Happy Friday wonderful ones? How has your week been? I've had my first full week back at work in a long time, and not only that but it has been a pretty demanding one too, however, as tired as I am it feels good to be busy and productive again!
Today also marks the beginning of the third week on my strict budget. Is it just me or, is the temptation to spend frivolously even more delicious when you know you absolutely should not? Having said that, I am actually enjoying keeping a very close eye on what I am spending (it involves a spreadsheet), and what I enjoy even more is the fact that I can see my credit card bill going down, I've finished paying for my upcoming trip to Venice and even though it is only a fortnight in I'm really proud of myself, for not yet going over budget. Oh, and saying goodbye to the sleepless nights of unnecessary worry is definitely a bonus!
I know you might be confused as to why I am talking about my strict budget in a post that is supposed to be about Pinterest. Well the two in my head have become oddly intertwined. Not because I have been feverently pinning posts about 'how to save money' (which I haven't but probably should) to my 'being a grown up board' (which doesn't exist but probably should) but because Pinterest makes me question what it is that I really want.
That might sound like an odd statement, because I'm sure many of us look at Pinterest and think I WANT ALL OF THE THINGS, and believe me I do to, but ultimately Pinterest is an inspirational, and aspirational tool. It's not like clicking on ASOS and thinking I want all of the things and then immediately being able to buy them.
For a start many of the things we want on Pinterest probably aren' actually available in the shops. Not only because they are out of stock, but because you probably can't buy a perfectly messy but immaculately done fishtail plait in boots. And as much as I love Sweedish interior designers spacious apartments, it's not like I can click through Pinterest, straight to Rightmove, and whack a fancy loft space into my shopping cart.
While Pinterest may be a high tech version, which in some cases offers a more direct link to the things we want, the ethos behind it is the same as cutting up a stack of old magazines and creating a mood board.
While Pinterest may be a high tech version, which in some cases offers a more direct link to the things we want, the ethos behind it is the same as cutting up a stack of old magazines and creating a mood board.
Pinterest encourages us to visualise the life we want. Whether that is how we want our new bedroom to look, how we want ourselves to look, or even how we want our blog to look, it's a resource tool. A way to get our dream selves neatly pinned together in a virtual collage. When I look at my Pinterest boards, I wonder why my life doesn't resemble those boards more closely. Why don't I get up that little bit earlier to do something with my hair? Why is my wardrobe filled with clothes that aren't even in the same style as most of the things on my fashion board? And why did I just buy a plain coloured white set of plates, when I can look at pinterest and see that what I really like is mismatched vintage inspired pieces?
In many ways, Pinterest is one big source of temptation, but if you can restrain yourself from going on a crazy online shopping spree it can be an amazing way of stopping yourself from spending money on things that aren't really what you want when you find yourselves wandering aimlessly around the shops. In the past couple of weeks I've been stood in shops, tempted to buy something just to rebel against my own strict purse strings. I've been tempted to buy something that looked only ok on, just because it was in the sale, and if it is in the sale I'm saving money right? I've been tempted to buy things just to cheer me up, or to cheer somebody else up, or to just make the trip into town worth it. But then I look at what is in my hand and I question myself asking not 'do I really want it?' because it is too easy to come up with a hundred well thought out but ultimately false answers, but 'would I put in on pinterest?'
If the answer is no, why would I bother buying it?
It ultimately doesn't fit in to the life I want to create, or the style I see myself as having. That doesn't mean it isn't nice, it just means that it is meant for somebody elses board.
This may all sound very materialistic and shallow.
This may all sound very materialistic and shallow.
I know you don't create a life by purchasing it, but visualising how I want my flat to look, or the clothes I want to wear, helps me better visualise the type of person I want to be. If I can visualise and then create an environment where the best version of myself could and would actually live, it is much easier to see that version of myself as a real possibility. And when something seems possible, then it makes it all the more likely that I will make it happen. That one day I will step into a life I truly love and have created for myself, wearing the perfect pair of ankle boots, and my hair immaculately messy in it's fishtail plait.
Saying that I live my life by pinterest might sound a little ridiculous, and shallow, but to me it makes beautifully Scandinavianly designed sense.
Live life & visualise it x
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