What one year of marriage has taught me about love, healthy choices, and dreaming big
My reflections on 1 year of marriage along with lots of photos from our wedding (and a bonus from the 1st date), with commentary! I also share the details of how I started my own business :)
A special edition Wellness Wednesday blog post presented by Grace & Greens. Stay tuned for the weekly grocery guide (meal plan, recipes, and prep guide) launching every Saturday.
A lot can happen in one year – and if we don’t pause and reflect, you might miss out on some wonderful learnings from even the most normal of days. The practices of reflection and gratitude are so helpful to organize our minds, gain awareness of what’s happening around us, and even help to experience more joy for the life that we have.
My husband, Will, and I got married on Sunday, June 23, 2024 and celebrated our one year anniversary this week. In an effort to reflect and express gratitude for this wonderful life, there were so many sweet reminders of what the past year entailed. Not only did I get married to my sweet love and start a life with him, but I also started my own business, and continued to build a strong rhythm with my health.
Love is a powerful and beautiful thing
Whether platonically or romantically, every one of us has experienced love. Maybe it was the care of your mother growing up or the way your dog greets you every time you enter the house; what about when your friend buys your coffee “just because” or someone goes the extra mile for you even though it will greatly inconvenience them. Love shows up in so many ways and I am thankful to be surrounded by people who show me what true, deeply meaningful love looks like in His image, throughout my life.
One of the sweetest parts about marrying my best friend is simply how much time we get to spend together, day in and day out. Merging two lives together is beautiful, but as with every change also comes with challenges. We all have preferences, patterns, and at times, frustrations. It is in those tough times that showing and having love for one another can be most vital.
This year has shown me more ways to love: showing up, asking thoughtful questions, encouraging one another, forgiving quickly, and genuinely enjoying time together no matter the task at hand.
Here are some questions for reflection on your own life:
What has love taught you in the last year?
How do you want to love the people around you well?
Who’s someone that loves people well? How do you want to emulate that?
Being healthy is about consistency & balance
My journey to living a healthier life has been a series of lessons learned, starting off as a picky eater to trying different diets and impacting my hormone health; to where I am today, living a much more balanced life. What amazes me is how each person’s journey is unique, and every one of us can learn something from those around us. Will and I have taught each other a lot about what making healthy choices means throughout our relationship.
One of the first dates we had, Will invited me over to his house to cook a meal for me, something I figured he greatly enjoyed. I was so excited when he made a salmon & rice dish with grilled asparagus, which did not disappoint. After spending more time together, learning each others habits and ways, I quickly learned that Will loved to grab something from a fast-food restaurant. I was a bit surprised, especially after he made that delicious meal for me. But, what a sign of love that he was showing me, knowing that I would love a home-cooked meal and that salmon is one of my favorites!
As a single guy living on his own, he chose fast food because it was easier in his mind than going grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning everything up. At the time and still to this day, I feel confident that eating out for almost every meal was not supporting his health or his food budget. Though he still loves a meal out, he agrees that he approaches this with much more moderation today.
Merging lives and making healthy choices
The more time we spent together, the more I was able to show him how eating a meal at home doesn’t have to be complicated, and healthy food can actually taste really delicious if you know how to prepare it. (Some foreshadowing for Grace & Greens) I continued to hone in on my cooking skills and he worked to improve his palate, incorporating more nutritious meals into his life. Through this, both of us learned the importance of pushing each other to be the best version of ourselves and to expand our horizons to learn & try new things.
As we continued to merge our lives, getting married, moving into our home together, and doing life day in and day out, this is when we really were able to encourage each other the most. When one person in the home struggles to make healthy choices, it becomes harder for everyone else to stay consistent too. If you’ve ever heard the quote “you become like the 5 people you spend the most time around” I believe it is so accurate. This can be both a positive and negative thing, but constant and open communication can really help this, as you are striving to live a healthier lifestyle. (Here is some other great advice as well!)
Will and I both have come to the conclusion that we want to live a long and healthy life, with the energy to do the things we love. With that, making strict and regimented choices every single day is not what will be most sustainable for us. Instead, having a more balanced approach that is focused on consistency over perfection, we are doing what we can to live this life well for many years to come.
I am so thankful that Will reminds me how important having balance is, especially during times when I slip into wanting to do everything perfectly. And for Will, I love to encourage and support him to make healthy choices even when he isn’t feeling motivated. Together, we are able to choose healthy, nourishing ways of doing things.
Here are some questions to reflect on in your own life:
What are some current rhythms you have that support a healthy & balanced life?
Is there a habit you want to shift as you strive towards a healthier life?
Dreaming big
I once read Dream Big by Bob Goff which planted a powerful idea in my mind: I realized that to achieve big dreams, I have to take action. Looking back on my years, I have had many dreams and ideas of what I want to do in the future. While I have achieved some of my goals, there are many more that have taken more time for me to spring into action.
A timeline of dream seeds being planted
In 2008, I loved the idea of starting my own business one day, spending Saturday mornings hosting lemonade stands at the end of our driveway.
As I grew older, I dreamed of teaching others and helping them learn, spending hours in the playroom with my sister hosting “class.”
During the later years of high school, I fell in love with reading and storytelling, sparking my interest in writing. I signed up for a creative non-fiction writing course in college, which only fueled my interests further.
Once I started living on my own, I enjoyed trying new recipes in the kitchen, volunteering at my college’s garden club, and frequenting the local farmer’s market.
COVID nudged me to begin sharing recipes as a way to connect with family & friends, helping people stay healthy during difficult times.
