Book Review + Giveaway: Renovate, Remodel ... Relax By Kathi Fleck

This is a book review of Renovate, Remodel ... Relax by Kathi Fleck that was recently published by LoneStar Publications and Smith Publicity.

Thanks to Smith Publicity I also have an autographed copy of this book up for grabs for one lucky reader - more details are at the end of this post and you'll need to enter via Instagram .... good luck!

About the author .... Kathi Fleck left the corporate world to join her husband's home remodeling business and from this experience Kathi found her niche in home improvement. Kathi started teaching classes, writing articles, and has now written this book on educating others on how they too can remodel their homes. Kathi also has a website which has a wealth of knowledge about renovating which you can find here.

This renovating book is right up my alley, it shows that the real world of renovating is not like the HGTV channels when a bunch of tradesman come in and do the job in just days. The reality is that renovating takes time, jobs are scheduled in, and it takes a lot of organising and juggling to ensure the project is kept on track and done well.

This is not a glossy interior design book full of perfectly styled rooms but rather a practical guide to renovating. It can be used as a really useful handbook and reference guide for all things renovating and remodelling.

This book will take you from the start of the project to work out what you really want to achieve in your home improvement plans and then how to get it. It covers everything from budgets, when to do the work yourself and when to get the professionals, trends, dos and dont's, it details the entire process from start to finish.

Whilst this is written by an American author I found most of the information relevant to Australian homes and the room budgets were quite similar too. Overall the information can be used for all DIY enthusiasts no matter where in the world you live.

I recommend this book to home lovers who don't know where to start on their home improvement plans, this book will hold your hand and guide you on your renovating journey.

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here and Netgalley

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 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

Now if you want to get your hands on your very own autographed copy of Renovate, Remodel .... Relax then head over to @JarrahJungle on Instagram to enter!

Follow @JarrahJungle on Instagram + 

Re-post image +

Hashtag #JarrahJungleBookGiveaway +  

One re-post per day

Giveaway open to readers in Australia, US, Canada and UK
Runs from 3 - 10 August 2015 5pm WST 

Winner drawn at random. Must be an Instagram follower @JarrahJungle

Good luck to all my home loving and renovating readers!

Disclosure:  NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote authors and their books and I was given this book published by Smith Publicity and LoneStar Publications to review. As always, all opinions are my own. Giveaway book will be sent direct from Smith Publicity to winner. This prize cannot be exchanged for money.

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


[First image via Kathi Fleck and second image my own]

Pin It Now!

Recipe: Pina Colada Bread In A Bread Maker

If you like pina coladas .... dancing in rain .... then you'll love this pina colada bread recipe!

I've made this pina colada bread a few times now and since it won the Naughty Vs Nice Christmas baking competition at work last year (in the naughty category of course!) I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Pina Colada Bread
750g loaf in bread maker

225ml Water
2 tbs Rum (I used Bacardi Rum)
1 tbs Margarine
2/3 cup Pineapple, crushed and drained
1 and 1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbs Sugar
1 tbs Skim milk powder
1 tsp Bread improver
480g Plain flour
2 tsp Yeast
1/2 cup Coconut, shredded and roasted

Place all the ingredients in the bread maker in the order listed above.

Turn the bread maker on and leave it to work it's magic. 

When finished the bread will come out golden and smelling deliciously of sweet pineapple and coconut.

Turn the bread out and leave it to cool.

It's now ready to slice and serve with a soft cheese such as walnut and apricot cheese.

This sweet loaf is perfect for a crowd as it goes a long way and it's a perfect accompaniment to a bevvie  of your choice ..... or double it up with a pina colada cocktail!

Do you have a favourite bread recipe?




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


[All images my own]

Pin It Now!

A Whole Lot Of Painting With Dulux Duramax + A Giveaway

Those clever cookies at Dulux have caught on that waiting for paint to dry is the most boring thing in the whole entire world and magically sped up the process with their new range of Dulux Duramax Spray Paints which dry ten times faster than you'd usually have to wait!

This new range has only just hit stores and the good news is ......
I have a giveaway pack with 6 x Dulux Duramax spray paints in this seasons hottest colours up for grabs for one lucky reader at the end of this post!

There are a heap of colours to choose from, 29 colours to be exact, in the Dulux Duramax range - all the modern colours, glitter finish, bright fluoros, metallic, chalkboard and there's even a glow in the dark one!

My favourite was the Granite Effect which looks exactly like granite and comes in a light grey and dark grey. I also went for a splash of colour with Go Go Blue.

Originally I was going to turn some old plastic garden pots into stunning granite look pot plants but because my backyard is in the midst of being subdivided it's a bit of a mess and not a nice garden for pretty pot plants to be!

So instead, I shopped at home for some decor items that were in need of a new lease of life. That's the beauty of spray paint, it can turn any old object into something fun and new again as I soon discovered and kept adding more and more items to my to be painted pile!

