Liebster Blog Award

Jessica Lemley-Carballo from Chickadee Jess has nominated Toot Sweet 4 Two for a Liebster Blog Award!

Thanks, Jessica!  Check out her post here:  Liebster Blog Award at Chickadee Jess.

The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers or have been blogging for less than 6 months.  It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs.  It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world.  Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German.  It is also known as the Love Blog Award.

What an awesome honor!  We are thrilled to have this opportunity to share!

The Rules:

• You must post 11 random things about yourself.
• Answer the questions that the nominator sent for you.
• Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
• Choose 11 new blogs you love and link them in your post.
• Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so we can learn more about you!

11 Random Things about Carole:

1. I drink way too much coffee, but in spite of that, I usually sleep like a baby!
2. I love to read, especially fiction, but haven’t read a fiction book in 5 years!  It’s been all about “learning” these last 5 years:  learning about rebuilding from a fire (see the 20-part series starting with Any Way the Wind Blows; learning about Eldercare (Murphy’s Law, Many a Winding Turn, Believe (Tiffany’s post), The Sunshine Gang, Both Sides of Clouds, Poop!, A Gifted Man, Running on Empty, Do You Have One of These?, A Month of Sundays, The Gift); learning about blogging and WordPress (Under Construction; Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained; The Baker’s Hat and Other Musings; Viva Las Vegas; Top 10 Reasons I Love Bloggy Boot Camp (Tiffany’s post); Bloggy Boot Camp Revealed) – there is so much to read and learn about blogging!
3. I’m the only browned-eyed person in a sea of blue-eyed and hazel-eyed family (parents and sibs).  I do, however, have a couple of nieces with brown eyes!
4. I have one cat, Coco.  You can read more about Coco here:  A Boy Named Coco and Herding Cats.  He’s also featured in Many a Grocery List Clipboard with My Personal Assistant (guess who’s my “PA”!), And the Winner Is and Orange Crush.  You can see a video of Coco in this post about emergency planning:  Emergency Planning Checklist.  He was helping me with his emergency planning kit.  I’d have 20 cats if my husband would let me!  Love my cats, but I guess I love my husband more {giggle}!  I’d steal Tiffany’s cat, Fred, if I could get away with it; he’s a “keeper”!  You can read about Fred here:  Fred the Purr-minator (Tiffany’s post).
5. I spend way too much time at my computer; just ask the cat who comes and gets me every night at 5:00 p.m. and the husband who comes and gets me at 6:30 p.m. and says “when are you getting off that darn thing?” {grin}
6. I love squishy things.  You can read about that here:  The Squish Factor.
7. I love to travel and wish I had time (and money) to do more.  My “big” trip this year (if you can call it “big” – it’s only about 75 miles from my house!) was to San Juan Capistrano to see the Mission San Juan Capistrano and learn more about swallows.  You can read that post here:  Operation Swallow Adios and it’s predecessor, Exaltation of Larks (both have videos).
8. I enjoy getting together with friends and family and don’t do it often enough!  I did post about one outing with family for a birthday celebration and you can read that post here:  Chicken Pie Diner.  Plus, I was invited to Jingle Ball this year and you can read that post here:  Jingle Ball 2012, 10 Christmas Wishes and the First Day of Winter.
9. I hope to become a better photographer and my husband gave me an awesome camera for Christmas with the help of Tiffany as his “shopping elf”!  See Tiffany’s post, Christmas Surprise!
10. Blue is my favorite color – my eyes are automatically drawn to any item that’s blue!  Thus a blue-eyed husband and a blue-eyed cat.
11. I’m wishy-washy when it comes to favorite cuisines.  If you ask me one day, I might say Mexican.  If you ask me the next day, I might say Italian.  But not to forget Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Greek…I could go on, but you get the picture!  And, of course, good ol’ American food is a favorite too.  Did I say I like to cook?

 

 

11 Random Things about Tiffany:

1. One of my biggest downfalls is that I have a very hard time making decisions…what color shirt, what to write about, what color nail polish, what theme for a party, etc…these decisions that are very small cause me to lose sleep!
2. I’m obsessed with nail polish, yet rarely have my nails painted.  This is because of lack of time to let them dry!
3. I love to read, and I miss having time to curl up with a good book without being interrupted by two little girls, a husband and hungry pets.  Here’s a post you might identify with:  Just One Freakin’ Day!
4. I can’t pass up home baked chocolate chip cookies, especially if they are made by one of my mom’s, Patti.  This past Mother’s Day, she brought them to our picnic and I ate so many that I ended up sick (literally vomiting) later that evening from the over-indulgence.
5. I love to sweep.  Good old fashioned broom and a dustpan with a tall handle…I have a feeling of accomplishment every time I sweep my floors.
6. I love to doodle and play with different styles of letters; I’ve done this since I was very young.  Here are a couple of my doodle posts:  5 Things to Make Life {a Little} Easier, 12 Days of Tiffany’s Christmas, ‘Tis the Season, Farewell 2012…12 things that will not be missed, 2012 Favorite Things.
7. I love wine!  In fact, I should pour a glass now while thinking of these random facts – they might come easier!
8. When I was pregnant the first time I couldn’t stomach beef or the smell of it; my second pregnancy I craved beef and was grossed out by chicken.
9. My feet grew a half size with each pregnancy; I have big feet for a girl of only 5’2″!
10. I slept with my baby blanket until I was married.  My first night married was the first night it was not with me, and I still have it stashed away.
11. I curl my toes when typing, reading or in deep thought.

