Toilet Roll Holder To Pot Plant Holder

I've had this toilet roll holder sitting around in the cupboard for a few years, the lid got broken so I don't use it to hold the loo rolls anymore but kept it thinking it would make a cool vase or something. Since my campfire succulents are growing like crazy I thought I'd take some clippings and plant them out into it ... Trust me it looks better than it sounds!

BEFORE
Just your average white ceramic toilet roll holder with a bit of a funky lean to it



I filled it most of the way with rocks (succulents need good drainage)

Then added some potting mix

As you can see my campfire succulents are growing like CRAZY

so I was doing them a favour taking a few cuttings

Planted a few cuttings into the new pot

AFTER
Now it looks like a funky succulent pot and you would never know
what it use to serve as!

I think it looks really cool under the patio on the little corner setting and along side my Ikea pot

Have you ever used anything out of the ordinary as a pot plant holder?

Please share so I don't feel like such a weirdo!

Sharing with my favourite linky parties Savvy Southern Style and It All Started With Paint

[All images my own]



Point and Shoot: Run for a Reason

When: Sunday, 27 May 2012 @ 8am

Where: HBF Run for a Reason, East Perth

Yep that's me front row on the left looking bright eyed and bushy tailed (behind the sunnies of course!) as I dragged myself out of bed at 6am on a Sunday morning to be part of the HBF Run for a Reason. It gets better, I didn't actually do the 14km run, I opted for the 4km walk which was enough exercise for me and meant I could still talk and walk at the same time! I went with some of my bookclub girls and we raised money for I-India Project Australia set up to help children in poverty in India through education. There were 20,100 people participating in the run/walk and the roads were closed off around East Perth so we could do the walk easily without worrying about traffic.

After the walk our group walked to The Royal for a champagne breakfast, this restaurant is right on the water inlet in East Perth and it was a perfect Autumn day fresh and chilly early on but once the sun came out it was such a perfect morning to be outside. I felt like I'd run a marathon and it wasn't even midday yet it's amazing what you can get through when you get out of bed early.

I'm not a serious fitness person but I have been pushing myself to walk half way home from work which is a 3.5km walk, if I do that just a few times a week then I'm on my way to buns of steel (I hope!) I really want to get fit before my cruise holiday in September and after getting up early on Sunday and feeling so good about it I really want to push myself to get up early and do a bit of exercise, I can do it I can do it!

Playing along with Monday's Point and Shoot at Sunny + Scout

How was your weekend?


[All images my own]

They Call Me The Sandwich Queen

I like to think of myself as a bit of a Sandwich Queen it was passed down from my Mum who makes THE BEST sandwiches in the world! Even my friends would ask if my Mum was making sandwiches for our parties - and we were young adults not kids (in fact I still ask Mum to make sandwiches for my parties now!)

Even my man calls me the Sandwich Queen - I'm not sure if he does it to encourage me but whenever we have tradesman or friends around and I offer to make them lunch he always tells them You won't be disappointed she's a Sandwich Queen!

So with those expectation to live up to I'm always trying to come up with different combos and I whipped up this tasty little roll the other day for lunch

Turkey & Brie Roll

Take a fresh wholegrain roll

Spread with cranberry sauce

Top with shaved turkey

Slices of brie cheese

Gourmet lettuce

Freshly cracked pepper and sea salt

The rich brie and sweet cranberry is a match made in heaven, it's a rich and tasty combo and not something I would make every day but definitely a little bit different for when you need to impress

What's your favourite sandwich or roll combo - please share!

[Image my own]

2 Year Blog-Versary

This week (Wednesday in fact but I didn't look in my diary until today!) my blog and I have been BFFs for 2 years

My very first post was back in 2010 when I started this blog as a place to share the Jarrah Jungle renovations and I had no idea what I was doing or if I would stick with it or if I'd lose interest and it'd be a forgotten about faze after a few months. Then last year at the 1 year mark I was so proud that I'd stuck with it and so happy that I had made some new friends with shared interests and follow some great blogs I love to read and find out the latest fun project or recipe or even troubles others go through and maybe try to offer some advice or a cheeky comment if it will brighten up your day - I'm a bit of a comment tart if you haven't noticed!

So now 2 years on my blog has evolved to include my book reviews from my The Tuesday Girls book club I joined a year ago, sharing recipes (well my edible ones only!), and still those renovations continue bit by bit we'll get this house finished one day. I'm so much more relaxed in what I post about now too, I'm more upfront with what I say and share, how I write, and I absolutely love having this space that I can call mine. All mine.

I have almost the same amount of American followers as I do from Australia which I think is pretty awesome, it can be so different in another country but yet we all seem to find the same things funny and share the same kindness and support when needed. Thanks for being a part of this bloggy world with me ... 2 years on and who knows where we'll be in another year from now ... a girl can only dream xx

[Images my recent likes on Pinterest]

We've Taken Down The Roof (Well Kinda!)

I've already had a whinge this week  about working our butts off over the weekend to get ready for the roof construction to start this week. After the brickwork was finished last month there was a 6 week wait for the roof guy to be ready, then we had to wait for a week or so of rain free weather which fingers crossed is this week.

