Alright, here are the winners:

Mamma Mia: Parenting Stories

Eggs and so Much More by Lucia (Dim Sum, Bagels and Crawfish)

That’s Amore: Love and Romance

The Motorcycle Diary by Katja (Driving Like a Maniac)

Paparazzi: Expat Photography

Pathway of the Gods by Scintilla (Bell’Avventura)

Eccomi: Arrivals in 2009

On Banking and Stalkers by Katja (Driving Like a Maniac)

Mangia: Food and Recipes

Woman Cannot Live on Pasta Alone by Katja (Driving Like a Maniac)

Buon Viaggio: Living and Traveling in Italy

Every Sunday Evening by Laura (Ciao Amalfi)

Italianissimo: Only in Italy

Well It Was Bound to Come Up at Some Point by Katja (Driving Like a Maniac)

Thanks to everyone for submitting, thanks to the public for voting, and congratulations to our winners!

Recently you met one of our judges, Michelle Fabio.  Today I would like to introduce you to our second judge.  Though we’ve never met, she is a woman after my own heart.

Georgette Jupe lives in Florence and her blog makes me feel like I’m chatting with one of my American girlfriends over a cosmo about everything in life, a la Sex and the City.

In her own words, she’s “a 25 year old from Texas with an addiction to food, wine and good conversation…not to mention a long and arduous journey from America to  Italy (well it was British Airways).  I left for LA when I was 18 for 5 years, taught English in China for a month, and now I’ve ended up via fate in Florence, Italy.  So I suppose you can assume I’m a bit of a vagabond or a gypsy…or as I like to think…just curious.  My passions include sarcasm, laughter, good friends and new wine…and giddy feelings of excitement ”.

Georgette is a breath of fresh air in the land of Italy expat blogging.  I particularly enjoyed reading this post about paying taxes in Italy.  It’s no fun or small feat, but she tackles it with flair, at least in her blog.

We are happy to have her among our judges!

There is still time to enter – you have this whole week!  And don’t you like chocolate?  Click here to submit.

Well, we couldn’t possibly do it alone, so we’ve recruited three fabulous judges to assist us in the reading and judging of the contest entries.  And who better to judge a blogging contest than fellow bloggers?

With that in mind, I would like to introduce you to our first judge.

Michelle Fabio of Bleeding Espresso is an American freelance writer and attorney who has lived in her ancestors’ village overlooking the Ionian Sea in Calabria since 2003. She has penned a column for Italy Magazine, contributes frequently to LegalZoom.com, and is the About.com Guide to Law School.

Michelle is one of my favorite bloggers out there – someone I admire for having carved out a freelance life for herself in this beautiful country.

I asked Michelle to share a few of her favorite posts from her own blog:

• Why Would I Want to Live *There* – in which she explains the reason behind her living in Italy
• You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello – in Michelle’s words, “my decision to move here was actually quite easy”
• Conquering Evil (One Plastic Red Horn at a Time) – all about malocchio

We look forward to having her input as we select finalists!

Be sure to click here to submit material. There may be some chocolate in it for you!

All expats in Italy, please step forward.

Oh, hi there.

It’s Cherrye and Tina here and we’ve teamed up with Affordable Calling Cards to bring you the first annual Blogging from the Boot awards.

If you lived in the Bel Paese in 2009 and wrote about your expat experiences-even once-then this contest is for you. Did you write funny posts? Heartwarming stories? Love letters???

Perfect.

Here are the details.

The Blogging from the Boot awards were created as a Blog Carnival to highlight the best expat in Italy writing from 2009.

The following categories are open for submissions:

- Mangia! Food and Recipe Posts
In this category, expats in Italy will share their experiences with Italy’s other national pass time-eating!

- That’s Amore: Romance and Love
The Bel Paese is all about love and romance and any post that discusses an expat’s love affair with Italy-or her inhabitants-should be submitted to this category.

- Italianissimo: “Only in Italy” Tales from the Bel Paese
All expats have at least one “Only in Italy” story … whether funny, poignant or educational-submit those posts here.

- Mamma Mia: Parenting Stories
Rearing children in Italy is a topic near and dear to the heart of every expat parent. Posts that focus on this theme should be submitted here.

- Buon Viaggio: Living and Traveling Around the Boot
Many Italy-based expats enjoy sharing stories of their adopted hometowns, destination highlights or tips and tricks from their favorite Italian vacation spots. Any and all travel-based posts should be submitted to this category.

- Paparazzi! Expat Photography
Given the unmatched beauty of the boot, it is no surprise expats in Italy fill the Blogosphere with photos of the Bel Paese. Photo entries should be submitted here.

- Eccomi: Arrivals in 2009
New expats often have a different perspective from those who are settled into their adopted lives. This category is dedicated to expats who moved to Italy in 2009.

Rules and Deadlines:

1. To be eligible, the author must have lived in Italy at some point during 2009.

2. Submitted entries must have been published in 2009.

3. Entries must be received by 5:00 PM-Italy time on Friday, January 29, 2010.

4. There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit in any category.

Click here to submit material.

Judging will take place on January 30-31 and finalists will be announced right here on AffordableCallingCards.net on February 1.

Winners in each category will receive local Perugian chocolate-straight from the source-and a fancy new banner to showcase on their blogs, courtesy of AffordableCallingCards.net.

For more information, email bloggingfromtheboot@gmail.com.

In bocca al lupo!

—

Tina Ferrari is a translator, writer and tango dancer based in Umbria, Italy. She writes at AffordableCallingCards.net as well as on her own blog, Tina Tangos.

Cherrye Moore is a freelance writer and southern Italy travel consultant. In addition to Affordable Calling Cards.net , she writes about living and traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita.