Two Years Together

This past week Zach & I celebrated our 2 year anniversary.  Can you believe it? Two years!  We met over Columbus Day weekend two years ago, and today (Columbus Day 2013 when I'm writing this) he sent me a link to the first blog post I ever hinted about him.  It's this post if you're interested.  While writing this, I went back into some of my older posts - if you want to really realize how much you grow over time you should keep a blog. For real, some real tear jerkers in there guys.

We've been through a lot together & its weird, because I still remember the butterflies I had meeting up with him again for a second date on Columbus Day 2011.  (I still remember what I wore, too)  I still remember wanting so bad to hold his hand but refraining because I didn't know if I should.  I still remember telling Katie 'he's not going to call me,' then him calling me and me saying 'he's not going to call me again'.  I liked him so much, he just made so much sense to me.  It was a crazy emotional roller coaster of insecurity for me (I don't know if I even ever told him this!) because at the end of the date, I thought he'd never talk to me again - mainly because it was too good to be true that he wanted to hang out with me! It was a huge back & forth of should I text him, will he text me, should I call him, etc.  (I still have some of the first message he left me on my phone, I'm so weird)

This is the movie we watched after our second date.  He's since said that he was a little bit scared that I wanted to watch Stargate, since it didn't quite work out so well with other girls who've liked to watch Stargate.  We've sort of started the series over recently as well.

 It wasn't weird if there was a lull in the conversation, thinking back on it, it's just crazy how we hit it off with our really hitting it off - if you know what I mean.  It wasn't like sparks instantly flew it was sort of like meeting an old friend & settling back into a rhythm.  I remember the day he asked me to go steady, I remember the day I told him I loved him.  I remember the day he left to move to Michigan, I remember the day after he left when I was beside myself thinking I couldn't be with out him.  I remember sucking it up & making it til August.  You can read my One Year Since Graduation post which includes a lot of tear jerking things for me involving life & life with this dude!

Fun fact, we moved in together after only 10 months of dating.  Not only did we move in together but I felt confident enough to move nearly 800 miles away from my family.  Looking back on it, I was really unprepared.  In fact, rewind a little more & you wouldn't have caught me even thinking about a future together. (Read this post) Whenever he mentioned it, I got incredibly scared.  The future meant uncertainty & if I couldn't be certain I didn't want any part of it.  I don't really know what clicked for me but one day I realized that this was too good to try to control - so I just let it grow.  When the time came & he said he was leaving, there was no question - I was going with him.  When we moved in together we definitely didn't know each other as well as we do now - like, really, at all.  Hell, thinking back on it now, I'm pretty sure we didn't even know what we were doing period - at least I didn't.  It is so weird how much you can grow with someone.  I guess I'd say I really didn't know what I was getting into (I don't think Zach did either) but that wasn't a bad thing.  I'm actually very glad that things have worked out the way they have, honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.  I think we've learned a lot about each other, I think the main thing is that we're in this together & that's it.

We've been through a lot but we've always been there for each other.  Let me tell you something, a relationship is hard.  It's not always butterflies & unicorns, sometimes it's work, but it's definitely worth it.  I was trying to tell him the other day that with him I can now see why it never worked with anyone else.  No one else was worth it.  It was always ok that things ended - I mean it was hard, but it just wasn't right being together.  It wasn't worth it on either end to work it out.  With Zach, when things get hard, we get through it because it's worth more to get through it.  I couldn't imagine this guy not in my life.

It's been crazy living for over a year with someone who isn't a roommate but your significant other.  For the most part with a roommate you're just living together - it's not too serious, but with your significant other you're creating a life.  So even the little things can be important to both of you.  It's been weird having to compromise where I've never needed to before.  It's weird sharing nearly everything, knowing each other's bad habits, etc.  I swear, sometimes I think that if the worst thing he does is leave the sponge in the kitchen sink thats not too bad.  It's like even if something frustrates me I'm glad it's something of his frustrating me than anyone else.  Does that make sense?  I don't know - all those cliche sayings about love are true.  And if you don't see it, you're not doing it right.

I am one for quotes, so I'll go ahead & leave you with this one:

We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.

And something else I found fascinating:

According to Greek mythology humans were originally created with 4 arms, 4 legs, & a head with two faces.  Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.

I'm pretty sure I've found mine.

xoxo, Moe

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Reasons Why I Love This Man

So, if you don't like mushy posts you might want to step away from the computer for this post or go visit some of the links in the sidebar because it's about to get mushy, mushy.

