Life

House Hunters

| The Bee Life

Recently Bentley and I have been looking at houses, hoping to find our home. After renting for the last 3 years (and even longer for B), we are both at the point where if we are going to be paying hundreds of dollars a month on rent, we would rather pay towards something that could be ours and build equity.

We have been on the search for a week and already we have had two house heartbreaks. We’ve found that the houses we end up seeing and loving, usually end up with an offer literally the next day. Then they’re gone. Just. Like. That.

We are eager to find a house, but also aren’t on any timeline, we still have time on our lease but at the same time are hesitant to look at houses knowing how quickly they get snatched up, or how quickly we’d have to decide and place an offer at the risk of entering into a bidding war. Only to end up having time remaining on our lease.

Recent homeowners, what’s your advice to first time home buyers when going through this process? Have you lost a house? How many houses did you see before you found the one?

Happy House Hunting!

xo- eb

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Happy New Year. Happy New You!

| The Bee Life

A belated Happy 2014 to all!
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Call me cliche, but I really feel like this is going to be a good year. Not that 2013 was bad, but there were some moments (as there will always be!)

I started to write a few goals down for the New Year, which I haven’t done before. Which is ironic because, I have always been a firm believer that if you write something down and see it every day, it will eventually happen.

Here are a few of my 2014 Goals;

1)  Run a half marathon
2)  Read at least one book a month
3)  Become an AE
4)  Get back into my workout routine – strengthening and cardio
5)  Save more money!
6)  Take more trips with Bentley
7)  Write more on my blog/journal
8)  Don’t hold grudges/ be less stubborn
9)  Continue to eat healthier

I hope that writing down my 2014 goals will help me strive and achieve self-improvement for a happier life! Writing my goals down has allowed me to reflect on some things that I may or may not want to admit to myself! ie: #8  The good thing about goals is that they can be small and simple or they can be big and require more work. I love taking on a challenge, especially when it’s myself, I can be my own biggest critic sometimes.

For more reflection and self-guidance, Bentley and I are reading a book together, called; “Where Will You Be Five Years from Today?” by Dan Zadra. It’s an interactive work book that allows you to fill out your top values in life, dreams, goals, which ultimately helps for you to assess your life and allow you to be your most productive self over the next 5 years. Reaching and meeting those goals and dreams that you long to accomplish.

In five years I’ll be 29! Eeek!!

The book provides some amazing examples of what people have accomplished in five years, for example;

  • Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in under five years.
  • After loosing their jobs, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus created and went public with their business model, Home Depot.  Three years later their annual sales reached $1 Billion.

It’s a pretty interesting and thought provoking book, it’s helped me put my life and goals in prospective, although we haven’t finished the book I have been impressed with the first 6 pages!

So here is too a happier you and happier new year!  Make this year, a year for you and a year for your future.

Cheers!

xo-eb

Fun ending to 2013 and beginning of 2014!

Meet Mozi! Our puggle, we got her in October!
Winterfest 2013
NYE 2014 with Friends!
Christmas Eve with my Parents

3-Season Hibernation

| The Bee Life

Where to begin?

A part of one of my latest posts – back in February – eeek. I ranted on about my pathetic unemployment scare, fearing I wouldn’t get a job, especially before my 23rd birthday on March 16th.

Well… I didn’t get a job before my birthday, but I got the offer I had been waiting for, the first week in April. I landed my starting dream job at a local ad agency, as an Assistant Account Executive. I tell you I waited over a month because I had my first interview on March 1st… second one on March 6th… third one on March 7th… and then my fourth interview right after Easter when I was offered the position. Full-time employed, ladies and gents.

I was so excited I bought cake pops!

Here are some more highlights since then:

Christmas in July!

So this past December a group of our friends decided to have a Couple’s Costume Christmas Party. Yes I know what you’re thinking… THAT SOUNDS LIKE SO MUCH FUN. Well it was. So to keep with the tradition, I thought, why not celebrate Christmas in July?

