The Prestigious Liebster Award!

Salut mes amis,

Ça va bien? I know it's been a while. Since my last update, I've been busy catching up with ma famille (family) back in France. I've also had a boatload of schoolwork to catch up on via correspondence. I've just had no time nor motivation to blog. But, I'm back! I'd never leave for good. I promise to have a "real" update with photos soon, but this will have to do for now.  I was nominated for the prestigious Liebster Award by Inky, Susie, and Jessica. Merci beaucoup, mes amies!

 

For this award, you must answer 11 questions (per person who tagged you) and then tag 11 more friends to answer 11 new questions of your choosing. So, as I was nominated three times, I have 33 questions to answer. Fun, fun! So . . . let's get started. 

Since Inky nominated me first, I'll start with her questions:

1.  What is your favorite animated movie or TV show? Frozen! It stars my favorite American singer, Idina Menzel. I'm a sucker for all Disney Princess movies, but this one takes the cake!
2.  What is your favorite animal? Red pandas and foxes
3.  Which animal are you most like? Maman has always called me a busy little squirrel.
4.  If you had the chance, would you go into space? Sure! Just as long as my experience doesn't mirror Sandra Bullock's in Gravity. I'd love the chance to float around in zero gravity, see the Earth while standing on the moon, and eat space food! Maybe I should just go to Space Camp with Mary-Kate and Ashley?
5.  Would you rather go on a boat trip to Alaska or the Caribbean? The Caribbean! I've already been on a boat trip to Alaska . . . right, Marsali?
6.  What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
7.  Do you speak any other languages? Which ones? Oui, je parle français et un peu italien. French is my native language, and I also speak English (of course!) as well as the little Italian I'm learning in school. I know a smattering of Polish words, too, but not enough to write home about.
8.  Do you collect anything? If so, what do you collect? I guess you could say that I collect anything Eiffel Tower-related. It keeps me from missing home too much when I'm studying in America.
9.  What is your favorite candy? Just decadent dark chocolate pour moi.
10. What do you like to drink when you are especially thirsty? Orangina (carbonated citrus drink) or a caffè latte from Starbucks.
11. What is your favorite outfit? Of the AG outfits I own, one of my all-time favorites is the MyAG Pretty & Plaid dress. I also love my collection of Liberty Jane Clothing separates, especially my denim shorts which I wear quite frequently in the summer.

Next, I'll answer the questions from Susie:

1.  What is your favorite song from the 80's? Don't Stop Believin' by Journey? I'm not a huge fan of 80s music, to be honest.
2.  Who is your favorite Muppet? Miss Piggy
3.  Would you rather change your past...or know your future? Change my past
4.  Cotton Candy or Candy Apples? Cotton Candy
5.  Do you listen to podcasts? If yes, which ones?* To be honest, I watch more videos than podcasts. I might listen to The Nerdist on a car trip as I love who they choose to interview.
6.  Do you have any AG dolls? If yes, which ones? I have one, Cécile.
7.  Do you usually do weekend homework on Friday, Saturday or Sunday? Sunday. I'm such a procrastinator. If I have a huge project, I may get started before Sunday if I'm diligent enough.
8.  Are you a Rebel...or a Royal? Can't I be both a Rebel and a Royal, like Elsa of Arendelle? She's very much a Rebel, in addition to being Royal. I'm definitely more of a Rebel than a Royal, though.
9.  What is your favorite candle scent? French Vanilla, a classic ;)
10. What book are you currently reading? Isabelle, by Laurence Yep
11. If you could visit Star Valley (the doll town I live in) where would you go first: The Raspberry Flummery Café; the Star Valley General Store; or the Star Valley Salon? I'd probably be in need of a coffee after a tiring road trip, so I'd hit up The Raspberry Flummery Café first.


Finally, these questions are from Jessica:

1. Do you have any AG dolls? If yes, which ones? Yes, I have Cécile.
2. What's your favourite colour? Blue
3. What do you want to be when you grow up? A forensic scientist / police detective
4. Do you like my blog? It looks great! I will definitely check it out more.
5. Mattel or Pleasant Co? Mattel. I'm too young to remember Pleasant Company. ;)
6. Who is your favourite AG doll and why? I like Cécile best because she's French like me. We also have a middle name in common (Amélie)!
7. Are you getting Isabelle? I already did! I bought her as a gift for my sister, Juliette. Juliette and Isabelle both share a passion for ballet.
8. Do you sew clothes for your dolls? Me sew? Nope. I'll leave that to my mom and sister.
9. What's your favourite food? Quiche Lorraine
10. What's your favourite animal? red pandas and foxes
11. What is your favourite thing to do in your free time? Ideally, I like to travel to new places, near and far. I love immersing myself in history through museum excursions. I love hiking. I love shopping for souvenirs. When I don't have the opportunity to travel, I love spending time with friends and family, watching movies, and surfing the web.


