coziest cardigan + #marriagegoals for 2017

Hi guys! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! My older sister Jill is getting married two weeks from yesterday (Sunday), and this past weekend was her bachelorette party! We had an absolute blast, but whoa could I use another day before Monday lol.

If you follow me on instagram this is not the first time you’ve seen this Free People cardigan! I wore it on the plane going to and from NYC a few weeks ago (pic #1 here and pic #2 here), and probably a dozen other times since then! (Yes, I have it in two colors haha). I’m obsessed with this Free People cardigan because it is insanely soft and I love the oversized fit. You could make it dressier with leather leggings, or I also find myself often wearing it with pajama pants!

In addition to this super cozy free people cardigan, I also wanted to share a few of my/our marriage goals for 2017 with y’all today! It might seem weird to have marriage New Year’s resolutions, but marriage is just like anything else in life…if you don’t put in the work and time and effort, it will not thrive and grow. Having a healthy and thriving and loving marriage isn’t something that just happens on it’s own! There are days when it’s as easy as breathing, and days when it takes a lot of work. But that work is always, always worth it.

So, here’s a few things I want to work on this year!

Pray for Michael every single day. When Michael and I got married, my mom gave me the book Power of a Praying Wife, and it has been SO helpful for me/us. First of all…there really is SO much power in prayer! I’ve seen so much growth/change in Michael through specific things I’ve prayed for him for, as well as breakthrough and growth in our marriage. Second of all, praying for Michael helps our marriage so much because it reminds me that nagging him about things will solve nothing. If there are things about him that bother me or concern me, going to the Lord in prayer about it first is ALWAYS the best solution. Yes, there are times when I then feel compelled to talk to Michael about those things…but alot of times I can bring those worries or concerns to the Lord and can trust He hears me, and He will take care of those things (or work on my heart regarding those things)! Third…praying for Michael helps me to remember that His relationship with the Lord and His heart for the Lord is the most important thing, and as his wife. I want to encourage him in that as best I can.
Once a week date nights. Since Michael and I don’t have kids yet, this ‘date night’ concept is tricky, because we eat out alot just the two of us. This year though (and every year going forward!) I want us to be intentional with one night of the week – picking a place to go for dinner, or a movie to see, or just planning some type of night for just the two of us. (Not like ‘hey we have nothing to eat lets go to Chipotle’). The other thing that goes along with ‘date night’ is no phones. Every other night when we’re at home together or if we’re grabbing a quick dinner, we’re on our phones SO much. So we’re making it a goal for us to have one night out of the week where we intentionally plan a date, and phones are not invited! We had our first 2017 date night this past week and it was wonderful!

Have any of y’all made marriage or relationship goals for 2017? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!