Volunteering & Eveleigh Markets

Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014

Spent my morning taking in the sights and sounds of Eveleigh Markets located at Redfern where the Carriageworks are located. It's a stunning community farmers market held every Saturday from 8am - 1pm, where you'll find the most amazing local, fresh, organic and artisan produce including beautiful flowers on offer. 

This is one of my most favourite farmers markets to come to every Saturday where I can taste many of the delicious food; including, steak sandwiches, cupcakes, organic breads, muesli, fudge, coffee and many many more! Other than tasting the many variety of food, I also do my weekly food shop here as I know that the produce is local, fresh and I'm supporting the local community.

Early start at Eveleigh.  Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014.

Beautiful fresh flowers at Eveleigh. Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014

Today was a special day at Eveleigh; I spent my morning volunteering for OzHarvest, a charity close to my heart and a charity that I believe in very much. OzHarvest is essentially a perishable food rescue organisation collecting quality excess food from many food providers including supermarkets, farmers markets, major events such as The City to Surf, and cafes to name a few; it is then delivered to over 500 charities to provide a nourish meal to those in need. 

Photo Credit: OzHarvest

I've been volunteering for OzHavest for a few years now and every moment has been fun and enjoyable. There are so many events to volunteer at and it's provided me with the opportunities to attend many events (The CEO Cook-Off, The Good Food Month, The Yoga Festival in Bondi) that I wouldn't normally attend and also meet many talented and fun chefs.

Why do I volunteer? Well, I find it so rewarding; a reward that money can't buy! The feeling you get when volunteering is indescribable; you just have to spend time doing something that is not for you and you'll know what I mean. Every time I've volunteered I've walk away feeling so good about myself and knowing that I have been helping (feed) someone more than me.  I'm lucky that I earn an income where I'm able to purchase food and provide myself a nourishing meal; there are many people out there, children to adults, young to old, who don't receive a meal and don't have the funds to provide for themselves so this is where OzHarvest truly helps and supports them. 

Another positive aspect of volunteering is the wonderful people I have met along the way. I've been fortunate to meet other volunteers and have made fabulous friendships, the OzHarvest staff, many of the providers such as the providers as Eveleigh Markets, many celebrity chefs and the most amazing experience is meeting the general public and speak to them about OzHarvest, what we do and why I believe and support them. 

Taylor Square Christmas Markets 2013.    Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2013

CEO Cook-Off at Carriageworks 2014.   Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014.

Think.Eat.Save. 2014 @ Martin Place.  Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014.

If you don't already, I encourage you to volunteer. You can find out more about OzHarvest, by clicking on the links, or find an organisation that is close to your heart, means a lot to you and you support because when it's something you believe in and something you're passionate about, it's not a chore, it's a desire to want to spend time helping.

I would love to hear about your own volunteering experiences and who you support. Please let me know by leaving a comment.  If you're exploring Eveleigh Markets, come find me at the OzHarvest stand; I would love to meet you!

Happy volunteering!

Jo x

A Date with Arianna Huffington

The beautiful Arianna Huffington.
Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014

On Wednesday morning, 10 September 2014, I was treated to a very special breakfast hosted by Business Chicks at the floating Dockside Pavilion, Darling Harbour. Guest speaker Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post, spoke passionately with a fabulous humour about aiming to 'thrive' rather than 'survive'.

A question she asked the 1200 attendee's was something I have been asking many people "what does success mean to you?" I've always personally said that success should have its own personal meaning to you and it will be different for everyone. For me success means being able to enjoy a life that makes me happy; this includes having great friends and family around me, the ability to continue to travel the world, enjoying and sharing good food, the ability to volunteer more and just simply enjoying life to the fullest.

I was delighted to hear that Arianna also had a similar view on success. She said that it's definitely not working until you don't have a life and money doesn't define your success.  It holds truth that if you work 24/7 with the aim to make money then you'll lose out on the family, friends, relationships and living your life because you don't have time for anything else. I believe that working hard does pay off but I also believe in work-life balance and that you can have it all; it's a balancing act, which is life! Busy should not be worn as a badge of honour.

