Long Weekend

The Long Weekend is finally here for us lucky Perth peoples ....

There'll be sleep ins, breakfast in bed, shopping, catching up with friends, cocktails, couch slothing, magazine flipping and more sleep ins.

What are your plans for the weekend?

[Image via WeHeartIt] Pin It Now!

Kitchen Design

I posted recently about an Interior Design course I was going to and although I was doubtful about whether you could teach style, it actually went better than I thought. You need to have an interest and idea of what you like, there will always be the latest trends and colours and whizz bang products but the idea is to go for the things that you love.

I was pleased to know that making a statement with wallpapers was the in thing (yep doing that one). Also the neutral colour palette to have through your house is greys greys and more greys (yep doing that one as well). Maybe I've been worrying to much, maybe I do have style I just don't have the confidence for it to shine through yet.

The session this week is on Kitchens. The Kitchen is my Hard Road project that I opted to put on hold and do the Man Cave instead. But now that the Man Cave is painted and I'm not allowed to decorate it(!) the Kitchen is the next room to focus my energy on. I'm really looking forward to having my dream kitchen I'm just not sure where the heck I begin to plan what I want. I'm hopeful this will give me some good tips.

Do you have any tips on planning a kitchen renovation?
I'd be very grateful to hear them!

[Image from we heart it]

Pin It Now!

My First Book Club Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

I love to read and with the commute on the bus to work each day, reading gives me something to do to pass the time. I get a bit bored just listening to my ipod and staring out the window especially with the rainy weather when you can't even see out the window (does that drive anyone else crazy?).

I want to read a bit more variety too so I decided to join a book club to entice me to read different books. The club consists of an all girls group aged between 20-40 years, we meet once a month and vote on a book we all want to read, then meet the following month to chat about it over coffee and cake.

This is the very first book that our book club chose to read for the month of May - Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is a story about 5 year old Jake and Ma who have been held captive in a room for 7 years.

I shudder to think that this is based on a true story (I don't think it is) but it is described in such a real way you can't help but follow their story day after day.

I found this book a bit hard to get into at first probably because it's narrated by a 5 year old so the words are gappy and it takes a bit of concentration to stay engaged. As I don't have kids I found it quite hard to read but I soon got use to the kid talk and it gave me a really good insight into a kids mind. I can now see why kids say and do the things they do, their minds are so different to adults. If the story was narrated by Ma it would have been a completely different story told and I think that's what makes this story so special.

It's a great little book written really well and takes you through the stages of their ordeal.

I would especially recommend it to anyone who doesn't know much about kids (even babysitters) as it gives a fantastic insight into a child's mind.

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

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

[Image via Dymocks]

Pin It Now!

Point and Shoot

When: Saturday, 28 May 2011 @ 3.30pm

Where: Here, There and Everywhere

I ran around like a headless chook on Saturday, the morning was spent shopping for a couch for the man cave, didn't come home with one but have a good idea of what we want (well what Pete wants I keep forgetting he's the decorator in this room not me!). I found a funky mirrored frame for an art card I want to put up in the bedroom and a big decorative vase for the tv cabinet. Then we raced home for a quick outfit change and rushed back out the door to go to a lawn bowls comp which friends organise a few times a year. There are 30 of us and our names get drawn out of a hat and we split into teams and play against each other until there's a winner. Unfortunately we found out when we got there that we couldn't play after dark as the pitch they booked for us didn't have lights. So some had a few bowls in the hour of sunlight that was left in the day. We cooked up a BBQ dinner and enjoyed the club priced drinks. We didn't want the night to end so went back to a friend's house for drinks and a few games of ping pong. Great fun filled Saturday. No painting, sanding, washing or cooking took place what a nice change :) 

So your probably wondering what the photo has to do with my headless chook Saturday? Well I forgot to take my camera out with me on Saturday so I'm showing you this picture of what I carried with me all day, it's my lifesaver. I fill it with water, put it in the fridge, and it stays cold for up to 6 hours. It's great to take out shopping, out for a night, and it always provides a refreshing drink. Those plastic water bottles are not good for you and don't keep your drink cold. This is my lifesaver!

To check out this weeks Point and Shoot head on over to Sunny + Scout

Pin It Now!

Prosciutto and Rocket Pizza

I had my gorgeous parents (laughing above) and brother over for a pizza feast this week to try out the Pete Evans Pizza Oven by Breville that they gave me for my Birthday. It's got a ceramic plate that heats up just like a brick pizza oven and takes less than 10 minutes to get a crispy crunchy wood fire tasting pizza. I made a few different pizzas from the pizza book that comes with the pizza oven and we all said the Prosciutto and Rocket Pizza was the best. The balsamic and rocket added a really nice zing, you have to try it!

