Boyfriend Appreciation Post: Thank God for Conflict Resolution

Valentine's Day is definitely over, but that's okay because love should be celebrated every day. I think days like Valentine's Day are meant for us to make sure that we take a step back and really acknowledge the love we do have in our lives, but like what most guys (including Darell) tend to say, it really is only just a day. If you're doing it right, you're appreciating your loved ones every day of the year. 
& that's what this post is about. I just want to take some time to appreciate Darell on a normal day for no other reason than "just because." 
Over the last few months while I transitioned from California to here in Australia, I hit a lot of road blocks, but through it all Darell was my biggest supporter, my biggest cheerleader. He always encouraged me to keep fighting the good fight & that everything would pay off in the end. He comforted me the whole way through and always knew that I could make it happen, one way or another. 
I've talked about my relationship on here in the past, but I don't think I talk enough about the struggles with it. Well, we recently got into a really big fight, and our first major fight since being in Sydney and honestly since before Darell moved too. & as I reflected on the last 5.5 years, I've been thinking about everything we've been through & how far we've come. 
Why do I mention our really recent fight? Well, as he & I were talking about what had happened & were trying to work through it, after we had both calmed down from being very angry and sat down to really talk about the root of the problem, I noticed how he handled himself. 
He was very patient with me, and he let me cry out everything I was feeling (he even let me cry onto his shirt & get stuff all over him haha). He was gentle and hugged me in a way that made me feel protected & safe with him. 
You might read that & think, "Well, he should've been like that to begin with!" or "Was he not like that before?!" or something along those lines. But if you look at our relationship, you have to consider the fact that I was 15 & he was 17 when we first started dating. We've come a longgggggg way since then. 
Because Darell grew up around not very many women other than his mom (he has one other brother plus his dad), it took him a very long time to get used to how to care for and even understand the emotional needs of a woman. He definitely grew up in a guys' house. & because of other factors in our lives at the time (another very long story for another day), he & I had a lot of issues in the beginning of our relationship, especially with the way we communicated with each other. It wasn't healthy the way we handled conflict. 
However, as the years went on we both learned how to communicate better & we are both much better at facing conflict head-on. Sometimes, I think he handles conflict better than I do now, haha. 
All that is to say that I'm thankful for him. Lately, he has definitely been my rock through everything that I've been going through. He's kept me level-headed while still encouraging me to keep pushing forward and having faith. Especially in this season of life that I'm in right now, I don't know what I'd do without him. I'm very thankful every day that God has brought him into my life. 
So Darell, I know you're reading this right now because you're always the first to read my new posts, but I just want to tell you thank you for being you. Thank you for your heart, thank you for your willingness & openness to grow & learn, and thank you for your encouragement. I feel at home when I'm with you. I love you. 

Relationship Tips from Every Stage: Single, Dating, Engaged, Married

It's almost Valentine's Day. This is the day where all the single people mope around and are depressed while all the couples rub it in the singles' faces that they're not cuddling up with someone on this day. 
The truth is, we are all at different stages in relationships... even if you aren't in one. Singleness is still a very valid stage of relationships to be in. Besides, we all start out that way. 
Anyway, I'm really excited to present this post to you all because it's a post that has actually been on my mind since about January of last year, but with my original plans for this post being much more complicated than how it was now, things fell through. HOWEVER, I was thankfully able to get this post together in time for Valentine's Day this year! 
So the premise of this post: I originally wanted to feature people from different stages of relationships (dating, engaged, married) and film their stories for my Youtube channel. Since I wasn't able to make that happen, I had to wait a whole year to do this, but this time I shifted it for my blog and instead of sharing whole stories (which I may still do another time), I decided to feature singles/couples and ask them to give their tips for relationships. 
Everyone has different experiences with relationships and I wanted to showcase that with real people. 
So you'll see below that I have people of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, and relationship statuses (btw, all non-bloggers except me, hehe) sharing something they've learned about relationships. I wanted to provide a little bit of their relationship background so that you can also get an idea of where they are coming from as well. I hope you read through these and enjoy (and hopefully learn) from what these people have to say. 
SINGLES

Dominique D, 20 Has never been in a relationship. 
"Appreciate the relationships you have with your friends and family and really focus on cultivating those. You're either single for a reason, in a relationship for a reason, or married for a reason, and I think that singleness in general is a great time to focus on the loved ones you have surrounding you."