Okay . . . I have no idea who to nominate. Which active blogger hasn't already done this tag? But, if you haven't been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged by me - just comment on this post so I know to read your answers!

Here are 11 questions to answer:

1. What's your favorite movie of all time?
2. What was the last movie that you saw in theatres?
3. Who is your favorite actor? Actress?
4. What is the one song that always seems to cheer you up, no matter how many times you listen?
5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Why?
6. Do you have any pets? What are their names?
7. Are you left-handed or right-handed?
8. Do you have any siblings?
9. What is your favorite book?
10. Do you like the Harry Potter books? If so, which House would the Sorting Hat place you into?
11. Do you live in a house or an apartment?

Ton amie,
Sophie

Violets & Daisies Brilliant Blog Bouquet Award!

Salut mes amis,

My friend Taryn from The Bolton Girls' Travel Journal recently nominated me for the Violets & Daisies Brilliant Blog Bouquet Award. Merci beaucoup, Taryn! Thanks so much!
 

Now to answer the questions:

1. If you could have a 'flower pen name' like we have here on our blog, Violets and Daisies, what would it be?

'Une Rose Sous Un Autre Nom . . . '  which translates to 'A Rose By Any Other Name . . . ' which is the beginning of a common phrase that I'm sure you've all heard of before ("A rose by any other name would smell as sweet") as it's in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

2. What is your favorite ever Bible verse and why?

I love Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 best because it seems to sum up life in general, that there is a time for everything including a "time to dance."

. . . which brings me to my next reason. I fell in love with the book/movie A Time For Dancing, and this Bible verse is a big part of that storyline. I don't read the Bible as much as I probably should, so sometimes I rely on books and movies to introduce me to particular biblical passages.

3. What are the blogs that inspire you most?

The blogs that inspire me the most are the ones who've been around much longer than mine (in some form or another) because they are the ones who originally inspired my blog in the first place. These blogs include Super Inky!, As Told By Susie, and Violet's Space. I was so enchanted with the idea of having a blog to document my own travel adventures, as all of these girls have done/still do. Even though I blog about day-to-day life at times, my favorite posts are always the ones that tell about some trip I've gotten to take, and consequently, travel adventures are my favorites to read about on other blogs, too - especially if there are lots of clear, well-taken photos to go along with the words!

4. If you and your friends could visit any country in the world, where would you go?

Other than France, which in my case would be the obvious choice, I'll love to visit Canada again. Also, England, Wales, Austria, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Greece . . . well, you get the idea. Europe in general. 


I nominate the following blogs:

1. As Told By Susie
2. Wendy's Life
3. Violet, Girl of Today
4. Water Street Girls' Blog
5. Dabbling Dani 

~Sophie

The Best Blogger Award!

Salut mes amis,

My good friend Violet Boudreau nominated me for an award: The Best Blogger Award! Merci beaucoup, Violet! Thank you!

She asked me to answer five questions, so that I will do. 

1. What is your favorite post you have ever created?
I would have to say that I really love the post that I wrote about my twin sister Juliette visiting America. It took me a while to formulate what I wanted to say, and the very fact that Juliette took a hiatus from her one true passion - ballet! - to come and visit me in the States still touches my heart dearly. Runners-up would be when my best friend, Nathalie, returned to Fair Hollow and when I returned to France to celebrate Christmas with my family. Generally, my favorite posts are the longer, more detailed ones because I've spent that much more time on them (not that I don't spend time on my other posts. . . ).

2. What is your favorite photo story you have taken part of?
I really have not been in a photo story for quite some time! As I started blogging more, my photo stories became less and less frequent. Any "photo stories" that I upload to my Facebook page are simply extra photos from my blog posts. When I was traveling, I had the opportunity to be in a few photo stories, and one of my favorites is The Mystery of the Lost Puppies, which was a photo story created by my friend Marsali's mama. I relish the chance to solve mysteries!

At Fair Hollow, I am more often starring in stopmotions. My favorite of those is definitely The Lonely, a music video I did for the Christina Perri song. The song very closely mirrored how I was feeling at a time when Juliette and I weren't talking, and Nathalie had left for Canada (her home) without saying goodbye. 

3. Why do you blog?
I blog for many reasons. Mostly I blog because I love to travel and like to share my adventures with the world. I like the idea of having my own little place on the web (and an actual website is something I'm not motivated to keep up . . . I tried!). Blogging is also a great outlet for creativity and something I can do to keep from feeling bored.

I love that we've started a little community of AG blogs, and it's great fun following so many of you. I feel like I really "know" you all - even the ones I haven't actually met!

4. How many followers do you currently have on your blog?
I currently have 202 followers - over 200! Wow! I know I don't say this enough, but I very much appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you so much for staying with me over the years and for leaving wonderful comments!

5. Do you like being nominated for blog awards?
Yes! Doesn't everyone? I feel very loved and appreciated whenever someone nominates me for one.

And, finally, I nominate these girls (who haven't, to my knowledge, been nominated previously):
Marsali and Taryn of The Bolton Girls' Travel Journal
Sophia and Emma of Sophia and Emma: Halifax Twins
Inky of Super Inky!
Violet of Violet, Girl of Today (well, you deserve to be nominated, too!)
Saffron, Violet, Clara Rose, Zipporah, and Olive of The Valdez Quintuplets

If you are nominated, please answer the same questions I did and nominate five blogs for the award (and try not to nominate blogs who have already been nominated).

~Sophie 

An Award from Sara!

Sara (from Sara Loves American Girl) nominated me for the I Love Your Blog Award! :)

Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you. (Link them!) Sara has a blog that features all of the latest news from American Girl, her opinion of items that have been released, and even photo-shoots of her personal doll collection. It looks like a great blog and one that you should definitely check out. Sara, THANK YOU for nominating me for this award! This means a lot. :) 

Tell your readers why you started a blog and why you keep doing it. 

I started this blog mainly because other dolls out there were starting blogs of their own (notably my good friend, Inky), and I thought it'd be a great way to get to know other doll bloggers. Some of my classmates had started blogs before me (Lindsey and Anya), but they didn't feel like their lives were as interesting to blog about as mine was. They both decided to delete their blogs in favor of letting me blog in their place. My blog started out as a school assignment to report on life at an American boarding school. I blogged about certain events in my life, just like I do now. I've kept it up mainly since becoming a full-fledged traveling doll. For over two years (April 2009 - October 2011), I traveled the grand USA, visiting dolls in other homes. I documented my travel adventures on this blog as a way to remember them. Of course, a supportive group of friends and followers encourage me to keep on blogging, too, even if I'm currently taking a hiatus from traveling. 

Describe a usual day in your life. 

Since it's summer, I can't say that my day is all that usual. I will describe for you a typical day at Fair Hollow School for Girls during the school year. I wake up at 5:30 am, but I usually don't actually rise from my cozy bed until 6:00 am. When I am awake, I shower, dress, and eat a breakfast of turnip greens (yes, veggies in the morning!), before brushing my teeth and heading out the door. My twin sister, Juliette, and I walk to class together, and we often meet Nathalie and Chiara on the way. Juliette and I depart when Juliette reaches the dance studio - ballet is her first class. My first class is Algebra 1, followed by English, Civics, Physical Science, and then lunch! Lunch for me is usually a blueberry smoothie and sliced apples with peanut butter. After lunch, I have gym and Italian. When Italian wraps up, I usually meet my sister at The Copper Horse Pub & Eatery for a snack, and then I head back to my dorm to do some homework. Around 7:00pm, Juliette and I walk to the cafeteria for dinner (vegetable stir-fry, pasta, or something like that) and linger there for a while. After dinner, it's usually TV time in the student lounge for a few hours. Around 10:00pm, I'm back in my dorm on the computer. I try to get into bed by 11:30pm. If I'm having a sleepless night, I like to listen to my iPod in bed; my choice of tunes usually being something by Alizée or Carla Bruni. 

Tell your readers the best collab in your life. 

I've never been in a proper collab - I'm too busy for that! However, one might argue that our YouTube video productions are a version of a collab. We Fair Hollow students are collaborating on a stopmotion video. Our best collaboration on a video was probably our music video set to Rachel Platten's Overwhelmed, just because it featured a huge ensemble cast rather than just one or two of us. 

Tell your readers the worst collab in your life. 

Again, I've never been in a proper collab. However, our worst video was probably one of our first ones, just because we were still learning how to do stopmotion and how to work iMovie.

