I think deep down many of us are trying to keep it “real”. So much of what you see on Pinterest and blogs and social media seems perfect, and sometimes it’s hard to remember that everyone has a real life too.
I know I do it.
When I picture my blogger friends, I don’t picture yoga pants and disheveled hair, I picture the icon where they are smiling and cute and dressed to kill. I don’t picture piles of crap on the counter, I picture their perfectly polished after pictures from ahouse tour. If they have cute kids or a family or seem fun, I imagine that no one loses their temper and everyone is always happy.
We don’t want to share the messes for fear that you’ll think we are hoarders. So we share the one day that the room was clean and the lighting was perfect and the kids were busy and the tripod was set up and
SNAP!
that’s how you remember it.
Maybe you do it with me? Sometimes? Probably not? hahaha 😉
Since jumping onto Instagram last April, I’ve been trying to share bits of real life along with the pretty. I call these each of these images a “real life still life” and you can find them by searching #reallifestilllife.
The imperfect, the burnt, the messy, the crazy, the meltdowns, the little moments you’d otherwise miss. The beautiful messes.
Here’s a gallery of my images so far, feel free to add your own #reallifestilllife by tagging your pictures with the hashtag and they’ll show up below:
Soooo, do you think I’m a slob now? 🙂
Do you compare yourself to others? Or picture other people as perfect?
Anna-Leigh says
I think it’s hard not to compare yourself in this Pinteresting world. Good job keeping it real 😉 I love the hashtag! Maybe with the 40bagsin40days challenge my house will look more picturesque and less like that of a hoarder 😉
Linda says
Refreshing!! There is a blog called Staged Perfection which made me stop and think, “Oh, yeah, all this is staged to look perfect”. All the blogs. It’s all staged. Actually, your place looks pretty neat to me. My dining room is my work room for crafts so that’s always a mess. The living room… oh, well, let’s not get into it. Thanks again. Linda
Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke says
Oh, my home is MUCH worse right now…. (I can’t seem to locate your email on the blog or my email, reminder your post is due to me tomorrow to go live on Sunday!)
Wendy H says
YOu are my fav…. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You make me feel human and normal . Ha!! Thanks SO much for keeping it real and honest. Wen
Jenny Lynn says
I love that you are keeping it real and showing what is going on behind the scenes at your house/blog. If you go to my blog, the photo I have posted on my sidebar is of my how I look every day when I get home from work. I pull my hair up into a pony, pull on a favorite sweat shirt, old jeans and my favorite pair of fuzzy pink slippers.
Melanie says
I don’t think you’re a slob- I think you’re a mom. Those pictures look awfully familiar! I think as moms we all want to be Martha Stewart and Carol Brady with a dash of Mary Poppins thrown in. I think we have to remind ourselves that the first two had maids and the last was magic. All we can do is the best we can. Sometimes that means the dishes pile up, or the Legos stay on the floor for three days because your five- year old refuses to clean them up, and we don’t have time to sit on him until he does. Eventually our kids will be (a little bit) less messy. In the meantime, I’ll be thankful for digital cameras that let me crop out (most of) the background mess:)
Melissa M says
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I can clean my house and two seconds later its filthy again. Two boys 4 & 6, two dogs both boxers (one brindle & one white) and a black cat. I am so grateful, that the prfect life does not exist and you took the time to acknowledge that!!
Megan says
We are all living it! It is odd to me when ppl think I have it all together. I never meant to give anyone that impression. I think you are awesome now!
Christi Sykes says
THANK YOU FOR POST THIS! My house looks the same way! You are awesome to post pictures of your “mess”.