Galentine’s Floral Party | Valentine’s Dinner

Mixed feelings on mixed precipitation.

We finally got our good winter snowstorm that I had been craving, and I spent the day watching the cold powder accumulate atop the clinging crust of ice from the previous weather event. Refilling the bird feeder(s) that sit just on the other side of my workspace twice in the day as ravenous sapsuckers, starlings, doves, and sparrows pushed out my regulars- the finches, chickadees, and titmice.

What a cold snow this was. During the annual It Finally Snowed So Let’s Sled meet-up at the farm, we remarked on how different the experience felt this year, a full 20 or more degrees cooler than years past. The temperature certainly determines sledding stamina.

And when the fun of playing in it was over and the below freezing temps persisted for days, freezing pipes and drains, complicating the usually-easy tasks of the day- the loafing frozen piles began to feel more like a pestilence than an anticipated gift from the weather gods.

And when the thermometer read above 32°F and my coat felt suddenly too hot and solids gave way to slush and mixed precipitation began to peck away at the drifts that just days ago possessed an otherworldly sparkle- feelings of loss and yearn rushed in- when will we see snow like this again?
And will we take the time to enjoy it?

Back in November, as the daylength waned and the temperatures fell, I promised myself that I would not let the winter blues get the best of me this year. Here on the other side of the solstice, in the coldest bit we’ve seen yet, I’m proud of how I’ve upheld that vow. Work is always good for staving off dark days; staying busy is good medicine for some people. I’ve found, too, that fully leaning into my creative inklings has been a priceless tactic.

My personal space is filled with ongoing - fully frivolous - creative endeavors. Crochet projects, latch-hook rugs, candles poured into vessels of all types, a gallery wall with more color than a pack of Crayolas, ambitious sewing patterns, bugs + animal bones to clean and display etc. etc. etc.
Allowing myself to let the creative side of the brain play without deadline or any tie to livihood has almost been a way to train it to work better for planning dinners & events.

In these days of hunkering down inside, I’m dreaming up beautiful displays and exciting flavors for this year’s Valentine’s Day dinner at 705 State.

Today, in particular, I’m planning the details of the grazing board. During the holiday season, my time was filled with designing these edible displays for holiday parties. For the upcoming Valentine’s Day dinner, I’m planning lots of heart-shaped bites, pink/purple/red colors, edible flowers, and lace doilies. Remember the days of elementary school Valentines? Imagine that, but made of real, delicious, food.

Ticket sales end on Thursday, February 12.

Reserve Your Seat

MENU + DETAILS

February Events

See the Event Dates below and be assured that I am chipping away at the behind-the-scenes tasks to get info and ticketing online :)

Event information will be released through this newsletter and on Facebook, Instagram, stormbrewfarm.com, and faefolk.site as event pages are prepared.

6 days to reserve your spot at the Galentine’s Party!

What does $60 usually get you?

A quick night out that’s gone before you know it.

This Galentine’s floral gathering offers something longer-lasting: an intentional evening, seasonal flowers, hands-on creativity, and meaningful connection. It’s not just about what you spend —
it’s about how you spend your time.

More event DETAILS + TICKETS here.

More event DETAILS + TICKETS here.

A note on ticket pricing:

I’ll be honest — it feels a little rough to put a $60 sticker on this event, but I want to take a moment to be transparent about why it’s priced this way.

The tulips we’ll be playing with are sourced from Grace Farm in Glade Spring, VA. If you look outside today, it’s pretty clear that conditions are not exactly ideal for blooming tulips. These flowers have been carefully tended and intentionally forced to bloom ahead of their natural season — a technique flower farmers use to extend the local flower window.

It’s a labor-intensive, time-sensitive, and costly process for the farmer. Part of my mission with Fae Folk is to make sure growers are fairly compensated for that work.

These are flowers grown by someone in our community who truly cares. They aren’t corporate. They aren’t flown across the ocean. They’re grown right down the road.

That $60 supports far more than the arrangement you’ll enjoy for the week after the celebration — it supports local agriculture, skilled labor, and a values-driven flower system I’m proud to be part of.

Learn more about Galentine’s Day at Stormbrew Farm

Follow STORMBREW on Instagram

Follow FAE FOLK on Instagram

If your hens are laying, eggs are in season year-round.

From the Kitchen | breakfast last week

Because avocado toast is on the menu for my EO Cafe Trial,
it has also been on the menu for me at home- that is a thing that happens when you work with food. It quickly becomes important to draft menus based on what you’d be happy to eat over and over- in the event that you have lots of leftovers.

Last week’s weather rendered my Tuesday Cafe Day postponed, so I had plenty of avocado toast throughout the snowed-in days.

It’s a simple breakfast, but here’s how I’ve been doing it:

Slice of homemade bread
—melt butter in a cast iron skillet on low, saturate both sides of the bread in the butter, let it get toasty. Slow & low so you don’t burn it while you’re working on the other parts of the meal.

Avocado
—an almost-overripe avo is great for because you can spread it instead of slicing it.

Fried Egg
—I use saved bacon grease. Melt it in a skillet, hot then low. Crack 2 eggs (4 if also feeding the dog). Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, oregano while side 1 is frying.
Once side 1 is solid & browning at the edges, carefully turn the eggs over, cut the heat. (This is when I would scramble the other two eggs, if feeding the dog).

The timing of all of this is really key-

Butter on low, toasting bread > heat bacon grease > cut avocado > pre-set plate > pre-set spices > crack eggs (only when your toast is ready!) > smear avocado on toast > flip eggs > plate.

I’ve been enjoying mine with a side of pomegranate arils and strong coffee.

A Farm Story | photos from 3 Feb ‘21-’24

This little series of looking back on photos and revisiting the birth of the farm has brewed a set of feelings that I finally was able to put words to yesterday.

I was recounting the summer of 2019 to a new friend yesterday. The year I lived off-grid in a 17ft camper from April-October in the woods in Maine.

Her response (the standard response when I talk about this time in my life) Wow, that sounds hard.

And at the time, it was.

But as she said that yesterday, my response escaped before I even had a chance to turn it over and examine it in my mind.
It was easier than everything that has happened since then.

I’ve been mulling over that feeling since I noticed it. That summer that felt so challenging would feel like a vacation to me now. A summer of camping while working on a flower farm on the coast of Maine? Weekends free to explore? Pre-COVID cost of living? Almost no responsibility. Though I had to catch or find my own water, make sure my cooler was icy enough to keep my groceries cool, spend days off & evenings at the laundromat, and limit electricity use to what the generator could handle-

objectively, that was an easier time in my life.

I don’t say that for pity or anything, just noticing.
And wondering.

Does hard become relative with age & experience? Does our baseline for what is hard change? Does life always feel hard and we just keep adding difficulty and adapting? Or will there be a day when the weight lifts and the grind isn’t so palpable?

This newsletter is for you, and I’d love your input.
What do you want to read more about?
What do you want to learn?
What kinds of farm moments should I share on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?
Click the button below and let me know
— I read every response

Daisy

Send me a note!

Sign Up For the Newsletter Here