Showing posts with label Blog Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Awards. Show all posts

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Bloggy love, for me and you

Hello out there! I hope you're all having a wonderful week, especially now that we are over the proverbial “hump.”

Last week I received two blog awards from some very lovely ladies. Isn’t that always fun? It definitely brought a smile to my face last week, despite dreary weather and work worries.

One of my awards was even given by new reader (yay!) Katy Mary of TangerineHearts (thank you!).



The rules go like this:

1. To accept the award, you must post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted you the award, and a link to their blog.

2. Pass the award on to approximately 15 other blogs that you recently discovered, and think are great!

3. Contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

And the 15 I’m tagging are:
1. Shannon Eileen of **Happiness Is...**
4. Linda of one fine dae
5. Jenny May of The Swede Records
6. Nicki of The Cherry Blog
7. Molly of my name is yeh
9. Jaeve of Jaeve + Things
10. Helen of Helen Hearts
11. Samantha of Post Grad Hair Cut
14. Meg of *curls and coffee*
15. Celine of bonjour!

Whew! That was a lot, but they all deserve a shout out. I love finding new blogs to love and I have discovered some real gems lately!

My next award came from Erin over at Pughs’ News. She gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Erin! You’re the sweetest.



For this award, I am commanded to post seven random things about myself that you may or may not already know.

Alrighty, here goes. Oh, and please don’t hold my weirdness against me.

1. I used to be allergic to the sun. After long periods of exposure, I would get terribly, unbearably itchy. I remember my sun allergy flaring up one day when I was a Girl Scout participating in the annual Brownie Olympics. My mom slathered what seemed like an entire bottle of sun block on me before the itch subdued. I look back at that experience as the reason why I so detest putting on sun block—that and the fact that I have to cover every. square. inch. of skin. Luckily, I eventually outgrew my allergy. Unfortunately, I never outgrew my pallor.


See the paleness? This is me in Maui with the boy in 2008. I was literally seeking the shade in this photo! By the way, there is another photo of me on this trip where I am wearing big ol' shades and a giant, old lady hat to protect myself from the sun's rays. So not cute.

2. Speaking of my “porcelain” skin, as one of my friend’s calls it, I am half Danish (on my mother’s side.) For some reason, I have always felt a strong connection to my Danish roots. Perhaps because the other half of me is a bit of random mix—I can’t even keep it all straight! (Thanks, Dad.) I think there’s some Welsh and English and even a bit of Indian…? But whenever I’ve had the chance to learn more about Denmark, I took the opportunity. In sixth grade, when I had to do a country report—for which I wrote journal entries about my fictional travels—I chose Denmark. In my media worldwide college course, I chose to write my final paper on the Danish news media. I’d love to actually visit the small, flat, peninsula country one day, but until then I placate my travel bug by looking at sites like Copenhagen Street Style. Aren't these Danes pretty?


(click image to admire larger)

3. I was a vocal major for my first year of college. I have always loved to sing and when it came time to pick a major, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do. However, when the pressure of some of my classes began to stifle my passion, I changed my major to journalism, if only because I was good at writing English essays and enjoy reading magazines! Though the switch was hasty and emotional, it ultimately was the best choice for me. I am 100 percent certain that if I had graduated with a degree in music I’d still be wondering what I should be doing (and I graduated almost three years ago! Wow, that’s hard even for me to believe.)


Me singing circa 2007, on a cruise ship no less. It was during a karaoke competition called Princess Pop Star. (You can laugh, it's okay.) I sang Alicia Keys' "Fallin'"

4. Going with the music theme, I played (and can still play, I don’t doubt) the oboe in junior high, high school and college. When all the other girls chose flute or clarinet, I was one of the few who chose oboe (my bestie played oboe as well, though it was not her first choice). I picked the oboe because it sounded strange and maybe even slightly exotic and that sounded good to me. I stood by my choice, even when people made fun of its sound, calling it a “dying duck”— though, if you can play it well, its tone is hauntingly beautiful.