With 1 can of Dulux Duramax Go Go Blue I painted a birdcage, 2 metal flowers, a wire bird, bike door stop, vintage bowl and a photo frame. Now that's a lot of paint in a can don't you think!

I wiped clean the items to make sure any dirt was removed and then I was ready to get shaking and spraying ...... and there was a lot of shaking at least 3 minutes until I could get trigger happy and paint!

I did a few light coats of paint and waited about 20 minutes between each coat. I did 2-3 coats on each item until I had good even coverage. They were dry within an hour and ready to use and they didn't smell at all the paint has a really low odour which is great for sensitive noses like mine.

My favourite makeover was this rusty metal birdcage that I painted and then turned into a Christmas decoration filling it with blue and silver ornaments and of course a bird!

These spray paints can be used on wood, metal and plastic and because this metal stool was a bit rusty I used the Dulux Duramax Metal Primer as well. I wiped the stool clean, sanded back the flaking rust, and then gave it a few light coats of primer. Once the primer was dry I did quite a few light coats (almost 2 cans) of the Dulux Duramax Granite, in dark grey. 

This granite paint dries so quick you can respray every 2 minutes. The spray can does have a large over spray I think because it comes out as a sandy sort of spray, so you tend to use more of it to get an even coverage and it also leaves speckles everywhere so make sure you do it in an area you don't mind speckles going! 

I painted some smaller items using the Dulux Duramax, Granite in Light Grey like this wire rabbit, flamingo and wall art. I really like the sandy speckled look it gives, the texture is perfect for outdoor ornaments and furniture.

I'm so impressed with just how many items I managed to give a new lease of life to with just a few cans of spray paint, I love that it dried really fast, and there are so many colours to chose from the possibilities are endless!

Now the best part is thanks to Dulux I have 6 x Dulux Duramax spray paints (total value of $77.70) in this season's hottest colours to giveaway to one lucky reader.

To enter the giveaway just complete the options on the Rafflecopter form

and leave a comment answering the giveaway question:

What would you makeover at home with Dulux Duramax spray paint?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to Australian Residents only. Giveaway ends on 13 January 2015, 5am WST. Winner will be drawn at random on Rafflecopter and must have answered the question and completed all mandatory fields on Rafflecopter. The winner will be contacted and announced shortly thereafter and will have 48 hours to respond or prize will be redrawn. Prize will be posted to winner within Australia direct from Dulux. Total prize pool $77.70 (spray paint retails at $12.95 each). Prize cannot be exchanged for money.

Good luck everyone!

Disclosure: Thanks to Dulux for providing me with this paint for review and paint to giveaway. 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]


Pin It Now!

Griffiths Bros Giveaway ...... Winners Announced

It was great to have so many coffee lovers enter my Griffiths Bros Giveaway and I loved the delicious coffee recipes you shared! 

I have drawn out 5 lucky winners who will each be sent a Flavours Of Central America coffee pack from Griffiths Bros.

The winners are:
Mich Vee
Vanessa Pike-Russell
ifp - Sharman
FiveChildrenAndIcedTea

Mystery Case

I will contact the winners so please respond within 48 hours or I will redraw the prize. I don't have an email address for FiveChildrenandIcedTea so please get in touch ASAP!

If you want to see some more cooking with coffee recipes check out the Griffiths Bros Recipe Page 

Thanks for entering everyone!

Disclosure: Griffiths Bros have provided this product to review and products to giveaway. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. All opinions are my own. Prizes will be posted to winners within Australia direct from company. This prize cannot be exchanged for money.




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


[All images via Griffiths Bros]


Pin It Now!

Griffiths Bros Coffee + A Giveaway

Now that we are into December the start of the festive season it calls for some celebrations ...... So how about a GIVEAWAY!

Australia's oldest coffee roasting company Griffiths Coffee who I discovered earlier this year have rebranded to Griffiths Bros and to celebrate their new brand and new look website they are giving away 5 packs of their delicious coffee to 5 lucky readers!

The Griffiths Bros Flavours of Central America pack has 5 different coffees - Nicarugua Dark, Dicarugua Light, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador single origins. All their coffee is Fairtrade, Organic and RFA certified.

 

As well as enjoying these coffees in my morning espresso, for something different I have also tried cooking with the coffees.

My favourite for an espresso coffee is El Salvador - San Salvador single origin coffee it has a  nice balanced flavour and smells delicious.
 

 

 

The Nicaragua Dark Single Origin coffee has a chocolatey and spicy flavour and was perfect to use in my home made Tiramasu dessert which I served at an Italian themed dinner party I hosted recently.

The biscuits were soaked in a mixture of coffee and kahlua (a coffee flavoured liquor) which added an amazing flavour to the dish.

What better way to serve the Tiramasu than with some freshly brewed coffee and a nip of kahlua, it was the perfect end to dinner.

The coffee used for the coffee liquor was Honduras - Cocafcol Co-op a fair trade and organic coffee which has a mild smooth flavour and was perfect for this stiff drink!

