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Sunday, April 14

75 Little Ways to Keep the Spark

Hey everyone, and thanks for comin by! As you may already know, my husband Martin and I had our Anniversary this past week and all week the posts have been kinda focused on love/relationships, and to finish off the week I wanted to share a bunch of ideas for keeping that 'newlyweds' mentality, and little things to take a little extra time for each other every day. 
Martin and I have always been huge talkers, my favorite dates in the beginning were the ones where we'd sit in the driveway till 4 in the morning talking about everything under the sun, and to this day I feel like we're never short of things to talk for ever about. In all these discussions we've really grown to be on the same page, and have tried since the beginning to learn from other couples and decide what we were and weren't going to do and be as a couple. 
In our marriage I of course am a little biased, but happen to think I'm the luckiest girl in the world, and I believe that as partners in a relationship we can't blame problems on the other, but have to look for the solution in ourselves. It helps me remember to constantly be working on improving myself if I think that any sort of shortcoming I think my husband may poses is maybe because of my not supporting and encouraging/helping him enough. Therefore I've always been on the lookout for new ideas and ways that I can better show my love and support, and thus comes this list(well we wrote it together:)). Many of these are favorites, many are Martin's, and many are ones we both need to be better at doing. This doesn't just apply to married couples either, but can also be adapted to dating or new/old relationship couples, anyone and everyone who wants to make sure you're giving it all you've got: 
75 Little Ways to Keep the Spark
1. hold hands as often as possible
2. write notes and letters often
3. dance in the kitchen
4. take time to read together once in a while
5. do their chores for them
6. thank your spouse for efforts, even when they were expected
7. have them pick out your cologne/perfume at the store, and wear it
8. watch sunsets,
9. leave your phones in the car on date nights
10. know when to talk and when to just listen 
11. exercise together whenever possible
12. bring your spouse a favorite treat or drink just because
13. buy her flowers- just because
14. touch them on the shoulder, arm, waist, etc throughout the day
15. ask how their day went
16. take time to talk before lights out, even if just a few minutes
17. turn their alarm off and let them sleep in once in a while
18. have breakfast in bed once in a while
19. be excited about their accomplishments
20. kiss each other every day
21. do something spontaneous at least once a week
22. take or have pictures taken of just the two of you
23. send sweet text messages during the day, even when you're home together
24. tell her she's beautiful, especially when she's feeling ugly
25. take dumb/silly pictures
26. surprise each other
27. be affectionate
28. bring up favorite old memories and reminisce together
29. meet them at the door when they come home
30. take their car out for an errand, take it through the wash and gas it up
31. educate yourself more on something their passionate about
32. cook together whenever possible
33. eat at least two meals together everyday if you can manage it
34. call them at work to just say you miss and appreciate them
35. make plans and schemes together
36. defend your spouse when friends start to bash theirs
37. never be cutting or hurtful
38. do yourselves the biggest favor and stay away from any sort of debt
39. spend some time apart once in a while, it will make you better appreciate them
40. interrupt a sentence to say how handsome or strong he looks
41. always be the first to say i'm sorry and forgive
42. tell others of the virtues of your spouse when they're not around
43. talk about budgets and expenses, and decide together on items over say $50-$100
44. if you can, visit landmarks in your relationship (where you got engaged/first date, etc)
45. remind yourself often about why/how you fell in love in the first place
46. have a little mini date every night you can, eat a little treat together, watch part of a movie, etc
47. don't nag
48. read book on how to be a better wife/husband/lover
49. have a vacation together at least once a year
50. hold hands under the table or hold their knee
51. don't brush compliments off, accept them with blushes and gratitude, or they may stop
52. don't go to bed angry, give it a good effort and 
53. always kiss goodnight
54. have a wedding or couple picture of just the two of you hanging somewhere
55. be affectionate in front of your kids
56. men: always put down the freakin toilet seat dude
57. woman: never underestimate the power of a little extra physical attention to your man
58. makes birthdays and holidays special, always
59. surprise each other once in a while
50. pick your battles
61. try to go to bed together as often as possible
62. be the best of friends
63. roll play a bit-pretend you're on a first second date and ask inquisitive questions etc
64. go on road trips together every once in a while
65. read marriage help books, just for fun
66. wear his t-shirts and pj pants
67. pay attention before birthdays and Christmases, buy them at least one gift they've been wanting
68. have little arguments and than kiss and make up:)
69. send your spouse on a scavenger hunt once in a while
70. sit next to each other at the table and in restaurants 
71. don't ever do things you know annoy them because its funny, it'll stop being funny
72. light candles after the kids go to bed
73. give them little neck/back/foot messages just because
74. hide little gifts or favorite treats in their car/sock drawer/desk/under their pillow
75. go on regular date nights
Well there you have it! We could all talk i'm sure and raise this list to 5,000 or so, because we're all different, and there's really no end to the tiny things that make all the difference in a relationship. That being said if there is something or things you'd like to share that you try to do, or love that your significant other does(keep it pg-13:)), please share! Heaven knows nobodies perfect, and we need all the help we can get:)
Well, I hope you come back tomorrow for a really exciting post, and every day the rest of this week for some awesome things I have coming!
Hope you have a great rest of your Sunday, and a fabulous start to the week tomorrow,
xo, Emmy

24 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing emmy! It was nice to read some and see some things that me and my boyfriend of 6 years do together still and then some we could definitely work on. It also helped me appreciate some things on this list that I wasn't paying attention to before. I really love this list... super helpful!

    http://run2thewild.blogspot.com/

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  2. love that post dear:)<3
    It gives me some ideas on how to surprise my boyfriend:)

    kisses
    www.fashionmemos.blogspot.com

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  3. great recomendations, thanx, dear!)

