Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Liebster Award

The lovely Sally of Daisy Chain Creations gave me a blogging award an embarrassing long time ago a few weeks ago. Danke! :)


"The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."
It's been fun to get to know some bloggers better and a great way to pass on the love.
There are some rules though:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given by the nominator.
3. Create 11 new questions for those you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs and link to them in your post.

So eleven random things about me:
1. I love being in new places but don't enjoy getting there. I get motion sick.
2. I'm learning a ridiculously awesome arrangement of Lord of the Rings.
3. Most of my pictures are unedited, mostly due to laziness, though sometimes I tell myself it's b/c I want to get a great image straight out of the camera.
4. I used to write in marker in high school and college. The different colors helped me remember course material better.
5. The first time I shoveled snow was after college.
6. I learned a bit of German in high school and college but should've listened to my dad and taken Spanish.
7. I played Fantasie Impromptu at my college graduation.
8. I am a certified orthoptist.
9. I'd only sewn a couple of times before Ansley was born.
10. I am a chocolate snob. My favorites are lindt, fannie may, and sees.
11. I practiced for six months to learn to do the splits for dance team in eighth grade.

11 questions to answer:
1. What's your go to place when you are stumped and need a solution when it comes to sewing/crafting? Google or something I've pinned.
2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? Disneyland b/c we had such a great time there a few weeks ago or southern Spain or Hawaii or any warm beach!
3. Who taught you how to sew and what do you wish you could ask them now? I am still learning how to sew. I've learned a lot from blogs! I made a blanket for my little brother when I was twelve. A nice lady at church showed me how but I don't really remember how I made it. I do know it only involved straight stitching. :)
4. If you were able to pass on your love of sewing to someone, what is the first thing you would tell them/teach them? Take your time! I always make mistakes when I'm in a hurry (which is usually all the time ha) and end up spending more time unpicking seams. And pick something you really want to do as a first project; if you want to make a skirt instead of a coaster that you'll never use- do it.
5. What is the must have by your sewing machine/craft table when it comes to snacks? I don't have snacks by my machine. That doesn't mean I don't snack though. :) The table my machine is on is barely big enough for the sewing machine, though definitely an upgrade from a third of the kitchen table.
6. What is one time period you wished you lived in, if only for the clothes they wore? I like now b/c we have access to all the previous time periods. Clearly, I am not trendy. I like the really feminine dresses of the 50s and the mod look of the 60s.
7. Favorite thing to do/favorite hobby, non sewing related? play the piano and take pictures
8. If you could indulge yourself in something sewing related, what would it be and why? some dreamy fabric or a serger
9. Milk or Dark Chocolate? Why? dark- love the deeper taste
10. What is the funniest thing you have seen or heard lately? probably something on buzzfeed like 43 people you didn't know existed.
11. Sunrise or sunset? What is your favorite time of day? Sunset. :) Love the later hours of the day and how quiet it is at night. I'm not a morning person.

Questions for you:
1. If you could have a super power what would it be and why?
2. Do you watch a "guilty pleasure" tv show (or movie)? (like a high school targeted audience show for those of us who have been out of high school for a while ie keep it PG please)
3. What is your earliest childhood memory?
4. What's your favorite song?
5. Do you have a favorite celebrity?
6. What's your favorite recipe?
7. What is your least favorite chore?
8. Do you have a hidden talent? If so, please share!
9. What would you like to learn to do?
10. What is your next big project?
11. Who would you like to have dinner with? (someone dead or alive)

Blogs I'm awarding: (note- I don't know how many followers some of you have. I hope not to offend. I just like you!!!!)
1. sewchibi
2. hart to hart digital photography and design
3. winter wonderings, wanderings, and whatnot
4. cathgrace
5. nest full of eggs
6. mel and john
7. modern palm blog
8. sandra kleist
9. mule n nag crafts
10. creatively christy
11. refugee crafter

Feel free to play along. I'd love to hear your answers!!!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

....And we're back!

Hello! I know it's been a while. We all got sick, then were out of town, then the laptop monitor died. Now I'm in the process of decluttering the house/life and sorting through the thousands of pictures I've taken in the last month. :)

We had a great time in San Diego with my family. We haven't all been together in a while and wanted some family pictures. I'm pretty happy with how our tripod pictures turned out. I still have a few that I want edit before sharing them. (anyone know of a free "clone" tool?) My sisters and I spent a few weeks creating a color/pattern board on Pinterest and I LOVE how the colors looked. I am also glad we found some greenery. :) I know they aren't perfect and there are things I will do differently next time, but I think they're a lot better than pictures we've had in the past. . . .

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And a couple more from when Tyrone and I went to check out a few places, looking for something close enough to walk to without getting sweaty, somewhere not too busy, and hopefully somewhat green. The ranch house a few miles from my parents' house was perfect. :)

(this picture is for Becca)

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Cool cacti.

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Trying to get a sense of how much space ten people will take.

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Just because.

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Cool covered gardens.

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