xoxo - Joe - xoxo

It all began innocently enough....

One never expects to fall in love with somebody else, but that is what happened to me 2 years ago while I was on vacation. We were on a "girls trip" in California and had to find a grocery store for Amy. (She was training for a marathon and needed some snacks for her 10 mile run the next day.) We all entered the grocery store and it happened.... My eyes fell upon Joe and was instantly enamored by his shiny black skin. I knew I had to have him.

So, I threw 2 of the boxes of "Dark Chocolate Covered Joe-Joe cookies" into my Trader Joe's reusable bag and called it a day. If you recall, it took 3 of us to open a bottle of wine that evening, and we all enjoyed a Joe-Joe cookie as we drank a glass of wine. (Think of an oreo. Covered in dark chocolate. And then multiply it by 1000.)

After that, we have fed our new addiction whenever possible. Without a Trader Joe's in town (or in the STATE for that matter), we have to rely on the kindness of friends or just wait until we go somewhere that has one. We have since discovered that the traditional dark chocolate covered Joe-Joes have been discontinued. (please pause for a moment of silence.)

---------pausing------------

Last Christmas, a friend in Arizona sent us a sleeve of the "Holiday Joe-Joes." These were Joe-Joes with peppermint chips in the filling and on the dark chocolate coating. Mmmmmmm.

Well, one of the "Cali Crew" texted me from a work trip a few weeks ago. It was a Saturday morning around 8am - I was preparing to teach class, she was checking out the area around her hotel. This is a transcript of the conversation:

Lana: Trader Joe's near my hotel, going on the hunt in a few!
Me: If they have Joe-Joes, you know what to do.
Lana: Score for all the Cali girls! Comin' your way!

So, when I saw Lana on Friday for dinner, she delivered the goods. She did not disappoint - she brought back the "Trader Joe's and the Astounding Multi-Flavor Joe-Joe's" tower. It includes:
1 sleeve of Double chocolate - dark chocolate coating with milk chocolate drizzle
1 sleeve of the Peppermint shown above
1 sleeve of Peanut butter - milk chocolate coating with dark chocolate drizzle
1 sleeve of Ginger - dipped in white chocolate with gingersnap sprinkles
I haven't opened them yet but will be happy to give a full report once I do.

(If Lana had a blog, she would have to tell about getting 6 boxes of Joe-Joes back to Texas in nothing but carry-on luggage....)

So anyway, now you all know the history of the Joe-Joe. (and a possible explanation for why my dresses don't fit as well as they used to...)