Mitchell Park Domes, Winter Farmers' Market and El Rey

How was your weekend? Ours ended up being pretty busy!

Craig and I headed to the Domes on Saturday morning and arrived to find a very packed parking lot. We had trouble finding parking in the lot, so I would recommend skipping it and just parking on the street nearby like we did.

Visiting all three Domes was completely free, thanks to the Winter Farmers' market. I didn't really expect free admission, so it was a nice added bonus. 

Since it's been a long winter, we started in the Tropical dome, which felt amazing and I was instantly happy. Maybe we do need to move to a warmer climate sooner rather than later.

I'd love to have a banana tree in my backyard!

Aren't orchids just amazing?

The "show" dome had the railroad show going on. Craig joked that the scene below (upper right) was very steampunk. Turns out, he was right--I later found a sign explaining steampunk. I can't escape steampunk lately--a Portlandia episode about it, local steampunkers visiting my work, a NY Times article over the weekend, and then this. UGH! I am just going to be blunt and vent and say, "I DON'T GET IT!" I think it's because I don't like being the center of attention, so people who dress up this way and walk around places for fun just boggle my mind. So not my thing. End rant.

I had been to the Winter Farmers' Market a couple of times before, so I knew what vendors to expect. While there was a really nice selection of products like mushrooms, apples, potatoes, coffee, jams, meats, etc., we didn't really need any food so it was just fun to look around. 

On our way home, we stopped by El Rey Market on Oklahoma Avenue for lunch. I love the grocery store because it has a unique selection of produce and products, but Taco Loco's slow service didn't impress us. We felt like the whole place needed a reorganization of their bill paying process in particular. The food was pretty good. I enjoyed a Horchata, Chile Relleno and we shared a Churro.

The rest of the weekend consisted of lots of naps (I was still tired from my head cold), cleaning, shopping and then looking at five new houses on Sunday. We saw a gorgeous house that was perfect in every way (and had the most amazing pantry) and then four other houses that were just ok. I realized that I am definitely more into modern/clean lines than a traditional look. I am really glad that Craig felt the same way. This was our first time truly looking at some new construction together as inspiration for conversation about our likes and dislikes. I made lots of notes on what we do and do not like in a house and hopefully that will help us narrow down what we need when we do buy one. 

Have a great week!