Liebster Award

Lookie, lookie...I was twice nominated for the Liebster Blogger Award!

I really feel I should be getting a terrible blogger award y'all, instead of this.

I mean, I disappeared for about four months with no word.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that falls under the terrible blogger distinction.

BUT...I will graciously accept these awards and try to get up on my blogging horse.
Actually, just as a little heads up, I am in the throes of redesigning my blog,
so get ready for an overhaul and face lift sometime in the future!

I also have some completed refashions (finally!) that I just need to
take 'after' pictures of, then I can share them with you!

Yep. Good things are coming!

Back to the present.
Or rather the past.

My first nomination came from the sweet McKenna over at Cherishing My Role.
Here are her questions and my answers to them.

1. (Hardest Question Ever) How would you describe yourself?
Creative, caring, passionate, stubborn, quietly opinionated,
intuitive, funny, cautious, curious, a dreamer, better one on one.

2. How would you describe your sense of fashion?
 Color. Always color.
Some days I'm elegant and retro, other days bright and boho.
I wear what is pretty and what makes me feel happy-- I don't limit
that to a certain style or era, because I love so many different ones.
But flowey things always make it into my closet.
Free, fun and colorful.

3. Favorite musical artist ever (Aren't these questions easy?)
 Ever? Ever?! Oh, why so hard?!
I'll make it somewhat simplified...my favorite instrument is the piano,
so I'm a sucker for a piece that tickles the ivory keys.
Like my fashion sense, I love (almost) all genres and types of music,
it depends on the mood I'm in and what I am doing at the time.

4. Favorite Snack?
 Salsa with fresh cilantro!!!!!!
And sharp cheddar cheese.
But not together.

5. What is your favorite non-fiction book?
 Works of C.S. Lewis

6. Favorite fiction book?
  Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers

7. What is your favorite historical era fashion-wise and why?
 Probably the 50's or 70's.
I love the fit and flair dresses of the 50's, the colors and prints are all so cute!
The 70's has some really cute dresses and styles that were long and loose and flowing,
and I love those so much!

8. Tea or coffee?
Chia Tea Latte. :)

9. What are your thoughts on the mismatched sock epidemic?
 My theory is this. The washer and dryer are sort of like a mechanical cow....
they share the same stomach...one drinks the water, and the other...eats the socks.
I know, I know. It makes no sense.
But neither does one sock always disappearing!!

10. What Bible verses have jumped out at you recently?
 Deuteronomy 30:19a "This day...I have set before you life and death..."
Each day, we have a choice...over and over in numerous areas,
to choose life or death. Do I choose to say this and bring death
to this person's dreams, or death to this relationship?
Do I choose to do such and such that will be healthier and bring life into my body?
I think we have so many opportunities in our day to day life
that we can choose a path of life, growth, goodness,
or death, stuntedness, laziness etc.
The choice is before us each day, and we need to be conscious that it is ours to make.

11. Where in the world would you travel to if you could?
 India!

 

My second nomination came from my fellow Refashion Runway contestant from
last year, Magda over at House of Estrela.
Here were her quarries to me.


1. What's your main inspiration when it comes to sewing?
I get a lot of inspiration from sites like BurdaStyle and Modcloth...
I love the style of clothes that Modcloth offers, and I get inspired to sew my own versions,
as I usually don't have the money to spend on their items.
I stay up to date on the newest pattern releases from BurdaStyle,
and they are a great source of inspiration!
And fashion in general...I'm not a very trendy person, but I pick things here and there
that I like that are popular and try to incorporate them into my sewing.

2. What do you like to sew the most?
 I do more refashion sewing than pattern sewing right now,
and that varies based on what I find. I probably refashion more tops
because I need more to go with all of the skirts I have in my closet!

3. How did you learn to sew?
 I taught myself with the help of my mom.
She tried teaching me many times, but it took a determined decision on my part
that I was going to make myself learn this skill, for it to finally click.
I research and learn new techniques from sewing blogs otherwise.

4. Have you taught anyone else to sew in your life?
 Sort of, yes!
My little sister wanted to make a fun pillow for her bed,
so I taught her how to measure, cut, and iron her pieces and then sew them together!
She was pretty content with it, and hasn't really wanted to sew since...but the initial groundwork was laid!

5. What are you working on at the moment?
 Actually, I just finished a blouse refashion, and I haven't quite decided what to work on next.
I think I will end up taking in a couple pairs of trousers to make them 'skinny' next.

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers,

as a way to recognize them and widen their audience.

1.  Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them.
2.  Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
3.  Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award who have less than 200 followers.
4. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Soo....