Emma O'Brien, 21 Has previously been in a relationship. "Instead of going out to look for the best person, be the best person. If you love yourself, you can love others more effectively, especially in romantic relationships. Don’t try to be a certain way or look a certain way for someone because they’re going to eventually find out, so just be yourself. "

Marc Ibarra, 24 Has previously been in relationships; has had one serious relationship. "Really get to know a person before committing to a relationship. Just because you are attracted to each other, doesn't mean you're compatible. There HAS to be more good than bad, especially in the beginning." 

Stories of Valentines Days' Past

Happy Valentine's Day! I'll cut straight to the chase and say that in honor of today, it's only fitting that I write about my past experiences with this consumer-based holiday, right?

This year is my fourth Valentine's Day with my boyfriend, Darell. And while you would think I have three years' worth of Vday romantic dates...

I don't. 

Haha. Let's just say that Darell and I haven't always had the best Valentine's Days together...

He believes that it's just a day that promotes consumerism and doesn't believe in going all out for it, and for two years, that is exactly what he did.

Valentine's Day 2011: This was our first Valentine's Day together! I was a junior in high school, and he was in his first year of college. His car was in the shop at the time and I didn't drive at the time (not until I was in college myself). I'm a hopeless romantic and had high expectations for the day, but I was disappointed when Darell didn't do what is typically expected on Valentine's Day--fancy expensive date and flowers. However, as I look back on it now, I realize that he actually did something pretty sweet for me. He took a bus from his house all the way to my high school and walked me home that day. I was honestly a jerk that day and got mad that he didn't do anything "special," but what he did was when you really think about it; it just wasn't what I wanted or expected.

2012: I actually don't remember this day too clearly; I believe that Darell simply picked me up from school and took me home. We couldn't hang out for some reason that I don't remember, but all I remember was that we ended up fighting because for the second year in a row, Darell hadn't lived up to my expectations of Valentine's Day. (I'm so demanding and selfish, huh? Haha.)

2013: Okay, so this year was different than all the rest. I had figured that Darell was going to visit me for Valentine's Day, but I just didn't know when or what he was going to do. However, when I walked out of my last class for the day on the day before Vday (he was working the next day), there he was, standing with a bouquet of roses in his hand! My heart had dropped and I was so shocked to see him there! Darell isn't the type to do grand gestures like that, so I was so surprised at what he did! I remember Darell telling me that he was so terrified he thought his heart was going to burst, but once he saw me walk out of my class he didn't notice anything else. And honestly, right then and there, that Valentine's Day was officially my best and most favorite yet. We went to Flame Broiler for dinner before doing devotions together and going to my school's worship service together. It was a beautiful evening.

Us before the worship service. This was a great night<3

So what is happening for us this Valentine's Day?

I don't even know. I'm not even sure if we're seeing each other today, but that's okay! I've learned to accept that he's not a romantic and that you don't need one day to be romantic. You should be trying to please your significant other all the time, not just on one day. Will Darell be doing anything for me this year? Who knows! But follow me on Instagram because if something does happen, I'll probably document it for you.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope you all have a great day, no matter what you're doing [:

What I Love About My Boyfriend

With Valentine's Day coming up soon, I figured I'd talk a little bit about Darell, my boyfriend. I've talked about him a few times on this blog, but it's usually a mention here and there or referencing him when I'm writing relationship posts based on my experiences.

