My 2017 Liebster Award & Nominations

In the blogger community, there’s a little something called the Liebster Award. Basically a Liebster Award is a virtual Internet award that is exchanged between bloggers. It came on the scene in 2011 to show bloggers that someone values their blog. And to be honest, back then I was in awe of anyone who got one. I still am.

And so when Unfiltered Mama nominated me for a Liebster Award, I was so excited and accepted immediately! I love reading her blog because she’s really honest and doesn’t sugar coat things. I’m really glad that she likes my blog just as much as I like hers. Go show her some love and follow her blog and social media  (@unfilteredmama).

Part of the Liebster Award involves answering questions from the blogger who nominates you. The next part is leaving questions for bloggers that I nominate for a Liebster Award. For more information about how the Leibster Award works, check out the Official Rules.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Here are the questions from Unfiltered Mama:

1) What type of blogger are you? How did you get to where you are right now?

I don’t know what I would label myself as. I was initially drawn to beauty and fashion blogging, but I’ve expanded to cover topics that are important to me (and others) like mental health and general lifestyle things. My blog is a lot like who I am–I find myself hard to label in one word. I’m kinda nerdy, kinda cool, sometimes awkward and sometimes a social butterfly. So I’m going to say I’m an “Honest Human” type of blogger.

I started my blog a few years back, but then I completely scrapped it and restarted back in December of 2016. I’m happier with my new direction!

2) When do you find the time to blog?

This is a loaded question. I usually like to blog when inspiration hits. That’s usually in the evenings or when I’m en route to visit friends or family. As a Copywriter and Social Media Specialist, I spend a majority of my working day creating content anyway, which kind of flows into the same thing I do in the evenings for this blog. But if I’m feeling a bit lacklustre (or totally frustrated) I postpone my writing to the weekend when my head is a little bit clearer.

3) Out of all your published posts, which one is your favourite? Why?

My favourite post is My Mental Health Struggles. It took a lot of courage and careful crafting to get that piece to read as I wanted it. After posting it, I also had a number of message about people seeking mental help because of what I wrote, or people showing support for those who struggle to maintain their mental health.

4) What do you enjoy doing in your free time besides blogging?

Fun Fact: I was an art major in university for 3 years before I switched to English Literature and Rhetoric. I stopped being an art major because I realized I hated people critiquing my art. Art was, and still is my relaxation. I just couldn’t enjoy it in a university setting. So now as a working adult, I enjoy doing art in my spare time without the worry of grades. I also like to read (historical fiction and comics), exercise (lightly), eat food (all the time), watch movies (mainly Disney ones) and spend time with my family and friends.

5) If you could travel to any place in the world, where would you go?

England. I’m itching to visit England again. I absolutely loved my trip to England back in 2013 (which Facebook kindly reminded me of today) and strongly considered living there. Now I realize I enjoy having my family and friends close to me, and a giant ocean (aka “the pond”) between England and Canada would make things too difficult. Besides England, I would also love to go to Italy, France, or Alaska…well an Alaskan cruise at least!

6) Are you a bookreader? What book would you recommend everyone to read?

I AM a bookreader! This year a book that really stood out for my was Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk by Kathleen Rooney. I highly recommend adding it to any reading list or book club list. Check out my review here.

7) Have you had any negative experiences with blogging? What did you do to overcome it?

Negative experiences…not really. But I will say that I believe a lot of bloggers (big and small) make their lives seem wayyyy better than they actually are, which annoys me. Not out of jealousy, but because I prefer people who are honest about what they blog and post photos that are meaningful to them. Aesthetic is important, but it’s not everything. When I see someone having a laugh and wearing new outfits every single post or photo, it makes me curious to know what they’re not showing. Imagine if every blogger did a #30daychallenge of raw blogging and photography. I bet most bloggers would be lost.

8) Where are you from? What’s your favourite place in your town?

