Sunshine Award

A couple of weeks ago, the gorgeous Catherine at Not Dressed as Lamb nominated me for a Sunshine Award:

 The rules for the award are:

1. Include the award logo in a post and/or on your blog sidebar.  Done. 
2.  Link to the blogger who nominated you.  Done. 
3.  Answer 10 questions about yourself.  See below. 
4.  Nominate 10 other fabulous bloggers and ask them 10 questions.  See even lower. 
5.  Link to your nominees in your post and let them know about the reward.  See # 4

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to it before now, what with my sinus infection and bike accident, but I’ve finally put together a post.

Here are my answers to Catherine’s questions:

If you had to choose a totally different stage name for yourself, what would it be?

I actually have two; Barbarella and Velvet Camouflage.  I use them for pole dancing class.  Of course.

Barbarella Poster via imdb.com

Excluding loved ones or pets, what one material possession would you save if your house was on fire?

Family photos; especially of my sisters and I when we were young and my nieces and nephews when they were young.

My sister Rosey

Who's the first celebrity you can remember having a crush on?

I don’t know.  Maybe Buck Rogers?  

Buck Rogers poster via imdb.com

What's the best compliment you've ever had?

The other day someone guessed my age at 20.  Being as I’m a LOT closer to 40 than I am to 20, I was pretty flattered.

If you could only ever listen to one band/artist for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Nooooo.  This is too hard.  I really don’t think I can answer this one.  I want to say Adele, or Florence and the Machine, or City and Colour but I really can’t just pick one.

Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?

Hah!  There is no one even remotely tall enough in Hollywood to play me.

What is your favourite part of your body or appearance?

My smile.  I honestly like smiling and I think it’s because I like my smile; gap and all.

If you were to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport, skill or pastime, what would it be (e.g. spoon playing, procrastinating, ironing, party planning, etc.)? 

Reading.  I am a world-champion reader for sure.  I'm currently reading Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, by Kevin Wilson and you should see how well I'm doing.  I'm reading the heck out of this book:

Image via amazon.com

If you haven't read it, I'd definitely suggest it.  I'm kind of in love with the author and I'm not even halfway through.

What is your favourite all-time TV show?

It’s a cross between Mad Men and The Walking Dead.  I love Mad Men because it’s smart and gorgeous.  I love The Walking Dead because I like to think I’m learning invaluable skills for the impending zombie apocalypse; it’s entertaining and educational.

Which celebrity's wardrobe would you most like to own?

Diane Kruger.  She has great style, whether she’s dressed up or down.  I think her style is accessible, but not boring, so, in a word; perfect.

Diane Kruger, image via snarkerati.com

Here are my questions:

1. Tea or coffee? 
2.  What would the name of your autobiography be? 
3.  Reality TV; guilty pleasure or sheer idiocy?  
4.  Favorite James Bond actor? 
5.  Ocean or mountains? 
6. Favorite author? 
7.  Thanksgiving pie; pumpkin, pecan or something else? 
8.  What are your thoughts on techno music? 
9.  What is the last movie you saw in a theater? 
10. And, finally, because Halloween is tomorrow, what is your favorite scary movie?

And here are the nominees:

Erin of Plus Size Curves Ahead

Tia of Reading in Skirts

Mia of Reading in Skirts

Dawn of Suitcase Vignettes

Whitney of Along the Lines of Style

Katie Q. at An Alaskan Weredork

MissSassypants

Jean at Dross into Gold

Jennifer at Librarian for Life Style

Lynne at Practical Paralegalism

And with that, I have finally spread the sunshine entrusted to me by Catherine. 

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Appreciation

The lovely Jean, of Dross into Gold, has given me a Blogger Appreciation Award:

For which I am, well, very appreciative.  Honestly, it's always such a pleasant surprise when I get one of these.


In order to accept the award, I must:
1.  Thank the person who nominated me by linking his/her blog:  Thank you, Jean! 
2.  Answer the four questions below.
3.  Award the Blogger Appreciation Award to fellow bloggers.

4.  Let those bloggers know that you have nominated them.

Questions:

1. How long have you been blogging?

Almost a year and a half now.  I started in January 2011 after about six months of hemming and hawing.

2. Why did you start blogging?

For a couple reasons, actually.  One, because it’s hard for me to visualize how a trend would look on my shape when I see it on a dissimilar shape.  It’s like shoes.  They look so cute in a size 5 ½, but bring them out in my size 10 and Borrowers run out from under the Nordstrom couches to try and appropriate them as boats.  I figured if I had these problems, other giants tall women might feel the same. 

Two, because I’ve always sort of thought I’d like to be a writer.  But, I know it’s like anything else in that you have to practice.  I wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping a journal and thought blogging would be a good way to practice writing, see if I actually liked it and see what my “voice” sounded like.

