El Mercado Treasures

I mentioned previously that we shopped and bartered and brought home some goodies from the market during our recent trip to Mexico. It's time to give you the scoop on all of our lovely, colorful finds!

This beautiful tablecloth definitely brightens our dining room! It's some kind of a linen blend - perfect for summer. I love this mix of blue and pink... and of course the moroccan lantern tops it off!

choices, choices!!

Pottery!

Good thing my husband was there to help narrow down the choices - I was paralyzed by the beautiful selection, and may have been there all day without him. :) I'm so happy with our final selections...

these little guys are gifts for friends and family

some of the bowls include a painted design inside AND out

And the pitcher, which I've shared before but believe is worth another look. :) This lovely piece involved some serious bartering - not that we were being difficult, but just couldn't decide whether the price was worth it... but in the end I couldn't walk away without it! Good decision. :)

I've long admired these mirrors (I'm not sure what they're called - anyone know?), and was so overwhelmed at this store, where the walls were covered with these and other gorgeous pottery - I could have spent an entire day drooling over the choices! How I would love a giant one (for over our kitchen sink), but couldn't quite figure out a practical way to get it home with us, so settled for this size (for now)! Haven't yet decided where its home will be....

The next treasures have a special little story behind them. We were in Michigan visiting our families the week before we went to Mexico, and I spotted this artwork at our favorite restaurant (you must go if ever in Grand Rapids!).

I was so inspired, I had to take a picture!

Little did I know that I would find the very same paintings at the market a week later....

I am sooooooo excited about these. My plan is to use them as the new inspiration for our living room. Matted and framed, above the couch, and with new cushions to complement.

By the way, does anyone know what these types of paintings are called? I'd love to find an online source.

In addition to pottery, my hope was to find a purse/bag for everyday use. Without a specific idea in mind about what I was looking for, I only knew it had to make a statement, and was pretty sure I'd know when I found it... and I did! (okay, there may have been a little indecision going on, but mostly due to limited time and the many, many beautiful options!) So much to love: rich colors, perfect size, great strap length, handy pocket on the outside... and it's just so darn cute!

p.s. What I didn't mention is that we had quite the adventure finding our way to the market... we got directions from some other guests at our hotel which sounded very simple and straightforward, but turned out to be rather confusing and led us on an interesting little tour of Cancun! We ended up seeing much more of the city than we ever expected, and almost gave up on the market... I'm sure glad we didn't! When we finally found it, we had about 20 minutes to shop (before the rental car was due back), but my very sweet husband may have allowed me to stretch that just a bit. :) What a day!