Leibster Award

Hello everyone I am so excited to do today's post so let's get started! :)

Image by How To Run In Stilettos. Find it, here.

I was recently nominated for the Leibster award and couldn't be happier to participate in this little internet recognition! Thanks so much to Morgan @ Me and My House for the nomination. :) Morgan was a part of the Blog Every Day in May Challenge that I participated in and she is just one of the many awesome bloggers that I got to link-up with in May!

Here is a little bit about the Liebster award courtesy of Morgan's blog post on the whole affair:

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.

Here are the rules for receiving this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people to nominate and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

Now that the scene is set, here we go!

11  random things about me:

1. I'm obsessed with Hello Kitty.
2. I used to be a wild child, but now I'm a homebody. 
3. I speak Spanish and Russian.
4. My dream is to master the fishtail braid.
5. I'm a black belt in Taekwondo.
6. I make sure to eat everything...TWICE, just to make sure.
7. You can always count on me to lose my chapstick.
8. I am addicted to working out and have to get my fix at least 6 times a week. I'm a freak, I know.
9. I can't cartwheel. 
10. I love to cook and am happy spending time in the kitchen.

Questions by Morgan:

1. Who inspires you the most?
Abraham Lincoln...I'm not even kidding, ok, also Cassey Ho @ Blogilates. I have a wide range of interests. :)

2. What is your earliest memory?
Sitting at my grandmother's playing with a doll that she sewed for me. My grandma didn't put any hair on it so I used a green marker to draw it on. I miss that doll!

3. What is your worst habit?
I'm totally that person that is all I'll be there in 10 minutes when I haven't even left my apartment!

4. Something you can't leave the house without?
MY CHAPSTICK....which I have misplaced...which is why I'm late!

5. What is something your readers would be surprised to know about you?
I'm an avid sci-fi geek and used to be a hardcore raider in World of Warcraft. Yea, that's right!

6. Your favorite food?
Beef Pho is the best food in the entire world...HANDS DOWN.

7. A perfect night out...
Good food and drinks with my best friends in the entire world...too bad that I'm an ocean away. :(

8. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
Vietnam because I am pretty sure that I would die from happiness from all of the food.

9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully, I will be finishing my doctorate in 19th century American History. *crosses fingers*

10. If your life were a musical, what song would you choose as your big solo?

 

I am such a Tejana....I would gladly have my big solo be to St. Selena!

11. Your favorite blog?
Right now my absolute FAVORITE blog has to be The Nectar Collective. If you haven't already head on over to  Melyssa's blog and prepare to fall in love!

Questions for Nominees: 

1. Where did you grow up?
2. Your house is on fire and you have time to grab ONE thing. What do you grab?
3. What's your biggest guilty pleasure?
4. What is one of your talents? 
5. What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail?
6. Where is your favorite place in all of the world?
7. The craziest thing you have ever done?
8. Have you been in love?
9. What is a piece of wisdom you would like to share?
10. Why do you blog?

My Nominees:
The Style Dunce
GlitznGrits
Poppy the Blog 
Life of the Lane
NewlyMynted
A Fanciful Creature
CityGirl Searching
Thirdbite
Ink + Adventure
Desperate English Teachers
The Zale in Vail

I really love each and every one of these blogs for separate reasons and I am so excited to spread the Leibster love! 

Have a happy day and hooray for internet awards! :)

Day 12: BEDM Challenge I miss you, Gidget Marie

Day 12 of the BEDM challenge has arrived and I am happy to announce that today's prompt was much easier to write than yesterday! Hurray! It's the small things in life that make this girl's life a happy one. Here is today's prompt:

What do you miss?

When I first saw this prompt a million things ran through my head because when you live abroad there are many, many, MANY things that you end up missing. When I thought about what I have sighed over the most the answer was easy, my fur baby. 

Gidget Marie. 

My pretty little puppy is now 7 years old and I have had her in my life since I was 20. I was Gidget's third owner in a year and took over her care when a couple of my friends had to get rid of her. I was a little dubious about owning a dog since I had considered myself a cat person, but I couldn't bear to let her go to a shelter since no one else had stepped forward to take her. 

