This post marks my 100th post, which seems like an auspicious time to skip the recipes and tell you about my own good fortune. I really should have been playing the lottery in the month of December, as I won three separate giveaways from other bloggers. It was truly amazing. I’d be the first to say that I am one of those people who never wins anything. But I have to eat my words now, as in quick succession I won a set of beautiful Crosby and Taylor measuring spoons from Dine And Dish, a set of O Olive Oil and vinegar from The Enchanted Cook and a CSN Stores gift certificate from
Claire Cooks. I want to thank these bloggers for hosting such wonderful giveaways and encourage you to check out their blogs, as I think you will enjoy them as much as I do.
These material goods are lovely, of course, but I feel very fortunate in another way as well. I started blogging almost ten months ago, but it took me a while to really get going. Once I joined Foodbuzz, I discovered a vast community of foodbloggers, most of whom welcomed me into their midst with open arms. I am continually astonished by the encouragement foodbloggers give each other and nowhwere is this more apparent than in the foodblog “awards” that they bestow upon one another. Over the course of the fall and early winter, I received no less than 16 of these awards. SIXTEEN! I am humbled and honored that my fellow foodbloggers think me so worthy.
In lieu of paying it forward, I am actually going to pay it backwards. There are so many amazing bloggers out there that I am loathe to try to pick just a few to pass on these awards. I am discovering new blogs I love almost daily and I can’t pick just ten or fifteen who are deserving. So instead, I am going to tell you about the wonderful bloggers who were kind enough to pass awards on to me, and encourage you to go visit their amazing sites. Each one of them has something unique to offer the foodblogging world, and I am so glad I have gotten to know them.
Elisabeth of Food And Thrift Finds – If you are frugal, Elisabeth is the blogger for you. She is forever finding delightful cookbooks and things at local thrift stores, it’s inspiring!
Roxana of A Little Bit Of Everything – Roxana’s lovely blog includes step-by-step instructions on so many of her delicious recipes, you just can’t go wrong. Check out her Candy Cake, it was amazing.
Danielle of Runs With Spatulas – Danielle includes the nutritional breakdown of her recipes, and she had a very inspiring series called Get Up and Move, to encourage her readers to get whatever exercise they can fit into their busy lives.
Tessie of Homemaking: My Final Frontier – Tessie is so wonderfully honest about the challenges of homemaking and raising kids, it’s refreshing to read.
Amanda of Baking Without A Box – Amanda is a doll. You can practically hear her southern twang coming through her blog. It’s a fun place to visit, and you will drool over her homemade goodies.
Sandra of Sandra’s Easy Cooking – Sandra is a sweetheart, and she presents tasty, easy to make meals that can fit into every busy mother’s life. And now she’s on a mission to make recipes from other people’s blogs and review them. Watch out!
Dimah of Orange Blossom Water – if you’ve ever been curious about Syrian cooking, Dimah’s blog is the place to visit. Step-by-step instructions and beautiful photographs.
Emma of Sunflower Days – I love Emma’s blog, her style is so clean and minimalist and her recipes are just the sort of things I would make for myself.
Christiane of The Mom Chef – The Mom Chef is all about the cooking magazines. She reviews every recipe and you get a great sense of whether or not you want to make it yourself.
Amy of Amy Bakes Everything – Amy cracks me up. Not only is she a phenomenal baker, but she throws around slang like “dude” in her posts and you feel like she is right there, talking to you.
Lynn of I’ll Have What She’s Having – I enjoy Lynn’s blog so much, her anecdotes are delightful, as is the food. And she’s a fellow Canadian, so we have that in common!
Sara of The Lonely Radish – Sara is heading off to culinary school, and I know she is just going to rock it!
Nancy of Spicie Foodie – if you want to see an amazing foodie in action, check out Nancy’s blog. Inspiring recipes and truly beautiful photography.
Maya of Foodiva’s Kitchen – Maya is a whiz with food. She is forever coming up with unique flavour combinations and her presentation is just gorgeous!
Lindsey of Gingerbread Bagels – if you have a sweet tooth, you MUST check out Lindsey’s blog. You will be blown away. ‘Nuff said!
Marlis of Itchy Honeschooler – Marlis isn’t a foodblogger, but she is a blogger and I came across her site after she commented on mine. I have great admiration for those who homeschool their kids, especially those who are willing to discuss the ups and downs of it in detail!
Love posts like this…I see many of my favorite blogs (yours included!), and others to check out! Thanks!
You deserve every award out there..your food is amazing, and your writing incredible. You always find a way to visit everybody's blog and leave wonderful comments! You are superwoman!:) Thanks for mentioning me and my blog! Thank you so much!!!
The foodblog community is amazing! I'm still in awe myself of all the good food love out there! The fact that it's a global community that draws us all together peacefully despite our many differences(even in food philosophy!)gives me hope that we CAN learn to live in peace on this big blue rock! Congratulations on all your wins and honors! Enjoy them and feel the love!
So sweet of you to mention all those that helped you/supported you! Congratulations on your 100th post and here's to thousands more!
I was amazed too when I joined foodbuzz. You deserve these awards; your recipes always sound delicious and your pictures are always beautiful – and drool-worthy :). Congrats on your 100th post ;).
100 already! You sure have been on a roll and deserve all of the awards. I love your idea, I'm behind on passing mine forward and I love how you handled it. You sure were lucky. I'm looking forward to more.
-GIna-
Carolyn, I am proud to now be a part of this community. Where a wonderful person as yourself will take the time to recognize her community is phenomenal. I agree that coming into this arena can be daunting..but the bravery and love takes away any hint of intimidation immediately. Thank You so much for sharing such a Great story! Congratulations on 100 posts!
