wedded bliss wednesdays: marriage advice

So since I missed out on last weeks questions, and havent had a chance to ask hubs any of the questions for this week, Id figured I would just answer last weeks questions today! (confused yet? yeah me to, just read lol)

1. If you could give one piece of advice to any married (or soon-to-be married) couple, what would it be?
Enjoy being just the two of you. I know alot of ladies out there (including myself) are in a rush to start a family as quickly as possible after the wedding ends, but really take the time to enjoy it being just the two of you. husband.and.wife. you'll have kids to worry about the rest of your life. take impromptu vacations, sleep in as late as possible, go out to dinner at expensive restaurants, hell fly across country if you can afford it! lol.
Oh and my one personal moto: never go to bed angry with each other. after 10 years with my hubs, i can count on one hand the amount of times we've gone to sleep fighting. We may have to stay up to wee hours of the morning to solve of a disagreement (and it may just to be to agree to disagree), but this way when you wake up, you can start the day fresh and forget about the previous days problems.

2. What is an absolute MUST for any marriage/relationship?
HONESTY! oh and TRUST. but I guess those both go hand and hand. And im not talking about just telling the truth to one another, im talking about honesty of the heart. meaning there are no secrets, and there is no need to even have secrets because you want to tell the other person everything. including things that make you angry, happy, sad, hopeful, and everything else! 

3. What is the #1 no-no in a marriage?
Cheating. I just hate that word. I would rather the person just say that they no longer want to be with the other, rather than going behind their back and fooling around with someone else. And this goes for both the man and woman. Again this goes back to the honesty and truth thing. It should never come to this point, but at least be honest with yourself and/or your partner about your relationship. 

4.What is the biggest lesson you have learned from your marriage?
I know it may be easy to pick a fight when you disagree about something with your significant other, but Ive come to realize that in the end, we are both in this together. Neither one of us is out to hurt the other, and were always looking out for the best interest for the other. So if there is something that is really on your mind, you have to remember to communicate with your partner. You may think its easier to just let something slide by, opposed to starting a fight about it, but if your honest (theres that word again! lol) with each other, then it will be easier to just tell your partner how you are feeling, rather than letting it boil over a couple days, weeks, or even months, and it turns into something way more, when you could have just said what was on your mind. (yes that was the longest run-on sentence ever!)

i can truly say i married the love of my life, and although he may get on my nerves ever now and again, i couldnt imagine living my life without him.

Dont forget to go link up with Allie & Kay

 

Show & Tell: Shopping

This weeks theme for Show & Tell is Shopping. Now if you dont remember this here lil post, Ill clue you in that I have a major shopping problem :/

1. Tell us your favorite stores to shop at.
Target. Old Navy. Macys. Carters. Amazon. Best Buy.
Deal Sites: Zulily. Totsy. Groupon. Living Social. Hautelook.

2. What are you "signature pieces" to wear.. your go-to outfits?
Definitely jeans, tank top, and reefs or maxi dresses.

3. Show us your style through pictures {of you or pinterest finds}.
Sadly, I dont take alot of full length body pictures to be able to show you my style, but as I mentioned above, its normally jeans and tank. But these are definitely styles I love. (check out my style board on pinterest too!)

                                                          Source: blacklabelboutique.com via Lisa on Pinterest

                                                             Source: blue-star-marie.polyvore.com via Lisa on Pinterest

                                                                       Source: johnna-cameron.polyvore.com via Lisa on Pinterest

                                                                               Source: shopbop.com via Lisa on Pinterest

4. Show us your favorite celebrity style icons.

                                                           Source: thebudgetbabe.com via Lisa on Pinterest

                                                               Source: thebudgetbabe.com via Lisa on Pinterest

                                          Source: thebudgetbabe.com via Lisa on Pinterest

                                                Source: thebudgetbabe.com via Lisa on Pinterest

5. If you had to spend money on clothes or home items, which would you choose?
Thats a hard one. I feel like our house could be so much more decorated, yet I feel like I spend waaay more money on clothes than home items.

