Nearly Native

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a roommate. Keep it up if you’ve ever traded your roommate for your significant other. Okay, now keep your hand up if you’ve ever wanted to throw all of their clothes out on the lawn because they left the toilet seat up or shrunk all of your t-shirts in the dryer. I have a feeling I’m not alone here. Life brings you constant change, including milestones that are messy, but wonderful. So reaching the stage of full-time life with my significant other is exciting, even if this change means adjusting a few things.

Contrary to popular belief, or at least mine, I thought living with my significant other would be just like having one of the many roommates I’ve had from college through adult life. This meant we’d have similar style, watch the same cheesy reality shows, and  hide away in our own rooms when we needed space. Well, my man-friend doesn’t do reality shows, has a more masculine style (because he’s not buying a ruffled duvet from Anthropologie), and now shares his room with me. Why I didn’t think about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to sleep spread-eagle in the middle of my bed anymore is beyond me.

It’s easy to say you’re compatible with someone when you live across town or in another city and get to select the times you spend time with them, but I’ve realized that it’s the little things of daily life that you have to consider when you make the move-in decision. Cohabitation requires compromise, compassion, and at times, standing your ground even if it leads to a fight (or as I like to call them, a “spirited debate”). It’s learning to love someone in the bad times and even in the boring ones.

So, as I venture into this new chapter of my life, I invite you to join me as I discuss everything from fun date nights (at cool restaurants of course) to totally botched dinner recipes (and really great, easy ones!) to deciding on home decor to noticing habits I never knew I had. And don’t worry – I will continue to bring you the latest and greatest in restaurants, exercises, travel, and other lifestyle nuggets! Thanks for sticking with me these past few years and I hope that my forthcoming posts will bring you as much entertainment and joy as they always have.

You can find my new series of content on the Live Like a Native page!