Elegant Blogger Award

Thursday, September 26, 2013

First of all, thanks Lizzie, for nominating me! :) 




The rules:


  • When you receive the award, link back to keepcalmandsparkle1099.blogspot.com and the blog that nominated you:  His Redeemed Child.
  • Display the award button in the post 
  • Answer all of the 12 questions given in this post (do not make your own questions) 
  • Nominate 8 bloggers (see below)
  • Notify them that they have been awarded.  

The questions:

1.  What made you start blogging?
I started blogging because of a friend, actually. She had a blog and I figured it couldn't hurt to try since I liked writing. I did actually keep a Livejournal account for years and years, but it has since been deleted, something I sort of regret doing because now all of those memories and experiences are lost. Oops! But, I've got new memories with my current blog, and that's enough.

2.  What is your fashion style?
Hmm. I love jeans and sleeveless shirts. Skirts and dresses not so much, but that's only because I never find ones that fit properly. I love the clothing line from Christopher & Banks, so lots of shirts with cute, festive designs on them. I guess you could say I'm casual chic.

3.  What is something none of your followers know about you?
Okay, this is embarrassing, but I can't defrizz my hair. Nothing I try works, and while it's not major frizz, it's enough to be annoying. So, my next step is trying Wen, a product that is supposedly great at quelling the frizz. We'll see.

4.  What are some of your blogging goals?
Well, I'd like to move away from talking about movies and more into my real life. This is why I blog about books, because I love reading, but I'm also planning little posts on ideas for Christmas decorating, hosting afternoon teas, knitting projects, that sort of thing. So, my goal is to be more genuinely me on my blog and let the world take care of itself.

5.  Where is your favorite place to shop?
I LOVE this little shop called Bernideen's in Old Colorado City. She has the cutest, most elegant merchandise, all tea related. She keeps a ton of teacups and pots, clothing and hats from the Titanic era, linens for the table, fancy foods imported from England, paper products from Punch Studio (my favorite line for cards and notebooks), and the coolest selection of antique china. It's just such a cute place, and Bernideen is an absolute doll! I've known her since I was about 16.

6.  What would your ideal amount of blog followers be?
Oh, probably around 50 or so. Although I wouldn't mind more than that, or even less. Right now, I'm quite content with the lovely ladies that make their presence known on my blog. I'm more into the responders than merely the followers. :)

7.  What are your talents?
I'm pretty awesome at knitting socks the four/five needle way. My fiction writing style is pretty active, something I've accomplished after sweating much blood. I can make a success out of almost any new recipe, the old ones, not so much. I'm great at reading, and following, patterns and instructions. You might not think it a talent, but it is, especially when my mother struggles with both patterns and instructions. ;)

8.  Are you a leader or a follower?
I can be either depending on the situation.

9.  What is one of your favorite quotes?
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."

10.  Do you have a favorite book or series?
Lord of the Rings, hands down. Followed a close second by Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness.

11.  Out of all the synonyms for elegant, which would you describe yourself with?  (smart -- stylish -- dressy -- graceful -- dainty -- fine)
Err, this is not an easy question. I am not graceful, although I was when I took ballet classes as a child. Stylish depends on the day. Sometimes I don't even put on makeup! Dainty, nope, never have been, and dressy, definitely not. I guess you could say that I'm smart, at least regarding some things, although I hate to say that because it makes me sound arrogant. So, we'll just go with smart since, frankly, what girl wouldn't want to be placed on that side of elegance?

12.  What is your favorite flower?
Is it bad that I don't have one? I know what ones I don't like. I guess I can just pick cosmos. The ones in our backyard are a lovely blue in the summer and very, very pretty.

I'm not usually comfortable tagging people, but here are the lovely folks whose blogs I consider elegant and delightful and haven't already been tagged.

Sorry that it's not 8 bloggers, but I don't actually follow all that many blogs. Hmm, maybe I should change that. :)

  1. Caitlin
  2. Skye
  3. Birdie
  4. Charity
  5. Marian

14 comments

  1. I enjoyed reading your answers to this tag, Carissa, thanks for joining in!
    Regarding the frizz in your hair, I know what you mean! I still get those little frizzies sometimes when it's really damp and humid, but what really helped tame mine is henna (I wrote a post detailing the wonders of henna here: http://hopefulaspiringhomemaker.blogspot.com/2013/03/henna-hair-heaven.html)

    Your future post ideas sound great, I'm looking forward to it!

    And I love Peretti's "This Present Darkness"! I need to read it again...

    I'm conflicted about tagging people, because I don't want them to feel pressured to participate if they don't want to, but I also don't want to deprive people that I might want to tag in case they do want to participate. That was the reasoning behind my not following the last step. I figured anyone who was interested would read my post and see that they were tagged, and those who hate tags wouldn't bother, and therefore wouldn't know if I tagged them. Hehehe! =D

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    1. Henna sounds interesting and it always makes me think of Lucille Ball. :D I'm glad it works for you.

