scandinavian christmas

this year i am going for a scandinavian look for my christmas decor. i just love how simple it looks, yet elegant. pops of red, white, and pine. chad and i are going to be cutting down a real christmas tree this year from a tree farm! i haven't done this since i was 3 or 4, so i am beyond ecstatic to do this with my husband. i hope it can be a little tradition that we can carry over once we have our own little family. though it isn't quite time to pull the christmas decorations out, i am starting to really get the itch.. i have already began asking chad, but he says i have to wait until december 1st... i am thinking i just have to walk until the day after thanksgiving ;)

what is inspiring your holiday decor this winter?
images source

bundle up

top// madewell pants// american eagle shoes// target necklace// c/o blue nile hat// target

my closet has really changed over the past few years. i have noticed that my selection is smaller, but i actually like the majority of the closes and usually can find something to wear right away (less of those piles of clothes aside your closet after a morning of not being able to find anything to wear!!) i take a lot longer deciding if an item is right for me, and not buying things just because they are a good deal. for instance this shirt. i loved it right away, but wasn't sure if it was for me. so i returned it. but i kept thinking, oh man i wish i had that comfy olive button up shirt. (this is a true test if you have to have an item). so back i went to madewell to pick up this beaut. the same goes for my jewerly, i have really switched to classic items that i can wear with any of my items. i basically wear the same, higher end pieces every single day. that is why today i am teaming up with blue nile jewelers to give away one a new favorite of mine, the branch necklace. i always love sharing ;)a Rafflecopter giveaway

welcome to the new and improved honee bee!

after months of talking and planning between our web developer, adriana, chad, and myself , the new and improve honee bee blog has arrived! no more half honee bee, half bumble bee, business.when i first started this blog, i started it as a personal journal. i had no idea what i was doing (not that i really do now) but had no direction or purpose in the blog. after some time and thought i have decided that i want this blog of mine to continue being a lifestlye blog, but have more purpose to its content.  i am excited to head this direction and share with you what i have planned for this site.

whats new?

- new and improve navigation of the site

- the side bar now offers easy access to popular groupings and features, dress, marriage, recipes, and travel

- sponsorships/ad swaps are available! check the advertise tab to find more information.


whats to come?

honee bee will be launching several new things within the next few months. there will be new and improved style posts, recipes, and post about travel. posts will be better built and have a more specific focus. several old recipe and style posts will be removed and then reinstalled to provide a better consistency of content as the blog has dramatically progressed over the years. this development will be taking place and be "in the works" these next few months until the site is completely rebranded.

 major thanks to adriana who really help build and develop this site to my liking. if you are in search of a new blog layout i cannot express enough kind words about adriana.

i am very excited for all of the new changes that honee bee will be taking on and i thank you for supporting this little blog of mine.

over the weekend

over the weekend ...

...  chad and i had date night in.  (we are just loving these date night in lately ;) )  we didn't watch an audrey hepburn movie as i was hoping but settled for the untouchables which we really enjoyed.

... i went to yoga and finally relaxed

... i celebrated my friend michelle's golden birthday

.... i made monster cookies, with christmas colored m&ms!

... chad made a cozy fire and i snuggled up with a cup of tea (yay) and worked on homework (boo)

... i started dreaming of all of the christmas decor that will be in our little room in five short days!

... i keep talking about how i want i dog. i know, there are a lot of work. but they are so cute.

how was your weekend?

have a good weekend!

have a good weekend everyone!  this week has been a little more stressful then most. i dont really want to tell you how many times i may have broken down in tears. its funny thats the way life is. it isn't always easy, but necessary to move onto the next place in your life. we have to go through these little bits of change and work to evolve and grow. these "growing up" stuff is not easy! anyway, there is good news, the weekend is here! i am hoping to have a relaxing weekend (which i always say) but truly am going to make a point of it tonight. i am going to be staying in, drinking hot cocoa, and probably watch an old audrey hepburn move (i am thinking funny face). i hope you have a relaxing and fun weekend as well! 

