Book Review: The Crossroads By Pamela Cross

This is a book review of The Crossroads by Pamela Cook that was published by Hatchette Australia on 29 November 2016.

Pamela Cook lives in NSW and writes Australian fiction with a country heart and published her first book in 2012 - this is her fourth book. When Pamela is not writing she spends as much time as possible riding her handsome quarter horses Morocco and Rio, trying to get through her reading pile and attempting to perfect her yoga poses.

This is a story set in the small outback town of Birralong in Queensland and there's three feisty women who tell the story - Rose the mother who runs the old local pub and is struggling to keep it maintained, her daughter Stephanie who lives on a local farm and is dealing with drought and the distress this brings to her family and lastly Faith who discovers Rose is her birth mother and travels from Sydney to the outback town to meet her.

The main characters are all well defined, likable and I warmed to them straight away. The rest of the characters from the regular 'bar flies' to the town gossip are exactly who you would find in a small country town and added a lot of charm and entertainment to the story.

This is your traditional outback rural story and romance, it was a sweet story, although it moved a little too slow for me until the last few chapters when all the family dramas seemed to come to a mad rush at the end.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and if you're looking for a little bit of cringe-worthy (in a good way) romance in a beautiful Australian setting then this book is for you.

I recommend this book to rural romance fans.

I give this book 3 stars out of  5

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 paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

The Crossroads can be purchased from the author here and Hatchette Australia

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here and Netgalley

Disclosure:  NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote authors and their books and I was given this ebook published by Hatchette Australia to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[Image via Hatchette Australia]

Pin It Now!

Book Review: Cooking For Picasso By Camille Aubray

This is a book review of Cooking For Picasso by Camille Aubray that was published by Harper Collins Australia on 1 September 2016.

Camille Aubray is an Edward Albee Foundation Fellowship winner and a writer in residence at Karolyi Foundation in the South of France and studied writing at the Humber College School of Creative Writing Workshop in Toronto. Camille divides her time between Connecticut and the South of France. This is her first novel.

This is a story told in parallel chapters in different time zones across a family generation - from the grandmother as a young woman and then the granddaughter learning about her family's history.

Set in 1936 a 17 year old Ondine who helps in the kitchen in her family cafe in France is to bring meals to the famous artist Picasso every day. I both loved and loathed Picasso but found his art very interesting and even learning of his womanizing ways was quite intriguing. Ondine was such a strong woman for her time and lived an interesting life and I loved her part of the story.

Set in the 21th century young Celine who is Ondine's granddaughter and lives in New York tells the other part of the story. When Celine's mother becomes ill she travels back to France to learn the history of their family particularly about her grandmother. Add to this an entertaining cooking school with a famous chef and Celine on a soul searching mission and you have yourself a very interesting modern day story.

The chapters flowed seamlessly together and were told by such strong and likable female characters, the writing was just brilliant and it kept me engaged and interested until the very end. I admit I was drawn to this book initially because of the element of food and it really delivered on that -  from traditional French cooking to a modern day cooking school - this really added a point of difference to the story and will appeal to food lovers.

Being that the story is set in France this is a perfect holiday read and on my recent Indonesian holiday it was my faithful poolside companion!

I recommend this book to anyone who likes art, food and the romance of France - you will love this book.

I give this book 5 stars out of  5

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 paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

Cooking For Picasso can be purchased from the author here or Harper Collins Australia

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here and Netgalley

Disclosure:  NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote authors and their books and I was given this ebook published by Harper Collins Australia to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[1st image via Harper Collins Australia and 2nd image my own]

Pin It Now!

A Week In Seminyak, Indonesia

Mr P and I are back from our week long getaway to Seminyak, Indonesia feeling relaxed and recharged - the sign of a good holiday!

I first visited Bali about 15 years ago and stayed in Kuta which is a bustling, lively, party town. This time around it was nice to stay out of the hustle and bustle and in the nicer area of Seminyak.

A few months ago I found an amazing deal on Scoopon which gave us over 60% off accommodation plus a bunch of extras like airport transfers, meals, massages and more which was too good a deal to pass up. 

The place we stayed at The Jineng Villas was amazing - it's a group of about 10 villas which are all privately enclosed with their own swimming pool. If you are looking for a romantic and secluded place to stay which is perfect for couples I highly recommend it. 

The accommodation package included 3 meals a day which they would bring to our villa and set the dining table for a romantic meal. We could have breakfast, lunch or dinner and high tea every day. 

I had so many recommendations from people for places to go for dinner or bars for drinks but because the food was so good at our villa we only went out for lunch and dinner a few times as it was just too relaxing dining in and it was free!

Bali is a really hot and humid climate and they have two seasons - wet and dry. November is the wet season so it was even more humid after it rained, which it did in the afternoon and evening most days. 

