My current favorite thing is...

Being nominated for fun "awards" from fellow bloggers!

Awhile back my blogging friend Beth from Bethie the Boo nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. I loved answering her fun questions and then passing the challenge on to other bloggers. I think what's so fun about these types of posts is that you really get to know more about the person behind the blog. And as an avid blog reader, I enjoy that. And for you, my readers, I hope you like getting to know me a little better, too. (Even you, mom. Wait. I hope you're one of my readers...)

Well, Beth did it again...she nominated me for the Liebster Award. In her own words: 

"the Liebster award is a sweet award given from bloggers to other bloggers  - the term Liebster has German origins and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, lovely, etc."

How fun, right? Here are her questions and my answers:

How did you decide on the title of your blog? 

I wanted something simple but memorable; something that summed me up in a couple of words. And if you know me, you know I'm always accessorized. And I'm always writing (or thinking about writing) or reading. Plus, I had a vision for my header picture and writing with bangles seemed like a perfect fit. In fact, I am typing while wearing bangles right now.

What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

Honesty. I try to be as honest and transparent as possible. So many of my posts are derived from moments in my life that caused me to stop and think--typically those "less than perfect" moments. I'm very introspective and this blog is a representation of that.

What is your favorite pastime other than blogging?

Reading. When I make time for it. Otherwise my dvr. Oh, and hanging with my family. Of course. That's a given, right?

What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

I love writing. I've always been a creative person--I've written short stories and essays for as long as I can remember (as a child I would make up news stories for my cousins, sister and I to read "on air" when we played "The News"). I have a dream of writing a book someday. But for now I'll "settle" for blogging--which I don't consider "settling" at all. I love it.

Which recipe, project or idea on my blog (Beth's) would you like to try most?

I love Beth's style and her willingness to try different things. I get stuck in a rut so often and don't think outside the box. She's a constant inspiration for me stylistically. 

Where does your blog inspiration come from?

Where doesn't it? My kids (obviously), our family adventures, observations, reading (especially blogs)...really, everywhere. I've gone through times when I feel less inspired but that's on me. I'm just not open to it because, really, inspiration is all around.

What is one country in the world you  would like to visit? Why?

England. I know there are so many exotic places to visit in the world but I've always wanted to go there, specifically London. Between all the history and as a big Beatles fan, there are so many places I'd like to see. Plus, England is like a hop skip and a jump from France, right? So it's reasonable that by visiting that country I'd hop on over to the other. And then there's Ireland...

If you have children, what are their names? If not, what are your favorite boy and girl names?

I have two kids, a boy and a girl. My daughter, Elena, was named after her two great-grandmothers. My grandma's name is Elaine and my husband's grandma's name is Lena. We decided to combine those names and came up with Elena. My son's name is Brandon. It's not quite as creative (remember--he was born 11 months after my daughter, I don't know if we had enough functioning brain cells at the time to come up with as creative a name) but it was a name we both liked. A classic. And his middle name is Allen, which was my father's middle name, too. So there was sentiment attached to his name.

And in case you were wondering (in reference to part two of this question), my favorite girl and boy names are Elena and Brandon.

A long-lost relative leaves you a large sum of money. What do you do with it?

Pay off our debts, number one. Boring, but what a relief that would be. Next, put aside money for college for the kids. Then, if that long-lost relative was SUPER generous and we still had money left, take lots and lots of vacations. I love Minnesota and have no desire to move out-of-state, but I do like the idea of several vacations to warm destinations during the cold months.

In your opinion, what is the best blog post you've written so far? 

Unplugging and Reconnecting is a favorite because I made a conscious decision to focus on my relationship with my husband. We had an in-home date night with beer, cards and pizza. It was awesome. 

And, because I apparently can't follow the rules, another favorite was A Day in the Life. I loved this one because I let my creative writing skills come out and play for a bit. It was fun...it's what I imagined was going on in my (at the time) 3 year-old's head throughout a day.

{FYI: There's a page of some of my other favorite posts here.}

What is your favorite food?

Bread. Any bread. Sweet bread (ie: donuts, pastries), bread that's a part of other foods (ie: crusts on pizza), bread that's fried, baked, toasted, or just out of the bag. Any and every type of bread. My husband jokes that the majority of meals I eat are just a formality for the bread. It's true--often I spend more time thinking about what type of bread would work with a meal than I do on the actual meal. 

I nominate these lovely ladies to answer the same questions, if they'd like:

Meredith at baublesandbirds.com

Katie at KatieLookingForward.com

Aimee at WhyILeftMyJob.com

Tia at dilettantilife.com

Happy Friday!

xo Sara

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