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Weekend Recap – Dresses & Cake

| The Bee Life

This past weekend was a whirlwind, but boy was it fun.

Friday started with an early AM workout, even though I took the day off.  It was good to get the day kick started on the right track.  From there, made a quick Starbucks run and then home to take Moz for a walk with the neighbors.  It was 50’s and sunny, so it was perfect to get Moz out and tired before we hit the road! Just before one, we were on the road headed to Mom & Dad’s house for the weekend.  We arrived just in time for dinner!

Saturday, Mom and I got an early start to meet up with Kates to go dress shopping! We had three places lined up, so we had a full day ahead of us.  The first shop ended up being a dud. The second place, was a dud.  And finally the third place, I felt like we were getting somewhere, but still no real luck. But it was good to see what was out there and start figuring out what looked good as far as color and style.  My mom also got a feel for what style she might like. It wasn’t as successful as we had all hoped, but we definitely made progress! So after all the appointments were finished, we stopped for a drink and some snacks to detox from all the dresses.

That night, we had a little birthday party at my parents! Kates & Travis came over, along with my brother and sister-in-law.  We had pizza and salad, plenty of Moscato D’Asti and Champagne and of course homemade spice cake wit’s cream cheese frosting, YUM! We played some games and caught up with everyone, it was fun having my favorite people in one place.

I think it’s safe to say, that the birthday celebrating is officially over, but it was nice to do it with the family.  I can’t believe that was the last full weekend in March, this month has flown by. Here’s to another fun weekend full of friends and family!

XO –

Weekend Recap – First of March

| The Bee Life

Happy March! For avid Bee readers, you know it’s my favorite month *smiles* and the first weekend of March was a busy but good one.

It started out Friday afternoon, volunteering with my company at a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. If you’ve never been or heard of one of these, see if you have one near by and check it out. As they explained it, it’s like a Home Depot meets Goodwill store. They offer way more than your typical thrift store; it’s a DIYers dream or perfect for furnishing your first apartment. Not to mention you help the greater cause shopping in these stores! It was a nice way to kick off the weekend.

Momma Bee came into town, so she was at the house by the time I got done volunteering! We were in the mood for meatless tacos for the first Friday of Lent, so we ended up at a nearby spot and ordered a tray full of tacos and a few mojitos. It hit the spot!

Tacos!
At our wedding venue
Saturday dinner & drinks!

Saturday morning we got a jump start on some wedding activities. First and foremost on our agenda was seeing our finished venue.  We first saw it in September, under construction, dusty with no walls or electric and we fell in love. Seeing it again brought back all the feels. It’s so stunning, I can’t imagine a place more perfect! From there we headed to see the hotel and met with a DJ! It was a very productive morning.  After church we headed to one of our favorite spots for all night happy hour, yup, all night. We enjoyed cosmos, dirty martinis, and more delicious food.

Sunday’s highlight was celebrating a dear friend’s baby shower! It was a beautiful afternoon celebrating with her family and friends, and seeing all the adorable little boy outfits and stuffed animals. I can’t wait to meet her little boy.

Celebrating Bekah!
Great friends<3

It’s always hard when these fantastic weekends come to an end, but it’s these fantastic weekends that get me through the work week for more!

Baby Shower: Gift Guide

| The Bee Life

Sooo I don’t know about you, but there are a lot of babies coming into my 2017 world. Like a lot. And now that more friends are starting to have babies, I’ve started to think of more ways to give a special gift beyond the registry.
baby-shower-gift-guide-the-bee-life
Sources: Woodland Prints | Made in Cleveland Onesie | Tiffany’s Piggy Bank

Here are some different ideas to get you inspired to share the love and excitement for a sweet miracle coming into this world!

Nursery Decor: Figure out the theme for the babe’s new crib and find some wall art, clock or decor that’ll fit the space. A friend of mine is going for a woodland theme, so these watercolor animals from Society 6 are the perfect addition!

Local Onesie: This will be the perfect addition to this little ones new wardrobe and first clothes! Check Etsy if you don’t know any near you.

College Fund: If this is a close family member or friend, it might be great to go-in with some other family members and open up a college fund or get some savings bonds for the little one. Having this be an option for upcoming birthdays and holidays will not only help you but other family and friends in the future!

Of course buying a ton of adorable clothes, stuffed animals and cute little shoes, never gets old, but it’s fun to get more personalized, unique pieces that can make a personal touch to the space.

Cheers to 2017!

| The Bee Life

Happy New Year! Ringing in 2017 was an absolute blast! I cannot get over the fact that we’re already two-days in to the new year, and reality is finally starting to set-in after a nice, long, much needed holiday break.

