Myself Liebling Award

I'm feeling emotional today but a positive feeling of joy, good emotions, nothing negative... But I have been nominated by German magazine Myself for a "Liebling Award" and I feel so humbled, so honored, and so out of my league when I look at the others whom I'm surrounded by who were also nominated in the various categories.

I feel emotional about it because two years ago this month, I left my home country of America for Hannover with a mission - to get to learn more about my husband's country, learn his language, understand his perspective and to be with his friends and family in the city where he grew up. It was a big undertaking to relocate from where you feel comfortable but comfort can be boring and I decided to follow the path that would present challenges and an opportunity to learn and gain a new perspective no matter how far out of my comfort zone it would be. I also remember when I moved over to Germany that I wanted to positively contribute to German life and culture in some way. I don't believe in relocating to a new country and not contributing somehow in a positive way to the local community. I think if you are going to go live in a new land, you have to be willing to work with the locals, learn from them, share what you have to give, teach... One thing I wanted to positively influence here is how people view decorating and design in general. I had no clue how I could do it, but as my German readership grew on decor8 over time, and as I went out to meet people here in Germany, I realized how much Germans love to learn about what others are doing and are a very curious and open-hearted people.

It's so rewarding when you sit around a table with a huge magazine like Living At Home or Brigitte (which I've done a few times already) and have so many listening intently to how I run my business, how I built my blog and about my desire to share information and ideas and open the doors to new perspectives.

To be nominated for an award in Germany after living here over two years is confirmation that I am doing what I set out to do - inspire people and share information. I'm learning so much from Germans and they are in turn are learning from me - the American transplant with a German husband - and isn't that what coming to a new land should be about? Sharing? Knowledge is power people say and I believe this. The more exposure we have to things on the outside, the more we understand ourselves and the greater our work can become.

I'd like to thank Myself magazine for nominating me as one of three whom they feel deserve the recognition, to be nominated alongside of Hella Jongerius and Inga Sempé makes me feel shy because who am I to be in the same category as such greatness? But perhaps the new way of thinking is that we are all in this together, young, old, experienced, new, and that perhaps is why I have always loved Germany since I started coming here in 1999, people here are valued for their work and authenticity above all other things. Germans are not easily impressed by surface things, they want proof to back up the surface - that the facade really exists, and I guess they see that what I'm doing comes from a sincere place and that I truly have passion for decorating, writing and sharing with a global audience everyday online. This pleases me so much that words cannot express.

Whether I win this award or not, that's up to those who wish to vote for me. It's out of my hands. But I am still happy to have been nominated and that I'll be in their September issue which is also very good news because more will learn about me and what I do.

My book will be released here next month, Lust auf Wohnen, and I'm anxiously awaiting how Germans will interpret my style and vision through its pages. I hope they embrace it and find pleasure in seeing some different perspectives as much as I have found pleasure in the many new perspectives that I have gained by living here.

Have a nice weekend!