Latest Obsessions 02.21

Each year, I fall a little more in love with Valentine’s Day. And this week leading up to the day has me wearing hearts, lots of pink and snacking on a bunch of sweets! I have been completely obsessed with getting ready for Valentine’s Day and beyond. I’ve been stocking up on heart and love themed accessories to look festive, and also share love with those who might see me (even if it’s just through a Zoom). Here are a few of the pieces I’ve grabbed and other ways I’ve been getting ready to celebrate heart day!

Heart Tee’s. I’ve been obsessed with finding fun and sweet heart-themed shirts to not know wear for Valentine’s Day but will also work all year-round. This navy with colored hearts tee is so sweet and fun from Loft – they also have a sweat suit in this same print! Shop a few more of my pieces below.

Gimme All The Sweets! Confession time: my sweet tooth has been a bit out of control lately. From snacking on festive M&M’s, to pre-ordering Valentine treats from our favorite KEC — so naturally I had to make some homemade cut out cookies because I bought new Valentine themed cut outs! Topped with my mom’s homemade frosting recipe – these are not only too cute but they taste ah-mah-zing!

Heart Earrings. From oversized to understated, I found all the options for a touch of love to sprinkle from my ears. These oversized heart hoops from Target are so much fun and I had to have them as soon as I saw them — better for you, they’re now 20% off! I also got the these cute and sassy leopard faux leather heart earrings from a local CLE Etsy shop called Frantiques, they were must-have as soon as I saw them. Not to mention they’re so comfy and super cute!

Dressing The House With Pink & Red. Since we’re obviously staying in this Valentine’s Day, I made sure to dress our living room mantle and hearth with some dashes of red and pink! We spend most of our time in our living room, especially on the weekends and now it’s festive for the holiday.

Shop my pieces: White Clip Heart Long Sleeve, Leopard Faux Leather Earrings, Navy Heart Tee, Oversized Heart Earrings, Puff Sleeve Sweatshirt

After this Valentine’s Day holiday, I will definitely be needing to jump off the sweets train and jump back on the workout train (I’ve been so horrible!) But I’m excited to enjoy some extra special treats and a delicious dinner at home, while rocking a cute outfit and some fun accessories — I think I’ll be rocking the Puff Sleeve Sweatshirt and those oversized heart earrings. Putting on a real outfit will make it feel like we haven’t spent the last 41 consecutive days at home!

How are you getting ready for Valentine’s Day?

Latest Obsessions 01.21

January’s latest obsessions are coming in hot to share a few things that I’ve been loving on! I’ve been waking up and falling asleep reading my latest book obsession — and I’ve been getting excited working on some smaller project spaces getting the house organized for the year. I also recently shared my go-to pieces for getting organized, that work in ANY space. We’ve been watching a lot of sports with the NBA officially back (woo!) and our teams being in the NFL Playoffs, we’ve been engulfed in all of it.

Currently Obsessing Over & Reading: Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer — Yup, I am definitely a Twilight fan, although I was late to the game and resisted at all costs when it first came about. I first watched the movies and then read the books (definitely the way to do it). This latest book is all from Edward’s perspective and I am eating up this love story all over again — and I love being taken into a bit of a fantasy world.

Now Wearing: Headbands & Bows – I’ve always loved accessories that are bold, colorful and slightly obnoxious, although they’re usually paired with something much simpler. And I’ve had a lot of fun lately with bold hair clips, knotted headbands, and cute statement earrings — plus they’re perfect for looking halfway decent on a Zoom call!

Getting Organized! My accessory closet was in need of some purging, clean-up and glam organization — I’ve had so much fun finding clear and acrylic pieces to help me organize this space while also displaying all those fun accessories for my eyes to see. A few of those finds are in this picture including the acrylic shelves, stackable jars, necklace wall rack and the four-drawer jewelry box. See the full reveal here!

Most importantly, on top of all of these latest obsessions – I’ve been obsessed with making lists and getting things crossed off. From scheduling appointments, taking care of my health, to getting projects complete inside the office and at home — it’s been refreshing to cross off those to-do’s, especially in these long, colder winter months — while also keeping myself accountable!

What have you been obsessing over lately? What has gotten you up and going each day this month of January?

