memories

Weekend Recap – 21st Night of September

| The Bee Life

I may or may not still be recovering from the weekend! For nearing the end of September, the weather was toasty warm and full of sunshine – it was perfect for porch hangouts, two year old bday parties, a wedding and even a nap outside on the patio.  Yup, that was the flyover recap of the weekend, but the highlight was definitely K&J’s wedding on Saturday.

Funny enough, this was the first wedding we’ve been too in almost 2-years, the last wedding we went to was ours! So we were feeling a little rusty with the whole wedding guest game. K&J’s wedding also happened to be the 21st night of September – queue the Earth, Wind & Fire’s song September.  The ceremony was intimate as it took place in a wine cellar with friends and family gathered around. In addition the the intimate setting, the vows were personal and special to the couple with plenty of laughs for all to be had – it was the perfect mix of what makes up K&J.  The reception was full of dancing, laughs, pictures, catching up with coworkers and bonding with the bride and grooms family. It was a beautiful night for the newlyweds, not to mention the bride was simply stunning!
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Other highlights from the weekend included getting a Saturday workout in and enjoying a homemade breakfast afterwards on the patio with B as we enjoyed more of the beautiful weather and sunshine.  We did some housework, cleaned up the house and just enjoyed the day being home.  On Sunday we celebrated our nieces second birthday with her big party! The theme was minnie mouse and the weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor party – the girls even got me into the bounce house for a bit. I also got a major nap in on Sunday after the birthday fun, we had a late night from the wedding so apparently I needed it.
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It’s hard to believe we’re in the last full week of September with one more weekend left.  Where did this month go? Not to mention, Monday was officially the first day of Fall – but the weather definitely doesn’t feel like fall just yet, so I am still clinging onto Summer!

What were your weekend highlights?

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Weekend Recap – Summer Things

| The Bee Life

This weekend was a hot one, with the weather apps saying it “feels like 100” most of the weekend, we didn’t let that deter us from summer fun activities! We also wasted no time getting started with the weekend and were in full weekend mode as soon as I left the office Friday afternoon.  Weekend(1) - the beelifeFriday we headed to get drinks pre-Tribe game at a low key cocktail lounge just outside of downtown.  We made it in time for happy hour and half priced handcrafted cocktails that were absolutely incredible – we will definitely be heading back for another date night.  It was the perfect pre-game to the Tribe game that happened to be dollar dog night, and happened to be one of those ‘feels like 100’ and super sweaty nights.  We ended up going with my aunts and then my aunt and uncle came up for the fun as well – it was a family occasion and a great night for a ball game, and a big W for the home team! And we didn’t let the heat interfere with the fun!
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Saturday was a mix of fun – as my parents got into town Friday night, so the guys headed out for golf with the aunts, while mom and I got to hung out, went shopping and had a delicious lunch on a patio with some bubbles before more fun started!  My other aunt ended up coming into town too, so we had more hangs with all the aunties and a delicious dinner of fresh walleye, summery salads and plenty of laughs and an unplanned late night!

To round out the weekend, Sunday kicked off with church and brunch – the guys got in another round of golf too! Then I was off to eastern Ohio for a bridal shower in wine country at the beautiful Ferrante winery.  The picturesque venue was the perfect compliment to the weekend and enjoying all the amazing summer weather, while also showering a sweet friend with lots of bride-to-be love!

The evening wrapped up on the patio with B before the rain started which ended up being the perfect transition inside to watch the Big Little Lies season finale! The weekend was definitely a whirlwind of fun, but so totally worth it and so much family time ❤
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Weekend Recap – Flowers & Family

| The Bee Life

We got lucky this past weekend with an extra day making it a long weekend visiting the family back home.  The weekends are already jam packed, so the extra day was much needed and allowed a bit more time to relax and do some normal running around with the parents.

Mom and I went to the local nursery where she picked out some flowers to plant around the house, which I was able to get for her as a belated Mother’s Day present! Growing up, we always went this local farm to pick out flowers to plant around the house, so it was nostalgic while also realizing some things never change – like this little local green house, the owners, the flowers and the fact that my mom can’t make a decision even when she’s shopping for flowers! But it’s all those little things that never change that made the trip with Mom a memorable one.
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With the extra day, beyond the flower shopping, I was able to help mom with some decorating around the house (which she never lets me do!) we shopped a yard sale and we were even able to get all her new flowers planted and ready for spring! B and my dad went golfing, to a golf demo day and up to the local brewery – so they definitely stayed busy, while Mom and I got extra one on one time in.

