`Currently`

Here's some things I'm currently doing

or thinking about doing or just too lazy to do but need to do.

-Listening to T-Swift 1989 - It's real, real good!! My favorite songs so far are Blank Space, Bad Blood, I wish you would and wildest dreams!!! She done real good!!

-Looking at flighty flights for Tom :) :) Now that Tom has his visa we get to start looking into buying his flight. ALSO a few weeks ago before this visa bizz went down we found ROUND TRIP FLIGHTS FROM MANCHESTER TO DALLAS IN THE $500'S!!!!!! Guess where they are now that we want to buy one...the $1,000's...siigghh

-Eating a yummy salad - I know how to make a really unhealthy and delicious salad. It involves some lettuce, carrot slices, chicken and lots of cheese, garlic croutons and creamy caesar dressing....At least it started out healthy....

-Cheesy salads aren't helping anyone get healthy so i'm looking into some eating/exercising programs. Right now that program is a mix between the real food plan and Beach Body Guide. I haven't actively exercised since I got back from Liverpool in June. I need to get back into it. 

-I am really really really wanting to chop another inch or two of hair off. I am loving the messy bob look and I even considered bangs for like an hour last night and then I went and did a top knot and flipped the ends around over my forehead and gave myself bangs without actually cutting my hair...and well, let's just say bangs are a no go!! I literally laughed in my own face, it was so bad!!! I'm also loving the idea of no pony tails or top knots..I feel like I get so lazy with my hair and just throw it up on my head all of the time. I want a look that's chic and simple but that makes me feel good and so that I don't want to throw my hair on top of my head all of the time..does that make sense?? Here's some inspiration..

-Business Planning - So I have business ideas like every single day. So when I have an idea I write it out, I think about logistics and if it's too complicated or it's something I don't feel 100% about then I will just leave it and move on. Two days ago I had an idea. I talked to my parents about it, I talked to Tom about it and everyone seems to think it's a good idea and it's worth moving forward. So I'm going to work on writing up the business plan over the next couple of weeks. Then if it looks good enough I might send it off to some of my old Business School Professors to see what they think. If it all goes smoothly then the plan is to start working on it over the next year so that maybe it would be ready to launch in 2016. This one is serious y'all!! I'm feeling really really good about it! As we get it pulled together I'll start sharing more about it! :)

-Since we're on the subject of Business...I'm also currently trying out some new etsy items that I want to add to my shop. I really like the look of these and I'm thinking about making some holiday one's as well, like 'Tis the season' and 'Give thanks' :)

-Looking into restaurants in New York - My parents are going to NYC for their 30th anniversary!! We booked the flights/hotel and broadway show last night. I'm so jealous but I know they will have such a blast!!!

-Online shopping for fall staple pieces - I've been trying to collect some good tops for fall over the past couple of weeks. I've spent more at Old Navy than I'm comfortable with. But I feel like I am collecting a nice wardrobe for the coming seasons.

T-Swift, Shopping & planning...that's basically it for me currently ;)

I hope you're all having a great week :)

Happy Week of Halloween!!

:)

Visa Success

The past couple of days have been a little hectic

as Tom and I prepared for his trip to London to

interview for his B-2 Visa.

We had to gather documents and practice

answering mock interview questions and just

try to get him as ready as possible for this trip.

Early this week Tom started getting pretty discouraged

about the chances of actually getting this visa.

That's thanks to online forums that discuss

the success or failure rate of people going after the B-2.

After reading thread after thread of bad news Tom

started feeling like this wasn't going to work.

But he had already paid the fee and he already had an interview slot.

The more we learned about the B-2 visa

the more nervous we got.

First of all if you fail to have a successful interview

and you are denied the Visa you are basically

banned from using the ESTA for 6 months.

The ESTA is a program that allows

UK citizens up to 3 months of travel time

in the US without having to get a big visa.

So if you're denied the B-2 visa then you're

ESTA is also put on hold for 6 months and you're

basically not allowed to go to the US until that time passes.

Or at least that's what we've heard from other people.

So the pressure was on going into this interview.

It wasn't just not getting the visa it was also

the chance of being separated even longer.

So you can imagine Tom was feeling the pressure

and was starting to freak out a bit.

I tried to reassure him that our case was simple

and that he'd totally get it but he was not so sure.

Some of the questions that you get asked in this interview are

"What will you be doing in the US?"

"How long do you wish to stay?"

"Why can't you do your trip in the 3 month period instead?"

"What are you ties to your home country?"

The ties question was the scariest because that seemed

to be the question that got most people denied.

