SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS!

Posted in General by sallybr

I got a blog award! And like sunshine it made me very very happy… Thank you so much, Dorothy (from New Vintage Kitchen), it took me a while to compose this post, but better late than never! Life has been slightly hectic, but now that I am for the most part laying in the sun in Hawaii, it seems like the perfect opportunity to say a big thank YOU!

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given by bloggers to peers who they feel are creative, positive, and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

Rules for the Sunshine Blogger Award

Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 (or so) questions the blogger asked you.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award in your blog post.
Nominate 11 (or so) new bloggers & their blogs. Do leave a comment on their blog to let them know they received the award and ask your nominees 11 (or so) new questions.

Being the rebel that I am, I must say that I will not nominate 11 bloggers, so my apologies for that, I hope it’s ok. But here are the answers to the questions Dorothy asked in her nomination

Describe your blog and why you started it. My blog is almost 11 years old and it started just to join my passion for writing and cooking. I like to keep it varied, but over the past couple of years there has been a clear increase in baking.
Favorite time of day to write? I don’t have a preferred time, usually I write my posts in the weekend or evenings.
Music while you write? If so, what? No music. I don’t listen to music while I write or cook. If Phil has music on in the background, it does not bother me, but I never set anything to play.
Do you carry a notebook or use notes on phone or tablet to jot things down when out of the house? No.
What inspires you the most in regards to your writing? First, the recipe I will be featuring. It all goes around it. But I avoid excessive text before the recipe, I find it too distracting.
Have you ever dreamed you could fly? No. I guess I am a very boring person… No music, no notebooks, no flying… what’s wrong with me?
What was the last book you read and did you like it? Man’s Search for Meaning. A difficult, disturbing read but I adored it.
What superpower do you wish you had? Time travel (with 100% safe return to present).
Dark or milk chocolate? Both. Plus white.
Is there a question you wish you were asked? Nothing in particular comes to my mind.

A few more words about blogging. I have perhaps a bit over 3 thousand subscribers to the site, but I doubt that more than 20% of those come and read what I post. I never had a blog post, pinterest or instagram entry go viral. But every time I hit “publish” on a post I feel the same thrill of 11 years ago when it all started. I guess that is what keeps me going. Being nominated for an award by someone who pays attention to my writing and leaves me comments and so much encouragement? That is special. That warms my heart.

THANK YOU, DOROTHY!

14Feb2013

A FEW BLOGGING ISSUES

Posted in General by sallybr

A little bit of a tangent, this won’t be about food… I am writing this post mainly to have something I can link to when needed.

My personal policy on exchanging links: I don’t do it. The blogs on my blogroll are sites I found (or in some cases was invited to visit through a nice email) and love to read. I also do not accept offers for guest posts, sorry!

I don’t accept products to review. I will evaluate products (and also cookbook and exercise videos ;-)), but on my own. If I recommend something, you can be 100% sure it’s because I love it.

Finally, I appreciate getting blog awards, but I don’t forward them. This is a delicate subject, I admit. But I rather celebrate the blogs I love by cooking from them. If you follow my blog, you may have noticed I do that regularly.

Having said so many “I don’t“, let me finish on a positive note: I wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy it to the fullest, following the example of very wise creatures, who definitely know how to live in the moment... 😉

16Jun2012

THE BEWITCHING KITCHEN TURNS THREE!

Posted in General by sallybr

It’s hard to believe it’s been 3 years since I wrote my first post, unsure of where it would take me. Since then, I’ve published 447 articles, and went from having a couple hundred page views per month to over 20 thousand!

If my life was a smooth, uneventful ride, I would bake a cake for the occasion. A cake chosen from the several options suggested last year in the comments, fingers crossed that it would be as gorgeous as this baby:

Instead of uneventful, our life seems to follow the script of North by Northwest. 😉 All kitchen stuff is now divided between two homes, we are surrounded by boxes, and constrained by deadlines. No cake this year, I’m afraid. Instead, I celebrate by bringing you the first giveaway in the Bewitching Kitchen!

Leave a comment on this post from now until the end of June, and on July 1st I will draw the name of the lucky winner. The prize?

A copy of “The Brazilian Kitchen“, a book I recently fell in love with and wrote a post about. Everyone is welcome, from all over the planet, as long as the mail service can reach you! 😉

To all my readers, subscribers, followers, friends (in real life and those special friendships formed through the blogosphere) thank you for your support! And a special thank you to Fer, from Chucrute com Salsicha, who (maybe without ever being aware of it), was my main source of inspiration to become a food blogger.

I close this post sharing two photos from our new home: the view from our kitchen window, and a spot at the corner of our backyard. Just a teaser, we are not moved in yet, but sort of camped there for a couple of days last week. The two of us, a bed, a kitchen table. and the amazing performance of fireflies outside the window during the night…