Jarrah Jungle

What Would I Do Without Target?

2012-02-23T22:17:00.000+08:00

You should've seen my trolley on Saturday in Target - anything that was yellow or grey or both went in there it was spilling over the sides! But it was all on sale in their latest catalogue so I feel like I got some pretty good bargains

This stunning yellow vase has set the colour theme for my bathroom

$16 save $8

I got some fluffy yellow towels for the bathroom

$14 each save $5

And these fun shaggy yellow and grey striped floor mats for the bathroom too

$15 save $5

I've been a little obsessed with cushions lately and this

chevron white and yellow cushion had to come home with me

$15 save $5

This yellow hourglass is the perfect for timer for how long
I have to watch the sports channel for!

$18 save $7

This fake crocodile ottoman was reduced to a crazy $24
I should've got 2 they make a cool little side table

This cool little rusted bike will make an unusual door stop

$20 save $9

I got 2 of these beautiful lanterns for outside under the patio

$20 save $14

What would I do without Target?!

[My images cushion and ottoman, all other images via Target Catalogue]

Funky Framed Wallpaper

2012-02-22T23:07:00.000+08:00

I had some leftover wallpaper offcuts from wallpapering the hallway cupboards and I've been thinking about what to use it on and when I found this gorgeous frame from Ikea I knew it would look perfect to frame the wallpaper in

Frame and wallpaper ready to go

I used the wooden back as the template and traced the shape onto the back of the wallpaper

Cut the wallpaper out with scissors

Shape cut out and ready to frame

Put the wallpaper into the frame and whola its ready to hang on the wall

Its now hanging up on the wall in the hallway opposite the bathroom so you see it in the bathroom mirror

Have you got any ideas for using wallpaper?

Party Drink - Copacabana Punch

2012-02-16T14:29:00.000+08:00

It’s a well known fact that alcohol hidden in a blend of tasty juice and fruit will please almost all taste buds and get a party started and thats why I love to make PUNCH!

I made this party punch for a 40th party I went to recently, it was hard to find a recipe that will satisfy 60 people so I picked the Copacabana Punch recipe from my favourite cocktail book Shaken and x 4 to make 20L

I bought a big 25L bottle with lid from Bunnings and gave it a good wash with hot soapy water and then poured all the ingredients in (other than the sparkling wine as I didn't want it to loose its bubbles) and then each time the punch bowl emptied I filled it up from the large mix and added the sparkling wine.

Copacabana Punch
Makes 20 Ltrs (serves 60 people and then some!)

1 ltr Bacardi Rum
¼ bottle Gin
4 bottles Champagne or Sparkling Wine
8 ltrs Pineapple Juice
2 ltrs Pineapple & Coconut Juice
5 tins Passionfruit Pulp
2 oranges and 2 lemons sliced and cut into quarters
A good handful of mint leaves
Lots of ice – see my Orange Lemon and Mint Ice Bowls recipe here

Unfortunately I was too busy drinking and filling the punch bowl to take a photo sorry!

Joining in with 52 Mantels link party - head on over to see more great ideas!

[Book via Amazon and Image via Pinterest]

Book Review: When the Bough Breaks By Matthew Benns

2012-02-15T19:08:00.007+08:00

I've just finished reading When the Bough Breaks: The True Story of child killer Kathleen Folbigg by Matthew Benns

This book is the 2nd in a set of Australian crime stories, the first one I reviewed here

The book is about the life and death of 4 little babies who died over a period of 10 years, but all their deaths were blamed on SIDS and listed as unknown causes. When the husband, Craig finds the diary of the Mum, Kathleen and which has the inner most thoughts and feelings that she expresses towards her kids he approaches the police who had suspected that she was responsible and charges were eventually laid.

This book is as somber and sad as it sounds and being factual, was written with dates and names and frequently referred back to diary entries or situations that had happened. I found it very difficult reading about these poor little babies I literally felt ill most of the time.

I would recommend this book for those that like true crime novels and a bit of Australian history. I give this book stars 3 stars, it was ok but I didn't really like the writing style it was a bit all over the place.

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

[Image and Book via Random House]

DIY Frame Redo

2012-02-14T23:06:00.000+08:00

I was a bit bored of the orangey pink colour I painted these frames and decided they needed a redo with a fresh coat of paint.

BEFORE

Out came the paint tester pots from when I was picking the paint for the media wall

I painted over the white insert frame as well this time

A few coats later, left to dry overnight

AFTER

The grey frames go a lot better with the wall colour

What projects have you used your leftover paint tester pots for?

Modern Chandelier For Master Bedroom

2012-02-13T18:39:00.003+08:00

My 2012 word decision is going gun ho at the moment I tell ya - I made yet another decision on the weekend and picked out the light fitting for the Master Bedroom. As mentioned before I want a modern chandelier for the Master Bedroom to replace the small black shade I bought a few years ago (and the shade will be moved to its new home in the study/craft room).

Old Shade

New Shade

A bit more bling and drama with the new shade, don't you think?

Admittedly I've eyed off this Paris 3 Light Chandelier about 100 times already but was kind of hoping some new stock would come in or a new design would come out but 1 year on and I think I've seen everything there is available so bought this one from Beacon Lighting on sale for $180 (reduced from $200).

Now I have all the lights picked out for the renovated rooms the electrician is booked in for next week and the lights I dreamed about and the lights I bought recently for the Guest Bedroom, Man Cave, Hallway and Living Room will be installed. I can't wait!

[Images via Beacon Lighting]

Heath Ledger Theatre Northbridge

2012-02-12T20:38:00.000+08:00

Friday night I had my second visit to the State Theatre Centre in Northbridge where the Heath Ledger Theatre is, a tribute to the talented actor Heath Ledger who was from Perth. I organised my work social club to see The White Divers of Broome, it was a great production with a view into life in boomtown Broome in 1919 when foreign workers came into the country to make a living for their villages by diving for pearls.

The theatre is stunning, with gold piping running roof to ceiling that during the day shimmers in the sun and at night looks glittery and beautiful it's definitely worth a look if you're ever in the area.

By night this outside area lights up and the floor changes when you step on it ... it would make the coolest dancefloor around so that's why I'm busting a few moves!

[Theatre images from Zimbio and last image mine]

My Apartment Before and After

2012-02-10T07:07:00.000+08:00

So the tenants I picked didn't need the apartment to be furnished after all so there goes my furnishing ideas out the balcony doors! I thought I'd share some before and after photos of the apartment, from when I lived there with splashes of blue and green walls to how it looks now freshly painted and ready for the tenants to move in - I had someone else do the painting and install the blinds, I have my hands full enough with the Jarrah Jungle without taking on more work!

Before - Kitchen / Dining Area

After - Kitchen / Dining Area freshly painted

Before - Bedrooms with grey blinds and plum walls

After - Painted neutral and new white vertical blinds

After - Even the trees have grown and funky new blue lights in the pool

Its like a clean slate now, fresh and neutral and ready for the tenants to move in and turn into their own abode.

Withdrawal Symptoms

2012-02-08T19:49:00.001+08:00

I have been coming home from work lately and feeling a bit restless
Check the mail box
Walk inside
Pour a glass of water
Turn the news on
Sit down
Stand up
Put some washing on
Sit down
Look around thinking somethings missing .....
and I finally figured out what

My magazine subscriptions have all expired - Real Living, Australian House and Garden, and Delicious they no longer greet me after a hard day at work with their glossy pages and bright ideas

So thanks to the man for leaving his credit card laying around I signed up for another year with Real Living (3rd year in a row) and I get 3 bonus mags of Australian House and Garden.

The cost of the bundle was $44.95 a fair price to pay to keep me content for another year!

Do you have any magazine subscriptions?

[Images via MagShop]

Book Review: The Devil's Garden: The Claremont Serial Killings by Debi Marshall

2012-02-07T07:23:00.000+08:00

I was scouring my bookcase at home for a change of pace from the romance style books I’ve been reading lately and came across The Devil’s Garden by Debi Marshall.

This book is written by a crime journalist from Tasmania who become interested in the unsolved Claremont murders and other missing women in Western Australia. In 1996 and 1997, 3 young women went missing from Claremont nightclub area - Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon. I was 17 when stories of these girls disappearing were all over the news and I remember my parents wouldn’t let me catch the train anywhere near there, come to think of it to this day I've never been on a night out in that area either.

I found this book really interesting to read because it named a lot of high profile police, lawyers, etc around Perth my hometown. It opened my eyes to how secret squirrel the WA police force is and how backwards they were in their working - not matching DNA databases to the rest of Australia, not using lie detector tests, not discussing full facts or sharing information, countless internal reviews and crys of corruption. The book also touched on how many innocent people have been sent to jail for crimes that didn’t commit – makes you wonder if they can find guilty people if they lock the innocent ones up just to close a case. 15 years on the killer has not been locked away and could be wondering the streets of Perth still preying on women. These crimes should not go unsolved with the technology we have nowadays – I agree with Debi’s plea: someone somewhere must know something.

I would recommend this book to anyone who lives in Australia, its an interesting insight into the workings of how crimes are solved. I give this book 4 stars and hope someday they find the person that did this so the families can have closure and try to move on with their lives.

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

[Image via Random House]

The Garage Extension Is Approved

2012-02-05T17:25:00.000+08:00

Holy moly I don't believe it over a year of waiting for the Council to approve our garage extension, lots of back and forth corrections, our patient architect friend helping us through the whole process and I'm pleased to say the Council has finally given the go ahead for the extension and issued a building license valid for 12 months to get the extension done by December 2012.

YIPEE!

WE HAVE A LICENSE TO BUILD!!

