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ˆˆˆ that's my liebster award victory dance ˆˆˆ

the other day i was blogging about when i saw that amia from teapots and belles nominated me for a liebster award! i was so excited and it made me feel so special to get nominated! a big thanks to amia and make sure you check out her cute blog :)

so if you haven't heard of the liebster award, this is how it works...
this award recognizes new, small blogs and helps yours and other blogs to get more promotion and recognition.

here are the rules for the nominees:

1. post 11 things about yourself
2. answer the 11 questions created by the person who nominated you
3. create 11 questions of your own to ask the bloggers to nominate
4. choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers to nominate and link them on your blog post
5. bloggers must be notified of their award!
6. no tag backs!

(is anyone else wondering when 11 became the number to be??)

eleven things about myself:

1. i really want a giant continental rabbit.
2. sometimes i think it would be awesome to be a famous blogger and other times i think, 'holy crap, i hope no one actually reads this.'
3. i have a real addiction to chapstick. when i go anywhere i always make sure i have three things with me: chapstick, my wallet, & my cellphone. in that order.
4. nicolaus and i already have all of our future kids' names picked out.
5. my biggest pet peeve is when book covers change to the movie design after it's made into a movie.
6. the thought of losing memories terrifies me. maybe that's why i like blogging so much?
7. i think pinning qualifies as a hobby.
8. my family moved from south africa to the u.s. when i was two but i wish i had been older so i could have kept the accent.
9. i have so many nicknames i can hardly keep track...they range from shubs to sloop to boonkalonks to chayla.
10. belgian waffles are my favorite food.
11. i'm really easily amused. like i laugh at almost everything.

eleven questions from amia:

1. what is your favorite movie? why?
i have way too many favorite movies, but if i had to choose just one i think it would have to be breakfast club. i'm always in the mood to watch it and every time i do, i think it's hilarious and heartwarming and i love every second of it. plus nicolaus and i love to quote it to each other.

2. if you could be any person for a day at any point in history, who would you be?
if i could only be them for a day...hmm...i don't know, there would be a lot of cool people to be for a day, but for some reason the first one that came to mind was jimi hendrix when he played the national anthem at woodstock. ha, somewhat bizarre i know, but how much fun would that be? it's a secret fantasy of mine to be a musician. it's too bad i'm challenged in every way when it comes to instrument playing or singing...

3. what is your favorite book/s?
my all-time favorite book is catcher in the rye. close runner-ups are the perks of being a wallflower and on the road. but i'm also i sucker for a good series...like harry potter or the girl with the dragon tattoo.

4. are you really outgoing or really reserved?
it totally depends on the situation. if i'm at a party with no one i know then i'm definitely going to be the girl sitting awkwardly in the corner not talking to anyone. but if i'm with family or close friends i'll be the girl who never shuts up...haha maybe i need to work on finding a happy medium?

5. favorite childhood memory?
i have so many. i really loved my childhood. but probably just all the hours playing outside...building tree forts, stealing/losing my brother's bow and arrow, swimming in my neighbor's pool, playing in my sandbox, feeding the horses across the street, planting giant sunflowers, selling otterpops....and doing all of these things with lauren, who's still one of my very best friends!

6. are you an early bird or a night owl?
well i love my sleep so it really just depends. if i go to bed early then i love to wake up early. and if i go to bed late then i love to stay up late. but i'm definitely a lot more productive in the morning/daytime then i am really anytime after 8 pm. after that i'm basically only good for watching an entire season of something, kickin it with friends or online shopping.

7. do you have any secret talents?
i'm double jointed! as in can pop out my shoulder blades. like a lion. it's pretty weird..and yes when i was a child i would always crawl around, pretending to be nala, popping out those blades like nobody's business.

8. if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
this is a really tough one. because i want to go to every single continent/country/city/town in the entire world. but if i were to plan a trip of my choice right now it would probably be to bali, indonesia.

9. do you ever wish you could live in a different time period? if so, when?
definitely the 1970's. i have this strange fascination/obsession with anything hippie. that doesn't mean i would be all for the free love/hallucinogens....but i just love all the music/clothing/art from that decade.

10. what is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
i have so many nice people in my life who have done so many nice things for me...but one of my favorite nice things memories was when i was going through a particularly stressful family/friend/school time and nicolaus picked me up from school and told me he was declaring it "shayla appreciation day." and we spent the whole evening/night going places and doing whatever i felt like.

11. why did you start your blog?
i first started it when two of my best friends were leaving for a study abroad in london, so we could keep up on each others lives. then i didn't blog for a solid year and a half...oops, ha...then as a newlywed i decided i may as well jump on the bandwagon and document all of our adventures and whatnot. and it really has become a great outlet for all sorts of things. plus a good excuse to take pictures!

questions for my nominees:

1. what was the first record/tape/cd you owned?
2. if you could go to dinner with anybody alive today (that you don't know), who would it be?
3. when you're asked to introduce yourself to a new group of people and are supposed to tell one thing about yourself, what do you say?
4. what's your favorite form of social media: blogging, instagram, facebook, or twitter? why?
5. if you could only shop at one clothing store/website for the rest of your life what would it be?
6. what was your favorite childhood movie?
7. what is the weirdest nickname that you've ever been called?
8. what is the best meal you've ever had?
9. what is your favorite school subject and why?
10. if you could live in any country right now, where would it be?
11. johnny depp or brad pitt? from the 90's of course.

my 11 nominees:

1. kerry from kerry's world
2. ashley from maddoxing
3. beth from you had me at oh hey
4. jessica from malt memories
5. nataly from art fawn
6. carissa from fountain of youth
7. kylie from midnight & dawn
8. shelby from a day in the life
9. cynthia from a lion hearted girl
10. meghan from shake, rattle & ramble
11. tereza from tarino bambino

p.s. it was tough to keep it to just 11 nominees/blogs with less than 200 followers,
but hope you enjoy discovering some new blogs :)