candice mclean

Week 6 | weekly menu

SUNDAY

brunch | french toast bread pudding with berries

Super Bowl snacks | salsa, guacamole with organic blue corn chips

dinner | curry chicken salad sandwiches with sweet potato frites

MONDAY

dinner | tequila lime chicken, brown rice & quinoa with steamed broccoli

TUESDAY

dinner | pan seared tilapia, jasmine rice with mixed green salad

WEDNESDAY

dinner | pot roast with carrots and baby gold potatoes

THURSDAY

dinner | grilled chicken with feta and beets over arugula

FRIDAY

dinner | naan pizza night (create your own pizza) with mixed green salad

SATURDAY

breakfast | pancakes with berries and a side of bacon and scrambled eggs

lunch | tomato, basil and mozzarella panini

dinner | grilled flank steak tacos with black beans and rice

RECIPE FEATURE

Ina Garten's French Toast Bread Pudding (with a cinnamon twist!)

I sliced the challah loaf into bite size pieces and I added a tablespoon of ground cinnamon to the pudding mixture. The recipe is very easy to make and everyone loved it; however, it takes a long time in the oven. 45 minutes covered with foil and then anther 45 minutes uncovered. Worth the wait! I served the french toast pudding with fresh strawberries and blueberries (sorry forgot the photo) and maple syrup.

 

No More Procrastination Here | sweet everyday life

It's a New Year and I'm feeling the urge to purge. Yesterday, I went through my master closet and weeded out clothes, shoes and purses. I have three big bags heading to the Goodwill! What a great feeling of accomplishment. My closet looks so organized and clean.

Okay so what I'm leaving out is my procrastination to put all of the Christmas decorations away. I pulled everything down and set it upon my dining room table the day after New Year's Day. It's still sitting there looking at me. Everything looks so nicely organized... Christmas trees here, Nutcrackers here, Santas here, Nativity set there; but for the life of me, I have no desire to drag all the bins from the basement to the dining room.

Yesterday, instead of packing the decor away, I lurked by the piles of Christmas decor sitting on my lovely dining room table looking oh so lovely and oh so organized, and I ended up in my kitchen with a mission.

The flow of the kitchen is truly important. Right? Please agree. After living in this house for almost a year, I felt like I needed to shift a few things around. I love to cook, to bake and to entertain. Plus, our kitchen is always full of bodies and projects so I needed to re-evaluate the flow for it all felt disheveled. I basically pulled everything out of the cabinets and shifted all of the contents. I am SO happy with the results. I now have a cohesive kitchen with... A baking section to include all of my bowls, mixing cups, whisks and yada yada yada. And... A cocktail section. Everyone say CHEERS! And... An everyday section for the the everyday things like plates, drinking glasses and utensils. Oh and one more... An entertaining section to house my platters, pretty dishes, serving utensils and so forth. Voila.

As always, there is never a dull moment in the McLean household. I was up all night with my son Connor coughing and vomiting. Fortunately, he was able to be seen this morning at the clinic and he tested positive for Influenza Type A. He is so sick and my heart breaks to see him miserable. So... my to do list for today has been shelved. However... I am staring at the pile of Christmas decor right now and it's staring me down. Time to pack it all away. No more procrastination here today. Oh... and I'll be pulling out the Lysol to disinfect the house. Pray for us that we do not all come down with the flu bug... especially me!

Anyone have a good and easy homemade chicken soup recipe? Please share it here in the comment section! Thanks. xo

around here | mclean family

the above photo is of my daughter tate in a beautiful vintage dress thrifted from our local salvation army store. taken in november 2012. canon 5d mark ii, 50mm lens, edited in PS using rad lab and jessica drossin's grunge textures.

connor | connor and i are back to homeschooling. i've been working with him at home for six weeks now. things are going well. he is so bright but public education was not addressing all of his needs. when a space opens up, i'm moving him to the private school where roan and tate currently are enrolled. for fun, he is reading, building legos and crafting with me. he is totally into minecraft these days. i'm amazed to see the cities he has built in his virtual world. he is excited to start soccer again in the spring.

