I laugh sometimes when people ask me if my house is always clean.
Or if it always looks like it does in the pictures.
Or if it’s always perfect…..not a pillow or picture frame or dish out-of-place.
Ummmm…..negative.
Not even close.
There is a whole lot of imperfection going on around here.
And sometimes you look at yourself and wonder why.
You wonder why you brought a roast to garden club?
And wonder if you should try to be more like the mom in “Leave it to Beaver?”
And wonder if life would be so much better if we all learned a little more School House Rock?
Imperfection is a lot like this table my brother made me for Christmas. He created it from scraps and leftover pieces of pallet wood he found by the side of the road. My brother created something wonderful by emphasizing its imperfections.
An imperfect one-of-a-kind gift with character in every line….every flaw.
It’s worn and old and scraped and distressed by life.
And these worn, cracked, pieces of pallet wood tell a story.
And it’s story is beautiful.
Imperfect perfection.
I want imperfect perfection to be my story.
I want it to be my voice.
So as 2013 begins……I want to celebrate my imperfections. I want to celebrate who I am and not worry about the cracks or the chips or the flaws.
I want to be happy in my heart….
…..with imperfect perfection.
PS Sharing this over at Funky Junk and Miss Mustard Seed andBetween Naps On a Porch and Savvy Southern Style.
Love the beautiful table your kind brother made just for you. It's perfect for your home. I await your shared storytelling during 2013, because I feel you are ever so perfect with an ever so creative mind. A+ as always!
Perfection? Totally not something to which I aspire. It doesn't even sound like fun to me. I'm short and smiley, too, but not a curl to be found on this head of mine. Are you telling me you were once curly? I am watching a beautiful sunrise out my window this morning. Only two more days!!!! Can you believe it? I love your table. I love that your brother made it for you. Sibling love. He clearly knows you are the boss.♥
KariAnne you summed it up perfectly :) And your brother is a gem! How kind of him to not only make you a gift but something that truly fits your character, family is precious.
Perfection is in the eyes and mind of each of us as what or who we see as hitting that spot that rings all the bells ...awesome, fantastic, this is it! We stand back and admire. I am speaking of Kari Anne. I hope you have an awesome, fantastic, this is it kind of year. Perfect!
The table is wonderful, one of a kind, special, perfect and so are you. I'm so Nellie Olsen, different and very imperfect and it feels like most days I can't seem to get it together but I keep pressing on. So, I shall join you and embrace all of my imperfections and have fun while doing it. It should be good. You Rock, have a great day.
why thank you!!:) Can you please have your brother make me a table too!
KariAnne, once again you have inspired me with your beautiful writing. I need to embrace the imperfections in life! After all, that perfectly clean floor only lasts until the next time my twins eat...but they will only be toddlers once! I absolutely love the table!! Have a happy new year.
At our house we call imperfection "character". I LOVE the table that was made with such love. You can tell it has lots of character. Here's hoping for a New Year that is filled with it. Thanks for your post. Love reading it everyday and looking at the beautiful pictures!
Dull women have immaculate homes. Creativity is messy, life is messy. Perfection is boring and unattainable. They way you share your life through your writing and blog is creative and perfect. Thank you!
What a nice brother! Talented family! You know your guilty of a seemingly perfect life! Don't you love when bloggers confess and show you a messy room once and a while? i live for that stuff!
Love the post and the table! I love Kathy's take. "Dull women have immaculate homes, creativity is a mess". ..Couldn't agree more!
Send your brother a little further south to create a great piece for me, please.
Hi Kari, I have often thought these very thoughts. I'm sure it's the reason I love old houses as opposed to new. And old people. There's so much beauty in character. Somehow this doesn't apply to old cars, tho : )
Tidy....Yes!! Perfect...Not a chance.... You need to scramble eggs to get an omelet.
I wholeheartedly agree! I used to think this when I walked into two of my friends houses, totally fashioned out of a Pottery Barn catalog. Then I would come home, and see my thrown together eclectic furniture, and crafts I had made myself. While the Pottery Barn home was beautiful, it wasn't as "homey." I sometimes can't come up with blog posts, cause I'm too busy with life or filling my etsy store, or working full time, etc. How do these other people have time to do it all? I think your ideas and you are beautiful. Thanks for the reminder we are not all perfect.
That's the best New Year's Resolution! I agree completely. I've almost lost my excitement for blogging because I always feel like i can never match up to everything and everyone else.
Inspiring, lovely, entertaining, positive, happy...I could gush on, forever! Thank you for your blog!
