I love
looking at great chic Christmas displays. I think about color schemes and
styles that I would like to try. I go to family and friends homes and get
inspiration for things I would like to see in my own home. I am completely
addicted to pinning holiday décor on Pinterest (who isn't)… but my own home can
be somewhat lacking in holiday decorations.
I used
to attribute this to the fact that I didn't have the time or energy to decorate
seasonally. I worked. And then when I no longer worked, I had a baby… and then I
had a baby and a toddler, and then I had two toddlers and another baby. We sold a house and we bought a new house and
still my seasonal decorating was minimal. There was always an excuse. Always a
reason why not.
I think
that part of me never started to decorate because I had unrealistic
expectations of what I wanted my home to look like. I would see pictures of homes
with beautifully crafted centerpieces and picture perfect mantel displays and I
would get intimidated. I would look at my mantel and see everything I needed to
change in order to attain this image of perfection. I would get so flustered I
would not know where to begin. And then once I would decide to begin – to do SOMETHING – I would get
so caught up in all of my choices that I would just get completely overwhelmed
all over again. Did I want to do gold theme Christmas décor? Did I want to do
felt garland and modern pops of color all over? Did I want lots of garland or
lots of ornaments? There were just so many choices.
… and
then one day my husband asked me to get some holiday decorations for the house.
There was no judgment on our current lack of décor, just a simple “hey, if you
have some time can you pick up some more Christmas decorations for the house?” Apparently
that was all I needed to get started, someone to ask. I looked on Pinterest for two days and looked
at what I could do with what I had and I made a decision. This was not rocket
science. I would NOT get caught up with unrealistic perfectionism. I would take
it slowly and do what I could.
DEEP
BREATH
I
shopped at a few stores. I looked at what was out there. I looked at how much I
was willing to spend and I made a choice. I love garland and greenery and since
I have so much bold red already in my home décor I thought I would stick with
simple and go with gold. I bought gold pine cone garland that glitters as well a
ton of greenery. I tossed it around my chandelier in my dining room and atop my
mantel. I even wrapped some around my banister. It is not much, but it is a
start.
I am
trying very hard to look at my decorations and be okay with what I have – proud
of myself for having made a decision. I like my pine cones. I am trying to be
okay with doing a little bit at a time instead of being blinded by what it
could be – “the after” picture perfect idea I have in my head. Because lets be completely
real for a minute, very few people can walk into a store and buy a whole room
on a whim. I am not sure that I would want to do so even if I could. I like
having a story behind the pictures hanging on my walls and I like the memories
I have when I look at the figurines smiling on my shelves. While it can
sometimes be hard to take things slowly, I feel by waiting and taking your time
you end up with something that is more personal.
My
friend Ann Marie over at White House Black Shutters talks about her struggle
with UNREALISTICPERFECTIONISM – and it inspired me to write this post and to be okay with
the idea of being a work in progress. The most I can do is a little bit at time
and I need to be okay with that. I too am a work in progress (as is my home). I am right there with you Ann Marie - #TheStruggleIsReal.
I am proud of making a choice and starting to decorate. A little bit is better than nothing and you can never finish what you don’t start.
