BlogHer 08 Conference and Some Awards

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting several food bloggers while attending the BlogHer conference in San Fransisco. The conversation was engaging, the food delicious, and the weather freezing. I seriously considered buying a winter coat at Macy's Pre- Winter sale, but then I'd never wear it again in San Diego. I now understand why Mark Twain said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Fransisco."

I missed the food bloggers' dinner with Elise from Simply Recipes on Friday night, but I did run into her on Saturday. Quite literally -- I tripped over an AV cord and flew into her arms -- she has remarkably fast reflexes for a food blogger. She also gave a terrific talk on building blog traffic where Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen snapped this pic.

I also got to meet the following fantastic food bloggers at the conference:

• Andrea from Andrea's Recipes
• Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener
• Janice from Meal Makeover Moms
• Jennifer from Jennifer Jeffrey
• Kathy from Panini Happy
  
• Lydia from The Perfect Pantry
  
• Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy (I had a great time with Sara over coffee while she was in San Diego a couple of weeks ago.)
  
• Shuna from Eggbeater

I only wish I could have gotten to talk to some of them more. Hey, I know, we should do it again next weekend (How about San Diego this time? No winter coats are needed.).

Saturday night we attended a cocktail party at Macy's where we talked to several interesting bloggers, namely Michelle of Scribbit. That was one of the highlights of my weekend. She is even warmer and funnier in person than she is on her blog, and that's saying something.



On Sunday several San Fransisco food bloggers joined us for a lovely get-together organized by Amy and Kalyn. Pictured from left to right are me, Simona from Briciole, Anna from Cookie Madness, Christine from Christine Cooks, Amy from Cooking with Amy, Biggie from Lunch in a Box, Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen (who has more pics on her site), and Claire from Cookthink.

Others who joined us but are not pictured include:

• Chuck from Sunday Nite Dinner and Food Gawker
• Ed from Is it EDible
• Gudren from Kitchen Gadget Girl
• Gutenberg and Chubby from Bunrabs
• Jen from Life Begins at 30 and the Eat Local Challenge
• Kristin from Offbeat Eating
• Lynda from TasteFood
• Sam from Becks and Posh
• Sean from Hedonia

And now it's awards time!

Dear Alka from Sidhi Rasoi has honored me with the Blogging with a Purpose Award. This is a special award that I take great pleasure in passing on to the following deserving bloggers:

1. Mary Ann of Finding La Dolce Vita who bestows kindness upon as many people as possible.
2. Karina of Karina's Kitchen for making gluten-free eating doable and delicious.
3. Peter of Kalofagas for deliciously coaxing out the Greek in all of us.
   
4. Simona of Briciole for generously sharing her Italian language and culinary skills.
5. Susan of Wild Yeast for teaching us how to bake darned good bread.

One of the most delicious awards you can receive is the Yummy Blog Award, and lovely Burcu of Almost Turkish Recipes has flattered me with it. Here are some blogs I have already said are yummy, and here are a couple more:

1. Jaime of Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats for her super close-up shots of super yummy treats.
   
2. Marianna of Swirl and Scramble for her alluring desserts.
   

Judy of Judy's Gross Eats has flattered me with the E Award. Thank you, my dear. Please see the 15 fabulous bloggers I have already nominated for the E Award. And here are a couple more for good measure:

1. Everything about Joey's blog 80 Breakfasts is excellent.
2. Peter of Souvlaki for the Soul, whose photos are mouth-wateringly irresistible.



Two of the sweetest bloggers I know, Ames of Yay! Pie and Pip of Zenzerro and Cannella have made my day a whole lot brighter by sending me the I Love You This Much Award. Now I'm awarding it to all of you!




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Feelin' the Love

They say love makes the world go 'round. Well, we food bloggers are doing our part to keep the world spinning. Today I'm accepting some tags and awards from lovely bloggers and passing them on to more lovely bloggers.

Wendy of A Wee Bit of Cooking (an old blogger friend) and Sarah of Homemade (a new blogger friend) have tagged me for the 6 Word Memoir Meme. Like the title implies, you sum up your life in 6 words, then tag 6 more bloggers to do the same. Here's mine:

Thirteen years.
Seven homes.
One husband.