KariAnne, I want you and your brother to be my kids! lol I see up-cycling roadside finds runs in the family and how awesome is that? Your table is gorgeous. Although you have confessed to us all that you are not perfect I find it so hard to believe. Did you make the wreath in the background? Joyous Wishes. Linda
Imperfection IS perfect for HIM.....sounds "preachy", but true! LOVE the table, BaileyHusband and I have been busy little bees creating "imperfect" furniture also...can't wait to show pics on my blog (they are gifts, and can't let cat out of the bag until they are given, on Jan. 1). Hope your 2013 is IMPERFECT like the rest of us....so glad I found you Karianne! ~Kim
I am as imperfect as a person can be! I love the stories you are able to write. You are truly gifted. The table is imperfectly perfect. I love the wreath! I would like more information about it.
Perfection is EXHAUSTING!!!! I have to admit, I try. BUT, usually fail miserably at it. The trying itself is the exhausting part for me. But I guess that's my personality. I LOVE your new table and it looks perfect to me. BTW, I always thought your blog, house, pictures and YOU are perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XOXO
I love this post, Karianne, because I've always been happy that we are all different...what a boring world it would be if everyone was the same! We should celebrate our differences in life...it leads to originality and creativity!
Perfectionism is a constant state of self victimization. I don't know who said it, but I believe them. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Beautiful table :)
You're so right. Perfection is rampant in blogland, and it's such a lie. Like Jenn Rizzo said yesterday- it's easy to take pics of just a few clean spots in your house and shuffle all the junk out of the way. I laughed at Anne's comment about the junk wagon bloggers need to haul all the ugly stuff out of the way of pictures. We are a perfectionist striving bunch, but it's all fake, all for show. My Mother-in-laws house? Not fake- you could eat off her floors, but she spends all day cleaning and doesn't touch a computer. Bloggers don't have time to do that when we are sitting on the computer all day editing pics and writing stories. There is one person in the world who I hope never reads my blog, and that is Bonnie- the wonderful lady who comes to my house every two weeks to clean for me. She would laugh me off the internet if she ever saw how I present my "perfect" home. LOL! Right now it looks like a toy bomb dropped upstairs and a Christmas bomb dropped in my living room. Time to put away this computer and do something about that!
I have a mother-in-law like that too, Beth! Very intimidating. I don't ever feel like my house is good enough or clean enough for her. But one day when my house/room/decor is published in a magazine or online that will be my reward! :) I may have shoved junk out of the way to take that perfect shot but at least I got it. I would much rather enjoy life, spend time on the computer and browsing Pinterest, then have a perfectly clean house. :)
Love the table but love it more that it was made from the heart. I am new to your blog and see me coming back very often!! It's waaaay to stressful to always have perfection, you'd never go anywhere or see anyone or be ready for the fun things in life. Like I always say - If you come to see me, your welcome, if you come to see my home, please make an appointment. PS: I've always really liked the messy look hair. *wink!
OH, and that table IS perfection in my eyes!!! I love it! And that awesome wreath, too! Where'd you find that?
:) I love everything about you and your blog Karianne! Perfectly.
Truth be told...I am getting shorter, and I have curly hair that I've been trying to straighten for 50+ years! I was brought up in the land of Leave it to Beaver...I like imperfect much better...so much more interesting! Love the table that your brother made for you...so thoughtful. And in a way it is perfect....perfect for YOU! I'm anxious to see what other perfect imperfections you come up with in 2013. Here's a toast to the New Year! ;)
And....once again you have inspired me. You have underlined the thought that I have been having...about not cleaning until AFTER break! :) The older I get though, the more comfortable being imperfect is becoming. Actually, it is now laughable, where it once...was not. Have a wonderful day!
=) Not ever. I do confess that I think that YOU are perfect, however. I'm beginning to see how this works.
Another favorite post! You are soooo right. I love the table, you two were definitely cut from the same mold. Needed to read this today - thanks so much for sharing :) xoxoxo
Perfectionism is so 2012 Nellie! Kelly
Love the table and your post. Just what I needed to hear today. Thank you, once again!
What a "perfect post"! What a nice thing for your brother to do - the table is perfection! And, I love the wreath - did you make it? If so, we really need a tutorial for that! Wishing you and your family and blessed 2013!
