Guess what? nwafoodie just turned four years old.  Can you believe it?  Some of us have been friends since the beginning and some of us more recently, like when I recently toured Kelly Stamps’ kitchen and immediately had a 360% increase in new potential friends visiting within the first thirty minutes.  I still laugh at the sound of crickets when I chatted on Day 1 about which broth was my favorite as I prepared for an upcoming colonoscopy. Somehow I felt the need to share the colonoscopy part along with the broth topic. Like it made perfect sense to share that with you.  Of course, the cool things about being friends is that we are allowed to over-share, to connect, to chat, to go back about the business of life and reconnect again later, picking up where we left off and go galloping full-speed into our next adventure.

Like any good friendship, it is fun to reminisce and laugh about old times, get all serious-like, and then braid each other’s hair.  While braiding hair virtually is pretty difficult, we choose to strengthen our bond through thecomments streams on each post, tweet back and forth, catch up on each other’s facebook walls, and admire each other’s photos on pinterest and on instagram.  We are modern day friends, creating images in our minds about how we imagine each other’s voices sound like based on a thumbnail profile and knowing that without these technological marvels we might not have ever met.

My greatest desire is that reading nwafoodie is like reconnecting with an old friend.

 

Four years ago when I typed that first post little did I realize that I would still get just as excited to hit the publish button as much as I did then.  Little did I know that I still have a gazillion stories to tell and foodstuffs to share. Little do I know where this whole thing will lead tomorrow.

All I know is that it is a blast.  And while there are many posts that have crickets chirping instead of comments flowing, it doesn’t stop me from caring and wanting to be helpful to you.

Every year this anniversary time is a time for me to treat you.

To thank you.

To reach out to my friends in the food community and have them join me in treating you.

Each year I have been honored to provide an anniversary week of giveaways.  This year is a little bit different. This anniversary week of giveaways is focused on all things local. All things from the cornucopia I call home here in beautiful Northwest Arkansas.  I handpicked each and every one of these giveaways because I truly want you to get thrilled about each daily opportunity with the hopes that your name will be picked… and knowing that you were just introduced to a new-to-you gem from your own backyard.

We live in a marvelous place.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for coming back and chatting.  Thank you for sharing with me your discoveries.

Thank you for sharing nwafoodie with your family and friends.

So, what’s in store for you this week?

Day 1 = LOCAL FOOD TREASURE giveaway

Day 2 = LOCAL CHEF EXPERIENCE giveaway

Day 3 = LOCAL FARMER’S BOUNTY giveaway

Day 4 = LOCAL UP & COMING FOOD COMPANY giveaway

Day 5 = LOCAL FOOD MAGAZINE giveaway

Day 6 = LOCAL INTRODUCTION TO BECOMING YOUR OWN BEST FOODIE giveaway

Day 7 = LOCAL BEVERAGE EXPERIENCE giveaway

What fun we are going to have!

Come back every day.  Better yet, subscribe to nwafoodie and let’s never miss a conversation.

Talk to you later,

Lyndi

Eat well, my friends. Eat well.