It's Friday - can you hear my excitement?! Another week has flown by, another weekend to enjoy. Before we get to enjoying the (hopefully) nice weather, let's look back at the week in blogland - I have some great favorite posts for you!
Also, I have a blogger I'd like you to meet - Sarah Elizabeth from
SEDiva Abroad. Sarah Elizabeth writes about life abroad,
how she got her name, and other fun adventures.
To get to know her a little better, Sarah Elizabeth is answering some fun questions for us!
In your opinion, what is the best part of living in Ireland? How long have you been there?
Irish people - like Americans, actually like most people - are a little full of themselves. It’s been expressed to be by several Irish that I am the luckiest woman in the world to be allowed to live here and to experience the truly wonderful hospitality of the Irish. Perhaps the way I have phrased that sentence has given you some inclination of my feelings toward this sentiment.
However, Ireland really is wonderful, and you don’t need anyone telling you that to realize it. Living in Cork City feels like a small town with a larger than life atmosphere, and from the corners of town, you can see the green hills rolling up and surrounding the city. A good walk will bring you straight to the countryside and a good frolic in the fields picking daffodils will always brighten your day. Oh and an Irish sunrise after a good rain? Epic. And don’t even get me started on the chocolate.
I moved to Ireland semi-permanently on August 28, 2013 and have been here almost nonstop since. But I first came to Ireland in August 2010, and really haven’t left spiritually since. Guess those Irish people are right. I am super lucky to be here again.
What do you miss most about the United States?
Psh, the most things. I wrote a whole post about this once. (see here). There are certain foods I miss (though it’s probably a good thing Peanut Butter M&Ms are hard to find here honestly). I do miss a little variety in the drink department. Ireland’s only just getting into craft beer, and since it’s so trendy, everywhere seems to be copying each other, making something that should be super exciting, super boring. It’s very steady and comforting that everywhere has the same beers, but I was hoping the craft beer revolution would help that. But now all the pubs just have the same craft beers! Oh, and the coffee’s weak.
But food and drink are superfluous really. (Except coffee. Coffee’s not superfluous). I definitely miss my adorable little puppy, Angus, and mostly, I miss my family and friends. Though I’ve made some wonderful friendships here in Ireland, you can’t replace those people you’ve known for ages who get every Boy Meets World reference you make.
It’s funny because there are so many little, ridiculous things I miss, but I suppose generally I miss the way Americans do and talk about things. I often find myself saying things like, “that’s just Irish people” as an excuse for something that I find odd or rude. But the truth is it’s just people generally. It’s hard to separate the culture from the people sometimes. It’s difficult to remember how stupid we Americans can be as well. :)
Where can we find you on a typical Saturday morning?
Nowhere like the blogger’s Instagrammed coffee date with the boy or morning jog through the sunshine. These I save for my Sunday mornings. For as long as I can remember, I’ve worked on Saturday mornings. I spent a year back home in Virginia after graduating college and before coming back to Ireland, and I worked full-time at a dance studio that I had worked at for years. Saturdays, as you can imagine, are the biggest days for recreational baby-princess ballerinas, and I’d be at work from 8:30AM! These days, I’m back in a dance studio, but luckily Irish people don’t get up too early, and I only have to work from 10.
Saturday mornings you’ll find me frolicking around with my little princess ballerinas, singing Disney songs and learning pliés. After work, I love a good long stroll through the city, grabbing a coffee and working on the blog. And there’s nothing better than snuggling up for a few cozy pints in the local pub with the boy after a long, dancing Saturday.
What is the best piece of blogging advice you have had or given?
The best blogging advice I’ve got for you and your dear readers (because let’s be real, Meagan, you don’t need any blogging advice xx) I have both received and given in relation to blogging and everything else in life. (Epic-sounding enough?)
Here it is: do what you love. We all started blogging and writing because we love to write, we love the community, and we love having our own personalized piece of the Internet to speak with those around us. So do what you love. I mean, apply to your writing - write about what you love. Apply it to your blog design - make sure it’s something you adore and are excited to see every day. Apply it to your days - blog because you love it, take a break and a walk because you’ll love it, go back to school because you’ll love the work and where it takes you. Apply it to your life in general. There are so many career paths, college programs, travel destinations, life milestones, and just general options in life. Don’t choose something because you feel like you’re supposed to. Don’t continue to do something because you said that you would. Don’t treat blogging like another item on your to do list (unless you’re already filling your to do list with only things you love!) Think about all of your choices and choose the ones that bring you joy.
Find Sarah Elizabeth:
I also have some great posts by others to share with you today for Blogger Love!
"Lessons" by Bourbon, Lipstick and Stilettos.
Want to share your favorite posts by other bloggers? Link up below, and find some new to you bloggers!
