Dear Emily G.,

I can’t tell you how much fun it was to get your fanciful care package from your trip to Canada. I knew what it contained (since I asked you to send it) but the way you decorated the envelop was so endearing:

I can’t remember the last time (if ever) I’ve taken a picture of a mailer but this one was so cute.

Inside the lovingly prepared exterior was a consumer product near and dear to my heart — Smarties. Not the chalky kind wrapped in clear plastic that we know in the U.S. but Smarties from Canada.

Smarties are like Canadian M&Ms but with a thicker candy shell. I’ve always loved them because I couldn’t get them in the states so they were for special occasions — when we visited family in Canada or at the canteen during summer camp in Algonquin Park outside of Toronto.

Adam compared the Smartie to the M&M and he likes M&M’s more because they emphasize his favorite food — chocolate. Another blogger compared the two in a more scientific way. But personally, Smarties take me back to my innocent, faster-metabolism days and made me very happy.

Thank you so much!

Jodi