holidays

Fitness Friday 11.18

| The Bee Life

It’s that time of the year, the  gatherings, dinners, the holidays are creeping in quick!  If you’re like me and go to THREE different Thanksgivings within a four day period, you can quickly kiss away all your fitness progress, that’s if you decide to indulge in each and every one, not to mention all the booze!
Fitness Friday 11.18 - the bee life
So in order to maintain and not gain this holiday season, here are some easy tips to remember and still enjoy the holiday meals and get togethers.

(1) Get that Workout In! This is one of the most important ones and will help you keep your sanity – the best bet to insure you check this off the list is getting it done early.  Just because you have a few days off doesn’t mean you should forget your normal workout schedule, plus once festivities start and the first mimosas is poured you won’t be too motivated to workout!  If you’re traveling to visit family, hit up your cousin who spins or goes to the gym and go to a drop-in class with them.

(2) Smarter Alcohol Choices. Tis the season for holiday brews… and yes they’re delicious but they’re packed with calories and carbs – one of our local favorite Christmas Ale’s has 200 calories in a 12oz. bottle and 20 carbs! Ah!! Try not to drink your calories and carbs and check out the Keto Alcohol rulesI like to follow, stay away from beer, opt in for those bubbles! Red wine is also a good choice or pure spirits, but be sure to avoid those sugary mixtures.

(3) Don’t Go For Seconds. Don’t do it!! This is where all bets are off, and no good will come of it.  In addition to refusing seconds, limit your portions – when you’re heaping that stuffing onto your plate use the rule of thumb to make sure you see the bottom of your plate!

(4) Stay Hydrated. It’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day, it helps flush out toxins and even can help if you’re planning to indulge in the adult beverages.  This is also easy to forget if you’re traveling and driving to multiple houses throughout the day making the rounds – pack a water bottle ahead of time and keep it in the car!

(5) Eat Breakfast. Make sure you eat a good breakfast and other meals throughout the day before your big meal – I think it’s human nature to try not to eat so much during the day knowing you’ll be indulging later in the evening, but this can lead to going up for seconds and binging.  By eating healthy throughout the day you’ll be more full and less likely to over do it at your holiday meals!

At the end of the day you’ll enjoy the holidays as you want, but after Thanksgiving starts the endless holiday gatherings, pretty soon we’ll be making New Year resolutions – so remember, it’s OK to NOT over indulge in the holidays, just maintain balance, because you don’t want your New Year’s Resolution to be the same as the year before!

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Catch-up on past Fitness Friday’s: Physical vs. Mental Battle | Accountability and Food | Maintaining Balance

5 Hosting Tips for Fall

| The Bee Life

It’s getting to one of my favorite times of the year – the time for holiday parties and plenty of opportunities for hosting friends and family.  Whether you’re planning an intimate sit down dinner or a more festive party, these five tips will help cover your bases, wow guests and have a fun night to remember!
Party Hosting Tips - the bee life
These tips will also help you relax as a host while still having those finishing touches and taking your party to the next level.

  1. Consider a Bulk Signature Cocktail. Signature cocktails can be fun, especially if it’s more of a seasonal drink for the fall and winter months.  As a host pro-tip, make these in bulk ahead of time in a pitcher or shaker – that way you won’t be stuck making everyone a drink as they come in.  Don’t forget the garnish and a fun cocktail napkin to top off the full effect!
  2. Make a Killer Charcuterie Board. This can serve as your focal point and will cover the bases on a variety of food categories from meats and cheeses, to breads, jams, nuts and fresh fruit that will make guests want to dive right in.  Check out Skinnytaste or Spend with Pennies on some tips to making a killer board.
  3. Don’t Forget the Dessert! It’s easy to get caught up figuring out the main dishes for the evening and overlook the best part, dessert!  This is something to keep simple whether it’s buying some more expensive chocolate bars, baking fresh chocolate chip cookies or asking friends to help bring this, so you can check it off the list!
  4. Plastic vs. Non-Plastic Plates. The great debate on which to use continues! I often shy away from plastic because I prefer the aesthetic look of plates – but depending on which type of party you’re hosting, one might make more sense than the other.  For example a more intimate dinner party or smaller guest count may call for plates to add that extra touch, but if you’re having a large party that is a bit more casual save yourself the end of the night clean-up and grab plastic bowls and plates!
  5. Create Welcoming Smells. This can be an easy victory – if you’ve been prepping food all day, your house might have a mixture of smells, so to clear it up light a few candles with similar scents throughout your home (don’t forget the bathroom!) or throw in some chocolate chip cookies right before guests arrive for a homey welcome.

If you’re looking for inspiration to host a fall party and ways to keep it simple read; 5 Reasons to Host a Fall Party.  And don’t forget to have fun and enjoy your own party, as the host it’s easy to get caught up in perfection and making sure everyone else is taken care of – but don’t forget to grab yourself a drink too!

