An Update On Life Lately ...

Firstly, I must apologise for my absence on the blog front, besides some book review posts that I had already scheduled, I have a long list of blog posts I want to share from the wedding, honeymoon, renovating updates and home projects but I haven't yet found the time to write them all! 

The reason for my absence is I've had some health issues that have put me on bed rest the last few weeks but I'm happy to say that I'm feeling much better now and even got out of my PJs this week for the first time in a long time! 

Being stuck at home these last few weeks I had a lot of reading time on my hands - from my Mum's 5 year old dusty Women's Weekly magazines, a pile of books from the last 3 months of book club reads, plus ebooks I'd downloaded to review from NetGalley - I have been spoilt for choice on the reading front and have a lot of book reviews I'll be posting in the coming weeks. 

Have you read any good books lately?

Being unwell has made me try even harder to cook healthy wholesome meals for Mr P and I and I have gone back to writing menu plans every week to stick on the fridge. This helps keep us on track to make meals that include a few servings of fresh vegetables but I still find it hard fitting in the required 4-5 servings of vegetables every day.

I want to try my hand at making my own fruit and vegetable juice as well .... yes I'm jumping on the healthy juice bandwagon! 

What is your go to healthy vegetable dish? 

Are you juice fan?

A big project that has been taking up a lot of my time is my city apartment which was my bachelorette pad before I met Mr P and is now my rental property. After a bad experience with a Real Estate company not managing it properly I now look after the place myself which means it's up to me to find suitable tenants. After 3 months of it being empty and everyone that applied for it wanted it furnished, I finally succumbed and have decked out the apartment with furniture, decor and art. 

This has been a project which took about a month to complete and I'm happy to say that after just a few days of advertising and one home open I have found new tenants! I really enjoyed staging and styling the property and will be writing a blog post about that soon. 

Styled with Kmart, Target and Gumtree finds! 

At home the subdivision plans for our block are progressing - we had the tree loppers in to remove the large ghost gum tree in the backyard. It took 4 guys about 5 hours to cut it down and turn it into mulch.

We are now waiting for a bobcat and skip bin to come and the guys will clear the rest of the backyard of all the old building material and rubble, the stumps leftover from the granny flat, break down all the brick garden beds and retaining, and put it all in the skip bin and take it away.

Tree Removal .... Before, During and After!

We have finalised a design for our front courtyard and kerb area and want to lay reticulation and then pave and lay grass. Once that's done we can landscape the rest of it and create some kerb appeal. 

I really wanted the courtyard landscaping to be finished before Christmas but I just don't think it's going to happen now as we have had to focus on other things so it looks like this will be a project for the new year.

The courtyard is desperate for some kerb appeal!

We had new downlights installed in the laundry and power points which has been brilliant because for the past year I've had to run an extension cord into the kitchen to use the washing machine!

As soon as I've found a mirror for the powder room I'll do a before/after post of the laundry/powder room renovation .... Yes I know I have been promising this forever but it's coming just as soon as I find the perfect mirror.

Why is it so hard to find a mirror that fits the spot AND looks good AND within budget?!

The last project to do inside the house is to replace all the internal doors with new ones, paint them, and install new handles.

The doors are a bit of a labour of love so we do a door every few months and have a few more still to do but I'm happy to say we are getting there and have nearly finished this project. 

I'll be sharing a post on how to hang and paint doors very soon!

I've been a married woman for two whole months now and Mr P and I are still on cloud nine from our wedding and even though we have lived together for years it feels really different now to be married. It is such a wonderful feeling and I find myself walking around with a big smile on my face whenever I think about it!

I have some DIY bride craft projects on how I made my own wedding bouquets, DIY photobooth, plus a wedding recap just as soon as I receive the photos from the photographer!

Lexi really wanted to be the flowergirl/dog!

So that's what's been going on in my life and around the Jarrah Jungle lately.

It's a really busy time now as we head towards the end of the year, with Christmas shopping to do, catching up with friends and family, parties to go to and plan, it's all happening!

How have you been my friends? Tell me what's been happening in your world lately?

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[All images my own other than image 1 and 2 via Pinterest]