A Leibster Award! Woo-hoo!

So, YAY!!!  Thanks to Kristi over at Making it in the Mountains, I was nominated for a Leibster award!   This is an award for new blogs, given by new blogs and is a fantastic way to discover and connect with new people in the blogosphere.

The rules are as follows…

– Answer the questions you were given
– Nominate 11 new blogs with 500 followers or less  (For several blogs, I had to guess, so if I nominated you and you have more than 500 followers… First off, Kudos!  They follow you for a reason.  Second, sorry for underestimating.  Third, I like your blog, too!) 🙂
– Post 11 questions for your nominees to answer
– Tag your nominees and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been nominated

 

Kristi’s questions for me to answer are as follows…

1. How long have you been blogging?

I’ve been blogging since early September.  I still feel like a total newbie.  🙂

2. What made you decide to start your own blog?

I DESPERATELY needed an outlet for all of my DIY adventures.  Seriously, “obsession” was an understatement.   All I wanted to talk about was my projects, so I decided that a blog would be a great way for me to get it all out, but give people the option as to whether they wanted to read about it or not.

3. What is your favorite thing to write about?

I LOVE before and afters.   I think one of the most satisfying things is to be able to compare and see concrete evidence of all of the hard work put into a project.  That’s a big reason why I included “befores” in my house tour page.  Even though some of our rooms may look crazy now, they look leaps and bounds from their before pics.

4. Do you have a day job in addition to blogging?

I do.  I work 24 hours per week as an Oncology Dietitian. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.

5. If you could pick any other city to live in, where would it be?

This isn’t a city, but I would live in Italy.  Anywhere in Italy.  I visited once and it was the most amazing place I’ve ever been.   Absolutely gorgeous.  And, the food.  Oh holy crow, THE FOOD.  It was so fresh and incredible.  And having Celiac Disease, I can say that I ate out every meal and felt amazing the entire time.   Never got even slightly sick once.

6. What’s your favorite blog?

Young House Love.   It’s my guilty pleasure.  The first DIY blog I’d ever read and the one that basically inspired me to start my own blog.   I wanna be their friends.

7. Does anyone in your personal life know that you blog?

Oh, yeah.  Everyone does.   I haven’t started a Facebook page for my blog yet (although, I probably should), so I’ve just been sharing my posts on my personal page.

8. Where do you see your blog in one year?

I see it where it currently is content-wise.  I’m happy with the system I’ve got going and the posts I’ve published.  I honestly only started this blog as a hobby, so although recognition and popularity would be nice, I’m content whether I achieve that or not.  My goal to create an outlet is one that I accomplish every time I hit “publish”.

9. Three favorite online shopping websites.

– Craigslist (although, technically it isn’t a shopping website, per se)

– Joss & Main

– Amazon

10. From who, what or where does your blogging inspiration come?

Other blogs, Pinterest, random thrift store or Craigslist finds, and my crazy brain.  I’m sure there’s way more… I feel like I get inspiration from many sources, but those are the main ones.

11. What is the best thing about you?

Oh, geez… Ummm….  Well, good question.   I guess it’s that I’m very task-oriented.  I never (and I mean NEVER) leave projects unfinished.   Sometimes they get delayed for various reasons, but I can’t think of one that I’ve started but not completed in some way, shape or form.  And if a project doesn’t turn out how I wanted, I try to reutilize it in another way so that it doesn’t go to waste.

So, with my questions answered, I would like to introduce my nominees…

For the love of DIY

Urban hippies

Daniel McGregor

Hamonious 

Nats About DIY 

Home for Now

Starting out southern

Practically Revived

Empty Nest Remodelers

Pretty Four Walls 

The Hamby Home

 

And since Kristi’s questions were so good, I’m simply gonna continue her legacy by asking my nominees the same questions…

1. How long have you been blogging?

2. What made you decide to start your own blog?

3. What is your favorite subject to write about?

4. Do you have a day job in addition to blogging?

5. If you could pick any other city to live in, where would it be?

6. What’s your favorite blog?

7. Does anyone in your personal life know that you blog?

8. Where do you see your blog in one year?

9. What are your three favorite online shopping websites?

10. From who, what or where does your blogging inspiration come?

11. What is the best thing about you?

 

So, congrats to all of my nominees!  Keep up the good work, so I can selfishly continue to enjoy your blogs. And if you choose to accept this nomination, please tag this post when you publish yours.  Thanks for rocking!! 🙂

 

What do you get when you cross two Christmas trees with an orchid?

Answer: Our front porch.

This weekend, I spent the bulk of my time working on refinishing the foyer cabinets.  So, our house currently looks like this…

Note:  I tried to get Lucas to smile, but he decided to pull a Joey instead (what with the silly-face).  Not kidding.  My attempts at smileage are as follows…

Heehee!  Boys.

Anyways, with all this chaos inside, I decided that a quick update outside was just the ticket to bring the front porch into spring.   Which was desperately needed, since, well… 

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Yeah.  We’re those neighbors.

Those neighbors who have fake poinsettias displayed on the porch until March. It could be worse, though. There could be an inflatable Santa in our rocker.  But, fortunately, there is not.  Mainly because I’d never buy one. Nothing against inflatable Santas. They just creep me out slightly. Something about watching Toy Story too many times.

Anyhoo, it was time to change it up.   And I had one goal:

Spend Zero Dollahs.
(Aka, Use Whatchya Got.)

And what I got was these…

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Two faux Christmas trees. I bought them on clearance for $3 a piece from Kroger a few months ago. I know. It sounds absurd.  DeChristmasing the porch with Christmas trees. I feel ridiculous typing this. Yet, I did it anyways….

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I’m hoping they look more like topiaries since I simply dropped them all the way into my planters. I *may* be kidding myself, though. I realize this. But, it’s okay. They’re better than the poinsettias, in my opinion.

As for the frame wreath, it’s now been adapted for Fall (read the full tutorial for how I made it here), jazzed up for Christmas, and now dressed up for Spring…

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I simply removed the previous burlap, secured a few fake orchid stalks using some floral wire that I had in my craft box. Then, I tied some more burlap ribbon around the base. Easy. And freeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I have to say, I love our frame wreath.  I’m cheap (as most of you know), and when it comes to our front porch, I’m pretty lazy as well.  It’s funny.  I’ll work my tush off for interior decor or for our back patio, but somehow our front porch seems to get neglected.  The frame wreath has proven versatile and easy to alter according to the season without a big to-do, which is exactly what I need.

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So, there you have my free, quickie (non-Christmasy?) porch makeover.  Wish me luck with the cabinets.  It may take me all week to scrape the excess paint from the plexiglass without causing scratches.  I need all the moral support I can get.  I hope everyone has a great Monday! 🙂