Travel: Denver Recap – Part 2

| The Bee Life

Since our trip was relatively short for traveling so far, we didn’t do nearly as much outdoorsy activities as I would’ve liked.  After all, I’m used to week long trips out west, including hikes, horseback riding, kayaking, and sightseeing. So I was beyond happy to get a quick trip to Red Rocks in, to see some of the world’s natural beauty, get a little sweat on and take some pretty pictures.  My cousins were able to take us up there, which was such a help since they had been there before and could navigate the layered landscape and show us the Amphitheater and the distant city views.  It also brought back some of my favorite memories with them exploring JH.  Red Rocks was one of the places almost everyone told us you had to visit, it definitely was a phenomenon.

IMG_4199IMG_4204IMG_4202IMG_4221DSCN2540DSCN2535IMG_4223I can’t imagine going to a concert at Red Rock’s – although I hear that is an absolute must also.  I would also like to go back and do either yoga or boot camp on the steps of the Amphitheater.   The day we went they were having a huge fitness event with obstacle courses and more sessions of exercise classes on the steps, so were were only able to get so high up, which was a bit of a bummer since our time was cut short. Regardless, it was definitely a highlight of the trip and I loved getting outdoors, exploring and seeing new sites. And a special Happy 75th Anniversary to Red Rocks!!

TRAVEL TIP: If you’re planning a trip to Red Rocks, be sure to do some research or go with a local, there are lots of different sections of parking and entrances it’s easy to get caught up!

Travel: Denver Recap – Part 1

| The Bee Life

This past week, B and I traveled out west to Denver, Colorado!  It was our first time out there (well being anywhere besides passing through DEN) so we were really excited to go explore a new place and get out of town for a long weekend. We were able to explore and see a lot of Denver, at least I think for the short time we were there, but still felt like there was so much more we could’ve experienced and saw.  Since we did cover off on a lot, a recap on the important stuff… food and beer.

Historians Ale House – Broadway St.: We visited Historians our first night in Denver, and met up with my cousins there – otherwise would have never found this spot.  They had a rooftop patio that we were able to enjoy, it was a beautiful night.  We snacked on chips, salsa and queso – the waiter said the queso was to die for.  And then since it was dollar taco night, decided to have a mixing of fish, beef and chicken tacos! They were almost bite size, so it was good that we all ordered a bunch. It was a fun spot, and great atmosphere but definitely in line for a bar atmosphere and menu offering. FullSizeRender (4)

The French Press – Lakewood, CO: Although we were only able to have breakfast here once, this small little cafe across from our hotel was the perfect spot for breakfast, a great cup of coffee and a fun homey atmosphere.  There were so many good sounding items on the menu that it was hard to choose.  We had high hopes and intentions on returning the next day for a different menu item, but unfortunately had poor planning and time management to enjoy it again!  They also had lunch and happy hour specials for people to take advantage of beyond the morning breakfast offerings. For our breakfast; I opted for the French toast, which came with eggs and bacon and I added some fresh strawberries on top, it was served with graham cracker syrup, yum!  B went with “Sterling’s Sweet Biscuits” – toasted chipotle butter biscuits, topped with chorizo gravy, cheese and eggs with a side of potatoes. YUM!! FullSizeRender (1)FullSizeRender (3)IMG_4125IMG_4128

Bruz Brewery – Denver: We visited the recently opened (we were there for their grand opening), Bruz Brewery since it’s close to my aunt and uncles place. Rested in a new development this spot is prime real estate for this up and coming area. Not to mention; dog friendly both inside and out!  They had about 12-beers on tap. Since we only visited for a quick drink I went for the Summerfield Saison and B had the Dawg Daze IPA. I can’t wait to see how that brewery grows and expands, especially in their spot. The best part about visiting Bruz is that we were able to do so with my aunt and uncle and two cousins, while trying out a new spot (that we would’ve never known about).  IMG_4143IMG_4144