Latest Obsessions 09.20 – Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes

If you’ve been reading along, you may have seen my mom’s 60th birthday at the cabin in the woods! And one of my favorite parts that I still can’t stop obsessing over are the amazing cakes we ordered from our go-to local bakery; Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes also known as KEC. Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes is quickly becoming a household name in the CLE area, and it’s for a variety of reasons from her celebration of national holidays, like Harry Potter Day to having custom holiday menus and just a variety of delicious every day sweets available, you really can’t go wrong.

Let’s talk about her Party Cake Collection first. With a newly expanded collection of new party cake flavors — these are easy to order and fun to make a statement for any occasion. Whether you’re rocking a pink theme, in need of a smash cake or want something for a milestone birthday – these cakes are gorgeous and also allow you to add personal touches with birthday candles or a cake topper. Our go-to is the Reese party cake, it has layers of peanut butter and chocolate cake and a crispy crunchy peanut butter layer that is just so yummy. For my 30th we were able to get the Macaron Sprinkle (see below) aka a more delicious spin on funfetti cake, plus with KEC’s staple macaron’s on top. The next one we want to order is the Cookie Dough one, um YUM! Rule of thumb for ordering cakes from KEC, always try to plan at least a month out if not more — extra for busy seasons/holidays.

Next up is her Buttercream Cake Collection. This is another variety of cake designs that fit a number of special occasions and themes! We first tried her buttercream cake collection for our wedding — and we ordered a hand painted floral cake as B and I’s cut cake with a chocolate fudge flavor. Honestly it was so easy, because we picked the size, colors and example from one I saw on her instagram and then I got a special cake topper that personalized it more for our special day. The best part? We were able to order a mini recreation of our cake for our 1st anniversary! For my mom’s birthday we got the Retro Dot cake with a Vanilla Blackberry flavor. There are endless possibilities with the buttercream collection from colors to sizes and flavors!

Every other delicious treat. This is a loaded section, loaded of sweet, deliciousness. On top of making incredible cakes — KEC also offers a variety of cupcake and macaron flavors, cookie dough, cakesicles, cookies, and chocolate covered oreos. Getting a sleeve of macarons is always a nice party/hostess gift to bring for sampling with friends – or honestly just a date night at home – as you can get a box of 6 or 12! Another reason I like to go into the store to order my cakes is so I can grab a treat or two like a gigantic salted chocolate chip cookie or pick up the newest macaron flavors!

Holiday Menus. We recently took advantage and jumped on the train of ordering off last year’s Thanksgiving menu, and got an incredible spice cake (pictured below, in the middle) to bring home for the family! It was gorgeous, delicious and a fun piece to bring to our family feast. I unfortunately missed out on ordering off the Christmas menu — because you must order fast, as KEC only offers a limited number of orders for the holiday menus. I’m excited to see what she has to offer this year — one benefit of following her on social is getting the latest updates and info on when the menus are going to drop!

Ever since we got our wedding cake from Kelsey Elizabeth, it’s become a sentimental and go-to spot for special occasions and big birthdays — and also has me wanting and planning for our next cake, or another sweet treat! I mean you don’t always need a reason to order a delicious cake right?!

Latest Obsessions 08.20 – Bubbly Edition

Since National Prosecco Day 🥂 was August 13th and this year of quarantine and new normal has been anything but normal — I’ve pretty much been treating every one of the last 165 days like National Prosecco Day! So to keep on a good theme of 2020, I wanted to share my favorite accessories for bubbly drinking.

Freezable Travel Tote: I was gifted a PackIt freezable wine bag, that also happens to perfectly fit a cold bottle of bubbly! The tote, closes up nicely and is easy to carry – you can even through it over your shoulder. In between use you can just throw it in the freeze and it’s ready to go for your next trip. Best part of all is they come in a variety of colors and fun patterns to fit anyone’s personality.

Champagne Seal Stoppers: This is a must have, and you must have at least two! This is also a go-to travel piece that I throw in my purse, is that bad 😬 ? But seriously, it helps save a bottle for multiple nights – which helps give your bottle of bubbles some extra life. I’ve used two different types and they both seem to hold a good seal and deliver bubbles and a significant pop when reopening (watch out, sometimes it’s packs a punch!) Shop the stainless steal stopper and the silicone expander — you can’t go wrong with either!

