top five knoxville restaurants

now that i am back in knoxville, i thought i would share my favorite places to eat around here with y'all! there are countless delicious restaurants in knoxville but these are the ones that i frequent quite often and always take out-of-towners to.

1. aubrey's: by far one of my favorite restaurants ever. their menu has a little bit of everything, from soups and salads to burgers to pasta. my favorite thing to order at aubrey's is the baked squash vegetable side dish but i honestly haven't had a thing from there that wasn't good. the service is always excellent as well. 
2. sunspot: i just discovered this at the end of last semester and wish i had discovered it sooner! as part of the aubrey's restaurant family, it does not stray from having delicious food and top-notch service. the atmosphere and design of the restaurant is really cool, with large patios and open air-seating. this menu too has a little bit of everything, including many dishes for vegetarians. my favorite is the sweet potato tamale that comes with portobello mushrooms, black beans and salsa. i need to try something new but i can never resist it! as a bonus, all the food is prepared with fresh, local ingredients. they also have a half price wine night on wednesday that many of my friends enjoy! 
3. tupelo honey: well worth the wait. i cannot express how good this restaurant is! the menu boasts items that are traditional southern but with modern spins. i hear their bloody mary's are to die for and they serve breakfast all day (my favorite meal of the day). the complimentary biscuits and honey are mouthwatering and serving sizes are generous. my favorite breakfast dish to order is the breakfast bowl, which is made up of goat cheese grits topped with black eyed pea salsa verde, an egg and bacon. i also love their black bean burger with any of the fresh sides. 
4. dead end bbq: best barbecue around! dead end's barbecue is some of the best that i have had. i like it because it is not "wet" bbq but it is also not dried out. their hot sauces have just the right amount of spice and they also have other choices on the menu that don't include barbecue. i always order the pulled pork plate with the mayor's beans and jalepeno cornbread. my whole family loves it and we may even get it for a tailgate this fall! 
5. chesapeake's: i have been going to chesapeake's for as long as i can remember. it is a locally owned restaurant specializing in seafood, but their non-seafood dishes are excellent as well. the entire family (and by entire, i mean entire) usually makes a trip to chesapeake's at least once during football season but mom and dad and i try to go more often. you can't leave without getting a slice of key lime pie! its a little piece of heaven! 

other restaurants that i enjoy here in knoxville are ye olde steakhouse, surin of thailand, litton's, don gallo's, copper cellar, cafe 4, tomato head and calhoun's. there are even more that could go on this list but if i had to choose only five to eat at, those described above would certainly be at the top of the list. next time you are in knoxville, i definitely recommend any of these restaurants! you won't be disappointed!

xoxo,

clp 

its only tuesday?

what a whirlwind of a past two days i have had. now back in knoxville for the semester, i feel like i haven't had a moment to sit down...

yesterday, the plan was for my mom and i to move in everything (with the exception of things that required manly-men) into the apartment that i would be living in this year. however, upon arrival we were informed that the unit was still under construction and that i was supposed to move into a temporary apartment until it was ready (which was a 3 bedroom - there are 4 of us). the funny thing was that we had called over two weeks ago and were told that the unit would be ready for me to move in. also, my uncle, who owned the unit, had given me the key to my room that very morning. obviously there was some miscommunication. you can imagine our frustration when we learned that we would be having to move my things not once but twice and also that we couldn't unpack everything and get settled. and then to top off this saga, i discovered that diet coke leaked onto my clothes on the drive here. the cards were just not in our favor. nonetheless, after a few tears and a breakdown or two, my mom and i got everything moved in the best we could (neatly stacked in piles) and my cousin was kind enough to let me sleep on her mattress. fingers are crossed that the apartment is ready by saturday so i can officially move into my first apartment!

my little bedroom for the week! 

after our horrible day, mom and i went to Sunspot for my first dinner back in knoxville. it is one of my favorites and mom had never been there. i love the sweet potato tamale (i need to branch out and try other things) and mom loved her fried green tomato BLT sandwich. i must say hers looked as good as mine! they also bring you yummy salsa and fresh chips to accompany your meal. 

it is officially recruitment time in tennessee! retreat began today and as a chapter we are working on getting the best possible pledge class. i have no doubt that we will do so with all the improvements that our recruitment team is making. 

since i will be spending the majority of the day at the alpha chi house and the TRECS is closed, my workouts will not be as intense this week. i think it will be good for my body to treat this week as sort of a "recovery week" and give my body a break for once. i will still be doing some cardio, but it will mostly just be walking at a fast pace on an incline and then some light weights and ab work. everyone needs to lighten the load sometimes. 

being the homebody that i am, i am already missing my mom and dad (and i guess my brother too). it will take some adjusting for me to get back in the swing of things here in knoxville, especially with the craziness and stress that comes with recruitment. add in the apartment saga and i am about at my stress limit but i will just have to keep on keepin' on. there may not be many recipes or OOTDs this week but i will be trying to blog as often as i can. fingers crossed that the rest of the week goes smoothly and that the unit is ready for move in saturday! 

