Stylish Blogger Award (7 things you don't know about me)

The awesome Kaley of "...y mucho mas" fame tagged me as a Stylish Blogger. I'll be honest, I'm not totally clear on what that is, but I'm solidly flattered regardless.



The rules:
1. Link back to the awesome person who gave you the award
2. Tell everyone 7 things about yourself
3. Pass it on to 7 other bloggers!

So here they are, 7 things you don't necessarily know about me, unless you know me fairly well, in which case you might. Sorry, I'm not much of a secret-haver.


1. I'm terrified of snakes. The catch: I had a job doing herpetology research at a summer camp one year. What is herpetology? The study of amphibians and reptiles, even the flipping terrifying ones. I had to catch and measure snakes and educate the campers about them. By the end of the summer, every time we'd see a snake I'd pray it was too fast for me to catch it. When I did come up on the misfortune of a slow-moving, catchable snake, I'd hold it up and go "look guys, it's so pretty!" while trying not to wet myself.


he's a rough green snake, if you're wondering


2. I love stucco. Don't even care if it makes a house tackier, I want it.

3. I think about dog names the way some girls my age thing about baby names. I've considered a doggy "hope chest" with bandanas and chew toys and all. Thankfully I haven't reached that point yet.

4. My dad makes the best Cuban sandwiches I've ever had. It's not that I don't think real Cubans can make a better one; it's just that I haven't seen the proof yet. Amazing Cuban sandwich makers, feel free to start sending me roundtrip tickets to your cities to show me what's what.

5. I hate having long nails.

6. My three best friends live on three different continents. Go figure.

7. I have a secret weakness for limericks. And by "secret," I mean "I tormented my friend Elizabeth with it for a solid month last summer." In fact, hey, it's still St. Patrick's Day, so I have all sorts of a segway to share my favorite ever limerick with the Whole Internet!**

There is a young poet named Herman.
He's not very good, but he's learnin',
Though he often offends
Because he so often ends
Alle sein Limericks auf Deutsch.


I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. And now, my 7 stylish blogs***:

1. Canelle et Vanille. Can I get an amen? Aran Goyoaga puts out amazing photos, creative recipes, and proof that foodie brilliance comes out of places other than Guipuzkoa (bonus points: she's from Zornotza, where I spend about 12 hours every week!).

2. Madrid in Living Color. My good friend Jessica has been updating steadfastly on the city I love to hate for two years. Props to her (and her two roommates Tory and Allison) for helping talk me into doing this program in the first place!

3. Tomboy Style. Fashion inspiration that reminds me that glamorous can be laid-back, too (phew!).

4. Love & Paella. Do I even need to say this one? Sarah is hilarious, candid and an awesome photographer. This is one of the best blogs I've ever read, in general, period.

5. You Are My Fave. Melanie's an event planner, and her blog just makes me happy. She just puts up all these beautiful and fun things on a really reliable basis! How can you not love it?

6. Leah Mari Photography. Leah Valenzuela is a singer, mom, photographer, and is rocking all three! Not sure how she does it, but it's great to read these glimpses into her life!

7. Francesca at Christian Socialist Movement. This is obviously not a food-, photography-, or expat-related blog, but I had to mention the awesome stuff my friend Francesca is doing over here. She works with Christians in Parliament (yep, British) and has an incredible heart for social justice.


Kaley, who tagged me in the first place, goes without saying. She does an awesome job of tackling the good, the exhilarating and the frustrating of life as an American in Spain with equal grace and honesty.


**Fun fact: this limerick is already on the Whole Internet.
***Please don't take this as a "you must pass this on or your true love will not find you/the Devil wins/you'll have bad luck" type piece of nonsense. If you don't feel like doing it, please don't, and just take it for the compliment it is :)