Paula invited these inquisitive eyes in and it was one painting in particular that they were drawn to, the piece called ‘Cultivated Aromas’. This is an oil painting of the famous Hanneli Rupert Rose. A rose that was cultivated in honour of the matriarch of the La Motte family farm and cherished by all those who work on the farm. Paula said that nearly every farm worker wanted a selfie in front of Hanneli's roses and I can understand why. They are magnificent. 

Fleurs de La Motte is a celebration of La Motte’s flora, combining the indigenous beauty of fynbos against the slopes of the Wemmershoek mountain. It is this emotion of colour, symbolic value and captivating detail of the tiniest and most delicate parts of the flowers that Paula has captured. 

La Motte has a close association with, and admiration of, one of South Africa's most well-known artists, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef. Bizarrely, I recently found my primary school workbooks and discovered that in 7th grade we had learnt about him and the familiar South African landscape paintings that he's most famous for.

They celebrate Pierneef and his work in a variety of ways. They have a gallery of his work, a range of Pierneef wines in tribute, and a restaurant called Pierneef à La Motte's Chef's Table, led by chef Michelle Theron.

First let's talk about...

The Restaurant

Or rather, let us look at some photos of what we ate, and drool and daydream about plowing through this food like a swarm of rabid locusts (I'm not proud. I can own this behaviour.).

Yes, that Falke - the company who makes the awesome socks that everyone who's ever done even a spot of sport has a pair of, because they are awesome.

My favourites in the new range are the stay-ups that to me channel the 1930s / 1940s. They come in black and beige. While Falke's version is a stay-up with a pretty sexy lace detailing, stockings at that time came up just above the knee and were held up with utility garters (it was considered taboo at the time to be baring any leg - what a waste!).

The stitch print at the back of Falke's tights actually has a bit of history to it: fabrics in the 30s to 40s era were obviously not as fancy and magical as they are today. The "tubes" we now have to put our legs into weren't a thing except for in rare and expensive knitted versions, and stockings were mostly seamed and stitched up the back.

A little bit of tangentially related trivia about America's Great Depression. There was no shortage of things to be bleak about at the time. According to this historical account, women were asked to give up their stockings as donations because the materials that they were made from (nylon and silk) were needed to make parachutes for use in the war. As a result, women panicked and stockpiled. Obviously.

And so the law stepped in to regulate pricing and availability. So, if you laid a hole into your stockings, you did not throw them out: you mended them. Fortunately today we can own many pairs in many styles and colours! But anyway, you should have a read through Vintage Dancer's awesome blog post with more interesting information and some pretty great photos. Here are a couple that I've found on the internet in general, just to give you an idea:

This marvellous image is from Snobby Tours, of Texas.

A very short distance before you turn off into Groot Constantia is a beautiful little centre called Constantia Village. It hosts lovely little boutiques and restaurants - well worth a visit.

Last week, we attended an event to Celebrate Constantia at the centre, and it really did feel like a celebration. There was live music, tastings from local wineries, chefs, breweries and a variety of proudly South African goodness.

Do you know what that is?

Wine. It's WINE.

Put your desires and intentions out into the universe and watch them manifest, they say. Well, tickle me pink and call me a convert, because that business is real, my friends, and I have consumed the proof.

In celebration of Leap Day on Monday, Spier Secret sent us a this glorious thing:

"Curated and run by Studio H, this weekly farmers market is focussed on bringing together lots of artisanal everything. The offerings include tasty treats, ethical and sustainable produce and products, indigenous plants, happy silk worms, and more. We'd love for you to stop by for a relaxing day outdoors in the shade of the ancient oaks on Spier's newly-restored historic werf. "

After we rolled around in all of the pink shredded paper like little kids, we found the gorgeous bottle of Fairview Brut MCC, which was promptly flung into the fridge to be opened when the clock struck five pm.

The good news for all of us is that Yuppiechef's great service is bringing Fairview's delicious wines straight to our doorsteps - as serial online shoppers, we revel in the idea of door to door wine delivery. I mean, there's nothing more terrifying than a mall on a holiday. (That's a whole big pile of nope as far as I'm concerned.)

That my friends, in amongst the vineyards, under the trees, is a beetroot tarte tatin with sour cream and "magic greens" (a mix of over 20 micro herb, vegetable and salad leaves). I DON'T EVEN LIKE BEETROOT! And there I was shoveling it in my face like a fat kid with cake.

Jess Shepard, you are a wizard.

Other amazing treats on the menu included

• Homemade ricotta whipped with lemon and thyme
• Pickled grapes
• Broad beans (from Spiers biodynamic garden) mashed with goats pecorino, garlic and olive oil
• Schoon de Companje bread and Hjike real farm butter
• Slow braised pork neck with crackling and roast potatoes
• And then the most beautiful desert: rhubarb ice cream with strawberry compote and rose geranium jelly

The launch was hosted in a very beautiful art gallery called Rust-en-Vrede in Durbanville, and Simone from Yellow Papaya did all the catering, as well as putting out the decor and gifts, on her own because her partner Yolandi wasn't well and unfortunately had to miss the event that she'd been working her butt off for, what a shame. Hope you're feeling better, Yolandi.