Hello, hello!

I would apologize for my long absence away from these bumblings. But the truth is that I have been spending so much time working on my graduate studies, exploring and settling into a new city and trying to figure out what I want to do with this site that I have neglected it.

But hello, anyway! And with this hello to break the radio/blogosphere/whatever silence, I am happy to say that I have been nominated for a Liebster Award by not one but two different lovely ladies!

The fantastic Angelica over at Brooklyn Chick Travels (and a co-worker for Go! Girl Guides) nominated me, and before I got my shiz together to write up a post for it, my phenomenal friend Tarreyn at Tarreynland did, too! Thanks so much to both of these women, whose blogs are very fun!

What is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to other bloggers with a certain number of followers (depending on when this happens and who you ask, it ranges from 200-3,000 but it’s not a science; I chose bloggers who had fewer than 1,000 Facebook likes) in order to promote new or up-and-coming blogs.

As a nominee, I answer a series of questions from those who nominated me, and then elect a few other bloggers I admire to keep the blog lovin’ going around. They answer the questions I pose for them. Pretty great, huh?

Since I’ve been a lazy blogger, I have not one but two sets of questions to answer!

Here we go!

Questions from Angelica

When was the earliest trip you have taken?

Oh, man. I’ve been traveling and going on trips to visit family in the US or to a friend’s beach house in Mexico since I can remember, but the first trip I really remember being excited for was when I was six or seven. All our parents told my brother and me was that we were going to visit some of their “old friends,” so I thought we were going to New Jersey, where my dad grew up. Instead, we went to Disneyland!

Which country/destination have you visited the most times?

Italy, for sure. I think I’ve spent at least a year there in total over the many times I’ve visited.

Do you know another language besides English?

Yup! I love learning languages. I speak intermediate Spanish and pretty advanced Italian (although I am starting to forget it–must practice!) I try to learn at least basic phrases (please, thank you, where is, my name is) for all the countries I visit, so I remember random words in a bunch of other languages. But Spanish and Italian are my main ones.

Where did you grow up and do you still live there? If you have moved, where are you now?

I grew up in the beautiful Sonoran Desert, in Tucson. I still consider it my home and return often, but I live in Pittsburgh, PA now.

What is your favorite activity to do while vacationing?

Eat. No contest.

How do you inspire others to travel?

I like to think that I inspire others to travel by being encouraging. I’m not the most courageous girl out there, so I figure if I can do it, other people can, too! And travel doesn’t have to be flying thousands of miles away–there are so many magical and interesting things in our own backyards that we take for granted.

Where and when is your next trip?

Technically, my next trip is in about 10 days, when I go home to the desert. But I will be going to a brand-new place for a job later this summer, in Virginia; hopefully my next international trip will be next summer! I’ll be saving the dough for it.

Name something off your bucket list you have yet to cross off.

Ooh. I am not good at keeping track of things like that. I would love to see the Northern Lights at some point, that’s one.

Have you ever volunteered or studied abroad? How was it?

Yes! I studied abroad in Orvieto, Italy, and it was life-changing. To try to put it into words really would be foolish, so I’ll leave it at that. 🙂

Is there a country you would like to move to in the future and live in for a while?

There are a few I wouldn’t mind moving to and staying for awhile. I really loved Ireland and wouldn’t mind spending some more time there.

Questions from Tarreyn

What inspired you to begin blogging?

I started blogging as a way for my family to see what I was up to during study abroad. As travel became more and more part of my life, I decided to try to make it more helpful for other travelers, too (or at least entertaining).

What’s your favorite thing about blogging?

Not that right now would be any indication of this, seeing as I’ve been so bad about posting this year, but I really do enjoy thinking of ways to share my journeys and the fun and exciting things I see and experience with others. And that goes both ways–I’ve gotten sooo many great tips from other bloggers while reading their blogs!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The first thing that comes to mind is “pack light.” And I guess I could extend this metaphor to life, too; try not to let your baggage weigh you down and prevent you from hopping onto trains and saying yes to adventures. Or something.

What famous person has your dream wardrobe?

Hmmm…that’s hard, because I dress quite more for comfort than anything else, but do love colors and prints when I find them. But if we’re talking dream wardrobe, I’m going to go with JLaw–she can do casual but also knocks it out on the red carpet.

 

What 3 songs can you not stop listening to right now? 

Ok, honestly it’s not that I can’t stop listening to it but “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from Frozen is stuck in my head ALL THE TIME.(Love this live version, makes me adore Kristen Bell even more.)

Seriously. All the time.

I’m digging “Team” by Lorde right now, and it’s been a few months or so since I’ve played this on repeat but I still love “Say Something” by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera. (Clearly I don’t listen to the radio very much, just leave it to Pandora to work her magic…)

Who are your favorite characters currently on TV? 

There’s a lot of good TV on right now. I’d say top 5 are Dr. Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project, most of the cast of New Girl (yes, counting them as a unit), Ron Swanson of Parks & Rec, Sansa Stark and Podrick Payne are my favorite Game of Thrones cast members this week but that varies.

I also want to say that, although I don’t yet have a favorite character for this show (thanks for killing him off in like week two, writers), I am kind of obsessing over the new CW show, The 100. Maybe I should feel bad about that because I’m an adult and all, but I don’t.

What food could you eat every day?

Fresh mango.

If you could take a trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

Right now, it would probably be a beach on a Greek island, because I have a lot of summer reading to do and I want to soak up as much sunshine and hear waves crashing while reading it.

If you could magically be incredibly good at any skill overnight, what would it be?

Playing the guitar.

What’s your favorite quote?

I love quotes and don’t know that I could ever choose just one, but here’s one of my favorites: “By the side of the everlasting Why there is a Yes–a transitory Yes if you like, but a Yes.” -E.M. Forster, A Room With a View

My nominees!

I’m happy to nominate the following bloggers/vloggers for Liebsters. Some of them have been around a while and some have not, but all of them are awesome:

Jessica at Barcelona Blonde (formerly Hello, Yessica)

Cat at Wicked and Weird Around the World

Steph at A Nerd at Large

Lisa at Ella Coquine

Chrystal at Chrystal-Clear Travel

My questions for them

1. What’s your favorite way to start the day?

2. What book or movie do you return to again and again?

3. What’s your must-have in an airplane carry-on?

4. Where have you watched your favorite sunset or sunrise?

5. If aliens were to land in your hometown and you could take them to see one thing, what would it be?

6. If you had to pick a new year’s resolution today, what would it be?

7. What’s one thing you wish you had known about blogging before starting your own blog?

8. If you could cook any dish perfectly, what would it be?

9. If you could choose a superpower that you could only use on weekends (maybe this makes a difference?), what would it be?

10. What’s your recipe for combating homesickness while you’re on the road?

 

Thanks again to Tarreyn and Angelica for nominating me!