2 weekends ago my husband and I went into an open house in town. We aren’t shopping for homes, so I guess you can say our curiosity alone was strong enough to create a one hour detour from our normal agenda, which included dropping and picking up 2 kids to sports events, each across town from where we were. I also like to think I needed some daily inspiration. Maybe a refresh on my homes decor…who really knows.
If you’ve ever gone into an open house before, especially an open house for a brand new home, then you know what we were feeling.
Brand new floors, the smell of fresh paint, perfectly staged decor (all the way down to the perfect white area rugs that match the white couch, white drapes, and white orchid.)
In this particular case, the open house was complete with fresh brewed tea, a roaring fire place with a crackling fresh fire, the softest blankets draped perfectly over the armchair. I mean, I felt like I was home. So much so, that I considered briefly what it would take to sell my home to move into this one. I even began planning on my furniture placement.
Then I got home.Tripping on the collection of muddy shoes in the entry, I was greeted in the kitchen by dog food spread from corner to corner (our dog hates being left alone). As I entered the living room I noticed I have not one white piece of furniture or decor, probably because I know it wouldn’t survive in this house. The fresh smell of paint is replaced by the smell of pasta that was cooked the night before (we use a lot of garlic in our house).
There were no fur blankets draped over my arm chair. I actually dont even have an arm chair. And then it hit me.
How often do we do this to ourselves? I see it all the time at work. Two guests sitting next to each other. One admiring the others hair, wondering why hers isn’t as long, as thick, as blonde, as curly.
Other times I see it among our team. One Stylist wondering why her color placement is like her co workers, admiring the perfect winged liner of another artist we begin to question our own.
Just like in the staged open house, what we see and compare ourselves to, is often times not even real. There is so much more beyond what we see beneath the surface. Even our own Instagram page is a curation of well lit perfectly styled, freshly colored hair photos.
We love taking those photos, we love posting those photos. Hell, we love when you love looking at those photos. But just like the model house, those after shots don’t stay freshly done. Eventually roots grow out, the curl falls, we throw it into a bun and skip a few shampoos. And just like that perfectly made bed in the model home, it becomes undone.
This is your message from the universe to enjoy your muddy shoed entry. Its ok if you don’t have a perfectly staged all white interior design. Its ok that you don’t have the perfectly styled outfits you admire on Instagram, if your post baby body didn’t snap back like the Kardashians.
What you see online isn’t always what real life feels like. We live in a perfectly curated staged world, or at least it feels that way. Today, spend some time enjoying the authenticity of our real world. The real daily inspiration. The messy, untoned, loud, mismatched gift of life we have been given.