need: accessories for prewinter

the seasons in minnesota

 fall: september-october
 prewinter: november-december, pre-winter
winter: january-march (or april... or may)
spring: maybe april-may
summer: june-august

living in minnesota you get glorious summers, but brutal winters. it starts getting cold in november and gradually progresses from cold to freezing. this is the time of year that i like. a little bit of chill, not a lot of frozen. the weather is cold, but it's not bad like january where you get negative temperatures the require long underwear 6 out of the 7 days of the week.  its like mother nature wants to give us a slow warning and wants us to warm up (ironic right) to the idea that it is going to get much, much colder. thats why i came up with a little "pre-winter" needs. pre-winter you can still pull off not wearing a sweater 90% of the time, and have much more flexibility with what items you want to wear vs. need to wear. i like this prewinter season, however i don't know if i am ready for actual winter yet.

what are your winter/pre-winter needs?

wallet//  lipstick// pants//  sweater// hat//candle// notebook// shoes

around and around we go!

in the cooler months, i always feel like it is much more difficult to keep a child entertained. the park is no longer a quick five minute walk away, you can't even play in the front yard. so what is a nanny to do ;) ? because i have been nannying full time for almost two years i have gotten pretty creative when it comes to indoor activities with children. for one, the malls become your new best friend. i have learned there is always a playground or kid area- and you can really get the littles to burn off all of their energy! two, the library is frequented much more. and three, you can find local classes or activities. last tuesday the little babe and i headed to toddler tuesdays (something we attend every week- great free twin cities area activity!). while we were there, i found out that the indoor amusement parks tickets were half off.   consider me sold! when the little one was getting restless, we decided to go on some rides. it was SO fun. her little face lit up once the ride began to take off (despite any of the photos i toke, she did not like it when i stepped away from her on the rides. i can't blame her, those rides are scary when you are a little person!)

we only went on a few rides but that was more then enough to keep this little one entertained. her favorite one was the merry-go-round. we sat on the pony and the entire ride she kept on saying "neigh, neigh!" then she turn to her neighbor, the rabbit and just stare at it as it moved up and down. needless to say, the rides were a hit and i think we will be frequenting them more often this winter. i am so lucky i get paid to hang with this little lady. 

three for the weekend

1. this weekend was the first one in seven weeks chad and i had been home together. seven weeks! it was nuts. needless to say, the weekend at home, together, was much needed. we started the grand weekend with a date night at home. recently we have had some unexpected expenses (isn't life fun) meaning out budget has gotten a little tighter which equates to less spending. so we have been taking full advantage of doing more date nights at home (something we really should try and do more often anyways). our date night at home usually starts by acknowledging that it will be "date night" on a certain day, a way to "build the anticipation". i'm not really sure if chad feels like that part is important, but i really do think it helps! i get all giddy thinking, "oh it's date night" and because they are so inexpensive, we can have more of them ;). like this weekend, we got to have two dates! friday was the hockey game/sequence date night and sunday was the coffee in bed date. we woke up, turned on some bon iver, and drank coffee in bed, until 11am. it was glorious. 

2. my sister, laurel  and her boyfriend came home this weekend! i always love when she is around and miss her terribly. but.. i suppose that is apart of growing up right? learning long distance... i just dislike it. anyway- because laurel was in town, my family decided to celebrate thanksgiving early. i made pumpkin cheesecake and ate a whole lot of that. i do love all of the yummy thanksgiving food food, but my soft spot of the thanksgiving meal is the desert. ;)

3. we also got extremely lucky on saturday night! somehow through a friend of a friend, we got last minute tickets to see the country artist brad paisley... in the front row pit. it was awesome.

what did you do this weekend? linking up with sami

a cuddly date with the couch

read: if you didn't know , the holiday season is actually a few days shorter this year due to a late thanksgiving. so i have decided that i am going to be embracing the holidays a little earlier this year. meaning my nightly reading is going to be shifting to the christmas carol. i haven't read this book since middle school, so i am so excited to re-read this classic.

wear: the best thing to wear while reading is a comfy sweater, and my reading glasses so i don't get a headache.

need: am i the only one that feels like they need an espresso after work sometimes?

dreaming: i frequently dream of owning some more cuddly blankets. there truly nothing that makes time on the couch more comfy then the right blanket.

the kind of healthy cookie: monster cookie

i know it is poor logic, but for some reason, if a cookie contains oats i consider it healthy. i know, its so incorrect but it just helps me feel just a little better completely indulging in such a great treat (and lets be honest, i do eat a few in each sitting). and i also have this great logic if it contains oats, it can be considered breakfast. not that i needed a reason to eat a cookie for breakfast. and not that this is good logic whatsoever. 

