Let me start by saying how much this box made me happy! The things were so thoughtfully compiled and so incredibly COOL. Alison, you are a STAR!

Right on top was a notecard, so of course I read that first. It immediately ordered me to eat a truffle, so I had no choice but to open a box of 9 lovely {{gwi:1465592}} and stuff one in my mouth. Well, actually what happened was that DH was watching me open the truffle box and he grabbed one (the key lime one) and shoved it in his mouth without asking, so I wrested it out of his mouth, beat him senseless, ate half, and gave him the other half since it already had his spit all over it! (We proceeded to eat the whole box last night!! My favorite truffles were the Theobroma, a spicy hot chocolate one, if you can imagine that, and the one called Relic, and the Lavender one, which I thought would taste weird but was wonderful.)

Finally, getting back to the card, Alison's VERY imaginative theme was "Fire up the Imagination!" and she sure did! The items she had wrapped in red represented "Fire up the Taste Buds!" This included a {{gwi:1465593}}, {{gwi:1465594}}. I don't know how she knew that peach salsa is my very favorite! And I've never tasted raspberry salsa but it sounds delighful! I've never cooked with the ginger or mango but can't WAIT to find creative uses for these sinfully delicious things. She suggested putting slices of the mango on top of cream cheese on a cracker, which sounds like it would look great as well as taste great. There also was some {{gwi:1465595}} - perhaps Sharon (CB) will give me some ideas on using this as well as ones I come up with myself.

Then there were some goodies wrapped in pink, which she indicated were those that would "Fire up the Bar!" There was a {{gwi:1465596}}, which I am DYING to try! Can you believe I've never had one of these?! She included some darling {{gwi:1465597}}, made out of embroidered cotton, and The Little Black Book of Cocktails, which looks intriguing.

This recipe caught my eye:

Bohemian
2 oz Vodka
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Juice
1/2 oz Cranberry Juice
Mix with cracked ice and strain onto a chilled cocktail glass

Doesn't that sound delish?! And then there were two very cool martini glasses, albeit I am sad to report that one arrived {{gwi:1465598}}. No worries - as long as I have one for ME...!

AND I'M NOT DONE YET!!

There was one group of bottles and such that she had labeled {{gwi:1465599}}, which turned out to be items with which I can "Fire up the Grill!" We LOVE to grill!! {{gwi:1465600}} included raspberry ancho orange (OMG - I cannot WAIT to get this on some chicken!) BBQ sauce, a spicy sweet chili sauce with lemongrass, a ginger lime marinade, and a marinade shaker so I can make my own! The shaker is very cool in that it has recipes right on it, such as Jamaican citrus, pineapple ginger, and others. She also included a Tandoori paste, which I've never used before, and an Oriental rub that appears to be homemade (and that smells sweet and wonderful!). One other thing, which I have seen other people get and which I coveted but did not yet purchase for myself, is those extremely funky, cool, curved {{gwi:1465601}}. These will be GREAT for entertaining!

And then, AND THEN... she also included some cat treats, sent specifically for my old Siamese from her young Siamese. Alison, I'm glad Frankie said my old guy could share the treats because he doesn't have enough teeth left to chew them (!) and the kittens kind of took over for him there. The kittens are quite content to be the recipients of the treats.

Anyway, could this box be more perfect?

Alison, you outdid yourself! You have a FABULOUS imagination and I now have very cool new things to try, some of which will last a long time and some of which are already gone (truffles!). Thank you so much for being so thoughtful and generous! I LOVE this box!

p.s. apologies for forgetting to take a photo of all the items together. Too much chocolate clouds the brain!

Marcia, there is no such thing as too much chocolate.

What a great box, and you got KaBoobs!! Yay! I agree with you, though, I'd have gone straight for the truffles.

Annie

Wowee-wow! What a fabulous swap box! I love all the cocktail stuff! Alison really did fire up her imagination! Excellent!! Marcia, you're going to have a wonderful time enjoying all those great gifts!

Yay!! Only one casualty! That's why I was so worried; I don't think I've ever packed that much glass before.

I'm so glad you like what I picked, Marcia. There are defnitely some unusual and firey tastes there, but they're all really good -- and boy do they perk up plain old chicken or pork! Chicken salad made with the Byron Bay sweet chili/lemongrass is out of this world, and the ginger/lime makes a sublime dipping sauce for shrimp.

I copied down some of the cocktail recipes before I slipped that in the box -- I may have to make one tonight!

This is the best part of a swap!

YAY! Marcia got her box! I am afraid I'll be last and Marcia will tease me.

Alison you put together a great box for Marcia. I love the fire theme.

Nice Nice!!! I know you'll enjoy it all! Good Job Alison!

Great box of stuff. It sure got there in a timely manner!

Love the salsas! I have never had a Mojito either, please report back, let us know how it is.

Great job Alison!

Gee Karen. What? Who, me? Tease you? Would I do that?

Love that theme ! And KABOOBS!! Nice selection & thoughtly put together.

Great theme, great package, good job, Allison! Enjoy it all, Marcia.

Carol

Nice box there Allison. Marcia the goodies all sound good, including the truffles.

Nancy

Super cool package Alison. I love those circle kabobs, in fact I love it all. I'm embarrassed that I cant remember the sender but we got some truffles in one swap and they lasted about the time it took to open everything.

Great theme, Alison! Wish I could be so imaginative. :/

Enjoy all your goodies, Marcia! I think I need to have a Mojito soon....I'm so out of it.

Very clever, Alison. And a great package...really thoughtfully gathered. I'll be on the lookout for the chile sauce with lemongrass.
Pamela

Raspberry Ancho Lime, man that sounds good. When's dinner? The chile sauce with lemongrass also sounds wonderful. Mostly I want a spicy truffle though. Great job Alison, enjoy Marcia.

-Robin

Marcia, how lucky, truffles, salsa, mojitas (I have never had one but I think I would like it.) I love the martini glass and napkins and the BBQ sauce and marinades sound wonderful.
Alison, you put together a wonderful box!

Fabulous package! And Mojitos are my absolute FAVORITE liquid libation! Killer...yet so refreshing! Congrats on your box...you did awesome!!!

Adrienne

Terrific package with so many fun goodies! The truffles looked amazing and the I'm a big fan of the Kaboobys that wash up so well in the dishwasher and of the Ginger Lime sauce.
Good theme and goodies Allison! Make sure to enjoy it Marcia!

It all sounds wonderful to me. Raspbery Orange Ancho sounds great and I think I'll add lemongrass the next time I use Thai Sweet Chili. That sounds like a winning combination.

I can't wait to hear how you are using all these treats.

Lee

ooooh - KABOOBS!!!! Awesome! Marcia, once again, you didn't have to wait til last - lol...What a fabulous package - have fun with all that grillin' stuff.

Alison, great package - you found some wonderful items - now you also know how GREAT Marcia makes you feel when she receives a package - she's an excellent "describer" - LOL!

Stacy

Marcia, Those are some great gifts...glad you weren't last!

Alison, That was a neat theme. Nice job!

Jayne