candice mclean

Hello October | twenty13

Setting Goals!

October is here already. EEK! This year has blown by and I have so much left to accomplish from my 2013 list. Okay so to encourage myself to stayed focused (there's that one little word reappearing) and to stay inspired, I'm writing a list of goals for this month. Here we go:

1. complete 8 new recipes maybe something pumpkin like these yummy looking pumpkin bars

2. set a goal to photograph 5 families this month (already have 2 this saturday!)

3. paint my daughter's dresser with the yummy Annie Sloan paint i bought in the beginning of the summer (yeah i procrastinate. don't judge.)

4. go through the closets and dressers and prepare for Classy Kids Consignment sale

5. purge some things from my own closet and visit Sequels and Clothes Mentor to sell 

6. checkout Poshmark to sell some goods online

7. run 3x a week - get those running shoes on and just do it!

8. finish the redesign of my blog - coming soon!

9. paint some pumpkins - checkout these amazingly gorgeous lacelike pumpkins by the awesome alisa burke

10. visit a local farm for some pumpkin hunting fun with the family

 

What goals have you set? Any fall inspired pumpkin-ish craft projects? New recipes to try? Things to see and do in your area? Tell me.

ten things i'm loving | right now

 

1. love this video as seen above | marimekko fashion show with the finnish ballet

2. adore this purse

3. digging these boots 

4. love this quote

5. listening to their music

6. reading this book

7. plans to try this recipe + this recipe

8. planning to visit this museum with the kiddos next week

9. enjoying this blog & her photography

10. love love love these photos | i miss living in japan

 

Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world better than when you found it.

 ― Wilferd Peterson

summer bucket list | summer 2013

last year, i made a summer bucket list - things to see. things to do. places to eat. projects to complete. i just realized that i never posted this year's list. so here we go...

 

1. download new music for the summer - jam out

2. take kiddos to an amusement park

3. vacation trip to florida

4. enjoy more date nights! visit a few new places with chip

5. host a cocktail party with some friends

6. bake a cake or two or three

7. read several books for pleasure

8. go through my piles and piles of magazines and toss the ones i do not need

9. organize my art studio and make an area for the kiddos so they too can create

10. paint a piece of furniture - show a before & after here

11. visit the national museum of american history

12. visit monticello - we did not make it last year so we have to this summer

13. photograph the kiddos weekly - document our sweet everyday life

14. create & print a photo book of our summer explorations

15. celebrate connor's 11th birthday 07/05

16. celebrate carys' 9th birthday 07/07

17. make a few home videos 

18. print & hang more of my artwork

19. make a delicious lunch and pack it up for a fun & adventurous picnic

20. get the kiddos out hiking

21. take country drives on back roads with the windows down while hot air streams through blowing our hair wildly

22. explore & find some interesting spots for future photo sessions

23. kayak - take the kiddos kayaking!

24. 

25. 

 

leaving #24 and #25 open for something totally random.

Around Here | iphoneography

Around Here | According to My iPhone

I can't believe May is almost gone. Man, it has slipped by just like that. Here's our May recap...

1. Training with Debbie for the Historic 10k. We did it! May 19th. Next up... 1/2 Marathon.

2. Working from home. Taking lots of photos and editing.

3. Thrifting. Great finds this month. Some I will keep and some are for sale - Shop Coming Soon.

4. Mother's Day. I love my babies!

5. Old Lucketts Store Spring Market. LOVE this sale!

6. Chartreuse & Co Barn Sale. Every 3rd weekend of the month. Great sale!

7. Life in general... soccer, homework, mowing the grass, pets, bathtime, cooking, eating, etc. etc. etc.

8. Roan's Confirmation. She's growing up too fast!

9. Spending time with friends. We were able to catch up with some friends from Oki!

10. Hair appointment. Slowly fading the red and returning to a more natural blonde.

 

Top Five Songs This Week | My Playlist

On my playlist and can't get enough of...

 

 

 

 

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

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

Week 13 | Weekly Menu

 

 

 

The above images are from a lunch a pulled together using leftovers from the night before. I used pork tenderloins that I breaded and sauteed for my protein. For my leftover salad, I roughly chopped up the pork tenderloins and sliced some red grapes in half. Layering a plate with a bed of organic baby red and green lettuce, I then scooped up the pork and grapes and laid them over the lettuce. I dusted the top with crumpled aged Irish cheddar. Then, I drizzled a bit of poppyseed dressing over the entire salad. To top it off, I threw a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper on top. Yum!

I'm late with this week's menu. Sorry! However, Sunday and Monday's menu went as planned.

sunday | slow roasted pork made into tacos with beans and rice

monday | pot roast with roasted red potatoes and steamed broccoli

Sunday was very busy for our family. We had a soccer tournament, cheer exhibition and an evening mass so to keep it simple and make my life easy, I pulled out my favorite crockpot Sunday morning with a craving for tacos. I love to roast a whole pork tenderloin in the crockpot. I dump almost a whole jar of salsa verde over top the pork, slip the lid on and walk away. That simple!

The pork tenderloin simmered all day and smelled magnificent when I returned home. At this point the pork is almost ready to be scooped up into corn tacos. First, I use two forks to pull the pork into shreds. The natural juices that formed from roasting all day are absorbed back into the pork.Then I prepare my sides and heat up some corn tortillas in the oven. I slide them right onto the rack in a 350 degree oven for 3 to 4 minutes. To keep the tortillas warm, I layer a cloth napkin on a plate and fold them up.

To make it fun for the kiddos, I line up a variety of bowls with different fixin's. Here's what I usually have... shredded lettuce, diced yellow and red tomatoes, chopped onion & cilantro, homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, sour cream, queso fresco, shredded cheddar. For sides, I serve beans (black beans with diced tomatillos or traditional refried beans) with rice (brown rice - seasoned with cumin, garlic, cilantro, onion and a little stock instead of water to give it more taste). And... I've been cheating and using these organic brown rice bowls from Costco that are microwavable. They are easy to spice up. Love them!

Okay... here's the plan for the rest of the week.

tuesday | naan pizzas with a mixed green salad | create your own pizza with your favorite toppings

wednesday | Chip's Birthday! | shrimp and grits with a mixed green salad

When we visited NOLA last July, Chip fell in love with the Shrimp & Grits so I am going to surprise him with a version of my own. Wish me luck! And I'm going to make something sweet and yummy for dessert. He doesn't love cake so much so I'm still searching for the best dessert recipe. Ideas???

thursday | grilled salmon served over red and green cabbage slaw 

friday | grilled cilantro and lime chicken breasts with roasted potatoes and steamed veggies

saturday | out to dinner | catching the washington spirit vs north carolina soccer game

Have an awesome week cooking for yourself or your family. Cheers! xo

 

Ten Things I Love /// Active Wear

from top left to bottom right /// 1. asics running shoes (own and love) 2. old navy purple bubble tank 3. athleta power capri 4. old navy active jacket (own and love) 5. target semi fitted tank (own and love in many colors) 6. sundace romp capri 7. target cardio tank in black (own and love) 8. new balance minimus (own and love) 9. sundace go skirt 10. lululemon active skort (love the ruffles!)