They were denied because they couldn't prove 

that their ties were strong enough back home

so the Embassy peeps thought they 

might be trying to live long term in the US.

It's especially the case when there is romance involved.

Apparently people like using this visa to get married and

then extend their time in the US to a permanent status.

Oy...

So Tom goes into the embassy and gets in line

after line after line and then he's given a number to wait his turn.

He's called up and grilled about this 6 month trip.

I knew he was worried about it but I knew he would be fine.

He literally had tons of proof on him that he was doing this by the books

and wasn't trying to get long term stay in the US.

If they asked for a document to prove anything about his story

chances are he had it and was ready to whip it out in a moments notice.

He had practiced the questions over and over again and he just

gave the interviewer a sense that we knew what we were doing here

and that we were trying to do it all the right way.

The interviewer believed him and granted him his B-2 Visa!!

He didn't even ask him about his ties.

He just knew from everything Tom told him

that we weren't new to this and that we know

what we're doing {Sort of} and that we're

going to do everything the right way.

And it worked!!!

And noooowwww Tom is going to be coming

to Texas for 6 whole months next year!!

We are so so excited!!

Thanks for the good vibes peeps!!

:) :)

Over emotional

Oookkk so am I the only one who

turned 24 and then became an emotional blob??

I'm not even sure that turning 24 has anything to do with it.

Actually I think i've been like this for close to a year now.

I get choked up about some of the weirdest things.

Some of it is sentimental or actually emotional stuff.

Like dog adoption commercials or old people in love.

Other times it's just totally silly...

For example....The other day I was walking into a Target with

my mom and my mom asked me if I thought this was

a target was a good target...to which I replied "uhhh is there a bad one?"

Then I looked up and saw on the outside of the building that

this specific Target had just been remodeled.

So I say to my mom...

"Ohh hey, this target has been...(emotional pause)....remodeled"

During the emotional pause my throat got tight and I

could feel the tears inch closer to the corner of my eyes...

I almost cried over a remodeled target.

I.dont.even.know

Tom goes to London...or is going to London..

Vissssaaaaaaaasssss

Ok so I've been talking about visas over

the past couple of posts and well it's just

not going to stop anytime soon...

Visa talk is actually going to get even more frequent

during the next five or so days because...

TOM IS GOING TO LONDON TO INTERVIEW

FOR HIS B-2 VISSSAAAAA ON FRIDAY.

eeeep

We read through some of the questions today and

well it's all a bit nerve racking but I think he will be fine.

My biggest question is why did I just mosey into England for 5 months

but Tom has to sell himself the the consulate peeps before a 6 month stay in the USA??

I guess each country just has different rules.

Also let's not forget that one time that the UK customs people

were not so happy about our little Italy trip and they detained me...

Goooooooood times

Anyways we're really pumped and totally nervous about this visa sitch.

I really do think it will all be fine but when ever there is a chance

of being denied for some reason or another it does get a little nerve racking.

It will be fine though!!!

Positive thoughts!!

Let's get Tom over to Texas for 6 scrumptious months!!

I'll obvi keep you guys posted!!

:)

Hope you all have a great week!!!

The B-2 Visa

It's officially official.

After about an hour of filling out information forms

Tom is on his way to being the owner of a B-2 VISSAAAA!!!

Ah the exciting lives that we live ;)

Tom started the B-2 visa process yesterday.

He filled out the DS-160 form and submitted it to the US consulate.

Now he's just got to apply, pay the fee and interview.

He'll have to trek down to London for his interview

because it's the closest US consulate.

I wish I could trek to London

for visa stuff but i guess i'll just have to live through

him and the pictures he'll be sending me constantly ;)

He's probably not even going to have time

to wave at Big Ben because we're thinking he'll

just go down to London in the morning and do his interview

and then head back via the train that afternoon.

Just a quick pop in and out.

So that's all going to be happening relatively soon.

Hopefully within the next week or so.

Then after he gets the visa we'll

be booking a flight and planning for his 

arrival back in Texas!!

We're planning on him being here from January-July

which is so so so exciting!!!!

There are so many USA adventures 

that we'll finally get to do because he'll actually

have time to unpack and get comfortable here!

It's going to be SO amazing!!

Luckily I don't have to wait too long before he's

here again and we're back together!!

:)

The Visa process...

It's been a month since Tom went back to England.

It feels more like a year but it has in fact only been one month.

This past week we haven't been able to skype as much

due to our different schedules not coming together.

So yesterday we finally got to see each other for

a good long skype and it was perfect!!

We spent a majority of the skype date

looking at different visa options.

Ohhhhhhh visa's, how you really complicate things...

