Growing up I lived on a very idyllic cul-de-sac with a very idyllic name, “Silverbell Court”. There were about ten houses on our little street, everyone had young kids, and no cars ever really cruised down it, so we could just run all over the place and safely play. And all summer long,  that’s what we did. We went barefoot until the pavement burned our feet and then we either went in for shoes or switched to playing in the grass. We cut through each other’s back yards and we climbed trees in the one place in the ‘hood with trees tall enough to climb – a hill that backed up to several of the backyards (not mine, but my BFF Erin’s) on our court. On this hill, and in one other yard on our street, there were wonderful, productive mulberry trees. So, burned into my memory of a childhood summer is the sweet taste of fresh mulberries.

We’d hunt for the berries that were ripest, taste-testing to decide which color was best, daring each other to eat the ones we knew weren’t quite ready. The juice stained our fingers and our teeth and our tongues and we savored every bite. The mulberries were not quite public domain, but we thought they were. So you may say those sweet berry-filled moments were semi-stolen.

These days, if I want any sweet berry-filled moments to myself, they have to be completely stolen.  Like “hiding-from-my-kids” stolen.  Which is why you might sometimes catch me  in the corner of the kitchen with the gate closed, leaning up against the window, or heck even hiding in the bathroom if I’m really desperate, having a little snack in the afternoon.  Like a chocolately-fruity kind of snack.

What do you do when you need a sweet, quiet moment alone?  The folks at Pepperidge Farm, maker of my favorite cookie, the Milano, want to know!  They’re celebrating the release of their brand-new Strawberry Milano cookie (which is so FANTASTICALLY amazing, by the way) with a super-fun sweepstakes – all you have to do is tell them what you do for a “Milano Moment” and you could win a BUSHEL of the new Strawberry Milano cookies!

Emily and I are “Milano Mavens” helping to spread the word about this new faboo Strawberry Milano cookie (why yes, we DO blog for cookies!  See our pretty faces in that pretty Milano widget on our sidebar??) and we couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it.  So head on over to The Pepperidge Farm Milano Facebook page where you can “like” Milanos, enter the sweepstakes to win a bushel of Strawberry Milano goodness, and download a 55-cent off Milano coupon!  (You all KNOW how I feel about coupons!)

And while you’re at it, tell me my dears, what lengths do YOU go to in order to get a “Milano moment” alone?

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Photo by beautifulcataya on Flickr

FYI, Emily and I are proud to be “Milano Mavens” and yes, they are paying us in more than just cookies.