Bubbly Glassware Options: I recently splurged some worn glassware that I purchased from Marshall’s — don’t get me wrong, they were great bubbly flutes, but after time the gold decals wore off. So, I thought it was time to invest in some nicer champagne flutes and decided to get a few different styles — because sometimes I love the stemless route and sometimes I like something a little fancier 🤷🏼‍♀️. I went for these timeless stemless champagne flutes with a gold rim from Pottery Barn. And for something a little fancier, I couldn’t resist these Monique Lhuillier Gaberielle coupes and flutes etched glasses, they’re stunning and also scream special occasion. They’ll be perfect for the holidays.

Even if you’re not a bubbly connoisseur, but maybe know one — these make great gifts and can easily be paired with a nice bottle of bubbles! So whether you’re celebrating National Prosecco Day (every day) or just celebrating a birthday or love bubbles, like me, these are a few essentials that you’ll want to add to your bubble drinking arsenal.

xox,

Local Love – National Donut Day

The world needs a little happiness right now, and I think we can start small with some delicious local dones! In honor of National Donut Day, I wanted to highlight our go-to gourmet donut shop, Brewnuts. Not to mention, it’s hard not to smile and swoon over the bright, beachy and pink decor that makes Brewnuts, even if it’s just to get donuts to-go.
Brewnuts has been able to continue to serve the great City of Cleveland even during hard times like COVID-19 and this past weeks BLM movements; they’re always a sound voice and ally for the entire community. The husband and wife duo breathe Cleveland which is evident in all that they do. Since food places had to transition to take out only, or close in mid-March, Brewnuts jumped right on board. They embraced the new guidelines including spacing out their waiting line with pink tape and sharing the latest updates through their Instagram.

Brewnuts offers a delicious weekly or bi-weekly rotating menu featuring the most decadent flavors that make you want to go every single week! You can also always count on them for pop culture themed dones, they’re latest? A Tiger King themed done. When social outings and events were a thing, Brewnuts always hosted fun themed parties to coordinate with their dones or just to support and celebrate fun Cleveland things
So, let’s get back to the main event – National Donut Day! Brewnuts of course has an incredible line up to celebrate National Donut Day featuring their top 12 fan favorite flavors: Cookie Dough Cheesecake Filled, Key Lime Pie Filled, Vegan Maple Cream Stick, Vegan Peanut Butter Oreo, Champagne Gummy Bear, Banana Golden Graham Nutella, Cake Batter Frosted, Cereal Milk + Fruity Pebbles, Funfetti Buttermilk Bar, Strawberry Sprinkle, Classic Glazed and Maple Bacon.

Um, YUM!

We also went there last week because they had a few must-have flavors including my favorite animal cracker fry cake and B wanted the brownie sea salt caramel. We also got Strawberry Shortcake and Vegan Blue Razz Lemonade. Our pro-tip especially with the take out options, and if you’re planning to go over the weekend, make sure to go early like when they first open — that way you can make sure to get your pick of flavors and maybe even avoid waiting in a longer line!

Brewnuts is the perfect spot to bring friends or family who may be visiting from out of town, even if it’s for take out! The donuts are big enough to share, but also not too big to finish one yourself, no shame! Brewnuts is our go-to post-race spot and is the perfect spot for a little celebration or a night cap.  Also you must follow Brewnuts on Instagram so you can swoon over their dones and get the latest scoop on menu updates and even when they’re sold out for the day!

Latest Obsessions 05.20

The weather is finally starting to break and it’s been so nice to spend weekends, evenings and even a few working afternoon outside in the sunshine and warmth. With quarantine and remote work continuing, I’m starting to get transition my mindset a bit more to try and embrace all of this a bit more. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions and mental health strain which I’ll be sharing more about on my Fitness Friday this month. So, with trying to transition my mindset, I’m trying to stay busy by planning for a few projects and a few other things I love, while living in workout pants and sports bras.

Mini Office Makeover. Fun fact; our home office wasn’t ever intentionally set-up for designed to be an actual home office. I know typing that out makes it sounds really stupid – but it’s true! Up until recently, B and I only occasionally work from home and would just set-up shop in the dining room or living room. Our home office was designed to be a fun space that serves as another guest room and home to our sports memorabilia. So I’m brainstorming on some easy, cost-effective ways to make this a bit more inspirational, fun and creative for a more long term working space. I’m thinking pink, and I’ll leave it at that.