6. Show us your favorite accessories.
Honestly, i dont really wear alot of accessories. Just my wedding band and engagement rings, a bracelet and a purse. But I do admit I have alot of purses! the majority of which are Coach :D

7. Tell us in one sentence your philosophy behind shopping. {What makes you buy an item}
Well lets see, if its a good deal, or if i have a coupon for it, it usually comes home with me! hehe, bad I know, but honest none the less. lol

wedded bliss wednesday

 

Love this idea Allie and Kay came up with:

Each week link up and show off your amazing husband or man!! We can exchange tips and tricks and just have fun talking about our loves! Let's grow all of our marriages by learning from each other!  You can vlog your questions, write your questions, interview your husbands, let your husband guest post - get creative!!
The deets: Chances are, your readers know all about you! But what about your husband? Lets give our men the spotlight this week and introduce the blog world to your other half!

Introduce us to your husband! (What's his name? How old? What does he look like?) 

So my hubby (and highschool sweet heart) is Matt. He is 28yrs old and is pretty handsome if I do say so myself! ;)

2010 from our wedding

What is your husband's favorite thing to do?

My husband absolutely loves to fish! Unfortunately we cant afford a boat right now so he has to wait until someone invites him out on theirs. Hopefully one day we will have our own. Matt has been looking forward to teaching Matthew to fish one day and it would be awesome if it was out on our own boat.

2003 -lmao he'd kill me if he saw this up here

What does your husband do Monday-Friday? 

He works as a recruiter for a large corporation who is an outsourced customer service call center. Funny though, he used to work in construction and when he switched fields its like he became a completely different person. He now loves his job and comes home happy even after a long day at work. Its not necessarily the best paying job, but he is gaining some great experience with a great company.

What was the FIRST thing you noticed about your husband when you met? 

Definetly his eyes. They are the most beautiful blue color, and luckily Matthew got his eyes (at least so far, they havent changed and hes already almost 4 months (omg just realized tomorrow is 4 months) so were thinking they might stay this way) 

What is your husband's BEST quality?

Definitely his humor and outgoing personality. He can make me laugh even on my bad days. And hes so incredibly outgoing, I swear no matter where we go there is always someone who knows him and insists on coming over to say hi.

What is your husband's biggest pet peeve?

I would have to say he absolutely despises when I interrupt him. And although I hate to admit it, I do it alot more often than I should. And its not necessarily because I try to interrupt him, but more because Ill forget the point I need to make if I let him continue. lmao 

How does your husband feel about blogging? 

He doesnt really mind that I do it, but its a whole 'nother story if I ask him to partake. Hes not really into the whole expressing his feelings and emotions publicly. And after I convinced him to do TLC's: A Conception Story with me last year when we were trying to get pregnant, I doubt hes ever going to willingly blog/vlog now. (unless I promise him things that should not be talked about here lol)

What is something you do/can do that makes your husband feel loved? 

I know for a fact that he loves spending quality time with me. And I know that sounds so cliche and corny, but its extremely true. You see with a new baby, my obsession with reading, my need to blog, and the numerous house projects we have, we very rarely get to spend good quality one-on-one time. If you follow me on pinterest you might have noticed Im starting to pin alot more "date night" ideas. And please, any suggestions you may have, I would love to hear them!

2011 - Camping in Conneticut

So thats its, you'v met my hubby. Now go introduce us to yours!

show & tell: all my favorites

I love linking up with other blogs, and I especially love this week's Show & Tell: All my favorites! So read along and get to know me better, and then go linkup yourself so we can get to know you!

1. Tell us about your 5 favorite memories in your life.

December 2008 Cruise on Navigator of the Seas
For my college graduation/birthday present to myself, hubby and I took a 5 day cruise to Cozumel & Belize. I also thought that this was going to be the perfect timing for Matt to propose to me. HOwever, 2 days before we left at my graduation party, he came to me and said "I know you think that I might propose, and I really dont want to disappoint you, but I just cant afford a ring right now, please dont be mad, I love you, and as soon as we have enough money I will get one for you." Although I was sad, i understood, and told him not to worry about it. Needless to say, 3 days later right before we were about to go to dinner on the cruise ship, Matt proposed right in front of one of the professional photography stands on the ship. I was so surprised I didnt even look at the ring until we had walked away since everyone was starring at us. 

Our Wedding
To this day, everyone who attended our wedding, said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. And not only did I get to marry the love of my life, but I got to share it with so many wonderful people. Oh and yes, there was an open bar, and we may have made the light fixtures fall out of the ceiling due to our DJ turning the music up just a lil too loud. (hey we're a rowdy crowd, what can I say?)

Our Honeymoon Cruise
This time we went on Oasis of the Seas, the largest (at the time, i think Allure is now) cruise ship in the world. We went to Nassua, St. Thomas, & St Marteen. At the time one of my best friends (2nd girl in on the left in above pic) was living in St Thomas, so she got us the hook up and lets just say 2 things 1- i convinced my husband who is afraid of height to go parasailing with me and 2-we may not remember much because let me tell you, those island people, they know how to party!

