Happy Mothers Day

I was late leaving for the market in San Diego today because my Mom wanted to go out for coffee. Mom, it's your day! We had our coffee at Starbucks, then I was on my way. When I arrived at the market, I immediately saw the coral colored peonies at Magnolia, and reserved a few coral & white; peonies are the single flower I want to grow here but I can't, and they are Mom's favorite:
Allison had all kinds of flowers today; she is not a grower, but she does great little composed bunches; she also had a big bucket of lilacs, which were lovely next to the neutral baskets:
In the end, I composed a nice bouquet to take home, and put it in a small green Cap Ferrat:
This is the second week of the market, and I am starting to get a sense of the crowd. It's very different from LA, and the trends are just starting to show. You can tell a lot by looking at people's feet, and of course it's great for me because for the most part I like anonymous, faceless photos that illustrate a point. This is the greater San Diego area; would you expect a lot of flip-flops? Not here. Try broken in leather mocs on the guys, with designer faded jeans:
I saw a guy dressed all in grey with GOLD Nike's. Wow, I thought, I would never see that in LA. They he said "I am from LA" loudly to someone in his group; maybe the rolled cuffs should have told me?
But most of the crowd is ultra-conservative; I think there is a good reason that John McCain and Mitt Romney have houses in the La Jolla area; they are at home here. There is a Catholic church around the corner from the market, and so a lot of people come after church, and someone is over there with a Farmers Market sign after each mass. The ladies are in dresses and heels, the men in sport jackets and slacks. It's sort of a uniform. And even their children are turned out, in dresses with petticoats; there is nothing unruly about these kids, they are perfect:
The other trend I picked up on is the Equestrienne Lady; you see some in Palisades, and more in Calabasas; most of the time at those markets I think "she should not be wearing those pants." But in Rancho Santa Fe, which borders Del Mar, you see ladies who would be as comfortable in Palm Beach as they are in San Diego; did I mention there is a polo field nearby? The Equestriennes in RSF are tall and lean; not a saggy butt in sight. They are athletes, and they are very gracious, even as you tell them that you like their 5 carat fancy yellow cushion cut diamond ring. They are self-assured as they shop and even as they buy their baskets. They favor Moroccan baskets with leather trim, as if shopping for tack. They are also fleet of foot; I was busy today and though I had three Equestriennes buy, I got a shot of only one as she left, but she was a blur!
The influence is clear though, and many ladies do not look like they just left the paddock, but they give you clues about what their other interests are; even here with this lady, in a denim skirt and jacket, tights and boots:
As with my other markets, there are also a lot of people with second homes here; this couple has a house in Provence; they understand then when I say I also have a house in France. She will be in Beaune soon, and told me that she will stay at the best hotel in town, Le Cep, "just like the mushroom". No, I said, it's actually a reference to the foot of the grape vine; Cepe is the mushroom; this woman was very open to information about France, and not shy about her French; what a lovely life it must be to have homes here and in France!
Today I also met a wonderful couple; she from Lyon and he from Morocco; great conversation across the waterfront, in French; I love it!

Meanwhile, we also have the sporty set, and they also love the Classic French look of my Bandol basket:
The two friends bought the same basket today; aren't they cute!
We had cherries at the market today; these are not as dark as you see sometimes, but incredibly sweet and organic;
Our new vendor today came for Agoura Hills! Wow that is about 2 1/2 hours away! Their signature lettuce mix, with flower petals (marigold?):
And baby greens:
And herbs:
What was I saying yesterday about blocked energy and retailers? One of the stores in the center where the market is took 22 baskets today and knew her clientele would love them. If the energy is blocked, as with Laguna retail, I will go with what works.

My Mom loved the flowers, and now we will have a nice dinner; enjoy your evening everyone!