fabulous friday: cooking, shopping and workouts

what a fabulous friday i have had... between working out, cooking and shopping, today was particularly enjoyable! since i had such a lovely day, i thought i would share with you what made it such a fantastic friday...

my morning started out with one of my favorite pre-workout breakfasts: homemade peanut butter granola (recipe below), strawberry kefir, fresh sliced strawberries and a sliced banana. beyond being delicious, it provides me with enough energy to power through my workout.

peanut butter granola

1/2 cup homemade peanut butter (to make homemade peanut butter, simply toss unsalted, roasted peanuts in a blender and turn on high until a butter forms) or peanut/nut butter of choice

1/4 cup honey

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. put the honey and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 45 seconds, or until peanut butter and honey can be whisked together until smooth
3. mix in vanilla and oats
4. stir mixture until oats are evenly coated. transfer onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and spread evenly
5. bake for 8 minutes
6. let cool completely, then crumble up large pieces and store in an airtight container for up to one week

(modified slightly from something swanky)

this morning's workout was my usual friday MAC workout: body pump and spin. these are my favorite two group classes and i love the trainer so i am really going to miss it when i go back to school. as elle woods said "exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy..." it's definitely safe to say that i have plenty of endorphins to go around after my friday workout. 

i also ventured to green hills today to brave tax-free weekend. surprisingly, the mall at green hills was not terribly crowded and i got to shop at leisure and go in my favorite stores! a trip to green hills would not be complete without a visit to j. crew (is it a problem that they recognize me when i come in?) and to see my personal stylist there, katie. i could go on for days about j. crew, so i will just leave that for another post another day. a trip to whole foods at hill center ended my trip to nashville and you could say i was in heaven. i could walk the aisles of whole foods forever! 

i had a surprise waiting on me when i came home from nashville today! we had an old chair that i repainted and got reupholstered this summer and it was finally ready today! it turned out even better than imagined and i can't wait to see it in my room in my apartment! 

from horribly drab...

... to totally fab! 

i will share more apartment pictures later on once i get all moved in and settled! 

supper tonight was tasty if i do say so myself. we had grilled thai curry chicken served over spaghetti squash with peas, carrots and edamame, garnished with green onions and chopped peanuts and my homemade thai peanut sauce. i also grabbed some sushi today at whole foods we had on the side. for dessert, i broiled fresh georgia peaches from the peach truck sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with atlanta fresh apricot honey reisling greek yogurt cream cheese! a healthy dinner with a healthy dessert was the perfect end to my perfect friday! 

more tomorrow!

xoxo,

clp 

OOTD throwback thursday

it's thursday which only means one thing... throwback time! this thursday i'll be sharing some of my past OOTD's (outfit of the day) with y'all! i live and breathe fashion and when i'm not in the typical college uniform of an oversized sorority t-shirt and norts, i try to look my best. so without further ado, here are some of my favorite OOTD's from the past year!

j. crew skirt and sweater, ivanka trump booties

tory burch leopard scarf, j. crew chambray shirt, orange cords, mcalister wedge booties

j. crew sweater and leggings, tory burch riding boots

rabbit fur vest, j. crew plaid button-down and pixie pants, tory burch riding boots 

trina turk sweater, j. crew skirt, sam edelman booties

rabbit fur vest, j. crew bubble necklace, turtleneck and cords, tory burch flats

vineyard vines fleece vest, j. crew flannel and cords, l.l. bean boots

michael kors scarf, j. crew jacket, white shirt and pixie pants, tory burch riding boots

j. crew shirt and seersucker shorts, tory burch sandals 

la roque tank, leona linen pants, tory burch sandals 

just a few favorites from days i actually remembered to take a picture! hope you like!

xoxo,
clp

last day of july

its already the last day of july? where did the summer go? in less than two weeks, i'll be on my merry way back to foxy knoxy to start my junior year (which is another thing altogether). so, for only my second post, i am going to do a summer recap!

summer started out with nothing special, just getting back into the routine of being at home. i got back into a workout routine at my gym, babysat adorable kids a couple days of the week and tried to spend as much time by the pool as i could. i didn't get to go to the beach this summer (first time in 20 years!) but for sure didn't sit still! here are some highlights:

in june, my brother and i went memphis to visit my cousin alex...

phillip and i went to the riverfront concerts during CMA fest...

i caught up with my best friend from high school....

july started with a trip to the loveless...

meeting my sisters in franklin for coffee and lunch...

going to the pancake pantry for the first time...

there were multiple pretty ladies by the pool days...

mom and i went to the farmer's market on the square every saturday...

and july ended with a trip to atlanta to see our braves play...

needless to say, even though i didn't go to the beach this summer, it has been one of the best summers by far! i got to cross so many things off my must-do/bucket list (which somehow got longer over the summer instead of shorter) and spent a lot of time with my friends and family. nashville/green hills became a second home to me almost, with semi-weekly trips to visit my favorite places! there are more things i did all summer but i simply can't remember them all. it has definitely been a memorable summer. still, i have about two weeks before i call rocky top home again and i plan to fill it to the brim with fun, friends and family. 

xoxo,

clp 

p.s. i'm still new to this whole blogging thing so have some mercy on me! 

starting a blog

i have toyed with idea of starting a blog for a while now. originally, i made this blog for a college english class assignment with the intention of most likely never posting on it again, but recently more and more people have told me that i should start a lifestyle blog. between my passion for fashion, my love of cooking and my obsession with working out and good nutrition, apparently i am the perfect candidate for writing a lifestyle blog.

i plan to share my recipes (both my originals and others that i love), my outfits of the day along with other fashion posts, my workouts and nutrition news, mixed in with posts about my adventures of just being a college student. all in all, the claire with red hair will be about a little bit of everything.

so here it is, the life and times of the claire with red hair... hope you enjoy!

xoxo,
clp