Superior Scribbler Award

I've received a "Superior Scribbler Award" from Michele over at Killing Time. Thanks Michele! The award was started by "The Superior Scribbler," a high school journalism teacher, ex-journalist, and all-around curious person and writer. This is an award presented from a blogger to another blogger, and now it's my turn to pass this award along to five other bloggers.

It was hard to decide who to include because since I've started this blog, I've discovered many blogs I enjoy. But I decided to use the criteria of simply my favorite blogs, the ones that I try to visit almost every day and that continually inspire me. I'm also sticking with non-consumer/frugality/simple living blogs, and leaving out some other favorites like Joan Walsh at Salon.com.

1. When I joined the Compact and started this blog, I searched for other Compact blogs and The Non-Consumer Advocate quickly became my favorite. Almost eight months later, it's still the first one I visit each day. Katy always has great new topics relating to non-consumerism, she's funny, and she's the type of person you'd like to have coffee with. What I also appreciate is that she's a great writer.

2. I have also come to love The Frugal Girl. When I first visited this blog, I thought there were some cool recipes but that I didn't have much in common with Kristen so I didn't know if I'd read her blog that often. But over time, I've realized how much we really do have in common, despite the fact that she's a homeschooling mom with four kids, and I don't even have kids. Her blog has motivated me to try to waste less food by actually photographing our leftovers every week, something I never would have expected. And she's a great inspiration, not just for her awesome baking and recipes, but for her optimistic view of living a frugal life.

3. Leigh at Compact by Design is a fellow Compacter who's taking the challenge along with her husband and two very young children (one of them less than a month old). On top of my admiration for diving into something so lifechanging while you're pregnant, I enjoy Leigh's creative posts about design projects. She's an artist and designer, and she has great ideas for making beautiful objects, with how-to links. I'm not very crafty, but I'm determined to make the envelopes she featured awhile back. With every project she shares on her blog, her design background shines through.

4. I love to read about Betsy and Warren's countdown to their around-the-world adventure at Married With Luggage. I can live vicariously through them, plus it turns out that the preparation translates into a lot of areas of life. Organizing and decluttering, prioritizing, downsizing and getting your finances in order- these are just a few of the things they cover. Their blog is a great source of inspiration for living your dream, whatever it is.

5. And finally, I am continually amazed by the project they've taken on at 30 Bucks a Week. Tina and Phil are a couple living in Brooklyn, New York who cook most of their own meals and do it on a budget of $30 per week. Yes, $30 total, or $15 each. Impossible, right? They must be eating rice and beans every day. They ARE vegetarian, but they are most certainly NOT eating rice and beans every day. No deprivation involved, more like gourmet cuisine, vegetarian style. My friend baked these key-lime cookies from a recipe on their blog and they were to-die-for. They belong to a food co-op, which significantly helps with their budget, maybe it's something we should all consider.

Now, to play along:

1. Each Superior Scribber must in turn pass the award on to 5 most-deserving bloggy friends.

2. Each Superior Scribber must link to the author and the name of the blog from whom he/she has received the award.

3. Each Superior Scribber must display the award on his/her blog, and link to this post, which explains the award.

4. Each blogger who wins the Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky list. That way, we'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who wins this prestigious honor.

Those are a few of my favorite blogs... Now I just have to figure out how to get that "Superior Scribbler Award" icon on my blog...