keeping busy.

People always ask me how I do it. How do I handle being away from my handsome man for months at a time. So many of you go through this as well, and I'm sure you know we all have our little tips, tricks, and methods of staying sane when our loved ones are away. I already did a post here on some tips for keeping a long-distance relationship strong. But this is different. That post was more about what to do as a couple. This is how to cope when you're alone.

Sometime, the loneliness and the longing to be with my handsome man is overwhelming. It's hard when there's nothing you can do. There have been so many times I wish I could just drop out of school and go live with him. But needless to say, that's not an option. I hate that we can't be together, but at the same time, I'm so proud of him for everything he does. He's so good about doing everything he can to make it easier on me. But sometimes, when I'm just sitting around, it's so hard to not just think about how much I miss him- and it hurts. Isn't he sweet?! I love him. So anyway, I try to stay busy.  Right when I came home from Germany (read about my trip here), I knew that it would be really hard. I went from spending every day for two months with him to not seeing him at all. So like the day after I came home, I went to Michael's (my favorite store on earth) and bought scrapbook materials. I LOVE scrapbooking, and so I thought it would be a fun way to display my trip!  I just used pictures and items that I collected throughout the trip and made it super cute :) I also put some of these in there. Before I was in Germany, I ordered these "I love you because..." notes from Paper Doll Printing. Aren't they the cutest?! So every day while I was in Germany, I wrote him a note- a reason I loved him- and stuck it somewhere in his house so he would find one every day :) They made him so happy, and he asked me to put a few in the scrapbook! He's so cute. So I've done about six pages in that scrapbook, and he wants to help me with the rest so we'll finish it when he comes home! (Hopefully soon- we still don't know) You can see the other scrapbook I'm making here. I also just started watching Army Wives. I'm addicted! I think I cried like 6 times in the first three episodes. Its a little dramatic and overwhelming, but I definitely think everyone should watch it :)

I can already tell this is going to be one of those shows that I lay in bed and watch all 7 seasons in like a week. Oh well :)

I also love to craft. You can check out the painted and distressed mason jars I love making, as well as LDR coffee mugs here.

School also helps keep me busy. I'm taking 18 credits this semester and it's a lot of work.

 

And it's only the first week. You can read about how my first week went here!

 A little wine never hurt, either. I LOVE this Barefoot Moscato. MMM:)

I also really love to cook. This is a green chile omelet with rosemary potatoes! It was so yummy :)

Cooking, crafting, school, working out, or whatever it is- I just try to stay busy. These past few weeks have been the hardest, especially because I don't know when he's coming home. It'll be in the next couple weeks for sure, so it might seem crazy that I'm so upset, but it doesn't feel real. Not having a set, for-sure date makes it seem like it's not going to happen.

But, I'm trying my best to keep my head up and stay strong- for both of us. I know it kills him that he can't make it easier on me, and sometimes I wish I could be stronger.

I know so many of you are going through the same thing, so does anyone have any suggestions? What do you do to keep your mind off of missing your loved ones?

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quick crafts

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Saturday :) I can't believe tomorrow is my last day of summer! It flies by so fast! I just wanted to share a couple super quick things I'm really excited about!

Painted and distressed mason jars! I'm so in love with these! You can use them for literally anything! Flowers, pencils, make-up brushes, whatever! They're so easy too. You can buy them at my etsy shop. These ones here I'm about to ship out. It's hard to see the colors in the picture but they're mint and coral and they're so adorable! :) I made a couple extra for myself!!

I went on a Michaels run, and I found these plain mugs. 

I've always seen cute ideas on Pinterest about writing on a mug in Sharpie and then putting it in the oven. So I wanted to give it a try :)

 So I drew Montana and Arizona, with little hearts where our cities are and our initials in them.

(Yes, my handsome man is in Germany right now but he's going to live in Montana soon)

And the saying, "Distance means so little when someone means so much" On the other side.

I can't wait to give it to him :) I'm going to make him a 'Welcome Home' basket when he comes and I'll be putting this in there!! 

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DIY painted keys!

So I had an interview today with a nanny service and I got the job! Woo hoo! Also, I'm on day three of my dairy-free adventure! It's not as hard as I thought :) But other than that, with ten days until school starts and nothing to do, I decided to do some more crafting!

I can't keep the keys to my apartment, so I can't really do much with them. What I could do, though, was paint them with nail polish! It's a super easy way to make them look cute and the best part is: you can change the colors or take the polish off whenever!

