Never mind the fact that my iPhone was murderously waterlogged by the ocean during our bonfire. Never mind the fact that I will be living in what is rumored to be the bottom-of-the-totem-pole freshman dorm.

And never mind the fact that the laptop I bought a few weeks ago just went on sale.

I'm feelin' lucky.

And that's all thanks to the food blogosphere!!

This is me.

Being a dork.

Because I FINALLY won my first blog giveaway. Actually, I take that back. I won a giveaway for a free (!!!) Magic Bullet when I first started reading food blogs. But sadly, I was on vacation when said blogger emailed me. Too much time had passed by the time I got home and saw the email, so I was unable to claim my prize. Fail.

But never mind that too.

Because I won not one, but two giveaways this past month! :D

The first package came from the lovely Laura at Sprint 2 the Table--it was the NuNaturals giveaway! The set contained 50 stevia packets, a tub of the company's new "MoreFiber" baking blend, a few bottles of stevia drops (cocoa and vanilla flavor...SO EXCITED!!), and some pure stevia powder.

NuNaturals has been my favorite brand of stevia for awhile. I use their packets all the time in oatmeal, coffee, tea, etc. I can't wait to try their baking blend though, as the packets don't work too well in mass quantities for baked goods.

Those cocoa bean drops might just sneak into my afternoon iced coffee ;)

The second package came from Reeni at Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice Reeni kindly sent me Stonyfield's "Summer in a Box," which came with everything from some lovely (and natural!) products (deodorant, toothpaste, facial moisturizer, soap, lip balm) to free food coupies. Wait--hang on. Free food?! Stop. Stop the presses!

Did I just spot a few coupons for free chocolate-dipped frozen yogurt bars?! YUM, I think yes. They already have my heart.

Uh huh. I dream in terms of frozen yogurt. Especially when dark chocolate dipping is involved. No shame, ya'll.

Thanks again for the giveaway ladies! It makes the loss of a cell phone to that hugh jass rogue wave just a little bit better :)

Back soon with a cookbook challenge recap!

So today marks the start of a new tale, a "beautiful friendship" as Casablanca so aptly put it. Who am I? The girl behind the blog--18, college-bound, vivacious, vegetarian-ish, lover of fruit, photography, and all things outdoors. I'll save that for the "About Me" though. For now, let's talk about the beginning of all of this.

Three years ago, I found the world of blogs. I had heard the term casually used before, but I really had no clue what a "blog" really was. A journal? A website? A diary? I didn't know that answer, but I did know that I wanted to find out.

Two years ago, I started my first blog. I was struggling with a lot of different things in my life at the time, both physically and emotionally, and I wasn't really able to devote proper time to my blog in its nascence. Still, I kept reading different healthy food/living blogs--finding inspiration both in the kitchen and in life each day. Okay, now onto today, this blog, and the present.

Yesterday, I graduated from high school. Class of 2011. After innumerable days and nights of working to maintain academics/extracurriculars and preparing for college, I graduated with a class of almost 700 people. I am proud and happy--so very, very happy--that I made it to this point and am now able to cross the bridge of the old and start something new. It is something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember; something by which I am irrevocably intrigued; and something that I love "just because."

Ideally, I would like to say that I will blog consistently for years to come because of the enjoyment I get out of it. This fall, however, I head off to Georgetown University in Washington D.C., 2,277 miles from home (to be exact haha). I know that once again, my life will become ridiculously busy because I'm a guilty perfectionist who is incapable of doing a half job on anything. Throw a non-legit dorm kitchen into the mix, and things become a bit complicated. At the very least though, I plan to cook, bake, and blog my heart out this summer, simply for my own pleasure and hopefully even a little bit for yours. I don't know where this blog will take me, who (if anybody) will read my rambling thoughts, and how long I can and will pursue it. But heck, I'm willing to find out.

I'm hoping to write my first "real" post tomorrow morning. Here's to hoping you'll join me!

Lexi