travel

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.

Goals for 2016

| The Bee Life

Okay, okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to share my goals for 2016, I sort of changed my mind… I’m going to share a few, the rest are just for me!2016 Goals - the bee life - emilyboylan.comHow am I going to accomplish each of these goals?  Well, it’s not going to be easy… but here are a few ideas:

  1. I am already signed up for one race, and about to sign-up for my second.  Then I’ll just need to find two more for the summer/fall seasons.
  2. I’ve got something up my sleeve, and I’m excited to share this will all of you, but not yet!
  3. In July we have a wedding in Denver to go to, so that’ll check off one new place – B and I always have the travel bug, so I hope we will figure out another fun trip!
  4. This is something I’ve been working on, but haven’t made a focus; and I want that to change.  There are many aspects of this, less Starbucks, less eating out, less house projects!, etc… so I’m going to learn to say “No” a little more, even if that means saying “No” to me.
  5. I’ve made many excuses this past year and I’m over it – so I’m hoping that better 30-day focus and my Friday Fitness blogs will help some of you, as well as me!
  6. Without technology!  It’s a bad habit, and I do love my social media, but I find us too often browsing when we could be talking or paying more attention to each other. That’s one example of how to accomplish this.

Another goal is to focus on these goals (I know that sounds silly, right?) and modify them and re-evaluate these when needed, if needed.  Goals are meant to be reflected on, and worked towards gradually and if they aren’t reviewed regularly, chances of success are few.

So remember to focus on your goals and have check-in’s so that you can have 2016 success!

Weekend in the Woods

| The Bee Life

This past weekend B and I got out of town for a quick weekend getaway to the Cabin in the Woods.  I grew up in the country, but even this place is a little bit in the middle of nowhere for me.  I couldn’t even tell you where the closest gas station or grocery store would be, nor do you pass one on the way.


It’s always nice to get away to this little retreat, it’s so quiet and peaceful – but also extremely buggy. Plus it’s super close to one of our favorite breweries – Southern Tier, so of course we headed up there for the afternoon too.  Tasty beers, great food and an awesome atmosphere – we stay for hours.  We’ve made a yearly tradition out of it, but will definitely be going back before Summer’s end.

When we are back at the cabin we usually relax, and play board games (like Sorry!) and walk around the property with Moz.  She was super fascinated with the frogs while we walked around the pond, every time they jumped in and made a splash she would get scared and then become super curious! It was so cute. We also visited a homemade ice cream shop in the nearby ‘town’ – massive portions, huge selection and so cheap!

It was a fun – quick weekend away. I love creating memories, and traditions with B, even if they’re simple.

12 hours in the city

| The Bee Life

15.5 hours on a bus.
12 hours in the city.
19.1 miles walked.
33,768 steps.
Countless memories.

Yes. you read that correctly we did it again.

B got us tickets to New York City for my birthday back in March, and this past weekend was finally our trip! We took the megabus overnight from Rochester to the city, arriving mostly on-time at 7:30AM. First stop: Starbucks for some coffee, food and freshening up.

From there my detailed itinerary led the way for our adventures for the day. Next stop was Washington Square Park, the iconic spot from many movies but especially one of my favorites, When Harry Met Sally. To get there we were able to travel through Chelsea and Greenwich – and then finally to the arch.  It was massive! And the park was beautiful with a large fountain, it was so quiet and peaceful.

Next we ventured through SOHO – which was fabulous early in the morning, before everyone was awake.  We got to see a film crew filming TMNT – 2, but did not see anyone famous.  Is anyone famous even in that movie? We finally made our way to the 9/11 Memorial Fountains. It was breathtaking, I got a bit choked up reading some of the names and being at the memorial, it was beautiful and they are completely massive. The new building, One World Trade Center is quite the site to see as well, standing tall over the two memorials.  This was one of B’s favorite parts of the trip too.

We then walked the Hudson River Greenway down to Battery Park. Where we were able to get on the Statue Cruises ferry to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island. This is the first time that B and I got to see the Statue of Liberty, and wow, seeing her close up is incredible, there is nothing like it. We had way to much fun taking selfie’s with her, and watching the million of tourists with their selfie sticks taking pictures with her too… so many selfie sticks.  Not to mention, the views of the city were remarkable, talk about a skyline.

