Good morning friends! I hope you are checking in after a fun and relaxing weekend.
Ours became a lot busier than I anticipated, but I loved it.
I started my Saturday morning teaching at the gym, and then Scott surprised me with a (daytime) #DetroitDateNight. Wanting to explore even more of Michigan and the city of Detroit, we deemed our series of weekend outings in the D a monthly (or so) tradition. One of us is in charge of going to a new activity followed by a new-to-us lunch or dinner location, and it was Scott’s turn to plan this time!
Eastern Market – Detroit
I got home from work around 10:30 a.m. and made the biggest breakfast scramble ever. I was already halfway through my plate when Scott told me he had plans for us, which included a bit of food. We lounged for the next hour or so, then were on our way out the door!
We drove into the city right around Noon. I figured out that we were going to Eastern Market as soon as I saw people walking towards a general area while carrying bags, carts, and even wagons.
The market takes place in six different areas called sheds, and we started at Shed 5 since it had a few food trucks parked out front. I sincerely regretted my decision to stuff myself with breakfast once I saw the choices for lunch. Full, I passed on ordering something for myself, but I did take a few generous bites of Scott’s loaded macaroni and cheese from Mac Shack!
Man that was good. I had my heart set on grabbing an iced coffee, and the two of us set out without any other plans in mind.
Every Saturday, this multi-acre space is filled with farmers offering the season’s freshest fruits and vegetables, handcrafted food makers, local artists, musicians, and more than 150 vendors during peak months!
The market is also open to the public more days of the week, especially during Michigan’s harvest season.
We brought cash with us and decided this was the best time to stock up on fresh produce for the week. We made our rounds through all of the vendor tables and took advantage of some pretty great deals on everything from romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, to peaches, blueberries, and honey. And check out these purple bell peppers!
We wanted to get a few of those, but it was a little chaotic at that checkout.
The website says the market is open until 4 p.m., but everything starts closing down around 2:30 or so. We actually came at a great time! A lot of the vendors started tearing down their tables and were offering fantastic deals on their produce. Yeah buddy!
I finally found a coffee station on our final loop out. I can’t remember exactly where I found it, but it was in one of the bigger areas (probably Shed 3?) leading back out to where we entered.
We each left with hands full of grocery bags, and we have already been putting the produce and market goodies to great use!
After the market, we made a quick trip home to drop the produce off and were on our way to the second part of our day as soon as you could say Michigan Renaissance Festival.
Stay tuned for more on that coming soon!
After an eventful day, Scott and I spent the night in watching a scary movie on Netflix (have any of you seen Dark Skies? Whoa. It’s a good one!), making homemade popcorn (the best), and turning in early.
We were able to sleep in on Sunday (also the best), then attended our normal mid-morning church service. We’ve been spoiled by being able to rely on coffee and bagels for breakfast from the church lobby every week. This week, however, there weren’t any volunteers to run the stations. It was on purpose, and went along with the sermon all about the importance of volunteering.
With coffee and bagels on the brain, we couldn’t help but to stop for some for a late breakfast on the way home.
A friend took me to Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery in Rochester ages ago, and I remembered how good it was as we passed by. We instantly pulled a U-turn and enjoyed our picks outside.
Unlike my normal breakfast sandwich go-to, I ordered a toasted everything bagel with strawberry cream cheese. It was glorious.
Stoney Creek Metropark
Scott had a rock climbing event to get to mid-afternoon (I told you… he’s all into it), so we ran home, changed into hike-friendly clothes, and grabbed Roadie to set out for a hurried trip to Stoney Creek Metropark.
Scott and I have been a few times, and we can’t believe that we don’t take advantage of our annual park pass more often. Since we had Roadie with us this time, we were happy to find out that dogs are welcome in most areas, as long as they are leashed and stay off the beaches.
We parked by one of the main beaches (we really need to return and enjoy it while it’s still hot out) and embarked on a three mile loop through a new trail.
