friends

Weekend Recap – Everything CLE

| The Bee Life

October has been a blast so far, but it’s also moving way too quickly. This past weekend was a busy one, but so much fun!

The weekend started off with a big home win for the Indians against Toronto Blue Jays and they got their second win Saturday afternoon.  Two more wins and we will be in the World Series!  Saturday morning we ran our 3rd annual Browns 5k, finally the weather was perfect for it. The race is pretty easy, non competitive (except for this year, B was a man on a mission) plus you get a pretty sweet medal. This year we finished the race on the field, which was pretty awesome!! We were done by 10AM and finished with a beer, it was a beautiful start to our Saturday.

Saturday night was the Cleveland Magazine’s annual Best of Cleveland Party at the Public Auditorium.  The theme was our NBA Championship and the land of champions! It was another fun night full of delicious food, tasty drinks, good music and good company.  Here were the nights standout’s and links for you to check them out yourself!

  • FruitVibe Juice Co. – The guys at FruitVibe had a few of there drinks available to test including the Pumpkin Cider (yum!) FruitVibe has a wide offering of cold pressed juices; they offer cleanses, personal delivery and a fresh raw perspective on the juice phenomenon!
  • Banyan Tree – This quaint shop in Tremont is perfect for unique gifts or if you’re looking to spoil yourself with some unique sweaters, scarves, jewelry and other cute accessories. Shop online too!
  • Spa West – A VIP treat at the Best of CLE, they offered chair massages, hand and arm massages and facial consultations, you can always expect the best with Spa West.  I am also a VIP member at Spa West, and their monthly membership is the perfect way to pamper yourself!
  • CLE Clothing Co. – As another VIP perk, we went home with a Land of Champions t-shirt, which was perfect for the nights theme.  I’ve bragged and loved on CLE Clothing Co. before and I will continue – the shirts and materials are seriously the best.

Other highlights of the night was reliving the game highlights on the big screen from our last game, which led us to breaking history and winning our first championship! Another VIP perk was the two specialty drinks they made inspired by the Cavs win, “The Block” and “The Shot” they were delicious.  There was live music, a DJ, the Cavs scream team and cheerleaders also made an appearance and were tossing tees throughout the night.  It was a lot of fun especially once the music really got going. The venue and lighting were epic and quite a statement it was a great night!

Sunday was more fun and socializing, we had friends over to watch the Brown’s game out on the big screen!  The weather this weekend was amazing for mid-late October so we really got to enjoy the day. We had a great spread of yummy food and a plethora of beers.

It was a great weekend, but definitely need another weekend to recover now!

5 Reasons To Host a Fall Party

| The Bee Life

If you don’t have an upcoming fall party planned, I highly recommend getting something in the books whether it’s later this month or into early November. And if you’re not convinced why you should be hosting a fall party… or that it can be SUPER easy, let me tell you how. reasons-to-host-a-fall-partyBrunch & Football – Throwing together a football brunch can be really easy too, with a magic thing called breakfast casserole (recipe to come)! Most of the prep for a breakfast casserole is the night ahead, so all you have to do the morning of is throw it in the oven.  Have a TV with football? Boom, turn it on and grab some mimosas or bloody mary makings and your set for a day of drinking, friends and football – check out our brunch last fall.

Chili – I’ll be sharing my mom’s delicious chili recipe (that I’ve adopted overtime) on an upcoming post.  But as long as you have a killer recipe, a box or two of cornbread and a crockpot, all you need to do is throw the ingredients together in the morning and by mid-afternoon or by dinner time you’ll have a delicious, easy to serve, low mess and matience dish for your guests!  Have some friends bring some beers and dessert and you’ve got a low key night. Light some candles, start a fire and pull out some games and you’ve got a fun night ahead of you.

Pumpkin Beers – Literally craft a party around pumpkins beers (or harvest blends).  Have your guests bring a six pack or two, and let the tasting begin.  You could even create score cards and a rating system for everyone to weigh in.

