Liebster Award

Ah, the Liebster award…it seems to be going around the internet again, and I’m finally playing along!!

The Liebster is an award for bloggers with 500 or less followers as a way to get to know each other and build a blogging community.
Here are the rules:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you. 
• Answer the 11 questions you're given. 
• Nominate 11 other new bloggers with less than 500 followers. 
• Post 11 questions for your nominees to answer. 
• Tag you nominees and leave them a comment on their blog so they know that you nominated them.

Talented Ashley, from The Honest Room, nominated me (thank you, thank you!) and posed a few questions I’ll attempt to answer here.

1. How long have you been blogging?  I started blogging in 2011, but only really got into posting regularly in the fall/winter of 2013.
2. Why did you start blogging? Has it turned out to be what you expected? I discovered the world of DIY/home blogs in 2009 and loved being a spectator then, but as time went on and we had lots of projects going on in our home, I wanted to join the community!  I also wanted to journal our home and life for me.  As far as expectations--it has taken longer to feel a  part of a community than I thought it might, though a lot of that was due to not really commenting on others’ blogs and not joining linky parties (I didn’t even know what a linky party really was about until long after starting the blog).  It is really fun to get to know other bloggers!
3. What's the story behind your blog name?  No real story, I picked it because my initials spelled EAT and and I thought Create would encompass a lot of creative endeavors from home décor to food to family traditions. 
4. What has been your most popular post?  This may surprise anyone who hasn’t seen the stats (and, quite honestly, me), but my absolute most popular post is the one on How to Make Paneling look like Drywall.  There must be a lot of people out there with awful paneling!!
5. What is your motto or tagline?  What is your favorite blog to read and what draws you to them?  Hmm.  I don’t really have a motto or tagline…I probably should but I think I’ll procrastinate on that a while!  My favorite blog????????  You mean, I have to pick just ONE???  ; )  I think my absolute most favorite blog, for years now, is the blog My Child I Love You.  It is not a DIY blog but a mother’s blog for and about her children.  It is simply beautiful…I get inspired every time I visit there to see my kids as the amazing precious persons they are.  As far as DIY blogs go…I really love Vintage Revivals and View Along the Way…AAACCCKK!…it is so hard to pick just one or two!   Basically I love those two blogs because Mandi and Kelly seem so real and really creative and they are super entertaining to read!  But I have many other favorites too.  : )
6. What is your decorating style?  I know it when I see it, but I couldn’t tell you in a concise way.  I once took a Home Goods style quiz and they told me I was New Country with a touch of Classic which sounds more like a music genre than me!  I love vintage (but not chippy), earthy tones, crisp white frames, and wood with rich character. 
7. Gold or silver? Silver, but not a hater of gold!
8. Name one of your bucket list items.  Grow an intricate boxwood hedge like you see in the English gardens. 
9. How do you spend your weekends?  Wishing I could sleep in!  Well, that and taking care of the small people, spending time with the hubby, visiting with friends and family, and working on projects. 
10. Where do find most of your home decor inspiration? (store, blog, magazine)  Definitely blogs…I rarely step foot into any store more fancy than Target (Goodwill is more my speed) as I generally have the kids in tow.  I also think a lot of inspiration comes organically from the limitations of our homes, lifestyles, finances, and time.  You really have to think outside the box to reach your goal and create the look you’re going for within those constraints, and that can be a really creative state of mind. 

Thanks so much Ashley for nominating me!!  What fun! 

Well, we don’t want the fun to stop here…so I’m awarding the Liebster Award to these deserving blogs:

Little House of Four

Joie de Vivre

being Sarah Marie

Average but Inspired

undercover DIYer

(I know it’s not the 11 I’m supposed to nominate but let’s just pretend, shall we?  : )

Here are my questions (with a few borrowed from Ashley):

1.  How long have you been blogging?

2.  How do you balance life and blogging?

3.  If you could have a dream house, how would it look? 

4.  What is the story behind your blog name?

5.  What is your favorite season?

6.  What has been your most popular post?

7.  What was the first blog that you ever followed?

8.  Why did you start blogging? 

9.  White or wood trim?

10.  Have you ever gotten a strange reaction to people finding out that you blog?

11.  Do you have a celebrity look-alike? 

Tag!  You’re it!!

; )