This morning I woke up to dishes overflowing in the sink….food that accidentally got left out by my husband and melted all over the kitchen counter. Muddy fur baby paw prints scattered  across our new cream colored Ikea living room rug (I should have listened to my my and opted for a darker color …shh don’t tell her). A lawn that needs to be mowed. Bills that need to be paid. Emails that need to be responded too. Laundry by the loads that need to be washed. A bathroom that has a funk smell coming on…i.e. I need to clean the toilets and tub. A bed that needs to be made. Hair that needs to be dyed pronto or else I am calling for a new trend  “ombre grey” where you let your grey roots grow out.  And the list goes on…and on and on. This week was a bit of a busy one. Between work, visitors in town and Dusty’s crazy school schedule I’ve been behind in a lot of areas which concern domestic living. If Martha Stewart was to come in to my home to observe and then grade my performance for the week she would give me a big fat F.

This blog post will be the first in a series of posts where the topics lead around matters of the heart that identify with this desire to “have it all together” and how reality clashes with that day in and day out.

As some of you might know…I love photography…style…decor…fashion…design Just as much as the next person. I love finding pretty images that inspire creativity and allow for artistic visualization. However, I find that sometimes these images, blogs, websites… Pinterest *cough cough*… as perfect and beautiful as they are…can sometimes…if not checked…cause feelings of inadequacy to sink in. I find that I consistently need to be prayerful or meditate on the fact that life is GOOD…as is. And it is ok to pull inspiration from these sources but it IS NOT ok to covet it. That seeing pretty things doesn’t mean I need that particular thing too. Because my favorite blogger is wearing Jimmy Choo’s and a $200 blazer that are SO gorgeous…doesn’t mean I NEED those two items. I can find less expensive ones or…just admire it and call it good and chalk it up as inspiration. Yes, I love the sweaters from some of your favorite higher end department stores…but my budget and my mind can’t justify spending $100+ on a sweater or blouse. You’ll most likely find me trying to replicate the look by shopping at a less expensive place like Forever 21 or H&M…OR better yet…a thrift store…which I frequent often.

I will also be posting regularly to Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #banperfection I would love you to join me in sharing this hashtag and your imperfect photos in life! i.e. the loads of laundry, dirty kitchen, messy hair…you name it – let’s see it

I will be breaking down this series every couple weeks topic by topic and I would love to know what things you grapple with when it comes to feeling inadequacy… so feel free to email me privately/anonymously at samanthaelizabethcollins@gmail.com or leave a comment below if you have an idea you think would be interesting to discuss… I would love to hear what you think and what you might be having a hard time with!