Making Our Move Momentous
July 21, 2010 1:22 PM Subscribe
We're moving in together and I'd like to do something special to mark the occasion. But I'm stumped!
My boyfriend and I are moving in together this weekend. It's something we've been planning and looking forward to for a long time, and we're both excited that it's finally happening. We tend to be pretty intentional about these things, and while I'm sure picking up the keys will be fun, I'd like to have something that will either really last or will be a more momentous memory than sitting in a leasing office.
Constraints:
- Money is an issue. He's a full time graduate student and I'm working on a second degree in nursing. So it can't be expensive; maybe $50 maximum.
- We're moving into a new place, and it is tiny. Teeny tiny. Like 350 square feet tiny (and it's a one bedroom!) So "things" are troublesome, especially big things.
Did you or your significant other do something out of the ordinary when you moved in together? Do you have any ideas? Please share!
My boyfriend and I are moving in together this weekend. It's something we've been planning and looking forward to for a long time, and we're both excited that it's finally happening. We tend to be pretty intentional about these things, and while I'm sure picking up the keys will be fun, I'd like to have something that will either really last or will be a more momentous memory than sitting in a leasing office.
Constraints:
- Money is an issue. He's a full time graduate student and I'm working on a second degree in nursing. So it can't be expensive; maybe $50 maximum.
- We're moving into a new place, and it is tiny. Teeny tiny. Like 350 square feet tiny (and it's a one bedroom!) So "things" are troublesome, especially big things.
Did you or your significant other do something out of the ordinary when you moved in together? Do you have any ideas? Please share!
Best answer: Take a trip out for some ice cream and stop by a photo booth and have a set of pictures made of you, and repeat this on other monumental events (engagement, buying a dog together, etc) - you'll have a great collection of photo booth pictures, which are awesome, and each one is meaningful without taking up much room or costing much! I saw the couple on Young House Love do this and it is so sweet.
(Also, if you're in Baltimore as your name eludes, there is a color 4-photo machine in the basement of the great American Visionary Art Museum)
posted by banannafish at 1:28 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
(Also, if you're in Baltimore as your name eludes, there is a color 4-photo machine in the basement of the great American Visionary Art Museum)
posted by banannafish at 1:28 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I'm a sucker for little house blessing rituals. It could be as faith-based or secular as you want. To me, it's about symbolically cleaning your home, and preparing it for a happy life. Smudge the place with cedar, rosemary or lavender. Hang a horseshoe over the door. Put up a mezuzah. Get a nice plant for the window. There are any number of symbolic acts that can create "good vibes", and be fun too!
posted by kimdog at 1:29 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by kimdog at 1:29 PM on July 21, 2010
Maybe a fancy dinner for two in your new place? For $40 you can buy a lot of shrimp or steak or whatever festive food you like, some wine, and maybe even a candle for the middle of the table. YMMV, but working together on something like that can make a place feel truly shared.
posted by ldthomps at 1:29 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by ldthomps at 1:29 PM on July 21, 2010
Order in Chinese and beer.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:32 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:32 PM on July 21, 2010
Best answer: You could buy a new sheet set (you can get fairly decent ones for $50) and... well... enjoy them.
On the practical side: Ear plugs or I-need-quiet-now headphones, since your apartment is small and you both will likely need some time to work while the other person is enjoying leisure time. Being able to get that quiet time is essential to surviving a tiny apartment with a SO.
posted by two lights above the sea at 1:33 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
On the practical side: Ear plugs or I-need-quiet-now headphones, since your apartment is small and you both will likely need some time to work while the other person is enjoying leisure time. Being able to get that quiet time is essential to surviving a tiny apartment with a SO.
posted by two lights above the sea at 1:33 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Immediately get comfortable together in each room of your new place. (By which I mean doing it.)
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:35 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 1:35 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Somewhere along the way, I picked up the notion that giving a nice olivewood spoon is the appropriate way to celebrate a housewarming (plus a nice bottle of wine).
A nice olivewood spoon is probably 10 bucks at your local housewares shop. It should last a long time if cared for properly.
I have no idea where I got this custom, but I really enjoy the domestic simplicity of it.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:38 PM on July 21, 2010
A nice olivewood spoon is probably 10 bucks at your local housewares shop. It should last a long time if cared for properly.
I have no idea where I got this custom, but I really enjoy the domestic simplicity of it.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 1:38 PM on July 21, 2010
2nd xammerboy, in spades. A tiny bottle of champagne, some candles, your best dishes, take-out from your favourite joint, on the floor, amidst all the boxes. Just sit on some pillows and eat and talk and toast the future.
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:46 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by seanmpuckett at 1:46 PM on July 21, 2010
Anything that is romantic is a great beginning. candles, music, chit chat, nice food and drink...kisses and hugs...
posted by Postroad at 1:48 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by Postroad at 1:48 PM on July 21, 2010
Leave the rest of the boxes, but put the bed together and foof it up to be as comfy and lovely as possible. It'll be so, so nice after a grody day of moving.
posted by Madamina at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Madamina at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
See if you can find the book "The Weekend Artist" by Gerard Smith at your local library or used book store. The author works at an art store and he describes (with great humour) simple techniques for DIY paintings.
If you can borrow or buy the book cheaply, the only other costs would be a blank canvas or two, a few tubes of paint and some brushes. The author advocates for keeping things simple and cheap.
You don't have to be amazing (or even good) at art to follow the steps and you end up with something half-decent that you can look at and "remember-when" together.
There are plenty of crafty MeFites who might be able to recommend some craft blogs - or you could search through the archives for suggestions.
posted by cranberrymonger at 2:22 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you can borrow or buy the book cheaply, the only other costs would be a blank canvas or two, a few tubes of paint and some brushes. The author advocates for keeping things simple and cheap.
You don't have to be amazing (or even good) at art to follow the steps and you end up with something half-decent that you can look at and "remember-when" together.
There are plenty of crafty MeFites who might be able to recommend some craft blogs - or you could search through the archives for suggestions.
posted by cranberrymonger at 2:22 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Kind of silly, but I bought a pair of bathrobes for me and mine when we first moved in together. Kind of a fresh comfortable start thing. We're still using them.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 2:34 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 2:34 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
keychains engraved with the date? cheapish and kind of nice.
posted by koroshiya at 5:02 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by koroshiya at 5:02 PM on July 21, 2010
I gave a friend a key to my house that had a tie-dye pattern on it. He loved it to pieces, and said when he pulled his keys out and saw it, he would think of me. (I had a matching one.) It also makes it super easy to find on your keyring.
posted by littleflowers at 6:38 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by littleflowers at 6:38 PM on July 21, 2010
Have sex in every room in the new place.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:48 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 6:48 PM on July 21, 2010
I like the DIY decor idea. If you don't want to make something (and http://readymade.com/ or http://www.instructables.com/ have lots of ideas), try picking out a big piece of art or a poster or something together. A big thing for me when moving in with my SO was having fun (or mildly stressing) about integrating the stuff we already had so that it looked (sort of) like one cohesive unit. So a big item (a print, wall hanging, clock, floor lamp) that won't take up floor space but incorporates your stuff together can make it feel more like "our" home rather than "a home that we both live in." Check etsy.com for cool original artwork, or get a friend to make you something.
Also I like slippers, buy some new ones for each other!
posted by mishamashes at 1:47 PM on July 22, 2010
Also I like slippers, buy some new ones for each other!
posted by mishamashes at 1:47 PM on July 22, 2010
Tiny Place?
Dump/Sell a 'thing'/things that you like/love but could really do without that takes up space.
posted by csmason at 8:02 AM on July 23, 2010
Dump/Sell a 'thing'/things that you like/love but could really do without that takes up space.
posted by csmason at 8:02 AM on July 23, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by xammerboy at 1:27 PM on July 21, 2010 [4 favorites]