DETROIT: Flower Day at the Eastern Market

The first Sunday after (American) Mothers Day marks the arrival of Flower Day down in Detroit's Eastern Market. You may remember me mentioning the Eastern Market last year when we paid a visit -  it's a huge farmers market which comes to life on Saturdays with all things plant, food, live music and local memorabilia you could put a name to. For Flower Day which began in at it's present location in 1967, the Eastern Market hosts local growers alongside those from neighboring states and those from over the river in Ontario, Canada. Here you'll find 15 acres of all the flowers, hanging baskets and containers, garden accessories and vegetables you could ever dream about. Think of a sea of flowers of all sorts, colours, sizes and varieties piled up, laid out and you're half way there.

Now that we finally have a garden, it was time we got around to checking it out for ourselves. We only went with the idea of finding something colourful for our endless shady parts, but as you do, came away with a little more. Mainly in the veg department (hopefully get to show you my latest veg patch developments in a post soon!), but with the quality and the price, you couldn't really say no. We did learn that we need to invest in a garden cart and again because of the price, we'll just get all our plant veg from here once the 2016 growing season rolls around.

But it's not all about the flowers no matter how beautiful they are all on mass. There's live music, some awesome street food (we treated ourselves to an pulled pork sarnie each for an early lunch - yum) which I burnt off no doubt with all the digging and planting on our return home.

Even if you don't have a garden, just for all the colours, the sights and sounds, it's well worth popping through.

LIFE: Last Year I ...

It's weird to think that 2014 is already last year. Hey I even struggle to think that 2000 rolled around 15 years ago. 2014 was a pretty awesome year, perhaps not so much for the blog, I've had my struggles with that, especially recently but personally, even with the insomnia and all the stress, it turned out pretty well. 

I'm taking inspiration from Dainty Squid's (a favorite blog of mine to read) visual documentation of the year - so here is mine, here was my 2014. 

Experienced and survived a polar vortex and the great flood 

Explored and fell more in love with Detroit and experience some of the awesome local food places the city has to offer - the Grand Trunk Pub, The Mercury Bar, McShanes, MexicanTown Bakery and Slows are all new favorites.

Went to my first basketball game, granted it was the Harlem Globetrotters, but still 

Re-found my passion for cross stitching and started designing some of my own pieces - from record players to VW Bugs and the Angel of the North

To a map of Michigan in blackwork

Finally explored the Eastern Market

Saw one of my favorite bands, Clairy Browne, live in Ann Arbor 

Saw random roadside attractions - like the worlds largest tire

Reached the 5th birthday of this very blog and shared my wisdom

Brought our very first house and tried to tame a garden, somewhat successfully 

Fell in love with purple buildings in Bay City

and old houses

at 28, carved my very first pumpkin

Had another fly by visit to Pittsburgh 

And you know what, that all probably sums up both me and my blog pretty well. I have high hopes for making 2015 super crafty, creative and green fingered in various ways and means.

Thanks to all of you - for all your supports, comments, likes, shares throughout the year. I hope you stick around and follow whatever adventures and things that come my way in the next year. I've realised in the last couple of months that this blog is never going to be big, it hurt a little, but in turn it makes you remember that for me, blogging is just a hobby, it's just a small part of who I am, that I shouldn't stress about it as much as I sometimes do. I can't glamourse living in Michigan, or make Detroit sound the most hip happening place, nor can I make the life of an expat sound incredible. But I can try and share what my life is all about and whatever makes me tick, even if that isn't always the most exciting hobbies and things that make up a person.

I wish you all the best as we start a brand new year. 

LIFE: Weekend Visitors

A hectic weekend of plates of over sized pancakes, Pizza Papalis style deep dish pizzas to long walks around parts of Detroit just flew by. With close family visiting from Pennsylvania, we didn't hide the family away in the suburbs (like many would) but ventured into Detroit to show them what the city has to offer. 

A long walk around the hugely busy and vibrant Eastern Market on Saturday morning burned off those calories from a plate of pancakes from the Original Pancake House - while it may have taken me over two years to find a free day to get to the market it's certainly somewhere we'll head to more often - live music, hundreds of stalls from food sellers, Detroit souvenirs to plant growers it has an incredible atmosphere and once we finally get our hands on a garden, it'll probably be filled with plants from there. Then a drive to the riverfront to show the kids Canada from over the river and the GM headquarters made us hungry for pizza. It may take over 30 minutes for your pizza to arrive (because of how they cook it), but man is the wait worth it.

How was your weekend?