We were looking for the Fitness Trail that takes you through a series of exercise stations as you walk or run, but we ended up in the middle of the woods instead. My navigation skills are pretty impressive y’all. No worries though, because we found this little view.
It was beautiful!
Roadie isn’t a big swimmer, but he does like to dip his legs into the water and walk around with the water about up to his belly.
He loved it!
We would have stayed a bit longer if Scott didn’t need to get off to his next weekend outing. Even though our trip to the park was cut short, it felt great to be outside, and all parties in attendance were very appreciative of the fresh air.
We walked back to the car, drove around to find even more things to explore on our next visit, and vowed that we will use our pass at least once a week while it’s still warm out.
Here’s hoping we stick to that plan!
***
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you again later this afternoon. Happy Monday!
Previous #DetroitDateNight Adventures:
• Detroit Science Center & Green Dot Stables
» Linking my Weekend Snapshots up with Katie and Erin.
Questions of the Morning
• Do you frequent a local farmer’s market on the weekends?
• What is one highlight from your weekend?
![[in our elementary school era] 🚌😭
Skyler did great walking into KINDERGARTEN with a big smile on his face this morning. I, however, was a bit of a mess on our walk home. 🥹
It’s wild how fast these 5 years with him have gone … 7 since we moved to NYC and into our apartment, dreaming of the day our kids would someday go to the *awesome* school right down our block. 🏫
That day is today, and I still don’t believe it — feeling allll of the emotions and thanking God for placing us here and for being able to trust His timing through the journey. 🫶🏼 #hbshinnyc
SO proud of you, SK - you are going to rock your first year at your “big boy school” - WE LOVE YOU !! 🩵👑](https://lifeinleggings.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Sounds like such a lovely weekend! We have a smaller farmers market about 10 minutes from my house but we’ve only been once this summer. This made me decide I’m for sure going this coming weekend while it’s still nice out!
Alexandra @ My Urban Family recently posted…Midwest Road Trip: Minneapolis
Yes, you should! We do the same thing. And then the colder months get here and I scratch my head at WHY we didn’t take advantage of the markets and getting outside more!
I love checking out markets. I can spend hours just going up and down the aisles without every buying anything. Except coffee, that’s a necessity of course.
Oh, me too! haha. so funny. Coffee is always a definite purchase for me! 😉
What a fun weekend! I had high hopes of getting outdoors and exploring but my little man came down with a cold and it’s still pretty warms. It’s crazy how many awesome outdoor parks, lakes, rivers, trails, etc. we have around us that we never go to! I need to start making a bucket list of local things to do. Hope you have a great Monday!
Oh no, sorry to hear about Love Nugget’s cold. Those are never fun, especially when it’s nice out! We always find more trails and things to do near us that we wish we found earlier, too. Every now and then, I like to make seasonal bucket lists to get us out!
I went to Eastern Market last week and I had the same priority – coffee! There are some great little stands there! (also some great little shops just outside the shed areas). Eastern Market is open year round.. even though it is cold, it can be fun to go in the colder months too! Love the sounds of your little Detroit date night 🙂
Oh fun, Hi Nikki! I know… after seeing the Eastern Market website, it looks like there’s much more to do outside of the market. We’ll have to research places to go and stick around next time!
What a beautiful weekend! You look fab in that green tank and that mac & cheese has my mouth watering. What a fun place to shop.
Shelly recently posted…Grateful Heart – First Day
Aw, thanks Shelly! It’s from Stitch Fix 🙂
I have been wanting to go to the Eastern Market for a while now! I always see such a huge assortment of fresh and local produce that I know I would be in heaven there! Definitely going to have to check it out soon!!
Brie @ Lean, Clean, & Brie recently posted…Silver Lake Family Vacation 2015
I can’t believe it took us so long to check it out! It’s pretty impressive, and we’ll definitely be back!
