To Market, To Market

Shawn and the girls came for a visit, and when they arrived on Friday night, they brought dinner with them! It was such a treat for The Mr. because Shawn made one of his all-time favorite (glutenous) dishes, deep dish pizza! Homemade pizza is a huge treat for him, let alone "Giordano's" deep dish Chicago style (A.K.A amazing) pizza. I am really glad when others make foods for my husband that are laden with gluten, because it is very rare for him to get those kinds of foods in our house. :)

Well, no fat pigs or plum buns were brought home, but we did go to the market on Saturday! One thing that I have to say about this market is that you will not starve if you are gluten-free. There are several options, but the most obvious are the gluten-free man pies, as well as several vendors selling gluten-free baking. I tried a thick slice of carrot bread/cake from The Baker's Cousin, and it was quite yummy and satisfying. I'd definitely go back again!

Parking is free in downtown on Saturdays, and when you are done shopping at the market, there are plenty of other fun places to visit within a short walking distance on both Railroad Ave. and E Holly St. Since our discovery of this new-to-us part of Bellingham, we've been back a number of times and it has become one of our favorite places to spend a Saturday. We can't even remember how we stumbled across it, but we're glad we did.

Local Hazelnuts




BelleWood Acres had several varieties of apples for sale.


I thought this was cute!


This is the booth that I bought The Little One's felted sheep from on our last visit. They have all sorts of beautiful fabric items like these aprons above, as well as cloth napkins, hair accessories, pillows, buntings/banners and much more.


Ralf's Bavarian Bakery always has lots of yummy looking breads, pretzels and twists, and when we visit the market with friends or family, they often buy something here. It just all looks really yummy! This time they had gluten-free apple tarts too, which was a neat surprise.


The fall wreaths and colorful stattice caught my eye.


Samish Bay Cheese always has the yummiest samples of cheeses made "just yesterday," as well as the same cheeses, aged, so that you can taste the difference age makes. It is an interesting taste experiment. I like the creamy texture of the freshest cheese the best.


Cascadia Mushrooms' grow your own mushroom kits look like a lot of fun!




Tephums and Stella tried some honey sticks.




After the market, we went to Woods Coffee to warm up. I never tire of looking at the bottom of my paper cup to see "John 3:16."


After that we made our way to one of my favorite stores in Bellingham. Actually it is probably my favorite. It is called Greenhouse and their beautiful products and styling never cease to awe. I picked up some beautiful decorations, and Shawn also picked out this gorgeous hand made wall vase for her early birthday present from us.


Twice now as we've visited this store, we've stayed so long that it was time to feed The Little One. I think we're starting to feel quite at home at the table in the candle section! Here The Little One is enjoying some homemade sweet potato puree.


Next we made our way to LuLu. LuLu sells jewelry, clothing, notebooks, soaps, lotions, scarves etc. I loved this necklace and just had to snap a photo.


From there we moved on to Digs. If you like modern decor, you'll love Digs. However, even if your style is not modern, you will find things you like in this store- I think there is something for everyone there.


It has a great babies and kids section in the back. Look at all that fun baby stuff!


This little rocking "moped" was so adorable. The Little One is teething right now, and his facial expression in this photo is the result of trying his hardest to reach over and chew on the wood. He was so intensely interested in it!


Upstairs there is a clearance center with lots of fun bargains, and to the right there is a gently used area of kitchenware, decor and furniture from the 60s and 70s that fit beautifully into the modern style of decor that they sell on the bottom half of the store.


Our last stop in this area was dinner at Bob's. The downtown location is my new favorite because they have gluten free hamburger buns! At the Birch Bay location I usually order the Fresh Mushroom Burger without the bun (and sauce- it contains gluten), so I had to try it with a gluten-free bun and it was SO good! It was such a treat to eat a hamburger in a bun and it had a great flavor.

So, what about you? Have you ever accidentally discovered a fun "new" area in your city?