Brickyard Buffalo

Hello everyone!!

I just wanted to share some exciting news!

My prints are now live on Brickyard Buffalo!!

Yippee!!!

Go check them out, they are only .75cents each!!

It's a steal, I'm basically giving them away ;)

:)

Perks of traveling while single or as a couple!!

I got my first passport ever in October of 2011

right before I left for my study abroad program in Paris.

Before that I never needed a passport because

my family liked to travel in the USofA.

Well that passport has taken me to some really

amazing places over the past 2 years

and i just don't know what i'd do without it.

I even try bringing it with me when I'm just

traveling in America, i feel like i need it and

i'll get in trouble if i'm caught without it.

In fact I probably have my passport on me more

than my drivers license...I need to work on that ;)

Anywaysss I wanted to do a post on traveling as a single person

and then contrast it with traveling as a couple.

This isn't one of those "why you should be single in your 20's posts"

or "why you should get a boyfriend/get married so you can travel with a partner post."

This is simply my personal experiences :)

I don't have beef with either side :)

The BIGGEST perk of traveling when you're single

is that YOU and only you get to decide on the trip.

You don't have to talk to your significant other and see

if the trip works for them, you can just go, and you get

to pick the destination without any one else's approval.

Now i guess that's really only true if you're one of those

brave people to travel by yourself.

Traveling by yourself, while i've never done it,

I imagine to be an eye opening experience.

Here's one perk of traveling when you're single.

Let's just say you're in England and a cute brit catches your eye..

heyy, go and inquire and have fun getting to know him/her.

Use your common sense though, don't get into

a creeper situation because creepers are out there

and they will creep the crap outta you!!

I can say from personal experience that keeping a journal

or writing blog posts is something you should really try to do.

And try to make it really personal, talk about your feelings towards experiences.

The things that really really got your attention are going to be the things

you'll want to read about and remember in the days to come.

Now obviously you don't have to be single to do any of this

but if you are take it as a chance to really get to know yourself.

Just have fun though, use it as a "this is for me"

experience and try to learn about yourself while you're abroad.

You really learn so much about yourself while you're traveling

and sometimes it's great to travel while you're single the first time or

two so that you know how you are likely to act when traveling with

your future significant other ;)

Do you get hangry when you don't get an afternoon snack??

I do, i'm glad i found that out before traveling with Tom ;)

Tom actually did a solo trip around Europe after he graduated.

Which was great because he was able to help us plan our trips

better because of some of the things he learned when he traveled as a solo traveler.

So Tom took his solo knowledge and applied it to our couple travels

especially when we traveled in Italy this past May.

It's really fun to travel as a couple.

It's fun to travel as a single as well

but traveling as a couple is a bit different.

You do have to compromise with someone else about

where you would like to go on a trip.

I know when Tom and I were trying to figure out

where we wanted to go on a trip we spent days and even weeks

just researching places and then talking about the pros and the cons

of each place we found that we liked.

The great thing about research is that you don't have to go

on that trip right now but you'll have some info on it

for trips down the road that you want to take.

Compromise might be hard if you and your Significant other

don't have the same taste.

Tom and I don't really have that problem since

we're both just really laid back with just about everything.

So once you get the destination pegged everything after that is pretty easy.

It's fun traveling as a couple because for one you know

you're always going to have someone with you.

And i hope that your someone is as fun as my someone.

Tom and I have had a blast every time we've traveled together

and I can't really imagine going anywhere without him.

When you travel as a couple you have to take the other person into consideration.

This is actually a perk in my opinion because I love making sure Tom

is good and that we both have everything we need.

Another perk is having someone else there in case

something bad happens and you need backup.

When Tom and I were in Cali my Debit Card was compromised

and if I Had been by myself I would have been in a lot of trouble

but since Tom was with me he just sugar daddied me the rest of the time.

He's a catch y'all, for real!!

There are obviously hundreds of perks

for each situation whether single or dating

but now that i've got Tom i'm obviously biased

towards traveling with him.

But I really truly believe that traveling while you're single

is an incredible opportunity to really learn about yourself. 

So whether your a solo traveler or you travel as a couple

I think both sides are doing it right because you've decided

to make adventure a part of your life.

This world is so grand and so beautiful that

it would be a shame to miss out on it!!

So travel, single or as a couple, just travel!!

:)

Hope you're all having a great weekend!!

Emily

USA | ENGLAND | AUS | NZ

Ahh the fuuttuuurreee....

That's going to be the topic of today's post.

Not futuristic things like flying cars and hover boards

but futuristic things like where will Tomily be next year.

So, where will we be next year??

eehhhhhh.....uhhhhhhh....hmmmmmmmm...

We have four options.

Options are good!

Options are solid!

Options make me feel less crazy

because i'd rather have them than not have them.

Option 1 - Tom applies for internship in America.

 Option 2 - Emily Applies for internship in England.

Option 3 - Tom and Emily apply for working holiday visa in Australia.

Option 4 - Tom and Emily apply for working holiday visa in New Zealand.

