Creighton Open Gardens 2023

Whew! A whole year in the making and it’s been and gone in a flash. And we are about to have our SECOND Open Gardens in the time it has taken me to actually get this post written…sorry!

When Leigh Stokes (creative & artist friend next door) suggested the idea of hosting the first ever Creighton Open Gardens a year ago, I was like…yes, great idea! And then I was terrified…it meant opening up my garden to a bunch of strangers and letting them walk around and critique all of my efforts. But I have to say, the weekend was wonderful! And my garden has never looked as good as it does right now. They always say there is no better way to whip your garden and home into tip top shape than to host an event. And that’s exactly what happened.

We moved into our current home, Bedford Farm…the original Hutton homestead (which my in-laws had renovated in order to turn it into a guesthouse as my husband and I didn’t have any plans to move into it in the near future because we were very content in the little cottage) just over 4 years ago. I was pregnant with our second child, Aaron, and had only been back in South Africa for about 2 years. We lived in South Korea before that (click here to read more about those adventures). Since then we’ve added another little boy to the clan, Mason, and I the garden has become my happy place.

There was one main garden bed in the garden, and my mom-in-law had moved the 8 white Iceberg roses from in front of the house, to a new bed on the side of the house. I wanted to share some progress photos, as well as before photos so you can get an idea of the progression over the past 4 years.

We also created a Food Forest out of one of the pastures behind our house. This has been a huge labor of love, because we have had a sum total of about 4 blueberries and an onion over the years. Oh, and mountains of bolted Chinese cabbage, which always goes straight to seed and has yet to give us one cabbage yet! We initially planted this in order to make our own Korean Kimchi (which we still do make but always have to rely on what’s available in store when we are ever near large supermarkets in the big city).

The back garden overlooking the Barn Owl Shed (before & progress photos)

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Front Garden bed (progress photos)

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New side bed overlooking the cottage

We renovated this little cottage at the bottom of our garden a little over 2 years ago now, and it has been such a wonderful addition to our home. Not just because we only have 1 bathroom in our house (which included the toilet…there is very little privacy for anyone really), and no spare rooms (this is the problem with having so many off spring!) but now this is our guest cottage and it has turned into the most wonderful & private little space.

Please do take note of the gorgeous wall mural (done by another very talented friend and another neighbour…Savannah Stokes). You’ll see in the after photos how beautifully this came out, and what a change it made to such an ugly wall, that I just wasn’t able to get anything substantial to grown in front of and cover up in time for the Open Gardens.

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Hedge removed and bed opened up with new fence pole structure (before & progress photos)

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My Garden over the 2023 Creighton Open Gardens Weekend (14th & 15th October 2023)

I haven’t done too much since last year’s Open Garden in preparation for this one. I’ve mainly focussed on watering and maintaining the existing beds. I have dug up one new bed in front of my kitchen (at the back of the house) which I’ll share more photos of soon. Everything will be more established this year, and I’m just holding all my thumbs and toes that all the Spring flowers won’t be over by the time of the Open Gardens weekend, because things are all starting to bloom now…and we still have 6 weeks to go. EEEEK!

Art & Soul Creative Retreat 17th - 18th November 2018 in Creighton, KZN

Hosting retreats has been something on my heart for years and years, and when Farmboy and I got married here on the farm all those years ago, I just knew that the farm would make the perfect place. After all the renovations we just completed at Bedford (click here to see our beautiful self catering guesthouse), it has become the perfect setting to finally make my dreams of hosting retreats come true.

Here are some photos of Bedford…

And now onto the exciting news! I’m hosting my first every retreats with Durban based artist Terry Angelos, whom I met last year while attending one her art therapy workshops. I then bumped into her at our local Creighton Aloe Festival and I mentioned that we had just completed renovations at Bedford and then the topic of hosting a retreat came up.

The rest as they say, is history!

The 2Day1Night retreat is happening from Saturday 17th November to Sunday 18th November and will be here on Bedford Farm in Creighton. We still have a couple of spaces open if you’d like to book your spot!