That darn Christie Brinkley..... she will always be older than me, and always better looking than me. She used to hop in a vette and come out of the hills once in a while to cruise Van Nuys Boulevard and when she was around the guys would all go nuts trying to get a glimpse of her. I was chopped liver, or Laura Ingalls. Bliss
Wiser words have never been spoken Miss Karianne! Perfection is not only impossible to acheive it is down right exhausting. I have always been a "perfectionist" until I had children and then my perfect world started unraveling thread by thread. It still is. I "spiral down" when I fall back into my perfectionist old self. I get snippy and rude and down right unbarable at times when I really want everything to be perfect. I've learned little by little that it is the imperfectness in a situation that ironically makes it "perfect." I love that you will be celebrating the imperfections of life in 2013. Funny thing is, that when we do celebrate those "imperfections" we discover who we really are and what is really important in our lives and we live the life we were meant to lead. I think you do already celebrate those imperfections of life. You bring light to what is imperfect and you give all of us the courage to celebrate the imperfections of life too. Thank you, friend!
Hey k! Remember me? (wink, wink) I've not been by in awhile, but today I FINALLY found some time to do some serious catch up w/ my favorite blogs. Love this post! If you're Nellie Olsen, then I get to claim one of the gals from Square Pegs...anyone remember that show? I'm Sarah Jessica Parker, before she became famous, unruly hair that has a mind of it's own, and always finding myself in awkward situations. Just pure and simple imperfection at it's best. I ADORE the table, we build rustic furniture, and I would love to create something similar, it's a wonderful piece! What a nice brother you have! That makes all the imperfections in life fall together and seem perfect in some strange way, does it not? Hugs!!! I've missed coming by, hope to have more time, now that Christmas is behind us.
I love that table, for exactly the reasons you noted. The wood is old and worn, but made into something new and beautiful and lovely. I love doing that. Thank you for sharing. It's good to know we all have dust bunnies and that's just fine. :) Happy New Year!
Thanks Karianne for letting us into your home and your heart. I've often looked at your photos and thought, "If only...", but I do realize that life happens in that beautiful home of yours...which makes it all the more beautiful. Like your table. The life it shows in all those imperfections. Same goes for our homes.
Nellie Olsen???! Who are you kidding? You could only be Mary (only a not-blind Mary!). thank you for celebrating the imperfections! finally something I excel at! :) Here's to a fabulously imperfect 2013. May we all embrace our imperfections and celebrate them always! Gorgeous table, btw. Hugs! Anne
Gosh no! Not me, girlfriend! I'm the farthest thing from it. A continued work in progress. But you're right... PERFECTION sure is out there in blogland! And as an aside... you should know that I learned something today from blog! I had to google the world "dearth." True story. But hey -- now I know! LOL (hugs) ~Sally
Well you wrote the 'perfect' post! I too look at all the blogs and think 'everyone's home is so perfect' and mine is a mess! Still I ONLY photograph the pretty parts for my blog so I'm guessing others do that also. I love my perfectly imperfect life and home. I'm featuring your post on my sidebar as my favorite post of the week! hugs, Linda
Great post... totally agree! Finding your own voice and honoring it aren't always easy, but striving for it are so important. Thanks for the inspiration as we bound into 2013 I'm calling the Year of Being Unique..
I love this post and the table! It was funny, we were talking to our friends the other night and they were trying to get ideas for their home. I said of course come on in but the house is a bomb. We decided that every person in our neighborhood needs to invite everyone in on a day when our home is the most messy. then every time after that when we have an unexpected visitor it will always be perfect :) XO Kristin Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, so happy to have you as a friend.
Ha!! Aqua net hair spray..My husband used to use that..I never was a hair spray person..
