Fitness Friday no. 22

| The Bee Life

Hello! I took a little bit of a Fitness Friday break – I’ve been trying to get back into a groove to share all the progress I’ve been making!  But it’s been slow progress and I was lacking motivation and inspiration.
Image result for fitness motivational quotes
But within this past week I’ve gotten up three mornings in a row to hit up the gym.  After work has been too busy and now that it’s dark when I leave work the motivation is very little… lunches are good but I always feel rushed. Morning workouts have been the trick and I’ve actually been doing them. Another motivator that has helped get these in is having workout buddies to go with me, yay for workout partners at your same gym! After these last three mornings I instantly feel better, I instantly don’t want to stop.

Here are my tips and reminders lately that’re keeping me focused to stay on track this time.

  1. Our Wedding! We are nearly at the year mark to the wedding, and since this past year has been a constant struggle I need to start now to really get motivated and make progress. Although I’m pretty sure once I secure my dress the motivation will kick up a level.  This will be a prom diet on steroids. Don’t have a wedding or big event coming up to look forward too? What about a vacation or a bikini you’ve had your eyes on, it’s never too early to start working on yourself!
  2. My Jeans. I know when my jeans are feeling a bit tighter that I need to get off my butt and get to the gym! I don’t like stepping on the scale, but I know when things aren’t going in the right direction when my clothes aren’t feeling right.  Don’t like the scale either? Read your clothes and pick up the pace if you’re not loving the fit. 
  3. Feeling Better. I haven’t felt overly tired this past week after my early morning workouts,  in fact I’ve felt better all around.  I’ve even started pushing myself to running on the treadmill (which I hate) but doing it in small doses and picking up the speed more than my comfort zone, and knowing I can do it.
  4. Half Marathons. I’ve got my eyes on some upcoming races to end this year strong and even to get ready for, for 2017 to help with wedding prep! I know I would be in no condition to run a half marathon right now, but I really want to run another one since it’s been almost 2-years since our last half. Yikes!

I’m excited about this new progress and thankful for having motivating friends who also want to get back into a routine, it helps so much!

Cheers to progress and motivating friends!

Our Master Reveal

| The Bee Life

The time is finally here!! Our master bedroom reveal!

For those who didn’t follow along on my 8-months worth of updates throughout last year… It all started with our attic, even though it was a ‘finished’ space, it was poorly done.  It’s open feel, large bright windows, closet space and size made this an instant dream master retreat.  Since B is so tall, we ended up raising the ceiling 6-inches, but that basically became a complete gut job down to the studs. This wasn’t part of the original plan – but we ended up doing new electric, new insulation, new drywall, new blinds, closet doors, new everything – and B did 97.9% of it! This was definitely our biggest house project to date.

So without further ado here is our awesome master retreat including the seating area and my two closets, yes two, one for clothes, one for accessories. *grins* We’ve tried to DIY and make as much as possible, including the headboard, curtain rods, barn door, DIY night stands and reading table, painted and redid the dresser and shopped smart for other accessories but splurged on a few items like the fireplace, rugs and our chairs.

master-reveal-the-bee-life-10master-reveal-the-bee-life-6The black frames next to the bed hold the love letter B wrote and proposed to me with. It’s the perfect addition to the room and show casing that instead of hiding it in a box somewhere. We also tried to keep some of the original wood work, especially on the stair railing coming up, but opened it to give an open feel.

I had full intentions of sharing the closet space with B, but he insisted I use both of the closets upstairs (don’t worry he has two-closets on the second floor). So I kindly thanked him and told him he was creating a monster and then proceeded to work on creating my dream <organized> closets.

We would both be lying if we didn’t say we were proud of the way this turned out. It was everything we imagined and more and I love having our own little getaway from the rest of the house and world (Moz really loves it too!)

Go Us!

Local Love – Banyan Tree

| The Bee Life

Sharing some local love to all my CLE readers; and giving them some inspiration for upcoming Christmas shopping while #ShoppingLocal.  Banyan Tree was first mentioned on The Bee Life from the Best of CLE recap – I finally  made it to their brick and mortar in Tremont it was everything I imagined and more!

Banyan Tree is your one stop shop for adorable unique cards, organic baby swaddles and soft cuddles, unique statement and everyday jewelry, holiday dresses to comfy lounge ware, personalized home decor and fun gifts! You’ll be able to get big gifts for a number of people on your Christmas list AND find fun stocking stuffers or thoughtful gifts for all your loved ones. It will be hard not to shop for yourself!

Banyan Tree is a non-stop shop for those perfect gifts especifally if your trying to find something for those hard to shop for family/friends!  You’ll also be visiting Banyan Tree for future baby gifts, anniversary cards, clothes, wedding and birthday gifts.

If you can’t make it into the shop you can also shop online! Although I would highly recommend visiting the store (Tremont or Uptown), the staff and environment is so inviting and warm – plus there is much more to look in the store!

Holiday Party Essentials

| The Bee Life

One thing that I absolutely cannot wait for are the holidays and all the amazing parties! Here are some holiday essentials to get you ready for every type of party, from family dinners, work parties, low key nights with friends working all the way up until NYE. These versatile must-haves include awesome timeless dresses, classic sweaters and statement pants and tops!
holiday-party-essentials
01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07

The key to nailing every holiday look this season is easy; keep it simple AND know when to pull out those statement pieces like metallic patterned pants and sparkly sequined shirts! Don’t be afraid to keep it classic with red plaids or plain dresses for more casual looks or dress them up with statement necklaces, dark tights and cute booties or a slick pair of heels.

I saw the plaid sweater (#7) in Target and bought it immediately! Not to mention it was on sale during a BOGO.  Start stocking up now because those good pieces will get snatched up quick from other fashionistas!

