Griffiths Coffee - Product Review and Giveaway

Since having my own coffee machine at home I have really come to appreciate the taste of good coffee. I grind my own beans so they are fresh and fragrant, fill the coffee maker up by hand, press the button and patiently wait for the coffee to come trickling out of the machine and into my cup.

So when Griffiths Coffee sent me some coffee to try as well as offering a Giveaway pack for my coffee loving readers I was counting down the days for my taste testing to begin!

 

 

Griffiths Coffee was established in 1879 in Melbourne and impressively still remains an 100% Australian owned coffee roaster business. The coffee is sourced and imported from South America, Asia and Africa and the coffee beans are shipped back to Melbourne where they are roasted, blended and packaged for sale to coffee lovers all over Australia. 

 

Griffiths Coffee produce Just Fair Coffee and is the only Fair Trade organic coffee on the market that comes in a reusable and fully recyclable tin. The tins are really cool and would make great holders for everything from pens to flowers. The coffee keeps so much fresher in a tin too and I don't have coffee grains scattered all over my kitchen like I seem to with packet coffee! 

 

 

Another clever idea is for anyone who wants to know where in the world your coffee comes from you can find out on the Just Fair Coffee website by tracing the source of the beans.

All you do is type in the used by code on the tin and it will show you where the beans came from and what initiatives are supported with the purchase of that coffee. It's good to know you are supporting the countries the coffee is grown in and the farmers received a fair price and treatment for their product.

  

While I usually grind my own beans, my coffee grinder is currently broken so I opted to try the ground coffee. Now, let's get this taste test happening shall we!

I'm mostly an espresso girl or as us Aussie's refer to it a short black. That little shot of coffee goodness gets me up and going first thing in the morning and I don't even have sugar in mine as I find it takes away from the flavour and intensity of the coffee taste. I tried the Just Fair Organic Espresso which smelt amazing and had a strong roasted flavour and a lovely layer of crema on top which is the sign of a damn good coffee!

 

On the weekends when I'm home renovating and DIY-ing I usually need a coffee pick me up late afternoon to get me through to the evening. For this I had a double shot of the Just Fair Organic Decaffeinated which again came out with a lovely crema on top and when stirred went nice and dark. This blend had a more subtle roasted flavour, a smooth taste and was easy to drink.

 

 

 

Now for the fun part, thanks to Griffiths Coffee I have 5 x 250g tins of Just Fair Coffee valued at $65 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:

Coffee lovers please tell me, how do you like your coffee?

 

Giveaway open to Australian Residents only. Giveaway ends on 17 June 2014, 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.

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6c7f582/

 

Good luck everyone!

Disclosure: Griffiths Coffee partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their product. As part of this promotion I received this product to review and products to giveaway. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. I have not been told what to say about this product, I am free to form my own opinion and share them in my own words. All opinions are my own. Prize will be posted to winner 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]

Pin It Now!

Book Review and Preview: The Unknown Women by Jacqueline Lunn

This is a book review and preview of the book The Unknown Women by Jacqueline Lunn that was recently published on 1 May 2014.

Jacqueline was born in Brisbane and after living in London and New York, now calls Sydney home. She writes a weekly column for The Sydney Morning Herald and this is her second novel.

This is the story of Lilith a 40 something wife and mother who lives in suburban Sydney and is trying to work out who she is and what she wants from life.

Her kids are at school, her husbands a workaholic, her father's in a nursing home, she spies on her new neighbors, and she doesn't seem to even like spending time with her friends.

On the outside she looks like the perfect housewife, running errands, going shopping, picking up the kids from school, looking after her family. But on the inside Lilith is a completely different character, who is uncertain about who she is and what she wants from life. She seemed very lost and isolated, even though she has a comforting family home.

To be honest I found this book a little depressing. I felt sorry for Lilith most of the way through, especially when her kids didn't appreciate all that she did for them. I just wanted to give her a shake and tell to get out there and start living her life!

I recommend this book to those that like contemporary fiction and who have an interest in a modern day Australian family.

I give this book 2 stars

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

The Unknown Woman can be purchased from Random House here

Sharing my book review on Good Reads here

Disclosure: NetGalley partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their product. As part of this promotion I was given this eBook published by Random House Australia to review. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. I have not been told what to say about this product, I am free to form my own opinion and share them in my own words. All opinions are my own.

