Communication
We try to keep in regular contact by texting, Facebook messenger and phone calls which helps us to feel connected and up to date with each other. We often send each other links to things we've found on the internet or chat about what's happened to us during the day and even though we're not talking about anything important, I miss it if we don't manage to at least check in. 

Skype
We like being able to use Skype for "face to face" conversations as it means we get to see each other even if we're not together. We used to Skype around 2-3 times per month and could stay on for hours even if we haven't got much to say. For me, it feels a bit more like being in the same room than talking on the phone or by Facebook. Right now we can't Skype while I'm in my flat as I don't have internet, but we still Skype when I'm at my parents' house and I can use their wifi.

Meeting up as regularly as possible
We manage to get together around once a month if we're lucky, or once every 6-8 weeks if our individual schedules are more demanding. We try to share the travelling so it doesn't all fall to one person all the time. We try to plan our visits a while in advance if possible so we know that we can look forward to seeing each other.

Plan to do something special
When we do manage to visit each other, I prefer it if we can plan something nice to do so that we're making our time together feel special. Usually we aim to go out for dinner or drinks, catch up on some TV or a film we've been wanting to watch together, or go for a day out somewhere we wouldn't normally go.

Try not to focus on the distance
I try not to moan about living so far apart, or only bring it up in a positive way like when we're talking about not having to do long distance in the future! Being too negative about the distance makes things miserable, although we both get upset about it from time to time - it's normal.

Take Photos
This is one we're not so good at but we're trying to improve! Having some photos of you together is a really nice way to be able to remember fun things you've done together or just feel a bit closer to your partner when they're not around.

Souvenirs
On a related note, we sometimes also like little souvenirs of  things we've done together. I keep some sea shells that I picked up one one of our beach walks; they remind me every time I look at them of something we really enjoy doing when we get the opportunity.  



That's about it for now but please let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions for us! Have you ever been in a long-distance relationship?  Do you think you would ever try it?

This weekend my friend Lexie and I attended a small local 1940s event at Action Stations in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Unfortunately as I was at work on the Saturday we only attended on the Sunday, and as such I think we missed several exhibits which were there for only the Saturday. However, we still had a good time looking around for a couple of hours before we got cold and headed home. We started off our afternoon by browsing round the different vendors selling clothing and accessories, cakes, jewellery, and memorabilia, and then stopped in to watch a bit of swing dancing (I still wish I knew how to dance so I could join in), before trying our hand at guessing the purpose of various objects from the 19th and 20th century (codswallop*, anyone?!). We then headed off to take some photos before calling it a day.

I of course dressed in some of my 1940s clothing for the event, and we even managed to put together a WASP costume for Lexie who doesn't normally dress vintage. We're tentatively planning to go to some other 40s events later in the year, for which we might work on Lexie's costume a bit further or create a different costume entirely.

















Most of my outfit is vintage (details further down) apart from the jacket, which is that favourite jacket of mine that I keep going on about but we pinched the fur from the collar to go on Lexie's costume. Although I've had jackets with removable fur collars before and have typically stuck to wearing them without the fur, I've discovered I actually prefer this one with the fur not least because I'm not a fan of how the little clear buttons are visible around the collar when the fur's not attached. However, I'm pretty pleased with the outfit overall. It's not very often these days that I end up dressing in head-to-toe 1940s but every time I do it reminds me how much I enjoy it. I always find it one of the most stylish and flattering decades for fashion which is very impressive when you take things like rationing into account. One of the things that puts me off wearing 40s stuff more often is the price - I understand that for a lot of people pricier items are an investment but that doesn't help if you don't have the money to pay for them in the first place! That being said, this has prompted me to start having another look around for 40s items that are in my size and budget; I'd really like to have something different to wear if I do end up going to one of the other events as I'm pretty sure I've worn all (certainly most) of my 40s things to events in the past.

Anyway, don't mind my shoes being a bit dirty - we got caught in the rain on our way in to the event! Here's hoping for a nice summer as these things are always better in good weather.

Lastly, we also both entered a competition to win a gift voucher from Rock'n'Romance vintage shop - if you like our outfits and are interested in voting for us, you can do so by just liking our posts on their Facebook page: mine is here and Lexie's is here.




*Codd bottles were a type of bottle patented in 1872 for the storage of carbonated drinks. The bottles were sealed by way of a glass marble which was pushed up into the neck of the bottle by the gas pressure of the drink. In order to open these bottles, a wooden device was placed at the opening of the bottle and given a a push (wallop) to dislodge the marble, hence codswallop. We were also told that the wooden devices would become useless having been broken or through the bottles being replaces with newer designs and would be thrown away, giving rise to the phrase 'a load of old codswallop' - however some Googling suggests that no one is entirely sure how the phrase actually originated, and in fact and connection to Codd bottles may be false etymology.

I've had these trousers quite a while now and I don't think I have ever managed to include them in a blog post before. They're wonderful original 1950s and a wool blend, and I love the shape of them. The colour is a little hard to match but I like it with this brown jumper which gives the outfit an nice overall 1950s or 60s look a bit reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn style in my opinion.

I think the colours are more Autumnal than ready for Spring but as I'm not usually one to necessarily pay attention to that kind of thing I'm sure these'll see more wear before I pack them away for the summer. I really like the silhouette and as these are my only pair of original 1950s trousers, they're a pretty special piece in my wardrobe.















We met some horses while we were out walking and there was even a smattering of snow. The horses in this field are very friendly and have come over to say hello before while we've been walking there. My boyfriend is very patient with me taking photos and wanting to go and pet all the animals all the time; fortunately we're both quite into animals so we will usually both be happy to go over and stroke people's dogs or whatever if they want to come over and say hi.







I always feel very lucky when I get to have my photos taken by my boyfriend. For those of you that don't know, we've been in a long distance relationship on and off (that's the distance that's been on and off, not the relationship itself) since we got together so having him take my photos is a bit of a treat as it means we're both in the same city at the same time. I also usually end up with a few fun outtakes where he's made me laugh at some point.

Well for the last week and a bit of February I'm afraid I only have 4 photos for my photo-a-day project (and they're a bit late being published but I had to have a few days off from using a computer for health reasons). I'm continuing on with the project into March, learning how to edit photos in RAW format rather than JPG. If you have any recommendations for editing tutorials etc then please let me know!


23/02/17


24/02/17


26/04/17


28/04/17