Saturday morning.

One of my favorite things to do on a gloomy weekend is go to the beach. Most people run to the beach on a sunny, bright day - the beach gets crowded, hot, bright, loud (which are pretty much things I enjoy at the beach when I’m looking for some sun) but on a cold, overcast day it’s interesting how different the tone is.

I take my camera, jump in the car, and make my way down to the coast. I usually stop any place that jumps out at me along the way. I love stopping by a farmers market unexpectedly. That’s a funny thing about gloomy days, unlike sunny days, I never feel this urge that I HAVE to get a list of things done. It’s like I have a free pass to ease on through the weekend.

One thing that is so great about a farmers market is the colors of the veggies and fruits. They usually look so great in their raw state. So much prettier than the grocery stores. Red onions with much of their dead skin stripped, baskets of fresh grain breads, fresh raspberries and black berries in their bright containers, fresh fava beans, beautiful green celery bunches, Chinese radish with all it’s curly roots. I love how the colors can be so bright, yet so earthy and organic.

I love finding color inspiration in food. It’s funny, we take a lot of our “style” inspiration for Paula Deen from Savannah - inspired by the colors of the historic homes, the lush Live Oak trees covered in Spanish Moss, the marsh grass that decorates our city, and the rich ironwork you see everywhere. But we are also a company built on food, so I love getting inspiration directly from the source. When we are designing products for the kitchen or the table, food is great resource.

I’m also a sucker for presentation. Presentation let’s you know how much people care about what they are showing you. At a farmers market the people selling goods are usually so proud of their product they display it so neatly. Here are people who I’m guessing haven’t been trained on presentation, but they have incredible pride and love for what they do. It’s not often that you see produce displayed better at a large chain grocery than a booth at a farmers’ market.

A gloomy Saturday is a great time to find all the little pleasures that you enjoy… and let them inspire you!