Perfection

What if I lived in the Perfect House?
Country Living

“Perfection is pride stepping on your creativity” Robin Sue of Big Red Kitchen

I just love this quote.  I think this fits me to a “T”, I let pride step on my creativity and limit my own potential.  And I wonder if you have felt that, too.  That maybe you have felt you are insignificant in this world and that God can't use you because of your imperfections.  Or you can't be happy with your life or be a true friend until you attain a certain level of perfection. "I will have the neighbors over WHEN we get this and that done around the house." It is hard to admit, but many of us hide behind our imperfections. Those imperfections become an excuse for our inability to live out God's purpose in our life. And I have been working on overcoming that in my own life.  As I’ve been struggling about my feelings of inadequacy because I am not perfect and wanting to enter the Interior Design world, I have been intimidated by all the wonderful talent that is already at work and I have wondered, “What could I contribute that hasn’t already been done?”  And even more paralyzing is the thought, “How do I think I can compete with these people who are infinitely more talented than me?“  But that’s not why I am going into design.  I am not so much competing with them, as I’m looking to express myself and find my own style and creative voice and trying to fulfill that potential.  

With the Perfect Kitchen?
Southern Accents

I am starting a business to give another opportunity for someone who is looking for a designer that can help them express their taste and personality throughout their home. But I want to do everything right and not make any mistakes.  But isn’t that part of being human?  We’re not going to do everything perfectly.  Mortality is a messy business, and perfection is too cold, too impersonal.  We need some more humanity and connection with each other in our lives, not more perfection.

And the Perfect Living Room?  Would My Life be Perfect?

House Beautiful

Find Your Voice

I just went to the movie "The Kings Speech" with my husband last night and it really moved me.  It is a very wonderful story about friendship and courage and having confidence in ourselves.  I thought about how that applies to everyone, how we sometimes don't have confidence in ourselves and the importance of our contributions to the world.  So, I thought about what is my voice?  I have a few answers.  The most important is my belief in the Savior, Jesus Christ and my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It is a very defining conviction of mine that has sustained me through most of my life and I am grateful for the support this gives me to strive to be worthy of His love and grace.  Another declaration is the importance of family.  I have been very blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful family who loves and supports me.  My parents and brother and sisters are all very dear to me.  My husband is a very kind and patient and loving man who's love and strength has inspired me to be a better person every day that I have known him.  And of course, my children are a constant blessing to me.  Their intelligence, talents and love continues to humble me to be honored with being their mom. 
The last purpose of my voice is the purpose of this blog. To help others find the confidence to decorate their homes especially those who think that this requires lots of money.  I do not believe a beautiful home takes a lot of money. In fact, I believe that having a lot of money sometimes lulls us into settling for what is available or what others tell us is beautiful, but having little to no money can free us to express ourselves more fully.  I am of the opinion that expressing ourselves is so important. There are many ways we can do that, but I am especially interested in how we can "find our voice" in our home environment and have the courage to express it through our individuality and creativity.

Why create another blog?

With all the number of blogs available, it would be easy to just spend my time jumping from blog to blog reading the clever and stimulating posts others are already creating. But I feel the need express myself, especially concerning my passion for decorating and design.
Charles Schultz said, "Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is." A very funny quote, especially because we all tend to believe it. Often, we assume that our life is not very exciting or interesting.
But I am reminded of an episode that Oprah did several years ago, when a reporter was invited on who insisted that everyone has a story and not just a regular story, but an interesting one. They then set up a board where darts were thrown at some balloons that each held a number that corresponded with an audience members numbers. They chose three audience members that way and he did a follow up story with them and it was really fun and interesting to hear the different life events that had shaped them.
That's what I feel should happen every time when building,designing and decorating a home. We need to tell our stories, not only for the people who visit occasionally, but especially for those who live there, so that we can all know that we are valuable and our voice is important.