Daydreaming of a Pottery Barn Life

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It’s a good day in the Dunn house — the new spring Pottery Barn catalog came in the mail! Honestly, what person doesn’t love swooning over their dreamy rooms and gorgeous displays, falling in love with those overpriced pillows? While basking in the ambiance beautifully printed throughout their look book, I always come to the same sad conclusion that this will never be my home. Daydreaming of what could be is fun and great until you are plummeted into the harsh reality of what is. No matter how hard I work, my house looks like I’m losing a game of Jumanji.

Flipping through page after page, trying to make myself feel better, I begin to question the legitimacy of these rooms. There is a sparkling pool right outside your double doors and you’re sitting at the table? Not buying it. Did you really just leave a tray of drinks, without lids, on that white sofa? I too enjoy a good rush, but the only rush I get from this image is a rush of anxiety.

Actually, my mother-in-law recently purchased a white sectional, and for a while I wouldn’t allow my children to sit on it. There is just something about a child’s burning desire to wipe their dirty mouths on anything white. What all of these home magazines fail to give you is a disclaimer regarding their “easy to clean” fabric options and sticky pre-school hands. And no amount of cleaning can remove last night’s stomach bug, ’cause those stains are for life. 

As I write to you today, the sun is shining, my kitchen widows are open, and the curtains are blowing in the breeze — much like a Pottery Barn ad would depict a cute little breakfast nook. However, none of the above is happening in my house for sheer aesthetic reasons. A few hours earlier, my five year old, Lily, decided to microwave her afternoon snack (without my knowledge), causing a small fire. Smoke filled the kitchen, and the alarms went off, waking Amelia who, from fear, began to scream. My house currently smells like an ashtray, and everyone who walks in my front door has questioned my ability to cook. This . . . this is what I am working with, how very Pottery Barn-esque.

Certainly, I am not the only mother who looks at the daily pile of laundry with loathing and disgust; the kitchen sink, never without a dirty dish; and toys . . . mounds of toys everywhere! I find myself cleaning in circles. Where one chore ends, another begins; but this is just part of the mom job. My goal is to one day own a piece of ivory furniture without the fear of a life-changing stain and to have at least one room worthy of an advertisement. A mom can dream, and I will cling tight to that dream of a picture-perfect house! For now, I’ll just humbly accept the what is.

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Lindsay D
A native to the Birmingham area, Lindsay is a retired professional ballerina. She spent her time training and performing with prestigious dance companies around the country. Now, she is holding down the fort in Alabama, Lindsay lives with her loving husband, Ian and three children Nixson, Lily and Amelia. You’ll find Lindsay sharing her love for dance, as a ballet instructor; and in between the delicate in’s and out’s of being a wife and mother, she manages to squeeze in some time to sweat it out on her yoga mat. An active member of her church, Lindsay lives her life with unwavering faith and love for the Lord. Hoping to spread a little joy and laughter, Lindsay likes to share her life journey and stories from a comical point of view. Striving to live life fully by finding laughter in the chaos.

1 COMMENT

  1. Lindsay!!! You are spot on with your description of life raising children and striving to have a clean house. Forget the picture perfect house…not going to happen right away, but one day you will watch them grow up, move away. You will sit down with your cup ooffee in your “neat” house and cry because you miss the “old days”. Love your from the heart blog. They make me happy!!!??

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