Breweries or New Spots –  Don’t want to host something at your house? Plan a gathering at a local pub or a new brewery with your favorites.  Not only will there be no mess to clean up at the end of the night, but you’ll be able to try something new or enjoy a fan favorite.  Then end the night with a bonfire back at your house!

Pie Baking – Have a girls afternoon and bake some pies! Pop open some wine or rose, share some recipes and bake some yummy pies or fall favorites to work out the kinks for upcoming holiday celebrations!

The summer’s are always so busy so try and catch-up with friends now before the holiday craze starts up again! You don’t need to be too elaborate or overthink your upcoming fall party, it can be easy, low key and affordable!

Hosting an upcoming fall party? Share your pictures or hacks with me on twitter or instagram @mmariebee.

Weekend Recap – Cabin Fever 

| The Bee Life

This past weekend, we had the perfect getaway to one of our favorite spots, the cabin in the woods. This time we met up with Katie & Travis with our pooches for a fun little weekend away.

B and I went in Friday night with Moz and grabbed some take out from a local joint, Pine Junction. We hung out and watched a romantic comedy (a rare occasion) and enjoyed our eats! The best decision about dinner was getting the Moose Balls. Chocolate covered peanut butter, SO good.

Saturday, Kates, Travis and Luna arrived and we took the pups for a walk before heading out to one of our second favorite spots – Southern Tier Brewery.  We hung out and had some beverages and ordered some food… Well it was kind of a lot of food. And we finally got Pumking on draft, it’s so good, especially to kick off October. They also had some new Pumking flavors, a Cold Pressed Pumking and then Rum Barrel Aged Pumking. Woah. Not to mention Warlock and their other usual suspects. It was fun gossiping, talking wedding and sipping some beers with my bestie and our guys.

It was the perfect fall weekend away in the woods. It was rainy and cool so just asking for us to be lazy and staying in.

Happy October, everybody!

Weekend Getaway Must-Have’s

| The Bee Life

Planning any fall getaways?  October always seems to fly by, but one of our favorite to-do’s is getting out of town for a quick weekend trip, being in the middle of nowhere, no wi-fi, no traffic, no house work, just hanging out and escaping the world.  As much as I love a weekend away with B, it’s even more fun when you can plan it with some friends or family.  Here are a few must-have’s for your upcoming weekend away.

  1. Games:  This is a way to laugh, have some friendly competition and get away from the TV!  Having some good group games like Cranium, Wavelength, Cards Against Humanity or even just a deck of cards will kick your nights off right.
  2. Drinks:  Have a variety of alcoholic beverages, but if you can find a fun recipe that is season specific or a new recipe to try! Split the ingredients with your friends and join together in trying something new.
  3. Music: Whether an inpromptu Basketstreet Boys dance party breaks out or just some background music is needed during games and drinks be sure to bring some portable blue tooth speakers and have some tunes ready to go!
  4. Food: Be sure to have a variety of snacks to enjoy during games and drinks; you can’t go wrong with cheese, crackers, grapes and don’t forget some chocolate to snack on! For dinners and breakfasts, keep it easy, eggs, bagels, oven pizza’s or something you can throw on the grill. After all your away so enjoy the down time.
  5. Local Spot: If you go to the same weekend getaway spot, and you haven’t found your go-to local spot yet, get on it!  Whether it’s a place for breakfast, an ice cream spot, an antique store, or a local brewery (we opt for the local brewery part whenever possible).  It can be your spot away from all your normal local home spots.

What’re you favorite things to do or have on a weekend getaway? 

Cheers to the weekend!


 

#BestOfCle – 2016

| The Bee Life

We are just a few short days away from one of my favorite months. October is one of my favorite months for many reasons,  but one of those reasons is because of  Cleveland Magazine’s annual Best of Cleveland Party! I’ve attended this event for the last six years and I’m amazed that it keeps getting better, it’s such a fun time.

img_0033
Photo cred: Thom Sheridan, Cleveland Magazine

Reasons To Attend

You’ll Be Surrounded By The Best... for an entire night! The best food, best drinks, shops, local businesses, apartments, sweet treats, music and organizations. Nearly 70 of the best will be at your finger tips.