Tom could intern in America for up to one year on that visa.

I could intern in England for up to 6 months.

We can both work and live in AUS or NZ for up to one year.

Option 1&2 are great because we'd be close to family

and we'd have room and board and hot meals and family fun.

But options 3&4 are so so exciting and we love adventure

and this is the perfect time to go do something while neither of us

are sucked into those wonderful career jobs...

We both looked into working in Australia and I found numerous

Au Pair jobs that would be perfect for me and Tom saw a few jobs

that he really liked the look of as well.

When we searched for internships that Tom could have in America

the list was tiny and not really inspiring.

So Australia, once again, looks really attractive.

Except for the fact that it's like a million miles away.

There's also New Zealand.

The top perk of NZ is that the visa application is F.R.E.E!!!!

You just have to apply then take it with you on your travels.

We don't know as much about NZ as we do Australia...

So that one is less likely to happen.

I don't know, what do you guys think??

Would you ever move to Australia or NZ?

Let me know because we need some inspiration!!

America and England are GREAT but if we get

an opportunity to go explore the world and be together

and work and earn some money shouldn't we seriously

consider that option??? I think so!!

Let me know your thoughts :)

Emily

Room Tour

White walls - Check

Hints of pink - Check

Personal touches - Check

Well it took me a little more than a month

but I've finally finished up decorating my bedroom.

I love love love it!!!

All of the furniture is antique except for my desk, that's ikea ;)

My blanket on my bed is from Urban Outfitters.

My pillow covers are from Target and H&M.

Stripey blanket is from Ikea.

Chandelier is from Home Depot.

Maps are from England.

Tassel Garland is from Etsy.

Prints are my own

& the rest is just stuff i've

collected over the years :)

Side Note : H&M and Urban Outfitters have

some really really really cute home stuff that reminds

me of Anthro stuff but at a fraction of the cost.

It's pretty awesome!!

Anywaysss..

I'm so happy with the way this space came together.

And i'm proud of myself for not over doing it like i normally do.

:)

Hope you're all having a great week!!

Emily

Let's talk random ramblings

It's been a few days blog land, I missed you!!

I've got a few things on my mind so let's get it started with A&S.

1. Remember Alex and Sierra from last seasons X-Factor?? Actually it was literally the last season of

the USA version of the show. Sayonara Simon. Anyhoo, I fell in love with this cute duo the first time i heard their incredible rendition of Toxic. I mean it was loovvee at first site (musically of course). Well they've just come out with their very first music vid and i'd be lyyiinngggg if i said i didn't love it!! I mean when he starts running....heart be still. I love a man who runs to his lady ;) Watch it. Love it. You're welcome!!!

2. 5 words. Orange. Is. The. New. Black!! Uhhhh it's like so good!!! I watched the first episode the day before I left England. It was meant to be background noise to my packing party buuutttt it soon captured my full attention. Sorry Pack Party!! ;) Now i'm almost done with the second season. I'm trying to watch it slowly so I don't have to wait too long for the next season but let's be honest, i'll finish it tonight!! I'd rank this show up there with GOT and BB!!! You heard me!

3. On sunday i did the one thing we all hope and PRAY never happens to us. I ripped my pointer finger nail halfway off thanks to it being too long and also thanks to a stupid belt that i was taking off. I'm pretty sure ripping a nail is one of the worst pains ever. I'd like to rank it up there with childbirth but since i've yet to experience that i'll just stay quiet. But really, if you've had a baby and also ripped a nail off, i'd like to know which one you'd rather do again. Ha!

4. Tom is coming in 20 DAYS!!!!!!! I'M SO SO SO EXCITED!!!! I MISS HIM SO MUCH!! AHH!!

5. I'm so proud of myself, i've been working out 20 minutes every night for the past two weeks!! I've been using the Beach Body 10 minute trainer videos with the resistance band. I've been doing two of the 10 minutes workouts every night and i'm seeing some tiny results already. I've lost a about 2 inches around my waist and bust!! :) Pretty cool now to just keeeeeeep moving!!!

6. Here's some EXCITING news!! Over the past month i've been making prints for my etsy shop. Well one day I decided that i needed to figure out a better marketing strategy. So I googled around until I figured out that my affordable and cute prints would be a perfect item on one of those Vendor boutique sites. Ever heard of Jane.com or Brickyard Buffalo or Belle Chic??? Well if you have then you'll know what i'm doing. If you haven't heard of these crazy amazing sites then you need to look into them because they are awesome!! Basically it's cute, crafty, boutiquey stuff listed on a site at a majorly discounted price. So i decided to look into getting onto these sites. It was much easier than I ever thought it would be to be featured on these sites. I sent an email here and there, worked with some really really nice ladies and badabingbadaboom i'm a vendor on all three sites. Starting TODAY my prints will be on www.bellechic.com :) They will be on that site until next tuesday and they are listed for .75 cents!! :) Next week my prints will be on Brickyard Buffalo and the following week they will be on Jane.com!! :) I'm so excited, I can't wait to see how the sales go, and i hope my wonderful readers will check out the sales and support my small business! :)

That's all for now!

