“Self Portrait in Favorite Outfit #1” Black Eileen Fisher pants, black/white bracelet-sleeved, collared jersey from Land’s End under short-sleeved black jersey from Macy’s, black/white/gray striped scarf from H&M, vintage cerulean blue plastic bracelet. Not pictured: beloved, much used and abused, rubber-soled red booties from a shop on the Boulevard St. Germain in Paris. Can’t remember what earrings I was wearing.

So my friend Kathleen Kirk—ace poet, ace actress, aces all around—sweetly gave The Home Beete! a Blogdiggity Award the other day. Here are the rules, such as they are . . .

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass along the award to 15 bloggers you think are hella awesome.
4. Contact said hella awesome bloggers & let them know you think they are the blogdiggity.

So, first, a huge THANK YOU to Miss Kathleen, whose own lovely blog Wait! I Have a Blog?! (Musings on What We Read and Why) can be found right here. (She also has a new chapbook out from Finishing Line Press, so go order it already, okay?)

As for the seven things about moi:

1. My favorite romance authors are Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Susan Wiggs, and Elizabeth Lowell.

2. I’m somewhat obsessed with biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs by and/or about literary women, such as Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, May Sarton, and Joan Didion.

3. I can’t walk in high heels. Don’t think I’ve ever been able to walk in high heels except for a very brief period in high school when I wore wedges, which—at the time—were neither fashionable nor actual high heels.

4. My favorite place to write/work/live is in my bed. And yes, if I had room, I’d upgrade to a California King so I could pile even more books, magazines, etc. into bed with me.

5. I love Zoolander. There, I said it.

6. Most people think sunny days are great for getting out and about. I think they’re great for lying in bed, dozing in a big patch of sunlight. Clearly, I’m part cat.

7. I drink way too much coffee, yet I’m hopeless when it comes to operating any type of espresso machine. Well, except for Doug and Cara’s. I’m really good at operating Doug and Cara’s lugged-home-from-Sweden espresso machine.

Here are 15 bloggers who I think are hella awesome, and who I will someday—when I’m not napping in a patch of sunlight—finally add to my blogroll.

1. A Cup of Jo: I love her personality, her sense of style, her sense of humor, and I want to be her best friend. For realz! (Oh, she also does great giveaways.)

2. White Lightning: Ditto. The poet in me just delights in the way she fractures and flings around language—talking about applying pressure to the page, as Henry Taylor used to say. (The downside is that I’m now craving a pair of yellow hasbeens (which are coincidentally Swedish!)—anyone have an extra hundy I can borrow?)

3.  Aesthetic Outburst: I love how her nicknamed family—PRH (her hubby) and EZ-E and Kicky (her kids)—show up in her posts about home, crafts, etc. I’m pretty sure I could spend an entire pot of coffee chatting with her.

4. Black Eiffel: Okay, the word “Eiffel” is in the title of this blog. Do I really need to go on? In case you’re still not getting it, I also adore the mix of recipes, home style, art, and fashion that shows up on this blog. A blog right after my own heart.

5. Camilla Engman: It’s thanks to blogs like Camilla’s that I’ve become a huge Swede-o-phile. Nuf said.

6. Chasing Light: Doug Kim is a NYC photographer. I think his work is gorgeous, and I also love that he features work by classic and contemporary photographers. It’s a great way to get an education by looking at some amazing visual work.

7. Creature Comforts: Again, this is another blog I love because I love the writer’s personality. My heart broke for her when she went thru a rough patch lately and absolutely cheered when she came out the other side. Again, she mostly blogs about a good mix of art and home and fashion.

8. Decor8 Daily Updates: Ask anyone who loves home design blogs who to read, and Decor8 will be on their  list. Again, she has an amazing personality, and I’ve discovered a lot of other great blogs and stores to look into thanks to this blog.

9.Door 16: I want to be the couple behind Door 16. I’m just saying . . .

10. emmasdesignblog: Another Swedish blog that I absolutely love, and one that you’ll definitely see referenced on a lot of other blogs. One of the things I love about the Swedes I follow is that they are able to create stylish, livable interiors, with the emphasis on livable. They get how to use IKEA (natch!), and they prove you don’t have to spend oodles and oodles of cash to have a beautiful home, you just have to keep an open mind and train your eye.

11. Every Person in New York: This is the companion blog to Jason Polan’s drawing project, which is—literally—to draw every person in New York. I have a huge crush on Jason. Partly it’s that wonder and amazement at people who can whip out a pen and just start drawing, and partly it’s because, for me, his projects provoke a lot of questions about “well, is this art?”—a very useful and necessary dialogue to engage in, especially as an artist, I think.

12. greige: This is a new favorite. I’m officially in love with the color grey, particularly that moody, bluish grey I associate with Paris in the rain (not that it actually rained when I was in Paris, I don’t think, but I digress . . . ). This blog showcases muted interiors that are still spellbindingly evocative and provocative. It turns out that a muted palette doesn’t have to equal bland, but instead can provide a near-luminous backdrops for textures and objects.

13. Lena Corwin blog: Lena’s blog was one of the first ever to populate my Google reader, and she continues to be a favorite. I love the beautiful books and artwork she produces for her own shop as well as the many beautiful shops and fellow artists and artisans she showcases. I never fail to get a whopping dose of inspiration from reading Lena’s blog. (I also never fail to want to move to Brooklyn after reading Lena’s blog . . . sigh . . . )

14. Shiny Squirrel: This blog is one of my faves for seeing what’s out there in the world of fashion. I love that her faves cover everything from three-paycheck looks to Etsy. It’s been a great way to learn more about the field, to find designers to fall in love with, and basically to figure out what look is most authentically me.

15.  The Decorated Cookie: This blog is by Meaghan Mountford, who I’m so blessed to call a friend. She’s an expert when it comes to edible craft projects which are both eminently achievable and eminently delicious. My secret wish is that she’ll have her very own edibles store someday where she’ll give me unlimited credit, or at the very least, she’ll start dropping off little baggies of gorgeously decorated mini-cookies at my apartment each week some time in the near future. (Hint, hint, Meaghan!)

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and—quite honestly—I’ve left off at least another 15 of my favorites,  such as one fine day, The Selby, The Sartorialist, Oh Joy, and Unhappy Hipsters, just to name a few. Sooooo, I have a litte vaca time coming my way, and I’ll try to get busy with ye olde blogroll. In the meantime, hope you’ll check out at least a few of those I’ve mentioned.

And thanks again to Miss Kathleen for making me feel all Blogdiggity inside!