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Weekend Recap – #EatDrinkAndBeMramor

| The Bee Life

Woahhh! Hello October and hello to a much delayed weekend recap of our friends L&C’s wedding! Since this was the last wedding before THEE wedding, it was all surreal but so much fun. It was especially fun planning our wedding alongside of L&C, relating with the latest dilemma’s, vendor drama and sharing pictures of our dresses and grand plans.  And it was awesome seeing it all come together for the actual day!
Weekend Recap - EatDrinkAndBeMramor
Since L works in the wedding industry, we knew she’d be pulling out all the stops on their big day – this was evident on the ceremony space with their gorgeous pergola framing the alter area, draped perfectly with dried hydrangeas and surrounded by lanterns.  Cocktail hour followed the tear-jerking ceremony as we got to mingle with friends and snack on yummy treats.  The grand reveal into the reception room was stunning.  Mini-tree’s were the centerpieces with hanging tea-lights and the kings table for the wedding party was jaw dropping and the focal point of the room.

From there the evening got started with dinner, toasts and first dances.  The dance floor quickly filled up as we boogied the night away with the crew between stops for drinks or a stop at the photo booth.  We definitely had a lot of laughs on and off the dance floor with everyone!  The wedding favors for the night were home brewed beers made and customized special for the bride and groom by Chronicle Brewing Co. they were packaged in custom carriers for easy take home! (We’re using them for our wedding too!)

It’s crazy to think that our wedding is next! But we’re so excited especially after all the fun we had at these four-weddings we’ve attended this year.  This 2017 wedding season is definitely going to be one to remember!

Cheers to the new Mr. & Mrs. M!

Weekend Recap – #AlwaysAndForEbner

| The Bee Life

Saturday after our half marathon we had to quickly jump on the road and head home so we could make it to our friends wedding that night! Yes. We ran a half marathon, then pretty much immediate jumped in a car for 4-hours, got pretty in 1-hour and were at the wedding with 5-minutes to spare. Woo! Staying with me?

Yeah, it was crazy but we wouldn’t have missed J and B’s wedding.  They’ve become dear friends over the last few years, and we were honored to be guests at their nuptials. The venue was a historic arcade downtown and it was absolutely stunning. They wed on the grand staircase, their ceremony included a number of personal touches of loved ones past, each of the bride and grooms personalities/traits and how they’ve come to be as a couple.  It was so sweet!
AlwaysAndForEbner - the bee life
Once the ceremony finished, we were escorted up to cocktail hour to overlook the beautiful arcade. After some sips and snacks, we headed down to our tables and cheered for the bridal party and the bride and groom as they were officially announced to the reception!  The food was delicious, B and I both got the steak, and we were both a bit ravenous since it was our first real meal of the day. Eek!

Once the dancing got started it was a great mix of throwbacks and we were living on the dance floor, only stopping for more drinks or slow songs! The second most fun part (besides J and B getting married) was dancing it up with this group of friends, our neighbors. We’ve been so lucky to have an awesome group so close!

It was a long day, but it was a great night celebrating these two sweet, funny and caring people!  This wedding definitely got B and I excited for ours!

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. E!

My Bachelorette Party – The Deets

| The Bee Life

I needed an extra day to recover and get all the deets from the Saturday evenings festivities.  It was my bachelorette!  From initial plans to head out to Vegas to see Magic Mike Live and the Backstreet Boys, to not knowing what the heck to do, but needing to do something for the sake of doing it – we settled on a “low-key” night out on the town. Dinner and a pit stop to a nearby club for some dancing would satisfy the bachelorette bug.

The night started with snacks and a champagne toast at the house before the limo arrived.  The girls spoiled me with a pantie box, a basket full of my favorite champagne to help celebrate upcoming firsts, and a fun pop-up photobooth, and of course jell-o champagne shots to help get the night started.  My bride tribe was greeted with adorable goodie bags on the limo, they were filled with essentials for the night from water, personalized wine glasses, snacks, hair ties, and of course mini-airplane bottle booze.
Bachelorette Party - the bee life
We headed to a local hot spot for dinner, Collision Bend Brewery. They also happen to have the best patio in town, and we were lucky to have the best seats in the place.  We arrived just as the sun was setting and it was incredible.  Not to mention our food and service was top notch.  The waiter was a blast, and the atmosphere and drinks only helped get the party started a bit more!

