Author Interview and Book Review: Who Am I? By Megan Cyrulewski

This is a blog book tour for Who Am I? How My Daughter Taught Me To Let Go And Live Again by Megan Cyrulewski that was published on 2 August 2014.

 

This is Megan's first book, a memoir about the extraordinary challenges she has faced in life and how she survived them. Megan is an attorney, a writer and single mother to her 3 year old daughter Madelyne, they live in Michigan USA.

I was given the opportunity to interview Megan about her book and to get to know the lady behind the story a bit better ....

 

Interview with Megan Cyrulewski 

 

 

Q   Megan, I'm so excited to introduce you to my readers! Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Let's start at the beginning - what inspired you to start writing?

 

Everyone kept telling me that I should write a book about everything that had happened.  I love to write so I figured, why not?

 

Q   Tell us a little about yourself

 

I am from Michigan – born and raised.   I have a beautiful, intelligent, but sometimes sassy, little girl named Madelyne Rose.  I’m an attorney specializing in court mediation but I’m also an author.  I’m working on my second book – crime fiction.

 

Q   How did writing your memoir help you deal with your past?

 

It was closure for me.  That part of my life is past and I am now in the present and plan to stay there.

 

Q   How easy/difficult was it to write it?

 

There were days I had to walk away from my computer.  It was difficult reliving some of the tough times but I don’t regret writing the book.

 

Q   What are your hobbies?

 

Reading (obviously), swimming, and watching reality TV – some trashy.  It’s my vice.  I can’t help it!

 

Q   What led to law as a career choice?

 

I have always loved the law but I never thought I was smart enough to get into law school.  When I started disliking my career in the non-profit sector, I thought I might as well take the LSAT and see what happens.  I passed and was offered admission to two good law schools here in Michigan.

 

Q   How do you manage your time around work, your daughter and writing?

 

Luckily, I’m my own boss so I can make my own schedule.  Plus, Madelyne is in pre-school full time.  But when she comes home, I put all of my work away and spend time with her.

 

Q   What message would you like to share with the readers?

 

One – If you have postpartum depression, don’t feel ashamed to seek treatment.

 

Second – Emotional abuse is a form of domestic violence.  Those of you who are in that type of relationship need to seek help right away.

 

Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview you Megan,

I wish you all the very best with your next venture!

  

 

Book Review

 

This memoir is about 30 something year old Megan who tells the story of her life over the last few years based around her marriage breakdown and in turn child custody disputes.

Megan has had a rough time in life, and tells what's it's like to go through post partum depression after having her daughter, she has suffered anxiety and panic attacks since her teenage years. She has had stays in hospitals and a psych ward. Her relationship ended in divorce, there was domestic violence and her struggle for custody for her now 3 year old daughter Madelyn.

Along the way Megan had the unconditional love and support from her family which helped her overcome these struggles. She has also fulfilled her dream of going to law school and is now an attorney.

 

Reading this book was like having a friend talk to me through the pages, it was a very easy and likable read. I felt very sad for the day to day troubles that Megan faced in her relationships as a partner, mother and daughter.

 

I recommend this book to anyone facing struggles in life, particularly in a difficult relationship because it will show you that with determination you can survive anything.

 

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 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

 

Who Am I? can be purchased from Amazon here

 

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here

Disclosure: Special thanks to the author Megan Cyrulewski for providing me with this eBook published by Black Opal Books to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

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


[Images via Megan Cyrulewski]

Avery Product Review - Organising The Herbs + Spices

It's been a year since I unpacked and moved into my shiny new renovated kitchen and some areas now need to be re-organised because they're not really working - starting with the herbs and spices.

I keep my herbs and spices in a drawer by the stove in an assortment of glass jars with labels made from peeling off post-it notes and names being crossed out and rewritten a few times. As you can see it's hard to know what I have and what I need more of and was basically a mess!

So I pulled everything out and got organising with the help of some Avery products!

 

I needed a way to keep the herbs and spices organised so I could find what I was looking for without pulling out a zillion jars before finding the right one!

Avery sent me some of their home organisation products to try out and while I've used the Avery office range before I didn't realise they did so many different products for the home, like these Martha Stewart labels which are the perfect size for the herb and spice jars (they RRP for $9.95 for a pack of 36 labels).

I peeled off the old labels, cleaned the jars and then re-labelled them using the Martha Stewart kitchen labels and a sharpie pen.

