chocolate hazelnut caramel ganache

I’m a big believer that amazing things come in little packages.
And when things are little, I can eat more of them.  Right?

If you knew me in college, or in LA, or if you know me now!…you know that I always have a bag of little chocolates stashed somewhere in the kitchen, for those times when I just need a little treat.  Sometimes there’s a bag in the fridge (cause some chocolate is better cold). And sometimes there’s a bag of chocolate chips half-opened and half-eaten (cause they’re great on crackers with peanut butter).

But in general–Life is like a box of chocolates.  And every day should include a small bit of it….with all the caramel strings attached.

Seriously.  I may or may not be eating chocolate AS I’m writing this post.  But what is one to do, when this is their job for the day??? My kids watched me editing these photos and said, Mom, your job is to talk about chocolate?? (this is going to take career day to a whole new level)

But yesss.  I was contacted by Godiva Masterpieces to share a little story.  And to share their cute indulgent chocolates, which you can now buy in a bag at the grocery store! Woohoo! They’re individually wrapped (perfect)
((and easy to give away in goodie bags or gifts))
(((and would be so fun in a guest room)))

But I’m getting ahead of myself here.  Let’s jump back to 1992.
Yep. That’s me with those awesome eyebrows.

And when Godiva asked me to share their new Godiva Masterpieces I was like….ummm. Yes! I worked at a Godiva shop in high school!  It was blogging destiny.

I don’t know why I have a photo of me in my Godiva apron, working at the store, when I was 16?  My mom must have stopped by the mall that day. But I’m glad I do. It’s fun to see these pics side-by-side, 20 (+) years apart.
I can still remember that first day on the job when we tried some of the famous Godiva flavors, which is what the Masterpieces are based on–their most decadent, legendary pieces.  Like the Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Oyster:

Guys.  Up until this point in my short life I had never tasted hazelnut before.  How is that possible?
And when I bit into that thing, it was like piece of my life had been found.  And now I think of it in two parts–life before hazelnut chocolate filling; and life after.  Mmmm.  So delicious.

Of course there’s also the famous Milk Chocolate Caramel Lion (which also comes individually wrapped in the Masterpieces bags).  And I love how easy it is to purchase high-end chocolates, right at the grocery store, and have a little treat when I need it.

They’re the perfect little size.
We “heart” dark chocolate ganache. Heh heh.

So for this post, Godiva asked me to come up with a fun way to use their new Masterpieces for the holidays, and every day.

And since my family loves to sit around the table and chat and share stories and laugh (that’s my brother and his wife in the photos above), I immediately thought of a dinner party.

I grabbed a bag of Godiva Masterpieces, wrote some mixer-game questions on pieces of paper, and taped them to the back of each individually-wrapped chocolate.

You could do this so many different ways…as an appetizer or as a post-dinner sweet treat.  But the idea is to pass the basket around, each person picks a chocolate and has to answer the question on the back before they can eat the chocolate.

Share two truths and one lie.
Where would you like to travel to most?
What was your best grade in school? Your worst grade?
Three things you’re thankful for?
The craziest thing you did as a teenager?
Share something you love about the person on your left?

Obviously the questions can be modified to include children in the game too. And you can mix it up with “questions” like, steal the candy of the person on your right and answer their question.  And then that person gets another piece of chocolate.  I really love this kind of conversation, even with family that I’ve known for years.  You always find out things you still don’t know about a person–even your spouse.

And, You get to eat chocolate.
Win-win.

Want to try out some Godiva Masterpieces for your own holiday party?
Today we’re giving away a $100 Visa gift card so you can purchase your own Godiva Masterpieces at your local grocery store! (and p.s. they sell Godiva chocolate bars too. Mmmm)

To enter, leave a comment and share your favorite mixer game question!  One lucky entry will be chosen to win.

Entry Instructions:

No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from SheKnows via sweeps@sheknows.com email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 11/21/17-12/31/17.