I don’t usually post about giveaways I enter, but I feel the need to share this one with everyone. I recently discovered JoyHey and her photography and absolutely fell in love with all of her work. She takes beautiful photos, and better yet, turns them into adorable iPhone cases (among other products like iPod cases, laptop and iPad skins, stationary, framed prints, and stretched canvases). Even better, she’s giving away a pastel iPhone case to one lucky winner (enter using this link and follow the instructions on her page). I’m sharing this giveaway with all of you because not only does it give me a better chance of winning (sneaky, right??), but I also want to share JoyHey’s incredible talent and eye for photography.

I have my very own JoyHey pastel iPhone case already, and can vouch that it’s one of my favorite accessories. From the moment I saw the “mmm donuts” iPhone case online, I knew I needed it – it was just so adorable and being the foodie I am, of course I’d want a giant, sprinkled donut on my phone! Since receiving this case, I’ve gotten so many compliments and even had people tell me they purchased their own case because of how much they loved mine. The cases are great quality (a strong plastic – not flimsy rubber), fit the iPhone (4/4s) perfectly, and are printed with adorable pastel photos.

You can check out all of JoyHey’s iPhone cases here, along with her other products in the left-hand sidebar. The giveaway ends March 23rd, so enter before it’s too late! Good luck to all!

Last year was SAVEUR’S first annual food blog awards, but last year at this time Quick Feet, Good Eats hadn’t yet been created. Heck, at this time last year, I wasn’t even thinking about starting a blog.

“Me have a blog? No one would read it!”

Quick Feet, Good Eats is now 9 months old and I am asking for all the support I can get from my readers to be nominated for SAVEUR’S 2011 Best Food Blog Awards.

Now, I’m not sure whether this past year has been the baby-boom of food blogs, or I’m just now noticing the thousands of them over the world wide web, but let me tell you, a lot of people like to talk about food. And I am not complaining!

Why Nominate Quick Feet Good Eats?

I started Quick Feet, Good Eats in July 2010. My initial intention for the blog was to document my food adventures, have a place to organize recipes, and talk about my fitness routines. For the most part, Quick Feet, Good Eats has remained a place to document these aspects of my life, in addition to the random rambling posts here and there.

Throughout the year though, my blog has been more than just a speck in the infinite world of web. This blog has been my inspiration. It’s where I came to realize my true passion. Some people live for music, some people are fashionistas, some people like to study the way other people think. I have found a passion for food.

I should be 800 lbs.

I have been blessed with a good life (and metabolism!) Sometimes, I may not think so, and life can be difficult, but that’s how it is for all of us, right? I have been blessed with a supportive family, group of friends and roommates, and a boyfriend I would give the world for. Each and every person in my life has given me the support I need and has, at times, been my backbone.

Okay, okay, I’ll stop with the sentimental talk! What I’m trying to get at is that yes, I am surrounded by very encouraging people, but this blog would not be worthwhile if it weren’t for my readers. “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

I may not have hundreds of follows who check back daily to see what I’ve posted next. That would be nice! But what I have now, at this time in my life, is a growing passion for food, fitness, the web, and sharing, and more than anything support.

I cannot give you a direct reason why you should nominate my blog for SAVEUR’S award, you must be the determiner of that. What I can tell you is that winning (#winning) an award such as this one would give me a huge opportunity to share my passion with those who may not know Quick Feet, Good Eats. It would help me network and learn from others and perhaps go to blogging conferences I might otherwise not attend. Your nomination and vote are greatly appreciated and I cannot thank you all enough for reading! (Nominations close April 22, 2011)

Voting is super easy

1. Click here
2. Type in http://quickfeetgoodeats.com into the first field.
3. Select “Best Baking and Desserts Blog” from the Category drop down menu.
4. You have the option to write why you’re nominating this blog. Feel free to add something, but it’s not required.
5. Fill in your name and email address and click Submit. It’s that easy!

Thank you again for reading and showing your support for my blog. -Sammy

I want to extend a huge THANKS to the wonderful staff at Uscoop for featuring my blog and me this week! Uscoop is a great site that features trends, styles, and discounts for college students such as myself. You can check out their kind words about Quick Feet, Good Eats here!