anyways... back to the monster cookies. a few weeks ago my sisters and i were talking about gluten free deserts. and i have to say for the most part, if it is made to be gluten free i am usually not a fan. i don't like those packaged gluten-free cookies that you can buy at the grocery store. they don't taste like cookies! the same thing comes to gluten free flour. i haven't found a good gluten free flour yet. and i really am not a big fan of using 4 types of flour in order to achieve a good "balance". all of these months i had forgotten about the glorious monster cookie, the one that doesn't even use flour. meaning that it is gluten free. 

its great.

with that, i whipped up a batch of these monster cookies saturday morning while my friend katie is over.  and... i hate to admit it but they are all gone. every last one. i like to say that i gave most of them away... but i can't promise you i did. 

so, if you are a fan of oats, peanut butter, or chocolate. you'll like these.  

tasty monster cookies

3 eggs

1 1/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 cup quick-oats

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

12 oz peanut butter

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup m&ms

1/2 cup chocolate chips 

1. preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper

2. in a large bowl, beat eggs and sugars. add salt, vanilla, peanut butter , and butter.

3. stir in chocolate goods, baking soda, and oatmeal

4. add to cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. 

**these cookies were a little tricky to get off the pan, so what i did was take the pieces of parchment paper off the baking sheet and let them cool on the paper before transferring them into other containers. it was much easier to do and it ensured that the cookies baked evenly. oat cookies can be tricky to tell when they are done. so make sure you don't over bake these cookies!**

now that i finished writing this, i think i am going to go make another batch. (kidding, well.. maybe not)

motivation via coffee

i think i need this coffee themed wall, like above, in my house. it would definitely help motivate me on the days that i don't feel like doing any work (like today). or maybe i should just drink more coffee? either way... if anyone has any motivating words to send to me, i'll take them. year round school is wearing me down. i cannot wait for my three week break in december. 

ps, have you checked out the giveaway that ends friday yet?

sister sweater

do you ever feel like somehow your sister, or close friend, will always have a cute item that you want to steal? that is the case with this sweater. it started off being my sister rosies, that is until she let me borrow it. she let me borrow it... and i kept wearing it... and wearing it.. she would ask for it back and i would say "it is in the wash". until eventually i just asked her if i could buy it from her :) luckily rosie said yes and now i am the proud owner of this comfy-cute stripped sweater. i do think i got the better end of the deal... but i won't tell her that, ha!

another item that i keep on stealing. winter accessories. crochet this has the cutest wrap around cowl neck scarves and boot cufs. i have ended up with several and love trying on all of their comfy-cozy products. the best part, all handmade right here in minnesota. so today one of you can win a pair of these cute boot cuffs. they are perfect as we transition into fall and welcome in the winter months!

**note, i just changed my commenting system, for those who commented earlier, i have your emails and your entry will still be considered valid** a Rafflecopter giveaway

fit report: winter activites

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well, winter is clearly on its way here in minnesota with snow and chilly temps in the forecast. this is all awesome and i really don't mind except for one thing. my ability to run. as i have mentioned several time through out this blog, i love to run. its my favorite form of exercise by far and this time of year always makes my relationship with running a little tricky. for one, i like to run in the daylight. this is more for safety being a women. and two, sometimes it is just too dang cold to run outside. especially when that sun goes down. 

so i am in need of a new fitness routine. aka, back to the gym i go. working out in the winter is way harder. you have to take off your clothes and put cold ones on, just to go back into the cold and head to the gym. its hard getting motivated to do just that, and the workout hasn't even begun yet. my goal of working out three times a week just got a whole lot harder.

but never mind here we can't let that get in the way of defeat, so i have come up with a few ways that i am planning on staying active during the winter/colder months.

soccer league chad and i signed up for a weekly soccer league that starts next tuesday. cannot wait!

yoga: i am really hoping to keep practicing yoga by attending a class once a week. there are a few good ones right by my fitness center by my house. for me, i know that i am more likely to back out of a workout after work (all i want to do is get home, cook dinner, and spend time with chad/homework) so i am going to try going to a wendesday morning class every week. if i miss that class, i hope to get to one on sunday evenings.

ice skate/winter hike: though the lakes haven't frozen yet, i am hoping to engage in more activities outdoors. you can bundle up and enjoy these things most months so i am going to make it a goal to do so every other week.

