Exploring the Little Italy Mercato

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]armer’s markets help support local farmers and small business and help us consumers “cut out the middleman” to get the freshest and highest quality ingredients without breaking the bank. Each day of the week, you can typically find a farmer’s market in a different neighborhood somewhere in San Diego county.

On Saturdays, Little Italy draws in hundreds of San Diegans to their farmer’s market. Venders offer everything from organic produce to handcrafted jewelry to delicious fresh squeezed juices.

My friends and I decided to spend the morning exploring the Little Italy Mercato. The market was bustling with people of all ages, babies and plenty of little furry friends.

We were instantly greeted with the smells of burning sage, fresh cut flowers and salty ocean air.

Blue skies in Little Italy

Walking through the Little Italy Mercato

Say CHEESE!

Locally produced olive oil

Organic olives, olive oil and agave

Don't panic! It's organic! — Don’t panic! It’s organic!

Snagging some samples

Organic toffee peanut butter? Don't twist my arm — Organic toffee peanut butter? Don’t twist my arm

Salty Sisters sea salt candy

Toffee with dark chocolate and almonds

Fresh cut flowers

We're suckers for Gerbera daisies — We’re suckers for Gerbera daisies

More cheese. Can you sense my weakness?

Local produce

Fresh herbs

Wouldn't be a farmer's market without some sage! — Wouldn’t be a farmer’s market without some sage!

Street performers

Sweet smelling body butter

Taking a break to moisturize

Almond based dip, Bitchin' Sauce. Best stuff ever! — Almond based dip, Bitchin’ Sauce. Best stuff ever!

Stay bitchin' San Diego! — Stay bitchin’ San Diego!

A little farmer's market humor — A little farmer’s market humor

Cheesecake in a cup!

Foodie heaven! — Key Lime Cheesecake heaven!

Check out the Little Italy Mercato website for more details!

Do you have a favorite farmer’s market?

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Some really, really pretty pictures.
And talk about CHEESE!
Food pictures really can be so beautiful to look at.

February 11, 2014 at 8:53 pm · Reply

Kiersten Rich

Life is better with cheese 😉

February 18, 2014 at 7:34 pm · Reply

Beautiful pictures, I love farmer’s markets and Italy and France have the best in Europe.
Very interesting and beautiful blog, came here from “The expert vagabond’s” website and will return to read more for sure.

August 27, 2014 at 4:20 am · Reply

Kiersten Rich

Thanks Claudia! Love Matt’s blog!

August 27, 2014 at 12:01 pm · Reply

Instagram

Ranch weekend at @carmelvranch 🫏🌳
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Carmel Valley Ranch #hosted us for the coziest getaway!

We had a picnic with donkeys, rode in “Monster Trucks” (four wheelers) to visit the cows and goats at The Corral, fed the chickens in the organic garden, and had tons of adventures around their 500 acre properly.

The food was also so good. Their kids menu had TEN options including everything from fish to steak to hamburgers and chicken tenders. And there’s the option for room service, which we did every morning for breakfast. Toddler parents, you feel me on all that!

The “bliss” on Oliver’s face tasting the mac and cheese in the last photo tho 😂

It’s the ultimate destination for a babymoon, romantic getaway, or family trip with kids of any age!

PS- Ranch Hand Ollie might be the cutest thing ever 🥹
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#carmelvalleyranch #carmel #toddlertravel #thebabyabroad #california

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Ranch weekend at @carmelvranch 🫏🌳
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Carmel Valley Ranch #hosted us for the coziest getaway!

We had a picnic with donkeys, rode in “Monster Trucks” (four wheelers) to visit the cows and goats at The Corral, fed the chickens in the organic garden, and had tons of adventures around their 500 acre properly.

The food was also so good. Their kids menu had TEN options including everything from fish to steak to hamburgers and chicken tenders. And there’s the option for room service, which we did every morning for breakfast. Toddler parents, you feel me on all that!

The “bliss” on Oliver’s face tasting the mac and cheese in the last photo tho 😂

It’s the ultimate destination for a babymoon, romantic getaway, or family trip with kids of any age!

PS- Ranch Hand Ollie might be the cutest thing ever 🥹
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#carmelvalleyranch #carmel #toddlertravel #thebabyabroad #california

Tiny Ollie vs Toddler Ollie visiting the African penguins in Cape Town 🥹🐧
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It’s #worldpenguinday so had to share some very special moments from Boulders Beach!

Oliver had just started crawling on his first visit last year and he was blowing kisses and pretending to be a penguin on our latest visit this year. Almost exactly one year apart.

The photo of him 🧀’n with the penguin is framed at home — it is too stinking cute!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#capetown #southafrica #toddlertravel #babytravel #thebabyabroad

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Tiny Ollie vs Toddler Ollie visiting the African penguins in Cape Town 🥹🐧
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It’s #worldpenguinday so had to share some very special moments from Boulders Beach!

Oliver had just started crawling on his first visit last year and he was blowing kisses and pretending to be a penguin on our latest visit this year. Almost exactly one year apart.

The photo of him 🧀’n with the penguin is framed at home — it is too stinking cute!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#capetown #southafrica #toddlertravel #babytravel #thebabyabroad

Charging up for my next adventure with the NEW @anker_official MagGo! 🌟
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
What’s the one product I *always* take when I travel? A power bank!

Like most people, when I travel, I’m out the entire day exploring without the ability to charge my phone.