When you sign up for their newsletter, you can receive their weekly deals, and trust me, this week’s is good! 30% off a pair of these uber-comfortable ballerina flats from Yosi Samara… YES PLEASE!

These are just a few things I’m loving this week:

This past Monday, I went to the Great Jones Spa in NYC for a facial. I’ve gotten a few facials in my lifetime, and this one takes the cake! It was the most relaxing and stress-relieving experience ever – other than the fact that I got lost getting there. I really need to learn my way around the city, or invest in a Droid. Anywho, they had water coolers full of lemon infused water.

Now, let me tell you how just the other day I told my roommate, who loves lemon in her water, that lemon-water is the most disgusting thing ever. Water is water. Water with lemons is wannabe lemonade. After my spa experience, however, I am obsessed. To the point where I made my dorm room our very own lemon-infused water pitcher (the pitcher is pink, not the water) =)

To top off a great trip to the city, I stopped at pinkberry, and pondered life. Well, not really. I did a photo assignment and then scurried off to make the bus back to school. Pinkberry is heaven. In a perfect world, after-dinner dessert would always be pinkberry. But this world is far from perfect my friends…

While listening to a Mumford & Sons playlist on YouTube, I came across these guys: Iron and Wine. I like them a lot, and I suggest you give them a listen. And if you haven’t listened to Mumford, do yourself a favor and listen to them too. Not just “little lion man,” listen to other songs not played on the radio every 5 minutes.

Tonight’s after-dinner dessert wasn’t pinkberry. It was chunks of dark chocolate and cupcakes. Beggers can’t be choosers, ya know.

What were your favorite things this week?

I spent this past weekend celebrating my 21st birthday (thanks to those who made it a blast!) and doing my homework due for this week. This semester’s homework is proving to be just a tad different than last semester’s mainly because I’m taking more photography/interactive media courses, rather than all writing intensive courses. Though I am a journalism major, I’m finding out that photos tell stories themselves, and I’m falling in love with using my Canon Rebel XSi. Ohhhh spring semester, how I love you already.

I have an assignment due Wednesday and one of the photos we are prompted to take is a landscape shot. I decided to go to the lake near my home where I run. It’s a cute little community in my hometown and I couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day to snap a few shots. People were jogging, walking their dogs, and kids were even playing hockey on the frozen lake. I love that photography can be so simple, and can be of something you see so often, but capturing it in a moment can make it feel like so much more.

My mom was looking through my pictures and stopped at this close-up photo of my puppy, Tigger. Tigger is old. He’s now deaf, is losing his eyesight, and can barely jump up on the couch, but he’s still a puppy in our eyes. My mom said the photo nearly brought tears to her eyes, seeing Tigger’s adorable little face on the camera like that. He’s a cutie.

I miss running outside, and now Jersey is getting more snow?! Where are we going to put all of this? Laying on a beach sounds really good right now…. so does a white hot chocolate from Dunkin. Or buffalo wings.

As much as I do like my classes this semester, a snow day would be much appreciated tomorrow.

Today, I had a great 4 mile run on the treadmill after class. I know I need to get back into a daily gym routine now that school has started back up, and the best way for me to do that is to bring my gym clothes with me to class! I carry my sneakers, sports bra, shorts, and shirt, along with my ipod, pens, and notebook all in my handy-dandy Longchamp bag. After class, I walk straight to the gym instead of going back to my dorm to change. It sort of forces me to go, which is just the motivation I need.

When I got back to my dorm, it was lunch time, and being the college student I am, the fridge was not exactly fully stocked. Last semester, I was so busy running from here to there, a salad – mostly this one verbatim – or a bowl of cereal would suffice. This semester, eating healthy meals (not just side dishes or snacks) is going to be a priority for me.

Living in a dorm without a stove or oven is limiting and eating healthy may be a challenge, but this hot plate my previous boss handed down to me make a world of difference. The other night, my roommates and I made penne with cannellini beans, spinach, and grilled chicken – courtesy of EatLiveRun – and today, I made an egg-white sandwich with a little mozzarella cheese over sauted spinach on rye bread. This sandwich took maybe 4 minutes total to put together from start to finish. So easy, delicious, healthy, and filling. I finished off with a juicy clementine. Mmmmm, talk about a healthy finish to an awesome workout.

I’m thinking about doing a mini series on how to cook healthy in the dorm. What does everyone think?

