It was a huge day for you and Lauren — the kind of day you both had been counting down to for months. After weeks of packing, signing paperwork, and making design boards on Pinterest, it was finally move-in day.

Lauren, your 25-year-old girlfriend, was practically glowing with excitement. She had her hair thrown up in a messy bun, wearing her favorite matching sweats and sneakers, already carrying a box labeled “fragile – wine glasses & candles.”

“Okay,” she said with a deep breath, standing in the middle of your brand-new living room. “This is actually happening.”

You grinned, setting down the heavy box of kitchen stuff. “Home sweet home.”

Lauren smiled and immediately walked over to the massive window in the living room that looked out over the neighborhood. Sunlight poured in, bouncing off the wooden floors and painting the room golden. She spun around and threw her arms in the air.

“Look at this lighting!” she said. “We’re gonna need so many plants.”

You chuckled. “We’re gonna need a whole budget for your plant obsession.”

She rolled her eyes playfully, stepping over to wrap her arms around you. “Don’t act like you didn’t already approve the monstera and the snake plant I ordered.”

“I didn’t realize we were opening a jungle,” you teased, kissing the top of her head.

The rest of the day was a chaotic blur of moving boxes, building furniture, figuring out where the heck the WiFi router was, and finding random snacks you forgot you even packed. Lauren kept pausing to take pictures and videos — “for the memories” — and halfway through setting up the kitchen, she sat cross-legged on the counter eating chips straight from the bag.

“This is already my favorite house,” she said with a grin.

As the sun began to set, casting an orange glow across your new living room, you both collapsed on the couch — the only piece of furniture officially set up.

Boxes still surrounded you. The place smelled like cardboard and new paint. But it was perfect.