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Rose and Thorns

easy chocolate chip cookies
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Easy Chocolate Cookies

being an influencer
Lifestyle

How to survive the world of the Influencer

Lifestyle

The Rose & Thorns guide to: Being a lekker wedding guest

Lifestyle

The Rose & Thorns guide to: Enjoying your wedding

Lifestyle

My favorite photos of 2019

My girls Love..., Parenthood

Encouraging imaginary newborn doll play for all

  • easy chocolate chip cookies
    Food & Drink

    Easy Chocolate Cookies

    With the national lock-down looming for South Africa, don’t forget to add chocolate and baking goods to your grocery…

    March 24, 2020
  • being an influencer
    Lifestyle

    How to survive the world of the Influencer

    Among the top 20 hated words of the last decade, “Influencer” weighs in pretty heavily, eliciting mass eye-rolling and…

    March 6, 2020
  • Lifestyle

    The Rose & Thorns guide to: Being a lekker wedding guest

    Are you attending a wedding soon? Here’s some hot tips on how to enjoy yourself without stomping over the…

    February 28, 2020
  • Lifestyle

    The Rose & Thorns guide to: Enjoying your wedding

    Need to plan your wedding and actually enjoy it, or just commiserate on what you wish you did differently,…

    February 27, 2020
  • Lifestyle

    My favorite photos of 2019

    Wow, what a year! January 2019 was the moment I stepped out of the boat and into the waves…

    December 30, 2019
  • My girls Love..., Parenthood

    Encouraging imaginary newborn doll play for all

    There’s a gender-confined “rule” that at some young age a girl should receive her very first newborn doll. When…

    December 13, 2019
  • Explore, Food & Drink

    Leopard’s Leap makes family lunches lovely

    A few weeks ago we were invited to try the Rotisserie lunch at Leopard’s Leap in Franschhoek and it…

    December 3, 2019
  • Food & Drink

    Join the Rugani juice revolution

      How do you incorporate veggies into your kid’s diet? I don’t how about you, but before having kids…

    November 18, 2019
  • Lifestyle

    2019 Local Christmas Wish List

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year and whilst I exert a good deal of energy into remembering…

    October 28, 2019
  • Explore, Food & Drink

    Family lunch at Perdeberg

    Getting out with the kids deserves some form of trophy. I feel really strongly about this, as someone who…

    October 18, 2019
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Hello!

Hello!

I'm Shante Hutton, mother to two wonderful girls, Rosie and Cece. Welcome to my lovely (and raw) world of parenting, food, wine, travel and British sarcasm.

