Liebster Award!!!

Hello again!!
 

 I was nominated/tagged for the Liebster Award by Micki over at Lacquer Nirvana!! Thank you, Micki! I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to 'accept' this award and play the game. I received her email two days before we left on vacation, and life has been crazy since we returned. I finally did get some time to put this post together, so here goes:

From what I can gather from the Internets, the Liebster Award is for up-and-coming blogs/bloggers. It provides a chance to get to know the blogger behind the blog, and the tag 'game' is a fun way to discover new blogs and to get your own out there some more. I think it's a great idea. Let the fun begin~!

The rules as put forth for me for this award are:

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.

2. They must also answer the 11 questions the 'tagger' has set for them.

3. They're no tag backs.

Here are eleven random things about me:

1. I am fiercely proud of where I come from. I'm from a small town in Southeast Minnesota. Minnesota rocks! And so does my family! My parents are awesome, as were/are there parents before them.

2. I have an awesome fiance and we're getting married one year from today!!

3. I have used vacation time to just stay home and play video games (no skipping out on work--it was planned).

4. I like rocks. I have a B.S. in Geology.

5. I always thought I was a dog person. I currently have a cat. She adopted me. Her name is Grace.

Isn't she a cutie?

 6. Together, my fiance and I have three cats. He adopted brothers, Oscar and Oliver. Aren't they adorable?
 

 

 7. I love snow! I can't wait to move back to somewhere that has a real winter.

8. Even though, I love snow, autumn is my favorite season.

9. I can't ever make a decision without looking at ALL the options, and then picking what seems 'best'. This is why I need to compile a list of Indie polish sellers with ALL of their polishes, so I can pick my very favorites! I wish Etsy's format let the sold out items still be shown so I could see what I may have missed.

10. I have a desk job. The job itself, I like. I just hate being stuck behind a desk for 9 hours a day.

11. I must not be that interesting, this part of the post has taken me the longest, and I've run out of things to say. So onto the questions!

Here are the eleven questions Micki asked:

1. What is your guilty pleasure?
 
Nail polish! The definition of 'guilty pleasure' according to Wikipedia is as follows: "A guilty pleasure is something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The "guilt" involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes. Fashion, video games, music,[1] movies[2], and junk food can be examples of guilty pleasures.[3]" {source} This certainly applies for me because nail polish is not something I need, I certainly have more than a reasonable amount of it (and still want more!), and I spend more money on it than I care to admit (seriously, ladies, how do some of you do it?! I see your hauls and know that was some major $$!!). It is a luxury I choose to continue purchasing and spend my time using. Sometimes I do feel guilty for buying when I should be saving money for other things *cough*wedding*cough*. Not to mention, I spend at least a full weekend day swatching or organizing blog stuff or doing nail art rather than spend that time with my family or doing something more 'productive'. So to sum it up, I love nail polish but feel guilty for enjoying it as much as I do.

2. When do you usually blog, morning, noon, or night?

I'd like to have my posts scheduled ahead of time, sometimes that happens, but weekends are usually dedicated to swatching. So, I end up writing posts from my notes during my lunch break.

3. How did you choose the name of your blog?

I wanted something that wouldn't necessarily limit me to one topic. I chose NeverWithoutPolish because, while yes it very definitely can be related to nail polish, I wanted it to also be able take on the idea that each day is an opportunity for good--to add a little extra effort or thoughtfulness somewhere to 'polish' an aspect of each day into something greater than it otherwise would have been. The 'paying it forward' idea, if you will. For now, I'm quite happy for my little slice of the internet to revolve around nail polish, but who knows what possibilities await in the idea?

4. Whats your favorite store to shop at?

Brick and mortar store? Ulta!
Online? llarowe! with Head2Toe Beauty a close second for prices and access to older collections.

5. Are you on Pinterest?

I am SO on Pinterest! I love it... follow me here!

6. Are you frugal?

I am not really (see answer #1)... it depends on the purchase... I save money where I can, but will splurge on certain things (there are definitely things in this world that the saying "you get what you pay for" applies to and others that the generic or store brand will do just as well).

7. What other hobbies do you have other than blogging?

Video games! I have boxes of old console games ranging from the NES on up through current games to play, but World of Warcraft is currently taking up my free time outside of this blog.

8. What is your favorite restaurant?

Famous Dave's!!

9. What is your favorite article of clothing?

I have a North Face TKA 100 Masonic hoody in white that I love. I'm quite impressed with it after all these years. It's survived three years of camping, cross-country travel, and normal every day wear. It gets rather filthy camping and traveling, so I bleach the heck out of it and it's stood up over time with no visible wear or tear. It's also incredibly warm for how light it is. So, all things considered, I don't leave home for extended trips without it!

10. What is your favorite social media?

Pinterest! I LOVE it--so many fun and interesting discoveries!

11. What do you never leave the house without?
My phone. And mascara.. I ALWAYS wear mascara.

And here are my questions:

1. What is your favorite blog to read/follow (doesn't have to be nail polish related)? And is there a blog that inspired you to start your own?

2. Who is your go-to swatcher? You, know, that one blog you always look for when looking up reviews for potential polish purchases...

3. Name your top five favorite nail polishes of all time (so far).

4. What is it about nail polish that made you a polish addict?

5. Let's pretend you are being gifted 1 million dollars. The catch: You have to spend it in 24 hours in order to keep it. How do you do it?

6. Coffee or tea?

7. Is there a nail art technique you find difficult or always fail at and wish it wasn't so hard to accomplish?

8. If you could be anywhere else that where you are right now, where would it be?

9. Got any nail polish or blogging tips to share?

10. What book are you currently reading? (I need suggestions!!)

11. This was asked of me, but I thought it was interesting. I'm curious to see other responses: What is your favorite article of clothing?

I'll edit this post to add the bloggers I nominate once I get my final list of tag-ees together this weekend!

Have fun!!

More soon!! ^_^