One year anniversary ideas for HIM

I'll just get right down to it.

1. BIG card. (make it a couple pages long on bright paper, glue pictures to it, write him multiple letters, include ticket stubs and even wrappers from your outings) he'll think its cute, trust me. and to make it less awkward, leave it in his car or room and let him read it when you AREN'T there to blush and turn beet red ;)

2. Can/jar of Swedish fish or gummy worms : simply write "you're a catch" or " of all the fish in the sea you're the fish for me" or something cute like that. you can never go wrong with candy

3. The surprise box. Fill it with his favorite things and your favorite things and decorate the box all cute. 

4. Tickets to something he likes to do

5. Pay for dinner

6. A key chain is actually cute (just not too girly) 

7. pocket-watch 

8. straight-razor

9. Engraved compass...saying something like "home is where your heart is" or just your initials. 

10. Framed photo of you two. 

Fall Date Ideas (teen friendly)

1. Pumpkin Patch

2. Pumpkin carving

3. Tea tasting

4. Baking together

5. Movies

6. Haunted house

7. Halloween parade/parties

8. Pumpkin themed dinner

9. hiking

10. fall themed picnic

11. 5 dollar mall hall (you each pick out one thing for eachother that is under five dollars in ten minutes then meet up at a meeting point and give eachother the goodies)

12. people watching at a cafe

13. Get a really summery lunch just to say "Screw you fall, you dont control us!"

14. drive ins (CUDDLE WEATHER!)

15. make a tent outside and watch a movie on your laptop together

16. watch an old REALLY CHEESY scary movie!

18. make costumes together (couple costumes?) ;)

19. scrapbook your memories together on the couch under a blanket

20. go pumpkin smashing (the cheaper the pumpkins the better)

Long Distance Survival (communication and letters)

Some people are fortunate enough to have their sweetheart local, and others just an hour or two away... others...well...have to Google stuff like this to keep the magic alive...

Okay I'm just going to make this simple, sweet, and to the point. Here are the basics for keeping the love alive from hundreds (or thousands) of miles apart...

Communicate:

 I have two words for you. "Get.Skype" I managed my relationship (which by the way was a 5602 mile apart relationship, and a 8 hour time difference) for close to a year with Skype! It may not be touching, but it is sure nice to see your sweethearts face! And guys, come on, you have no reason not to considering its free both local and internationally!!! :)

Calls are also great if you are in the same country and you have unlimited minutes!

I am going to say something here that many might disagree with, but oh well. NO TEXTING. Gosh texting just causes you to miss them more, and to tell them everything that is happening all the time. So when you finally call or Skype, it will be awkward not really having anything to talk about. also, long distance relationships can have a bit more tension than local ones...and texting can really stir the pot. If you must text...don't do it too much.

Letters:

OH MY GOODNESS! I cannot even begin to tell you how exciting it is to get a letter from your sweetheart, especially if they live far away. sending and receiving letters is so fun, PLUS you get to send goodies and touch something they've touched...its just much more personal and real. 

now you may be asking "what makes a personal letter personal and fun and exciting"

1. write how you would talk, its easier and more fun and keeps it casual!

2. spritz letter with your perfume for a sweet personal touch!

3. send dried flowers or some nature you found that made you think of them (its light and smells good usually!)

4. send little things (exp. tea bags, pendants, coins, pictures, magnets, buttons, sketches, small candies, trace your hand and send them a hug or a high five (that one is good for a laugh!) small bracelets, bits of material from something special, gift cards to your favorite places so they can experience them too, etc)

TIP: if you think your letter might be too heavy, simply put two stamps to be safe. 

AND,  if youre shipping internationally (big fat pain in the butt, trust me!) make sure you adress your letter right, get correct postage FROM THE POST OFFICE, and if you're sending a PACKAGE go to the post office and have them sort out the details as far as weight and cost goes. 

Things Girls Want but Wont Ask for

Ladies, lets get this reposted on as many facebook/gmail walls as possible, because the more popular this list gets, the more likely guys will start doing this. These are the things pretty much all girls want but wont ask for. GUYS TAKE NOTE!

1. His shirt/Jacket

2. A simple necklace/bracelet

3. Flowers every now and then

4. Letters/Notes

5. A mix C.d. of your favorite songs or songs that remind you of her

6. pictures of the two of you

7. Random little thoughtful gifts (candy, food, blanket, socks, slippers...inexpensive but thoughtful/cute)

8. Hugs from behind

9. Kisses on the cheek

10. Time with HIS friends.

Taking Photos Together

Re posting the question :

"Hi. I was checking out your blog and I thought I'd would ask your opinion on couple photos. My boyfriend and I have been dating for a few weeks...and I'd really like to take some cute photos...even just ONE for a profile picture! I just am a bit embarrassed to ask him... Ideas for casually taking photos?"

Alright, this was a problem I really struggled with as well with my first boyfriend! Come to find out, guys really don't find it as awkward as girls seem to think they do!

1. Just be casual about it! Say "alright get in my selfie!" you can turn it into a bit of a joke! make a silly face! make it casual and carefree and silly! we were just laughing in this one! and he was all down for taking a picture! proof it works!

2. SNAPCHAT! SNAPCHAT is a great excuse. Be like "I'm snapchatting my friend! get in!" and just say "awh thats actually cute! im going to save it!" I took this one from snapchat! so there is your proof that it works!

3. tell your mom or dad or friend ahead of time "can you casually take a pic of us before we go?" or something like that! they can take the awkwardness for you! and you can even pretend to put up a bit of a fight so you dont look like you planned it! :) proof that it works shown below!

__THINGS TO AVOID__

*asking random strangers in public "can you take our picture?". Guys can find that kind of awkward and imposing.