We jumped back on the ferry to pop over to Ellis Island, where we did not stay too long.  It was a beautiful place, and the museum was massive – B and I don’t like crowds and the amount of people running around that place just sent us in a head spin. We got back on the Ferry and headed back to the mainland. Next stop: Wall Street and the famous bull.  Both were packed/surrounded by tourists – you literally couldn’t even get a clean photo with the bull because people where just swarming it, I wasn’t even interested after seeing that… We ventured over to the Seaport area and found a little Italian place to eat called Il Brigante Restaurant. The salad and pizza we shared were amazing.

Then my feet were killing me. So we just briefly checked out the Brooklyn Bridge – it was PACKED with people. It would’ve been so obnoxious to try and walk the whole thing, definitely an early morning activity for our next trip. We made our way back to SOHO and I found a Crocs store (not my first choice, but a last resort).  They surprisingly have super cute shoes! I got a cute pair for a steal of $20 and my feet where like brand new.  By this point in the day the rain had started to fall a little more steadily.  We Starbucks hopped and made our way over to where the megabus would be picking us up… only after getting completely soaked in the rain.

Our bus was 45-minutes late, causing us to get even more soaked standing outside waiting for it, we were a little miserable.  The 8-hour bus ride back was just as freezing sitting in wet clothes with air blowing on you. It was nice to get into my parents car around 3:30AM with warm sweatshirts, a blanket and Miss. Mozi!

Washington Square Park
9/11 Memorial Fountains: North Pool
South Pool
One World Trade Center
View from Battery Park Pier
Ellis Island
View from Ellis Island
Il Brigante Restaurant
Il Brigante Restaurant
Il Brigante Restaurant
Brooklyn Bridge Madness
Momofuku- Milkbar

Despite the cold miserable ending, B and I had a great trip… another adventure for us to look back on and remember.  I love going on adventures with B, exploring new places and seeing beautiful places.

We both agreed next time we visit NYC, we will be flying and staying in a hotel – no more megabus. Although we’ve loved the trips we have had, they’re definitely a whirlwind.

Daydream Friday

| The Bee Life

I woke up the other morning wanting to travel. I had a dream that I was in Paris going to see the Eiffel Tower, and now my imagination and hopes to travel are endless, I’m itching to go somewhere.

“Paris is always a good idea” – Audrey Hepburn

So of course, whenever I get on one of my “we need to travel” fits, I jump on Expedia and see how much a week long sabbatical would be.  I then proceed to text B and tell him “It’s only $3,500 to go to XXX place for a week!” to which he is probably thinking… “here we go again…” It’s a thing and every time it’s a new place.

My Top-5 Dream Vacation Spots*

Greece
Dublin, Ireland
Paris, France
Italy
Germany

*Subject to change at any moment. 

So on this beautiful Friday, I continue to daydream and plan out a million different vacations costing thousands and thousands of dollars that I don’t have… yet. I do know that I will see the world, slowly but surely and I can’t wait to do all of that with B.

Until then a girl can dream… Literally.

throwback thursday – may 2014

| The Bee Life

This time last year, we were in the final stages and days before the Rite Aid half marathon… with full weekends before and after, the entire month! And this month, we have had a few busy weekends, but nothing nearly compared to last year.  As much as I complained and wanted a free weekend last year … and as much as I like to keep my free weekends this year, I feel like I am already off to a boring start to the “summer” with no real vacations or trips (just one) in the future sights.

So many great memories and milestones happened a year ago this month; #DazzleCLE, my cousin’s senior prom, B’s sister’s college graduation, our three year anniversary, we ran our 6th half marathon, our friend’s got married, my cousin’s HS graduation party, and B’s first time in NYC.

I’m grateful for all these memories and times, and can’t wait for all the unplanned moments this upcoming year!

Happy Thursday!

#emnbtoJH

| The Bee Life

Hello!

