Now that it's been several months (6.5, but who's counting) since Tesoro Design became a shoppable site, the stakes are high. Needing the world, yes the world, to know about our company, we have been plotting and planning our attendance at craft shows throughout the summer. Some may think we have gone a tad overboard with our show schedule. There are two weekends this entire summer that we have "off," but you try selling handbags to family and friends only. It's not exactly realistic. We need the people and honestly, the people need us (by us I mean our handbags of course). 

Our first out-of-town show occurred this past weekend in Cape May, NJ. Because you have nothing better to do while sitting in your cubicle, I would like to tell you about it. 

Renting an SUV larger than my freshman year dorm room, we packed up Thursday afternoon and headed down to the shore. A smooth ride for the entire 2.5 hours, Brit, me and the GPS enjoyed ourselves singing backup to Missy Elliot and thinking about all the ice cream we were going to eat (and funnel cake. Did I mention funnel cake?).

Losing her head for a hot second, the GPS tried to take us down a few dirt roads that probably led to the home of Freddie Kruger (because Freddie obviously lives in Jersey). We did not listen to her so I guess we'll never know. Probably for the best. 

Upon our arrival to the Victorian style beach town that is Cape May, we checked into our Bed and Breakfast (more on that later) parked the tank and rocketed to the beach as if we had jetpacks strapped to our feet. In case you don't know, the beach in Cape May is luscious. The sand is like walking on little beads of silk laid out against a watercolored painting that just happens to be the sky. 

We frolicked like the children we actually are and embraced the empty beach as the perfect time for an impromptu photo shoot. When the world gives you striped canopies, canoes, and red and white lifeguard stands you need to take the opportunity. Use the gifts you are given, than manipulate their color with filters and post them to Instagram. Ah, the circle of life. 

Mid-pose we realized just how starving we were. Reviving ourselves with a quick sandwich, followed by ice cream, we met up with the Fozards (our investors/fairy god people). They happen to be Cape May veterans and were delighted to introduce us to their favorite local haunts. 

Our tour began on Main Street. Charming and lined with Christmas lights, it is for pedestrians only (very excellent news for those of us who like to walk in front of cars). Stores catered to handmade jewelry, cotton undergarments, gummy candies, and Cher greeting cards. Needless to say it was love at first site. Brit and I quickly understood all the Cape May hype. 

After sipping on tea with our friends from the Isle of Man (the Fozards), we headed back to our B&B.

Let's talk about the B&B.

Neither Brit nor myself had ever stayed at one before. All we knew was that our accommodations would come with a bed and a breakfast, plus it was cheaper than a hotel. The Bacchus Inn was the chosen B&B we decided on. Bacchus is the Roman god of wine so each room was named after a different wine region. We stayed in Sonoma Valley. Never having been to Sonoma Valley before, I am guessing our room was the Victorian version mixed with shabby chic. Paintings of faceless people hung over the dresser and nightstand, while what was most likely a British royal wedding scene hung over the bed. Pink, red, and beige floral wallpaper, while extremely feminine but not in a nauseating way, covered every inch of wall space. The carpet tortured us. Desperately, we wanted to bring it home in lieu of the shampoos. It was beautiful and out of our price range for the next decade. Even on ebay. Our bathroom looked like something you might find on a boat, but that wasn't a bad thing. No complaints in any way. Just lots of wood paneling.

 

The bed rested in a white and gold frame that I also wanted to bring home with me. I asked Brit if she thought the owners would notice that their bed frame was gone. She said yes, so it remains in Cape May. Definitely on the more comfortable side of the spectrum, the mattress was great, however, neither of us slept through a single night. My brain was rattled with odd dreams and visions of our tent blowing away in the wee hours of the morning. 

However much we tossed and turned, waking up was never an issue because, breakfast.

