Sugar Plum Turns Two

Happy Birthday Sugar Plum!

Two years ago I bought my laptop and decided to start a little food blog called Sugar Plum.

What made me start a food blog? What makes anyone start a food blog? I had been reading several food blogs at that time, and the writers inspired me to start my own. I hope I've inspired others to do the same.

Two years ago I was baking frequently for friends and family, for holidays and events, and cooking contests. I had all of these recipe ideas swirling around in my head, and I needed to write them down somewhere. Not only did I have recipes churning in my head, but thoughts on life.

So I started Sugar Plum. Why the name Sugar Plum? I really can't remember. I think I thought it sounded cute at the time, and I wanted "sugar" in the title since it was a baking blog. And it makes me think of Christmas and sugar plums and the dance of the sugar plum fairies and so on.... Isn't the music fitting?

Starting this website was one of the smartest things I've ever done in my life.

Through this blog I've met and spoken with so many wonderful people, and made many friends. I want to thank you all for reading. Seriously. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. It means more to me than you'll ever know.

I love blogging. I love writing, I love testing and writing recipes, I love taking pictures, I love posting about something I'm really excited about. I love reading other food blogs. This blog makes me so happy and gives me something to look forward to every day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so awesome! I love my readers and I'd do anything for you. I want to work on this blog and make it the best I can for you. If anyone ever needs anything... help, advice, etc, please don't hesitate to email me.

I wish I could repay you all somehow. Does a giveaway help?
Couldn't hurt. I love giveaways! I wish I could have them more often.

Stephanie of Portland Truffle emailed me a few weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to sample one of their advent calendars.

First, you know what advent calendars are, right? We had to sell them in French class as a fundraiser every year. The ones we sold weren't of good quality and each chocolate was the same and didn't taste good at all.


Not this calendar!

I got to know Stephanie from emailing her, and she is SO nice and fun! She lives in Portland, Oregon. I am jealous. I was very impressed when I checked out the Portland Truffle's website. They make everything fresh to order, whether it's truffles, chocolates, or other confections.

So anyway, sweet Stephanie sent me a beautiful calendar to sample and blog about. I had fun opening the little doors and seeing what was inside. Each door holds something different! That's why I love this calendar so much. Well, also because of how delicious everything was. I mean, really, really good stuff.


Oh my gawd! Candies!


This is a homemade chocolate dipped marshmallow found inside of the calendar.
Best marshmallow I've ever had.


Fluffer nutter! My favorite. Drool.


Cacao nib toffee. I didn't think toffee could get any better, but it does. By adding cacao nibs.

So guess what? Stephanie & Portland Truffle were generous enough to donate three advent calendars for a Sugar Plum Blogiversary Spectacular! Three lucky readers will receive a personalized advent calendar for the holiday season. Three - now those are good odds!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite treat to make or eat around the holidays is (this will give me some ideas of what to make), and you'll be entered to win. Anyone can enter; you don't have to have a blog - just be sure to leave your name and a way to contact you. Also, you can only comment once. The giveaway starts today and ends on Friday, October 16th at 12:00 AM (CST). That's not a lot of time, so comment!

I'll pick the winners using a random number generator and post results on Friday's blog. Good luck!