CLE

10 miles on a Saturday

| The Bee Life

This past weekend we ran the 10-miler Hermes race. A new race for us, so we did not know what to expect. I didn’t have high expectations for myself, simply because I haven’t been training/running… at all! I just wanted to finish.

B’s brother came up to run this with us, so I knew they would blast ahead of me at some point, mainly because I wanted to stick to my pace. And they did… eventually I couldn’t see them. Between mile 8 and 9 I ran into B’s brother, but kept running.  I did not stop at all! I definitely lost a lot of momentum in my last few miles – especially when this woman just stopped completely in front of me at a water station. But I kicked it up into the finish.

It felt great to run this entire race, and beat my target finish time AND to run the whole thing without stopping. My ending time was 1:36:38.14 – B finished 11 minutes ahead of me! And his brother finished right after me.  The weather was perfect conditions for me; cool 40’s overcast with a little bit of sun.  I’m definitely ready to find another race, although I know any sort of training is going to be tough, so I want to stay on the shorter end of miles.

It was a productive start to our Saturday! We were all finished well before 10:30AM – the rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing and low key so it was the perfect balance of both.

Traditions.

| The Bee Life

Soo… I just can’t help myself, but I am just in the Christmas mood! This year especially with the house, moving, and work… oh and the lack of snow, it’s been hard to get into the Christmas spirit.  We are almost half way through December and I have no Christmas decorations up, half of our apartment is packed up and the other half of our things are making their way to the house.

But, this past weekend, was another holiday tradition that I wouldn’t pass up this year.  Since I’ve moved to CLE, I’ve always made it a point to go home the first weekend in December to help my parents get their Christmas tree… and since I’ve been with B, the last four years we’ve kept that up.

It’s as simple as this:

When? First Weekend in December.
Where? Baughman’s Christmas Tree Farm. Every. Year.
What? Brave the Elements in Search for the Perfect Christmas Tree.
Who?  My Mom Always has the Final Say.

2011 – B’s First Tree
2011 – The Family
2013 – Mom & Dad
2012 – Success!

Then… we take pictures in front of the tree… and then we cut the tree down.  In 2011, it was actually B’s first time harvesting a real Christmas tree!  This year we had a little more fun with our pictures (well, except my parents, they sort of just stood there.)

2014 – Mom + Dad
2014 – Me + B
2014 – Nate + Kiera

Once we’ve found the tree, we grab some hot chocolate, (with a mini candy cane thrown in) and then get home to decorate the tree! It’s always a fun weekend with the family, and having those traditions that build up the anticipation for the upcoming Christmas Holiday.

Do you go to the same place every year to get your Christmas tree?

Happy Holidays!

Winterfest 2014

| The Bee Life

For the last four years it has become a tradition to attend Cleveland’s annual Winterfest and tree lighting. My parents are usually in town for Thanksgiving, so that means they’ve become part of the tradition as well.

This year, the tree lighting was moved down to the Theater District, meaning our beautiful outdoor chandelier could be included in the celebration. B works in the Hanna Building, so we were able to watch the lighting and fireworks from a warm view on the 7th floor.  It was amazing, especially being able to see how many people filled up Euclid Avenue!


After the tree lighting we headed down to 200 Public Square, at the Huntington Building for the Winter Wine & Ale Fest. Local breweries, wineries, and food samplings are available throughout the concourse. Each year we continue to get spoiled with the food samplings and also spoiled on the beverage samplings… they’re very generous!

My favorites:

Ken Stewart’s – Served Smoked Chicken & Gouda Endive Cups
Brewnuts – The Symon, The Bernie, The “Santa’s Little Helper”, The Apple-Teeny, and The Bumbler (and yes, I tried them all!)
Willoughby Brewing Co. – Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter. Enough said.
Lagerheads Brewing Co. – Winter Mischief, one of my favorite Christmas beers

Honorable mentions: My Dad’s favorite was Cleveland Whiskey, he loved the 100 proof, so we know what we are getting him for Christmas!  B also really like the up-and-coming Portside Distillery’s “Yule Shoot Your Rye Out” Christmas Ale… located down by Aloft, and behind the EY building, they should be opening mid-December, so be sure to check them out.

It was a really fun night, Cleveland was packed! Beside all of the Winterfest activities, the Cavs brought in a home victory and Playhouse Square had a show. It was a good night to be a Clevelander. And it was the perfect kick-off for the month of December and the official countdown to Christmas.

Happy (early) Holidays!