I’m from the Kitchener-Waterloo area which is about an hour away from “the 6ix”, also known as Toronto. We’re the home of the Blackberry inventor, Desire2Learn, and basically all the cool techie start ups that aren’t from Silicon Valley. My favourite place to go in this city…it’s a tough one because I’m a homebody and I also don’t love KW. But my current faves are Debrodniks Donuts (seriously amazing fresh donuts), the Comic Warehouse (gotta stock up on comics you know) and Uptown Waterloo because it has cute little shops and parks.

9) What has surprised you most about blogging and its large community?

Large is an understatement. I think there’s a lot of content out there that’s the exact same. People lack out-of-the-box ideas for the most part. But what surprises me the most is how many people QUIT writing their blogs after a year or two. It kind of shows you who is in it for the fast fame/followers/likes versus the people that are in it because they genuinely love the art of writing.

Another thing that surprises me is the divide between the “elite” bloggers and small bloggers. Small bloggers, in my experience, are much more friendly and try to make genuine connections. I like being in the small blog community at the moment because I can make valuable connections to the people who also take the time to interact with me.

10) What are the long-term goals for your blog?

I would love for my blog to blossom and complement other creative endeavours, which I don’t want to reveal just yet. But I hope I my blog continues to be relatable in the long term as I mature and experience more parts of life. I don’t know what topics I’ll cover in the future, but I always want my blog to be a reflection of who I am.

11) Name something you can’t live without explain why.

That’s tricky. I don’t think I could live without a notebook and pen–does that count as one thing? I always need to write or draw, whether its for blogging, scheduling or personal things like mood diaries and drawing. I enjoy seeing my growth in written or art form. It’s a reminder of who I am, who I was, and what I am growing into.

Leibster Award Nominee Questions

That wraps up the 11 questions asked to me by the lovely Unfiltered Mama. Now to get into 11 MORE questions for my Liebster Award nominees to answer on their blogs should they accept:

1) Why are you still blogging and what keeps you motivated?

2) How often do you read through your old blog posts?

3) If you could change one thing about the blogging world, what would it be?

4) What is the best experience you have had because of blogging?

5) How to you keep yourself on track with blogging?

6) How do you take care of your mental health and general wellbeing?

7) Pretend you can time-travel. Buuut, you have to pick between going back in time or going forward in time. Which one would you pick?

8) What does your typical day look like?

9) If you could own any animal in the world, what would you pick and why?

10) If you had $10,000 but had to spend it within one day, how would you spend it?

11) What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given?

For these questions to be answered, I of course need to nominate some of my fellow small bloggers (those that have under 200 followers on their blog or social media) ! So I’ve gone through my Bloglovin’ list, my WordPress feed, my Twitter and Instagram feed, and have selected 9 people to receive a Liebster award (because I honestly can’t figure out two more people that have small blogs or small social media accounts). I’ve chosen people whose blogs I love to read and who deserve some recognition!

My Liebster Award nominees. 

1. Doll And Dye (Tori, you have a fabulous sense of style)

2. BeckeyBeHappy (Beckey, your love of Disney is so sweet)

3. Caviar Taste Bologna Budget (Ashley, your money tips are useful)

4. Colfessions (Colette, your Instagram and blog are cute)

5. A Daynna Life (Daynna, I adore your Instagram and your blogs are so open)

6. Beauty In the Six (Sarah, your Insta feed makes me want to buy makeup like crazy)

7. Be Loverly (Kristi Beth, I love your summery blog posts)

8. Jennibearrxo (Jen, your ability to make planners pretty keeps me in awe)

9. Blankets and Tea (Amanda, your lifestyle and recipe posts are awesome)

Hopefully none of you have been doubly nominated! Just remember, if you accept the award you need to fill out the questions, link back to who nominated you for the award (me!), provide 11 more questions for your nominees, and nominate 5 to 11 more people! I hope this helps us all grow together in the blogging community.

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