Getting My Kumbaya on

Okay, so here's the deal: this is going to be kind of a sappy post.  All kinds of sentimental.  If that isn't your thing you might want to stop reading now.  (Don't say you weren't warned.)

So I've talked a number of times about blogging, both why I started and what I'd like to get out of it.  As it turns out, my favorite thing about blogging is something that wasn't even on my radar until I'd been doing it for a few weeks: the friendships and connections that keep springing up as a result.  


Not that I didn't want connections, I simply wasn't looking to make them via the blog.  (In my mind that was what Facebook was for ;)  I'm not sure why, I just hadn't envisioned blogging as such a give and take type of thing.  But of course, this is the internet and nothing is done in isolation.  Nope, if I write something in the morning I'm often getting feedback before lunch.

And so far, the feedback has been so... nice.  No, not just nice.  Nice doesn't cover it.  It's also been interesting and... somehow fulfilling.  I've gotten feedback from people all over the world.  Like New Zealand (I'm looking at you Simoney).  Or Italy (okay, I suspect this woman stopped by because my blog has an Italian title, but she stayed long enough to leave a comment: "Sono fantastiche. Bravissima. Ciao," and I now follow her blog which I faithfully translate from Italian to English).


And of course there are all the friends that I've made here in the US.  One in particular, Linda from It All Started With Paint, stopped my my blog in its infancy (which admittedly was only a few weeks ago ;).  Her encouragement really inspired me to take things up a notch and I am oh so grateful.  She also sent some really nice blog-friends my way (seriously, she told a bunch of people to come read my blog--and they did!) and now some of them are also dear blog friends (ahem, cough, Karianne). 


Believe it or not, I'm going somewhere with this.  


You see, yesterday I was awarded The Liebster Award.  


Twice.  


In one day.  




For those of you who aren't familiar, Liebster is a German word which means "dearest" or "beloved". It can also mean "favorite". The idea behind the Liebster Award is that it's given to up-and-coming bloggers (with fewer than 200 followers) in order to create new connections and bring attention to some wonderful, growing blogs.


And now I get to pass the Liebster Award along to someone else!  Here are the rules:  



1. Link back to the person or people who bestowed the honor on you.
2. Pick 5* blogs with less than 200 followers to pass the award forward.
3. Leave the awardees a comment informing them about their designation.
4. Post the award on your blog!


The two bloggers who bestowed the award on me were Lisa from Budget Design Girl and Emily from Sweet Bliss Bakery.  

Lisa is clearly a kindred spirit.  We're both Midwestern transplants (living in Southern California) who are doing our best to feather our nests without breaking the bank.  Her home tour is beautiful and she's done some amazing projects (like this vintage desk redo).  

And Emily, well, just go to her blog and click on the cupcakes tab.  Trust me, you won't regret it!

Thanks ladies!!

Now accepting an award is easy but the bestowing part is always a challenge for me.  The last time someone gave me one I was so paralyzed by indecision that I simply never followed through.   (I still feel ashamed about this.)  Truth be told, at that early stage in my blog, I just didn't feel qualified to give anyone an award.  (I kind of envisioned the recipients going, "Who are you to be giving me an award?" which is silly when you consider all the nice things I've just said about the blogging community.)  

Now that I've been at it a bit longer I feel a slightly more qualified to give out the Liebster (*though I've only picked three recipients as opposed to the usual five).  

Here they are:

• Sara from Everyday Sadie.  Sara is funny and I love funny.  (Here is an excerpt from her "About Me":  I'm a coffee-connoisseur (read: addict)... and I've been married so long I'm practically a sitcom.  See?  Funny.  (Plus this recipe looks awesome!)  So please, go and check her out.  (Tell her I sent you ;)
• Next up is Courtney from Thoughts From the Birdhouse.  At some point Courtney quietly came by my blog and became a follower.  When I stopped by to return the favor I was delighted.  Courtney is smart and articulate and I love her blog.  In short, I totally want to be Courtney when I grow up.  The problem with that?  I'm also totally old enough to be her mother.   Yup, Courtney is in high school.  (And I am sooo glad that she'll be running the country when I'm old and in need of care.)
• My final pick is a person I know in real life.  Her name is Sabine and our daughters do children's theater together.  Sabine is a true Renaissance woman.  Her "real life" job is something technical (that I don't understand).  At home she's a mom to three beautiful (tri-lingual) children.  She's also an amazing cook (did I mention she's French?) and an avid crafter.  In her copious amounts of free time ;) she started The Tech Foodie a blog that chronicles all of this.  The blog is new, but she's already posted some amazing recipes and I'm sure there's lots of great stuff to come!  Please be sure to check her out!

So that's it!  The Liebster award is just the latest warm and fuzzy thing that's happened to me since I've begun blogging.  Can't wait to see what's next ;)

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