Meet February's First Guest Poster, Lori!

I've been following Lori, probably since I really started blogging regularly almost a year ago! Point blank - I adore this gal! She has a great classic style that I can relate to, is somewhat recently married as I am, and I've been able to follow her WHOLE home building process from day one {to which you should definitely check out the finished house}! I seriously can't wait to see how she puts her finishing touches on the entire place!! I hope you enjoy meeting Lori, I promise, promise, promise, you will love her!!

hey, lovies!

i'm lori from a crazy walk on the safe side and i am so excited that lauran has allowed me to take over her blog today- she is one of my favorites and we seem to have so much in common... which leads me to believe that i would get along swimmingly with all of you!

my hubs and i have been married about two and a half years {and dated for 4.5 years before that}... so i guess i can't quite consider myself a newlywed anymore. but since i'm obviously an expert a slightly credible source i thought it would be fun to post a little about what i've learned to be the secrets to a successful, happy marriage {seriously, we've been married an eternity by hollywood's standards}.

laugh together.
he will leave the seat up. and you will undoubtedly fall in the toilet at least once in the middle of the night. your husband will probably laugh his head off when you tell him about your wet tushie problems at 2 am- try to laugh about it, too. (and next time, look before you squat)

pick your battles/don't nag.
he will be a repeat offender of at least one thing that drives you nuts. (for me, its socks on the floor. for some reason, the hubs will NEVER ever put his smelly socks in the dirty clothes).
give up complaining about it.

don't clean too often.
seriously. you want your hard work to be appreciated, so wait JUST long enough so your efforts do not go unnoticed. {this is also true with grocery shopping... i am not suggesting letting the cabinets go empty- but trust me, if he is down to only a couple bottles of beer- he WILL notice a fridge re-stock}

compromise.
slowly get rid of the items from your man's bachelor days- but let him keep that ONE thing he loves. (for my hubs- it is an old stretched out CAT(erpillar) tshirt). i got rid of all of the shirts with cut off sleeves, light wash jeans, ratty old boxer shorts, and faded polo shirts and he got to keep his beloved tshirt. its all about compromise, people ;)
 

on a more serious note, i leave you with a few pieces of advice...

1. surround yourself with healthy, happy couples who are supportive of your marriage.

2. don't compare yourself to other couples. i believe that every couple has their struggles and every relationship is different.

3. never ever talk badly about each other on social media. it is amazing how often i log into facebook and see people trash talking their significant other. nothing good comes of it.

4. never stop dating each other... and try not to get stuck in the rut of eating at the very same restaurant every friday night. my hubs and i love to have surprise date nights where we take turns planning something special for the other one. mix it up and have fun together!!

i hope you got a laugh {and maybe some actual good advice} from this post...
please stop by my blog sometime and say hello :) currently, i'm blogging a lot about the house the hubs and i recently built and enjoying life as a not-so-newlywed couple!

thanks so much for having me, lauran!

Lori must have known we've been wanting to try different dates for date night!!! I know I can most definitely put this list of advice to great use! I especially agree with #3! I don't understand why so many people feel the need to put their spouse on full blast on social media sites! I don't understand why people do it to other people in general, but especially to one's spouse is just too much! Folks just need to leave their personal business off of Facebook period, well at least in my opinion! We are all entitled to that.. an opinion.. right?! Be sure to head over to Lori's and pay her a visit and seriously, check out her new home! It's gorgeous, you'll love it!!! XoXo!