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


[Image via Random House]

Pin It Now!

Slow Cooker Recipes - For All Seasons

I usually only use my Slow Cooker in the cooler months but as some of my overseas readers have pointed out on my latest recipe Slow Cooker Sausage Stroganoff, it's a good idea to put the Slow Cooker on in the warmer months too because then you don't need to put the oven on which heats up the house and the air conditioner has to work even harder to cool the house down!

 

There's no love going into a meal when you're all hot and sweaty and cooking in a humid kitchen!

 

So these recipes are for us Aussies now in Winter and seeking comfort food and for my awesome overseas readers in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom where it is heating up for Summer and you want to stay cool while cooking dinner.

 

Slow Cooked Apple and Cider Pork

 

 

Pork, Prune and Port Casserole

 

 

Slow Cooker Beef in Soy and Orange Sauce

 

 

Chilli Beef

 

 

Thai Red Chicken Curry

 

 

Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemon

 

 

I have a bowl full of fresh lemons at home so I'm going to try the Moroccan Chicken this weekend

 

Do you use your Slow Cooker in all Seasons?

 

You can find all these recipes on Taste or on my Pinterest - Recipe Board

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


[All images via Taste]

Pin It Now!

Before and After: Window Frames With Dulux Paint

The exterior of our house has had a huge transformation and with all of these home improvements we have stuck with an exterior colour scheme of cream of grey: Classic cream render and downpipes, Limestone courtyard, Charcoal roof and driveway, Ironstone gutters and facias and Jarrah garage door and courtyard slats.

 

The colour that just doesn't seem to go anymore is our white window frames - there's nothing else white out the front of the house so it's added another colour to the palette. The white gets a bit lost against the cream render and with the new limestone fence now built it has become apparent that the white has got to go!

 

As timing would have it Dulux has some new colour booklets and I was sent some to check out their tips on picking colour combinations that work together. Finding colours that go together can be pretty daunting so it's good to see some set colour schemes. Flipping through the booklets has given me the inspiration to be bold with my colour choices outside, but still making sure the colours will work together.

My favourite pages from the Dulux Colour Booklets - I love my greys both inside and outside!

My other favourite is the Colorbond range - We have Colorbond Ironstone Gutters and Facias,
Colorbond Classic Cream downpipes and Colorbond Charcoal as our roof colour

Dulux offered to send me some paint to try out their colour schemes - first we picked a prepcoat Dulux 1 step oil based primer, sealer, undercoat in White. This undercoat was oil based and had a stronger paint smell and had to be cleaned up with Mineral Turps. These oil based paints give a really strong bond and protection which is what you want for exterior paints that are up against the elements and strong Australian sunshine all the time.
 

We also needed the right type of paint for our wooden window frames and chose the Dulux Aquanamel in Gloss which is the paint you should use for doors, windows and trim. As for the colour, we went through Dulux's huge range of exterior paint colours and picked out Dulux Colorbond Monument and had the paint tinted to that colour.

Unlike the prepcoat, this is a water based paint which is so much easier to clean up all you need is water, it didn't smell as strong as the oil based paint (better for allergies!) and they were really fast drying too which helped because we didn't have to leave the windows open for long we could close them soon after painting.

 

Our Dulux paint and supplies

  

Dulux Colorbond Monument

Armed with our paint, brushes and supplies we were good to get cracking and give these old and worn out window frames a new lease of life.

  

Before - White window frames

 

In need of some colour inspiration!

 

The frames were sanded back with an electric sander to remove all the flaking paint and rough edges. For the hard to get at areas sandpaper was used. Any gaps, cracks and imperfections were filled with builders filler, then sanded back again lightly with sandpaper. 

 

Sanding off all the old flaking paint

Our cordless sander makes the job a lot quicker and easier!

  

It's so important to spend as much time as you can on the preparation otherwise all your hard work will be a waste of time, the paint won't last it will peel and look terrible!

Once the frames were filled and sanded smooth, they were cleaned and wiped over with a wet cloth to remove any dust and dirt. Then the windows were taped up with painters tape to protect the glass.

We were then  ready to paint on a primer and undercoat - for that we used Dulux All In 1 Primer, Sealer and Undercoat. These oil based paints are a bit smelly but they really are the most durable for exterior use. The smell had disappeared by the next day and it was touch dry within about 6 hours so we could shut the windows just before bed time!