The labels have a nice glossy finish and were really easy to apply. They are removable too which I tried out when I stuck some labels on crooked by mistake, they peeled off easily and could be reapplied. They are also moisture resistant so you can even put them in the fridge.

 

 

The lids were a mix match of different brands and colours so I went one step further and painted them red to match the labels.

The red spray paint I already had so it didn't cost me anything, I sprayed on a few coats of paint to get a nice coverage leaving them to dry in between. I only sprayed the top and sides of the lids not the inside as I didn't want the paint smell to get into the jars. Once dry, I wrote the names on the top with a black sharpie so they are easy to read and I can find what I need at a glance.

 

 

I'm really happy with how the jars turned out - they look like a new set of jars with their new labels and lids and it was an easy crafternoon project.

Now that I can find what I need cooking will be a whole lot easier .... no more near misses of grabbing the chilli instead of paprika!

 

 

The next project I want to tackle with Avery products is the pantry and I'll share with you in the coming weeks.

 

You can buy the Avery range from most stationary stores like Officeworks and Staples or check the website for a list of suppliers.

 

How do you organise your herbs and spices?

Sharing with link parties:
Savvy Southern Style - Wow us Wednesdays
The Dedicated House - Before and After Wednesday

Disclosure: Thanks to Avery for providing me with these products for review. I have not received any payment or compensation. As always, all opinions are my own.
 

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


[All images my own]

Book Tour and Review: A Fatal Tide By Steve Sailah

I'm taking part in the Random House Australia book tour for A Fatal Tide by Steve Sailah that was recently published on 1 August 2014.

Steve worked for 26 years as a radio journalist and foreign correspondent in Australia, London, New Delhi and Washington. Steve now writes full time, he's written a children's book and this is his second book, a historic novel showing his interest and knowledge of Gallipoli.
 

This is a mystery and war time story set in 1915 when young Australians were leaving home to fight in Gallipoli in WW1. Thomas and his best mate Snow are two young men, one aboriginal and one white, who grew up together in Queensland. When Thomas' father is murdered with clues that point to the South Africa Boer War that his father fought in, Thomas and Snow enlist in WW1 in the hope of finding the murderer and solving the crime.

 

Once in Gallipoli, the war turns out to be a very harsh reality for Thomas and Snow as they join the Anzacs to fight the Turkish. It is really confronting reading about what war was like for all those young soldiers, how they lived, the sickness and injuries, and the fighting on both sides of the battle.

 

Having the mystery of Thomas father's death to solve amongst the war story was a little hard to follow at times but the story did work in the end and it was something really different. This could have made a great war time story on it's own, but the murder and mystery added another element. If this is what the author wanted to achieve, then they definitely did write about something with a point of difference.

 

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the characters, writing style, and learning about Gallipoli which the author had a lot of knowledge on, no doubt from his time working as a foreign correspondent.

I recommend this book to readers with an interest in the Gallipoli and Boer War and Australian history.

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 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

A Fatal Tide can be purchased from Random House Australia

Sharing my book review on Random House Australia here and Good Reads here

Disclosure: Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Australia for providing me with this eBook published by Bantam 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]

Kalgoorlie Weekend Away - The Count Down Is On!

I have been absolutely hanging out for my girls weekend away to Kalgoorlie to arrive and it's finally here!

Now to dispel any myths on what happens on a girls weekend away I can say this - it's basically an adults version of a slumber party! We'll do all things girly, paint our nails and do each others hair and makeup. Talk and laugh until the tears come and the belly hurts.

There's nothing better for the soul than a good belly laugh!

Don't you think?

The reason we have picked Kalgoorlie and are heading out to the Goldfields is for the Kalgoorlie Cup and I've treated myself to a new race day outfit - dress, shoes, bag, facinator, jewellery - the works!

I'm really looking forward to a day at the races and have tickets to the Leger Tent with all food, drinks and entertainment included. It's going to be a fantastic day, I must remember not to get too caught up in all the excitement and actually watch a horse race. My family are right into racing, my parents have a few race horses on their farm so I've asked for some winning tips to put bets on!

Dining out in laid back country pubs will be a welcomed excuse to escape from the kitchen at home, as much as I love cooking it's nice to not worry about making dinners or dirty dishes for a few days!