Anything Bravo. I would just like to personally take a moment to thank Bravo (and bubbly), for giving me some sense of sanity and a mental escape throughout this super weird time that is quickly becoming the “new normal.” B and I have rewatched the entire series of Vanderpump Rules, even as this latest season wraps up. And my two favorite housewives series are now on, RHOBH and RHONY, along with Andy being back with his virtual WWHL which are still enjoyable.

Some Backyard Plans. Our back patio is pretty set and perfect, besides adding some seasonal plants around to spruce up the space a bit more. B and I have talked off and on about doing some additional privacy-scaping in the back area, but just haven’t gotten around to it. So I’m sketching up some plans to pitch to B, since he is jones-ing to get that project going. We’ve also chatted about adding a floating deck and hot tub… so we will see how that all fits in.

Travel Daydreaming. Flights are so cheap right now. It’s been really easy to daydream and want to plan and just book a flight. Airlines are also still offering no charge rebooking fees (at least Southwest still it!) so it’s eliminating some of the potential risk. It’s just so hard to plan right now, and it breaks my heart to think we might not travel on an airplane this year — but I’m still hoping.

So you’ll be catching me this weekend making some plans, getting inspired and definitely watching some bravo while sipping some bubbles and daydreaming of the day that we feel safe to fly on an airplane again and explore the world. And I’m still obsessing over Target Drive-Up, it’s been well over two months since I’ve actually stepped foot in one.  What’ve you been obsessing over lately?

Latest Obsessions 04.20 – Spring Purchases

One of my latest obsession has been Drive-Up pick-up at Target! I was always a fan of in store pick-up pre-coronavirus, but never felt worthy of Drive-Up. But that has definitely changed and I’m sure it will be a new favorite that stays once things go “back to normal.”  I’ve been limiting my outings and in doing so, been doing a good job at not shopping for non-essential items, but there have been a few things I’ve recently splurged on from Target and a few other online gems, that I wanted to share!

Fruit Dinner Plate. The Opalhouse collection continues to release beauties at Target and has always been a favorite collection since they launched a few seasons ago. When I saw these bright and festive melamine dinner plates I had to have them – plus they gave me some subtle Cinco De Mayo vibes.

Embossed Floral Tumbler. With the weather warming up, outdoor dining is on my mind! Since I grabbed some new summer-inspired dinner plates from Opalhouse, I also decided to grab some cute, plastic and durable tumblers for entertaining outdoors – not to mention these are nice worry-free glasses to have around the house.

Shop My Recent Purchases: Fruit Dinner Plate | Embossed Floral Tumbler | Vintage Yahtzee | Gold Rim Champagne Flutes

Vintage Yahtzee. We’ve been dabbling in a bit more board games than normal, and one staple that we don’t own is Yahtzee! We always play it when we’re home visiting my parents, so I was shocked it took us 30 days into quarantine to figure out we needed to order it. Needless to say, it’s on the way and I love the vintage style of this version we bought.

Gold Rim Stemless Champagne Flutes. I’ve been in the market for some new champagne flutes, so I popped over to Pottery Barn to see what they had! I wanted something classic and usable, these gold rimmed stemless champagne flutes were the perfect addition, plus they are on sale!

The second best part of my Target Drive-Up orders, is I also treat myself to some Starbucks (and yes I’ve waited 30-minutes in the drive-thru for my Starbucks fix)! But my new routine is an early morning Target pick-up about every other week, that way the Starbucks waits aren’t too long and I’m back in time for my morning meetings! What have been your latest obsessions? 

Latest Obsessions 03.20 – Quarantine Ed.

I think it’s time for a little fun, anyone else feel the same way? As I’ve mentioned in a few of my last posts — things have changed pretty quickly these last few weeks especially in the state of Ohio, but I’ll share a bit more of all that in a upcoming recap post about March.

Anyways — since social distancing, self-quarantining and virtual happy hours are quickly becoming the new norm, there hasn’t been a whole lot to do, or a whole lot that we’ve wanted to do as this pandemic continues to creep and sweep into communities and the nation. It’s so important that we continue to remain as positive on all the changes, so that is why I’m sharing with you my latest quarantine obsessions.

