Hey guys!  I have so much catching up on the blog to do between recapping our North Conway adventures and sharing my wonderful experience at The Studio Empower last night.  I just haven’t had time yet between everything I have going on at work this week and catching up on hours of emails just from being away one weekend.  Yep, you read that correctly.  Hours.  Plural.

But I’m not complaining because there are lots of exciting things going on behind those emails!  I just feel a little behind and know I over-committed myself this week.  I would normally write “what else is new?” but I have honestly been so much better about that.  Anyways, I want to share what I received this month in my Foodie Penpal package, then it’s back to the grind!

Here are the goodies that Aimee sent me:

— First up were pistachios from Publix, a southern grocery store chain.  Tim and I brought these along to North Conway last weekend and munched on them as we drove through the Kancamagus Highway.  My favorite part MIGHT be that they say pistachio MUSTACHIO on them.  Amazing.

— Next you can see the strawberry pepper jam from a farmers market held at Emory University every week.  Aimee wrote she picked this one for its unique flavor, and I can’t wait to try it.  I kind of want to bake something with it?  Thoughts?

— Local honey was next, from the Savannah Bee Company.  But this wasn’t just any honey… it’s CHEESE honey.  Perfect timing since I’m hosting wine and cheese night on Thursday!

— Finally, another Publix treat.  Organic wheat crackers that were inhaled in about 2.5 seconds flat.  Yum!

Aimee was a fun penpal to have because she lives in Atlanta, and as you guys know I was in Atlanta last month for work.  She also is a former Bostonian, so we had a few things in common as we found out in our email correspondence!  Aimee also took the time to make me a perfume!  She makes bath and body products as a hobby and thought she’d throw in a little something extra.  It’s white tea and ginger… super fun.

I’ve said it before, but I would like to reiterate that receiving my foodie penpal box to the doorstep every month is just thrilling.

Interested?  Sign up!

–> On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email from Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean.  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 can choose 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 Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only.

If this sounds fun to you, just CLICK HERE and fill out the form to participate!  Remember anyone can participate whether you are a blogger or not, which is one of my favorite parts of this program. 

Thank you, Aimee, for my fun treats this month!