From the Front Porch: Spring Reset
Hello from the front porch, sweet friends. Welcome to the Spring Reset Edition of this weekly series.
How has your week been?
Every time I think about trying something new, my hands immediately get clammy, and I have to remind myself it’s ok to start small, that everyone was once a beginner, and that mistakes are a sign of growth because they offer us an opportunity to refine and redirect.
I get that same feeling in the weeks following a wildly packed schedule and have to remind myself we’re not completely off track, we’re simply out of rhythm.
But that’s how sneaky perfectionism is, you know?
It will tell you “Why bother,” or “I’ll start next week,” or “You’re not as good as ________(fill in the blank)” or “You’ve done this a million times, why is _________ (fill in the blank) any different?”
Perfectionism loves to keep us stuck and playing small.
It drains, discourages, frustrates, distracts, causes us to procrastinate, and to conflate our self-worth.
It keeps us in an all-or-nothing mindset that holds us back from living our best lives and achieving our biggest dreams.
So, if you’re struggling with perfectionism, overwhelm, or fear of starting this week, I want to pass along something best-selling author and speaker Jon Acuff shared with our group.
He said, “Perfect is impossible, but better is always available.”
Don’t let perfectionism rob you of the progress you’re making on your goals and dreams today.
As always, I’ll be cheering you on.
A Few of Our Favorite Things from Around the Web…
Beautiful Home and Garden Tours:
- The beautiful portfolio of Becca Interiors.
- Wait until you see the amazing portfolio of photographer Rebekah Westover.
- Have you seen these projects from designer Lizzie Cox yet?
- There are so many fabulous things to love about this traditional farmhouse tour by Cassandra Crain Designs.
- Speaking of which, don’t miss this garden via House & Garden–it is stunning.
- 22 Fragrant Roses to Plant in Your Garden This Year via Flower Magazine.
Seasonal Inspiration:
- Recently discovered these adorable egg carton animal portraits from Michelle at Thistle Key Lane. They’re adorable!
- Wait until you see the Spring PB-inspired tablescape that Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse created.
- Spring Decorating After Easter (via StoneGable)
- French Market, Brocante, Flowers, and Rest (via French Countryside Diary on YouTube)
- 7 Simple Ways to Update Your Kitchen This Spring (via French Country Cottage)
- Anna from Sky Lark House added wallpaper to her plate rack and shared lots of tips and tricks along the way.
Health and Wellness Inspiration:
- 6 Ways to Get Your Home Ready for Spring From a Pro Cleaner, Organizer, and Designer (via Real Simple)
- 10 Green Flags You’re Becoming Your Best Self (via The Everygirl)
- How to Build a Personal Brand (via Fast Company)
Style and Travel Inspiration:
- 8 French Spring Outfits That Always Look Chic (via My Chic Obsession)
- 6 Makeup Trends That Will Dominate This Spring (via Who What Wear)
- How much fun would it be to stay at 42nd? (via 42nd)
Encouraging Words…
If You’ve Missed Anything from the Blog Recently or the Archives, Here’s a Peek At What We’ve Been Up To…
Favorite Podcasts and YouTube Channels
Home Decor Books to Read This Spring
Journaling Prompts to Help You Find Clarity
Introducing The Encouraged and Inspired Planning Pages
From the Front Porch: Spring Cleaning and Organizing Edition
Shopping Notes…
(Amazon affiliate links have been provided for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Any sales made through such links will support us with a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read our full disclosure policy here)
- Slim Fit Button Down (25 colors available depending on size)
- Headboard (6 colors available depending on size)
- Light (have and love in clear, 5 colors available)
- Print (2 sizes available)
- Shower Curtain (last chance to support this fabulous small business)
- Shorts (10 colors available, depending on size, including the prettiest pink)
- Bedding Set (11 colors available depending on size)
- Mirror (available in multiple finishes and sizes)
- Slingbacks (26 colors available depending on size)
- Bud Vases (available in 4 colors and can be used alone or en masse)
- Sundress (28 colors available depending on size)
- Rug
- Stems (a simple way to transition from spring to summer)
- Tray (2 sizes available and can be used in so many ways)
- Bath Towels (19 colors available depending on size)
- Lounge Set (8 colors available, depending on size, and great for travel)
As always, we appreciate you more than you could ever know, and we hope your weekend is peace-filled and relaxing. We can’t wait to share even more with you next week!
Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
Many blessings,
CoCo
Thank you for sharing. As always, this is so encouraging!
You are so welcome, Susan, I’m glad you enjoyed it and I hope you have the best weekend, CoCo
You always lift me. Right now I can use all you have.
Our Peanut’s not doing well. I’m so worried about her. I can’t think about much of anything else.
I’m trying to push forward with blogging. Right now it’s a very tough road.
I’m so sorry to hear about your sweet Peanut, Cindy! It’s so hard to know how to help them sometimes and it’s definitely hard to concentrate when you are worried. I’ll definitely be adding you both to my prayer list. Sending tons of hugs, CoCo
Lovely words as always, CoCo!! Hope you have a relaxing weekend!
Thanks so much, sweet friend. I hope you have an amazing weekend as well, CoCo
CoCo
You are such an inspiration. I love reading your Front Porch posts each week. Thank you.
Hi Coco,
I hear you about the perfectionism……I have to say one thing about getting older (I’m 71 now) is that perfectionism grows less and less, just cause you are too tired to keep it going! lol
I really enjoy your blog, as there is always something to see, or read, so I can come back and go thru the other things as well, when time allows. Your blog is also an uplifting respite of Beauty.
Loved your beautiful arrangement, it is so beautiful!! Have a lovely day hon,
Blessings, Nellie
Hi, Coco. I’m the daughter of a perfectionist and you are totally right, she was paralyzed and everything took so long for her to do. The frustration was awful to just watch her. Consequently, I’m one of those people who only gets miffed if we get to plan G or H. I’m fine with any success with Plan A-F. Get it done and MOVE ON…lol. Lovely photos and you definitely seem to have lots of plans!
So, I have to share a funny story with you. Along the lines of “perfection”. I finally saved up and purchased a “real camera”. Mind you, it took me 3 years because I pay cash for everything. Well, it finally arrived and I was SO EXCITED to use it. Then I quickly realized none of the buttons were the same, shooting in manual mode was entirely different, the light balance was way off. Then I decided that I made a terrible mistake and wasted my money and I am not good at photography anyway. . . (and blah blah blah).
Anyway, I stopped myself and realized that I was learning a new camera and that eventually I would take good photos but I had to allow myself to make mistakes along the way. “Perfect is impossible but better is always available”
Thank you for taking the time to put together these thoughtful posts and for doing so much research. Always a pleasure to read from the front porch. Hope the little birdies are doing well.
I love how you are tackling procrastination head on. I feel like it’s so easy to believe the lie that what we are doing won’t make a difference. This then leads us to doing nothing at all, making sure that what we are putting off won’t make a difference. It’s sounds crazy when you think about it like that, but I do it all of the time.
This is so relatable, Heidi! I used to feel the same way until I realized that even working on something 15 minutes a day turns into 5475 minutes a year which is almost 4 days. Now I tell myself no matter how busy I feel, I have 15 minutes. Also, one of my favorite quotes is “Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.” by Don Marquis. It immediately helps to put things in perspective. Never doubt that what you do makes a difference even when it seems “small.” Cheering you on, CoCo