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Fitness Friday 03.19

| The Bee Life

If you read my post about Life Lately & Bee or keep up with my Fitness Friday posts – you know my fitness routine and goals have been struggling a bit! But as I’m working to pull myself out of my winter slump – I’ve made an intentional change to my fitness routine within the last week. Woo! Fitness Friday 03.19 - the bee life
In the last week and a day, I’ve already worked out more than I did in the entire month of February! EEK! But it’s all positive now – I’m back on track, I’m making strides to fit ME TIME into my days and making my health a priority.  Not to mention with a birthday (tomorrow) – I want to continue to stay in my best health, and keep getting better after all the progress I made the last two years.

Looking forward and into the rest of the year – we have a 10-miler race (that we’ve run the last 4-years) at the end of April so I have to get my butt in gear so that I can have a successful run!  From there we need to sign up for another half or two, this year still and continue the running game while sticking to my cross-training.

Here’s to making more intentional changes, for good!

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Catch-up on other Fitness Friday’s: Eliminate Excuses | 2019 Fitness Goals

29 Birthday Reflections

| The Bee Life

For all my Bee readers, and even close friends that may be reading along – you know I hate getting older (sorry too all my friends who are older than me, ilu!) – but I’m working on that imperfection and fear of getting older each year by trying to embrace my birthday!  Ha! So in honor of the start of the last year in my twenties *starts sobbing* … here are 29 birthday reflections/hopes/dreams or just things about me.
29 Birthday Reflections - the bee life
Thinking of 29 things – was actually pretty hard, so here we go!

  1. Still love birthday cake.
  2. I was blonde when I was little
  3. I was named after a man, my great grandpa, Emil
  4. I hated having my picture taken from the ages 2-5 (& have pictures to prove it)
  5. Within the last 3-years I’ve had to figure out a lot of my dietary issues & have a random list of cannot eat items; like cauliflower to spicy foods to Chinese food
  6. I’m also lactose intolerant
  7. As much as I loved Barbie’s I also loved to play with Legos & Matchbox Cars as a kid
  8. Jasmine was my favorite Disney princess
  9. I love hosting parties and entertaining at our home
  10. I was a cat lady before I was a dog lady
  11. I love taking pictures and a lot of my friend’s favorite wedding pictures are candids I took ❤
  12. This will be my first birthday with my new last name
  13. I want to go on 5-trips before my next birthday
  14. I love being on a board as part of a local nonprofit that helps people who are fighting breast cancer in our community
  15. My goal is to read more books – I’ve already started!
  16. I want to take more time to talk and listen to my friends
  17. I love organizing and making things look pretty
  18. I want to run 3-half marathons before my next birthday
  19. I want to play more golf
  20. My high school year book prediction was that I’d be the Queen of England. lol #TheCrown
  21. Note to self: Take more walks… with Moz & B
  22. I love decorating and designing spaces, even if it’s just setting the dining room table
  23. I have yet to travel outside of the country!
  24. I’ll gladly admit I’m wrong… any day… but I rarely am *tongue face*
  25. My parents never had cable and still don’t have cable
  26. As much as I have expensive taste, I love a good bargain
  27. Cookie Dough is my favorite ice cream (if I could eat it)
  28. Remember to slow down and soak in the little things
  29. I want to continue to face my fears

Did I miss something? I’m sure I did – leave a comment below!

xo
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Life Lately & Bee

| The Bee Life

I’ll admit it, the beginning of the year has been a little tough! I hate to use the cop out of the winter blues, but wow – they are seriously setting in. Anyone else out there feeling a bit of the blues during the start of 2019?

I’ve been reflecting a lot on why the winter blues are hitting me so much – and I’ve started figuring it out.  A few things I don’t mind sharing with my bee-readers is (1) I haven’t been as physically active as my workout routine is virtually nonexistent (no endorphins!) (2) My confidence has been low & I’ve let it creep into different aspects of my world (3) Things are changing – the news of some close friends leaving has hit me a bit harder than I anticipated (4) As a result, my anxiety just flairs up!
Life Lately - the bee life
But the beginning of the year hasn’t been all bad, we’ve been making good progress on our bathroom remodel, I had a girls night sleepover, celebrated a sweet friend’s baby shower, and have had lots of pup snuggles – oh and our house is cleaner than ever with all the weekends I’ve stayed in. My parents came to visit for some early birthday celebrations and we’ve had a few breaks in the weather which has helped getting out and about and the pups on walks. Plus we are planning trips for the near future, and even booked some. Yay!

