Sale Alert: Vogue + GQ Online Shopping Night

I use to be very much a hands on shopper and loved to browse the shops, buy items that caught my eye (usually on sale!) and then the tricky part was trying to load them all into my car!

But I've come to realise how much easier it is to shop online - you don't have to leave the house and shopping in your PJ's with a glass of wine has become one of my favourite past-times! Often you get better discounts online but more importantly for me is there's more variety as it's not just what's in one store it's the entire warehouse you're shopping from.

So I just have to tell you about a massive one day online sale on today at Vogue and GQ which runs for 12 hours from 12pm - 12am on Wednesday 11 May 2016.

There will be a huge range of fashion brands on sale but my personal favourite is shopping for homewares (of course!).

I am a big fan of Hunting For George which is an Australian based online homewares store run by two awesome sisters. They stock a range of local, international and bespoke brands with lifestyle products homewares, art, bedding and furniture.

Hunting For George are taking part in this one day sale and having 25% OFF EVERYTHING!

This is my shopping wish list for our courtyard garden .....

Numby Pot

Foundation Plant Stand

Serengeti Weave Entrance Mat

Ziggy Pot Hanger

Paper Bag Gold

For the Hunting For George sale at GQ - go here and use the code GOSN2016 at the checkout 

For the Hunting For George sale at Vogue - go here and use the code VOSN2016 at the checkout

For everything on sale at GQ go here and for Vogue go here 

Please note any purchases using this Hunting For George referral link helps to support this blog as I earn a small commission from your sale .... this doesn't affect the price for you in any way and you get an awesome deal and I get to buy homewares to blog about - it's a win win! Thanks so much for supporting the Jarrah Jungle blog! xx

What are your favourite online stores to shop at?

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[Images via Vogue, GT + Hunting For George 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]


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Book Club Book Review: The Girl With A Clock For A Heart By Peter Swanson

The April book that was picked for my Book Club to read was The Girl With A Clock For A Heart by Peter Swanson

This is the story of George and his college sweetheart Liana who re-appears in his life some 20 years after faking her own disappearance.

Liana needs George's help and as he's still under her spell, he gets involved in a money and diamond scandal.

The storyline is exciting and entertaining with lots of action and happenings there was never a dull moment.

However, I found the plot was too predicable, almost as though this book was made to be a movie film script and not a book to read.

The characters were all well defined and I liked the roles they played. But the over use of descriptions for every single person was unnecessary and became a little annoying.

I recommend this book to romantic thriller readers.

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

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[Image via Dymocks] 

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Getting Organised: Life Planner Inspiration

It's no secret that I absolutely love organising and being organised. 

But the problem I'm finding is that I have everything in different places .... A calendar on the fridge for our social events and appointments, menu plans I write out each week and then bin them, my blog schedules and ideas in a notepad, budgets and renovating projects on the computer and to do lists all over the place. 

I would really like one place to keep everything organised and so it is accessible at any time. 

I want to be able to pick it up in my hands and flip through the pages and see at a glance what's happening the week ahead or what the menu plan was last month or who's Birthday is coming up.

A one stop shop if you like of everything happening in the Jarrah Jungle household!

For as long as I can remember I've had a hardcopy diary, up until last year, when I decided to get with the times and get online and use the calendar on my smart phone. I had everyone's Birthdays with reminders and appointments and it was really handy having it at my fingertips on my phone whenever I needed it. 

But the phone's calendar layout is really limited and it's just so uninspiring. The clincher came when I upgraded my phone and lost all my precious data and information - it was gone completely.

To be honest, I never really liked the idea of entering all my personal details into an electronic device anyway as it is no doubt being backed up onto the web somewhere that others may be able to access it, so I wasn't using it to it's full potential as I would a hardcopy diary. 

So I'm reverting back to my hardcopy ways but this time I don't just want a diary - I want a life planner!

A life planner is like a scrapbook or journal where you document what's happening in your life, from celebrations, to holidays, to menu plans, and everything in between your usual bills due, appointments, budgets, etc. 

What I'm really in love with is the creative side - there are so many things to decorate the planner with and personlise it - from coloured pens, to stickers and embellishments, washi tape and so many creative items you can use which makes it a really fun and creative way of remembering your daily life.

I have found so much inspiration online on life planners - from Pinterest to You-Tube and Etsy I spent many hours researching the kind of life planner I want.

