August marked the beginning of our farmers market experience. It was quite an exciting time! Up until this point we had only been growing flowers. We had yet to enter the exhilarating stage of flower harvesting, arranging, and vending.
Throughout June and July, we watched the garden grow, and grow, and grow. It was bursting at the seams. Speckled with every color of the rainbow.
When given just a little bit of time, it was amazing to see what Matt was capable of doing. I knew he had a green thumb. But I didn't know it was THIS green. And he did all this while also watching 3 wild children. (One of which who was in that fun stage of putting everything in his mouth...)
The garden was mostly flowers. But we did ensure to save a small portion of bed space for tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and other things.
So after much anticipation. It was time for our first "real" farmers market. We had tested the waters back in May. But it was rainy, and cold, and we had almost no product for sale. This time around was destined to be different.
I hurried home after work on August 3rd. The plan was to harvest and arrange Friday night. Then off to vend at the Drake Road Farmers Market early Saturday morning. Market opens at 10am. You had to be parked on site by 8:45. So Matt and I had to have the van loaded and ready to go by 8:15.
Harvesting started out quite fun. All you needed was a bucket filled with water and plant food, and a sharp pair of snips. Cutting anything that had reached maturity. I had never seen so many cut flowers in one place. We assembled them in the kitchen. Music and cocktails made the process quite fun. I couldn't wait to start designing!
But as the hours ticked by, Matt and I realized we would be working late into the night. Everything was taking much longer than anticipated. How hard could it be to create bouquets?! Well, for novices like us - pretty hard!
There were so many colors and textures to work with. And we discovered some things didn't pair well. Plus we had to strip leaves, trim stems, rubber band the bouquets, wrap in paper, and price them! That night was a late night. It was around 2:30 or 3am that we finally settled into bed. But we both tossed and turned all night from excitement and nervousness. Morning came way too soon.
My parents came over to watch the boys so Matt and I could vend together as a team without distractions. Grandma and Grandpa Carter would do this pretty much every Saturday throughout August. But once we headed into September, Matt knew the process really well, and was comfortable with the market scene. So he would vend by himself, while I stayed home.
We arrived delusional and distraught from no sleep. But as the sun heated up, and the bluegrass band started to play, we began to have a really great time!
It's funny to look back at this picture. We certainly didn't take a lot of product with us. The table looks sparse. But as the backyard produced more blooms, and as we got faster and more creative with our arranging, we were eventually able to double our product and also our profits!
Check out our adorable business card holder. That tiny red wagon was sent to me in the hospital after Sage was born. On the other side it says "It's a boy!" What a great way to re-purpose a beloved keepsake.
Surprise visitors came to cheer us on. My parents. The kids. Sam and Alison. Everyone stopped by to show their support. And that really meant a lot to us. Sam even purchased our most expensive bouquet!
The first "real" farmers market was now under our belt. A true accomplishment! We did it. We were officially market vendors!
But the thought of going back and doing it all again the following week....and the week after that... was a bit overwhelming.
But no time to worry. We still had some weekend to enjoy!
Baseball season was still in full swing. Every Sunday like clockwork.
The work week flew by, and harvest day had arrived once again.
Time for Market #2. And with each new market we made some small improvements. This time around I created extra signage to help educate our customers on why buying local flowers is good for them, and good for us!
Just like the prior week we cut, we arranged, we drank cocktails, and listened to music.
We also shaved about an hour off the clock.
Still up late. But this time we were in bed around 1:30.
Loading all the flowers into the car was one of the most rewarding part of the process. So much color in once place. Rows and rows of blooms nestled together in big boxes. The Honda was looking mighty fine on market mornings!
Other improvements made at this market included mason jar arrangements. A CSA (flower subscription) info sign-up sheet. And some signage to let folks know that flower food is included with every purchase.
Another hard day's work done.
Time to have some fun.
Matt and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary early in the month. The years just keep on ticking by....
And finally, the last day of baseball had arrived.
Woot woot! I think we were all ready to have our Sunday afternoons back.
New West Fest brought a lot of great music to Fort Collins, as they do every year. Normally we don't make it out. A bit too hard with the kids. But this year, one of our longtime favorite bands was playing. So we made a point to go.
Here's a rare pic of myself and my workmates at a start-of-the-semester gathering. Free beer and free food at the Budweiser Events Center is hard to say not to.
And with the arrival of Friday, came the start of our 3rd farmers market. Each time getting more efficient in the process.
This time we brought along Rowan. I hear cute babies can do good things to your sales! We packed a playpen so he had somewhere to sit and sleep. But overall, it was a bit more of challenge than anticipated. He had no interest in sleeping. And wanted to be in your arms and part of the action at all times. But he certainly did earn a good number of compliments. Theory proven. People do really love babies!
Kale really knows how to do summer.
The start of kindergarten was looming just around the corner. Sage and I made a special trip out to get his school supplies for the year.
We attended kindergarten orientation together as a family.
And then the much-anticipated first day of school arrived.
Matt does all the dropping off and picking up for Sage's school. Since we choiced into a non-neighborhood school, we have to provide our own transportation. We're lucky to have a parent at home who can do that every day. We like the school, and REALLY like our teacher (Mrs. Gallegos), and for right now, think it's a worthy investment of our time. But another little perk is that school releases during Sonic's Happy Hour.
After school slush anyone?
So here we go again... Our 4th farmers market in a row.
Learning new tricks every time.
By this time in the season, Matt was cutting the flowers while I was at work. Sending me picture updates throughout the day.
There was never a market where we sold out of everything. We always had a little something leftover. But that wasn't a bad thing. We were able to thank the grandparents for all the free babysitting with flower arrangements. And we would quite often trade with other vendors for lots of different goodies- like hummus, cinnamon bread, scones, body products, and more.
We had a super fun night in Wellington celebrating Alison's birthday. My parents watched all 3 kids (overnight this time!) so that Matt and I could go out and stay over with no responsibilities.
One night of freedom. A beautiful thing!
Pool session! The last for the season.
Couldn't believe how fast summer had come and gone.
August left us tired. And at times quite stressed. But we overcame many challenges. We grew. We tried new things. We accomplished some bucketlist items. The vision for Matt's new line of work was really coming together.
And the whole time our house was filled with flowers, food, and sunkissed skin.
We always had extra flowers on hand. We took some to the neighbors. And we took some to all the staff at Sage's new school.
Flowers bring people together. :) A yard with an endless supply of blooms is quite an asset!
We tried a couple new (and a couple old) recipes in August.
Pictured below is battered and fried eggplant from the garden.
Which we used to make eggplant parmigiana.
By the way, I discovered I'm not a big fan. :(
But at least I can say I tried it!!
Tomatoes were ripening left and right.
Which means salsa season has officially arrived.
And my first ever vegetable pot pie!
A hit with everyone, kids included!
