Liebster Award | Q & A

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award by Tiffany from Red Wine and Blue Mom!! It is such an honor to be nominated for something as sweet and kind as this and what a fun way to connect and develop friendships within the blogging community!

The Liebster Award was created by The Global Aussie and 'is an award given to bloggers by other bloggers. In German, Liebster means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.' It was created to connect and support the blogging community.

Firstly I would like to thank the lovely Tiffany from Red Wine and Blue Mom for kindly nominating me! Her blog is all about motherhood, cooking, inspirational posts and everything in between. On top of all this she is an exceptional blogger and writer! Don't just take my word for it, click here to find out for yourself!

The way the Liebster Award works is:

• Another blogger nominates you.
• They answer questions posted to them by their nominator and at the end of their post they ask you a series of questions to answer.
• You then nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserves the award.
• Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog.
• Head over the The Global Aussie for more rules and don't forget to post your blog in the comments for others to read!

Let's get to the questions!!!

1. What inspired you to start your blog?

I started my blog in early 2016 and previous to that I had never been much of a writer - in fact English was my worst subject in school! I had just moved to London from a small town in New Zealand, and wanted to keep my friends and family up to date with our adventures on the other side of the world. I fell in love with blogging early on and even spent the little time I had on my evenings and weekends writing and taking photos. I found out quickly that it is very time consuming and almost a full time job, so the blog got put on the back burner for a bit. Since moving back to New Zealand, I have had the time to invest into making this website the best it can be (I still have a long way to go!) and have rediscovered my love for blogging again!

2. What has been your proudest blog moment so far?

To be honest, my blog is pretty small and doesn't get a lot of traffic, which is fine because it is a hobby and not a job - but I have to say being nominated for a Liebster Award is pretty exciting! To think someone thought of me and has visited my blog makes me very happy!

3. Where do you go when you need a little material inspiration?

I go to other blogs, pinterest, instagram, youtube etc for inspiration. There are so many talented bloggers out there who create beautiful content, and I find that is the best place to get inspiration. Plus its important to support each other as it is such a tough business to break in to. I also love going to YouTube for inspiration. Even though I am too shy to post videos, I love to be able to incorporate those ideas into my blog posts.

4. Do you have a routine you have to do before or during your writing time?

Not really. I usually write the blog post first and then sort out the photography later. I love having loads of photos on the blog because that is what I like seeing on others.

5. What do you hope to accomplish by the end of the year?

Personally, I would like to become less dependant on other people's approval and accomplish some of my fitness and health goals.
In my blog, I would love to grow my audience, get better at blog photography and stick to a schedule of posting throughout the year. We will see how that goes!

6. Which blogger would you love to colab with?

This is a tough question as I don't know too many. I would say Niomi Smart would be one of the bigger YouTuber/Bloggers I have always admired and I love her content. I also love InTheFrow and her fashion posts. She is killing the game!! To be fair I would be open to colabing with anyone who shares the same interests - travel, fashion, beauty, fitness or God. Hit me up if you would like!

7. What do you love to do when you aren't busy blogging?

I love to travel and explore new places. That is something I always hope to do. I like fitness and enjoy running (OK maybe 'enjoy' is too strong of a word...). I have also found a new love of cooking recently so creating new dishes is something else I love to do!

8. Post 10 random facts about me (from The Global Aussie)

• I am a Christian
• I have travelled to 22 different countries (some more than once)
• My nickname is Bam 
• My favourite movie is The Holiday
• I have 2 tattoos and 5 piercings
• I am terrified of the ocean and I find beaches in no way relaxing
• I do not like coffee or tea
• My personality type is INFJ
• I LOVE sleeping
• My favourite TV show is Friends

9. What makes you passionate about blog posting? (question from The Global Aussie)

Blogging has created an environment for me to share my experiences, be creative, and write about the things I love. I hope to use this platform to inspire others and I pray that whoever reads my posts can walk away with a smile and a bit of encouragement. The world can be a negative place - especially with social media - and the blogging community is such a positive and supportive place to share and discover new products, travel stories, find inspiration and everything in between.

My nominations are:
1. candidlykristina.com
2. pricelesslifememories.wordpress.com
3. phillipdeanblog.wordpress.com
4. lazygirl.us
5. moretoexplore.co
6. todaytomorrowforeverella.wordpress.com
7. thetustingirl.com
8. forevermotivated.blog

My questions are:
1. What or who inspired you to start your blog?
2. Where is your dream travel destination and why?
3. Do you have goals for your blog? If so, what are they?
4. What is the last compliment you got?
5. What are your hobbies outside of blogging?
6. If you could live anywhere in the world (fiction or not), where would it be?
7. What is something that most people don't know about you?
8. Do you have pets? If so, post a photo of them here!

