My Life isn't Pinterest Perfect

I've written before about my struggle with comparison and the fear of missing out that we all struggle with, but something different has been bothering me lately. It took me a while to "pin"point it (I crack myself up...), but I think I've finally put my finger on what it is.

My life isn't like Pinterest.

That seems like the most obvious statement, but it took me a few days of feeling constantly messy, stressed and confused before I realized that all of the "inspirations"- perfect homes, perfect hair, perfect outfits- that I pinned daily were actually weighing me down, causing me to be dissatisfied with my real life.

*Disclaimer* I am in no way saying that we should give up Pinterest or stop trying to better our lives or find inspiration online- I'm only writing about a revelation I had that has enabled me to use it with more freedom and less angst.

You see, online we are given fake (or at least 1/2 true) versions of life- a gorgeous, minimalistic, fully styled living room with everything in its perfect place; a flawless face/body on Instagram after an intense workout; a beautiful loaf of homemade bread that didn't sink in at all....

But we forget that these are images. They're not real life. That living room doesn't look like that 90% of the time. Her flawless body does, in fact, have trouble spots and flabby areas. And that loaf of bread took 6 tries to perfect.

As great as Pinterest is, and trust me, I use it A LOT, it is easy to get discouraged by what we see there and think our life is somehow less valuable or worthy since it isn't "picture perfect".

Take my home for example:

(I find it ironic that this is the post I chose to show you photos of my home. I've been waiting till it gets just a little more organized, decorated and clean to do a home tour...but now at least you'll get the "real life" version.)

This is our living room. Notice the dog smashing the couch and the diaper on the floor.

Yes, that's a dog toy next to our breakfast. And a completely bare, huge wall...

That pile of dishes was much bigger this morning.

Why there are three coffee mugs on her dresser? I couldn't tell you.

And this one because I love how her little wall turned out.

Feel better about yourself yet? That took some guts to post, let me tell you. I'd love for you all to think that my house looks like a Pinterest board, but I've just shattered all of those dreams in one fell swoop.

So the moral of my story is this:

Real life is messy.

I'm not a perfect mom. Sometimes Evie goes two days without a bath. Sometimes I raise my voice at her and don't count to ten before I react. Sometimes I let her stay in her crib for an extra 10 minutes so I can lay in bed just a liiiiitle bit longer.

I'm not a perfect wife. AJ and I argue about pointless things. The other day we argued about Bruno Mars lyrics; he thought it said Saturday and I thought Friday. He was right. Sometimes I forget to say thank you for the way he provides and how hard he works to be a good daddy and husband.

My body isn't perfect. Sometimes I wear the same pair of sweats for an entire week. Sometimes I don't wear a drop of makeup for an entire week. Sometimes I don't leave the house.

My house is (obviously) not perfect. Whenever my mom comes over and I apologize for the mess she says, "its not messy, its just lived in". I love that.

We learn in the mess. We would never be able to get that beautifully decorated home if we didn't have a few faux pas first. We can never have a picture perfect dinner without making a mess out of the kitchen before hand. But life doesn't have to be Pinterest perfect after all- because it's real. And that's what matters.