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.

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

[All images my own]

Pin It Now!

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?

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


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


Pin It Now!

Kidspot Voices Of 2014 - Nominee

It was just a normal day yesterday, I woke up and hit snooze on my alarm a dozen times, fed my fur baby Lexi, before running up the street like a crazy woman to catch my buss and headed into the office to work for the day. But then everything changed when an email popped into my mail box that grabbed my attention ....

 

Congratulations you are a voice of influence

 

My blog has been nominated for Kidspot Voices Of 2014 which means that my readers love what I'm doing here and put me forward for this award.

 

I am so surprised and flattered and feel truly honoured to have my blog listed along side some of the most influential and admirable bloggers in Australia. I feel like the cool kid at school or the one that gets picked first for team sports. Wow I really am so chuffed to be recognised (especially as I suck at sports)!

 

 

It's such a privilege to be nominated, although I'm not sure I will get very far amongst all the amazing bloggers and only 90 blogs across 3 categories will be shortlisted by the judges. It's still a great feeling to be recognised and the prizes are incredible, travel, a car, but most appealing to me is there are contracts with Kidspot on offer to write for them .... now that would be a dream come true!

So if I don't say it enough, then I want to take this opportunity to say thank you so very much you guys, my awesome readers for coming back, reading my blog posts, commenting and sharing it means so much to know you are there and take an interest. Your encouragement and loyalty over the past 4 years I've been blogging makes me even more determined to keep on going. I have such a passion and enthusiasm to write about my home and lifestyle .... thanks for coming on this journey with me!

 

 

Thanks again everyone, you're really truly awesome! 
 

 

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

[Image 1 via Kidspot Image 2 my own]

Pin It Now!

Photo A Day: January Days 1 - 16

Back in October last year I joined in with Fat Mum Slim for the first time and took a photo every day of the month following the daily word prompts. Well I've decided to play along again, this time with FMS January Photo A Day challenge and have been sharing my photos each day on my Facebook and Instagram ... and I'm doing a round up of them here.

 

Speaking of Instagram I don't know why I didn't join sooner it's so much fun to edit and use the filters on photos. Not to mention the inspiration I get from looking at everyone's photos, there's so many talented people out there and Instagram is a great way to find them!

 

 

Here are my first 16 photos from the January word prompts above ...

 

1. My favourite lazy weekend lunch at home eggs benedict

2. A trip to the Ikea sales

3. Driving through my home town

4. My word to live by is LIVE

 

5. Found the hooks to hang my bird cage

6. Happens everyday my man brings me coffee in bed

 

7. Upside Down baby you turn me Inside Out (magazine!)

8. My lucky number is 16 the day after my Birthday

 

9. The natural beauty of the botanic gardens in Wellington, New Zealand

10. The man made limestone and brick walls of our newly built courtyard

11. Looking down at my freshly painted toe nails and new sandals

12. My Sunday afternoon chocolate fix looks rather colourful

 

13. My lovable fur baby Lexi can always make me smile

14. 3 Things that are motivating me to walk to/from work each day

15. Black + White my new Ikea star lamp

16. This DIY canvass I made for the bedroom with it's sweet quote
"the sun couldn't rise without you, darling"

 

You can read all about how to play Photo A Day on FMS blog here.

 

Is anyone else playing along with FMS January Photo A Day?
 

Let me know so I can follow along with you!

 

 

[1st image FMS, All other images my own]

 

Pin It Now!

Tea Towel + Frame = Easy Kitchen Art

I'm sure you'll agree there's some tea towels that are just too nice to use to dry up with and whenever I put out my fancy ones for dinner parties they always end up mopping up red wine and getting stained! So I decided to give one of my favourite tea towels the royal treatment - iron it (that will be a first!), frame it and hang it on the wall for it to live a life free from stains and sogginess!
 

I picked this funky Wake Up And Smell The Coffee tea towel that my awesome book club girls gave me for my Birthday this year. It's bold words answer my love of typography and the saying will be perfect over the coffee station which has been on my kitchen renovation wish list.

