Fresh Cherrys At Christmas Time

Fresh cherrys are in abundance at Christmas time in Western Australia

I can't stand the dried plastic cherrys but give me fresh cherrys and I will eat them until I can't eat anymore!

For the last few years I've been getting fresh cherrys from a cherry farm in Manjimup who deliver to the Perth city area

Unlike the supermarket cherrys these are plump and full, virtually unblemished and stay fresh for weeks in the fridge

Whomever is hosting on Christmas Day I always take a box of cherrys as a hosts gift for them

And of course I keep more than a few for myself too!

 

What food reminds you of Christmas time?


[All images my own]
 

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Another Christmas Over

Phew so we all survived Christmas for another year!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and has been enjoying the holidays.

I had a relaxing Christmas Eve staying with my family on the farm and my entree of Crayfish and Prawn Cocktails were an absolute hit, I'll be sure to share the recipe soon.

Oh and the turkey that huge 4kg bird I was so worried about went into the Weber 8am Christmas morning and 2 hours later came out bbq-ed to perfection. It survived the long drive to Mr P's family and was carved up for Christmas lunch and tasted amazing. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool drinking cocktails .... a perfect Aussie Xmas!

It's been scorchingly hot this week with temps in the high 30s - low 40s which doesn't leave much energy other than to sloth inside in the air conditioning watching my favourite lifestyle channels. I do want to paint the front of the house but I would fry like an egg in the heat of the sun and the paint would dry up before it hit the wall!

 

So a few days of relaxing until the temps cool down is in order .... I think that's my icy cocktail calling me now .... Happy Holidays!

 

Tell me how was your Christmas Day?

Were your Christmas Day dishes a success?

 

 

[Image my own]
 

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Fridays Letters - Dear Last Day At Work

This Friday I'm on the downward spiral towards Christmas ... only 4 more sleeps!

 

I'm writing my Fridays Letters because I haven't for a little while and although Ashley from Adventures of Newlyweds said she isn't doing the link this week we can still play along so why not.

 

I'm imagining this weeks letters are written at this amazing library I'd be sitting back with my home design books taking in the views and feeling inspired.

 

 

Dear Last Day At Work - After today I'll have 2 blissful weeks of holidays. I can't wait for the Christmas holiday season, sleep ins, catching up with friends, watching daytime tv in the air con and enjoying our hot sunny Summer.

Dear Real Living 7th Birthday Competition - I can't believe I won a prize thank you so very much the Peugeot Salt and Pepper Duo has been on my wish list for a couple of years now and are now sitting proudly on my kitchen bench.

 

Dear Turkey - On the weekend I did a trial run of the Turkey Roast Roll in the Weber BBQ and because it was stuffed when carved it fell apart. So we went out and bought a 4kg turkey roast in all it's glory - the dream is becoming the reality afterall! I'm a little scared and a little excited about bringing this big bird on Xmas Day!

 

Dear Xmas Present List - I'm so happy I've bought all my presents and they're wrapped and sitting pretty under the tree. It's such a great feeling to have finished the shopping and not have to battle those crazy crowds of shoppers again.

Dear Council Knockback - You didn't accept the courtyard plans first time around but there is always a Plan B. I'll be back with more info and let's hope we get the go ahead soon.

Dear New Facebook Page - I've gone and joined the cool kids and created a Facebook page for Jarrah Jungle - I'd love for you to like my page over here or on my sidebar.

 

Dear Followers and Friends - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to my awesome readers I look forward to your stories, advice, musings and things that make me smile in 2013 xx
 

 

 

[Image via my pinterest]

 

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Courtyard Plans Knocked Back

This week our front courtyard fence and retaining wall plans were finalised by the Draftsman and stamped approved by the Structural Engineer to say they're all good to go.

 

So I skipped merrily into the Council's office to give them the set of plans (6 drawings in total) and a form completed for the fence to be built and fluttered my eyelashes asking if they could fast track approval so we could get to work on it over the Christmas Holidays.

 

Unfortunately I was told I had filled in the wrong form and would need to apply for a building permit (same as what we did for the garage build) with an estimate of what the job will cost in total and the Council takes a percentage of the build cost. It doesn't stop there, the plans (which are 6 different drawings) don't give enough detail apparently, the Council want to know the gradient of the land for the front of the fence and the plans only show the fence gradient from the side.

