Splendid Saturday.

Today was pretty much fantastic. Here's some of what happened:

• I tried to go to yoga at the Lab but horrible construction doubled my driving time and I didn't make it in time. That was a pretty big disappointment but I couldn't stay upset for too long. For one thing, I got to hear the last half of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and the first part of This American Life in the car, both of which had me laughing so hard I probably looked a little nuts to other drivers. (I can't wait to go stream the whole episode of TAM as soon as I'm done writing this.)


• At Eastern Market I drank hot spiced cider, ate roasted chestnuts, and got lots of tasty things. Since I'm leaving for Toronto on Wednesday (!!) I really didn't need too much, but it's always fun to look around.


• My friend Nick called while I was at Eastern Market and wound up coming downtown to meet me. We had no concrete plans, but a glance in the general direction of Campus Martius convinced me that ice skating was absolutely necessary. Eventually I talked him into it and we had SO MUCH FUN!! Well, ok, actually we were extremely awkward and sort of clung to the rail while small children zoomed past us at alarming speeds, but after a while we started to get the hang of it. Neither of us fell, anyway!


• We wrapped up our downtown adventures with hot cocoa at the Cass Cafe and a visit to the Science Center, which was pretty cool.


• Back at home I made a half batch of cornmeal crunch, using some local organic cornmeal from Eastern Market -- the farmer selling it assured me it'd been ground just this morning! I replaced the onions with leeks (mmmm, leeks) and I really like the way it turned out.

So maybe I didn't get through all the homework I meant to, but that's what tomorrow's for, right? For now I think it's time to go work on a hat & listen to some excellent radio. I hope you all had wonderful Saturdays, too!

Detroit Urban Craft Fair 2008.

The craft fair was a great success! I could not believe how many people were there, both shoppers & vendors -- it was tough to even see everything because there was so much there & such a crowd. That's definitely good news for all the people who put their time & energy into the event! I know some of you are pretty bummed you missed out, but luckily most of the vendors have websites (though so far most of the sites have a much smaller selection than I saw at the fair). A full list of the vendors is here and below are some of my particular favorites. Definitely consider doing some of your holiday shopping with these folks; not only do they deserve it, but the recipients will be overjoyed with their unique gifts:

• Boh Bon Soap Company: I bought one of their gift packs for someone on my list and a little bar of peppermint soap for myself. I tried the peppermint out today and I LOVE it! Next I want to get my hands on the tea tree mint shampoo bar.


• City Bird: Lots of beautiful city-themed gifts, from housewares to greeting cards. I picked up some awesome Detroit buttons for friends (like everyone else I met, I had a number of "Michiganders in exile" on my shopping list).


• Dang Argyle: Cute wallets, pouches, jewelry, and cards. I absolutely adore the Michigan mittens notecards.


• Wei's Open Secret: I loved their jewelry and I'm kicking myself for not picking up a set of the super-cute gratuity comment cards.


• Always the Forest: Great clothes, accessories, & other gifts. I got a really cool Michigan flora & fauna t-shirt & am hoping I might get another chance to buy one for a friend or two for Christmas (they're limited edition & not on the website, so my chances aren't so great, but I guess that's just what I get for being selfish when I should've been thinking of others).


• Glass Action: Makers of the famous stained glass Barack Obama & rockstar night lights! Too cool, though I really loved their Michigan charms.


• Amepix: I spent entirely too much time poking through all the stuff available at this table and eventually came away with some cute little gifts I know my friends are going to love (ok, ok, and a little something for me too). I love the focus on food!


• Bettula: Gorgeous accessories made from birch bark!! I have a weird thing for birch bark and am now coveting their cuffs and earrings.

I'm sure there are some more worth mentioning -- like I said, it was hard to even see everything with such a great selection! That's certainly a long enough list for now, though. Also, those of you who are sad you missed out shouldn't fret too much -- there are two similar events coming up in December: the Shadow Art Fair in Ypsi and the Holiday Baar Bazaar in Detroit!

Detroit Urban Craft Fair Tomorrow + Other Great Upcoming Events!

Sorry non-locals, most of this post doesn't quite apply to you. I just wanted to make sure that both of my readers were aware that the The Detroit Urban Craft Fair is coming up TOMORROW!

I am hugely excited for this -- it should be a great way to get some holiday shopping done while supporting your local economy and lots of very deserving creative folks. You can see previews of some of the goods available (including handspun yarn!) here, here & here. I'm confident that there will really be something for everyone!

As if that weren't enough, my friends Gregg & Angela from the Detroit Evolution Laboratory are providing an amazing selection of their award-winning vegan food. You can view their mouth-watering menu here -- I'm going to have a hard time deciding what to get!

I hope you can all make it to that -- I'll be volunteering there for most of the day, so look out for me. Either way, here are some other great events coming up soon:

• Patti Smith: Dream of Life is showing at the DIA's Detroit Film Theatre all weekend. It looks like an incredible film and I'm really looking forward to seeing it.


• On a similar note, the 2008 Arab Film Festival is happening all weekend in Dearborn! I'm hoping to catch tonight's films.


• Finally, this coming Wednesday the 19th is the date of November's edition of Detroit Abides, a free monthly sustainability event put on by the Evolution Lab. This time around they're showing the excellent film The Future of Food. It's free, guys!

Finally, one that does apply to non-locals: If you believe in love & equality, you just might want to attend one of the many protests against California's Proposal 8 happening all over the country tomorrow. Find your location here!