happy

Five.

| The Bee Life

Today marks 5-years with B.

5-years ago, I was a nervous wreck, yet so excited to go out on this date with this guy who I had hit it off with the weekend before on an advertising competition trip (nerdy, I know). We were meeting up after my night class and were going to grab a drink at a local spot near campus, yet not your typical college bar, it was called Corks (which is sadly no longer).  We met-up in the Communications building and walked down to Corks, we sat down and literally talked the night away, nonstop.  We had so many similarities growing up, it was crazy! We eventually ended up going to a different bar, because we realized we should probably grab some food, so we went to the Viking Tavern and got some chicken tenders, the talking and drinking continued, although still very casual and intently talking about everything. We then wound up at yet another campus bar, Becky’s and ended the night with some PBR’s.  I think we talked well into the wee hours of the morning, until we finally parted ways.  We made plans to go for an 8-mile run the next day since we were both training for a half-marathon. Yes not your typical second date. 247195_10150253120955692_5463259_n
And since that day, 5-years ago, it was pretty much the end to the beginning, we never looked back, we never questioned our relationship, it just was. B said in his proposal love letter to me that he knew that first weekend at the advertising competition that I was the one. I knew he was the one after our first date.

B has forever changed my life, and makes me a better version of myself each and every day – we challenge each other and we love each other and it’s the perfect balance and flow of us.  I’m excited to see what this next year will bring leading up to our wedding and next stage in our lives, he’s the best partner and teammate.12141595_10153635960645692_3058254985265414869_n
So here’s to the next five… fifteen….twenty… forty… forever years ahead of us.

Weekend Recap – Girls Trip!

| The Bee Life

This past weekend was so fun and gorgeous! We finally had some beautiful sunny weather with cloudless skies.

It was super fun, because Katie and I met up for a girls day/night yesterday. We met at the cabin, which is just about half way for us – so it was a nice quick trip.  With her wedding being a month away, we’ve been trying to plan some extra girl time, and finally got it in the books!

One of the goals of our meet up was to get some of her her wedding DIY’s complete for her centerpieces so we worked on that in between candid girl talk and day drinking. It was also the perfect excuse to wear tights, a loose tee and veg out taste testing different martini’s with wine in between!

I can’t remember the last time Katie and I had that much one on one time AND a sleep over.  It was so much fun – the only thing I messed up on was forgetting my wireless speakers, so we lacked some major dance sessions and jamming to 50 cent.   We are definitely going to try and make these more of a point, or at least invite the guys next time, it’s the perfect, peaceful getaway especially for some much needed girl time. IMG_1500We wrapped up the weekend pretty early on Sunday, but it was nice getting back home and enjoying the rest of the sunshine! I’m looking forward to this upcoming week and some gorgeous weather.

Balancing Life

| The Bee Life

Work: “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”

Life(style): “the way in which a person or group lives.”

Balance: “an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.”

Work - Life
With no major vacation this year, I am having some serious struggles with my work-life balance, not to mention my workout routine has been nonexistent, and I hate it.

Being able to workout and maintain a healthy lifestyle is something that is important to me, although it mostly annoys me that cost and work get in the way of a large portion of things that make me happy and used to be a huge aspect of my day-to-day routine. Knowing that I am essentially gym-less and on my own to get some motivation (and have to work) I decided to put together a list of items to be more cognizant of starting ASAP at home and at work (because complaining gets you nowhere).

Life

  • Morning workouts & weekend runs: Waking up an hour earlier to do a set of exercises for 30-40 minutes in the morning is more than I am currently doing – taking advantage of free time on the weekends will balance out anything missed during the week
  • Breakfast & Coffee at home: Waking up earlier will allow time to prep a breakfast and make coffee, so that I won’t be tempted by Starbucks which is in the lobby of my office building
  • Walks with Moz: A quick walk at the end of the day allows for the extra motivation and fresh air – maybe even a quick walk in the morning
  • Yoga before bed: I have a 10-minute yoga routine I do occasionally before bed, it needs to happen more often
  • Weekly scrap-booking: It’s something I love to do and don’t do enough up, I have a lot of catching up to do!  Even if it’s 30-minutes a week

Work

  • Afternoon fresh air: A quick walk around the block to break up the afternoon and recharge will take 5-10minutes out of the day but have a lasting effect
  • Packing a lunch & snacks: Will allow for me to save money and not be tempted by a quick sub or the leftovers in the cafe
  • Stay above the crap: It’s so easy to get sucked in or be the hitting board for someone’s bad day – remembering to stay above that and not sweating the small stuff
  • Drinking more water: No explanation needed

I want to start with little items that can be accomplished in order to stay focused and not get overwhelmed, creating good habits is half the battle – so starting small makes sense.  How do you maintain a good balance between life and work?