#BestofCle

| The Bee Life

Friday night was Cleveland Magazine’s annual Best of Cleveland Party, and for the second year was hosted at the Public Auditorium. This year’s theme was graffiti – and it was well represented, attendee’s could get faux tattoo’s, custom graffiti bags and hats (donations benefiting the Breakthrough Schools of Cleveland), and furniture and table tops were free for artistic expression. Photo booth’s allowed party goers to graffiti their own photo – or pick one of the custom backdrops (see ours below!).  BOC winners filled the hall offering up favorite treats and special promos.

The standouts:
Names link to BOC winner’s websites

Jack Flaps – served a fried pancake ball with cinnamon glaze – yum! Not to mention their menu is amazing.

Harness Cycle – first time BOC winner! Great to see them represented, plus they were handing out promo codes for a free class – you can never have enough spin in your life.

Brewnuts – their brewnuts tasted even better than they look … I follow their mouthwatering Instagram account, I was so happy to try these in person, definitely worth a visit.

Wine Bar Rocky River – they served beats and goat cheese on bread, not to mention handed out complementary tickets for a glass of wine during your next restaurant visit – always  a good spot for a date night.

Sheiban Jewelers (VIP Lounge) – only because they let me try on zillion dollar diamond rings (one ring was $460,000… the other was $93,000… a girl can dream right?)

Trentina (VIP Lounge) – the gentlemen did a great job at selling this place, B and I will be booking a reservation. The dining experience sounds like no other – 6 or 12 course meals!

CLE Clothing Co. (VIP Lounge Goodie Bags) – thee softest shirt ever + the drive, the return = love

The night ended with DJ EV on the turntable with some fun throwbacks. The Best of Cleveland is one of my favorite parties, and truly brings the best of Cleveland together under one roof, for one big party! If you have not been, I highly suggest it – mark your calendars for next October!

Race Cancelled.

| The Bee Life

Today I received an email from the Rock n’ Roll Marathon series informing me that they are cancelling the upcoming race that is nearly a month away!  I am so disappointed. Also, I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of a race, especially of this stature being cancelled so late in the game! They said it was cancelled due to “low levels of participation and local support.”

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/cleveland

I had originally planned for this to be my last half marathon, but now I feel like I still need to run one more. I really enjoyed the Rock n’ Roll Marathon series, when it was in Cleveland last year, plus it was the Inaugural race in Cleveland, so it’s really a shame they they couldn’t keep it going for a second year.  The energy of the race and atmosphere was amazing! So I would like to try and find another RnR series… just now in a different city.  I am going to try and continue on with training (not that I have been doing a very good job) but also work to get more cross training into the mix.

Before I received the news of the race being cancelled, I had drafted this…

I made double digits this past week in training!!  But that is just an excuse I still missed out on 6 miles… I need to keep working up to more miles each week.

Week 6 Training – Recap

Monday – 4 miles

Tuesday – 2 miles or cross

Wednesday – 4 miles + strength
Complete – 36:28

Thursday – Easy Run

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 6 miles
Complete – 54:55

Sunday – Strength

Week Total Miles: 10 miles

Also, I got new running sneakers (thanks mom!), because I get black toe nails/loss my toe nails (sorry – TMI!) every half-marathon and training.  My aunt who is an avid, long-distance runner wears a size larger to help avoid that… which surprisingly for as long as I have run and as many races as I have completed, I haven’t heard that!  How many of you runners out there run with a size bigger to avoid black toe nails? Any other tips or tricks?

Happy Running!

 

Prismatic World Tour

| The Bee Life

In honor of my festivities last Thursday, here are some pictures from Katy Perry’s Prismatic World Tour with my mom.  The concert was so much fun, I went three years ago to her Teenage Dream Tour, and it was so awesome.  This tour did not disappoint… I wish I could do this every week!!

Set List
Set-List Image Courtesy of Katy Perry’s Instagram

Roar
The stage through 3D glasses
Kissed A Girl
By the Grace of God
Unconditionally
It Takes 2
#ThisIsHowWeDo
California Girls
Birthday
Katy’s butt
Firework
My favorite picture.

The Heart of Summer.

| The Bee Life

I feel like we are in the heart of summer… even though it seems like it’s just about over (as my coworkers so graciously remind me!)  This past weekend, felt like the stereotypical summer weekend, and it was so much fun! It started on Thursday night when a friend invited us out on her boyfriends boat. A bunch of us loaded up with yummy hors d’oeuvre, some drinks of choice, and then we cruised along the coast, singing, talking, and watching the sunset!  Not to mention the weather was perfect. It was nice to socialize with everyone outside of the office, and with our significant others!

