Shopping at My Local "Farmer's Market"

When I lived in America, I didn't take advantage of shopping at Farmer's Markets. Lets be honest, zipping over to Kroger and grabbing what you need in a jiffy is more convenient. And as the consumers we are, we all know we pay for convenience. I have to say though, when we go back, I don't think I'll be going back to convenience... full time at least. 

Fortunately for me, convenience here is a market right behind my house. 

This is our "local" veggie market that I often swing by on my way home from class. 

This is the BIG veggie market. LONG rows of lots and lots and lots of veggies sold by farmers who have come into town from the villages. It's about a 10-15 min. walk from my house.

You know how some days you go into Kroger or Publix and there are like 7 heads of lettuce to choose from that are semi-wilty or 5 heads of cauliflower that are all starting to get those little black spots... and they still cost an arm and a leg? 

Not to worry here- you can find at least 30 people selling what you are looking for.... and did I mention for like 1/10 the price for something bigger and better? 

Hannah's mama & aunt brought me this cute shopping bag from the states and it is the PERFECT "going to the veggie market" bag. 

This was one quick run to the market behind my house....

And I got all of this- a HUGE stalk of celery, 2 tomatoes, an onion, 5 bulbs of garlic, 1 GIANT carrot, 1 green pepper, 1 head of broccoli, 1 head of cauliflower, 4 heads of lettuce, and 12 eggs for like $5... maybe even a little less (yes, US$). Believe it. The 4 heads of lettuce that would be... like a lot at the grocery at home, were just a little over .50. FIFTY CENTS. I laughed when she told me, "san kuai wu!" {3.5kuai... or about 55 cents}. I ran in last week to grab a couple of potatoes and a head of broccoli to make soup with, and ended up buying a head of cauliflower that seriously might have been almost the size of a small human head. I was amazed. 

One of the many, many things I love about living here. 

Joyfully Produced, 

Does Your Brain Function This Way?

Last Summer, Eve sent this to me in a forwarded email and I just ran across it again.... and thought I'd share. The intro in the email says that it is "Age Activated," but I have to say at 26, I don't think I'm old enough to claim such an excuse. 


So what about you? Does your brain function this way?

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table,  put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Pepsi is getting warm,  and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.  As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,  a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need water.  I put the Pepsi on the counter  and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.  I set the glasses back down on the counter,  fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the car isn't washed the bills aren't paid there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

So maybe my "all-over-the-placeness" looks a little different.... I am not a fan of pepsi.... but this sequence is a daily occurrence in my brain {I've done about 17 things since I started this post}. And yours?


Joyfully Scattered,

Retro Nightstand Upcycle

We were really lucky when we moved into our apartment here that it had already been furnished- by Americans, so we didn't have much to buy. We did however, transform a few rooms and need a few little things. 

A friend recommended that we go to the used furniture "market" as a lot of things already in our house had been purchased there, for the things we didn't buy at Ikea. I use the word "market" lightly, because 2 of the girls and I spent half the day on a wild goose chase looking for a "market" in a language we don't speak to find several hours later that we weren't really looking for a "market" but really a street/ally of almost junk-yard like stores?shops?heaps? - treasure houses of old furniture, doors, window panes, etc. Way better than a market. 

Most things at the used furniture "market" are old pieces of furniture made out of wood that have lots of character, but are pretty funky.... mostly in smell, and covered in dust and dirt {and probably a good deal of mold}. But with a little love, they turn into great pieces of furniture. Considering the current trends in furniture and home decor here, these old things look a whole lot better than most anything else new you are going to find here {except for at Ikea of course}. 

Anyway- back to the nightstand. So on our adventure to the market, I found this guy. It wasn't old, or too funky in smell.... just a little.... retro..... 

But I saw some potential. So for like $6 I got this pretty high quality- albeit a little ugly- nightstand, that probably once lived in a hotel here. 

The only real eye sores, were these knobs, the puke color, and dated silver stripes boarding the puke. 

So I went to my go to decorating and crafting bestest {who just happened to be preparing an awesome package to send over} and asked her to throw in some ceramic knobs. She picked 6 {all so fabulous} and 2 of them were perfect- I have big plans for the 4 that weren't used. 