I can't wait to improve the look to the front of our house it's in desperate need of kerb appeal. We've been waiting for this extension before doing any of the gardening and design so sadly its been a barren landscape since we moved in 2 years ago. Apart from removing the huge pine tree that overshadowed the front of the house and moving our power underground we haven't done any landscaping or improvements out the front but now we have the license that's about to change.

Before - this dangerously large conifer tree overshadowed the front of our house

After a warning from the power company saying it was too close to the power lines

we started to cut down the taller branches

Where's Pete? Yep he's in the tree! Can you see him?!

Then we decided to remove the tree completely and called in the profession tree loppers

After - Tree be gone

See what I mean - barren, open, dry and hot front landscaping. But at least things can start moving along now and essentially it's given us a blank canvas to design the front which in some ways is easier than trying to work around existing gardening.

The other major job we did in August 2011 in preparation for the extension was to have the power put underground, this involved an electrician running a new line underground to our house and then the power company coming and snipping the old power line that was attached to the carport and the power pole. They upgraded our power box to electric as well.

Before - The power line attached to our carport and running to the power pole

After - Line snipped

No longer attached to the power pole

After - Power put underground running through this pipe into the house

Shiny new power box

This is the basic list of what needs to be done for the garage extension in the next 12 months:-

Roof restoration and paint job to make it look pretty (this is what we got the extra roof tiles for)

Remove old chimney and solar panels

New gutters

Remove the single carport

Build new brick double lock up garage

Build new storage room

New driveway
New pathway to the front door

Retaining walls
Front fence and letterbox

Lots and Lots and Lots of plants and flowers to make a new front garden

Foxtel Addict

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000+08:00

It took 2 solid years of nagging (me? nag? never!) and watching the standard 8 TV channels until I couldn't bear it anymore - and finally subscribed to Foxtel. Oh yea pay TV baby it's all it's cracked up to be - endless channel surfing, limited ads, and recording entire series of TV shows that I had never heard of before but now I can't bear to go without! By accident or not (I'd say not buddy!) we somehow ended up with the entire SPORTS package but it only took an hour and I changed the subscription to the LIFESTYLE package. Hmmmmm are you kidding me, mistake, not likely buddy!?

It goes without saying what I love most about Foxtel is the Entertainment Channels - there are so many English/American/Aussie home style shows with stacks of ideas, inspiration, renovating dos and don't, design, building, cooking, entertaining, I seriously sit there for hours and hours just taking it all in I can't get enough. What I fear most about it is me watching them do it all and me sitting on my butt doing nothing! So long as that doesn't happen, I will be a lifelong subscriber. Here are some of my favourite shows ...

Selling Houses Australia

This show finds houses on the market that can't sell and transforms them into something amazing - I think the owners probably want to change their mind and keep their home after these transformations

Grand Designs Australia

People who dream big and then build bigger - this show proves that with determination and hard work you can get the home of your dreams

Sarah's House and Sarah 101 and Sarah's Design Inc

Sarah Richardson is one talented and bubbly lady who designs complete homes (sometimes with a noticeable baby bump!) with impeccable taste and style

Design Star

These young designers are competing for their own TV show and is full of fresh fun ideas for home design (and kind of similar to Australia's The Renovators)

Colour Splash

David Broomstad is the first winner of Design Star and this is his TV show where he decorates a room and it always includes one of his signature pieces of art - this guy is so smiley and cute :)

Come Dine With Me

The English version of this show has the funniest voiceover guy

The Aussie version is good to see if I recognise anyone!

Restaurant in Our Living Room

Yes as crazy as it sounds these guys invite strangers into their home and cook for them in the hope to make the most money and win a holiday

Cake Boss

I was surprised at the number of cake TV shows there are - but this one has got to be my favourite with loud and extravagant hosts and incredible cakes
Even better Buddy and the team are coming to Perth this weekend to film a show
... how exciting!

What is your favourite show on Foxtel?
What am I missing out on!

[Images 1 and 2 Lifestyle 3, 4 and 5 Lifestyle Home and 6, 7 and 8 LifestyleFood Channel]

Book Review: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

2012-02-02T19:19:00.001+08:00

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is a book narrated by the memories of an old man in a nursing home flashing back to his life as a young vet on a travelling circus. Its based in the 1930s when the circus travelled by train into towns, to show off sideshow freaks and animal shows.

What can I say about this book, it just didn’t grab me really and was a bit of a disappointment. The way it was written was very plain English and didn’t hold my attention or amuse me with the words. The talk about the animals and circus life was interesting and well researched. But the love story just wasn’t believable – the beautiful starlet falling for the pimply red headed virgin boy – nope don’t buy it sorry! Another gripe I have is why are there so many covers printed?

I’ve heard the movie Water for Elephants is very good and I’ll be watching that next week with the Bookclub girls so I can compare the two.

I would recommend this book for animal lovers, young teens and the older generations as it has a mix from both sides of the story. I give this book 2 stars guess I'm off to watch Ramsey St re-runs!

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

Orange Lemon and Mint Ice Bowls

2012-02-01T07:09:00.001+08:00

The next time you make a bowl of punch or want to keep a large quantity of drinks cold without little blocks of ice watering it down, try making these

Orange Lemon and Mint Ice Bowls

You'll need:

1 orange, sliced and cut into quarters

1 lemon, sliced and cut into quarters

Few bunches of mint, washed and leaves pulled off (don't cut the mint or it will go black)

Jug of filtered water

4 x cute bowls, approx 5cm deep

Method:

Cut up the orange and lemon and pull leaves from the mint

Place the orange and lemon pieces and mint in a bowl

Fill bowl with filtered water

Place them in the freezer and leave for a couple of hours to set

These little babies not only look funky but they add a fresh taste to the drink once melted. I put them into a delicious party punch and they kept it cool without watering it down too much. Or maybe we were drinking it faster than it had a chance to water down too much! Punch recipe will follow soon :)

Flying Birds In The Laundry

2012-01-30T18:31:00.001+08:00

My friends know me and my bird obsession all to well and spoilt me with this set of funky black velvet flying birds from Typo. I was let in on a secret that they were in the sale bin for only $3 a set - how can you say no to that!

After much debate I finally decided where to hang them - in the laundry

The birds add a bit of fun to this little beige corner of the house, what do you think?

Bali Party Inspiration

2012-01-28T09:39:00.001+08:00

Tonight I'm going to a 40th Birthday bash with a Bali theme dress up, it will be pool side with lots of drinks and dancing into the night .... now for some outfit inspiration

More than anything these images make me want to go on a tropical holiday really soon!

[Images via We Heart It - Image 1, Image 2, Image 3, Image 4, Image 5, Image 6, Image 7, Image 8, Image 9]

Underwater Photos As Art

2012-01-26T07:20:00.001+08:00

I'm still on the hunt for some underwater art to hang on the wall near the bathroom and have come across some amazing underwater photos that would look stunning blown up oversized and framed

That last one is a nod to my love of vintage art :)

If only I knew how to get my hands on one of these beauties, but then I'd have to make a decision and pick one! Hmmmm I am drawn to the quirkiness of the second photo the fish in a cage. What about you?

[Images with links via Smashing Magazine]

Book Review: The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

2012-01-24T17:55:00.002+08:00

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons was my November Book Club read that I only just finished this month, yep 2 months later which was a big fat fail on the homework there! I honesty think I read it so slowly because I didn't want it to end - yep it was that good. I went to the Book Club meet up and had to cover my ears so I didn't hear the ending but at least I got a heads up on all the sex scenes that were coming up!

The Bronze Horseman is written in 1941 wartime when Hitler invades Russia, it shows the cold harshness of the war and how the rations killed so many people through starvation. It is also one beautiful love story about unattainable love, between the innocent Tatiana and the handsome soldier Alexander. It is a powerful love story with just the right about of sex, romance, desire, more sex, to keep you reading it with a beating heart and fighting off the tears all the way to the end.

This book is a sequel with a few more books to read in the series. There are also rumours of it being turned into a movie.

I would recommend this book to everyone, not just the romantics, but also the cynics because this book will move you I guarantee, its a very powerful read. I give this book 5 stars - sorry Johnny I'd rather a date with Alexander than you this time!

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

[Image via here]

I'm Keeping The Bachelorette Pad

2012-01-21T13:15:00.000+08:00

My bachelorette pad has been up for sale for a couple of months and the market is not looking good in Western Australia people just don't seem to want to buy - there was a marketing campaign by a great real estate company, home opens every weekend, all that time and effort and there was only 1 offer. So I've decided to keep it and rent it out but I want a new plan - not just a basic rental but I've been toying with the idea of furnishing it to claim a higher rent return and it would be a fun project to furnish the bedrooms, living area, dining area and balcony.

You can get some good furniture packages and I could source some of the furniture second hand from Gumtree or somewhere like that. I have some pieces I could put in there that don't fit in the Jarrah Jungle. But I don't want it to look to bitsa, I want it to look modern and attract some swish city dwellers. Hmmmmm just an idea ...

Bedroom Packages from Fantastic Furniture

Living and Dining Packages SuperAmart

Do you think its worth furnishing a rental?

[Images 1-4 Fantastic Furniture and 5-8 SuperAmart ]

My 2012 Word

2012-01-18T10:04:00.000+08:00

I've finally come up with my word for 2012 - thanks to Maxabella's post who likes to get us all thinking about these things

My 2012 word is DECISION

I will not stare at items on shelves for longer than 3 minutes - thall shall make a decision to purchase or not purchase said items

I will not buy things to hang on the wall and then not hang them up for months - thall shall make a decision within 2 weeks of where to put that screw and hang that damn thing up

I will not have wild decorative dreams of stripes and wallpaper and then chicken out and go the easy plain wall - thall shall make the decision to paint those stripes and hang that wallpaper

I will not complain about having the same car for 11 years and tell everyone I've outgrown it and want a change - thall shall make a decision and buy another car

I have been given choices in this life and I will not doubt, procrastinate, say maybe, umm and ahh if I really want something - thall shall make a decision

What is your word for 2012?