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  • *Is it me, or is it the algorithm?* . . . 3 reasons for being on SM: 1️⃣You want to share memories 2️⃣You want to connect/socialize 3️⃣You want to have a career in it. Often we start at 1 and progress to 3. (Making this a career is NOTHING to be guilty or ashamed about fyi...when done right) . . . Recently, I’ve seen a few posts in SM groups asking why engagement has been so low & coz I have zero degrees in this field🧐😆 I thought I would weigh in on the why: . . 🗣 Instagram is shadow-banning, even removing, some posts that include covid hashtags in an effort to stop false news being spread 🗣Everyone is posting right now. There is a flood of content and people don’t have the time (juggling life and families) to scroll 🗣 You’re not necessarily adding value to the platform. @creativ.and.kin said it so well in her latest post - are you actually giving? Your followers are under no obligation to engage and like your content. SM is a conversation. It involves giving and receiving but it cannot be forced. Have you ever tried to pull info about your kid’s day when you pick them up from school? It’s like paper-cutting your eyelids. You will always get ghost followers. You will always have Carrie O’complain who slides into your DMs to moan at you. Focus on what you wish someone would give you and offer it first - if you want the engagement, reach out, listen to what people need right now and what they will need later 🗣 And finally, maybe it is your content? Maybe it’s too samey and your followers are getting fatigued. With so many posts on kid’s activities perhaps people are feeling like it’s just an extension of home life and they need something more? Maybe it’s all sponsored posts and nothing feels personal? . . NB: This platform changes DAILY, don’t lose your mind trying to “get it”. . . . Ways to get engagement right now: . 🖤Be on stories & do videos - I feel like it’s all happening there right now (@cath_beth has been saying this for ages 😆) 🖤Be funny! We could all do with humor right now & I’ve seen some incredibly creative posts circling 🖤Team up with others 🖤Give yourself . . . #hardworkpaysoff #authenticself #contentmarketing #femaleentrepreneur
  • *When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile* . . . Just in time, we received a hamper with some yummies from @cadbury_sa including: 🍫A box of Cadbury Fluffies 🍫Cadbury Milk chocolate eggs, one filled with Astros, the other with Whispers... and I would appreciate if y’all can clap for me coz I’ve managed to share some 😇 . . . Next week it will be Easter (I know, it doesn’t really feel like it) and to throw a little goodness your way I’ve got two Cadbury goodie bags - with chocolate, hessian bag, bunny and Cadbury crafts - to give away to two followers. . . To enter, simply scream really loudly into the atmosphere OR: 🟣Follow me and @cadbury_sa . 🟣Like this post and tag a friend who needs chocolate right now 🟣Bonus points for a story share (Comp ends 8th April 7pm. Please don’t spam tag. I see those who follow me for the comps and then unfollow me when they don’t win 😒 The hamper will be sent as soon as lockdown is over so hold on for the yums! SA only. Not endorsed by Instagram) . . . I’m going to be sharing some delicious Easter recipes and Easter craft ideas with you in a blog post in the next few days…if I haven’t eaten all my baking goods and chocolate by then 😌🥴 . . . . . #chocolateoverload #bloglife #giveaway #theeverygirl #makeyousmile #easteregg #yum #foodstagram
  • *Dear Lord, please make me as steadfast and constant as our daily piles of washing* . . . ▪️Clean your house for two hours ▪️Watch your kids destroy it within 10 mins ▪️Repeat. Indefinitely WELCOME TO PARENTING! . . . Aside from the occasional vacuuming and mopping, I’m ignoring the state of the house. I’m at the stage of just walking from room to room with my eyes half closed so I can’t see the destruction. If I really squint hard enough, it looks artistic. Maybe we can take the mess to the @tate art museum and win a prize or something🤷🏻‍♀️. . . . It’s kinda beautiful though, just letting the kids explore pockets of their new universe in varying ways. Cece loves looking through all the books...and spreading them all over the floor...and Rosie likes to spend time playing imaginary games in her room which consist of taking all her clothing out of the wardrobe. . . . And as for all the washing, let’s just say that I now see the appeal in nudist colonies. . . . Are you guys trying to keep the house tidy or is it just not a factor in your survival right now? . . . . . #childhood #letthembelittle #momlife #momcommunity #honestmotherhood #justmomlife #messy_motherhood #parentinglife #ourcandidlife
  • *Oh no she better don’t!!* . . . I remember the old days (3 weeks ago) when any toy that made a noise was a potential liability and now, I welcome them with open arms and a pleading look on my face. . . When @primatoys sent this collection of LeapFrog toys to us it was like a literal light shining out of an angel’s bum. I was ecstatic because I could foresee moments of time in which I could get menial tasks underway whilst the kids are entertained by something educational AND fun. . . So what did we receive? 💟LeapFrog 100 Words Book. This bad boy not only teaches English, but also French and yes, Rosie now knows a few colors in French and I’m totes smug about it...except that the way she screams marron sounds a lot like mooooom 🤔. The toy is super easy to use, has varying sound levels (bonus) and teaches with facts, songs and sound affects. It’s my fave of the lot. 💟 LeapFrog Chat & Count Smart Phone. This is Rosie’s fave and has more than 15 activities. It has a “guess the picture” game which Rosie loves and she’s very into calling all her family members and having fat chats about my cooking skills. 💟LeapFrog Storytime. Bella the pink dog reads 5 stories to the kids to introduce early reading skills and she plays lullabies for bedtime - this has been the least used of the 4 which I found really surprising. 💟LeapFrog Dino Book. This one fits Cece really well. It’s easy to carry and with lots of light up buttons and sound options. With 3 modes, letters, story and music, we’re very much set on the latter with Cece. . . . I had this grand idea of getting Rosie to do a video review (maybe in French 😌) but that could be a reach. If a video isn’t on the cards, I’m gonna jab a few words into a blog post to give a bigger run down on the toys. . . Whilst I know they might not be considered “essential” buys right now, I know there are birthdays coming up and “hooray we made it” celebrations to prepare for 😉 . . . . Sponsored post ya’ll 😻 #childhoodunplugged #candidchildhood #enchantedchildhood #ourwhimsicaldays #ourplayfulstyle #letthembelittle #magicofchildhood #thehappynow #mytinymoments #toyreview