I'm gonna do something a little unorthodox and NOT select my nominees right now.

I'm pretty sure that all of the bloggers I follow currently have received this award 

and have passed it on already, so it would just be redundant to nominate them again.

Therefore I have decided to put my nominees on hold until I discover them...

I have a few lists of blogger directories that I have been meaning to peruse,

so I'll save up my little blog award love and pass it on in the future!

In the meantime,

thank you to both of you lovely ladies for the nomination,

and to those of you who actually stuck around to the end of this post.

You are great. :)

A 'Dos' of Sunshine: Blog Awards!

Did you see what I did there, in the post title?

Since I was twice nominated for the Sunshine award it is a 'dos' of sunshine, no?! 

(snicker, it's funny and you know it.)

Anyway, moving on!

Yes!

I have been so blessed to be nominated for The Sunshine Award

by Reyna from A Peace of the Past AND McKenna from Cherishing My Role!

Thank you ladies! It was such a sweet surprise!

And I have to admit, I'm kinda sorta pretty tickled pink because this is the first blog award I've received!

Now for the questions from Reyna:

• Do you like to write with a pencil or a pen?

A pen.

As Anne would say,
"I have a scratchy pen 
and I can't write love-letters with a scratchy pen . . . or a sharp pen . . . or a stub pen. 
So you'll only get that kind of letter from me when I have exactly the right kind of pen."
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery

The right pen is key...I'm especially fond of the dark, black gel-pen sort
The INC. Brand Pro X-Tank pens are my favorite!
(Total nerd moment, I know...)

 

• In which century were most of the books you read written?

Most of the books I read/have read are by modern authors,

such as Francine Rivers, Michael Phillips (not to be confused with the Olympic swimmer),

Janette Oke, Gilbert Morris etc. 

But I do LOVE C.S. Lewis' writings, as well as Shakespeare, Jane Austen,

old poetry and some of the other, singularly great classic pieces of literature,
as referenced in the proceeding question.

Jane Eyre is possibly one of my favorite 'old' books.

 

• What is one of your favorite Bible verses? I know hardly anyone has just a single favorite, so just pick one that comes to mind.

Actually, that one is easy!

My favorite verse(s) is

Isaiah 43:18-19

In fact, I have a second blog (which has been sadly abandoned as of late)

that gets it's namesake from those verses. 
 

• Do you sew, and if so (haha), what?

I do sew, and I just celebrated the one year anniversary

of (finally) learning how this past Valentine's Day!

I still feel so new to the world of sewing,

but I enjoy refashioning clothes the most, partly because

it is so practical and far less expensive than buying material.

But I enjoy a good 'scratch' project too and have tons

of clothing patterns (vintage!) that I want to make! 
 

• What are three of your favorite movies?

Three?! Just three?!

An all encompassing statement is that I love old movies!

That being said, if I had to pick only three favorites,

I would have to say.... 
 

Hello, Dolly
Bringing up Baby
Letters to Juliet

...this was so hard....
and I'm not even sure those were the right three...
*heavy sigh*...oh well