Giving Back. This event raises money every year to help benefit the Breakthrough Schools of Greater Cleveland. An organization striving to give back and excel our youth with high-quality education.

Keep On Celebrating… our NBA Championship! Every year has a theme and this year’s theme to no surprise is all about our huge and historical championship this past June. What better way to keep on partying and celebrating our win with 1,700 of your closest friends – it won’t be as packed as the parade. *winks*

Legendary Venue… Public Auditorium has been the host of legends and the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies, what greater stage and venue to enjoy the best than be in the presence of the best.

img_0068
Photo cred: Thom Sheridan, Cleveland Magazine

Tips for the Night

Go with Friends: Whether it’s a double date or a group of your closest pals grab some friends to enjoy in the fun! It definitely helps make the night.

Go VIP: If you’re really looking for a night out celebrating your favorite city whether you’re homegrown or a transplant this night will give you a taste of everything that makes us great!  So go all out and truly enjoy the exclusive rooms, treatment, drinks and eats.

Uber: You will definitely enjoy yourself and a few adult beverages especially if you go the VIP route, so be sure to play it safe and carpool or grab an Uber to and from!

This party is truly not like any other you’ll attend throughout the year. The atmosphere is infectious especially once the music really gets going; you can even jump on the legendary stage and show off your moves! Tickets are officially on sale and the countdown to Saturday, October 15th will be here before we know it.

For more tickets & information: CLICK HERE!

 

#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!

 

My MOH Proposal

| The Bee Life

This past week, I finally popped the question to my BFF, Katie, if she would be my MOH!! Now this is probably no surprise to any (especially if you’ve kept up with my MOH journey for Katie’s wedding).  I don’t think it was a surprise to Katie either, since we’ve had a lot of chats about it throughout her wedding festivities and ever since I’ve been engaged. So knowing all of this, and knowing that I am 260 miles away from Katie on a regular basis, I wanted to surprise her!  So after racking my brain away on exactly how to do it, I came up with…. I would send her gold letter balloons spelling out “MOH?” (each in a different box, labeled) with a card, and then a champagne flute and champagne with some other goodies in a basket.

Well finding golden balloon letters was a bit of a challenge, especially the question mark. And I wasn’t trying to spend a fortune, so I ordered the MOH from amazon and the question mark from etsy… it was a bit of a process. I finally got the balloons in the mail, I had ordered the 40″ letters instead of 16″ – thinking the 16″ would be too small… well the 40″ were gigantic (a lot larger than my mind had scaled them to be, oops!) So the box option got shot out of the window, because the boxes would’ve been ginormous.

Back to the drawing board for the surprise.

Luckily my mom was in town the other weekend when I’d received the balloons, I schemed with her to see if she could (1) get the balloons blown up and (2) coordinate with Katie’s mom to get the balloons in Katie’s house during the day. She could take the balloons and card back home and help me put everything into place.

The plan was back on.

Since a few of the other details didn’t arrive in time and the box thing go thrown off, I had to (I say had too, because if you know me, things need to be over the top) send along some roses with the balloons. I had already ordered the card way ahead of time since it was a pinterest find ages ago. It was perfect. Not to mention I was able to pick out a gold envelope that would match perfectly with the gold balloons.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/270236121/will-you-be-my-bridesmaid-cards-i-cant?ref=shop_home_feat_2

So this past Wednesday, my Mom and Lori got the balloons into Katie’s house and all set-up in the dinning room (and yes the balloons fit in my moms car), sending me pictures along the way.  It was perfect, oh and the balloons were still HUGE.  Hehe. So once things got set-up, I waited. I got a call around 5:30 from Katie telling me she had these massive balloons in her house that just about scared the crap out of her… and that of course she would be my MOH. 
IMG_4987She said, Yes!!

