In the summer here in Iowa City the farmer’s market is alive with vibrant colors of vendors’ harvests, including the flower booths. Even if I don’t need to pick up anything on a particular Saturday for my kitchen I still go for my weekly dose of fresh flowers.
One of my favorite things about the flower vendors is how I learn so much from them as I make my selections. There are so many flowers that are native wildflowers that I am constantly learning about! While I still very much enjoy plucking blooms of my favorite cut varieties, I have really enjoyed adding new-to-me florets of all types.
Open Garden Weekend in Iowa City
What a great event to get people out in the community this weekend! Project GREEN in Iowa City did an amazing job putting together a garden tour from gardening enthusiasts all over the city. My partner and I discovered so many different types of plants and ways to landscape, it was really an education! My smile hurts, that’s how much fun we had! All of the hosts were happy to tell us about their yards and the hard work they’ve put into making their gardens a success. Here’s a small collection of DSLR and cell phone photos of our favorite sights on the tour. Thanks so much to everyone who… Keep Reading
The Beauty of Bread
When I’m not working my full time job, or photographing, knitting, or rolling around in nature, I’m… Well, sometimes… baking! As part of my modus operandi to “take photos and make things”, of course I take photos of all the things I make. One of those things I make is rustic sourdough bread, from my home culture. Taking a bite of warm, fluffy sourdough bread is like a tasty hug that grocery storebought bread just can’t compare to, in my opinion. There’s something nourishing and gentle about slow fermented bread, and each loaf that comes out of the oven is like Christmas Morning to me. Growing up, my mom would bake bread… Keep Reading
Valerie’s French Food
Aside from the flower vendors, one of my favorite parts of the farmer’s market is the Valerie, the French lady and her pastries. Despite certain parts of the year in which I swear off pastries, my husband always has an eye out for the French lady and her pain au chocolat, madeleines, maccaroons, poppyseed cakes, and so many other tasty treats. Our favorites are pictured here. They’re simple, but oh so delicious!
Farmer’s Market Flowers
I’m a huge flower fan. In fact, my retirement goals are to be the flower lady at the farmer’s market. For my wedding I tried to grow all my own flowers (with moderate success), and fresh blooms in my yard put a pep in my step. One of my favorite parts of my weekend is visiting the flower vendors at the Iowa City Farmers Market and discovering native and domestic plants I can’t live without. This spring we got especially lucky in Iowa to witness lilacs and peonies blooming together. What a treat! Here’s a collection of photographs from farmers market bouquets and flowers from my own yard. I loved… Keep Reading
Spring Sweetness
I am on a massive black and white kick recently and I cannot get over how strong these image is to me, especially without color. Featuring the lovely Colbi Maxwell.
A Tempering of Social Media Use
Some people may have noticed that I have unfollowed a great number of people on IG recently. I know that for some being unfollowed is like being unfriended, and can feel like rejection. I want to assure anyone feeling that way that I have not unfollowed anyone due to personal feelings of dislike, but due to a overall downsizing of my use of social media. At the tail end of December I deactivated my facebook, and now I’d like to concentrate on maximizing my instagram feed to focus on people I know personally, and interests that are more mentally healthy. Both on my personal feed and my photography account (@theandreaborden), I… Keep Reading
The problem with blogs
is that it’s implied that you have to update them. Like, ever. This blog thing is proving to be a difficult concept for me apparently.