 

 

It was like some sort of magical universe. Every morning like clockwork my bed was made for me AND breakfast was served either in the formal dining room, sunroom, or my bedroom. AND it arrived in courses. I felt like a glorified servant of Marie Antoinette's. As each morning passed, the breakfasts got better and better. The last day, as if to remind me that I was heading back to dry cereal in a plastic bowl, my breakfast was yogurt with fresh bananas drizzled with honey farmed by the chef, turkey sausage patties, and challah bread french toast topped off with strawberries, blackberries, and a raspberry syrup. As you can see there are no pictures of that meal because I devoured it. The only picture I managed to get of my food before completely consuming it was the first breakfast. Pictured above, it consisted of strawberry and watermelon salad, sausage and what I like to call breakfast ravioli. Fried very sweet dough with a light cheese like filling. If you are sitting there reading this and know the actual name, why don't you share it with me? Although I think breakfast ravioli sounds pretty delectable to ones ears. 

Now we have arrived at the actual reason for our trip, a booth dedicated to Tesoro at the weekends art festival. We were set up Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10am-5pm. Very happy to say that there wasn't a day that went by without at least one sale. We handed out about 500 cards and collected dozens of emails by raffling off one of our credit card/cash holders. Many people were from the Chester County and Montgomery County areas, which is always nice to hear when you're away from home. 

The first day of the event was a sweltering 100 degrees. Thanks to Brits genius, we made it through using battery powered fans. The second day brought with it a heaping of humidity that seamed to cling to your skin like that grey stuff you pick off the bottom of cooked salmon. Day three would have been great for flying a kite. Winds tried persistently to knock over our tent and metal shelves. Luckily, they did not succeed. Everything remained upright and the day ended with the sale of one of our half moon clutches. Thank you Thank you Thank you! 

Besides pictures on the beach, food, and taking Tesoro on the road the weekend had some serious ya had to be there moments. While you can't and never will be able to see them, because you weren't there, I will do my best to explain them. 

Relaxing on the beach at sunset at the end of day two, Brit and I climbed onto a lifeguard post to get the best view. To the shock of no one, I was eating an ice cream cone and wondering if anyone ever tried to swim the entire ocean (deep thoughts, literally). That's when I saw a dark shadow arch out of the water and disappear into the sea. At the same time we both yelled "dolphin!" This may not be a big deal to you, but we had never seen a dolphin before. They were my favorite animal until I discovered cats, so I was pretty pumped. We watched it jump in and out of the choppy waves until it got too dark to make out its shape. Squealing about how great dolphins are and me hoping a shark didn't eat it, we saw many large lights moving down the beach. We had been told that a giant tractor plows the sand at night. Let me say that we were nowhere near the only people on the beach. It wasn't even 9pm. Still on the lifeguard post, we watched the tractor come closer. And closer and closer. Realizing it may take down the lifeguard tower we were sitting on, we began the motions of jumping to save our lives. About two feet before destroying us, the tractor turned off and we gave a sigh of relief. It was very scary and also made me realize I may have watched too many seasons of Pretty Little Liars. A is not real. Right? 

On our final day, Brit and I figured it would be a good idea to take shifts. The crowds had thinned out and we still had to dismantle the booth and drive home at the end of the day. For my first shift off, I ventured onto the beach tediously avoiding the woman checking beach tags. Sorry, but I am not paying $6 to sit on sand for an hour. With my new Judy Blume adult novel, I sat myself down a good distance away from the sunbathing families. I was enjoying myself and soaking up the sun for all of ten minutes, when a family with multiple small children set up camp a little too close for comfort. Come on people, you have an entire beach and you choose the spot next to the peaceful looking girl reading her book?! Not paying any attention, I continued to read until a massive cloud of sand fell on top of me. I turned to see a small child who had taken his shovel and dumped on the excess sand on top of my head. Terrified to apologize to me, his mother told him if he didn't they would have to leave. Eventually, the boy's older sister apologized on his behalf. Smiling, I thanked her and said it was okay. Approximately four minutes later, the other small child hurled his excess sand on top of me, but this time it was in the direction of my face. The older sister once again apologized on her other brother's behalf. I took this as my cue to leave. 

If you have made it to the end of this post (this is the end), thank you. Hopefully it made you laugh, even if it wasn't out loud. Wish we could have taken you all with us, but I actually don't wish that at all. 

-Em