Sorry Mr P you and Lexi will have to fend for yourself for a few days .... and Mr P has promised me some paint on the walls in the laundry when I get home, now that will be nice :)

When was your last weekend away?

To keep up with my goldfield adventures follow Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and Instagram !

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

5 Years Of Jarrah Jungle Renovations

 

I can't believe it's now been 5 years that Mr P and I moved into our very first home together. The shock of living with a man for the first time and the amount of socks I had to wash was one thing, but the love and passion I would have for renovating and decorating our home was really something that took me by surprise!

 

Thus, the Jarrah Jungle blog was born and it brings me so much happiness to share my home love with you guys.

 

If I don't say it enough then I'm saying it again .... THANK YOU for coming on this journey with me and showing your support to my blog both here and on Facebook and Instagram I really do appreciate your interest and advice so THANK YOU!

 

 

Last year I wrote a complete list of our projects big and small that we've crossed off our to do list in the Jarrah Jungle renovations.

 

Since that time over the last 12 months we have:

•   Finished painting our newly renovated kitchen
•   Decorated the dining area with new furniture and a gallery wall
•   Built a limestone courtyard around the front of our house
•   Laid a brand new concrete driveway and path to the front door
•   Painted the render at the front of our house
•   Re-Painted our white window frames outside in a charcoal colour
•   Gave the backyard a makeover, pimped our patio and put up a new fence
•   We hung a new front door which I proudly stained myself
•   We started to hang new internal doors throughout the house - this is a work in progress
•   Completely gutting our 1960s laundry and toilet - we hope to finish this renovation this month

 

Sometimes I feel disheartened that our projects take longer than planned but because we try to do most of the work ourselves, and work full time jobs, it means our only free time on the weekends is divided between: Having a life - catching up with friends and family - and renovating at home. It has to be an even divide otherwise we will go CRAZY!!

Looking back on all the work we've done so far I'm so proud of what we've achieved with our 5 year plan and we are determined to finish this house hopefully by mid next year.

Then I want to sit back and enjoy the house and all that we've done! The home improvments have made is so much more comfortable and practical to live in, I want to have lots of parties and show it off to friends and family who have been so patient and positive in helping us through our first home renovation.

So what is next on the to do list ..... Well, in the next 12 months we want to: 

• Finish the laundry and toilet renovation
• Finish hanging all new internal and external doors and handles throughout 
• Install timber slats and a gate on the limestone courtyard out the front of the house
• Landscape the front of the house and the courtyard
• Measure our backyard and block and start the subdivision process of splitting our block in two
• Make a decision on whether to sell the back block of land or to build a new home on it
• Remove the old rusty patio and build a smaller one
• Remove our old granny flat
• Build a timber deck leading off the dining room french doors
• Install new fences around our block

I am really excited about us almost finishing the renovations for the entire inside of the house and now we can turn our attention to finishing off the outside.

 

We have made the big decision to subdivide our block too (pending Council approval!) and we plan to live in our renovated Jarrah Jungle home at the front of the block and either build a new house at the back or sell the land as is. Up until last year I wanted to sell the block of land but now I've changed my mind and would love to experience building a house - I might have to start a new blog about it!

You can check out my previous posts on the very first year here and last year's here

What will the next 12 months hold for the Jarrah Jungle renovations? I can't wait to find out!


Sharing with link parties:
Savvy Southern Style - Wow us Wednesdays
The Dedicated House - Before and After Wednesday




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


[All images my own]

Book Review: Year-Round Slow Cooker By Dina Cheney

This is a book review of Year-Round Slow Cooker by Dina Cheney

Dina Cheney is a working mum to two young children, a cooking teacher, author of three cookbooks and has written magazine columns for 20 other publications. Dina lives in New York.

As most of you know I'm a Slow Cooker Queen! I love to use my slow cooker, especially in the cooler months there's nothing like a comforting warm meal on a cold winter night. Although I've tried to use my slow cooker at other times of the year, I've struggled to find recipes that are suitable to the not so cold seasons of the year.

Well that's where this cookbook comes into play - Year-Round Slow Cooker has answered my prayers with 100 delicious recipes to make in the slow cooker. The recipes are divided into seasons, with 25 recipes to make for each season.

No longer will I be making just casseroles and soups in the slow cooker, but being a bit more adventurous and trying: Indian Style cauliflower, potato and parsley root curry; Braised pork shoulder soft tacos with watermelon-tomato salsa; Sticky toffee pudding with cranberries to name a few!

