Survival Guide

So recently I was recommended a book from someone who went through a similar relationship transition like Alex's and I's. It's called The Long-Distance Relationship Survival Guide. 

It was written by a couple who had gone through a long-distance relationship and had talked to many other couple's on the similar problems and hardships that come along with the situation.

 

I must say this was a really good book, and actually a pretty quick read!

It did a great job of keeping my expectations realistic, in knowing there would be miscommunications and hardships. But it give you great ways to anticipate, deal with or even avoid those situations. 

What I loved about the book is it reminded you that your relationship is different than others and not all the same problems will occur, but to be sure you both basically want a future with one another and are willing to work on it. I would suggest this book to anyone who is worried or unsure about going long-distance this book will definitely help clear things up and ease your mind. 

What more could you ask for?

Can't Wait (Part 2)

Saturday (Day 3):

So after an eventful and amazing anniversary Alex and I spent the morning figuring out how to order episodes of Sons of Anarchy, a show he has gotten me completely obsessed with! After watching about 4 episodes in our PJs we decided to be a little productive. I love cooking especially for people I love! So we hit the grocery store to stock up Alex's apartment and get goods for dinner. Steak and stuffed potatoes were his meal of choice!

It had been raining all day so our cook-out plans with the new bar friends got cancelled. So keeping in touch with my old friend, Vinnie, from high school. He went to college near by and invited Alex and I along to meet his friend's in town! Which is great because Alex has been so bored.

These guys were a ball and showed us a new side to Louisville!

A part called the Highlands, full of wine, tattoos and bars and a younger hipster crowd. 

(Which for whatever reason Alex thinks are "my people")

Anyways after the hole in the wall bar with great drinks I noticed a BWW close by and secretly ordered Alex take-out knowing it was his favorite and he'd been craving it!

Sunday (Day 4): 

Let's just say knowing I have to leave Alex makes me cranky. 

Poor guy the last day I'm with him I am no fun. 

&& Let me just say driving home is so much worse than driving there. 

3 weeks and counting until Alex visits back in Michigan!

I Just Couldn't Wait (Part 1)

Well it was Tuesday night I was very down and sad and all I kept thinking was "what would make me feel better?" The only answer I could come up with was Alex. A college town is so lonely in the summer because everyone goes back home. So I arranged to be done with my internship early on Wednesday, and leave for Louisville. Call me crazy but that drive wasn't bad (given this is the first time I've driven there & by myself). I think it was because my excitement kept giving me extra winds. When I got there it was storming and I jumped on Alex. We kept it low key because it was late and I was tired. 

Day 1 Thursday:

We spent most of the day laying around watching Sons of Anarchy as it rained. Which was perfect given how tired I was and how much all we wanted to do was be wrapped in each others arms. 

That night we went to a bar that has a beer pong tournament and bumped into some Amazon Interns who thought Alex was so cool since he had a job there, it made me laugh. 

This picture came from that night and is my current favorite, for now.

Day 2 Friday & Our 6 month Anniversary:

It's so hard to think that it was been 6 months both because I feel like we know each other so well and are such a huge part of each others lives. But also because sometimes with this adjustments things still seem so new. Anyways it was a very nice day so Alex decided to show me the cool spots he had found around town and some great architecture he knew I'd love: 

We ended our night at a great Japanese restaurant right around the corner from Alex's apartment. 

Went to Forth Street Live where Randy Houser was doing a show

& made some new friends at the bar who invited us to there cook-out. Man I knew 

that this was all I needed to get me back into happy spirits!

New Time = Art Projects

What do you do when everyone in a college town has left you for the summer?

Start an art projects so today I decided to start an art project for Alex's new place. 

Since he has a studio he has so much wall space that he doesn't know what to do with, so why not start something that will be of good used to him?
Ta-Da!! Here's what I came up with:

Here's the process and how I personalized from my inspiration. I changed the heart to the MSU "S" logo and decided to put green in it since I think Alex being a guy and all would appreciate/like it more:

 And let me just tell you hammer all those little nails is quite therapeutic too haha.

1. Start By Getting Supplies

• 2x2 Wood Board
• Acrylic Paint
• String
• Wire Nails 
• Hammer 
• Superglue

2. I hand drew the Michigan and then nailed each 

nail about a 1/4 of an inch apart

3. Start by tying the string around an inner nail and 

then putting a little bit of super glue on the knot for added safety

4. Wrap the string around the nails in any pattern you'd like 

5. Tie the next string to one of the outer nails (I choice a corner) &

 just start wrapping the string from inner to outer nails you will have to 

wrap the inner nails a lot more and move on to the next as you see fit. 


Here was my inspiration:
(Found at this Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/listing/117035696/large-string-art-for-all-states )

  I hope he loves it!

Bittersweet

Tonight's a lot harder than I had anticipated.

Talk about a bittersweet moment, I was so happy to be home and was ready to crash and relax on my bed. But the thought of not being able to walk to the apartment next to me for a hug, kiss, or canoodle, has really overwhelmed me. I never knew I could miss someone so much, so fast.

