Painted Sidewalks and The Perfect Biscuit

I turned 30 a little under a week ago, which I find neither good nor bad, just...weird.

Weird that I am living squarely in adulthood.

You would think that after getting married and having a couple of kids I would have felt like a grown-up long ago...but I don't feel old.  Time just flies by so quickly nowadays...it's so strange to say goodbye to my 20's, you know?  I don't know maybe you do, maybe you don't, maybe you're like my (older) husband and laughing at me as I contemplate all of this, but anyway...lol somewhere along the line I completely lost control of this paragraph.

My point (yes, I did have one) is that as I get older I've started paying more attention to what's important in life...

1)Making as many awesome memories with my children as humanly possible

2)Finding the perfect biscuit recipe

I have to say, I made great strides in both areas today!

My husband was craving biscuits and gravy this morning.  Now, although he's known for his gravy the same cannot be said for my biscuits and despite my love of baking they generally come from a can.  As there weren't any cans in the fridge this morning, I found myself checking out Allrecipes.com, as I usually do in situations like these.

Enter Fluffy Biscuits

WOW!  Light, fluffy, delicious, perfection.

I split one and topped it with orange marmalade while waiting for Mr R to finish his gravy and it was all I could do to stop myself from eating the whole pan.  The search stops here, I will never need another biscuit recipe again!!

Anyway, the day calmed down from there and the kids and I found ourselves in the doldrums- not a place I particularly like to find myself, to be honest.  

I started scouring my trusty Pinterest boards and came across sidewalk chalk paint- so easy, so fun!  Just mix 50/50 cornstarch and water, then add food coloring and turn them loose!  The next thing I knew my driveway was a billion colors.  The best part (besides my daughter's smile, of course!)?  Even though she was covered in paint splatters, all I had to do was tell her to go rinse off with the hose and cleanup was done!

:-) I'll definitely count this day as a success.

Fluffy Biscuits
From Allrecipes.com

2 C all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C shortening
1 egg
2/3 C milk

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Beat egg with milk; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

2. Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times.  Roll to 3/4" thickness; cut with a floured 2 1/2" biscuit cutter.  Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.