Not to mention I was staying at my aunt’s house while they were on vacation, dogsitting, so I could truly entertain!  I made one of our party favorites, festive red and green jell-o shots. But here is the kicker, with pop rocks – best idea ever, thank you pinterest. I also made a killer beer cheese dip and brownie kabobs. We played plenty of rounds of beer pong.

I can’t wait till our December Christmas Party!

Half-Marathons. Yes. Plural.

Me and Bentley trained for and ran two half-marathons, four weeks apart from each other. Our first race was September 8th, The River Run through the Metroparks.  We started training end of July so that we could get a full 12-weeks in before.

The morning of the race, the weather was perfect, cool with a gentle mist falling.  We ran together the whole way until about Mile 11, then I cranked up the pace to try and beat my 2 hour mark.  I finished in 2:00:54. Bentley finished shortly after at 2:05:18. Both VERY respectable times if you ask me!

Our second race was in the beginning of October, on the 6th – the Inaugural Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon. I was really excited for this one.  There is just something about running through the city and the surrounding suburbs with crowds cheering you on along the way, a band rocking out at every mile, and cheerleader squads too!

My parents came into town to walk the ‘Mini Marathon’ which was a nice 5k – a few of my aunts and uncles accompanied them.

Bentley and I had a great pace in the beginning, we were killing it. And then at mile 10, there was a 80 degree angled hill that just about everyone walks on.  I was bull-headed and wanted to run the whole thing, only to look back to see Bentley walking.  I was bound and determined to finish this race with Bentley, as so many races we have run together – one of us usually ends up leaving the other behind.

We trained together. So we were going to finish together – despite Bentley’s immediate wishes. He wanted me to keep running, but I stuck with him to keep him motivated and rocking through.  Running 13.1 miles is no easy feat, even when you have trained for 16 weeks.

We ended up crossing the finish line, hand-in-hand and finished at 2:04:16. It is always the best feeling of accomplishment when you finish a race. Just need to figure out which race to sign up for next…

Weekend’s in NY

Bentley and I got away for a weekend at my aunt’s cabin, in the middle of nowhere just as you enter NY from PA.  It’s the perfect retreat.  We brought their dogs, Opa (the puggle) and Maya (a black lab) with us too!  We played corn hole outside, went for a run in town, got amazing and cheap homemade local ice cream.  We also drove a short distance to nearby Lakewood, NY – to go to Southern Tier Brewery.  We got a head start on some Pumking, fresh! It was so good, and the brewery was beautiful.  Unfortunately we missed out on a tour, as they were all booked by the time we got there. We can’t wait to go back and visit next time we are in the area.

We were lucky enough to get a few “Weekend Getaways” by going to visit my parents in Upstate New York.  We were able to be in town for my Mom’s birthday weekend – which meant that we went to a local brewery for some beer tasting with a bunch of friends/family! We went to Honeoye Falls Brewery, they had a lot of beers on tap to sample!  My brother and his wife came into town from the DC area that weekend also, so it was so great seeing them.  My Aunt Laurie, my bff from high school Katie and her boyfriend came, and then three of my brother’s high school friends came to the brewery.  It was so great catching up and seeing everyone!

Weekend’s in NY are always a whirl wind, always so much to do and go by so quickly! But always so much fun.

Thanks for reading my nonsense.

Animal Attractions.

| The Bee Life

At the beginning of the month I had the pleasure of attending “Animal Attractions” at the Cleveland Zoo in the Rainforest!  I went with my better half, and we met up with his co-workers from Cleveland Magazine and their significant others! It was Thursday, February 7th from 6-9pm.  There was a variety of food samplings from some of Cleveland’s finest restaurants including; Great Lakes Brewing Co., Amp 150, the Cleveland Cupcake, and House of Blues.  Open bar sponsored by Sam Adams isn’t a bad thing either.

