Hello readers! This week’s post is a bit different. I was nominated by the wonderful BookmarkedOne for the Liebster award! Please go check out their blog here for some awesome literary content.

As someone who is very new to the blog writing world, it was very exciting to see BookmarkedOne’s message. Then I went on a giant rabbit hole adventure to figure out what this award means. Its a really cool award giving by blogs to fellow blogs to show support! It’s also a play on the world “liebling” in German, which means “darling” or “favorite”. My experience with this word is strongly tied to The Sister’s Grimm series. I feel like I have been blessed by Granny Relda.

Below are the rules of the Liebster award for those new to it like myself. List is from the Wording Well. Thanks Wording Well for teaching me about this great award!

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.
2. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.)
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you. Here are my questions from BookmarkedOne

What book/movie/pop culture thing do you recommend to everyone?

There are so many that come to mind. However, the book I love recommending the most is Good Omens. When I first read the book in college, I feel in love with Pratchett and Gaiman’s writing style. I’m also a fan of dry humor, which is something that the British seem to have down to an art. Crowley and Aziraphale have great chemistry, and there are a band of interesting characters that kept my attention. There’s now a miniseries on Amazon Prime with the lovely David Tennant and Michael Sheen and is written by Neil himself. The series was like a warm hug and a fun adventure. This series is about the apocalypse, so it might be a bit weird to read or watch at the moment.

What are you reading right now?

I’m in between books right now sadly. I keep getting sucked into the dangerous world of fanfiction. I am currently on a quest to find two Discworld books. In true me fashion, the two books I want to read aren’t in stock at the bookstores near me. I do have a Kindle, but I was craving a physical book. I might reread another book and order those on Kindle instead.

What is the coolest thing about your blog?

I don’t usually connect anything I do with the word “cool” because I’m a giant nerdy goofball. However, I do think it’s nice that my blog is by someone generally new to the writing world. While I do give advice that I’ve found helpful over my short time, I’m still figuring all of this out. I was afraid to do things like NaNoWriMo and poetry classes for the longest time because I thought I was the only one who didn’t know what was going on. I like to think that I might be making someone else feel more comfortable approaching this writing world.

Why did you decide to start blogging?

This blog was a mix of a strategic career move and fun. I know, the beginning of that sentence is a bit cringe. I work in advertising, where building a portfolio and using your creative brain is important. I considered making the switch to a part of the field where I’d be copywriting more, and considered this a great practice. I didn’t end up doing this, but this has become great outlet for my creativity that I don’t get to use as work. I did do this for fun as well. I love reading and the idea of writing, but I was worried that I didn’t qualify as an expert enough to write about it. Then I realized that we’re all faking it till we make it in some capacity, so I might as well live my best life and try it. It’s been a year and I can’t believe I’m still posting!

What random thing about yourself do you want to share (can you yodel? Do you hate polka dots? Did you once sail around the world)?

I once climbed into a pyramid. Not Bass Pro pyramid in Memphis, TN (which I have also visited), but an actual pyramid. I often forget this myself, but I went on a three day trip to Egypt two years ago. I barely slept the entire time, but it was an amazing experience. I walked by the pyramids at Giza. I went inside one of the small ones despite my usual claustrophobia and dislike for going down things backwards. One of the times when jetlag was my friend. Most importantly, I got to do it with my twin sister. Growing up, she had a huge obsession with Egyptian mythology and force taught me a lot of it. Her obsession, tied with my own with Greek mythology, made passion grow for Archeology. Walking into the Cairo museum with her was like being with a kid in a candy store. I was also a kid in a candy store though, because they had real mummies?!? And statues and art everywhere! It was an adventure I will always cherish.

Favorite travel destination (real or fictional)?

I have been very luck to travel a lot over my short life. It’s hard to pick a favorite, so I’ll give you two. In the United States, I loved visiting New Orleans. There’s so much history and culture there that it feels like another world. As a musician, the jazz floating around the city was so exciting. I dragged my family many times to a jazz musician to hear them absolutely slay. The food and beautiful architecture are also great. However, it is worth noting that many people in that area are still recovering from the damage of Hurricane Katrina. We were not able to do this, but I encourage people to help out those recovering when visiting if they can. I also loved going to London. I loved it like many people love NYC. It’s a diverse, vast city with endless history on display. I saw buildings from the 1700s, 1900s, and 2000s lined up together. It was so cool! As someone who grew up in a small town, it was both disorienting at times and lovely. Reading on a train was as exciting to me as visiting one of their historic sites. Also, the parks around the city are amazing. It’s like you aren’t even in a giant city.

What piece of wisdom did you once really need to hear?

This is hard. Something I think about the most is a quote from Peggy Carter on her show. She said “I know my value. Anyone else’s opinion doesn’t really matter.” As a people pleaser who doesn’t have the best self-confidence, this has become a bit of a go-to when I feel down on myself because of others. It’s also something I remind myself to keep my growth and change in mind. It reminds me to be confident in myself because at the end of the day, confidence in yourself is more important than how other’s see you.

Where do you go when you need inspiration?

This depends on what needs inspiring. Reading is a great help for me when I’m writing, as well as watching movies in the same genre. I also love reading about the badass ladies and kind people in the world. Sometimes kindness can be the biggest inspiration. I also love walking in nature. Each season has something magical about it that always inspires me.

What is the most beautiful place to you (your couch, a meadow under the stars, etc.)?

The night sky on a clear night and the way the sun shines through the trees on a sunny summer day. The way the sun shines through the fall trees is also a wonderful sight.

What would you love to try (crochet! Yodeling! Sailing around the world!)?

I would love to try bread baking. Somehow I haven’t done this yet during quarantine, mainly due to nerves and lack of starter. I am often afraid when cooking or baking that I’d get all of these great ingredients and then completely mess up the final product. I also have a small kitchen without a stand mixer, which makes things like bread-making a bit more complicated. Living alone with a bunch of practice bread is a dangerous route to choose. One day I’ll make my own ciabatta and live in bliss like the Disney princess I want to be.

Favorite dessert (everyone should have at least one)?

My favorite type of dessert is cookies, with pie at a close second. Because of this, I often flip-flop between the two. However, I always have a go-to dessert that I love to make. A few years ago, I stumbled across the recipe for cake cookies. All you need is a cake mix, some vegetable oil, and two eggs to create these fluffy cookies. There are countless versions of these cookies that you can create! My favorite is this recipe with devil’s food cake mix. nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)

4. create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.

Chris at Chris Teague’s Microblog (mistercritter.blog)– My irl buddy and fellow nerd.

Erin at Reading On A Star (wordpress.com)– A fellow book blogger!

Posts – Baking By The Books (wordpress.com) for your baking and books combo!

Blog Archives — The Disney Nerds Podcast– For your nerdy Disney needs!

Kathy at Moon Rabbit Knits – a personal knitting blog (wordpress.com). Her blog is new but I’m already loving her knitting posts!

5. Ask your five to eleven nominated bloggers eleven questions

What is your favorite movie genre?

What is something that you love fangirling over?

If you had to pick one music genre to listen to for a year, what would it be and why?

What is your favorite season and why?

Creating new things is exciting but scary. What’s your advice for people who want to try a new hobby?

What is your go-to icebreaker?

What is your ideal day?

Why did you decide to start blogging?