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Image Sources:  Skinnytaste \ The Effortless Chic | Apartment 34

Weekend Recap – Easter 2018

| The Bee Life

Happy April! So glad to see a month that really makes you think spring – growing up March was always a bit of snow and a bit of sunshine, to be expected. But our Easter weekend was jammed back, yet so much fun.  With a much over-due trip to my parents, we headed in Friday to take advantage of as much of the weekend as we could!
Weekend Recap - Easter 2018 - the bee life
With a weekend full of delicious eats, like a NY fish fry, gourmet donuts with fried chicken, hometown pizza, bubbles with a side of friends and family it was all of my favorite things.  We caught up with K+T, Saturday morning and ventured to a hipster hot-spot called Boxcar and indulged on the finer things in life; donuts, coffee and fried chicken, among other things. It was so good and the perfect spot to relax, chat and people watch. We haven’t seen them since the wedding so it was great catching up with them and getting in person hugs!

Easter celebrations with the family consisted of some of the extended family coming over for some yummy pizza, laughs and spirits on Saturday – I always love that we can make time to see more of the family when we come into town, sometimes it goes too long! Church was super early Sunday morning, but worth it being followed up with some bloody mary’s, Mom’s homemade waffles and fully belly’s.

We ended our night with a super fancy Easter dinner… a bottomless bucket of popcorn at the Cavs game – yup we’re crazy, but they pulled out a good win.  It was an exhausting weekend, but so much fun and so great seeing everyone!

How did you spend your Easter?

 

Merry Christmas – 2017

| The Bee Life

Before we all start running around and making our last minute trips to the grocery store, Target and anywhere in between, on behalf of B and myself, we want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
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We hope to remember to take a moment and pause in all the hectic and reflect on the true meaning of this holiday, how fortunate we are (in our many different ways), and squeeze everyone a little tighter this year.

We are so excited to spend our first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. and continue to build our own traditions when we can and celebrate this most special day with our nearest and dearest.

Merry Christmas!

E+B

 

Photography Credit: Timothy Logan Photography

Latest Obsessions 12.17 – Holiday Fashion

| The Bee Life

Guys & Gals! This year’s holiday fashion trends have me heart-eyed emoji-ing and are my latest obsessions this month! I love looking for new pieces each holiday season to rock at holiday parties for work or with friends, Christmas Eve mass and into the midnight hours of NYE! Finding pieces that are versatile but also unique to stand out is all in the fun of putting together your holiday-ready look.
Latest Obsessions 12.17 - the bee life
Sparkles.  Always sparkles! Sparkles are especially perfect for a holiday party or to finish off your NYE look.  They’re festive and fun and make you feel pretty! Finding a statement top with sparkles is like the ultimate win-win.

Velvet. This is definitely a newer trend that has come out in full force this season and is filling stores.  This look is warm, fun and ads texture and style to any look for holiday festivities. Plus these trendy velvet tops are coming in all sorts of colors like maroon, light pink or blues, these translate into the later winter months!

Kimonos. Introducing the new, trendier poncho. These can help dress up any causal look with their intricate designs and use of fabrics.  You can go high-end on these or shop a bit more affordable options that can be switched out more! Either way, these are a must, and perfect for covering up a sexy tank.

Furs. Faux of course! Finding a fun faux fur to use as a cover-up or dressing up a plain sweater with a statement vest is perfect for a family or office party.  These can also add a layer (no pun intended) of fun to your look while keeping you warm in transit to and from!

It’s just another reason to love this time of the year – and excuse to wear an excessive amount of beautiful things that make you sparkle! Cheers to another year of creating memories and looking fabulous while doing it.

 

Image Sources linked above

House Tour – Christmas Dining Room

| The Bee Life

One of my favorite rooms to decorate during the holidays and different seasons is our dining room.  We have a large custom table that is perfect for statement centerpieces and plenty of room for family and friends to gather around for a delicious meal, conversation and laughter.
House Tour - Christmas Dining - the bee life (1)
I love thinking of ways to transform this space each year and building upon pieces I already have or buying new… this year I kind of went the old/new route based off the color theme of gold and green, selfishly carrying our wedding color palette into the holiday season and our home!  I used some pieces from our wedding and ended up buying a new table runner and napkins to pull the look together for guests.

My goal this year was to keep the dining room intimate and cozy for a small group of six, candles mixed throughout with customized ornament place settings. I used glass ornaments, (I basically have plain glass bulbs stock-piled once the year end sales hit) and poured white paint inside of them to drizzle along the inside, so when I wrote names in gold on the outside they popped! Guests can take these home as a keepsake of the holiday memory to hang on their tree!
House Tour - Christmas Dining - the bee life (2)
The greens mixed in help bring that classic Christmas feel and were conveniently trimmed off our tree. I love entertaining and having friends and family in our home, celebrating, laughing and creating memories and with the perfect setting and people it makes it easy.

Cheers to new memories!