Since I’ve nailed down a few of the winter blues triggers – I’ve already started to combat them by working to stay inspired through creative outlets, reading new books for motivation, planning and making the gym happen, and also getting in as much time with my people as possible so that I’m not stuck in my own head. xox. 

How do you combat your blues?

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Accessorizing a Black & White Bathroom

| The Bee Life

As we continue to work through our bathroom remodel and have made decisions on a lot of the major, more permeant pieces, I’ve started to explore the fun accessories to include in the space to really finish it off! Since our floor tiles are a pretty bold black and white pattern, I’m going to be keeping most of the finishes white – but want to incorporate a little color in to the space without competing with the tiles and letting them be the true statement of the room.
Bathroom Accessories - the bee life (1)Since our floor is going to be our statement, in addition to our shower – we really want to compliment the space, while enhancing the neutral colors and adding a little umph the space.  Since we have gold faucets, hardware and overhead vanity light, the look and feel that we’re going for, for this space is classic with a little bit of vintage glam.

Option 1: To help keep the classic, vintage glam feel – one color accessory option would be incorporating shades of blush pink and more white with towels, baskets and rugs.  If we go the pink/white route, it would still be really subtle and I would continue to work in some gold accents with the toilet paper roll, hand towel bar and maybe even a soap dish for the vanity!
Bathroom Accessories - the bee life (3)
Option 2: As much as I love the pink route – there is also a part of me that imagines adding in big pops of color, like a deep mustard towels, accents of a dusky green or blues into the space.  Of course, I wouldn’t have all these colors in the space – just a few deep pops to play off our black and white canvas.  With a big pop of color, there would still need to be other supporting accessories of blacks and whites – like the the Jute Storage Basket (also comes in a Laundry Basket size) from H&M comes in this fabulous natural white – but also comes in a dusty rose that could be perfect for option 1!
Bathroom Accessories - the bee life (2) Shop the bathroom accessories:  Tuft Spa Bath Rug from Target | Gold Etched Metal Soap Dish from Target | Woven Pattern Washcloth Peach | Blocked Border Bathroom Towels, Set of 6 from Anthropologie | Brass Medallion Bathroom Hardware Set by Anthropologie |Textured-weave Bath Mat from H&M | Dark Mustard Yellow Jacquard-patterned Bath Towel from H&M | Solid Bath Towels Blue from Target | Magazine And Toilet Paper Holder from Anthropologie | Jute Storage Basket from H&M

What do you guys think, Option 1 or Option 2?  I have to say I think I know which direction we’ll go down to help pull together the space.  But I also can’t wait to incorporate an old vintage mirror that was left at our house, maybe a plant or two and some other functional shelving or decor for the space.

Planning a bathroom makeover soon? I’ll be sharing a DIY checklist on an upcoming blog post!

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Why We Celebrate the Little Things

| The Bee Life

Monday marked our three year engagement anniversary and in May it will be 8-years together – I love all of our little anniversaries.  And although we are married and have other bigger anniversaries to celebrate, we still like to celebrate and reflect on these little moments that we’ve shared together.
Little Moments - the bee life

Why We Celebrate: From 3-months to 3-years, to the day we got the keys to our (first) house, a monumental trip, or the day we got our Moz – it’s these little things that lay the foundation of our relationship and the reason for it’s existence today, tomorrow and ten years from now. It’s celebrating these little moments that help keep the joy of those moments alive while looking forward to the future.

Sometimes we celebrate with a handmade card, sometimes flowers, or recreating a meal (like Chipotle and Champagne from the night we got engaged) or just sending a little text or picture about a memory from that day.  We save going all out for the bigger anniversaries!  It’s also fun reflecting on all the firsts we’ve had together, while also still realizing how many firsts we still have yet to have.