Reminds me of the other day when I posted some pictures of my Christmas decorations for friends on Facebook. I posted and then looked at them and realized that I had definitely not checked the backgrounds of these pictures. There was a picture of my tree and in the background.....my ironing board. A picture of my hot chocolate station on my bar and in the background......my crockpot and dirty dishes on the kitchen counter. I was so tempted to take them off and then thought about it and told myself, "No." These are my friends; they know me, and hopefully will not even notice ;) Hey, life is real and so are our houses. It is about enjoying the beauty we create in our houses. For even the mess is beauty, for it shows that there is activity and LIFE in our houses. And I know I am so blessed to have the messy sticky fingers, dirty clothes on the floor, video games, chicken poop on the patio from when the chickens have free roam of the backyard, paper and crayons on the kitchen table, dirty bathrooms and cat hair from a house full of boys and blessings! Love and Blessings, Robin ~ Southern Bella
Thank you for writing this post! I've been following blogs for a couple years now, and just recently started my own..and you're right, there is perfection Everywhere. Almost every picture i see is Perfect. One to many times have I doubted my decorating choices or craft ideas, but I have to keep remember I'm a newbie doing this as a hobby, not as a career. Thanks, I think this new year I'll accept the imperfections and stop worrying so much about how my life compares to those in the blogland =]
Tell your brother is creativity is boundless -- and, if I do say so myself, perfect! :)
You hit in a very relevant subject...blogland does make us think perfection is everywhere. Even when I take pictures of one little space in my home., while editing I'll see a stray sock or a coffee cup! lol! I can be a perfectionist sometime but it's just a battle within myself, not about others. I feel accomplishment when I clean a room or sort out a pile of junk. We SAHM's have to get some gratification somewhere! But perfection is tiring and boring. We can't be fooled by pictures in blogs, even homes in magazines are staged and the people sound like Stepford families!! Great post! XO, Jane
AMEN! Too often we think that because we made a pretty wreath and the picture looks great, the whole house is clean. And our kids are always clean and well behaved...no way! I love your post, thank you for reminding us to be the best us not compare to other people. You are keeping it real chica, Happy New Year to you :) xoxo, Tanya
What a beautiful post! I have always maintained that perfection is boring, and not comfortable to live in. Thanks for such a sweet reminder. Happy New Year. -K
Funny, you are perfect to me. I could only pray hope and wish to be half as talented as you! I have the short and smiley part down, no curls though, see curls are something even Aqua Net doesn't allow me to keep 20 minutes after a curl set at the salon. As for learning how you do it, I am lurking and watching and hoping to be better in 2013. This was my first year blogging and I know I am making strides....but I want to blog and hate getting out a tripod and lights, that's MY biggest imperfection - lazy and too quick at everything. I don't think I will learn perfection, it isn't in my nature. Thank GOD it is in some of you YOU YOU YOU wonderful bloggers out there to inspire me to be less dashy and a little slower and pickier. Hugs to you all, and especially to YOU, KA, whom is a major fav playah to me. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Love the table AND the wreath! Info on that wreath, please! And you are so right, perfection is HIGHLY over-rated. I was (and still am!) short, smiley, and curly, as well. Life is too short not to stop and enjoy it! Have a fantastic weekend!
That table is AMAZING. And I'd also love to know more about that wreath... exquisite! Sorry, but gotta say it... even your story was PERFECT! :)
Aren't you adorable with all your imperfection, Karianne???? I think SO!!!! I got goosebumps with this one... And tears in my eyes. Happy New Year. Lots of health to you and your beautiful family! I am SO HAPPY I found your blog, you enlighten me and help me, with posts like this one! Hugs, Claudine (another short and smily girl)
I love this post. You wrote exactly what I have been struggling with for years. This year instead of making New Years resolutions, my husband would like us to come up with something that we can help each other as a family to achieve. Mine is to stop trying to achieve perfection. I really struggled with this this Christmas. I tried so hard to make everything perfect and was upset with myself that I didn't get it all done. My youngest reminded me that I didn't need to do everything and that just being together as a family was perfect enough. Oh how I love that kid. I love the imperfect table your brother made you. It is perfect for your house. I see talent runs in the family. I also really like the wreath and would love to hear more about it. I look forward to 2013 and reading all about you embracing your imperfections. Happy New Year!
I have to admit although my home is NOT perfect every single minute of the day.I am a bit of a neat freak I have been that way since was a child.I am getting better as I age but it makes me crazy to have any area of my home messy.But in saying that do I want to share my home with anyone right now just as it is?Pick up my camera shoot some photos and share ...um no way no how.Not picture perfect at the moment.Not even close to perfect LOL! xx Anne
Perfectionism paralyses people. Trust me. I'm still trying to brush it off. People who have "perfect" homes have lower standards than true perfection. I know it sounds silly, but it's true. Knowing that something I do will not satisfy me keeps me from trying in the first place. This is a life long battle for my under-achieving, firstborn self. Who wants perfection? I'm trying not to want it. I'm learning to be happy with less while still not giving up completely. (Learning - not have learned!) I'm leaning on Him. After all, He is perfection an made the only way for the rest of us. Oh, and those perfect bloggers. I seldom give them a glance. I was about to delete one from my list when she wrote a real post about her stinky situation. I'm still following her, too. (Can you tell you touched a nerve?) :) One more thing: When someone happily tells you they are a perfectionist, they probably are not.
