Aloha! from The Big Island & Chobani Flips GIVEAWAY!

Hawaii pool view

Aloha, friends!! I am typing this from a beautiful, breezy outdoor patio overlooking the pool at our vacation place in Hawaii… it is my first time to ever visit Hawaii, and I have been utterly blown away! Allyn’s grandfather has rental property on The Big Island, and when it worked out for Allyn and I to join his family for a short vacation in paradise, we jumped at the chance. June was a total workaholic month for me — between teaching summer camps for kids and keeping up my usual tutoring work, celebrating the release of Dancing With The Pen II, taking on some weekend literature classes for high school students, planning my ninth annual Summer Writing Camp, spearheading a screening of the Minimalism documentary in my hometown {seats still available if anyone is interested!} and preparing to marry the love of my life in less than two months… life has been quite a whirlwind!

Which is all to say, this vacation has come at the perfect time. Sun, sand, snorkeling… sunset dinners, hikes, lazy mornings… lots of relaxation and interesting conversation with people I love… it has been the “recharge” I needed!

me and al jungle selfie

An unanticipated perk of this trip is that it introduced me to Chobani Flips, a new product from my favorite yogurt company! The past month or so, I have been trying to eat yogurt every day to help keep my gut happy with probiotics, and I am a big fan of Chobani because they use real ingredients, natural sweeteners, and are always non-GMO. They also have such a wide range of flavors and taste so rich and creamy — I love having yogurt for dessert!

When we arrived at our vacation home, the fridge was stocked with some products that the previous renters had bought and left behind… one of our previous renters must have been a BIG Chobani Flips fan, because there were five containers stacked there, waiting for me to pounce on them! 🙂 I have been having them for breakfast AND dessert. My favorite flavor is the Almond Coco Loco: a delectable blend of tangy coconut, mini chocolate chips, and nutty almond pieces.

Serendipitously, Chobani just reached out to me with a neat flow chart quiz that you can answer to determine what flavor combo will be up your alley. And, because I love Flips so much, I decided to sponsor a giveaway to give one of you a $10 grocery store gift card so you can try out Chobani Flips for free! {Note: this giveaway is NOT sponsored by Chobani, it is sponsored by me, and all opinions are my own.} To enter, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know your favorite flavor or what you would most like to try. You can also follow DaybyDayMasterpiece on Facebook, Twitter, and/or subscribe to the blog for entries into the giveaway!

chobani_flowchart_x2_v09

Chobani_myflavor_card_sweetnspicy_v03 Chobani_myflavor_card_sweetnsalty_v03 Chobani_myflavor_card_sweet_v03

Enter below! Good luck! 🙂 The giveaway closes on Saturday, July 23rd.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

fabulous friday #25 + GIVEAWAY!!

Happy TGIF, friends! Coming at you with some Fabulous Friday action … and a little giveaway the end of this post, woo hoo!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. My summer camp students. So adorable, hilarious and hard-working! It warms my heart to see how kind they are to each other. And they crack me up! Today when we were walking back to the classroom from recess, they all ran to beat me there and when I walked in, they were all hiding from me under their desks, giggling at their sneakiness. I wish I had taken a picture to share with y’all. Today was my last day teaching this particular group, and I will miss them!

2. The fresh fruits & veggies of summer. I have been a produce fiend all week, and I love how eating so many plants makes me feel vibrant and energetic. I don’t know about you, but the less sugar and processed food I eat, the less of it I crave. These days I am craving… watermelon! Mmm. To me, nothing says summer quite like a thick juicy slice of fresh watermelon.

watermelon

3. This beautiful and inspiring blog post by Nicole Antoinette: just start.

4. This quote, which I found in the pavement in Jack Keroac Alley outside of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco:

love hate quote

5. The release of this new book that I am very excited to be a contributor for: Chicken Soup for the Soul, Home Sweet Home! The story I wrote, titled “My Perfectly Decorated Apartment,” is featured in the book alongside 100 other inspiring, touching, sweet and funny stories about “hearth, happiness, and hard work.” And I am delighted that I have a signed copy to give to one of you!

