I realized I have not been on here since October (sheesh!!) after my mom mentioned she hadn’t received a post notification in so long. I got busy with work and the holidays and then a two week visit to see Jack just before Christmas. That time period really does go by in the blink of an eye and before you know it it’s already the new year.
I had never even meant to take a break but without a laptop it is hard to remember to always make posts and really keep it in the front of my brain. Excuses I know but they have some truth to them.
I felt compelled to pick it back up, or at least attempt to yet again, when my mom brought it up and I realized it may help with all that I am struggling with lately. I have been having a hard time with distance, anxieties about a lot of things, and depression. I was hoping that maybe this would help me to focus on other things and possibly bring me out of my depression and calm my anxieties. It has always helped me with a lot of things, I don’t know why I don’t keep on top of the blog for that reason alone.
We will see if I can continue updating the blog, I think I am better at saying I will than doing so (if you couldn’t tell already).
Here is a picture from my visit right before Christmas
A couple of weeks ago I did a post on the Top Places in the U.S. I Want to Visit. I thought it would be fun to continue that ‘series’ and list the top places in the world that I want to visit. My traveling itch is still bad so I loved getting to explore countries and the idea of traveling even more! Here are five of my top places in the world that I would love to visit:
Italy
Italy is easily my #1 pick for international travel. The food, culture, history, people, language, basically everything seem utterly perfect. I want to eat my weight in pizza and pasta and walk around the old cities and walk to historical landmarks. To me the perfect place is Italy and if it even lived up to only half of my hopes for it it wouldbe amazing!
Ireland
I am about a large part Irish, my middle game is actually Gaelic (Irish) for my grandmothers name. I have always dreamed of visiting where my ancestors came from. Another thing that inspired my want to visit is the book ‘Angela’s Ashes’. It was an assigned reading book for my freshman Honors English class and I loved the book. It follows a young boy through Ireland during the famine (highly recommend).
Two of my fave bloggers, Julia Engel of GalMeetsGlam and Carly of CollegePrepster, visited it together and it looked as dreamy as I imagined. You can see some of their visit here and here.
England
Ever since I was little I swore to my family I was going to move to England and still if given the chance I totally would. Jack recently said he wants to move their and all I can think about is living there together. I could imagine us going to pubs, watching football (aka soccer) games for Jack and living the city life in London. I am still trying to convince him we should make it a reality one day! I would love the food, culture, weather and people I just know it.
Germany
I am part German as well and have always wanted to visit it to see where my ancestors came from. I also would also like to see old Nazi historical sites as well as sites from WWII. I have always been very interested in WWII and originally wanted to be a history major with an emphasis during that era. It would be remarkable to pay tribute and respect those who suffered and passed. On a lighter note I have a love for German food and German delis!
There are so many places all over the world that I would love to visit in my lifetime, this is only just the beginning! I am hoping one day I can muster up the courage and visit and experience a whole new country, and hopefully convince Jack to tag along with me. Hopefully it happens soon!
Have a wonderful start of the week everyone, we are already more than halfway through this month!
I wanted to squeeze in one more post before the weekend to make up for my week long break!
Here are some of my recent favorites and finds:
Southwest Rapid Rewards Program– Jack and I already bought our tickets to see each other for December, I wanted to get ahead while I had the money and purchase them while they are pretty cheap. After scouring through all my usual sites (Expedia, Southwest, Kayak) I found an insanely cheap one for $65 for the plane ticket to Louisiana on Southwest and was all ready to book it until I figured I should check how many points it was because it was so cheap dollar wise. It ended up being only about 3,000 RR points and I had 8,500 accumulated from previous points. We only ended up paying the 9/11 fee of $6, it was amazing!! If you fly at all to see you significant other or for any reason, sign up for rewards programs through multiple airlines. I do not always fly Southwest but they do tend to have some of the cheapest flights for us so it is totally worth it.
Conviction–I randomly caught the pilot episode of this new ABC show and was instantly hooked. I love any show that incorporates law, mystery and politics in one. It follows Hayes Morrison, a former first daughter, who gets a new job in exchange for clearing her most recent arresting. Her new job involves pulling up old cases and seeing if the person was wrongly convicted. It is only two episodes in but I really like it. It on Tuesdays so try and catch the next one!
J.Crew x New Balance Collab– OMG this collaboration is adorable! I love J.Crew (It is one of my all time favorite brands) and I love athletic wear so this combination is a match made in heaven. The prints and simplicity of the wear is totally the J.Crew style. I want to buy it all! I really want these pants.
Tory Sport, Tory Burch’s Sport line is just as dreamy, and dare I say even cuter!
Favorite Tunes– My music taste is very eclectic and to some (aka Jack) weird but I thought I would share some of my top tunes recently!