Pete and a friend removed a couple hundred roof tiles off the roof they had to
take down from where the new garage beams will be put in over the old carport

I had to help stack them out of the way I can tell you I've had enough of stacking tiles!

The old solarhart tank and solar panels (which never worked) are
off the roof and in the skip bin

Now the tiles are off you can see how the roof is put together

with lots and lots of timber beams and then a layer of insulation
not to mention 40 yrs worth of cobwebs too!

Next we had 2 massive tarps that we used to cover the roof structure

where we removed the tiles and secured it well with ties

All the old gutters got pulled off as well and thrown into the skip bin
We'll be getting all new gutters once its finished

Phew I'm exhausted! Me and Pete are moving around like little old people bent over and wincing every time we get off the couch! But at least we're ready for the next stage of the garage extension... now just pray for no rain for the next week or so thanks very much :)

Sharing with linky parties Savvy Southern Styles Wow us Wednesdays and It All Started With Paint Mission Impossible

[All images my own]

Book Review: When God Was A Rabbit By Sarah Winman

My May book club read was When God Was A Rabbit By Sarah Winman

This was a sweet little book about a brother and sister and the family and friends that share their lives and their stories. The sister Elly is the main character and has a bit of a dark sense of humour. This is no warm and fuzzy happy ending story it is real and believable and that's what I liked about it the most. The writing is simple in that not every sentence is described in great detail so to be honest there were times when I was wondering what had just happened because it didn't have long winded sentences to paint a picture for you. You kind of had to use your imagination and piece it together yourself.

There was some life changing events surrounding 9/11 which was really sad and just shows there are just so many stories and experiences from that terrible day that people are still living with to this day. (You can read my review of another book about 9/11 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close here).

I would recommend this book to brothers and sisters you will understand the bond these 2 had. I give this book 3 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

[Image via Angus & Robertson]

Point and Shoot: Breakfast Of Champions

When: Saturday, 19 May 2012

Where: Alfresco in the Jarrah Jungle (home!)

Both Saturday and Sunday morning I enjoyed breakfast with my man outside under the patio. The weather has been so nice lately with gorgeous sunny days and chirpy mornings. Saturday I picked up some croissants from the bakery and layered them with ham, cheese and dijon mustard so delicious fresh from the oven and Sunday it was toasted bacon and egg sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, onions and melted cheese so naughty but oh so tasty!

After that leisurely breakfast I worked off those calories and get stuck into some work around the house .... I worked my butt off this weekend I even broke out in a sweat (which never happens I'm such a princess!). We were given the thumbs up to get the roof ready for construction next week (now that the garage walls are up) so we had to go gung ho to get it all ready for the work to start tomorrow.

Pete removed a third of the roof tiles off the roof and stacked them out of the way, fitted some huge tarps over the roof to stop anything getting in while the tiles are off, and pulled all the old gutters off. Meanwhile I didn't busy myself inside baking or basically avoiding the hard work this time, I got stuck in and did more than a few loads with the wheelbarrow dumping stuff into the skip bin and moved and stacked a few hundred tiles out the way. My little bones are aching today though, I can tell ya I am buggered!

I guess I can't really complain after last weeks Birthday festivities :)

Playing along with Sunny + Scouts Point and Shoot, why don't you head on over and share something about your weekend

[Image my own]

It Took 5 Months To Find 'The One'

My bathroom mirror saga has come to an end I've finally found 'the one' and it is totally different to what I had in mind (thank you fellow bloggers for your advice about it :) Took a trip to Ikea to see this large framed mirror but it was too dominating and would've taken away from the gorgeous mosaic down the centre of the vanity. I was really feeling deflated and about to give up and that's when I saw it - a large oval mirror with a bevelled edge looking modern and simple and it was the perfect size (I'm talking to the millimetre!) it's the Kolja mirror and the price was a bargain $39.

Come meet 'the one' ...

We've got round bowls, round tap wear, round shower heads

so it makes sense to go for a round type mirror
(excuse the old fill in mirrors in these photos)

 

We didn't want to use the side clips and drill into our beautiful new tiles so instead

we stuck the mirror straight to the tiles using soudal hightac which is a silicon glue

We found the centre point of the mirror over the vanity and at the right height,
cleaned the walls well and then stuck it on (and prayed it was straight!)
We used a little piece of wood as a prop to take the weight while the silicon dried

After 24 hours we removed the prop and whola ... it stayed! 

 

 

 

I absolutely love the oval mirror, I think it really ties in the bowls and shower heads and looks much fancier than its $39 price tag!

 

[All images my own]

 

 

A Peek At The Awesome Pad Of Nina From Offspring

For those Offspring fans you'll know exactly who Nina is and for those who don't she is the star of an Aussie drama who is flighty, engaging, likable and the kind of character I totally relate to - cringe at her awkwardness, relate to her helpless man troubles and watch her on her journey to find happiness.

Offspring is such a fantastic show. Sadly, in the new season her funky pad in Brunswick burnt down and now I know the real reason why it was written into the script - it's for sale - in real life that is.

Here's a sneak peak of this wicked apartment (although maybe a little more funky when decorated with Nina's owl collection and scented candles!)

It's a lot more funky than my bachelorette pad and it's open for viewings this weekend ... if only I lived in Sydney!

Are you a fan of Offspring?

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[All images via realestate.com.au]