“Liebster is German and translates to the English word dearest. I really touched to be awarded this as it’s meant for up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers so thank you for passing it on to me! I hope we all get over 200 soon and can play with the big guns "

Wow, my thanks to Katie at Bankerchick's Scratchings for this award! I, like her, love to receive comments and see where in the world people are visiting from. One of the reasons we all blog is to reach out to a wider community of like-minded people, and so anytime we can create a dialogue we grow closer together. I will say it was tough to narrow down my list of favorite blogs to pass this award onto, fortunately so many of them already have over 200 followers.

Before the Automobile- I had to start with this one. It's one of my most recently-discovered blogs, and I am so glad I did because this Finnish woman's costumes are amazing. She describes herself as an amateur, but the word hardly fits. Everything from gowns and hats to gloves and even shoes. Gorgeous!

Costumes, Cats, and the 18th Century- I'm surprised that Mme Berg does not have more than 200 followers. I've been following her for a while, and am always sure to enjoy what she posts. She's usually one of the first with news when museums put their collections or new photos online, and I love her "Cat-urday" feature with portraits featuring felines and their companions.

Idlewild Illustre- Gwendolyn is a multi-talented artist. Not only is she an accomplished sketcher, but she sews beautiful clothes, attends events, and posts how-tos for things like restoring parasols. Useful information, non?

Stay-ing Alive- Abby is so much fun to read! Her life is an adventure, from moving to Sweden with her boyfriend to working in the costume shop at Colonial Williamsburg.

Isis' Wardrobe- I would have tuned into this blog simply for her description of making a court gown, but the rest of her posts are equally enlightening, not to mention entertaining. It seems like half the people I follow also follow her. That's how you know it's worth reading.

Here are the Rules:

Thank the donor and link back to their blog
Publicize your top five picks for the award and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
Post the award on your blog.
Encourage the people who receive it to list their five favorites.