Harvest Box Review And A Giveaway

Let's kick off the week with a tasty Giveaway peeps!

This fun Harvest Box landed in my mailbox last week and I couldn't wait to see what treats they had packed for me.

I was a little worried as the box got wet from the rain but thankfully they were packaged well and my snacks didn't get soggy they were safe and dry.

So how does Harvest Box work? 

You rate what you would like to try and Harvest Box will select 4 portions out of their 50+ mixes of nuts, dried fruits, seeds and snacks.

Select your delivery days and then wait for your tasty lucky dip parcel to arrive. It will be mailed to your home or office anywhere in Australia for $7.95.

If it will stop me from raiding the biscuit jar at work or the chocolates at home it is well worth the money!

In my box were 2 nut mixes.

HoneyBGood cashews coated in honey and sesame seeds and really sweet, a bit chewy and a delicious one for the sweet tooth's and Hola Hola a spicy mix of cashews in chili and lime, crunchy bbq corn and peas - this was a really tasty mix and my favourite.

Hola Hola mix

The other 2 mixes were fruit, nuts, seeds and chocolate buttons.

The Kokoda Trail was a super seed mix of dried fruit, nuts and seeds and also a nice surprise of few chocolate buttons thrown in. Mont Blanc was similar from the dried fruit range and had fruit and white chocolate buttons.

These were a bit of a naughty but nice mix feeling healthy for eating the fruits and nuts until bam a sweet chocolate slips in there too!

Kokoda Trail Mix

I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty these snacks were because let's be honest when I think healthy I also think plain and tasteless but these little packages were far from boring.

The Hola Hola mix created a little party in my mouth I know where the name comes from now ... Hola Hola!

In terms of value, at $7.95 per box including delivery to you I think they are good value for money.

Yes they're more expensive than mixing up your own fruit and nuts from the supermarket but seriously, who has time for that - not me!

A big bag of nuts can get pretty boring but these are far from that with interesting mixes and combinations. The value comes from it being delivered to you and the element of surprise and trying something different.

Harvest Box are giving a free box away to one of my lucky readers! For your chance to receive a Harvest Box delivered right to your door and packed full of tasty snacks all you need to do is:

1)  Follow Jarrah Jungle here or on BlogLovin here
2)  Like Jarrah Jungle Facebook page here
3)  Leave a comment here or on my Facebook page so I know you've entered
4)  Giveaway open to Australian Residents only
5)  Competition closes Friday, 24 May 2013

Winner will be drawn at random and announced on 25 May 2013 ... Good luck everyone!

Note: This giveaway has now closed - the winner was announced here.

If you can't wait for the Giveaway, Harvest Box have kindly offered readers their first box at half price so for $3.97 you can receive one of these tasty treats posted to you anywhere in Australia - discount voucher here. 

Disclosure: Harvest Box partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their product. As part of this promotion I was given a box to review and also one to Giveaway. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. I have not been told what to say about this product, I am free to form my own opinion and share them in my own words. All opinions are my own. Harvest Box will be posted to winner. This prize cannot be exchanged for money.

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Friday's Letters - Dear Birthday

I'm just that bit older this Friday ... older but not quite sure about the wiser bit! I'm sharing my Friday's Letters with Ashley at The Sweet Season head on over here to link up your letters too.

 

I'm imagining I'm writing this weeks letters from this eclectic home office sitting back in the outdoor chair feasting on leftover Birthday cake and a shot of espresso.

 

Dear Birthday - Another year older and another year I'm shown how special my friends, family and Mr P are to me .... spoilt with flowers, cake, gifts and a surprise visit from my brother. I'm feeling the love xxx

 

Dear Lexi - Week 17 and I have taken you on your first walk with me all on my very own. Apart from you nearly choking the entire way just so you could walk in front of me to sniff out the bushes I think I did ok.