So Gidget came to live with me and the rest is history. I gave her the pretty middle name of Marie, slept in the same bed, and bought her any Halloween costume that I thought she absolutely needed.  I love my baby so much, and Gidget was even the deciding factor in me realizing that there might be something worth exploring when I had just started dating, Rich, my husband. He once walked her in her lobster Halloween costume because it was the warmest thing he could find on a freezing winter day. He did this in full uniform and on the busiest street in town. Yea, he won me over with that one.

On our last visit home we assumed our very best Sear's family portrait pose, notice how Gidget is ASLEEP.

Gidget was a shy little thing that was frightened of nearly everything and had been bullied by bigger dogs until I got her. I did my best to rehabilitate her, (think a sassier version of Cesar Milan) loved her and apparently she took on my personality. After a short time with me Gidget became known as the "forest warrior" at the dog park. I love my baby and I can't wait until I get to see her everyday. 

Gidget relaxing in the shade afer slaying the wilds of Kansas. ISN'T SHE THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD?!

It's been too long since I have gotten to see my dog's pretty furry face and I can't tell you how much I miss her. Now that you know what I miss the most what do you miss the most? Is there a particular thing that you just wouldn't be able to do without?

Things I love: Inspiration

Today I wanted to share some beautiful inspiration in the form of three lovely desktop wallpapers. I constantly have my mac open and I always appreciate a fresh, monthly background to help keep my creative side happy. Here is a little round-up for my top 3 desktop wallpapers/designers for April. I can always count on these ladies to deliver and I am a regular user and fan of their work!

Oana Befort is a talented designer, photographer, blogger, and all around crafty lady! Whenever I need a little inspiration I can hit Oana's blog and find something to get me feeling creative. Plus, she is wonderful at sharing her talent in great freebies! I am excited to share her April background with all of you and I hope you all fall in love with her work just like I have.

My current background!

August Every Month is a stunning blog run by Samantha August, a very talented designer with an eye for photography and fashion. August Every Month has a special place in my heart and I make sure to swing by regularly to see what new pretties Samantha has shared.

Going Home to Roost is a new favorite of mine and since finding it I have happily spent more than a little time (HOURS) going through all of the great content on the blog. Bonnie runs Going Home to Roost and she has a definite talent for design, crafting, and food! I recently joined her Roost Tribe, and I beyond excited to see what I will learn and who I will meet as a result.

I hope that you all enjoy this sample of my favorite internet inspiration, and most of all I hope that you take the time to swing by each of these talented ladies' blogs and fall in love just like I have.

Adventures: Trick Eye Museum in Seoul

I am going to share a little about a weekend outing that Rich and I took to the Trick Eye Museum in Hongdae! Rich and I were rearing to go this weekend and had originally planned to spend our Saturday soaking up nature, but some unfortunate weather moved into the area and made the day rather bleak. Undeterred we decided to make the best of our day and headed inside for a fun visit to the Trick Eye Museum in Seoul, or Santorini Seoul.

We started the day in typical Waygook fashion and got lost shortly after leaving the subway. Doh! I made the mistake of following the Korea Tourism directions...do not do this if you want to get to the museum in a timely manner, and are not that familiar with Hongdae.

LUCKILY, Rich is a savant with directions and maps and got us back on track, which was wonderful since it was FREEZING outside.

Santorini Seoul is located in Hongdae, not to be confused with the Santorini Seoul Greek restaurant in Itaewon. The museum is fairly easy to get to (with proper directions..DON'T JUDGE ME!) and costs 13,000 won for admission, there are 3 separate galleries for you to visit and a small hall of mirrors. I will say that it was a rather small museum and so getting to all of the 3D paintings was a bit tricky, so if you visit the museum make sure to have some patience with you.
 

Here are some photos of our favorite exhibits

Rich and I had a blast at the museum and we thought it was well worth the price even with our initial stint getting lost. I really enjoyed it and I am happy to have finally crossed it off my list of things to do in Seoul. I would definitely recommend this for both a date or group activity, and especially for breaking up the cabin fever feeling that can come with bad weather.

Here is a really great map that I found on how to reach the museum from either Hapjung station or Hongik station....I wish I had found this earlier! When you come to the museum it will be in the basement of the building so just keep an eye out for the museum signs!

