Sunday Market

Another little gem we visited during our week in Chattanooga was the Sunday market. Joey & Christen raved about the cinnamon doughnuts they make fresh there, so off we went right after church last Sunday. 

It reminded me a lot of the Saturday market held in Portland every weekend, but there was much more fresh produce, baked goods and food trucks. We walked past lines of heavily frosted cakes and baskets stuffed with breads and headed straight back to the clutter of food trucks outside as loud, live country music blared from the stage. 

I wandered around from truck to truck but as soon as I laid eyes on "macaroni & cheese sandwich" scribbled on the chalkboard of a sandwich truck, my decision was made. Why haven't I thought of this before?! Macaroni and cheese is my favorite meal; I can't believe it never crossed my mind. Two toasted pieces of sourdough bread crammed with macaroni and cheese, a bit of melted gruyere and splash of hot sauce. Perfection. (I'm sure I just gave all my gluten-intolerant friends stomachaches just reading that sentence...) 

Please take note that they are empty-handed of doughnuts and disappointed in that last photo. After a bit of exploring, we worked our way back up to the front of the market to get hot, fresh doughnuts and cold, fresh lemonade, but the doughnut machine was broken! The lemonade was enough of a treat for the walk home, so I guess we'll just have to go back for another visit to try the much-anticipated cinnamon doughnuts...

I couldn't leave without at least one local goody, so I purchased a small honey bear at the local honey stand. Mostly because it was cute but also because I've crossed the line from "yeah, I kind of prefer honey in my coffee, if you have any" to "well actually, I brought my own sweetener". That little guy is the perfect size to sneak into my purse, but it's just a matter of time until I spill it all over everything in there...

I'm quite behind in posts about our trip last week, so who knows how long it'll be until I get to the weekend of my birthday. So in the meanwhile, I have to mention how unbelievable blessed I was on Sunday. Even though I'm across the country from almost all of my friends and family, they all made me feel so special and loved. When we got back to Alabama yesterday, I was startled by the pile of packages cluttered on our bed. All weekend I kept shaking my head and telling Matt that I couldn't believe how many wonderful people I have in my life. I was loved very well by all of you this weekend, thank you so much! I wondered if it was going to be hard to be away from everyone on my birthday, but it seems that people anticipated that and made me feel even more known and thought of. 

However, no one made me feel more known or loved than Matt did that day. That man has me all figured out!