Book Club Book Review: The Girl You Left Behind By Jojo Moyes

The last book for my Book Club to read this year was The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

My Book Club meet ups are the last Tuesday of the month which is where our name The Tuesday Girls comes from! We don't meet in November and December due to the Christmas season so we will discuss this book at our Christmas Party this weekend.

This book also forms part of my 2016 Reading Challenge list at 3/12 a book you've been meaning to read - being a fan of Jojo Moyes I want to read all of her books!

This story is written and set out in alternating chapters about the past and present.

One story is about Sophie and her family in 1916 in France during the war when the German's invaded and took over their homes, possessions and sent thousands of innocents to concentration camps. Sophie's husband was an artist and painted a portrait of her 'The Girl You Left Behind' which becomes the main theme of the story.

The other story is about Liv told almost a century later in 2006 in London and centers around the beloved painting that hangs on her wall at home which was a gift from her late husband and how it came to be there.

Not only is this a tale of romance and faith but it is also a really interesting story told about the war time and what happened to art during that time.

I really love the writing style it flowed beautifully and the way the two stories joined up and complimented eachother all the way to the last page made it a real joy to read. The female characters are strong and likable and I could understand them and feel what they were going through on their life journeys.

I recommend this book to Jojo Moyes fans and anyone interested in romantic historical fiction.

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

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Subdivision Progress: Backyard Side Fence Removal

Our plans to subdivide our backyard are still moving along with another job ticked off the to do list - to remove the old dividing fence between our neighbor's backyard and our backyard. 

Back in July the right hand side of backyard fence was removed and a new limestone retaining wall and colourbond metal fence installed. At that time we were still waiting for our neighbor's agreement to go ahead with doing their side of the fence which they have now agreed to which is great news.

This fence on the left hand side of the backyard is really long about 40 meters and it's made of asbestos which is very dangerous if the fibers become airborne so the fence was treated during the week by the neighbor spraying it with bondcrete which helps to contain the fibers if the fence panels break when they're being removed.

Here is the fence which as you can see had all but fallen down as it's over 50 years old .....

We decided to all muck in and remove the old fence together to save money - this way we didn't need to pay anyone to remove it only the rubbish tip fees to dispose of the old fence.

Mr P, my brother and the neighbor all donned their safety gear and armed with shovels and muscle power, dug out the fence panels and loaded them onto the back of the ute. We put a wooden palette on the back of the ute and then stacked the fence panels on top then wrapped the whole package in heavy duty plastic and marked it with asbestos tape. We had to do two trips to the rubbish tip and the ute drives onto a weigh bridge and they charge you per tonne - ours came to a total of $150. 

There's a funny story about our land and the neighbors - there use to be a laneway that ran along the side here and the council didn't want it anymore and so the neighbor purchased the extra piece of land along the laneway but never moved his fence. So when we put the new fence in it will actually need to come across almost a metre into our backyard space! 

The dirt filled backyard is ours and the lovely green lawn and garden side is the neighbors.

We have put up a makeshift fence along the side until we get the proper retaining wall and fence installed.

Slowly but surely our subdivision plans will be finished once the new fence is installed as it's the last thing we need to do which is pretty exciting!

Have you tackled any renovating projects around the home lately?


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A Week In Seminyak, Indonesia

Mr P and I are back from our week long getaway to Seminyak, Indonesia feeling relaxed and recharged - the sign of a good holiday!

I first visited Bali about 15 years ago and stayed in Kuta which is a bustling, lively, party town. This time around it was nice to stay out of the hustle and bustle and in the nicer area of Seminyak.

A few months ago I found an amazing deal on Scoopon which gave us over 60% off accommodation plus a bunch of extras like airport transfers, meals, massages and more which was too good a deal to pass up. 

The place we stayed at The Jineng Villas was amazing - it's a group of about 10 villas which are all privately enclosed with their own swimming pool. If you are looking for a romantic and secluded place to stay which is perfect for couples I highly recommend it. 

The accommodation package included 3 meals a day which they would bring to our villa and set the dining table for a romantic meal. We could have breakfast, lunch or dinner and high tea every day. 

