The Liebster Award

The lovely Alyssa over at A Matchy Matchy Midlife has given me the Liebster Award. Thank you, Alyssa! It's an award that bloggers give to other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, and it involves some interesting questions and answers. Even though I've been blogging for a year and a half, I've never really shared much about myself, so this is a good opportunity for you guys to get to know me a little better! Here are my answers to the questions Alyssa asked:
1.) What did you want to be when you grew up and how/why did that vision change when you did?

When I was growing up, I wanted to be so many things - author, illustrator, actress, president, vet. (Oh, the dreams of childhood!) It wasn't until I started studying the piano seriously in high school that I wanted to be a concert pianist, and for years that was my goal. I practiced for hours a day, performed in competitions, and planned on attending a music conservatory for college. When I finally told my piano teacher my dream, she told me that I should try to become a piano teacher instead of a performer, because I hadn't started young enough to be a really great concert pianist. Lest you think she was being cruel, she really wasn't. She was a kind lady that was just telling me the truth, and eventually I appreciated it.

Now I clean houses for a living, and do odd jobs here and there, and I'm really okay with that. I don't want a fancy career. I'm happy just being Stacey.

2.) If you could only follow one blog, which would it be and why?

Obviously that’s a difficult question to answer for anyone who loves blogs, but if I absolutely had to pick, I’d say Wardrobe Oxygen. I love Alison’s style – it’s pretty, professional, and affordable – and I love her Ask Allie series and True Fashionista series.

3.) What is the most expensive thing you ever bought as an indulgence for yourself, and what is the story behind it?

I think my dog Onyx was my most expensive indulgence! He cost more than anything I've ever bought (including both my cars, but that's because I got one for free and another for $200), but I think that was the best money I've ever spent. Some people have baby fever when they're my age, but I just had dog fever, and wanted a dog for years. Three weeks after we moved from our studio apartment to a one-bedroom, we went to the Oregon Humane Society and adopted him.
4.) Which word or phrase do you most overuse?

“Awesome.” I blame Barney Stinson.

5.) How do you relax?

I lay on the couch and watch TV and eat popcorn. We have a stovetop popper, and once the popcorn is ready I sprinkle a little salt and brewer’s yeast (also called nutritional yeast) on top. It’s not a revolutionary form of relaxation, but it’s always what I do after a crappy day.

6.) What single thing would improve the quality of your life (and don't say money)?

A garden. I’m going stir-crazy living in a high-rise apartment. We have plenty of space, but there’s not even a patio to grow things on, and I’m a huge plant lover. The best I can do is grow a dozen houseplants on the windowsill. I would be insanely happy to have a garden full of fresh veggies and flowers.

7.) What do you consider your greatest achievement (and children do not count here if you have them)?

Moving to China by myself. I was feeling aimless after college, and took a job as a teacher in China even though I had no experience teaching. It was a difficult time, but I fully attribute all the inner strength and independence I have today to my time in China. When you have to move to a country where you don’t speak the language and don’t know anyone, and have to do a job that you've never done before, there won’t be many things in life that seem difficult after that.

8.) What is your biggest regret?

Dating my high school boyfriend. He was the only other boyfriend I had besides Josh, and he was a giant douchebag. Oh, sure, he was funny, but he wasn’t actually that nice, and he never took the time to care about the things I cared about. Just because a guy makes you laugh doesn’t mean you should date him.

9.) Tell me something people would be surprised to know about you.

I was an egg donor. I told fewer than a dozen people about this when I did it last summer. (And now I’ve just told the whole Internet!) It was a good experience, and I’m so glad I did it, not just for the money (which was awesome), but because I got to help an infertile couple have a baby.

10.) Does your blog accurately reflect all of you, a part of you, or is your blog persona completely different from the "real" you? Details please.

I think my blog reflects just a small part of who I am. In real life I’m much more sarcastic than I am on my blog – I’ve found that that quality doesn’t translate well in writing, so usually my sarcasm just ends up sounding mean in written form.
There are also important parts of my life that I don’t mention on my blog, like my faith. I’m a Christian, but I feel like that has no place on a fashion blog, so I never mention it.

11.) The Book or The Movie?

Since I was an English Literature major, I think it would be wrong of me to say anything other than “The Book.” I’m very rarely impressed by a film adaptation of a book. In fact, on our third date, Josh and I bonded over our mutual dislike of The Lord of the Rings films, and how inferior we thought they were to the books.
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Part of the blog award is to give the award to eleven other bloggers, and think of eleven new questions for them to answer, but I hope it's okay if I opt out. I have wrist problems, and answering all these questions has been too much typing as it is :) But if any of you want to answer the questions I just answered, as a fun way of letting your readers know more about you, you should do it!