Dont Wanna Know- Maroon 5 (Feat Kendrick Lamar) // Broccoli- D.R.A.M. (Feat Lil Yachty) // Gold- Kiiara // Unsteady- C Ambassadors // LUV- Tory Lanez (Jack introduced this to me and I originally hated it but cant stop listening to it now)
I hope you enjoyed some of this weeks favorites and thank you for sticking with me through my week break! Next week I will be posting like usual. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Hello everyone! Can you believe the week is already more than half way over?
Jack left early Sunday morning after a quick but wonderful trip (there’s my excuse for so few posts this past week). He arrived in the afternoon on Wednesday and I picked him up from the airport and we grabbed lunch at The Grove. I knew the three days would fly by insanely quick so I wanted to savor every little moment we had together. We were able to go to Disneyland one day, watch the Red Sox play another and go to a couple of our favorite food places and spend a day with my family watching football at home. It was so great!
This trip was exactly what I needed, I mean when do I not need to see Jack though? But it was nice to have a couple days together again especially since he was visiting me this time in California.
I visit Jack more often because of work schedules and school and I do not mind, I usually tend to prefer it that way, but it’s much easier for me when I’m not the one leaving. When I leave Jack and go to the airport I have had anxiety/panic attacks in the bathroom. Something about leaving him and then being stuck in the airport and in the air for a couple hours after freaks me out badly and emotionally it takes a huge toll on me so I was thankful it was him leaving and not me, it was much better for me.
I was sad to see this trip end but it was absolutely amazing having 3 full days together! And since we weren’t planning on this trip or expecting to see each other till December it was the much sweeter. It was quick but absolutely perfect!
I’ll be sharing pictures and more details of our trip tomorrow, as well as discuss financial woes when being in a long distance relationship later this week.
I am so so happy to report that Jack will be visiting me on Wednesday for a quick trip during his Fall break! He text me last week asking if I could get a couple days off this coming weekend because he just happened to look and found great tickets. I (of course) said yes, I mean I’d do anything to have him here again! Thankfully I was able to get all the days off and I’m so happy.
I have to say that long distance has been so much easier since we’ve been able to see each other so much more often. This year alone we’ve had an abundance of trips with very few large breaks in between trips. I’m so thankful for this (although my wallet definitely isn’t), it makes it much easier and allows us to be able to do so much together.
This trip is about 5 days total and we have 3 full days to do whatever we would like. So far we have a trip to Disneyland planned (yay), possibly a trip to the Apple farm, and hopefully we can go get pumpkins at a pumpkin patch. I’ve been dying to be able to do Fall things together. Any suggestions on things we should squeeze in this trip?
I just cannot wait to be back together! It’s only been two weeks since we last said goodbye but I cannot get enough of my favorite person. We originally thought we wouldn’t see each other until December so this was the best surprise trip.
Have a wonderful rest of your Monday everyone, hopefully you have something to make you happy like me.
Another week down and a new one beginning today, happy Monday everyone!
I have had a major itch to travel places in the recent weeks. I think it all began when Jack said he wants to move to England and my imagination ran wild with us picking up and moving across the pond. Ever since then I have been dying to go somewhere new! I thought I would list my top 5 places I would like to visit in the United States in no particular order, enjoy:
Charleston, SC
I love the history and culture of the old South and Charleston, South Carolina has always been one of my dream places to visit. I have seen pictures of the old, historic homes and totally dream of walking the street (and one day owning one if I ever win the lottery). One of my favorite bloggers, Julia Engel of GalMeetsGlam, is moving there from San Francisco this month and I cannot wait to see the city through her blog.
Hawaii
This one is a no brainer! I have never been to Hawaii and would love to visit. Everyone says you must go once… or twenty times in your life. It is said that they have some of the best beaches in the world. I would love to see the volcanoes, go snorkeling and really experience all of the nature activities it has. I do think I’ll save Hawaii for whenever I go on a honeymoon, it always seemed the like the perfect honeymoon destination.
My absolute dream home in CT
Connecticut
Ever feel like you just belong somewhere? For me it is definitely New England! I feel like I would love the atmosphere, the weather, the people, the culture, just everything. I have visited Boston and New Hampshire (both with Jack) before and LOVE it! My family and I have always seen myself settling down on the East coast and Connecticut has been on the top of my list forever, first I just have to visit. Every picture I have seen looks absolutely gorgeous and they experience all four seasons. As a person from Southern California that is my dream.
Maine
Maine is definitely at the top of my list for places to visit. Jack was born and raised most of his childhood in Maine and I really want to see where her grew up. When I first met Jack I knew nothing about Maine; it was kind of like one of those states you just forget about. I thought everyone either fished for lobsters or shot moose but according to Jack that’s not the norm (I’ll still need to see it to believe it). The slogan for Maine is “the way life should be” and I would love to see if it truly is. Plus I am a sucker for lighthouses!
