Inspiration

I thrive off of quotes, nature, good books, magazines, and real life stories.  I need daily motivation and inspiration for all areas of life!!

Cooking. Cleaning. Exercise. Fashion. Makeup. Hair. Motherhood. Marriage. Relationships. Being my best self.

I always try to think of the glass half full, and when times get tough, I tend to think, "What would so and so do, in this situation?"

For instance, when I think I have it "rough" on a Monday night, when Joe had left the house at 8:10 and doesn't return until about 9:30pm {which is a long day for anyone} but when I'm pregnant and caring for a toddler, sometimes it seems a bit daunting!  I will think about Joe's grandparents.  Two people who came from Italy to start a fresh life here in America.  His grandmother literally came over on a boat about 8 months pregnant with his mom.  They had little to no money, a baby on the way, and grandpa and grandma built everything they had sincerely, from the ground up.  And while my own grandparents are SO very near, dear and special to my heart, seeing the life Joe's grandparents created was exactly what we want.   Joe knew he wanted it early on, as he took me to Florida to meet them right off the bat in our relationship! One month in, we were on vacation together and there I stood next to his grandma in the kitchen, and he told me it was the first time where he actually saw his future wife. I think she stands out to me the most because that is who we model our marriage/family life after.  However, I do believe two children will be enough...

Grandma went onto raise 4 children, work, make I don't know how many homemade meals a day, and rarely complained (if at all).  We recently heard stories of the first day grandpa went out and bought her a washing machine and a TV.  Things we take for granted all too easily.

I try to take pleasure in moments of cooking, cleaning --that one is tricky, I know-- and just the mundane tasks that make a house more of a home.  It is our sanctuary and I really try hard to treat it as such, even if it's not perfectly tidy 100% of the time.

I cannot imagine living a life uninspired.  With social media, I have so many women to surround myself with who are stay at home mommies who take care of the home, cook real foods, and still 'keep their cool.'  I think that you just need to keep visualizing and surrounding yourself by the things you want and the people you want to be like and you'll always be inspired.

The flipside of that, I think if we spend too much time peering into the lives of others and how "perfect" their lives appear to be on Facebook, Instagram, blogs, we can be rather uninspired.  It's just knowing that delicate balance of being happy for them, and then doing what makes you happy!  At least that is how I feel…happiness comes from inspiration and creativity.

Awhile back I wrote a post with some "tips" of how I seem to have it all together. Clearly I don't think that, but to others perhaps it appears that I do.  I kind of feel like it touches on this "inspiration" topic nicely! [read that post here]

Who or what inspires you? I'm always looking for more ways to tap into different layers of me.