Finding Out we were pregnant
You can read all about the details here
Matthews Birth Day 
It may have been one of the most painful days of my life, but it was so completely worth it. This little boy has changed our lives forever and I cant even imagine living without him! Planning on writing his birth story in the next couple of weeks. You can plan on reading in it one of my Throwback Thursday link ups.

2. Show us 3 of your favorite beauty products.
I figured I had waaaay to many favorites to choose from, so I had to narrow it down to my favorite necessities. And yes, you may notice I use alot of Avon, thats because my sister sells it (you can buy stuff from her here), and now Im completely obsessed with all the stuff they make!

via Avon

via Avon

via CoverGirl

3. Tell us what your favorite TV shows are to watch.
Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Newsroom, Weeds, & of course TrueBlood

Need I say more?

 4. Show us 2 of your favorite pictures.

5. Tell us your favorite things to do during "me time."
Read books (currently The Hunger Games book 3), shop, craft, blog, design, and shop (yes I know I said that twice, I have a problem, Im trying to take of it lol) 

Dont forget to link up and find some new bloggy friends

Show & Tell: High School Memories

This weeks show & tell theme is: High School Memories
 
1. Tell us what kind of student you were in high school {popular, nerd, sport obsessed, choir, etc} So I actually think I fall into a lot of these categories. I would personally never call myself one of the popular kids, but if you ask people from my class they always tell me I was. I think it was more that I hung out with the popular kids, not that I was necessarily popular lol. I was also part of Volleyball, flag football, and softball, so I was in the athletic group too, but in sophmore year I decided I would rather get a job so I could save up money for a new car, so I quit sports. I also took alot of advanced classes, graduated early, and got good grades, so if you ask my hubby and friends they like to pick on me and say I was a nerd too.     2. Share with us some high school pictures. We know you have them somewhere.

me, stephanie, bridget, and staci (first day of school, not sure if it was freshman or sophomore year)

me & heather (softball practice sophmore year)

me & ashley (junior year)

me & hubby (this was actually during the summer when we drove with my parents to new jersery)

& last but def not least, me & hubby at my senior prom

3. Tell us about your school. Private? Public? How many in graduating class? Mascots? School colors? Funny, I had the choice to go to a local catholic private school, which all my closest friends were planning on attending. I had taken the entrance exam and even had all my papers ready for admissions. Then at the last minute, when I found out that my parents would have to pay extra for me not being catholic (were presbyterian), joining sports teams we would have to pay extra, and realizing i had to wear a uniform everyday, I decided I would go to our local public school. I believe my exact words to my mother were "I would rather you buy me a car and cool clothes than have to pay all that in tuition!" lol.  I have absolutely no clue how many people were in my graduation class. It was large though. But I technically graduated early, so I didnt take any classes in the spring semester, but I did walk across stage with the rest of my classmates. Our mascot was "the flying L's" and yes anyone who has gone there will tell you they always get asked, what the hell is a flying L? short story, it was originally Lauderdale L's but one year there was a boy who ran track and the day after one of the meets he was in the newspaper for winning. The title of the article was "Look at that Flying L!" End of short story. Our colors were blue and white with the occasional gold added in.   4. Tell us about some of your favorite memories of high school. Or what stands out the most? Any teachers? Specific classes? One of the best memories I have from high school is of course meeting the love of my life. I meet my hubby in one of my art classes. You can read all about our love story if you want ;) But a few other favorite memories include:

• baseball games and being a diamond darling (we announced and kept score up in the box on home games)
• journalism class where I was in charge of selling ads in the back of the yearbook (aka-i got to leave school everyday during third period to "sell ads" lol yeah ok)
• fourth period weight lifting (yeah basically never went to that since i left during third period)
• Mr. Detloff - hot but totally perverted chemistry teacher
• pep rallies - where i wore waaaay to short of shorts (soffies)

5. Tell us a piece of advice you would pass on to your children or any child entering high school. I want my children to know that its important to have good grades and to go to school. However, I also want them to know that these will be the best years of their lives and to enjoy being young. You can be responsible and smart while also be part of sports and going to parties. As a parent I will hope we trust each other enough like my parents did with me to know not to get in trouble.    Now dont forget to go link up and share some of your high school memories!

