It has been a great weekend. Friends, wine, cooking, gardening, plant sale, surfing, baseball and a very pleasant dinner with the boys at a “fancy” restaurant. To top it off, our friend at Storybook Apothecary, a great blog on green/organic skin care products (and some fun writing and musings), nominated us for a Sunshine Blog Award. Thanks!

For those who do not know what a Sunshine Blog Award is (and that included us), it is a prize is awarded to “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere”. As an award winner, there are a few rules to follow:

• Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.
• Answer the questions below.
• Pass on the award to 10 bloggers you like, link their blogs, and let them know you awarded them.

Well, we could never resist a chain letter when we were younger, so here we go…

BTW, this is our family blog- so there may be some “hedging” on certain questions…;-)

So, our favs are:

• Favorite Color – Orange and Black for the GIANTS!
• Favorite Animal – Snap the dog and Oreo the cat. They came to us around the same time and almost seem like a unit.
• Favorite Number – 13. It has been a good sports number for the boys.
• Favorite Drink – Homemade lemonade is the family fave. Good with iced tea, by itself or in cocktails.
• Facebook or Twitter – Facebook. This blog is all about real friends and family. We reach them through Facebook (but Pinterest is closing fast!)
• Your Passion – Family, Friends, Food.
• Giving or getting presents – Giving, mostly in the form of food, drink and experiences with friends. Sharing with others is the best part of life.
• Favorite Day – Today. Every day we wake up.
• Favorite Flowers – Climbing Roses. They are always beautiful, but it is cool to see them climb to new parts of the house over the years. They become something of a time-lime (you will see some pics of ours soon).

Blogs we nominate:

Boozed and Infused: A great blog on making your own liqueurs and infusions. Alicia is so good at it, we send people to her with questions on flavorings for drinks. She is a prolific writer, too.

Fed Up Food: Food rants (funny) and some good recipes. Not sure how they will feel about a “sunshine” award…;-)

Miss Apis Mellifera: A very well-written and passionate blog on beekeeping. It is a great read even if you have no interest in bees- she is becoming a great “naturalist” writer IMHO.

Domestic Dilettante: A passionate, refreshing and often funny blog on family, food and faith. The views are not always the same as many have in Norcal, but she is welcome at Putney Farm anytime. Some great recipes, too.

PhotoBotos: A great daily photo site. Some crazy stuff, but always interesting.

Going Dutch: Life in Holland with amazing photos of flowers and nature. Some good cooking too.

Persephones Kitchen: A good cooking blog that often cooks with many ingredients we like. Nice pics, good writing.

La Coperta Etc.: A shameless, but proud, plug for a family member’s business blog. Excellent, hand-crafted baby products.

Asturian Diary: Blog about an expat’s family life in Spain. It is just a good read, we are fans.

Cocktail Virgin Slut: They don’t need the help, but I will nominate anyway. Right now, one of the best cocktail blogs out there. A great read.

We will leave you with a few flowers.