Here is the museum website http://trickeye.com/English/index.php

The museum is open from 10am to 9pm everyday, which is AWESOME, especially for the teachers in Seoul who might want to swing by after work.

Have a wonderful day and keep an eye out for new vintage items in the shop! We had a great photo shoot today and will be adding some real beauties very soon.

Things I love: Modcloth!!!

It has been over a WEEK since I posted....which seems like a lifetime, but it couldn't be helped. I caught a particularly nasty stomach flu and was down for the count all of last week. I didn't go outside or talk to anyone the entire time since I was so drained, and I cannot tell you how happy I am to be getting around again!

Hooray for health!

A while back....a VERY LONG while back...I was lucky enough to snap up one of Modcloth's stylish surprises! I had no idea what I would be getting and my mind ran rampant with what kind of goodies could be in store for me.

The long awaited day came and I won't lie to you. I was a tad disappointed...AT FIRST.

I ended up getting a sheer mustard yellow hi-low button-up top. I pulled it out of the box and was kinda of like...that's it? 

The top is soft and flowy, but I am not really a fan of flowy or baggy clothing because not too long ago I lost around 40lbs. When I lost the weight I had a wardrobe full of baggy clothing that didn't fit right. Because of my own history I was tempted to toss the item back into the box and call it a day, but I decided to REALLY look at the item and think about what it could BE.

Modcloth's stylish surprise challenged me to step away from my specific likes and to experiment with things I owned to create an outfit that I loved. It was really fun going through my closet with fresh eyes and on a mission. Overall, I would recommend the stylish surprise because you never know what you are getting and if anything it's fun to play dress up to find the right look.

Here is what I came up with. 

I really liked the top when I added it over a simple black dress with a crisscross back. When the weather is warmer I will be taking this look out for a fun date night look. 

I also wanted to try and play up the pretty color and collar of this top so I slipped it beneath a little peplum lace blazer that I own. I was really pleased with the pop of color and the overall look of the top underneath the blazer. This isn’t all I have come up with for this little number from Modcloth! I have some ideas of pairing it with a high-waist skirt and I can see it underneath a slouchy sweater as well.

When you feel like you have nothing to wear remember to look at your closet with FRESH eyes. With a little thought and some playing around you will be able to utilize pieces in new and interesting ways this year!
Keep your eyes open for a shop update in the near future and have wonderful day!

 

Things I love: My kids

I just want to take a moment to have a proud mamma moment.
I LOVE MY KIDS!

No, they aren't REALLY my kids, but they may as well be. Until recently I have been teaching English at a nearby hagwon or private school and during my time as a teacher I fell absolutely in love with my kiddos.

I used to be scared of little kids. They are so small and fragile looking and I was really nervous about being responsible for an entire classroom. My nervousness and anxiety about being  left alone with a room full of children dissolved almost instantly.

I couldn't help myself. I absolutely fell in love with each of them. I won't lie 10 five year-olds or 8 nine year-olds can be incredibly difficult to control with all the mood swings and tantrums, but I learned how to set boundaries and be firm while showing them all the love I could muster. The end result was all the love and hugs that I could handle on a daily basis Mon-Fri. 

Being a teacher was great, but the sense of fulfillment and direction that these kids have given my life is amazing. Even though I don't teach there anymore I have made sure to go to see them regularly and I can't believe how big they are getting! Teaching children was a new experience for me, served to make me into a better teacher, and has only furthered my desire to get my PhD.

Moral of the story: Kids rock! Also, I got baby fever, whoops.

Things I love: Daven Your Crazy Hair BFF!!

When it comes to hair tutorials, Daven Your Crazy Hair BFF!! IS SIMPLY AMAZING! I stumbled across Daven's channel from my makeup favorite, Michelle Phan's youtube channel. On par with Michelle Phan's level of detail and insturction, Daven's tutorials are funny, easy, and extremely helpful for mastering new hair techniques.

Daven Mayeda's youtube channel is the thing of hair dreams! Subscribe to this hair guru from Hollywood's channel and your locks will never look better! In this video Daven gives some wonderful instruction on how to get the most use out of your standard curling iron. I have tried all of the methods with my own curling iron and I couldn't be more pleased!

I hope you get the most out of this tutorial and happy curling!

If you want more Daven Mayeda in your life visit his amazing blog, the Daven blog, here.