I have a confession, it never occurred to me that I would get any kind of award for this website. Frankly, I consider it no small miracle that people show up and read my posts. Even more miraculous have been the comments and emails that you have left (or sent). Some of your adoption stories have made me a happy weepy mess and I love and cherish each and every one.
Today when I saw that I had a comment from Michelle over at Warsaw Mommy I was excited, and when I read it and it said she had an award for me and to pop over to her site I was shocked. Then to read her kind words and see what this award was all about, I was humbled. I’m sure that somewhere out there, there is an *official* governing body that recognizes Bloggers but to me this award is priceless – it’s like a fan favorite award. I have been recognized by someone I like and admire and now I get to pay it forward and recognize some other people.
So today, I get to thank a new friend for her kind words and recognize some people I think are truly talented. However you’re getting ready to find out how random I am when you see my list and some of the blogs I follow when I’m not here, sharing myself with you. What should be interesting is that I am a notorious blog lurker so the people I am going to recognize may have no idea that I’ve ever stopped by their website, let alone that I stop by regularly and that I really admire what they do. So, here are my Sublime Seven Picks -
Thanks again to Michelle over at Warsaw Mommy Blog for your kind recommendation and a wonderful opportunity. If you haven’t stopped by Warsaw Mommy – you really should, Michelle is Canadian and living and loving in Poland with her husband and two beautiful boys. Her posts and pictures are entertaining and insightful, and when I am having a bad day there are few things that pick me up faster than clicking the “My Kids Love” and checking out those pictures and reading the posts there. {Michelle you’re on my *award* list whether it’s appropriate or not for me give the award you’ve given me back to you!}
The Eclectic Connoisseur is the first blog I ever stumbled across that was written by a “normal” person. I follow the blogs of some of my favorite authors and some of the “high profile” bloggers, like Pioneer Woman, but Ashley opened a whole new world to me – a world in which someone that I might bump into in the grocery store is sharing something personal with me. Ashley shares her cooking adventures and when things start to get slow – she shares other things that she finds beautiful with her readers. Ashley always inspires me to get in my kitchen and try something new! I love her site.
Another favorite of mine that is food-centric, is Kirbie’s Cravings. Kirbie’s site header boasts that it is the tale of “one hungry girl and her boyfriend attempt to satisfy their food cravings in San Diego and Beyond.” Kirbie (and her family) travel far and wide and they share foods I’ve never seen or heard of, recipes that have ingredients I’m not sure where to find, and they always somehow entertain and amuse me. I can’t help but check her site and marvel at her culinary adventures. (And I like that sometimes she reviews places like the local college’s dining hall.)
Recipe Shoebox seems to be undergoing a face-lift lately, but no matter what it looks like the women of Recipe Shoebox have been a blessing in my house. This is my “go to” website for those nights when I have no idea what to cook but the prospect of being in the kitchen for a couple of hours after a long day seems unbearable. These ladies have never lead me astray – I’ve gotten rave reviews on everything I’ve ever made from this site and even better most of the recipes are the kind of things I already have in my kitchen!
LoveFeast Table run by best friends Chris Ann and Kristin has captivated my imagination. I love the way they talk about food, the way it brings people together. They also periodically host “Love Bombs” and really I have got to get out there and try to host one of these here at home. I am definitely a mother hen type to all of my friends but I love the way they use food to open new doors and make new friends. {This is also the website where I first learned about Chai and now I’ve got a drawer FULL of Chai tea!}
Hippo Brigade is a site that I stumbled across recently, through another blog, and the minute I read it I felt like I was home. I giggle alot when I read Hippo Brigade. Because I am new to the site and still working my way through the archives, I admit that I might have the author’s name wrong, but Beckey of Hippo Brigade has such a unique sense of humor and sense of style that her blog is just so much fun.
Kara’s Kitchen Creations is another new blog for me, but I must admit that Kara had me at “Spinach Garlic Chicken.” {There was a link to her blog from Recipe Shoebox.} Then I saw Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken, and my heart melted. I haven’t tried any Kara’s recipes yet and I’ve noticed that she seems to run several other blogs so this is just the tip of the iceberg, but I’m looking forward to getting to know Kara better!
If you have some time, check out these fabulous blogs – you will probably get hungry, but hopefully you will laugh along the way and enjoy them as much as I do!

Joy, in our opinion, you just threw down a little love bomb yourself! You see, we’ve never received a blogger award and it makes us giddy to see such kind words! And now, we just met a new friend too!! What a very cool way to “pay it forward”!
Thanks for making our night!
~kristin and chris ann
The pleasure was all mine
I haven’t heard of any of these blogs (I’m not much of a foodie, though I love food), so after breakfast (CORN FLAKES!), I’ll go check some of them out.
And well done on spreading the lurve. Fun, huh?
I’m so glad that I could share the love!
It was a blast! I didn’t think I was that much of a foodie until I started looking at the blogs in my feed and realized more than half of them were food related! LOL! I am having steel cut oatmeal for breakfast – not too impressive for someone that follows all these great food blogs, eh? LOL
Great to “meet” you, Joy. You have quite an inspiring story. Thanks for the blog award!! I’ll definitely check out the other award recipients’ blogs. Feel free to stop by any time and chat.
Now, to share the love and choose my 7…that’s going to be tough!
Thank you, thank you! You’ve made our day. One of these days I’ll get around to spreading the love (and maybe finally finishing up our face-lift too).
I know I sent you an email thanking you for the award, but I just realized now that I never commented on this post. Thanks again for the award. I’ll be posting it about it soon hopefully on my blog with my pick of seven. It’s hard to choose 7!
can I just say that I love how many of these are food related?
oh, and congratulations on the award!
I love to cook, to eat, and to entertain!