liebster award!

Hey guess what?!  I was nominated for a Liebster Award by the lovely Jessica over at Blissfully Miller and the sweet Ashley at Let's Get Bananas!

This award is given to up-and-coming bloggers, so it is super sweet of Jessica AND Ashley to nominate me!  It's so much fun to ponder my answers and see what other bloggers have to say.

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you. 

2. Write 11 facts about yourself once nominated. 

3. Answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you. 

4. Nominate 11 blogs with 200 or less followers.  

5. Create 11 Questions for those bloggers to answer.

11 Random Facts about me:

1. I am absolutely terrified of birds. 

2. I'm getting married to a really awesome guy next summer.

3. I can kick myself in the nose with a straight knee and pointed toe.

4. I eat Chick-fil-a at least once a week.

5. I don't like coffee, and I rarely drink anything besides water (except for, you know, wine and vodka).

6. I hate wearing high heels.

7. I LOVE where I went to college...gig 'em Ags!!

8. My favorite TV shows are American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

9. I have kind of an unhealthy obsession with Justin Bieber.  

10. Ice Cream is my favorite thing in the world to eat (I even used to work at Cold Stone!).

11. I try and cook dinner for my fiance and myself at least 3-4 times a week. 

Questions from Jessica:

1. What's your favorite color?

Green!  It used to be purple, but I kind of grew out of that.

2. What made you decide to start your blog?

Pretty much my entire family lives in Houston, so when I moved to Dallas, I wanted a way to keep in touch.  I also wanted to share my adventures in the kitchen!  Blogging has turned out to be a lot of fun, and I've loved getting to know other bloggers that have similar interests as me.

3. How did you decide on your blog's name?

Since I was going to write a bit about cooking on my blog, I decided to pay a little homage to one of my favorite chefs, Ina Garten (the barefoot contessa).  The "ballerina" part of the name comes from my love of dance!  It's also a nice little alliteration...the English teacher in me likes that :)

4. What's your favorite thing to cook?

I love to make big pots of soup that are chock full of veggies.  I like chopping up a bunch of stuff, throwing it on the stove, and watching it simmer away.  I also love to bake yummy desserts (chocolate chip cookies, in particular) that my friends and I can enjoy.  

5. If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet my favorite dancer/choreographer of all time, Travis Wall.  I have been following him since he was on So You Think You Can Dance season 2, and I cannot get enough!

6. What's your favorite movie?

When Harry Met Sally.  I've probably seen it 100 times, and it never gets old!

7. Who's your blog crush?

I love Jenna at EatLiveRun.  She seems like such a sweet, genuine person, and she makes wonderful food!

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

TEXAS.  I love it here :)

9. How would you best describe yourself?

I would say that I'm very easy-going, patient, and kind.  I like to please other people, but I'm not super duper social.  My favorite things to do are cook, dance, and hang out with Austin and/or my family.

10. What's in your purse at this very moment?

Oh, sheesh.  My wallet, a pocket full of mints from various restaurants, 3 different kinds of chapstick, my camera, a coin purse, a pen, Advil, my sunglasses/case, a wine opener (you never know when you'll need to break that out!), headphones, a pack of gum, my iPod, and a coupon to yogurtville. 

11. If you were buying a house, would you want a fixer-upper or move-in ready?

Move-in ready.  It would take me waaaaaay too long to get everything done in a fixer-upper.

Questions from Ashley:

1. What is your dream job?

Being the Drill Team Director at a high school.

2. What did you want to be (occupation) when you were little?

An actress.  Ha.

3. If you could be the best at something, what would it be?

Hmm, I think I would want to be the best dancer!  That would probably make me a better dance teacher too...win/win.

4. What is the one TV show you never miss?

So You Think You Can Dance.

5. What is your favorite food?

Ice Cream! (chocolate mixed with cake batter with cookie dough mixed in).

6. If money wasn't an issue, where in the world would you like to travel to?

I would love to go all around Europe.  France, Ireland, Italy, Spain...

7. Heels or flats?

FLATS.

8. What's the best piece of advice you've received?

Just be yourself.

9. What's your favorite feature about yourself?

Probably my eyeballs.

10. If you could be the best at one thing, what would it be?

See #3.

11. What's the one food you despise?

Brussel Sprouts.  Yucky.

My Nominees:

1. Blonde. Naturally.

2. Confessions of an Uptown Girl

3. Our Kind of Perfect

4. Trying to Make Fetch Happen

5. The Lo Down

6. The Style Soup

7. Wine & Summer

11 Questions for my Nominees:

1. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

2. Who is/was your favorite boy band?

3. What is your favorite reality show?

4.  Your house is on fire, and you can only grab 3 things.  What do you scoop up?

5. What is your biggest pet peeve?

6. What was your best subject in school?  Your worst?

7. Who is your favorite cartoon character?

8.  Describe your perfect Saturday night.

9. If you could choose any career you wanted and money wasn't an issue, what would it be?

10. If you could be any animal for 24 hours, what would you be?

11. What is your favorite quote?