Marriage, as they say, is a game of give and take. 10 years on, the old cliche’s remain true: You have to pick your battles, and you have to embrace when it’s time to compromise — but most of all, you have to make sure you never fight when your hungry or tired!

Anna’s always been big on making her environment feel like home. She’s always cared about the lighting, the feeling you get when you walk into a space, and the delicate balance of art and science that is self-expression within your home. This understanding of how to set a mood and make a place her own is what first moved me to dub her the unofficial-but-completely-official “Vibe Czar”.

Despite her own proficiency as a Vibe Czar, she’s always been kind enough to include me in the decision-making process (er, run her decisions by me).

“Do you like this rug or that one better?”

“What if we tried wallpaper in this room?”

“Would you care if we tried new nightstands?”

I was and am happy to give my uneducated opinion on whatever she asks me, all while admitting I have very little reference point for what made one piece “better” than another — especially early in our marriage. However, there was one request where I had to draw the line early on: throw pillows.

Where normally I was engaged and attentive, trying my best to care about curtains would look best in our living room, Anna grew frustrated (as I grew wary) whenever the subject of throw pillows came up. To her credit, she values my opinions and wants my insights. The problem was at the time I had no opinions or insights of any discernable merit!

Most things I can figure out on the fly — I like to think I’m clever in that way. But throw pillows? I simply had never noticed a throw pillow and thought “that’s nice”, and therefore had no point of reference for what made one good, great, or horrible.

Anyways, we finally reached a boiling point where she needed an opinion, while I finally had self-awareness and clarity to be able to communicate why I had no opinion on these specific little squares. Her response was, “oh, that actually makes a ton of sense.”

So, for about 8 years, she never once asked me about throw pillows.

Now, I have a bit of a better understanding of the subject after paying slightly more attention over the years, so I lend a helping hand where I can. As we’ve talked a lot about lately, we’ve found Wayfair to be an especially helpful place to find these bits and bobs for the home. Their selection of decorative pillows (and well, everything else, too) is comprehensive to say the least and gives you the option to search and filter by brands, ratings, and price point. They’re also currently offering their Black Friday Preview with prices Up to 70% Off + Fast Shipping!

We’ve listed some of our favorite finds below if you’re looking to spruce up a space or need some inspo!

*This post is sponsored by Wayfair.