Merry Christmas Everyone - See You In 2017

With Christmas fast approaching I'm signing off the blog today and will be back again in the New Year.

As always when I'm not on the blog you can still keep up with me on my social media pages Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you all so much for your continued support of my blog this year - I know blogs are becoming less popular than they once were but after six years of blogging I'm not ready to give up on my beloved Jarrah Jungle blog just yet! So thank you for stopping by, commenting and letting me know you are there it really means a lot to me.

I have a few weeks off work over Christmas and New Years to holiday at home. 

Christmas will be busy visiting all the family and for New Years we are heading to the coast for a beach getaway with friends which will be a lot of fun.

Over the break on the home front we will be working on our outdoor spaces and hope to finish our new backyard deck and patio project and also the herb and vegetable garden needs some TLC in the front courtyard.

I have some relaxing dates with my couch and plan to get through the books stacking up on my reading list - I'll share the book reviews with you here as well as on Good Reads - you can find me here  (if you're on Good Reads let me know so I can follow your reviews too!) 

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and I hope Santa brings you all that your heart hopes for and more. See you on the flip side in 2017! xxx

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[Image via my Pinterest]

2016 ... A Very Plain Christmas

It's with a heavy heart I tell you all that I won't be decorating the Jarrah Jungle home for Christmas this year! Shock horror I know right I can't quite believe it myself!!

I  know some of you may have been waiting to see what theme I'd come up with this year and sadly the theme is going to be .... A very plain Christmas!

The reason I can't decorate is we're having work done to our living room ceiling and so I can't put the Christmas tree in it's normal spot in here because we have to move all the furniture out and cover everything up ready for the dusty work to begin.

The carpenter who is building our deck and patio also does ceilings and Mr P and I recently started a DIY ceiling lift in the living room and master bedroom using ceiling washers (much like we lifted the laundry ceiling). The carpenter is going to finish this off and plaster, skim and sand the ceiling for us which will save us a heap of time and work - then we'll just need to paint.

The downside is all my lovely Christmas decorations will need to stay packed away this year.

Every day that Christmas gets closer and my Instagram feed fills up with people's beautiful homes and sparkling Christmas trees and decorations and I'm just so sad that I can't be a part of the festivities as I just love to decorate for Christmas.

Each year I pick a different theme - you can see my previous year's themes here 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 ... 2016 is going to be a very plain Christmas!

All I can say is watch out for next year because I'm going to have to go bigger and better than ever to make up for this years non-decorating.

This isn't the first time renovating has stopped my Christmas cheer but hopefully it will be the last!

On a positive note at least I won't have tiny bits of tinsel and glitter scattered all over my house like I usually do!!

How are you decorating for Christmas this year? Do you have a theme?

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[Images via my Pinterest 1, 2, 3]

Book Review: Christmas At Designer's Homes Across America By Katharine and Patricia McMillan

This is a book review of Christmas At Designer's Homes Across America by Katharine and Patricia McMillan that was published by Schiffer Books on 28 September 2016.

Katharine is a psychologist and writer interested in human factors in design and has co-authored 10 books on design. Patricia is an interior designer who has authored 15 books on interior design and architecture. Kat and Pat are partners at Strahan McKillan, Architecture and Interior Design in Texas.

This is a beautiful design book of homes decorated and styled for the Christmas holidays by designers with extreme decorating styles - they have gone all out to turn their homes into a festive space.

I love looking into peoples homes to see how real people live rather than a perfectly styled space just for a magazine or book spread. I just find it to be more real and being that in this case the owners are interior designers and decorators - their homes are absolutely exquisite!

There are stories of how each designer celebrated Christmas with their friends and family and it it's nice to have this personal touch to the book so it isn't just about decorating but the people who live there as well and how they celebrate the season.

The book has so many ideas to decorate your home for Christmas and whilst I usually change up my themes each year I have taken away some great ideas to try out. A great tip is to buy quality over quantity - that's one that I have come to realise and agree with wholeheartedly.

