In my previous post I wrote about how little time I’d had lately to dedicate to my blog. Well while I was preoccupied elsewhere, I was lucky enough to be honoured by not one, but two fellow bloggers with two Liebster award nominations! I was so touched by these nominations from Maryana at Salutaris Vita and Dani at The Fairy Kitchen. I love reading the posts from both of these beautiful blogs so to be nominated by these ladies was amazing. If you don’t follow them, I highly recommend you do!

So what is a Liebster award? Well its a way to recognise new bloggers and in a way, welcome them to the blogging community. I did some reading on Liebster Awards and I think they’re such a great way to recognise and support each other as we start our various blogging journeys. Nominees who accept the award in turn nominate other amazing blogs for the award.

The rules of the award are quite straightforward:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog
2. Share the award on your blog (save the image below, or google for another one you like, there are so many options)
3. Answer the 10 questions asked of you
4. Ask 10 questions to 10 new nominees who have less than 300 followers (I have nominated blogs I love reading but its sometimes tricky to ascertain exactly how many followers they have so if I have nominated you and you have more than 300 followers please don’t be offended.)
5. Notify the bloggers you have nominated by leaving them a comment on their blog.

I hope my nominators don’t mind me combining my response into one post – it seemed the only other way to accept both awards would be to do two almost identical posts. I’ve been asked two separate sets of questions and I’ll answer them one at a time:

Questions from Salutaris Vita:

How did you come up with your blog name?
I have wanted to write as The Fare Sage for a number of years. Originally I was going to try to write restaurant reviews and sell them to local newspapers and magazines but that never got past the idea stage. The name is a bit of a play on words – sage, ‘a profoundly wise person’ is meant to imply a certain wisdom about food, or fare.

Who (or what) inspires you to write?
Food in general inspires me to write. I write mostly for my children and my family and friends who often ask me cooking questions, and hopefully my writing can inspire others to get into the kitchen too.

What place do you write your blogs: home, caffee, park..?
I’m currently on parental leave from work and have a 6-month old so my writing is almost completely done at home on the computer while she sleeps. Occasionally I start or edit a post from the couch with my iPad.

What is the most used tag in your blog?
Chicken and Baking seem to be getting equal air-time

What is the main goal of your blog writing?
I intend to capture all our favourite recipes and meals for my girls to be able to reference in the future. But I’m also looking for a bit of sea change career-wise so while I’m not working I wanted to try to make something happen, so we’ll see what happens with this blog. You make your own luck right?

What makes you happy?
My family. Cooking. Warm sunny autumn days.

Do you like to cook? What meal?
I LOVE to cook. The meal that makes me most happy to cook and serve is a Julie Buiso recipe from her ‘Viva L’italia’ book called Chicken with Lemon and Cream. Its the most incredible combination of chicken, rosemary, garlic, lemon and cream served with buttery pasta and it makes me excited just thinking about it.

What country are you from?
New Zealand

Do you like to exercise? What sport?
I’m not a huge exerciser so these days its mostly going for walks with the kids.

What is your dream place to live?
I would love to live in the heart of Sydney, or in a small village on the coast in Wales, or in Kuala Lumpur. Or in Dubai. Too many amazing places to choose from!

 

And my questions from The Fairy Kitchen

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Time Travel. Is that a superpower??

What’s the one food you could eat every day and won’t get tired of?
Salmon. Any way. No question.

What’s your favorite quote?
‘The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails’. William A. Ward.

Is there a skill you really want to learn?
I always fancied learning to play the harp. But for a more practical skill, I’d love to be a food stylist or professional photographer.

Movies or TV shows?
Movies.

Staying in or going out?
Staying in, especially in winter.

What’s your biggest fear?
That my kids won’t find what makes them happy.

Why did you start blogging?
I like to write and I like to cook, and being home with a baby gave me the opportunity to combine both. I wanted to write down our favourite recipes and to share them. And I’ve spent so long in a career and industry that doesn’t make me happy, I wanted to see what it was like to dedicate my time to something I was passionate about. So far, so good 🙂

What’s your dream destination?
Everywhere! I particularly love Australia, Asia, Europe… Not being able to travel like we used to is probably the hardest thing about this stage in our lives. Before the little ones we travelled a lot and its one of my favourite things to do. We haven’t been able to get away much recently. But I know it won’t be forever and before long the kids will be easier to travel with so we can go on big family adventures. Bring it on!

Who would you take with you on a road trip?
My husband. He’s my ideal travelling partner.

But enough about me, to my nominees! Being new to blogging I’ve predominantly started following other food blogs for inspiration, tips, and to connect with like-minded people so most of my nominees are food related. I also have a passion for travel and discovering other countries so there are a few travel blogs I covet too. My nominees are, in no particular order:

• The Brookhaven House
• Wee’s Life Art
• The Fashionista Cook
• The Foggy Foodie
• Anita Cuisine
• Creatively Courtney
• The Lady Vera Way
• My Kitchen My Thoughts
• Electric Blue Food
• Spades, Spatulas and Spoons

I have nominated blogs I love reading but its sometimes tricky to ascertain exactly how many followers they have so if I have nominated you and you have more than 300 followers or have been nominated before please don’t be offended. I just love your blog so wanted other people to know about it too.

Any my questions for these writers should they choose to accept this award are:

1. Is this your first blog and how long have you been doing it?
2. What encouraged you to start blogging?
3. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
4. And what do you find most difficult about blogging?
5. What inspires your posts?
6. Do you care about your stats? Why, or why not?
7. Where to you hope to see your blog in 2 years time?
8. If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?
9. Coffee or tea?
10. If you could pick your dream career, what would it be?

Thanks once again to Maryana at Salutaris Vita and Dani at The Fairy Kitchen for nominating me for these awards!!!