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RETREATS
- Past Retreats
SERVICES
HARVEST TABLE DINNERS
BLOG
About
- PRESS
- Testimonials
CONTACT
- APPLY

RETREATS
- Past Retreats
SERVICES
HARVEST TABLE DINNERS
BLOG
About
- PRESS
- Testimonials
CONTACT
- APPLY

bowl of chocolate batter

Two key facts that apply to hosting any event:⁠

This year, I have chosen "Grow" as my word of the

This year, I have chosen "Grow" as my word of the year. A still, small voice whispered it to me in the centre of the labyrinth at our Fall retreat and it's been tugging at my soul ever since, like a toddler asking "are we there yet?"⁠
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You see, I have big dreams for Nurture. If you've been here for a while you know it's been on my heart to buy a big old farmhouse to host and feed you and your creative dreams since I was 8 years old. That still, small voice also told me it's time to put that dream back on the front burner.⁠
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While I know choosing 'Grow' counts as an invitation to get cozy with the ways I still shrink, I am excited to grow towards my dreams. I'll be tending to my connections, my business, my community, my heart and my capacity for what it means to be a human this year.⁠
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Do you choose a word of the year? Drop me a line to share what it is, if you like. I'd love to help hold one another accountable to what we're calling in, eventually over tea and hearth baked currant scones with honey vanilla bean butter at the harvest table at the Nurture farmhouse, if that still, small voice has anything to say about it.⁠
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Want to get a sense of what this community feels like visually? Take a tour through our Fall 2022 retreat photo gallery, featuring gorgeous photos (like this one of workshop facilitator Julia Nethersole @glass.full) by Amber Ellis of @creatinglight.studio. Link is in bio! ⁠

TW: heavy stuff. It feels like 2022 was the extens

TW: heavy stuff. It feels like 2022 was the extension pack for the never-ending 2020, but as I sit here with my Solstice candle and my memories, it's clear that it was a year with its own richness, growth and meaning.

As I inspect each memory, it feels like rummaging through a Lost & Found full of milestones I'm grateful to revisit. Even though some had me on my knees, they remind me what it feels like to be alive during this wacky time.

I lost:
- my taste for my need to be needed - this affected every relationship and how I showed up in them
- feeling in my limbs, which ended up being a stress-related symptom that helped me make major decisions about where and how I wanted to work and live, ie: NOT LIKE THIS
- Josh's grandpa, at 94
- sight of my creative self for a while there, but had friends who reminded me till I remembered
- our baby at 13 weeks
- my faith in our healthcare system
- Toronto, my city and my home for the last 14+ years
- my salaried job that I left to pursue what I really want to be doing
- all sense of space and time during some truly epic lovemaking
- my clawfoot bathtub that I spent hours listening to Enya in

I found:
- that my jeans no longer fit but I know why and love myself anyway
- the courage to live with a partner for the first time, in a new city
- my voice when it came to advocating for my health
- I remembered how to cook from my heart and soul at Nurture and retreats with my romance book club, @stephpellett @cobblestonefarmretreat & fun brunch with @sundaysfurniture in spite of 2+ years away
- that seat heat really is where it's at
- I no longer feel like Nurture is a personal project, but a legitimate business that I am delighted to be the steward of
- that no one has had it easy - the solidarity of that, while tragic, also really helped me feel less alone
- that I am ready to commit to a lifetime with Josh in the kind of relationship a past me used to only dream about
- that while I am not a jewellery person, I am obsessed with my blue topaz engagement ring 🤭
- that I can still smile like in this photo, in spite of everything

Here's to the stew of it all, all my love to you this holiday.

📷️: @creatinglight.studio

Let’s say I’m the Ghost of Christmas Future, b

Let’s say I’m the Ghost of Christmas Future, but way less creepy.⁠
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We’re at a holiday market, the outdoor kind, except everything is ‘brought to you by Nurture’. It’s that magical time of day during the colder months where the light paints everything gold until the violet darkness seeps in and the twinkle lights and lanterns are turned on and lit. There’s the crunch of snow underfoot, but it’s not too cold. You can see your breath in a way that’s fun, where you pretend to be the caterpillar with the hookah from Alice in Wonderland saying “Whooooo. Ahhhhhhhr. Youuuuuu.” to the delight or amused eye roll of your dear friends, who are your companions on this adventure.⁠
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At the Nurture market entrance, a jovial couple from the neighbouring farm greets you like an old friend and hands you a cup of brown butter eggnog punch (spiked, if you like) that warms you to your core. Something pops and sizzles at the nearby fire pits where people are contentedly warming themselves. You are delighted to discover it’s cast iron cauldrons full of hot melted cheese you can ladle out into a quaint tin mug and dunk torn hunks of homemade sourdough rye into. The barns and chicken coops form a natural kind of open market square, which is dotted with tables adorned with all kinds of festive festoons and laden with exactly the kinds of things you want to bring home as gifts or nudge your partner about to bring home for YOU. In the hay loft, a local bluegrass band plays swinging holiday tunes. You find yourself tapping along as you browse.⁠
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Featured at the market tables are all the incredible small businesses that have contributed to Nurture Self Care Kits past. While we look forward to hosting all past and future contributors as vendors, here’s a small selection of makers who contributed their wares to our recent Fall 2022 Nurture retreat, to give you a taste! ⁠
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Take my hand and walk with me and meet @ariirispara @bloembotanicals @gentledecay @maisonnoirtoronto @happybeet & @sundayscompany…⁠via blog link in bio!
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📷️: @creatinglight.studio⁠
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#canadianmakers #handmadeontario #holidaymarket2022 #supportsmall #shoplocal #womenmade #makersmovement

Her hands, used to picking up laundry and the clut

Her hands, used to picking up laundry and the clutter of a busy household, got to pick up a piece of clay and spend hours with it.

Her head, used to swirling thoughts and the worries of the day, got to a place of quiet contemplation as the vessel took shape beneath her fingers, responding to her tender touch, building up physical walls of yielding clay while her inner walls came down.

Her eyes, used to the familiar, got to gaze on waves as they lapped or frothed on the lake below and linger on the warm glances of new friends who offered solidarity without the need for words.

Her feet, used to the pressure of all they carry on the daily, got to be up on a pillow in a swinging lounge chair as she read more than one paragraph of the novel that's been at her bedside since last Christmas.

Her appetite, used to the rush of harried desk lunches and dinners from the freezer, got up for seconds and sometimes thirds of the meal someone else lovingly made for her.

Her spirit, used to the constant melancholic under-hum of the current world got to think of expansive things, where coincidences became serendipities and walks in a labyrinth were more than an exercise in following footprints in the snow.

Her heart, used to playing second fiddle to others she cares for and about found more pieces of herself to bring into that same warmth.

When you read the sales page for our retreat, it may at first glance feel like a weekend with delicious food and creative workshops in a rambly old farmhouse on a lake. And it is! It is also so much deeper than that, and its those rich layers of meaning and connection that I love hearing from our attendees about the most.

Our feedback forms from our recent retreat are coming in and they are making me profoundly grateful that 2015 me decided that all the hard work, doubt, mistakes, pivots and miracles were worth it to build this space so you can meet yourself in seasons where that's harder to do.

Our 2023 dates are May 12-14th (hello, dear mothers!) and November 17-19th. If you feel called to be Nurtured, our waitlists are open - feel free to comment or DM me your name and email address to be added!

📷️: @katieharrisonphoto

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