Thanks for passing the award back:) The food blogging community is pretty awesome, when I started I had no idea how much support I'd get from others out there.
Some of the blogs on your list are new to me, can't wait check them out!
well deserved and congratulations
Happy 100th post! I'm so looking forward to see you keeping up with this amazing job!
Congrats on your 100th post Carolyn. Well deserved and so sweet of you to mention such a great list of bloggers. The Blogging community is quite amazing. I look forward to reading many more of your amazing posts in the coming years. B:)
Congrats on your 100th post! I think the best part of blogging is the connecting with like-minded people. Also I think food bloggers are the nicest people on earth!
Good job on your awards and great post…so fun to find other blogs that you enjoy reading!
So great to see folks acknowledge one another. I'm a very new blogger(about 6 months)and while I could use a lot of improving I have come really far.Your support along with everyone else is amazing, and I appreciate that:) Thanks for the inspiration, and congrats on your 1ooth post!!!
Congrats on your 100th post! You deserve all of the awards you've received and more. Your blog is truly one of my favorites! You are just too sweet! 🙂
Yeah 100! I had to look at my count lol. Almost there- yikes!
I have to fully agree- once I joined foodbuzz, I've had a huge influx of amazing, inspiring, folks I've come to know and love! You are one of the sweetest ones!!!
Tessie is my homie 😉
What a great post! I've discovered some great blogs thanks to this!
Congratulations on your 100th and keep up the good work.
Congratulations on 100 posts and all the well-deserved awards. I love visiting your blog. You are a kind and sweet mamma. I love chatting w/you on twitter;) xo
Congratulations on your hundredth posts and all of your accomplishments! You are such an amazing blogger and I love seeing all of your fabulous creations.
Also, in response to your question about Eat. Live. Be., contact the writer of Sweetnicks (Cate) or Sarah of Mia Cucina Bella. Cate's email address is MissIndi@aol.com They are the coordinators of the whole thing and I'm sure they would love to have you join in! Or you could always just link up to my site every week if you don't want to be forced to post ever week!
I agree with Sandra here, you ARE a superwoman, Carolyn! I've seen you leave your comments on so many blogs (on some posts, you're the only commenter!), that I wonder when you have the time… But your support for other bloggers have been tremendous and we can witness it by how much you are loved back – I mean, come on, 16 awards??
You deserve every single one though, and I'd love to give you another one, but then we'd be passing awards back and forth forever! Lol. Thank you so much for giving my blog a shout out in your 100th post, I'm so very honored and truly glad you're one of my 'regulars'!
I agree–the food blogging community is such a supportive group! I'm so glad to be a part of it. =)
Carolyn, Congratulations on your 100th post!
And I totally agree with your sentiments in this blog: being a new food blogger myself, I have been totally inspired and touched by how welcoming others in the food blogging community are. On days when I burn my cookies or scorch my caramel, it is all of you wonderful, supportive people who keep me coming back for more.
Thanks so much, please keep the awesome posts coming, and congrats again!!
congrats on your 100th post!
very exciting!
Hope you buy yourself a special treat with your giftcard!
Thank you Carolyn, you've always been so sweet to me and it always warms my heart.
Congrats on all your well deserved awards. I don't know how you do all your wonderful baking being a young mum as well, it's amazing.
Thanks for the mention, you deserve all the awards…Your recipes and photos are great, you're an inspiration for sure!
What a lovely post!!! I will certainly check those ladies out! (Funny thing is my blog is only 6 months old and I won 3 things in my first few months! Those prizes kept me going!) Congrats on Post #100! I have enjoyed ur blog (and ur tweets!) Happy New Year and Happy Cooking in 2011!
Congrats on your 100th post Carolyn!!! 😀
Yay for good fortune! We all need a little of that! Congratulations on your 100 post and all the wonderful prizes and awards!
Congrats on your 100th post Carolyn and congrats on all 16 awards, you deserve them all. You recipes and photos are mouthwatering all the time.
Congrats on 100 posts!! Even though I just found you last week, I loved you right away!
Now I'm off to check out your recommendations – what fun!
Carolyn, don't know what's going on tonight, i just can't leave comments using none of my google/wordpress accounts.
I left one earlier but as an anonymous, somehow that's the only way I can 🙁
Once again congrats on your first 100th posts and on your well deserved sixteen awards.
Hope you're having a wonderful evening.
Green Girl @ A little bit of everything
http://gringarl.wordpress.com/
Congrats on the 100th post Carolyn!! Your blog is truly a gift… and you have deserved each and every one of those awards. I look forward to your special treats, and you motivate me to eat in a better way. I don't think I will ever get as low sugar as you do, but we work toward that direction, and I reach for my sugar box I sometimes think of you and think twice! I tell my daughter about the things that you make too and how careful you are. She is trying to make better choices and struggling with it. Thanks for all you do for us!
So sweet! Thanks doll. Glad to know you and your stellar food 😉
Congratulations on your 100th post…and all of your very well deserved awards 🙂 What a lovely way to acknowledge them.
Congratulations on your 100th post and well-deserved kudos from your fellow bloggers!
Congrats on your award you certainly deserve it!
Congrats on your 100th post! Going to click through these blogs. Some new to me ones here!
Many congratulations on the 100th post. Thank you for thinking that I deserve to be in that list of amazing bloggers.
Congratulations on your 100th Post!! That is wonderful.
What a great post! congrats on your 100th post and thanks for mentioning my blog!
I know this is several days late, but congrats on your 100th post! It surprisingly takes quite a bit of work to get there! I look forward to seeing your next 100! 🙂