 

Carefully applied painters tape to all the windows

 

Then on goes the Dulux primer/sealer/undercoat paint

 

One frame down and one to go!

When the undercoat was completely dry a few hours later, we were ready to put some colour on these beauties. On goes the first coat of Dulux Colorbond Monument .... there's no going back now!

Now for some colour ....

Mr brother and Mr P made a great painting team!

 

Here's a tip: Get yourself some angled brushes when painting windows and trim they make it so much easier to get into all the grooves and make cutting in around the frames heaps easier too.

 

Window frames can be a little fiddly to paint

 

Many hands make light work!

A few days later we applied the second coat of paint, that's not because it wasn't touch dry enough to paint but because of the wet weather we couldn't paint outside until we had some sunshine!

 

 

Painting on a second coat of Dulux Colorbond Monument on the Living Room window

 

Monument is a similar colour to our roof and driveway which is Charcoal

Once the paint had dried the colour darkened ad had more depth, it was looking really good and is a pretty perfect match to the roof colour too.

Now onto the Master Bedroom windows

Both windows all painted



Lexi the Site Manager is never far away keeping an eye on our work!

 

Peeling the tape off to reveal the windows is such a good feeling I get all excited and butterfly's  .... that moment of Oh My God What Have I Done!?!?
 

To remove the tape I use a knife to break the seal between the paint and tape, it makes peeling the tape off
a lot easier without the fear that you'll pull the paint off with it

The last of the tape coming off

 

I'm so impressed because this tape was on for about 3 weeks all up and it didn't peel the paint off at all!

 

So here we are .... It was a bold move but it really paid off, the windows are definitely stand out features now. I've become so much braver with my colour choices, after all it's just paint you can always scrape it off and repaint it if I don't like it. But I love it.

After - I love the depth of the colour 

Really like how Monument contrasts against the Classic Cream walls



The colour scheme is now working well together

Don't you just love a good before and after!

Yet another big transformation to the front of our house .... here's a bit of a flashback to our home when we moved in almost 5 years ago now to how it looks today. Still a bit of landscaping to do out here in the new Courtyard but we are definitely getting there and you'll be seeing lots more progress in the coming weeks.

 

Before - Our house when we bought it almost 5 years ago ....
 



Now - The power of paint and a lot of hard work!

What do you think of the White vs Monument window frames?

Would you be brave and use bold colours for your home exterior?

 

 

Sharing with link parties:

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays

Home Coming - The DIYers

The Dedicated House - Before And After Wednesday

Disclosure: Dulux partner with bloggers such as me to help promote their product. As part of this promotion I was given some Dulux colour booklets and paint to review. I have not received any payment or compensation for this review. I have not been told what to say about this product, I am free to form my own opinion and share them in my own words. All opinions are my own.

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

[All other images my own]

 

Pin It Now!

Book Club Book Review: Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

The book choice for the month of May at Book Club was Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

 

 

This is the story of Lou in her late 20s, who still lives with her parents, in a small town, with her long term boyfriend and she doesn't have any dreams, goals or aspirations for her future. The other character in the book is Will a 30-something smart, handsome, business man who ends up a quadriplegic after a freak accident. These two opposites are thrown together when Lou becomes Will's carer.

 

Will is facing a life bound to his wheelchair which he hates, he doesn't want to live a life needing someone else to do everything for him. I really felt for Will and his quality of life, which was the main core of the book. Then there's Lou who just doesn't seem to have any ambition in life, no friends, and a boyfriend that she isn't really sure she loves.

 

I wouldn't call this a romance, but more of a story of friendship. It tugs on the heart strings and is a bit of a tear jerker.

 

I really enjoyed this book, it was realistic and easy to read which had me turning the pages to find out how the story was going to end, right up until the last chapter I still wasn't sure how it would finish and what would happen to Will and Lou.

 

The only parts I found confusing were when it was not written in the first person and Lou stopped being the narrator for a short chapter and her sister or Will's mother would tell the story. Sure, it means you could see their side of the story but I found it strange that they only narrated a single chapter and then never again. It didn't really make sense.

 

I would recommend this book to everyone, I think it's a really thought provoking read and will make you appreciate the small things in life, because you never know when your perspective of life could change.

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

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


[Image via Penguin]

Pin It Now!