Oboe via here 

5. I’ve mentioned this next one a couple times, but I’ll shock and horrify my new readers: I don’t like cheese (that much). Yes, I eat pizza—with light cheese and lots of toppings. To me, the crust and the sauce are more important than the mozzarella. And yes, I even eat nachos. It would seem I like melted cheese but then again I never eat cheeseburgers or grilled cheese sandwiches. Nor do I eat a hunk of cheese with a glass of wine or a handful of crackers. And whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant I confuse the waiter when I say, “hold the cheese.” Or something to that effect. What’s more confusing is that I couldn’t get enough Kraft singles as a kid. Go figure.


You can keep it. via we heart it 

6. I don’t like people touching my face. This is my rule in general (like an old lady pinching my cheeks or someone wiping away an eyelash) and especially when it is cold outside. And when it is really chilly outside, I don’t like people touching my hair either. Now if that’s not completely and utterly random, I don’t know what is. You know what else I can't stand people touching? My veins! Ick. By the way, while we're talking about it, the veins on my right wrist say "Hi." No joke! (Sorry, no pic. You'll just have to believe me.)

7. Two of my toes on each foot are crossed. The ones right next to the big toe. Now, don’t worry, they are not grotesquely crossed but there is a slight overlap. It is actually more noticeable when you look at my foot straight on from ground level instead of above. But then again, who would get on the floor to see if my toes are crossed? When I was younger, my dad liked to grab my toes and teasingly pull them apart, all while saying, “How are we gonna straighten these out?” While we’re on the topic of feet, I will also mention that my toes “scrunch” when I walk, every time I take a step. Again, I am probably the only person who notices or is irritated by this peculiarity.


I'd say this is quite possibly the cutest my toes have ever looked-- after my luxurious spa pedicure last year! But can you see the criss-cross...?

There you have it. Seven random things about moi that you probably never needed to know but now you do. Hopefully some of you out there are as odd as I seem to be (at least when judged by this list).

As for who has to spill their randomness all over the blogosphere next, I choose: Maggi, Bianca and Miss Lovely Little Things. I think I’m only supposed to tag one person, but I say, the more the merrier.

If you have time, be sure to pop over to the blogs I linked above and say hello! We all know a little blog love can go a long way…

And even if you weren’t tagged, tell me one random thing about you in the comments below. I shared—now it’s your turn!

Monday, September 7, 2009

things that made me smile this week... the late late edition

I know it's Monday and I know it's almost midnight, but I am still calling it the weekend. I hope everyone had a great weekend, and for those of you in the U.S., a great long Labor Day weekend!

Here's some things that made me smile this week:

1. Making this sandwich

I took the leftover chicken breast in our fridge, chopped it up, mixed in some salt, pepper, mayo and a handful of dried cranberries, and wa-la! A delicious lunch! I added some fresh greens, a drizzle of mustard and I even toasted the bread. I felt so chef-tastic. I even texted the boy to let him know. He responded with "Julia Childs." Haha, yes, I was very proud of my culinary endeavor that afternoon.

2. Catching up on all the blog posts I missed while on my vay-cay.

3. Browsing the fabulous jewelry in Rachel's newly reopened Etsy shop, Elephantine.

"the lightness" is my fave.
 
4. Eating banana fro yo, twice this week. Yum yum.

5. Taking Hazel to the dog park, also twice. That place is like Disneyland for her! She is so funny when she chases other pups too. She tries so hard!

This obviously isn't at the dog park, this is just Hazel with her beloved Kong. But isn't she cute?

6. Eggs for breakfast. Also twice this week! Eek, is that bad? The first time, I tried making a fried egg. It went pretty well for my first attempt. I unskillfully but still successfully flipped it overI guess that means they were over easy. Anyhow, it was good. The second time was regular old scrambled because I was sharing with the boy and that's the only way he likes his eggs. But that's fine with me. I love breakfast. This recipe for sweet potato hash looks especially good.

7. Finally seeing Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince. I know, I'm like the last one. But there were some other people in the theater, really!

They all looked so grown up in the movie! So much "snogging" going on too :) Doesn't Emma Watson look gorgeous in this photo?