Getting Outside. Sadly, we live in Ohio which means March/April weather is always hit or miss and I’ve gotten a little jelly of the quarantine folks on the West Coast or down South who are out riding bikes or just sitting in the sun!  But, stay positive! We’ve still been making it a point to either bundle up and get Moz out for a walk, or even pop down to nearby parks for some new scenery that helps break up the day and is 100% fresh air intake.

Workout From Home (WFH). Much to my dismay, I’ve embraced working out from home but also to my coaches credit has become somewhat easy since he’s been sharing free workouts online that are mostly body weight and easy to do at home! The best part, is if you’re looking for some more WFH routines, you can access all of them on my coaches YouTube channel. A few of my favorites so far have been the Cardio Fat Incinerator, Body Weight Workout, and the Post St. Patty’s Day Blitz (good if you’re a bit hungover!) Need a little added Fitness inspo? Read my latest Fitness Friday post to get motivated.

Game Night. This should be no surprise, but board games are making a come back! And I even like to throw in a few card games, because we have a few go-to card games that we love to play (Kings in the Corner + Blitz) when we’re just sipping on some beverages, listening to music and hanging out. On the docket for this weekend is playing LIFE! B and I have never played this game together, so it’s fun this will be a first for us.

Not Planning for the Future. I am definitely a planner — and what makes me even more scared is everything that just gotten cancelled in March and now quickly becoming April being queued up and squeezed into 8 short months. *smiles* Yes, we still have a few trips we need to reschedule and figure out, but for now I’m just letting things be and hoping we can start planning again soon, but for now eliminating that stress and just not planning anything (it’s sort of refreshing – at least for now!).

A few other things we’ve been trying to do to stay close to home is ordering in-store pick-ups as much as possible, ordering UberEats from a few of our favorite local spots to give them as much love as possible.  We also stocked up on a few supplies so that we could tackle a few house projects, which I’m so excited about!

Latest Obsessions 02.20

It’s Valentine week! And I have been obsessing over all things Valentine’s, can’t you tell?! From home decor, homemade valentines, picking out a meaningful gift and even getting wardrobe ready for the day of hearts — it’s been X’s and O’s, conversation hearts, everything pink and lot’s of love over here at the Bee residence, so let’s get to it!

Festive Valentine Sweaters. I couldn’t resist getting a festive oversized heart sweater for this Valentine’s Day!  I’ve had my eye on this sweater for some time now, but thought I would get it in grey or a lighter pink — but I went for the white with a bright red heart and I absolutely love it. Unfortunately these are selling out quick on Amazon, but I found a few other fun Valentine-heart inspired sweaters that you can still snatch up before the holiday!


Shop the pieces: Red Heart Sweater from Loft ($59.50), Pink/White Amazon Heart Sweater ($26.99) + Prime Friendly option, Blue Hearts & Stars Sweater from J. Crew ($115), Sweater with Heart Elbows ($22), Dog is My Valentine Tee from Target ($14.99)

DIY Valentine Decor. From my floral letter X’s and O’s door hanger craft to my hand painted table runner, the Valentine crafts have been sweet and festive for a personalized touch around the house! I shared how I made this table runner for under $20! It was so easy, super affordable and makes such a sweet statement across the dining room table. If you want to see the full DIY breakdown, check out my blog post here. If you’re hoping to make some custom, cute and thoughtful Valentine’s — I made these cute wooden love letter’s that are festive and cute and perfect for everyone!

Shop the pieces: Plain table runner from Amazon, Heart tassel garland from Target 

Galentine’s Brunch. I’m slowly regretting not actually hosting a Galentine’s brunch this year and will definitely have it on my to-do next year! What sounds better than a table of all your favorite girls, delicious brunch and mimosas? Not a whole lot, especially in the middle of February! In case you’re trying to finalize your Galentine brunch deets, check out my Galentine’s Brunch Planning guide, here!

Although I’ve been all about Valentine’s Day, I must admit I haven’t thought as much about a gift for my hubby, B — but the last few years, we’ve taken the less extravagant route and will probably spend our time staying in, cooking a tasty meal, playing some games and exchanging thoughtful notes/cards to each other. If you’re looking for something a little more meaningful, my Valentine Gift guide features five FREE ideas that will still show your Valentine how much you really love them! Happy Valentine’s Day!