This is a post outside our normal niche, but I thought it would be fun way for y’all to learn yet a bit more about us and also discover new blogs.
What I’ve learned about the Liebster Award: bloggers nominate each other, share some fun facts about themselves and answer a set of questions asked by whoever nominated you. It’s a chain effect that aims to promote discovery of new blogs.
We were nominated by our friend Kelsey at Pandamonium Pink (thanks love!), whom we met at a local meetup a few summers ago and have kept in touch through Instagram. She documents her recovery from an eating disorder and her progress is remarkable!
Let’s get to the fun facts
12 fun facts
- We both have an uncanny love for all types of waffles, pancakes, and breakfast foods. Breakfast dates should be the next popular thing. Fancy 8pm dinner reservations are nice, but flipping pancakes together and eating in our pjs sound maybe even better.
- Our Chinese names (the third character) are the same as well.
- We tend to get stranded at bus stops and pass time by belting out Christmas songs.
- Chew: I can yodel and wiggle my ears but not at the same time.
- Leung: I’m still kind of scared of heights
- Chew: I exclusively wear leggings as pants and whoever disagree with leggings as pants can physically fight me and I’ll win due to that fact I have a full range of motion.
- Leung: I’m really bad at snowboarding but I can’t miss out on the winter fun! And by bad I mean several face plants and falling sideways when that shouldn’t be physically possible. Moral of the story: always wear a helmet.
- Chew: I think too much: ahead, behind, backwards, sideways, diagonally… I think it all. If it exists, I’ve freaking thought of it.
- Leung: In 2008, I was obsessed with the Olympics and wanted to become a gymnast after that. I even sent Nastia Liukin fanmail. Let’s just say I’m not flexible enough to fulfill this childhood infatuation.
- Chew: I can’t wait for that stage of my life starting a bunch of cute family traditions, especially those around the holidays.
- Leung: My internal alarm clock wakes me up at about 6 or 7am every morning, even on weekends.
- Chew: My eyes water when I drink anything fizzy (so i don’t).
Q&A from Kelsey
What’s the inspiration behind your blog name?
We contemplated on starting a blog for many months, but because we couldn’t think of a name that continued to drag on. One summer evening, we sat at Chew’s dinner table and made a list of as many possible names as we could, ranging from The Rachels are Nuts to Radioactive Rachels (ahahahhaha blame the list of ‘adjectives starting with R’ for the last one). By about 11pm we concluded that Radiant Rachels was most fitting in terms of meaning, length, and recognizability.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Leung: I could be boring and say Vancouver because it will always be home in my heart, but the laid-back vibe and glorious landscapes of Hawaii is my soul-place.
Chew: Granville Island, farmers’ markets & local farms.
What makes you happy?
Leung: Sunny days, big family reunions, laughing with my friends until I can’t breathe, puppies, and Christmas music everything.
Chew: Singing in the shower, sore muscles, witnessing kindness, finding no backside to a worksheet, late night conversations… the little things.
Why did you start your blog?
To share our kitchen successes with you all! It’s also a helpful tool for us to file recipes we’d like to make again and again. We both loved looking through cooking recipe blogs when we were younger, and those blogs aspired us to start our own because wishing to do what they do and reading about other people’s lives is no match for living our own. Who knows where this will take us?
What is your favourite quote?
Leung: “And we all know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Chew: “There are countless paths to reach the top of a mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.”
Favourite movie?
Leung: I’m not much of a movie watcher and am entertained by pretty much any movie. Chick flicks are always welcome!
Chew: Blended. Anything with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore together is pretty much perfection. Also a sucker for happy endings.
What are your 3 biggest achievements?
Leung: Surviving university calculus, transitioning my family to a more plant-forward diet, and recovering from my eating disorder (more on that in the future! read my full story here)
Chew: Every day is an achievement. Aren’t we all just living the best life we know how to live?
Do you have any advice for new bloggers?
Leung: Blog about something you love. Like would-go-out-of-your-way-to-make-time-for love. And be prepared to do that. Crazy things we’ve done for blog posts include visiting several grocery stores to find a specific ingredient, hauling obscene amounts of equipment outdoors to get good lighting, and running home after class to take photos before sundown.
Chew: Don’t wait. You’re never going to be completely ready and it’s never going to be just the right time, so today is the right moment. Go achieve what you want and do what you want to do because every day is a gift and opportunity for growth. You can’t learn without trying. Ask yourself: What’s the worst that could happen? If you can live with the answer, take the plunge. Nobody is born with special permission to succeed; go attract those opportunities and start sharing your passion!
And now we nominate Oliva at Liv for Cake, Shirley at Long Live Feasts, and Amy at Constellation Inspiration to share a list of quirky personal facts and answer the following set of questions:
What is one destination on your travel bucket list? Favourite nook in your city? What are your 3 biggest achievements? What recipe do/would you bring to a potluck? Who is your favourite blogger at the moment? What flavour of ice cream would you invent? Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you have resolutions for the new year?
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