“The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster? The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.” (Source: We Loved Here)

Hey guys! So big news - I've been nominated for a Liebster Award! The lovely Rachel Palof, from Dear Wilde , nominated me this morning. I'm pretty excited. My little venture into the blogosphere has been developing over the past few months, and I am loving blogging more and more as time passes - and I hope, finding my "groove". I'm so thrilled that readers are enjoying the content on my site, and am excited about the new challenges that blogging brings to my life.

Basically, when you're nominated by another blogger for the Liebster, you respond to a series of questions, and then tag your favourite blogs (with under 200 followers), and ask them questions! Sounds fun right? And I think it's an awesome way to get to know other bloggers + make friends! So here goes:

What is your favourite kind of book to read?

I really love reading memoirs, and biographies. If you had asked me this question a few years ago, my response probably would have been much different. But there's something about being transported into the lives/pasts of real people that's really interesting to me. I really enjoyed "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)", "Bossypants", "I'm With the Band", "Wonderful Tonight", and I'm currently reading Pete Townsend's, "Who I Am". I am really into rock bios. Musicians lead some crazy lives.

I also really love books about popular culture. I am obsessed with Chuck Klosterman's essays, and also really enjoyed Rob Sheffield's masterpieces, "Love is a Mixtape", and "Talking to Girls About Duran Duran".

What inspired you to start blogging, and is there a story behind how your blog came to be?

Polka Dotted Pixels is not my first venture in blogging (though it is the first blog I have taken seriously). I used to blog about music/my life on a blog called, audio, video, disco (I started it in 2006, and blogged every so often until about 2009/10). I started it in my senior year of high school to share music with my friends and followers (there weren't many, though I did actually meet readers in the real world, and thought that was amazing.. haha). I also used to have livejournal and diaryland accounts where I shared poetry and complained about boys.

I was inspired to start blogging again, because I felt like I needed a space to share content. I noticed my Facebook feed was full of graphic design inspiration, and thought maybe I could organize those ideas into blog posts. Some of my favourite bloggers, like Elsie + Emma @ A Beautiful Mess, and Bri @ DESIGNLOVEFEST - just made it look like so much fun. Finally one day in March of 2013 (March 7, my birthday to be exact) I decided to take the A Beautiful Mess Blog Love e-course, and give blogging another shot.

I also thought that the Polka Dotted Pixels blog would be the perfect accompaniment to my freelance graphic design business.

What’s your favorite way to relax when you’re stressed?

When I am really stressed/freaked out, I go for a walk, or take a shower. I don't know why, but it always calms me down. I also started doing yoga, and found that I've been much less tense. When I need to wind down, I like to watch movies, or throw on some Netflix and just veg out.

Name an artist whom you admire or whose work has influenced you.

This one is tough. There are so many depending on the medium.. I will stick to the visual arts. My favourite photographers are Francesca Woodman, Cindy Sherman and Sara Angelucci. I also really like, Jeff Wall, Robert Doisneau, and Autumn DeWilde. My favourite painters are Rothko, Dali, Miro, Hamilton, Johns and Kandinsky. I went to art school, and am kind of obsessed with art history, so I could probably go on forever.. haha.

If you could learn one thing overnight, what would it be?

How to speak another language fluently. My boyfriend is Brazilian, so I would love to learn Portuguese to be able to interact with his family. My own family is Italian (my parents are first generation Canadians), so I would love to be able to speak Italian. I can understand it when my grandparents speak to me, but I am nowhere near fluent. My French is passable (thanks mom! She's a French teacher), but nowhere near perfect. I haven't studied it in a long time.

And that's it! I am nominating:

1) Whitney from Whit B Nimble

2) Corina from Cocorrina

3) Sarah from One Chance

4) Kathryn from Gypsy Beard

5) Maggie from Bobbins & Birds

I am basing the "200 follower" stat off bloglovin'. So if you have more than 200 followers, and I added you to the list, I'm sorry! I just like your blog :) If you decide to respond, be sure to leave a link to your page in the comments so I can see your answers!

Now for my questions:

1) What do you love about blogging?

2) Who is your favourite band/musician?

3) If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead) who would it be?

4) Do you like collecting? (I'm a huge collector - records, dvd's/movies, souvenirs from my travels, washi tape, photography books, and so much more) If so - what do you like to collect?!

5) If you could have lived in any other time period, which would you choose, and why?

If you want to answer my questions (even if you weren't tagged), I would love to hear your replies!

Want to follow Polka Dotted Pixels elsewhere? Find me on Bloglovin', Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Dribbble! If you want to view my photography, you can visit my old website at www.akpettinato.com!