a world of difference

A big congratulations goes out to Fran, a friend of b+c's who is one of 8 winners in this years UK Vodafone World Of Difference program. 

Fran has taken on a role as Project Coordinator with Latin America Foundation for the Future (LAFF) in Peru for the next 12 months. LAFF reaches out to young people who have been abandoned and provides support in the form of children's homes, shelters and nurseries. 

Fran will be setting up a skills training programme involving sustainable social business ventures for the most vulnerable. We wish her all the best in her new role and thank her for inspiring us all!  

mixing it up

Every now and then it is good to mix things up and offer a little spice to life! Our dear friend has done just that with the utterly genious make me a mix tape. It is truly a joy and not just because you can whittle away hours of "meant to be at work time" listening to her fav tracks but you will always, without a doubt come away with a smile on your dial!

However, we must ask her forgiveness for not mentioning this earlier! In fact I have been meaning to tell everyone of this ladies talents for a while now but have been too busy trying to get through hours of her mixing madness that I haven't had a chance!

I am listening to the latest mix now and I can highly recommend it! Love your work Miss Katie Dazzle x

herbs round two

Last year I posted here about my new herb garden. Well, sadly when I was in Kenya and my flatmate was in Ireland... they died. Now we're both in new homes - and this weekend we both have new herb gardens! Sadly mine were purchased at Bunnings, and hers at the more glamorous Petersham Nurseries...

I love Izzy's re-use of a once well loved oak wine barrel... I planted ours about half an hour ago in this cool trough we had under a tree in our back garden...

... not quite as established as Izzy's yet, but it will be blooming in no time at all with some Sydney sunshine! I planted some pretty flowers to cheer up my window sill too - alas I can't see them ever making it to my window sill - too much thinking required on how to secure them!

Come and visit us soon Izzy! And bring Harriet with you! xx A

ANZAC biscuits

This lovely photo is from Pia's blog. Her friend brought her these ANZAC biscuits right to her door on ANZAC day. There were also ANZAC biscuits being baked in my house on Saturday, and although I didn't take a photo of them they were delicious. Good baking Amber!

pretty christmas idea.....

Our friend Felicity has always been so creative, but this I think is especially beautiful.  She has made these "snow flakes" for her front window. They sound so simple to make and look so pretty, only Fliss could come up  with such a great idea. Read more about how she made them here.

friday again!

Thank goodness! It's been a long week! I do believe we only have five Fridays left in Sydney before we will all be in Katolo to continue community consultations and begin construction for the Secondary School for Girls. Woo hoo!

Tonight we're heading to our alma mater, The University of Sydney to check out the final year architecture students' exhibition.



[in]form Graduate Exhibition 2008 is on at the Wilkinson Building at The University of Sydney, 148 City Road, Darlington from 6pm. Hope to see you there and if not have a lovely, sunny weekend!

it's Friday........

Everyone must love Fridays, right? It's going to be a lovely weekend, with summer well and truly on its way how could it not be?

We are looking forward to Avalon Market day, on Sydney's northern beaches. It's always a fun day, lots of great stalls, people and music.....and for me a great chance to catch up with lots of old friends. This lovely lady is having a stall selling these. Hope that everyone has a lovely weekend wherever they are!

Photos from here.

we're so excited...and we just can't hide it...

We're heading to Kenya soooooo soon! We've raised the cash, are finalising the masterplan and preparing for Stage 1 construction of the Secondary School for Girls which will kick off when we're in Katolo in January.

On Sunday at AfroFunk we met Sarah from Hands of Help who will be in Kenya in January too. Kisumu will be the party capital of Kenya on the 20th January when Barack Obama is inaugurated as President. We'll most likely be celebrating with locals at the Jomo Kenyatta stadium in Kisumu or creating a party of our own with anyone who might be in Kisumu too? Let us know if you will be near by!


Meanwhile, how cute are our gorgeous friends Toyi and Scorvel - we can't wait to see them!

MOvember

It's MOvember time again! The month formerly known as November is upon us again and some of our nearest and dearest are growing and grooming their mo's to raise money and awareness for men's health - specifically prostate cancer and male depression.

It's a great cause and a great fundraising event for the whole month. So if you can: grow your mo, and if you can't: make sure you sponsor someone who is, or donate here!

introducing zoe mcmahon

We'd like to introduce you to the lovely Zoe........

Zoe is going to be the photographer for our bricks + cartwheels gala dinner this Saturday night! We are so excited that Zoe is doing the photography for us, not only is she our great friend she is also an amazingly talented photographer. So a big THANK  YOU to Zoe for volunteering her services for the evening. This is a sneak peak at some of Zoe's work........

