Wedding + Honeymoon = Blogging Break

With my wedding just a few days away and then I'll be honeymooning around the USA I'm signing off the blog for the rest of the month.

After 10 months of planning everything for the wedding is organised and I'm really happy with how it's come together - being my own wedding planner was so much fun I really loved it. Most importantly I can't wait to be married to Mr P, the man of my dreams, and then he can officially call me wifey!

Our suitcases are packed for our honeymoon which will be a long 20+ hour flight to get from Aussie Land over to the USA. I'm so excited for this trip it's always been a dream to go to New York and Mr P and I have worked so hard to get there I can't wait!

My house sitter is ready to move in and the fridge is stocked with wine and chocolate in appreciation.

Our fur baby Lexi is in good hands and will be absolutely spoilt by our dog sitter .... I don't think she'll even notice we've gone!

Take care everyone have a wonderful few weeks and I'll see you next month!

You can find me over on my Instagram and Facebook pages until I'm back on the blog! 

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Removing The Granny Flat - Up And Away!

Anyone that has followed my blog for the last year will know that we are at the stage now when we're ready to subdivide our block and as part of our subdivision plans we cleared out and emptied our Granny Flat that we've been using for storage for 6 years so that it is now finally ready to be removed from the backyard.

Since then we've been waiting for the crane truck and truck removalist to be free on a day that we could be home to supervise the removal ..... we thought an hour would be enough to get it in and out but turns out it was a lot more involved than that and took the entire day - over 7 hours from start to finish!

Wait until you see the photos it really was surreal to see the granny flat being lifted off the supports and into the sky, over the house, and down the side to be placed on the removalist truck and taken away. 

The first obstacle was to get the crane truck down the side of the house into the backyard, across the sandy driveway - we had a bobcat come in a few weeks ago to flatten the sand and get it ready for the truck - but the sand was still too soft and boggy and the truck kept getting bogged and we had to keep getting it out!

If we had of known the sand was too soft we could've laid down some road base and we wouldn't have had all the problems we did ..... hindsight is a wonderful thing!

The crane truck can get itself out of being bogged by extending the outriggers, putting planks of wood underneath them and moving the truck over. The front and back wheels can be lifted off the ground at different times too. 

It was really awesome to see something this big get itself out of a tricky situation!

Once the crane truck was moved over enough to get it balanced the crane came into action - the crane was massive, it carried a bar across to the top of the granny flat, the guys secured straps around it, and then lifted if off the supports.

It took a few goes before it was ready to be lifted - they had to keep adjusting the straps and securing wood chucks so it didn't cut into the walls and frame of the granny flat, as you can see there was some damage to the side but it wasn't too bad.

The granny flat weighed 5.5 tonne and the crane was 50 tonnes.

They lifted the granny flat up and over our house and down the side of the house where the transporter truck was waiting.

It was swinging near our new roof, eaves and gutters ..... and on the other side the neighbors house ..... with just centimetres to spare on either side it was a very tense time!

To add to all the excitement the granny flat got stuck on the neighbors fence, luckily they weren't home at the time because Mr P had to get out the hammer and hack away at the fence to free the truck and granny flat to get it out!

The fence has to be replaced anyway but you should've seen the look on their face when they came home to it! Mr P has fixed it up for them temporarily until the new fence is installed.

It was pretty touch and go there for a while until they could secure the granny flat to the back of the truck.

Then as the transporter truck was driving out it got bogged - with the granny flat on the back! 

So then we had to wait for a big truck to come and pull it out.

We had 2 pilot vehicles with their oversized signs and lights flashing at the ends of our street directing the traffic. Once the transporter truck and granny flat was pulled out they moved really quickly with 2 pilot vehicles to get it on the road and off to the truck depot.

It was so bittersweet seeing the granny flat loaded up and going past the house .... I actually waved goodbye to it!

But it wasn't over yet ... now we had to get the crane truck out of the backyard! Luckily it can get itself out of tricky situations with it's outriggers but it still took another hour or so to get out.

All the guys left just in time as over sized trucks can't be on the road late afternoon ..... they had just enough time get back to the truck depot!

This was such a huge milestone for our subdivision plans and a momentous occasion in the Jarrah Jungle renovations to see our plans come to life after 6 years of talking about it! 

Now for a final goodbye granny flat - you were awesome to us for storage and saved us while we renovated our bathroom, toilet and laundry. 

You will be missed but I'm sure you'll make another family happy now! 

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Book Review: Black-Eyed Susans By Julia Heaberlin

This is a book review and sneak preview of Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin that was recently published by Penguin Books Australia on 26 August 2015.

Julia Heaberlin grew up in a small Texas town and five years ago quit her entertaining career as a newspaper features editor to begin her writing career. Julia writes thrillers and is currently at work on her fourth book.

This is a thriller that switches back and forth throughout the book between Tessa as a 16 year old girl and the lone survivor of a serial killer to 20 years later as a woman trying to remember what happened to her and how she ended up in a shallow grave with the bones of 3 other "Susans" covered with black eyed susan flowers growing over their grave.