carys | my little miss sassafras (because she is so sassy this is my nickname for her) is doing well at school and loving tumbling. she is constantly doing handstands throughout the house which scares the heck out of me. i have so many breakables out right now and one i don't want her to get hurt and two i don't want anything broken. she too will join roan and tate in january after the christmas break. i'm super happy with her teacher and education but i'm running all over town getting the kiddos here and there on time so to make my life easier, i'm moving her to the private school too. very excited to have her there. i LOVE the private catholic school my girls attend.

tate | today tate is working on a green art project for her art class. she is using found materials to create a mixed media painting. i love to witness the children painting, drawing and creating... it totally makes me happy to see them use their imagination and hands. she is participating in soccer kickarounds in the freezing cold twice a week, but she loves soccer and would not be anywhere else. i adore her passion.

roan | roan is enjoying tumbling and cheerleading right now. she is working so hard to learn to do a somersault and layout. she is doing well with her studies and she submitted her application to the private catholic high school of her choice this week. i loved her essay, and i am so impressed and proud of her writing skills.

chip | he is working crazy hours and traveling a lot these days. he's seen rhode island, okinawa, california and germany this year. more traveling to come with the new year. 

candice | well i'm working with connor during the days and running everyone else around. i have several client sessions i'm editing and i can't wait to share the images this week so check back for some sneak peeks. and... i'm going to offer a special in the next few weeks so be on the lookout.

all of us | we are so excited to have december here. we love the christmas season. the kiddos and i are working on a december bucket list to include some fun activities around here. we will share the list here next week!

what are you and your family planning to do during the christmas season?

he + she = HAPPINESS | summer 2012

I've been meaning to share these images of Chip and I from NOLA taken by my friend Aviva Bowman. She met Chip and I for breakfast in the French Quarter and drove us to the Garden District where we toured the Lafayette Cemetary together. Chip and I continued our walkabout sneaking peeks of the lavish homes including the home of author Anne Rice. I loved NOLA and can't wait to visit again.

Thank you Aviva for the awesome photographs of Chip and I. We're printing them for our home... I love them!!! xoxoxo

And if you are in the NOLA area or planning a trip there, give Aviva a shout for a family session or romantic couple session. NOLA is the perfect backdrop!

pay it forward

yesterday was a busy day with many errands on my to-do list. one included a drive north to ft belvoir to have my daughter's cast removed. yay! on the way back home, i stopped by chick-fil-a for the kiddos. when i pulled up to the window to pay, a young girl with the sweetest smile told me... "your order was paid for by the lady in front of you." i probably had a confused look and i all i muttered was "hmm?" and she smiled again and said "yes ma'am all paid for." the kiddos in the backseat were elated with joy and surprise. "mama mama... she paid for our food!" i started smiling too and my heart was filled with warmth. it's the little things that we do for others including a complete stranger that make a difference. whoever you are out there... thank you for your kindness and reminding me that we do live in a beautiful country with amazing hearts. blessings my friends and don't forget to pay it forward. xo

Carys | August 2012

The McLean Family Goes Hiking | sweet everyday life

A few weekends ago, it was hot and super humid. Chip and I wanted to do something outdoors with the family so we did a quick search and found some wonderful hiking trails. We chose Whiteoak Canyon located in the Shenandoah Valley for our first destination. At Whiteoak Canyon, there are 6 waterfalls to hike. We asked the park ranger for the best trail for children and for first time hikers. Based on his recommendation, we hiked the lower falls. It was perfect! It was 4.5 miles round trip from the ranger park station to the top of the falls. The kiddos were amazing climbers and there were no complaints. Each of the children were equipped with their camera so it took us a little longer to get up than it did coming down for we stopped and took lots of photos.

<sidenote> I love that they are enjoying photography.

Though I gave everyone fair warning, only Tate and Chip took my advice and wore their suits so only they went swimming. There were many families hiking together and a few swimming at the top in the falls. The water was chilly!

I packed a picnic lunch and after our adventure, we devoured it quickly so there are no photos to share. We had yummy sandwiches with lots of fresh local fruit (I'm really trying to buy local fruits and vegetables). My advice for your day trip: pack food, plenty of cold water, bug spray, sunscreen, towels and bring your cameras. The sights are breathtaking. Wear comfortable shoes. We all wore tennis shoes and it was perfect.