Here’s a little more of what’s on offer during the 2 day 1 night stay:

Saturday
Arrive anytime during the morning from 9am
🌿11am - art session / introduction and techniques for relaxing through art & art journaling
🌿1pm - lunch & free time
🌿3pm - art session - aloes and country botanicals
🌿5.60/6pm gin sundowners (I’ll be serving my famous Lavender & Grapefruit Gin Cocktail!)
🌿7.30/8pm - Dinner

Sunday
🌿9am - 10am picnic brunch
🌿10am - 12pm “Pleinair” painting - country landscapes
🌿12pm - free time. You are welcome to explore the area, find a lovely lunch spot on your way home or chill at the farmhouse till you are ready to leave.
Depart farmhouse by 3pm.

If you’re looking for a break away from reality and the opportunity to be creative in a beautiful countryside setting, this retreat is just for you.

Cost: R1850pp including all meals, accommodation and art supplies.

Rooms are sharing (private rooms are available at R200 extra) and there is also the option of spending the Friday night here (an extra R350pp) if you’d like to extend your stay.

Message or comment below with your email address or email terry directly to book your spot today: terryangelosart@gmail.com

Terry and I are so excited to host this retreat, and I’m sure it will be the first of many to come!

Lemon Tree Cafe in Underberg...1 year later on and still the best hot chocolate in the land!

This time last year, there was an epic snowfall in the Drakensberg. Farmboy and I, along with a lovely group of friends, went off in search of a patch or two of fluffy whiteness. While we didn't qiote get close enough to it to be able to build a snowman (unlike the CRAZY blizzards & snowfalls we experienced while living in South Korea) we still had a wonderful day enjoying a delicious hot chocolate (the best I've ever had! And I've drunken a LOT of hot chocolate in my time) and a really good meal at the Lemon Tree in Underberg.

After stuffing our faces silly, we took a drive up Sani Pass (well, as close to the top of Sani as we could get without our passports) and had coffee in blue tin mugs, with a view of the snow.

It was wonderful!

Oh, and I had a huge tummy at the time! It's always fun looking back at my bump now that my little girl is here with us. I can't believe a year has come and gone already. Here's to the next year!

Watercolour Heart - Fine Art, Illustration & Design {A creative Business Feature}

Although I have yet to meet Jess in real life, I feel like we are old friends. This is one of my absolute favourite things about blogging & social media, and although it may seem strange to older members of my family, I think it's just wonderful.  

Jess, pictured above looking so lovely in her recently updated studio space, is the beauty and brains (as well as the illustrator & designer) behind Watercolour Heart. Jess specialises in wedding stationery design, custom illustration & design projects, small business branding & personalised gifting. The latter of these is really showcased with the images I'm sharing with you today.

To celebrate the launch of her own, newly updated branding, Jess sent out beautiful packages to business owners who have inspired her in her own business journey. What a wonderful surprise to be a recipient of a beautifully put together collection of stationery goodies.

If my package is anything to go by, I can only imagine that the personalised gifting service Jess offers will wow and delight each and every person lucky enough to receive a gift put together by Watercolour Heart.

Thank you Jess for the incredibly thoughtful note that accompanied my package, your words meant more to me than I can say.

You can find Watercolour Heart in the following places

• Website: wwww.watercolourheart.com
• Facebook: @watercolourheart
• Instagram: @watercolour_heart_illustration

#FromFarmToTable - Homemade Baby food in Collaboration with Tommee Tippee

If you've been following me for a little while now, you might have seen my previous posts here on the blog and on Instagram where I’ve been sharing the beginning of our #EverlyStartsSolids journey.  My little girl is now 6 months old, and we are well into the swing of things when it comes to weaning her onto real food. I'm so excited to share this post with you, showing you how easy it is to make your own baby food, ensuring you avoid all those nasty additives and preservatives that are in store bought purees.

Although we are using fresh veggies from our own little veggie garden, you can still make delicious and nutritious meals for your little ones using store bought fruit & veg. 

Our veggie garden goes through a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes it looks amazing and is bountiful, and other times I spend my life picking off the millions of snails that find their way onto anything and everything that grows. Plus there's the constant battle with the weeds. But even though it takes a bit of work, there's nothing quite like the feeling of picking your own homegrown vegetables, and eating them fresh from the garden.

