Another Day, Another Dollar: Manifesting Money, Quiet Weeks, and Miss Jaycee's First Solo Platter

Another day, another dollar.

Or, as I’ve been trying to say lately: another day, another platter, another invoice paid, another tiny victory in the ongoing circus that is owning a small business.

I’m taking a little break before I start cooking again, which sounds very peaceful until you realize my version of “taking a break” means sitting down for approximately 20 minutes, answering three texts, checking the grocery list, thinking about Thanksgiving orders, remembering I forgot asparagus and then standing back up because apparently I am physically incapable of resting like a normal person.

But honestly? This week was pretty damn good.

We had orders all week. Real orders. Money coming in. Platters going out. Me mentally whispering, “Come on, money, come to mama,” while packing cured meats and cheese like I’m participating in some kind of delicious, mildly stressful financial ritual.

I’m manifesting it, you guys. I’m trying to slow down mentally, stay grateful, and let myself enjoy the fact that things are moving. Busy is good for me right now. Busy means Graze is doing what Graze is supposed to do. Busy means people are gathering, celebrating, feeding their friends, ordering sandwiches, and deciding that yes, they absolutely do need one more cheese on the platter.

And I support that decision completely.

The good kind of busy… with a side of panic

There is a specific kind of tired that comes from running a food business. It’s not just “I worked today” tired. It’s “I worked today, ordered groceries, paid a bill, remembered someone else’s birthday, made sure George ate a balanced meal, answered a catering inquiry, cleaned something I had just cleaned, and ate Taco Bell twice last Sunday” tired.

You know?

George is getting balanced meals with vegetables and protein and thoughtful little combinations, meanwhile I’m over here treating a Crunchwrap like it’s a well-rounded nutritional plan. The hypocrisy is honestly impressive.

People see the finished platter. They see the pretty cheese, the folded salami, the berries, the little vegetables tucked into every available corner. They don’t necessarily see the hours behind it. The ordering, shopping, prepping, washing, cutting, packing, labeling, crying, cleaning, delivering, hyping myself up mid afternoon, answering messages, and then trying to remember if I put gas in my car.

There’s also the personal-life stuff happening in the background. Bills. More grocery shopping. Finding another dining set. Laundry that has somehow become a permanent piece of furniture. Making dinner-my nemesis. Making sure everyone else is okay while my own brain is mushy oatmeal.

It’s a lot.

But I’ve been doing this since 2018. I’ve made it through busy seasons before. I’ve made it through chaos, exhaustion, last-minute requests, melting cheese, missing supplies, and at least one situation where I genuinely considered lying down on the shop floor for five minutes.

I have help now.

I got this.

A quieter week? Yes, please and thank you

Next week is looking a little quieter on the catering front, and I’m going to take that as a gift instead of immediately assuming something is wrong.

That’s growth, people.

A quieter week doesn’t mean the business is failing. It means I might be able to breathe, catch up, reorganize, cover these grey hairs and maybe find the pair of scissors I’ve been looking for a month now. It means I can look at the calendar without feeling like it’s personally threatening me.

It also gives me a little space before the holiday season really kicks in, because Thanksgiving and Christmas orders are going to absolutely ruin us for a stretch.

Affectionately, of course.

Also! I’m doing donuts on Saturdays again, which truly... I cannot remember the last time I did that, but damn those Donut Shack donuts are fire. So come in on Saturdays and grab some treats. And really, if you come later in the afternoon when I’m itchy to lock up and go become one with my couch, maybe you’ll get some extra donuts if any are left because at that point I’m basically in my generous goblin era.

And Weston farmers market is starting up soon, which I’m so excited about. We all love Drew, our favorite market boy. Missed him!!! He’s so easy, the people love him, and we sell out at most markets pretty fast when he’s there doing his thing. He’ll be back doing most of them, which is amazing for me and my overstimulated little brain. It’s also more work for Miss Jaycee on Fridays prepping for the Saturday markets, but honestly that’s a win too. More market prep, more exposure, more people seeing Graze out in the wild, and more exposure means more money to expand and do bigger and better things. Win win. I’ll probably fill in here and there too, so if anyone needs a Saturday job running the shop just... randomly let me know. Which also reminds me that I need to actually sit down, look at the market dates, and choose which ones we’re doing, which will probably be 98% of them because apparently I enjoy being busy and dramatic.

Crisp fall air, market chaos, money in our pockets... I’m ready. Or like, ready-ish.

The holidays are wonderful, but they are also the business equivalent of being chased by a very rabid raccoon. Everyone needs platters, snack boxes, croissant sandwiches, grazing tables, office lunches, family trays, hostess gifts, and “something easy but still impressive.” Which, thankfully, is exactly what we do at here.