[Image via my pinterest]

This Weeks Mantra

2012-01-16T18:29:00.001+08:00

I have a feeling some dreams could come true this week with a bit of positive thinking and these dream mantras

[All images via my Pinterest]

Book Review: Katie Ridder Rooms

2012-01-14T18:23:00.000+08:00

Katie Ridder: Rooms by Heather Smith MacIsaac now this book is a real treat, I couldn't find it in the bookstores here in Perth and asked for it for Christmas and it was bought online at Book Depository for about 50% off rrp

This is a gorgeous coffee table book the images are large and clear, fantastic photography, I found myself staring at each page for ages taking it all in. Katie's look is all class and sophistication.

The book is set out room by room with a blurb before each about how Katie would style and design them and then lots of photos to make you drool. The way the book is written is describing Katie's rooms with words like 'she' and 'her rooms' which I found a bit unusual at first them talking about her rooms, instead of her describing them herself, its a different angle of writing.

I would recommend this book for those that love the finer things in life

I give this book 4 stars - I may be overloaded on chocolate from Christmas but I think its more that I'm in love with the devine photography

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

[Image via Book Depository]

Jarrah Jungles Top 10 Projects of 2011

2012-01-07T11:04:00.000+08:00

As we kick into a new year I've been thinking back on how much we've done at home aka in the Jarrah Jungle in 2011 as we continue to turn our 1960s renovators delight house into a home. Here's my top 10 projects for 2011 in no particular order, although if I had to pick I'd say No.5 the shoe cupboard is pretty high on my dreams coming true list :)

1. Living Room Renovated - This room renovation was a huge 2 month job - we removed the air conditioner, lifted the ceiling, restored the floorboards, painted a media wall and everything else, bought a new rug, leather couches and coffee table which you can read more about here

After

2. Outdoor Dining Area - I made the executive decision to move our dining area outside under the patio to allow for french doors to be installed to go out onto the deck (a project for 2012). We bought a new 8 seater outdoor dining setting and we hosted a dinner party outside with great success which you can see more of here and no doubt more of those to come in 2012!

After

3. My Bar Fish Tank - With the dining area cleared away we moved the wine buffet into the dining area against the wall and the fish tank on top and I then had fun sourcing bar accessories for the fish tank and set it up with a bar theme, you can see more of my aquascaping here

After

4. Man Cave Renovated - The 4th and final bedroom was renovated, floorboards restored, everything painted, bought a recliner couch, rugs and new blinds which you can see more before and afters here. As the name suggests I haven't been allowed to decorate this room and besides the furniture its looking pretty plain so enough is enough - time to get my hands on this room and get it finished!

Still in progress

5. Install a shoe cupboard and have my Carrie Bradshaw dreams come true - I converted the hallway cupboard to a shoe cupboard with shelving so I can see my shoes at a glance and pick the right shoe with the right outfit each time. Yes I'm a very lucky girl!

After

6. Customised The Hallway Cupboards With Wallpaper and New Handles - The awesome buy we found in Amsterdam of rolls of wallpaper for $5 euros a roll was put to good use on the hallway cupboards which got a face lift with the wallpaper and new handles

After

7. Black and White Photo Wall Put up in Hallway - After picking out my favourite photos and printing them in black & white and collecting enough black frames I hung up a wall of photos and I intend to add to this wall in 2012

After

8. Backyard Pimping - Veggie and Herb Gardens and Lawn- The backyard was in desperate need of some attention and we cleared the weeds and set up some garden beds for a vegetable and herb garden beds. I'm growing tomatoes, leek, spring onion, carrots, rocket, garlic chives, lettuce, sage, coriander, parsley and basil. We also had an epic lawn laying weekend and laid about 70m2 of lawn in the backyard which is growing really well despite the hot summer sun.

In Progress

9. Art for Master Bedroom - I found some retro art prints which I framed for the master bedroom and you can read more about it here

After

10. Bathroom Renovation - Its not quite finished yet the shower screen doors are still to be installed and towel racks, mirrors and new light/heater etc. But it has come a hell of a way since we designed it, bought the glass basins, custom made vanity with granite bench top, shower box, removed the old window and installed a new clear one which gave us a surprise view of the tree tops, tiling floor to ceiling you can see how it was before then from this to now.

I did get my Christmas wish of being able to shower inside after 8 weeks of washing in the granny flat and laundry with a few mishaps thrown in for fun

Almost After

Woah that means the kitchen, laundry and powder room are all that is remaining inside - can we get them finished in 2012? Hmmm we'll have to wait and see.

I hope you've enjoyed my top projects for 2011, you can check out last years top projects here

Start The Car Sale

2012-01-06T13:40:00.000+08:00

I was crazy enough to visit Ikea this week, yes on school holidays, and in the midst of the January sales. That place does it to me everytime I walk in and before I know it 3 hours has gone by and I have a trolley full of items to try to fit into my car boot!

I paid just under $130 for all this stuff and everything was on sale except for the retro ssshh print and white pot plant holders. They don't call me the bargain queen for nothing :)

The white pot plant holders I had on my Ikea wish list from last time I went but they were sold out so I was happy they were in stock this time and happy to pay full price for them which was only $4.95, now I just need to decide what to use them for I've seen some really cool ideas

This blue pot plant holder was sold out last time as well so I was chuffed to see they were on sale for $7.95 this time. Hopefully it cheers up my little money plant which is looking a bit worse for wear at the moment.

The orange bin was reduced to $4.95 and retro ssshh art $19.95 are both going in the man cave which needs some splashes of orange to match the new light fitting

This black vase was a steal at $9.95 (was $50) but having no flowers to put in it, I turned it upside down and thought it would make a cool side table in the man cave. Perfect for a beer or magic eight ball to sit on!

The guest room needed a bit of freshening up for summer with light coloured linen and this queen doona set with 4 pillowcases set me back a mere $12.95

This black ornate frame was my most expensive purchase at $35 (reduced from $45) and I have a bit of a project in mind for this one using my leftover wallpaper

Have you visited Ikea lately? Did you nab any bargains?

[All images my own other than Skurar Pot via Ikea, Plaza Interiors and Ikea Hackers]

My Christmas Wish Came True

2012-01-05T16:38:00.000+08:00

My Christmas wish came true and after 8 weeks of showering in the granny flat and then that unfortunate incident with the hot water system breaking (which thankfully the boys managed to fix with a $70 part) and just 2 days before Christmas the shower heads arrived and were installed and we've been showering in the shiny new bathroom ever since.

We can't use both shower heads yet as the shower screens haven't been installed and don't want to splash the water on the vanity and cause water damage. But trust me, just one shower head is a luxury it's like having a rain shower. I'm hoping the glass shower screens are installed this month ... hurry up glaziers the holidays are over get back to work!

The glass basins have been installed, the pipes cut into the vanity, the bowl waste cut into the granite benchtop and new tap mixers installed which means no more brushing my teeth in the laundry yay.

Cutting a hole in the granite was a 2 man job - one has to spray water while the other drills the hole so the granite doesn't crack (truth be told I was too scared to watch!)

Bowls, plumbing and taps in

Vanity ready for use - just ignore my makeshift mirrors

The tapwear in the basins and shower match, it took me ages to choose a design but I finally settled on these Mizu mixers from Reece. I thought the round and curved shape matched the round bowls and curvy design I was going for.

It's such a treat to be showering inside but there's still a list of things to do before the bathroom is finished:

Find 2 funky mirrors similar to the hallway mirror
Find a towel rail and hand towel rail
An electrician needs to install the new heat/fan/light and hook up power sockets
The glazier to make and install the glass shower screens
Once that's all done, paint the roof

If you want to see some before shots of my 1960s purple retro bathroom head on over here

Sharing with linky parties the first for 2012 -

Savvy Southern Style's first Wow us Wednesdays and

It's Overflowing

Christmas Recipes

2012-01-05T00:28:00.000+08:00

Well I'm glad I trialled my Christmas Day dish of Chilled Pea Soup With Mint Gelato because it didn't turn out exactly as I wanted. Don't get me wrong it was tasty, but I didn't think the sweet gelato on top was really the best start to a Christmas Day dinner it was more of a pallette cleanser than an appetiser. Don't worry it didn't go to waste I served it on Christmas Eve at my parents house after the entree as a palette cleanser. The entree I made was the Indian Inspired Prawn and Mango Pappadums that I shared the recipe for previously. Seriously, they are a fantastic entree for a group because you can make them ahead of time and simply assemble them before serving.

As for the Christmas Day dish I had bought the shot glasses and tray and was still keen to do a chilled soup so I frantically flipped through my recipe books and choose from Pete Evans My Party recipe book his favourite recipe - Chilled Pea Soup with Spanner Crab - my only addition was a crouton for added crunch

Chilled Pea Soup with Spanner Crab

(Pete Evans Recipe Book)

Serves 20

30g butter
6 spring onions white part only, thinly sliced
310g fresh or frozen green peas (I used frozen)
625ml chicken stock
80g creme fraiche
3 tsp each of finely chopped tarragon, flat leaf parsley and mint
200g picked spanner crab meat (I used 4 blue manner crabs)
Packet of croutons (I added these for crunch and put the crab on top)

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy based saucepan. Add the green onions and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Cook, stirring often, for 5-7 mins or until the onion is softened.
2. Stir in the peas, then the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 mins or until the peas are soft. While the peas are cooking, mix the creme fraiche with the tarragon, parsley and mint in a small bowl and set aside.
3. When the peas are very soft, remove the saucepan from the heat and puree the contents in a blender. Press the puree through a course strainer into a large bowl.
4. Thoroughly whisk in the herbed creme fraiche. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Chill before serving, preferably overnight.
5. When ready to serve make sure you have chilled the glasses in the freezer. Then pour in 30 ml of the pea soup and serve topped with a crouton and some picked crab meat.