 

Dear Kitchen Reno - This weekend we have the brickie coming over to help cut out the window and brick it into a doorway ready for the french doors to be installed. We're at the half way mark now 3 weeks without a kitchen and 3 more weeks to have it all ready for the new kitchen to be installed. We can do it!

Dear Saturday Night's Cross Dress Party - Why do men love to dress up like women? They can't stop grabbing their fake oranges as boobs and lifting their skirts to show off their stocking legs! Saturday night's party is going to be a hoot!

Dear Autumn Weather - I'm loving the cooler temperatures and listening to the rain when I'm inside all safe and warm. The change of seasons means the heater has made an appearance and so have my ugg boots!

Dear 3 Year Blog-versary and A Giveaway - Next week I'll have had this blog for 3 years WOW time has flown I didn't know I'd still be writing about my renovating journey 3 years on! I also have a Giveaway to share with you guys so stay tuned for more details :-)

Head over here to join in this weeks Friday's Letters

[Image via my Pinterest]
 

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Kitchen Electrics and Plumbing and When Its Ok To Draw On Walls

Last Weekend I was having deja vu from when we did the plumbing in the bathroom and it took 2 days to redo all the plumbing because we totally reconfigured the layout and pipes. Luckily the kitchen wasn't as bad it took just 1 day ... also lucky is we had our plumbing mate helping us again so labour was paid in toasted sandwiches and cold beers!

Mr P and his best mate the super star plumber laid all new electrical conduits in the walls for the power points, light switches and a point for the gas (we're converting from electric stove to a gas one which will be so much better to cook on). They also redid the plumbing and pipes for the sink and dishwasher.

 

The first job would've been fun for kids to do draw on the walls! We marked out where all the cabinetry will go thus working out where we need to put power points and light stitches.

 

When it's ok to draw on the walls!

 

We want a 1.5 sink so worked out where the plumbing and pipes need to go and also pipes for the dishwasher. I've only ever had a single sink but the extra .5 sink will be useful when I've just filled up the sink and then need to tip something out or rinse it I don't know about you but this happens to me all the time!

 

Looking at technical drawing of sink to work out where to lay pipes

Pipes drawn on ready to be cut out

Pipes cut out and new pipes laid

Pipes cemented over ready to be connected

The old ceramic plumbing pipes were removed and replaced with plastic ones.The pipes use to come out of the wall but we pulled them out and cemented over the hole. We will change all the pipes on the back of the house to come out from ground level as having them on the wall is a bit of an eye sore (bathroom and kitchen done but the laundry and air conditioning are still to do).

The window on the left is the kitchen and the window on the right is where we are going to cut the window out and turn it into a doorway with french doors that will go out onto a deck  ... the deck is still to be built as you can see! Currently the only way out to the backyard is through the laundry door which you can see on the far left. Having access from the Kitchen/Dining area is going to make the space flow and be fantastic for when we're entertaining.

Back view of the house

Digging out the old pipes

Lexi aka Site Supervisor thinks this hole is lame ... she can dig much deeper!

Next was the electrical conduits in the walls these were cut into the brick walls with a wet saw and then chipped out. Copper and plastic pipes were laid in the walls and then concreted over. We will need to properly patch and repair the walls ready for painting.

 

Electrics cut out of walls and pipes laid

 

Electric conduits fit into the walls ready for electrician to hook up power and lights

Cementing over the pipes in the walls and getting the walls ready for painting

With all the cutting and banging going on there was a bit of an incident on the other side of the kitchen wall in the living room a bit of plaster came flying off just missing my new ceramic stool and landed on the floor! Another wall to patch and paint. Bugger!

That little wooden wedge got knocked a little too hard and caused damage on the other side of the wall
- the Living Room

See the wedge peeking through? That was not meant to happen!

Another patch and repair job that will need to be done and then the wall repainted

Once all that work had been done there was a heap of rubble to clear out of the room. Thank god we put plastic over the floor because the wet saw also left a lot of water behind which turned everything into mud. It wasn't pretty.