These homes are all located in America which has a winter Christmas and the themes suit a cold and cosy season which is quite different to my summer Australian Christmas where I decorate with brights and a summery theme!

A hardcopy of this book is a must to enjoy the stunning images and it is already taking pride of place on my coffee table at Christmas time. What a great gift idea it is too!

I recommend this design book to anyone who loves to decorate for Christmas in a classy and elegant way.

I give this book 5 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 paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

Christmas At Designer's Homes Across America can be purchased from Schiffer Books

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here and Netgalley

Disclosure:  NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote authors and their books and I was given a hardcopy of this book published by Schiffer Books to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

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

[Image via Schiffer Books]

Before + After: Our Courtyard Shade Sail

On the weekend we finished installing the new shade sail in the front courtyard and it looks amazing!

When your vision turns into a reality it's such a good feeling ..... this is why I love renovating to look at the before and afters and see the changes we have made to our 1960's humble abode! 

You may recall back in April Mr P and I installed the metal shade sail poles ourselves before the courtyard was paved.

It took a lot of concrete ... 360kg in fact .... to secure the poles into the ground so they would take the weight of a shade sail attached to them and so they would last for a very long time (forever!).

After the paving was finished, the garden beds were built, grass laid and everything else was done in the courtyard we were ready for the shade sail.

We waited until the wet and windy winter season was finished and then called our shade sail guy from Big Fat Snapper who we'd already worked out the design with, to come out and do a final measure between the poles, so he could make the shade sail to fit the space perfectly. 

He made the shade sail that week and then came back on the weekend and install it. It took about an hour with Mr P and I on a pole each while he jumped from pole to pole to tighten the ropes and get the sail at the right angle and at the right tension so it was nice and straight and firm. There's a real art to this and you can tell he takes a lot of pride in his work and wants you to be 100% happy with it and for it to look great because let's face it nobody wants a saggy shade sail flapping around do they!

There were lots of colours of shade cloth to pick from - we went for a charcoal colour to match the roof of the house and the metal poles we picked a colour to match the limestone courtyard walls - I think it all blends in with the house nicely.

It's such a practical feature and when the sun beats down at the front of the house now we can sit under it in the shade. It stops the heat of the sun too as it's all fully UV sun safe.

Now all we need to do is set up the courtyard with our outdoor furniture and decor and make it all pretty and nice.

I need to find some nice feature pots and plant them out to add some greenery out here too.

Our vegetable and herb garden also needs some love and attention as well!

I'm loving how our courtyard garden is really coming along now ... check out more before and afters of the house exterior in my House Tour page!

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[All images my own]

A Book Lovers Christmas Party

My Book Club 'The Tuesday Girls' had our 6th Christmas Party last weekend.

Every year we do something different to celebrate the silly season and this year the Mums tucked the kids into bed, the wives kissed the hubbys goodbye, the rest of us patted our fur-babies and jumped in the car for a girls weekend away!

We really wanted to stay together overnight in a big house but couldn't find one with enough beds to accommodate us all.

So instead I found us a great self contained apartment in South Perth where we booked two rooms to sleep us all and it was in a really good location close to the Swan River and a short walk to nearby restaurants.

We went out for a nice pub lunch, indulged in nibbles and drinks back at our apartment for dinner and had a lovely late breakfast the next day before heading home.

Of course it wouldn't be a party without countless bottles of bubbles and wine being consumed as well!

We watched movies, played games and essentially followed the mantra ... eat, drink and be merry!

For gifts rather than buy for everyone we do a Secret Santa and give just one person who has been secretly drawn out for us a gift - the gifts were all so well thought out and there's always a few books being gifted! 

I also prepared some goodie bags filled with book products to give to the book club girls which were gifted by some awesome Australian companies and individuals which I've detailed below. 

