the essence

Saturday I claimed as OUR family day. We didn't have to work and we didn't have any other commitments or obligations. I love farmers markets, but they're scarce around here, so I talked Ray into going to the one in Ybor.

Ybor is quite a lovely area during the day, even if it can become a bit scary at night. I just love the character of the area & all of the old buildings.





After some hunting we found the farmers market (I forgot to get directions or an address before we left) & it was definitely fun but a little sparse. I was hoping for a better selection. However, I did still find some great produce deals while we were there! Addison absolutely loved walking around the market carrying the basket. She kept trying to grab the baskets of grape tomatoes & eating them!



On our way to the farmers market I saw a billboard for Ikea, which just opened here last month. I forgot that it was so close to Ybor so we went over there next. Oh, how I love Ikea. Apparently, the novelty in our area has yet to wear off & the place was absolutely packed on a Saturday afternoon. We walked around for a bit & then decided we needed to come back on a weekday when there would (hopefully) be fewer crowds.

We did stop to get some hot dogs, soda, & frozen yogurt on our way out for lunch - you can't beat feeding 3 people for less than $5!







One thing I picked up at the farmers market were some green tomatoes. I've wanted to try fried green tomatoes for years so I took the opportunity to try when we got home. I found a recipe online. The tomatoes were okay, I really wasn't sure what to expect, but they were a bit more tart than I liked. (I don't feel like taking the time to turn these pictures around - sorry) :)







For dinner we had a wonderful summertime meal of hamburgers, corn on the cob and baked potato fries - I forgot to put the watermelon out! We ate outside on the back porch. I love eating outside, even if it was a bit hot!





We agreed it was such a wonderful day!