Covet Living

{image via looklingerlove’s instagram}

Over the holidays, when I was freezing my ever-loving tuckus off in Indiana, my old buddy Nichole from Charleston (who is always stirring up über healthy, delicious food in her kitchen) posted a picture of a pot of chicken soup that made me foam at the mouth. So in a desperate need to defrost, and to take a night off of my Pizza King binge, I decided to take Nic’s soup for a spin. It was SO delicious (and so easy, and so healthy) that I wanted to share it with you guys. Below is my tweaked version of her recipe. Enjoy!!

The Coziest, Healthiest Chicken Soup | Covet Living

Ingredients:

-white meat from 1 rotisserie chicken

-5 carrots, peeled and chopped

-4 celery stalks, chopped

-3 leeks, chopped (I had to watch this tutorial to figure out how to chop ’em)

-1/2 onion, chopped

-32 oz (4 fluid cups) water + 1-1/2 tablespoons of Better than Bouillon (chicken flavor)

-1 garlic clove

-about half of a large container of spinach (5 oz) – you can also use kale

-about 10 basil leaves (1 oz)

-shake of s&p

-splash of evoo

Directions:

Heat EVOO in a crock over medium to medium high heat. Sauté carrots, onions & garlic in oil for a few minutes stirring occasionally. Then add celery (give that a minute or so), then fennel. Give 4-5 shakes of salt, then of pepper. Stir everything around to make sure veggies are evenly coated. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then add 1-1/2 tablespoons of bouillon. While that’s busy boiling, pull the white meat off the bird. Add chicken to veggies, stir. Then add bouillon, bring soup to boil, and simmer (partially covered) on low for 10 minutes. Just before serving, fold in spinach and basil until cooked/wilted. Serves 4.

Notes:

-I would’ve been cool adding more fennel, spinach and basil. The more the merrier.

-The basil makes this whole thang.

-Nichole added white beans to hers.

-I wish I would’ve tripled this recipe so I could’ve eaten it for days.

Nomnomnomnom,

AERIN Lauder colors

{image via Aerin Lauder}

When I rolled back into town and into the home I affectionately call “The Frat House” yesterday, I saw it with a fresh set of eyeballs and realized some SURRIOUS things could stand to change. This is tricky considering a few factors:

a) I have to respect the fact that it’s not my house and I don’t have free reign.

b) Budget constraints.

c) Anything I invest in is subject to ruin… at the paws of my roommate’s adorable dog whose favorite pastime is puking (…maybe I’ll just forgo rugs?) and/or beer & wings getting flung onto things. Gotta love boys. The dining room is still holding up okay (my stuff overtook this space on move-in day… whoops they’re welcome.)

So, there’s all that. Common areas will be a challenge, so I decided to hire the local painters to start in my room… and there is no way to get more bang for your buck than a fresh coat of paint. Plus painting is always a doodle that can easily be un-did, if need be. My room is about a 10′ x 10′ ~~shoebox~~ space, and currently looks something like this:

Steph's Room | Covet Living

All the walls throughout the house are a sort of “contractor beige” at this point. My bedding is all white (with the exception of the lilac & coral euro shams I made from a kantha I bought at Solo on Cedros in Solana Beach – diy on that soon – and the John Robshaw Jammu bolster from Bixby & Ball). AND I would foam at the mouth to see my vintage Gerald Thurston lotus lamps pop against some pretty jewel tone…. like TURQUOISE!!*$^#^#@!! Cuz hey. Why the &%^$ not? I just flipped back through my Color Palette board, and everything remotely close to that color is emphatically labeled: “This color makes me so happy!” So there you have it. This shoebox is about to transform into a little jewel box.

{image via sara mueller’s insta}

The tricky thing will be picking the right shade of turquoise/aqua/blue… I do also have these fellas in my room to work with:

(VIOLET RUG)

Steph’s Dining Room | Covet Living

…and that rug worked great with turquoise painted on the ceiling:

(BRIGHT EMERALD DRESSER)

Note: This is an old photo from my Columbus house. Details on that dresser redo here.

green dresser

So I don’t want to go all Pee Wee’s playhouse… then again, Monica & Rachel did it in their apartment, so I might just throw caution to the wind on this one. Plus Jamie Meares says we should #daretomix, and when she talks, I usually listen. If this were my house-house, I’d probably being doing much more neutral, grown-up things, and I’d probably save the crazy for the powder room. But in the spirit of the new year and of this being a color that makes me giddy, I say let’s just do it.

Friends Kitchen | Covet Living

I’m trying to hit on somewhere between a Caribbean-esque turquoise…

…and a bright, perky, pool blue. Because the dresser is green, so I don’t want it to blend in with the wall. I wouldn’t go as deep as the blue Carrie did:

Carrie's New Apartment | Covet Living