Little Miss Perfect...

In my morning blog hop I ran across this hilarious post via Say Yes to Hoboken.  Please read.  It will make you laugh, I promise.  It totally made my morning.

I adore the blogs I read and come across on an daily basis.  I find so many blogs that are beautiful, that are inspiring, that make me feel connected to other creative people around the world.  But here's the thing: sometimes I find myself trying to keep up with the perfectly staged, beautifully created worlds I view on blogs.

Then Perfectionist Steph has an inner temper tantrum.  It goes something like this:

Perfectionist Steph:  "I can't dooooooo it!  I can't keep up!  My camera was stolen HOW will I properly document my baking post?

"Normal" Steph: "Wait, am I doing a baking post?"

Perfectionist Steph: "Of course you are!  Remember?  In support of your brand-new gluten-free, sugar-free lifestyle, you are going to do a step-by-step, perfectly staged post on how to cook the most delicious and fabulous gluten-free, sugar-free muffins.  And you won't even use flour!"

"Normal" Steph:  "Oh. I'm way behind."

Perfectionist Steph:  "Yes.  yes you are. And you gave your child a Chick-Fil-A egg and cheese muffin this morning.  And you didn't wipe the coffee stains off of the kitchen island when you left the house.    And your car is. disgusting. And have you seen how much laundry you have to do? And p.s. last night's rotisserie chicken and salad did not constitute making dinner.

"Normal" Steph:  {blank stare}

Perfectionist Steph can be a bi-otch.  I think that's why, when I started this blog a month ago, I ended up abandoning it for a few weeks.  I felt overwhelmed.

I fully support and admire the beautiful, the inspiring, the creative and the motivational of the blog-world.  That's why I started this blog--to post on the many amazing things I see each day.  To me, blogs are endless little archives of the best and most gorgeous life moments.  Recipes, photography, art, music, media, humor, self-reflection...I love reading about all of it.  But, I have to remind myself that life moments are funny regardless of the state of my house or the check-list of good mother deeds I complete before 7 am in the morning.

I thought about posting this funny picture of Dylan a few weeks ago, but didn't because of several factors I found too horrifying to expose.  I am now listing these embarrassments for your viewing pleasure.  You should know, despite these admissions, that I look really hot today.

True Life:  An un-staged, snap shot of Steph Meyer's child + living room:

1. Gross floor.  And, just to be brutally honest here, those spots were from a previous day.  Or week.

2a.-2b. Toddler art on non-toddler art home objects.  From a previous day.  Or week.

3. Fruit Loops.  I know.  And they were the real deal.  Not the "organic" brand.  I was probably having a bowl, too.

4. Gross coffee table spots.  And yes, I know there are more than three stains.  I just got tired of sizing/rotating the arrows.

5. Three foot curtain "pool".
Note:  Three feet is too much "pool" for curtains.  You probably already know this, but if you don't then remember: 
Don't leave measurements at home and then call husband for said measurements while at the fabric store. Should said incident happen again, subtract at least 36 inches from total measurement husband gives you.  
Disclaimer: after 21/2 years with curtains like this, we finally fixed them.  We are so on it.

6. I have no idea why this blanket was on our lovely college-esque excuse of a television stand, but I can tell you that instead of moving it I passed by it and looked at it a few times (weeks).

7. The cord situation is just....sigh.  And I can see how it could appear to certain people as a potential hazard for oh, I don't know, a two year old, but, as you can see, Dylan is clearly content in his rocking chair.  Thank God you can't see the stains on the seat.

xo,
little miss less than perfect

gratitude...

I know I have much to be grateful for.  A couple of years ago some girlfriends and I started a daily gratitude list.  I get emails nearly every morning of my friends' gratitudes.  These messages range from the simple to the complex from the mundane to the extraordinary.  The idea behind this email list is that by finding something in our life we are grateful for we begin to concentrate on the good and uplifting things in our world. And it does work.  Once you start naming the things you are thankful for you think thankfully.