I love that the recipes are based around fresh ingredients that are easy to come by at that time of year and there's also some alternatives to the ingredients which I found useful being that this book is published in America and you can't find all the ingredients here in Australia. There are also practical tips throughout like what ingredients to keep stocked in the pantry, converting recipes to the oven or stove, and how to make your meal more flavoursome and less watery.

The recipes are modern and suited to the home cook who likes to impress. The recipes are a bit more involved than your usual slow cooker meals, but this is to create more flavourful meals. This is a cookbook I'd use on the weekends when I have more time for preparation.

I recommend this cookbook to home cooks that want to create modern and impressive meals in their slow cooker.

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 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

Year-Round Slow Cooker can be purchased from Taunton Store
 

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here

Disclosure:  Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this eBook published by Taunton Press to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

 

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


[Image via Taunton Store]

Book Review and Preview: Vegetarian Dinner Parties By Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

This is a book review and preview of Vegetarian Dinner Parties: 150 Meatless Meals Good Enough To Serve To Company by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough that was recently published on 8 September 2014.

Bruce and Mark are food writers and omnivores and the creators behind the Ultimate Cookbook series and have written 22 cook books. They live in Colebrook, Connecticut in the USA.

 

I love entertaining at home and hosting dinner parties and have cooked for vegetarian friends quite a few times but I find it difficult to pick a stand out amazing meal for my vegetable lovers because I don't want it to be plain and boring - I want their meal to be full of flavour and delicious.

This cookbook Vegetarian Dinner Parties is just what I need on the bookcase at home (although technically speaking I have it on my computer not the bookshelf!). It is packed full of modern vegetarian and vegan recipes all made with ingredients found seasonally.

The book is divided into sections - starting with welcome cocktails and working through the courses hors dóeuvres, starters, soup, salads, pasta, mains and desserts. The recipes can be made on their own or as part of a three course dinner. Each recipe also pairs a beverage to the dish, which I loved.

The recipes are for an experienced home cook, as I found there were only a few basic and easy recipes. Each recipe has a plan ahead section which is useful - I'll always make ahead what I can so it leaves more time to socialise and be a host on the night!

I would have scored this book higher if there were more images. I really needed to see the finished dish and also how to plate up, presentation is such an important part of a dinner party and I was disappointed there weren't images of each dish.

Also, I didn't have a hardcopy of the book and because of the images and recipes I couldn't download it to my Kindle eReader either I had to download it to my computer to read from which I found difficult. I would get much more use out of this book in hardcopy.

I recommend this cookbook to experienced home cooks who love to entertain and cook vegetarian and vegan food.

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 amazing 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

Vegetarian Dinner Parties can be purchased from Amazon

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here

Disclosure: Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced readers book of this eBook published by Rodale Books to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

 

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


[Image via Rodale Books]

Jarrah Jungle - A Tour Through Blogland

I have been invited on a tour through blogland by the lovely Carrie of Curly Crafty Mom

 

Carrie and I have been bloggy buddies for a long time now, ever since I came across her delicious menu planning posts. I always get inspiration from her home DIY and craft projects and love reading about her outings with her two kids and hubby. Be sure to stop by Carrie's blog and say hi!

 

Carrie has given me some questions to answer so here goes .....

 

1) What am I working on?

 

Laundry and Powder Room Renovation

 

There’s always a project around the house that I’m working on …. Painting, decorating or making sandwiches for Mr P while he does the hard work!

 

Right now I’m 8 weeks into a laundry and powder room renovation which we completely gutted, ripped everything out and started all over again. Our dream of converting our toilet into a powder room has finally come to fruition which is what I love about renovating – having a vision and then seeing it come to life! 

 

Still to do in this room is - paint, wallpaper, hang new doors, install shelves in the cupboard, new lights and power!

 

2) How does my work differ from others in the DIY/Decorating genre?

 

Painting stripes project on entrance wall

 

I had many questions I couldn’t find the answers to about renovating an Australian double brick and tile home. So 4 years ago I started my blog to share the experiences of our home improvement projects, the products used and businesses found, in the hope like minded home lovers can learn from our experiences.

 

Mr P and I are doing up our home on a budget and tackling most of the work ourselves, as first timers we are working it out as we go and I've learnt so much about renovating along the way and figure if I can get my office hands dirty - anyone can!

