Hello friends!! Thank you SO much for all of your sweet comments over the weekend, as I shared who my grandmother was to me, and the impact she had on my life! I dedicated my book to her, and after sharing it with everyone on Instagram, I knew I just had to share more of who this amazing woman was! You can read all about my grandmothers house HERE, in case you missed it, but after reflecting on the type of woman she was, it got me thinking – “How did she do it all?” If you have ever struggled with getting together with others, or even inviting someone over, you are in good company my friend, because so have I! Today I’m sharing the struggles I’ve felt, and the gift it is when we gather.

Let’s dive in ~

I will be the first to admit that I have not always been in the mood to have company over. Whether it was a simple coffee date, inviting another couple over for dinner, or having a play date when my kids where little, sometimes I was just not looking forward to it.

The circumstance might not have always been the same, but the feelings that would rise up inside were. Often times I would find myself looking around our house as I prepare for guests to arrive, and feelings of inadequacy would race through my mind. I would look around our home at the state it was in, usually scattered with toys. The unfinished projects would glare back at me, and instantly I would feel like our house was not good enough to have other people over.

I think it’s hard in todays social media driven society to not feel at one point or another that you just aren’t good enough. I like our house to be clean, but with a growing family, and two business’ to run, that is just not practical for us sometimes. Even more so when my kids were little and we were home all day.

Instead of it feeling like a gift to get together with friends, I would end up feeling burnt out or frustrated because of all the pressure I would put on myself to make our house feel perfect before they would arrive. What I realized is that I was comparing our “lived-in” home to picture perfect homes I was seeing on social media, and never felt like I could keep up.

There was always some project I would want to do first, or new throw pillow covers I would want, or heck even sometimes just keeping the sink free of dishes was hard enough. What I needed though was to stop comparing my physical environment to styled photos on the internet, and allow myself to be present for my friends, messy house and all.

I used to cringe at the thought of someone coming in our house and it not being picked up, but what I realized in doing so, was that it allowed others to see that we are real. That even though I like to take the pretty, perfectly styled photos of our home for my blog, we are real people that live here too, and leave messes on the counter.

It didn’t happen overnight, but slowly one visit at a time, I was able to let go of the need for perfection, and allow myself to rest in the gift of friendship. And the biggest gift I received of all was realizing that sometimes our friends need us just as much as we need them. That genuine, face to face connection is greater than anything connecting through Facebook could provide.

We were meant to live in community with one another. And that is really what my book is all about. Celebrating the gift it is to gather.

Today my friend Lucy, from Caftberry Bush is sharing her favorite thing about gathering, and she’s also offering another chance to enter the GIVEAWAY! You can visit Lucy’s blog HERE, and see the giveaway below ~

GIVEAWAY PRIZE INCLUDES!

• 4 piece setting of my favorite antique silverware from Anthropologie
• A marble cake stand
• TWO Weathered wood bread boards
• 4 blue goblets
• Set of 6 mercury glass votives
• 4 blue linen napkins
• Farmhouse pitcher
• 16 piece dinnerware set

And be sure to stay tuned for two more ways you can enter next week, as we continue this Book Launch Tour. Each blogger will be sharing a post, with another chance to enter the giveaway! 

Here is the schedule :

• Monday 9/30 – Bre @ Rooms FOR Rent blog
• Wednesday 10/2 – Traci @ Beneath My Heart
• Friday 10/4 – Melissa @ The Inspired Room
• Monday 10/7 – Lucy @ Craftberry Bush
• Thursday 10/10 – Karianne @ Thistlewood Farms