8. A lazy three-day weekend. Which also means, sleeping in really late.

9. The very sweet Tiffany over at Confessions of a Chicago Girl for giving me the Over The Top blog award but more importantly, for her kind and encouraging words. It amazes me how wonderfully supportive complete strangers can be. But then again, for many of the bloggers I tune into, I don't feel like we really are complete strangers. Know what I mean?


With the award comes this Q&A. Here's the rules: USE ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse

2. Your hair? brownish

3. Your mother? loving

4. Your father? supportive

5. Your favorite food? Italian

6. Your dream last night? craziness!

7. Your favorite drink? lemonade

8. Your dream/goal? happiness

9. What room are you in? living

10. Your hobby? blogging? :)

11. Your fear? loneliness

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? fulfilled

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren’t? assertive

15. Muffins? banana nut!

16. Wish list item? genie in a bottle, bottomless bank account (oops, I cheated)

17. Where did you grow up? Simi

18. Last thing you did? blog!

19. What are you wearing? boy's pjs

20. Your TV? big and expensive! (I don't really get this question though...)

21. Your pets? Hazel

22. Friends? smiles

23. Your life? complicated

24. Your mood? stressed/tired

25. Missing someone? Marielle

26. Vehicle? Chevy

27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes

28. Your favorite store? Anthropologie

29. Your favorite color? yellow

30. When was the last time you laughed? tonight

31. Last time you cried? can't remember

32. Your best friend? Marielle

33. One place that I go to over and over? starbucks :)

34. One person who emails me regularly? editor

35. Favorite place to eat? Cheesecake Factory (this answer changes by the minute though!)

I tried my best to only use one word but it really was hard for some questions! But now for the really difficult part. Passing it on. I am going to give this award to three lovely bloggers that have become daily reads for me because of their candor and humor and... because they make me smile!

1. Bethany, of Rinse. Repeat.
2. the cute and happy couple, Jonathan & Tiffany

Oh, it really is so hard to choose just three. You guys don't even know how long that took me. Really, I heart everyone on my blog roll! So if you're bored and need a meme, feel free to grab the one above. I won't tell :)

I wish everyone a fabulous week ahead!


Edit: I had to add the Harry Potter photo because I forget to upload it last night and it has been sitting on my desktop for, like, a month. And I love Emma Watson's outfit too much not to share it. The image is from one of the film's premieres. Credit is via Yahoo! Movies but the link to the story it is from doesn't work anymore...

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Lazy Sunday

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! So far, all I have done today is eat a tasty lunch with the boy at Panera BreadI had the Fuji Apple Chicken saladand play with my puppy, Hazel. (Don't worry, the Shred is on the agenda later tonight. I picked up my weights from my parents' house about an hour ago.) 

So if you are also just chilling on the couch and are in the mood for some browsing this Sunday evening, check out my blogroll. It's been updated to include some fabulous blogs I have stumbled upon recently and they are definitely worth the click. ------------------->

In other news, Trishiekoh over at Under Lock and Keyone of those fabulous blogs I was talking about and she has the cutest header to boot!gave me a lovely blog award last week. Thanks, Trishiekoh!


Ok, so here's the rules:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Alrighty! Here goes... I'm passing this award to these 15 lovely blogs (in no particular order):
Some of those might not be new to you, but they are pretty new to me. There's lots of goodies on that list, from strictly personal blogs, to fashion, to home decor, to food. So if you haven't already, check 'em out!

And I'll let you know how the Shred goes tomorrow! Eek. I can already feel the pain...

Friday, April 24, 2009

Bloggy Awards

As promised, it’s time to hand out some blog love! What better way to spend a Friday, right? So here goes…

The first blog award I ever received was from my very first commenter, the lovely Amber over at Amber Alert. She gave me the Cute’s Blog Award. She gave it to me awhile ago and I have been holding on to it for too long. Time to give it away!

Not sure exactly what the rules are on this award, but I think I am supposed to list 10 uncute things about me. Well, that’s not that hard to do!

