An Excellent Award Made My Day!

Thank you so much to Nikki and bakingblonde for awarding my blog with an Excellence Award! I'm so honored. When I started this blog back in September, it was a fun way for me to keep track of my recipes and share them with my friends and family. I had no idea how big the food blogging community was, or how many great friends I would meet along the way. It's been a great journey, and I'm thankful for this opportunity to recognize some of my new friends.

So now it's my turn to pass this award on to five other bloggers. It was so hard for me to pick just five, as there are so many excellent blogs that I read; just because I did not award this to you, doesn't mean I didn't want to! I would like to give this award to the following blogs (listed in alphabetical order):

1. Kevin of Closet Cooking: I'm not sure if there is anyone else in my Google reader that updates their blog as much as Kevin does! Most of his blog is dedicated to cooking, though he does do a little baking as well. What I love about his blog is the great variety of different foods he tries... Chinese, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Thai, etc. he seems to try it all! (He even made his own kim chi!) I also have to say that I was utterly impressed when Kevin first visited my blog. Not only did he take the time to read my last couple of updates, but he went through all of my posts from beginning to end, and commented on all of them! Thanks Kevin! :)

2. Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody: I came across Peabody's blog when I started to frequent the Nest's What's Cooking? Board. It was the first food blog that I would visit regularly (first one I added to my Google reader!), and through reading it, I learned just how large the food blogging community is! It was through Peabody that I discovered the Daring Bakers, and thanks to her that I got Dorie's cookbook and am now part of Tuesdays with Dorie. Her pictures are amazing, and I love how she features a wide variety of baked goods - from simple, beginner recipes to complex, expert recipes! That, and her taste tester cocker spaniel is super cute! :)

3. Joy of Joy The Baker: I only recently discovered Joy's blog after joining the Tuesdays with Dorie group. Everything that she creates, makes my mouth water! She has also started featuring podcasts on her blog - check them out! She looks like she could be food celebrity with her own show on the Food Network :)

4. Jenny of Picky Palate: I found Jenny's blog when I was going through my Google Analytics reports to see where all my site traffic was coming from. I was aware of most of the links to my blog, but when I saw her link I was perplexed because I had never visited her blog before and didn't really know her. I figured she had just mentioned my blog in one of her posts, but when I went to her site I was flattered to see that she had listed Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats on her blog side bar as a "great blog to visit." Thanks Jenny! :) I love all of her recipes. Being a full time mom with picky kids, I know that I can always count on Jenny to provide me with that great weeknight meal that still tastes gourmet.

5. Gretchen Noelle of Canela & Comino: I only recently came across this blog - I believe it was through the Daring Bakers. What I love about Gretchen's blog is that she brings a fresh perspective from Peru. It's always interesting to read about other cultures and how they enjoy their food. She takes some pretty awesome photos as well!

I've also received the "You Make My Day" Award. Thanks to Michelle, Erin, Carrie, bakingblonde, and Julia for making making my day with this award :)

In turn, I need to pass this along to 10 other bloggers who make my day. In addition to those who gave me this award, I would like to let Beth, Dori, Elly, Emiline, Jenny, Leigh, Nikki, Patricia, Peabody, and Ruth know that you all make my day!

I realize that these awards have been making their way around the food blogosphere, so if you've already received these awards, don't feel like you need to post again and pick another batch of bloggers to pass them on to... but I do hope that it still gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside ;)