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My lease was up last year in September and his was up 6 months later, so when it came time for me to start thinking about renewing or moving again (it would be the 6th time in 6 years!), I started thinking about us moving in together since we knew it would happen eventually, and I didn’t know if I wanted to wait another whole year. I was a little nervous about how he would react since he’s never lived with a girl before and hadn’t had a roommate since, well, ever. He had a great apartment in a high-rise downtown, but he knew I would never live downtown so that meant him living farther away from work. Plus, we had only been exclusive for less than 9 months. I decided to casually mention it to him when there was still time for me to make a decision, and to my happy surprise, he was all for it.
We fell in love with the first apartment we saw, literally right behind Wrigley Field (it was his Cubs fanatic paradise!). We waited a day and called, and within those 24 hours, the apartment was spoken for. I was heartbroken, but what could we do? There was another apartment for rent not too far away, so the day we saw it and fell in love, we signed the lease. High ceilings, built in the 1880s, vintage charm with beautiful exposed brick—we were sold and didn’t want that puppy to get away!
Moving in together was a lot of fun but a lot of work. Mr. Nachos and I both have a ton of stuff since we both had our own fully furnished apartments for years. He was smart. He hired movers. Me? Not so much. His mom watched my doggies for hours while we and a friend moved my stuff, and after that move, I have vowed to never again attempt to do it myself.
After we got it all in the apartment, we actually ended up having to throw out my full size couch and his bookshelf because there just wasn’t enough room. Once we got the big stuff in place, it was time to start introducing our little stuff to each other so they could learn to get along. But then I pulled this out of one of his boxes…
His
Now how in the world was I going to mesh that with this?…
Mine
Or this…
His
with this?
Mine
Um…
and…
We unpacked for a few days (luckily I’ve signed leases yearly on Labor Day weekend so we had an extra day to unpack) and honestly, and more surprisingly, it was the easiest unpacking job ever. To this day I still don’t know how our hodge-podge worlds of farts and flowers came together so beautifully, but our home is my sanctuary – Cubs, farts, flowers, and all.
I know not everyone is keen on the idea of moving in together before an engagement, but it just made sense and worked for us. We were paying 2 rents but taking turns staying at each others’ apartments so one apartment was always empty. I’m really happy we decided to take the moving plunge because we’ve learned each others’ good habits and not-so good quirks ahead of time. I also know it will make it that much easier when we buy a house in the next few years, ’cause the movers will only have to make 1 trip.
Yeah, I’m just doing my part and helping out the hard-working movers of Chicago.
Did you have an interesting time blending his stuff with yours when you moved in together?
the comparisons are hilarious! my guy didn’t have that much stuff in terms of decor so it wasn’t a huge deal, and when there was an issue i would just steamroll him.
i’m with you on hiring movers from now on!
lol, i love this! though most of the sports stuff would be mine in my own comparison. we’ll probably be moving in together before an engagement, however brief that is so it’ll be super interesting how things end up going. i like the comfy lived in look and am a total pack rack [but organized!] and he likes the minimalist and is all “if you haven’t used it in a couple months it’s gotta go.” we’re so different that my mom wonders how i’ll survive!
LOL awesome.
We certainly did, but we managed to make things happen. My viking hat is being worn by his plastic skull, which created a new entity….the Viking Skeleton!
haha, your post is too funny. and yes, meshing styles is…. interesting.
Haha! Loved this post. We moved in a couple of months before we got engaged after 1.5 years of long distance. Luckily he didn’t really have any stuff, so we didn’t have the problems you did 
haha! I hear ya! Luckily I was the one with most of the stuff so meshing things was not too bad - it was meshing behaviors we still work on. But I think that is the case with any two people living together - but I am for sure glad we started this process before the engagement, so the socks on the floor and food in bed I was well aware of before I said yes!
We’re still meshing! For the most part, my style has taken over (because his “style” was um….not really a style, just stuff laying all over the place), but we still have his bachelor pad couch & recliner. Once the wedding is over, it’s on our list of things to replace!
I love the things you’ve juxtaposed! We moved in together after college (before engagement) so were able to buy a lot of stuff together that we could agree on. That being said, we still have way more Dave Matthews posters than I’d like, and more prints in French than he’d choose. I guess it just reflects us both
i moved into his apartment that he owns. he furnished it a few years ago with really nice furniture, so i got rid of my post-college ikea junk happily, and sent all the super girly stuff (photo albums, candles, art) to my parents. it’s worked out really well but, even 9 months later, we are still bargaining over a shelving unit that’s crammed with all the random junk he’s accumulated over the years that, as a pack rat, he won’t get rid of (in a small 1 br apartment in nyc, there’s not *really* room for his fraternity paddle and ugly ceramic hand me downs from his family). we’ll get there, hopefully by 2010!
Mr. Rainbow had NOTHING, and basically neither did I, so we were off the hook. We just bought a bunch of stuff together, that fit both of our tastes.
Haha! We definitely had those moments when we moved in together too! Some of his stuff lives in the garage now, so it’s still there, just maybe not as prominent as some of my things.
haha! I love it! When we moved in together, we both had to agree which movie posters from our college days were going to be given to the lovely recycle bin. He got to keep his signed Jaws poster and me, my ridic obsession with wall calendars. Luckily we both agreed the best way to decorate were with pictures of us and our friends (narcissistic much?) I think a house with all of your individual pieces is wicked awesome!
This is too funny! Farts and flowers—guess they are meant to be.
Yes we definitely had the mixing problem! Mr. GP is very minimalist, with modern decor tastes… I like warm wood stuff and lots of details! It was…. difficult 
Hahaha - love the farts and flowers. Well, they *are* both fragrant…
I think most of the decor stuff was mine - being a bachelor, he brought an awesome sectional and a (surprisingly) nice bedroom set into the mix. Pretty much nothing else. A lot of boxes, but nothing to decorate with.
Haha, your FH’s stuff is hilarious! I am so thankful that Mr Cola didn’t have much other than his tacky posters and clothes when we moved into our first apartment together (before we were dating). In fact, his only contribution to our communal stuff was a toaster, I brought all the furniture and kitchen supplies, and just promised to not decorate anything in girlie colors!
Ha, I have a furnished apartment minus some important cooking things (i.e. Le Creuset pans. Um, I need those) and weirdly enough, he has them! So we’re pretty set. There are things we’ll register for, but we’ve got furniture at least.
Boys. :p
Luckily, he never lived anywhere but in the dorms, so our combo was minimal. There is, however a skateboard in our closet. Damn thing stresses me out, because he swears that he’s going to learn how to ride it again.
He also suggested hanging it on the wall. Sweet boy.
I want to see where in your house the fart jar ended up! i can’t believe it’s next to the flower vase. haha.
My FH’s Penn State posters (all nicely framed, impressively enough) are in the office room with the guitars. he’s happy enough with that.
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Mrs. Nachos, Chicago/St. Thomas Age and Occupation: 33, Commercial Real Estate & Hairstylist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Radio Producer Engagement Date: May 22, 2009 Wedding Date: April 2010 Venue: Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort, St. Thomas About Me: I'm a happy, laid back city girl that can find the silver lining in any situation. An optimist at heart, my motto is to turn your "what ifs?" into "so whats!". My fiance is a radio producer and the biggest Cubs fan you'll meet - our apartment decor definitely shows it. He and I grew up next door to each other and because of it, we have the best home videos and easiest holiday dinners. We are planning an intimate wedding in the Virgin Islands and a cocktail party in June for 150 of our closest friends.
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