nice nice people. bad bad weather.

it was a rainy and cold morning, but i wanted to go to the farmer's market. not the big one downtown, but the one closer to my house: the hollywood farmer's market. this was the last week the market would be open until the spring. (the downtown one will be open through december, i think.)

i don't know whether it was the weather, or the fact it was the last week, but there were barely any merchants there today. it was kind of a bust. i got some stuff to make a potato leek soup, and some apples, but that's about it. oh, and a nice filet of cod. the fish woman at the market is really amazing.

i then went to the mall and bought a pair of jeans. i'm sad to say my 12s are a little too tight (thanks, sicilian food), but after watching an episode of "what not to wear" i decided to dress the body i have and not keep squeezing into the uncomfortable jeans any longer. not that i wear jeans at all very much; i'm mostly still in skirts and dresses. but i'm going to the roller derby tonight, and that seems like a jeans kind of event if ever i heard one.

anyway, after the mall i went to foster and dobbs to stock up on some bacon chocolate. the store was having their 2nd anniversary party, with lots of little tasting stations all around. i tried a fig jam that was out of this world (bought some) and a couple of great wines (bought some). fig vinegar (nope) and beer peanut brittle (delicious, but the 14s were still on my mind, so i didn't buy any).

there's a little gelato store next door, though, and with sicily still on my mind i decided to calorie-splurge. i hadn't had lunch, so what the hell. i got a great coffee/chocolate flavor and the pumpkin flavor. yum.

that ratcheted up the sicilian memories so i decided on a whim to drive down to sellwood to this food cart to have some arancini -- sicilian fried rice balls. it was about a 15 minute drive to an area of town i'd never visited before. not only was the neighborhood cute, but the arancini were great! i had a nice conversation with the owners about their sicilian background, and we talked about the food i ate during my recent vacation. i'll definitely go back there. it's out of the way, but worth it.

wandering around sellwood, i happened across the columbia sportswear outlet, and found a great waterproof parka. the weather here is dark, cold & rainy, which is no surprise, i guess. since the weather turned bad i've been on the hunt for appropriate outerwear. i don't know if what i found today will work (it seems to be more of a skiing jacket than a rain parka), but i'll give it a shot.

while i was in the store, a customer commented on my lightweight land's end rain jacket. (it's really cute.) i then turned around and complimented her on her cool spectacles. as i stepped away from the register, the woman told me where she got the glasses and when i questioned her further she simply gave me her email address. she said "drop me a line and i'll take you there if you want."

i continue to be dumbfounded over how incredibly nice people are here in portland. it's unbelievable. and inspiring.