waffles, well, pretty much everything. The cinnamon and blueberry flavors really complimented each other.

And when he got married, he made his own wedding favors! This was peach ginger jam. He’s insanely talented (at a bunch of things) and I’m lucky to call him a friend.

How amazing is this?

A close up of some of the favors. There’s nothing that this guy can’t pickle! Everything he makes is delicious – he challenges me to try new flavors.  Check out his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FoxPointPicklingCo

Zared was also just recently featured in an article in The Bay magazine, check it out here. And here’s a snippet:

Another incubee, Zared Goldfarb, seconds this. His company, Fox Point Pickling Co., hopes to become “Rhode Island’s pickle” by creating hand-crafted, hand-packed pickled vegetables using local RI produce. “Hope & Main is allowing me to follow my dream by providing crucial resources along with education and guidance to help me as an entrepreneur. This is essential for my success given I have limited experience starting my own business,” he says. “In the short time that I have been involved with the program, I have already been able to learn from professional chefs, restaurateurs and other like-minded people who I normally wouldn’t have access to.”

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They were at a craft festival for the first few days we were on the island, but we managed to meet up the night before we left.

It’s very hard to find good quality souvenir, most of what you find out there (in any vacation destination) is junk – thin t-shirts, plastic magnets or shot glasses. I love bringing these back as gifts – they are hand made (who doesn’t like supporting local craftsmen) and every piece is unique!

I really like the bright colors in these pieces.

How fun is this owl! If only I had space in my suitcase

How cute is this guy? The color really pops, doesn’t it?

I think that the owls are my favorite – so whimsical.

I brought back a bunch of magnets as gifts.

This one has a hook on the back, but I made it into a magnet to put on our fridge.

The photo didn’t come out in true color, this fun piece is bright lime green – it really pops!

Of all the pieces that I purchased this trip, this is my favorite one!

If you would like to email her, maja.lepsanovic [at} gmail {dot] com

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Check out these AMAZING ornaments from Boo Kee Sue. They are wire framed animals that are covered in decorative tissue paper. She hand makes every ornament with whatever tissue paper she has in stock, so each one is unique! The cow was $35 – how cute is this?

Check out her Etsy site here. The fox was $25. I love the detail on the tail.

And check out some of her images on her Flickr page here. The elephant was $40.

This will be a great addition to my elephant collection – I love this guy – isn’t he adorable!

These would make great gifts – and I had every intention of giving them away, but they are too cute and I kept them all for myself!

Other animals I had my eye on were the flamingo and the swan.

Another favorite that I had from last year’s market is Abby Berkson Ceramics. I bought two great mugs last year and decided to add this cute whale bowl to my collection. I LOVE her designs! Check out her website here. She also does personalized items that would be great for baby gifts!

Feeling a little low on energy? Did you shop until you dropped? No problem, Union Square Donuts to the rescue! (and you KNOW how much I love them!)

Yelp was at the event doing FREE gift wrapping, which I’m sure was much appreciated by everyone shopping! Take a look here for the vendors at the event this year.

Sowa Holiday Market

http://www.sowaholidaymarket.com/

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There are a bunch of vendors and craftspeople – just check out this reclaimed wood table! There are some really great craftspeople here.

Meet Chunk of the Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Oh and their coffee is good too, we grabbed a cold brew! Love their design for their labels!

Then we made a stop at Dough, a Brooklyn based donut company.

Their dulce de leche donut was amazing. A little sweet, super fresh, and all kinds of delicious.

We grabbed an Asia Dog as well – check out all their delicious toppings!

The all beef hotdog, the “wangding” with Chinese BBQ pork belly, cucumber and scallions. A little sweetness from the sauce sent this dog over the top for us. Amazing! All the ingredients were fresh, the quality of the food was impressive.

And just to wash everything down we tried a drink from Brooklyn Soda Works.

Their blueberry lemon flavor was really clean and refreshing.

My favorite thing from the market was this great mug. I love the face on this little guy, he just makes me smile. Check out all the critters at SKT Ceramics.

http://www.smorgasburg.com/

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Just wanted to share some fun souvenirs from our trip to Aruba. I can’t tell you the name of the woman we bought these from, but she rents space in a stall outside of the Baskin Robbins. I think she is super talented and she hand paints all the driftwood herself. The fun, bright colors remind me of Aruba.

A large owl magnet, I think this was $20

I love this little guy, and the colors are so vivid. He was $30 and came with a hook to hang on the wall.

She custom made this magnet, which was $10. It really was a great trip and this impending blizzard makes me wish we were there now!

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