Tivoli Brewing Co. – Downtown Denver: We were introduced to Tivoli Brewing Co., for the welcome reception Friday night before the wedding (the reason we traveled to Denver).  We were welcomed by a lavish spread of beers and bite-size treats; everything was to die for. Our spread included the; High Five Chicken Potstickers, Parmobello Mushrooms, What the Buck Bavarian Pretzels, Sweet Hot Brussel Love, and mini 2 Pigs in a Sleeping Bag. Seriously everything was SO good, we were snacking and sipping all night. The beer selection was impressive (and overwhelming – at least to me!), I stuck to their Tivoli Helles, it was a golden hued lager. Their atmosphere was fun and underground-esq.  They also had amazing city views from their large outdoor patio space – also a prime spot for baseball fireworks viewing.  IMG_4154IMG_4157IMG_4159DSCN2520We enjoyed Tivoli so much (and it was super close to the hotel everyone else was staying at) that we killed some time for a light lunch pre-wedding on Saturday and enjoyed some more beers. I opted for something new and tried the Seasoned Skirt Steak and Chargrilled Chicken Vindaloo tacos – they were both topped with gucamole, fresh cilantro, red onion and queso fresco.  B went ahead and ordered the fullsize; 2 Pigs in a Sleeping Bag and a side of fries. IMG_4238IMG_4236

We would’ve ate more and explored a few other spots if we’d had more time between wedding festivities and trying to be tourists and see some sights. But we had a good mix and spreading of foods.  Next time we’re in Denver we will definitely spend more time downtown on “brewery row” – at least that is what I am calling it, a few people had described it as such and sounded like a must!

Any favorites spots or recommendations for our next trip out to DEN?

#EmnBWed – The Dress

| The Bee Life

So a few weekends ago, I surprised my mom with dress shopping. We were walking to a nearby boutique (she didn’t know where we were going) and on the way there, I said, “Ok! We are going dress shopping!”  She replied, “We Are?!” She was excited and surprised about it for sure. I went into the appointment with the mindset of not finding a dress and just wanting to try on a lot of different styles and options to see how they looked and figure out what I like – but that quickly changed. I quickly started figuring out what I liked, and what I didn’t like. Butttt I also liked a lot of different styles.  The boutique we visited blew me away – they had unique, well made dresses in lots of different styles and fabrics, not to mention what seemed like unlimited customization options, well unlimited based on your budget. *winks* This was all confirmed after visiting a chain wedding dress store.  All the dresses seemed cheap, over done with lace and bling and just completely lack luster.  Although it was good to have the comparison, I don’t think I’ll be bothering with any stores like that again. FullSizeRender (2)FullSizeRender (3)FullSizeRender (1)FullSizeRender
So I thought almost all of the dresses I tried on at the boutique looked really good, not to sound full of myself, but they did!  It got hard narrowing them down, especially the styles that I really liked. Luckily, some of the styles/looks just weren’t what I’m going for. For example – the last dress was AMAZING, if we were having a winter wedding that would definitely be a top contender along with the full beaded dress (it was SO heavy). The other part I loved about the boutique is that the owner would pair different dresses from a designer to make a new dress; observe above in picture #2!  It truly helped envision and create a dress unique for you.

I ended up going back the week after with Katie (surprising her too), so I could share the experience with her and also show her my top contenders after going with my mom. Having one-on-one shopping trips with my favorite people is definitely not the conventional way, but it’s my way of making special memories with each of them.

When Katie and I went back, I think we found the dress. Although I’m not sure I will get that feeling, of just knowing, but I think I’m pretty darn close. It’s so pretty.

So here is my advice to first time bridal dress shoppers;

  1. It’s OK to say NO!
  2. Don’t be afraid to speak up or ask questions, especially when it comes to price
  3. Go to at least one smaller boutique
  4. It’s OK if you don’t get THAT feeling, just pick what feels right
  5. You don’t need to know all the shapes/styles by name, just have your pinterest board ready!
  6. The decision might be harder than you think!
  7. Think accessories with your dresses; belts, necklaces, veil, hairstyle, shoes. Every little detail will tie into your overall look and vision!
  8. Invite as many people (or not) as you want
  9. Take pictures
  10. Enjoy it!

Unfortunately, the dress won’t be shared until our wedding day – so you’ll have well over a year for that one! Bum bum bum!

July 4th Sangria – The Recipe

| The Bee Life

Happy 4th of July my friends!!

I’ve got a fun, easy drink for all of you whether you’re leisurely enjoying the day by the pool, just hanging out with friends or headed to a cookout and want to bring something fun! July 4th Sangria - the bee life
Get a big pitcher, and throw your cut strawberries in and then the blueberries over top. From there add the half cup of lemon juice (bottled or fresh squeezed), next pour your triple sec over top.  Then add the white wine, I opted for a pinot grigio, top off with some club soda and watch the magic happen!  Garnish with some strawberries and enjoy this light summery drink with some good friends!