As you know, Zach & I recently moved in together.  We more than moved in together really...I packed up my things & moved up north to him.  We moved into a little yellow house that needed rennovating & now we're working on making it a home.  I don't think I give this man as much credit as he deserves for being such an awesome part of my life.  Being fiercely independent it was hard for me during this transition time, but now I've got a job & we even started our own business venture together: 516VINTAGE!  He is a wonderful guy, he makes my world go round, & I couldn't imagine life without him.  

The big thing is, I can't believe that in less than a year I went from just meeting him to leaving my home & moving up north.  We met October 8th 2011 & closed on the house October 4th 2012.  Can you believe that? It's one of those things where when you know, you know.  In that entire year, I went through so many emotions - and am still going through so many emotions, life I mean what can you do about it?  I guess it's one of those things where you don't believe it til you see it.  I am pretty sure I love him more right now than I did a month ago....we've done so many things together that I'd never imagined being able to do, let alone with someone else.  You know what I mean?  We're building a home together & it's weird.

But enough of the super mushy gushy stuff....here's just regular mushy gushy

When we were both sick at the beginning of the year, he made 3 gallons of soup for the both of us.  I don't really know if it was 3 gallons, but it was a lot of soup.  Zach loves soup and he ate most of it.  But he made sure I had enough to get me better while he was gone the next week for work.

He says "Good job Babe, you're doing great" when I get frustrated working on the house. The bad part of this is I am a complainer, I really am.  I am trying to get better at it cuz no one likes to hear it all the time so when I get frustrated or start to complain he does this to encourage me.  Sometimes I don't need it but it's always sweet.

He may not think it's the best idea but he wants me to be happy & being happy is working on my creative dream.  He bought me a kiln, bought me a wheel, hunts for vintage items with me, let's me crochet during movies.  He invests in me a lot.  I mean a lot, when I don't deserve it, when I'm not the best, just when I'm not investing in myself or in us or in him.  I can't count the times he's come up with wonderful suggestions for the blog, for the shops, etc.  For everything.

He's just there.  I'm having a really tough personal life time right now....and I'm loosing my head.  But Zach is there & I love it.  When I don't know what to do, he's there.  When I annoy him, he's there.  When I need him, he's there.

I've never been in a relationship like this before: it's weird, scary, & stable.  I think the main reason why it's weird is because it's real.  I don't know if you can relate to this but it's not highschool - we're both adults, we both want it to work, we both are dedicated, etc.  I've realized that in order for this to work & the reason why it's been working is because we both want it.  We both know we have to make it last.  I dunno...does that make sense? Is that weird?  There's nothing more than this, in good times & in bad, this is it.

Annnyyyywwwaaayyyy........I don't think Zach gets a lot of credit for being a part of my life.  So I just wanted to put it out there.

xoxo, Moe

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A New App I Love // WANELO

So, I've found a totally addicting site called WANELO.  Zach over heard someone talking about it when he was getting a hair cut this week & came home to tell me about it.  I looked it up, downloaded the app, & haven't turned back.  I'm still playing with it, but so far I'm in love:

Short for Want Need Love, WANELO is a sharing site where members post items they love that are also for sale.  Most everything you see on WANELO you can purchase.  From handmade goodies & art to shoes, accessories, & clothes, to cool gadgets & cookware, it's like a one stop shop for everything nifty.  This site is advertised as dangerously addicting & I agree with them.  The interface is super simple, it's laid out well, & posting from the app is fun.  I haven't found anything I've disliked about the site yet!

The site is focused on products & laid out in a true grid pattern, something I love.  I don't like that some sites tend to be moving into a staggered gallery type of look.  The home page is full of all things trending where you can browse new posts or search through popular hashtags.  If you see something you love, hover over it then save it to one of your collections.  Default collections include Things I Want as Gifts & Epic Wishlist but you can add your own.  You can also follow friends & fill in your profile to let other users know who you are.  It's a great marketing tool as well since you can link to your Facebook & Twitter accounts and add a WANELO Save Button to your online store.  You can also tag friends to show them cool product that you know they'd love.

Under their Downloads Section there's even a bookmarklet to add to your browser so you can post to WANELO from any website.  You can also find an app for iPad, iPhone, & Android.  I've been playing around with WANELO mostly on my iPad & love the in app browser.  

You can surf the web, find cool things, & post to WANELO for later.  If you click the post button you'll see an image (or many if there are a few on the page) pop up to post.  Click the image, choose your collection, & then post it to share with the masses.  WANELO imports the information & price of the product automatically then posts your comments under the product.

