I’ll be straight with you: I find blog awards a little bit hokey, much like chain e-mails and the chicken dance. That said, I sure do love seeing my name on someone else’s blog in a list of their favorite newly-discovered blogs… who doesn’t want that .5 seconds of recognition and fame?! We all love hearing others say pleasant things about us, right? And making other people feel special and appreciated must be one of the greatest warm-fuzzy inducers ever. So today I’ll put aside my grumpy, ornery self and be gracious for a change. Plus, this award is MoFo-themed and inspired, so it’s automatically awesome. :)

A couple days ago, two lovely ladies included my lil ol’ blog in their list of favorite blogs for the Liebster Blog Award. I’ve been reading and enjoying Brittany’s blog for a while now (check out the cupcakes she made for her cousin’s wedding!), but I only discovered Bethany’s blog this month. Bethany is a Rhode Islander, just like me, giving us that instant connection that only Ocean Staters share. :) I’ve been enjoying her posts all month, especially her most recent retrospective of her trip to Italy. I wonder why… ;)

Anyway, these two fine gals chose me for the Liebster Blog Award. What is that, you ask? Read on!

The Liebster Award 

‘Liebster’ is German for ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite.’ The idea behind this award is to bring attention to bloggers who have less than 200 followers and show your support during Vegan MoFo!

The rules of winning this award are as follows:
1. Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

Thanks, Bethany and Brittany!

I think that many of my top 5 have already been given this award, so I’ll try to find some who haven’t. And I’m not going crazy to try to figure out their number of followers, so… forgive any inaccuracies there. :) Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Greyt Vegan Life. Although Christina isn’t a daily blogger, her posts are always thoughtful and full of lovely photos and tempting recipes. Today, she veered a little of the typical food-based path with an excellent post about the connection between pets, veganism, and domestic violence. On a lighter note, she shares her home with an adorable greyhound who frequently makes his way into her photos. ;)
2. Angst Loves Spinach. Natalie inspired me to try meal planning – she posts her next week’s meals and then shares candid reviews and critiques of what she makes. I always appreciate her witty, well-written posts and the occasional photo of the titular Angst. (He’s a cat, by the way. Hmm… my first two picks frequently feature animals… is this a trend?)
3. The Airy Way. For MoFo, Zoa’s been posting macro shots of mystery food items, much like my much-loved Highlights magazine always did when I read it as a kid. The photos are always stunning and occasionally a bit creepy, and I love how they capture the unfamiliar side of familiar foods. During non-MoFo months, Zoa shares unique recipes using uncommon ingredients, and I always find inspiration in her posts.
4. Kittens Gone Lentil. This is another blog with semi-frequent kitty pictures! Susan is spending MoFo reviewing cookbooks, and I’m continually impressed with her honest, lengthy reviews. Not only does she give her overall thoughts, but she shares the recipes that really impressed her. I have a couple of cookbooks to add to my Christmas list now…!
5. My Peanut Butter’s Tachy. Another MoFo discovery! I like Kari’s writing style, and I love that she’s doing a time audit of popular cookbook/internet recipes – it’s good to know if you can trust the time estimate for a given recipe! Plus, she did a vegan ice cream round-up. Oh. My. Goodness.

So… there you go! I encourage you to check out the blogs I linked and share the love! And thanks again to Brittany & Bethany for the award – I appreciate your thoughtfulness!

What awesome new blogs have you discovered during MoFo?!