Thanks Reyna!

~~~

And now for McKenna's questions

1. How long have you been blogging?
 I have technically been blogging for nearly two years
(at this blog), though I really only started to get into blogging seriously last spring!

 

2. Tea or Coffee?
Funny story.
I used to hate tea!
Try as I might I couldn't make myself down the stuff.
Then one winter about four years ago, I got sick, and a steaming cup of spearmint tea
just hit the spot, and I've enjoyed tea ever since!

Both have their place, I don't think I could choose.
But I probably enjoy coffee more. :)

 

3. What are your favorite historical eras?
1940-1950's! 
I do enjoy costumes and fashioned from other historical eras as well,
but I don't know much about them.


 

4. What fandoms do you associate yourself with  
(e.g.; Marvel, Doctor Who, LotR, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jane Austen, etc.)?
 I'm not really a part of any fandoms, but being in a household of brothers, I must admit I'm pretty interested in the Marvel franchise...and fairly taken with Tom Hiddleston, 
with Jeremy Renner a close second.

5. Do you play any instruments?
I took piano when I was really young, got back at it in my teens for three years, 
covering 4 levels, and then just stopped because my teacher moved away.
I still love the instrument, but I don't really play much anymore.
I also play the recorder and had fun figuring out Celtic music by ear! 

 

6. What is your favorite book of the Bible and why?
Probably Isaiah...I relate to so much of what he covers,
and the imagery, beauty and depth of book draw me in.
Romans would be second choice.

 

7. On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about tweed?

(1 being "Disgusting", 10 being "Wish I lived in Yorkshire")
Probably a 3...meh.
I'd wear it was comfortable and I liked the style and color.
But I don't seek it out.

8. Do you enjoy traveling?
Is this a trick question?!
Yes!
I also love driving...road trip, baby!

 

9. What is your most treasured childhood memory?
It was close to mom's due date, she was expecting my
third brother. Dad sent me and my younger brothers
to stay with Nana and Papa for about a week to give mom some rest.
All of my cousins lived just minutes down the road, or a walk across the pasture,
from Nana and Papa, so we got together and played everyday.

One day,
Nana and Papa informed us they planned to take us all swimming at the lake the following day, we were all so excited! 

Low and behold, 
the next day it cold...and pouring rain.

We were devastated.
But my Nana was a most imaginative and ingenuitive grandmother,
who was a master at pretend.

She rigged up what has gone down in the history books of our family
as the best Beach Party ever!

We laid out blue blankets for the water,
yellow blankets for sand, blew up the beach toys, and put on our swim suits!

We turned up the heat, packed a picnic and had a blast!
Pillows became jet skis, and Papa turned the couch in a boat 
(none of these we actually had in real life, mind you!)
We even had a passenger fall overboard! :)

Every single one of us cousins (I had 6 at the time) remember this beach party!
 That is one of my best childhood memories!

 

10. What is your personal style and how does it reflect your personality?
My style, like my personality, is many faceted!
I love skirts and dresses in the summer,
but come winter time, there is just nothing like a pair of jeans,
a button up flannel and a warm bulky sweeter!

I like vintage and feminine styles, 
but I also lean towards long, flowing styles more like 70's, hippy clothes. 
I'm all over the place, really. :)

 

11. What is your all-time favorite item of clothing or outfit to wear?

Well, it definitely isn't the bra!

Probably a sweeter...I have two comfy ones I practically live in when it is cold.



There you have it!
Thanks, McKenna!
~~~~

And now, time for some rules and my nominees!

If you didn't read my little sleuthing story behind this award, you really ought to.

I'll wait.

Ready?

So, in light of all I learned while researching this award,
I'm going to reinstate the mission statement of The Sunshine Award
and adjust the rules to fit some of the earliest, and close to origin, posts I found.

The Sunshine Award is..

"For bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others

in the blogsphere." 

Those who bring a little sunshine into our day!

THE RULES:

• Thank and recognize the blogger(s) who nominated you (link back)
• Post the award on your blog
• Answer the questions given you by your Nominator.
•  Nominate 5-10 other bloggers (no tag backs) and let them know you nominated them
• Set 10 questions for your nominees to answer

The rules given me by my two nominators

also included an extra step: list 11 facts about yourself.

That is something that has been added through the passage of time,

and seemed a little redundant since you were already answering 10 questions;

therefore I altered the rules I'm attaching to my nominees.

However, 

I just so happened to recently share 11 facts about myself in this little post...

so I still completed that step for my nominators. :)

My Sunshine Award Nominees

1. Jen from Diary of a MadMama

2. Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose

3. Kristina at The Eccentric Owl

4. Delvalina at Falling in Love With Jesus

5. Magda at House of Estrela

6. Carissa at Carissa Knits

And for these last two (I couldn't quite come up with 10!), I'm bending the rules a little.

These two ladies don't have blogs, but they are faithful and encouraging readers who

always leave nice comments to cheer up my day!

They certainly bring some Sunshine into my blogworld.

7. jenny-o

&

8. marilyn

Thank you ladies! 

You always bring a smile a to my face.

Questions for the Nominees

1. What are some of your 'accomplishements'

(in the Jane Austen sense of the word: i.e. sewing, crocheting, drawing, instrument, singing...)

2. Where do you get your inspiration (sewing, crafting, outfits etc.) OTHER than Pinterest?

3. Name one new thing you want to make/try this year.

4. Given the choice of anyone in the world (presently living),

whom would you want as a diner guest?

5.  What are some things that make you really happy?

6. Favorite book series?

7. Favorite book made movie.

8. Pet Peeves?

9. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go?

10. When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?

Would you still choose that?

Thanks for the nominations,
and I look forward to hearing back from all of you!

The Sunflower/Sunshine Award: A Sleuthing Story!

 Hey all!
Guess what?
I was recently nominated twice for the Sunshine Award...well sorta.
That is where the sleuthing story comes in.
I call this story...The Case of the Mistaken Identity Award! 





Reyna from the blog A Peace of the Past
nominated me for The Sunflower Blogger Award.
What a nice gesture! Thank you Reyna!

