Liebster Award…

Rissa from Finely Ground nominated me for the Liebster Award!  Thank you, my dear.  🙂  As I wrote in my comment on her blog, I feel like peaches and cream, and floating on cloud nine!

The rules are:

Eleven Facts About Self:

1.  I am a frozen fruit fanatic.  My favourite treat in the summertime is frozen grapes.  Pop them in the freezer, and when you eat them, that perfect, firm slush texture is like eating a popsicle.  Except better.  Then there are frozen yogourt blueberries.  Dip them in yogourt, put them in the freezer, and voila!  Note: Packaged frozen berries are just not the same.  Moving on…

2.  I like to leave all the windows in the house open, even in the wintertime.  This is the bane of my husband’s life, but I will wither without my fresh air.  Around Hallowe’en time, I can be mistaken for a witch… the sun has set, the windows are all open, the cold wind is tossing the curtains every which way, and all the lights are off except for some candles that I leave burning in little corners.

3.  I smell all my books before I start reading them.  Sometimes when I’m digesting a paragraph that I’ve just read, I’ll start sniffing absent-mindedly.  I used to sniff borrowed books too, until one day my nose had a close encounter with a bit of… dried snot.  It is not an elegant or pleasant thing to talk about certainly, but it did happen.  My dad joked that I should “look before I smell”, but I haven’t tried to with library books ever since.

4.  I have burned all of my journals and diaries, with the exception of the unfinished one that I started last year.  My friend em knows my predilection for such incendiary activities, and when she gave me a beautiful, handmade book as a parting gift (she is a bookbinding enthusiast!), it came with a warning that it was not to be burnt!  As if I ever could to her present!  I shall have to be sure to write only the loveliest, noblest thoughts and feelings and doings in it…

5.  My favourite colour is a very particular shade of cranberry red, shot through with a shade that morphs from a darker red to almost black depending on the light.  Or quite simply, red.  On a related note, it drives me crazy when someone says that that is my favourite colour because I’m Asian.  I’m mixed.  And even though my Asiatic roots have the upper-hand, it is NOT my raison d’être, nor is it a factor in my choice of colour.  /End Rant.

6.  I jump on every bed in every hotel I’ve ever stayed at.  You have to test the structural integrity of your sleeping spot somehow!

7.  I’ve always wanted a pet lamb.

8.  I wanted to buy a star and have it named after me, then thought better of it.  There probably already is a star that is mine, and you can’t buy something like that with mere mortal money…

9.  I like the kinds of weather that most people find depressing or annoying.  Rain, hail, sleet, snow, thunder and lightning… someone has to like them, poor misunderstood things!

10.  It takes me 5 minutes to browse an entire store and decide whether there is anything that I would like to buy or not.  Most people think I take hours because of my style blog, and it surprises them that I favour the in-and-out method.  ^_^

11.  I am a Disney girl.  Funnily enough, my sister was the one who was crazy about Disney when we were kids, and I was blasé about it all.  Or perhaps it’s simply that I didn’t realise my love for Disney until I was older.

***

Rissa’s Questions…

1. Is your blog more professional or personal? If personal, how do you keep motivated?  If professional, what are your favorite tools, resources, and tips?

My blog is a mix of both.  I would enjoy it if blogging became a career, but on the other hand, I don’t want to fall into the common trap of blindly writing posts for “c/o” items, etc.  I’m hoping to grow it organically (and without Facebook’s help!) so we shall see if I get anywhere with the roadblocks that I have put in my own path.  😉  For great tools, I recommend GIMP for image editing.  For resources, Google is great.  Honestly.  It answers almost any question I have on how to measure stats, etc. and it is free!  For tips, I feel I’m quite a nobody to be giving them, but I think the most important that anyone can share no matter how big or small they are, is to be true to yourself and do things passionately.  People can always tell when you’re only doing it for less joyful reasons.  😉

2. Describe a particularly vivid place or scene that means/meant a great deal to you.

In 2010, I went to San Francisco with my now husband and his family.  I had a beautiful, idyllic time.  We didn’t do much of the tourist-y attractions (except perhaps Alcatraz) or stay in a brand-name hotel.  Instead, we wandered around little markets and shops and stayed at a converted 1800s? barracks turned inn.  I distinctly remember eating a fresh margherita pizza on a picnic bench by the water, and staring at the moon and its reflection.  I also remember taking a break from our exploring and stopping to buy a Greek salad and baklava from a tiny Greek deli/bakery in the middle of the day.  It was full of living simply and refined, in the moment, and appreciating things intensely.