 

3) Why do I write what I do?

 

Australian themed dinner party

 

I want to share what I've learnt and the experiences and misadventures of doing up my house and turning it into a home. I want readers to see that anyone can turn a house into a home, you don't need to have a lot of money just a love and passion for it!

 

Sometimes I forget how far we’ve come or get disheartened when a project is taking too long but when I look back through my blog on all we’ve accomplished over the years I feel really proud of what we’ve achieved.

 

4) How does your writing/creating process work?

 

Backyard makeover and patio pimping

 

I blog in the evenings after work and write about 4 posts a week and give myself the weekends off!

If I'm in the middle of a project I"ll share update posts throughout the process as well as a before and after at the end. If I try a new recipe or throw a dinner party I'll make sure I take lots of photos so I can share with my readers too. I also love to read and review books on the blog every week, of books I read for my book club The Tuesday Girls and that I review for NetGalley.

 

I love to be organised and keep a calender of my blog posts so I can schedule them consistently, I have an ongoing list of ideas I add to whenever a blog post idea comes into head, and I have an even longer list of draft blog posts to be finished! I also proof read a zillion times before I hit the publish button, having a secretary background I'm very careful about my grammar and formatting!

 

Thank you for having me on this blog tour Carrie and thanks for reading everyone!

 

Now I get to nominate 2 other bloggers to continue the Tour Through Blogland and they'll be sharing their blog tour on their blogs next Monday so be sure to pop by and say hello .... Without further ado I introduce these fabulous home loving bloggers .....

 

Natalie - In The Night Sky

 

 

I'm Natalie, renovator of a 1960's weatherboard home in Melbourne, which I document on my blog. My partner and I have been renovating for 5 years, so clearly we're not in a rush to get this place done, but we're almost at the finish line. I'm always thinking of something to do or change around the house or looking for a DIY project. I like colour but apparently not living with it, as most of my home is black and white...and grey. I'm a TV and magazine addict and servant to 2 cats.

 

Megan - Silver Threads Of Happiness
 

 

Hi, I'm Megan from Silver Threads of Happiness. I began my blog as a way to connect with like minded people; people who are a bit crafty. If I'm creating I'm happy, whether it be doing some crochet or knitting, some embroidery, the very occasional bit of sewing, baking or even creating new resources to use with my students in my day job as an early childhood teacher.

My blog is a little bit of everything mashed into one - craft, baking, life and lately it has been featuring a bit of home improvements as I get ready to move from the city life of Perth, Western Australia to the rural outback of WA, the land of dirt, heat, not much rain and many, many flies.

 

Thanks for coming on this tour through blogland!

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


[Images via Curly Crafty Mom, In The Night Sky, and Silver Threads Of Happiness 
All other images my own]

 

Recipe: Baked Brie With Garlic and Lemon Thyme

I have been obsessed with making baked brie lately, it's a fairly inexpensive and very tasty dish to serve as a starter for a few to share. I first tried it at a friend's MKR French Dinner Party and I was absolutely blown away and now I've made it three times in the last month! 

 

You can use any fresh herbs, this one is with lemon thyme but I've tried with rosemary too and it was delicious. Also, if  you don't like the strong garlic flavour pour boiling water over the clove before you slice it and it won't be as garlicy.

 

Baked Brie With Garlic And Lemon Thyme

Ingredients

Brie - any size

1 sprig lemon thyme - or any fresh herbs

1 clove garlic, sliced thinly

Bread stick

Rosemary

Olive oil

Salt

Method

1. Cut a few slits in the top of the brie with a knife and push in a piece of garlic and sprig of thyme into each alternate slit

2. Place brie on top of baking paper and cut a circle around the paper with a knife. Then wrap the brie in another piece of baking paper.

 

3. Place on an oven tray and bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes

4. Remove wrapped paper and leave brie on the round paper, bake uncovered for a further 5 minutes until cheese is melted

 

5. For the croutons, slice a bread stick into even slices and thread a few onto rosemary sticks

6. Lay the rosemary sticks and remaining slices on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and salt and scatter some rosemary leaves over the top

7. Bake in the oven with the cheese for about 10 minutes or until crunchy

Serve baked brie and croutons on a cheese board with sliced apple, seedless grapes and nuts

So delicious!

Linking up with:

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday

 

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


[All images my own]