The Interior DIYer

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Lately …

There’s been a whole helluva lot of this going on in the hand region …

I usually don’t mind, except it looks bad when you have an office job. Unimportant note – I’ve noticed the polish on my left hand wears down faster than my right, even though I’m right handed.

On the home front, I picked up these RAMSTA lights from IKEA that are shaped like glitzy diamonds. I got them to keep some cheer now that the holidays are over and our decorations are down. I’m stuck as to where to hang / put / dump these though. Any suggestions? Your experience / thoughts will be warmly welcomed.

Recently the below tremendous monster has been taunting me. I first crept the Marks & Spencer Conran Large Cloche in store a couple weeks before Christmas. But it was €80, and I wasn’t prepared for that. Plus, these things are massive. Like, the size of your torso massive. But, I needs.

Then, I was minding my own business on the internet, when what should appear on the sidebar but an M&S ad for the cloche, telling me it was reduced from €80 to €52. I remained strong. A week later, it popped up again. Cloche is further reduced to €39. I’m giving it until next week, and if there are any left, I will make like Gollum and snatch up some precious.

And lastly, the other day I took the Stylescope Quiz {thanks to a heads up from Sadie & Stella}. I’m always curious when it comes to something being able to ‘define’ a person in 5 steps, but, I don’t think I can complain here. My result was pretty accurate … 

The quiz guesstimated I was a socialite with a hint of new country. I was quite thrown off at the socialite label. But then I read their definition …
Socialite – “Brilliant textures and layers, pops of rich colours like deep plums and magenta’s, and high end, lavish touches at every turn.”
I’m willing to accept this witchcraftery.
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Feature – House and Home

This year is already off to a smashing start, if I may be so bold. When we got home from our ‘civilized’ NYE party last week, I found this hot little number in our post box. It’s only just the January / February House and Home, for which yours truly has not only written a piece, but is a featured contributor on page six*. Mind = blown.

{Warning – a load of photos at a 45 degree angle below. I just couldn’t stop.}

I wrote up a six page spread featuring Stuart O’Sullivan’s incredibly eclectic Stoneybatter home. I was pretty excited to sit down and talk with Stuart as he is a fellow TK Maxx, Marks & Spencer, IKEA and charity shop stalker.

To find out more, you’re just going to have to check out the January / February issue, on the shelves today at your local newsstand for €3.85. Or even better, subscribe for a year and don’t miss a moment.

I’m also so happy to report that House and Home picked up two awards at the Irish Magazine Awards recently. Mad props to such a skilled gang. H&H is without fail Ireland’s top selling interiors magazine, and I couldn’t be more lucky to have been a part of it. Exponential amounts of winning.

*Not a page 3 type thing. Page six. We keep our tops on on page six. Real classy like. 

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Chorizo, chicken and white wine soup

What this soup lacks in the aesthetics department, it makes up for in taste. I will be the first to admit, my pictures of it look a little bit gross. But holy mother of all things edible, this is one amaze-balls soup.

I concocted this recipe one night out of pure guilt. I was about to head out with a friend, and I was royally ditching hubby at home over the holidays. So as I was getting ready, I threw all these things in a pot, and what it made was something exciting and not like anything we stuffed ourselves with over Christmas.

I’ve blogged about soup in the past, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that I don’t like soup. Hubby is a big fan, so as I was making this soup, I had a little taste, and it may just convert me.


Ingredients
As much chorizo as you like, chopped. I used a good two handfuls
Leftover chicken or turkey, chopped into bite size pieces
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic, chopped into big pieces
Root vegetables – I used 1 parsnip, 1 carrot and 2 potatoes chopped into little cubes
2 cups of stock – I used chicken stock as well as stock from soaking dried mushrooms. It was yum.
300ml of white wine
Half a chili, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
However, all of the above can be edited to suit what you have at your disposal. The things I will suggest sticking to are the meat, root veggies and a good stock. It definitely is an earthy soup. 

Method

Throw the chopped chorizo, chicken and garlic into a pot. Chorizo gives off its own lovely orange oily fatness, so use your discretion if you add extra oil. Let this sizzle and brown for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped veggies. More sizzling. At the 15 minute mark, add the stock, wine, and slices of chili. Let everything simmer and get to know each other for roughly 15-20 minutes. Once the veggies are cooked {you’ll know this if you can pierce them easily with a knife}, you’re good to serve up. 
You can really mix and match the ingredients to suit what you have at hand. But as I said above, I would state the chorizo, chicken, root veggies of any kind, and a good stock are the essentials.

So good. These pictures do zero justice.