Explain what your blog means to you. 

This question is perfect for me because this post is actually my 100th post!  (YAY!) Yes, I know I started this blog at the end of 2008, and I'm just now - almost 4 years later - reaching 100 posts. I don't update like other bloggers, I realize that fact, but the important thing is that I do update. I didn't let my blog die!  This blog means a lot to me. It gives me something to do, other than schoolwork of course. It gives me a chance to tell people (and dolls) what's going on in my life; it gives me a chance to get to know others like me. I feel so much a part of this blogging community; I've so many friends because of it that I just don't know where I'd be if I hadn't started a blog. I've learned so much through blogging - how to write better, how to format photos into a post, how to take better photos to begin with, etc. I've been to places I've never actually set a foot in because I peruse and comment on others' blogs. The blogging world - and my own blog - means everything to me. Thank you, dear friends and followers, for embarking on this blogging journey with me, and I hope that we shall continue on together for many more years! Long Live the AG Blogging Community! 

Nominate 5 bloggers for this award. Make sure to let them know they were nominated. 

1. Super Inky

2. Pleasant Piper

3. Bolton Girls' Travel Journal

4. As Told By Susie

5. Wendy's Life 

~Sophie

'Your blog is great!' award

Hey everyone, 

My friend Marsali (as well as Rhianna and Erin!) recently nominated my blog for the 'Your blog is great!' award. Thank you so much, Marsali, Rhianna, and Erin! I really appreciate the acknowledgment! :) 

I don't know who has or hasn't gotten this award already (and if you have, I apologize!), but I will tag:

1. The Spicys!
2. Super Inky!
3. Wendy's Life
4. Karen mom of three's craft blog
5. The Green Girls


~Sophie

The Versatile Blogger Award & Tag!

Tirya and friends over at the Bolton Girls' Travel Journal nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you, girls! I really appreciate you remembering me and my blog. It means so much to my human and me that my blog is followed and read because we've never really consistently updated a blog before. I have really enjoyed sharing my travel adventures here, and I really hope to do that again - just as soon as I can venture out of the house again!

So, seven completely random facts about myself? Let's see:

1. I like to dance. I quit lessons because I felt like I could never keep up with my sister in terms of dancing ability. I think I hurt my mother's feelings when I quit dancing, though she never showed it. I allowed myself to repress the joy I'd experienced while dancing, until very recently. I must blame Inky for taking me to Lincoln Center. That trip really triggered me wanting to dance again!

2. I love everything about science, particularly Biology and Chemistry. I like to solve mysteries, but rather than being the sleuth in the trench coat, I'd rather be the scientist in the lab coat helping out with the forensics involved in the mystery. I want to be a forensic scientist when I grow up.

3. I love when people share my name. Having a common name like Sophie, it's easy to connect with other Sophies! I also love movie characters named Sophie (like Marion Cotillard plays a girl named Sophie in Jeux d'Enfants) and hearing songs written about people named Sophie (like the one by Édith Piaf). It makes me smile to hear my name in the spotlight - even if I'm not the one being referred to!

4. I miss my best friend Nathalie A LOT. She is my bosom friend, and I hate that she left Fair Hollow without saying goodbye. I'm counting the days until she returns. I love that my twin sister is here to keep me company, but I'll be in an even better mood when Nathalie returns.

5. Although I may seem self-confident on the outside, I'm really quite lacking in confidence. I doubt everything, even when it comes to writing. I'm constantly checking and re-checking my grammar (even my French grammar - I was never that great when it came to learning French grammar in school).

6. My biggest wish, besides seeing Nathalie again, is to get a desk of my own! Some girl named Kit called and wanted her desk back, so now I don't have a proper desk in my room. I want one quite badly, one that is really mine.

7. I'd like to tour around Europe one day, returning home to Paris, seeing other regions of France, visiting England, Greece, Ireland, Italy, etc. Of course, that probably shouldn't come as a surprise!

I nominate these four bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. The Valdez Quintuplets

2. Wendy

3. Anna Lee

4. Rory

Sorry I can't nominate everyone! I wish I could. And, Inky and Piper, you both have AWESOME blogs, but you two are always recognized anyway. I would nominate both of you, but I wanted to give a shout-out to other blogs that don't get as much recognition. ;)

~Sophie

RULES:

1. In a post on your blog, nominate 4 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.

2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.

3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.

4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.

5. In the same post, include this set of rules.

6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each

their blogs.