An award and my answers

Riv over at Bookish realm nominated me a couple of weeks ago for the Liebster award. Due to all the things going on at work (final exams etc) I was not able to answer her questions sooner, but finally I have found the time.

First of all, thank you very much, it is so kind of you to mention my blog. Here are my answers. 

11 random things about me.
1. I hate the colour yellow. I own nothing that is yellow, and I have absolutely no yellow clothes. 
2.  Last week my mother taught me how to crochet. I never thought I would like it, but I really enjoy it and I intend to make a totebag with all the little squares I crochet.
3. I have no sense of smell and I never had it. I was often ill when I was a child, so I think I lost it then. I do not really miss it, but it can cause a few problems sometimes.
4. I make an amazing vegetarian lasagna, if I say so myself. I have a great recipe with goat's cheese, aubergine and courgette.
5. When I was a child I was terribly shy. I still can be, but experience and being older taught me how to handle it.
6. I love driving in my car. I have a Citroen and since I was a child I liked those cars. I vowed never to own a car that is not a Citroen.
7. I have started an Italian course a few weeks ago. I always wanted to learn Italian because I think it is the most beautiful language in the world, but I never managed. With this new course I have high hopes!
8. I do no like team sports and never played them.
9. I like country music, Kenny Rogers, Jesse Coulton, Dolly Parton etc.
10. My favorite flowers are violets.
11. I am terribly afraid of spiders.  

Riv's questions, my answers are in blue
1. Do you read magazines? Which are the ones you are subscribed to, or buy (fairly) regularly?I have a subscription to two magazines, one is about Italy and one is about yoga. I really love it when they come in the post and usually when they arrive I spend the first hour just glancing and reading through the magazines. 
Often I buy the Grazia, I do not know if this is a magazine that is also available in other countries, but it is about fashion and celebrities etc. Every now and then I like reading about the marriage of Brangelina or the latest Hollywood diet.

2. Those of you that eat ice cream - what is your favourite flavour? Those who don't (if there are any) - why don't you eat ice cream? I only eat Italian icecream and I love stragiatella icecream and pistachio icecream.
 

3. Do you have any pet peeves? Name some. I hate standing in line and usually get cranky the moment I have to get in line. I utterly dislike self-made postcards (sorry!).
 

4. From pet peeves to pets - do you have any pets? Please introduce them, and feel free to add your favourite photo of them. (Or talk about pets you have had in the past. Or pets you'd like to have in future.) I have two cats at the moment. When I was young we had cats but when they died my parents refused to get another cat. The moment I was living on my own, I had a cat. My first cat was called Floortje and she was really sweet. A handful, but sweet. When she died I got two cats from the shelter and they have been with me ever since. They are called Corrado and Silvia. Corrado is a scared cat but can be brave when he wants to cuddle and Silvia is a very laconic cat, although she wants to cuddle more and more. They have been abused in their past, but I hope they have a good life with me now. 

5. Choose your preferred one among the following: a handbag, a tote bag, a sleeping bag, a tea bag, a punching bag. Why did you choose the one you chose? A totebag, I think. I really like them and I never have enough. Then again, a teabag is also something that I like, I love my cup of tea every day (several).
 

6. Do you keep (or have ever kept) a journal or a diary? I had a journal when I was a child (one with a lock, you remember them) and since a couple of years I have been keeping a journal again. I write almost every day, what I did, books I read, things that happened etc. I really enjoy it. The best part is having these amazing little notebooks to use as journals. I like notebooks.

7. Do you read any other type of blogs aside from book blogs? Feel free to link your favourites, if you feel like it. :) I read mostly book-blogs, but also some vintage blogs and some lifestyle blogs. You can find the blogs I read in my bloglist on the right.
 

8. Do you have a favourite nail polish brand? (I hope none of you is a man hiding behind a female profile :) ) I hardly ever use nailpolish since I never manage to apply it well, but when I use it I use colourless polish (how do you say that in English?)
 

9. When was the last time you were on a plane? Summer of 2013 when I was going to Rome on holiday.

10. If there was a hashtag to describe your life, what would it be? #ClearlyRunningOutofQuestionsFast #MakeYourOwnLifeAsGoodAsPossible would be it, I think.
 

11. Jan Special: If you could time travel, where would you go and why? Nice question. I would go to two places. I would go to Russia somewhere before the Russian Revolution and try to advice tsar Nicolas II about the situation so there would be no Revolution.
And I would go to Rome when Julius Caesar was almost murdered to warn him.

My questions:
1. What is your favorite movie or series made from a book?
2. When was the last time you went on holiday and where did you go?
3. What was your favorite subject in school?
4. If you had 100.000 euro's (or dollars, or pounds), what would you do with it?
5. If you could host a dinerparty with historical and/or authors and/or literary characters, which four people would you invite?
6. Have you ever wanted to be a writer yourself, if not why not and if so, what kind of books would you like to write?
7. Do you like to cook or not?
8. Who is your favorite actor/actress and which movie/series/play did you like him or her best?
9. Are you a morning or an evening person?
10. What is your profession and do you like it and why? If not, what would you like to do for a living?
11. Ebook or paper book?

Who do I nominate?
Well, I am afraid I do not follow the rules here, I am suppose to nominate 11 blogs, but right now I only can think of two blogs I would like to nominate, since others already got nominated on other occassions on other blogs. Of course, if there are other people who like these questions and want to answer them, go ahead!

Jade of Bits and Bobs Bits and bobs
Lark of Lark writes about books and life

If you do not want to answer the questions because of time or just because you do not like to, that is fine, there is no pressure!
But if you do, these are the rules:

1. Thank the blogger that nominated you and link back to their blog.

2. Display the award somewhere on your blog.

3. List 11 facts about yourself.

4. Answer 11 questions chosen by the blogger who nominated you.

5. Come up with 11 new questions to ask your nominees.

6. Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think deserve the award. (or less, as you can see, I only nominated 2 blogs)

7. Go to their blog and inform them that they've been nominated.