The Quiet Work No One Sees
A Week in the Life
People see the flowers — the bouquets, the colors, the finished product. What they don't see is everything it takes to get there. So instead of describing a "typical day," I think it makes more sense to show you what a week actually looks like.
Monday
My alarm goes off at 5am, and by 6am I'm already at Mayesh picking up my standing order. My rep, Sam, usually has everything set aside for me, so I go through it, check quality, swap anything that came in damaged, and grab anything extra I need — sometimes for fun, sometimes because a last-minute order came in.
From there, I head to the growers market to pick up local, seasonal flowers that match the color palette and feel of what we're already working with.
By 7:30am, I'm at the Bellevue store unloading the car, grabbing my coffee, and starting to process all the flowers. At 9am, my florist team arrives and begins working on walk-ins while I focus on the day's orders and anything we need to prep for Tuesday.
Around 11 or 12, I condense the florals the team worked on, wash some buckets, and then head out again — deliveries, subscriptions, and over to the Kirkland studio to reset the space, clean, and build out a task list for the team for the week. Sometimes I stop by Nordstrom on the way to drop off materials, florals, or whatever is needed there.
By 1 or 2pm, I'll get lunch and head home to "rest." But in reality, that's when the second half of my workday begins. Quotes, invoicing, Canva presentations, payroll, taxes, accounting, planning for upcoming holidays, scheduling — whatever needs attention. Somehow it's 8pm before I even realize the day is over.
Tuesday
Tuesdays usually start a little later, around 6 or 7am. I'll either begin with deliveries or stop by the Kirkland store before heading to Bellevue. I like to get there early before we open, just to have a few quiet hours in the space.
From 11 to 7, I'm working — whether that's helping in the shop, answering emails, building aquaboxes and bags, washing buckets, setting up for the next day, checking in on the other stores, or creating content for Instagram. After that, I usually go to dance class, and by 9pm I'm home, showered, and technically "done"… but I still end up working. Most nights I'm creating task lists for all three stores for the next day.
Recently I've tried to take Tuesdays off, but that usually just turns into a full day of appointments since most businesses are closed on Mondays — which is my other "day off"… but not really.
Wednesday
Wednesdays follow a similar rhythm — a full day in the shop, then home, sometimes dinner with Brandon after he closes at Nordstrom. At night, I reset mentally — a bath, a show, something to take my mind off things — and then I build out the next day's plan.
Thursday
Thursdays are our second major shipment day of the week. We receive everything needed for Friday subscriptions, weekend orders, and events. The morning is spent processing flowers, and then it shifts into designing and helping with walk-ins. By 7pm, we clean up, and I head to dance again before ending the night the same way — planning, organizing, preparing.
Friday
Fridays start with ballet with my niece, which is one of my favorite parts of the week. After that, I handle business and home subscription deliveries from around 10 to 1. Sometimes I stop by Kirkland to help close for the weekend or move leftover florals to Bellevue. Then it's home, dinner, and rest — unless I'm working in Kirkland setting up for markets.
Saturday & Sunday
Saturdays vary. Sometimes we have staff meetings, sometimes workshops, sometimes it's just a full shop day. It's the only day I allow myself to not start early — I'll come in closer to 10am instead of 8 or 9, but I'm usually there until close.
And Sundays are sacred. Since the beginning of Fleur, Sundays have been set aside for church and for my family and close friends. That part never changes.
The Quiet Work
But I'll be honest — weeks like this are not easy. It's hard to live at this pace and then feel guilty for missing birthdays, not seeing friends, or not always being there for the people you love. I try my best, especially being the oldest in my family, but sometimes all I want is to sit in my room, listen to music, and just be still.
And yet, this is what it takes right now. This is the quiet work that no one sees — the early mornings, the late nights, the constant thinking, planning, moving. It's not always glamorous. But it's building something. And even on the hardest days, I know this is what it takes to build something I truly believe in.
XoXo, Your Fleurist, Angelina
