Sweet Treats Thursday & Boggiversary/Followers Giveaway

I've got a lot to talk about today, so just hang in there with me-- I'll get to features, I promise!

The first order of business is a huge, gigantic, LOUD shout out to Three Little Birds Designs Etsy shop for my brand new blog design! I am in love with it! And I swear this is the last time I'm going to change all of my buttons (and they are WAY better than any of the ones I ever designed myself!)-- so make sure to check out my {buttons} page and grab the new and improved ones :)

Next: today's a special Sweet Treats & Giveaway, because this October has been a special month for Something Swanky! This month marks the one year-ish mark of Something Swanky and the 500+ followers benchmark!

One year-ish? Yeah. That's what I'm calling it. Because how do you decide when your bloggiversary really is? Do you go by the date of your first post? Or by when you started posting regularly? Or when you started to actually post good posts with decent pictures?

Technically I've been blogging Something Swanky for about 3 years-- but you wouldn't be able to tell. I've erased a lot of the evidence. It was necessary.

I've learned so much about blogging in this past year, and it's become something I'm really passionate about. I LOVE everything about the blogging world-- the camaraderie with other bloggers, the opportunity to improve my writing and photography, and even the learning how to play around with HTML codes and dabbling in design.

And I have all of you to THANK for all of those things. You've all taught me so much and have been so supportive through your comments, emails, guest posts, and countless other ways. It's been a fun year.

And I feel like we're friends.

And friends give gifts. Am I right?

As a small token of my thanks, I'm giving away my very, very, VERY favorite ingredient of all time:

Vanilla Bean Paste! This stuff will change your life (if it hasn't already)! Just use it in place of vanilla extract, and it will take your dessert to a whole new level of delicious. I promise.

Entry for the giveaway is super simple: just leave me a comment. Any comment.

That's it! One entry per person-- and all I want is for you to say hi :)

 Alright, that's enough of my ramblings! Let's get to the party...

Features from last week:

You may not know this, but I am quite the cake mix cookie advocate. I {heart} them. And I LOOOOVE chocolate crinkle cookies, so these Chocolate Cake Batter Cookies from The REAL Housewives of Riverton really spoke to me last week :)

Carolynn's Recipe Box is back in the features this week! I think these Apple Fritters look absolutely mouth-watering!

Hot Fudge Cakes are another weak spot of mine (imagine that-- another dessert I can't resist)! And Eat Cake For Dinner has a crock pot recipe for Hot Fudge Cake!!!

Yum! If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my {Buttons} page (up top)!

I'm excited to see what you all brought this week! Let's do a quick re-cap of the rules, because I've been seeing lots of savory casseroles, soups, and meat dishes linked up lately! And while they do look delicious, this blog is all about the sugar rush. SO....

1. SWEETS ONLY, please!
2. Please follow Something Swanky through GFC. Thanks much!
3. Click around, visit other blogs, and leave comments!

...and I'd love for you to grab a button if you'd like! Both the Something Swanky and the Sweet Treats Thursday buttons are on my sidebar!

{Giveaway will end on Sunday night 10/9 at 9:00pm. One winner will be chosen at random.}

Ok, let's get to partying!