Wednesday, October 21, 2015

International Vegan Goodies Swap!


goofing off on Instagram with Yummers Potatoes by my side


A little while before VeganMoFo began, my excellent Instagram friend Claire offered to send me some Euro candy. It all started when I was oohing and aahing over some treats that were posted on Instagram (I think it was those Vivani White Chocolate bars), and she offered to send me some. How nice! But I can't just be a greedy grubber, so of course I offered to send her a package of goodies from California too. It's just so much more fun that way.

Then MoFo came along, and we were both busy with our daily posts. The fun thing was that I started following her excellent blog, Great Vegan Expectations, and I got to know so much more about her. That made the whole swap even more fun because now I feel like we are officially e-friends. Someday soon, hopefully we will also be IRL-friends. ha ha. 

putting together Claire's package, thinking of her
Making care packages is as fun as receiving them

So, in a rush to take care of business before we left for our New York City vacation, I rustled up Claire's package and got it off in the mail. I don't remember everything I put in there - but I tried to include some healthy treats and some indulgent treats and lots of chocolate and some local California treats and some Trader Joes classics... hopefully I picked things that aren't easily found in the UK! 


Look at all that exciting vegan loot!

And then, right after we got home from our trip, look what arrived for me!! Yippeeee! So many exciting treats. You can tell that Claire is a good person because she included lots of special chocolates for me. Plus, Goody Good Stuff gummies, which I LOVE. Plus little fun protein snacks (spacebar!), and some new nakd nuggets which I hadn't ever tried before. Plus, a few different kinds of super special euro cookies: little waffle syrup cookies, crazy decadent shortbread chocolate cookies, and a whole box of chocolate covered gingerbread cookies filled with jam. Those last ones were something I asked for, because I'd seen Euro friends post pictures of things like this (ahem, Jojo), and I have such fond memories of cookies like this. I really love these cookies and I am savoring them and also I am not sharing them. Mwahahaha.

racing inside from the mailbox!!

Plus, most of all, the whole package was just so sweet. There were little tags and explanations about the different goodies and a sweet little card inside. I love my swap package!

Isn't it wonderful that we can make friends with each other through these blogs of ours, and form real connections and do neat things like send each other care packages?! It's quite touching how much these online friendships mean to me, and how much they have enriched my life over all these years of blogging. Almost all of the people who were blogging when I started my blog over 9 years ago have long since stopped blogging... but along the way I just keep making lovely new friends, which is probably my most favorite thing about this whole blogging endeavor. Thanks again for a wonderful package, Claire! 


Giveaway Winner!
ps. I used the random number generator to pick a comment number from my giveaway for a copy of Zsu Denver's new book "Vegan Bowls," and the winner was Courtney. Congratulations to her! 

9 comments:

  1. Yay!! Love vegan blogger package swaps. You got some awesome stuff. I love those VEGO bars! Also, I love this line: "You can tell that Claire is a good person because she included lots of special chocolates for me." Hahaha. That is an indicator of a good person.

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  2. how awesome! Reminds me of snail mail pen pals when I was a kid and you'd be waiting aaages to hear from someone then the excitement when parcels arrived :D

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  3. How wonderful! Making personal connections with others is definitely one of the very best things about blogging. Plus, when you get good mail as well? Big bonus! :D

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  4. I’ve tried all three diets- veganism, vegetarianism, and a meat diet and I’ve always felt the healthiest with a vegan diet. Eating meat always made my energy levels decline and milk and eggs did the same but to a lesser degree. Plenty of protein can be found in so many natural vegan sources so the myth that vegans don’t get enough protein is wrong too. Keep up your good work.

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  5. What a beautiful story and such a great goodie box! Lots of yummy things. I love doing international swaps (though I wish Australia Post wasn't so expensive!), or local cookie swaps, or any kind of swaps. They are always fun. :) So exciting when your parcel arrives!
    I am so grateful for the wonderful people I have met through blogging and other online avenues over the past several years. <3

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  6. Awww. I love this =) I am quite fond of making new blogging friends and I love hearing stories of others forming friendships too.
    What a great idea to do a swap! I love it =)
    She sent you some amazing things! Very well thought out and sweet.

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  7. This is super cute, I've been meaning to do this for ages! There are so many great vegan goodies in Germany/Berlin to swap!

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  8. I love this post Amey! Making friends through blogging and through MoFo has always been one of my favourite parts of writing stuff online and when I think about how many amazing buddies I've made online who are now real life friends it's almost overwhelming. I'm super glad you got your hands on some jammy gingerbread snacks , in fact, I think you're going to love all of those treats! Also, going to check out Great Vegan Expectations right now!

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  9. I would LOVE to join one of these swaps! You should link up to this week's MWM (MidWeek Munchies!) Awesome goodies!!!!!! Blogging Friends are awesome!

    http://MyBlissfulJourney.com

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