Once I had the knobs, I was ready to spruce it up. 

After giving it a good wipe-down, I started with strips of double-sided tape on the puke panels {is that too graphic a description...should I pick something else??}, and then little skinny strips on the silver.

Then I picked 2 patterns of coordinating scrapbooking paper and measured the areas to be covered. I cut the paper out, and very carefully stuck it on. 

Then I covered the paper with a good coat of ModPodge to give it a little sheen and protect it from any future spills. 

Then I attached the cute knobs and....

Voila! 

Not so funky anymore! 

I have done a lot with our guest room {that is now a nice robins egg/tiffany/light aqua blue with grey and touches of light green here and there}, and look forward to sharing more with you soon! 

Joyfully De-Retrofied,

I'm linking up over at:
{Sundae Scoop} {Under The Table and Dreaming} {Nifty Thrifty Things} {C.R.A.F.T} {Debbiedoo's} {Me Making Do} {Sew Can Do} {Craft-O-Maniac} {Get Your Craft On} {A Diamond in the Stuff} {Organize & Decorate Everything} {Sew Much Ado} {Blue Cricket Design} {Somewhat Simple} {Creations By Kara} {The Shabby Nest} {A Little Knick Knack} {WhipperBerry} {My Girlish Whims} {Thrifty 101} {So You Think You're Crafty} {Not Just a Housewife} {Sweet Peas & Bumblebees}

My People Come to the Orient! {and some fun snapshots of life here}

6ish weeks ago {i know i'm kind of a slacker}, the orient was blessed with my sweet mama & bestest's presence! 

 I had been pretty pumped for a while.....

so excited!

Here she comes! 

Fresh off of 30 hours of travel...

Yay! 

AND..... here comes the bestest...

 followed closely by Hannah's sweet Mama and Aunt! 

Such a sweet moment. I almost cried the day before thinking about Hannah and her mom seeing each other. Somehow my own life doesn't make me cry like others' do. 

 Reunited with 2 of my favorite people on the planet! 

I see 2 sets of wet eyes- I think I was too excited to get emotional... and hadn't been traveling for 30 hours. 

The next day we went out for some exploring.

Sunday afternoon in our "little village"

I couldn't not share this with you.....

This poor- I don't know maybe 8??? year old kid- in an all pink pair of fluffy pajamas, going totally power rangers for an audience with his blue triton sword. We chuckled for a good 15 minutes watching his sweet moves. 

There was a big minority performance in the park this day, and behind the stage this beautiful little girl was all dressed up. I couldn't get over how precious she was. 

I love this picture- 

It gives me a view into my own life- surrounded by people who don't look like me, finding such great delight in each and every one of them. 

This melts my heart

This sweet grandfather carrying his little granddaughter across the stone bridge- with his cane and all- because she was afraid. So precious. 

And this sweet little thing! Her grandmother asked Jamie and I if we were twins- which is kind of funny... and then asked if my mom was my sister! {That definitely happened more than once during her time here. Flattering I'm sure}

Turns out she has a little twin herself. And cute strawberry pants too. 

We climbed a little mountain in the middle of the park that overlooks where we live- I love living right at the foot of these mountains. 

This is going to be Jamie and I someday...

The next day, we went to the ancient city outside of town, where we were greeted by this little cutie pie...

So cute. 

Then we found this little sweet one....

We treated them to a tasty dinner over my favorite meal....

Potato cakes, ErKuaiBa {my VERY fave}, and fried zucchini! Yum. 

Followed my my other favorite... GuoTie {fried dumplings}

A trip to snack street wouldn't be complete without some ShaoKao either. 

We took a little trip into the city and went to a traditional team demonstration.

Which clearly was pretty fascinating.

They wouldn't be good tourists if they didn't go to that really big city to do really touristy things.

....and see that really big wall... that I have now seen 4 times. 

Riding the chair lift up

It was a lovely day on the large wall.

More fun sights to see....

It was a wonderful week, and these pictures captured just a little bit of how wonderful our time together was.

And before we knew it, the week was over and they were headed back across the pond on their way home.  

I was so blessed by their time here! 

Joyfully Blessed by their Presence,