Weekend Update

| The Bee Life

Happy Last Monday of February!!

I know not all of you are lucky enough to live in the Midwest, but this past month has been freezing cold with snow-filled weekends! Living in a 100-year old house, and negative degree temperatures for consistent days in a row means frozen pipes.  Luckily(?) our frozen pipes are isolated and only in our kitchen, each time they freeze we learn something new… so long story short one of the fixes was putting in a new faucet.  B and I are now trained plumbers, thank you very much! Teasing, but we did it all by ourselves and it’s such a change physically along with hopefully helping the pipe freezing problem (we can now run cold and hot water at the same time) … and that was only Friday night!

Saturday morning I helped my aunts out while they went out of town and went over to feed their girls, Opa! the puggle and Maya, the black lab, also meaning Moz got to play with her cousins!  Of course Saturday morning was a mini blizzard, nonstop fluffy snowflakes falling and terrible, not plowed roads, so shoveling was a necessity. With bad roads and the beautiful snow fall, a relaxing day at home doing some little projects was the plan! Followed by a night-in, our own little happy hour with a cheese board paired with some Manhattans. And we topped the night off with DiGiorno pizza and a movie. We watched Sex Tape with Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, it was actually pretty very funny!

Sunday was productive and relaxing as well (well sort of).  Breakfast and coffee and some Millionaire Matchmaker in the morning, followed by Church, the gym and some shopping/errands (which of course went longer than expected).  Home to relax for a bit and do a few more little projects (can’t wait to share these soon!) before dinner with the aunts and of course, more snow!

It was a very nice weekend, it wasn’t over complicated with endless trips or errands, it was productive and relaxing all at the same time.  Hoping to have a few more of these in the future! Hope you are all staying warm, wherever you may be.

Wednesday Reminders – Gratitude

| The Bee Life

With the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, there is no doubt that everyone is thinking about all of the wonderful things in their life. For me it’s simple. I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life; family and friends, co-workers and furry friends. No one big thing stands out, but it’s all of the small ones.

“Sometimes, the Best Way to Make a Big Difference is Adding Up Lots of Small Ones.”  – Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan

This time of the year is always fun, family comes together because of tradition, and with tradition new memories are made. For my family, the tradition is as simple as getting together, and as I’ve gotten older, traditions are starting to change. People can’t always make a weekend, too many things are going on, the weather prohibits travel, work isn’t as flexible…  I am not always a fan of change, especially when it comes to traditions and holidays, but I’m trying to look at it as an opportunities for new memories and traditions. With all the change, it reminds me to be more thankful for the time I do get to spend with my family and friends.

I think we all need to remember to be grateful, around this time of the year… but even more importantly always.

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!

Signature

 

Happy New Year. Happy New You!

| The Bee Life

A belated Happy 2014 to all!
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Call me cliche, but I really feel like this is going to be a good year. Not that 2013 was bad, but there were some moments (as there will always be!)

I started to write a few goals down for the New Year, which I haven’t done before. Which is ironic because, I have always been a firm believer that if you write something down and see it every day, it will eventually happen.

Here are a few of my 2014 Goals;

1)  Run a half marathon
2)  Read at least one book a month
3)  Become an AE
4)  Get back into my workout routine – strengthening and cardio
5)  Save more money!
6)  Take more trips with Bentley
7)  Write more on my blog/journal
8)  Don’t hold grudges/ be less stubborn
9)  Continue to eat healthier

I hope that writing down my 2014 goals will help me strive and achieve self-improvement for a happier life! Writing my goals down has allowed me to reflect on some things that I may or may not want to admit to myself! ie: #8  The good thing about goals is that they can be small and simple or they can be big and require more work. I love taking on a challenge, especially when it’s myself, I can be my own biggest critic sometimes.

For more reflection and self-guidance, Bentley and I are reading a book together, called; “Where Will You Be Five Years from Today?” by Dan Zadra. It’s an interactive work book that allows you to fill out your top values in life, dreams, goals, which ultimately helps for you to assess your life and allow you to be your most productive self over the next 5 years. Reaching and meeting those goals and dreams that you long to accomplish.

In five years I’ll be 29! Eeek!!

The book provides some amazing examples of what people have accomplished in five years, for example;

  • Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel in under five years.
  • After loosing their jobs, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus created and went public with their business model, Home Depot.  Three years later their annual sales reached $1 Billion.

It’s a pretty interesting and thought provoking book, it’s helped me put my life and goals in prospective, although we haven’t finished the book I have been impressed with the first 6 pages!

So here is too a happier you and happier new year!  Make this year, a year for you and a year for your future.

Cheers!

xo-eb

Fun ending to 2013 and beginning of 2014!

Meet Mozi! Our puggle, we got her in October!
Winterfest 2013
NYE 2014 with Friends!
Christmas Eve with my Parents