The Dekalb Farmers Market

If you have never been to the Dekalb Farmers Market, I would highly recommend a visit. It’s a hidden gem in the city of Atlanta, and ever since I fell in love with the Athens Farmers Market, I have been obsessed with exploring markets to find the freshest, most colorful food I can find. (Side note: I miss the colors and flavors of Athens so much! It’s such a great college town. Go dawgs!)

Ever since I made the big move back to Atlanta, I’ve been dying to visit the Dekalb Farmers Market. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. As soon as I walked in, I was overwhelmed by the amount of color that I saw: fruits, vegetables, spices, cheeses, flowers, desserts, and even flags hanging from the ceiling. Whether I looked up, down, to the left, or to the right right, there was color to be seen. I was in heaven! 

I purchased some delicious fruit (my favorite being a pineapple the store clerks peeled in front of me), fresh arugula, one of the yellow peppers, and an assortment of snacks I couldn’t resist. I left with five full grocery bags, and my total was $28.67. So not only do they have some of the freshest, most colorful food I’ve ever seen, but also some of the cheapest!

Did I mention my private tour guides? My cousin and her babies go to the Dekalb Farmers Market nearly once a week and are experts at maneuvering through the crowded yet colorful lanes. The two-year-old had an absolute blast — she was counting the vegetables we put in the cart, planning dinners for the week, and admiring the unique colors we saw around market. Her favorite things that day were a light green lemongrass and a bright purple eggplant. She loves color at an early age, too! Maybe it runs in the family.

I hope my trip to the farmers market inspired you to shop and cook with a little more color! Does anyone else have a favorite market in Atlanta? Happy cooking!

Rainbow Cupcakes

I had been seeing pictures of rainbow cupcakes for a while, and I finally decided it was time to make some for myself! So Pinterest directed me to this post, and my roommates and I were in for a colorful treat.

I bought one box of Funfetti cake mix, one tub of Rainbow Chip icing, and a pack of food coloring. I mixed up the batter, and then separated it into five smaller bowls. Next, we put in the food coloring, which immediately turned the white cake mix and into vibrant colors. We decided to make the colors orange, blue, green, purple, and red.

We used regular cupcake tins, and my roommates and I took turns creating our cupcake masterpieces. It was like the batter was our paint… Each one had a different color scheme or pattern, and we were so anxious to see the final result!

They came out wonderfully… It looked like we had tie died the cupcakes! We were so giddy when we cut into them—this baking activity definitely made us feel like kids again. (FYI: We decided this would be a great activity for the youngins.)

After they were done cooling, I put white icing onto the rainbow cupcakes. It was a perfect color contrast. And it was so fun to find different colors and patterns with every bite.

Happy baking!

Happy Halloween!

Fall brings colorful holidays… the first of which is Halloween.

The holiday revolves around the perfectly orange pumpkin. Pumpkin patches are on every corner and you can find them in every grocery store. They rest on every house’s front porch, and on Halloween day, it is time to carve the pumpkin! One of my favorite childhood memories is carving our family’s pumpkin—I loved taking out the squishy insides and then creating a piece of art. Through the years, we made an Ernie pumpkin (my favorite Sesame Street character), scary monsters, and even tried carving our dog. So this year, I am going to carve a UGA masterpiece in honor of the Bulldawgs win over the Gators! (You can purchase a UGA carving kit on Dawgwear.com.)

Halloween is also all about candy. The candy aisles at any grocery or convenience store are always so colorful on Halloween—packages have switched from their usual bland colors to the spooky orange and black. Candy comes in the shape of pumpkins, bats, and witches. Trick-or-treating is the event of the day, and kids end the night with enough candy to last them months. And I cant forget about candy corn, the special Halloween candy. When the leaves start to change colors, I immediately crave this seasonal treat!

And I can’t forget to mention colorful costumes! Kids and adults of all ages dress up in colorful attire. This year I am being an American cowgirl—I was inspired by my summer Jackson Hole trip—and I’m wearing a blue plaid shirt, red and white flag jean skirt, and my cowboy boots. What are some costumes you’ve had through the years?

So go out and celebrate Halloween… the holiday that revolves around candy, dressing up, being spooky, and the color orange. BOO!

Friendship Bracelets Anyone?

I love friendship bracelets. Who doesn’t right?

But as a teenager I really loved them. I learned tons of stitches when I was around eight years old from my babysitters and then went to summer camp and taught everyone I knew. I would come home from a month at Camp Barney Medintz—my summer place—with countless string bracelets and anklets.

There was the simple braid, candy stripe, Chinese staircase, weaves and even hemp.

No stitch was too challenging. And my color collection was tremendous.

Today, my collection of string is still pretty big…

I have decided to make my favorite stitch, candy stripe, and give you some helpful hints for when you want to create a friendship bracelet.

• The most important thing is that you pick exciting colors. You can go with warm, cool, rainbow or even random colors—but it has to be a color combination that you like.

My colors: purple, bright blue, hot pink, light pink and black.

• When tying the knot at the top, be sure to leave enough string so that you can tie the bracelet on you when it’s finished. I’ve made the mistake of creating an awesome bracelet and then not having enough string to tie it on with.

The perfect amount of string left when I tie my knot.

• It helps to spread out the strings/colors when you are first starting your stitches. The beginning is often the hardest because you go from just the knot to creating complete stitches. It’s important to have a good foundation for your entire bracelet.

Notice how all the strings are separated, which will make it easier to start the stitch.

Now get started!

They have aisles of string at Michaels with every color imaginable (Yes, it’s overwhelming and fabulous). I hope these simple tips helped and now you are confident in your friendship bracelet ability. By wearing it you will constantly be reminded of your knack for crafts, and enjoy that semi-permanent colored bracelet around your wrist.

Here is my finished product: