6 Things I’ve Learned Post Move

I recently asked my Instagram followers what type of post they’d like to see on the blog and was met with an overwhelming amount of responses that suggested an update on the post-move with the manfriend – so here it is. (This is in response to a post I shared about 6 things you learn while moving in with each other – catch it here.) This look is from a date night at 801 a few weeks ago (see number 3 below). Side note, the rooftop there is pretty awesome and the spot is filled with inspirational quotes – be still, my cheesy heart. Read on for 6 things I’ve learned since my boyfriend became my roommate. 

1. I learned how to make a sandwich – I wish I was kidding. My boyfriend makes more than me and therefore pays more rent so I try to do little things to help out – like packing his lunch for work. As a vegetarian, I’ve never made a deli sandwich (my mom always made my lunches before college) so I found myself Googling absurd things like “does meat make bread soggy” but I think I’ve got the hang of it now. Moral of the story – it’s the little things that count. 
2. Having your own space is important and it’s okay to want time alone. My house has essentially turned into an ESPN zone 2.0. I knew that Gerald liked sports but I didn’t know he lived and breathed them. We turned the second bedroom into a “girl cave” where there’s no cable TV and no talk of sports is allowed. He actually uses it more frequently than me to read before bed to wind down. (Something I should do instead of staring at my Instagram feed until I drop my phone on my face.) Regardless, just because you live together doesn’t mean you have to spend every second in your apartment together. 
3. You still have to make time for each other. Slightly contradictive to my last point, I thought I’d be seeing Gerald a lot more since we live in the same space. Obviously I see him more than when we lived apart, but I don’t truly hang out with him that much during the week. He works a LOT so by the time he gets home I’m usually done with dinner and working on the blog or I’m out and about so I don’t actually spend time with him. We’re both fairly busy socially during the weekends, so we’ve been making an effort to do one date night a weekend – doesn’t matter where  – just somewhere we can have quality face-to-face time.
4. Your bad habits don’t change overnight. I thought that moving in with someone would magically make me keep my clothes off the floor and vacuum more frequently – shocker, it doesn’t. I am more conscious of it now, but it’s still something I really need to work on because my messy habits affect someone else directly. 
5. You get a built-in gym buddy! I’ve never been the type of person to workout with a significant other but I recently joined Gerald’s gym and we’ve been scheduling fitness classes to go to together. While I can’t say I’m back to the shape I was in college, it’s been a great motivation to have someone to hold me accountable to my workouts. Plus it’s fun to have someone to walk home with afterwards to talk about the class. (Usually something along the lines of me complaining about how out of shape I am because I could only do 3 pushups.)
6. You have to be more conscientious. With roommates before, I’d never make a big point of asking if I could bring a friend over because we could always just go hang out in my room if my roommate wanted to be by themselves in the common area. Now that my room is no longer an individual space – I have to remember to run it by the manfriend. Same goes with him and his friends – he failed to tell me a friend was staying with us for two nights once until a few hours before his arrival and I’m sure you can guess how well that went over.
7. Bonus point – I asked Gerald what tip he would share with others about living together and I think he summed it up perfectly: “I would say just be thoughtful and try to do little things to make the other person happy. You’ll learn what their hot-buttons are quickly…listen and act on them. And say thank you.” And that friends, is why he’s a keeper.

Shop my look: 

Skirt | Free People 

Top | Forever 21

Shoes | Converse

Necklace | Zaful 

Clutch | South Moon Under