Holiday Hacks – Make A Statement

| The Bee Life

One of my favorite things about the holidays is presents! But no… probably not what your thinking – I love WRAPPING presents… seriously, it’s all about the presentation.  Although my wrapping game isn’t quite up to par with what I’d like it to be… I’m getting there. So if your like me, and like to make a statement with your presents, and include them as part of your decorations under the tree – here are some easy hacks to do just that!
Bee Holiday Hacks - Statement - the bee life
Pick a Theme or Color Palette. This can tie into the decor of your home if your planning to use these are decor under the tree. Often times I’m inspired by a specific ornament or even spotting some gift wrap in the store and working around that to pick my theme for the year!

Get Wrapping Paper for Each Person/Categories. I know; this is getting a little crazy but I like to wrap all of B’s presents in his very own wrapping paper – this leaves out the need for 20-different name tags.  This could be done by family (yours vs. his) or by person if you have enough variety in your paper selection.

Stock-up on Tags/Ribbon when you See a Good Deal.  And it doesn’t have to be Christmas! I stocked up on a bunch of tags after Valentines day, they were gold, and bright pinks – they’ve come in clutch throughout the year and I’m sure I’ll throw a few gold ones on gifts this year too.  Always be on the look out and stock-up especially if you see one of a kind options at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Or better yet, print your own with these free printable Christmas tags! Don’t be afraid to keep it simple too and make a statement with ribbons, tags, or greenery.

Invest in some Good Tape. This is a fault of mine; because I scrapbook and go through a lot of tape, therefore I just stock-up at the Dollar Store – however I’ve come to find that this tape and some of the fancy, thicker wrapping paper I’ve picked up don’t go well together.

This is a fun way to spread some extra cheer and make a statement with family and friends.

Photo Source: Cosmopolitan

Holiday Decor Inspiration

| The Bee Life

Every year I get an itch to completely redo all of our Christmas decorations, but then there is a part of me that just loves what we’ve created over these last few years and how we’ve made our home a cozy Christmas wonderland.  So I mix things up on a smaller scale, our outdoor space we’ve been doing different lighting variations and and the dining room is always my play space to create a magical setting.

So although I am not completely redoing our decor this year, I love to share future inspiration for holiday decor around the house… enjoy!
Holiday Decor Inspiration - the bee life
Classic. I love keeping decor classic with white lights and pops of color, you can’t beat the feel good sentiments of Christmas and a nice lush evergreen.

Pops of Color. This centerpiece is what dreams are made of and reminds me of the vintage ornaments I’ve found over the years from my grandma and at antique stores – pinks and blues and golds are so fun to play around with!

Simple. I hope one day I can work up to simple, right now it’s a complete flip of decorations in the house; picture frames are put away and the house is completely transformed with greens, lights, multiple trees, candles and ornaments.

What are your favorite things about decorating for Christmas? What theme or color palette are you dying to do?

 

 

Photo sources are linked above. 

Bee Holiday Hacks – Gifts on a Budget

| The Bee Life

Bee Holiday Hacks are back! And this is a fun one I am excited to share with all of you. One thing about the holidays that both B and I absolutely LOVE is to spoil and go over the top for presents, especially with each other. But there have been years,  that major life events happen like a new job,  buying a house, or getting married… so money hasn’t always flowed as much as we like and we need to budget, AKA reality.
Bee Holiday Hacks - Gift Giving - the bee lifeSo in years past we try to limit each other, and set expectations ahead of time. But how you may ask? Here are some hacks for saving cash while still spoiling your loved one and having a meaningful Christmas!

Talk about it. First things, first. You need to be on the same page with your people or person. Set the expectation that this Christmas isn’t going to be as extravagant as past Christmas’ and ask that they respect and reciprocate.  This goes with family too, I’m sure everyone would like to feel a little less pressure around the holidays especially financially.

Pick Gift Themes.  So this past Christmas B and I picked 5-categories of gifts that we each had to get for each other. One of them could be on the higher end, but the other ones had to be modestly priced.  Here were our categories (1) An Experience (2) Something for the House (3) An Inside Joke (4) A DIY (5) Something for the Wedding.  I bought half-marathon race registration for our experience, and B got us tickets for a sushi making class. For the DIY, B attempted to make me a sofa table and also made cookie trays – while I ended up making B do is own DIY for our laundry room, haha! It was really fun to see what each of us came up with, and had fun doing it and stories to share with each other after the fact.

Stocking Price Limit. I love stockings – but these can get a bit out of hand as well. So we put a price limit on these too; i.e. $50 or 10 gifts under $10. Again this is something you could put categories too or mini-checklists!

White Elephant. When it comes to the <extended> family; don’t be afraid to suggest a white elephant exchange OR the exact opposite, don’t be afraid to opt out of the family exchange.  We used to do a cousin exchange but as we’ve gotten older and schedules get jumbled we now just do a family wide white-elephant, totally optional, totally fun and no pressure!

We need to remember it’s OK to slow down, and take a back seat every once in a while, the great thing about Christmas is that it happens every year. Oh! And it’s not all about the gifts.

Photo Source: Extra Petite