Think back to the last time you had to drive somewhere for hours. Your foot is tired from driving so much and you just want to give it some rest. When you’re on a long stretch of road with few cars around or potential hazards, you want to turn on cruise control, right? This mechanism with a car has its pros: it can save gas and it keeps your driving consistent.

Today is a special day :) Four years ago on October 25th, Trevor and I made our relationship official. See, it was declared on facebook so it was official … haha This morning I went through my old journal from that time we were first dating and it was so special to go back and read all of that. I obviously knew our timeline and the words we said but there was something so tender about reading about it all, and especially my feelings during the rise of our relationship.

It’s no secret that this upcoming presidential election has got everyone on the edge of their seats, whether they strongly are for a candidate, are so against any candidates, or just don’t know what to think. Even people that like to stay away from politics are forming opinions. It’s been … interesting… right? One sad thing I’ve seen so far is all of the contention and even malice towards people with different political views.

This quote below is great to remember in times of disconnection and conflict. We try to look on their surface for any emotion to provide us with answers, but what’s showing on the outside might not be how they actually feel or think. You may think “He looks like he could care less right now! He’s stone-cold to me and doesn’t care about a resolution OR ME!” That might be what it looks like on the surface.

[sc name=“soundcloud” id=“287187167” ] On a weekend, recently, I was looking at the Instagram stories in my feed and one came up that bothered me. Someone snapped (I guess that’s a word now) their entire date night on both Instagram and Snapchat. I don’t have Snapchat, but I know this because the captions on Instagram were encouraging followers to also go over there to watch other parts from their date.

There are many choices and decisions to make that come throughout every marriage. Which is why I love this #freshfridays quote. When we make choices based on our fears it’s coming from a place of doubt. But when we make choices based on our hopes, it’s coming from a place of faith. Total opposites that can greatly change an attitude and even an outcome, right? I’ve been working on changing this way of thinking for myself lately.

Actor Chris Pratt just did and said some things about marriage and family that are too good not to share! Two things spoke out to me in this short article and I wanted to share those! (If you are short on time, go to #2, though!) TWO THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THIS: I love seeing couples make sacrifices for their marriage and family, whether small or large. To the rest of us middle class couples, taking 6 months off work to spend with your family is a BIG sacrifice, one that so few could afford to do anyways!

***GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED, WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT THE END OF THE POST*** Since summer is officially over, I wanted to cheer us up with a giveaway! I am giving away TWO of my “Wife Life is The Best Life” t-shirts! Woot woot! We know ya’ll want to rock this shirt right now. ESPECIALLY all those newlyweds who just got married this summer ;) You get to choose between these two shirt styles here.

After about a month of plotting, pinteresting, sketching, researching, purchasing, ironing, cutting, pinning, sewing, unpicking, and sewing again, I FINISHED MY HUSBAND’S QUILT! It turned out so well, and best of all, he loved it and appreciated it so much when I surprised him with it! WHY Last year my MIL made me a beautiful triangle quilt, and it’s been so comfy and matches our color scheme so well! I’ve been wanting Trev to have a specially-made blanket as well.

[sc name=“soundcloud” id=“282755491” ] Back in the dating life, I knew a few girls who would shy away from dating guys who played video games, simply because they instantly thought of it associated with a lazy, preoccupied husband. I have to admit that I dated a guy who played video games and at times I felt second to him because of it. So I can see where they got their judgements.

If you want ^^this^^ you gotta be willing to work for it [sc name=“soundcloud” id=“282494134” ] When people say that marriage is “hard work” (which it is!), it’s important to explain what kind of work that means so newlyweds don’t think exhaustion and stress is all they are getting into! I think it’s hard work because it’s a commitment that you’ve never encountered before. Our friends mean so much to all of us.

When life gets busy, it’s easy to just keep going and going, working at that to-do list. We let the little greetings we give to each other be enough. But you can’t go DAYS without truly talking with your spouse. Each of you NEEDS that. Whatever time of day it is that you are reading this, take that important pause in your busy schedule to ask your spouse how they are doing, in their day, in their week, or even in their current personal struggle.

Social media can make it seem like our marriages aren’t fun or entertaining enough, as if the time we do get with each other doesn’t matter if it wasn’t elaborate, if it wasn’t longer than an hour, or if the weekend was spent inside even though it’s beautiful outside. It’s easy to feel like that when your life is busy, or if there is something lacking in your relationship. My friend and Mr.

[sc name=“soundcloud” id=“282059984” ] Last month I heard something on funny on the radio in regards to marriage and wanted to share it :) The DJ said that if you’re having problems in your marriage, you don’t need to “throw your money away at an expensive therapist,” but instead just watch a romantic movie together at home and talk about it after… I know he’s probably getting this from some stupid article that came up recently, but for reals?

Super excited to announce that Freshly Married now has a t-shirt line on Etsy! I love this phrase because though being a spouse has its difficult moments, it’s still such a rewarding life! This phrase is all about looking at the positive in marriage! There have been a few rough things we’ve had to experience in our marriage, but even in those times I find myself taking on this mindset, that the good outweighs the bad, and that I wouldn’t rather be with anyone else :)

[sc name=“soundcloud” id=“282060301” ] This question is so important to the #freshlymarried perspective! I believe that our daily positive actions add up to create a strong marriage, and asking ourselves this question can help us do that. For those of you wondering what the word “fresh” has to do with my overall marriage message, you can read more here :) But using a quick example: when restaurants have items specifically made fresh that day and not days earlier, that’s a restaurant you want to eat at, right?

[sc name=“soundcloud” id=“282060156” ] So I got nominated to do that ‘Love Your Spouse’ Challenge, but I’m not going to do it. It might be surprising since I’m a huge advocate of marriage, and that I totally admire this challenge going around! It’s important to publically share your feelings about your spouse, acknowledge their talents and how they have influenced your marriage, etc. But I think there can be TOO much of that sometimes.

I want to gear this #freshfridays quote towards our emotions. No one is in control of our emotions except for ourselves. So when we react terribly towards something our spouse says or does, we have to own that. That’s why I love this quote, reminding me that I get to choose how I react to a situation, but that my choice is also important. There’s a few types of choices, I believe.

So many great things can come from having a doctor, nurse, etc. in your family; first and foremost having someone knowledgeable to help you when something medically goes wrong, and you don’t have to pay the all the fees! Obviously, they have to go through years of medical school in order to get there, making it a long process, especially when you’re married. Since there are many spouses who can relate to this situation, I turned to my amazing friend Raquel to give some inspiration and encouragement in this area.

Everyone knows that I’m a big promoter of date night. Especially with my giveaways. I just believe that it’s important to have time together alone with your spouse. :) But I don’t want to give anyone the idea that your time together has to be epic enough to be given the “date night” title. Date night shouldn’t feel pressured. All quality time is important! And in some life circumstances, we have to take what we can get, right?