Having our own veggie garden has also inspired me to make all my own first meals for Everly. We live out in the middle of nowhere, and so it's pretty much impossible to pop to the shops and stock up on ingredients. But I'm really not going to complain, when these are the views we look out on every day...

Today I want to share with you one of the recipes from Meg Faure's Weaning Sense recipe book. This is her Rainbow Veg Mash, and is a really lovely 'base' to start with, and then to add other more exciting flavours to once your little one is used to it. So far I've added chicken stock, liver and cream cheese to it, and Everly has loved it! The recipe makes about three baby cup fulls which you can freeze easily for future use.

I've really been liking the Tommee Tippee Explora Freezer pots for freezing, as they have a very clever rubber base that allows you to ‘pop’ out the frozen food easily. They are also dishwasher, microwave & steriliser safe, although I prefer to heat up Everly’s food using hot water as I’m not a huge fan of the microwave. I also love the Essentials food pots (the pink see-through pots pictured below with the pinks lids) for storing left over food, and particularly for heating up her meals. They stack beautifully, taking up less space in your freezer, and are ideal for traveling too. Also, as they are see-through, you can easily tell what food is inside. This is particularly helpful if you are like me, and like to make & freeze in bulk. You can tell at a quick glance whether it’s butternut or beetroot, and grab what you need.

When it comes to actually steaming & blending baby food, I can't get over just how easy it is to do with the Steamer Blender machine from Tommee Tippee. I was sent over one to try, and at first I thought it to be a bit of an extravagance. I mean, can't you just use a pot and then transfer everything to another bowl and blend using a hand blender or blending machine? Well, read on friends!

Now, while you can just use any old pot you have at home to steam and then blend with another device, the Steamer Blender just makes things sooooooo easy. It's as simple as; chop veggies, pop into the jug, press some buttons and voila, a perfectly steamed & blended meal…ready to be eaten (or frozen for later).

When steaming veggies, it's really easy to forget that a lot of the goodness stays behind in the water. With this machine, the water stays in the jug, and then is used to blend the mixture. This way, all the goodness goes right back into the meal. And if you are already past the first few weeks of starting solids with your little one, you'll be happy to know that you can set the amount of 'blending' you'd like. You can make really smooth purees for the beginning stages of your solid food journey, or you can leave it chunkier as baby progresses to more textured food. Or you can skip the blending stage altogether…there are so many different options. I have to say this gadget really does make life simpler.

I've even been known to whip up a good couple of batches of sweet potato mash for Farmboy and myself, so believe me when I say you really will get a lot of use out of the Steamer Blender, even as baby gets older.

I have been freezing extra 'single' food into ice trays (ice cubes are the perfect size for Everly's first meals as she isn't eating that much just yet). Then I go shopping in the freezer, picking out a few ice cube combinations and then pop them into a cup to defrost. You can also take the frozen cubes out the night before and put them in the fridge to defrost overnight if you're the sort of person who remembers to do that. I always plan on doing that and then forget!

Another huge bonus when it comes to the Steamer Blender machine is how easy it is to clean. I know not everyone is as crazy about doing the dishes as I am (for realsies, I genuinely find doing the dishes to be relaxing and FAR prefer it to cooking!). So for those moms or dads out there who despise doing the dishes, this piece of tech is going to change your life! There aren't a million and one pots and pans and spoons. It's one jug that is easy to rinse clean, and then can be popped into the dishwasher if you're feeling really lazy. Otherwise it's a quick rinse in hot soapy water and then you're good to go!

Want to see the steamer blender in action? We made a fun little video showcasing our meal prep and would love to share it with you. You’ll also be able to see our menagerie of animals, in particular, #AmberTheGinger & #ShadowTheJindo. 

We hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into our lives here on the family dairy farm. I've got lots more video ideas (including a few on cloth nappies!) which I'm going to be putting up on my youtube channel soon. Let me know in the comments below if there's anything in particular you'd like me to make a video about. 

