Friends

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!

3 Things You Can Do to Keep Your Guy Friends and A Happy Wife

Now that you’re married, how do you keep your guy friends? Guys always tend to have a posse of guy friends. After all, they are who you watch your favorite sports games with, sometimes they are who you work with, and overall, they are who you have a good time with. There are some times though, when your wife may not be particularly thrilled with some of your buddies. You may be lucky and everyone gets along beautifully. But then there may be a few moments when you realize things are becoming a bit tense between times when you hang out with the guys and when you are with your wife.

Seeking out the right balance between your friends and your true love can occasionally seem a bit tricky, but try following these three simple concepts:

1. Don’t let the guys talk you into anything you are uncomfortable with (or that you know your wife would seriously object to!).
Many women object to a man’s friends because of the things he does with them. From getting drunk to doing something ridiculous, your wife might worry that they are a bad influence on you. Their potential bad influence as well as your wife’s disapproval can lead to a knot of problems. Any time you go out with your friends, remember that you are an adult and will make adult decisions. Your friends should not be able to talk you into anything that you do not want to do. Likewise, if you know your wife has a serious problem with something in particular, you can make her a much happier woman by agreeing to stop that specific activity and stick to your promise.

2. Make sure to balance out time with the guys and time with her.
It isn’t hard to understand that men will need some time with other men. Just as your wife goes out with her girlfriends for a fun day of shopping or a spa treatment, she understands your need to hang out with the guys and relax. As long as you balance out time with your friends and time with your wife, everyone will be happy. If you spend each and every night with the guys and never spend any alone time with your wife, it won’t be any surprise that you come home to a very unhappy woman! She married you – she loves you, and she wants to be with you. When you show her that you can manage time with her and time with the guys, she will feel comfortable in your commitment to her.

3. Remind her that she is #1 in your heart.
When it comes down to the wire – the guys or your wife – let her know that she is your #1 choice. Sometimes it may be as simple as telling her you love her and you intend to be home by a specific time and then honor that promise. Or it may mean staying home on your anniversary when the guys have prime hockey tickets. Just remember, honoring your new wife will only result in good things for you. Trust us….it’s worth it!

Registry Entertaining: What to do with ALL of the new stuff in your kitchen!

Don’t miss our tips for registry entertaining! Newlywed bliss and tons of newlywed gifts…sounds great right? Now that you’re moved in and opened all the wedding gifts, you may be wondering “Why did I ever register for this?”. Most newlywed couples will agree that they might have gotten a tiny bit overzealous with the registry gun and may have even ended up with everything they asked for! Not to worry…we’ve come up with a few tips and ideas on how to utilize all the sparkly new kitchen equipment stuffed in your cabinets.

Blender: So you’re looking at your top-of-the-line blending technology in awe and wonder….and possibly wondering what to make first. While your first inclination might be a margarita, there are so many things you can make instead! Work your inner kitchen diva and whip up a batch of spicy summer gazpacho shooters. Williams-Sonoma has a great recipe that you can use the next time you end up hosting a neighborhood BBQ. You could also use your new blender to jump start a healthy summer diet with fresh fruit protein smoothies in the morning. Missing your girlfriends? Blend up one or more of the facial recipes at Hello Glow and invite them over for a fun face mask and a movie! If that margarita still sounds best…..you could surprise your best friend or hubby with an impromptu fiesta and let go amigo!

Panini Press: These great little machines elevate the sandwich from boring lunch option to savory party fare. Panini parties make for really simple and really fun registry entertaining! Invite a few friends over and lay out several sandwich ingredients for them to choose from. You can pick a theme to make the entire party/meal flow together, such as Italian Summer or All American. With the Italian theme you could serve any of the following: Italian sodas and wine for beverages, chicken, prosciutto, salami, any selection of Italian cheeses, roasted red peppers, fresh basil or fresh sage for sandwiches and then tiramisu for dessert! Worried you don’t know how to use your press? Sounds like a great time to do a test run dinner with your spouse. Have them read the instructions while you assemble two sandwiches. Pop them in the press and watch the clock. You’ll have a mini dinner party for two in minutes!

Wine Decanter: – Not only does this glassware improve the taste and bouquet of red wine, it also looks great as a wine bar or kitchen shelf decoration. Don’t pack your decanter away somewhere. Display it and be inspired to enjoy a nice glass of wine with your mate. Decanters improve even inexpensive bottles of wine, so take twenty minutes and unwind with your spouse tonight after work…just because you can!

Have you done any registry entertaining of your own? We’d love for you to share your tips and ideas in comment below.

Newlyweds: Finding a Healthy Balance

Are you finding a healthy balance in your marriage? Newlyweds love spending time with each other EVERY chance they get and sometimes they are so caught up in the newlywed bliss that they forget to keep in touch with their friends and family. We’ve all done it a time or two, who could blame us: with work, working out, keeping up with our favorite hobbies and TV shows, not to mention the chores at home and let’s not forget cuddle time!

It’s easy to set your relationships with family members and friendships to the side because you’re so consumed with your new life, but remember the people who love you. Some of them may not understand what’s going on (because they’re still single or they’ve been married for years so the ‘newlywed stage’ has long passed). It’s expected that for a few weeks, maybe even months that you and your spouse will be starting your new life together.

During that time you’ll both be getting used to living together (if you haven’t before), going through the dreaded married name-change process, joining bank accounts, even buying a house and moving—simply put, you’re taking care of your business with the idea in mind that as soon as you’re finished you’ll start keeping in touch and hanging out with friends and family again. By that time you may have already offended your friends and may find that not everyone is okay with picking up where you left off a few months ago. Some may even demand an explanation as to why you’ve been a bad friend!

Here are a few tips on how to juggle your time when your new married life begins (after the Honeymoon) so you can avoid hurting your friends and family.

Call your parents at least once per week. Your parents love you more than anything in the world and just want to know what’s going on in your life (especially after you’ve left the nest, think of your poor Mother)! Even if 10-15 minutes is all the time you can spare, just call them and let them know how everything is going. You can even ask them advice (if you need it) and may learn a thing or two (after all, they’ve been married and could offer you valuable tips on how to navigate through the transition of new married life).

Make time for family. Not all families live in the same town or even the same state anymore, so it’s not always possible to make it to Sunday Dinner with your entire family. If you do live near your parents or in-laws (and come from a close-nit family) they will most-likely expect to see you more often. Try your best to visit them at least once per month (together as a couple)–you could save time by inviting both sets of parents to your place for dinner. They will adore seeing you as a hostess/host of a dinner party and you get to use some of the new kitchenware that you received as wedding gifts! If you live out-of-town try to plan a weekend visit every 2-3 months (or as your schedule permits) to catch up with those you love most!

Don’t forget your friends! They’ve been there for you through every up and down in your life–relationships, drunken nights, arguments with your boyfriend/girlfriend, failed exams, your engagement, graduation, job promotion, wedding planning, etc. Some of them may have even put up with your bridezilla moments, so don’t allow yourself to neglect your friendships! After all, eventually you and your spouse will have your first fight as a married couple…and who will you call if you haven’t kept in touch with friends or family? We get it! You and your spouse are totally in-love and want to be together every second of everyday, but you should make time for yourselves too.

Everyone needs ME time to do whatever makes them happy, so call up your best friend and make plans to go shopping, out to dinner, to the gym, out dancing, or for drinks. Believe me, your man loves spending time with you, but will also appreciate time with his buddies for poker night, happy hour, to play video games, to play golf, etc.

So, bottom line; pick up the phone and make plans with your friends and family to lead a more balanced and healthy married life!