Travelling isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Especially with money being so tight thanks to the economy among other situations. Whether you are on the minimum wage (or just over it) or earning a decent salary you can still get some really good deals. Due to our financial situation as a couple and as individuals not being stable, we’ve had to adapt and find other solutions to be able to have those visits.

The most complicated thing about finding affordable travel in Europe (this can apply for other continents too) is finding one that fits within a price range of under £100. You can get many good deals with flights and trains, but sometimes even the most simplest form of travel is overlooked: coaches. Sure, they’re not always the most comfiest and people are usually turned off by sitting in one place for numerous amount of hours but isn’t that what most international couples have to do regardless? I know many couples who live further than across mainland Europe and those couples have had to go via routes that don’t allow them to even stretch their legs other than up and down the plane aisles. This problem gives coach travelling some leverage. Depending on the coach company and the schedule, a coach driver will and be happy to allow you to stretch your legs outside of the coach for a few minutes during a scheduled stop - that’s if the coach is running on schedule. There are also other opportunities for you to stretch your legs during a coach trip. For example, say if you are travelling from Antwerp (or any other European destination) to London and you have to go via ferry/tunnel. You can take advantage of this as when you are on the ferry, all passengers are required to go the main deck. This allows you to wrinkle out all the tightness in your legs, you can get warm food and beverages. You can even get in some extra phone/gadget charging or grab a sofa and snooze for the duration that it takes to get from Calais to Dover!

The first visit of the summer. Finally, it is here again! Well it already happened, so…..finally it happened again! It feels surreal that we just had a visit after six long and arduous months! But I’m so happy we managed to have one after Davy worked so hard to make sure he could make it for his birthday, and what’s even better…he’s already booked August for my birthday too! Thank god for Megabus who makes it so much easier for us to see each other, right? ;)

So on the day Davy arrived, I was a lot more calmer about it. Usually I’d be biting the nails off of every single finger possible on the day, but I felt much calmer. Since Davy has had his new job, with longer hours and more days, I’ve gradually got accustomed to not being able to talk as much. Even though my anxiety is still quite prominent when we aren’t able to be together, it’s calmed down enough for me to think rationally during his shifts and when he is travelling. I used to be a lot worse with panicking about it, but I’m slowly getting to the point where I can think straight without automatically assuming the worst. Anyway, we picked an unshaven Davy who needed a shower and a good warm meal inside of him after roughly 20 hours of straight travelling in a coach. Safe to say, even when he hasn’t been able to wash properly…he still smells good after travelling….well, when he sprays some Dark Temptation on those lovely pits of his - I’m kidding boo, but seriously…they are lovely ;)

Most of our visit consisted of curling up on the sofa and just spending every second possible together. We wanted this visit to be much more casual and a lot less about going out everywhere, although if the weather had permitted it we would’ve probably gone at least a few more times other than to Asdas and Frankie and Benny’s (and popping into places where I can feed my book addiction…) Anyway, this visit was more about being in each other’s company, we’ve had all the visits where we’ve done so much stuff that we’ve barely been able to sit down and relax so this visit really needed those two aspects. We had fun doing things together still, but I was glad that we could just step back from constantly being everywhere and anywhere, from jumping from Costa Coffee to the cinema so I’m really glad we could just chill as a couple, in the comfort of my family’s home. Each visit, regardless of how long or not so long they are, is starting to feel more like a home-coming for Davy which is great because my baby gets to come home (well at least his future home).

It's been a long, long time since I’ve done a post on this blog but that has its own reasons here and there!

What is more important is that very soon, June 10th, I’ll be with Janey again! Yaaayy!! For my birthday and our 1 year engagement anniversary.

It’s the first time since January that we’ll be together again so both Jane and I and are super excited! And to make things better, in August I’ll be with Jane again for her birthday!

It’s been such a very long time. A time that has been cruel to us. Then again, time is always cruel when in a LDR. I’m sure people who read this can relate here and there!

We’ll finally get to do things together again properly! We can go watch films at the local cinema, go out for dinners or just stay in all day, all cuddled up under a blanket! Well, maybe not under a blanket since the Cornwall summers are quite hot.

In my experience that is .. Once .. But it was hot!

The life of an LDR couple (credited to the original artist, we found this on the internet)

It’ll also be the first time that Jane and I get to experience her birthday together! Then we basically have checked the list of special days we wanted to experience together so badly! Valentine’s Day, my birthday, Jane’s birthday, annual anniversaries, Christmas and New Years!

Jane and Davy here - or as you best know as us as Davy and Janey. It’s been a while since we updated properly and you’re probably wondering why there has been such a huge gap between our last post and now. Our last post was September, and since then we have celebrated our third year as a couple and finally had our first Christmas and New Years celebrations together as a couple and we even had our first LDR couple meet up / double date with the lovely Chelsea & Chris over at LoveMyBrit.com - which by the way was amazing and we can’t wait to have another!
In the last few weeks, and months, we have been trying to deal with the ups and downs of a long distance relationship. We’ve been a little cranky occasionally and have been trying to make sure that we put each other first, hence why we haven’t written anything in so long. Added to the stress of a long distance relationship are our own ventures. Jane since September, participated in her first NaNoWriMo and managed to hit the 50k word goal. Something that took a whole lot of time and commitment to, of course, and now she’s in the process of editing that novel (the working title was Sinking Fast but she has now renamed it to something awesomer, obviously) whilst having an idea of another novel. Jane’s also been progressing a lot with her Dutch, she recently took a language test over at Dutch Language School and managed to score an 83% (around an intermediate level roughly)! Of course, the test only included writing and reading Dutch but Jane has also been working on her speaking and listening - which have improved vastly. When she first began Dutch, the first six or so months were full of ‘I can’t do it’ etc but now Jane plucks up the courage to speak more Dutch. She’s also been reading books/news articles, listening to radio and watching Pokemon in Dutch.

