Goodbye Winter + Hello Spring

I don't know where the year has gone and can't quite believe we are now in September which means we have officially said goodbye to Winter and hello to Spring!

 

 

Goodbye Winter and to rainy days and cold nights spent inside keeping dry and warm by the heater, slow cooked comfort food and endless pots of soup on the stove, wearing uggies, boots and scarves, squeaky windscreen wipers on the car, and trying to dry clothes by hanging them up all around the house!

 

 

Hello Spring and the warm sunshine making an appearance again, the garden comes alive with flowers and the herbs are sprouting, more fresh seasonal foods and salads on the menu at home, the layers of clothing slowly come off, more walking and less driving, more entertaining at home and things to do outdoors.

I'd have to say that Spring is my favourite season of year!

 

What do you love about Spring?

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


[All images via my Pinterest - 1, 2, 3]

Pin It Now!

Book Club Book Review: The Silver Linings Play Book By Matthew Quick

The Book Club read for the month of August was The Silver Linings Play Book By Matthew Quick

 

 

This is the story told by 35 year old Pat Peoples who has just been released from a mental hospital and is trying to piece together what has been happening for the last few years to his friends, family and the outside world while he has been in the "bad place".

 

Pat sees his life as being a movie and he's on a mission to have a happy ending with his estranged wife Nikki. The mental anguish that Pat is under and has kept him in hospital for so long all steams from the love he has for Nikki and he does all he can to try to reconcile and get her back.

 

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the writing style and seeing the world from Pat's perspective. All the characters were portrayed perfectly too - from the football loving therapist, to his best mates bossy wife. I couldn't stop reading until I finished which took just a few days, it was that good.

 

I especially liked Pat's vulnerability, the way he felt about himself and life, and was really taken in by his character.

 

There are some great quotes in the book, my favourite was - I'm practising being kind, not right. I love the mentality behind this saying which Pat said to himself often.

 

The reference to books and authors was also great especially as I'd read a few of them so understood what he was talking about like The Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby to name a few.

 

I recommend this book to anyone who liked The Rosie Project or The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars

 

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 re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

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


[Image via Amazon]

Pin It Now!

Cherie Barber Renovating For Profit - Seminar Review

A few Saturdays ago a lovely friend who shares in my passion for property invited me to a free seminar on renovating.

Needless to say I jumped at the chance and we signed up for Renovating Run Down Real Estate For Profit which is held in every State of Australia every few months and is presented by Australia's renovating queen Cherie Barber and hosted by Stuart Zadel.

Cherie Barber known as Australia's renovating queen

You know with these "free" seminars they're going to try to sell you something - at this one they're selling a $6000 package which includes a 3 day workshop in Sydney, all the paperwork, templates, contracts, etc you will need to start your own renovating for profit venture. Personally, I thought it was too expensive but if you are serious about renovating for profit and unsure where to start, then this will help you in the process.

Project managing my own home renovation over the last few years has given me a lot of insight into how the process of renovating works, organising trades, what order to do the jobs in, and I have created my own documents along the way to help. Although some of the templates and contracts in the package would be useful, I know that I can do my own research and find most of the information I need online ... for free!

Regardless of the package that they were selling - all the information shared on the day was brilliant.

Cherie is smart, approachable and open with her knowledge and understanding of the property market. She shared lots of examples of her before and after renovations, how to keep the budget down, cosmetic updates Vs structural changes, and looking after your tradies to build up a team to help you do the work.

Let's face it, the Australian property market has already boomed and now it's a lot harder to find a do-er-upper home, in the perfect location, for the right price. But there is still money to be made in real estate and this seminar gives you lots of hints and tips in getting your foot in the door to give it a go.

I was really impressed and inspired by the seminar and it's driven me to consider the idea of renovating for profit as a serious business venture. Since doing my own home renovations and the passion and interest I have in the process (as you know I started this blog to document my own home renovations!) I'm contemplating having a go at project managing another renovation .... who knows I could be doing it for a career in years to come just like Cherie!

We were given a book The New Way To Make Money In Property Fast by Stuart Zadel who hosted the event - you can get a free copy here. I've read the book cover to cover and while my eyes glazed over in some parts about taxes and things I didn't understand, it has some really good chapters by property experts about the different ways you can make money from property - everything from the stock market to property development which I found really useful.

The Renovating Run Down Real Estate For Profit seminar was really inspiring and motivating and if you're interested in renovating homes not to live in yourself styled perfectly to your tastes, but to renovate for a profit to rent out or sell and step into the property market then I really recommend you sign up for this seminar.

Hey it's free, you've got nothing to lose except for a few hours of your time!