You are so right! All this perfection does resurrect ugly high school and junior high feelings. What a colossal waste of time! You may think you looked more like Nelly, but I bet there is no way you ACT a thing like her!
KariAnne. I loved the real message of this post. Yes, perfection is everywhere in blogland, and it's easy to confuse all that staged beauty with real life. I'm always delighted to meet the real life blogger behind the beautiful-perfect-looking-pictures on their blog. It's so refreshing. Thanks for sharing this today, my friend. Blessings, Leslie (aka Gwen Moss)
Ah yes. I like things to look just so. But I have a brain injury and its getting harder and harder to complete the task. Christmas is over but I'm going to sit and enjoy my labor of decorating while going through some medical problems, dealings with other major issues, creating handmade gifts for about twenty people and two for my twelve family members. And through it all trying to understand what my brain no longer understands so I reach daily for my Bible. And God speaks through His word how He loves me. Do I still cry deep deep sorrow filled tears that I don't remember afterwards? Yes. But God is good. I have many good Christian medical persons who pray for me. I witness to another. And then home I go--where I cannot leave unless someone takes me. Not even outside. So my husband tenderly supports my efforts to have our home look like my vision....he knows its where I spend my days all alone. So perfection? Sometimes it's worth the wait to get that flooring we wanted. To get the drapes. To keep the old stuff from the 80's and kind of like how it's darkening with age but painted furniture wouldn't be in my budget nor am I able to do now anyway!! I like my mix of old and new and as I clean up glitter and wrapping and boxes, I like to see order return...and I'll just enjoy it and those dust bunnies for a few more days ....after all didn't tradition have celebrations last to January sixth?!!
Hmmmmmm. Don't we all only show the areas that are cleaned up and styled and avoid the messy part? After reading your post I've decided to always include a shot or two of the area I avoided photographing and kept off-camera. What a fun way to share "the whole story", not just the cleaned up version. Thanks for your post.
Amen!! I thought you were writing that post about me!!! Lots of dust bunnies here but I'll get to them eventually. In the meantime I'll continue creating and reading your blog. Hope you have a fabulous New Year!
I'm with Jean,"Amen"! "Imperfect Perfection"has a wonderful ring to it! Perfection is rampant in Blogland! Thanks for keeping it real! I love your table- gorgeous in every way! I'm looking forward to reading your wonderful stories in 2013! You're the best!
I use to say that I was perfect in a very tongue in cheek manner until it pissed my sister off and I stopped saying it and now I think that was the start of me sliding into depression.......................so yeah I am perfect in a very unperfect way.............I am not neat or tidy or organised but I a happy and have a good life........................
I set the bar on perfection so low, that there is no way I can trip over it. I just look around at my mess and say "isn't this the most perfect mess you have ever seen?" BTW I think that first photo of your wonderful new table is so perfect, that I had to pin it even before I read the rest of your post. hugs, Laura
Oh no, not about me...I sit here in my jammies and housecoat on the couch with a couple blankets wrapped around me and the laptop on my lap (of all places!) as I look around at the toys in the corner the grandkids missed when packing up to leave yesterday...and the little balls of wrapping paper my cats have been batting around...not perfect, but totally lived in and filled with love. Debbie :)
Imperfection , thy name is Gee :-) Yup... That's me, Imperfect and luving it. Me with my wavy hair pulled in a ponytail and bundled in a snugly robe. Sipping coffee and reading blogs on this my last day of work for the year. Actually for the next 9 months. Laughing at the tall leggy reference..... At a 'tall' 5'2" I am so the shorty in the world of leggy people. I live in a house of men. All 6' tall. Where does that leave me and my short , smiley, wavy haired self :-) Sitting in my family room with the cushions propped on the back of the sofa because I had to wipe it off as Master Vic, 2.5 year old chocolate lab, left drool marks after his nap all over the chocolate micro fiber. Here's to a Happy New Year... celebrating a wonderfully imperfect year to come!! hugs, Gee
I was the tall skinny Nellie, wanting to be Mary...:) I know I've asked you before if there is ever a day where you just have "stuff" sitting out...Because as anal as I am, I still can never get it all away at the same time. Glad to hear you arent perfect...though, you know I think you're pretty close :). I've thought of doing a blog several times, but honestly, I cant take a picture to save my life--and what seems adorable in real life, never seems to look as good when I see it in a picture! You all are very intimidating to us mere mortals! I laughed when I read your line about all the matching bedroom furniture--I could not wait until we could afford an entire bedroom suite that all matched. I thought that would mean I was finally a big girl, and had arrived! And for the past year or so, Ive been trying to think of a way I can make it all not so matchy matchy without my husband totally flipping his lid! I've added a painted desk and chair and a vanity that was my Great Grandmas (which Im DYING to paint) trying to add some other pieces to the mix. ( I have it in the back of my mind that in a few years maybe one of my girls will get married and we can gift them this beautiful set and I can start over!) Anyway...maybe we should strive to be Laura, she always flew by the seat of her pants and had a great time doing it! (I had 3 brothers and had to FIGHT to watch Little House on Monday nights...but I saw them all!!) Happy New Year my friend!!