Heather recently posted…Weekly Workouts & Un-pictured Meals
That looks like so much fun!! what an awesome weekend. I’m super jealous of your dog hahah I want a dog so badly! My pupological clock is ticking…
Mary recently posted…20 miler- DONE
Lol “pupological clock” 🙂
Kelly recently posted…Weekend!
Hehehe I love it! 😉
Heather recently posted…Weekly Workouts & Un-pictured Meals
Sounds like a really fun and delicious weekend! That market looks amazing. My small-town farmers market cannot compete! There’s like 5 booths. We often go anyway to pick up tomatoes and peaches especially. Looking forward to hearing about the Ren Fair – Haven’t been to one of those in ages!
Kelly recently posted…Weekend!
Aw, sometimes it’s nice to go to small-town markets because you don’t have to deal with crowds! We picked those two produce items too and are really enjoying them this week!
Heather recently posted…Weekly Workouts & Un-pictured Meals
What a great weekend!
I can’t believe it’s almost the end of August and I still haven’t been to our Farmer’s Market – I’m hoping to make it next weekend and find some good produce.
Ange @ Cowgirl Runs recently posted…Marathon Training Recap (week 5)
I KNOW. The fact that next week is September really blows my mind. HOW is this year flying so fast? I hope we both make it out to enjoy as much as we can before the cold weather blows in!
Still never went to a farmer’s market this season….always happens :O
Rebecca – Strength and Sunshine recently posted…Raw Spiralized Thai Salad
Get out there and enjoy the fresh produce lady! (And go towards the end of the day, too. That will hopefully get you the best deals!)
Sounds like a great weekend! I LOVE farmer’s markets and can’t wait to get back to regularly going in the next month or two when it cools down around here. It’s no fun to go during the summer here in AZ since it’s scorching hot. Hope you have a wonderful Monday! xo
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries recently posted…Pregnancy Friendly Workout Clothes + Workouts/Meals
It’s crazy how the weather can be SO different all over the United States. I’ll try my best to send over some cooler afternoons… just as long as you bottle up some of the sunshine during winter for me! 😉
What a fun weekend! And I love how your husband planned it as a mini surprise 🙂 His loaded mac and cheese looks absolutely amazing… I don’t know if I would’ve been able to say no 🙂 Haha. Hope you have a great Monday!
Jamie recently posted…Pick Me Up #MIMM
It’s a fun excuse to get out and enjoy ourselves on a date every once a while. We love finding new things to do in Detroit too, so we hope to keep it up for a while!
Looks like such a great weekend! What a gorgeous weekend in the D! My younger sister lives there and is always posting awesome pics 🙂
Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen recently posted…WEIGHT TRAINING WORKOUT #2
The weather was so beautiful! I wish it could stay this way all year long. I’d love it!
I love farmers markets; you just never know what you will find! I have always heard that it’s best to go around closing time, but I have never done it. I think next time we give that a try. That park looks beautiful. It’s so nice that you three got to spend some time enjoying the outdoors together.
hmtroupe recently posted…That rug really tied the room together
I think it’s a bit risky, as some vendors might have already packed up… but you’re bound to get the best deals at the end of the day. I think the best time to go to this market in particular is anywhere from Noon – 2:30!
Heather recently posted…Weekly Workouts & Un-pictured Meals
I love Brueggers!! And all those fresh veggies look incredible! Thanks so much for linking up!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul recently posted…Weekend Snapshots
Thank you for hosting week after week – your weekends always look so fun!
Since moving to Australia we have found an amazing local farmers market – the produce is so good! The have everything from grass fed meat, fresh almond milk, Kombucha, nut butters and a whole gluten free bakery stall! I feel so lucky to live somewhere that has one of these – there was nothing like this in Scotland and I really craved it!
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape recently posted…Friday Favourites from a Foodie!
Oh my goodness! I think I would LOVE Eastern Market 🙂
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen recently posted…Grand Haven, MI Highlights