Cheers to celebrating the little things!

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Valentine’s Day – 2019

| The Bee Life

Hey love birds and all you haters! I’m a day early, I know – but I wanted to share a little bit of love going into the ‘holiday’ and also a fun playlist I’ve created for all the feelings of love, from loving yourself to heartbreak to being head over heels in love, this playlist has it all, check the link below to listen (make sure it’s on shuffle)!

Click here to listen to Heart Ache by The Bee Life on Spotify

View More: http://marinaclaireandco.pass.us/emily--alex
Photo by: Marina Claire & Co. 

The beautiful thing about love is that it takes all shapes and forms. It’s not just having the love of a partner, it’s loving yourself, your family, your friends and your life.  Love is also reflecting on the love lost and love learned in your life to where you are today and how that’s shaped you into the person you are today.  I firmly believe I’ve become the person I am today because I’ve loved who I’ve loved – friends/family and significant others – and the loss I’ve experienced from that love (I even have a tattoo sharing that sentiment!).  So this Valentine’s day remember to love yourself and always share the love beyond just this day or just get lost in music.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xoxo

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5 Keepsakes to Incorporate Into Your Home Decor

| The Bee Life

When I decorate our home, I really try to incorporate personalized touches to each room vs. stock art or random pieces.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love some good stock canvas from Marshall’s but they have their time and place! So if you’re working to figure out ways to incorporate some personal touches and sentimental pieces into your home, here are a few of my go-to pieces I like to decorate with.

1. A Love Letter.  B purposed to be with a long two-page love letter – it was so thoughtful and special, I didn’t want to shove it into a box and find it years later.  So I found these two great matted frames from Marshall’s and framed the love letter – it hangs next to our bed and is one of my favorite parts of our master.

2. Vintage Family Photos.  We have these all around our house! From our gallery wall in our living room, to our built-in’s, dining room and even bedrooms, family photos are a great way to remember loved one’s past and hold onto family legacies’.  I borrowed family albums and made my own copies so I could have my own keepsakes – it was quite the process, but so worth it! Keepsakes - the bee life (1)3. Wedding Invitation or Keepsake.  We had a special map made that we put in our hotel welcome bags for all of our guests – this was one of my favorite pieces so again, I didn’t want to put this in a box and forget about it.  We have this framed in our bedroom as a fun keepsake – this would also be a fun idea for your wedding invites, save the date or other important announcements that are  a little extra special!

4. Old House Numbers.  Our house had ceramic house numbers that probably had some years with them, being our house is over a hundred years old.  I loved the ceramic numbers, but they were small and hard to read from the road – wanting to keep this momentum around I did a DIY with some frames that were left at the house by spray painting the frame, used some scrapbook paper as a background and framed the numbers.  This hangs in our entrance and I love it!

5. Vacation Photos.  I love picking one or two of my favorite photos from a recent trip and working to incorporate those into the house in various spaces or switching out the previous trip picture.  That way the memories are current, and when you go to switch out your picture you’ll see all the previous memories stacked (that’s one of my favorite parts!)  Keepsakes - the bee life (2)
Since our house has a lot of character and charm, I like to add modern pieces while complimenting the modern touches with a little added complimentary charm by incorporating these more personalized pieces that happen to be keepsakes from our family and the history of our home.  Depending on what keepsake you’re incorporating into your home, going the custom framing route is another way to really make this a show stopper and unique piece for your home!

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Local Love: Valentine’s Edition

| The Bee Life

Hello, Cleveland lovers! Guess what – Valentine’s Day is a little over a week away… eeek!  Are you ready? If not,  I have some of my favorite local spots that would be perfect for a coffee date, heart-felt card or a romantic date night.
Local Love - Valentines Edition - the bee life
Brewella’s: Decorated to the tee for the day of love, you might just fall in love with someone here.  Whether it’s a gift card, a coffee date for one of their seasonal latte’s (with homemade strawberry whip cream) or a breakfast date for crepes – Brewella’s will not only deliver in delicious drinks and eats, they’re festive pink and red decor will make you melt! Explore the coffee shop from their instagam.

Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes: KEC just dropped their Valentine menu, the key for this is ordering ahead to make sure your sweet treats are secure for your sweetie for the big day!  Not feeling all the kitchy V-day sweets?  KEC has a collection of customizable cakes for any occasion and other delicious treats stocked daily! Check out the Valentine menu here or tease your sweet tooth with KEC’s insta feed.

Boundary & Thorn:  The kitchen punny line of prints are so cute, and not to mention a little frisky!  This would be a fun little gift to give to a gal pal or sig-o, one of my personal favorites from the Coffee Punnies by B&T is “Wanna French” with a french press – it especially makes me think of B since we always make a french press on the weekends!  Boundary & Thorn also specializes in custom projects (dog portraits, wedding invites, holiday cards!) beyond her shop items! Shop B&T’s instagram feed.

Lovely Paperie & Gifts: Hey guys, listen up for this one! This would be a great place to bring your gal pal on a little shopping spree, to let her pick out a Lillie Pultzer piece, a monogram bracelet, or maybe some Kate Spade? If a shopping spree sounds a little too extravagant, they also have an assortment of stunning Valentine cards that would make anyone’s heart melt.  Ladies, they also have gifts for your guys too! Shop Lovely virtually here.

Distill Table: If you head to Distill you have to order one of their handcrafted cocktails, made with all locally sourced ingredients that will not only make your tastebuds giggle but the presentation will turn you to a heart eye-emoji.  The red velvet booths will make you want to cozy up with your Valentine while you enjoy all delicious and local food!
Local Love - Valentines Edition - the bee life (2)
So if you haven’t even thought of Valentine’s Day yet, maybe some of these local spots will inspire you – even if you’re not reading from CLE.   These are a lot of my favorite local shops that I like to frequent as often as I can especially for special occasions, looking for one of a kind gifts or for just some delicious local eats (or coffee, LBH)!

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Image Sources: Group image sourced from shops instagram feeds and linked within content.  

My 2019 Goals

| The Bee Life

New year, new goals – am I right? I am sure the interwebs and your social feeds have been bombarded with everyone’s resolutions, positive mindsets and consistent workout routines and clean diets for the last 8-days.  Well for me – I’ve been really thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, especially coming off of a super normal 2018.
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So as I’ve been thinking and thinking… and then looking back at past goals there were a few that came to mind immediately – traveling and my health routine.  More to come on the health routine – I’ll be kicking off my monthly Fitness Friday posts with my 2019 fitness goals, because those my friends will be a lengthly list as well.  *smiles*  Ok, ok, back to my 2019 goals.

More trips! This is pretty much a goal every year – and last year’s travel goal was a bit lofty, thus our travel game in 2018 was a bit weak compared to years previous.  So this year, I’m going to keep it simple and focus on longer weekend trips that B and I can take together whether it’s a car trip or a cheap flight. The other sub-goal of more trips is trying to fit a few new cities in – we’re repeat vacationers, so I want to make sure we keep exploring new places!

More time for friends.  We have friends that live next door, we have friends that live 1-hour away and we have friends that live hours away — so it’s important to continue to make time with all of the friends no matter how far away they are.  And the key to this is planning ahead!

Spend breaks. I have yet to be successful with this goal – and I know this will be a hard one, but we’ve had friends that have been successful with this and say it really helps! So we need to plan for our spend break(s) and make it happen.

No scrolling before bed.  I’m so guilty of this, and habits die hard – but this is one I really want to work on.  In fact, making it more of a rule, like no social media for an hour before bed as my work-week rule of thumb.

Keeping fitness a priority. As I mentioned, more to come on this – so stay tuned!

Continue being creative. One way that I’m able to express my creativity is through decorating our house and doing DIY projects or up-cycling furniture – and then sharing my projects and creations with all of you! So I want to continue to be inspired, take risks and be creative!

There are of course a million other things I want to work on for myself and do in this next year, but these were the few that stood out to me as priorities for the new year – that are just good for the soul.

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