A whole lot of brick and rubble

Then the cleaning fairy (yes that's me!) came along and swept, vacuumed, mopped and ta da I'm cooking dinner on the oven come night time ... ok this night in particular we went out for Thai as I was a little to tired to cook and the room still felt a bit damp and dusty from all the day's work.

So that's another job ticked off the Kitchen Action Plan and onto the next ... repairing the floorboards from where the pantry was removed.

For updates on the kitchen as I go Like Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and you'll never miss a thing!

 

Sharing with link up parties:
Wow us Wednesdays over at Savvy Southern Style
Thursdays are your days over at 52 Mantels

 

[All images my own]
 

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My Birth-Day Not A Birth-Week

It's my Birthday tomorrow and unlike most years I'm not taking an indulgent week off work for a Birthday week. I'm playing it low key because I've just had a week off work to holiday at home which was sooooooo relaxing (apart from the ripping out the kitchen part)!

This year I plan to cram into 24 hours .... Kisses from my man, a sleep in, lunch and catch up with friends and a family dinner to finish off the night at a local Chinese Restaurant where we'll order way too many spring rolls and leave feeling like we'll explode from eating too much ... That's a sure sign of a lovely night out!

I don't feel like making a big deal of my Birthday this year. No parties. No fuss. Just some down time with special people who make me happy :)

If someone wants to bake me some of these Ginger Ale cupcakes though that would be ok with me!

 

[Images via my Pinterest 1 and 2]

 

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Appliances - White Vs Silver

We need to buy a lot of appliances for the new kitchen: Oven, Stove top, Range hood, Microwave and Dishwasher and while we're at it we'll probably buy a new coffee machine, kettle and toaster too as these are a bit worn out - the coffee machine is possessed and turns itself on and starts leaking water everywhere it's a little scary and the kettle leaks which is kind of dangerous too!

The lure of shiny silver appliances has been around for years now for everything from fridges to microwaves to kettles. But the plain ole faithful white shouldn't be overlooked as it will blend in better with white cabinetry.



White Vs Silver debate

We already have a fridge - a silver double door fridge which was our housewarming present for ourselves when we moved in. It's been our best purchase to date it has filtered water and ice and a pop down flap at the front where the most used items like milk phfft ok beers and wine sit for easy access without having to open the fridge doors.

As for the rest of the appliances I was going to jump on the silver bandwagon and get all shiny silver appliances except I realised for the dishwasher this would be sitting in a bank of white kitchen cupboards so a silver appliance will really stand out. If the dishwasher was white then it would blend in and make the cupboards look more streamline. 

 

Checking the white dishwasher against our cupboard colour chip

The oven, microwave and range hood will be on the same wall as the silver fridge so having all silver appliances will look good in this cooking area. The overhead cabinets have a silver edge to the cabinets with glass door panels so this is definitely going to be a shiny silver zone.

 

Silver microwave is the colour of choice

The stove top will sit on the black granite bench top so we have chosen a black ceramic base rather than silver so it blends in and disappears into the bench. I'm toying with the idea of having a silver and black range hood to sit above the stove top to match in with it.

Stove top with a black ceramic base

Range hood in black and silver

 

So that's some of the colour choices for the appliances - we have purchased our oven and stove top but we're still deciding on the rest.

Surprisingly I haven't found a lot of useful reviews of the appliances we were looking at buying so I intend to share some decent reviews about them to help out anyone else wanting to buy appliances. One of the main reasons I started this blog was to share my insight into the projects we do as I often couldn't find the information needed no matter how hard I searched Google so I plan on paying it forward and giving out as much as I can to my fellow readers.

What are your thoughts on White Vs Silver appliances?

 

[All images my own]
 

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Friday's Letters - Dear Degustation Dinner

Happy Friday everyone! I'm sharing my Friday's Letters over with Ashley at The Sweet Season why don't you head on over here and link up your letters too.

 

I'm imagining I'm writing this week's letters from this very striking home office with its art gallery wall and I'll be typing away and sipping on a skinny latte.

