** Liebster Award **

I recently received nominations for not one, but three Liebster Awards. I know I've been slacking on responding to the questions, but I guess I got a little overwhelmed at the thought of answering so many :p I've decided today is the day though. I think it's actually pretty good timing because I have a lot of new followers and this will give you all a chance to know me better.

The nominations came from the following blogs:

Linds @ Domesticated Working Woman

Meg @ My Borrowed Heaven

Kaitlyn @ Put A Bow On It

Thanks ladies! 

The Rules:

 1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.

3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.

4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.

5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.

6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

 

11 Facts About Me:

1. I absolutely hate artificial sweeteners, can't do it. Real sugar all the way.

2. I am very easily distracted. In fact, I've already been distracted several times since I started writing this post :p

3. I absolutely love living in Charleston, but I'm excited to see where the Navy will move us next and daydream about it every day.

4. I'm an avid planner and cleaner, I can't stand a messy house and get really stressed out when I don't have time to clean.

5. I have one younger brother who just turned 27.

6. I consider myself a baker, but I love to cook and I'm working on perfecting improving my cooking skills. 

7. I'm dying to learn how to quilt and sew, one day.

8. Sometimes I think I want 3 kids, but then whenever I think about having kids at all it scares me to death.

9. I do NOT like scary movies.

10. I'll admit I'm a brand snob, but I'll rarely buy anything that isn't on sale.

11. A cross-country road trip is the next to-do thing on my bucket list. I've been up and down the east coast, but I've never been out west and can't wait to see the rest of the country.

 

Lindsay's Questions:

1.  What are your top 3 blogs to read? Marshalls Abroad (I love Amanda's amazing photos and recipes), Lounging with Lindsey (because I know her in real life!!), and Southern Weddings ;) ;)

2.  What was the very first blog you found? I can't remember exactly, but I pretty much started out reading wedding blogs like Southern Weddings and the Wedding Chicks. Then I started branching out and reading a lot of Military SO blogs like Handling with Grace?, and Perception is Everything. :)

3.  What is your favorite hair product? Recently I started using Matrix Biolage Hydtratherapie shampoo and conditioner and I absolutely love them. Not only do they smell great, but they make my hair really soft and shiny. I also use Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Light - I love it because of the lightness and it doesn't make my hair feel greasy at all.

4.  If you could have an entire day to yourself, what would you do? I would love to have a day off to sit by the pool and read all day and do crosswords haha (that's my thing lately). During that day off, I would also eat whatever I want for lunch. Maybe Chick-fil-A, Thai food, Indian food, something from Ladles, etc.

5.  Sweet or salty? both!

6.  You have 20 minutes to throw an outfit together, what do you wear? I'm sure it would depend on what the occasion is, but during this time of year it would have to be my new red Michael Kors skinny corduroys with my Coach riding boots and a cable knit sweater from Loft :)

7.  Do you juice?  What is your favorite recipe? Not really. I do like smoothies though and my favorite would be a half banana with a scoop of chocolate protein powder with vanilla soy milk YUM!

8.  Where did you buy your favorite pair of jeans? Nothing beats a great pair of jeans. I have a couple pairs of Lucky Brand jeans that I really like. I'm loving my Michael Kors skinny corduroys ($20 at Marshalls!) and Loft jeans are always comfy. I used to splurge on brands like 7 for all Mankind and True Religion, but my financial priorities have changed a bit these days.

9.  How many children would you like to have? Like I mentioned above, I would love to have 3, but who knows. I'm already 31 with zero and I don't think I want to be having kiddos when I'm 35+!

10.  List 3 things on your bucket list. Cross-country road trip, visit New Zealand, survive being a Navy family.

11.  What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or S'mores.

 

Meg's Questions:

1. What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? I was most looking forward to going home to CT and seeing my family, which I was very happy that I got to do :)
2. Why do you blog? I started out just being a reader of blogs, but then shortly after decided to start my own. I basically started blogging to document my new life living in Charleston as well as S and I's relationship.
3. Do you have any piercings or tattoos? No tattoos.. I have my belly button pierced and my ears (I have had all different kinds of ear piercings, ie. tragus, conch, cartilage). I used to have my nose and lip pierced, yes can you believe it? I took them both out because of interviews/work. I would still like to have the nose piercing, however, I left it out for too long once and couldn't get it back in. I could do without the lip ring at this point :p Exhibit A, below.