And honestly, we have to work our asses off in the fall and winter because once January rolls around it is crickets. Everybody’s done buying gifts, done partying, and suddenly they’re making their brave little no-cheese New Year’s resolutions and disappearing on me. So we get a little lull moment every year, which is great for my mental health and not so great for my bank account which then ultimately impacts my mental health.

But like I said... manifest that shit, girl. Get it, baby. Work hard, get it done, and take as many orders as possible between now and January because every single year I somehow forget how rough those cold months can get. It’s like seasonal amnesia with a side of bills.

I’ve made it through every holiday season since 2018, and I’ll make it through this one too. I have help. I have systems. I have no caffeine though. I do have a suspicious amount of parchment paper and containers with no matching lids.

We’re fine.

Probably.

Please welcome Miss Jaycee to the Graze family

Miss Jaycee has been such a nice addition to the Graze family, and I am so thankful for her help while I navigate the chaos in my head.

First of all, she’s clean. This matters deeply in a food business. I love a clean person. I love someone who wipes a counter without being asked. I love someone who sees a crumb and doesn’t simply decide that it now lives there.

But she’s also just a cool girl.

She laughs. She smiles. She brings a really good energy into the shop, and I think we need more of that kind of vibe in the world. More people who are happy just being happy. More people who can roll with the chaos. More people who don’t make you feel like you need to send a formal email before asking where the extra labels are.

And this week, she made her first platter completely unsupervised.

Completely. Unsupervised.

Do you understand what that means for me? The girl who once hovered over someone cutting strawberries like a tiny, anxious food-business gargoyle actually walked away and let another person make a platter.

And you know what?

She crushed it.

Everyone at Fishbones enjoyed it, which made me so proud. There is something really special about watching someone learn the Graze way and then make it their own. The platter looked beautiful, it tasted great, and nobody called me to report a cheese emergency.

That’s what we call success.

I‘ve written about this before, and let me tell you, I am still learning. Delegating does not magically turn me into a calm, organized lady who drinks enough water. I’m still me. I still overthink. I still want to check every single detail.

But having help means I don’t have to hold every single thing in my brain at once.

That is huge.

Last-minute orders? I’m probably going to say yes

We have a few events coming up over the next couple weeks, but I’m still taking your last-minute orders whenever I can.

A few hours’ notice? Send me a message.

Is it ideal? No.

Does it make my brain briefly leave my body? Sometimes.

Will I still try to make it happen because I am a people pleaser with access to cheese?

Absolutely.

I can usually fill last-minute orders if I have the ingredients and enough time to make it happen. So if you suddenly remember that you’re hosting people, forgot to plan an appetizer, or have been assigned “something pretty for the table” at the last possible second, reach out!

We offer everything from smaller platterboxes for date nights and casual get-togethers to larger catering orders, croissant sandwiches, snack boxes, and full grazing tables. Basically, if your gathering involves people standing around saying, “Oh my god, try this,” we’re probably a good fit.

I’m tired, but I’m grateful

I don’t want to pretend this business is easy. It isn’t. Some weeks I feel like I’m not going to make it and the real fear of disappointing someone. Which happens and it really is the worst feeling in the world.

But I also don’t want to overlook how lucky I am.

People keep ordering. People keep trusting us with their gatherings. People keep coming back. I get to make food that becomes part of birthdays, meetings, holidays, date nights, celebrations, and random Saturdays when everyone just wants to eat cheese and call it dinner.

That means something to me.

So yes, I’m tired. Yes, the holidays are coming for me like a tsunami of orders. Yes, my personal to-do list is currently giving “season finale cliffhanger.”

But I have help.

I have good people around me.

I have customers who are patient and kind.

And I have a business that keeps moving forward, one platter, one order, and one slightly chaotic day at a time.

Another day, another dollar.

Another day, another reason to keep going.

Thank you for being here, for supporting us, for letting us grow, and for laughing along while I figure it all out in real time. You guys are the best.

I'm heading back to the kitchen to finish up meal prep for the night and I’m wondering if I should get Taco Bell again? Reel it in, Abby. Bowl of cereal it is.

Love you all!

XX,

Abby

Song of the day: Sony Twain-Is it all

Bose headphones, immersion mode, drown out background panic. Welcome to the twilight zone of my life.

Go order the platter. Drink some water. Listen to good music when you’re in a mood.

We’ve got this.

DONUT SHACK SATURDAYS!

Miss Jaycee’s platter! 😍

Went to KriKri and it was 🔥 10/10 would recommend!