Cleveland!
Co-worker photo
Kelsey, Me & Allie
With Moz!
Kevin & Allie
B and Me

Friday evening we went out with my aunts.  We have a recent tradition were we try and go out to dinner whenever they are about to go out of town, which is about once or twice a month (esp. over the summer)! We had happy hour dinner and drinks at Georgetown in Lakewood.  They have a great happy hour!  I would highly recommend the “One Drop” Martini – Vodka, Olive Juice, Tabasco Sauce, and Blue Cheese Stuffed Hot Pepper… it was so good!  I also had the Mushroom Pizza, which had Wild Mushrooms, Prosciutto, Basil, Parmesan, balsamic and olive oil drizzle, amazing!

Saturday, I road tripped up to Vermilion, OH with a bunch of girls for our friend Erika’s bachelorette party! Our days itinerary started with brunch on the beach followed by a winery tour via limo bus to a few different wineries in the Vermilion area.  We went to; Quarry Hill Winery, Vermilion Valley Vineyards, Matus Winery, and Paper Moon Winery.  I was very impressed with the wineries, although they were very spread out, so the limo bus was a smart move! The tour was an all day event! The boy came out and picked me up and we grabbed a later dinner at a local brew-pub.

Sunday, we got our morning workouts in and then headed to his parents house for a classic pool day, lounging out and cooling off in the pool when needed!  Plus we brought Moz and she went for a swim a few times (even though she is not a fan!) when she wasn’t playing with Haywood, his parents labradoodle.

Erika’s Bachelorette Party!
Lauren, Erika & Me
The Captain aka Bride-to-Be!
Moz & Haywood
Pool Day!

The weekend was full of sunshine, good friends and family and good times!  It was definitely your typical summer weekend.  I can’t wait for more warm, sunny days!

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Week 2 Training: Lions, Houses and Bands

| The Bee Life

Now that half marathon training is in full swing, I came out strong in week two, and boy… did it feel GOOD!  I haven’t had a solid workout week like that in a LONG time… sadly I’ve come to realize that these types of weeks will be few and far between due to work, life, and everything else. I just need to stay motivated and remind myself of how good it feels.

Monday – 3 miles
Completed: 27:09

Tuesday – 2 miles or cross
Completed: Walk 1.5 miles

Wednesday – 3 miles + strength
Completed: 28:24

Thursday – 30 minute cross

Friday – 30 min. run
Completed: 29:51 (3 miles)

Saturday – 4 miles
Completed: 37:38

Sunday – Strength
Completed: 1-hour Spin Class

Week Total Miles: 14.5 miles

On top of training we had a jammed packed weekend.  Friday night, Bentley and I went to Twilight at the Zoo which we have had the pleasure of attending for 3 years now!  A little rain tried to ruin our evening, but it quickly stopped and turned out to to be a beautiful night!  Food was sparse, but beers were flowing.  My favorite animal spotting of the evening was a Malayan Sun Bear, he was a cutie! Bands were scattered throughout the zoo each with a different genre!  We wish our friends would’ve been able to join us but we still had a fun date night together!

Saturday, my parents came into town from NY!  In between the downpours and crazy boomers, we were able to go to Lakewood’s Art Fest to visit our favorite vendor, Foundry Woodprints we have a small collection started of illustrated  vintage prints of downtown Cleveland.  We also have a bunch of wooden coasters, because they are just so fun!  In two weekends, Foundry will be at a festival at Edgewater Park!  Saturday evening we went to my cousins marching band competition, yes you read that correctly!  He is a senior in high school and has been traveling all summer with a marching band-camp, grueling through 12-hour practices and sleeping on gym floors,  the whole thing is quit impressive.  Plus we got to see more family, which is always fun.

Sunday, I started my day with a 1-hour spin class at Harness Cycle, it was an awesome and challenging work out. I was glad I got back for another class.  Followed by Brunch at Market with my parents, aunts and B.  Followed by house hunting!! Followed by me being absolutely exhausted by the time we got home that evening. This week has continued with the trend of busy, lots of work duties with little working out. I am finally at the part of my week were fun is ahead of me and hopefully a workout or two squeezed-in before the start of Week 4 training! I just hope I can let the good training weeks, outweigh the bad!

Happy August 7th Everyone!

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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!