Nurture

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RETREATS
SERVICES
HARVEST TABLE DINNERS
BLOG
ABOUT
CONTACT
- APPLY

RETREATS
SERVICES
HARVEST TABLE DINNERS
BLOG
ABOUT
CONTACT
- APPLY

Sonja Seiler, founder of Nurture

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

Hi friends, it’s Steph here. 👀

Sonja doesn’t know I’m hacking into her account to post this (but it’s Scorpio season and she shouldn’t give me all her passwords if she doesn’t want me to use my powers for good!! 😈) but I’m here because I need your help.

This photo is live footage of Sonja *quite literally* filling our cups at a recent retreat. This is what she does! She holds space for us, she nourishes us in body and soul, she lifts us up and connects us with one another.

Even as I write this, she is taking care of my dog while I am away. She just designed an over the top, delicious, pun-filled, romance-novel-themed menu for our book club retreat without even being asked.

This is just who she is. She gives us her whole heart every day through her food, her friendship, her singing, her hugs.

And you’d never know it, but Sonja has had a really hard time lately, and this week especially.

So I want us to fill HER cup for a change, as a community. To share some of our nurturing with her. So if you want to join me, here are two simple things you could do:

🍯In the comments below, share your favourite memory with Sonja & how she’s touched your life, or just send some big love her way.

🙏🏼 If you know anyone who might want to come to Nurture this fall, tag them in the comments. I think it would make her whole week to have that spot go to the person who needs it most right now.

And thank you! For loving my friend and sending her some of that sweetness. ❤️

PS. Sonja, I’m sorry, I know hacking is bad. But love makes you do stupid things sometimes!

📸 @katieharrisonphoto

I am someone whose radar always is set to: what wi

I am someone whose radar always is set to: what will we be eating? ⁠
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I want to know will there be snacks and will they be good snacks. I want to know will the portions be rationed or will there be a feast of things I can choose from with abandon. ⁠
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Part of me relaxes when there is bounty, like my shoulders physically un-knot and my whole being feels a sense of enoughness and delight. It never made sense to me to ration delight. ⁠
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When presented with a feast - of colour, texture, flavour, presentation, all kind of synapses start firing. It's not about overindulgence, but about indulgence of our natural hunger to be fed well - indulging desire, like: I want THAT piece of bread and THIS much butter on it (sliced thick, like cheese, if you're me) and THIS piece of cake and THAT much caramel drizzled on top. It's about how good these colours look together and how nature made these vegetables grow together and taste incredible when paired and the sensuality of sauces pooling into crevices and the snap or gush of something at its height of ripeness. ⁠
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The feasts at Nurture are no accident. I deliberately design them as bounty, to seduce, to inspire, to awaken and to indulge every sense. They are spiritually infused with my love and my delight. They are colourful. They are characters. They are full of hidden creative prompts and edible love notes. Most of the meals have interactive components so you actually get to play with your food: touch it, press it together, have a relationship with it. ⁠
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After 2+ years of forced 'celibacy' in the kitchen, the fact that I can once again design menus for you in this way means I am TURNED ON that I get to cook for you in November. ⁠
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Want to eat my love? If you're hungry, and desire the kind of weekend where you can abandon yourself to a feast of delights, we have ONE more "Nurture Together" room left, open to sharing with your best pal. ⁠
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Come feast with us via the link in bio. Bring your appetites. ⁠
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📷️: @katieharrisonphoto⁠
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#retreat #retreats #ontarioretreat #retreatlife #retreatyourself #retreatchef #weekendretreat #selfcareretreat #retreat2022

@stephpellett is my best friend. When restrictions

@stephpellett is my best friend. When restrictions didn't allow for our usual trips to Bandit Brewery, we recreated those patio vibes 6ft away from one another in my backyard. We even bought the Bandit beer glasses to be legit. 🍻⁠
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We intentionally prioritized our friendship by meeting every Wednesday (and still do!). We call them 'Witchy Wednesdays', because sometimes we're doing magical things like remembering how to have hope. Other times we just cry (or laugh cry) into our beers. ⁠
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We sat in that backyard in every temperature. Once, when the forecast called for rain, we erected a HUGE tarp into a roof of sorts over top of my picnic table like a tent and tried to hear one another's latest gossip over the rat-a-tat of the incessant raindrops. ⁠
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We have a tradition of both attending and hosting retreats together and for the past few years, those needed to pivot online or be cancelled altogether. That's why we're both ELATED that Nurture is back and that getaways together are once again a (mandatory) option for us. We NEED this time away, together. Backyard Banditing helped in a pinch, but we thrive most when we get AWAY from our normal routines. These getaways always enrich us and provide us with much needed perspective in our lives, with tangible and sometimes unexpected solutions to the things that were keeping us caught in old loops. They also increase our inside joke count by at least 10%. #bhajionions⁠
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Because of this practice we've cultivated, to nourish ourselves on retreat, Steph and I felt called to introduce a special shared room offering at Nurture called "Nurture Together". It's for those of you who, like us, value quality time with your special person, away from the familiar, somewhere cozy, safe and beautiful. With the one who knows all your secrets, stays by your side during the hardest of times and snorts when you make really good puns. ⁠
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We have ONE Nurture Together room left for you and your best friend. It's called the Rose Room and it's looking forward to being the backdrop to the most intentional, nourishing and delicious of slumber parties you've been invited to in years! Book today via link in bio.⁠
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📷️: @katieharrisonphoto

My friends, an appeal! ⁠ ⁠ For our retreat Sel

My friends, an appeal! ⁠
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For our retreat Self Care Kits, we collaborate with what I call "Creative Kindreds" - local makers and artisans who generously donate their goods to infuse the entire retreat experience with the spirit of intention, attention to detail and self care. ⁠
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These beautiful products are lovingly packaged and placed on the end of each retreat attendee's bed. These items become real touchstones of this nourishing weekend away. I STILL get messages from past Nurture attendees telling me they are forever hooked on the soap they used at Nurture, or who feel reminded of that weekend when they wear a particular scent. I think it's because we tell the story of each maker and what their business means to them. These products are the expression of the PEOPLE behind them, and it's PEOPLE who we're interested in connecting with. ⁠
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While we have some deliciously incredible submissions for our upcoming Fall retreat so far, we're always curious to get to know and feature new makers. I'd love to know about you, or your friend/cousin/college roommate whose products you love and think would be right at home in that end-of-the-bed package of surprise and delight. Tag them below, or send them to the further info at the link in our bio!⁠
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Can't wait to meet you, can't wait to tell your story, can't wait for your products to be allies in reminding retreat attendees that tending to themselves is important and rewarding!⁠
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📷️: @katieharrisonphoto⁠
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#ontariomaker #madeinto #supportsmall #madeinkw #madeinontario #shoplocal #canadianmakers #makersgonnamake #womenmade #makersmovement

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