Tidbits

I've been seeing this meme quite a bit lately around the blogosphere and have loved reading the responses. One of my favorite bloggers, San, tagged me (thanks, San!) and I'm so excited to participate!

Here are the rules:

• Post 11 random things about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions your 'tagger' asked.
• Tag 11 people and come up with your own set of 11 questions for them to answer.

Let's get to it!
11 Things About Me

1. I was born in Hawaii and the island life calls to me every single day.
2. I legitimately believed in Santa Claus until I was 12.
3. I'm the complete opposite of a Type A personality. I like to call myself a Type Z.
4. My first concert was Jimmy Buffett when I was 7.
5. As of two weeks ago, I've been car-free for four years.
6. I absolutely love to cook but I hate following recipes (see #3 above).
7. I still unabashedly love Tom Cruise.
8. For my entire life, all I wanted was to be a mom. But lately I've been seriously considering not having children at all.
9. I am pretty sure I was some sort of marine creature in a past life. Nothing keeps me out of the water. Except that time I quit the swim team as a kid because I thought there were sharks in the pool. Don't worry, I got over it. Kind of.
10. I'm an atheist.
11. I drink about five 32 oz Nalgenes of water per day. Needless to say, I'm never far from a restroom.

11 Answers
How did you come up with and what’s the meaning behind your blog name? I wanted to try and develop a sort of online 'personality' and didn't want to use my full name. My parents named me Stephanie so they could use the nickname Stevie (they loved Stevie Nicks). Most people these days call me Steph or Stephanie, but it's been fun reviving that old nickname.
What is one of your must-have beauty products? I'm pretty much obsessed with all forms of makeup and beauty products, but give me a good concealer and some mascara and I'm set. For non-makeupy products, basic chapstick.
Are you a coffee or tea drinker? Recommend your favorite store-bought brand. Both! I buy most of my tea loose leaf at Market Spice, but when I just want a quick cup I go for PG Tips. I usually buy it at World Market. Which brings me to coffee. I buy most of my coffee at World Market too! I love their store brand Sumatra. It's a medium roast with great flavor and low acidity.
What is one of the hardest things you ever had to do? Learn to be an adult. I know that sounds pretty broad, but it's true. I was incredibly irresponsible for many, many years because I think I expected mature adulthood to just sort of happen overnight. As a result, I didn't hold myself accountable for anything and made a lot of huge mistakes. The process of digging myself out of those messes is how I truly became an 'adult'.
Tell me about one of your favorite people. What makes them so special?
Since I'm coming up on my 6-month wedding anniversary, I'm going to gush about my husband, The Scientist (also known as Andy). I instantly felt a connection to him when we met. He is the most welcoming, warm, friendly person I've ever met and he makes everyone who meets him feel comfortable. But once he reels you in, he throws out a lot of awkward jokes and weird stories :-) He is intelligent and thoughtful, and constantly seeks out knowledge and information. He is supportive and encouraging, he loves his family, he loves my family, and he loves my (now our) cats.
What is your all-time favorite movie? This is a tough one. I'm going to cheat and name two - The Sting and Sense and Sensibility.
If you don’t feel like preparing dinner, what’s your go-to emergency dish? Spaghetti! I've perfected my spaghetti making recipe over the years and it is quite good, if I do say so myself. Who wants to come over for dinner?
What is one favorite thing you like to do for yourself? I love taking myself out to lunch/dinner and a movie. I like doing that at home, too. Give me some good food, good wine, and a movie or trashy TV and I'm a happy girl.
Do you play an instrument? Yep! I learned piano at age 7 but my main instrument is flute. I don't play often anymore but I played all through school, I've taught lessons and played in some local concert bands. I'm dying to get back into playing more consistently, though.
How do you keep up with blogs? Do you subscribe by email? Do you use bookmarks? Google Reader? Other blog services? Google Reader all the way. It's a great tool to keep all the blogs I read organized and in one place!
Tell me about one of your favorite blogs to read and why you love it.
I read a lot of blogs on varying subjects, but a blog I've been following forever is Desire to Inspire. It is a gorgeous design blog and when I want to escape, I scroll through the zillions of pretty pictures. The writing is wonderful, too.


11 Questions for YOU!

1. Do you prefer cooking or baking (or both)? What's your favorite thing to make?
2. How old were you when you had your first kiss?
3. If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4. Do you have pets? Why or why not?
5. What's your favorite aspect of blogging?
6. iPhone or Android?
7. Do you wear perfume? What's your favorite fragrance?
8. Is your current job part of a planned out career path, or did you just sort of fall into it?
9. What is/was your favorite subject in school?
10. What is the best financial advice you've ever received?
11. Where is your favorite vacation spot?

I'm totally copping out on this last part and am not tagging anyone. Actually, I'm tagging EVERYONE! Feel free to post this on your own blog, or post your answers in the comments!