I had so many recommendations from people for places to go for dinner or bars for drinks but because the food was so good at our villa we only went out for lunch and dinner a few times as it was just too relaxing dining in and it was free!

Bali is a really hot and humid climate and they have two seasons - wet and dry. November is the wet season so it was even more humid after it rained, which it did in the afternoon and evening most days. 

So when we weren't having a dip in our private swimming pool we spent time at the beach cooling down with our toes in the water and at the beach side bars.

One day we went on a sightseeing tour with Bali Driver Seminyak - we did the full day Tanah Lot and Countryside Tour. 

We were in our own private van and driven around by our guide out of the city of Bali, through all the little towns and into the countryside. We visited three temples which were all so different and unique to one another, we trekked through a rice terrace field and had lunch overlooking the rice fields (this was on my bucket list and I loved it) and on our way home we went to a coffee and tea plantation and tasted samples of all the different coffee and tea varieties.

It was great to get out of the city and tourist areas for the day and see some of the real Bali.

Another really fun thing we did was a Balinese Cooking Class with Nia Cooking School - it was great and I highly recommend doing a cooking class if you want to know more about the local food.

We met up with our group and were taken to a local food market in Seminyak and learnt all about the different spices, herbs and vegetables used in Balinese cooking. Then we went to the Chef's Restaurant Warung Nia and our group took it in turns to help the Chef prepare each dish - we made 12 dishes in total which we were then served for lunch.

We were given a recipe book of the dishes we made which was a really nice touch. Mr P and I are big foodies so we can't wait to recreate some of these traditional Balinese dishes at home.

We had such a great holiday on this tropical island with a good balance of relaxing, pampering, eating, swimming, shopping and sightseeing!

Have you been to Indonesia? 

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DIY: Sealing The Courtyard Pavers

Our front courtyard was paved 6 months ago but with the wet and cold seasons of Autumn and Winter we've had we haven't had a chance to seal the new limestone pavers because we needed a run of sunny warm days to do this. 

Well last weekend really turned on the sunshine and Perth had it's hottest day in 6 months it reached 37 degrees so we took this opportunity to tick this DIY off the to do list.

On Saturday Mr P got out the pressure cleaner plugged the hose into it and gave the limestone pavers a good clean. 

For any stubborn marks and stains I came along with a scrubbing brush and cleaned them off. 

Then we left the pavers to dry out completely for the rest of the day.

The next day on Sunday we got out the vacuum and cleaned up any grains of sand or grass or anything else so that the pavers would be perfectly clean before we applied the sealer. 

We purchased this Karcher wet dry vacuum when we first started renovating 6 years ago for around $100 and it has been worth it's weight in gold we use it for all our DIY jobs both inside and outside and it means we don't ruin our nice indoor vacuum with dusty dirty renovating clean ups.

Now for the sealer - we used Crommelin Enhanced Satin Paver Sealer which is a tough heavy duty sealer and quite strong smelling. It is a clear and transparent sealer which has a satin sheen to it and made the pavers a tiny bit darker so instead them being a bright white they are now a bit more cream and limestone looking which is actually a good thing as the white was pretty glarey on a bright sunny day! 

Mr P applied the sealer carefully with a paint brush around the courtyard edges and then finished off with a paint roller all the way around the courtyard.

After 2 hours the sealer is dry enough to apply a second coat of sealer.

Again, around the edges with a paint brush and then follow up with the paint roller.

Now that the pavers are sealed if anyone spills a drink or otherwise on the pavers they won't stain because the sealer won't allow it to penetrate into the pavers.

The part that I'm most excited about is that we can now finally bring out some outdoor furniture (which I got months ago and have had to store in the garage) and we can set up some nice pot plants to add some more colour and life to the space and look forward to enjoying some sunny days in our courtyard garden.

Have you tackled any outdoor projects lately?


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Book Review + Preview: The Trophy Child By Paula Daly

This is a book review of The Trophy Child by Paula Daly that is due to be published by Grove Atlantic on 7 March 2017.

I know this book won't be available for another few months but I'm sharing this review now so you can add it to your must read list if you're a suburban thriller fan then you will love this book it's brilliant!