When the man thought to have been the person responsible for kidnapping Tessa and the other "Susans" is facing death row and with new forensic information coming to light - Tessa starts to have second thoughts about whether they have imprisoned the right person.

The story follows Tessa's teenage sessions with a psychologist and then Tessa as an adult working with lawyers and forensics to try to remember what happened to her all those years ago. The tests of her memory and her mental state make this a very realistic read.

From the very beginning this book gave me goosebumps, it was thrilling and mysterious, and disturbing as details of the missing girls the "Susans" are slowly revealed.

I absolutely loved this book - the writing is brilliant, it's modern and upbeat, the characters are likable and realistic, which just makes it all the more terrifying!

I recommend this book to thrill seekers who like modern tales of suspense and mystery.

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

Black-Eyed Susans can be purchased from the author here and Penguin Books here

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 Penguin Books Australia to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

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[Image via Penguin Books Australia] 

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DIY Bride: Simple + Rustic Ceremony Booklets

When I asked the Reverend of the Church where Mr P and I are getting married next month if he had a template for the ceremony booklets that I could use he actually tried to talk me out of having a booklet! 

Well there's no way this crafty minx wasn't going to make a ceremony booklet! 

But the Reverend was right in what he said that people usually fiddle with them and read along the script instead of watching what was happening in front of them. So I took his advice on board when making our ceremony booklets.

For the front of the booklets I kept the details to the absolute minimum - I didn't include the vows or the readings or anything else I kept it short and sweet and in good humour which is Mr P and I down to a tee!

For the back of the booklets this is where I wanted to acknowledge the people involved in the wedding - our bridal party, parents, those giving readings and to include a thank you message to all our friends and family.

I designed the booklets in a word document, copied 3 designs to a page and printed double sided on brown paper so that each booklet is just a small strip of paper with information front and back.

The brown paper is from Target and cost $8 for 40 sheets - with 3 designs a page means I could get 120 booklets from it. I used the same type of paper to make the wedding invitation belly bands.

I cut the papers with a guillotine, it's a real life saver having a guillotine I'm so glad I got one to do the wedding stationary it's made it far easier than scissors and gives a much more professional finish.

I had some leftover Avery labels from when I made the wedding stationary - white and brown labels that I had inserted our monogram initials into and printed out in colour. You can see how I DIYed the wedding stationary here.

I reused those labels to add some texture and colour to the booklets. Besides any excuse to use our monogram initials and I will I just love the floral heart design and it's so awesome that it was a free design to download!

I finished them off with a pretty piece of green satin ribbon that matches the wedding decor theme, used a two hole punch and then threaded the ribbon through and tied it in a knot.

I was surprised at how much ribbon I went through - 20 meters in total. The ribbon cost $4.

Next I needed a nice booklet holder to store them in.

I shopped at home and found a strong square box that was the perfect size, I tied some gold satin ribbon around it with a big bow at the front and filled the box with a piece of gold satin fabric.

I think the booklets look really great in the home made box .... even my furbaby Lexi is impressed!

This little craft project took me a few hours to design on the computer and then a few hours to assemble.

The total cost was $12 for 120 booklets which is an absolute bargain. Let's face it most of these will end up in the rubbish bin so there's no point in spending a lot of money on something that ends up in landfill right!

Do you keep the ceremony booklets from weddings?

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Book Review And Preview: The Saddler Boys By Fiona Palmer

This is a book review and sneak preview of The Saddler Boys by Fiona Palmer that is due to be published by Penguin Books Australia on 23 September 2015.

Fiona Palmer is an Australian author who has written a number of rural romance novels. Fiona lives in a tiny town of Pingaring in Western Australia and spends her time writing, working as a farm hand, helping out in the community and looking after her two children.

This is the story of 22 year old city girl Natalie from Perth who moves to a country town in Western Australia to be a school teacher for a year in a tiny remote school.

Natalie takes a liking to one of her school kids Billy and single dad Drew aka The Saddler Boys. They soon become friends and show Natalie what life is like in farming country - shearing sheep, bomb fires in the paddock and being a part of a close knit community.

Natalie is torn between leaving her family, friends and fiance in the city and living her dream of teaching and living in a country town that she's growing to love.

I really enjoyed the writing style, it was a sweet romance, easy to follow and down to earth. I also liked all the characters in the story, in fact they were so realistic I think I may even know some of those country folk and stereotypes!

I was drawn to this book mostly because it's based in my home town of Perth, Western Australia and I love stories about our sunburnt land especially when there's a bit of romance thrown in. I could relate to the country town, farm and school as I grew up in a very similar environment and that is another reason why I enjoyed this book because I could relate to it.

I recommend this book to romance fans and anyone interested in Australian farm life.

I give this book 4 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 Saddler Boys can be purchased from the author here and Penguin Books here

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 Penguin Books 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 Penguin Books Australia] 

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