*just randomly wipping out the camera in front of a bunch of people.

*asking him to kiss you for a photo

AS YOU CAN SEE, guys really dont mind taking pictures, and alot of the time they like to have photos with you just as much as you with them! just go for it! :)

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Things Guy's Want but Wont Ask For

1. Touching. I don't mean sexual either! I mean affectionate touching. Ladies, you know how it melts you inside when he strokes your hair, rubs your arms...trust me it melts him too! If hes sitting down you can sit behind him and start rubbing his neck, or if your laying together, stroke his hair...he'll love it. A lot of guys also have a sweet spot for ears. if you just lightly run your finger tips over his ears....it'll give him those butterflies it gives you. Try it. I play with my boyfriend's hair all the time, and he loves it and it relaxes him.

2. Compliments. He's your man isn't he?! There must be something you like about him, or you wouldn't be together! Compliment him. If you think his hair looks extra spiffy today, TELL HIM. If he's been hitting the gym, compliment his muscles (but be sincere). You can even compliment superficial stuff like his shirt or shoes! Dont forget to use the word "handsome" . It may seem old fashioned, but if you told your boyfriend "you look handsome today babe!" He'd feel on top of the world

3. Your efforts. Meaning, he shouldnt ALWAYS have to take you out, or pick you up, or drive to your house, or come to YOUR events. He'll get tired of always having to come to you. Go to him sometimes! I mean come on YOU CAN DRIVE. and if you cant, grab a friend who would give you a ride! I find myself doing this all of the time. I just say to myself, hes the guy, he can come to me...but its not necessarily true, and ive noticed my boyfriend really appreciating when i come to HIS house or HIS events sometimes.

4. Arm candy. LETS FACE IT. guys want to brag about their girlfriend being a foxy lady! Im not saying you always have to dress up or do your hair and makeup when you see him....but every now and then...it would be a good idea (Especially in public). I am horrible with this. I LOVE MY SWEAT PANTS AND SWEATERS. and my boyfriend KNOWS i hate dressing up in skirts/dresses/makeup/done up hair. He knows this, and accepts this about me..however, I can always see the little sparkle in his eye when I put a little extra effort into my looks and hang on his arm in public :)


5. Surprises. You know how you pretty much die when he shows up with flowers, or cookies, or icecream, or a movie to watch, OR SOMETHING that shows he thought about you?! Do the same for him! Get that new action movie and show up with that and microwave popcorn! or maybe a pizza  or something! or his favorite chips! but always get enough for the both of you, or he might find it awkward. AND if you bring the movie, be prepared to actually WATCH IT with him :)

Make Him Want to Text You

This seems to be a really popular topic between myself and my friends... PLUS the guy I like is NOT much of a social media guy, so therefore, I'm dealing with this problem FIRST HAND.

Here's the backstory as to how i know these tips WORK. ***(however if you just want the how-to, and not the story, skip to the part that is highlighted in red!)***

So when i first met this guy, he never texted me. and when i would text him, he'd take hours to respond...or wouldnt respond at all. when i would ask him about it he would say "Honestly im just not a social media guy...i dont really text much, im no good at it, and i dont enjoy it."

This is NOT fun to hear from the guy you like, because lets be honest here ladies-- we LOVE texting the boy we like, and we WANT to know what he's doing, who he's with, and we want to just get to know him in the less awkward, more convenient way.

So when i heard this, my heart KIND OF dropped. But i just went on my merry little way. and i decided, if he didnt want to text me much, that was fine. well that mentality only lasted so long until i felt like i HAD to talk to him (Dont make fun of me, we've all been there ;)

So this went on for about 2 weeks. I'd text him like every 2-3 days, and we wouldnt talk MUCH just like 10 texts....so not much of a conversation...

WELL NOW I AM PROUD TO SAY HE TEXTS ME ALMOST EVERYDAY

****Here is what i did!****

1. Leave him alone for a couple days at a time. (dont text him every second you want to...and boy this step is hard to actually follow through with!)

2. When you're texting DO NOT let conversation die! play the questions game, or SOMETHING that will intrigue him .

3. When you're texting, talk about HANGING OUT, so he knows that you dont just want a virtual relationship, you want to actually hang out with him as well!

4. Dont respond at lightning speed. See how long its taking him to respond, and try to match that!

5. ABORT ABORT. if that conversation is getting boring, or if he is acting uninterested, leave the conversation before he does.

6. IF HE DOES TEXT YOU FIRST...show him that you liked that! mention how pleasantly surprised you were...or something along those lines!

7. You dont always NEED an EXCUSE. if you start using that "oops wrong person" excuse...he'll catch on, trust me...boys are that naive. BE CONFIDENT.

8. No goodmorning/goodnight texts on your part..they dont find that cute unless you're IN A RELATIONSHIP. even then..some guys just find it clingy and anoying.

9. Dont stress if you go a day without talking! KEEP YOURSELF BUSY. it will make time go much faster! :) and dont start inventing stories about how "HE HATES ME", and "hes not texting me cause he doesnt like me.." while these things COULD be true haha, they rarely are. :) guys can sense when you've just been staring at your phone waiting for a response. dont give him the pleasure!

10. COMPLIMENT HIM. guys love to be complimented. they love to have their ego pumped up. Dont be creepy like "you're eyes are so gorgeous" say things like "wow you're really good at  insert sport here   "
or "you looked very handsome last night." BOYS LOVE THAT WORD<<< it seems old fashioned, but OH MY GOSH, they love it! makes them feel mature, successful, and like they're just the hottest man alive.

So these tips worked for me-- I now have the boy i like texting me almost everyday and the conversation really doesnt get boring anymore!

GOODLUCK AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!