But before writing a post about it, I wanted to do some research and learn
more about this award.

To my surprise, I found nearly nothing.

So, I put on my curious, ex-journalistic sleuthing hat and started digging!

Following all of the blog link backwards,
I tracked this particular thread of the 'Sunflower' award and found some
very interesting things!

As far back as I can track it,
which is 14 blogs back, this leg of the award started in the United Kingdom!
Unfortunately, I can't track it back any further, the blogger not only didn't use a link
but they didn't put up a post about the award...so, I lost the scent!

Hop down 7 blogs and we come to North America.
I'm not sure if it is the US or not, there was no 'about me' info at that particular blog,
but the address was no longer uk.
The blogger after that was from Canada!
And the last 6 blogs that have circulated this award have been in various US states.

Now here is the big discovery...
The award mistakenly changed names 9 blogs ago!
The blog author just misread the title and changed it from the Sunshine Award to the Sunflower award!
I accredit that mistake to the fact that the previous blogger used an image of a sunflower.


THAT would explain why I didn't come up a string of results
when I searched the Sunflower Award!

 

This Sunflower Blogger Award badge appeared on the scene
just 4 blogs back, created by Sarah, Plain and Average.
It is a shame this image is obsolete, it is so pretty!


NOW that I had the name right, I did a search on The Sunshine Award
and found tons of posts and images!

I found there are various images that have been used with this award.

These two seamed to be the least used images that are circulating.

And these two are the most popular
with the blue and orange image seemingly the oldest, most used and official, award image.

And, just like the images have changed from blog to blog,
apparently so have the rules!

The rules are basically this: answer questions given to you
(in some cases I found, it was a predetermined list of basic questions: fav. color etc. that never changed)
by the person who nominated you, and then you nominated so many people in return
and asked them your own set of questions.

In my research, I found the numbers varied any where from the current rules of
answering 11 questions to only 7, and from tagging 11 people to only 5!

In all my sleuthing however, I was never able to find the origins of the Sunshine Award.

Apparently I'm not the only one who has searched this thing out..
I came across this post and the author shared much of what I had discovered,
that the numbers/rules had changed lots over the course of time.
I was impressed to find that she had tracked the award back to January of 2010!
This award already has a rich history.


It is crazy how things get so changed and turned around.
But when you play a game of telephone on an epic world wide scale,
things are bound to get a little jumbled. :)

But, with a little sleuthing I was able to clear some of the confusion up anyway.
You're welcome. :)

To further this interesting story
....no sooner had I completed all of my research, than I received
a comment from another blogger that I had been nominated for the Sunshine Award!
Gee...glad I got all that cleared up! 

Since I was nominated twice,
and have a long list of questions to answer, I'm going to break that into another post.

I hope you enjoyed this brief History of The Sunshine Award
and my detective adventures!

Come back later for Q&A time with my two nominators
and my own nominations for The Sunshine Award!

Day 23: The Joys of Blogging!

Why do people blog?

Why spend hours taking pictures, laboring over grammar and sentence structure
to complete one little post, only to do it all over again the next day?

We all have our reasons,
but most of them come down to this...
we enjoy it.

Have you ever wanted to start a blog?

Today I'm going let you in on a little secret...or two,
about why I enjoy blogging, and maybe you'll be encouraged to start your own.

1. I finish things

I have a habit of starting projects and not finished them, can I hear an amen?!

Blogging can be a great motivator to finish projects,

because it provides a place to share them and get feddback!

2. Expression
No secret here, I love writing,
and this little blog gives me an arena to practice my craft, and share my words.
Whatever it is that makes you tick, blogging is a means to express that.

3. A Challenge
Not only was it a challenge creating my blog, getting all of the technical
aspects to come together, but it continues to push me on to new challenges.
Whether it be with my projects, a particularly intimate post, or just blogging in general,
being involved in the world of blogging challenges you to step it up.

4. Growth Chart
Each time you do overcome a challenge, it is right there in your archives as proof.
Looking back on older blog posts is a great way to measure
the strides you have taken and see the progress of your efforts,
as well as shortcomings you may need to work on.

5. Get organized
Running a blog is a great way to teach you organization and time management skills!
I've learned to keep a journal of all my blogging and post ideas as well
as a calender just for my blog. This way I can see when I have posts
scheduled and when I need to spend a day preparing more.

6. Community!
Last but most important and rewarding,
is the community of blogging!

I get to meet wonderful new people,
who slowly over time, become my friends, and share more and more of their stories.
For me, blogging and the people I connect with through it, are inseparable...
they are one and the same.