  • *This mess, this beautiful chaos, this constellation of burning souls - this is family* . . . Oh hey guys, we’re just busy making memories over here. . . Today I threw a wobbly. I got a bit emotional over things because I couldn’t control them. And I’ve realized that the only way I’m going to be able to mentally survive this period of time is to unchain myself from what I think I should be doing; to release this rigid need to have xyz done a specific way. . . I tried to do some work today because financially we freakin need it, but having the kids at home made it difficult and instead of changing the way I work, I tried to box everyone into a frame of what I’m used to. Disaster. Add to that the fact that my anxiety is showing in my skin (hives) and hair (loss) and Cece is cutting teeth and testing all the rules. . . . But a good friend reminded me that in a few years, God willing, when our kid’s look back at this period of time, they will hopefully remember the games we played, the silly faces we pulled, the baking, the laughter, the love...not the fact that we were shut indoors and their parents were going crazy. . . . Tomorrow is a new chance to imprint something lovely on our kid’s memories - it doesn’t have to be a mad-ass craft, it doesn’t have to be fancy or “gramable”...it can be a day spent in bed, watching movies, endless hugs or even fancy dress with mum’s clothes (anyone else just letting their kid’s wear whatever they feel like?) . This is not a normal situation, but it is your situation and you don’t need to make it fit into anything you’ve ever known, just make it work for you and your loved ones . . . . . . #21shutdownshots #rememberthesedays #documentyourdays #thehappynow #littlemomentsofhappiness #mytinymoments #littlefierceones #kidsforreal #parentingwin #raisingthefuture #cameramama #lovingtheordinarymoments #everythingtribe #photosinbetween #littlefamiliesofig
  • *You are not the shadows your light creates* . . . There is a hungry beast of fear pervading our senses; It’s prowling from home to home and holding us hostage with shackles of anxiety, insomnia, depression and anger. It’s lying in our beds, eating from our fridges and slinking from room to room with all the grace of a ballerina. . . There is such a lot of fear because our world has been turned upside down and a darkness seems to have settled upon us all. A darkness that is trying to drive out all memory of joy, love, hope and light. . But, dear hearts, we can only know darkness because we first know light. . . We can only have shadows because there is a light. . . When night falls, we don’t panic wondering where the sun has gone...and boy are we in a seemingly endless night BUT, and I say this with all earnest, there will be day again - maybe not in the way we are used to but it is inevitable, for the darkness can only exist to honor the light to come. . . And maybe it’s the waiting and the “what ifs” that are making us so much more fearful. Maybe it’s the fact that we don’t know what our new “day” will look like once the world goes back to “normal”. It’s a lot of maybes. A lot of shared worry and concern. And I don’t mean to trivialize the horror of what we have seen in the dark. Not at all. . . Right now, for me personally, I believe that the best thing we can do is to offer a light to those who need a way made visible; to shine a flaming torch into areas that need warmth, clarity and fears dispersed. . . And I’m going wield a burning flame till I can no longer hold up my arms. . . . . . . #21shutdownshots #thatauthenticfeeling #littlestoriesofmylife #momentsofmine #lifewellcaptured #kindredmemories #subjectlight #inbeautyandchaos #thephotographerwithin #portraitpage #portriats_ig #nothingisordinary_ #lifewellcaptured #dearphotographer
  • *Double points to me for actually wearing a bra today!* . . . I am SO unbelievably overjoyed to know that so many people are joining in with #21shutdownshots - you amaze me! . . I had all these ideas for day 1 (should I try and be elaborate and fancy, should I be naked, should I use a lot of photoshop...) and then I thought, let me just be “me”. . . . So here is my self-portrait. Taken in my spare room. With my camera on a tripod, set to a timer of 10 seconds so I have to dash like a maniac to the front and make sure I’m aligned with my focus point. This is a person who has been socially distancing for two weeks and I’m feeling slightly nuuuuts. . . Sans makeup. Sans pants (thank goodness for crop). Wet hair. Don’t care. . . . NOW SHOW ME YOUR SELFIES!! You can share in your feed or to your stories. Let’s just keep the creative juices flowing and give ourselves a little nudge to see, intentionally, the magic in our current situation... . . . . . . . #thisisme #selfportrait #nothingisordinary #verilymoment #lifewellcaptured #choosejoy #documentaryphotography #capturethemoment #photooftheday
  • *We were together, I forget the rest* . . . I’m not gonna sugar coat 3 weeks and pretend that for everyone it will be a holiday. For many, it will feel like jail time. For many, it will be a period of intense worry and anxiety - fearful for lack of income and the inability to reach high-risk family members. . . In this time, you don’t need to pretend you’re doing fine. Whilst it may feel like we’re all individual islands right now, we have the power of social media to keep us together. We can check in on our friends, our loved ones and offer emotional support. . . For those with local businesses who have felt particularly shattered and broken. We can help by sharing and engaging with content and supporting financially by purchasing vouchers - this will hopefully assist a lot of us to hit the ground running once lock-down has finished. . . . If you have any other ways in which we can support each other then do share - I’ve been so blessed to feel such a sense of community and comradery - thank you, you juicy little jelly babies! . . . . . #strongertogether #stayhome #wewillprevail #empowerment #thisismove #giveyourselfgrace #forthegreatergood #dearphotographer #photooftheday #picoftheday #justgoshoot #visuallife #canonphotography
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