All the fabulous attendees settling in.  Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014.

She discussed the four pillars to thriving and one of them really stayed with me. "Giving", it's a shortcut to happiness and one of the greatest ways to connect with other people. She emphasised that we should be moving away from being competitive with each other and start working collaboratively. Giving back to others create a cycle and the more we can turn this cycle around and around the happier we will be with life. Even giving something small, such as flowers, to someone can create a happy and positive change in that person.

Give someone some flowers.  Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014

The entire talk resinated with me and I could keep writing but I think it would be best for you to attend one of her sessions if you do get a chance. What really resinated with me from Arianna's talk was to keep doing what I'm doing with my blog. She stated that "self expression is the new communication" and if you want to write then just write as you never know who is going to read it. To be honest, when I start my blogging journey, I really didn't and still don't have a end plan of an expectation; all I know is that I wanted to start a blogging journey of my life and share it and since starting I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. 

A few points made by Arianna that I want to live consciously by:

• Getting enough sleep - this will increase our productivity and happiness
• Setting your intentions for the day - big and/or small
• Bringing gratitude into everyday life - even at your toughest moment, you'll realise that you will always overcome them
• Meditation - learning to be in the present 
• Don't be at the mercy of technology - I love Instagram so this is a challenge for me!
• Life is shaped from the inside out
• Remove what isn't serving us.

Dear Arianna, your talk is one of the most inspiring talk that I have been to in a while. I walked away from your session feeling positive, confident and strong and wanting to get home to blog blog blog. I just want to write and even if only a few (thousand) read my posts I hope that I can inspire them to live life, enjoy every moment and hope to create change that makes people happy. 

I hope to meet you again one day and learn even more from you; thank you for being so inspiring!

Jo x

R U OK?

Today is R U OK? day. To all my friends, family, colleges and blog-freinds, R U OK? It's the national day to check in with your friends, family and even work colleges and ask them if they're OK. A conversation with someone, even if small, can change a person's mind and emotion.

As I continue to grow up in life and learn about people and myself, I've learnt, and still continue to learn, that everyone has their own issues or situations that they are going through. As close as someone maybe to you and you may truly believe that you know someone, they could be hiding their feelings and concerns to themselves, but on the surface level, everything seems fine. 

What can we all do to check in with someone? My suggestion would be to simply "inspire conversation", "inspire communication" and "inspire trust". For many people, it is difficult to talk or communicate about their situation and left untreated, I believe, the situation gets bigger than what it really is. 

I'm not an expert on depression or nor am I a psychologist, but what I have learnt is that issues left untreated becomes a disease in itself. I would encourage people to find someone they trust and talk to them about anything that is of concern to them; no matter how big or small they think the issue is. Just talking to someone can release tensions and allow situations to be viewed from a different perspective. 

Get out there and ask R U OK? and if you're someone that wants to talk to someone, I encourage you to reach out and talk. Life isn't designed to be difficult; but how you handle it and live it, is in your control. 

Jo x

For the Love of Cheese

Over the weekend I attended the Kristen Allan home cheese and yoghurt making course held at the beautiful Cornersmith Picklery in Marrickville. 

The three hour class is kept small with 12 people which meant that everyone was able to work together and have a go at making the tasty cheese and yoghurt. The class starts off with everyone sitting around a communal table sharing freshly made ricotta cheese drizzled with olive oil, fresh labneh also drizzled with olive oil and nigella seeds sprinkled on top and both served with fresh baked bread and Cornersmith's own pickled carrots and gherkins; oh and a couple of bottles of biodynamic pink bubbles! 

I loved how the class started in this style; it allowed everyone to not only try the cheeses we were about to make but it also meant that we were all able to meet each other and get to know a few strangers in the next three hours and have a bit of fun!

