Aww, shucks -- I just got my first ever blog award!

Imagine my surprise and delight this morning when I received an email telling me that the wonderful Clara of Via Margutta 51 had chosen me as a Stylish Blogger! I've never received a blog award before and I feel very honoured to receive this one from Clara. Thank you so much! :)

Right, now I have to, according to the rules of the award, leave a link to Clara's blog and then reveal to you all 7 of my deepest, darkest secrets... or, just reveal 7 facts about myself.

1. I love tennis. I sort of stole that one from Clara, but it's a highly relevant fact about me too! I've played the sport since I was 5, which makes it almost 13 years. It's my favourite sport without a doubt.

2. I play the trumpet. I started learning when I was 13, and I love it. There is no feeling that can compare with the thrill that runs through you whilst playing in a jazz/concert band when everyone around you is playing and the music is swelling and... ugh. It's magnificent.

3. I saw The King and I on stage when I was 2 weeks old. No, my mother is not one of those people who brings screaming babies and kids to the theatre -- it was at the dress rehearsal for a production of the show. My brother was in it and so, not wanting to go to the actual show in case I started wailing (and I did a lot of that, apparently), Mum decided to go and watch the dress rehearsal instead. I have a feeling this is where my love of The King and I, and musicals in general, springs from ;D

4. I absolutely love the 2005 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House. I watched this series when it first aired, just a few months before I turned town the dark path of classic film ;D, and it's the first thing I can remember ever being ridiculously obsessed with. I fell in love with the costumes, the music, the breathtaking cinematography and most importantly, the story and Lady Dedlock/Gillian Anderson. I read most of Dickens' books after this, and I've watched Bleak House far too many times every year since 2005.

5. I would love to be a vet. Ever since I was little, I've dreamed of being a vet (well, a vet, an actress, and a professional tennis player ;D) and of all them, I think I have the most chance of becoming a vet. That being said, I'm more "hands on" than academic so I'm not sure how well I would cope with the long years of training and exams that one has to through to become a qualified vet. Also, I believe it's rather hard to get into veterinary college...

6. I have absolutely NO artistic abilities, whatsoever. I'm not joking. I can't even draw stick people without difficulty. I can, however, draw robots. On graph paper.

7. Something random. I had a dream last night that I was Phoebe Buffay in Phyllis Dietrichson's body wearing Baroness Schraeder's clothes (specifically, the carpet skirt she wears during The Lonely Goatherd/Edelweiss scene and a hot pink version of the blouse). I must say, I looked pretty good. In dream land, Phyllis' wig (I didn't have the Baroness' hair, sadly) didn't look really bizarre like it did in Double Indemnity.

Oh my, now I have to choose seven stylish bloggers to give this award too. HOW CAN I PICK JUST 7 OUT OF ALL YOU INCREDIBLY STYLISH PEOPLE? Here goes...

• The unrivaled Queen of Crazy: Millie of ClassicForever fame.
• The absolutely fabulous and unbelievably stylish Kate of Scathingly Brilliant
• The amazingly witty and knowledgeable Meredith of Or Maybe Einstein Should Just Relax
• The wonderful and sweet Bette of Bette's Classic Movie Blog
• The marvellous Sally of Flying Down To Hollywood
• The glorious Amanda of Time Machine to the Twenties
• The wonderful Jennifer of Films of Yesterday

I urge you to check out their blogs if you haven't already, because they are all seven really amazing!