Liebster Award

Let's talk about me, shall we?  Just kidding, I actually find it kind of awkward to ramble on about myself in my posts, but I do love getting to know people who read my blog (and I also love seeing the real girls behind my favorite blogs), so I thought this little exercise would be worthwhile.

The lovely Colleen over at Day by Day Darling nominated me for the Liebster Award, which I'm sure you've seen floating around.  If you haven't, here's a little recap of what it is:

The Liebster Blog Award is given to bloggers by bloggers as a way to acknowledge each other and say "You're doing a great job."  It is for blogs with 200 or less followers, so it's also a great way to spread the word about smaller blogs and get them more readers and followers.  When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you. You pass the Award onto other blogs (make sure to let them know they were nominated) and ask them 11 questions.  You're not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!  To get the button, just right-click the picture above and save the picture to computer, then upload to your blog as a photo.

So let's have some coffee talk and get to know each other.

It's me!  (and Jason!)

Page break to respect your reader page length!


11 Facts About Me
1.  I love, love, love dill pickles and always have (I would occasionally drink the juice when I was little).  The more vinegary/sour, the better.  Heinz dill are the absolute best - they're so vinegary that Jason won't even eat them.
2.  I've had surgery on my achilles tendon twice (the second time was to fix the first messed up time) and I wish I had never done it.  The first surgery was to fix an annoying bump on my heel, but it really just messed up things in an equally annoying but different way, so it didn't really fix anything at all, and I lost 2 summers to being in a cast/not being able to walk.
3.  I'm addicted to A&E Intervention and Hoarders.  I'll watch TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive too, but it's not as good.
4.  I am extremely organized and think I could be a certified professional organizer in another life (watching Hoarders gave me the idea...)
5.  I love Disney movies - my sisters and I watched Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and Mary Poppins constantly growing up.  I also love Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but it's part Disney so it's more of an honorable mention.
6.  Conversely, I also love horror movies, especially when they have witty/humorous elements (like Shaun of the Dead, the original Scream, etc.)
7.  The only foods I really don't care for are casseroles.  I'm not a fan of various foods randomly mashed into a dish and heated up.  My top hated food is tuna noodle casserole, unfortunately for Jason, who loves it.
8.  In real life, I'm a lawyer.  My actual job is to implement healthcare legislation for an insurance company.
9.  My blog name is taken from my initials - the numbers are the order of my initials in the alphabet - 12 = L, 6 = F.  The "by" just sounded better than any other preposition.
10.  I was born in Indiana.
11.  I am officially part of a Guinness world record - most people wearing sunglasses at night, achieved when I went to see the Blues Brothers at Wrigley Field this summer!
(12.  I really prefer the #12 over 11)

11 Questions for Me (as posted by Day by Day Darling)

1.  What is your favorite season and why?
Spring!  I think it's because I don't love winter and hate being cold/missing the sun, so when the warm weather starts rolling around and things start blooming again and the sun is out, I just feel joyous and like anything is possible.  It's possible that I have SADD...

2.  If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
Hmmm... tough one.  According to #10, below, the answer is definitely Ireland.  I'm torn though, because I've really missed Greece since Jason and I went there on our honeymoon a few years ago.  Can I just say "Europe" and then secretly plan to travel to as many countries as possible?  No?  Okay, then I'll go with Ireland.

3.  What is your favorite meal?
I have a really hard time choosing "favorites" of anything - food, music, movies.  I love so many things that I just can't commit.  One of my top 5 would definitely have to be summer grilling staples - burgers/dogs, my mom's potato salad and baked beans, and homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

4.  Are you a pants or skirt/dress kind of gal?
Like any good Libra, I'm all about balance - I would say I wear and love them about equally.

