Pin THIS.

Consider this a sequel to this post. Lest you falsely believe that my house always looks like a magazine (bwahahaha!) I give you this post.

Think of it as an antidote to Pinterest. I mean, I Looove me some Pinterest, don’t get me wrong. But all that eye candy can sort of deaden the soul and lead us straight into discontentment. I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to house projects (much to Mr. Uhler’s chagrin) and love the challenge of taking a space and transforming it into something new and beautiful. But what happens is I get a little antsy and uneasy and kinda mean when things aren’t looking or feeling how I want. Yuck. I’m sure I can be hard to live with. No need to pipe up here.

So today I was a bit grumpy, was dealing with the exhaustion of solo parenting all week and boys who are constantly at each other lately. On top of that after we rallied to get out of the house for a fun outing we had to deal with a dead car battery and a trip to get a new one. While we waited in the coffee shop across the street from the shop we tried to no avail to divert the toddler tantrums with my iphone. Eventually it got so bad that we had to leave the coffee shop and wander around the adjacent Kmart just to contain him in a cart. Of course then the shop called and said that our battery was a special size and therefore extra expensive and by the way, we needed a new tire. Cha-ching.

The day was redeemed with a trip to the park for a free lunch and getting our energy out. It was warm. I found some adorable succulents at Kmart. And these boys are pretty cute. Even if I have to remind them five a hundred-and-five times to pick up their dirty socks all over the house.  But we came home to this lovely house which I have so much vision for and it just kinda made me laugh- the stuff everywhere, the lived-in, lifeyness of it all.  I fight it SO hard, putting energy into making and doing and cleaning and complaining. SO today I decided not to fight it, but to document it and to give you my own little mini-house tour.  May this inspire your own home decor adventures. Pin it, baby.

Bummer: a dead car battery and an unplanned wait with three boys while it got replaced. Bonus: inexpensive new succulents from KMart, of all places.

For the entry: To create that homey look try a bunch of shoes strewn about. The dirtier the better. No, don’t put them in the adjacent shoe closet, that would not give the desired effect. Use the sisal rug to cover up the dust and dirt that gets tracked in. Throw in just ONE random slipper.

Spring Summer Cleaning: purge through all those inspiring magazines you’ve been meaning to sort. Get rid of old toys and clothes. Ahhhh. feels so good.  Now leave them in bags by the front door for a couple of weeks and see how many things make it back out of the bags somehow.

Look at that! Peaceful summer reading. No bickering here. Such initiative. How sweet. (don’t be fooled, they were earning screen time….and they made sure to set the timer and check it every few minutes.)

Living Room: once you find a place for everything, I recommend just defaulting to leaving it all on the floor. And then walking over it for a few days.

Try a gorgeous vintage owl needlepoint pillow to accent your vintage couch that you found on the side of the road….. but what really makes the room is the pair of tighty-whiteys strewn casually. They make a statement. I’m not sure what that statement is. It might be “my mom has only asked me 25 times to pick these up”.

Same goes for the pile of singleton socks. Where are they supposed to go while waiting to be reunited with their mate, anyway? Back of the couch, duh!

Now this, this is truth. And this is what I needed to hear today.

Oooh, look- a fiddle leaf fig!  How de rigeur! But don’t you wipe that table.  Just move all the stuff down to one end when you’re eating.

For the office: Try a gorgeous glam campaign style desk for a clean, sophisticated look.  And maybe a flea-market quilt for a cozy touch. Just leave it on the floor after you listen to Harry Potter on the computer. And don’t bother to take your shoes off when walking on the white rug.

On organizing: I highly recommend purging your art supplies and craft closet every once in a while. More often than this. But when you do it, do it in a frenzy of energy and at midnight so you are too exhausted to finish the job for a few weeks. Is this what Martha Stewart’s craft room looks like? Inspired? Pin. It.

For the bedroom: Orla Kiely duvet. Gorg. Mid-century dresser- check. Toy bins that need to be sorted? yup. Oh, and here’s a tip on how to breeze through your laundry: have your kids fold it while watching TV and then just pile it on top of your dresser. For a long time. Every night look at it and think about when you might have time to put it away. Congratulate yourself that you have clean clothes and so do the children. Convince yourself that cloth diapering was such a fad.

Also, leave your suitcase from your last trip out for a while… it may make it easier to pack for your next trip. EFFICIENCY! Who knows, it may even inspire travel. CULTURE! (I am not sure if those are clean or dirty laundry baskets. What do you think?)

Buy a bunch of cool shelves and bins so that all your toys have a place. But……

Hang some cute inspirational signs. Nothing will amuse you!!!!!!! (or you will be sorry)

I won’t show you the kitchen, or the chicken entrails on the back patio (there was a murder last night). But I just felt like sharing the messes and imperfections because I myself needed to see them differently today. It’s too easy to hold up some standard, some imaginary life that looks better, that we think might make us feel better. But I’m convinced that living life authentically and fully means just embracing it all and giving thanks. We are given what we are given for a reason. It’s an inside out journey, not something that can be fixed with a coat of paint or a trip to IKEA.

And despite what you think

no life is complete if it ends up exactly as planned

But I’ll show you my guts

if you show me your guts

and somehow I think, we’ll both understand.

(Beautiful Angle and Kye Alfred Hillig)

And at the end of the day, thank God life isn’t a Pinterest board. Gratitude transforms all the messy moments and I need to have new eyes to see everyday, and a new heart to rejoice in the living of it all.  Life will not be better when_______.

How about you?  What are your messes that you just wish would go away?  What are the things that drive you nuts and how can you see them with new eyes?  Do you get a teeny bit discontent when you look at all those cool ideas on Pinterest?