Kristen Allan is a beautiful cheese maker who effortlessly shares her journey into how she began her life into cheese making and really oozes her passion for what she does and so passionately enjoys. While we sit and enjoy the delicious food, Kristen explains the cheese making process and what we're about to learn; ricotta, yoghurt and labneh.

We're all provided with our own recipes and a pen to take additional notes and then break into groups of three to start the ricotta making process. While the ricotta is slowly heating and cooking, we learn about flavouring and ways to cook and serve ricotta. During this time, Kristen provides us with a sweet and tasty whipped ricotta served over apple slices and drizzled with The Urban Beehive honey - OH.EM.GEE. is all I can say about this "healthy" dessert and it will definitely be something on my home menu!

Making ricotta.   Photo Credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014

This cheese making class really educated me further on the use of and types of milk and cream to use and as one of my key passions of shopping local especially at some of our many farmers markets. Sydney has some fabulous farmers markets and local businesses who produce and provide healthy and chemically free produce and I really encourage you to support them and shop with them. Not only will you be supporting local but you'll also be keeping healthy knowing that you're putting real food into your body.

We were so lucky to walk away from the class with everything we made; ricotta, yoghurt, labneh, muslin to make more labneh at home and our own ricotta basket! If you enjoy cheese and yoghurt and just cooking in general, I really recommend this class and the other many classes held at the Cornersmith Picklery. I know that I'm keen to attend their Jam and Preserve class next!

To Kristen Allan, thank you for a fun and passionate class. Your knowledge and passion for what you do and your support for your providers really show and I really admire you for that. 

To Cornersmith Picklery, what an awesome space and concept you have and I look forward to spending more time there and learning new things. I love how you find ways to using everything rather than having it go to waste. 

Photo Credit: Broadsheet

Now...off to buy a big pot and jars for my yoghurt!

Jo x

To My Father....Happy Fathers Day

Dear Dad,

Happy Fathers Day! Happy fathers day to all the fathers out there, whether biological, step, or adoptive. If you love and care for a child, it doesn't matter if your blood is the same, what matters is the love and care you provide. 

I'm a lucky girl to have a father who loves and cares for her so much. So much so, I know he'd do absolutely anything for me. Nothing is too hard or difficult for my dad, he is always there.

My dad and I have an unusual relationship; a relationship that is hard to explain but a relationship that only we understand. We can sit together in silence for hours and we can be apart for years, but he is always my dad and I'm always his baby girl....no matter how old I am, I'm always his baby girl. 

Enjoy fathers day with your dad today or remember the great times with your dad!

Jo x

Bringing Customer Service Back!

Have you notice lately that customer service has just disappeared somewhere into a black-hole? I've noticed that it's rare to experience great customer service and when you do, do you tell people about it? Bad customer service is always expressed, but good (or even great) customer service is unspoken of and therefore goes unnoticed. 

Surprisingly, this isn't a dig about bad customer service; true I did have a poor experience to begin with to write this post, but I wanted to share with you that giving a second chance to a business or even someone can show that the business or person can change.

I frequent Pablo & Rusty in the city, either for my morning coffee, lunch and even business meetings. Initially, when they first opened up, they were still working out the process and flow and as time went by they found their groove and the cafe oozed a funky buzz that isn't really seen in the city centre. The wait staff are friendly and accommodating; the food is delicious and the coffee is amazing!

Back to the customer service story so that you have a bit of a background; there was one afternoon I decided to go for a coffee with a friend. We sat down and ordered our coffee, and due to our timing, asked for them to be put into takeaway cups, just in case we had to up and leave quickly. Normally this has never been an issue as they have always been accommodating. However, on this occasion, it just wasn't meant to be; even after a bit of a conversation with them, they just wasn't going to provide me with my coffee in a takeaway cup!

I walked away disappointed and dishearten. I really enjoyed going to this funky cafe in the city but also felt upset that my request was "too hard" for them even when I was happy to pay the cost of eating in prices. So I decided to send them an email to provide them with feedback, yes, a unhappy complaint feedback about my experience.

