Sunny Seed DropsMaybe it's just the February blues talking, but candy-covered sunflower seeds sound really great right about now. And I love the cheery, straight-outta-Kansas packaging.
$9.00, C.S. Post & Co.
Cupid’s Quiver Chocolate Truffles
Chocolat Moderne makes some of the freshest, richest, most delicious chocolates I've ever tasted. This romantic assortment of 15 dark chocolate truffles in heart shapes and painted with cupids is something any chocolate lover will appreciate. (It most certainly kicks the pants off of Russell Stover.) If you're looking for a smaller assortment, I also recommend the "Hylas and the Nymphs" set.
$35.00, Chocolat Moderne
Bee Raw Nine-Piece Honey Sampler
I'm a big fan of honey (it still blows my mind that bees make this delicious stuff for us), and I really like Bee Raw's sampler sets. The nine yummy varietals come in cool packaging that looks like laboratory vials. $78.00, Bee Raw Honey
Peeps Marshmallow Maker
Don't have enough peeps in your life? Now you can make your own. And you don't even have to wait until Easter. I have no idea how this works, but I am intrigued by the weird yellow pump with a little yellow chick on the top. And I'm very excited about the pink and yellow sugar packets. $26.00, Fred Flare
Cup Couture Cup Sleeves
I'll have a tall half-caf mocha, hold the sleeve. I brought my own. Yeah, these fabric sleeves are environmentally friendly (especially if you are too lazy to wash them). They are also pretty darn cute. They come in eight different styles. $10, Wishingfish.com
Edible Crystallized Flowers
They're almost too pretty to eat, and yet I want to sprinkle these on every dish. These edible flowers are pricey, though, so you will probably want to at least feign some restraint.
$38.00 for a package of 25, Sur La Table
See’s Candies Gourmet Lollypops
My brother and sister-in-law gave us boxes of these gourmet lollypops for Christmas. I almost forgot how awesome they are. I think the vanilla ones are my favorite, but each one is like being able to eat a really good piece of chocolate for half an hour. $5.85 for 12 lollypops, See’s Candies
Painted Truffle Grand Platinum
These truffles are amazing. Each of the 11 flavor combinations are rich and interesting. For example, there's lemon and dark chocolate; white chocolate with coconut, lime, and rum; and milk chocolate with orange blossom honey and lavender. And they're all made by hand. $27.95 for 15, Painted Truffle
Cane Sugar Hearts
One heart or two? Made of three different flavors of sugar, these ingenious hearts have a little notch to hook onto the edge of a teacup or coffee cup. Fancy! No one can claim that you don’t care.
$24.95 for a box of 64, Sur La Table
Fall Fig Pumpkin Bonbons
This is an awesome idea from John & Kira's, which makes some of the best chocolate truffles you can buy. These treats look like little pumpkins, but they're actually figs that have been filled with chocolate ganache and covered in white chocolate.
$32.00 for a box of 12, John & Kira's
White Lion Tea
How innocent I was when I first tried this tea. I had no idea I would become a hopeless addict. I especially like the ginger peach and black current varieties. It sure beats the heck out of Twinings. $10.95, White Lion Tea
Golden Walnut Cookies
They look like walnuts, but they're actually two yummy shortbread cookies that sandwich a heavenly goo of carmel and walnuts. I'm not sure why each cookie is individually wrapped, because you will not want to share these with anyone.
$5.95, Golden Walnut
World’s Tiniest Popcorn
Okay, I'll admit it. I bought this popcorn for the same reason I bought a ticket to the Coney Island freak show. But it's actually really good (the popcorn, that is). The hulls are so small that they don't lodge in your teeth. And because each puff is less than half the size of normal popcorn, you can mindlessly munch away for a lot longer.
$2.70, Market Square Food Company
Mighty Leaf Tea Pouches
These teas come in a fancy "tea pouch," which I can't really make fun of, because the tea that comes out of it tastes so good. I've yet to sample a Mighty Leaf Tea I didn't like, but "African Nectar" and "Chamomile Citrus" are my favorites.
$8.95 for 15 pouches, Mighty Leaf Tea
Passion Fruit Truffles
I've never been super crazy about passion fruit, but it turns out that making it into a mousse and covering it in two layers of chocolate is the recipe for ambrosia. $9.50 for five, B.T. McElrath