So when we weren't having a dip in our private swimming pool we spent time at the beach cooling down with our toes in the water and at the beach side bars.

One day we went on a sightseeing tour with Bali Driver Seminyak - we did the full day Tanah Lot and Countryside Tour. 

We were in our own private van and driven around by our guide out of the city of Bali, through all the little towns and into the countryside. We visited three temples which were all so different and unique to one another, we trekked through a rice terrace field and had lunch overlooking the rice fields (this was on my bucket list and I loved it) and on our way home we went to a coffee and tea plantation and tasted samples of all the different coffee and tea varieties.

It was great to get out of the city and tourist areas for the day and see some of the real Bali.

Another really fun thing we did was a Balinese Cooking Class with Nia Cooking School - it was great and I highly recommend doing a cooking class if you want to know more about the local food.

We met up with our group and were taken to a local food market in Seminyak and learnt all about the different spices, herbs and vegetables used in Balinese cooking. Then we went to the Chef's Restaurant Warung Nia and our group took it in turns to help the Chef prepare each dish - we made 12 dishes in total which we were then served for lunch.

We were given a recipe book of the dishes we made which was a really nice touch. Mr P and I are big foodies so we can't wait to recreate some of these traditional Balinese dishes at home.

We had such a great holiday on this tropical island with a good balance of relaxing, pampering, eating, swimming, shopping and sightseeing!

Have you been to Indonesia? 

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[All images my own]


Pin It Now!

DIY: How To Hang Art With Trojan Tools

Over the years as I've traveled to different places I've limited my gimmicky souvenir purchases which ironically are mostly made in China and I've never even been to China! Instead I look for handmade items from the markets or local streets to buy direct from the people who make it.

On our honeymoon in the USA last year we came home with three beautiful artworks all representing special memories of our travels. This black and white sketch of Bourbon Street in New Orleans we picked up from the artist himself at the local market and he even wrote a message for us on the back - you can't get a more personalized souvenir than that!

This art needed to be framed and luckily it was an easy size to frame myself so I hit the shops and found an inexpensive frame at Kmart with a simple black frame and white matting for a professional look.

Mr P and I are experienced art hangers now and have become a lot quicker at this DIY task compared to how long it took us to hang our first gallery wall of black and white photos.

Once you have your art hanging technique right there's no stopping the different arrangements you can create - centered arrangements, gallery photo walls, gallery art walls, the possibilities are endless!

But of course you need to have the right tools for the job too. Being a home DIYer I'm a fan of Trojan Tools which are an Australian brand of tools found on the shelves at Bunnings and marketed towards home improvement and DIY enthusiasts. I've used their renovating tools before and was more than happy to receive some tools needed to hang art at home like a pro.

To hang art you need - A tape measure, level, pencil, hammer or drill

Then you can use - A nail, wall plug, screw or hook

I decided to hang the framed art in our recently renovated powder room just off the laundry which was in need of some finishing touches.

The framed art may have stayed in this spot for a couple of months before we hung it on the wall just to be sure we had found the right home for it .... Does anyone else take months to decide where to hang art or is it just me?

A step by step on how you can hang art

Firstly, you need to decide where to hang your art - hold the frame up and play around with different positions until you find the one you like. As this is a small room, it looked best to center the art on the wall. 

Another tip when it comes to finding the height for hanging art is at eye level, otherwise it can come off looking too high or too low. We went with Mr P's eye level because I am a short-ass!

Use a tape measure to find the center of the wall and mark the center with a pencil.

Next use a tape measure to measure the frame and find out where the center is and mark the center of the frame with a pencil.

Hold the frame against the wall in the position where you want to hang it and use your pencil to mark the center point on the wall.

We used a small level to check the frame was straight and then a large level to draw a straight line.

Now this next part is something we learnt from previous mistakes to do - otherwise your picture will not hang in the exact spot you want it to!

If you have hanging wire on the back of the frame you need to hook your tape measure into the wire and pull towards the top of the frame and measure the distance between the top of the frame and the wire. Likewise if it's a hook on the back of the frame you need to do the same thing and measure the distance from the hook to the top of the frame - this frame had a hook.

Measure on the wall again adding in the measurement between the hook/wire and frame and this new X marks the spot is where you need to drill the hole and hang the hook.

Bear in mind the nail, screw or hook needs to be the correct weight to support the frame.

We use both screws and hooks depending on the type of frame or art we are hanging - nails don't go through our brick walls so that's not an option for us. 

As we have brick walls we used a drill to drill a hole and then a hammer to drive a plug in.

Then we used a drill again to drive a screw into the plug.

A tip to keep the dust from going everywhere when you're drilling is to hold a dustpan underneath to collect the dust - then you don't have anything to clean up!

I have myself a very handy hubby he can work a drill and clean at the same time!!

Once your hook (or screw in our case) is in you're ready to hang your art on the wall.