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is at the very top of my list of places to visit, specifically Newport, Rhode Island. I love small coastal towns (my very favorite is Portsmouth, NH) and Newport, RI looks like the perfect small town right on the water with a New England feel. To me it looks similar to Nantucket, another one on my list, and I love it. My absolute dream would be to go sailing in the water in a city like this. It looks like absolute perfection!
I hope to cross these of my list soon and add even more places! What are your favorite places to visit in the United States? I would love to hear about them. Soon I will be posting my top five places in the world I would like to visit so stay tuned.
Hello everyone happy Monday, this weekend went by with a blink of the eye sadly!
I’ve been incorporating some ‘lifestyle’ posts into the blog but I do want to stay true to what inspired me to write the blog, my long distance relationship. I got back from a visit two weeks ago (to this day) and I have been reminded of the process of coming back and getting back into the normal swing of things without Jack by my side and it of course has been very hard. I’ve been way more irritable about things and just have not been myself so I’m whipping myself back into shape (literally and mentally) starting today!
Today I’m stepping back into what made me happy before and my routine of life; I’m going back into the gym and getting back to eating well and being happy. I allowed myself two weeks to grieve being away from Jack again and feeling alone. I think it’s very healthy to ‘grieve’ or be sad for a period of time but in the end you mustn’t let it take over you.
I gave myself time (maybe a little bit too much) to just be sad once I got back from my trip. Cry if you want to, mope around, be quiet, you deserve it. You’ve left someone you love and you may be feeling alone. You cannot just leave your significant other and come back like nothing happened (but if you can I applaud you), but for most that is just not possible. Give yourself a week or two and eat ice cream, lay around, watch movies and just do what makes you happy BUT then turn it around, pull up your boot straps, and get tough. Do what you have to, find good and healthy things to cheer you up. I have come to learn many times that you cannot let your sadness define your life.
People will push for you to heal quickly but do not go according to their schedule, you know your heart better than them.
Today’s post was a little bit of word vomit but the grieving period of a long distance relationship is an important one in my opinion and is often pushed aside. Tomorrow I will be talking about something I do to help push me out of my sadness and how Jack is joining me this time so check back here tomorrow.
Have a wonderful rest of your day! Let this Monday set the tone for the rest of the week, so make it a good one.
Happy Friday everyone, can you believe another week has passed?
I cannot wait for the weekend, with a birthday celebration for my little sister and a dog adoption even at my work I can’t wait! Let’s jump right into my ‘Friday Favorites’, these are becoming my favorite things:
The Good Place- I watched the first episode of this new show with my younger sister this past week and I laughed so many times during the episode. Kristen Bell is hilarious and completely relatable. It’s about this not so good gal that gets put into heaven by mistake; she is surrounded by all of these perfect people and tries to change her morals so she fits in and stays. I highly recommend you get into the show now! There has only been one episode and the second one is on tonight on NBC.
Travel Blogs– I have had the biggest itch to travel and explore new places lately. Many bloggers and Instagram’s that I follow have been traveling all over the world and it has not been helping. Lauren Wells of Laurenstephaniewells.com has been traveling through Portugal and it looks absolutely stunning! There are so many places I haven’t even thought of to travel like Portugal. At least until I saw Lauren’s pictures, now it is at the very top of my list. Lauren travels all over the world and documents it on her blog and Instagram and I am absolutely captivated. It’s making me want to travel that much more.
Travel Blogger Suggestions: Lucy Laucht of TheseForeignLands.com, Jenny Cipoletti of MargoandMe.com, and Julie Sarinana of SincerelyJules.com. (some are fashion, lifestyle, and travel bloggers and some are solely travel bloggers).
Dinosaur Boy Video– If you haven’t seen this video yet your day will be made. The little boy in the video, Noel, lists off the large names of the dinosaurs his mother shows him. Between his little glasses and heart melting accent you will want to squeeze the little boy. I only recently found out his mother has a YouTube page of Noel videos and I cannot wait to watch more!
Emmy’ s 2016 Award Show- I do not follow award shows too often, I mostly watch the red carpet and bits and pieces, most likely I will watch highlights the next morning. For the 2016 Emmy Award Show I was able to watch bits and pieces. I loved Jimmy Kimmel as the host, he was so funny and it did not feel like the show was hours long like they tend to do. I wish he would host award shows more often! My favorite part? His mom making PB&J sandwiches and the “Stranger Things” kids passing them out to the crowd.
Hands down the BEST dressed was Kristen Bell in Zuhair Murad. Oh my god this dressing was stunning! I absolutely fell in love with it the second I saw it. A close second of mine was Mandy Moore in Prabal Gurung.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! It is officially the start of Fall (as of Thursday) so go and do something fun and festive to kick the season off. Come back Monday for an all new post on Long Distance.
