A Taste of Texas

Last week I posted about how I had signed up to take part in a holiday gift swap between Boston and Austin food bloggers, with the idea being to come up with a gift that’s representative of your city and costs less than $30.

To say I was eagerly awaiting the package from Texas would be an understatement. I LOVE getting things in the mail, especially when I know they’re related to food! So yesterday, I was stoked to find that Margaret Christine’s gift box had arrived.

I have to say, she put together one very awesome sampling of some of her favorite Texas foodie items, including:

• One of the most amazing pecan pralines I have ever tasted
• A very Texas dish towel (this will be great for food photography!)
• A signed copy of Austin’s Kate Payne’s The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking
• A few vintage Dixie bowls (also great for food photography!)
• Her best-selling spiced cherry dessert sauce (I plan to put this on everything)

I cannot wait to sit down with a cup of tea, the pecan praline, and The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking. Apparently Margaret Christine showed the author my blog and said Kate enjoyed looking through it, so that pretty much made my week. I’ve only had a chance to read through the first few pages of Kate’s book, but I can already tell I’m going to be a big fan. I love her witty, totally approachable writing style, and there are so many ideas that I know I’ll be able to apply to my own life.

Thanks, Margaret Christine! You really outdid yourself on this one.

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What are you most looking forward to during the holidays (gifts or otherwise)?

I’m excited to get to spend some time with Aaron, since we both have the time between Christmas and New Year’s off, and he’s worked really long hours for the last couple of months. And – not going to lie – I’m also looking forward to having some help with Olive during the day. She’s very cute, but very exhausting!