With one final check of the level, place it on top of the frame, to check that it's straight and then stand back and admire your handy work.

There you have it - in less than half an hour we have hung our art just like a professional!

It's so nice to have some personality on the walls and something interesting to look at - the powder room can be quite a boring place otherwise!

It's so nice to be reminded of our travels to New Orleans with this gorgeous piece of NOLA art on our wall at home.

Do you take months to decide where to hang art? Or is it just me!

Sharing with link parties:

Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
The Plumbette - Home Improvement Thursday

Disclosure: Thanks very much to Trojan Tools for providing some Trojan tools for review. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[All images my own]

Pin It Now!

I Am Sydney Bound

I'm signing off the blog this week as I'm heading to Sydney for a few days to attend a work conference.

You can keep in touch with me on the Jarrah Jungle Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages

I missed the conference last year as I was dealing with some health issues but I'm fighting fit this time around and looking forward to going this year. This will be my 5th year I've attended the conference and it's always good to keep learning and developing skills.

I always look forward to an interstate trip and it's a real treat to have a hotel room all to myself with room service and no cooking or housework to do!

I will see you back on the blog next week hopefully with another book review as I'll have some time to read on the 5 hour flights!

Have a wonderful week everyone x

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[Image my own]

Pin It Now!

First Wedding Anniversary + Getaway To Dunsborough WA

Well 12 September 2016 marked the first wedding anniversary for Mr P and I 

I can't believe we've been married one year now. What a whirlwind 2015 was with planning our engagement party, then the wedding and then a honeymoon around America. Yes 2015 really was an incredible year!

Being married does feel different to being a girlfriend or defacto we feel stronger and more in love (if that's possible!) and ready to take on the world together. I love being Mr P's wifey!

For gifts for the first year traditionally it's paper. So I had this illustration done of Mr P and I on our wedding day with our furbaby Lexi added in as I really wanted to capture our family of three in the first year.

The illustration was created by the talented Natalie of Happy Bear Designs who has an Etsy store. I popped the print in a frame and added it to our gallery wall where it fits in perfectly.

Mr P gifted me some beautiful jewelery not a traditional first year gift but I'm not complaining!

To mark the occasion Mr P and I escaped Down South for a long weekend to celebrate.

We stayed at the Wyndham Resort + Spa in Dunsborough which is right by the ocean and a perfect base for a few days. Our room was really big with a large balcony overlooking the gardens and the pool looked inviting even on a cold Spring day (sadly it was too cold to go for a swim!).

We had breakfast included every morning too which was delicious ... swapping our usual healthy breakfast smoothies for bacon and eggs was a real treat!

Included in our hotel stay was a half day wine tour of the Dunsborough region. It was a quiet day and it ended up being only the two of us on the tour - being driven around with our own driver and tour guide for the day.

The wineries were not busy and we were the only two visitors at some of them and so we felt like we needed to support the small businesses and buy a few bottles of their wines otherwise they may not be open when we visit next time.

We came home with 8 cases (almost 100 bottles!) of mixed wines from the vineyards - lucky we were the only ones on tour that day as we filled up the van with cases of wine!

We visited Mongrel Creek Vineyard (an awesome little shack cellar door), Happs Wines (entertaining hosts and over 30 tastings available), Deep Woods Estate Winery (a bit posh with breathtaking views) and Swooping Magpie Wines (sadly closing down in October 2016 - see above and please support local businesses!).

We had tastings at all the vineyards and lunch at the last stop.

For a late lunch one day we dined at the beautiful Wise Vineyard Restaurant where the vines meet the sea overlooking Eagle Bay.

I have been stalking this place on Instagram for ages and was so happy to finally get my own Insta worthy photo of the view! As well as the view the food was amazing we had share plates of smoked kangaroo, pickled octopus, corn and jamon croquettes and pork belly.

We also dined at the local pubs so Mr P didn't miss out on the footy finals that were playing on TV over that weekend.

Happy hour nibbles with a pint of beer or cider at Occy's were amazing and such good value.

As was the pizza at The Pour House that we took back to our hotel to feast on with a late night movie.

Besides eating and drinking our body weight in wine and food (as you do on holidays!) we also ventured into Busselton and walked along the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere.

There was a local market set up as well which was a nice way to spend a few hours wandering around the stalls looking at the local produce and home made products.

We spent an afternoon in Eagle Bay although it was freezing cold we were snuggled up to keep warm on the beach with beautiful clear skys, watching the waves and people beach fishing, it was a great way to pass the time.

We really do have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Dunsborough is only a 2.5 hour drive from Perth but it feels like we've been on a real mini break it was a great way to spend our first wedding anniversary.

I wonder if it will become a tradition and we can visit every year. I'm sure we'll need to stock up our wine collection again by then!

When was your last mini break or getaway ?

For exclusive extras and daily updates ... follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

[All images my own]

Pin It Now!