Hey Pals!

Exciting news - we have rebranded and moved to our own domain! Go check out our new site at

www.lovemalablog.com

xoxo,

Mal and Lo

Marriage. Such a powerful word for only two syllables. You’ve probably heard it all when it comes to it. The first year of marriage has taught me more about myself and how I want to live than any other time in my life. That’s pretty special. You get to experience a relationship at a capacity at which you really don’t fully understand until you’re there, in it. And that is one of the best feelings you’ll ever know. Cross my heart. That person gets to see the best and worst parts of you, the vulnerability that it takes to be completely raw and naked is only found in grace, trust, and incomparable compassion for your partner.

You will find yourself so completely in love and dumbfounded at how your heart continues to grow. You will ask yourself “how can I love this person any more than I already do?” And then your heart will find a way, like it always does. It’s like the universe, limitless and growing. And isn’t that lucky? Call it coincidence, fate, divine intervention, happenstance, whatever you like. It all boils down to, my sappy little heart is going to explode eventually.

With all of this wonderful, delicious, amazing over-arching love, you learn some damn hard lessons too. What it truly means to be understanding, selfless, and also extraordinarily introspective. The first year of marriage especially, you’ll have your disagreements (like any year but just follow me here), all the silly sitcom-inspired ones, you know the ones I’m talking about. But, I’ve decided that taking too long to get out of the house or forgetting to turn off the space heater, isn’t really what it’s about. I mean of course, good habits and tendencies are all well but it’s really about learning how to disagree. And while these disagreements are far and few between, understanding how to engage in these with your specific partner, will be monumental. It’s about understanding what it takes to have a real disagreement with context and have it matter and resolved for both of you. And remembering that you are on the same team here, with the same goals, ultimately. You never feel right about winning alone afterword’s. If you win, I win, and if you lose, well, I lose. You find a common ground on these disagreements and the team endures. And that’s how you win. Every single time.

With all of its insane and inspiring beauty, marriage can also bring out sides of you that aren’t so lovely, but taking feedback from your partner and really thinking (here’s the part about becoming more introspective) about what it means and says about you and then applying it, will mean leaps and bounds in your marriage. That doesn’t mean you have to forfeit who you are or your stubborn and strong-willed nature but it does mean that on the important stuff, you can set that aside to make sure your being the best version of yourself for you, your partner, and your marriage. And grow together. It will mean everything. This has to work both ways and when it does, it’s magic. I’ll pinky swear to that one.

I am no expert by any means and always have more to learn but I feel so lucky to have a husband who makes this marriage thing, the best ride of my life and who stands beside of me every day, giving it his all. I suppose this is getting a little personal but why not, I always tell Cody, I want him to look back on his life with me and say “she gave me the best parts of herself”. That doesn’t mean I need to be perfect because I’m human and neither of us will be, that just is not real. It only means that we show up every day and do our best for each other. Be present and feel fully because I want to be that light that I see the people I love shine in. Always giving it my all, that’s what love has done for me and to my darling, Cody, I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.

xoxo,

your LOver and sap-extraordinaire

Hey pals! We are posting and it’s not Thursday, woah!! But we are so excited, we just can’t wait to tell you. Our new website is currently under construction and we have teamed up with some amazing web designers and local artists. We are more than thrilled to share with you all of our new content and hope you love it as much as we do! Stay tuned, as we are hoping to launch this for you guys in the next week or so!

xoxo,

Lo and Mal

In an effort to maintain healthy lives, we both have made conscious decisions to put better things in our bodies, so we both rarely treat ourselves to a soda anymore! BUT, sometimes we still have that craving for something more tasty than water. After lots of trials, we have both found some drinks we can enjoy instead with less guilt!



Cascade Ice Sparkling Water - Coconut Flavor

Although it may be slightly deceiving, this is not coconut water, but rather coconut-flavored sparkling water. My favorite thing about these guys is - they're: 0 calories, 0 grams of sugar, 0 carbs, sodium free, caffeine free, gluten free, AND there is no aspartame! They have a very mild taste, so they are incredibly refreshing and not too sweet. My husband LOVES the coconut-mango and peach-mango flavors, and while I love all that I have tried, I am stuck on the coconut flavor. They typically go for $1.49/ea at my local grocery, but go on sale a ton for $0.99/ea so we stock UP when that happens. Thanks to our friend Linsey for bringing this to Lo's wedding and getting us hooked. You rock.

San Pellegrino Sparking Water - Blood Orange

While I do love all of the flavors of San Pellegrino, and certainly won't say no to any of them, my fave by far is the blood orange. San Pellegrino has a fantastic reputation for their sparkling waters, their health benefits, and have helped a lot of people turn the page from their soda-soaked pasts. It also makes a great cocktail mixer - just saying! They are a bit pricier than sodas *womp womp* but are worth it if you're just going to enjoy them as a treat.

Sparkling ICE - Black Raspberry

I am absolutely obsessed with these, my favorite flavor is black raspberry and the cherry limeade is a close second! I have had most of the flavors and they are all pretty good, the hubby loves them too. What is also nice about these is they add vitamins and antioxidants to them and who doesn't like that?! They are great for a soda fix because they have the carbonation aspect of soda and are packed full of flavor, without the guilt of all the sugar, as they are 0 calories. Yes, you read that right and with how good they taste, it is hard to believe! They are sweetened with Splenda, which is a sugar substitute. Like anything else, these are good in moderation but definitely a great go-to when you are craving soda but don't want the "empty calories". Random but they come in both can and bottle, I usually buy the cans in packs at Target because it's just the right amount of drink for me.



Crystal Light Pure - Lemonade

Some days you just need a lemonade, you know? And on those days, I recommend you take yourself to Chick-fil-a because holy guac, dudes, they are TO DIE (for those of you who haven't indulged in one). And there is a good reason for it, they are loaded with tons of delicious sugar. While I sure do love them, I treat them as a dessert and rarely get them. So these Crystal Light Pure powder mixes are made with Stevia, which is a natural plant sugar and you get a lot bang for your buck in many ways. They are only 15 calories (which is rad, rad, rad) and they have tons of flavor (I also recommend the Raspberry Lemonade), and they are pretty easy on the wallet, coming in at $2.61 at Target for a pack of 7.



At the end of the day, we each tend to reach for water more than anything but let's be honest, sometimes water just ain't gonna cut it and these substitutes have been great for meeting our sweet tooth needs. Let us know if you guys have any good drinks we should try and if you have tried these before.

Until next time!

xoxo, your sweetums