5.  If you could live in any other time period, which would it be?
Such a tough question - I'm definitely a nostalgic historian (have you seen Midnight in Paris???  Loved it!), so every era seems so wonderful in some ways.  I think I can narrow it down to three (1) the late 50s, right around when there were so many movements just bubbling under the surface of American culture and when entertainment, technology, and life were a bit simpler (also, early Mad Men fashion!); (2) the 20s, with flappers, Prohibition, and the beginning of American cinema; (3) the American Wild West in the mid1800s - something about being a pioneer in the last frontier seems really exciting and real, doesn't it?  I could go on and on with medieval European times, Paris in any era, California during the surf culture 60s, etc.  So many cool times in history!

6.  What is one trend you just can't get on board with?
Peplum.  Sorry guys, you won't see it here.  I can agree that it looks cute in editorials or on a red carpet dress, but I fail to see its usefulness or appropriateness for any real-life situation.  I also don't love neon, I hate flatforms, I will never wear fake glasses, I think high-waisted daisy dukes look like diapers, and crop tops were bad enough back when Britney Spears wore them.  Mostly I hate trends that are made to be around for 5 minutes because they seem like such a shameless way to promote thoughtless consumerism at the expense of flattering, approachable fashion.  I don't want to spend money on anything I won't wear again, and all of these fit under that umbrella.

7.  What is your must-have item for fall?
A navy blazer!!!  Followed closely by a legit pair of rich brown leather riding boots.  Also, an animal sweater, loafers, and new Toms (see part 1 of my fall wish list here!)

8.  Dogs or cats?
Dogs!  I don't have any, but I really want one!  I do like kitties also, but I'm seriously allergic.  I'm also allergic to many dog breeds, but not all of them bother me, so I'm really hoping to find a special pet one day that doesn't want to make my skin bleed.  Fingers crossed!

9.  Must-have beauty item?
Just one???  I guess I'll keep the longer list to a separate, future post - for now I'll say mascara.  Specifically, CoverGirl lash blast in the orange tube.

10.  What is the #1 item on your bucket list?
Go to Ireland!

11.  Why did you start a blog?
I was interested in clothes and fashion and wanted a way to connect with other people who are also into it since I don't have many friends that are.  I also wanted a creative outlet away from my not-very-creative job, a way to talk about this without boring my husband to death (and futilely hoping for more in depth conversation than "you look great"), and a hobby for the sometimes stir-crazy winter months in Chicago when there's not much to do outside and Jason is busy with tax season's crazy hours.

(12 - Why do I prefer 12 over 11?  Because 6 is my favorite/lucky number, I prefer even numbers, and 12 is an even multiple of 6.  Obviously.)

And now for my nominations...  I'm sure some of these gals have already been nominated because they're such great chicks, so if you don't want to re-do your Liebster Award on your blog, feel free to just answer these questions in the comments - I'd still love to get to know all of you better!  Also, apologies if you have over 200 followers - I didn't spend a ton of time trying to figure it out.  So without further ado, here are 6 blogs that I read because they have inspired me, continue to inspire me, and are written by some of the coolest, realest girls I've seen on these crazy internets.

1.  Franziska at Franishh

2.  Bria at Work Clothes, I Suppose

3.  Nikki at Bedazzles After Dark

4.  Amber at Real Girl Glam

5.  Nic at My Manners and Moxie

6.  Catherine at Small Town, Big Wardrobe

11 Questions for You
(remember to answer these questions in addition to posting 11 random facts about yourself, then post 11 new questions for your nominees!)

1.  What's your favorite ice cream?
2.  What is your most treasured childhood memory?
3.  What 3 beauty items  would you bring with you on a deserted island?
4.  If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?
5.  Most hated trend(s) of all time?
6.  Do you prefer heels or flats?
7.  What color shoes are you wearing right now?
8.  Scary movies or happy endings?
9.  Favorite vacation?
10.  Where were you born?
11.  Why did you start a blog?  (I liked Colleen's question!)
(12 - What's your favorite/lucky number and why?)  You don't have to answer #12 if you don't want to, but I'd sure like to know :)