I’m So Over Aesthetic Motherhood

Some thoughts I have had while making Mushroom Barley Soup:

Lately, I find myself scrolling and feeling… disconnected. Not jealous. Not angry. Just distant. The perfectly posed kitchen counters, the color-coordinated toy bins, the moms with their hair curled, babies in neutral linen onesies, standing in the golden light of some magical sunset. It’s beautiful. I get it. It really is.

But it’s just not what I crave anymore.

Because motherhood—for me, for most of us—isn’t beige and bathed in sunlight. It’s messy. Loud. Sacred and stressful all at once. It’s unwashed hair and mismatched pajamas and surviving bedtime like we just ran a marathon. It’s the kitchen floor being sticky for two days straight and finally sitting down at 9 p.m. to eat cold pasta while answering a text that’s been sitting there for a week.

And honestly? That’s the kind of content I want to see. That’s the kind of space I want to hold.

I’m so over the aesthetic. I want real. I want pages that show blow-up pools in the living room, cereal for dinner, and the kinds of days where you’re proud of yourself simply for making it through.

Yes, there’s something beautiful about a curated feed. There’s magic in romanticizing our lives. I get that. I even love that sometimes. But I don’t want to be the person who showcases only beauty—I want to be the one who shows the beauty inside the chaos. The kind of beauty that doesn’t need a filter.

I want real. I want messy. I want the kind of motherhood that reminds you you’re not alone.

Because you’re not.

And maybe that’s what we all need a little more of right now.

MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP

Ingredients:

- 8 oz mushrooms (one container)

- 1 onion

- 3-4 cloves garlic

- 3 stalks celery

- 7 medium sized carrots

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- Water (or vegetable broth)

- 8 oz barley (1/2 a 16oz bag)

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- 1 tsp Trader Joe’s Mushroom Umami Spice

- 1 bay leaf

Directions:

• Slice the mushrooms, celery, and carrots. Place all veggies into a large pot.

• Dice the onion and garlic very well and add it into the pot.

• Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Pour the olive oil over the veggies and stir well.

• Sautee the veggies for about 7 minutes till they soften a bit.

• Add water (or vegetable broth) till the top of the pot, cover the pot, and wait till it boils.

• Once it’s boiling (about five minutes), lower the heat to medium-low and add in the barley. Cover again and cook for 20 minutes.

• Lower the heat to low and cook for another 20 minutes.

• Add in the salt, pepper, mushroom umami spice, and bay leaf.

• Remove the bay leaf after 10 minutes.

Enjoy!! ♥