LEIBSTER AWARD AND ALL ITS GLORY

Here's some exciting news...

I was nominated for the Leibster Award! 

The Leibster Award is given by new bloggers to other new bloggers, and it is a fun way to discover new blogs and boost a blogger's reputation if he/she has under 200 followers. Alexandra, the author of A Yank in Blighty, was sweet enough to nominate me. 

They like me, they really like me!

Without sounding too lame, I would like to thank all of you who find this blog mildly interesting and follow along. It started out as a weekly travel diary, and since it has evolved into something more. So, thank you, thank you very much!

The Rules:

1. Mention the person who nominated you with a link in to their blog

2. Answer the 11 questions provided by the person who nominated you

3. Nominate other bloggers with less than 200 followers

4. Create a new set of 11 questions for your nominees to answer

1. What day do you post on your blog the most? Do you have a set schedule? On Monday mornings I post a Weekly Update so that followers can read about the happenings of Team Starnes. I also randomly post throughout the week highlighting popular London establishments such as museums, landmarks, boroughs and restaurants. Recently, I've been posting about 3-4 times a week.

2. What do you love about blogging? I love being able to looking back on what we've done and what we've accomplished in London. When this year is over, we want to get the content of this blog published and create a coffee table book for ourselves!

3. If you can have any blog out there, whose blog would you want to have? This is still TBD. I don't follow any one blog religiously, (with the exception of my friends' blogs) and I try not to covet others' blogs; everyone's different, everyone will have something different to blog about. I like many different blogs for many different reasons. One might be a badass lifestyle blog, another might be a blog with great fashion advice, or travel experience... It really depends. I am just trying to evolve my own blog and focus on making it the best that it can be.

4. What color clothing do you wear the most? Why? I live in London. Black. Is that even a question?

5. What do you hate about blogging? I think we bloggers can agree that there are certains parts of the 'job' that we enjoy less than others.  Let me know if you agree with my list...
#1: I personally get very caught up in the design of my blog; I want it to look a specific way--I want to be proud of it! There is a lot of HTML code that goes into designing a blog and I have spent hours figuring it out. I did not use an external design template, so what you see is what I have created all by myself!
#2: Resizing and editing EVERY SINGLE PICTURE is definitely very time consuming. 
#3: It's stressful to be on a schedule (if you choose to be). I know I don't have to be on a schedule, but my goal is to upload weekly posts and I want to hold myself to it. 
#4: I am new to blogging (and writing in general), so I stress a lot about my grammar and not making a fool out of myself. I sometimes struggle at putting my thoughts into words, but it's getting easier with practice!

6. Which Social Media App do you use the most? I use Instagram almost daily. It's definitely my go-to. I still use Facebook, but not as much for social media purposes, but to promote my blog posts to family and friends that don't have Instagram. And Twitter, well I just started using Twitter.

7. What can you not leave home without? My fedora. Definitely. Or at least one of my many fedoras. I love hats! They are like a security blanket for me. Oh! And red lipstick is a MUST!

8. Describe yourself in one word. Dynamic. (James is laughing at this one!) I love using that in interviews, but it's so true! I'm constantly evolving and changing. A life in motion, stays in motion!

9. What was/would be your first dance wedding song? J and I danced to "Your Song" by Elton John. It's always been "our" song so it was very special to us.

10. Tell me something funny that happened to you. This one time, at band camp... I don't know, I will have to get back to you on that one! 

11. What is the main reason you started a blog? (Being Heard, Being Seen, Popularity, Hobby, For Friends...) The reason I started this blog was to keep in touch with our family and friends back in the States. I am not working, so I have the time to devote to exploring London and developing interesting (hopefully) content. With that being said, the blog has started to evolve and I am adding and incorporating different series' into the blog to give it some new mojo. Not only do I have my weekly recaps, I also have EAT&DRINK, the SEE Collection, WALKABOUT and I am excited to announce that in a couple weeks I am going live with a new series called ADJUSTING, where I will light-heartedly discuss the cultural differences between American and British culture.

WHEW! Well I hope you enjoyed getting to know TSTL a little bit better! Check back frequently for more updates from Team Starnes! xoxo

I nominate:

A Southern Lady in London

Girl v. London

Train Ride to Paris

Here are my questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What do you love about blogging? 
3. If you could move anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
4. What is your earliest memory?
5. What do you hate about blogging? 
6. What website do you spend the most time on?

7. What can you not leave home without? 

8. Describe yourself in one word. 
9. What was/would be your first dance wedding song? 
10. Tell me something funny that happened to you. 
11. What is the best piece of advice you've been given/found?

Alright baby bloggers, Enjoy! xx