I can’t wait to have Katie help me along the way and share in these special moments, like I got to share in with all of hers.  I have a MOH! The distance was tough during Katie’s wedding, but it’s these moments that it’s especially tough and I wish I could’ve just drove to her house (in a timely matter).  But this just means we will have to plan a few more weekends that normal together!
IMG_5008IMG_5010It was fun surprising Katie from 260 miles away.  I can’t wait to see her in person and give her a gigantic hug and part 2 of the MOH proposal!

Cheers!

 

Wednesday Reminders – Friends

| The Bee Life

One of the hardest parts of starting my new job, one-month in to the date, is not spending the entire day with my best friends. Yes, that’s right, one of the things I am most grateful for from my previous job (besides all of the experience) is the friendships I made. I truly think that was the greater purpose of me working there for the years that I did and starting when I did.
Wednesday Reminders - Friends - the bee lifeIf it weren’t for the amazing people I met,  life would be very different, my career would be very different.  Dramatic? No. These people have inspired me to dream bigger, work harder and fight for what I want.  They’ve also helped me laugh when I did not want to laugh, to take the lunch break to walk and gossip instead of stewing at my desk over an email. Sneak away for impromptu drinks “after work”, doggy play dates and team lunches.  They were my sounding board for life and professionally encouraging me to ask hard questions, dig deeper of myself and want more.

I was so hesitant to leave my job because I loved so many of the people I had gotten to know over three years and spent all my days with.  But I knew I had to make a change for me, and that they would still be up the street (literally).  I was also partially afraid that I would never see some of them again, other people I was close with have moved on or got new jobs and it just wasn’t the same. But since I left, not a whole lot has changed, lunch walks and coffee dates still happen, team lunches and happy hours, group texts and bitmoji’s and now even some snapchat fun.

We help inspire each other, learn and grow from each other, build each other up and laugh at each other, cry with each other and even borrow sneakers.  We help each other to try not to take life so seriously, give the hard truths when it’s needed and just listen to each other.

I have realized (especially) lately how lucky I am to have so many strong fierce women around me, (you all know who you are!) thank you!

XO

Weekend Highlight: Kayaking

| The Bee Life

It has been toasty toasty this past week, but I know we haven’t been the only ones roasting.  Our humidity was nearly 80% on Friday. Gross! Not to mention, we don’t have AC … *smiles* … so it’s been even more unbearable, we broke down and bought a window AC unit for our bedroom, so we at least can sleep at night, after sweating all day! So a little mission this weekend was to ‘beat the heat’ whether it was going out to eat at a restaurant to cool down or hanging out at our neighbors to soak up some cool air!

Saturday morning we headed to the Metroparks with some friends and rented kayaks!! Living close to a large lake, I often take for granted the amenities or extracurricular activities that’re available to us within minutes from our house. So I was happy when some friends recommended we go kayaking.

It got off to a little rough start, with the oh so friendly woman at the kayak rental.  We luckily were able to rent kayaks for 1-hour, after she scolded us to make reservations and how you have to make reservations, especially on the weekend, oh and if we were even 5-minutes late coming back we would be significantly up-charged and it would throw off the rest of the day because they were so booked. She was so nice.IMG_4555So after we got through that, we were able to jump in two tandem kayaks and head out on the river with sights of the lake! It was relaxing after B and I got into our grove and  were able to enjoy the scenic views along the river of the private yacht club and large beautiful homes flanking the river. We were able to make it out to the lake with plenty of time, after the fear of god was instilled in us to not be a single minute late back to the rental area. So it was just enough time to paddle around the lake, enjoy the view and then head back down the river. IMG_4537FullSizeRender

The water and breeze from the lake was refreshing, while still being able to soak up some of the hot summer sun! After we dried off a bit, we headed for some bottomless mimosas and brunch at a nearby spot – yum!

Safe to say, B and I will definitely be doing this again before the summers end! We might just try out another rental spot and will definitely make reservations ahead of time, regardless of where we go! *winks*