I hope you enjoyed reading this and thank you again to Tiffany for my nomination!! I can't wait to read your responses! Leave your blog links in the comments - I would love to support you!
Don't forget to be kind and lift each other up!

Thanks for reading!

God Bless,
Amber x

New Years Resolutions | LIFESTYLE

It is the last day of 2017 and the New Year’s resolutions are about to be in full swing! The 1st of January is the perfect excuse for a new start and clean slate which is why I believe so many of us love the New Year. Making goals and sticking to them is incredibly satisfying although I am definitely NOT one of the 8% google says actually keep them. For 2018 I have tried to keep them short, achievable and write them down so I am accountable.

Drink More Water

I don’t know about you but this is the last thing on my mind during my busy day at work! Last year I found myself drinking less and doing a lot more which lead to a lot of burning out at the end of the week. Every blogger and health guru seems to tell me that drinking more water is the first step to a healthier lifestyle which is what I am striving for in 2018.

Healthier Lifestyle

I know this is so cliché but it needs to be said! Before I left for London in 2015 having a healthy lifestyle was a huge part of my life. While living there I had found it a lot harder to eat healthier and to find the time to go to the gym due to the commute and the everyday lifestyle of a big busy city. This year I hope to be more organised and put my body first to not only look healthier but feel healthier too! My goal is to complete another run, whether that be a 6k, 10k or half marathon.

Be More Organised

Generally I am a very clean and organised person… until it comes to my bedroom! I need a clean space to think clearly and keeping things in order really helps. This year I hope to keep my work and home space a clean and relaxing environment.

Write on my Blog More

Seeing as each blog I post is getting further and farther in between, I think that means I have some work to do on this little blog of mine! Unfortunately it takes a lot of time and due to living in London for the past 2 years, I didn't seem to have as much time as I would like to dedicate to this. Now that I am back in New Zealand I have found I have a lot more free time and would like to focus more on writing and creating better content on here. Ideas are always welcome!

Decide on a Career Path

Even though I am 25 years old I still have no idea what I want to do for a job! Why is it so hard?! Since leaving high school in 2010 I focused my life on travelling. Even though years have passed I still am not sure what I want to do. This year I want to make a decision and begin the journey towards a career. 

Learn to Cook

This year I have decided that it is time for me to actually use those cookbooks I buy but never use and become the next masterchef (OK that may be a bit too adventurous!). I love cooking and trying to make new dishes so spending a bit more time in the kitchen rather than on the couch will be the first step in achieving this goal. Lets hope this will help with the healthy eating as well! 

What are some of your New Year's Resolutions?! I would love to hear them!
I hope 2018 brings you and your family health, happiness and new adventures. Remember to be kind and step out of your comfort zone. This year will be great!!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading!

God Bless,

Amber x

Welcome to my Life

Hello! 

My name is Amber. I have recently moved to London from a small town in New Zealand.

Our travels began when we left New Zealand on the 14^th of November 2015. Saying goodbye to my family and pets was extremely difficult. Although it was easier knowing it wasn’t forever.

We arrived in LA after a 12 hour flight. We spent a few days in LA exploring the city and taking in all the sites. The highlights were Santa Monica, Warner Bros Studios Tour (where we went to the Friends set and Pretty Little Liars set!) and Disneyland. 

We then joined our contiki group, jumped on a bus and headed straight to Las Vegas. Vegas was amazing, even for someone like me who doesn’t drink a lot. We continued our bus journey through to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Durango Colorado, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Dallas, Memphis, and all the way to New Orleans.  

We said goodbye to all the friends we made on our bus tour and then we continued to Washington DC ourselves.

I fell in love with Washington DC as soon as we landed! It’s such a beautiful city that is very clean, has amazing parks, and an incredible history to tell. We walked for hours around the parks to all the major sites like the Smithsonian Museums, National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial Park and of course the White House. I decided I wanted to do some shopping (of course!) so we made our way to Georgetown and it was adorable with its picturesque streets and shopping boutiques.

After our few days in Washington DC we moved on to New York City. Let’s just say that this place is my favourite city I have ever been to! I couldn’t believe how much I fell in love with New York. Times Square, the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, 5^th Avenue, the West Village, Brooklyn Bridge, Bryant Park, the food, the yellow cabs, all the skyscraper buildings and it all at Christmas as well! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE New York!!!  

Now it was finally en-route to London... but not without a quick stopover in Iceland first. Iceland was freezing cold with a high of only -6°C during the day and only 4 hours of daylight. What a beautiful place though. We were blessed enough to be able to see an amazing display of the Northern Lights on our first night. That was the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen. I would highly encourage anyone who gets a chance like this to take a moment and put down the camera and just experience the beauty of Gods creation. The next day we explored Reykjavik and on our last day we relaxed at the Blue Lagoon Hot Springs which was also incredible. 

We finally landed in London after a month of travelling the USA and Iceland.

Now to start living and working again.

Amber