Meanwhile, Davy has been busy looking for a second job - on top of the one he has - as the agency he works for simply doesn’t give enough hours, and if we’re going to close the distance between November 2015 and February 2016 this is something that is really important especially on the money side of things. We’ve also looked into packing boxes, and shipping companies. As well as that, on the job front - we sat down and re-wrote his CV, one in Dutch and one in English (for when he moves over) so we can give him the best possible chance of getting an interview. Just a heads up, but for those who want a CV format that is recognised all over Europe - EuroPass is officially recognised by the European Government, as well as the UK Government. They also have information on their website about the recognition of qualifications all across Europe - it may take a bit of clicking about, but it’s not that much of a difficult website to navigate. They also have an editor to create your CV online which they then save into a fancy and smooth looking PDF!

So in a few weeks time, it will be our three year anniversary! Something we have been eagerly anticipating. A lot has happened for us this year, we've had the most amount of visits between us - we became happily engaged (it will be four months on the 14th of October!!!) and are now looking forward to being able to spend Christmas together - a first for us as we'll actually be able to spend it together physically and not just over Skype. So we have plenty of things to look forward to. And I can't believe we've been together for three years. Time has literally flown by for us. It's crazy because if you would have asked me three years ago, if I thought that I'd be engaged to my dream guy, I'd be telling you to stop being so silly because he's so far out of my league! (And yes Davy you are if you're reading this, don't you pfft me Mr! :P)

And as a post, I thought I'd share some ideas of what I and others could make for our SO's for any kind of anniversary, or just a gift to show your SO how much you love them! So, are you ready? I've gone for some suggestions that aren't too expensive as I know how money is difficult to come by myself and I always find it difficult to know what to buy Davy - not because he's difficult to buy for but rather, I just want to make sure his gift is perfect! And I always feel bad that I can't contribute much to gifts, other than sending him books I know he'd like so this year I thought I'd try be a bit more creative. I think the price tag on your gift shouldn't really matter, as long as it's meaningful to you, and when you make or buy it - that you like it. As long as you've tried, I think your SO will love it regardless.

Getting through the day to day life of being without your other half is one thing, but what about when there are huge obstacles facing you? Anything can happen. One can lose their job, finances can become tighter, your feelings towards each other might lessen to the point you’re reluctant to communicate daily and you might start even realising how shitty the distance truly is – not just because of the lack of physical contact.

Sometimes the distance can get in between two people in more ways than just mileage. And this is quite common. Sure, being in a relationship with someone you love is the most beautiful thing that has happened to you and believe me, it is. But, what about the times you've felt so low that you've both hit rock bottom and you can’t cope any more? What do you do then? The most common answer is obviously – you’d fight for each other right? But sometimes the line between fighting for each other and fighting with each other becomes fuzzy to the point you can’t even remember the last time you had a serious discussion without a fight.  My sister told me something that really stuck with me when Davy and I were going through a stressful patch during the last few weeks. Love isn't supposed to be easy. It’s meant to challenge you, provoke you, make you think about things differently -not just in your own point of view but theirs too-, and it’s meant to make you a better person when you overcome those challenges as a couple.

19 days ago Davy came to visit me for his 21st birthday. It has now been four days since he has been back in The Netherlands. It hurts not being with him again, but this isn’t abnormal for a long distance relationship. The day he had to leave, Sunday, I cried on and off throughout the whole day. Before we left for Plymouth to drop him off for his Megabus, I sobbed my eyes out. It felt like my heart had been ripped out from my chest and smashed with a hammer. Repeatedly.

I think and know this time has been the hardest time realising he has had to go back. I know he’s finding it just as tough as I am. I hate waking up in my single bed, not being able to just roll over and give him a kiss first thing as he flexes his little adorable nostrils whilst he yawns. I look around the house thinking of everything we did together.

This is where we sat and ate dinner every day. This is the spot where we sat on the sofa snuggled up watching the first set of WC group games. That’s where I nutmegged/slide tackled/practised doing keep yuppies with him outside playing football in the garden. That’s where I’d sit on his lap as we would play Watch Dogs together. This is where we stood and hugged, and he repeatedly tickled me. I remember standing here watching Davy make me egg salad, or an omelette. Or when I sat on the sofa as he put plasters on my heels from the blisters of my new shoes I wore to his birthday meal.

Hello everyone, it’s Davy here =)

I haven’t done a blog post in a little while but that’s mainly because for the past few months, I’ve been very busy.

In late October, the contract that I had for the agency that I was working for, didn’t get extended. So ever since then I’ve been looking for a job. It’s been an unsuccessful search but I finally landed a job, sort of. I have been rejected by several companies this half year so I decided to sign back up to an agency. Via that agency, I finally have a job again. I’m going to start working in the catering sector of my local hospital. That also happens to be where I had my last job was with the agency I basically got let go from.

So we've been a part of this long distance relationship thing for quite a long time now.  You'd think we'd have a list of 1000s things to do together whilst in a LDR? Wrong. Most of the days, we just sit on Skype and yap about anything for, on average, 5-8 hours a day. So we've put a short list (that's in no particular order) together on the top five things we like to do, separately and as a couple, with 500 miles between us.

What's your five top things to do in a LDR? Either comment below or send us a tweet ;)

It's been quite the while since we've posted. Not that we haven't been bothered to write, it's just we've been stuck as to what to post about exactly. It's tricky when you're a lifestyle blog surrounding a long distance relationship - you don't really have much to write about other than how much you miss your other half and although it'd be a way to get out the emotions for us, it wouldn't really be fun to read constantly for our readers, now would it? ;)