The very next day I received a reply back from Sam in their head office acknowledging my feedback and not wanting to return, apologising on behalf of the company and wanting to resolve it as soon as possible. To give them a "second chance" she offered me a pre-loaded gift card to use at any of their stores.

True to her words, she sent me the gift card with a beautiful hand written letter (handwritten is so rare!) a few days later. It did take me a few weeks to return, but I did return, and I've been back frequently ever since. Their customer service has been impeccable and they have gone out of their way to assist.

It just proves that giving a second chance does work. People do make mistakes and many of them are unintentional, so it pays to give people another go because you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Yes, I did send an email back to Sam to let her know that I have returned and I'm impressed with the improved customer service. Win/win for both myself and Pablo & Rusty! Although, I must say, I do miss the "Health Shake" that you use to have on the menu and hope it has a come back soon.....but the Cashewnut Shake is amazballs! 

Photo credit: Pablo & Rusty

To Pablo & Rusty: thank you again for listening and acknowledging my feedback. It's really refreshing to see that you do take onboard your customer's feedback and actually make a change. Credits to you and your staff!

Happy customer!
Jo x

Girls Weekend.....in Melbourne

Love locks on the foot bridge.  Photo credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014. 

It was a long weekend for the girls and I, and we decided to take a flight down to Melbourne for a weekend of food, shopping and sightseeing (and more shopping for some). I've been to Melbourne many times either for a long weekend visiting friends or for work and I just love going down to Melbourne for its diverse culture and most importantly the food, fabulous coffee and rooftop bars. 

The weather really took centre stage and the sun was shinning and the rain stayed away for us. There were seven girls staying at an Airbnb accommodation in Southbank which was only minutes stroll into the city centre. 

Chocolate treats. Photo credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014. 

For the first time I didn't really go shopping but instead enjoyed returning to some of my favourite food stores with one being Koko Black. They would have to be one if my favourite chocolate shops and I keep wondering when they'll open an official store in Sydney (hint hint). 

This time in Melbourne I was able to try out two new food venues: The Hardware Sociètè in the city and Dead Man Espresso in south Melbourne. 

The Hardware Sociètè was a 40 minutes wait but it was seriously worth the wait and you can grab a take away coffee while waiting. The interior is a cross between rustic and "cute" with butterfly wallpaper, a wall with hanging teacups and a beautiful bright yellow tile wall. The wait staff were friendly, knowledgeable and eye catching and the food service was very quick - they have planned it very well and efficiency is key! 

Hardware Société: butterfly wallpaper, yellow tile wall and hanging lights.  Photo credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014.

Hardware Société. My breakfast of sauté mushroom, roast duck in pastry, poached eggs and a salad of apply, hazelnuts and watercress. 

Hardware Société. Cute tea cup and pot set.

WOW! Have you been to Dead Man Espresso? If not, you should! We were lucky to get seated straight away and they were able to accommodate the large group (additional two new Melbourne friends joined making it a total of nine people). The coffee was tasty and strong (just the way I like it!) and the food was delicious. I ordered the "Avocado" which was smashed (the hipster way) and topped with goats cheese and pommygranite. WOW is the word that I'll use for this dish; it was so tasty with a mix of salty (the cheese) and sweet (the pommygranite). It was also fabulous to see that they use and sell a lot of local produce and products here (support local!) - it has my tick of approval! 

Dead Man Espresso. The "Avocado"    Photo credit: Dreams & Sparkle 2014.

A weekend trip away with seven wonderful friends can be challenging as each person is different, independent and very strong but being flexible does make the trip much easier. I learnt that I can be very patient and that small 'things' are just that, 'small'.

I look forward to my next trip down to Melbourne again soon. If you live in Melbourne, please do let me know as it would be awesome to meet up for brunch!

Jo x