From dinner we took a quick limo ride to the nearby club, we arrived before all the cool kids, which worked out perfectly for us because we had first dibs on the dance floor! The music was on point and all we wanted to do was dance! After a few hours at the club, we continued the dancing and giggles on the limo back to the house to call it a night.

As much fun as it all was,  I am admittedly glad it’s over! All of these pre-wedding festivities have been fantastic, but also a ton of added stress/pressure, on top of high expectations, with an added layer of everyone’s opinion.  So I am glad to be able to just focus on the big day, that is quickly approaching! Eeek!

Cheers!

Weekend Recap – Bucket List Round-up

| The Bee Life

With the last full weekend of August now behind us, the end of summer is starting to sink in.  Not to mention, my end of summer bucket list is starting to get crossed off, too!

A few Saturday’s ago after church, B and I were gonna go find a patio for drinks and an early dinner. But after a full day of running around, hanging out on OUR patio sounded much better. A drink and soaking up the sun turned into a late night with the neighbors, drinking champagne, laughing and dancing with good friends.

Although our Friday night baseball game felt more like fall that summer, it was a great night – home run included, to root on the home team with friends! Plus we squeezed in a new downtown brewery before, which was nice to try a new hot spot.

B and I finally got out on the links together! We spent the late morning and early afternoon playing 9-holes and the weather was perfect and full of sunshine. Although I’m a bit more relaxed on the golf course I still enjoy playing and sinking a few putts and watching B crush the golf ball!

We spent Sunday morning kayaking, on the river and made our way out onto the lake, we felt like the first ones out there and it was perfect!

I’ve still got a few more to cross off on the list – but feeling good about knocking off these last bit of summer fun!

My Bridal Shower – Part 1

| The Bee Life

This past weekend our wedding festivities officially kicked off!  We kicked it off with my bridal shower, and it was absolutely amazing! So where to even begin? My shower was hosted by my mom, my MIL and my MOH and we were able to have it at our house, as many people had to travel anywhere from 5-minutes to 4-hours, so I was very grateful to everyone who made the journey!  So bare with me through the upcoming sap…
My Bridal Shower P1 - the bee life
Family and friends are so important, and you truly learn who your friends are as you grow older in life – whether they’re new or old, it’s the bonds that keep you together. From our amazing neighbors, to a group of former co-workers, to B’s amazing family, to my best friend/MOH from high school and her amazing mom, to my incredible family, it was all the people who matter – just like our wedding will be one night with all the people who B and I love, and have seen us grow and become us.

The one game we played was called Who Am I? which allowed me to have a special moment to connect with everyone there, shower guests wrote a memory on a card, and Katie read them for me to guess who the memory was with!  I was definitely stumped a bunch, only because there were multiple shower guests at the same event/memory – but it was fun and funny to see what most people wrote about or remembered about me, (and maybe even a little embarrassing!).  The note cards will be a nice keepsake to have as part of our wedding memories!
Bridal Shower P2 - the bee life (2)
I’m just grateful for all of the love, plus the shower wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (the attention, and being on display opening presents!) … haha, I was a bit anti-shower for awhile.  It went so quick, that I wish I would’ve been able to socialize a bit more with everyone but I got hugs from everyone so that itself was a success!

I’ll be sharing part two featuring all the perfect details and decor, tomorrow!

Cabi – Fall/Winter Fashion Preview

| The Bee Life

This past weekend, I was lucky to have a preview of Cabi’s Fall/Winter 2017 fashion line.  If you haven’t been introduced to the world of Cabi, let me introduce you. It’s a modern way to shop for clothes in the comfort of your own home, with your friends and a personal stylist – not to mention a limited wardrobe so not everyone will have the same clothes!

Cabi offers two clothing lines each year; Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter – the pieces and color themes translate from line to line allowing for you to expand outfit options and your wardrobe to a cohesive closet full of style and comfort.
Cabi - Fall_Winter 2017
My Favorite Pieces this Season:  Lineup Legging; should be a staple in every women’s closet.  The Flashdance Dress; feels like you’re wrapped up in a fleece blanket, not to mention it’s super cute! Pair this with the Frosty Vest, some tights and booties and you’ve got the perfect date night outfit!  If you’re looking for a piece to feel like a boss in the boardroom, consider the Tailor Coat. The Regiment Pullover is the perfect transition for summer nights into fall, plus the color blocking on the sides is SO FLATTERING.  Another much needed staple for your closet is the Chill Tee, you’ll never be the same after trying this one on!