Show & Tell: Baby Talk

So I figured to get back in the swing of things I would start by linking up with a couple fellow bloggers.So technically Becky has it as a Monday linkup, but we all know how I like to procrastinate......

1. Tell us your favorite baby names? Aside from your own babies, if you have some :)

Of course the hubby wanted a junior so we went with Matthew. Funny thing is, I remember in like 5th grade wanting a son named Matthew and I didnt even know my husband yet. If we didnt go with Matthew I was dead set on Luke (maybe baby boy #2?) And as far as girls go I already know exactly what were going with if when the day comes, Emma Rose. Emma after my grandmother, and Rose after his grandma. I absolutely love it, and hubby agreed to it before we even found out what the sex was during my pregnancy.

2. Show me your "dream" nursery {can be your baby's nursery or one that you love}

{boys}{girls}

We actually went with a nautical theme for Matthew's nursery and i do really love how it turned out (more on that later), but maybe for baby #2 we could choose one of these themes. I think they are both absolutely precious. Totally coincidental that they both have white furniture and use grey as the accent color.

3. How many children would you like to have? How far apart?
So Ive always imagined having a full house and I do still wish for that, however I know we probably wont be able to afford a bunch a kids. My dream would be 5 (dont laugh), however realistically I can see us probably having 3. I know we both want a boy and a girl, but for some reason both hubby and I think we will end up with 3 boys. And if thats the case, I secretly think I would try to persuade hubby to try again a 4th time so I can have my lil girl ;)
As far as age gaps goes. I always said I would never have children as far apart as me and my sister. She is 6 years older than I am, and I feel like we didnt really like each other until she went away for college. However, I dont want to have children too close either, because I feel like I wouldnt be able to enjoy each one if we did it that way. Hubby and I were thinking we would ideally like them about 18months apart. We shall see.....

4. Tell us what you think the importance of parenting is?
There really is no short answer to the question. And I think many bloggers agree with me on this if you go through the linky list. But personally I really think its all about teaching your kids right and wrong, while also making memories they can look back at and know that family is something you truly cherish. Thats how my parents raised my sister and I and I think we turned out pretty good (ha, for the most part lol)

5. Show us your favorite newborn photo {can be your children or random}
I wish I could show you one of Matthew as a brand new baby, unfortunately due to him being in the NICU there are only lots of pics with wires on him :(  the really cute ones came a couple weeks lately when he was at home.
Instead I show you one I pinned on Pinterest back when I first found out I was pregnant 

 {source}

And yes, I did have a family friend crochet this adorable moneky outfit for me. And it may not be a newborn pic, but Matthew is only 3 months in this pic :)

6.  Tell us some things you promise to never do as a parent {and if you are a parent, did you stick to it}

Ill completely admit, I kept telling myself during my pregnancy that as babies I would not put my children in front of a TV.  Yep. Fail. Matthew loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins. Its basically the only way I got to take a shower in month 2.

But seeing that he is still only 3 months, we will have to revisit this questions in a couple more months.....

Now, dont forget to go link up and see what everyone else had to share. Trust me there are many of us in the same position and lots of cool nursery inspiration

wee bit wednesdays: why not?

So I feel like Im in a little bit of a slump with blogging. I have so many posts to catch up on (see here), but dont really have the time for creating them all any day today. SoI decided to make myself feel better and Im going to join a few fellow bloggers this Wednesday afternoon and participate in Wee Bit Wednesday



{one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?ive been a maid of honor twice (my sis and my college bff's weddings)


{two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?honestly? pop a melatonin (helps me sleep and isnt adictive) and my birth control pill (not for much longer :D)


{three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going? I would take a trip all around Europe.


{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?I love going four wheeling in the everglades, too bad we dont own a four wheeler (yet) and four wheelers are banned in the everyglades for i think 3 more years


{five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?I wanted to be a fashion designer and live in NY, I realized as I got older, it would prob be a slim chance i actually made money as a fashion designer, so i switched to graphic design, which I am, and I love!


{six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?A nice kitchen, a pool, and 3 bedroom with 2nd bath (we have a fixer-upper)


{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?chicken & veggie szechuan with yellow rice


{eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?we probably arent home, if we were at home probably hanging out on our back patio with a couple of friends


{nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?Our water is billed with our garbage, recycling, etc ,and normaly comes out to around $90 every month


{ten} what do you do to relax?Shop. Shop. oh yeah and Shop(but when that becomes too expensive I normally read a book)