Mother Love

motherhood + home + family

WHY I BLOG

IMG_5277 I’ve been thinking a lot lately about blogging…about why I blog and why I enjoy blogging and why I even should blog.

Lately, blogging has been really inspiring for me, and I feel like I enjoy it now more than I ever have. I know this inspiration has a lot to do with some of the things that the Lord is doing in me personally that have seemed to open up dreams and given me a bigger desire to create and share life and walk in vulnerability in a new way. Sometimes I have about ten different things I want to write about…some that are fun and light and seemingly inconsequential, but some that are thoughts from things I’m walking through personally or things that I’ve learned/am learning from life. I’m not sure what all you want to see on this little blog, but I am shooting for a little of both of those things.

You’ll probably see more of day to day life, because I’m learning to not be quite so private and also to not constantly weigh out what people will think because of something I say or think or do. There is, of course, a balance to this (as there is to everything…i preach this mantra all.the.time)…because I am a big believer in living my life in such a way that doesn’t cause someone else to stumble or falter in the things they believe or choose to practice. But I also believe that we can take such a good principle and waltz way over into left field with it…it’s called fear of man, and I’ve lived my life far too long in the clutches of said fear. It’s something the Lord is setting me free of, and I really like it.

The thing I most dislike about blogging and any means of social media is the idea of the “perfect life” that somehow seems to ring through the words and photos of most every blogger and social media person that I follow. I’m sure you know what I mean by this…and it’s the one thing that truly does bug me about having my own blog. I never.ever.ever.ever want to portray that my life is perfect or that I have it all together…because I do not. And neither does any other blogger or person you follow on Instagram or anything other kind of social media…nobody has the perfect life.

I have to remind myself of this almost daily when I scroll through my Instagram feed or click through the blogs I like…that pictures and postings will never tell the whole story of the state of your home or the state of your heart or the state of your life. We don’t often see the behind-the-scenes shots of what the kitchen looks like outside of the small photo we post of the pastry we created or the morning hair and sweatpants behind the shot of the waffles we’re eating for breakfast or the real issues that a person faced outside of the super fun weekend we talk about.

But the thing is…I’m not sure it would really be that awesome to read a blog that was entirely about the dirty dishes or the scrappy kids or such things. I recently read an article from a blogger who was talking about this similar idea, and I liked her premise: there is so much negative in the world that we face every day, and for a blogger (or non-bloggers for that matter) to speak of the good things and share creativity and inspiration is something that we need. Her thought made sense to me, and actually seemed to put perspective into my own issues with blogging. It can be a good thing.

Once again, there is the balance…I think bloggers and online personalities have a responsibility to project genuine life, not a fabricated one of ideals and perfectionism. There are good and beautiful things about genuine life, and we should share those with gusto. There are hard and difficult things about life, and we should share those as well.

So why do I blog? It is, in so many ways, for myself. Words are my art, and this little outlet for those words is the biggest sense of continual inspiration for me. I am no photographer, but pictures inspire me and I love to have a place to share the ones of our life and happenings. I love to cook, and so you’ll see things from the kitchen too. I am human and have a lot of issues, and you’ll hear about those sometimes too.

It’s good for me to write and talk and share things, and I hope its good for you too.

What about you: do you often feel like the “perfect life” is being projected through online social media outlets? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

THE THINGS I WEAR // that are always neutrals

I have figured something out about myself: I will never have an exciting sense of fashion.

And I’ve also figured out that I am completely ok with that. I used to try to stop wearing so much black and white and grey and so.much.neutral…but recently I’ve stopped trying to stop. I’ve stopped trying to force myself to buy something with color and have a fun sense of style. I just can’t do it.

I went into major clean out mode the day before New Years, and wiped my closet clean of anything that I’ve hung onto because I “might” wear it someday, but in all reality, never do and never will. My closet is literally now only denim, black, white, gray, a little brown, a little mustard yellow, a little dark green, and one red plaid. And it is absolutely liberating. A few years ago, I went to one of those parties where the lady holds up fabrics and colors next to your face to find out what you should be wearing that best accentuates your skin tone and features and etc. The colors she picked for me? Purple, red, and blue. And I literally started laughing and got into a small argument with her…whether she’s wrong or I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter. Those colors just aren’t happening very often for this girl.

I’ve been obsessed with grays lately, which is funny since a few years ago I thought it was one of the unflattering colors to wear. And denim…I have about five different denim tops that I’ve somehow collected in the past six months, and they are some of my favorite pieces to wear. Black is the color that dominants my closet the most…not because I’m gothic, but just because black always works. It’s the most versatile color and makes me feel most like “me” when I wear it.

Maybe some people think caring about clothes and fashion isn’t something to care about…I guess I feel differently. Not every woman is the same in this, and that is so ok…a person should never ever ever attempt to force themselves to fit into a kind of mold or model just because someone else is a certain way. But clothes and style is something that can be almost like art…it’s a way to create. And to create is a good thing…we were made to create. I’m not big into the whole argument that we all need to “express ourselves” and we should do that however we jolly well please…but in an essence, that is somewhat true. I guess I believe that God placed within each of us different ways of creativity and expression, and for us to do so is a good thing. Some people do that with actual pieces of art or design or photography or woodwork or food…and all of those are good and blessed expressions of creativity.

So back to clothing…as with anything in life, if it’s taken too far, well, it’s taken too far. I know women who don’t merely use fashion as a way to show creativity, but who use it for affirmation or attention. It’s no longer fashion but an idol. I think with any kind of art or expression in life, we can all fall into that trap if we don’t guard our hearts. We can all spend too much time or money or effort on something that is of small value and not nearly enough on the things of big value.

But the fact remains and will always remain that we all have to wear clothes, and for me, that is a fun part of life. I don’t frequent any high-end shops for clothing…Target, H & M, Forever21, and Gap (clearance section, hehe) are the labels you’ll find in my closet, with the occasional foray into ASOS or American Eagle when there’s a good sale or savings code.

Some of my favorite clothing pieces to wear are cardigans, long and loose tops (which for a five-foot-eighter woman is really hard to find…if anyone has a secret source for tops made for long torsoed women, please do share), dark wash denim, and my newly acquired fur vest (that i want to wear with evvvverrrrything).

Here are some of my favorite photos for fashion inspiration:

Images via: 1  2  3  4  5  6  

What about you: do you find yourself trying to fit a certain kind of fashion sense based on what someone else finds exciting or “fashionable”?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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