Sharing with Remodelaholics Recipe Link Party, jump on over and check out some deliciousness!

[All images my own]

Perfect Match Vegetables & Herbs

2012-01-03T15:45:00.000+08:00

With summer now in full swing the vegetable garden is loving the sun and everything is growing well - the tomatoes are now in full harvest I'm collecting a bowl of tomatoes every few days. As luck would have it we were given a basil plant a few weeks ago which has been a match made in heaven to go with the tomatoes.

Tomatoes

Basil

Tomatoes + Basil = Perfect Match

Pete is an awesome cook and made us a delicious home made pasta with these tomatoes and basil - whizzed together some garlic, pine nuts, basil, oil, balsamic, salt and pepper to make the pesto. Cooked some onion and garlic and added the fresh tomatoes. Stirred the pesto and tomatoes through some cooked penne pasta and topped with parmesan cheese. Delicious!

What vegetables and herbs do you think are a perfect match?

It's Nearly The New Year!

2011-12-29T00:03:00.000+08:00

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas with friends and family and those that mean the most to you. My Christmas has been really relaxing, I had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents out on the farm and Christmas Day lunch with Pete's family by the pool. I bought the entree for both so I'll be sure to share the recipes soon. The last few days I've been catching up with friends, hitting the sales, and chilling at home in the air conditioning keeping cool and watching foxtel which was a Chrissy present to ourselves. I can't stop watching the lifestyle channels there are so many home shows I've been loading up on ideas!

With Christmas over for another year, now the count down to New Years is on. This year I'm going out into town to a club to dance and drink bubbly into the New Year! I haven't been out to a club on New Years for over 10 years so it's sure to be an interesting night if only I can decide what to wear :)

What's your plan to bring in New Years 2012?

[All images via my Pinterest]

Book Review: Design Sponge At Home by Grace Bonney

2011-12-22T07:07:00.002+08:00

Santa has spoilt me early this Christmas and I haven't been able to put this book down since it was given to me by my Kris Kringle :)

Design Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney what a little beauty this book turned out to be. Written by the humble Grace Bonney who started her blog Design Sponge 7 years ago to connect with other creative home loving people.

This book is not a flashy vogue type read, it is down to earth and full of honest pictures of rooms that you could definately create yourself, with flea market and op shop finds turned into something special. It proves my motto that you don't have to spend a lot of money to create a beautiful home, and most importantly a home full of personality. It has heaps of pages of real peoples homes from all across the globe to perve on, plus lots of before and afters, and some cool and thrifty diy projects that I might just have to have a go at over the Chrissy break.

I would recommend this book for the renovators who get excited about a good before and after and like a bit of diy inspiration

This book gets 5 stars - sorry Johnny Depp you just can't turn me on like Design Sponge does!

Christmas Day Dish

2011-12-20T06:22:00.001+08:00

I'm bringing the entree on Christmas Day and wanting to impress the hopefully maybe one day in-laws I thought a chilled soup served in shot glasses would be a fun starter for a hot summery Christmas day

I have visions of everyone standing around chatting by the pool and enjoying a chilled soup shooter before tucking into a lavish Christmas lunch

I'm testing out this recipe for Chilled Pea Soup with Mint Gelato this week to see if it is tasty enough to serve up on Christmas Day

What dish are you taking to share on Christmas Day?

[All images via my Pinterest except recipe image from Taste.com]

My Blue N Silver Christmas

2011-12-18T20:33:00.000+08:00

This is my 3rd Christmas in the Jarrah Jungle and each year the tree has been put up in a different spot, this year the tree up in the dining area next to the bar fish tank which looks really nice at night time when the lights are on. The tree is covered in blue and silver ornaments and tinsel, I've heard tinsel is out of vogue but I don't agree I think it looks pretty!

In the Living Room I've filled an ornate bird cage with red beads and ceramic balls and a glass cylinder with some silver baubles to add a bit of chrissy style

How are you decorating for Christmas this year?

What Doesnt Kill You

2011-12-16T10:01:00.000+08:00

Makes you stronger. Well that's what I'm telling myself anyway as I'm 6 weeks into the bathroom renovation and although I wasn't thrilled about using the granny flat bathroom in the meantime I know I'm pretty lucky to have it. UNTIL the events of Wednesday night when the power decided to trip out which left me in the dark scary granny flat, in the shower, butt naked, wet and cold!

Thursday I had a cold morning shower but wasn't brave enough at night to do the same in the dark so standing under the unflattering laundry fluro light I bathed over the laundry trough with an itty bitty flannel and soap thinking this is what it must have been like in the old days before showers were invented! There's nothing that cements a relationship more than communal bathing under fluro lights let me tell ya!

I did manage to wash my man's hair in the laundry trough and he didn't get too drenched from the wetting, shampooing, conditioning, rinsing, but it's not the easiest of jobs to do. My hair washing is a bit more tricky as I have really long thick hair so I'm just working the up dos for now, it's amazing what a headband and bun can disguise. I might have to treat myself with a trip to the hairdressers for a wash and blowdry if it doesn't get fixed this weekend.

A bit of investigating and the hot water system has tripped out and cut the power to the granny flat. This is also where the home brew beers are kept so the man wasn't too happy about that either! Pray with me that we can get it fixed this weekend.

[Images via my Pinterest]

Let There Be Lights

2011-12-14T18:10:00.002+08:00

I'm chuffed to say we've found 2 out of the 3 lights that were on the wish list. We may have run around like maniacs driving to 6 light shops in 3 hours, but it's amazing what you can get when the pressures on.

For the Man Cave we picked this Inside 1 Light Pendant in retro black and orange. A few more orange accessories in the man cave and I think this light will look pretty funky.

For the hallway as much as I wanted the bubble lights we don't really have the room in our little hallway for it to be a feature so I picked out this Pinto double glass pendant which should look good with the hallway cupboards and pretty wallpaper

We found both these lights at Beacon Lighting and as we were buying 2 lights I asked for a discount (as always) and the lovely lady took $10 off one and $8 off the other and also 50c off each globe, hey it all counts doesn't it!

I also want to show off the lights I bought some time ago from Tilly's Lights which is the biggest and best light shop in Perth (in my humble opinion). I fell for this retro looking Shanghai 4 light pendant for the guest bedroom

This Versa 5 Light Pendant is for the living room, again its got a bit of a retro twist but is pretty modern as well. I think the round glass will look pretty striking over the white and green glass coffee table

I can't wait for these lights to be installed they will really finish off the rooms, hopefully we can get an electrician to come and install them before the New Year

Man Cave Light $89.95

Hallway Light $71.95

Guest Bedroom Light $198

Living Room Light $500

[Image 1, 2 & 3 from Beacon Lighting and Image 2 & 3 from Tillys Lights]

Bathroom Progress Peek at Tiling and Vanity

2011-12-11T17:41:00.000+08:00

The Tiler has spent 5 days doing the bathroom - front and back doors wide open all day long, drop sheets running all through the house to protect the floorboards, some days he bought a helper and other days he worked alone singing and grinding and tiling by himself. And this is how I keep the tradies happy - lots of drinks and biscuits!

Wednesday he chipped into the walls with the back of a hammer which helps the tiles stick

After that he screeded and levelled out the floor which meant he had to bring back into the house most of those limestone blocks that I spent days carrying out of the bathroom and buckets of sand to bring the floor level up again. Then he concreted it and level it off.

That long rectangle shape in the floor is for the shower grate, because of the size of our tiles (300 x 600) we couldn't have a round grate its too hard to tile around and everywhere we looked Bunnings and bathroom shops wanted $500 + for one. So we jumped online and found a great store Vincent Buda who shipped it from the eastern states in 3 days for a total cost of $250 (yep half price!)

Thursday was waterproofing day, the shower area and behind the vanity got a few coats of waterproofer painted on

Then we had a Tiler Vs Cabinet Maker battle of opinions - we had to decide whether to put the vanity in now and tile around it or to tile the floor first and put the vanity on top. The Tiler was saying put the vanity in last and the Cabinet Maker was saying put the vanity in first. Ahhhh what to do ... phone a friend that's what we did! We decided to put the vanity in first because then you could tile to it and hide any imperfections.

Late Thursday our custom made vanity was delivered in 3 pieces. We had to cut out the holes for the plumbing. Then screwed it to one another checking it was level and straight the whole time by adjusting the legs underneath. Then bolted it to the back wall. Nailed in the front kick plate to hide the legs.

Friday morning the granite benchtop was delivered and the guys glued it to the top. When the tiling is done and we're ready to put the glass basins on we'll have to cut holes in the top of the granite and hook up the plumbing.

Friday afternoon the Tiler came to plan and lay the gorgeous grey floor tiles. I spent about an hour with him as he showed me where each tile would go and where the cuts would be made. Yes a man that actually planned before he cut - pretty rare I think. Because we have large tiles I wanted the whole tile to be the feature on the main walls you see, and the small cuts behind the door or on the side walls that you don't see as much.

All day Saturday the Tiler was here laying the sleek white wall tiles

All day Sunday the mosaics were laid straight down the centre of the vanity - that was tricky trying to get the tiles even on either side but with a bit of measuring and cutting off 2 of the mosaics they fit perfectly. I didn't want a thin stripe, I love the look of the thick bold mosaic stripes such a feature.

