Q&A about LOVE with Stevie & Sazan

This week our limited edition Love Notes collection candle set went live in the S+S Goods shop and they are going quick! The his + hers candle set is an extension of us and a representation of the two sides of our love story. Thank you to everyone who has supported us this launch, and if you would like to purchase the set you can by clicking here while they are still available. Today we are answering a few of the thoughtful questions you all sent us over on the @stevieandsazan instagram page. Since we've had love on the brain recently, we felt called to share some of our love story and relationship advice here with you.

How to not get lost in parenthood & keep working on our relationship?

The biggest thing for us is understanding the ecosystem in our household. It goes: God first, then our marriage, then everything else in our life underneath that including our children. We really try to prioritize our time with each other because even though we work together on a daily basis, it’s very different than the intentional time we put into our actual personal relationship. One of the ways in which we nurture our marriage despite having two kids is by being more intentional with the time that we can have together. We try to prioritize a date night every week.  (Date nights don't have to be fancy!) For us, going into those date nights with that intention that we’re going to check in with how things have been going lately in our marriage and ways that we can be better for each other always feels like a reboot.

How to have a healthy relationship with social media?

We love social media. It’s been obviously a space for us to build an entire life from, to make a living off of, and to connect with millions and there’s so much beauty in that. However, we firmly believe you should never ever let anything take away your peace. If it pauses your peace it’s not worth it. Be sure to keep yourself in check and to stay in tune with the life that you have. Try not to look to your left and to your right on social media to compare. It’s so easy for us all to compare ourselves to other couples, other people, other creators, other businesses, the list goes on. We would just say, do not let the whimsical world of social media (which is only a glimpse into peoples lives) make you question yours. Don’t let it question your relationships, passions, and the things that you have in front of you today. Just constantly be aware of how much you’re consuming and ask yourself, "Is this influencing me in a way that’s bringing me peace and understanding? Or is this influencing me in a way where it’s making me feel really crappy about myself or my life?"  The only real person who understands what you’re going through 110%, even more than you, is God. Keeping God at the center of your relationship and letting God be that external and internal influence allows you cast out anything else that tries to get in the way.

One year wedding anniversary recommendations, please?

There’s something about firsts that we put so much pressure on it where we feel like we have to really go all out. We felt that same type of pressure when it was our one year anniversary. We had all of these ideas and wanted to make it this amazing thing. We wanted to go away on a trip and all the stuff but then we actually ended up having a really special night in. We were trying to save money at that time, so we decided to make some of the meals that we had on our wedding day, which was the traditional Kurdish. We were able to create a really romantic environment in our home and just reflect on the first year of marriage in a really quiet intimate space. For dessert we actually kept the top tier of our wedding cake in the freezer but we had moved from an apartment into a home and the cake ended up getting lost for a bit in the move. So when we pulled it out of the freezer and actually tried it after it had thawed out, it tasted so nasty. It totally did not taste like the delicious red velvet wedding cake that we had a year prior! Ir ended up being such a hilarious memory that we look back on. Later we had some rose petals that led to the bathroom and we took a cozy little bubble bath together. It was just a special night at home, our advice to you is not to feel like you have to pressure yourself to go all out.

How to navigate how often you see each other’s families (ie. Holidays)?

We decided early on in our marriage to switch back-and-forth between families for the holidays. It’s really no pressure. We really love that both of our families have this understanding that we have kids, and we have a business, and life going on. We really just try to be as intentional as we can because family really is everything. It’s a huge part of who we are and who we want our children to be around. We have found that just communicating upfront in an advance and letting the families know the plan is the best policy. Upfront communication is always the best policy in every area of life, but especially when you have so many family members to that you want to cherish and make memories with.

Should I enter a relationship with someone who seems so opposite of me? How to navigate a different background / “type” and be open to the possibilities:

We love this question because speaking from experience we dealt with cultural barriers of knowing that if we were to start a relationship it probably couldn’t go very far because it wouldn’t be accepted in Sazan's family.  For some people, it’s those small little details like the physical attributes aspect of a 'type' that can get in the way their journey. It's OK to have a type, but it’s so important to be a little bit more open to what God can do through somebody crossing your path. It might even be better than what you ever expected or what you originally had in mind. That really, truthfully, has been the case for us in every department of our life. So be open to somebody who has different ways of seeing things than you. Although, it's really important to stand your ground if you really want to have the same foundational understandings or faith. For everyone that is currently in a season where you’re single we would just say open your heart and see what God is going to do. We are so glad that we listened to our hearts and allowed God to lead us and really be that matchmaker. So often we get in the way of really amazing blessings and things that are right in front of us. Sometimes we just need to get out of our own way and allow our cells to move freely into the spaces and places that God has just so beautifully and intentionally put before us. Thats what our whole Love Notes collection story is celebrating. It's the beauty of a timeless love. It is about an enduring love story. It’s about choosing each other despite the seasons and the hard times. It’s about really opening your heart and letting love lead the way.

Shop our Love Notes Candle Set here. The collection is very limited, and truly comes from our hearts. Thank you for all the support we've recieved, and as a gift from us all new newsletter subscribers will receive 10% off their first S+S Goods order.

With Love,

Stevie + Sazan