 

 

Questions from Jess:

1.  Why do you blog?

Carole:  I love to write and I love to share.  So blogging seems to be the best of both worlds – sharing what I write!  The added benefit is that I get to meet awesome people!  Plus, I get to work with my niece, Tiffany, on so many different levels!

Tiffany:  Just like Carole I love to write and create.  I enjoy sharing stories and documenting memories, recipes, etc… that will always be there to look back on.

2.  What are your top 3 must read blogs?

Carole:

1. Blogging with Amy – we are still so new with much to learn and Amy gives easy-to-follow directions and clear instructions.  Plus her blog is beautifully simple.
2. The Pioneer Woman – she’s an inspiration to so many!  I love her sly sense of humor and her love of her family.
3. Her Bad Mother – love Catherine Connor.  Enough said.
4. Pinch of Yum – Lindsey’s recipes sound delicious and her photos are beautiful.  Plus I enjoy reading her husband, Bjork’s, monthly income posts – such an inspiration!

Oops!  That’s 4!!!

Tiffany:

1. Enjoying the Small Things – this was the very first blog I ever followed.  I love the photography and that she has two girls the same age as mine so I can relate to a lot of her posts.  I got to meet her at a book signing and I was thrilled!
2. Le Musings of Moi – I met Summer one time by a fluke of a Craigslist posting.  She was so awesome when I met her and I love how she writes…small world, we live in the same community and have kids about the same age.
3. A Night Owl Blog – I love her design, love her project ideas and am constantly wondering how she pulls this off with two small boys???

3.  What is your favorite day of the week?

Carole:  Sunday; I try to reserve that day to unwind and I look forward to a unwinding!

Tiffany: As crazy as this sounds, I look forward to Mondays, kids at school, husband at work…I get time to put the house back together and get things accomplished.

4.  What is your guilty pleasure?

Carole:  Salted Caramel Gelato made by Safeway Brands.  Yumolicious!

Tiffany:  Patti’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

5.  What is the best costume you have worn?

Carole:  in my 20’s, I was a crayon!  I made my costume out of red poster board (yep – I used to fit inside a rolled-up poster!) and wore red tights and high heels!  I couldn’t sit down all night!  The other downfall of this costume, that I didn’t consider when I made it, was that the guys would knock me down (they were gentle, but I was defenseless) and roll me around on the floor!

Tiffany:  I felt pretty good about wearing my 8th grade Pop Warner cheerleading uniform last year, not very creative, but showing up in that “costume” had a lot of my friends laughing!

6.  What room in the house do you most like to spend time in?

Carole:  my office.  But, per “Random Things”, I spend too much time there.  I’m going to make a new year’s resolution to spend more time in the family room!

Tiffany:  My house is so small that no matter where I am I don’t really feel like I’m in a specific room.  I do love my living room when I get to actually sit down in there.

7.  What job have you been procrastinating?

Carole:  cleaning out our garage storage; it’s a mess!

Tiffany:  same as Carole…GARAGE IS A NIGHTMARE!

8.  What song do you love to dance to?

Carole:  I don’t dance, but if I did, I’d love to dance to anything Keith Urban.

Tiffany:  I have no idea; the first song that just popped in my head though is “All the Single Ladies” by not Beyonce, but the Chippettes!  OMG! How awful is that??!!

9.  If money were no object, where would you live?

Carole:  on a cruise ship.  I’d just cruise from port-to-port and take side trips everywhere!

Tiffany:  I would have three homes, all very “normal” or “modest”.  One in San Diego – a little beach cottage, one in Indiana where my in-laws live and a cabin in Tennessee.

10.  Do you have any special talents?

Carole:  I’m pretty handy with a glue gun, but finding time for crafting is a challenge!

Tiffany:  I think I am decent at doodling, lettering and writing poetry.

11.  If you had one wish, what would it be?

Carole:  good health for my parents.

Tiffany: for my pets to live as long as I do in good health.

 

11 Questions for the People We Nominate:

1. Why do you blog?
2. What is your favorite post (that you’ve written) to date and why?
3. What book are you reading right now?
4. Name 3 places you would love to visit.
5. What is your favorite childhood memory?
6. What is your favorite movie of all time?
7. Name 3 places that you’ve been to and want to visit again.
8. If you could live anywhere where would it be?
9. What are your top 3 blogs to read?
10. What is your favorite type of music?
11. What is your favorite type of pizza?

 

11 Blogs We Love and Nominate:

1. Pirate Prerogative
2. Garnish with Lemon (beautiful photography!)
3. Beloved Atmosphere
4. Susy’s Musings
5. SD Moms Blog
6. Jennifer Leigh Blog
7. Chai Mommas

We struggled and struggled to come up with the above 7 new bloggers!  We did internet searches, sent out Tweets, did a Facebook “shout out”, visited blogger content aggregator sites such as BlogHer, SITS Girls, Top Mommy Bloggers and we just don’t know any NEW bloggers that meet this criteria except for the above!!!  The blogs we follow have all been up-and-running for more than a year, so this presented quite a challenge!  Rather than leave this list 4 short, we decided to nominate a few of the awesome, talented women we met at Bloggy Boot Camp Las Vegas.  So, here they are:

The Clever Pink Pirate

Keep the Tail Wagging

The Teensy Tiny Insignificant Details

Your Marketing BFF

We hope you will take a few moments to visit some of these sites.

Nominees:  Please leave a comment with your Liebster post URL so we can read up on you!  Also, please leave a link back to this post on your blog.

Tootles,

and