And I use my phone a LOT for battery-draining functions like maps, transportation, and, of course, taking photos and videos.

The #AnkerMagGo can fully charge most iPhone models at 2x the speed of other 7.5W power banks.

I love the magnetic wireless charging and the built-in folding kickstand for an upright comfortable viewing angle.

No more tangled cords, just sleek, convenient charging on the go!
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#AnkerMagGo #MagSafe #AnkerMagSafe #PowerBank #iphone

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Charging up for my next adventure with the NEW @anker_official MagGo! 🌟
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
What’s the one product I *always* take when I travel? A power bank!

Like most people, when I travel, I’m out the entire day exploring without the ability to charge my phone.

And I use my phone a LOT for battery-draining functions like maps, transportation, and, of course, taking photos and videos.

The #AnkerMagGo can fully charge most iPhone models at 2x the speed of other 7.5W power banks.

I love the magnetic wireless charging and the built-in folding kickstand for an upright comfortable viewing angle.

No more tangled cords, just sleek, convenient charging on the go!
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#AnkerMagGo #MagSafe #AnkerMagSafe #PowerBank #iphone

Happy Earth Day! 🌎
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Focusing on ways to be more environmentally conscious both at home and while traveling is incredibly important to me — so that the generations to come can keep exploring this beautiful world.

I know that sometimes it seems like there are “too many” things to do in order to be “more green” or focus on sustainability...and it can be very overwhelming.

Where do you begin? Are you doing enough? Can you really make a difference?

The truth is that YES, you can make a difference.

Even the smallest things like eliminating or limiting your use of plastic or cutting back your meat consumption make a big difference.

Each single-use plastic item you don’t use and throw away is one less piece of plastic added to landfills or the ocean. Small choices every day add up to big changes!

While you don’t have to create a massive composting pile in your backyard (unless you want to)—there are other things you can do to reduce your environmental impact and be environmentally conscious at home.

Most importantly, vote to put people in power that have a strong stance on protecting the planet and climate policy. Collectively, we can have the greatest impact by holding the people at the top accountable.

I’m sharing a few resources today in my stories like the best reef-safe sunscreens, and how to reduce your environmental impact while traveling.

Once you begin to implement little changes, they become habitual, and soon enough you’re part of the change.

Let’s do it for Mother Earth!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#EarthDay #earthday2024

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Happy Earth Day! 🌎
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Focusing on ways to be more environmentally conscious both at home and while traveling is incredibly important to me — so that the generations to come can keep exploring this beautiful world.

I know that sometimes it seems like there are “too many” things to do in order to be “more green” or focus on sustainability...and it can be very overwhelming.

Where do you begin? Are you doing enough? Can you really make a difference?

The truth is that YES, you can make a difference.

Even the smallest things like eliminating or limiting your use of plastic or cutting back your meat consumption make a big difference.

Each single-use plastic item you don’t use and throw away is one less piece of plastic added to landfills or the ocean. Small choices every day add up to big changes!

While you don’t have to create a massive composting pile in your backyard (unless you want to)—there are other things you can do to reduce your environmental impact and be environmentally conscious at home.

Most importantly, vote to put people in power that have a strong stance on protecting the planet and climate policy. Collectively, we can have the greatest impact by holding the people at the top accountable.

I’m sharing a few resources today in my stories like the best reef-safe sunscreens, and how to reduce your environmental impact while traveling.

Once you begin to implement little changes, they become habitual, and soon enough you’re part of the change.

Let’s do it for Mother Earth!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#EarthDay #earthday2024

Two years ago when I was a “mummy” in Egypt 🐪
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It’s kinda wild getting “this day X years ago” reminders now that I’m a mama. So much changes so quickly, it often feels like time is slipping away from me.

I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I went from moving from Cape Town, to a global pandemic, to becoming a mama in the course of 2 years.

And, two years later, I definitely have imposter syndrome feeling like everything pre-2020 was a “past life.” It was my entire personality, so I’ve been going through a huge metamorphosis of mindset and identity over these past few years.

I’m not actually sure where I’m going with this, but this memory brought a lot of joy and I haven’t felt much like posting lately.

Life is filled with more joy than I’ve probably ever felt—but over the simpler things in life. And a lot of it is centered around being a mom. And sometimes it feels weird to share those every day moments of this “new” life I’ve been living since 2020.

Anyways, felt like ripping the bandaid by sharing something special to me with a little update since I’ve taken a pretty big break from social media.

❤️
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#egypt #travel

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Two years ago when I was a “mummy” in Egypt 🐪
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
It’s kinda wild getting “this day X years ago” reminders now that I’m a mama. So much changes so quickly, it often feels like time is slipping away from me.

I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I went from moving from Cape Town, to a global pandemic, to becoming a mama in the course of 2 years.

And, two years later, I definitely have imposter syndrome feeling like everything pre-2020 was a “past life.” It was my entire personality, so I’ve been going through a huge metamorphosis of mindset and identity over these past few years.

I’m not actually sure where I’m going with this, but this memory brought a lot of joy and I haven’t felt much like posting lately.

Life is filled with more joy than I’ve probably ever felt—but over the simpler things in life. And a lot of it is centered around being a mom. And sometimes it feels weird to share those every day moments of this “new” life I’ve been living since 2020.

Anyways, felt like ripping the bandaid by sharing something special to me with a little update since I’ve taken a pretty big break from social media.

❤️
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
#egypt #travel