Hello, I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far!
One of my favorite things I have made for Jack is his scrapbook. My mom was and still is a huge craft lady. When I was younger my mother made all of her children a baby scrapbook that went up until our school years and then a schoolbook one that documented all of our school activities. All of my siblings and I hold them very near and dear; they allow us to look back easily on all of our memories and it is nice to not have to go through boxes of pictures. We are able to just flip through a book. (Plus my mom was the best at decorating pages adorably)
I love crafts almost as much as my mother and love making things for Jack. Once we began long distance I wanted him to have something to be able to look back on all of our memories and ones we will make. I originally just sent him some frames with pictures of us together but then really wanted to start a scrapbook. I began with a little one to start, we did not have too many pictures in the beginning because I was always too quiet to ask to take pictures everywhere. I always wanted to live more in the moment! Once we began taking more pictures we collected a ton.
Not too long after, I needed a new book to put our pictures in! I purchased a Creative Memories book similar to this one and began filling it. It is the perfect size for pictures and decorations but they do offer smaller ones if you want to keep it simpler. I highly recommend looking on the Creative Memories site for items such as page protectors, predesigned albums, and pages. We are still on the same book (its big) and after every trip I like to collect our pictures and fill up the book for Jack. I want him to have something to look at and make him feel better when we are apart. He has said he loves having it too remember all of our good times when he is down and that alone makes me so so happy I made it for him.
Here is a page from our book
Scrapbooks can be a big task with decorating and pictures, etc but do not worry they can be easy if you want. Instead of a scrapbook try a photo album. They have less decoration and only showcase the pictures so they are easy to make, all you have to do is print pictures. This is a great option if you are not the crafty or creative type.
Another great alternative is using an online scrapbook. Companies such as Shutterfly allow you to upload your pictures online, choose pages/decorations, and then they will print it and ship it to you. This is a great option if you want decoration but do not know how or where to purchase things. They look professionally made but have such a personal touch. I have linked the website.
Example Shutterfly pagePhoto albums and scrapbooks are an amazing way to show someone you care! Photos are one of my favorite things in the world because they allow me to relive a special moment and every moment I have with Jack is so incredibly special to me. Your significant other will appreciate a kind gesture like this so much, even if you just glue pictures of you guys on card stock paper trust me (especially sentimental girls like me)! Just do not forget to take pictures together.
PSA: This is the perfect anniversary gift for your significant other!
Hello everyone! Exactly one week ago I was coming home from visiting Jack for nearly 2 weeks (12 whole days together!). This week has surprisingly flown by, I feel like it’s been a day. I’m hoping this continues until I see him again.
We had so much fun together and I loved every second of it! It’s tough having the best two weeks ever together and feeling like a ‘normal’ couple for a little bit and then having it end. We did a couple big activities while I was out but also hung out a lot and just spent time together. Here are some highlights from our trip:
LSU Football Game- Thankfully there was a non SEC football game one Saturday that I was there and Jack was able to get a guest ticket for me! I went to a game last year but after waiting for the game it was postponed due to lightning and then cancelled. I was so bummed! Thankfully this game was only postponed by a little and not cancelled and LSU won! I love getting to see the tailgating and experience an SEC game, they are pretty awesome.
Drake Concert- As many of you may remember from my Weekly Roundup post I got Jack Drake tickets for out 4 year anniversary. The concert was on the second night I was there and it was amazing! Jack was a big fan of Futures part but I loved Drake. He was pumped and chose the perfect songs, he played every major hit of his and nearly all of my personal faves. The Summer Sixteen tour is definitely a must see!
This was my favorite room in the plantation, it was gorgeous
Plantation Tour- After seeing this plantation on Pinterest it has been a must visit for me, especially once I found out it was in Louisiana. Jack gave me the mission of finding things I wanted to do while we had free time so I googled to see how far away it was from us. And thankfully it was only a 30 minutes drive! Jack booked us tour tickets and I was beyond happy. Jack knows I love historic places and old architecture. The plantation was perfection, hands down the prettiest plantation! (Oak Alley Plantation is a close second) The inside is beautiful and the history has been upheld so well. Our tour guide was very well educated on the house and her enthusiasm for the plantation was infectious. I kept telling Jack I was ready to buy the place, if only they would accept $10 as a down payment.
Cooking- Like last time we were able to continue cooking meals together. This time we made chicken Parmesan sliders (we used this recipe) and they were delicious. Despite burning the bun a little we both really liked them! We also baked cookies but kept it simple and used store made cookie dough.
We also watched Narcos, had way too many ice cream dates, got to have a couple real Friday night and Saturday night date nights (loved these), and watched sports for Jack. This trip was the absolute best! I savor every second we have together, I’m always my happiest when I’m with Jack. Now back to reality again until December.
1780 Miles Away 