Loving Long Distance

Today, we are talking about Long Distance Relationships... & I'm so lucky to have {av} from {long distance loving} gracing my blog with her presence today! She's sharing some sweet tips on how to make your long distance romance a little more bearable. I won't write too much, I'll let her do the rest... Enjoy! :)

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Hi! My name is {av} and you can find me Monday thru Friday at {long distance loving}! I'm so happy to be posting here at Little Miss Holls while Holly celebrates her birthday weekend in Portland :)

Holly and I have one very important thing in common: our long distance relationships. While I'm no longer dating my husband long distance, Holly is still a long distance warrior! She asked me to write about something relationship-related, so I'm coming through on that request with this post. I want to share a fun way {cv} and I kept each other smiling over our three years of long distance:

{image credits: billy joel + dave barnes}

Did you guess it? We sent each other music via iTunes! Just a month into our long distance stint, he sent me 12 Gardens Live from Billy Joel. It was the summer of 2006 and I was studying abroad in France. I managed to sleep through his phone call that morning and was admittedly a little bummed. I got to school early that day to check my email and found that album as a sweet surprise in my inbox. He'd sent it before he went to bed--and after I missed his call. It meant the world to me that he was thinking of me an ocean away--and to this day, that album holds a special place in my heart. {We subsequently saw Billy Joel live twice later in our long distance years...yes, I grew to love BJ that much!}

Over those three years apart, {cv} would send random bursts of songs--and I would do the same. One of my other favorites was the Dave Barnes album from 2008, Me + You + The World. I actually fell in love with Dave Barnes the summer I was in France and was aching for this new album that April. Before I even had the chance to buy it for myself on its release date, it appeared in my inbox. Though {cv} couldn't come to his concert with me in Virginia later that month, I still felt like a little piece of him was there with me--singing along to Until You.

Billy Joel and Dave Barnes aside, sending music {in iTunes form or some other way} is an easy way to let someone know you're thinking of them. It's a fun surprise--and I would venture to say a welcome one! Whether it's for your significant other who is a six-hour drive away or a friend who lives on the other side of the country, it's sure to bring a smile to their face. The songs you send will surely leave a lifelong imprint in their memory banks!

How do you stay connected across the miles? 

Thanks again for having me, Holly! I hope you enjoyed your birthday :)

xoxo {av} at {long distance loving}