I also joined a couple of planner Facebook groups to get an insight into what real users like, advice, recommendations, what to buy and where to buy etc. These groups have given me so much inspiration as they share in my excitement of all things planning, organising and crafting!

Lots of bloggers have done product reviews on the different types of planners available which I found really useful as well when trying to pick the right brand of planner for myself.

I became obsessed with Erin Condren - a very popular American planner company and has rave reviews all over the internet. 

Erin Condren was having a 50% off sale on all life planners (due to 4 months of the planner year already gone) which had the planners starting at $25 but the $40 shipping fee was too much for me - this would total $65 US which is approximately $85 Australian and I'd only have 8 months use of the planner.

So I started to look at alternatives and came across Blitsy a crafting website who have daily sales and discounts and stock the 365 Happy Planner made by Me + My Big Ideas.

The Happy Planner looks very similar and comparative to the Erin Condren planner except it had more appealing features - it was an 18 month planner which will start in July 2016 - December 2017 so will give me a lot more use, it was on sale for $20.99 and the shipping was just $10 so in total cost me $30 USD so approximately $40 Australian which is less than half the price of the Erin Condren planner. 

Many have compared Erin Condren with the Happy Planner and say the Happy Planner is more versatile and user friendly due to the ring system which allows you to easily remove pages to decorate or add new pages in, plus the price difference, it wasn't too hard to convince myself to order the Happy Planner!

I'm really looking forward to receiving my Happy Planner and have been on a shopping spree buying planner stickers from Etsy so I'm ready to go!

I can see having a Life Planner is fast becoming my creative outlet and obsession!

How do you stay organised? Do you have a life planner? 

If you join Blitsy and make a first time purchase it would be awesome if you use my referral code HERE - you will get great discounts and I get a $10 reward to spend on my creative obsession so I can share more product posts like this one with you guys!

Sharing with link party:

Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner

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

[Images via my Pinterest - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

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Mothers Day: Gift Inspiration For Book Lovers

Mother's Day is just around the corner on Sunday 8 May 2016 and I have been thinking about what gift to get my awesome Mum this year .....

My favourite bookstore Dymocks made it an easy choice and put together a Mother's Day gift guide so I decided this year good food is the way to my Mum's heart and I'm giving her a beautiful cookbook.

To narrow down the search as there are so many delicious cookbooks on bookshelves right now I went through Dymocks current top 5 cookbooks for Mum's:

1. The Good Life, Sally Obermeder and Maha Koraiem

2. One Pot Favourites, Pete Evans

3. It's All Easy, Gwyneth Paltrow

4. Australia Cooks, Kelli Brett

5. Dinner with Justine, Justine Schofield

I picked the top two cookbooks on the list ....

One Pot Favourites is a perfect pick for my Mum as she loves her slow cooker and is always looking for new recipes to try.

The Good Life I couldn't resist this one for myself to help with my healthy eating new year resolution.

One Pot Favourites by Pete Evans

RRP $39.99 - Now $29.99

I have two of Pete Evan's cookbooks which I love and this cookbook is no exception - it's modern, great images, delicious recipes and who doesn't want to stare into that handsome face on the cover!

This cookbook has 100 easy to follow meals to roast, braise, stir fry and slow cook in one pot. Each recipe includes methods for cooking in one pot whether it's putting it in the slow cooker before heading off to work or putting it in the pressure cooker when you get home for a speedy dinner.

The recipes are paleo based but include alternative ingredients as well if you aren't keen on paleo - this means there is no dairy, legumes, grains or refined sugar in the recipes. There are a lot of recipes which are a meal in one which is what's so great about one pot cooking, less dishes, less fuss, but packed full of flavor from cooking all day long.

Being a slow cooker fan myself I've noticed there's not a lot of slow cooker cookbooks available that are suited to Australian ingredients and methods so this cookbook is perfect for Australian slow cooker fans as it has ingredients that are readily available.

As the saying goes, like mother like daughter, and just like me my Mum loves her slow cooker and we are always swapping recipes for our slow cooker meals so I know she will just adore this book.

