mobbies awards & a spiffy giveaway.

When I started this blog two April's ago, I never, ever thought anybody would read it. I never thought anybody would read it and like it. I never thought anybody would read it, like it, and want to give me an award for it. So when a little e-mail from the Baltimore Sun popped up in my inbox with a hip-hip-hooray for this blog taking the figurative cake in the Foodie category of the Mobbie Awards, my initial response was, "Ummm....you sure?"

Of course, this only confirmed that people are actually reading this, which made me panic as to what I'd ever written that I maybe shouldn't have, then I started skimming my mental archives for posts that I would delete as soon as I got a chance, but then Justin reminded me that maybe you crazy kids stick around this neighborhood because you actually enjoy small doses of my insanity coated with copious amounts of butter and sugar.

So we jumped in the car last night for my first of four trips to Baltimore this week (yay Baltimore, boo commute) for the awards party at RA Sushi, which is really quite unlike any sushi bar I've ever been to. First, it's loud. Second, everything is bright, bright red. Third, sexy 20-somethings fill every corner of the room, holding Japanese beers and wearing impossibly high heels. I looked at Justin, and he must've seen the look of panic on my face because he grabbed my arm when my small-town toosh made a bee-line for the door.

And I'm glad he did, because I met some very fun, very down-to-earth fellow food bloggers at the party and heck, when someone says, "Hey, you're Cookie!" how can you resist? It's incredibly disarming. We talked about stuffed pumpkins, the merits of making homemade Canadian bacon, camera lenses, strawberries and all the other sorts of thing that make my toes tingle.

So, because you all are as much a part of this blog as I am, because I love ya and because I want to say thank you for all your votes and support, I'm giving away The Best-Ever Cupcake Icing Kit from Bake it Pretty to one of you! And I already have my own kit and yes, it really is the best ever. And it came with two tiny plastic ballerina cupcake toppers that I haven't had the heart to use because they're so darling adorable. And I love the icing tips - they are bit and fat and pipe a perfect swirl onto your cupcakes every single time. Each tip is about 2 inches long with a 3/4 inch opening for maximum frosting pleasure. Oh, yes.

Here's what you'll get:

• Round Tip
• Star Tip
• Closed Star Tip
• French Tip
• One 14" pastry bag made of lightweight, double-coated polyurethane with a reinforced bottom, stitched border and hanging loop.
• Glossy 4x6 postcard label with instructions and helpful tips! 

To enter to win, become a follower of If You Give a Girl a Cookie and leave me a comment telling me what your least favorite Thanksgiving food is. Mine is that awful sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top, I know, sacrilege, but still, it's like eating baby food.

No entries after 1:00 p.m. Friday EST, please. The winner be chosen at random and announced this Friday afternoon, so be sure to check back. Okay, on with the show!