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Hi guys!

I just wanted to pop over real quick to let you know that my new blog, FireWifey is up and running. I’ve been having some fun over there: making mojitos, talking about my new tattoo, and sharing my heart during virtual coffee dates.

I would love to have you ladies (and gentlemen) join me over there. Please follow me on BlogLovin, or just leave me a comment to say hello! :)

Also, Emily is also still blogging strong over at Sparkle Meets Pop. I’ve enjoyed reading about her time at FABB West, how to make a flapper headband, and of course, her “In Da House” series. Make sure to follow her on BlogLovin too.

And, as always, you can find me around the web (twitter and instagram) as @themegababe, and Emily as @sparklemeetspop.

Hope you all are doing well!

Love, Megan

Next Steps for NewlyWife

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Hello, dear readers. We owe you a big apology for up and vanishing on you. We are so very sorry for the blog silence. You see, Megan and I had awhile ago decided that we needed a break and perhaps a change of direction. With the holidays and New Year busyness, we stopped posting altogether. We semi-officially moved on without ever commenting about our absence. Our bad.

Why a break and change of direction?

Speaking for myself, I wasn’t as fulfilled writing about newlywed life as I once was, no matter how hard I tried to shake the feeling. Posting went from an act of joy to a chore that if I didn’t complete, I’d let Megan and you all down. Essentially, I was letting guilt and a sense of duty take over, which isn’t sustainable.

Here’s Megan’s take: It was the same for me. It’s not that I don’t love my husband or cousin / blog partner, it was that writing this had become a hassle and not a fun / enjoyable thing. Pretty much what Em said.

So what’s next? In short, we’re hoping to sell NewlyWife.

Ideally, we don’t want to see NewlyWife go. We’ve had too much fun and worked too hard to completely say goodbye. We’d love to have someone pick up the NewlyWife torch and continue on with new fervor. Maybe this person could even be you!

Why buy NewlyWife? We have built a great foundation since February 2010. The blog is set up and ready to go with a custom domain and website design, revenue stream, affordable hosting, established social networks, dedicated readership and WordPress functionality. For someone new to blogging or just starting, it’s a chance to jump in without the growing pains that establishing a new blog can bring.

NewlyWife Stats:

  • Growing strong: Nearly 13,000 unique views monthly, growing nearly 30% from the previous month
  • Dedicated followers: More than 600 followers across established social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
  • Network connections: We are a DailyBuzz Food featured publisher, with drastically discounted access to yearly foodie event
  • Curated content: NewlyWife boasts 925 posts over three years
  • Established web presence: Solid referral traffic from Google and other search engines, Pinterest and other blogs
  • Untapped monetization potential: With traffic and strong readership, there’s a foundation in place to earn (see below)
As for the untapped monetization potential, it’s basically this: We felt burned by a two-year ad network contract that didn’t deliver as advertised and didn’t allow us to earn revenue outside of their services. Since the contract ended a few months ago, we lost momentum for the blog in general, let alone advertising and seeking out sponsorships.

Megan and I are willing to work with you to bring the site forward with your vision. Want to make us an offer? Want to be notified if the site goes up for auction? Drop us a line via our contact page. We would be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you for your years of support!

Thanks again for your years of readership. We have loved sharing our newlywed adventures with you all and getting to know you. We’ll keep you posted about what the future holds. Until then, you can follow me at Sparkle Meets Pop and Megan at Crochet Everyday.

Love,

Emily & Megan

Eggnog French Toast

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bread and pomegranate arils

French toast has wiggled its way into the Saturday morning breakfast rotation at our house, along with waffles and pancakes. I thought spiking our French toast with a healthy dose of eggnog would be a delcious way to enjoy this holiday drink that I can’t get enough of. I know not everyone is a fan of eggnog, but if you want a real treat, try eggnog from a local dairy, such as Straus Creamery in the Bay Area. Straus eggnog tastes like the eggnog we used to make when I was growing up—pure, custardy and good enough to drink straight from the bottle.

french toast 1_600px

To cut down on morning prep time, I prepare the eggnog batter the night before. It may only save a few minutes, but it makes a world of difference when I’m cozy in bed and wishing breakfast would cook itself.

Don’t forget to add some festive flair to your Eggnog French toast by topping it with pomegranate arils. These tart, crunchy gems are a perfect complement to sweet syrup and eggnog custard of the French toast.

I like to use Challah bread, which makes for a custardy interior (and takes a shorter soaking time). Feel free to use a sturdier bread if you prefer a less custardy French toast. 

Eggnog French Toast

Print recipe
Eggnog French Toast
Serves 4
Eggnog French Toast is the perfect way to enjoy eggnog round the clock, even for breakfast.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups eggnog
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons rum
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 loaf challah or brioche bread (cut into 1/2-inch thick slices)
  • pomegranate arils (seeds) (from one pomegranate)
  • ginger or maple syrup

Directions

1. Whisk together the eggnog, eggs, rum and nutmeg in a pie plate or 9x13” pan. Soak the bread in the eggnog batter, turning once. (Challah or brioche only needs a minute of soaking.)
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and place ½ tablespoon butter in skillet. When the butter in the skillet begins to foam, place the soaked bread pieces in the pan and cook until golden brown or just beginning to char, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook second side.
3. Repeat with remaining bread. Serve with pomegranate arils and syrup.

Two become One

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The two become one.   I heard that a lot before marriage, and even as we started off our marriage — but I never put too much thought into it.  Matthew and I are starting to work through some of our issues and we have come to realize a few things about that statement.  Just the other day I said “you know, I think I somehow thought we were both going to be the same people, doing the same things, just sharing a bed.”  He actually agreed with me.  Let me tell you, that is not marriage.

In order for a marriage to work, you need to mesh your lives.  I would hate to wake up one day, 20 years down the road, and realize that we were both just doing our own thing, and sharing a bed at night.  That description is two separate lives, not two lives joined together.  Our good friend demonstrated this to us in a great way.  He had two plates on the table, next to each other.   He talked about how that was us now, ready to be joined.  Once we got married the plate would overlap a little, and the goal would be for them to mostly be overlapping, but with each plate having a little bit of it’s own space.

The idea is that most of your lives are together: mutual activities, interests and ideas. That “us” part in the middle will grow bigger. You will have a few things that you either disagree on or only one of you prefers, but that is a minority.  Matt and I have been working on expanding that mutual shared space on the plates.  The gardening video is a great example.  We have also started washing the cars together on Sunday mornings.  I still love to crochet, and he still loves to paint stuff; but we are learning to love more about and with each other.  And that shared bed, well it is just a great perk!

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