Your post was so beautiful and so elegant, that I have read and re-read it many times today! My maiden name is Smiley...and it truly fit my High School days, UH UHM, several decades ago! Your words were put so perfectly and so true that I had to read it to my Sister today, who is suffering a major loss and an illness and the words could not have been put more truer than if you wrote it specifically for her as she struggles to find her way in her new reality! I will probably re-read your words as the beginning of 2013 starts and well into the New Year, as truer words are no more important the first time as the 100th! Thank you for your inspiration! Hugs and Peace, Pendra
Oh my gosh girl! Look at all the comments!!! I think youstruck something big!! Now....I AM being honest. You and your home look like perfection to me. Seriously most blogs do. Afterall...we make big messes making pretty things and no one can see the mess in our photos that we're too tired to clean up. Or is that just me? See where I'm going with this? I can't see behind anyone's camera....and so I naturally think the best of them. And then...I get in the big line with everyone else and think badly of myself. It's the trap of the enemy and I fall for it more often than not....when I really need to be celebrating that I am blessed with a good guy who comes home and doesn't say a peep about the kitchen that still has last night's dishes and this morning's dishes still in the sink, and because I'm working on something asks if it's okay to pull out that pot of soup from the fridge and put it on the stove for supper....and then cleans it all up after supper. Yup...that's where my attention needs to be. That's perfect imperfection for me. {hugs} for writing this post Kari!
I love all your imperfect perfection! Also love the table your sweet brother made you. And please add me to the growing list of admirers who want info on that lovely wreath. xo
I gotta love a girl that uses Little House on the Prairie as a reference. I always thought of myself a little more like Laura but not nearly as good at stick ball. Your post was somewhat ironic to me because you spoke of a few things I'd been thinking of lately. Blogging is sharing but it is surely intimidating. The table your brother made was wonderful and if you ask me it is what perfect should be. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful inspiration.
I think that sometimes people confuse wanting to beautify your space with trying to be perfect. Perfection is unattainable because one person's perfection is another person's imperfection. What is perfect, is that your brother totally "gets" you and made you such a wonderful gift. That's perfection!
Karianne, wow! love your blog today. I, myself have been trying to define "perfect" lately especially when it comes to how i relate to the things, people around me. it is a term used as a goal and i am not about it at all. in fact i have frequently felt i am out of the club. I LOVE the table your brother made you. How creative is that. "perfect" feels more like a judgment than a state to be attained.(to me)
Well thank goodness it isn't just me. You have no idea how much better it makes me feel to hear that your house gets messy. I tried to give up trying to attain perfection a long time ago, as it always seemed impossible to attain in my home or elsewhere, and it was just making me crazy. I have instead started searching for harmony. It's not nearly as tidy as perfection, but much more attainable in small bits. And substantially less rigid.
As a recovering "Perfectionist" I have learned that "Perfection does not make good on its promises". I use this quote to remind mysef that achieving perfection will NOT make me happy, fulfilled and ,most importantly, satisfied. It promises those things but does not come through. In fact, scripture tells us that every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God should be demolished. Since we know that only He is perfect any effort on my part to create perfection is going to be frustrated and put-on or phony. Simply can't be done. Speaking of phony or fake...my girlfriend, you know the one with great hair, had almost achieved those famous Farrah Fawcett wings back in the day but remained frustrated not having them '"perfect" until she found out that they used little cardboard props in Farrah's hair to make the perfect wings! :-)
Well ~ this post is most amazing. I for one am NOT perfect, nor desire to be so. Each of us in this world are unique and each one of us brings something to this world that is to be cherished. I love all of my imperfect wonderful unique blog friends and I so appreciate this post. Such wonderful truth sitting in front of our faces for all of us to ponder and realize that HEY None of us are perfect. Love your blog, Love your honesty and I also Love that table. How beautifully imperfect. I would covet a table like that. Such a beautiful piece. Waiting to be asked, where did you come from? and how did you get here? Amazing ;-)
Amen sister, I have to convince myself of this,not about my home...I've lived long enough to know what the real deal is in that regard, instead I struggle with a young spirit and a body that's well...lets say is doing weird things,like losing hair on my head and growing it on the chin instead and having private summers and things drooping where they used to perk and forgetting everything and narrowing hips and a thickening waist hehehe, oh well such is life right?