Full disclosure; I am guilty every season of looking at the pieces online and thinking, ehh there isn’t too many pieces I like or would want to try. But then, I see the pieces in person and feel how soft they are and I crumble and instantly have a list of almost everything! So don’t check these off as easy, as you might!

So how do you Cabi?  There are stylists all over the U.S. and you can schedule shows with them and you invite your girlfriends, and they come over show all the pieces of the collection with different styling options.  Not to mention this is a pretty rad company made by women, for women and run by women.

Enjoy the full collection; here!

Weekend Recap – Twilight Festivals

| The Bee Life

The first weekend of August is officially under our belts and we of course kicked it off with a boom!  Friday we started the night with some porch drinks with our friends before we headed off to the Twilight at the Zoo. Ironically, Friday was 5-years to the date when we’d gone to the same event with the same two friends, it was our own little reunion and celebration! And the weather was drastically different from 5-years ago, we were sweating our bums off and this year we were freezing our bums off! But it was still fun because we were with great company at an awesome event.

Twilight features 20-bands throughout the zoo, Sam Adams Beer, an assortment of wine and other alcohol in addition to food stands throughout! You explore the zoo while sipping and snacking, with a few dance moves thrown in between! Not to mention the animals are still out, we were able to swoon over the Tigers, awe at the Grizzly and adore over the other bears and wild life.  If you’ve never been, it’s definitely an event to plan for next summer – tickets sell out fast!

Saturday was full of cleaning around the house, but I made sure to take a break to head down to the Art’s Festival in town with Moz and my friend, Sarah! I’m so glad I did too, it was a nice way to break up the day and get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine and support local artists.  Not to mention, bought some kettle corn and fresh squeezed lemonade – the best!!

We will definitely be having a busy August, but hopefully a bit relaxing as well. This upcoming weekend is my bridal shower, so the wedding planning is getting real!

Weekend Recap – CVNP Topography

| The Bee Life

B and I had the honor of being guests at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Topography event, Saturday night.

Not knowing what to expect, I was quickly blown away by the array of food, all supplied and catered by Spice Kitchen & Bar and the interactive cocktail experience while enjoying the trail system, leading us to an open field of beautifully dressed tables set for 200. A seated dinner was served at 8:15, it started with a salad and then family style dishes for the main meal. The food and service was exceptional.
Topography 2017 - the bee life
We were lucky to be accompanied by a great group of friends for this incredibly unique dining experience. After dinner we were able to sit around camp fires, sipping cocktails and enjoying the perfect summer night. A band played in the distance, while various tents were set up with bars or desserts!

The event supports and raises money for Trails Forever, with helps protect and preserve the CVNP trails.   B and I will definitely be heading back to check out the park in the future to enjoy some hikes.  If you have a chance, keep this event on your radar for next year, especially if you want to enjoy an unforgettable evening at a beautiful, local, national park with the best local cuisine.

Weekend Recap – Now This Is Summer.

| The Bee Life

The weather this past weekend was quintessential summer; sunshine, cloudless skies with a mix of patio drinks, a summer festival and friends. Friday night was a late one, celebrating a much needed Cavs win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. But we will leave it at that.

Saturday was spent doing things around the house, and then dinner and drinks on the impressively large patio at Collision Bend Brewery – the latest hot spot in CLE.  With a well known chef, like Zack Bruell behind the business, this place was bumping. We had a great spot outside, but under the awning, perfect views of the river and the warm night.  We ordered a mixture of food to share with the table, but the standouts were the roasted brussels sprouts, oven roasted mixed olives, and the salami and green olive pizza. They had a great selection of beers and cocktails, although I opted for some Rose.  We will definitely be going back to soak in more drinks and the fabulous patio.

Sunday we enjoyed some more local food at the Taste of Lakewood, an annual event that has transformed over the years, and is now a free event to the public offering tasty snacks at affordable prices to sample. We had VIP tickets, which for a toasty sunny day was the perfect way to enjoy the festival feel, without fighting the lines, sore feet and the glaring sun. With VIP we were in a private tent, with plenty of tables and able to order 2-different food vendors, that volunteers would run and cut the lines to collect! Not to mention, 2-drink tickets with our own private bar. Our neighbors joined us, so it was a nice little outing to break up our Sunday afternoon.

Beyond the summer cold, I’ve been fighting off it was a pretty great weekend with lots of sunshine, friends/family, and just enough nap time in between all of that!

Cheers to the first real summer weekend!