A little help from my friends…

One of the best things I have discovered about blogging in the past six months is the fact that there are so many like-minded folks out there! I mean, my “in person real life” friends all know how much I like food, photography, travel and writing, but some of them just aren’t blog readers (which is ok…).

However, we all know that comments and emails are fuel for the blogger’s creativity and motivation so the fact that I have made so many virtual friends in such a short amount of time has meant that I have continued to blog when some days I would think “who even reads this anyway?” (well, apart from my family…). Then someone would comment and you would know that at least one person appreciated your post! Remember the scene in Julie and Julia where she gets her first comment? (ok, it was her mum but still…) Well every time I get a new comment, that’s how I feel. I love that you are all out there reading and commenting and I love reading and commenting on your blogs…

My nomination for Best New Blog at the Foodbuzz Blogger awards in a little over a week (just two days left to vote!!!) has truly blown me away, as has all your support! Making the Bertolli Sauces final eight was just the icing on the cake so thanks everyone who buzzed my recipe. You know who you are! If you haven’t you have until Sunday so buzz away!

So, onto business! Over the past few months I have received a few “blog awards” (errr… including a couple from the summer which got filed away when I was in Laos never to be seen again until I was tidying up my Blogger Dashboard….) so I thought now would be the appropriate time to pass accept and pass them on.


From Gina at Simply Life, Rachel at Laptops and Stovetops and Penny at Jeroxie (Addictive and Consuming).


From Rebecca of Chow and Chatter


From Sandy of Strangling my Muse


From Carrie at K a b l o o e y

For all these awards, the blogger has to reveal 7 or 10 things about themselves that their readers don’t know about them as well as pass the awards on to other bloggers.

Ok, so seven things you probably don’t know about me:

1. I have three passports and three citizenships (legally!)
2. I have lived and worked in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong, France, Belgium and Canada.
3. I met Neil in Casablanca, Morocco in December 1999.
4. I rang in the new millennium singing “Wuthering Heights” on a rooftop in Marrakech with my sister and Neil (ok, I was the only one singing).
5. I moved to Canada 6 months after I met Neil.
6. I am usually not that cavalier about such decisions. I am a Taurus.
7. I have not lived in Australia for 15 years but I still have an accent (that those of you who will meet me in San Francisco will get to hear!!!).

So there you go! In terms of passing these awards on, I see so many people receiving these around the blogosphere that I thought I would take this opportunity to simply say thanks for your friendship to the authors of the following blogs (in no particular order):

Kablooey (my first blogger friend, I think!)
Natalie’s Killer Cuisine
The Chickenless Chick
Fresh Local and Best
Laptops and Stovetops
Jeroxie (Addictive and Consuming)
Hold the Beef
Cooking with the Whineaux
Sense and Serendipity
Chow and Chatter
Taste as you go
Traveleatlove
Simply Life
A Sweet Spoonful
Felice in the Kitchen
HighLow FoodDrink
Menu Maniac
Fresh Eats

Thanks for reading, commenting, encouraging. I really appreciate you all!

22 thoughts on “A little help from my friends…”

  1. Thank you so much, Mardi! I've had so much fun getting to know you and love how much we have in common. Keep up the tremendous work with the blog and good luck with the Foodbuzz Awards! (Of course, I voted for you.)

    Reply
  2. Firstly – Neil..I feel your pain at "kreativ". I was touched to receive that same award a few months ago but the joy was bittersweet with the cringeworthy spelling.

    Now, onto Mardi… thank you! I feel very special to get a mention! And I totally know where you're coming from…how great it is to have all these friends out there that I've never actually met, who take the time to read my ramblings and make a little comment too 🙂 Your kudos are well deserved! Good luck with the awards and the sauce comp!! Oh and one last thing – I want to hear this so-called Australian accent of yours after being around corrupting forces for so long 😉

    Reply
  3. Thank you so much Mardi! I think you were my first blogger friend and fan (i.e. someone outside my family and friends who I didn't have to beg to read our blog!)
    I'm very happy to have met you, fellow Canadian! Your blog is wonderful and all the awards and accolades are much deserved!
    I can't wait to meet you in San Fran!

    Reply
  4. Michelle – My pleasure and it has been so fun to get to know you too! Fellow Taurean!

    Menu Maniac – you're welcome

    Neil – I know.

    Conor – we might have to skype so you can hear my accent!

    High Low – You will never have beg me to read your blog!!

    Fresh Local – thanks and you're welcome.

    Reply
  5. Yay! I love all of the bloggers I have "met" too, so much positivity and so many intelligent and interesting people. I am amazed you have lived in so many places. I would love to hear about them all.

    Reply
  6. Aw, cool. I mean "kewl." I hate misspellings too, when done for whimsy. But those awards you got were all deserved and all given, I'm sure (as mine was) because you have a great blog. And yeah, I knew you "when". We go way back. You will remember me when you're a superblogbigshot, right? Mardi? Mardi? It's me, your oldest blogbud,
    K a b l o o e y. Whatya mean, K a b l o o e y who?

    Reply
  7. Thanks buddy! We have given each other a lot of support the past few months. And from our conversations, I feel that we know each other somehow! Come back to Melb soon!!!

    Reply
  8. You're sooo right Mardi, if my memory serves me correctly, you WERE the only one singing Wuthering Heights on the rooftop in Marrakech!! A good night was had by all……

    Reply
  9. Chow (Rebecca) – thanks for all YOUR support

    traveleatlove – Over a glass of wine next week in San Fran!!

    Kablooey – yes, you did know me "way back then"!!!

    Penny – I totally feel like I know you!

    Lorraine – thanks 🙂

    Tami – well YOU were encouraging me!!!

    Reply
  10. Thanks for the shout-out Mardi!
    Hey, remember at the beginning of the summer how you were asking me for advice…hah, clearly you didn't need it! Congratulations on everything good that's come your way lately–what fun to see such a lovely blog being recognized!

    Reply
  11. Megan – Oh I still DO need a lot of advice – looking forward to networking at the Foodbuzz festival and getting some there. Thanks for all your encouragement over the past few months!

    Simply Life – Ditto!

    Reply
  12. I doubt anyone will read this at this late stage, but two things.

    1) Tami, I don't think Mardi can lay the blame for her rooftop shenanigans at anyone's feet but her own.

    2) There's a very rude comment in a gloriously quirky film called "Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead", uttered by Harvey Kietel. Boy, am I tempted to repeat it…

    😉

    Reply
  13. I'm late to the party but Mardi, thanks for the shout-out and special thanks for your wonderful support and comments on Fresh Eats. Best of luck with Foodbuzz – great to see accolades coming your way!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Neil C. Phillips Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.