Eye Candy
Bespoke Chocolate Artisan Paul Wayne Gregory has created stunning chocolate sculptures for the Queen of England's 80th birthday celebration. I found his work on Harvey Nichols' food blog, a virtual feast for a foodie's eyes. Apparently, with deep enough pockets, you can commission your very own in time for Valentine's day.

Baci's Brother
If you, like me, are fond of Baci's hazelnut goodness, then you'll love Pernigotti's Pepitas. Sectioned off into two bite sized portions, each hides an entire hazelnut beneath a robe of classic, semi-sweet, Italian chocolate, but sorry, no love note...

Tea Party
Topped with a thin layer of milk chocolate and chopped almonds, these delicate wheat cookies from Isabelle are individually wrapped to resemble quaint little tea bags. So sophisticated, you'll dust off the china and invite the ladies over for afternoon tea.

Buon Euro
I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the Lire, but this 33% light milk chocolate Caffarel bar fashioned after 500 Euro reassures me that at least some things will never change, like my affinity for the sublime taste of Italian chocolate. I picked it up at Dean & Deluca for only $6 bucks. If only the current exchange rate was as propitious.

Hmmm&m...
Have you seen that m&ms are now available in packages of a single color? There are even some extra colors available that aren't in the regular mix. So you can match your m&ms to your decor or outfit or mood or whatever.
They're not gourmet, but m&ms do kick ass. When I was little, we didn't have sweets often, but whenever we did have m&ms, my mother would open all the packages and sort them by color to make sure that each of us 4 kids got equal numbers of each color. She also counted out the meatballs in our spaghettios.This really wasn't necessary for our sake. I don't think any of us really cared. But she says it was very important to her that none of us suspect favoritism.
by JY

XOCRIOLATA
My darling best friend was flown to Berlin for her company's holiday fete. We'd hate her, only she brought us back this fabulous chocolate, which proves she was thinking of us--even while partying well into the night with leather clad locals. Apparently, she picked these up in the supermarket where she encountered an entire aisle full of yummy chocolates. Reportedly, one can pick up a single box containing a huge variety of chocolate--from the super sweet candy-like milk chocolate, to very pure, dark chocolate with little sugar. XOCRIOLATA's 55% with an orange bouquet is quite nice, it has a strong citrus flavor with an unexpected crunch, I believe of crystalized orange. The 72% dark has a smooth, creamy consistency. According to the German blogs, they seem to really dig this brand. I think I'm hooked as well. Too bad I'll have to wait till next year to get my hands on some more:)