encourage:

November 4, 2013


via Emily McDowell

I thought I'd start this week off with a little encouragement. I love this print by Emily McDowell, have you seen her work? She is amazing. Anyway, does this resonate with anyone? I think it's pretty right on. It's so so so easy to see what others have online and just start comparing. It is really dangerous to fall into that too. I know I find myself guilty of this. But we need to keep in mind we only see glimpses of what people choose to post online, we don't know them or what is really going on in the other 95% of their lives we don't see.

I get lost in reality sometimes and I've joked with Nick and some blog friends about how things in blogger's lives sometimes are "staged" just like a movie set or play. I've posted photos of our house but it certainly doesn't look like that 90% of the time! It's staged just right and ever so neatly so you are left to think we live in this lovely place where it's clean all the time when in reality, Nick & I are really messy slobs ;) 

Sometimes I get discouraged about people's houses I see and think, why can't our house be neat like that? I just need to accept the fact that it's not going to happen for us because we are not by nature neat people! and it's okay that the house doesn't look like a picture perfect catalog all the time. it needs to be lived in. But when that feeling of comparing begins to creep in and I allow myself to become discontent with what I've been so abundantly blessed with, that is not good and I know I need to give myself a reality check and pep-talk that I'm being an ungrateful brat. Anyway. I didn't mean to go into it so much but I'd love to hear your thoughts! :) Hope you are encouraged today and have a wonderful week friends.

13 hello's:

  1. Such a good daily reminder. Thanks for sharing Danni! Great print as well.

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  2. Absolutely. I get these weird, mixed feelings of awe, inspiration, and depression when I look at Instagram, blogs, and pinboards. It's wonderful seeing all the awesome food people are making, amazing homes people are living in, gorgeous destinations they are traveling to, incredible projects they are working on, etc. But it also makes me feel like my life isn't fabulous enough. Which is ridiculous! I have so, so, so much to be grateful for!

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    1. I can totally relate to this!!! I guess we just have to continue to encourage each other. Best of luck to you!

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  3. LOVE this quote! so so so good to remember! :) xo jillian - cornflake dreams

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  4. I could write a book on this, but all I will say is holy smokes. This is how I feel every day, and I try to remind myself not to fall into that. It is so hard with all the gorgeousness on the internet, and I know I judge myself and my own things so much more harshly than others. I actually wrote a post on this subject a while ago, and it was therapeutic to go back and read it again. Thank you for sharing this!

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  5. I really agree with this and really like this message.

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  6. I love my home which is a 36' fifth wheel but it definitely is not a home decorator magazine type home. HOWEVER, when/if I include photos in my Blog I try to spiffy up that area!

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  8. I totally agree! It can be so intimidating posting pictures of your life online, and making everything appear to be perfect.
    I try to remember that it's normal for a home to looked lived in and that life can be so busy that sometimes you can order takeout, or leave a DIY project unfinished in the living room for a couple days!

    mae by day

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  9. Have you ever read Ann Voskamp's blog? She just wrote an awesome post about comparison. I think you'd love it--and her blog in general.

    and meanwhile, I 'm going to remind myself of what you've said here, with a bit of a laugh at how often I have compared myself to internet strangers!

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  10. Thanks for a great post because ironically I think your blog and life and business look pretty darn awesome. It's refreshing to hear when awesome bloggers like yourself don't have the perfect pretty life we witness on their blogs.

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  11. Thanks for this. It's all to easy to compare lives on the internet, but it's so silly. We each present constructions of our lives - we edit carefully and select what we want to share (with friends & strangers). More often than not, people are not showing a full range of human emotion. I recently saw Junot Diaz read and he said Facebook seems to exist so people can prove how cute we all are. It's so true!

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Friends, Thank you so much for reading + supporting my blog, and for taking the time to leave me a comment. Your comment support truly means so much to me. Have a lovely day! xo, danni