8 Benefits of a Long Distance Relationship

After spending weeks - sometimes months at a time moping around feeling sorry for myself because my boyfriend lives 132 miles away and I can't spend every moment with him, I decided last week that enough is enough. We actually have it better than a lot of long-distance couples: at least we're in the same country! Being happy for the things I have, rather than uber mardy for the things I don't, I have taken it upon myself to write a list of benefits to cheer up both myself and any readers in the same boat as me by reminding ourselves that it's not that pants.

1. There is ALWAYS something to look forward to. 
Working in retail, I have recently seen customers get excitable over Christmas and parents telling their children 'put it on your Christmas list for Santa' - we even had our Christmas card and wrap items delivered earlier this week! Of course, Christmas is exciting but it's August - by the time Christmas gets here you will all be very very bored. Not me. Every day I see Adam feels like 1,000,000,000 christmasses in one day. I always have something to count down to and get excited about... other than Christmas.

2. Travelling. 
This doesn't mean travelling the world. In my circumstance, it means travelling 132 miles. Nevertheless, it means there are new sights to see and at 'just' 132 miles apart, new foods to try and different activities. Adam probably thinks Henderson's Relish is really gross and I'd probably want to whack that big stick thing over his head after going 'punting' in Cambridge but they're both something that without each other, we would never experience.

3. More time for 'me time' - guilt free!
As much as I love to spend time with my boyfriend, time alone is also fabulous. With Adam being so far away it means I can have girly nights in and paint my nails and pamper myself and watch Frozen without anyone telling me to shut up for singing 'For the First Time in Forever' at the top of my voice for the next few days.

4. 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'.
The realest thing anyone ever said. Our relationship remains in the 'honeymoon period' thanks to the distance - do you think I'd be writing this post outside the honeymoon period? Probably not.

5. There is less pressure to constantly look after yourself.
This can be a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand I eat so much junk food because I'm comfort eating when he's so far away and 'Adam won't see if I get fat'... on the other hand if I don't see him every day, I don't have to shave my legs every day either! 

6. There are no awkward moments with the in-laws.
If you don't see your partner very often, you don't see their parents very often either - which is 100% a good thing even if they like you (unless they're reading this in which case it totally sucks!)

7. You treasure every moment.
Not seeing your partner so much makes you appreciate it so much more when you do. I know I went off on a tangent about Christmas earlier and silly people getting excited because X Factor is back on and that means it's Christmas - but even the little things like shopping are so much more exciting when Adam is carrying my purchases.

8. The sex.
I'm sorry to be so crude (and right now praying that his parents will never see this) but even those who aren't in a long-distance relationship know the sex is better when you go a while without it. Although it's frustrating, the distance between you keeps that lustful spark you had on the first date with late night skype sessions and suggestive text messages to keep things interesting  - about half an hour ago Adam texted to ask 'what's the new blog post about?' - I told him 'something pants' - to which he replied  'your pants or mine?' I won't tell you how the conversation continued...

                         

          


    














I once attended a wedding where the best man's speech included some advice for us all: 'treat every night as though it's your first and every day as though it is your last'. I'm proud to say that despite the distance, me and Adam do just that. My darling, I love you beyond the stars xxxx

Blueberry and Lemon Cheese-less Cheesecake

Whilst looking for vegan recipes on Pinterest last week, I came across a blueberry and lemon cheesecake on call-me-cupcake.blogpsot.co.uk. However, after using around £22 worth of coconut oil alone last week in my Peta Great Vegan Bake Off entry (see blog archives) I thought it was probably best for both my weighing scales AND my bank account if I just took the post as pinspiration (see what I did there?) and improvised a non-vegan option. Having never made cheesecake before and with no internet access while walking round my local Tesco, I decided to 'wing it' with the ingredients... only to come home and discover cheesecakes contain ACTUAL cheese (who knew?) which obviously leads to the 'cheese-less' part of this week's bake.

As you can probably tell, I don't make a lot of 'no-bake' bakes, this is just my second- after my own take on my mum's 'special' tiffin - which I'm sure you will see in a future post. Although the no-bake experience began with a cheese-less disaster, I will 100% be making more of these in the future because they're SO quick to make - and if it wasn't for the mess I created bashing up the biscuits, (above) this recipe also creates very little washing up - BONUS! Does Blueberry and Lemon cheesecake sound like your thing? Try it for yourself and tag me in your photos!













   















Ingredients:
250g digestive biscuits
100ml butter
375ml condensed milk
350ml double cream
250g blueberries
2 lemons

Method:
1. Place the biscuits in a bag and crush them into fine crumbs.
2. Melt the butter and add the biscuits, mix together.
3. Press the biscuit mixture into the tin and place in the ridge to set.
4. Whisk together the condensed milk and double cream, adding the blueberries a handful at a time. Grate and juice the lemon and add the rind and juice to the cream mixture.
5. Pour the mixture onto the biscuit base and spread evenly. 
6. Place in the fridge for 2/3 hours to set. Eat up!

For extra baking photos and videos add me on snapchat: oh_annah.