The next Renovating For Profit seminars are in October 2014 - you can check out the dates here

Stuart Zadel also hosts other property and investment events which you can find here

Have you been to one of Cherie Barber's seminars before? What did you think?

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

[Image sources here]

Pin It Now!

Home Smoker + Indian Inspired Dinner Party Menu

I had some friends and family over for a last minute dinner party over the weekend which had me running around like a crazy woman Saturday morning shopping for food and then coming home to clean the house and cook while Mr P tidied up the patio and backyard which had become overgrown and unloved over these winter months.

Not having a lot of time to plan the menu, we decided to try out our new Bradley Smoker Oven and whip up some tasty smoked dishes - we cold smoked some cheese and hot smoked sausage and tandoori chicken - Mr P is officially the Smoking King - the smoked food was amazing.

I made the remaining dishes which had an Indian theme, prepped and cooked everything ready so it just needed to be reheated or taken from the fridge before serving. That's my kind of dinner party, less time in the kitchen and more time having fun with friends!


Here is our Indian inspired dinner menu ....

Welcome drink:

Limoncello and Prosecco cocktails

Pour into a champagne glass a nip of limoncello and top with prosecco

An easy and refreshing drink to get the party started!

Starter:

Cold smoked cheddar cheese and smoked baked brie stuffed with garlic and lemon thyme,

smoked and sliced South African sausage boerewors, seedless grapes, red apple slices and

bread croutons drizzled in oil and baked in the oven until crunchy

I've always wanted to make a warm baked cheese and now that I have there's not going back it was absolutely delicious and the pre-smoke helped to enhance the flavours too

Main:

5 hour smoked and BBQ whole split chickens in a tandoori marinade

the smokey flavour was amazing this was definitely the hero dish on the table

Vegetables:

Garlic and Chilli Potatoes and 
Cauliflower with turmeric, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fresh coriander

Corn on the cob with butter, garlic and fresh herbs, cooked in an oven bag for 30 minutes

The vegetables were easy to make beforehand and then heat up before serving

Sides:

Cucumber Raita, Banana and Coconut Sambal, Mango Chutney,

Rice, Pappadums and Flat Bread

I made the side dishes ahead of time and put them in the fridge (except for the mango chutney which came from a jar!)

The rice was ready in the rice cooker keeping warm and

the flat bread was slathered in garlic butter and warmed in the oven before serving

We carved up the chicken, put all the vegetable and side dishes in the middle of the table

and everyone helped themselves .... it was quite a feast with enough for 2nd and 3rd helpings!

Dessert:

Fresh strawberries marinated in limoncello, orange juice and freshly ground pepper - recipe here

(I upped the ante and used tablespoons not teaspoons!)

Served over vanilla ice cream and topped with crunchy biscuits

With a shot of chilled limoncello to wash it down

  

We are still learning how to use our Bradley Smoker Oven - how long to smoke for and what flavoured briquettes to use for different types of food.

We still want to try smoking some fish and I want to have another go at pulled pork after our last effort didn't turn out so well!

What's your favourite smoked food?

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


[All images my own]

Pin It Now!

Book Review and Preview: Can You Keep A Secret By Caroline Overington

This is a book review and preview of Can You Keep A Secret by Caroline Overington that is due to hit book stores on 1 September 2014.

Caroline is a well known Australian author and journalist and her previous books have been proudly published by Random House Australia. Caroline lives in Bondi with her hubby, twin girls, blue dog and a lizard.

This book starts out as the story of a young Australian girl Caitlin and an American stock broker Colby who meet while Colby is on holiday in Queensland and after a not so serious romance, Caitlin decides to head to New York for a holiday.

Soon after Caitlin lands in New York, 9/11 happens with the attacks on the World Trade Centre and this affects Colby's stock broking work and life in New York. Caitlin and Colby decide to take their relationship further and try to start a family. This then evolves to a decision to adopt a child.

The second half of the book about the adoption is a completely different layout and is mostly blog posts by Caitlin about her story to adopt a child. This is where the suspense and thrill of the read takes off and I was turning the pages and hanging onto every last word to find out how it was going to end.

I have to say this was like reading 2 completely different books, but I did like the writing style throughout. I had a love/hate relationship with pretty much all of the characters in the book - I didn't really like any of them!

I recommend this book to fans of light suspense and who have an interest in travelling to Australia or the USA.
 

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 re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

Can You Keep A Secret can be purchased from Random House here

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here

Disclosure: NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their book and I was given this eBook published by Random House Australia to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

 

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


[Image via Random House]

Pin It Now!