Cheers, to America and some good sangria!

Fitness Friday no. 16

| The Bee Life

So two weeks ago, I was feeling a bit discouraged with my fitness progress as I had quickly fallen into a slump, which seems to be the routine and pattern lately.  Not to mention some life changing events have gotten in the way, i.e. new job. New job, means new stresses, and new stresses (for me) means, no time, a messy house, eating junk food, not working out, breaking out, and being worried and sick to my stomach. Even just putting my 2-weeks in was stressful, and the weird limbo period you’re in while your still at your job, people seem to look at you different and treat you different. It was a weird thing! People who had been so friendly just the few days before they knew I was leaving. Strange, strange. Can anyone else relate?

The point I’m trying to make is, in those stressful, life changing moments, it’s hard to focus on ourselves and take care of ourselves, especially if we don’t realize we need it.  And everyday might not be a routine, more or less the routine becomes more of a roller-coaster. 14Here are my tips for those stressful/busy times and ways to take a moment for yourself, since it’s often really hard to just do that.

  1. Get a mani or pedi, or both! This is only an hour or so, of dedicated YOU time. It’s relaxing and a time to take care of yourself and it’s also something that can easily be pushed. So take the time and do it!
  2. Take a walk. Sometimes the most we can get in the day is a quick 15-30 minute walk, if that. So take the time in the middle of the day or right when you get home to go for a walk – having a dog is an extra excuse because you’re not just helping yourself, your getting your pooch some extra fitness time too!
  3. Let loose. In whatever way that means to you.  It might not necessarily be the healthiest, but it’s all about balance! So whether it be a night out with friends, sleeping in, head banging to your favorite song, staying up a little later than normal, or a day of partying (to celebrate the Cavs first NBA Championship) – it’s OK to let loose and have a little fun to distract from everything else going on in life.
  4. Just breathe. And remember that everything is going to work out. Change is scary, and if we were all OK with change then nothing would ever stay the same and nothing would be challenging for us.
  5. Sweat it out. Sometimes the best distraction is a kick ass workout or a long run, focusing in the moment on what’s trying to be accomplished and pushing your self physically through a challenge can be what your mind and body really need.

It’s all about balance. But first we need to realize that we need to take a moment and relax, breathe and take care of ourselves.

Cheers to Friday and a long weekend!

Weekend Recap – June 24

| The Bee Life

Remember how all your weekends are booked? And before you know it the weekend is over, and the work week is looming. Ugh!! Not to mention, this past week didn’t even seem real, or that anything productive happened, I have a feeling this week will be the same. But any who…

This past weekend was a fun one, and one of many consecutively booked weekends. My parents came in town on Friday, I had Friday off, so it was nice to run errands in the morning, take Moz for a walk, vacuum the house, and then spend some time with my parents before our plans. We surprised my parents (but especially my dad) with a tour and tasting at a local distillery, Cleveland Whiskey.  One of the game changers for Cleveland Whiskey is that they speed up the maturing of the whiskey, and can produce an aged tasting whiskey/bourbon within 2-days! They’re not a favorite in the whiskey world, but they’re definitely shaking things up, and their drinks are tasty and innovative. My dad is definitely a fan! I enjoy the whiskeys in my manhattans, *smiles.*

 

Saturday was a busy day, I had a few surprises up my sleeve for Mom, more details to come at a later date *winks* needless to say, she was surprised and I think she liked what we ended up doing! The guys worked away at the house, and we (my dad and B) finally installed our new storm door on the front, it’s all open so you can see our pretty blue door!  It looks awesome!  My aunt and uncle came up for dinner, so we all went out along with G&P. We went to a new spot, at least for us called Forage. I was pleasantly surprised, the food was really great, especially the appetizers we ordered: pretzel sticks, calamari, and devils on horseback, OMG, yum.  I really need to get in a better habit of snapping some pictures before we dive into the food… telling you it was good without showing you half defeats the purpose!  B and I will definitely be going back for a date night.

Sunday, B was itching to do something around the house – so why not on a 84+ degree day do decide to do some sweaty gross yard work. We made small progress, but progress still, which is huge when we want to finish the project since we figured out all the kinks (hopefully) with our test round today!  Getting more items crossed off our to-do list, woo!

