3 things to do together, even when you're apart!

Hey guys!

Over the past year and a half I've been experimenting with quite a few ways to keep in touch with my boyfriend. Letter writing, text, IM, and video chat are all great- but they can get a bit routine if you can't think of a few ways to make them unique.

1. My boyfriend and I have always written letters back and forth, but unfortunately by the time the letter got there we'd pretty much already discussed everything that it contained. Although it's always nice to get a tangible 'piece of someone' every now and then it can get a bit frustrating that the letter won't have any element of surprise to it. I like to think that Tyler and I are pretty goofy people, so we always included odd little stick figures or tiny doodles in our letters. Until recently it didn't occur to me how much fun it might be to actually draw a picture and send it back and forth- each of you adding a contribution to it (one of you draws the out line, one of you colors it in, ect). Despite what you all may think artistic talent definitely isn't required. Some times things can be even more interesting if you have to take a minute to figure out what was even being drawn in the first place! Or if you're lacking the motivation or inspiration to draw, pick up a coloring book and add some of your talents to it!

2. I work retail and one of the worst feelings in the world is seeing adorable couples come in to the fitting room and put on fashion shows for each other. I always loved going out with my boyfriend and trying on both serious outfits and, well, completely ridiculous things and watching him do the same. I'm stealing this next idea from a guy who came into the fitting rooms the other day and Facetimed his girlfriend from his iPhone as he came out of the fitting room and in front of our big mirror. It was absolutely precious seeing them interact as if they were actually with each other. Now for those of you who aren't Apple product addicted like I am- send your significant other pictures of the outfits before you try them on and let them pick out which they want you to try on. Send them pictures of all the outfits on and let them decide one of the ones you choose to buy- and definitely don't forget to try on something absolutely ridiculous.

3. Something I've been toying with recently is sending my boyfriend pizza to his dorm over exam week or some other time when he's super busy- unfortunately none of the places I've called so far either don't deliver to dorms or won't take my debit card over the phone (ugh, right?). This then lead me to the idea of sitting down and having a dinner date together over Skype. Unfortunately he can't cook in his dorm but then I figured out we both have the same kinds of restaurants around us. Pick something you can afford and see if they have gift cards, mail the gift card in a letter and attach a post it note asking them out on a dinner date! Pick out a time that works for the both of you and go pick up some food for yourself from the same place and get together on Skype and voila! A dinner date!

I hope these little ideas have got your imaginations and inspiration going! Be sure to let me know if you guys have any ideas you'd like to add or if any of these worked well for you :)

-Cait