Help me beat Tyler Florence in the Shorty Awards!

It's January, which means it's award season and the Shorty Awards (think of them as the Oscars of Twitter) are officially accepting nominations for the best Twitter users in a variety of categories. I have been nominated for an award in the #food category and am doing quite well, but I have one major obstacle. His name is Tyler Florence.

Now I love Tyler. He's adorable and his cookbook is one of my favorites...but does he REALLY need the publicity and recognition of a Shorty Award? No way! The dude already has shows and cookbooks.

I, on the other hand, don't have shows and cookbooks (yet!) and I think this Shorty award could help me get a little closer. Don't you want to help me get a little closer? (Hint: It only takes 15 seconds!)

I thought you might!!

Here is what you can do: Unlike other awards that ask you to set up an account or login, you can easily submit your vote via Twitter using your existing account; or through the site using your Twitter login info. It takes 15 seconds and would mean the world to me. How great is that? Just 15 seconds to make my day!

So I'm asking, if you've enjoy chatting with me on Twitter or have ever gotten a recipe from me that you really loved...would you give me 15 seconds to nominate me?

Here are the two easy ways to do this:

1. Visit http://shortyawards.com/nandita, sign in using your existing Twitter account, enter why you're nominating me, then hit submit. Voila! That's all!

OR

2. Simply Tweet the following sentence on the Twitter website or through whatever service you use to update your account (Tweetdeck, Twitterberry, etc.)

"I nominate @nandita for a Shorty Award in #food because...
[enter your reason here; doesn't have to be super complicated]"

That's it!!
Oh but you want to do MORE?!

• Retweet this link out to your followers and ask them to vote for me too.
  
• Pop this link into your Facebook status so that others can support the cause.
  
• E-mail this out to everyone you know and ask them to support my campaign.
  

Together we can totally take down Tyler!!

*I took the above photo at an event I went to last year where I met Tyler and Duff. They were both great and while I can't remember the exact conversation they were having in that picture, I'm pretty sure it went something like that...

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A Tiny Request

I'm absolutely lazy about posting today, but I promise I'll be back tomorrow with more. In the meantime, can I shamelessly ask you for your vote for the Bon Appetit Bake-Off? I made the Italian Rainbow Cookie Cake you see in this photo. You can get the recipe and read all about it here, or simply vote for me here in the "cakes" category.

Thank you!

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It's My Birthday!

And what do I want more than anything? Well, what every girl wants: sparkly things, vanilla beans, bubbly champagne, and for you to VOTE for me in the Culinate Death by Chocolate contest.

One of my awesome readers entered my deceptively light flourless chocolate hazelnut torte in the contest and now I'm determined to see it rise to the top (pun absolutely intended!). The ten top winners will be selected by the reader votes, so if the more of you who vote, the more chances I have to win! If I win, the magical people at Culinate will fly me to Napa to attend the (delicious) annual Death by Chocolate festival where I'll learn lots of fantastic things to come back and share with you.
Even BETTER: One of you could win too!!! Simply by voting, you're entered to win the contest, which will be awarding not only one blogger, but also one reader (because they totally get that we bloggers are nothing but crazy people shouting into the void without you readers.)

So if you've ever enjoyed anything that you've read on this sweet little blog, won't you make me a happy birthday girl and drop me a little vote?

The contest nitty gritty:

The Culinate Death by Chocolate Contest sends one reader, and one food blogger, on a trip for two to Napa Valley to attend the Copia Center’s annual Death by Chocolate Festival on Feburary 23, 2008, featuring a day of chocolate and wine tasting, demonstrations by pastry chefs, and other sessions with chocolate aficionados and experts.

The contest will include daily drawings for cookbooks, additional festival tickets, and Valentine chocolates.

The winner among readers will be chosen at random from all entries. Readers will vote for their favorite blog posts, and the winning food blogger will be selected by a panel of judges from the top 10 reader favorites.

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