good enough is the new perfect.

a few months ago, i bought a book called good enough is the new perfect.  i read some of it, and then promptly quit (isn't that ironic?!?) mostly because (a) i got the gist by about halfway through and (b) the writing style was a little irritating.  but the general message of the book was something i can totally get behind. 

it's....

*above image taken from the Real Simple site.
 
no really, it is.  the basic philosophy is: cut out the extraneous crap in your life, treasure and prioritize the most important things, do a few things really well and let everything else fall away.  and ye shall be happy.

i am doing my best to take this philosophy to heart. so much so, in fact, that i sat up in bed two nights ago and mumbled to myself, "i don't have to have all the downstairs trim painted white by fuegerfest."  i leaned over and thought about waking john to share the news, then thought better of it. (our annual oktoberfest party is fast approaching... t-minus 5 weeks... and i've been feeling a little anxious about whether bungalow one-six-seven-five will be crowd-ready by that point... and then it occurred to me... if it isn't, people will deal.)  i know that this doesn't seem like earth-shattering news to anyone else, but it takes a lot for me to admit and accept that (1) i cannot control things and (2) perhaps every little detail will not be perfect. GASP!  the next morning i shared my big revelation with john and he looked at me with this dumbfounded expression... and by dumbfounded, i totally mean that his face was giving me that look that said, in a perfect antoine dodson voice, "you are so dumb.  for real."  "of course not, stephanie!" he remarked in an exasperated voice. "if our friends and family are going to judge us for not having all of our trim painted white, then they're not really people who deserve to be partying at our house, are they?"  well, when you put it like that, i guess not.  and this, my friends, is why i love my husband.  because in spite of his never-ending odd habits (placing his shoes on the couch after he returns home, perpetually leaving the hose strewn across the sidewalk, eating cereal at all hours of the day/night, sneaking Coor's Light into the shopping cart when I'm not looking ... and the list could go on .... and on....), he has this amazing ability to cut to the heart of an issue, identify the important stuff and let go of the rest.  i admire and envy this ability.... because it's something i struggle with.  but it is something i am working on.

so, before we go any further, here is a disclaimer to my readers (who, i believe, are mainly all family and close friends and are all invited to fuegerfest III): the trim in my living room/dining room may not be painted white by the time the party begins.  i cannot promise that the bathroom renovation will be complete, and i cannot swear to you that the spare bedroom will be painted.  i have lofty dreams of re-painting our front door, but i do not know that that will happen within the next 5 weeks.  i can promise you that there will be too much food, lots of good german bier (and wine!) and laughs.  when you get to my house, you don't have to take your shoes off.  we are real people with real dogs that shed and real babies that make messes.  my kitchen floor (at least until we replace the current flooring) is always going to look slightly dirty anyway, so please don't feel like you have to walk on eggshells here.  inevitably someone (most likely my sweet father-in-law who i love dearly) will walk in dog shit in the yard and track it through my house... and that is okay.  someone might break a wine glass or bier stein, and that is okay, too... because when the best parties end, there are usually a few pieces of broken glass in the garbage can.  someone (most likely my brother chris) will end up dripping spaetzle gravy all over the tablecloth, and when the party is all over, and i'm cleaning up the remnants, i will laugh ruefully at his carefree spirit. 

because what else can you do in these moments except laugh... and be ever so grateful that you have such wonderful people with which to surround yourself?  i want to own a home that people feel comfortable in, not a beautiful house that people admire from afar.  truly.  i love to look at beautiful home images on pinterest, but the truth is, i would really rather have a home that people like to visit.  a home that's real.  a home that's filled with laughter, a soft place to land... with cold beer in the fridge and an abundance of chips and salsa in the cupboards. 

so anyway, as you may know from your email inbox, you are all invited to the third annual fuegerfest.  we are looking forward to spending the day/night with you!  just don't judge our trim ;)