 

Sorry for the XL pic, but the lip ring was pretty small so hard to see in pics. I honestly couldn't find a good pic where you could even see the nose ring, it was super tiny. Wow this pic is old, circa 2007 with short short hair!

 
4. Where will you be 5 or 10 years from now?  In 5 years, we will be at our next duty station, wherever that may be! Could be CT, GA, WA, CA or HI. 10 years from now, I really have no idea. S could be retired from the Navy by then so maybe finally settled down somewhere, we were thinking the southern coast of North Carolina.
5. Where is one place you would love to visit?  New Zealand or California
6. Summer or winter? Why?  Summer! I lived up north my whole life and had to deal with snow and ice. I'm done with that.
7. If there was one crazy thing you wish you could do in your life, what would it be? Live in another country. I know that's not that crazy, but it would be for me.
8. Favorite dessert?  S'mores or maybe a brownie sundae :p
9. Any guilty pleasures? Shopping, eating dessert, being lazy and doing nothing, drinking wine.
10. Favorite original diy/craft/recipe?  I would love to learn how to quilt and sew. I love to bake cupcakes (when I have enough counter space to use my Kitchen Aid mixer).
11. What's your typical daily online routine?  In the morning at home - email, facebook, instagram, and weather. When I get to work - respond to emails and blog :) I check occasionally in the evening after work, but not as often as during the day.

 

Kaitlyn's Questions: 

What is your favorite movie? All time favorite I think would be Dirty Dancing. 

Thoughts on Twilight? I've read all the books and have seen all the movies. The books are better and the last movie was the best.

 Mac or PC? Mac all the way!

 What do you want to name your first child? I wont giveaway the actual name that I have in mind, but a few that I like are Brayden, Ryan, Hunter, Hudson, Sawyer, Harper, Hadley, Hallie. I like "H" names haha. 

What is your go-to drink when out? Wine, something sparkly, White Russian, Malibu Bay breeze. Depends on what kind of mood I'm in. 

Ski or snowboard? Snowboard, although I might like to learn how to ski one day soon. 

Who do you cheer for during football season? (College & NFL) Football is my favorite sport to watch and I root for the Giants (NY) and the Gamecocks (SC). 

What is your dream job? My dream job would be to own my own bakery or boutique, but only if it was successful to run itself most of the time haha. I wouldn't want it to be all-consuming. 

What is your real job? I am the Operations Manager in Financial Aid at a college here in Charleston :)

 How many kids do you want? Definitely 2, maybe 3. 

What does your dream house look like? A little seaside bungalow, maybe something like this:  

with a backyard like this:

Wow, that was a really long post! Those were some great questions, ladies, and I hope that all my readers got to know me a little better and get a little peek into my life.

My nominations for the Liebster Award are:

Brittany @ Then There Was We

Elizabeth @ The Better Belle Project

Lindsey @ Lounging with Lindsey

Becca @ Sarge & Sunshine

Sarah @ LOVE, sje

Whitney @ Michael + Whitney

Katie @ Dabbling in Dixie

Haleigh @ DIY Davis Style

Caitlin @ Floating on a Breeze

Laura @ Brunch with Laura

Amanda @ Amanda's Daily Obsessions

My Questions:

1. What's your favorite season? Why?
2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
3. Where will you be in five years?
4. What is your daily routine like?
5. What are some of your favorite hair/ makeup products that you like to use?
6. What is your dream job?
7. What are a few of your vices?
8. Name three things on your bucket list.
9. What are your top three favorite blogs to read?
10. Why do you blog?
11. If you had an entire day to yourself, what would you do?

 

 Okay, I may have stolen a few of these from the questions that I was given, but that should be compliment because I thought they were great and really enjoyed responding to them. Looking forward to getting to know each of you better!