shortcake + shoes: .to farmer's market we go.

since moving to memphis, we've steadily gained a beautiful life. we've had each other all along, but a full life is colored with friends, weekend plans, good meals, mini-trips, and always discovering something new in a place you already call home.

now on our fourth year in this bbq and blues city, we've dined, visited, played at, and explored so many crevices of our new area. however, that treasure map we've 'cartographered' ourselves has really pointed us to some gems.

here and there, i've heard of the local farmer's markets in the city and we've even tried one out very close to our house. with only a few vegetables and many empty bins, we were not impressed. somewhat reluctant to drive too far on a lazy saturday morning, i've never suggested going to the downtown farmer's market. this weekend was a well-chosen exception.

the memphis farmer's market is situated in a little corner of downtown near some places we've previously visited. we decided to grab some breakfast before seeing what the market had to offer.

at the restaurant aptly named cafe beignet, down the block from the market, we entered a new orleans decor-ed restaurant that served some pretty tasty cheese eggs. oh, you want to know about the beignets? they were really good, not cafe du monde good, but we inhaled them, coughing on powdered sugar and all nonetheless.

on the walk back to the market to begin our perusing, we saw an older gentleman (can you tell i'm from the south?) in a neon green shirt running after a dog. we looked at each other and instantly knew a dog had escaped the dog-sitting booth we saw on our way to breakfast. my heroic eye guy went to help and together they got the dog back. phew.

we then continued on to the market where we checked out all the rescue dogs and i pretty much tortured myself by not bringing every single one of them home with me. or ok, this one really ugly, cute one i took a liking to.

the market itself had all the produce we said we wanted on the drive over, plus more that we couldn't resist. a friend of mine had told me goat cheese was one of her favorite farmer's market finds and i could almost taste it as soon as i knew i'd get an opportunity to get some myself. and get some, i did.

gorgeous, the flowers were bountiful and bold. there were these flowers as big as the sun that i just couldn't go home without. and so i didn't.

the memphis farmer's market wasn't a massive expanse of booths, but the amount they had was definitely worth the drive. this time, our exploration map pointed us to a hidden treasure that has been there all along.