So thank you each and every single one of your who stops by to 'see' me.
I read every comment and do my best to reply.
And to all of you 'shadow readers', the ones lurking unseen in cyber space, reading but holding your peace.
I understand.
I used to be just like you.
I look forward to the day when you decide to pop out of the wood work and say 'hi'.

Blogging connects people.
There are blogs that I follow who's writers I have never met,
but I feel as if they are my real friends because I have been
so drawn in by their stories and allowed their little life to become a part of mine.

It is impossible that we could ever meet all of the great people living in this world,
but through blogging, I think we can connect with some of those great people and know their beauty
through a small, glowing screen.


That is what I enjoy most.The greatness, the beauty, and the community of blogging.

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Day #2: There's a Fire in My Soul!

Today is my first post in the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!
You can read about it here.

I'm supposed to share with you something that fires me up!

Something?!

 Sorry, that just isn't possible.

There are just too many things, I can't choose just one!

A post like this could be potentially very word heavy,

so I decided to express that which fires me up through the medium of images.

Worship and Music

There is nothing so amazing as a worship service where the Spirit
is moving! Worship is healing and freeing on such a deep level,
and I believe there is more power in worship than we give credit for.





Music originated in heaven, and sometimes, it can take us back.


Words

“A man with a scant vocabulary will almost certainly be a weak thinker.
The richer and more copious one's vocabulary and the greater one's awareness of fine distinctions
and subtle nuances of meaning, the more fertile and precise is likely to be one's thinking.
Knowledge of things and knowledge of the words for them grow together.
If you do not know the words, you can hardly know the thing.” 
-Henry Hazlitt 

Towards the end of this post, you can read more about how I feel on the subject and power of words.




Culture and World Peoples

Someday I'll meet these people and see these places with my own eyes.
I feel as if I have a worldwide family... I just haven't met them yet.


 
Spiritual Healing and Freedom

 
When Christ comes in and heals those wounded, bound up parts of your soul,
there is no greater feeling of newness and true freedom.

Read this book.
It will change your life.
Seriously.


Because I have experienced spiritual healing and freedom,
I long to be a guiding hand to others who need the same!
Especially young girls and women.

Truth

I decided long ago that I desired truth above all else...
above ease, pleasure, or blissful ignorance.
I look for the deepest truth in everything...I'm curious, always asking questions, always digging.
After all, you won't find diamonds and gold on the surface.

Creating

I come alive when my hands are working at creating...

in that way I love to copy my Creator and experience just
a touch of the joy He must have felt when He made this glorious world!
Whether I'm working with the medium of yarn, thread, food, or ink,
I love to create a thing of beauty!

Natural Health

Honestly,
I haven't been a traditional doctor in about 15 years.
I believe God gave us everything our bodies need for health
in the world around us through herbs.
It excited me that He is concerned for our health
and has provided a means to attain it through simple, inexpensive ways!
I believe in treating the problem and not the symptoms.
Through herbs and natural means, I've witnessed the iridication
of issues the modern medical movement claim to be untreatable.
Sure, if I break my arm or need surgery, I appreciate the hospital,
but on a whole I don't support their methods and treatment.


Life,
relationships,
dancing,
adventure,
new experiences...
these are the sort of things that ignite a flame of excitement inside me!


What sort of things are you passionate about?
Leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!

~~~~
I'm linking up at Anchored in Love Divine
for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge!

Blog Everyday in February Challenge, Hosted by Anchored in Love Divine

Hello everyone!

Well, look at us, we have quite nearly survived the whole entire first month of the new year!

 I don't know about you, but I am genuinely excited about what this new year will hold.

I have a feeling this is going to be a big year...good (or should I say God) things are going to happen!

Speaking of good things coming,

I wanted to share something fun with you that is coming up next month.

I am a follower, albeit it a pretty new one, 

to the blog Anchored in Love Divine written by the lovely Bailey Jean,

and she has issued a great way to keep the creative blogging flow going through the month of February

with her Blog Everyday In February Challenge!

She even came up with 28 fun writing prompts to keep you inspired!

Take a gander...

I'm pretty excited about this!

But, I'll be straightforward with you, I don't think I'll be able to generate a post every.single.day!

I do love her ideas though, and I've already selected my favs that I'm for certain going to blog about!

Some of them aren't quite up my alley, so I'll try to throw a refashion or project post in its place.

At any rate, 

I think it will be a lot of fun!

What do you think?

Would you like to join the party and blog along?

Are there any topics in the list above that you would like to see me post about?

Let me know!