Not to say that I am not so happy for Alex for scoring a great job out of college, or excited to get to travel and explore a new city. I just know this is going to have it's challenges, that will test our relationship. But even the way we met and how we started dating seems like a meant to be kind of thing. Only time will tell, so in the mean time I shall torture myself by looking at my favorite photos of us. ("Such a girl" Alex would tease)

The Move: Part 2

Well after a fun night at a true Southern bar, we woke up to not feeling so well. Luckily the weather wasn't permitting us to explore much outside anyways. So we started to build the entertainment system we picked out at target. Which was a little more daunting than we had hoped, leading me to watch Alex finish it on his own. Afterwards we made out way to 4th street for lunch, were we talked of good old school television and became stranded by the storm with Alex's parents. Which I didn't mind one bit at all. Then we relaxed most of the night, watching I am Legend and unpacking. It was so hard to stay collected that night, knowing that in morning I would be returning to Michigan without Alex by my side, and that would be my new daily reality.

Morning came too soon and I didn't want to get out of bed. We had breakfast and his parents came for the last look of the progress we made without them. A funny note the only thing I forgot to pack back up was the underwear I had changed out of in the bathroom in which his mom definitely saw... Which I couldn't wait to share with Alex once I was back home. It was hard to fight back the tears as Alex picked me up and squeezed me but I wanted to stay strong. All I could repeat is this won't be that bad, we can do this... Luckily Mr. Z (Alex's dad) is a talker and filled the car with conversation and stories that kept his mom and I's minds off the situation for the most part of the 6 hour drive. 

I'll see you again soon Kentucky

The Move: Part One

This trip was nothing less than exciting, it started off quite interesting right when we passed Indy we got caught behind a car accident where a helicopter had to park on the highway. The first thing we did when we arrived was meet the landlord, and Alex signed the lease and got the keys. Luckily the washer and dryer ended up coming with the unit, but the walls still had to be painted. So we unloaded all of his stuff into a straight line in the middle of the studio, and after 5 attempts successfully set up the futon we would sleep on. Then off to dinner with his parents.

When we got home we decided we still had enough energy to build the bar-cart I impulsively purchased because of a great clearance deal! Of course my mother packed us a 5th of Bacardi Zombie from the family cook out to put on it. With us being us, we made a drinking game of it. A drink after every step of the building we completely. How that thing turned out functioning and together still puzzles me.

The next day the painters along with Alex's brother and sister-in-law arrived, so instead of being able to unpack and use the extra hands we ended up at Target shopping for furniture and exploring the city. After a nice dinner with everyone on the river, we went to forth street to taste the best of Louisville Bourbon. His parents went back to the hotel and the four of us enjoyed a true southern bar full of cowboy hats and a mechanical bull.

He left me with a Rose

So coming home from work today was a little daunting. I was sad it would be Alex's last night with me in East Lansing before heading to Louisville. Luckily Alex knows me oh too well, so he decided to start the night off with bringing me this beautiful rose to make sure I had something to smile about. Which was quite successful. Then it was off to Harper's for drinks and ended with dinner at Alex's favorite place BWW. 

A quote that has been stuck in my head through out all of this is: 

"Love is greater than distance."
&& I can only pray that it'll stand true for us.

Last Michigan Tour

Traveling upon traveling...

Poor Alex made a Tour around Michigan this past last week he was here.

Running back an forth from Lansing, to his hometown and mine, and mini trip to Detroit. In his hometown he went golfing and grabbed brews with his friends, and waited for me so he could show me around, where I was happily mistaken for a native. We spent the night at his parents before heading to Detroit for Tigers game, which ended up being quite chilly. A great game that ended with a firework show, where I squeezed Alex's poor arm the whole time because those darn things scare the hell out of me.

After a good relaxing night in we headed to my hometown so that my Uncle's could finally meet the boy who I had been talking about before he left. First lunch with my Uncle Jack and his partner Doug, we had some fun stories shared, and a great time feeding the chipmunk's around the table. We relaxed and had drinks with my mom until it was time to go over to my Uncle Roger's for a cook-out and boat ride on the lake.

Let's just say this great guy passed with flying colors.

Louis where to live?

   Blinded by the glare off the Ohio River we crossed the bridge and found ourselves in Louisville, KY. We started our adventure not even with dropping our bags off at the hotel but going the The Body Exhibit at the city museum. Which might I say is one of the most interesting things I've ever seen. After that we headed for the fanciest place in town at the top of 4th street itself (our hotel). So instead of looking for apartments we scoped out the area and found the coolest bars and restaurants around us. Then we planned out the places we wanted to see the next day and explored 4th street for the rest of the evening!

The next day ended up being a lot more of a train-wreck than we anticipated. With every apartment place closing at 5, and getting off to a late start, (not to mention city traffic). We were chickens with our heads cut off to say the least. Rushing from place to place trying to remember all the questions we were supposed to ask, was a challenge. Feeling drained and not hopeful that we found the right place, we call a last minute Craigslist post we see. The landlord said he'd be willing to meet after-hours and show us 2 different properties he had. We debating going but figured why not, we were leaving tomorrow and should see all the options. After that we ended our long day at a way to expensive restaurant, and with lots of laughs and drinks thanks to Howling at the Moon (A dueling piano bar), and a cool bar that was literally a fish tank, we crashed.

On our last morning we made the pro's a con's list of each place we liked. Of course,  we left the city defeated and Alex apartment-less, given his indecisiveness. It wasn't until we got back home in Michigan, Alex decided on the small one-bedroom close to the nightlife. Only to find out that the one we wanted was the last available and had gotten signed for it the hour before. So having his heart set on the city, Alex called the landlord that so generously met us after-hours, and signed for the studio we were too tired to really remember.