The two visa's we are looking at are the H2B visa and the B-2 visa.

The H2B visa is a work visa, it would allow Tom to work 

temporarily while he is here in the USA.

The problem with this visa is that Tom has

to secure a job before he begins the application for the visa.

So he would need to find a company willing to hire

a foreign visitor instead of a US citizen.

We feel like those chances are slim.

Especially slim since he would need to find

a company that is willing to hire him in the fort worth area.

He also doesn't have a vehicle or drivers license so

it would have to be somewhere close to either my

job or my parents jobs so he could be dropped off

and picked up at the end of the day.

I'm not saying it's impossible, just unlikely.

So we've looked into the H2B visa enough

to know that the chances are slim so we're

probably just going to move on to the B-2 visa.

The B-2 visa is a Visitor Visa for foreigners coming to the USA.

It's valid for up to 6 months which is how long

we are looking at Tom staying here next year.

There is a cost to this one.

I think the non-refundable application fee is £160.

Then he has to go to London for an interview at the US consulate.

So there's a few hoops to jump through on this one

but it seems a lot more doable than the H2B visa.

The downside is he won't be able to work..

But i'll still be working, we'll still be saving

and on top of that we'll have loads of time to just

be together and he'll get to grow his relationship

with Texas and my family and it will just be great!

So as of right now it looks like we're leaning 

more towards to B-2 visa.

AND it's a pretty done deal that Tom will

be coming to Texas for half of next year.

Or at least that's the plan ;)

Plans frequently change on this blog

but I have a feeling this is going to work out.

If you've got any visa insight from previous

experiences that you'd like to send my way please do so!!

We would appreciate any and all suggestions and ideas. :)

Hope you all have a great Monday!! :)

Unfancy - Capsule Wardrobe

Ok get ready to get obsessed with another blog.
I'm sorry / You're welcome

Ahh the wardrobe conundrum.

Well...it's a conundrum for me anyways

and I bet it's a conundrum for you as well.

4 seasons in a year means 4 different wardrobes.
So what's a gal to do???

Well this gal over at Unfancy had a genius idea.
The Capsule Wardrobe.

Meet Caroline, the lady behind Unfancy.

I won't say much more about it
instead i'll let you read about it from Caroline herself.

So If you're intrigued you should head over
to Caroline's blog Unfancy and read about the Capsule Wardrobe.

I've kind of started doing this without even knowing it was a thing.
So now I'm even more excited to really get my wardrobe pulled together
in a way that fits my style and my pocketbook ;)

Hope you all have a great weekend.
Cooler weather is headed our way here in Texas.
Thhaaannkkkk goodness!!!

:)

100 days of real food

So yesterday I was sitting on the floor in the game room

skyping with Tom and making headbands...

this is the norm for us...

Seeee...

Anywayyssss, so Tom leaves to go eat his supper

and I'm left there to find something to occupy my time

until he comes back to skypeland...

Soooo I turn the tv on and i'm like oh hey Dr. Oz

you're looking mighty doctory today, what's going on in Dr. Oz land??

So the first words I hear from him are how

to cut out your sugar cravings in 14 days.

I took this as a sign that I needed to tune into this segment

because i have a very serious sugar problem...I love sugar!!!

Anyways I watched that and learned that I need to

put a pinch of salt on some apples twice a day

and that will help my sugar craving..

Uhhhhhh ok, you're the Doctor soooo I'll give it a go..

Next up was a segment about the 100 days of real food challenge.

I was intrigued so I decided to watch that bit too.

I've been thinking about ways to get healthier amidst

all of these scary diseases that are going around.

I also just want to be healthy.

It's a big goal for me but

i'm VERY easily swayed by junk food.

I tell myself NOT to go get those sonic tots

but they're just so freaking good.

Dang you tots, dang you!!!

I have thought a few times how interesting it would be

to only buy from the "real food" sections at the grocery store.

I mean if you did that it would be very difficult to

not get healthy unless of course you like over indulge on

potatoes or something like that...

So when this part of the show came up

I watched it and really felt like it was very doable.

Here's the rules that are posted on their website.

The list of what you can eat was longer than

what you can't eat which made me feel pretty good.

Here's the what you cannot eat

and while it looks challenging I really

am excited to cut out these unhealthy habits.

What you CANNOT eat:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredientslisted on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

This little quote from their website is by far my favorite

because it's so so true!!

"Michael Pollan says to “eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” If you had to peel, chop and deep fry potatoes every time you wanted French fries then you might not eat them very often. Only eating “junk food” such as cakes, sweets, and fried foods as often as you are willing to make them yourself will automatically ensure the frequency is appropriate."

