Name Change Advice

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

Baby It’s Cold Outside: 4 Things To Do With Your Newlywed Spouse

Looking for things to do with your newlywed spouse? As arctic temperatures sweep the U.S., I think we can all utter a collective “BRRRRRRRR!” No need to let the cold spoil your newlywed time. If you’re stuck inside on evenings and weekends, use that time to your advantage.

Organize – The beginning of Spring is the last time I feel like cleaning. I want to be outside soaking up the sunshine! Use your freezing winter weekends to organize your closets, kitchen cabinets or any other parts of your house that are causing chaos and possibly a few squabbles. This way when Spring does arrive you’ll have your house in order and your weekend calendar free for fun things!

Play Games – Too cold to possibly go out for a date (seriously, no one wants to put on a dress and then multiple scarves, a parka, hat and boots…it does not feel sexy)? Break out some board games with your spouse. You can play by the conventional rules or mix things up with drinking versions of twister and scrabble or play naughty Jenga. Laughing together will make you both feel warmer and closer to each other at the end of the night.

Dream – I love to dream about what my husband and I will do when the weather is warm. Take picnics, visit the national zoo, go boating, plan a beach weekend with friends…the list is endless. If you can get your husband to help you “dream up” some warm weather activities with you, the happy result is a list of fun to-dos that will actually get done this year. Tape your list to the fridge to remind you that Spring is coming and to help you make time for your planned activities on the calendar.

Work Out – Nothing warms you up like a serious work out! Browse Amazon for a new DVD (I’m loving Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown), and when it arrives prepare to break a sweat. Come spring break time and swimsuit season, you’ll be really glad that you did your Winter workouts instead of sitting on the couch with cocoa.

How are you handling the cold as a newlywed couple? We’d love to hear your suggestions for things to do with your newlywed spouse this winter.

Newlywed Decor

I came across this pillow today and couldn’t help but pin it to my Newlywed Pinterest Board. As a newlywed, you usually have a new space (be it apartment, townhome or house) to decorate and sprinkling in a few romantic things helps keep the newlywed aura going. You’re in love and newly married…feel free to buy a few things that advertise that fact and make you smile when you see them.

Please note that I said a few things. A house that looks like a shrine to your wedding day is not a look many people (including your single friends) can appreciate. Choose a few of your best wedding photos to display in frames or as canvas art, add a pillow or another item that reminds you of how in love you are and voila…newlywed chic!

What are your favorite newlywed pieces of decor?

3 Unique Party Ideas to Get Rid of the January Blahs

Save your January with our 3 unique party ideas! The glamour, glitz and excitement of New Years have worn off, and now it’s just dreary mid-January. Much like the post-wedding blues, many newlyweds also experience a post-holiday slump. The solution? Planning a fun but low key party with friends! My favorite parties have a theme that gets guests excited and keeps me from worrying about party entertainment. Below are a few ideas (admittedly 2 were “borrowed” from my friend and amazing hostess Jill):

Favorite Things: Just like Oprah…only with a $5 to $10 limit. Figure out how many friends are attending and then have each guest bring one less than that number of their favorite things. You’ll have tons of fun unwrapping, explaining and using everyone’s favorite things. The party I attended resulting in cool nail polish, a miracle hangover cure, holiday socks, satin pillow cases and much more!

Spa/Slumber Party: Send out an evite to have all your girlfriends come over for a little pampering and a chic flick. Mud masks, nail painting, pizza and the latest girly movie will make this an event everyone can look forward too. Party favor idea: attach mini rhinestones to disposable toe separators…cute!

Swap Party: Plan a get together where you and your friends bring accessories to swap. It’s easiest to trade one size fit all items like scarves, jewelry and clutches. If you’re all similar sized, you can open it up to belts, jeans, etc. Everyone will leave with something “new to them” and a little more room in their closets!

Whatever kind of party you choose to plan, just having something to plan and knowing that you’ll be seeing a group of your friends will give you a much needed boost this January.
Please let me know your favorite of our 3 unique party ideas in a comment!

Newlywed New Years Resolutions II

Have you made any newlywed new years resolutions? While there’s great debate about whether anyone keeps the resolutions that they make, just the creation of a resolution can be helpful to a new marriage. If you haven’t made any resolutions with your spouse, here are a few resolutions that may be worth talking about:

1. Use Your Words – This is a cornerstone of my marriage. We promise to use our words to tell each other how we’re feeling and what we need. It keeps little things and annoyances from brewing into big things and arguments. If you and your spouse could use a little more communication, consider resolving to “use your words” in the new year.

2. Make Time – Every newlywed couple I know is juggling careers, families, friends, hobbies and figuring out how married life works. Making time once a week or twice a month to spend an entire day together without family, friends and cell phones will do wonders for your relationship. By scheduling “couple time” your making sure that your marriage remains a priority amongst the million other things clamoring for your attention!

3. Do Something Positive – Whether you join an indoor soccer league or soup kitchen, doing something positive and new in the new year is only going to benefit your marriage. You’ll have new experiences to talk about during dinner (instead of re-hashing work drama) and a new network of friends to explore. There’s also the great feeling of helping others or being part of a team to boost your mood.

If you’re unsure what new thing might work for you, check out www.charitynavigator.org, which helps people find the best charities in their cities.

Resolutions or not, this is going to be a great year for you as a newlywed! Do you have any newlywed new year resolutions that you made with your spouse? I’d love for you to share them in a comment!

If name change was one of your newlywed resolutions, MissNowMrs can help! Use our name change app or online service to save 13 hours of hassle.

Help Me Change My Name

Top 3 Newlywed Gift Ideas For Hard To Buy For Spouses

Hard to buy for spouses are the worst during the holidays. While there is so much anticipation to spend the holidays as a newlywed, there is also the feeling that you need to create the perfect moment/buy the perfect gift to treasure always (thanks Hallmark). Looking back at my first Christmas, there was definitely a good bit of (self inflicted) pressure to find just the right gift for my husband. I trolled the mall, braved Best Buy and even flipped through the seemingly thousands of catalogs that kept coming in the mail.

Are you feeling freaked out about what to get your spouse this holiday season? As the woman married to the man who has everything, I feel capable of giving you some ideas.

1. Hobby Subtlety: Does your spouse have a hobby? If so, don’t buy him the obvious (fishing flies for the fly fisherman)…go for something special like a monogrammed case to hold his fly collection or a special gear bag designed for his specific sport.

2. Photos: If you’re newlyweds, this is the one time you can give him an amazing photo of you two without being lame. This acrylic photo block is really cool and would look nice on any desk in any office.

3. Adventure: If you’re totally stumped on what to give him, consider some sort of adventure activity. Often Groupon or LivingSocial have local deals for skydiving, kayaking and race car driving. Can’t you hear him telling the guys at the office..”Oh yeah, I didn’t get a golf club this year. My wife got me passes to race Ferraris!”

So what did I get my husband for our first newlywed Christmas? This is terrible…I can’t remember! What I do remember was deciding to open our gifts for one another on Christmas Eve instead of during the big family hubub of Christmas Day. It has become a tradition to light a fire, pop a bottle of champagne and open our gifts privately.

Moral Of The Story: No matter what you end up buying your spouse, the time you spend together will end up being what you remember. Try not to over emphasize the gift…emphasize the love!

What are you all getting your hard to buy for spouses this year? We’d love to hear from you in a comment.