I post a lot of behind the scenes photos & videos over on Instagram Stories, so make sure you're following me over there too. Please do drop me a message and say hi, I love making new friends! 

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Interested in finding our more about other Tommee Tippee products? The brand is very active on Facebook and have just launched their South African Instagram Account for you to connect with them and ask any questions you might have.

This post is sponsored by Tommee Tippee but all thoughts & views are honest and my own. 

Farm Foraged Flowers - foraging for flowers with The Holloway Shop

A few months back my friend Storm (of The Holloway Shop in Cape Town) came to visit us here on the farm.

We spent a wonderful few days catching up, drinking tea, eating delicious homemade meals and delicacies that Storm whipped up from our veggie garden, and most notably, I photographed Storm doing what she does best...forage for flowers and create the most beautiful floral arrangements out of thin air. Click here to see what the warm winter afternoon light looks like on our farm,

Here are some photographs of her working her magic with flowers and fruit and leaves she collected around my home.

Enjoy!

If you're based in Cape Town and looking for a florist, I can't recommend Storm more highly enough. She is incredible talented when it comes to flowers and is so creative with her unique designs, she is in a league of her own. Here are some photos of bouquets she whipped up for her portrait shoot last year:

#KZNbloggers Meetup - August 2017

Last month I attended the #KZNbloggers meetup which was held at I Want My Coffee in Umhalanga. The venue itself was delightful and we were greeted with a wonderful selection of eats and drinks.

I Want My Coffee is situated just opposite Chris Saunders Park, which is just round the corner from Gateway Shopping Centre. I was so happy I arrived early because this meant I was able to spend some time admiring the decor and awesome little quotes punctuating the wall space. It was the perfect venue for our meet-up, and I can highly recommend their hot chocolate!

I had booked tickets for both myself and my lovely fellow photographer & blogger friend Julie (of Julia Jane Photography & Design) who you can see looking cute with the glass of 'wine' & coffee below. I also was able to meet Claire (from the blog Design By Claire) in person after having known each other for many a year online.

The line of speakers included Verushka from SpiceGoddess (who spoke about her blogging journey and what she wished she knew when she started blogging and whom I've known 'digitally' for years and so it was soooo nice to finally connect in person);  Nelisiwe from Conversation Lab (who spoke about how influencers are identified for brand campaigns); we had a spokesperson from MUD (Make-Up Designatory) sharing more about the brand and finally Ryan from Rain Africa.

Rain Africa had a beautiful display of some giveaway items. I loved their use of natural elements (like the pine cones you can see in the pictures below):

I loved what Susan from Goddess  has said about these meet-ups: "A bloggers’ meet-up is not so much about the goodie bag (but that sure is nice too!) as it is about stepping out of your own space. A meet-up offers you the opportunity to meet other bloggers, meet PR people and experience brands". While goodie bags are a lovely extra, the entire experience of meeting new people and learning from one another is what makes an event like this so special.

On the note of the goodie bag, here are some close up shots of all of the amazing things we were all gifted with.  I can't wait to start using all of these amazing products! 

Rain Africa

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Origin Stationery

Personalised stationery from Origin Stationery (I LOVE how Origin went out of their way to ensure I got a package of pretty pink items!)

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MUD - Make-Up Designatory

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Dupe Factorie

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Milk Solutions

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Forever Living

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Environ

Dr Dermal

A huge thank you to Susan from Goddess who was our host and who did such a fantastic job bringing us all together and organising the event. I so enjoyed my time at the meet-up, especially meeting new (and old!) bloggers and creatives. I will most definitely be attending the next one!

If you want to attend the next #KZNbloggers meet-up, make sure to keep an eye on their Facebook page by clicking here. If you're not in Durban, don't worry!

These blogging meet-ups also took place this year in:

• Cape Town: organised by Cindy of 3 Kids, 2 Dogs & 1 Old House. Click here to sign up to her newsletter to make sure you don't miss out on the next one
• Joburg: organised by Heather of SA Mom Blogs and Laura-Kim of Harassedmom
• Eastern Cape: co-organised by Luchae of My Spreadsheet Brain

I'm so looking forward to the next one here in Durban!