Here are 6 more people I'd like to hear from:

1. Ivy of Kopiaste
2. The Zen Chef of Chefs Gone Wild
3. Emily of Superspark
   
4. Linda of Make Life Sweeter
   
5. Peter of Kalofagas
6. Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

One of dearest food bloggers I know, Deeba of Passionate About Baking, has flattered me with a nomination for a Blog of Distinction. Here's how it works: You nominate 5 blogs that make you laugh, cry, think, or sigh. Thank you, Deeba, for making me laugh with your cartoons, think with your quotes, and sigh with your creations that are always baked with love. You brighten my day.

1. Marie of Proud Italian Cook makes me sigh. When I read her posts about her family and see her recipes for Italian dishes like her amazing sausage bread, I am instantly transported back home to Rhode Island. Thanks, Marie, for making 3,000 miles not seem so far.
   
2. Anne-Marie of Ambrosia and Nectar has a knack for teaching, not preaching about cuisine. I also admire the way she takes a humble ingredient like a prune and transforms it into something extraordinary.
   
3. Emiline of Sugarplum makes me laugh. I like the way she embraces life in all its quirky wonderfulness and that she doesn't take herself too seriously. Plus, have you seen this girl's brownies? Dang.
   
4. Susan of Farmgirl Fare takes photos of her farm animals that make me go "Aaawwww." (And I'm not even an animal lover. ) Look at this photo, then tell me you didn't do the same thing. Susan, thanks for making me sigh and laugh.
5. I "met" Dhanggit of Dhanggit's Kitchen when she submitted her festive Tropical Santa Cookies to my Eat Christmas Cookies event last December, and we've been regular visitors ever since. Dhanggit's innovative recipes and lovely photographs are a pleasure to see. So I was truly saddened to learn in this post that her beloved father recently passed away. My heart is with Dhanggit and her family. That's why her blog made me cry.
   

Amy from FamiliaBencomo has nominated me for the Arte y Pico Award. Here's how it works: You select 5 blogs that you feel excel in creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language. Thank you, Amy, for your generosity; I am humbled that you consider me your "culinary muse."

Here are my 5 nominations:

1. Suganya of Tasty Palettes inspires me with her exceptional recipes and artfully composed photographs. What's even more impressive is that Suganya recently celebrated her blog's first anniversary, so it can only get better and better.
2. Helen of Tartlette. Extraordinary desserts. Extraordinary photography. Extraordinary blog. Thank you, Helen, for your endless creativity and flair.
3. Jess's blog, Cakespy, has a touch of whimsy that I find enchanting. From her fantastic artwork to her humorous posts, Jess just seems like she's always having a good time. How could you not like that?
   
4. Anh of Food Lover's Journey inspires me with her elegant culinary creations and evocative photography. I admire Anh: In addition to blogging, she has just completed the first round of her PhD program! Not too shabby.
   
5. T.W.'s passions for food history and baking come together in his spectacular historical cakes. T.W. bakes cakes from vintage cookbooks and children's books then writes engagingly about their origins. I'm thinking maybe he should change his blog's name from "Culinary Types" to "Let Them Eat Cake." Hey, it's historical.

A while back I nominated Deeba of Passionate About Baking for an Excellence Award, and she simultaneously nominated me for a Nice Matters Award. Pretty cool, huh? I am especially touched since Deeba is one of the sweetest bloggers I know. Here are more 5 more exceptionally nice bloggers:

1. Shn of Mishmash!
2. Anali of Anali's First Amendment
   
3. Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms
   
4. Bal of KaRaFaKiDeN TaTLaR and Be Foodie! (her English language blog)
   
5. OK, this one is actually for you, dear readers. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts and for leaving thoughtful comments. You're the reason I love blogging.

Tomorrow is the first day of my Beautiful Bones event. Hope to see you there!

Forget the Oscars, It's Time for the Excellence Awards

Diane of Alberta Postcards and Helene of La cuisine d'Helene have graciously selected me for the Excellence Award.