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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.
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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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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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2018 Recap

| The Bee Life

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Happy all of the things! I took a bit of an unintentional hiatus for the end of the year, which seemed to be needed, thus back on track and a bit delayed here is my 2018 Recap, which I’ve been very reflective on this past week leading up to the New Year… and with mixed feelings, might I add… Year End Recap 2018 - the bee lifeCompared to 2016 and 2017… the only word I could think of to describe this past year was normal.  2016 was an epic year, it was the year we got engaged, the year the Cavs won the NBA Finals, the year I transition into a new job, plus we had some awesome trips mixed into all of that.  2017 was of course #ourweddingyear including more vacations and just all around amazing-ness.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with normal – it was just figuring out what’s next after two amazing years of it all.

So as I tried to not to overlook our “normal” 2018, I started thinking back about everything we did.  From two great trips, including one new city, to countless days/nights with friends, pool days & birthday parties with our nieces, lots of weekends back home, and many dinners and day dates in between – our 2018 was anything but normal mainly because of all the wonderful people we spent our days with – which I think is evident with the pictures above.

I also had some personal accomplishments coming off a year of ups and downs, and finally getting my butt in gear physically and professionally.  It felt great to run two long races without stopping from our 10-Miler in April to our half-marathon in August — it makes me want to continue our running streak and find new races to run, while sticking to our favorite ones.  A few other accomplishments I was proud of was joining the board of a nonprofit and my one-year anniversary at my company!

So here’s to 2018 and loving the new normal in 2019!

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Happy Halloween – Throwback Ed.

| The Bee Life

In honor of Halloween, I wanted to share a few throwbacks from Halloween pasts.  Apparently I liked keeping my costumes simple – so I frequently did repeat costumes (more than I realized!) like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, I think it’s because I liked the ruby slippers so much!  I also recycled the 50’s poodle skirt girl in Pre-K and 3rd grade and then my Miss America costume was a hit in first grade and then repeated with an old prom dress my senior year of high school (not pictured!)

I’ve definitely had a few years that were not so hot and filled with extra chubby cheeks!  But the fun part for our Halloween costumes growing up is a lot of times we did the DIY route (before DIY was a thing) or found vintage clothes for the look.  Lately, the occasions for when B and I need to dress up for Halloween lately have been few and far between — but our last two decent costumes were Amy & Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory and Jim and Pam from The Office but that was even 2-years ago!

Did you ever repeat a Halloween costume? I want to know if I’m the only one, comment below!

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#EmnBWed – The Guys

| The Bee Life

When we were coordinating with our wedding photographers, I was a bit anti the “getting ready pictures,” mainly because I think a lot of them are overdone and just for the sake of the photographers portfolio, and me as the bride it may be great in the moment but in 20-years looking back am I going to be swooning over the artsy getting ready photos?

Well… maybe.

But I may be biased because my hubs is so handsome and these behind the scenes pictures captured precious moments of him laughing with his brother and parents, sweet moments with his niece (who shall not be named/pictured) and then just his overall happiness on our wedding day.  So because the guys don’t always get a ton of wedding love, here are a few of my favorite photos of the guys getting ready the morning of the big day!
I28A8992I28A8939I28A9052I28A8952I28A9057_TLOCCI28A9107I28A9231I28A9179B and I had fun putting together all of the pieces and parts for his wedding day look, after a lot of inspiration, we started with a custom suite in the most beautiful blue, then created a custom vest, and pulled everything together with beautiful ties and pocket squares from Sweden.  Without these pictures a piece of our special day would be missing, all those details lost, and these help complete the moments of that day!

Xo

 

 

 

Image Source: Timothy Logan Photography

Life After Wedding

| The Bee Life

Let’s keep the love train going! This weekend, B and I will be celebrating our 2-year proposal anniversary!! Yah, I know it’s a little obnoxious to celebrate every little anniversary or moment – but that’s what makes life special! And we always love an excuse to drink champagne and order Chipotle.

It’s crazy to think it’s been 2-years since we started this new journey of being engaged, wedding planning, and now living life married! After the wedding and all the holiday crazy, I had a weird lull – as I know many brides tend to have – where I kept asking myself; “Now what do I do?” We were consumed for almost 2-full years of planning, meetings, parties, and more planning for one single perfect day… and now it’s all over!  I loved planning our wedding, I would do it again, but our day was also so perfect and special I’d never want to replace it.
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So back to the question, now what? Well, we need to figure out a few trips this year, we have some ideas but nothing is finalized yet, we went on 4-trips last year, and I want to keep that up.  We are also figuring out and prioritizing house projects that have been on the list for the last 3-years… *smiles* … so looking forward to those, since that is something we both enjoy doing. Also, just continuing to experience more things together like more of our city, new foods, new adventures with friends and family and new hobbies.

I am also in the process of scrapbooking our wedding, which means I’ll continue to swoon over all of our gorgeous pictures, randomly post one or two now and then on instagram (or here!) and this lull will quickly turn into getting back on track to a normal life! A normal, beautiful life with B.

XOX