Ohh... I just love awards time... To read this post, you may have to click on it. Technical difficulties... Gah!

Val over at A Cowhuggers Life and Cheryl at A Midlife Vegan have given me an award. I feel very blessed. I love making friends through this here little blog and knowing that there are some people out there who like my style. Time to repay the favours. I have only just met Val and have been a fan of Cheryl's for a while now. I highly recommend both these blogs. I love reading about their adventures in the Northern Hemisphere and actually Cheryl, I'm going to grow up and be you- especially if there are snow angels involved! I'm still yet to touch snow...

"Liebster" is a sexy German word meaning "beloved". Who doesn't want a little more love in their life??

The idea behind this award is to bring attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers and show some support. Unfortunately, you're going to have to rip the cute image from one of the above sites, as it seems to have set the gremlins off on my blogger. 

The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger 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!

And now on with the show!

The first award goes to (drum roll...)

Tea and Sympatico! I love hearing Caroline's stories about the UK and seeing the amazing food she makes. She is incredibly proactive in the vegan scene and doesn't mind making a sexy cocktail every now and again. Caroline is also really creative and has a Folksy shop where she sells pirate tea cosies. She also got me onto the Cake Liberation Front which I am incredibly grateful for. 

Tegan at Smart Arts and Crafty Cold Cuts is a dear friend of mine from art school. She has the most positive outlook on life and her blog is full of all things creative. She's one of the most talented artists I know. You should go visit her. 

Beautiful Vegan is an amazing site. It's colourful and well... beautiful. It's full of hints and tips and the photos are just stunning. Not sure how many followers they have but, hey. This blog is too cool for school.

Amber combines a love of cats and vegan food over at Zombie Cats Eating Plants. Need I say more? That's a winning combination right there. I've only just discovered this blog but it is super cute. Love it.

and finally, Erin. Erin is a doll. Her blog She Cooks, She Gardens talks candidly about life, food and gardening here in Adelaide. Her recipes are mainly whole foods, healthy and comforting. Many of them she makes vegan friendly. Inspiring.

Once again, many thanks to Cheryl and Val for your love and hope you both are having a wonderful day. xx

PS. If you have any advice on why blogger hates me and is not showing the main body of this post, please enlighten me. It's working on my phone but not my brand new lappy. Gah! 

How sweet it is!

The lovely Caroline at Tea and Sympatico has graced this blog with the Stylish Blogger Award. Her blog is super cute and so interesting. She lives in Manchester, UK- a place I have dreamed of visiting and will hopefully get to in June. She also makes these delightful tea coasies with the most amazing designs. Thanks Caroline!

As part of receiving the award, I must write seven facts about myself.

Ok, so... what do you want to know?

1. Well, I suppose we should start with why I made this blog. I love food. Basically that is it. I believe that vegans are more into food than anyone. We read every lable, source where it's come from, find out what those pesky little numbers mean and we enjoy finding ways to create alternative foods to those that this omnivourous world has created. We actually care about the process that the food has taken to arrive on our plate and understand the effects that it has not only on our palettes but also our bodies, mind, the economy and the world around us. We are what we eat people. I believe there is a healthy, vegan alternative to everything. There is no challenge I won't take on.

2. How did I become vegan? I first went vegetarian when I was 12 after reading about the inhumane treatment of animals in labs and about whaling. Now this was no mean feat. Coming from a meat and two veg family and being 1992, there wasn't much for vegetarians to eat. I suffered through my Mum's soft tofu burgers, which i covered in tomato sauce. I remember going on holiday once to some relatives house and they gave me a bowl of spaghetti, covered in cheese with no sauce for dinner whilst everyone else had bolognaise. How hard is it to make a tomato sauce, I ask you? I think this was her way of trying to make me see how bland vegetarianism is. But really, to me eating meat is the most selfish and depraved act. I'd rather eat grass in the backyard than bolognaise sauce. And the pasta and cheese was surprisingly good. Obviously, I didn't know there was rennet in cheese then. Essentially, ideologies like this make me all the more keen to prove how wonderful not eating meat is, by serving delicious foods.

I gave up drinking milk when I was in high school because my brother would drink it all and I'd get in trouble for it, so I just stopped drinking it all together. I occasionally indulged in ice cream and chocolate, but that was pretty much the extent of my dairy eating. White chocolate was always a bit of a weakness and there were no real alternatives to these things at the time. Sweet William now make an awesome vegan white chocolate. Score!

Eggs have always seemed pretty horrible although I have been known to cook some mean quiches. I do have pet chickens and quails, whom I love and adore, and figure it probably wouldn't be horrible of me to eat their eggs considering that they are there. But  when I think about the physical nature of where the eggs come from, I choose not to put that in my mouth. Plus, this way I get to share with those closest to me, and give the eggs to others who may normally buy eggs from animals that are treated badly.

I have been vegan off and on since 2004, but really stuck to it for about 2 years. I do slip up very occassionally but really not all that often. I believe that it is important not to punish yourself for the little things and focus on the bigger picture. Vegan nazi's suck. I eat a mainly macrobiotic diet and have a very sexy veggie patch.

3. What else do I do? I paint, take photos and draw pictures. You can find my work here. I deejay at the Crown and Anchor Hotel every second Thursday from 10 pm with the delightful Mississippi Fox. I am also a nurse in the Emergency Department at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. I love it all.

4. Yes. I have 6 housemates. Yes. It works. We all get along really well.

5. I love riding my bike. Especially to Mark Ronson's The Bike Song.

6. My favourite foods are pineapple, rocket and nuts. Not all together, although that could work.

7. I'm learing how to play drums.

Now to hand out the awards:

Cheryl is amazing. She writes the blog called A Midlife Vegan which is full of her discoveries as a mum, a wife and a woman. Her photos are beautiful and the recipes are creative and inspiring.

Cupcake Kitteh is as sweet as it sounds. Mandee lives in Sydney, New South Wales, and writes about gluten free, vegan foods. Her recipes always look drool worthy.

Eliza writes the blog Little Billie which is super cute. She is a student, studying nursing in Perth, Western Australia. She makes everything look sweet.

Monique at Mo Betta Vegan has a beautiful energy and lust for life. She's really inspiring.

Meet the Shannons is a really fun blog. These guys are based in the USA and are taking on Betty Crocker. They love all things nerd.

Photograph My Ego is an amazing photographic journey by Lauren Smeaton. She is one of the most creative people I have ever met. In this blog, she opens up in quite a personal way, showing that beauty isn't aways just smiles.

Tegan is awesome. She writes Smart Art and Crafty Cold Cuts. Here, you will find Teg's world views and how to's on various themes. Hilarious and insightful.

Alli is an anthropologist and urban planner. She writes a  delightfully whimsical tale at Girl in the Pyjamas.

Vegan Dad is one of the most creative bloggers I've seen. His food is always stunning with a lot of time and energy involved in making it look stunning and delectable.


Abi at Vanilla and Lace creates some beautiful things. She blogs about DIY, sewing, travel and food. She has a great sense of vintage style.

Now if you lovely people would like to follow the tradition, the rules are thus...

1. Make a post & link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share seven things about yourself.

3. Award ten recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won.