A visit to Diane's blog is like taking a virtual tour through Alberta, Canada, as she shares lovely photos and musings about her life there. Like most French women, Helene knows how to cook. Be sure to check out her delicious and sophisticated recipes. Since Diane asked me to select 10 bloggers and Helene asked for five, here are my 15 choices.

I really wanted to wear these $8.5 million dollar stunning diamond drop earrings for this announcement, but according to publicists at Harry Winston Jewelers of Beverly Hills, he only loans to movie stars. I guess that means I need to come out with Food Blogga, The Movie. In the meantime, here are the winners:

1. Jeff, my one and only, of The Derm Blog, for teaching us all about dermatology with wit and humor. Plus he's really cute.
2. Susan of the Well-Seasoned Cook for writing eloquently about her love of food.
3. David, the chef behind Book the Cook, for defying all culinary stereotypes with his savory, appetizing traditional British cuisine.
   
4. Arfi of HomemadeS for capturing the beauty of food and of life.
   
5. Joythebaker for being a talented and down-to-earth chef who enthusiastically shares here culinary expertise with us. I like her style.
   
6. Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once for her endlessly inspirational food photography.
7. Lara of Still Life With for generously sharing her food styling and photography expertise with us.
8. Gretchen Noelle of Canela & Comino for her honest and humorous perspective on home cooking and delicious recipes.
   
9. Peabody of Culinary Concoctions for giving me a sensational sugar high every time I visit her blog.
10. Amy of Cooking with Amy for her engaging food writing and fascinating insight into global cuisine.
11. Amanda and Tyler of What We're Eating for their witty and entertaining food dialogues.
12. Manggy of No Special Effects for his amusing and self-deprecating style. His food is really good, much better than he lets on.
    
13. Deeba of Passionate About Baking for sharing her love of family and food.
    
14. Ronell of MyFrenchKitchen for her artful photography and lovely watercolors.
15. Amy of Nook and Pantry for her focus on fresh, seasonal cooking and lovely photography.
    

And then there was a meme...

I've done these "tell me about yourself" memes a few times now, so I'm running out of ideas! But since Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Gattina of Kitchen Unplugged both tagged me recently, here goes:

1. I'm almost two inches taller than my husband. But don't tell him that, he just thinks it's my hair.
2. Speaking of hair, I had really long, really curly hair and wore glasses which made people mistake me for Elaine in Seinfeld. One time when we were in Cape Cod, some guy at a gas station kept insisting I was "that girl from Seinfeld." Despite my denials, he thought I was being coy to "protect my identity," and begged for an autograph. After several requests, I gave it to him. So some guy somewhere in the Cape has a map with Julia Louis Dreyfus' (aka Food Blogga's) signature on it.
   
3. Speaking of Seinfeld, when Jeff and I started dating, my mom said one night after he left, "Hey, you know who Jeff looks like? That cute comedian with the beautiful teeth." (My mom has a thing with beautiful teeth.) "You mean Jerry Seinfeld?" "Yeah, that's him. Jeff looks so much like him, doesn't he?" (Thank goodness she didn't ask for his autograph.)
4. No one has mistaken me for Elaine since 1997, when in a moment of spontaneity, I sheared off my long locks. I've had short hair since. Forget bra burning, short hair is what you call liberation.
5. Throughout my four years of high school, I ate a bowl of Rice Krispies with strawberries on it every single morning for breakfast. That comes out to 1,460 bowls of Rice Krispies! Now, that's a lot of snap, crackle, and pop.

If you haven't done this meme and would like to, then consider yourself tagged!

photo credit: fancyjewelry

Food Blog Awards 2007

Food Blogga was nominated for Best New Food Blog and for Best Food Post at this year's Well Fed Network Food Blog Awards. Thank you to the Well Fed team for selecting me, and thank you readers for all your lovely comments and emails. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for the Best New Food Blog as I am short of the post requirement; I've withdrawn my nomination.

If you enjoyed my Waffles, Coffee, and Lentil Soup post as much as I enjoyed writing it, then please vote for me.

With sincere appreciation,
Susan