Jeff stopped home from work to have lunch with me and we ate some leftover chicken and orzo from the other night. (I still need to share that recipe with you.) Then he went back to work, and I headed down to Harvard Square to get my hair cut. I took advantage of the warm weather and sunshine and walked the whole way there. I can usually make it down there in 25 minutes, but I was walking extra slowly today because of the heat and because I really had no need to rush, which felt nice for once.
I went to a new salon today called Plan b Salon. I don't really have an alliance to a particular salon, just to my hairdresser, and she recently started working there, so that's where I go now. I love getting my hair cut. It's such a relaxing experience, and I always walk out feeling like a new person. Today was no different. (I'll try to post some pics of the new 'do after the weekend.)
As I was leaving the salon, I noticed there was a nail salon in the same building, so I stopped in there and got a pedicure. I figured as long as I was pampering myself, I may as well really pamper myself. One of the best parts about getting your nails done is picking out a color with a fun name. I went with Cha-Ching Cherry (OPI) this time. Love it!
I left the building feeling all relaxed and energized and wandered over to the Charles Hotel. I recently found out that there's a small farmers' market there on Fridays in addition to the one on Sundays. I knew I wanted some bars from Taza Chocolate for an upcoming baking project and planned to just get those, so I headed straight for the Taza Chocolate stand. I talked with the girl there about how they were doing after all of the flooding. If you didn't know, we had some flash floods last Saturday, and Taza really took the brunt of it. They could really use our help. If you love chocolate, it'd be so nice if you bought a bar or two. I bought four! You can also get chocolate-covered nibs and discs of different flavored Mexican chocolate. I really like the cinnamon.
We live right around the corner, but luckily the flooding stayed in the street and out of our place.
I planned to just buy my chocolate and then head home, but as I was leaving the market an array of colored berries caught my eye, and I realized that I was looking at red, golden, and black raspberries.
Jeff and I have been searching for black raspberries for months so I could make us some black raspberry ice cream. Blackberries are pretty easy to come by, but black raspberries are a rarity for some reason.
My mom randomly found a few growing in the backyard and gave them to us. We were going to try to plant them, but that never happened (out of laziness, not because my adorable nephew ate them).
Thankfully, Busa Farms in Lexington, Mass., had some! I grabbed two pints and then tore myself away from the farmers' market, two dollars left in my wallet, and finally meandered my way back home.
I wanted to share these farmers' market finds with you today because we're heading up to Freeport bright and early tomorrow, and I'll be missing out on the Union Square Farmers' Market. But make sure you still stop back tomorrow because I have been rounding up your farmers' market find submissions, and I'll share those with you tomorrow.
Enjoy the rest of your Friday, and have a great weekend!
Have you had chocolate from Taza Chocolate? What did you think? What's your favorite?