candice mclean

Tea Party | Roan's 14th Birthday Celebration

Roan Elizabeth celebrating her "golden" birthday! Fourteen on April 14, 2013. Happy Birthday my beautiful sweet girl. I love you tons of bunches!!! xoxoxo

 

 

Ham & Swiss pinwheels | Avocado & Cucumber Finger Sandwiches | Pesto with Turkey and Sundried Tomato Finger Sandwiches

Chocolate Layered Birthday Cake!

I purchased tea cups from various thrift stores and gave the tea cups to the girls to take home. Before leaving, they filled their tea cups with candy to take along with their party favor (lip gloss, nail polish & a glittered emory nail file).

 

The Hostesses | Nicole & Carys

 

 

 

 

Roan is wearing a floral dress from Abercrombie & Fitch | Carys is wearing a navy blue dress from Children's Place

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roan is blessed to have many sweet friends in her life. These girls are so adorable. They either attend school together or play soccer together. Thanks girls for making Roan feel special on her special day! xoxo

What's On Your...

 

Saw this post on Ali's blog. Because I love to make lists, I could not not do this one.

VANITY | My mother's jewelry box (a hand-me-down). A lamp. An empty frame (recently purchased... need to fill it).

PERENNIAL TO DO LIST | Gardening, photo sorting, photo editing, photo printing, project life catchup, spring cleaning, purging (sort through every closet and dresser), etc etc etc.  

REFRIGERATOR SHELVES | Organic 2% milk (kiddos), Almond Milk (me), Butter, Cream Cheese, Olives, Better Than Boullioun (chicken), Eggs, Baking Soda, Green & Red Grapes in see through containers, Leftover Lasagna.

ITINERARY | Planning a family road trip to see my parents in Florida (summer). Chip and I are planning a trip to Paris (fall). Also, making a Summer Bucket List for us - Things to See + Do!

FANTASY ITINERARY | Thailand (Chaing Mai, Bangkok). Cambodia. Vietnam. Indonesia. Mainland Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima). Sadly our duty was cut short in Okinawa, and we missed the oppourtunity to travel as we planned. AND... Paris (ALWAYS... ever since I was a little girl). Italy. Greece. Germany. Ireland. England. Spain.  

PLAYLIST | JUST TO NAME A FEW. Mumford & Sons. Agnes Obel. Cibelle. Maroon 5. Sheryl Crow. Snow Patrol. Ray LaMontagne. Bat for Lashes. Mat Kearney. Amy Winehouse. Adele. Florence + the Machine. Norah Jones. James Blunt. Coldplay. The Avett Brothers. Fleetwood Mac. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rhianna. Cat Power. The Lumineers. Grace Potter. Of Monsters and Men. 

NIGHTSTAND | Heaven is for Real. Daring Greatly. Sweet Paul. A notebook for journaling. Ball point pen and black Sharpie. Hand/Body lotion. A glass coaster to hold my water at night. iPad. Kindle. iPhone. (charging) 

WORKOUT PLAN | Mon/Wed/Fri @ 9am - Run with Debbie. Tues/Thurs @ 9am Yoga or Cross Training Workouts. 

iPHONE | Instagram. PicTapGo. PicFx. Camera! Camera+ Hipstamatic. Pocketbooth. whitagram. PicLab. Map My Run. Flow. Yelp. Twitter. FB. Texts from Chip & Nic & Debbie. Missed phone call from Animal Hospital (confirming grooming appt for Bailey and Wally tomorrow). Photos (probably too many). Email. 

TOP 5 LIST | TRAVEL (explore). Be content with where I am and with what I have. FOCUS on the present. Be brave with my decisions and follow through. Breathe (be more patient).

BUCKET LIST | Explore our current area (PCS time around the corner). Travel with and without the kiddos. More romantic dates with Chip. Hiking - Waterfalls. More beach time. BE PRESENT with my children and relish every moment. 

MIND | Learn to live more in the moment. Let things go. Pick my battles with my children. Be creative with my Art + Photography. Ideas. Ideas. Ideas.

BLOGROLL | designmom | aliedwards | lifeingrace | alisaburke | fatmumslim

WALLS OF YOUR FAVORITE ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE | My home office. Sparrow (780F-4) by Behr Premium Plus. Red framed cork board to hold quotes, photos, inspiration. Samples of my photography. Thrifted 70s crewel artwork.

