Guest Post::: Here's to you Mrs. Robinson

I'm really grateful to Janee for letting me guest post on her blog again while she moves!
She is a really great friend and is incredibly genuine.
{Which is why you all read her blog I'm sure :)} 

Last time, I talked a little about marriage and how I was trying to choose to forgive and be happy instead of hanging on to hurt feelings. Today, I thought I would talk about marriage again but this time share something that I have found is already starting to become a roadblock in just three years of marriage {and a 2-year-old and graduating from college and my husband getting his Master's, and going on to dental school and working part-time... all contributors}

I hope that maybe it will help you in your marriages and relationships as well!

In one of my college classes, we were shown a news segment of couples who were struggling in their relationship after they had children. They blamed their kids for their marital dissatisfaction, saying the kids made them too busy to spend time alone as a couple and made their relationship lack the excitement it once had. Later in the segment, a marriage counselor came to the families and gave them two pieces of advice:

1. Go on a date once a week.
2. Go to bed at the same time even if you are not tired. This will lead to some good, thoughtful conversation and maybe some much-needed (and deserved!) intimacy.

As I thought about this advice, the question that kept coming to mind was: “How did they let it get this far?”

These couples didn’t always have kids or busy careers or stressful schedules. At one point, they were newlyweds who probably couldn’t keep their hands off each other and could talk to each other for hours on end. How did they lose that spark?

The answer of course isn’t simple. People can argue that life’s responsibilities made it too hard to focus on their relationship, but I don’t always buy that.

Though I don’t know these couples personally, I can still guess that the source of their problems probably started with things becoming too “routine” in their relationship. They came to accept the daily grind and may have forgotten to make time for their relationship.

There were no dinner reservations, no movie nights, no dancing, no midnight pajama parties, no sharing of the last piece of chocolate cake while you get caught up in the drama between McDreamy and Meredith in “Grey’s Anatomy” (No? Is that just us?)

Too many have stopped trying to nurture their relationship, it seems.

And therein lies the problem. Life gets stressful, kids come along, jobs take over, and your relationship can be lost in the dust. You suddenly find yourself in your 60s, retired and empty nesters when you finally notice each other and say, “Who are you?”

Let’s be clear on one thing: life will get busy whether or not you have kids. Research has shown that on average, over the same period of time, couples with kids and couples without kids showed a decrease in marital quality. For some it was a big decrease and with others it was small, but there was still a sense of strain on the relationship as their lives got busier.

Whether you are married, engaged or just dating, it is important to start to get into good habits now. Schedule a weekly date night, eat meals together, set aside time each day to have meaningful conversations and go to bed at the same time. Because once life starts moving faster, you will need your partner’s love, comfort, and support more than any other. You will need to know that you are there for each other no matter what life throws at you.

And, besides, who can say no to midnight pajama parties??

Thank you so much again, Janee, for letting me share your blog space!
It is always an honor to be able to write for you! :)

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Thank YOU Megan for another wonderful post. I seriously love what you have to say and agree with your advice completely. In response to what you had to say here, I've been extremely busy with my business and other regular life stuff recently and I can say from experience that The Beard and I's weekly date nights have been invaluable. Making sure I stop what I'm doing when he gets home from work to have at least 20 minutes of meaningful conversation makes a huge difference in both our days as well. Quality time, whether it's your primary love language or not, is completely essential in any relationship. Especially in a marriage.

Way Behind

I  haven't posted my Instagram photos for the last couple weeks so I just thought I'd let you know they are all up on Pintrest now!

xoxo
Janee

Featured Artist::: Harmonie-intérieure

Friends!

I can't wait for you to see these "stickers" made by Harmonie-intérieure. Meant for home and event decor, they are simply wonderful. I want one in every room of my home!

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{{{Source}}}

xoxo

Janee

Guest Post::: Lauren {The Perfect Pear}

Hey its Lauren from The Perfect Pear! :)I've been really excited to be seeing flower crowns come into style lately! :) So I have to say I'm uber pleased with how mine turned out! I've been wearing it all day and I seriously cant get enough of it! Anyways, you should totally make one for yourself, you'll love it!

Step One: make a loop of thick wire big enough to fit your head. Right here is the perfect time to figure out where on your head you want it to sit!