The Good Life by Sally Obermeder and Maha Koraiem

RRP $34.99 - Now $26.24

The Good Life is written by two sisters Sally and Maha who have previously published a recipe book Super Green Smoothies. These girls know their superfoods and proteins and it shows in this cookbook which is packed full of over 160 healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This cookbook is for the health conscious reader and with my new year resolution to start having a healthy breakfast and smoothies it's just what I was looking for. This is not a diet book but more of a lifestyle choice to encourage you to eat dishes with lots of fresh and healthy ingredients.

A lot of the recipes are paleo, sugar, diary and gluten free but there are heaps of tasty looking recipes from breakfast through to dessert. The recipes are coded as lean, fast or fab so you can pick depending on what you feel like eating.

I really loved that every recipe has a stunning full page image to go with it so you know how your dish is meant to look as well as tantalising you to cook it. My favourite thing about this cookbook is the meal plan section towards the back as this will be really helpful in planning balanced and healthy meals for the week.

Overall I really loved this cookbook with it's bright and vibrant images and easy healthy recipes and I can see myself using it a lot.

Tell us Mum's, what's on your wishlist for Mother's Day?


Disclaimer: Thank you Dymocks for sending me a hardcopy of these books to review. As always all opinions are my own. Please note any purchases using these referral links helps to support this blog as I earn a small commission from your sale .... this doesn't affect the price for you in any way and you get an awesome book deal and I get to keep buying books to review - it's a win win!

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

[Image 1, 3 and 5 my own - Images 2 and 4 via Dymocks]

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Book Review And Preview: Lily And The Octopus By Steven Rowley

This is a book review and sneak preview of Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley that is due to be published by Simon and Schuster on 7 June 2016.

Steven Rowley lives in Los Angeles and has been pursuing a career as a screenwriter and more recently a paralegal. To cope with his grief when his beloved dachshund Lily died, he wrote this novel. This is a debut novel and there is talk of it being turned into a movie - not a bad start for this first time book writer!

Set in the bustling city of Los Angeles, Ted a middle aged man who is recently single and spends his days working from home and being with his rescue dog, a dachshund called Lily.

Lily gets sick from a tumor, symbolised as an octopus, and Ted's life is turned upside down as he deals with the sadness of Lily reaching the end of her days and the grief of losing his beloved companion.

The story takes you on a magical journey of Ted and Lily - sometimes I was unsure if Ted was imagining parts of the story or if it was actually happening. Reminiscing about the times spent together, the adventures they went on and the bond between man and dog, all the while trying to fight off the octopus.

This book is powerful and moving, I read it with a lump in my throat most of the way through, but it is so beautifully written that it was worth the emotional rollercoaster. This is the kind of book I couldn't stop thinking about when I wasn't reading it and when you find a book like that you know it's made a huge impact - so I've officially added it to my top 5 favourite books of all time!

I recommend this book to everyone but especially to dog lovers - you will have an instant connection with the story and the unbreakable bond between man and dog.

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

Lily And The Octopus can be purchased from the author here and Simon and Schuster

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 Simon and Schuster 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 Dymocks] 

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The Laundry Room: Organising + Storage

The laundry and powder room renovation has been finished for quite a while now ... almost 1.5 years!

I will share a proper before and after post on that just as soon as I hang some art and find a mirror for the powder room - I can't find the perfect size and style of mirror to sit over the feature tiles no matter how long I've been looking and it's been driving me crazy!

 

Today I want to share how I've organised the laundry since the renovation .....

Putting wall hung cupboards and a bench in the laundry was the best decision we made because it's added heaps of storage to keep everything neat and tidy.

I got busy organising the contents of the new cupboards with these baskets I found in Kmart - 2 baskets for $2.50 and I got 3 packs of baskets as they fit on the shelves nicely.

Labeling the baskets is a must for shorties like me because I can't see the top shelf of the laundry cupboards unless I stand on a step ladder - but what I can see is the labels which tell me the contents of each basket.

I used these Avery dry erase labels on each basket. The labels are re-writable so I used a white board marker so I can wipe them clean and change them down the track if I need to.

The labels are removable too which is handy so you can remove them if you need to change around storage containers.

They also stuck well to these plastic baskets which is great as sometimes it's hard to find labels that adhere to plastic surfaces.

As you can see Lexi our pampered pooch has a shelf just to herself for pet care supplies and dog treats.

I'm slowing working out what else to fill the cupboards with - having no storage in the laundry before means I haven't quite worked out what to put in here yet!