find classes at the gym, or equipment you really enjoy: realistically i will for sure be doing my soccer league every week but i am going to have to try and work out at the gym still. i love going to classes and hope that i can get better at doing this. otherwise, i do find the stair stepper enjoyable for some odd reason. i hope that i can have a good balance and do each of these things at least once a week.

how do you stay fit in the winter?

p.s. this is the new version of fit report. i used to post my fit report weekly, sharing my workouts with everyone but i felt like it got too repetitive so i have decided that i am going to continue with the fit reports but have them more designed to share a health and wellness or fitness topic, not just share my workouts every week. 

spotted: snow!

my super random all over thoughts about the first snow fall of winter 12-13: 

last night we experienced our first dusting of snowfall. i wish i could say i was super excited to see that white stuff falling from the sky. but all i could think about is how it just left... dang mother nature. but hey,  i gotta be positive, so cheers to the snow, after all the cold weather does give an occasion to drink more hot beverages. and i never mind extra espresso ;) i also decided that because the snow has fallen, it is totally acceptable to start blasting the christmas music. despite what chad says , hehe. and more snow means more sweaters right? i keep stealing this lovely sweater from my sister rosie... and i am becoming quite attached to it. cuddly sweaters are the best thing around during the fall and winter months.

have you seen any snow yet... or what are your thoughts on christmas music, too early? or not early enough? :)

sisters found at mile high

man oh man has october been a crazy month. a good one, but a crazy one. to end my month of travels one of my sisters, rosie, and i ventured out to denver to visit my sister laurel. it was a last minute thing, we saw flights for $90 and couldn't resist. it was just the thing i needed. my sister and i are extremely close and with one living in denver it is safe to say we all miss each other quite often. but luckily we talk often and when we do get together we have the best time, and it does help that laurel lives some where so beautiful ;). they aren't kidding when they say that colorado has 300 days of sunshine. every day we were there it was beautiful, we hardly needed out jackets! it was awesome. in addition to the beautiful weather we got to hike around, explore the city, and eat lots and lots of sweets. if you know anything about the anderson ladies, (my mom and grandma included) we looooove our sweets. so we fully indulge when we are on vacation. we had cupcakes, fro-yo, cupcakes, cake..... candy..... i know we have a problem. 

** lo-do denver, i love all of the twinkle lights everywhere!**

**life is constantly changing but i am so lucky to have these ladies by my side ;) **

this little sister weekend was so good for the soul. and denver, i love your sunshine.

linking up with sami

dress: whats in my closet

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closet is a woman’s sacred place. to some it might be a simple area for storing outfits and wardrobes, but some girls often consider this place as their fashion treasure chest. and whatever is hidden inside defines the personality of the owner. so without further ado, i am going to share to what’s inside my closet, in response to some emails i have received asking where to shop/where to find the basics.

1. clothing – i have a wide range of clothes and dresses to wear for all types of occasions. for day to day wear, i usually go for the simple t-shirt and jeans so i got some shirts from Gap and jeans from Madewell. i’m very particular with the gap brand because their styles are usually geared towards the young adult bracket and i like wearing it because it makes my look always up-to-date, its reasonably priced, and usually cut very well. not to mention they have lots of stripes, something that i love ;)

as for the gowns and dresses, i own some dresses that were made by ann taylor, roberto cavalli, and some of my favorites are from michael cinco. these dresses differ from styles and function and can mostly used in formal gatherings.

and the most important accessory... the bag. i have a few purses but mainly use my classic coach. as i have shared before i am a quality vs. quantity type of person, so i rather go with a few higher end leather items compared to cheaper varieties. 

2. shoes – i have a wide collection of shoes from Nordstrom and most of them are suitable for occasional events. i also own about 3 pairs of boots, (fryes and hunters are my favorite!) for my daily use and some running shoes from saucony.

3. keepsakes – i love keeping things that brings me back beautiful memories. like my wedding gown for instance, i really like looking at it over and over and relive all the moments i had at my wedding day. my dress was my mom's but before deciding to go with hers, i was considering getting my wedding gown from TheGreenGuide which is premier bridal site online and here is one picture of the gown that i adore! i love the beading the dress has. a wedding dress has such a story to tell about the wedding day itself. my favorite part is the green guide has great dresses with a reasonable price.

so, there you have it. some of my favorites shared with you. what items do you value in your closet? what about your keepsakes?
**this post was sponsered by TheGreenGuide but all thoughts are my own**