I was on a bit of a hiatus, I was vacationing all last week in fabulous Jackson Hole, Wyoming… I know not your typical vacation spot, but it’s mine!  As I was traveling out to JH, I realized it had been 5-years since I had last been, compared to going every summer during high school.  It felt like such a long time since I had been there, even though not much had changed. The Grand Tetons were still gorgeous as ever.

I was beyond thrilled to share this special place, that has been near and dear to my heart for almost a decade with B.  He is used to beach vacations, so this trip was completely different for him.  You can’t truly appreciate the experience or the beauty until you have been there, the pictures don’t give the mountainous scape justice. Here is a quick recap of our week!

Trip Highlights:

Horse back riding, hiking up Mt. Rendezvous, our happy hour night, and the various wildlife spotting: multiple moose, elk and buffalo.

Yellowstone National Park
Moose
The Grand Tetons
Horse back riding
Selfie!
In town
Happy Hour on the Deck
Mt. Rendevzous Hike
“Top of the World”
We did it!
Morning Coffee View
Million Dollar Cowboy Bar
Jenny Lake Lodge

The memories that I’ve made and the experiences I’ve had going to JH every summer are ones that I will never forget, and that is why I will always keep going back and also why I wanted to share it with Bentley.  It was a great trip, and I am glad B and I got a chance to take this vacation along with my parents!  It is the first of many trips for us, and I love exploring the world and all the different places. Time to start planning our next adventure!

11 hours in the City

| The Bee Life

First: To get you into the empire state of mind… queue Jay-Z and Alicia Keys…

One of my NYE resolutions was to travel more…

This past weekend, B and I went on a whirlwind trip to New York City.  For my birthday, Bentley got tickets to a Yankee’s game in NYC. So we could see Derek Jeter play one last time at Yankee’s Stadium before he retires… I have been waiting since March for this!!

So we decided to take the Megabus from Rochester, NY (that way we got to see my parents too!) over night on Friday. We were suppose to leave at 11:50pm, but didn’t end up leaving until 12:50pm, Megabus was late!  We arrived in NYC around 7:40am on Saturday.  Our bus back to Rochester would be leaving at 6:40pm that same night!  That gave us 11 hours to explore the city.

This was Bentley’s first time visiting NYC, and only my second.  I was last there when I was 13 for another Yankee’s game at the old stadium.  Our goal of the day: explore and see as many landmarks as possible!

First stop off the bus was Starbucks for some coffee and breakfast!

Next stop was the Empire State Building.  After doing some research prior, we knew roughly how much it would cost and that we wanted to go up to the 86th floor and the 102nd floor and that there was an express option to avoid lines. Well we got talked into doing this “Sky Ride” flight simulator through NYC (#tourists), thinking we would have express access to the 86th floor and102nd floor.  Well that didn’t end up happening (86th floor only) and the Sky Ride was horrible. BUT… when we got to the 86th floor and saw the panoramic views of the city, it was absolutely incredible.

From the Empire State Building we walked to prime spots including: Time Square, Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios, Madison Avenue, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Park Ave., Trump Tower, Tiffany’s, Central Park, and of course Yankee’s Stadium.

We found a nice cafe in Central Park that we could sit and enjoy lunch, before heading up to the Yankee game. We caught a cab and got to Yankee’s Stadium.  It was so surreal and amazing to be there, not to mention Jeter played great (disclaimer: born and raised in NY, Yankee fan since birth).  I also got a Derek Jeter foam finger, and collectors baseball… of course.

Before heading back to the bus, we found a classic New York styled pizza restaurant (John’s at Timesquare) and chowed down on some pizza!

Overall, the trip was so much fun, just walking around the city, exploring, and site seeing with B.

We arrived back into Rochester around 2am, arriving back to my parents around 2:30am… and hit the sack.  It was long, but so worth it.  I mapped our walk around NYC and we probably walked about 10 miles, only catching 2-taxi rides – my feet and legs were killing me on the bus ride back!

We got to spend time with my parents the rest of Sunday before heading back up to Cleveland. It was a perfect little weekend.

xo -eb

Now to end… classic Frank (and some pictures!)