Written by Candace on August 21, 2015 | 1 Comment

The Weekender

It’s Friday! Here is a new edition of The Weekender.

Rose Svitlana: My baby girl is 6 months old as of August 14. She is fiercely strong; it’s one of the first things people say about her. That, and she has the most beautiful eyes. I personally love her squishy thighs. There are definitely days I feel there’s no way I can be a mother for the long term. And then there are days that I count motherhood as one of my greatest gifts. Today is a mix of both!

Date Night: We spent date night in this week! We put Rose to bed and then gave each other our full attention. Vitaliy got out a bottle of 17 year old single malt that he kept for a “special occasion.” Putting our marriage as a priority is worth the occasion, he said. Anyone who knows Vitaliy knows that he has a strong love for giving toasts. Last night we toasted to marriage and making each other more of a priority. He compared our marriage to the complexity and richness of a nicely aged and matured single malt. It was epic as all of his toasts are!

Vitaliy’s Birthday: Vitaliy’s birthday is coming up at the end of this month. Last year I scheduled him to go skydiving for his birthday. Both attempts were rained out and then the season ended. He is a lover of experiences over gifts. Leave me some birthday celebration suggestions in the comments! My sleep-deprived mind is falling short and he deserves something special.

Summer Bucket List: With school back in session, everyone seems to be talking about the arrival of Fall. Though I do feel ready for some cooler weather, I don’t want the ease of summer to end just yet. I revisited our list this week and I couldn’t believe everything we’ve done so far. I’m not sure we’ll get to every single one, but being able to use this list when we had a free day this summer was so helpful. Smore’s in our backyard is definitely going to be a priority over the next week or so.

Failure: Do you see that beautiful photo of Vitaliy and I? We took that picture and a lot more over a year ago for the About Us page of our website. We were long overdo for updated photos and I wasn’t sure how excited I’d be to take new photos after being pregnant. We have yet to update our website with the new photos. We shot a new video too around the same time. I’m sharing this to let you know that you are not alone if you have something on your to-do-list that has been there for over a year. Cheers to progress and not perfection!

Rising Tide Challenge: Speaking of imperfection, I joined the #risingtidechallenge on Instagram this week and only completed 3 out of the 5 days. But I wanted to share because it’s a community worth looking into if you are a creative/entrepreneur/small business owner. You can find the Rising Tide Society website here. Their motto is community over competition! Now, that is a mindset I can get behind!

I’m watching Rose work on her crawling skills as I type this. She’s not quite there yet, but she sure is getting close. I hope you all have a great weekend! We actually have a free Saturday and I’m hoping to make the most of it! Any fun plans or events going on in the area I should know about? Leave me a comment!

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Written by Candace on August 20, 2015 | 4 Comments

Date Night In Marriage

Vitaliy and I are starting to feel the effects a little one can have on a marriage relationship.

The lack of energy left at the end of the day to give to each other, or the beginning of the day. Or the middle of the day! You get the point, always tired. The constant concern when leaving your little one with a babysitter. The little time available to just be “us” again. Me and him. Candace and Vitaliy. I miss it. I miss him.

Though it’s to be expected, I’m not giving up. We just have to think differently, we just need to get creative. I think one of the biggest lies in marriage is “once we get through this difficult season, we’ll be able to focus more on our marriage.” It’s a lie because life is hard no matter the season. Some seasons are just harder than others. It’s true that we are not able to invest as much in the current season we’re in, but we can invest something. Believe me, I’m tempted to wait until Rose is older, not as needy, sleeps better, etc. But the more I neglect my marriage, the more I neglect Vitaliy, the worse off our relationship is going to be. And when we do decide to face things, to do the hard work, it’s going to be a lot more work then if we simply tend to things now, bit by bit, date by date.

Date night is not about the activity. Date night is about making the investment, making the connection, doing the hard work to cultivate a healthy and strong relationship. Use the activity as means of connection, but don’t get stuck there. Depending on the season you’re in, do what your relationship needs most. It might be a fun night out or it might be having a necessary discussion or it might be staying home in bed (if you know what I mean!).

The goal is to think differently about date night. Date night as boyfriend and girlfriend is about getting to know each other and developing your relationship. Date night in marriage is about cultivating and deepening your relationship. Whatever you do, don’t wait. Do something, no matter how small, this week.

This is the second in a three part series to get us to Think Different About Date Night. You can read the first part, Pre-Planning For Date Night.

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Written by Candace on August 18, 2015 | Chime in

Chris & Tiffany
Lifestyle Engagement Portraits

We have Stephen Hughes Photography to thank for sending us this super sweet couple!

And we are SO thankful because Chris and Tiffany are so much fun. We can’t wait for their wedding this October. Pictures are so much better paired with stories so I asked Chris and Tiffany to share how they first met and answer a few “get to know you” questions below. You’re going to enjoy this one!

Chris and Tiffany met at church in March 2011, but unlike your typical fairytale beginning, their first impressions were certainly not love at first sight. During their initial interactions, she found his demeanor rude and arrogant, while he thought of her as closed off and uptight. However, unbeknownst to either, both were still attracted to the other, and two years later, they found themselves getting better acquainted online via G-chat. Through nightly conversations before bed and daily messages during work, they found a vast number of similarities between them, such as humor, love of sci-fi shows, fascination with fantasy lore, interest in fitness, and appreciation for being homebodies. As chatting gave way to hanging out in person, a friendship began to blossom that soon developed into romantic feelings. After months of ambiguous talk and behavior, Tiffany decided to make the first move and confess her feelings to Chris, who happily admitted that he felt the same way. Since then, they have brought out the best in each other and have challenged each other to mature emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Both are incredibly thankful to have looked beyond first impressions for a whirlwind experience of finding a matchless partner with whom to journey alongside through this lifetime.

Q. How did you meet and what first attracted you to one another?

A. We met at church, and even though we didn’t become friends until a couple years later, it was our similar personality and several similar interests that really brought us closer.

Q. When and where did you first say those famous three words “I love you”?

A. Although we felt it early on, neither of us said the actual words until after we got engaged. We said words or phrases that sounded very similar to “I love you,” but we wanted to save the actual words for when we both felt that our relationship had reached a point of true commitment. After Chris proposed (in Humboldt County where we went to see the giant Redwoods) and put the ring on me, I said it first, and he said it back :)

Q. Can you share a favorite date idea you’ve enjoyed together as a couple?

A. One of the first dates we went on was a drive down to the coast of Cambria, CA. We spent the afternoon eating their famous olalliberry pie, walking on the beach, and talking about anything/everything. It was really casual and fun, and we both learned a lot more about each other during those conversations.

Q. What are you most excited about for your future as husband and wife?

A. Simply being able to spend time together without one of us having to go home at the end of the night. To start and end the day with my loving partner who makes the ins and outs of life more interesting and worthwhile.

Chris and Tiffany, I wish we could do your engagement session all over again. It really was that much fun! You guys have the best sense of humor and I know you are going to have a long life together filled with love and laughter. Vitaliy and I are so thrilled to be a part of the start of it all. Congratulations to you both! And many, many blessings on your journey ahead as husband and wife.

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