I should have posted this way sooner, but I was having a hard time with what I wanted to convey about what this box of Texas snacks meant to me. I'm still having a tough time, but I'm going to make a stab at it.

I'm from Texas originally. I've lived in Austin and Houston (and then Austin again) right up until October 2010 when we picked up stakes and moved to Small Town, Indiana where my husband's family lives (my family moved to Lubbock and, well, it's too damn hot there).

What do I miss most about Texas? Besides the obvious, my family, I miss the food, plain and simple. My parents ship me Elgin sausage, Whataburger ketchup and tamales on a fairly regular basis so that I don't just starve, so it's the snack foods that are still missing. The salsas here are the same brands you can get anywhere - Pace, Old El Paso and Kroger store brand - and are nothing special. I used to really enjoy trying some new local salsa every so often. The chips? Tostitos and whatever the store brand is. I can sometimes find Xochitl chips, but they cost double what I'd have paid in Texas and that tends to make me angry. We won't discuss all the other inconveniences of living in a small town (how does a store run out of t-bones? No skirt steak? Are you kidding me? Why does all the meat look like it was cut with a chainsaw?).

I could not have been happier when I opened the box from Texas. One of the first things I saw was the chips in the bottom (not at all crushed due to excellent packing!) and the giant rice crispy treat thingy! There's Lamme's Candy (Chewy Pralines! OH MY GOD THEY ARE SOOOO GOOD!), chips and salsa, chocolate truffles w/red salt!, olives, Bertie's Bots, a gigantic rice cripsy treat, red velvet marshmallows and a smores dealy that I'm totally saving for this weekend.

All of these things were made in Texas (except the olives and the Berties, but that's just fine) and that made it extra special to me.

There was also a wonderful card included (that I don't have a pic of - shame on me) that made me feel even happier :)

Winter was pretty depressing over all and this box of greatness couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you so much Santa! You made dealing with the tail end of winter about a billion times better and eased some of the everyday homesickness that I suffer.