Paula Daly was born in Lancashire and before becoming a writer was a physiotherapist. She now lives in the Lake District with her husband, three children and whippet Skippy.

Set in the English Lake District this is the story of what appears to be an ordinary family The Blooms - A mixed family made up of a bitter tiger Mum pushing her youngest child to do every class and lesson available, a cheating alcoholic Dad who doesn't really know his family at all, and three kids from mixed families who are either pushed to their limits or ignored altogether.

This is a fast paced family drama with incidents happening throughout to keep you engaged and reading on to see what will happen next. There are kidnappings, disappearances and a body among this dysfunctional family filled with dramas and infidelities.

The writing is brilliant in that the suspense and tension is kept up all throughout the story there is never a lull. Although I felt the ending was too fast and wrapped up without more explanation.

What I liked most about this book was it was quite believable in what looks like an ordinary family on the outside can be anything but ordinary behind closed doors.

I recommend this book to readers who like family dramas with a thriller and mystery involved.

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

The Trophy Child can be purchased from Groove Atlantic

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 Groove Atlantic to review. As always, all opinions are my own.

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Recipe: Slow Cooker Asian Beef, Veggies + Rice

I love cooking with Asian flavors but usually I make a quick stir fry so I thought I'd make a stir fry style dinner in my slow cooker, that way I can set it in the morning and forget about it until dinner time.

This Asian Beef turned out so good, really tasty sauce, melt in the mouth tender meat, and with veggies added in the last few minutes and tasty garnishes, served on rice it is a simple and healthy mid week meal.

Slow Cooker Asian Beef, Veggies + Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large brown onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

500g chuck steak, thickly sliced

1/2 cup soy sauce (I use the salt reduced one)

1 cup beef stock

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs rice wine vinegar

1 tbs ginger, finely grated

1/2 tsp Chinese five spice

1/2 tsp white pepper

To serve

1 cup frozen peas

Bok choy, stalks sliced (you can use any Asian green vegetable)

3 spring onions, sliced

1/2 cup cashews, lightly toasted

Fresh coriander leaves

Sesame seeds

Cooked rice

Method

Note: I have a sear a slow cooker which I fry/brown in first - you can use a frypan first and then transfer everything to the slow cooker (always brown the meat first to seal in the flavour and so it holds its shape and doesn't fall apart while slow cooking).

1.  Heat oil and brown meat on both sides, remove and set aside.

2.  Heat oil and fry onion and garlic for a few minutes.

3.  Add beef back into slow cooker.

4.  Add soy sauce, beef stock, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger, Chinese five spice and white pepper. Give it a good stir.

5. Put lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

6. When you're ready to eat add the bok choy and peas to slow cooker and cook on low for 10-15 minutes with the lid on. Once the veggies are cooked through it's ready to serve.

To serve add cooked rice to bowl, top with Asian beef and veggies being sure to ladle lots of the lovely sauce over the rice, garnish with spring onions, cashews, coriander and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. 

Enjoy!

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Book Club Book Review: The Husband's Secret By Liane Moriarty

This is my book review of the October book club pick The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

This is the second book by Liane Moriarty that my book club has picked to read and she is fast becoming one of my favourite authors - you can read my review of her other book Big Little Lies here

This is the story told by three main characters - Cecilia, Tess and Rachel who all live in a typical American suburb.

The main focus is on Cecilia who has a perfect life with her perfect kids and husband until she discovers a letter from her husband confessing something from his past that changes her life and everything she thought she knew. Then there is young Tess who is having marriage issues and moves back in with her Mum and sends her son to the local school. There's older Rachel who works at the school and carries the grief of her daughter being murdered many years ago.

Each of the lives of these women interact with each other and have a connection although they don't realise just how much their lives are intertwined until the very end of the story.

Although the story has a dark side it was very easy to read, told in a lighthearted way, with very well defined and likable characters. There is a lot happening with families and love interests to keep the story entertaining.

Often in books you are left guessing at the end whereas this was the opposite and ran through how things could have turned out and what may have been - this was an unusual way to end and I really liked it.

I recommend this book to Liane Moriarty fans.

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

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[Image via Dymocks]

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