I’ve been bitten by the comparison bug lately. It’s left me itchy, grumpy, unable to sleep, and downright pessimistic. Has this ever happened to you? I am trying to apply the hundreds of motivational quotes rampant on Pinterest to my current dilemma, yet I can’t stop comparing myself to others. A scroll through Instagram leaves me heartbroken. Perusing my Bloglovin’ feed leaves me defeated. I’ve cut myself off from Facebook and Pinterest completely in an effort to take a break, compose myself, and regain confidence. But then, you guys, I’ll check something just for a second and the familiar feeling of social media’s tight grip and distorted reality invades the logical section of my brain. Then, I’m all: Why didn’t I think of that? You do that so much better than me. If only I had a professional photographer at my disposal. Why is she so much more successful than me? If only I had a million hours in the week. How does she do it? Wait, she just had a baby? And on, and on, and on.

It’s awful! Super, super awful. I mean, there are people with legitimate problems in this world.

What’s a girl to do in such a predicament? I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post on turning jealousy into motivation. I’ve read it a few times since it was posted this summer and think it is full of so many great points. Jealousy definitely shows me what I aspire to and hope to achieve. However, turning that wrenching feeling that dwells in my lower abdomen into motivation to do better, be better, and contribute more is what proves difficult. The jealousy bug left me slightly paralyzed.

I accidentally decided to take a break when life grew too big to handle: work was busy, I spent two weeks in Oregon, there were dinner parties to throw, blah blah blah. I’m feeling a little bit refreshed and my perspective a little bit altered. I am sorry for my sudden absence! This week seems like the perfect week to begin anew with spring, Easter, and a year under my belt. I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend and got to enjoy beautiful spring weather. Here are a few snapshots from our low-key Easter celebration!