Today, marks a new chapter and journey in my professional career, it’s not how I imagine it would be, but I think that’s part of life’s journey of growing and evolving and continually finding and pursuing things we love.

Please send me your positive thoughts and energy this week!

XO

 

Fun Hangover.

| The Bee Life

This week has been crazy with a side of ridiculous. Since Sunday night’s victory of the Cavs winning the NBA Finals, setting a number of records and making history, this city has been non-stop, myself included!

Monday it was like Christmas, waking up reliving everything, being so happy, and just soaking in all the coverage, the players tweets, party photos, snaps, replaying the last few seconds of the game and going through all the emotions over and over again. Not to mention, the Cavs came home so there was a welcome party that of course we had to watch as they got off the plane.  Tuesday seemed like the calm before the storm, but also crazy just getting ready for Wednesday and trying to plan and guess how the parade would be – as it was a first for many, if not all.

Wednesday was the Cavs parade. The first championship parade this city has seen in nearly five decades. The estimates of how many people who were expected to cram into downtown were anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million.  Well there was a reported approx. 1.3 million people who came down to Cleveland for the parade. People who started arriving downtown at 6AM (if they hadn’t spent the night), waiting for the parade which didn’t start until 11AM, and ended up taking four hours.

We decided to get downtown pretty early since we saw on the news that the crowds were growing fairly fast, at least quicker than we anticipated. Luckily working downtown, we had a parking spot secure in my lot and then we headed to a coworkers apartment near by for some pre-gaming fun. We slowly recruited other coworkers to head over from the office, since the city was packed and celebrating the Cavs!

It was so much fun. I love my coworkers and it was fun to party and hang with them, with B too and some of our other friends. It was also bitter sweet since my last day at the office is today. I’ve made awesome friends and that will be the hardest party of leaving, is not seeing them everyday, all day (but we will still be close!) So I know we will all still stay close.

Because the parade took so long, we didn’t last to see much in person, we waited at the end of the Rally, thinking that was going to be the grand finale and party, but it was a little lack luster.  Apparently the parade was where it was at! So we should’ve started at the beginning! Oh well, it was still so much fun, an experience we will never forget, a part of history, an awesome party and amazing day for our city.

Go Cavs!!!

 

 

 

Champions. History. Cleveland.

| The Bee Life

WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our city was ELECTRIC last night!!! First NBA Championship to Cleveland, ever. First Championship won in over 52 years. First team to comeback down 3-1 in the finals.

HISTORY.

I knew it since they made the finals that this was going to be the year they won. I felt it. Not growing up in Cleveland, I think I was able to truly believe since a lot of people wanted it, but were easy to heartbreak – and I’ve told them the entire time to think positive and not to say “if they win” but “when they win.” *smiles*

Last night was truly epic for Cleveland. A night that will be remembered not only in the history of Cleveland, but the history of basketball and the history of sports.

We had a watch party in my aunts backyard, which is how we’ve been watching most of the games. It was amazing, everyone was screaming and cheering, and even crying. A lot of us, just couldn’t believe it. We stayed up until 2AM – watching the footage on the sports channels and soaking it all in.

Wednesday is going to be another epic day for our city! Cannot wait for the parade.

Go Cavs!

Fitness Friday no. 15

| The Bee Life

Hey everyone! Happy Friday!! Today is especially awesome, since we woke up with a big win and are headed to game 7 for the NBA Finals. If you follow me on twitter, I am sure you’re already aware of that even if you’re not into the finals at all. With the high of a great win, I was reminded of a quote by LBJ, about failure and about succeeding and I thought it was the perfect sentiment for today’s FF and an update on my fitness journey.

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So the last 2-weeks have sucked. I was on a really good rhythm of boot camp and then even “teaching” my own boot camp classes for some friends! We were doing it 2x a week with everyone depending on the other and coming together to workout as a group helped, although people have been getting busy and it just fell off. So I need to do a better job at initiating with the girls. So with all of that, I’ve fallen off these past two weeks, but I am buying more boot camp classes, so I am excited to get that going again -along with reaching out to the girls to get started again!

I think it’s the bad moments, and the good moments that help balance and keep me motivated and moving in the right direction to keep pushing myself, realizing I need to work harder, realizing I need to make it even more of a priority – , or realizing I love the feeling after busting through a hard workout, so needless to say, this slump is going to be ending immediately!

How do you use your failures to push you forward?