The shower box has come up a treat, you know how much time and effort went into getting that little box in there and look at it all mosaiced up (is that even a word?!) and taking pride of place in the centre of the wall.

The walls need to be grouted white, the mosiacs grouted grey, everything cleaned up and the tiling will be done. Ahhhhhh how exciting! Most of all I'm looking forward to having the house back to myself, it's very hard to be hungover on the couch with tradies in the house all the time!

[All images my own other than shower grate from Vincent Buda]

New Window With A Surprise View

2011-12-10T11:41:00.000+08:00

Its been so weird having tradesman over this week, the tiler and window guy, its the first time we've let other people come in and do some of the work but we've realised there's some things you've got to leave to the pros to get a really professional finish.

So the window guy came to fit the new window and just happened to pick the day Perth was having a massive thunderstorm and lightening all day long and there he was up on his ladder outside in the pouring rain trying to fit the window. Poor bugger!

A few hours later and the new window was in and what an awesome surprise, because its clear glass and not frosted like the old one, you can see the greenery from the tops of the gum trees through the window.

BEFORE - Old frosted window it lets the light in but you can't see out

DURING - Old window out and what a surprise you can see the tree tops

AFTER - New window in (sorry about the terrible photos)

When I think back to the window in the shower problem we worried about for weeks before we figured out what to do and to then get a surprise view like this with the window we chose it makes all worthwhile in the end!

Stupid Little Coins

2011-12-08T07:51:00.001+08:00

Working in the CBD does have its perks ... there's always shopping to be done on my lunchbreak! I came across a new store in Carillon Arcade and couldn't resist buying this funny little money box for myself as an early Chrissy present.

The only downside is it doesn't fit 50c coins (it's made in the UK) but other than that its looking pretty good sitting by my aquarium wine buffett.

Have you treated yourself to an early Chrissy present?

Removing The Bathroom Window and Built in Wall Vanity

2011-12-06T17:33:00.000+08:00

The next job on the bathroom list is the window in the shower problem which we've spent the last 3 weekends working on. This is what we had a choice to do:

1) Keep the window there, paint and seal the timber frame and maybe get 4 years out of it before it rots and makes all the tiles fall off - Verdict: No way we are not dodgy renovators!

2) Remove the window and replace with glass bricks for approx $1000, it will be sealed shut and over time the moisture will probably make the sealant mouldy euwwwww - Verdict: Expensive and not fully practical.

3) Remove the window and replace with aluminium window for approx $600, will be able to open the window and let the moisture out - Verdict: Houston, we have lift off - and a winner!

Option 3 it is - So now we know what we're doing, it was time to get to work and remove the window and the built in wall vanity

Unscrewed the frame from the outside

Then jimmyed off the frame on the inside

Removed the wall vanity metal box which would have rusted if it stayed there

Checking out the 2 courses of bricks

Our Aussies houses are made super strong with double brick, one layer on the inside and one on the outside

Playing around with my mosiac tiles which will be in the shower box that we will make

When the window frame was removed we inserted a big metal support beam in its place and rendered around the frame

Made a waterproof shower box out of this piece of cement sheeting, cut out all the bits of the box to size, glued and screwed together, waterproofed and then cemented in

A final render and tidy up

The hole is boarded up from the outside with a piece of wood and plastic sheeting stuck on the inside to keep the creepy crawlys out

The bathroom is now ready to be fitted out this week - the window guys are coming to fit the new window, the tiler is booked in to start his 3 day job of screeding, waterproofing and laying the tiles and the vanity is being delivered as well.

It's all happening in the bathroom this week exciting stuff!

First Tomatoes For The Season

2011-12-05T23:18:00.000+08:00

My tomato plants have been growing like wild getting leafy and green, they're covered in little yellow flowers all over and then green tomatoes started to form and finally FINALLY they're turning red which means they're ready to eat.

My first meal with them was an under the grill toastie tomato, cheese, red onion, dijon mustard and cracked pepper mmmmm yum my favourite

My Makeshift Bathroom

2011-11-29T18:51:00.005+08:00

With me all caught up in the bathroom renovations I thought I'd share my little makeshift bathroom I've been using for the last 4 weeks while my bathroom has been turned into a room of sand and rubble

This is where I'm brushing my teeth nowadays, yep in the laundry sink! I also do my makeup here which is actually a pretty good spot because there's lots of natural light. And the best bit is I figure with the washing machine covered with all my things, if I can't see it I don't have to use it until I run out of clean clothes which will never happen with a wardrobe my size!

We also have a granny flat just a few feet from the house out the back door which has a little bathroom, shower, toilet, and runs on it's own hot water system. The granny flat is pretty daggy we have just been using it for storage up until now but after lots of scrubbing and cleaning I'm glad we have it for the renovations.

Now be warned - nothing can prepare you for the sparkly floor, swirly shower base and flowery wallpaper! Shower times have been reduced dramatically I'm in and out in just a few minutes and I'm embarrased to admit I've been going as many days as I can without washing my hair because I'm too scared to close my eyes incase any creepy crawlys come out!

I just keep imagining that I'm on holidays camping or staying at a caravan park or somewhere because that's what it feels like using the laundry and granny flat as my makeshift bathroom!

Ah the joys of renovating!

Life Is Art

2011-11-28T06:44:00.001+08:00

Awesome quote to get me going this week

I hope everyone has a fantastic week ahead of them :)

[Image via my Pinterest]

Book Review: Notting Hell by Rachel Johnson

2011-11-26T09:00:00.001+08:00

There's a reason I shouldn't go into the library unprepared without a few books on my wish list, because when they didn't have any of the books I wanted to read I was left to walk the aisles and grab a book at random. Bad idea, all that I had to go by was the cover and name and ended up walking out with Notting Hell by Rachel Johnson

As the name suggests this was a bit of a hellish read and I debated whether to write this review because I don't have a lot of nice things to say about it. But in all fairness I'm going to review all books I read, both good and bad and you never know it just might stop someone from dying from boredom in the near future! And hey, it's just my opinion, you might love it you might have your own sexy billionaire living next door that wants to marry you on his yatch, who am I to judge!

This book is based on an english share garden residence where the rich and famous spend their days going to yoga, shagging their neighbours and ignoring their children. The story is told by 2 women and they each take turns to tell their story alternating chapters all through the book, talk about confusing, I didn't realise this until half way through when they were talking about one another! The humour was the only thing keeping me reading this and maybe the sex scenes although even those weren't that steamy.

I would recommend this book for any one who loves to live in a fantasy land of the rich and famous. Or thinks their billionaire neighbor wants to marry them on his yatch.

I give this book - 1 star

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

[Image via Dymocks]

Double Shower Indulgence

2011-11-24T18:56:00.001+08:00

In the bathroom we are forsaking having a bath and toilet and having just a double shower and double vanity. I've just realised how completely indulgent and coupled up it sounds to have just a shower and vanity but the plans are drawn, the plumbing is in, there's no going back now!

My reasoning is I never used the bath we had in the bathroom as it was so small and the toilet is located separately in the laundry, and if we wanted to include these in the room we would've had a shower/bath which I'm not too keen on and squeezing in a toilet would make it poky.

The way I see it its Saving Water + Time Together = Happy Campers!

Have you ever used a double shower?

[All photos from my Pinterest]

Real Living Christmas Edition

2011-11-22T18:30:00.002+08:00

What a welcomed sight I came home to last night my favourite magazine Real Living was poking out of the mail box. This meant a night off from researching on You-Tube how to remove a bathroom window (I kid you not!) and instead I spent the night with a glass of wine flipping through the mags Chrissy edition.

There's lots of great ideas for making your own wrapping paper and decorations and I've always wanted to make an avent calendar too so this year could be the year!

I've started making my own Christmas Cards early this year (you can see last years lot here) and everyone seems to like getting a hand made card so that keeps me sticking with the tradition for the 3rd year in a row now.

Do you make your own Chrissy decorations, wrap or cards?

[All images via Real Living]

Lighting The Way

2011-11-19T08:23:00.000+08:00

I'm ashamed to admit I have only bought 1 light cover for the house so far - a small black chandelier for the master bedroom which you can see a snippet of here. Every single other light in the house is a sad looking naked bulb protruding from the ceiling, and nothing makes a room look unfinished like an ugly bulb I can tell ya!

If I liked simple light shades that would be fine as we can install them ourselves, but I keep going for pendants which need to be fitted by an electrician. And on further inspection of our lighting we realised that there is no earth on our light fittings so not only do we need the electrician to fit the lights for us, we also need him to rewire an earth into each light fitting. This is going to cost us a lot of money so the plan is to keep costs down as much as we can by buying all the light covers we need so the electrician can install them all in one go.

We have already bought lights for the living room and guest bedroom and they are wrapped up in their boxes waiting patiently to be installed. I'm going to move the small black chandelier from the master bedroom into the craft room as I think it will look better in a smaller room.

So all that's left on the wish list for the rooms that we've completed are:

Master Bedroom - A larger light shade something bigger, blingy and dramatic

Man Cave - Something bright and modern and fun

Hallway - A funky glass pendant like these bubble glass chandeliers

Do you find picking lights difficult?

I just can't seem to make a decision and buy something!

[First light from Beacon and all other images via my Pinterest]

Bathroom Vanity Design

2011-11-18T07:00:00.003+08:00

It may sound a bit extravagant but we're getting the bathroom vanity custom made so we can get the most out of the space. To me every last spec of space for storage is pretty important and while I might not need 4 different types of hand cream I have them and they have to be stored somewhere!

I have drawn and redrawn the bathroom vanity design a million times and was finally ready to meet with the cabinet makers Qndesigns (who were recommended by friends who just renovated their bathroom) so I went prepared with my sketches and ideas folder and guess what happened?

