We’re excited to have our first guest post here on The Merrythought. My baby sister, Lyndsay, lives in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. It’s hard to have her and her husband, Andy, so far away, but knowing they are getting to experience an amazing city and having a nice place to go visit now 😉 makes it a little bit easier. Southern California is so completely different from Western New York, it almost seems as if Lyndsay is in another country. Year round sunshine and warmth? Amazing!! Avocado trees and tropical plants in your backyard?? Send some this way! Lyndsay’s sharing a bit of their sunny life with us today…
My husband Andy and I moved to Santa Barbara, California in July of 2011. We knew that California had great weather year round and that Santa Barbara is unique for being just minutes from both the mountains and the ocean. What we didn’t know is that the wonderful weather allows for there to be a Farmers Market year round AND daily within the city! Our absolute favorite market is the Saturday morning market. It is a weekly tradition for us to go and pick up our produce for the week. Although SoCal is able to grow and harvest produce year round, there still are growing seasons when certain vegetables and fruits are cheaper and more plentiful.
There are many unique vendors at the Saturday market: breads, jams, oysters, flowers, plants, pistachios, honey, walnuts, raisins, beans, sprouts, olive oil, eggs, and more! I love the creativity the vendors use in the storage of their produce and in their signs. Boxes, baskets, tables, bins … cardboard, whiteboards, chalkboards, etc. Our weekly regulars typically include garlic, onions, peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, avocado, and dates. A few times on special occasions, we have bought lamb from one of a few meat vendors here. We are such regulars that you can get a rewards card for $10 off! Who knew at a Farmers Market!?! There also are always street musicians and performers who are collecting some cash for their talent. This particular week, there was a man with a type-writter writing poems for $1, a woman playing guitar and singing, and a woman playing the didgeridoo in hopes of paying for her medical costs in fighting cancer. Andy’s latest favorite fruit is the Cherimoya – a pina colada flavored fruit with the consistency of a pear. (That’s him purchasing one in the photo above). Every time I see the McGrath Family Farm vendor, I think of the McGrath’s back in Western NY – I sure miss my WNY family! And, in case you were wondering, no parakeets are allowed in the market.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your beautiful, sunny California life with us Lyndsay! You can glimpse more of Lyndsay & Andy on her blog, Grimm Tales.
Have a happy weekend friends! Manda