Our New Year was spent with family, it’s always fun when my extended family Christmas lands on New Year’s Eve. For our family Christmas we always enjoy pork, sauerkraut and dumplings, presents, white elephant, pass the trash, LRC, and this year we added in a few other fun games like the mitten present game (made famous by the internet). Oh, and add in about six dogs, a handle of Titos, 22 people and six bottles of champagne, beer and you’ve got one helluva night, let alone New Year’s.

nye_3
2017 – I cannot wait to see what you bring, I know you’ll be full of firsts, amazing moments, lots of laughs, I’m sure a few challenges and tears. Coming from a year with no expectations, that was unbelievably amazing I can only imagine what this year will be like.


Cheers to you, cheers to 2017!

It’s Been Fun, 2016!

| The Bee Life

Wow – this year has been so epic.  I look back at pictures on everything that has happened and I just can’t get over all of it. In honor of the last 3-days of this amazing year, I wanted to share a look back at each months highlight, although I must admit it was hard picking just one.

2016 Highlights: Getting engaged, Katie & Travis’ wedding, celebrating 5-years with B, traveling to Denver, Jackson Hole and Kansas City, going to the World Series, Cavs NBA Championship and a new job! Among countless others!

January – NYE
February – Engaged!
March – Weekends in NY
April – Girls Weekends
May – Katie & Travis! Photo credit: http://www.iburiphotography.com/
June – Cavs Parade!
July – Neighbors & Picnics
August – Jackson Hole!
September – Wedding Prep
October – Weekends with Friends & Family
November – Saying Yes to the Dress
December – Christmas!

These 12 pictures don’t even come close to giving this year the justice it deserves.  I am sad to see this year end, but SO excited for 2017!

What were your highlights from 2016?

Cheers!

Little Beers – The Recipe

| The Bee Life

Happy Friday!  Although I am not the biggest fan of shots, there are a few shots that I kind of love, the Little Beer included.
little-beer-recipe-the-bee-lifeIt may be silly, but Little Beers remind me of family and the holidays (because that’s what my family does at the holidays *smiles*). Not to mention it’s super smooth, a little sweet, they’re pretty darn cute, oh and super easy to make!

What You’ll Need:
– Shot or small tasting glasses
– Licor 43
– Cream

Step-by-Step:
1. Pour the Licor 43 into your shot glass, leave some room a the top.
2. Top off with cream – watch the magic happen!
3. Cheers, table tap, and enjoy!

If you have an upcoming holiday party or looking to spice up your family’s Christmas grab these two ingredients and it’ll be a hit – we can usually talk most of the aunts and cousins into these since they’re so delicious and smooth!

Cheers!!

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!

#HappyBirthdayKatie

| The Bee Life

Today is one of the best days… EVER! Yes, EVER!

Why?

Because it’s the day my very best friend came to being on this earth – a moment that has affected sooo many lives in the most amazing ways.FullSizeRender
Although she is 7-months younger than me, Katie has always seemed like the adult in our friendship, I’ve always looked up to her for advice and guidance on life.  And we’ve also been fortunate to be in similar paths in life.  Serious boyfriends, then living together boyfriends, jobs, houses, fiances, dogs, weddings…

Katie is someone I can completely be myself around, my dorky, goofy, and sometimes not so cute-self.  She has seen me in good times and bad and she’s known me in lots of different stages and parts of my life.
Happy Birthday Bestie, MOH<3 I love you!

 

Weekend Recap – Farms & Firsts

| The Bee Life

This past weekend has been a busy one, B and I have been little social bees.  It was fun, yet exhausting especially since I am still fighting my summer cold. But I must admit this past weekend has only gotten me more excited for this upcoming weekend – just you wait! Eeeek!

The weekend was officially kicked off with a baseball game Friday night with most of B’s family to celebrate his cousin’s 18th birthday!  It was a perfect night for a game, not to mention it was dollar dog night and Rat Pack fireworks.  And after the hellish end of my work Friday a few cold Miller Lite’s hit the spot.

Saturday morning started with a Girl’s Brunch at A’s house. It was the perfect morning catching up with the girls from my previous job, the girls that are so near and dear to me. Not to mention we were able to see her beautiful house and beautiful farm.  They have chickens, cows, pigs and sheep! It was fun walking around the farm and actually seeing so much of what A has told us about.  It was also great getting some girl time outside of the normal city-scape and quick lunch meet-ups.

Sunday was all about Miss Avery as we celebrated her FIRST birthday, the first of many!  It was a Minnie Mouse theme, with pink all over and it was adorably perfect.  This being my first, first birthday party in my adult life, I wasn’t sure what to expect – honestly I was hoping for a bounce house. Maybe there will be one at her 2nd birthday *smiles* She definitely pulled a diva moment with her smash cake and wanted nothing to do with it. But quickly shaped up in time to open her presents, that-a-girl. She got ridiculously spoiled with adorable outfits, stuffed animals and toys; which I admit we participated in. The summer has been moving quick, so it was good to see B’s family all under one roof.

IMG_5291It was a fun, busy weekend full of family and friends.  This week might be a bit torturous to get through, only because the excitement for Saturday is going to start increasing daily!  No telling. You’ll have to wait and see but I’ll give ya a hint, wedding.

Have a good week!