Hope you're all having a great week!

Be sure to check out my prints on Belle Chic! :)

Emily 

I & Love & You

Here's a snippet of something I haven't shared on this blog before,

the first time we (tom & myself) said those three words.

It's a pretty sweet story, it's also corny and maybe a bit silly.

The day was March 20th, 2013.

Let it be known that by the time this milestone had rolled around

Tom and I had "known" each other for almost 5 months.

We had skyped a couple hundred times and were

fully aware of what was on the horizon.

I don't remember what we were even talking about

beforehand, all I know is I had just skyped Tom in the Business Building.

Oh yea, sometimes I would reserve a room in the business building

so I could skype with Tom before I had to go to work..(in the same building)

It was easier than going back to the apartment and then coming back.

Now that I think about it, I skyped Tom all over that building.

In hallways, in classrooms, it had good internet...what can I say ;)

Anyways on this specific day Tom and I were skyping in a classroom.

For some reason when I say skyping in a classroom it sounds really scandalous. Ha!

Anyways...

We talked for a while before I went into work.

It was definitely a mushy skype date.

I mean, most of them were.

So after I got into work we started texting..

I know, bad worker, but not really because

I just worked the front desk in a computer lab.

I don't remember it all but I do remember

talking about how much we liked each other.

Like really LIKED each other.

We'd say things like...

"I LIKE you so much"

I really really really LIKE you"

But you know at some point 'like' changed for the both of us

and well, we couldn't hold it back any longer.

Tom said he knew he was in love with me LONG before he actually said it.

Swoon central!! ;)

So there in that computer lab we had a VERY serious text convo

that led to those three very important words.

I remember texting Tom that I was dying to tell him

how I really felt but I didn't want to drop those feels until

I saw him in person because that's like really serious stuff.

He reciprocated the same sentiment.

He wanted to wait to tell me in person.

We both wanted the first time we told each other

that we loved each other to be in person.

Makes sense right??

Well we aren't sensible.

So after a few more minute's

Tom say's, and I quote,

"Emily, I think I love you"

My next text was 

"I LOVE YOU TOO!!!

wait you think???"

haha

To which he replied that he "knew" he loved me!!

It was so cute, i mean sure it was over text

but give us a break we're 4,000 miles away from each other.

We have never been a 'regular' couple sooooo it worked out for us.

Tom said he was nervously pacing back in forth before he sent that text.

How freaking cute is that?? 

I love that guy so much!! 

So we said our first "I Love You's" via text.

But trust me it was special the first time we said it on skype,

the first time we said it over the phone and then

the first time we said it in person which was right after

he came out of the twirly door at the airport one year ago.

And we did love each other, we do love each other and

the love will continue for years and years and yeaarrrss.

Oh and I also wrote the occasion in my Calendar right after it happened.

Don't you just love my mushy love posts ;)

Hope you guys are having a great week!!

Tom booked a flight + Random ramblings

So yesterday after Tom and I skyped our way through

one of the knockout games of the world cup Tom

looks at me...through the camera...and tells me to look at flights.

You see Tom and I have been looking at flights on a daily basis

for months now because those suckers are like SO expensive all of a sudden.

I mean it's never cheap to fly across the world

but we've always been pretty good at making cheap(er) flights happen.

We book pretty far in advance...usually.

So when we started looking at flights for Tom to come

to Texas in August the prices were insane.

Like $1600 insane.

Ummmm no, is there like a fishing barge he can get a ticket on?

Just kidding, i'd never make Tom do that.

It was actually his suggestion.

Anyways Prices have fluctuated, as they usually do

but they have never, not once, gotten below £800.

Which is an absolutely ridiculous price.

I think airline companies are crooks to the maaaxxx.

Why is this same exact flight £400 in September but £900 in August??

Oh because of the summer??

Not an acceptable excuse!!!

Whoops, rant over.

So Tom tells me to look at flights, so I do.

The flight we wanted which was Manchester-Dallas

was still pretty Pricey, in the 700's but still up there.

However Manchester-Houston was cheaper.

Cheaper by like £100.

SOLD

So Tom bought his flight for £700

which is still just annoyingly expensive but

it wasn't £900 so we were pretty happy about it.

So yay, Tom is almost on his way back to the USA! :)

In other news I've added quite a few new items

to my Etsy shop.

Prints and canvases.

Prints are $1 and will continue to be $1.

I've added some new prints to the shop

and i'll continue to add more as I grow.

I kind of wanted to revamp my canvases a little

so I added a few new additions to the shop and I'm really liking them.

They are customizable, come in 2 different sizes

and are just really cute if I'm being honest :)

I think they're so fun!!

I hope I get to make more of these!!

I've also added a coupon code to the shop

that will probably hang out for a while.

The code is SAVE25

You can save 25% on your entire order

when you spend $10.00 or more.

Just enter it in at checkout and Voila!!

Hope you are all having a great week.

Oh and, HAPPY JULY!!

Tom will be here next month!

Yippee!!

:)