Foodie Penpal Interrupted

It’s foodie penpal time again!  Can we talk again about how much I love this little (or not so little – Lindsay has over 1,000 people participate every month) monthly project / box of awesomeness in the mail?  Oh, I already did that?  Well, my love for this idea it hasn’t changed one bit in a month 🙂

This month, I sent a box to Erin at Divatastic Gladiator.  Go check out her blog – her recipes consistently make my mouth water and my tummy rumble.  And she’s so nice – thanks Erin for some fun email back and forth this month!  The box I received came from Elena at The Jittery Pen.  Shortly after receiving the assignments I got an email from Elena with very thoughtful questions – not just allergies, anything I didn’t like, etc., she also asked about my hobbies, if anyone (human or otherwise) might be sharing my treats, and what my favorite books are.  And she clearly considered my answers – putting together a box that very much reflected my tastes and those I share with!

Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me find the pictures I took of the awesome box she put together.  I’ve taken pictures of a hockey game and my nephew’s birthday since then, and have all of those, so my only guess is they somehow got deleted amidst fast moving hockey players and a busy 1-year-old.  Which is decidedly tragic, because I was over the moon when I opened up this box.  And since I’ve eaten almost everything, taking more pictures is futile.  I do, however, have pictures of my furry family members’ favorite part of the box – two adorable treats for my crazy pups!  T helped me snap a few quick iPhone pics before they devoured the treats, and I think they capture the excitement quite well:

Adorable Treats!

CAN WE HAVE THEM NOW?!

Trying To Be Patient

For the humans in the house, Elena included an assortment of Valentine’s – themed goodies.  While I didn’t literally jump up and down, my excitement mirrored that of the 4 legged set in the house.  They included a delicious granola with dark chocolate and dried red berries (YUM!), white chocolate peanut butter from Peanut Butter & Company (I used to love to go there when I lived in NYC and get The Elvis), salsa made in her hometown (I adore salsa and this local product was delicious!), and a yummy chocolate bar.  I feel like I’m forgetting something but unfortunately without the pictures I can’t quite remember.  Bottom line is, though – this box was awesome!  Thank you Elena!!

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In case you’re interested in participating, here are some details about the Foodie Pen Pal program – you can sign up at http://www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/ and here’s a little more detail on how it works!

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
• You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
• Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.