Oh love that gorgeous wreath and Happy New Year!
You??? Not perfect??? I will believe it when I see it. 2013 is going to be an eye-opener. LOL. Happy New Year to you Karianne!!
what a great table! your brother did a fabulous job. I have a set of 4 table legs lying around. I might have to steal the idea of using some pallet wood to finish them off! p.s. behind every "perfect" blogger and their "perfect" photographs are unfinished loads of laundry, dirty dishes, skinned knees, tears, heartache, and feelings of imperfection. If anyone says othrwise, I;m calling their bluff!! I love your blog and consider it one of the perfect, beautiful, heartfelt, and real ones. Hugs. Have a great new year!
None of us are perfect, if we were we would have no need to visit our friends blogs for great inspiration and ideas! Happy New Year! ~Diane
Beautifully written post! Many of us set far too high of standards for ourselves especially those in the design/decorating industry. Sometimes feels like we are being watched, measured and judged. We are real people with all the messes that come with living life and I thank you for this reminder to enjoy the imperfections that come with real living! All that being said ... please tell us about the gorgeous wreath!
Great post! I've lost count the number of times I have raked dirty dishes and stacks of junk mail off to one side of my counter, brushed dust bunnies and crumbs across the floor with my socked feet, and cropped out drying laundry hanging on the backs of doors, just to get a picture of what looks like a perfect vignette or project! If only the picture showed the chaos just inches beyond the photo! LOL! Glad to know I'm not alone! ...I've so enjoyed your blog this year, and meeting you at the SBC! I look forward to much more inspiration from you in 2013! Blessings for the New Year! :)
Ok it's 11pm here in my little o'l town and I have whooping cough and you just made me bust out laughing over the aqua net and nellie from Little House on the prarie. Oh you made me smile and laugh! Great pics and I love that wood table top! Nicely written post and lots of good info :) Happy New year!
Perfection is highly over-rated and takes up a whole lot of energy! Living life is messy business . If everything is perfect, I don't think your really living! Thank you my very talented friend! Happy Happy New Year. This year I'm going to stop trying to be perfect and (at 55) just be perfectly ME!
How nice to read this! I am so very new to the blog world, and being a perfectionist, I began to feel that overwhelming sense of, "There is no way I can do that!" I have decided to just do my blog for ME and if anyone else gets joy out of it, that's a bonus. Of course, I'd like others to ooh and aah, but again, I have to be happy with it just for me, first. That being said, I do love YOUR blog. Thanks for taking the time to give us such treasures. :)
Well I knew you had kids so I figured you must have laundry baskets somewhere, lol.. You should see my one curtain right now. Seems my little grandson was dipping it in the scensty candle burner yesterday that sits on the radiator below the window I guess he was decorating! Now the curtain has a lovely trim of red wax, ha ha ha!
It's nice to know that despite the beautiful pics you post of your home, it isn't always that great. It takes me forever to get a room clean enough that it is picture worth and only seconds for my little ones to put it back to the way it was before all the cleaning....have a great 2013!
The table is amazing for many reasons, but especially because of the love it will always represent. I am reminded of how much God loves us despite our imperfections and that the manifestation of that love is our Lord and Savior. Your home motivates many of us to 'take it to the next level'. What a gift! Thanks for helping many of us dream big. Blessings in the new year.
Can we make imperfection the next big home decor trend of 2012? If so, I'm am SO on-trend! :) Happy new year!
Love this table and your photos! I got a DSLR for Christmas and boy does it bring about a new respect for other bloggers photography skills!
Oh wow your brother is so talented!! The table is beautiful!
Wonderful perfection in imperfection. I adore the table, a wonderful heirloom for the whole family. You are amazing and perfect because of who you are, for just being you...
KariAnne...2012...what a fantastic year...I have so loved reading your stories....they are full of joy....and laughter....and beauty.....perfection! Happy New Year to you and your family....may you experience the same joy, laughter, and beauty you give to us!