I am uncute when…

1. I wake up in the morning. Think tangled hair, major cowlick, lines on my face from the pillow and sleepy eyes with remnants of mascara that wouldn’t budge.

2. I bite my nails. Such a bad habit that I just can’t seem to break!

3. I work out. My face gets all sweaty and red—as bright as a tomato, really—and my thighs jiggle. Nuff said.

4. I wear sweats all day. Working at home leads to many uncute moments.

5. I have greasy hair from not taking a shower. Again, working at home leads to uncute moments. My boyfriend can attest.

6. I pig out on Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. Soo good!

7. I am stressed out. Nothing like a high-pressure situation to bring out the bitch in me. My boyfriend gets the brunt of that though.

8. All my laundry is dirty and I have nothing to wear but pajamas, baggy shirts or dirty jeans. Ew.

9. I am sick. But isn’t everyone? I complain a lot though when I am sick. That’s not cute.

10. I am in pictures. I am not the biggest fan of pictures of myself, particularly candid shots. I hate those! My dad likes to do the sneak attack shots when I am not ready. Geez.


I would like to present the Cute’s Award to these five “cute” blogs written by some lovely ladies:

1. From L.A. to LA

2. Reading my tea leaves

3. You are my fave

4. A room somewhere

5. In Good Taste


Next on my list of blog awards is one Shoshanah over at From L.A. to LA gave me on Monday. It is the Fabulous Blog Award and the rules are I list five of my guilty pleasures and then pass it on to five people.

Hmm, I have a lot of guilty pleasures, especially in the food and TV shows category. Here’s just five:

1. Nutella. If you haven’t had this chocolatey, hazelnut spread you are missing out. On calories and yumminess, but mostly yumminess. I literally had to look away when I passed it in the store the other day.

2. The amazingly creamy Tuscan Tomato & Basil Bisque at Vons/Pavilions. It is to die for in a sourdough bread bowl, both literally and figuratively because it has like 30 grams of fat per serving, which is less than half the container! Oh why must I love it so? (same goes for fried zucchini...)

3. Reality shows like The Hills, The City, Dancing with the Stars and American Idol.

4. Cheesy romantic comedies, in particular, Lifetime movies. I am such a sucker for a chick flick.

5. Magazines, because I buy so many that my boyfriend said I am single-handedly keeping Conde Nast in business.

*I almost put Sex and the City on that list, but I don’t feel guilty about watching that one bit!


The five Fabulous blogs I want to send this award to are:

1. A Cup of Jo (One of the first blogs I read that inspired me to start my own)

2. Amber Alert

3. Cupcakes and Cashmere

4. Miss Jane

5. Double Takes


The next two awards I have to hand out were actually given en masse to the blogger’s entire readership/blogroll. Even though they weren’t given to me individually, per se, I am going to pass ‘em out anyway, because I feel generous and I like giving out awards!

Without further ado, I’d like to send the Honest Scrap award (which I got from Shoshanah) to these seven blogs that always give it to you straight (I think I am supposed to send to 10, but rules be damned):

1. Confessions of a Chicago Girl

2. Insomniac Lolita

3. Oh! How Lovely!

4. According to Ashley

5. Free and Flawed

6. Working Girl

7. Writing to Reach You

With this award, I'm supposed to tell you 10 honest things about me, but I already told you 10 uncute things (and they were pretty honest). So if you really want to know more about me, in numbered form, click here and here.


I have given a lot of awards out now, so I am going to do the somewhat-lazy thing and give the last award (which I got from Amber) out to all my readers. Kind of a thank you for reading and I think you and your blogs are wonderful!

So this is for you!


Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Happy Day

I got my very first blog award today!!

A big THANK YOU to Amber over at Amber Alert for giving me this "Cute's Blog Award." I totally appreciate it and can't believe you would pass it on to me!! So sweet.

Definitely check out Amber's blog if you haven't already. I LOVE it and she was my very first commenter, so I have a special place in my heart for her :)

I think I am going to hold on to this award for a bit before I decide who to pass it on to... Something to look forward to!

What a happy blogging day! (Filled with many exclamation points, as you can see.)