My design completely changed! I wanted all drawers with a small cupboard door on the side kind of like the Ikea design but it turns out the pipework for the basins will take up all the room in the drawers so the best thing was to have cupboards instead. I even quivered my lip and fluttered my eyelashes but there was no getting around it, it had to be redesigned. He did tell me if he designs our kitchen for us (yes he does them too) it will be all drawers, drawers and more drawers so I guess that was the compromise!

We spent 2 hours with the cabinet maker who designed the cabinet on the computer as we talked so we could see the 3D image of it. The design we ended up with was cupboards on both sides and drawers in the middle. The cupboards will have just one door instead of two to make it a bit more minimalistic.

Once it was designed we walked around his showroom and picked out the cabinet colour and bench top. He specialises in granite bench tops and of course I was lured towards the most expensive but extremely gorgeous black granite with flecks of shell through it. It's called emerald pearl, stunning don't you think?

Once the top was chosen it was onto the cupboards, I had initially wanted to be daring with the cupboard colours and pick something a bit different, maybe with a wood look, anything but white. But dark cupboards just wont go with the black granite and grey floor tiles so in the end I had to play it safe and choose a bright gloss classic white. Next we picked chrome handles in a curved design which will go with the shape of the round basins (you can see my glass basins here).

The cost is $1495 (just under our $1500 budget)
This includes 1400mm wide, 2 cupboards with shelves, 3 drawers, chrome handles, soft closing doors and drawers and a granite bench top. Made and delivered in 2-3 weeks time completely assembled no instructions needed or putting it together arguments

Can't wait for the call to say its ready!

[Granite photo from qndesigns all other photos my own]

Bathroom Plumbing and a Whole Lotta Rubble

2011-11-16T09:52:00.000+08:00

These aren't the pretties photos but they show the mammoth job we did on the weekend putting the new plumbing into the bathroom. We worked for 19 hours with the plumber both Saturday and Sunday (lucky he's a friend so we weren't paying for his time, only cost us $75 worth of pipes as he supplied all the rest, what a champ!)

All the old pipes were dug up and ripped out and these are the new pipes for the double shower, cut into the brick, laid into the wall and cemented over. Then the double basin mixers were cut into the brick, laid into the wall and cemented over.

The new shower area is where our bath and vanity use to be (see before pics here)

And the new vanity area is where the shower use to be (see before pics here)

We also cut into the brick and laid the electric pipe ready for the electrician to come and hook it up - a new light switch on the wall and a new power outlet near the vanity - there was never a power outlet in here before I use to have to blowdry my hair in the bedroom and charge the electric toothbrushes in the study so I'm very happy about that one!

Once the pipes were in the wall we had to dig a trench for the shower grate and that's when the fun started. I thought the sand was bad that we found under those tiles and concrete, but we had to keep digging deeper and deeper and bringing up limestone, rock and rubble. I just can't believe the huge limestone blocks that were in there.

I carried about 20 buckets through the house, through the kitchen in fact and out the back door (thank goodness for drop sheets on our polished floors!) and dumped about 8 wheelbarrow loads full of this

As we now know houses in Western Australia like ours that have floorboards and sit on limestone blocks - in the wet areas they lay concrete and then the builders dump all their rubble and bricks in here to fill it. It is truly unbelievable what was in there and I'm now dreading the laundry reno as no doubt we'll be faced with the same thing.

Now the plumbing and electrics are in ready, the next step is finding a solution to our window in the shower problem - which is to replace the window with glass bricks. More on that to come when we figure out exactly how we're going to do that, if we'll do it ourselves or pay the professionals to take care of it. Will keep you posted!

Joining linky party Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style go head on over and check out some serious wows!

Book Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

2011-11-15T20:12:00.000+08:00

I've just finished this bonus read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which was recommended by my Tuesday Girls Book Club

This story is a bit of a heart wrencher about a 9 year boy whose Dad died in 9/11 and the boy spends all his time trying to find out how exactly his Dad died and what he was doing in those final moments. This book had me want to laugh out loud in some parts and then trying not to cry (I read most of the time on the bus and its not a good look getting teary on public transport!)

The simplicity of how a child thinks makes this book something that I liked the most. To see things how kids do, uncomplicated and straightforward, (it actually reminded me of Room the very first Book Club read in that way). There are some strange stories told by other people in this book which I found a bit hard to swallow. There are also some quirky pictures and markings throughout the book which even had my librarian make a note "red marks part of book". Yes this is definitely an out of the ordinary book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the events of 9/11

I give this book - 3 stars

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1   Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2   Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3   Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4   Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read

5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

[Image from Wiki]

Bookfessions

2011-11-14T19:08:00.001+08:00

I found this cool website Bookfessions which are confessions and thoughts of a self proclaimed book lover, bibliophile, book addict, reader, lover of literature, nerd. I found myself smiling at these confessions there are so many I can relate to, here's some of my favourites

What's your favourite Bookfession?

[All images via Bookfessions]

Glass Basins for the Bathroom

2011-11-12T14:41:00.000+08:00

My heart goes pitter patter every time I see glass basins in a bathroom I've always loved the look of them they've got that different edge and a real wow factor that I've been wanting for my house. So when it was time to pick the basins for the bathroom I thought bugger the practical white porcelain, I'm going for the glass basins and making my renovating dreams come true!

I found a fantastic local company called The Stone Super Store which have 100s of different glass basins in their showroom to choose from and I looked through their brochures and website a zillion times and visited the store twice before I picked one. It's called Sparkling Silver and has silver foil on the outside and crushed glass look on the inside. They are made from 20mm tempered glass so strong enough for every day use. Plus they look ah.mah.zing! What do you think?

We are having a double vanity which means we need to buy 2 of everything - we bought 2 of the sparkling silver bowls, plus the pop up waste and spacer (which allows it to sit up a bit so you can wipe under the bowl). We bought them home and had a bit of a play around to see how they would look on the bathroom vanity (which is in the midst of being made)

I'm so happy with them and feel like my renovating dreams are slowly coming true being able to have these amazing pieces in my home. They will be the hero of the bathroom ... you wait and see!

Stirling Silver Bowls $319 each - rrp $395

I saw them at another shop who I won't name and shame (unless you ask me to!) for $495!

Pop up silver waste $27.50 each

Silver spacer $25 each

Total $743

Where's That Sand Coming From?

2011-11-11T08:34:00.000+08:00

The bathroom floor of course! I had no idea that when I chipped through the floor tiles and sledgehammered through the layer of concrete that I'd be standing in sand and rubble. In the house. Sand. The house is covered in a fine layer of dust it's found it's way onto everything even the laptop keys feel dusty. Oh the joys of renovating!

As you can see the bathroom demo is in full swing. I got all decked out in my sexy safety gear - glasses, gloves, ear muffs and got stuck in with my scrapper and mallet. All that banging was good to get out some pent up tension I tell ya, but it may have ruined my neighbors leisurely weekend nap we were making a hell of a noise. It took pretty much all day to demo - turned the water off, closed off the taps, removed the old vanity and tap wear, chipped all the tiles off. Then Pete had some fun with the manly tools a kick ass drill bit and sledgehammer. The shower alcove was chipped away and because its the wet area an extra layer of bricks came out with the shower recess.

Then the sledgehammer came out onto the bath to break the surrounding tiles and pull out the bricks and rubble holding the bath in place. We couldn't get under the bath to undo the pipe so used a hacksaw to cut through the bath pipe. Yep that should do it! My parents want the bath for the farm as a drinking trough for the horses - can you imagine a purple bath in the paddock that will be a funny sight.

All the rubble was taken outside bucket by bucket and once the rest is cleared I'll order a skip bin to have it all removed. So thats the hard bit done now I just need to get my butt into gear and pick the tapwear - shower mixers and basin taps so that the plumber can come and do the plumbing this weekend. Yes tomorrow!

Cheese and Bacon Muffins & Minestrone Soup

2011-11-09T18:30:00.000+08:00

This weekend was really overcast and rainy so I thought I'd make one last pot of soup for the season before summer hits us. I made Donna Hay's Minestrone soup. I also made from my written book of favourite recipes my Mum's Cheese and Bacon Muffins. These muffins are always a hit with a bowl of hot soup ... enjoy!

Mum's Cheese and Bacon Muffins

Makes 9 large muffins
10 minutes prep
20-25 minutes baking - unless you put extra cheese in them (like I do) then you'll need to cook for about 40 minutes and they'll be soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside .... delicious!

Donna Hay's Minestrone Soup

Serves 4-6

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 gloves garlic, sliced

1 carrot, chopped

1kg smoked ham hock

400g can peeled tomatoes

5 cups beef stock

1/4 cup small pasta, such as macaroni

150g broccoli, chopped (I put in 3 celery sticks, chopped instead)

100g green beans, chopped (I put in 1/2 cup frozen green peas instead)

310g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

sea salt and cracked pepper

2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

Cook the oil, onion, garlic, carrot and celery in a large saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove the skin and visible fat from the ham hock then add to the pan with the tomatoes and stock. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes Remove the hock, cut the ham from the bone and dice. Add to the pan with the pasta, beans, salt and pepper. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Add the frozen peas for 5 minutes. Stir through the parsley then ladle into bowls and serve with shaved parmesan cheese.

Playing along with linky parties Hummingbird's Song Baking Bliss and Savvy Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays

My 1960s Retro Bathroom Beauty

2011-11-07T20:48:00.000+08:00

Before I go all sledgehammer crazy I'd better show you some before shots of my 1960s purple retro bathroom beauty in all its glory ...