 

 

There are some great recipe ideas on the Cooking With Coffee section of the Griffiths Bros website including one for Tiramisu if you're tempted to make this delicious dessert.

 

Thanks to Griffiths Bros I have 5 x Flavours of Central America coffee packs each valued at $25 up for grabs for 5 coffee loving readers.

To enter the giveaway:

Like Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and Griffiths Bros on Facebook
and leave a comment answering the giveaway question:
 

What sweet or savoury recipe would you make with coffee?

Giveaway open to Australian residents only. Giveaway ends on 9 December 2014, 9am WST. Winners will be drawn at random and must have answered the question and liked both Facebook pages. The winners will be contacted and have 48 hours to respond or winners will be redrawn.

 

Good luck everyone!

 

Disclosure: Griffiths Bros have provided this product to review and products to giveaway. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. All opinions are my own. Prizes will be posted to winners within Australia direct from company. This prize cannot be exchanged for money

 

 

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


[All images my own - Last image via Griffiths Bros]

Pin It Now!

A Taste Of Italy: Dinner Party Menu + Tablescape

As you may have seen with all my foodie snaps on Instagram and Facebook I hosted a My Kitchen Rules dinner party a few weeks ago for friends and family.

I am in my element party planning, working out the menu and coming up with a theme for the night, it makes it much easier to choose dishes and decorate the table when you have a theme.

This is our Taste Of Italy dinner party with a 5 course menu, some recipes, and the tablescape ....

Aperitivo - Champage Lemonchello cocktails

We always serve a welcome drink on arrival it's a sure fire way to get the party started!

This is a simple and refreshing cocktail made with some lemon rind in the base of the glass and a squeeze of lemon juice, add a nip of chilled lemonchello and top with Prosecco sparkling wine.

Primo - Slow cooked artichokes stuffed with a garlic anchovy crumb

For a rather intimidating vegetable this was easy to prepare and looked pretty impressive on the table. I just put them in the slow cooker with a lovely stock to cook themselves and then stuffed them ready to be heated in the oven once we were ready to eat. You can find my recipe here.

Artichokes are only in season for a few weeks so whilst there were plenty around when I did my practice cook a few weeks beforehand, the day of the party I was driving around like a crazy woman stopping at every veggie shop I could find and asking them to check their back rooms because I desperately needed artichokes! Lucky for me my local veggie shop which was closed on my first visit, the second time round had some tucked away in the back fridge! Crisis averted!!

 

Contorno - Green pea soup shooters with mint pistou

I've made this simple and tasty pea soup many times it's such an easy dish to make a few days ahead of time and then reheat and serve. It's an Australian Women's Weekly recipe and I use mint peas for extra flavour.

The mint pistou you add on the top adds a real zing to the soup and made for a nice and refreshing palette cleanser between dishes.

Secondo - Home smoked salmon in a cream sauce with fresh fettuccine

We home smoked fresh salmon fillets while our guests where there to get their mouths watering with the delicious smoky smells, then made the creamy sauce, cooked the pasta, tossed it together and served topped with some large Australian tiger prawns for a bit of wow factor. You can find my recipe here.

This is a rich dish so a small serve was all that was needed it was so delicious.

Formaggio E Frutta - Home smoked brie cheese with home made bread croutons

I stuffed mini brie cheese with rosemary and garlic and cold smoked with apple flavour on a very low heat for a few hours until they were lightly smoked and the cheese was melted and then cut them in half and served them on individual cheese plates. You can find my baked brie recipe here.

I baked some rosemary and oil bread for the croutons - I cut it into little squares, threaded them onto rosemary sticks, drizzled with oil and baked in the oven until golden.

 Dolce - Tiramisu

This was my first attempt at making Tiramisu and I used a friend's recipe after trying it at her MKR dinner party and they were a hit. I don't think you can go wrong with a dessert which has chocolate and alcohol in it, it's a great way to end the night!

The good thing about Tiramisu is you can make it the night before and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. A layer of biscuits soaked in lemonchello and coffee, melted chocolate and kahlua, and topped with boozy cream, just before serving I grated over chocolate and topped with some coffee bean chocolates.

Digestivo - Coffee liquor and Lemonchello

We finished the meal offering either a hot or cold digestive - Little espresso coffee and kahlua shooters for those that wanted a warm drink, or lemonchello which had been kept in the freezer served in cold shot glasses.

Dining was alfresco under the patio on the outdoor table which I set with my bargain set of $4 burlap place mats as inspiration and had a rustic Italian tablescape with lots of candles and vases with fresh lavender.

I also printed up the menus so everyone knew what we were having and placed them on top of each plate, menus add a bit of excitement as everyone is anticipating what is coming next!

It was a real taste of Italy dinner party and as far as the My Kitchen Rules part, I think we did pretty good!

Sharing with link parties:
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays




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


[All images my own]

Pin It Now!