3. What type of blogs do you like to follow/read?

Mostly, but not exclusively, personal style blogs.  I don’t really read “fashion” blogs because while I try to stay aware of the trends, I don’t consider myself a particularly trendy person and I don’t try to be.

4. What is the one thing you’d like to improve on as a blogger?

My writing.  I think I probably write too much.  But, I talk too much too, so I think that may just be me.  Still, I’d like to be more succinct at times.  Just at times though; basically nattering on about nothing is sort of my thing.

My Nominees:

Chioma at Chocolatte’s Evolutions of Style

Dawn at Suitcase Vignettes

Krista at Peetee’s Palace

Jessica at A Day In The Life of One Girl

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Gracey 

Black Friday Blog Awards

It's Black Friday, but I'm not shopping.  I'm still in Northern California "enjoying" the snow (I'm not a snow girl).  But, I didn't want any of you who might be reading blogs over the Thanksgiving Holiday to miss me too terribly (it's okay to miss me somewhat, I miss you all too) so I scheduled this post.  That's right, even when I'm away, I'm thinking about you guys.

Here's the deal.  Three of my lovely blogging friends, Kelsey of Charming Pumpkin, Karla of Frugal Big Girl and Erin of Plus Sized Curves Ahead gave me a couple of blog awards last week and I'm quite excited about it because it gives me the opportunity to do two things.  One, I get to share a little bit about myself for my new readers and for those of you who've wondered about my accent.*  Two, and this is my favorite part, I get to share some of my favorite new blogs with you guys.  Very exciting, no? 

Let's get started.  Here are the awards:

And here are the rules:

·         Link back to the fabulous blogger you got the award from (done, done and done)

·         Write 7 random things about yourself (I excel in random things, so, don't worry, I got this)

·         Fill in the question form below (I'll do my best)

·         Give the award to 10 other blogs and let them know (Love to!)

7 random things about me:

1.      I love books.  I read constantly, I just forget to update the What I'm Reading thingy in my sidebar.

2.      I wear a size 10 shoe and am under the impression that is practically dainty for someone my height.  Don't disabuse me of this notion.

3.      I was a three sport athlete in high school - cross country, basketball and track and field.

4.      Zombies both scare and enthrall me; as a result, I am obsessed with The Walking Dead.

5.      I love to laugh.  A lot.  And as loudly as possible.

6.    Grumpy people make me smile.

7.   I ride my bike to work every day, rain, shine or snow.  And it's the best thing I do for myself.

Question and Answer:

·         Name your favorite song: This probably isn’t the best way to start a Q&A, but I don't have a favorite song.  I can, however, tell you that right now I am listening almost constantly to The Black Keys.  Especially their album, Brothers.

·         Name your favorite dessert: Strawberry Lemonade Cake

·         What pisses you off: Besides snow?  People who say “I seen that…” – it makes me stabby when people say “seen” instead of “saw.”

·         When you're upset, you: Shriek and threaten to elbow the offending party in the neck, of course.

·         Your favorite pet: Dogs, I still miss my puppy immensely. 

·         Black or white: I’m both, actually.

·         Your biggest fear: Um… zombies.  Duh.

·         Best feature: I would say my wit, but I guess my smile is okay too.

·         Everyday attitude: I some how manage to be both high strung and disengaged.  It’s a talent.

·         What is perfection: Being woken up late on a Sunday morning from the light streaming through the trees. 

·         Guilty pleasure: The Walking Dead (seriously, I’m obsessed).

And here are some of my new favorite bloggers:

·         Amanda at Something Old Meets Something New – we’re physically polar opposites, but Amanda and her blog are so sweet, you can’t help but love them.

·         Jenn at The Suburb Experiment – Jenn is hilarious and we all know how I like to laugh (see # 5 above).  She’s good at dressing herself too.

·         Tracy at The Closet Shopper – great style and seriously diverse musical interests.  What’s not to like?

·         Kassi at The Closet Intervention – Kassi is a fellow tall blogger with fabulous style and a fabulous personality to match.

·         Fashion Dynamite – Great style and pretty pictures in the woods; an all around lovely blog.

·         Natasha at Required2BeInspired – I’d be inspired by Natasha’s blog even if she didn’t make it a requirement.  She has fabulous style and makes a lot of her own clothes. 

·         Krista at Lazy Saturdays – Krista is crafty, has great style and I LOVE her remix posts.

·         Cambria at Jupe – Cambria is super sweet and her style is what I’d aspire to if I weren’t a total drama queen.

·         Sydney at Basic Cravings – Sydney has very clean, very classic style while working color and the best statement necklaces ever.  Ever, I tell you, ever.

·         Dawn at Suitcase Vignettes – I loved Dawn’s blog from the first moment I read it.  And that was before I found out that she throws the best Halloween parties and pairs awesome fur hats with sequins.  Love.

* I'm just kidding - I have a slight lisp, but no accent.