Genius!!

I'm not sure whether I'll last 100 days

or maybe i'll even go longer.

I just think it's a great concept and

I'm really excited to see what happens

when I jump into this challenge.

So do you think I'm crazy?

Would you ever do something like this?

Do you already only eat real food?

Do you have a junk food problem?

Are we junk food soul sisters?

Let me know your thoughts :)

Hope you're all having a great day!!

23 Months, newish bathroom & nanny notes

Tom and I have officially made it into

the 23rd month of our relationship!!

**Applause**

Is 23 months significant??

Of course it is, every month is!!

We actually stopped counting months a long time ago

but as we're nearing November and our two yearaversary

we couldn't help but get excited for 23 months.

When we're reminded of how long we've been together

it takes us back to how this all came to be.

Two kids, bored, looking for a person to chat with

from the other side of the world.

I'm so so thankful that he decided to talk to me.

I'm so thankful that I talked back

and I'm extremely thankful that

I decided not to shy away from him

because he was a guy and he was cute

and I was so inexperienced in the dating world.

I found the funniest, sweetest, most amazing guy that day

23 months ago and I'm forever thankful for him and the

love he gives me every single day even

when we're not on the same continent.

He's the best!!

Here's to another 23 months + some ;)

Over the past week or soooo I've been working on updating our

upstairs bathroom which is really now my bathroom.

The red wasn't really doing it for me so 

I've switched over to black and white.

I also decided I wanted to add some frills to the big wall.

I bought some cheap letters from a craft store and glitterfied them.

I thought You're Lovely was a perfect message to find in the

place where you can notice numerous imperfections that

just aren't there because we're all lovely!!!

I need to get an apostrophe for you're but other than

that it turned out so so great!!

Then Underneath the message I decided to hang

some clear containers from Target's Dollar Bin section

and then put my nail polish in them.

I think it really came together so well.

Makes me feel like my bathroom is a nail salon

where I get to just pick a color from the wall.

I've still got some work to do on the bathroom

but so far it's looking really great!! :)

And finally the nanny notes.

I am loving this job of mine.

The kids are just the sweetest

and it doesn't hurt that the hours and the pay are spot on!!

The little girl is 3 and we just have a blast together.

She's my little best friend now and I love her.

We've watched frozen multiple times now

and It's the funniest thing because not only does

she know all of the words to the songs

but she knows EVERY line that Elsa speaks

AND she also knows all of Elsa's movements.

If Elsa throws herself into the floor in despair

then C will hop off the couch and drop to her knees

and put her head on the floor...in total despair ;)

It's so hilarious to watch, she's a future theater student for sure!!

The boy is 6 and he's great, he's a first grader

so I only see him in the afternoons but we

have a good time together as well.

Put the two of them together and it can

be a little overwhelming with a 3 year old

that thinks she can do everything her older brother

is doing and older brother doesn't necessarily want

her doing everything he's doing.

I'm basically getting excellent future parenting lessons ;)

But they are really just such good kids and it's a blast to look after them.

I lucked out with this job for sure ;)

Hope you're all having a great week!!

Map Wall

For my birthday this year I decided I wanted

to buy 14 maps to put all over my window wall in my bedroom.

I love maps, I think they're beautiful and artistic and exciting.

I love looking at them and dreaming of places

that I would like to travel to.

They're magical and I wanted to be surrounded by them

so I asked for maps for my birthday and my

parents bought me 14 of them.

As soon as Tom and I got back from the caribbean

we came up to my room and found the maps on my bed.

I was like a kid in a candy shop.

I unwrapped all of them and laid them

out in all they're glory and started to brainstorm

how I'd want to place them on the wall.

I decided to put them on the wall where my window was

because it's kind of the focal point of the room and 

I felt like I had enough maps to cover most of the space.

All of the maps are cavallini papers & co maps.

I bought some while I was in England and I loved them so much

that when I started looking at maps I decided to try and find more of the

same kinds that I bought while I was in England.

I found a lot more, all on Amazon, and they were really affordable as well.

So In the end I think buying 14 maps cost about $65.

Maybe that's not super affordable but I feel like I would have spent way more

on map wallpaper for this wall and well it just wouldn't have looked as good ;)

We hung the maps on the wall with tacks because I'm just lazy

and it seemed like the easiest way to do things.

It doens't look bad either, you can't even see the tacks unless you really look for them.

Here's the final product of our labor :)

I love how colorful these maps are.

They brighten the room up so much and just make

it a really magical place to be.

:) 

Hope you like my map wall.