The rainforest was completely open so we got to see monkeys, bats, turtles, a porcupine, an anteater, and a Capybara (which is the world’s largest rodent we later learned) and many other little critters.  We attended one of the wine and food pairing sessions, which had Jacob’s Creek wine.  The food was amazing!  It was really fun.  106.5 the Lake was there with their Plink-o game board which you could play to win prizes. I shockingly was the only one who managed to break it, my Plink-o chip would fall out every single time! I still won a prize any way, and made it onto their web-site. Shawna and I were also photographed by the Plain Dealer and made it into the paper and on the web-site, it is a very nice photo I must say!

Animal Attractions was a great event at the Zoo, and we had a great night with friends, great food and some exotic animals! It is definitely one you should look into attending for 2014 especially if you’re feeling the love next February!

Animal Attractions link to event page (click here)

106.5 The Lake web-site with my picture! haha (click here)

Photo (directly below) by Bob Migra, Special to the Plain Dealer (click here for link to event photos)

 

 

Unemployed. College Graduate. in CLE.

| The Bee Life

Well, it has been 1 month and 18 days since I have graduated from college.

All my friends still in college ask and say to me, “How is graduated life?! I am so jealous, I can’t wait to be done with school.”

And I say… not totally truthfully (of course), “It’s great! Relaxing, just on the job hunt! So we shall see what happens!”

  • Truth: I am actively on the job hunt
  • Lie: It’s not so great, it is kind of horrible.

Sure the first few weeks at the end of December were great, because I was busy with the holidays and it was nice not to have to worry about working or classes. But now that we are in the very short month of February, and I have been on a handful of interviews, some I am still waiting, some no, it is becoming mortifying!

Will I ever get a job? I thought I had a pretty decent resume and some good experience…

Of course I will get a job, but how long am I going to have to wait for it?!? I have to live and survive and eat… just the simple things, I am not even asking for anything zealous or unnecessary (maybe the occasional purchase of a bottle of wine or a six pack of Blue Moon).  I have student loans to pay for!  The list could just go on forever…

A few things on the plus side:

  • I have still been able to workout somewhat, (thanks to my aunt’s treadmill in her basement), but boy do I miss the gym membership from CSU. That was gold.
  • I am still living in the city I am currently crushing on, fabulous Cleveland.
  • I have the most amazing support system ever, my man Bentley, my parents, his parents, my aunts, and my girlfriends.

My Goal: I hope that I can get a job by my 23rd birthday, which is 1 month and 9 days away, which is a shorter length of time than I have already been on this job hunt.
Challenge accepted!

Good to be in CLE

| The Bee Life

This past weekend was a busy one!

Friday night I attended the ever so fabulous Best of Cleveland Party at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, thrown by Cleveland Magazine.  This was my second year attending and it was filled with nothing but the best! Burgers from BRGR 9 and B Spot, cupcakes, and Sushi Rock sushi! (for the VIP’s) Not to mention Pier W had thee biggest shrimp I have ever seen! The music by the areas best cover-bands echoed throughout the legendary Rock Hall, while everyone enjoyed yummy samplings of food and tasty cocktails.  Throw that in with great friends and you have a great evening with everything I love about this awesome city of Cleveland!

Saturday night we attended the Cattle Barron’s Ball (actually in Akron) which supports the American Cancer Society.  It was a night of jewels, jeans, and cowboy boots (which I pulled out of the closet and rocked!) all for a great cause. Friends of ours joined us for this lovely occasion.  A silent auction took place for most of the evening, along with a live auction during dinner, where an adorable lab/doberman mix sold for $800.  And a Pandora bracelet went for $4,000 only to be given to a little girl fighting cancer who got the bracelet donated in the first place! It was a touching night and brought the sad reality about how many people in this world do fight but sometimes survive this devastatingly horrible disease.

By the time Sunday rolled around and the 70 degree sunny weather hit, I was just ready to relax, get a good workout in and hope for the Browns to come out of their loosing streak! Which they did! It was a good weekend to be a part of this amazing city.