I got nominated for the Liebster Award

In February, my blog friend Nancy nominated me for the Liebster Award. I’ve been particularly thrilled, because did you notice that this award contains a German word? “Liebster” means “loveliest” or “most favorite” and it makes me happy to know that Nancy would consider my blog for this award, so thank you for the nomination!

The rules are pretty simple. You’ve probably seen blog awards go around on the internet – in one form or another. Since I am always intrigued to learn more (especially random things) about other bloggers, I happily participate.

1. Answer the questions that the blogger picked out for you, then come up with 11 questions that you like to have answered.
2. Choose 2-11 people for the award and link to their blogs in your post.
3. Go to their blog and tell them about the award nomination!
4. No tag backs!

Without further ado, here are Nancy’s questions for me. Sit back and learn some more about me!

1. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

I think the craziest thing (for me) in my life has been the decision to stay in the US after my exchange semester. I never ever in a million years expected to end up living here. I always wanted to live here for a fixed period of time, but I never thought I’d completely uproot my life and emigrate. Whoops. Life happened.

2. Describe your blog in three words.

Life, crafts and travel.

3. What does your perfect Saturday night look like?

I’m definitely a homebody. I love a cozy evening on the couch. A nice dinner, maybe a movie or some good conversations and I am pretty happy :)

4. What’s your best advice for new bloggers?

Don’t compare yourself to others. Do your own thing. It’s allowed to get inspiration elsewhere, but try to write from your own heart about things that are important to you. If you try to just write for your audience, you might find it to be impossible to keep up.

5. Which travel destination has left a lasting impression and why?

Horseshoe Bend, AZ. Of all the beautiful sights I have seen in the southwest of the United States, I am fascinated by this meander of the Colorado River. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s just wildly impressive and one of the few sites that you can get to without paying a fee. There are no barriers, no tourist signs, no nothing. Just wide, untouched nature (and if one is lucky, not too many other people around).

6. Is there a blog post that is particularly close to your heart and if so, why?

This one. I tried to be completely transparent and honest, which is sometimes a hard thing to do on the Internet, but I feel like it’s important to talk about these things. Usually you’re not alone with your thoughts and the only way to break taboos is to take openly about them.

7. What did you want to be when you grow up and what do you do for work now?

When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian until I worked for a vet during summer breaks as a teenager and realized I wasn’t cut out for the emotional part of it. Then, I wanted to be a journalist, until I did an internship at a local newspaper and found it mundane and boring (probably depends where you end up working). These days, I am working as a geographer and I love my job. I’ve always been fascinated by geography/geology, so it’s fitting.

8. Did your way of blogging change over time?

Oh, absolutely yes. When I first started out, I didn’t really know what I was doing. Ha (well, maybe I still don’t know what I am doing, but I am better at it.) I used to just write for family and friends and didn’t put much thought into posting on a somewhat regular schedule, adding photos to my blog posts, trying to share more personal thoughts than just mundane day-to-day happenings. I do think though that not just my blogging has changed, but that the whole blogosphere has made a huge shift over the last decade.

9. Which three things can’t be missing for a perfect breakfast?

Coffee, fresh rolls, gouda cheese.

10. When and where do you like to blog most?

I usually jot down ideas wherever they come to me (online or in a notebook), but I mostly blog at home over the weekend. Sometimes I finish blog posts the night before I want to post them. I don’t really pre-schedule blog posts.

11. What were your New Year’s resolutions for 2016 and are you still following through with them?

I really don’t make any New Year’s resolutions (because I feel like any time is a good time to make resolutions), but I have set some tentative goals for 2016. One of them is beating my running mileage from last year (more than 425 miles) , which comes out to running at least 36 miles/month (of course, more is always better). I’ve also committed to writing more handwritten letters/cards again this year and to read 24 books (about 2 per month). So far, I am on track to making these things happen. We’ll see how it goes.

I am nominating:

Chrissy from The Brave Wanderer

Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns

Nora from Walking with Nora

Kristen from Life by Kristen

Stephany from Stephany writes

Here are the questions for you:

1. What is your favorite beauty product?
2. If you could pick any place/city to move to for a year, where would you want to go?
3. What is the one thing you like best about your home?
4. What are your favorite pair of shoes?
5. What is your favorite travel destination?
6. If you could have one do-over, what would it be?
7. What is something you are currently struggling with?
8. Breakfast, lunch or dinner?
9. Who is your celebrity girl crush?
10. Why did you start blogging?
11. Tell me about one of your plans for this summer.