Laundry and Powder Room Reno - Tiling Is Complete

 

There's been huge progress this week in the laundry renovation with the last of the tiling being done - the gorgeous 15x60 white gloss kick tile that we got in the same length as the 30x60 grey floor tiles have been laid.

 

The tilers matched up all the grout lines of the kick tile with the floor tile and laid them around the toilet to seal it in, and all the spaces within the laundry and powder room. It's really finished it off and looks great.

 

 

 

As for the splash back tile, I have to say it looks even better than I expected! For the laundry splash back we used 30x60 white gloss tiles that were leftover from the walls in the bathroom renovation and did a stripe of those top and bottom and then a feature mosaic in the centre.

 

I didn't want just a small stripe of mosaic, I like my stripes to be wide and noticeable and just love how the tiles contrast against the wood bench top too. We used white grout on this side so that the white tiles and mosaics blended together. In our bathroom we did a similar feature and used a mixture of white and grey grout.

 

 

 

Now for the toilet which we converted into a powder room with a vanity and basin, we decided to be brave in here and make a feature of the fact that we converted this into a powder room by highlighting the vanity. We have run the mosaics from the vanity all the way to the ceiling on both sides of the wall - they make a real statement too!

 

We used grey grout for here for a point of difference and also because we didn't have enough white grout! We were worried that the mosaic would look too dark with a grey grout but it has lightened as it's dried and I think it makes both of the mosaic designs a bit different to each other so they're not so matchy matchy!

 

 

 

I'm really impressed with the mosaics at $16.50 a sheet, so the splash back tiles cost $280.50 all up for both the laundry and powder room splash back. Of course labour is on top of that, I'll do a proper cost rundown on the laundry renovation once it's all finished. For the impact the splash back makes in the room, it was well worth the price.

 

This weekend we can put the finishing touches on the room and PAINT! I can't wait to crack open the new paint colour from Dulux who have kindly provided the paint for this project.

 

Next weekend the plumber is coming to finish and hook up the laundry sink, tap and shiny new front loader washing machine.

 

We are on the home stretch now!

 

What do you think of the splash back tiles?

 

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

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 - Turning A Wood Panel Into A Bench Top
Laundry Renovation - Flat Packs Vs Cabinet Maker
Laundry Renovation - Flat Pack Assembly and Install
Tips for picking out laundry flat pack cabinets
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

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


[All images my own]

Pin It Now!

On Being A Book Reviewer

I have been writing book reviews here on the blog for about 3 years now for my monthly book club reviews and any other books I manage to read in between renovating!

This has evolved in the last year with me reading and reviewing books from publishers - both Random House Australia and NetGalley. I also share my reviews on Good Reads which is a fantastic website for keeping track of books I'm reading or want to read!

If you have a blog and love to read I really recommend you sign up with NetGalley - It's free to join and you just go through their list of books and request the ones you want to read. They'll then let you know the books they approve and you can download the eBook to your tablet or reader there and then.

You then need to write a review as close to the publish date as possible so reviews are available when the book is first released. You need to give feedback on the NetGalley website for the books you request so they continue to approve new books to read.

I've also learnt not to have too many in my reading list otherwise your feedback score will be low which means you may not get approvals.

Some books which have pictures, such as cook books or gardening and design books, you need to download to your computer because of the formatting. But you can contact the publishers direct and ask for a hard copy of the book, I have done this a few times and sometimes it's a yes and sometimes a no but there's no harm in asking!

The exciting thing about most of these books is that they are proofs that aren't even published yet. I feel like a secret agent reading books that aren't yet in bookstores or available to the public and love that I'm helping the authors by showing support and reviewing their books as they hit the bookshelves.

One big decision I had to make with being a book reviewer was to make the transition from paper books to eBooks.

I was one of those people who said I'd never give up my hard copy books - I would carry around heavy books, sometimes too big to fit in my handbag, but I didn't care because I love the feel of a book in my hands, turning the pages, the marks and smells of the book. I loved it all!

But I found nearly all the books for review are eBooks - they can approve an eBook instantly and I can have it downloaded and be reading it within minutes without even leaving the couch!

Whereas when I requested a hard copy book there were only limited stock and sometimes there weren't any available. Other times, I'd wait weeks for the book to arrive in the post and by then I'd lost precious reading time.

So for convenience, I decided to succumb to technology and look into an eReader so I could read eBooks. In the end I got myself a tablet and downloaded the Kindle app for reading. I figured I could use the tablet for more than just reading and I am so happy with it, it's pretty much replaced my laptop at home - I can blog and read books - what more can a girl need?!

So if you read books and have a blog that you can publish your book reviews too, check out NetGalley you'll love it.

What are your favourite book review websites?

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


[All images my own]

Pin It Now!