This is the only shot I have of the old vanity - it had a purple sink to match the purple bath fancy smancy with jarrah legs underneath and absolutely NO storage

We replaced the original vanity about 6 months after we moved in (and before I started this wee blog!) we were lucky enough to be given this small vanity by family who didn't need it anymore and it fit perfectly. We also changed all the plastic taps to some shiny new $30 ones. The new vanity has been great to get us through until we did the proper renovation and it gave a bit of storage but still not quite enough.

There is also storage above the vanity, a built in wall unit with sliding mirror doors but it's very narrow and not very tall so only really good for cosmetics and perfumes etc. We are going to convert this unit into the shower alcove where the shampoo, etc will go. Not exactly sure yet how we are going to do it but we'll work it out. The mirror is so high I can only just see my head so if I want to see anymore I have to stand on my tippy toes (yes I'm on tippy toes in this photo!). I'll be having a large mirror in the new bathroom so I can see from my shoulders upwards thanks very much!

Here's our little bath which admittedly never got used in the 2 years we have lived here. Our new design doesn't include a bath, not sure if we are making a big mistake not having a bath but hopefully the double shower makes up for it. I have no idea how we're going to sledgehammer our way through getting this bath out it's going to be pretty tricky I think.

The shower is 900x900 and our new shower will be 1740x1000 oh yes a vast improvement! We also changed the plastic taps and shower head in here with some shiny new ones for $60. It was the small changes that we made that made it a bit nicer for us until we go to this renovation stage. See that shower curtain? Well there will be NO shower curtain sticking to my butt in the new shower, it's glass shower screens all the way baby!

The tiles with their crazy swirls and tiny floor mosaics which are impossible to get clean. You can see why I'm so excited about my new grey and metallic tile choices.

As you can see I haven't fought the purple, I thought it would be better to embrace it and buy a purple shower curtain, towels etc. I also love the lime green towels and accessories they add a bit of retro fun to the bathroom too.

So that's my retro bathroom before and I'll be sure to show you some durings and in a few weeks time I'll be able to reveal my funky modern bathroom after. Most likely without a purple or green accessory in sight!

Trio of Vases

2011-11-06T14:04:00.000+08:00

Ikea's set of 3 vases that I've been eyeing off made they're way home with me on my latest Ikea shopping trip. The blue glass is such a striking colour they look gorgeous grouped together with some bright flowers in them.

Even though I'm in the midst of renovating and there is dust all through the house from the bathroom demo (I'll be sure to put some photos up soon). That doesn't stop me from wanting the rest of the house to still look nice and there's nothing like a bunch of bright flowers to lift the place up :)

You'll Never Guess ... Tile Picking

2011-11-04T18:08:00.027+08:00

I made 3 decisions in 1 day, yes I know, it's a miracle! I've picked out ALL the tiles for the bathroom. These metallic feature tiles, grey floor tiles and white wall tile (just imagine the white colour chip is the white tile!)

It was actually a lot of fun I’d walk into a tile shop and make a mood board – grab a white tile, grab their feature mosaic tiles and floor tiles and see what would work. I never noticed before how much white really makes the other colours pop.

These are the glass mosaics (don't mind the cracks someones a bit clumsy and dropped them countless times!). You know I'm crazy about feature tiles and I want a metallic feature tile for the shower alcove (where the shampoo etc goes like I posted about here) and either a strip behind the vanity or on the side wall, I haven’t decided yet. I looked in a zillion shops for metallic mosaics and fell in love with these ones which ironically were the cheapest I found at $20 a sheet – compared to $63 a sheet which is what I thought I would have to pay so I was pretty pleased with that.

The floor tiles I picked 300x600 which are the extra large rectangle modern looking shape. I wanted a light grey colour to match in with the metallic mosaics. After running around with my little sample of mosaics (yes and dropping it a few times!) I finally found one that complimented it beautifully in a medium shade of grey with a white fleck through it for a bit of interest. They are porcelain tiles designed and made in Italy and just my luck were on sale for $47.50 per m2 (reduced from $72).

(Don't mind the kacky tiles underneath they will be ripped out this very weekend!)

The tiles for the walls I went for the same size as the floor 300x600 and opted for a bright gloss white. I was going to only tile in the shower area but have decided to tile everything now, floor to ceiling. I love how the white tiles reflect light around and I'm hoping they will make the room feel bigger. The white tiles are $29 per m2 but we are trying to get a better price.

Now we have picked the tiles we are getting quotes from tilers to lay and hope to book someone in before Christmas. Before the tiles are laid we have some work to do - lots and lots of work (I have a 2 page list of things to do in fact). This weekend I'll be busy shopping for the basins, mixers, shower grate, etc ready for the plumber who is booked in next weekend.

Oh and another thing, we also have to demo our bathroom, yes I'm talking some serious sledgehammer action is on the cards, ripping out all the tiles, the purple retro bath, shower recess, etc it is all coming out ready for the plumber. It will be a super busy weekend!

I hope everyone has a sledgehammering good weekend!

My Pin Up Girl Art Is Up

2011-11-02T11:08:00.000+08:00

Remember these retro pin up girl posters I bought a little while ago?

Well I've been carrying around a piece of paper cut the same size so I could find the right frame to suit them. What do you know Ikea came to the rescue, I bought these simple black frames with a white matt for $25 each. I also got to use my rent cheque and got $15 off which was a bonus.

The space above the tallboy is where they need to go as the big blank wall has been boring me for way too long. I decided to centre them on the wall, rather than centre above the tallboy (which is further to one side) and I'm happy with how they look hanging close together and taking centre stage. And the fourth one that was a little different, more seductive than cheeky pin up, is hung on the opposite wall near the door.

I'm so happy I finally have my own pin up art up and at a fraction of the cost of the ones that inspired me at the art gallery

Gallery Art $395 each Vs My DIY Art $33.20 each

Posters @ $11.95 x 4 = $47.80
Frames @ $25 x 4 = $100 - $15 Ikea cheque = $85
Total for 4 = $132.80

Sharing with Wow us Wednesdays over at Savvy Southern Style

Potato Salad With Mustard Dressing Recipe

2011-10-31T09:17:00.000+08:00

Potato Salad With Mustard Dressing Recipe
(From Cookbook Inspiring Tastes by Masterfoods)

The potato salad is an iconic Aussie bbq dish. If someone asks me what to bring to a bbq, I'll always say potato salad please because I've never actually made it myself (besides a failed attempt when I forgot about the potatoes boiling but we won't mention that!) So when I was asked to bring a potato salad to a bbq on the weekend it was a chance to redeem myself. I picked this recipe for it's tangy dressing which I thought would hide any imperfections in my first potato salad - it was a winner and I'll definitely be making it again.

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes, peeled

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces

3 eggs, hard boiled

Mustard Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbs lemon juice

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

4 spring onions, chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the bacon for a few minutes until golden and crisp.

3. Peel the eggs and roughly chop.

4. Combine the potatoes, eggs, half the bacon and half the spring onions in a serving bowl.

5. Make the mustard dressing by combining the mayonnaise, lemon juice, wholegrain mustard and the remaining spring onions in a small bowl. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.

6. Pour over the dressing and toss through. Garnish with bacon.

Playing along with Hummingbird's Song Baking Bliss (ok technically it's not baking but it's too delicious not to share!)

Feature Tiles And Window In The Shower

2011-10-25T18:35:00.002+08:00

I'm full throttle into re-designing the bathroom with a new double shower, adding in a toilet and a twin basin vanity. I think I've borrowed every book there is about bathrooms from the library and have post-it notes on every page in my magazine stash with gorgeous bathrooms I love the look of. But I still can't quite make a decision on what tiles to pick. Truth be told I've had my heart set on a striking feature wall of dramatic tiles, but as there will be a window on the wall I want to make the feature - the back of the shower - I'm beginning to wonder if it will still look like a feature wall.

I'm also not sure what the deal is with windows in showers, a bath you see a lot of but not with a shower and I'm not really sure what to do. Do we replace the window with glass bricks? Do we keep the old window in as is? Do we dare I say brick the window in so it's just a solid wall of tiles? Will it still look like the striking feature wall with a window in the middle or will I be disappointed?

Help!

Here's some feature tiles I love the look of and windows in the shower that seem to work

What would you do if you had a window in the shower?

[Image 1 and 2 The Block Katrina and Amie, Image 3 and 6, Image 4, Image 5, Image 7, Image 8 unknown source found here]

My Bachelorette Pad For Sale

2011-10-22T17:59:00.000+08:00

Before the days of Jarrah Jungle I lived in my very own inner city bachelorette pad. This was my first home I bought and I've decided the time has now come for me to sell. So while looking for photos for the sale, I found some when I use to live there and boy my colour palet has certainly changed since then! As I reminisce about the fun filled years of being a 20something in my bachelorette pad I thought I'd take you on a tour so come inside, kick your shoes off, grab a glass of wine and I'll show you around ...

This is the gourmet kitchen which I certainly didn’t use to it’s full potential, usually just whipping up a toastie sandwich for dinner. My fridge had a dedicated shelf for alcohol and a shelf for chocolate tim tams and that was about it!

Next onto the dining area which I used maybe once a year …. to sit my itty bitty Xmas tree on!

The living room which has a stunning sunny outlook into the pool area and to the front gate of the complex so I could perve on the hotties coming in. Yes it was like my very own Melrose Place (does anyone remember that show?!)

The master bedroom with its own balcony doors and not 1 but 2 wardrobes to fit my clothes. The 2nd and 3rd bedrooms I used the wardrobes for the rest of my clothes, living alone has it’s pluses I could spread my clothes out into every room!

My ensuite where my girlfriends and I would all get ready together drinking wine and doing our makeup and hair ready for a night on the town. Combined with the laundry, I didn’t even own a washing machine back then I think I just kept buying more clothes! Oh and my lovely Mum would do my washing and bring it back all clean and folded. You can see why I’m so shocked that I have to wash every single week now!