 

I tried to reason we've spent almost $1,000 on the plans and even had them stamped by an Engineer as thought that would cover all bases. They suggested we give them a copy of the garage plans they have previously approved, as well as these new plans, complete the building permit form and try again. Hopefully there will be enough information in both sets of plans for us to get the go ahead.

 

Whilst the memory of the garage extension taking 12 months to get approved still lingers, apparently there is a 25 day turn around on these building permits so fingers crossed we'll get them lodged with the Council and get the go ahead early in the New Year.

So we won't be digging trenches over the holidays as hoped but there's always some other jobs around the house we can get stuck into instead ... like finishing the painting of the house exterior that was rendered a few months ago .... or hanging a new door in the bathroom incase we get any Christmas visitors that decide to come at shower time and get more than they bargain for!

It's all good I'm staying cool and moving onto Plan B!
 

 

[Image via My Pinterest]

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Christmas Cheer - Christmas Vignette

I'm joining in with the Christmas Cheer To The Blogosphere link up party for the 5th party theme Christmas Vignette over at A Thoughtful Place

 

My modern Christmas Vignette is atop a faux crocodile skin ottoman I got for a steal at Target last year

 

 

An ikea vase filled with gold and purple beads, Christmas star and

the piece de resistence tutu fruiti Candy Canes

 

 

Stacked on top of my favourite design books including

my latest edition by Young House Love

 

 

Do you have a Christmas Vignette to show?
If so, head over to A Thoughful Place and link up!

Check out Party 1 theme - Christmas Craft

Check out Party 2 theme - Merry Mantle
Check out Party 3 theme - O Christmas Tree
Check out Party 4 theme - Holiday Recipe

 

 

[Image via Christmas Cheer Button here and all other images my own]

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Condolences Across The Miles

Australia may be many miles away from America but it doesn't stop the shocking news drifting through our TVs this weekend about the senseless shootings that happened in a Primary School, Newtown Sandy Hook on Friday morning.

 

The sadness of those small lives lost and the braveness of the teachers and staff who lost their lives trying to save the students. The self sacrifice of those teachers no doubt saved many young lives.

 

It has really hit home just how precious life really is and I just couldn't bring myself to do a normal post this weekend. I wanted to send my thoughts to the families friends and loved ones at this heartbreaking time.

 

 

Offering my sincere condolences across the miles  xx

 

 

[Image via Pinterest]

 

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Christmas Cheer - Holiday Recipe

I'm joining in with the Christmas Cheer To The Blogosphere link up party with the 4th party theme Holiday Recipe over at Schue Love.

This year I'm having Christmas Eve Dinner with my family at my parent's house and in true Aussie Summer style we're having a cold dinner with fresh seafood, Xmas ham and plenty of salads.

I'm bringing the entree and a salad ... it wouldn't be Christmas without lots of seafood so I'm going to make Crayfish and Prawn Cocktails for the entree something a bit more fancy than the standard prawn cocktail. My friend dives for crayfish so they will be caught fresh just for me!
 

I usually alter recipes as I'm making them so this is the base recipe I'm using, but I will share the recipe after Christmas with any pointers on whether it was a winner or not!

 

I am also bringing a salad and my delicious Potato Salad With Mustard Dressing and Crispy Prosciutto should do the trick.

I'm spending Christmas Day Lunch with Mr P's family and everyone brings a dish to share.

This year we are bringing THE TURKEY! Which if you can't tell I'm just a little worried about as I've never cooked a freaking turkey before! While I have visions of bringing a big roasted turkey I know that is not going to happen I don't have hours to cook a bird! I'm going to cheat and go for a marinated and stuffed turkey roll roast much easier to cook and carve. I have bought this Ingham Turkey Roast to trial this weekend in the Webber BBQ to see how it comes out.

My vision

 

 

My reality!

 

Wish me luck!

What dishes are you bringing to your Christmas table this year?

You can see last year's Christmas Recipes over here

Check out Party 1 theme - Christmas Craft here

Check out Party 2 theme - Merry Mantle here
Check out Party 3 theme - O Christmas Tree here

 

[Image Christmas Cheer Button here and Prawn Lobster Recipe and image here and Turkey images here]


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