What’re your favorite pieces this holiday season? Tag your upcoming party looks at me on instagram @mmariebee.

Sparkle on!

Wednesday Reminders – Love

| The Bee Life

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a Wednesday Reminders post – and with the slew of negativity that has been filling our lives from the media, this election, the results, the violence, all of it just hate and negativity. We need to share and focus more on the love and positives.

I am a firm believer that if you see it, you’ll believe it.  So let’s show Love. wednesday-reminders-love-the-bee-lifeThe more we focus on the negative and hate – the more evident it will be.  If we share and show our love more the rest will be minimized. Not because we are ignoring it, but because we are rising above it, we cannot let hate win – on any level.

So if you’re feeling particularly upset, down, or hopeless today – look for the love, share the love and do in love.

World Series – Game 7

| The Bee Life

I can’t believe I went to the World Series.

Last night was full of pinch me moments it was all so surreal. Knowing we had Game 7 tickets at the beginning of the series was exciting but also a bit daunting, hoping we would wrap it up before, but at the same time I had a feeling we’d be going.  The entire night will never be forgotten, but these were the highlights.

1 – Pregame Drinks at Azure:  Since we were with the aunties we had to go all out in style and of course grab some drinks at the rooftop bar.  The views of downtown and stadium were amazing, just when I thought I’d seen CLE from all angles, there are still more breathtaking views! B and I also got to met Richard Jefferson from the Cavs! He was so friendly and took a moment to say hi, shake our hands, ask our names and listen to us act like giddy school girls. It was a hopping spot, definitely will want to go back when it’s a bit less crowded.

2 – The National Anthem: Singing the National Anthem and God Bless America at the opening of Game 7 at the World Series was full of goosebumps and good feels.  It was a moment of unity in a sea of Indians and Cubs fans and it was amazing.

3 – Two Outs, No Problem: There were multiple times in the game where our boys got into a 2-out situation with no runners on base and in need of some RBIs. But it seemed like that was when we really thrived when the odds were stacked against us.

4 – Bottom of the Eighth: Two outs, down by 2-runs and Davis hits a homer bringing in 2-runs and tying up the game, 6-to-6.  That moment in the stadium was electric; it was what we had been waiting for, what we knew was going to happen. It was amazing.

5 – Being With Family: Even though the game didn’t turn out how we wanted, I wouldn’t have wanted to be at the game with anyone besides my aunts, B and the Pauls. My aunts are the reason why I came to Cleveland, why I came to love this city and why I now come to call it my home, and that all started with baseball games at the Jake.

Because we’re from Cleveland we are tough and we work hard, we break molds and challenge the norm.  This is one more moment in our history as a city that we will never forget, that was memorable and amazing all at the same time.

We will always, #RallyTogether!

 

House Tour – Front Porch

| The Bee Life

One of my favorite parts of our house is our front porch.  I love dressing it up for the different seasons, but especially the fall! Filling it with mums, pumpkins and other warm and welcoming elements to highlight our home (and blue door)! The front door and porch are the first impression of the house; so although a lot of the pieces have been a work in progress and the patio furniture isn’t up to (my) snuff it’s a place where I like to focus time and effort to create a warm impression! fullsizerenderimg_7334fullsizerender-1This year I went for whites and purples for my mums and mixed in some white pumpkins with a lot of bright oranges ones! The pumpkins and mums line the pathway leading to the front door and the large wooden Welcome sign. I just love how the wooden sign turned out with the rest of the fall decor.

Share your front porch decor with me; tag me on instagram @mmariebee. 

Thanks for visiting!

Mom’s Chili – The Recipe

| The Bee Life

Looking for something easy and low-key to through in the crock-pot this weekend so you’re relaxing or getting things done around the house? Well have no fear, my mom’s chili recipe is here; with some of my modifications for any of you vegetarians out there.

moms-chili

What You’ll Need:
– Ground beef (or turkey!) – 90% lean
– Half an onion – chopped
– 2 Cans of beans
– 1, 20-oz. can of tomato sauce
– 1, 20-oz. can of diced tomato
– Chili powder package or seasoning
– Other spices for flavor

Toppings:
 – Shredded cheese
– Sour cream
– Cilantro chopped
– Tostito’s scoops
– Cornbread

Step-by-Step:
 – Cook the ground beef and onions on flat top until browned
– Put call canned ingredients in pot and add the cooked beef and onions.  Stir together, place on stove or in crockpot  on low and cook for next 2-hours (or longer).  Stir frequently.
– Serve in a big bowl with your favorite toppings

If you want to do a vegetarian route switch out the ground meat with some cooked mushrooms, you can also add some chickpeas to the mix to add some color to your chili! The toppings are also key, I recently discovered cilantro as a topping – it’s such a game changer!

Happy Fall Y’all!

 

Weekend Recap – Clam Bake

| The Bee Life

This past weekend, continued the theme of our jammed packed October (fall-filled) weekends! And because of that I needed an extra day to recover since it was such a whirlwind.

It was my aunt’s annual clam bake weekend, which meant our house was full of family and friends.  The clam bake was super special this year since we celebrated my Aunt’s 60th birthday, not to mention the Indians are headed to the World Series; WOOO! So more family than usual came into town and the normal guest list was skimmed down to VIP’s only.  Although it was about 80+ VIPs. When you throw together good food, family, friends, corn hole, pumpkin beers, football pools and some good games you can’t go wrong with an awesome night.

The rest of the weekend leading up to the clambake was full of rude contractors, cleaning the house (pre and post), friends, brunch, and a nap or two. This month has been a blast but is flying by, I can’t believe we’re a week away from November!