My Wardrobe of Wonderful Women: the Liebster Award

 

 

 

 

"The Liebster Award is for bloggers with under 300 followers and the rules of the award is that the nominee must link back to whoever awarded them, write 11 random facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions from the award giver, and then nominate another 11 bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."

 

I'm honoured to have been given a Liebster Award by Mici at her lovely blog Muddy Boots.

In keeping with the rules, here are 11 'random' facts. However they're not all about me; some are about Kiki, Penny and my mother, the women who have inspired me in my life and my blog:


1. Although I loved living in cities when I was younger, nothing beats time in the garden or biking up and down the steep country lanes nowadays. 

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2. I'm mad about meat pies, and make them for supper as a special treat whenever I can find an excuse. Steak pie is the pinnacle of pies, with chicken and leek coming a close second. I do a lot of baking, hence my baking blog Idle Bakes.





3. Granny Kiki patiently tried to teach me many of her seamstress skills when I was growing up. Sadly I'm a terrible physical klutz and never managed to learn more than how to sew a button.



Coat one of Kiki's designs for Kiki Couture.



4. I was once chatted up by the comedian David Walliams, in the years before he met Lara Stone of course, whilst wearing the furry outfit I blogged in my post Dreaming of a White Christmas. I was already with Mr Eve so nowt could come of it, and let me tell you, Mr Walliams isn't a patch on Mr Eve.





5. I am drawn to the darkness, romance and comedy of ancient folklore and fairytales, those narrated by the Brothers Grimm especially.



18th century Provencal cloak, family heirloom.




6. I didn't learn to apply foundation to my face until I was in my thirties, and still rarely wear it as it irritates my skin. I've not had my hair cut for over five years. It appears to be self regulating and stops growing at a certain length which saves me money at the hairdressers.



In my twenties, wearing a vintage lace dress.



7. As a child, my late granny Kiki was the inspiration for Cicely Mary Barker's Bluebell Fairy, and she is immortalised in the flower fairy illustration. Although in Barker's prose accompanying the illustration the Bluebell fairy is depicted as masculine, which I hope didn't offend the ten-or-so year old Kiki too much. Barker would visit Kiki's primary school to find all the faces she needed to populate her now famous flower fairy series.


Kiki the Bluebell Fairy





Kiki with my grandfather in their twenties, around the time she started her couture label Kiki Couture.



8. My late granny Penny spent some of the years of her childhood in an orphanage, which was a very tough experience. Despite her petite stature, she went on to become a lieutenant in the army during the 2nd World War. 




Penny in her twenties.



9. My dear mother used to be a picture restorer until she had her children. She fell for my father at a party: their eyes met over a plate of chicken. Greed and skinny genes run in the family.



My parents in their early twenties.



10. I used to work as an artist's model in my early twenties. It encouraged me to feel confident and comfortable in my body.



Ballgown one of Kiki's designs for Kiki Couture



11. I feel strongly that kindness and playfulness are underrated adult qualities in our society. So much time is spent wanting and regretting that it's easy to forget to feel whatever we feel in the here and now.



 Wearing another dress by Kiki Couture for a Mad Tea Party at Idle Bakes



My answers to the questions from Mici at Muddy Boots:

1. Listening to the radio or watching TV? Listening to the radio and watching dvds.

2. Swimming in the sea or in the pool? In the sea.

3. Even numbers or odd? Even.

4. Travel back in time or into the future? Both would be fun, but enjoying the present is best of all.

5. Are you a night owl or an early bird? Night owl.

6. Which skill would you like to learn? To learn the tango.

7. Moths or Butterflies? Butterflies.

8. Telepathy or Telekenesis?  Neither, Mindfulness is preferable.

9. What is your dream destination to visit one day? Taking the slow train to Florence, Italy would be wonderful.

10. Rather design a rollercoaster or a bridge? A bridge.

11. What is your favourite way to spend a Sunday morning? Having a lazy lie-in with my man and our cat.

Here are 11 blogs which I enjoy reading, all of which have a readership of less than 300:

Dylan's Dress
Little Low Heavens
Pastries & Sweets
Ruby Armoire
Custard Heart Vintage
So Past Caring
Advantage In Vintage
Ladylike Delicacy
Art, Clothes & Contemplations
The Taxonomy Of My Wardrobe
Hippy At Heart

But they're just the tip of the iceberg, for a comprehensive list of all the great blogs I read, see the list to the left of this post.

11 questions I'd like to ask the above bloggers:

1. As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

2. What's your favourite novel?

3. Which person from your past (relative or another kind figure) has had the most positive impact on your life?

4. What are your character strengths?

5. And your character flaws?

6. What would be your dream meal?

7. How do you show people that you love them?

8. What's your way of coping when times are hard?

9. What talents do you have that you wish to encourage in yourself?

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

11. What was the last thing that made you smile?

 

 

 

The Soundtrack

 

Cinematic Orchestra: To Build A Home

 

 

I'm delighted to be a part of Visible Monday, hosted by the lovely Patti from www.notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.co.uk, click on the website link to see her outfit and those of many others.