Pre-adult days, I loved getting mail. I loved getting mail so much when I was a kiddo that I’d call 1-800 numbers and sign up for whatever they were willing to send. Riding lawnmowers, rolling jewelry bags, whatever infomercials were hot in the early 90s, I was on their catalog mailing list. When my mom got wind of what was happening, she made me call every company and request my name be removed from their list. From that point forward, mail was less exciting.

Until September, when I signed up to be a part of Foodie Penpals. Sending and receiving a box of goodies to/from a virtual friend from across the country is as about exciting as mail can be in the adult world. North Carolina Kristen enthusiastically emailed me right away and I couldn’t have been more anxious to receive her package!

I loved that she put so much thought into her package. In all honesty, I would have been happy with just the package itself. It was so darn cute that all of the great stuff inside was merely a bonus. I snacked right away on almonds and peanuts, put the sauce to work on some halibut, made super delish waffles with the mango slices (recipe up tomorrow), AND decided to host a Sunday night dinner party and make the ham bone and bean soup.

It ended up being the perfect dish to serve to a large group of people on the first cool, fall day in Austin. Everyone cleaned their bowls and told me how yum the soup was. I explained foodie penpals and gave credit to Miss Kristen, who made tonight’s dinner possible. And then I served gator pie and took 150% of the credit for the golden raspberry and strawberry combo.

Thank you Kristen for such a wonderful package!