The pull out caddy that we installed inside a drawer is the most amazing organiser - it holds all of the cleaning bottles neatly and is so easy to use you just pull out the drawer and everything's there!

This was part of the flat pack cabinets that we installed ourselves - this pull out caddy is also great in a kitchen (we put a caddy under our sink when we did our kitchen renovation).

We also have a large built in cupboard in the laundry which gives us heaps of storage but the shelves were old and damaged and they weren't secured very well so use to wobble and move whenever we put things on them.

We replaced them with new shelves and wall brackets and it is now a very functional appliance cupboard, as the laundry is just off the kitchen it's useful for all the large appliances that won't fit in the kitchen cupboards.

I am head over heels in love with our renovated and organised laundry, it was once a room that I'd cringe at as I walked into, now I love how fresh and bright and homely it feels.

Now to find that mirror for the powder room and hang some art so I can do a long overdue before and after post!

How do you organise your laundry ?

To see our laundry renovation progress to date check out these posts: 

Laundry Renovation - Wallpapering A Wall and A Door

Laundry Progress - Plastering, Sanding and Washing
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Changing The Plumbing

Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Success
Laundry/Powder Room Renovation - Demolition Weekend Plans 
Laundry Renovation - The Final Design
Laundry Renovation - Wood Look Bench Top
Laundry Renovation - Flat Packs Vs Cabinet Maker 
Laundry Renovation - Flat Pack Assembly and Install
Tips for picking out laundry flat pack cabinets
DIY Built In Laundry Cupboard - New Shelving
Powder Room Renovation - It's All In The Flush
Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity: Take Two
Powder Room Renovation - Basin and Vanity
Splash Back Choices - Be Brave Or Play It Safe
Laundry Renovation - Let's Go Mosaic Tile Shopping
Laundry Renovation - Picking The Tiles
Laundry/Powder Room - Floor Tiles Laid
Laundry Before - Our 1960s Laundry/Toilet
edesign Mood Board for the Laundry
Renovating - 5 tips for planning and designing

Sharing with link parties:
Curly Crafty Mom - The Creative Corner
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays
The Plumbette - Home Improvement Thursday

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

[All images my own]


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Recipe: Easy As Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

If you are looking for a really easy and simple pulled pork recipe with just a few ingredients that you can throw in the slow cooker and forget about until it's time to eat dinner then this is the recipe for you!

I have wanted to do a slow cooked pulled pork for the longest time but I was a bit overwhelmed by all the recipes and different methods to cook it in the slow cooker. Most recipes add liquid like soda or bbq sauce but I wanted a healthier option so decided to make mine fairly simply with a fragrant spicy rub and serve bbq sauce on the side for that smokey flavour. 

Easy As Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients

2 brown onions, thickly sliced

1.5kg boneless pork shoulder 

4 tbs of dry rub (I used a combination of chilli powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, smokey paprika, garam masala and mixed herbs)

Method

1. Make a dry rub with herbs and spices and rub it all over the pork roast. 

(I put my dry rubbed pork in the fridge overnight to let the flavours enhance further but if you don't have time to do this don't worry).

2. Place sliced onions on the bottom of the slow cooker.

3. Place pork roast on top of the onions.

4. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

That's it .... easy as! 

You don't need any liquid as the juice from the pork and onions creates plenty of liquid.

Pull The Pork

5. When the pork has finished slow cooking remove from slow cooker and place onto a chopping board.

6. Use two forks to pull the pork apart. It will be so tender it should fall apart (if it's not put it back in the slow cooker to cook for longer).

7. Place the pulled pork back in the slow cooker to soak up all the lovely cooking juices, season if needed with cracked pepper and salt.

8. I turned the slow cooker back on low and left the lid off so that the juice reduced and by the time I was ready to serve dinner it had absorbed into the meat.

I served this slow cooked pulled pork on flour tortillas with coleslaw, sour cream and bbq sauce.

There are a million ways to use pulled pork - with tacos, flat bread, bread rolls or with rice, pasta, pizza topping or serve with vegetables or salad. Seriously, it goes with everything! 

As mentioned you don't get the smokey flavour as it's more of a simmered method but you can serve with bbq sauce if you want a smokey bbq flavour. The spice rub added lots of flavour and the meat was so tender and delicious for very little effort on my part!

What's your favourite way to serve pulled pork?

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[All images my own]


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