3. What tunes have you been jamming to lately?

Umm.  I’m a hardcore classical music kind of girl. I’ve been listening to the following lately to help me in this ‘novel’ I’m writing:  Amilcare Ponchielli – Tanz der Stunden – Dance of the Hours, and:  Johann Strauss II – Op.9 – Amazonen Polka (Amazons Polka), Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre (Opus 40)

I’m especially crazy about Danse Macabre –it’s a cheeky mix of lighthearted notes with a mortal, dark strain ever present throughout; perfect for a Gibson Girl’s Hallowe’en.  Then there’s Kreisler’s ‘Liebesleid’, which I imagine is one of the many airs that Sherlock Holmes plays on his violin for me when I visit.  And for something less lofty and a bit silly, I’m listening to a song from a Disney Junior show, “Sofia the First”:  Anything.

It’s pretty catchy, and one of those upbeat tunes that makes me feel like it’s a fresh start every day, and I can do anything.  ^_^

4. Where is one specific place you would like to travel to and why? (Not a country or town, but a specific site or attraction.)

Does The Hundred Acre Wood count?  If not, I really, really want to go to Disneyland.  Yes, I know Disney World is bigger, but I want to see the place that started it all!!  I am still kicking myself mentally for not asking husband to go with me while we were in San Francisco!

5. Name a book near the top of your to-read pile.

I have a LOT.  But Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz is something I would like to read soon.  It’s a gothic Victorian thriller involving a missing girl and a sinister street performer, and it won a Newbery Medal.  I think more people should be less snooty about books written for children –intelligent children, I feel I ought to add.  The really good ones fire the imagination so, and the descriptions are so delicious that you don’t feel the language is too simple for a proper grown-up.  🙂

6. What is one thing that you’re really proud of yourself for?

I woke up one day and decided that I would make my dream of fencing come true.  I went for a few lessons, and enjoyed every minute of them –aching arms and all!  My friend was mentioning her interest in the hierarchy of angels, and she noted that we could perhaps apply to be Archangels, being as one of their concerns was military matters, and we had some experience!  **Now that I’ve moved, I’m looking for a new fencing school!

7. If dreams came true, what would your life look like ten years from now?

I’ve done the Grand Tour of Europe, I have a castle in Ireland, and I’ve worked with UNICEF and the Red Cross.  I will have retired and settled in London, helping out at the Great Ormond Street Hospital (Peter Pan!) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  On Mondays I do watercolours, Wednesdays I go for long walks in the park, and Fridays I read a book before breakfast.  My weekends will be spent with my husband and or friends — having fun, dining out, and discussing the world.

8. What are your favorite beauty products?

I don’t really use any… but I suppose my eyelash curler could qualify!  I have long but stick-straight lashes, and curling them really give my eyes more expression.

9. What is a personality trait you admire and wish you had more of?

I’m a bit of a feisty-pants with a short temper.  Although I’ve improved considerably in that area, I still have far to go.  Also, it would be nice if I could be a bit less judgmental.  I try to think the best of everyone now… it makes for a happier me.  🙂

10. What are five things you excel at?

I would say writing, painting with watercolours, singing awfully, trying new things, and putting outfits together.  I’m not sure exactly that I excel in the last, but I certainly have a propensity for it.  I would love it if one of my friends (or anyone, really!) would hire me as their stylist for a day so I could see.  It would be SO fun!

 11. If you could be anywhere doing anything today, where/what would that be?

Boating!!  I want to skim and glide over silver waters, and have wind-ruffled sea hair.

*** MOST IMPORTANT PART!!

My Nominations:

A Bobby-Soxer at Heart – Amy

Beautiful Song – Chantel

Life is Beautiful – Laura

Regency Tea Party – Rosabel (Issy)

Creating Charm – Lisa

By Becca Kae – Becca Kae

Blukrystal – Florrie

Sending lots of Liebling love… 🙂

xoxo,

Cathie