Liebster Award and Paying it Forward

Can I just say I was really surprised and touched by the lovely comments on my first post after my holiday and to find that people missed my blog posts.  Aww shucks.  It's really nice to find that I have such lovely people reading my mad ramblings.

The other lovely surprise was receiving my first blogging award from Clare from Another New Day. Thank you Clare!  I started following Clare when I found she was doing a 30 for 30 challenge - I love reading about self imposed masochistic fashion challenges - 30 items of clothing for 30 days.  Clare started blogging around the same time as myself so it's interesting to see her blogging journey running alongside mine.

So I am now the proud recipient of a Liebster award.  Some of you will already know what one is, some of you will have received one before and others like me know nothing .... till now.  After a bit of googling (funny how no one says "yahooing" or "msning") I have determined that it is an award given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers ... and that Liebster is a German word that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome (you can tell I copied and pasted that bit).

The rules for receiving the award varies slightly depending on where the information comes from.  Some say you nominate 11 people, some say you nominate 5, some say you answer questions, some say you just write a little about the blogs you recommend.  Clare, I hope you don't mind but I found this a little easier and it helps me to explain a little about why I chose the blogs I did for their Liebster award.

So... the rules I'm following are:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.

3. Copy & paste the blog award on your blog.

4. Revel your 5 blog picks.

5. Let them know you chose them by leaving a comment on their blog.

This is the difficult part having to choose just 5 blogs out of the many I read and not offending anyone in the process.  I'm apologising now in advance for the ones I haven't managed to include.

1. Chocolate, Cookies and Candies

Photo Credit : Chocolate, Cookies and Candies

What can I say about Marlene?  This is one classy lady with impeccable taste and a penchant for very expensive handbags.  She writes about everything, seems to be good at everything (apart from putting IKEA furniture together) and is self deprecating, witty and a laugh a minute on her blogposts.  What I have also noticed from her responses to myself and her readers is her kindness.  Her fabulous pictures say a thousand words but her written words are equally engaging.  Thank you for your wonderful comments which have helped me so much from when I first started blogging.  And she can cook.  Respect.  And I know you've received an award before but what the heck - have another one.  You deserve it. 

2. Lapin de Lune

Photo Credit : Lapin de Lune

This is a beautiful looking blog. I could look at this blog all day and go back and do it all again and look some more.  Oh I do!  Louise has a style of her own which I wish I had the discipline to emulate but I am too much of a a fashion schizo for that so I live vicariously through Louise's clothes and her beautiful home.  I relate to Louise in that she reminds me a lot of my younger self when I first had my own little workers cottage, mad Monty cat and everything was "just so".  Have a look at her spin off blog dedicated to the Breton tee (http://la-mariniere.tumblr.com/about) and oh did I mention she is also an illustrator? Lovely lovely fantasmagorical (is that a word?) artwork.  

3. Absolutely Fuzzy.

Photo Credit : Absolutely Fuzzy

When I don't want to be Louise from Lapin de Lune, I want to be Stephanie from Absolutely Fuzzy (told you I was fashion schizo).  Stephanie is that cool girl that you want to be and always has that edge.  And she's lovely person and friendly too for someone so scarily cool!  She's a Sydney based graphic designer and this shows through in the clothes she wears, the pictures she takes and her photographic view on the world.  Her last couple of posts have shown the most gorgeous backdrops and have been an education in themselves.  And I love the fact that she mixes her Alexander Wang with her Topshop and Zara.

4.  A Life Less Ordinary

Photo Credit : A.L.L.O.

Clare from ALLO is a northern (Leeds?) based fashion buyer.  I found her through doing a google image search on white leather Primark strap sandals.  Yes, that's how weird I am.  A picture of the aforementioned sandals appeared on her blog and I was gently reeled in to reading her little mini posts.  It's usually a little snapshot and a couple of lines but it's nice.  A bit like a daily Grazia.  I like the mix of high end acquisitions intermingled with the more affordable items - I want to know what a fashion insider really buys.  She seems to be tall too. And she has good shoe porn.

5. Porcupines Wisdom

Photo Credit : Porcupines Wisdom

I stumbled across Ekatarina after seeing her leave a comment on someone elses' blog.  This is how I sometimes find new blogs because I figure if we are reading the same things, we must have something in common.  Ekatarina is fab and cracks me up.  She is a totally engaging read and I love her opinions on matters of the world such as TV being the best babysitter in the world and whether butter is a killing device.  I also love the fact that she is not a domestic goddess and she makes no apologies for it.

I appreciate just how busy you ladies all are and it may not be possible to "pass it on" but that is okay.  Just take a bow and a moment to enjoy the recognition.