Step Two: Cut the ends off all the flowers so you have about an inch left, then bend upwards near the flower.

 Step Three: Arrange flowers in order you want them to show, then lay one flower on outside of wire and tightly wrap with your thin wire.

Step Four: Lay the next flower over top of the previous one and repeat step three until you're all the way around the wire loop! If you happen to run out of flowers, use the leaves from the flowers and do the same as in step three!

Done! :) I cant wait to wear mine! Hope you are all having a fantabulous day/weekend! 

Happy Spring!

Guest Post::: Michael Ann Made

hey yellow bird friends! i'm michael ann from michael ann made where i share diy tutorials and projects to help us all become a little more crafty. for the month of may i'm running a series on becoming a more confident crafter with tips and ideas to encourage us all to try new things and practice our skills. i'm really excited to share with you today how to make a super simple phone case with a little bit of felt and thread. this is a perfect first time sewing project if you've been wanting to learn, so let's get started!

 

materials you will need - - felt! - a scrap of a pretty fabric - a little button you've been saving for just the right project - embroidery thread, embroidery needle, scissors - your phone (for measuring)

 

1 - cut out a length of felt that is as wide as your phone and 2 3/4 times as long. the bottom should be able to fold to be the height of the phone, and there should be enough to flap over about 3/4ths of the length.

2 - cut your little bit of fabric for the inside of the flap, long enough to hang down past the top of the other felt side about an inch.

 

3 - lightly draw out a scallop pattern on the edge of the top flap and cut it out of both the felt and lining fabric.

 

4 - start stitching! fold the bottom flap up and starting on the bottom of one side stitch all the way around. make sure you're sewing the two sides of the felt pocket together, and continue stitching so you sew the lining to the felt on the flap. i used a small basic running stitch, but you could get more fancy with a blanket or whip stitch.

 

here's a detail shot of stitching the lining fabric to the felt along the scalloped edge. just take tiny stitches and it will look great!

 

5 - after it's all sewn up, time for the button and button hole! use your button as a guide to mark how wide the button hole needs to be. mark with pins about an 1/8th of an inch out from either side of the button.

 

6 - stitch a little box with small running stitches to reinforce your button hole, and very carefully cut a slit for the button opening.

7 - stitch your button to the front side of the pocket so it lines up with the button hole.

 

now slide your phone in and show off your new fancy phone case, 100% handmade by you! i hope you have fun crafting, and i'd love to see any finished products you make! be sure to stop by the blog for more crafty goodness, and more tips for becoming a confident crafter.

happy crafting, and good luck janee on your big move!

So Much To Do

         ... so little time.

 

{{{Image via Pintrest, text by me}}}

As The Beard and I are about to embark on a journey that will change our lives forever this oh so trendy phase has been rattling around in my head. You know what they say about only living once? Well I feel like we are "jumping into the deep end" in order to live that life to the fullest.

I'm going to officially be away from my computer after this post. I may reply to emails here and there, but if we are going to be ready to go next Monday I need to focus on packing now. The excitement is definitely mounting. If you think about it, pray for us to have safe travels and to find an apartment quickly once we arrive. I'll do my best to post instagram photos to the blog from my phone while we're on the road; but I'll definitely miss you all.


+++ Here are some a lot of photos of our last-days-in-California adventures:::

Ice cream made with liquid nitrogen at A La Minute in Redlands, CA.

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A start-up band we met on State St. while eating our A La Minute. They let us name their band and sang a song about The Beard's beard. All the songs they played they cam up with on the spot. So awesome.

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Lemon and funfetti cake pops I made for our going away party.

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Photos of us and our friends at our going away party.

 CW

 Brother

Nephew

 Roomie

 Sister, her hubs, nephew

College friends

Us

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My precious nephew.

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 Haute Cakes in Newport Beach and Balboa Beach with my Roomie.

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Flower fields in Carlsbad, CA

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 Luna Bird

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My nephew and his grandpa on his 9 month birthday. Boating for the first time around Lake Arrowhead.

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:::WHEW::: So many photos. I'm sure I'll have a ton more for you when we arrive in Boston! Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful start to your summer. "See" you soon!

xoxo

Janee