Kris and I were introduced to Muebles (furniture in Spanish) de Metepec by friends here. We had our dining room table made which I wrote about in the post titled "800 Pounds of Wood" (click to go to that post)
Unfortunately, that gorgeous table is not in our new apartment. While it would fit perfectly in the dining room, the stairwell was too narrow to bring it up. The flood damaged the legs quite a bit so we will have the legs repaired or replaced before we leave. We did get several more pieces this last visit. I am at my limit though, I don't want a house full of rustic stuff, just one or 2 rooms. It has been hard to put the breaks on when a small china hutch like the one in this picture behind the boys is $200. These pieces are solid wood and very well made.
That is the owner in the doorway. I really like him and I'm pretty sure he likes us too. He told Kris he was going to start giving him commissions with the number of families we have brought to him. Kris and I are all about supporting good, honest hard workers and his furniture is the kind of quality we can easily stand behind. Of course, there will be no commissions but we actually have a better deal. We are now on the honor system with the owner which means no down payment, just pay when they deliver.
Kris was trying to convince me to get a carved Don Quixote...uhhh, no.
I am pretty eclectic when it comes to my taste in furniture and home decor in general. If I had to pick catalogs to describe me (or my vision for my home post-sippy cup and cheerios stage) that would be easy: a cross between Pottery Barn and Bombay Company without a doubt. I like rustic furniture dressed up with rich Asian or Palampore textiles and Oriental rugs. Our bedroom is dark cherry and mahogany, US Colonial style. I give feng shui a headache.
After we made our furniture order (large china hutch, bookshelf, small hallway bench, 2 sofa end tables and coffee table) we headed back to El D.F.
There is always entertainment at the traffic lights:
On the way to and back from Toluca/Metepec you drive through La Marquesa. Rows of roadside restaurants specializing in mountain fare like trucha (trout), conejo (rabbit) and codorniz (quail), while also offering the familiar like taco sesos (beef brain). The restaurants are decorated with fluorescent signs calling attention to all they offer. There are also roadside stands with more handmade furniture, pottery, wrought iron and the like.
That bag of water hanging down over the dishes is how she keeps the flies off. As the pendulum slows down she gives it another push sending it flying. Jamison of course, was highly entertained.
I love how they put pottery and other things into the mortar. I've seen it done with bits of talavera pottery as well. I have started a collection of things to do the same in our home back in the US.
The boss, his wife and 2 of their 3 kids. He has been Kris' favorite boss without a doubt. They are cutting their tour short (by about a year and have been here less than a year, can't say I blame them) and will be leaving in a few weeks. We will probably be close behind. More on that to follow, juicy stuff my friends, juicy stuff.
Ever since I first tried rabbit at a Moroccan restaurant in Denver I have been hooked. This is the rabbit in adobo sauce. Amazingly delish.
Kris had the trout, also very tasty.
The boys had chicken sopes, wild and brave young boys when it comes to food they are not. Kris' boss had the brain tacos...I was more than a little grossed out if you can believe it. He said it's the same consistency as scrambled eggs...I told him "thanks for ruining my favorite breakfast"
The problem with these roadside restaurants is the consequences of eating at them. Your taste buds will be singing and rejoicing but give it a few hours and your insides start screaming. Needless to say, on Sunday the trout was swimming upstream and little bunny foo foo was thumping mad. No we still haven't learned our lesson.
10 comments:
I wouldn't learn either...yum! I make my own chili so spicy that it ends up burning me twice & giving me heartburn. I don't care...I just schedule my next day accordingly. LOL
Interesting and cool post, as usual. Reading what you are experiencing is almost like being there with you:-) You're good.
I'm drooling over that furniture! That kind of stuff is so expensive in the states!
Hope you have news of an early departure to share with us!
I love the photos (not especially the food, sorry). That furniture is gorgeous, craftsmanship seems all but lost in America. The objects in mortar looks so cool, I never would have thought of doing that. I enjoyed this post because it sounds a little less stressed. I do hope you guys will have a break from chaos for the remainder of your stay and can just enjoy some of the cool parts of a foreign country. Can't wait to hear where you will be going next!! :-)
I feel like I need to pay to read your blog, it's that entertaining. I love that furniture store. Knowing the man who makes the pieces will make them even more special. On the edge of my seat to hear your transfer news.
What?!? No carved Don Quixote? How about bringing home a half naked Mexican dressed in Aztec attire?
Angie, no Quixote. I read that story (as most have to) in Junior High and the character still creeps me out.
As for the Aztec dancer, I did pay him 20 pesos to shake it for me outside my side of the car so I could get a good picture. This picture was of him mid turn. He gave me some good booty shakes; my own private show ha ha. I thought Kris was going to wet himself with embarassment...what was worse was his boss was in the car behind us making it even worse for Kris. I cherish these moments.
hahaha....... garity. seriously, woman. everytime. i die. i die. hilarious. as for the furniture store, i must see this place. as you might have noticed last time you ate at our place, we are in dire need of a dining room table!!
Hey, we headed out to that furniture store last saturday and ordered bund/loft beds, a dresser, and a bookshelf for the boys. I am so excited to get it...and all for about $800 dollars. I copied it from pottery barn kids. I think Josh is also going to come up with a custom scrapbook storage hutch for me too and order it from him. Can you say...excited?
I'd be in heaven in that muebles store. The weight turns me off because I have moved soo much in my life and I'm getting old and heavy things, well they suck! But I do like a good piece of wood (I mean a nice solid piece, which suggests heavy). At those prices, I wonder if it wouldn't be profitable to truck that stuff up to the states and sell it...
I've had sesos on my mission. I only did it to say I did it. I've eaten worse things (i.e. mondongo - cow intestine), but I can't say that I'd look forward to sesos again.
I hope that you can restore your table to original form, that flood experience (and specifically ruining the table) would have really bummed me out.
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