After graduating undergrad, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a Masters in Marketing. Upon completion of the program I began a full-time career in marketing back in North Carolina.
Will and I started dating, got engaged, and got married! During this time, I started growing my own garden, created new recipes often, and continue to sharpen my cooking skills through classes and my knowledge of healthy living through books.
Between my initial sharing of recipes in 2020 and the four years following, a lot was happening, pushing many of these little seeds of entrepreneurship, health, cooking, and writing to the back of my mind.
It wasn’t until Will and I began discussing our future plans and goals that these little seeds started coming to the front of my mind again. Will loves to dream! He has an imagination and ideas of all sorts, ready for every adventure and opportunity that faces him. I too, love an adventure, but am a bit more cautious when it comes to taking action. Fortunately, Will is one of those people who has played a role in who I’m becoming, encouraging me to adventure more and achieve big dreams!
The nurturing of dream seeds
Shortly after we got married, we had the pleasure of spending one month in Europe; 2 weeks in Switzerland for my job and 2 weeks in Italy & Greece for our honeymoon. Lots of time was spent traveling via plane, boat, train, and car, which offered plenty of time for thinking and talking. One of the ways I enjoyed passing this time was by journaling to capture everything we were eating, seeing, and experiencing together in these new locations. Occasionally, I would write a short story, inspired by our surroundings. It was as if each travel experience gave me a fresh perspective, opening my mind to new possibilities.
Navigating through the turns of Paros, Greece in our miniature rental car from one beach spot to the next, Will turns to me and asks “What if you were a writer?” I had just been sharing with him the stories I had written that morning with such excitement pouring out of me. I kind of pushed the idea aside, as if the thought was completely unrealistic. But, I do remember sharing with him what it is I so enjoy about writing - I love writing because I can capture the memories of a special experience, holding onto them to enjoy for the future, and sharing them with others to inspire, encourage, or simply invite them into something I felt. We didn’t talk much about it the rest of the trip, though I did continue to ponder the idea.
After returning home from our travels and more conversations about what the future holds for our new family, I continued to think about what it would look like to write more and share healthy & delicious recipes with others. I was having such a fun time with a bigger kitchen in this new home, making meals not only for myself, but also for Will to enjoy! (All of our new kitchen appliances from the wedding registry were an added bonus) I started telling friends that I was going to start sharing my recipes again and only heard words of encouragement for them. I decided to just give it a try, because after all, you never know what might happen.
How dreams took root with Grace & Greens
In October of 2024, I started posting recipes and videos on social media again. It was fun to share something and hear from a family member or friend that they tried the recipe at home and loved it!
I greatly anticipated the weekends, filled with grocery shopping and creating new recipes. Each evening, I would return from my corporate job to edit videos, write blog posts, and share more about each of the dishes I developed. While I greatly enjoyed this creative outlet, the entrepreneurial side of me was bursting at the seams –– How could I turn this into a business? How could I keep doing more of this to help people?
Talking with many of my friends about their struggles when it comes to cooking and healthy eating, I started sharing what I was making for the week, along with my grocery list and recipes for the meals. If I could help my friends spend less time being frustrated or overwhelmed, and help them save on their weekly food budgets, I was glad to do it. Using the
platform to share these details each week, I noticed the community starting to build with people I didn’t know. I was excited when I first got comments and messages, hearing from people about how I was helping them. This continues to fuel me in the work I do each day, knowing that I am able to help people live healthier lives.At the start of January 2025, the blog was continuing to pick up and I officially launched Grace & Greens as a business. I wanted to continue to help busy people all around the world live healthier lives, and this felt like the next right step.
Just before the launch I was invited to attend Expo West, one of the largest natural food conferences, and attended in March of 2025. Returning from the conference, meeting many people and well-known brands that are helping people live healthier lives, I was buzzing with energy. I could see the goal ahead of me and knew that I wanted to fully commit my time to growing this business.
When Will and I discussed this, I was amazed with the way he encouraged and supported me. He felt confident in the gifts I was given and the call I felt, and quickly encouraged me to do this business full-time, despite all of the unknowns that come with any new venture. He saw my passion, my drive, and my energy and showed me such love in the way he cared for me as I dreamed big. For that, I am forever grateful! Each day, I show up not trying to do it all perfectly, but striving to move in the right direction towards these big goals for Grace & Greens.
Special thanks to YOU for reading blogs, creating recipes, and sharing within the community. Whether you’ve been here for a while or new to the community, I’m so glad you are here! I am even more excited for what the future holds with Grace & Greens, with a steady mission of helping you live a healthier life!
Here are some questions to reflect on in your own life:
What is a dream you have for one day in the future?
What’s one small step you could take today to move closer to that dream?
I am so beyond thankful for where I am now and what I have learned in the past year about love, healthy choices, and dreaming big. Both Will and I are continuing to learn and grow together every single day, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Thanks for sticking with me through the details! May this encourage and inspire you, wherever you are in the stages of life. Each season has its reason, make the most of it and continue to learn along the way!
Keep scrolling so you can enjoy some of my favorite moments captured from our wedding & a look at our first date (where the theme of good foods & fun experiences all started).
Best,
Grace
Some of my favorite moments captured from our wedding & a look at our first date (where the theme of good food & fun experiences all started)
Happy Anniversary Grace! Wishing you many more happy years!❤️
Loved this so much! Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures. I am almost ten years in and the man that I married is so different, we both are! Wishing many more years for you and your husband 🥰