Stress Free Dinner Parties and Build Your Signature Wardrobe by Alexandria Blaelock - An Australian writer and philosopher and author of these great reads. 

Stress Free Dinner Parties is a great book for anyone who loves to entertain at home and it takes you through how to plan, host and most importantly enjoy your party. Build Your Signature Wardrobe is inspired by the Great Depression and World War eras on how they would build a signature wardrobe and this book takes it into the 21st century and explains how to shop strategically and helps you confidentially build your signature wardrobe.

Brand New Day: The highs and lows of starting a small business by Lara Solomon - London born and now Australian based author Lara, in diary style, shares her experience of leaving her full time job to start her own business venture and the trials and tribulations, what worked and what didn't and is a really honest and open account in the first 4 years of her business. 

This is a perfect read for anyone wanting a better understanding and honest view of what running a business is all about.

Australian Book Review Magazine - One of Australia's leading cultural magazines this is full of reviews, essays and commentary on the latest films, plays, operas, dance and art exhibitions. It provides an outlet for creative writing around Australia which is then showcased internationally.

This magazine is a great read for art and culture enthusiasts.

Get Packing: The Ultimate Travel Guide by John Kumm & Barbara Walsh - John and Barbara have written a couple of travel guides and The Ultimate Travel Guide is geared towards anyone who loves the idea of travelling the world but is a bit unsure about where to start to plan for such an amazing holiday. From tips on saving on accommodation to what to pack for a cruise holiday this guide has it all.

This book is a great read for newbie globetrotters.

This Is It by Jackie Parry - Originally from the UK Jackie is now an adopted Australian and has published numerous books of her travels around the world. This Is It is about a sailing trip she took with her husband Noel which turned out to be as much a voyage of self discovery as it was an adventure.

Check out their website Noel & Jackie's Journeys for more tales of their travel adventures.

I also hosted a giveaway which was decided on who could tell the best joke and the winner received this awesome Book Club Agenda tea towel from Stylie which sums up our Book Club perfectly!

Stylie is the creation of two sisters who have a knack for seeking out creative, cute and quirky bits and pieces. They also run gift wrapping workshops in Sydney which would be a lot of fun and you can follow them on Instagram for daily creative wrapping ideas!

It was such a great weekend away and I'm just so happy to have found a group of girls who love books and reading as much as I do!

Have the Christmas celebrations started for you?

Disclosure: Thanks very much to Alexandria Blaelock, Lara Solomon, ABR, John Kumm, Jackie Parry and Stylie for providing these book lovers products. I have not received any payment or compensation for this blog post. As always, all opinions are my own.

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[All images my own]

Book Review: Plant Craft By Caitlin Atkinson

This is a book review of Plant Craft by Caitlin Atkinson that was published by Timber Press on 19 October 2016.

Caitlin Atkinson is a photographer, stylist and interior merchandiser. Caitlin photographed the book Air Plants: The Curious World of Tillandsias and this is the first book she has photographed, styled and written herself.

This is a beautiful craft book based around the concept that not everyone has a garden but with just a few materials you can bring some nature into your home in the way of crafts inspired by nature and made of living plants, flowers and branches.

With over 250 pages and 30 projects ranging from a table centerpiece, hanging mobile, hanging rock garden, bench planter and more there are projects to suit all types of creatives.

The projects range from easy to difficult and will suit all levels and talents (yes including black thumbs like me!). The projects look easy to follow with step by step instructions and lots of images to assist each step.

What I love most about this book is the beautiful photos which are lush, green and full of life and really inspire creativity. You can tell this is a photographers book it's just beautiful you could almost buy it just for the stunning images!

I recommend this book to plant lovers who want to bring some garden greenery inside.

I give this book 5 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 paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

Plant Craft can be purchased from the author here 

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here and Netgalley

Disclosure:  NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote authors and their books and I was given this ebook published by Timber Press to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

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

[Images via Amazon]