 

 

Now to find my iron that is packed away in the abyss because it only makes an appearance once a year or so ...  I placed another tea towel over it to protect the print so it wouldn't melt and gave it a really good iron until it was flat and smooth.

 

 

Next was to find a frame to fit the tea towel and for this I carried my tape measure with me EVERYWHERE looking in EVERY shop for the right sized frame. I wanted a black solid frame to give it a gallery type look and in the end I found this one, although it doesn't have the mat surround because it was for a collage of photos, the frame was the right size and after months of hunting I couldn't bare to look any more!

 

 

I laid the tea towel into the frame and smoothed it out flat and then placed the cardboard backing on top with the plain side down to provide a back so you couldn't see through the fabric.

 

 

 

I pulled the tea towel taunt and folded it around the cardboard backing and then secured it with painters tape. I used tape as it's less permanent and can be removed easily if I want to change tea towels. It also meant I didn't have to cut the tea towel in case I want to use it again. I then replaced the backing of the frame and it was ready to hang.

 

 

 

My super handy Mr P hung it for me late last night after I fluttered my eyelashes and with the promise of my home made Pineapple Streusel cake baking and smelling delicious in the oven.

 

Here's a tip: When drilling a hole hold a dust pan underneath to catch all dust .... no mess to clean up!

 

 

 

The coffee print is perfect to go above the coffee station and is the first thing you see when you walk into the kitchen. I can stand and read it while I'm impatiently waiting for the coffee machine to make my morning hit of goodness.

 

 

What do you think of using tea towels as art?

 

Home Coming - TheDIY'ers

The Dedicated House - Make it Pretty Monday

The Grant Life - Life of the Party

 

[All images my own]

 



Pin It Now!

Art and Clock Wall Project Reveal

The long awaited clock and art wall project has now been hung up on the wall between the kitchen and dining area.

I was a little worried about it's eclectic look clashing with the contemporary set up of the dining area but I think it works well ... it adds interest and personality and will definitely be a talking point at the dinner table!

Since I first started creating the clock and art wall I have been adding and taking away art, frames and clocks from the design and playing with the layout so many times that I just couldn't bare to change it any more! 

Then when Mr P went to hang them up we changed it around a bit more again and I'm really happy with how it has turned out. 

This is how my art and clock wall project came together ...

Tools of the trade - A level, tape measure, pencil, drill and different sized nails

The final collection and layout ready to hang

Mr P drew a line from the bottom of the light switch and worked our way upwards

Frame by frame they were added to the wall

I tried to evenly space the colours by placing them diagonally to one another

A new addition to the wall is this playboy bunny art made by an old work colleague who is also an artist

My favourite is still the rhino hook I got from Typo

The top of the wall

The middle of the wall

The bottom of the wall

The finished art and clock wall project

I know this will be an evolving design and I can add different art to the frames when I feel like I want a change. 

I'm really liking how it has come together and have had so much fun creating this gallery style wall.

I haven't spent a lot of money either a lot of the pieces I already had and just reused them and some of the art was hand made and free. Just goes to show what you can create with a bit of time and imagination.

Source list: 

$20  Silver clock, Target

$10  Yellow clock, Sportsgirl

$55  Stag head art, Lucius Art Etsy

$0  Playboy bunny art, Gift

$0  Moby print, Posters Book gift

$12  White frame, Ikea

$4  Silver frame, Myer

$0  Wallpaper DIY

$4  Black frame, Reject Shop

$3.30  Keep calm and eat more cake card, Typo

$0  Black frame, gift

$0  Patterned paper from magazine DIY

$0  Two silver frames, gifts

$15  Rhino head, Typo

$0  Laughter is wine for the soul card, Kiki card set

$5  Yellow frame, Sportsgirl

$0  Nobody puts baby in a corner, DIY

$7  Gold and white ombre frame, Typo

$0  Art card of girls having a food fight

$135.30

What do you think of the art and clock wall?

Sharing with link parties:

Home Coming - The DIY'ers

The Dedicated House - Make it Pretty Monday

Savvy Southern Style - Wow us Wednesdays

  

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

[All images my own] 

Pin It Now!