 

 

Dear Degustation Dinner - Mr P and I have been on the waiting list for months at Amuse and really looking forward to tonight's 12 course degustation dinner with matching wines. Let's call it an early Birthday celebration :)

Dear Kitchen Demolition - I still can't believe we ripped out our old kitchen it is kind of bitter sweet seeing it gone and what is left is a lot of work to be done getting ready for the new kitchen!

Dear New Oven and Stovetop - After much research we finally picked out our first lot of appliances for the kitchen and they are ready to be collected this weekend ... so excited!

Dear Cooking In The Garage - The next few weeks are going to be pretty interesting trying to cook in the makeshift kitchen the garage I just have to come up with some more easy meals like my latest slow cooker recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese.

Dear Lexi - Weeks 15 & 16 you are still up to your digging and chewing antics but you are such a smart dog and obedient you have learnt your doggy manners although apparently that's because I'm a bit of a drill sergeant when it comes to doggy manners .... but it's worked you know when to sit on your mat!

Dear Mothers Day - Happy Mothers Day for this Sunday to all the Australian Mums! And especially to my gorgeous happy loving kind caring one of a kind Mum. Love you to the moon and back xx

 

Dear Overseas Holiday - The deposit has been paid for the South Pacific and New Zealand Cruise and the return flights to Sydney were paid for last week. It feels so good to have a holiday to look forward to ... bring on November.

 

 

Head on over here to join in this week's Friday's Letters

 

[Image via my Pinterest]

 

 

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Holiday For A Cause - Family

I didn't think I would be heading overseas for a holiday this year because of the work we want to do around the house with the Kitchen Renovation and Courtyard.

Except that my Nanna who is my only remaining grandparent has been asking me for almost 5 years now when we can go on another cruise together and I knew that I needed to put some time aside to make her wishes come true while she is still able to travel.

My gorgeous Nanna

My Nanna and I, my parents, and my Aunt and Uncle (my Dad's brother) went on a family cruise for my Nanna's 80th Birthday on board the Sun Princess in 2007.

We had 3 cabins that were right next door to one another and I shared with my Nanna ... the first thing she said to me when we got inside was "What happens in the cabin stays in the cabin" and after that hysterical laughter I knew we were going to have a very entertaining few weeks!

My Nanna and I sharing a cabin pondering the tough decisions ... What should I wear tonight?!

We did a 16 day cruise around Australia from Sydney to Fremantle.

On my Nanna's Birthday we arrived in Cairns and I had organised for a limousine to pick us up from the port and tour us around the city .... there it was waiting stocked full of cans of bourbon for the men and bubbly for us ladies and we were driven around town in style.

Surprise we hired a limo!
From Left to Right - Aunt, Uncle, Nanna, Dad, Mum and Me

I was a little worried at first, being a 27 year old single girl, how I would go sharing with my Nanna who lives in the country so I only see a few times a year.

But we had a bloody fantastic time together she was actually a pretty good wing man pointing out the cute bartenders and then chatting to them and cheekily pointing in my direction - yes it was embarrassing but she did get me lots of attention! It really was a treasured time for all of us and I know those memories will last for many more years to come.

My wing man can spot a handsome young feller from a mile away

And now we are going to do it again ... taking my Nanna on a cruise aboard one of the worlds biggest ships the Voyager of the Seas. We were a bit worried about the size of the ship being too big but I think we will manage ok after all what's the rush when you're on holidays! 

This time we are going with my parents, Mr P and I (this will be our second cruise together) and my Nanna is sharing with a friend of my Mum's who is also in her 80s.

Things will probably move a bit slower this time and that's fine. The main thing is that my Nanna goes on this cruise holiday and eats all the delicious food, experiences the fine service and entertainment, enjoys travelling out of Australia through New Caledonia, Fiji and New Zealand and that we all have a happy healthy fun time.

Grandmothers sprinkle stardust over Grandchildren’s lives

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