It’s official! Quick Feet, Good Eats is now up and running on it’s own domain. Many snowy days have been spent staring at a computer screen putting this together, so I hope you are all as excited as I am!!

In addition to the new design, I have recently invested in a Canon Rebel XSi (happy early birthday to me!). This simply means my pictures will (hopefully) get better. Any photography tips are very much welcome!

This new blog design wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for one person, so I must give a big THANK YOU to Chris Bracco (@cbracco), the one who put a huge chunk of his time into not only creating this for me, but teaching me along the way. HTML can be a nightmare, but makes vino taste a lot better!

First and foremost, I want to say thank you to all those who read my blog – whether you read it daily, only when I annoy you with tweets, or when you need a recipe – thank you! I love to bake, cook, and exercise for my own personal joy, but I also love documenting it here. I do this for myself and for those of you who read Quick Feet, Good Eatsand also enjoy good food and good health.

That said, I am SO excited to announce that Quick Feet, Good Eats is not only getting a make-over, but is also moving to its very own domain! This will be happening (hopefully) within the next two weeks, but I just couldn’t hold it in anymore, I’m that excited! I apologize for the lack of posts during this time, as creating a website is a lot more work than I had ever imagined. But trust me, the wait will be well worth it.

I hope everyone is having a delicious new year!

P.S. – the recipe for that cinnamon bread is to come… just a little preview

Oh, and here’s a little preview of the new blog:

I guess I just have to share how very excited I am about my early Christmas present from Chris. A 14 piece cake decorating set from Ateco. Twelve stainless steel tips, a 12″ flex decorating bag, and a coupler attachment. I swear I didn’t beg him to give them to me early so I could make a certain cupcake for Christmas (stay tuned for my creation!)

I don’t make cupcakes or cakes very often, but trust me, I will now!

Oh, and that personalized apron straight from Venice, Italy… no words, just adorable I can thank Chris for that one too!

Any cupcake suggestions?! I’m all for using my new tips!

Last Saturday was one of the most successful days I’ve had in a while – in the kitchen that is. While living at my sister and her husband’s house for a week, watching their absolutely adorable mini doxin, I decided I would do some stuff I was deprived of at school – bake & cook – oh, and carve a pumpkin! Apple picking last weekend left me with a ton of crispy, delicious apples and I was ready to make my first apple pie of the season.

My sister made a pie last weekend that was incredible, so I used her recipe. I will keep this apple pie recipe forever. Chris – who claims apple pie is the key to his heart – looooved it, so that must say something, right?!

For dinner, we decided on bbq pulled pork and corn bread. Chris picked up a 7 lb pork shoulder and a box of Trader Joe’s corn bread mix (which I modified to make sun-dried tomato and smoked gouda corn bread – recipe to come soon!). I looked up a quick, simple, and delicious pulled pork recipe and stuck that sucker right in the cooker.

While the meat was cookin’ we carved our pumpkins. Earlier that morning, Chris and I hit up a local farm and each picked out our pumpkins. They were about 20-25 pounds and they were perfect

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We had a kit handy, but drew our own, personalized, face stencils. I’m pretty sure this was my first time carving my own pumpkin, and it was definitely harder than I thought it was, but so much fun! These are the end results:

So after two Paulander Oktoberfest Biers and two goofy jack-o-lanterns, our meat was almost done. I whipped up the corn bread and stuck that in the oven for 25 minutes while we pulled the pork and smothered it in Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. We all know not everything we make comes out perfect, and we all have kitchen blunders – trust me, I’ve had my share – but my friends, this dish was perfect. The meat was so tender and juicy. The bone pulled out easily and the meat tore effortlessly.

There was just enough sauce – not to overwhelm the flavors of the meat itself. We added muenster cheese, but it really didn’t even need it. I even had some of the left-overs for lunch the next day, and it was just as good, if not better!

The corn-bread was yummy, too. I used a box of Trader Joe’s mix, but added a few ingredients from a recipe I found in my recent purchase, Things Cooks Love. The bread fluffed up in the pie pan and kept so moist I didn’t even think it was done cooking. It was the perfect side dish to the sandwich.

Needless to say, by the end of the night we were stuffed! It was a very successful cooking/baking day, and those days always make me happy