{featured} Liebster Award and Some Q&A About Me

I received a nice little surprise recently when I learned that Allie, the lovely blogger behind Cute Kid, Ugly House nominated me for a Liebster Award. Thanks so much, Allie!!
Liebster, which means "dearest" in German {or so I'm told}, is an award that is passed from one blogger to another as a way to demonstrate appreciation for what we do. While some bloggers seem to be busy competing with one another trying to be the next big thing, it's nice to know that there are other bloggers out there who are more interested in supporting and spotlighting one another. This award doesn't hold any particular clout, but it is certainly an honor to be recognized by a fellow blogger, and the Liebster is a great way to spread the word and give a shout out to other up and coming blogs!

In order to accept my Liebster Award, I have been asked to follow these rules:
So here goes... hopefully the answers to these 11 questions will help you all get to know me a little better.

1. What is the most fun kind of post to write?
I most enjoy writing posts where I get to talk not only about the project, and how I completed it, but also about the personal motivations behind the project and how it has impact my or my family's life for the better.

 2. Where do you find most of your home decor inspiration?
I take inspiration from everything around me. I read lots of blogs and design magazines, and love browsing Pinterest, but often times my inspiration comes from something that catches my eye in the background of a TV show or movie, or some detail of the design of a restaurant or hotel that we visit. I also LOVE visiting model homes and have an entire collection of photos that I've taken on home tours that I like to reference whenever I am in need of inspiration. Funny related story: our first son's name was even inspired by a home tour! We were touring some homes that were open as a fundraiser for a local school, and we saw the name Beckett on the wall of a little boy's room. We both commented on liking the name, but didn't talk much more about it at the time. It wasn't until a few years later when we were pregnant that we both brought the name up again, and it stuck!

 3. What is the most difficult thing about blogging?
The most difficult thing about blogging is the time that it takes. Blogging is a great motivator and gives me the kick in the pants that I need to keep crossing projects off of my mile long list, but it can also be frustrating because for as much as it motivates me, in another way it slows me down. Projects take longer to complete because I am taking pictures of each step along the way, and once a project is finished it takes hours for me to write up a post about it and edit all of the photos. I am sure this process will get faster as I become more experienced and learn more time-saving tricks, but it will always take time.

4. What is your favorite book?
That's a hard question! I am never good at naming my favorite anything because I can never pick just one. Instead I'll name a few of my recent favorites:  11/22/63, by Stephen King; Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple; Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand; and Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen.

5. Metallic finishes or natural fibers?
My style is pretty modern, so it's definitely metallic finishes for me, but I do think that sleek finishes need to be balanced out by other textures and fibers!

 6. What historical figure would you most like to meet?
It would have to be Walt Disney! When I was growing up, anytime I had to write a report or give a speech on a historical figure, I always chose Walt Disney and I am fascinated by him to this day. He was such an amazing artist, storyteller, and visionary! I recently watched Saving Mr. Banks, and it just reinforced my desire to meet Walt! I would love to spend a day visiting one of his parks with him to see the world that he created through his eyes!

 7. What is the most memorable place to which you've traveled?
This is another hard one for me because I love to travel and I have such fond memories of everywhere I've been. My first inclination was to say Greece, where we traveled on our honeymoon, because the cliffs-side villages of Santorini are truly spectacular, but I think the most memorable has to be Australia, because I had the amazing opportunity to live there for six months during college - allowing me to really get to know the people and learn more about the culture than I ever could on any vacation. I studied abroad at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, and was able to truly make this place my home, but I also had the opportunity to travel all around the country, visiting the widely varied landscapes from the outback to the Great Barrier Reef, and even attended the first week of the summer Olympics in Sydney.

 8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I still don't quite know the answer to this question.  When I was growing up I wanted to be an architect, and I spent hours drawing floor plans. But I changed my mind when I realized that architects don't just get to design pretty things, but also have to be able to design buildings that won't fall down. Instead, my other interests lead me on a path to law school. After practicing law for eight years, I decided to stay home with my two boys for the immediate future, and I am loving my current roles as mommy and blogger! I anticipate that I'll return to practicing law in a few years when my boys are a bit older, but if in the meantime I discover a way to turn my creative passions into a career, that would be just great! I've often wished I had considered interior design as a career when I was in college, so who knows what the future might hold.

9. Would you rather have a $5,000 clothing shopping spree or a $5,000 home decor shopping spree?
Definitely a home decor shopping spree (not that my wardrobe wouldn't benefit from a lot of updating)! But I I could check a lot of great things off of my wish list for our home with $5,000!

10. What is the best, or most successful, room makeover, reno, update, or furniture salvage you've ever completed?
I don't know about best or most successful, but I think my favorite room makeover to date has been our nursery. I spent years dreaming up this room before we had children, which made it so exciting when we finally had the opportunity to bring it to life! I especially adore the ombre walls and am really proud of how they turned out.

 11. What are your favorite kind of DIY projects?
I feel strongly that your house should be a reflection of who you are, so my favorite kind of DIY projects are those that allow us to personalize our home by displaying our passions or our memories!

Now that you know a little more about me, it's my turn to pass the Liebster Award along by nominating 11 other up and coming bloggers, and ask them 11 questions of my own devise. For this award, "up and coming" is defined as having fewer than 500 followers. There are so many different means of following a blog, so I am not exactly sure how this criterion is to be measured, but I used Bloglovin follower count for these purposes.  Here are my nominees:

Dwell Delightfully
Honey Haven
Persia Lou
Driven by Decor
The Tomato Tree
Simple Stylings
Confessions of a Serial DIYer
Abby M. Interiors
A Home Full of Color
Lovely Etc
My Love for Words

And nominees, these are my 11 questions for each of you:

1. How long have you been blogging, and what inspired you to begin?
2. Name a skill that you don't possess, but would like to acquire.
3. If you had to give your decorating style a name, what would it be?
4. Many people wish they'd been born in a different era. In which decade do you think you most belong?
5. Do you feel most at home in the city, the suburbs, or the country?
6. Are you an introvert or an extrovert, and would anyone be surprised by your answer?
7. What is your most prized possession?
8. Where is your happy place?
9. Do you collect anything, and how did the collection start?
10. Name three things on your bucket list.
11. If you could, what advice would you give to your high school self?

I look forward to reading the responses from all of my nominees! If you don't already follow their blogs, please take a few minutes to visit them and see for yourself why I think they are so great!



Labels: , , ,