Basic Pizza Dough
(Pete Evans Pizza Book)
Makes four 30cm (12 inch) bases

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons dry yeast

3 teaspoons sugar

3 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

250ml (1 cup) lukewarm water

425g 00 (strong bakers) flour

Method:

1. Add yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil and water to a large bowl; stir until combined

2. Fold through flour until just combined, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes or until a smooth ball forms

3. Place dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap. Set aside in a warm draught free place for 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size

4. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knock back (punch) the dough to remove excess air, lightly knead

5. Divide dough into 4 x 170g dough balls and set aside until required

(I made the night before, double wrapped the balls and put them in the fridge, then rolled them out on the night. They freeze for up to 8 weeks)

Prosciutto and Rocket Pizza

Ingredients:

170g pizza dough

1/3 cup pizza tomato sauce

1/2 cup (40g) mozzarella cheese, shredded

5 basil leaves

3-4 Roma tomatoes, sliced

1 teaspoon whole roasted garlic, optional

Salt and pepper, to taste

To Finish:

Rocket

Balsamic vinegar

6 slices prosciutto

Parmesan, shaved

Method:

1. Roll dough ball out on a lightly floured surface until pizza base is 0.5mm thick

2. Lay out grease proof paper, sprinkle with flour, place pizza base on top

3. Pierce the pizza base all over with a fork

4. Spread tomato sauce over pizza base and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese, basil, tomatoes and garlic Season with salt and pepper

5. Place in Pizza Maker for 10 minutes or until the base is golden and the sides crispy

6. Remove from Oven and slide pizza onto a chopping board

7. Sprinkle with rocket and balsamic vinegar

8. Slice into 6 pieces

9. Top each piece with a slice of prosciutto and shaved parmesan

I'm sure you could make this pizza in your oven, on a pizza tray, it might just take a few more minutes

Sorry it was so delicious I forgot to take a photo until it was nearly gone!

Best served with a bottle of red wine and garlic and herb ciabatta on the side

Linking up with Remodelaholic you can check out some more delicious recipes over here

Pin It Now!

Living Room - Teal Updates

Before I get all caught up in the next reveal of the Man Cave I thought I'd better show you the finishing touches on the Living Room which Mr P and I worked our butts off on over the Christmas summer holidays. This room is the biggest renovation yet we ...

• removed the old air conditioner
• lifted the ceiling
• filled the gaps in the floorboards and sealed them
• painted a media wall and everything else
• found the perfect rug and sexy leather couches

Just to refresh your memory this is what it looked like BEFORE ... bye-bye purple haze

And this is how it looks NOW ... hello leather and pistachio goodness



What a difference the new colour scheme makes, the purple seemed to close the room in whereas the light grey on the walls and green feature colour makes the room feel really fresh and modern. The media wall is fantastic behind the TV it really defines the area.

The green glass coffee table was a good compromise on the 'all glass' coffee table that I initially wanted, this one is a lot more practical as it has drawers which are perfect for my expanding magazine collection.

This is the first room you walk into when you enter the house and sets the tone for the rest of the home so I love how welcoming and vibrant this room has turned out to be. This is what I love about renovating, totally changing the look and feel of a room and making it your own.

Still on the wish list is .... a round side table either mirrored or glass and some more art for the walls (there's always something on the wishlist!)


[All images my own]
 

Pin It Now!

The Blog Began .... One Year Ago Today

I created this blog with this first post and at that time I wanted an outlet to share the house renovations with friends and family so when they asked where I got my curtains from or what paint colour I decided on they could go to my blog and check out all the details.

At times I wasn't sure if I should keep blogging, if anyone was reading it or if I talked too much and bored everyone to tears. But persevering was the best thing I could have done and it's given me a lot of happiness to be able to jump online and share my ideas and thoughts with you all.

It's also kept me motivated to keep on renovating (with 4 bedrooms, living room and hallway done I can proudly say I'm at the half way point now). When I moved into the house in September 2009 I thought it would take 1 year to do the inside and the following year to do outside which means I should be sipping cocktails on my shiny new deck looking into my shiny new kitchen by now!

Of course I haven't quite got there yet perhaps I was a little too ambitious (damn those 60 minute makeover shows!). When I'm still working full time and then spending weekends diy-ing (and relaxing, shopping, partying, wining and dining) there's only so much you can get done.

We've accomplished a lot and enjoying ourselves along the way which is what it's all about.

What I didn't expect was to discover so many talented amazing people who are doing the same thing and I've spent countless hours looking at other peoples blogs, checking out their homes and building my inspiration file with ideas I'd love to try, finding tried and tested recipes, reading about others trials and trumps.

I really feel like I'm a part of a wider community with my fellow bloggers and want to say a big thank you to everyone who has stopped by to say hi, your comments and emails are read with a big fat smile on my face and I love knowing that you've visited and taken the time to connect  xoxo

Happy 1 year blog-versary Jarrah Jungle!

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

[First image mine, Second via we heart it from the book Decorate]

Pin It Now!