This month’s foodie penpal was from Erin.

Cute holiday "spreaders".  I want to use these on a cheese ball, but haven’t.

The chocolate is awesome, and the nut mix is delicious plain or on salad.  I had some of the hazelnut spread on wheat bread, which was a little weird, but not bad.  Probably would be better on plain or maybe pumpkin spice bread….

Sadly the mug didn’t make it in one piece, but it’s the thought that counts!

And a cute card!  Thanks Erin, you rock!

New to the program?  Here’s what foodie penpals is all about:

-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. *US Residents only please at this time- hopefully we can expand soon!*

If you’re interested in participating for January, please send  an email to Lindsay at theleangreenbean@gmail.com and include the following information:
-Your full name
-Your email address
-Your blog name/address
-Your twitter handle (if applicable)

I sent my goodies to Sarah at the Smart Kitchen this month—go read about what I sent!

On another gift note:  I participated in a blogger gift exchange sponsored by Jill at Run with Jill.

Here’s what Nina at run (dance) love sent me.  Gu, feetures socks, a little necklace, and some other stuff.  Awesome!!  Thanks so much :)  I sent some goodies to Elizabeth at Running for Bling.  It was fun to participate this month!