Great Doll Blog Award

I was nominated by Am I cute or what? and by MyLittleMegara for the "Great Doll Blog Award."

The rules for this award are to thank the blogger(s) who nominated you, answer their five questions, come up with five questions of your own, and then nominate five other bloggers.

Here are Am I cute or what's questions:

1. What was your very first doll? AG or other.
     Oh, man, I honestly don't remember. I've had dolls all my life. ;) The first doll I specifically remember getting was "My First Barbie" for my 3rd birthday. I loved her because she reminded me of my first grade teacher. ;) I know that I had other dolls, but that's the first one I clearly remember.

Found on Pinterest HERE.

     My first AG doll was my Pre-Mattel Felicity I bought as a grown-up. :)

2. If you had to name one of your dolls after a character from a movie or book, who would it be and why?
     My AG #25, Alice, was named after the main character from the TV miniseries Alice. I enjoyed the unique spin on the traditional story, and I loved Hatter and Charlie. :) (Not a full recommendation from me on this series, especially for younger viewers, but I did enjoy the characters and the basic story.) :)

3. Who is your favorite Girl of the Year doll?
     Mia St. Claire, known around here as "Charlie." :)

4. What is your favorite Historical AG outfit?
     I think it would be a tie between Samantha's Christmas Dress, Cecile's Special Dress, and Addy's Christmas Dress.

5. What is your favorite thing about having a doll blog?
     My favorite thing about having a doll blog is getting to share my love for dolls and toys with other people who share the same interest. :) It's been great getting to meet all of you through this amazing blogging adventure. ;)

Here are MyLittleMegara's questions:

1. How long have you been blogging?
    This July will mark six years since I began blogging. Crazy!

2. What is your favorite post that you've written/photographed?
     Boy, that's a tough one. I think my favorite informative post was the American Girl Face Molds post. It took a while to finish, but it was a lot of fun putting it all together and having a sort of "definitive" identification guide. ;)
     I also enjoy my traveling doll/zelf posts, where I take photos of my dolls or toys on our family trips and vacations. It's a great way to remember the trip and share it with all of you. :)

3. What is your favorite historical American Girl (if you have one)?
     Even after all these years, it's still Felicity. ;)

4. If you could take pictures of your dolls anywhere, where would you go?
     I would say Disneyland, but that's just because I want to go there. ;) Honestly, I think I'd take a Zelf or something small instead, because I'll have my hands full following around three excited girls. Lord willing, we'll get to go in a couple of years. That's the goal, anyway. :)

5. What do you see in your blog's future?
     I'm so thankful for how far Never Grow Up has come. I never dreamed I would get to this point when I did that first post so long ago. I'll probably have to stay at this slower pace for a while, since I have so many other writing projects, but my plan is to keep blogging for the forseeable future.
     I've been meaning to share this for a while. Maybe this is as good of a time as any. It's come to my attention that WordPress would be a better platform professionally, so I am looking into switching things over to WordPress in the future. I want to look into all of my options and get some help so I do it right. I'll keep you guys posted, though. :)

And here are my five questions:

1. Which is your favorite doll in your entire collection?

2. Which type of doll do you prefer, AG/18" dolls or fashion dolls?

3. How many dolls are in your collection? Or are there too many to count? ;)

4. What has been the most memorable thing about blogging for you?

5. What is your biggest dream for your doll blog?


Once again, I'm going to cheat and not specifically nominate anyone. (Sorry, guys. I'm in a bit of a time crunch and feeling a bit under the weather.) As always, however, if you'd like to answer the questions, consider yourself nominated. Be sure to include a link in the comments below so we can see your answers. :)

Thanks for the nominations, girls! :)

I've Been Awarded! :)

Okay, my crazy weekend is over and my kiddos are in bed, so I finally have some time to sit down and do some blogging. ;)

Oldest Gal had a very fun party yesterday, but it was apparently a bit too much for her because she stayed home from school today with sniffles and a sore throat.  She seems to be back to her normal chipper self tonight, though, so I think a day of resting and reading in bed did her some good. :)  I have a few pics to share from the party, but I forgot my camera at my aunt's house, so they'll have to wait for a bit. :}

While we're waiting for my camera to get back home, I'll do a post that I've been meaning to get to for the past week.  I was recently nominated for two different blog awards.  The Bolton Girls awarded me with the "Best Blogger Award" , and then AdeleCupcake awarded me with the "Brilliant Blog Bouquet Award". :)  So here are my horribly overdue answers to the blog questions:

Best Blogger Award:

1.  What is your favorite post that you've ever created?  

I've enjoyed a lot of the posts I've done, especially my recent photography posts.  I think I'd have to say one of my very favorite posts was my Doll Comparison Post #2.  It was so much fun to get an in-depth comparison of each of the dolls I reviewed. :)

2.  What is your favorite photostory that you have ever taken part in?

I don't really do photostories on this blog since there are plenty of them on Tess and Maggie's blog and Belle's blog.  On Tess and Maggie's blog, I love all of the photostories from my vacations.  On Belle's Bulletins, my favorite photostories are Robby, Christmas Eve, Wonderful News, and Snow Day.  Sorry, it's hard to chose just one! :} 

3.  Why do you blog?

I started blogging because I was hoping to become a published author, and my writing coach had mentioned that authors were usually expected to have some sort of blog to promote their books.  I figured it would be a good idea to figure out the blogging world when it "didn't matter". ;)  My little blog about dolls, Disney, and my other hobbies has grown steadily over the past two and a half years.  It's become so much more than I ever thought it would.  While I still blog to gain experience and get feedback on my writing, I also blog to share my hobbies and joys with the many online friends and followers I've met.  I appreciate each and every one of you so much. :)

4.  How many followers do you have?

I currently have 233 followers. 

5.  Do you like being nominated for awards?

Always! :)

Brilliant Blog Bouquet Award:

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

I'd probably use "Roses and Gardenias", my two favorite flowers. :)

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

One of my very favorite verses is Psalm 19:14.  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer."  This is a verse that my daughters and I recite frequently.  It's a great reminder of the way we ought to live every day after all that our Savior has done for us.  I love the fact that the verse covers both our words and our thoughts.  One is outward and observable by others, the other is inward and only seen by God. :) 

3.  What are the blogs which inspire you the most?    

There are many blogs I find inspiring, but a few of my favorites are The Toy Box Philosopher, The Doll Wardrobe, Accordion to Kellie, and Of Trims and Frills and Furbelows. 

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

I'd love to see Great Britain, France, India, or Japan. :)  I'd definitely have to go with someone, though.  It wouldn't take long for me to get either totally lost or totally overwhelmed. ;)

I'm supposed to nominate bloggers to award with both of these, but I think I'm going to take the lazy way out.  These have been around for a bit, so most of the people I would nominate have already been awarded. If you're reading this and you'd like to give it a shot, consider yourself awarded! :)

I have several posts in the works and hope to get back to a more regular posting schedule over these next few weeks.  Be back with more soon! :)