sock monkeys strike again

on friday we went to the ARTE soukh, which stands for "artisans of the emirates" in case i haven't mentioned that before. it is so neat and there are so many interesting people there. the nice thing (and not nice, depending on what you want to buy) is that there seem to be different people there every week. there are the usuals, but the artisans come when they can. unfortunately, two of the people we wanted to see where not there this week.

anyway, i had to pick up something i had ordered from "beau jangles" who runs the whole soukh. he is also buds with the sock monkey lady who has her table adjacent to his. who do you think grabbed a monkey and plastic banana and ran for the hills? our son. he just LOVES them. they are cute, but i think we are going to single-handedly keep this woman in business!

we met an interesting person from palestine who makes olive oil soap. it's been a family business since 1922. we picked up a few bars and are going to try them out.

who else? there are really too many to count. i could fill my drawers with necklaces from the different designers. there are some really interesting and creative pieces, but i must exhibit some self control. i did, for the most part. except i pick up the business cards and then get inspired to purchase. sigh.

we did meet a really neat woman who does handmade cards and art - turns out she lives in RAK, which is awesome. i'm sure i'll be contacting her in the future for a few things. i bought a neat birthday calendar with her great illustrations. might pick up a recipe book next time!

after the soukh, we swung by the dubai mall to pick up the chocolate bread at waitrose. i love that store. and i know i've said it 10 million times, but i just love that mall. it's ENORMOUS. and they have everything. really, it's amazing. but that's enough about that. the arte soukh is awesome, that was the point.