When I started blogging approximately one and a half years ago, I really had no idea what lay ahead.
I never guessed at the friendships that I would strike up with other bloggers all round the world and how much they would come to mean to me.
And this is what has happened for me with Özlem from Ozlem’s Turkish Table. I can’t really remember how this amazing relationship started – it must have been through our love of Turkish cooking – but she and I now correspond on a regular basis and comment on each other’s blogs and it feels as if we have known each other forever! I so look forward to meeting her here in Istanbul one day.
Now comes the embarrassing part: she honoured me recently with a blog award, the Kreativ Blogger, in fact it was at the end of March. I was really delighted to receive this but somehow time whizzed by and I am only now able to sit down and do honour to the terms of this award! Özlem, here I am at long last, do forgive me for taking such a long time to put pen to paper but here I am and thank you so much for nominating me.
The Rules of Conduct for the Kreativ Blogger Award:
1. Thank the blogger who gave me the award and provide a link (as above).
2. List 7 interesting things about myself that my readers might find interesting.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers, provide links, and let them know.
In the fullness of time, I now know that the listing of interesting things about oneself is called memes (is that right??). I have also learnt that I should not give too much away.
So here goes but only briefly J:
1. With a French mother and a Turkish husband, it was fairly obvious I would take to cooking!
2. Photography is a new hobby for me since the blog and I love it.
3. I have lived in Turkey longer than I have lived anywhere else in my life.
4. I always wanted to have 6 kids but TT persuaded me 3 was enough!
5. TT and I now have a small herd of dairy cows!!!!
6. Following on from that revelation, I am now contemplating what I can do with all that milk. Cheese? Yogurt? We shall see …
7. I am loving leading foodie walks in old Istanbul!
And here are the blogs that I in turn nominate for the Kreativ Blogger Award:
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Istanbul Eats: they are just great and have just won a Saveur Award themselves. As a result of meeting Ansel, I am now leading Old City street food walks in Istanbul. The people I meet are fantastic: it’s like spending the day with your best friends. Check this blog out especially if you are planning a visit to Istanbul.
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Geriatric Gapper: this blog is written by my friend Elizabeth who has lived in Istanbul for at least the last 7 years. She most certainly merits this Kreativ – OK creative – award for her photography alone. She has gone from strength to strength with it so I love her blog for the photos of Istanbul more than anything. Also she is far from geriatric! The name is misleading, I think!
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Our House in Provence: I love this blog because it gives me all sorts of info about Provence: interesting markets to visit, villages perchés to discover, and all sorts of info that a foodie with a French bend like me would like. Thanks, Michel!
Two more Turkey blogs that I have recently discovered and like the look of:
- Earth Laughs in Flowers written by Kerry as A Housewife’s Guide for Living in Turkey who lives with her Turkish husband and small child in the south somewhere, I think.
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And Turquoise Diaries written by an ex-banker now living between Istanbul and Datça on the south west coast of Turkey which sounds very adventurous.
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While I am talking about Turkey blogs, I really must mention My Turkish Joys: I have mentioned Joy before but so what. She lives here in Istanbul and we have met. She is great and her blog reflects a joyful attitude to life in general and to her new expat life with her husband in Istanbul in particular. Most creative.
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I also love Adventures in Ankara written by Terry, a young American lawyer now married to her Turkish husband. She takes on any topic and writes about it in a lively intelligent way; I enjoy reading about how she is getting on with her new life in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey where I spent the first 7 years of my own married life. Some things don’t change!
I also wanted to nominate Back to Bodrum but it has already won this particular award. Do check it out though.
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Create Amazing Meals: this is a lovely foodie blog written by Susan. She has just nominated me for a Versatile Blogger award which is very kind of her. I already have it though so I am sitting on the fence with this one (but still very chuffed!). Thank you, Susan.
So back to you, Özlem: sorry I am so late in responding but I hope I have made up for it with this post! Many warm thanks to you, take care.
ouseH HHh
Thank you very much for the mention. I hope we get to meet up some time.
I do too!!! Do you ever come to Istanbul?
Well done on your award/meme Claudia. Will we be getting to see photos of your dairy herd soon? I do hope so.
ohh froggie, you are such a lovely follower. Thank you very much. Another calf was born last night, another girl as they say, so we are very excited! Yes,indeed, photos to come!
congrats claudia!!! you deserve it!!! and thank you so much for introducing all these new blogs that i can check out! you certainly are at the top of my favorite blog list!!!
Congratulations – I'll check out these blogs – I'm always on the look-out for interesting reads!
http://missbbobochic.blogspot.co.uk/
Sniff, sniff : ) What a lovely post, Claudia, thank you ever so much!! And a special thanks here to Barbara, who connected us. I am ever grateful to this blogging world as it enabled me to connect with cool bloggers like you, and I so look forward to meeting you, hope this August 🙂
Many thanks for all these lovely words again and you truly deserve the award:)
Keep blogging !:)
xxx Ozlem
Congratulations on the award. It's always fantastic to be recognised by our peers.
Hi and congratulations on your award.Thank you for commenting on my blog (is anyone there)We seem to have a lot in commen apart from you live in such a beutiful country and I just holiday there.We ar going to Turkey in Sept to Dalyan,Kayakoy and Kalkan, we will be staying in villas which is why I have been reading your blog and I love it.I will be copyong lots down to take with me so I know what I'm buying.I love stuffed aubergine so that is a must.You have packed so much into this blog,a well deserved award.ps my name's Anne
nice idea.. thanks for posting.