~ blog ~

Rebekka is from Nashville Tennessee.  She is the wonderful, talented lady behind Camellia Fiber Company and one of the hosts at the Slow Living Workshop.

And what a workshop it was.

Throughout the days we worked on our styling, photography and visual story telling.  We ate!  We spoke about building a portfolio and creating a social media presence (something I personally run from).  We ate some more.  And in between all of the styling, photography and eating, we delved into the natural dye process with Rebekka using local, foraged plants and flowers to brighten rustic kitchen linens - something I'd never heard of before but feel in love with......

That wonderful fruit we call the strawberry.  

Filled with antioxidants, they have amazing anti-inflammatory properties helping prevent chronic illnesses caused by excessive inflammation in the body.  This includes cardiovascular disease, heart disease and several types of cancer.  They help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and help improve your blood sugar regulation by stopping blood sugar spikes, leaving you feeling energized and full, and not tired and hungry like most sugars do.

Does this mean they counteracted the sugary goodness that lay peacefully underneath them in this tart?

Katie is a forager and a florist.  She is the talent behind Katie Marx Flowers and she is the owner (along with husband Greg) of the mind-blowing beauty that is Butterland - our home base for the Slow Living Workshop.

Based in the Victorian country town of Newstead, Butterland was the perfect place to feel inspired from the inside out.  Katie's flower arrangements were the cherry on top and her outfit made me feel I had one foot in Paris and the other in the Australian countryside.

Two of my favourite things!

It doesn't take much for me to feel giddy, but it does take a bit of effort for me to swoon, and I was swooning all over the place when afternoon tea was layed out before us at the Slow Living Workshop.

I touched briefly on the splendid beauty of Fig and Salt here, but this is no longer a little girl crush.  

I'm seriously in love.

Food Styling, I've just discovered, is actually a foreign concept to me.  Go figure?

I cook a dish, I photograph it, and then I devour it.

The problem with this little method of mine, for me personally, is that I'm usually so hungry by the photographing stage that I give no time to styling the shot or developing the story.  I simply take a few quick snaps and Bob's your uncle.  Voila!

Thank God this workshop and Beth came into my life .  Not only is this simple little step so necessary, it also puts the biggest smile on my face.  I'm a long long way away from producing anything even vaguely close to Beth's level, but that's ok.  I figure the journey so far is what has brought me inquisitively to this point in time, and I've loved every minute of it!

I have that wonderful Nina Simone song playing over and over in my head.... Tomorrow is My Turn.

And in particular, the line "We all like the right to find the key to success".  It's a theme that's been personally turning around in my head for a little while now and I can tell you with complete and utter certainty that the talented people behind the catering company Fig and Salt have already found it.

This pie was my proof!

A day back in August was the day I almost peed myself with excitement as I'd booked into a the Slow Living:  A Practical Workshop being hosted by one of my favourite food styling photographers....Beth Kirby of Local Milk.

Do you remember?

You can just imagine that if I was that excited just booking the ticket, what I was like packing the car and taking off to the Victorian countryside to get started.

I was in a state of pure bliss from the bear hug I received from Luisa Brimble (fellow host and photographer extraordinaire) on first arriving, to the mouthwatering Welcome Dinner organised by Local Gatherings, to the prop table filled from top to bottom with items that set my heart fluttering, right through to the very last photo I snapped two days later.  I didn't want it to ever end.