My Weekend Retreat In The Mountains
To celebrate an awesome first six months of 2012, and map out the next six, my business power posse and I took off into the mountains for a few days over the weekend.
Susana Frioni, Nicola Chatham and I hired a house up in Springbrook Mountain in the Gold Coast Hinterland. We brainstormed ideas for each of our businesses, went hiking in the rainforest, breathed in the pure mountain air, meditated beside a waterfall, sat by the fire, and ate amazing food. I was in charge of feeding us for the weekend, so I packed up eskies full of produce and whipped up delicious, healthy meals for us. The juicer came as well (of course).
The house we stayed in is called Twin Falls Retreat. It’s so beautiful, with high ceilings, wooden floors, deep spa baths, and beds that were as comfy as clouds. I somehow scored the main bedroom and even had a shower with a window view looking out over the rainforest and mountains.
We completed misjudged how cold it is in the mountains. Hence, all three of us ended up wearing layers of the same clothes and the same socks for three days straight. I personally was more worried about packing enough food than packing enough clothes. We ended up with enough food to stay for a week, and barely enough clothes to keep us warm if we stepped away from the fire. Note for next time!
Here are a few snaps from our trip:
THE HOUSE
THE RAINFOREST
MASTERMINDING IN FRONT OF THE FIRE
PRETTY BIRDS
THE FOOD
Quinoa, coconut oil chips, and salad with pistachio nuts and chickpeas
Baked veggie patties made with brown rice and tonnes of veggies
Coconut milk veggie curry with brown rice (this recipe, but without lentils)
Dessert: Raw cashew cheesecake with berries (from Eat Awesome e-book) PLUS choc-chia pudding (recipe on this post).
Positive affirmation for the day: The rest of 2012 is going to be freaking amazing!
MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR PLATE: HOW TO END YOUR TORTURED RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD.
HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR COPY OF MY NEW E-BOOK YET? CLICK HERE TO READ WHY THIS BOOK WILL PUT AND END TO THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF DEPRIVATION, BINGING, AND GUILT FOREVER.
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Looks like one fantastic mastermind, Jess! Hope you guys got loads of ideas. You have inspired me to create one in Melbourne. Now to find some business power posses and a scenic place to go. I guess I’ll be looking after the food! 
Oh that looks like so much fun! And with such lovely girls!! 
(I don’t know Nicola personally, but I do know Miss Frioni!) The food looks yummy too.
Yay Jess! Your camera takes such awesome pics. Thanks for chronicling, cooking for and sharing our precious weekend xxxxx I can’t wait to do it again!!!!
Jess this looks like such an amazing weekend for the soul!
The pictures are stunning.
Glad you had a great time x
This looks like so much fun! The Gold Coast Hinterland looks SO beautiful, definitely on my list to visit. xx
I love your comment about being worried about not packing enough food! haha That would be me to
Looks beautiful Jess and sounds like the perfect balance of biz brainstorming and total relaxation. xx
Looks like a blissful getaway… and the food – yum!!
Springbrook is a lovely area. I particularly like the view from “Best of all” Lookout. However, I recently had visitors from China and took them up there (I live on the Gold Coast) only to find when we got to the lookout, it had a very neat cloud over the top and we could see absolutely nothing. LOL!
This looks fantastic!! Must have felt so amazing to get back into nature. Really make a weekend getaway into the mountains some time this year! Thanks for the inspiration Jess! And the food – YUM! xo
Beautiful – I need a posse like that!!!
We used to go up to Springbrook Mountains every winter but it is SO cold, its shocking isn’t it! We stopped going because its hard to keep kids warm and they ended up just crying all night long and getting sick, not a relaxing holiday!!
Wow – how fantastic!
So important to get away from it all and renew your love for your business!
xx Denise
What a great way to get away and refresh,,,awesome photos,,,especially the last one(close to my heart
Thank you for sharing Jess. Looked like just the perfect get away to inspire and refresh. Loved the photos. Best Wishes with your business endeavours.
That looks like an awesome weekend of girly goodness! Quality time with friends who are like-minded and like-motivated is always so refreshing/stimulating/uplifting!!
Thank you for your blog. thank you for sharing your story. I am so happy to have found you! I am in my early 30′s and I went through some of the breast cancer treatments my oncologist recommended this year and have been reading like crazy about holistic approaches and maintaining a healthy body! I am so excited to learn of others who are or have been on a similar journey!
I went on a retreat recently too! I am learning to relax!
love, Gwen
Gwen » Thanks so much Gwen! Wishing you all the best for your healing journey xx
So nice to see you getting out and about – your trip looked so wonderful and restive!!
Can I assume that your cancer is completely gone now or are you just on a break from Gerson? How is your mom? I think about her a lot as I have been recently diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer (it’s in my lungs).
Thanks for all your positive energy and words – I always feel that if you can keep moving, so can I!
Cyndi McFarland » Thanks Cyndi! I completed two years of Gerson in April and now I am on a modified version of the program. Here is a post I wrote about my status: http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/2012/04/holy-crap-i-did-it-the-gerson-two-year-mark/ My mum is doing really well. I will be writing a post updating her really soon. Wishing you all the best for your healing – you absolutely can keep moving. xx