GEV nominated for the Liebster Award!

I was recently nominated for a Liebster Award by Bieke de Clercq, a certified style and image coach from Belguim! Isn't that cool? The internet and blogger community makes the world so small. In her awesome blog, Lifestyletalks, she discusses fashion, food and travel...and of course, her cute Westie, Cesar. I totally dig her basic rules of fashion: Know yourself and simplicity. Plus, I love the goal of her blog....inspiration to discover...that translates to so many different things.

I really appreciate the nomination Bieke! I'm so excited to share the news with everyone!

Here's a little bit about the Liebster Award:

The Liebster is an award given to newbie bloggers by other bloggers. It was created to enhance the discovery of new, upcoming bloggers and to give them a boost. I think it's a really cool idea.

This is how it works. Once you're received a nomination, you are asked to do a few things in return:

So...here we go. 

11 Facts About Me

1. I love...LOVE...to travel. If I had my choice, I would stop working and travel the world. 
2. I think I'm Brazilian...but I'm not. 
3. I was born and raised in the City of Houston....the only time I've ever not lived here was for college.
4. I got my travel gene from my grandmother. I have the fondest memories of her bringing me souvenirs from The Netherlands and when she would go skiing in Lake Tahoe. 
5. I love it when my friends travel...especially if its b/c they've caught my wanderlust. My favorite example of this was my May 2013 trip to Rio de Janeiro. 2 of my friends who had never really left the country got passports for the first time and came with me. That was one of the greatest feelings ever...I felt like I inspired them to get out, and get exploring the great big world. 
6. I am a comedian. I love to laugh and make others laugh. 
7. I am an attorney by trade.
8. When I get stressed I like to bake cakes. 
9. I have to travel somewhere at least once a month or I'll go crazy.
10. I love Paris. I go there at least once a year. 
11. I have an incredible, close group of loyal friends...and I love them dearly. 

Here are the questions Bieke asked me:

1. Why did you start blogging?

• I started blogging as an outlet and a relief from stress in my life. I'm a lawyer...I practice civil litigation for large corporations. As you can imagine, there are times when I want to snatch all my hair out. Also, I am not given enough vacation time. 10 days simply isn't enough. So, the reason is actually threefold....I needed a creative outlet for myself. People are always asking me about all the traveling I do so I needed a way to share all my experiences with others. Finally, since I basically live for my next trip, I wanted to have reminders of my experiences and I'm able to essentially live vicariously through my own travel life. I guess another reason is to inspire others to see the world.

2. What do you like most about blogging?

• I've never been very good with expressing emotions. I've always preferred to write things down....that helps me get my point across. I'm also very guarded in real life so blogging gives others insight into my personality and in addition getting slightly jealous about my travel life. But I only want people to get jealous enough to go do some traveling of their own.

3. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

• I've seen it. My idea of perfect happiness is the beach on Mykonos Island called Agios Giannis. If I could combine that beach with the Brazilian people and culture and some of my favorite people.....that would be perfect indeed. See what I mean? There are other things that could fit into this category but...right now....this is it.

4. What's your favorite garment and why?

• I don't actually know the answer to this question. As of right now, I'm a big fan of this huge pink scarf I bought in Greece. It doubles as a blanket when I'm on airplanes and I take it with me everywhere.

5. What simple pleasure in life do you most enjoy?

• I'll tell you what, watching a sunset is definitely my answer to this question. You can watch the sunset wherever you are...free of charge. It doesn't matter what the weather is like...and even when its a little cloudy...its always a show.

6. What's your biggest dream?

• My biggest dream is to set foot on each continent within my lifetime. It's not such a lofty dream...very attainable. But more than that, I want to see as much of the world as I can before I'm unable to travel. Eventually, I'd like to have the means to stop working for a month or so and travel the whole time. 

7. What is your favorite book and why?

• Well folks, I know this sounds crazy...or maybe not...but I'm not a huge fan of reading. I read a lot as a part of my career. Lately, I've been trying to engage in reading books recommended to me by friends. Reading a good book serves as a good way to pass the time when you're in flight or between flights like the time I had to spend the night in the San Francisco airport...I finished reading a whole book that night. I like books about journeys. Not necessarily about a trip across the country but a personal journey, a professional journey, etc....books about legal things like To Kill a Mockingbird... books about historical events and personalities. But no....I can't actually think of a favorite.

8. Which city do you like most and why?

• This is a toss up between Paris and Rio. I love Paris because of it's allure. It's an incredibly beautiful city, the history and the architecture....so easy and so elegant all at the same time. I love getting lost in Paris. There's something spectacular to see around every corner. Each neighborhood has its own beautiful personality....its romantic and interesting, chic and stylish. It's also like...even though everything is the same...I discover something different each time I visit. People watching from table in a cute little cafe in Paris is a great past time. It sounds so simple....but it's so great.
• I love Rio because of the electric atmosphere. I felt the people and the culture when I went there...like I belonged....should have been born there. The people, the beaches, mountains...so beautiful. I was in Rio during the beginnings of renovation for the World Cup and the Olympics. I felt the angst of the people as their government took money that should have been used for education and other more important things, and used it to build stadiums that would later be abandoned. My heart sank every time I heard a new story about the demolition of the favelas...even though some those neighborhoods were hotbeds of criminal activity...they are homes to many Brazilians. I love the fact that these people will dance all out in the middle of the street on a random Tuesday night. I loved the part of town called Lapa where the streets were teeming with music and people...the clubs....samba....wow. I feel nostalgia.....like my home country is calling me back lol. I even met some awesome friends in Rio. 

9. If you had a really bad day, what's the one thing that can brighten it up?

• I rarely have a bad day just because, I try not to let myself have bad days. I stay neutral so things don't affect me to much. But...if I do have a rarely bad day...a glass of wine and one of my favorite ratchet reality TV shows help me out. They remind me that...my life isn't so bad after all lol.

10. What's your guilty pleasure?

• Cheese and/or sweets.

11. What's your favorite life quote?

• Well....that's tough. I try to live my life according to Bible principles so I'm going to with a scripture. Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5,6.

OK...now its your turn! 

I nominate

• Brandon LeBlanc, author of My Long Strange Journey
• Fallon Hamilton, author of Change30Venue
• Reggie White, author of To Be Black and Blue

Nominees questions:

1. What's your favorite city and why?

2. Why do you blog?

3. Where are you traveling to next?

4. What/who inspires you?

5. Who would you most like to meet, alive or dead?

6. If you had a choice, where would you live?

7. What's your goal(s) for 2015?

8. Describe yourself in 10 words or less.

9. Give me an example of your ideal weekend.

10. What's your favorite color and why?

11. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Thanks again for the nomination!