I was recently nominated for the Liebster Award, which is an internet award given to bloggers to help create a sense of community and connection in the blogosphere.
About My Nomination
The Liebster Award is a way for bloggers to recognize and praise other bloggers (like the Academy Awards, only no paparazzi or fancy dresses). Basically, it gives me the opportunity to tell you a little about myself and to highlight a few other blogs that I love.
First, I’d like to tell you about Lilly, the blogger who nominated me, and her blog Lilly’s Home Designs. Lilly shares her love of decorating and creating by posting about all the painting, furniture, decorating, and other home DIY projects that she does to make her home beautiful and functional. She recently shared how she refinished this gorgeous little cabinet.
A Little About Me
Lilly gave me a few questions to answer so I can share about myself and my style. Here’s my answers:
- How would you describe your personal style?
I love the simplicity of modern design, but also the warmth of more traditional interiors, so I guess my style must be transitional. A mix of stream-lined modern and comfortable classics. I also decorate in mid-century because my home was built-in the 1950’s, and I believe in staying true to your roots.
- What are your hobbies?
All of my hobbies have to do with working on my home right now: painting, sewing, building, designing, etc. It’s what I love doing. It’s why I blog about home improvement. But I also like to read fantasy and sci-fi. - What advice would you give aspiring or new bloggers?
Give it time. Yes, follow all the other advice out there and work hard, but realized that it’s going to take a while to build up your content and following and internet presence. My most popular post that gives my blog tons of traffic is my Sorting Hat. But, nobody even looked at it for its first 3 months. Now it’s a Pinterest sensation. It just took time (and a lot of hard work). - What is your favorite blog to read?
There are several blogs that I love to read, but I’d like to mention two. Sharon at Pretty Practical Home has a beautiful decorating style and her writing is hilarious. And Kathy at Up to Date Interiors has gorgeous photographs of her very well-designed home. It’s fun just to look at all her pretty pictures. - What is your motivation?
My motivation for blogging has changes over the year that I’ve been publishing Simple Practical Beautiful. Right now, I blog to be a voice for good. To tell other homeowners, “You can do this.” And to share what I’ve learned and my joy in making a house into a home. - If you could travel to anywhere in the world where would you go?
Um, yes. Anywhere. I love to travel. I’d go back to Israel, Guatemala, England, Mexico or any of the other places I’ve been in a heart beat. But I would love to see the rest of the world too. - What is your all time favorite song?
Nearer My God to Thee, which is a Christian hymn. It touches my heart every time I hear it or sing it. - If you could go back in time what is one thing that you would change or do differently?
I don’t think I would do anything differently. All the pain and hard times led me to where I am now. And I love where my life is now, so I wouldn’t change anything. I wish I could tell myself to worry less, though. - What is your favorite food?
Ice-cream. Eating ice-cream always makes me feel better, no matter what problems I’m dealing with. However, it does not seem to help with the pain of a gall stone (sorry, Wayne). - What is your favorite room in your house?My bedroom. I have a theory that introverts decorate the private areas of their home first, and extroverts decorate the social spaces first. My bedroom was the first room I worked on, and it’s the most finished. It’s my sanctuary where I can escape when I need to.
- What is your favorite color?
White, which my mom tells me is not a real color, it’s the absence of color. Or all colors, depending on how you look at it. Maybe that’s why it’s my favorite.
Some More About Me
Now, I get to tell you 11 random things about myself. It’s not my favorite subject, but here goes:
- I am a mom to three awesome, hilarious, and creative kids
- I cook everything that I can from scratch. I’m making yogurt while I write this.
- I love to dance. Swing dancing was my first date with my husband.
- I love the ocean. It’s part of me. If you’re not from the coast, you don’t understand.
- My husband really likes the letter “A”, so we have a 9-foot letter “A” in our garage.
- I drove tank once. In the desert.
- I climbed Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental United States.
- I’ve always been fascinated by ancient cultures and mythology. Greek, Norse, Egyptian, all of them.
- Our family Batman movie has over half a million views on YouTube, which means that 500,000 people have seen me as Poison Ivy.
- I was a middle school teacher, and loved it. I taught just about every subject.
- I struggle with social media (the whole social-people thing), but I spend hours a day on it as a blogger.
Blogs I Love
Finally, I get to nominate other bloggers for the Liebster Award and tell you about their awesome blogs. I admire each of these ladies. They are all DIY bloggers and they are each experts at a skill that I am trying to learn.
Danielle at Storypiece shares her home and design ideas by telling wonderful stories about them. For example, in her post about Old Fashioned Doughnuts, she gave the recipe, but she also shared her memories and family history with the recipe. I wanted to make the doughnuts just so I could be a party of her story. She makes crafts, recipes, and DIY very personal and human. I love her writing.
Carole from Garden Up Green is an extraordinary gardener. I garden in a small vegetable box, she grows acres. Her garden is amazing! And every time I read her blog, I learn something that I can use in my yard. For example, she recently posted about planting roses, which I want to do in our yard.
Bonnie at Whisk ‘em is an amazing seamstress, and she gives lots of good mom advice. Her blog posts are inspiring, and her patterns are wonderful. Just look at this adorable ruffled top made from one of her patterns.
Tarah at Grandma’s House DIY is renovating her grandparents’ 100-year old farm-house. It’s way more intense than the DIY projects we do at our house, but it’s so much fun to see the transformations she shares. Plus, I always learn a lot from her posts. Just look at this gorgeous floor she made from plywood.
A note to these four bloggers: Now it’s your turn! Write a post sharing about yourself and a few of the blogs you love. You can read all of the rules here. (If you’ve already been nominated, or aren’t interested, then just feel loved!)
And here’s my questions for you
1. Why did you start blogging?
2. What is a blog that inspires you?
3. Where would you like to travel?
4. What is something for which you feel very grateful?
5. What is somewhere or something that gives you inspiration?
6. If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be?
7. In your busy life, how do you find time to blog?
8. What is one project that you are very proud of making?
9. What is your favorite room in your house?
10. What words of wisdom can you share with other bloggers?
To everyone else, go check out these great blogs. They are amazing!