So it turns out, Andrew and I don’t do things by halves! Almost immediately after we discovered we were pregnant, back in January, we took a good long look at where we were living and decided neither of us wanted to bring a baby into that house…
Category Archives: Marriage
Marriage – the first date series… Interview 1
I’m starting an experiment. I don’t know how long it will take. I don’t know if it’s going to work. But I’m going to give it a go. Remember your first date with your husband? Well, I’ve been wondering… is there any correlation at all between our first date experiences and leading a happy marriage? I’m hoping to find out (one day..)
Over the next few months, I’m going to be interviewing happily married couples to take us back to that first date that started their love journey. Kicking off the series is the lovely Amberly from A Prioritised Marriage…
North Devon Babymoon – Part 2 Tintagel, Bude, Lynton and Lynmouth
Earlier this week, I started telling you about our Babymoon in North Devon. After our first couple of days, we were really starting to unwind, and with the weather being good to us, we were able to follow through with our plan A of things to do and places to visit (plan B was going to be snuggled up in the beach hut playing board games, had it rained the whole time!)
Babymoon to North Devon – Part 1 Ilfracombe & Woolacombe
It seemed that the planets just aligned for us on our latest trip – our babymoon to North Devon. When we booked a romantic break at the Beach Cove Coastal Retreat, Ilfracome back in Decemeber, little did we know it would actually be three of us turning up – well, 2 and a half maybe. (We found out we were pregnant in January 3 weeks later.) Nor did we know that our lives would further be turned upside down with another big house move. So when the time finally rolled around, we were so ready to sit back, relax and soak up the latest phenomenon of the ‘babymoon’.
The concept of a Babymoon has been growing in popularity around the world, and more recently making waves in the UK. The idea is for expectant parents to have a relaxing, adult break away before their little bundle of joy arrives. It’s a chance to reconnect, relax and strengthen your relationship in preparation for the imminent life change ahead.
Despite not realising at the time of booking that our romantic trip would turn into a Babymoon, I think we picked one of the best locations to enjoy ours. North Devon has so much to offer, and it helped that the sunshine came out, just for us. So here’s what we got up to…
Advice for the newly engaged: The 3 Cs of Marriage
Growing up with a big sister, I paid attention, I took advice. Even though she probably never knew it (I would have never let on she was imparting any kind of wisdom to me) there were a lot of things I took from her in my earlier years. How to settle into ‘big school’, when to wear the blue top, and when to wear the red, how to cope moving out from our parents for the first time… Now as she announces her engagement I couldn’t be happier, and find myself in a unique position to impart whatever bit of advice I can to her.
Well 18 months into marriage, I’ve whittled down the foundations of a happy love story into what I like call ‘the 3 C’s’. Important when planning your big day together, and equally as core in building the foundations of a happy marriage – or so we have found anyway. So to the newly engaged, this is my advice to you…
Marriage and the First Trimester
Ok, so I kind of fell off the grid a little bit in the last few months. And it isn’t just the blogosphere I’ve abandoned. Since 16th Jan, when I woke up, decided ‘what the heck, I might as well use up this last pregnancy test’, and our world was turned upside down by the faintest of little pink lines, I’ve become something of a social recluse. Navigating morning sickness, mood swings and a myriad of emotions, here’s a little bit of what we have been up to, and the role the first trimester has played in strengthening our marriage.
What I learned in the First Year of Marriage
A year on from vowing to love Andrew no matter what for the rest of my days, and I feel an overwhelming sense of calm. I don’t know if it’s an acceptance that the “honeymoon period” and “post-wedding blues” are behind us, or whether we’ve gone through the cycle of newly-wed firsts: “first married Valentines day”, “first married holiday after the honeymoon…”, but on the morning of our anniversary, I awoke feeling notably at ease. I look back at the unprecedented calm that washed over me on that same morning a year before. The calm of knowing completely and absolutely that my life was about to change for the better.
Looking Back on the Best – a New Year tradition for couples
So I know it’s been a while but the whole Christmas period seems to have swept me away in a bit of a blur of travel, food and festivities! But now I’m back, giddy for the New Year and excited to see what treats lie in store for us this year.
To ring in the New Year, Andrew and I started a new tradition. On New Years Day, after a beautiful 3 course meal prepared by that man of mine, we went through 50 photos from 2015 that conjured great memories from the year. We had each chosen 25 photographs that meant something to us, and over dessert, we took a good look through, reminiscing on what had actually turned out to be a pretty good year.
Christmas Traditions for Couples
Spending Christmas in New York for our honeymoon last year sounds like a dream – and for the most part it was. But for a brief moment on Christmas Day, the only place in the world I wanted to be was at home enjoying our own Christmas traditions.
Spending Christmas away from home, especially in another country altogether, starts to just feel like another day. Not being surrounded by your familiar things and doing your familiar traditions can kind of throw the atmosphere. In the US for example, the traditional turkey dinner that we know and love in the UK isn’t really the done thing on Christmas Day (at least it wasn’t in New York) so already one of the biggest traditions that Andrew and I both grew up with, was difficult to recreate.
Heading into our third Christmas together, Andrew and I have already started to establish a number of holiday traditions. I was interested to find out what other couples got up to during the festive season, so I spoke to two of my favourite marriage bloggers.
Christmas Card Making Date Night
With Christmas on the horizon and every penny going toward the festivities, date nights can become few and far between this time of year; but remember that you don’t need to spend a fortune to spend quality time with your spouse. This week, Andrew and I enjoyed a thrifty date night of our own, using up spare craft materials to create beautiful bespoke Christmas cards for our family.