I love the mix of art & handmade with gadgets & other mainstream things.  It's the best of both worlds & very concise.  One thing I love looking for are iPhone cases.  There are millions & some of them are just plain awesome.  Also, a guilty pleasure I have is searching for things relating to Harry Potter.  Under the hashtag #hallows you'll find everything HP!

So I'll keep posting & saving into next year, the app is so fun.  You can follow me here!

p.s. I'm just posting this review because I love this little site.  I'm not affiliated with them at all, I just wanted to feed your sharing addiction by introducing you to this awesome app!

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4 Ways to Keep Life Normal in a Long Distance Relationship

It's been really hard for me with Zach being away.  I've asked a pillow if it needed more bed thinking it was Zach, I've woken up not knowing where I was, & I've had sucky days just because I've been missing him so much.  It's so hard! But I've realized I've just got to buck up & stop moping and try to remember it's only temporary.


This is the second LDR (or Long Distance Relationship) I've been in and I have to say that I am much stronger than I was in the infancy of my college experience.  I also have better expectations, more plans, & more to look forward to at this stage in my life which is why I believe that an LDR where I am right now will work rather than the childish one I had when I was in college.

Love is a funny thing that you have to take seriously at some parts & just enjoy at other parts.  Sometimes things are hard & if you both have confidence and if you're both comfortable with where you are in life, I think an LDR can strengthen a relationship.  No one ever likes it, but if it has to be done you have to get through it.  (Who am I to say though, I've only been doing this all of 3 weeks...but I'm just being honest here.)


I wanted to share with you a few things we've been doing that just sort of keeps us at this normalcy we had when were were in the same state.

Skype dates // Since we started dating we've been watching Stargate. The first time I ever headed to his house, we watched the feature film & then began to watch the series.  We're on the 10th season of SG-1 & are about to finish up.

Every evening after work we'd make dinner & watch an episode or five.  Now that he's gone, we want to keep some sort of normal routine in our lives.  So we skype & hit play at the same time.  This means we're just sitting in bed (like we used to do) watching Stargate.  I think it's important to make time to do this because it means we're spending time together even if we aren't saying anything to each other.  

Sharing & communicating // Since were aren't together, it's hard to get a read on how each of us is doing that day.  We don't come home to each other anymore so we sorta don't know how each other is feeling or even whats going on in our lives.  So we try to talk about serious things, things that we saw or did that day, etc.  Just to keep each other in the loop in our lives.

We've also discovered that being so far away means different weather (totally obvious right?).  Zach went for a walk on the beach after a storm & sent me loads of pictures of things he found.  He knew I'd appreciate it & even though I was sad I couldn't find all the crazy awesome stuff with him, it's something we did together sort of.
Encouragement // Zach has always been good at encouraging me but now that he's away he's really been talking about my bloggy stuff.  I know it's cuz he want's me to stay busy, but I like that he really takes an interest in the things I do with out him.  He's also really big into antiquing and going to yard sales.  So I always ask him if he's found anything else & encourage him to dig to find some awesome scores.  

Usually he's good at finding things himself.  I should say he's always good at finding awesome things himself so when he found an old apothecary set for only $20 bucks, I was super excited!  We both like different things when we are thrifting/antiquing but knowing what each other is looking for is fun.  Encouraging each other's tastes & collections, you know.  He even bought me a nice carafe/decanter thing because I've talked about how I love them so much!  He's also always kept an eye out for suitcases/traincases.  I always keep an eye out for books, tube radios, & other electronic things.

Keeping Contact // Sometimes we'll send each other texts of things we see.  Other times its a good morning text with an image of one of us asleep.  Sometimes it's a little note in through email.  Sometimes it's just a thinking of you text or what I'm having for dinner text.  Sometimes it's a 'this is really hard to do' text.  Just keeping communication open through out the day.
Even with all of these things it's been hard.  I find myself staying up later to chat which makes me tired during the day, sot it's really about balance.  I've found that the only things I can do now are buy mint chocolate ice cream in a big tub all for myself because Zach doesn't like it (and wouldn't keep it as an option at his house because then we'd have too much ice cream (lol)) & I can sleep in later because he's not waking me up at 7am.  But I think I rather share a flavor of ice cream we both like than have my favorite flavor all to myself.
Have you been in a long distance relationship? How did you keep up with each other? How did you make it work in the end?

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