xoxo,

clp

lazy sunday morning: OOTD and 2 recipes

happy sunday everyone!

yesterday was busy but successful! today, i wanted to do a quick post with one of my outfits from yesterday (i forgot to take a picture in what i wore for our photography session) and share two recipes that were both hits!

j. crew linen v-neck, lilly pulitzer linen beach pant, tory burch sandals,

lilly pulitzer "shell yeah" necklace, michael kors watch, alex & ani AXO bracelet, lily & laura beaded bracelet 

i made this hummus last night to complement our italian meal! everyone kept saying they loved it so i thought i would share! 

artichoke hummus

1 can rinsed and drained garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

1 can artichoke hearts, halfway drained

2 cloves garlic

basil, oregano, pepper, and parsley to taste 

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth or to desired consistency. Serve chilled with crackers, pita chips or veggies. 

(slightly modified from Dessert for Two)

i made a special sunday morning breakfast this morning since i was up early as usual! these are our favorite pancakes because you can choose any mix-ins that you would like and any syrup/topping that you prefer. usually we put blueberries in them but this morning, i made them plain and topped them with chopped peaches, Atlanta Fresh greek yogurt cream cheese in apricot honey riesling and cinnamon. with a cup of coffee, a glass of high-pulp OJ and some bananas and berries, it was a healthy and filling breakfast! 

whole wheat pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour 

4 1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp Splenda 

1/3 cup egg whites

2 cups + 2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tsp vanilla 

cooking spray 

1. mix all dry ingredients together then stir in wet ingredients. mix well until there are no dry spots. 
2. in a large, heated skillet, sprayed with non-stick spray, pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter (i can usually fit about four at a time in our skillet). flip pancake when it starts to bubble (add fruit before flipping if you wish). repeat with the remaining batter.
3. makes about 14 pancakes that can be frozen and reheated! 

(adapted from Skinnytaste)

hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! i am off to pack up everything (and by everything, i mean everything) so i can head to knoxville tomorrow to start my junior year! 

xoxo,

clp 

last summer saturday in the boro

today is my last saturday in murfreesboro for a while and it is a busy one!

this morning came super early because i ran the Fenton, Payne and Fred 5k with Alex, my older cousin.  i have only run 2 other 5k's, but i think they are really a fun way to donate to charity. this race's proceeds go towards multiple organizations in murfreesboro which is a plus. also, the race's route was really nice, especially since my grandparents and aunt and uncle could walk out their front doors and cheer us on!

alex and i pre-race

and i'm off! 

i ran it in 27 minutes and 41 seconds and placed 192/702 overall and 4th in my age group! pretty happy with my results since i hadn't run a mile, much less 3, since early may!

after the race, dad and i went to the farmer's market on the square for our weekly trip! i loaded up on veggies and fruits to take back to knoxville with me! i really am going to miss the market on saturdays, but UT has one on wednesday afternoons on the ag campus that i will have to visit!

i mixed up a batch of my go-to granola this morning as well. it is a breakfast staple in our house so i wanted to make sure mom and dad had some for after i left and that i had some since i have a busy couple of weeks coming up. it is a simple recipe but i like it that way because you can mix it with just about anything. we like ours over yogurt or with kefir and any kind of fruit. here's the recipe:

claire's go-to granola

2 c Old Fashioned Oats

1 T Cinnamon

1 T Vegetable Oil

2 T Honey

2 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 1/4 c Regular Brown Sugar)

1 t Vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In mixing bowl, combine cinnamon, vegetable oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir.
3. Stir in oats until oats are fully coated.
4. Spread on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Take granola out and flip with spatula. Bake another 15 minutes.
6. Cool completely and store in airtight container. 

this afternoon is going to be busy as well. there are four birthdays in our family during the month of august and since all the grandkids are home, everyone is coming to our house to celebrate. to make it easy on the birthday girls (who would have ended up doing most of the cooking), we ordered pasta, soup, salad and bread from demos' and i am already looking forward to it! we will top off the meal with birthday cake of course!

before supper we are having pictures made of the six grandkids for my grandmother. we attempted this two years ago and the whole thing was a catastrophe from start to finish. mom and i were in tears from laughing so hard when we got the proofs back. however, we are using the talented Angel Pardue today and we are having her take casual shots outside. i feel like i have been recruited as the personal shopper for everyone on what they will wear and am loving it! hopefully these photos turn out much better than the last ones!

amidst all this, i am also trying to get packed up to head back to knoxville on monday. i can't believe that summer has come to an end so quickly but i am looking forward to seeing my sisters and friends in knoxville and moving into my first college apartment. the packing list keeps on growing and growing, along with the piles of stuff that are ready to be loaded in the car tomorrow. hopefully we will have most everything done by early afternoon tomorrow so i can lay by the pool!

happy saturday to all & xoxo,
clp