moving on...

sadly, my time using blogger has come to an end. but no worries, i've just moved to a new site! you can still find the claire with red hair here:

www.theclairewithredhair.com

check it out! 

xoxo,

clp

snow weekend & biscuits

well, the minute my boss closed the office, i threw clothes in a bag and drove the semi-treacherous roads to murfreesboro. glad i left when i did, as we got the most snow i think i have ever seen in my twenty-three years and of course, we southerners freaked. if i hadn't have gone home, i would have been going stir crazy by myself all weekend. southerners don't really do snow. at least this girl doesn't. (well, we like how it looks, some of us just don't drive well in it.)

i spent the weekend snow-birnating with the family, zoo and all. and i couldn't have been happier. it was the perfect "get-away, detox" weekend. not sure why i felt like i needed a 40 minute trip down the road, but i needed some home-home time. and that i got. cabin fever much? we played tapple (harder than you think), watched a few movies (don't waste your time with sleeping with other people), did at-home facials, and cooked to our hearts content. and of course, some snow time was in order with the 5+ inches blanketing everything. stella couldn't get enough of it.

sunday morning brought a good ole southern breakfast, complete with mama's homemade biscuits. i've had a lot of biscuits in my lifetime, and i must say that my mama's hold their own against some of the best. the key she says? "white lily flour. its the lightest, fluffiest and best." and the recipe? just the tried and true one on the back of the white lily bag. it may be nothing out of the ordinary and a southern staple, but when my mom makes it, there's nothing better and it's something special that i treat myself to.

mama's homemade biscuits

2 c White Lily self-rising flour

1/4 c shortening

2/3 - 3/4 c buttermilk

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
2. place flour and shortening in mixing bowl. cut shortening into flour until well incorporated. 
3. stir in just enough buttermilk until dough leaves the sides of the bowl.
4. turn dough out onto a floured surface. gently knead two or three times. roll dough out until it is about 1/2 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. 
5. place biscuits onto prepared sheet and bake 15-20 minutes until golden on top.

i think sometimes you need to be "trapped" (though i don't think that's the right word) with your family. it reminded me of times long gone, when we were little and school was out and all we wanted to do was have snowball fights and make snow cream. there were little cares because there was nothing you could do if you wanted.

it was snow much fun. but now that i've had my white snow fix, i'm ready for my toes to be in some white sand.

xoxo,
clp

1 of 52

one down, fifty-one to go! my 2016, its looking to be a good one. we came back from our two week christmas break from work refreshed and ready to rock and roll at logo. seriously, i still can't believe i get to work where i work. every day is a gift and a blessing.

we celebrated my dad's birthday on the 6th. dear old dad, he has set such high standards for any male that may come into my life. sorry not sorry. another year older, another year wiser they say!

so whats on the calendar for 2016? i am excited for the year. its my first full year out of school and living away (yes, my parents are 40 minutes down the road but still). its my year. its 52 weeks of me. i have a feeling about 2016 - if it hasn't already fallen into place, it will. so what is actually on my list for 2016? come 12 months from now, i hope to have this list crossed off.

1. take painting classes 
2. work on my brush script and calligraphy 
3. my first trade show in houston
4. new orleans trip
5. beach trip
6. new york city trip 
7. spontaneity 
8. read more 
9. relax more
10. send snail mail 
11. keep family as #1 
12. try something new that scares me 
13. know the number on the scale doesn't mean everything
14. stay healthy 
15. eat right
16. love right
17. live right 
18. know this list isn't definitive 

some things i won't be able to really measure at the end of the year. was i spontaneous? did i relax more. i hope to live this year so that i can look back in december at the past twelve months and feel like i am able to cross off everything on the list now and what i hope to add as the year goes on. i know everyone makes their new years resolutions and unfortunately, myself included, those resolutions fall by the wayside. this year though, i hope that i can stay on track. 

and now without further ado (and the end of my rambling), here's to fifty one weeks of the claire with red hair. 

xoxo,

clp

2015 rewind

where did 2015 go? it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating its beginning. now, after 12 months that went by as if someone pressed the fast forward button, we are getting ready to press play on 2016.

i know that the second half of 2015 came with much fewer blog posts. unfortunately, theclairewithredhair was put on pause a few times because of the transition from being a full-time student to being a nine-to-fiver. 2015 was a busy year and sometimes i wonder what i was doing the kept me running around so much. but looking back at 2015, i see that i had quite the year, one that i wouldn't change a thing about. so, without further ado, let's rewind 2015.

mountains and coastal trips

many lasts at UT

graduation and a real job

island hopping in hawaii

a new zip code and a new car 

 

old and new friends

dress-up and 23 candles 

honestly, those pictures don't really do 2015 justice. from january to december, its been a big year. one word to describe it: change. i graduated from UT, started a job in franklin that i absolutely love, and had many lasts as and undergrad and many firsts as a young woman in the real world. 2015, you were fun, you were surprising, you were difficult, you were happy, you were sad. you were lessons learned and you were obstacles overcome. you've been the best year yet, but 2015, its time to say goodbye.

2016, i can't wait to see what you have in store for me. 2016, hello.

xoxo,
clp