You can check out more of Zoe's work here, make sure you have a look she rocks!

national ride to work day

is on tomorrow the 15th of October, all around Australia. So if you've ever thought about riding your bike to work, university or school tomorrow is the day to give it a go! Riding a bike is an excellent way to get around, it's fast, cheap, keeps you fit and is good for the environment.... how could you resist! So check out the website here and register here.

Speaking of bikes, one of our friends is riding his bike from Alaska to Patagonia..... pretty amazing huh? We've recently seen some photos, and they are amazing. 

Makes riding to work seem pretty do able. 

woo hoo washington!

HUGE congratulations to our friend and colleague in Kenya, Washington Wycliffe. He's just been elected Student Chairman for Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture in Kisumu, Kenya. We've always known Washington to be a smooth talker and thought he'd be a great politician, so this great achievement comes as no surprise to us!

'I believe that everyone has a chance to contribute to change. We all have a special purpose, don't sit back, move forward and contribute to the change we need in this world. It starts with you. Be a vision maker.'

Washington grew up in Katolo, Kenya - where we're currently working to design and build the new Secondary School for Girls. What a great example for all the youth of Kenya to aspire to. We're inspired.

bricks for thought

We'd like to introduce you to our lovely friend Yeong and her awesome blog called down the rabbit hole. Yeong is a writer and she has written a great piece about us here at bricks + cartwheels. 

It's called bricks for thought, and we're actually overwhelmed by her words. We're sure Yeong is going to make a huge name for herself in the world of journalism. She really does have a way with words, and we're so excited she has written something about us! Make sure you check out the blog here and the bricks for thought story here!

soundscapes

Has anyone else been following Pia's soundscapes? They are amazing and can transport you all around the world..... from Paris to Amsterdam and even Sydney's Northern beaches. This soundscape is especially special and really is worth the click, it transports you to a beautiful place and a very intimate little concert. 

We've mentioned Pia before here and here , she is amazing. 

a new blog to watch

Sophie Daley the photographer and bikini designer, previously mentioned here has a new blog. It's called my lens of love and is a collection of photography, design, moments, art, music and people that inspire Sophie. It's sure to become a daily read, as with everything the talented Sophie does it looks beautiful. 

Melbourne trip - art deco exhibition

One of the bricks + cartwheels gang along with a few friends spent a great 5 days in Melbourne last week. There was so much to see and do, we shopped, ate, drank, visited art galleries and walked a lot. There is something about Melbourne that is so interesting and fun. The laneways throughout the city could be explored for weeks on end I'm sure. The highlight of the trip was definitely our visit to the NGV to see the Art Deco exhibition that is on at the moment. 

The exhibition was huge and full of absolutely beautiful and inspiring things. It really explained how Art Deco covered a huge range disciplines from painting to architecture, fashion, home wares, cars and much more. It was also very interesting to see how Art Deco was influenced by different countries, cultures and people.  I would say it is worth a trip to Melbourne purely to see this exhibition. It was excellent! More Melbourne tales to come...... 

blog love

The lovely Pia, from the wonderful blog Enhance the Everyday has recently written a lovely blog about us here at bricks + cartwheels and our talented friend Felicity. We love Pia's blog and its high on our list of must reads everyday. We're so overwhelmed she reads our blog let alone mentioned us on hers, so thanks Pia! We hope you enjoy Sydney, shame about the dreary weather.... 

Pia's blog is always updated with cool and interesting treats from around the globe so make sure you check it out. Above are some of Pias photos, a little peek to inspire you to click onto her blog. 

sneak peek

The bricks + cartwheels team succesfully ran and finished the city2surf on the weekend. It was a great day and there will be more photos and stories to come. I just couldn't resist posting this as soon as possible. This photo was featured in the Sydney Morning Herald and shows 2 of our wonderful runners having a great time, running their hearts out. A final tally of funds raised and exciting snippets from our day will be up soon, so stay tuned.

the table for 20 verdict

So we LOVE Table for 20. The space is beautiful, the food is excellent and the concept is just so cool. All the staff are lovely AND a percentage of their profits go to the Hope Street mission, which is around the corner in Surry Hills. $80,000.00 so far.... we will definitely be going back. It's the most understated restaurant/bar i've ever been to so don't tell too many people!
Photos above were taken by the lovely Flea during our dinner.

table for 20

A few of us (the not so sick ones) are trying out this restaurant tonight for a friends birthday. It sounds pretty interesting and cool. One table for 20 people only. They say they don't do trendy, or restaurant reviews or promotion. Just feeds for locals.... the owners think it's important for people to share a meal together. I think it sounds great and we'll be sure to report back. Although with only 20 places each night it might be better to keep this one a bit quiet.... shhhhh!