Putting my 81 bottles of nail polish to work! :)

If you can keep your keys/you're allowed to decorate them, I suggest dipping them in glue and glitter and them covering it in Mod Podge so the glitter doesn't come off! That'll definitely happen to my house keys someday.

my super cheap chalk ideas!

Okay so I've been on a crafting rampage these past couple weeks! I think I've been to Michaels at least ten times in the past two weeks! I've been making all kinds of fun stuff for my new apartment. My theme is coral and grey, so everything's revolving around those colors. Right now I'm obsessed with chalkboards! I love the look and I love the uniqueness and flexibility that decorating with a chalkboard presents. But buying a chalkboard (a  nice one) can be crazy expensive! I'm in love with the ones that are sold at Cost Plus, but I can't afford to spend $80 on a little chalkboard! My mission right  now is to find an old picture with a pretty frame, so I can paint the glass from the picture with chalkboard paint. You get the same look, for much less!

For now though, I decided to make a smaller chalkboard to hang on the wall in my apartment! I love the look, and the best part is that it hardly costs anything!

 So this is what I made! It was so easy! and it looks super cute too! :)

I started with a plain wooden frame from Michaels.  They have tons of designs and all different sizes and the best part.....they're all under $2! Here's what they look like before painting:

I had some left over wall paint in coral, so that's what I used to paint it. But you can use really any kind of paint! The wood is light, so it only takes a few coats and it dries very fast! My frame was 11x14 and I wasn't sure what I was going to put in the middle that I could cover with the chalkboard paint until I found these lightweight 11x14 foam boards at Michaels as well. The chalkboard paint I used is grey since that's one of the colors that I'm using to theme my room, but you can get pretty much any color. I used Rust-o-leum from Home Depot, and it was $13 for a quart of paint.  I just found out, however, they sell chalkboard spray paint! I think I need to take another trip to Home Depot! :) You can also try to make your own if you want to save some more money. 

Once I painted the foam board with the chalkboard paint I used a craft glue to stick it to the frame and voilà! I also recommend checking out this blog on tips for writing in chalk! It's amazing! 

And there you have it!

all about me!

My name is Brianna and I am nineteen years young.  I am an undergrad student at The University of Arizona in the oh-not quite-so beautiful Tucson.  After changing my major about a million times, I'm sticking with Psychology! I love it. I'm truly fascinated in the way that our minds work.  I go back to school in five days, and I'm so not ready for the summer to be over (probably because I spent the last two months traveling around Europe with my boyfriend-more on that later!)

I'm living in an apartment this year, and I've spent all of my free time this summer crafting for it.

Right now I'm obsessed with painting and distressing these mason jars! It's so fun and I think they're the cutest! I've made way too many for my own good, haha! Check out my shop, EndlesslyBeLoved, on Etsy if you're interested in buying some! I also have a few other crafty things on there! I've been going craft crazy these past two weeks! It helps keep me busy and keeps my mind off of missing my love.

My boyfriend's name is Dj and he is in the Air Force.  We met when we were little kids! Our moms have been friends since...well forever! We played together when we were little- he always gives me a hard time because I never used to let him play with my little red cash register! I guess I was a little brat :) If I had known that I'd fall in love with him someday, I probably would've let him play with it! Maybe :) 
We reconnected almost a year ago, and the rest is history! He is stationed in Germany right now. Which is good and bad. It's hard being away from him, but I did get to go visit him this summer! I spent two months with him (the most amazing months of my life) seeing all kinds of amazing places in Europe! We went to Belgium, Amsterdam, Europa Park, Neuschwanstein, and a bunch of other cool places! He comes home in about a month (yay) and I'm counting down the days! 

That's us in Belgium! Isn't he handsome?! :)

I love anything pink and anything sparkly.  I'm addicted to Pinterest- I think I have my whole wedding planned haha! I love baking...chocolate chip cookies are my specialty! I have a secret recipe that I'll share with you later! I'm obsessed with country music. And Luke Bryan! Dj got my best friend Kaitlyn and I tickets to go see him two weeks ago. Not to mention they were pit tickets! We were right up against the stage. Not only did I get to touch Luke's hand, but I threw my phone on the stage, he grabbed it, and TOOK A PICTURE WITH ME! I almost died.

I still don't believe it! I tried to smile for the picture, but I couldn't stop screaming! That's Kaitlyn in the back with the hat (she tried to get as much of her face in there as possible!)

I'm so excited to finish school, move in with my handsome man, and start the rest of my forever! And I'm so excited to share my adventures with you!