Oh my heavens......I can't tell you how much I appreciate this post! I always thought YOU were one of the perfect ones and I always feel so imperfect ~ always! I love blogging and that's why I keep it up ~ but sometimes it seems so hard when everybody else seems to get it right and I get it so wrong....but I keep chugging along....and some days when it's really hard....someone wonderful like you comes along to help me to put things back in perspective. Thanks so much Karianne and have a blessed, joy-filled, wonderful, prosperous, awesome 2013! xoxo, Mary Beth
This is one of the best written and most insightful posts that I have read in blogland! I always enjoy my visits here. You have a beautifully done blog! It is like opening the pages of my "Country Living" magazine. Thank you for blogging. I
Loved reading this! Such a great reminder for all of us! I have totally thought about doing a behind the blog post of how our house can really be sometimes - recently I had someone say to me that they couldn't imagine living in a house that's always clean and perfect - they were talking about mine! I almost laughed right out of the room. So. Not. True. Its funny because I can think that way a lot too with other awesome bloggers out there but everyone lives in their home! Anyway, this is just something I've been thinking about as well. Thanks so much for sharing!
I was just wondering today how on earth you put away 37 boxes of Christmas decorations. I can sort of understand putting them out, because that is kind of fun. But putting them away - ARGH! Was wondering if you hired someone to do it for you... anyway to the point of the post - I love that table and would love it even more cuz your brother made it. But I'm drop dead loving, with every bone in my body, that wreath! Did you make that? Is it real bark?
Karianne, I came to the same conclusion.! So much so, I changed the name and focus of my blog. I changed it from The DIY Spot to Meaningful Remnants that will be written from a perfectly imperfect point of view. Room makeovers are too overwhelming for me and realized I am not good at pulling it all together. I decided I am going to focus/work on one thing at a time and take my time doing it. Eventually the room will get done, right? No more self induced pressure and instant gratification. Like you, I'm done. Btw, I love the table your brother made for you. The rustic texture is so beautiful.
man, it's like you were speaking my mind! and I'm also a short, curly haired nellie olsen LOL. Love you and your blog! xoxo, brit
Perfectly said!! As a mom of four boys ages 15-2 and three dogs, one cat and all my kids friends.... well my house isn't perfect :) My husband built me a table from reclaimed wood from our 1831 farmhouse. It's so rough and "imperfectly perfect". xo~melissa
Talent obviously runs in your family as does a wonderful sense of value. Kudos to your parents!
Yep, perfect and matching is boring. Great post.
Amen. Thank you for a beautiful post. Okay, thank you again. It was perfection, sorry! you accomplished it anyway! Jenna
Thanks for sharing your beautiful home! I love your style! And thanks for the good reminder. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. I need to relax a bit at times. Have a great day!
imperfect is A-ok with me! in fact, I think imperfections adds to true beauty of the project ;) welcome to my life
Popped over here from Savy Southern Style and want to say thank you. I have been parayzed by perfectionism for years and have learned to find and embrace what I love, to live authentically. I even launched a blog yesterday morning so I can document our home remodel. I am so excited to just plain enjoy the process and love my home. I love to find blogs that embrace that same attitude. No, I won't be doing amazing DIY but some DIY as needed. Thank you for sharing your encouraging words. And speaking of perfect blogs, I can't even figure out how to link this comment to my blog, lol! It's okay.
I love the table your brother made you ... lucky! And, as usual, you styled it ... well ... perfectly! KariAnne and "imperfect" do not belong in the same sentence. :)
I have piece of furniture I painted before blogging. I did it in red, yellow and blue - my color palette - and could not figure out what was wrong with the piece. After I began blogging and looking at the homes of others, I finally realized what the problem was. It is perfect. I did not sand it and scrape it up. The finish is perfect. I have no mistakes where the colors come together. It looks perfect, but it doesn't look real. I haven't fixed it yet (work sure gets in the way of projects) but all it needs is some imperfection to fit in. Loved your post.
I love the table and I love this post. I've been working on setting up more "perfect" vignettes and taking more "perfect" photos of my projects and while I like the results I'm getting, it seems a little fake to me. Really, if people that read my blog came over to my house, they'd probably freak out! My pictures look nothing like my actual, real life house. Sometimes I get a little embarrassed about it and wonder if anyone else lives/blogs this way. Thanks for being honest and open with your readers. It always helps me feel a little better when I know not every blogger has a perfectly decorated and clean house! ;) Allison
Whew, glad I am not the only imperfect person out there :) Thanks for this very honest post! Love it.