And the Piece De La Resistance .... the balcony which overlooks the gorgeous pool and spa area and tropical garden. I’d sit out with friends and we'd enjoy a glass of wine and take in the surroundings. Sunday mornings were the best with a coffee and newspaper and the morning sun waking me up.

The best thing about apartment living – there is no lawn to mow or weeds to pull, the caretaker takes care of it all. The pool was cool, the spa was warm, the sauna sweltering, and I had so many fun times inviting my family over for endless BBQs by the pool and my friends over for midnight spas.

I’m sad to say goodbye to my bachelorette pad (and lifestyle!) but I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to live the life of a bachelorette before I found the love of my life and started making Jarrah Jungle our home.

Wish me luck with the sale!

[All images my own]

Book Review: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

2011-10-19T21:32:00.000+08:00

My October Book Club read was The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

What I noticed first about this book was the age of the author - a young blonde 20 something who has made it onto New York's Top 20 Under 40 list. I was really impressed with the authors style in the first half of the book the story telling was fantastic. The second half got a bit lost along the way (or rather I got lost!) with 2 and 3 stories being told at once it was hard to see where one ended and another began.

The story is told by Natalia and is about her grandfathers life, first when he was a kid and later when he was being pursued by 'the deathless man'. The thing about this book is that the stories are whimsical and hard to believe (I mean a tiger having a wife? Really?). Meanwhile the reality of the book is it's being told in the midst of World War 11 and when Natalia is out in the danger zone treating sick kids. So it's like being read a fairytale in the midst of a crisis which is quite surreal.

I would recommend this book for those that like a bit of whimsical in their reality. Of course it's about tigers too, so animal lovers you will no doubt bond to this book as well.

I'm going to start rating my books from now on and I give the The Tigers Wife 3.5 out of 5

[Image via Angus & Robertson]

Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates

2011-10-14T18:44:00.001+08:00

I'm back from my whirlwind Sydney trip and unfortunately I didn't get much of a chance to shop for housewares or clothes I was too busy getting drawn into the chocolate shops ...

I can highly recommend the Lindt Cafe in Circular Quay with brightly coloured macarons (as the French call them) and which Lindt have called Delice. The strawberry delice is absolutely to die for so sweet and tasty. You can also buy a take home pack although I very much doubt they will make it the whole way home with you without being devoured!

For a no kidding around real as real can be hot chocolate you have to try the Guylian Cafe which is a bit further along the Quay near the Chinese Gardens. Each time I walked past it beckoning me to go inside for a delicious hot chocolate. The chilli chocolate truffles are amazing too.

In The Strand Arcade I couldn't resist taking home some treats from the iconic Bon Bon Fine Chocolates shop. Where else can you get sundried cherry's covered in milk chocolate and roasted coffee beans covered in dark chocolate.

I will be enjoying my chocolates with a cuppa this weekend!

[Images via Pininterest - Quote, Photo 1, 2 and 3]

Sydney Suggestions?

2011-10-06T20:38:00.005+08:00

I'm heading to Sydney for work next week and hoping I get a bit of time for some much needed stress relieving retail therapy!

Can anyone please suggest where I should go shopping for funky housewares or art? I'd love to find something a bit different for my lil Perth home! Thanks :-)

Image from Sheraton (where I'm staying)

Chair Changeover

2011-10-03T22:38:00.000+08:00

I managed to score a comfy leather recliner for my craft room, as it didn't fit in the man cave (more on the man cave progress to come). I had to move out the computer desk and chair and jarrah armchair to make space for it. Its pretty dominating in the room but oh so comfy to sit in.

Before

After

What do you think, should I keep the chair or is it too big for the room?

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2011-09-30T07:24:00.001+08:00

The Book Thief by Australian author Markus Zusak

This book was recommended by a very dear friend of mine and I have in turn now recommended it to many people - it has got to be one of the most incredible books I have ever read. Yes a big statement I know but I just couldn't turn the pages quick enough.

The book is narrated by Death aka the Grim Reaper, now before you think it must be ghastly and dark, in actual fact Death uses a bit of humour and keeps the details simple and to the point. The story is about a young girl Liesel who is taken to a foster family, set back in the 1930s in Nazi Germany when Hitler was in the forefront of everyone's minds and in the midst of World War 11.

This was such an intriguing read I just couldn't put it down. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a bit of history, it would suit all ages it is written in very plain english. I could actually see this book being turned into a movie it was so good. I urge you to go and check it out of the library today!

[Image via here]

Around The Tree Garden

2011-09-28T20:36:00.000+08:00

I popped into my parents farm over the weekend while they are away on holidays and it didn't take long for my bargain hunting eyes to notice they had a garden full of flowers growing in abundance, and they had the same flowers I was going to buy in Bunnings to do the garden in my backyard. You can guess what happened next ... armed with a shovel and a big garbage bag I dug up a dozen or so plants and took them home with me to plant. Ummmmah I know a bit naughty but it's not stealing, it's lending me a helping hand!

So the next day the plants looked something like this ...

These monsterous weeds around the ghost gum tree were pulled out

And I planted the flowers around the tree and moved some limestone rocks that were around the front of the house and made a garden bed edging. A bit of mulch and lots of water and they aren't looking to bad.

We still need about 20 rolls of lawn to finish where you can see dirt, and the top left corner which is weeds (although mowed back it nearly passes as lawn in these photos!). But the rest of the backyard is looking green and the lawn has taken and is growing pretty well.

The backyard is all set for some serious ping pong action this weekend!

Playing along with linky party Savvy Southern Style, why don't you pop on over to see what everyone else has been up to

Don't Mind Me

2011-09-27T18:55:00.000+08:00

I'll be over here

watching the sun go down

and the stars come out

by candle light

sigh

I REALLY need a holiday!

I hope everyone is having a relaxing week so far

[Image via Pinterest]

Got Da Roof Tiles

2011-09-23T07:05:00.002+08:00

It wasn't all fun and games over the weekend there was a bit of manual labour for the house which involved loading, unloading and stacking over 250+ roof tiles. Did wonders for my hangover though I barely had time to notice it!

I haven't talked a lot about the garage extension we're doing as I didn't want to jinx the Council who still haven't given building approval for the extension yet and it has been almost a year. But not to be deterred I still want to be organised and get all the things we need like tiles and builders so as soon as we get the ok we can go ahead with it. Believe it or not we've been searching GumTree for 6 months for these darn roof tiles and this is the first time there was a match and the quantity we needed - Bristol Straight line tiles they were selling for $1 each and talked them down to 60c each which worked out to $150 for the lot. They're in pretty good condition and we're going to pressure clean and paint over them so the colour won't matter.

Drove around to the sellers house and loaded the tiles 2 at a time into the back of the ute. I saw at least 4 spiders and 6 little geckos hiding in the tiles, I'm so glad I had my gloves on or I would've been a real girl about it! The tyres sank down under the weight it was a slow and steady drive home. Then unloaded them using a trolley about 20 trips later they were all stacked out the back ready until we need them.

Fingers crossed we get the Council's approval before Christmas so we can give ourselves an early Chrissy pressie of having a new garage.

Childhood Memories

2011-09-20T12:25:00.000+08:00

As mentioned I went to a Childhood Memories Fancy Dress Party Saturday night and thought I'd share some happy snaps with you ....

The My Little Pony Birthday Cake

Barbie and her Pink Convertable

Me attempting to dress like a Cabbage Patch Doll ... yes I even had the authentic signature written on my butt!

Some of the party goers ... Care Bear, Bugs Bunny, Spice Girls, Alladan, Indiana Jones, Punky Brewster, Areal, The Little Mermaid, Horse Rider, James Bond, Lego, Star Trooper, Basketballer to name a few!

Do you go all out when it comes to fancy dress parties?

Dressing up and playing the character?

Yes, Weekend

2011-09-17T16:30:00.000+08:00

I'm so glad it's the weekend ...

Friday night I had a girls night in with my book club girls we watched Bridget Jones Diary: The Edge Of Reason and laughed harder than I have in such a long time. Perfect girly movie to watch and drool over Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.

Indulged in a few glasses of Chandon Champagne one of the nicest champers I've ever tasted

This morning a much needed sleep in followed by cup of coffee outside looking at my freshly laid lawn still wet from last nights rain

Spent a few few hours wandering the shops buying Birthday presents for 2 girlfriends who are throwing a party tonight. I also managed to buy a few early Christmas presents so I'm not running around shopping last minute this year!

Off to a fancy dress Birthday party tonight with the theme Childhood Memories - I'm going as a doll a Cabbage Patch Doll to be exact! There's rumours of a unicorn birthday cake too. Just goes to show being 25 doesn't mean your grown up at all!

What are you up to this weekend?

[Images via Pinterest]

Book Review: The Lost Recipe For Happiness By Barbara O'Neal

2011-09-14T18:48:00.001+08:00

My Book Club's bonus read (for the nerds like me that keep reading too quickly!) was The Lost Recipe For Happiness By Barbara O'Neal

This book takes you on the life journey of a middle aged female chef Elena. Elena struggles with running a kitchen in a man’s world and is haunted by the ghosts of her past after a terrible accident of which she was the only survivor. The book takes you through losing a first love and then finding love again.

I didn't particularly like the main character - I wanted to shake her and hug her all at the same time! But in the end I warmed to her and it was an easy book to read. A bit sad in parts with a few sexy times thrown in. The recipes at the start of each chapter were a clever idea and made me crave some traditional Mexican food.

I would recommend this book as an easy to read chick fiction. A good one to take on your next pool side summer holiday.

[Image via here]