I figure that Valentine's Day is a great way to remind yourself of why you love and care about that person you're with. It's also the perfect time to express how you feel about them. So today is dedicated to Darell.

He'll probably hate me for posting this picture, but I don't care. [:

What I love About Darell:
1. He makes me laugh. We have a weird humor when we're together. It's a little weird and it's really random.

2. We are different. While Darell says it's a negative at times, I definitely see this more as a positive thing. We have widely different interests, but yet somehow we're able to make it work and it makes things fun when we each do something that the other one loves.

3. He puts himself in uncomfortable situations for me! He does things for me that he normally wouldn't do otherwise because what I like is so out of his comfort zone. One of those things are grand romantic gestures. While he hasn't done very many, he has told me the times that he does grand romantic gestures for me make him feel like his heart is going to come out of his chest, but that it's all worth it. That gives me butterflies. [:

4. His faith is amazing. I've known Darell since right before he came to Christ, and watching his faith grow over the years has been such a blessing for me to see it up close and personal. His love for Jesus is so admirable, and it is definitely my favorite quality of his.

5. He is honest with me. Darell still has trouble with relaying his message in a way that isn't rude at times, but I know he means well. I love that we can both be honest with each other, even though it sometimes hurts.

6. When he is vulnerable, I think it is one of the most beautiful things. He hates when I bring it up because he doesn't like people knowing that he has deeper thoughts. Shhh. Haha. No, but seriously I love listening to him talk during these moments because it's not something that happens often.

7. His passions and quirks are so adorable to watch! He's passionate about film and has weird quirks about him when it comes to things like books, celebrity crushes, and videogames. I love when he gets excited about these kinds of things because it brings out a childlike spirit in him that I love!

He introduced me to LOTR and is such a hardcore gamer, as you can see

I could keep going on about the many things that I love about Darell, but I'll stop things right there. With our fourth Valentine's Day together coming up, I like reflecting on what I love about him. I don't have very high expectations of what we may do together this year (if anything), but I'll save our stories of Valentine's Days' past for my next post!

Valentine's Day Gifts For Him and Her

It's almost Valentine's Day! If you're single, you're either getting ready to mope (which you shouldn't) or planning to go out with some friends. If you're in a relationship like I am, you are probably wondering what you're going to do for your significant other or you already have it all planned out (not me).

If you happen to be in a relationship and don't know what to get for your boyfriend or girlfriend, don't worry, I'm here to help! While I still don't have my gift for my own boyfriend, Darell, after putting together this gift guide, I definitely have an idea of it.

Depending on your budget and the type of person you're shopping for, I've included a few different options for you to give you some ideas!

1. Valentine's Day Coupons 
For: any kind of man (or even woman)!
Cost: As low as $0
I personally like coupons because they are low-cost and you can make them for anyone and customize it to that person's liking. I found these coupons as a printable off of The Frugal Girls. There are more coupons that what you see, but I decided to give you a sample of what they have. Or, if you are more on the creative side, you can make the coupons and hand-write them yourself! Not only is this gift easy to make, but there is no expiration date so he can use this throughout the year!

Nailed Kit Nailed It + Giveaway! (CLOSED)

I love doing my nails and making them look nice when I have the time. I recently discovered Nailed Kit, a brand that makes adding designs on your nails easier!

You can buy kits individually or subscribe to their monthly subscription boxes for only $14 a month! You get a kit with a few different decal designs and a special item as well, that NailedKit adds on just for you.

The set I was sent was meant to be for winter/New Years, but due to my being home during winter break, I wasn't able to get ahold of my package sooner! Nonetheless, the designs were still really cute and so I still tried them out. Better late than never, right? I mean, it is still winter, even if it is almost 90 degrees in Southern California.

Anyway, Nailed Kit sent me the basic nail set with the base polish and the winter decals to choose from. On top of that, I received a cute nail file (which I desperately needed) and special New Years' decals!