LIQUOR SHELF | Patron Silver. Tanqueray Ten Gin. Absolut Vodka. Margaritas | Gin Martinis - dirty with 3 olives | Vodka Martinis (they range... lemon, cosmo, chocolate)

LAST CREDIT CARD STATEMENT | Groceries - Costco/Sams/Trader Joes/Commissary/Wegmans. Gas - Costco/Sams.

SCREENSAVER | I'm boring. The starry one that came with my iMac.

TV EVERY NIGHT | Chip & I record our favorite shows with the DVR because our life is consumed with homework, after school soccer practice and tumbling. So, on our DVR right now | Project Runway. The Voice. Vikings. Vampire Diaries. Game of Thrones. Modern Family. Revenge. My older girls watch Vampire Diaries. Pretty Little Liars. Project Runway. The little kiddos watch Sponge Bob. Victorious. Jessie. Shake it Up. My Little Pony. Once Upon a Time.

Week 16 | Weekly Menu

sunday | grilled seasoned chicken with sweet potato frites topped with guacamole

monday | eggplant parmesan and roasted balsamic brussels sprouts (sprouts recipe by Ree Drummond)

tuesday | chicken curry with vegetables (Melisaa d'Arabian)

wednesday | grilled flank steak with roasted yukon potatoes and grilled asparagus

thursday | chicken stew with biscuits (Ina Garten)

friday | naan pizzas served with a mixed green salad

saturday | grilled fish with brown rice and steamed veggie

New York Fashion Week 2013 | Carmen Marc Valvo

All images are from STYLE|BISTRO. 

I love this entire collection. The images above are some of my favorites that I pulled from Style|Bistro. What I love the most about this collection? If I could afford any of the pieces, I can actually see myself wearing any one of these looks. Some of the evening looks are perfect for the Marine Corps Ball. The more casual looks are gorgeous - refined and modern. I love the cut and ease of the fit. I'm always fond of neutrals - especially black. I love how the designer paired the black & cream theme with the scarlet red. I'm in love with this designer's collection.

Tate | 12th Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Tate's 12th birthday this past Saturday. She invited a few friends from school and a few from her soccer team. The girls were so much fun! Tate wanted to play games so we created events and had two teams of four girls that competed for points.

1. Who Can Clear the Plate - Which team could eat the plate of whipped cream the fastest with their hands behind their back?

2. Human Hamster Ball Race - Relay race with the girls switching out at different points.

3. Bobbing for Apples - Which team could each capture an apple with her mouth (no hands!) the fastest.

4. H2O balloon launch - Launch balloons at the other team with a sling shot for points. 

5. Shooting Gallery - My son Connor was so pleased with himself. He set up some toy Marines and the girls used his Nerf guns in a shootout.

Then there was the silly stringn fight just for FUN! And of course a good ole fashioned H2O balloon fight. We ended the festivities with a piñata. FUN FUN FUN. 

We'll actually celebrate Tate's real birthday quietly on Thursday, April 11th. Love you my sweet girl! xoxoxo

Week 15 | Weekly Menu

:: For Dinner This Week ::

sunday | spinach and ricotta cannelloni paired with a mixed green salad

monday | grilled shrimp skewers with brown rice and veggie

tuesday | cottage pie (also known as shepherd's pie) paired with a mixed green salad

wednesday | cheese tortellini tossed with sweet italian sausage and greens

thursday | pan seared fish filets served over brown rice and paired with a steamed veggie

friday | pork schnitzels served with pan roasted potatoes tossed with rosemary and carmelized onion and veggie

saturday | eggplant parmesan with mixed green salad

:: Cookbooks ::

Martha Stewart | What to Have for Dinner

I've owned this book since 1995. The spine is cracked from being used so often. My absolute favorite recipe is the Almond Cake. I've made this cake many many times.

Nigella Express

I love everything Nigella! I love her down-to-earth presentation of food and gosh I'm a sucker for a British accent. If I could meet one chef, it would so totally be Nigella.

Apples for Jam 

I remember wanting this book forever and being drawn to it because of the red shoes on the front cover. As a little girl, I wore a very similar pair of red shoes. My Daddy bought this book for me for a birthday present a few years ago. I love this cookbook. I love the images, the stories and the recipes.

Sweet Paul (spring issue) LOVE LOVE LOVE