But, finding gratitude can be a funny little thing, I have found.  On certain days it seems aloof to my senses.  I find the things I think to be grateful for as trivial and trite and not worth naming.  "Of course I'm grateful for my bed," I think.  Why even write something so obvious?  Other days my mind draws a complete blank and I can't seem to think of one thing.

I am not so very sure about my attitude on days when I feel this way.  I can't say for certain that I am less happy these days, more prone to stress or anxiety or feel more overwhelmed than any other day.  But, what I do know is that the more I work to find and note something I am grateful for, the more evident the things I am grateful for become.  And this makes me happy.  A working gratitude keeps me in the moment and stops me from thinking about the past or worrying about the future.  It settles me inside.

Today I am grateful for the gorgeous produce I picked up at the grocery store.  Baby french carrots, locally grown cherry tomatoes, fresh arugula, squash and zucchini.  I am grateful for the ability to buy this food for my family.  To cook healthy and satisfying meals.

I am also grateful for the newly planted Silverado Sage that is bursting into blooms in front of Paul's studio.  I took a quick picture of it this morning and it doesn't even do it justice.   It is so beautiful.

Have a wonderful day!

gratefully,
steph

Anthology

News of the Anthology Magazine debut has already hit the blog world, but I am so excited about it that I couldn't resist posting it even if it's already "old" news.  After the beloved Domino and Cookie magazines folded last year, my design heart can hardly contain itself over this new home decor magazine!  Inspired and created by the amazingly talented Anh-Minh Le and Meg Mateo Ilasco, the Anthology team also includes Joy Deangdeelert Cho of Oh Joy who created the magazine's logo and will serve as Anthology's Market Editor.

Check out the adorable stop-motion video and see a sneak peak of the debut issue of Anthology on Design*Sponge and Oh Joy!  You can subscribe to this real print (!) mag here, too!  Set to debut in October, this would make the most perfect read for a cozy, fall afternoon!

xo,
steph

So busy...

Well it only took two years and nine months for Dylan to give me the official "mom shaft".  I took this video of him the other day.  He had just fallen down and ran up to me and said, "MOM! I hurt my body!" But the way he says it sounds more like, "Moooommmm.  Eye. hert. mye. bahdie!"
It was pretty funny and very adorable.  Of course, I hate whenever my little guy hurts himself, but most of the time he is a-ok and now I get to hear him say his new catch phrase in his cutest, tickle my heart kind of voice.

In my shameless attempt to capture this funny new saying on video, I got the shaft.  I guess I kinda deserved it...I had already taken two videos earlier that morning.

Watch + enjoy (I get the shaft at the very end).

xo,
steph

A confession...

{image via sharon montrose}

I had a little inkling that my blogging would come to an abrupt halt.  I sorta thought that I would start this blog and then abandon it.  Maybe I set myself up for failure, but for what it's worth, I continued to think about my little creation, about all the possible entries I could be blogging about.  But, then I would become engrossed in potty training and dinosaur wrestling and work deadlines...and Project Runway and my poor, newly christened Meyer on the Wire would be left with a dismal August 9 blog post.  Each day a sad reminder of my lackluster blogging ability.

Poor, poor blog.  You have no readers, the least I can do is pay attention to you!

So, here goes: my re-attempt as a committed blogger.  Since my dear, sweet friend is an ultimate blogger who, upon discovering my depressed little blog and its sad amount of content, still added me to her blog roll I am now convincing myself that this may or may not result in the occasional blog visit.  I may be a terrible blogger, but I have never been a terrible hostess.  So, in an effort to be a courteous blog host, I'll try my very hardest to keep up the blogging for any hypothetical future visitors.  And even if no one comes, I'll just tell myself they may one day.   Hypothetically.

In other news....I came across this baby porcupine photo in my files today.  It's by Sharon Montrose and it makes me laugh.  Sharon takes studio portraits of tons of different animals...including people.  I bought Paul the two vulture prints for his birthday a few years back.  (One day I will explain Paul's vulture phenomenon.)  Sharon opened a new Animal Print Shop where you can purchase various sizes of a huge variety of adorable animal prints.  Wouldn't one of these would make a great baby shower gift?  I'd love to get this little guy for Dylan's room, too!

xo,
steph