A Lovely Blog Award

I knew nothing about A Lovely Blog award until Ema Jones, who writes Food 4 Your Mood, nominated SavannaBel for it last Friday. Though Ema and I have never met; though she lives a polar opposite life to me in a different hemisphere on a different continent, I am filled with gratitude for the boost her nomination gave me so soon after I’ve started blogging. Please click on the link above to read Ema’s blog in which she covers worldwide cuisine, festivals’ food, health tips and recipes, and food for mood.

One Lovel

The One Lovely Blog Award is given to bloggers by fellow bloggers and, I learned, was initiated to promote up-and-coming blogs, as well as to highlight those blogs that are thought to be “lovely” by the person nominating them.

Blogging, as my good friend Georgie Knaggs said in a recent post, “is like releasing carrier pigeons – a little attention to the pigeons at their journey’s end and then they’ve a real chance to make it home again to fly another day.” I couldn’t put it in any better way.

This nomination is about paying it forward. Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who has nominated you; provide a link to his/her blog.

2. List the rules and display the award image.

3. Include seven facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers (I’ve only nominated eight), and let them know that they have been nominated.

5. Display the award logo and follow the blogger who nominated you.

Seven facts about myself:

  • I grew up in a civil war.
  • I wanted to be a writer since the age of five.
  • I was once a party animal.
  • I have lived and worked on every continent in the world except South America.
  • I helped steer a pro-democracy bill through the United States Congress into law.
  • I am most at home in the natural world.
  • I hate waste.

My nominees are:

Gourmandistan – I love reading about this couple’s adventures into all things food. It’s addictive!

food to glow – I felt a connection to this blog as soon as I started reading it. Healthy, original recipes combined with great writing and photography.

My French Heaven – A French feast for the eyes with outstanding photography.

“food on fifth” – Food styling and photography I dream about.

In Jim’s Garden – Jim’s love for his garden is catching!

Africa Far & Wide – Africa Unplugged, seen through the eyes of a keen observer whose vignettes and photographs are authentic and compelling.

The Phraser – A well-written, diverse blog from a compassionate witness to life.

don’t you know who I am? – I so enjoy novelist Molly Moynahan’s truthful, pithy take on life.

Annabel Hughes Aston is a writer and an award-winning chef in Livingstone, Zambia. She is the creator of "bush gourmet" cuisine.