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  4. Great advice Em! Love your list and happy anniversary.

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  5. Great list - thank you for sharing : )

    You look so well matched - lovely photographs.

    Have a wonderful week.

    Yvonne : My Haunted Attic

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  6. Lovely list! I agree with sooo many of those!

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  7. Such great tips, and your pics are adorable!! <3

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  8. Really happy for you both! Keep up the fire and stay together :)

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  9. Great tips, hubby and I do most of them :) I would add: make time and pay attention, we all need attention especially from those we love the most.

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  10. Aw this is really beautiful !!! Thanks for your input !!

    you guys make a beautiful couple :)

    Jessica Michelle
    jmichellexobeauty.blogspot.com

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  11. Aww what a cute list!! Love it. I'm gonna bookmark this!

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  12. These are really awesome ways!!!! I've always had pretty much the same in my head... But in this busy world we should work hard to do some of them =)))

    Thanks for sharing!

    Natasha
    http://pursuit-of-inspiration.blogspot.com/
    http://oneworldfortwo.blogspot.com/

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  13. I love the pictures. The list is fantastic Hanna

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  14. I love this list and completely agree! People like to say they "fell out of love" but the truth is that they stopped trying to make their spouse happy, and focused on their own needs and wants. Something I would add is cooking for each other! When I know my husband has had a long day I try to have a meal ready for him, and he does the same for me! It really shows that you appreciate and care about the work your significant other is doing.

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  15. I love these suggestions and completely agree! People like to say they "fell out of love"but the truth is that they stopped working on the relationship and trying to make their spouse happy focused on what they wanted/needed from the relationship. One thing to add to the list could be not only to cook together, but to cook for each other! When i know my husband has had a long day, i try to have a home cooked meal ready when he gets home, and he does the same for me. It can be something extravegant if you have time, or just something simple, it's the thought that counts! It just shows that you appreciate and care how hard they work.

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  16. Great post! You two are so adorable! You are such a beautiful woman.. but I must say.. I wish you would wear some color on your lips! I've seen several of your posts pop up on Pinterest and I always think to myself, she's such a beauty and just missin' a little somethin'!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! You're so sweet, and I completely agree about the lip color by the way! haha
      As funny as it may sound I've always been a little self conscious of my lips, and felt like lipstick made them feel too big or made me look to costumy, but in the last 6 months or so I've started being a little more adventurous here and there and I'm getting a lot more comfortable with doing fun lip colors!
      I actually do that to myself too, particularly a few of my hair tutorials when I see them on pinterest I'm like "ugh. you can't even see I have any lips!" haha
      well anyways I really appreciate the feedback, and I'm getting better! :)

      Have a great Day!
      xo

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  17. this is great! last year my husband and i tried to do 52 dates. we wrote out 52 ideas and put them in a jar and drew one out every week. there were some that we had designated (pumpkin carving, chistmas lights, etc.) but we tried to do SOMETHING together every single week. and we tried to make it crazy and fun and something we didn't do every week.

    but i love this list. it's so important to never stop dating, even after "i do."

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  18. This is adorable and perfect for anyone in a relationship! Kori xoxo
    www.blondeepisodes.com

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  19. What a fantastic list! My husband and I have been best friends for about 21 years ( we met in grade school!) and are approaching our 10th wedding anniversary. I can honestly say the best thing you can do for your relationship is to show the love of your life what they mean to you and remind them why they fell in love with you, as well. Relationships are work, but the greatest love is the worth it! Anyway, I just have a recommendation to add to your list; last year for our 9th anniversary I wanted to do something extra special to show my husband how MUCH I love him and what he means to me. I bought a large glass vase from the dollar store, a package of red rose petals and another package in white. I wrote a list of all of the reasons I love my husband, and once I had the list perfected, I wrote each reason on a rose petal and placed it in the vase. I was able to come up with 365 reasons (one for each day of the year) this was a really great exercise for myself, as well and as I was writing each "reason" I was reliving the memory and emotion tied to them. Talk about reawakening feelings of pure love and emotion!! I think it was as much of a gift to myself as it was for him! When we have both had a hard or trying day, we love to sit together after the kiddo is in bed and pull out a petal and read it to each other and reminisce the memory and love we share. Best gift EVER for a loving relationship!!

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  20. Great list - I would add turning the TV off as much as possible, it can be a deadly distraction!

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  21. I found your blog today and I just love it! This list is so great. Seeing so many things that my husband and I try to do as often as possible makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have him. And you had a few ideas I'm looking forward to trying out. Also I have looked at a couple of your hair tutorials and wow you know what you're doing! Anyway I will definitely be visiting your page again soon :)

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