      This was my first day with Wen and it seems more like a cleansing conditioner for my hair than a shampoo. So, my hair seems a little softer, although I'll wait a few weeks before posting about any long-term results. I just have such nice-colored blonde hair and it irks me that it frizzes!

      I think I'll go with your idea. If people want to respond to my tag, they can choose to do it by reading my blog post. Takes a little bit of the guilt off!

      Have you ever listened to Peretti reading TPD and PTD? He did cassette tapes for both (that shows how long I've loved these books) and for about three years of my life I almost always had one plugged in. It was awesome how he did the voices for everyone and had sound affects, plus you know how he pronounces the names! They're seriously cool and I'm sure they're on CD by now.

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    2. Wen sounds very interesting, I'll be looking out for your long-term results in the future!

      No, I've never heard Peretti reading his books! That would be so cool, though, what could be better than hearing the author read his own stories?!? I'll have to check that out, thanks for telling me!

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    3. The one thing about Peretti reading his books is that he abridged them. Which I really didn't mind all that much, especially since I listened to the stories before I ever read the books. I think I was 13 when I first heard them! And they are brilliant when read by him!

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  2. I usually don’t answer when tagged in my blog itself, but I’ll do it here.

    1. I started blogging because it seemed advantageous toward my goals, I’m very opinionated, and I enjoy discussing ideas with people… up to a point. ;)
    2. What is my fashion style? Casual classy. I like to be comfortable more than fashionable, but also love a good pair of heels.
    3. Something none of my followers know about me (but you already know) – I considered being a marine biologist as a kid, until I realized I’d have to live in Florida and endure heat migraines. Nope.
    4. Blogging goals… to help people understand INTJs better, and to sell books. (I like your ideas for upcoming posts. I look forward to reading them!).
    5. My favorite place to shop is Gordman’s. Love it. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
    6. An ideal number of blog followers would be… some who comment. I care more about conversations of interest than sheer quantity.
    7. What are my talents? Nosing into other people’s business and figuring out how they should be running their lives. LOL Writing fantastic plot twists. Organizing stuff. Meeting deadlines. Loving unlovable cats. Etc.
    8. I must not be a follower, since I have immediate conflict with anyone who tries to “lead” me!! =P
    9. One of my favorite quotes is, “The world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters. We’ve all got both light and dark inside. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” (Sirius Black, Order of the Phoenix.)
    10. My favorite book is Phantom by Susan Kay, my favorite series is either Rowling’s or Sherlock Holmes.
    11. My elegance is probably graceful, since people have complimented me on that before in my hoop dancing.
    12. My favorite flower is a rose.

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    1. You? Opinionated? Never! ;)

      Ah, Gordman's. I love that one too, as you well know.

      Commenting is nice. I've had more participating followers on my blog right now than I've ever had before. It's a lovely feeling.

      Maybe when school is finished I'll re-read HP. Reading it only once means I'm still terribly confused by it all.

      Graceful. Yep, I can see it. You're certainly more graceful than me, although I could practice if I wanted to.

      I'm excited to try some new ideas for posts too. We'll see how that goes. :)

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    2. I know, right? Can't imagine why people think I'm opinionated. ;)

      Frankly, "if you don't get comments -- why do it?" is something I struggle with a lot. It's nice to interact with others. I'm glad you're getting more people commenting now. :)

      I'm on book 6 of my reread, going into Half Blood Prince and remembering the first time I read it -- the weekend the Wroblewski girls came to Colorado. I was up until 3am to finish it before they would arrive on Sunday, and I spent the last hour bawling! Ahh, the good memories.

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    3. At least you have over 400 followers. That's a great step in the right direction. My doubts are that I'm not saying anything people care to hear. But I'm not going to give in to those doubts anymore and just write what makes me happy. :)

      I remember your HBP and Wroblewski story! That will be a goal of mine in the new year, to give the books another read, only slower this time so I remember the details.

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    4. Knowing the end of Rowling's story makes a reader appreciate what brilliance went into crafting those books. She laid down so much groundwork throughout all of them that a casual reader unaware of where it's headed would never pick up on it. I'm in awe of her superb planning skills.

      My blog is linked to my tumblr, so some of those followers are my tumblr followers -- over half, really, so I have fewer subscribers than you might think. But I do get several hundred hits a day, all from people looking at my INTJ-related stuff. So that, at least, is useful to them. =P

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    5. My hits vary depending on what I've written. There are times when I write something insanely popular (i.e. my afternoon tea post has had 367 hits) and other times a post gets only 30 or so hits. Weird!

      It's neat you've found something that works for you, the INTJ posts. And it sounds like it's something your readers are really interested in, me included. It's fun watching some of the eye-opening moments your readers have! ;)

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  3. I enjoyed reading this, and thank you for tagging me! :) Four/five needle knitting is something I've heard of but never tried. Looking forward to reading about your knitting projects!

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    1. It was beyond confusing to use that many knitting needles when I first started making stocks. Now, I LOVE it! Making socks is one of my favorite things.

      And I was thrilled to tag you. :)

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  4. Thanks so much for tagging me, Carissa! My very first Blog Award, woohee!

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Thank you for your kind comments, which I adore!