CSS Home Sweet Home

The giveaway will stay open until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 26. Good luck! And thanks for celebrating with me!

Click on this link to enter: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Questions of the evening:

  • What are you loving right now?
  • Do you have any fun weekend plans?
  • What food says “summer” to you?

fabulous friday #23

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you are enjoying the sunshine and have fun plans for the weekend! Before I get into the rest of this post, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has served and is currently serving our country. Yes, Memorial Day weekend is typically associated with BBQ get-togethers and amazing shopping sales, but let’s make sure we remember the real purpose of this holiday weekend: honoring the bravery and sacrifices that our fellow Americans have made to keep us safe.

To veterans, current military servicemen and women, and your families: my deepest thanks for your service!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Your kind comments and enthusiasm for my birthday kindness chain! Today I’ve been busy working at my computer, so I’ve done a handful of kind acts from my desk: sent an email of praise to a coworker, wrote some thank-you notes, posted three positive reviews on Amazon, and reached out to an old friend I haven’t been in touch with in a long time. More proof that you don’t even need to leave the house to make the world a better place!

2. Starbucks work sessions. I have a big cup of green tea w/honey, I’m surrounded by the hustle and bustle of people, there’s light jazz in the background … perfect ingredients to power through my to-do list!

starbucks

3. This inspiration from Nicole @A Life Less Bullsh*t to quit being afraid and just get started already:

a year from now

4. I won the Swanson Vitamins giveaway that Danica hosted on her blog!! I can’t ever remember winning even a raffle, so this was a huge surprise and I am so excited and grateful. Happy early birthday to me! I’m going to buy myself some nut butters and baking supplies. Thank you, Danica!

I won a giveaway

5. Phone dates, Skype dates, Google Hang-out dates, and in-person dates with people I love who make me feel loved. I talked with Holly, Allyn and my parents on the phone yesterday, I’m Skyping this afternoon with my friend Chidelia, Greg has called me via Google Hang-outs twice from Thailand {so thankful he is safe and having fun!}, I saw my aunt Annie and cousin Arianna for dinner last night, and I’m seeing Dana for dinner tonight. Nothing warms my heart more than time with so many amazing, loving and generous people I’m blessed to have in my life. ❤

P.S. Look at how cute my Grandpap was in his choir concert last weekend! I couldn’t resist sharing this photo I snapped of him!

grandpap choir concert.jpg

Questions of the day:

  • What are you loving this Friday?
  • What are your plans for the weekend?

my birthday wish + giveaway

Hi, friends, and happy Thursday! My 27th birthday is a week from today, and during the next week I’m planning to celebrate by doing 27 random acts of kindness! I’m really excited about it and will be sharing highlights and photos from all the acts of kindness next week, so stay tuned.

my birthday wish

In the meantime, I’d love to invite you to join in on the kindness! Just like last year, I’d love if you would create a random acts of kindness chain with me. To participate all you have to do is perform an act of kindness in the next week, and then leave a comment below sharing what you did.

On Friday, May 30, I’ll randomly select one winner from all the comments to receive a personally autographed copy of my collection of short stories, 3 a.m.

3 a.m. book cover

I’m so excited to hear about all the love and kindness you spread in the world this week! Looking for ideas of random acts of kindness? Here are 52 of them!

Questions of the day:

  • Have you ever participated in a kindness chain before?
  • What are your favorite ways to celebrate your birthday?

summer beauty GIVEAWAY!!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m super excited to announce my first giveaway!!

My birthday is two weeks from today, and I want to celebrate by giving something away to you! Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog — it means so much to me that you make my little corner of the Internet part of your day. I am very grateful to be part of such a vibrant, positive and friendly blog community!

For the giveaway, I’ve rounded up some of my favorite beauty products into two prize packages — just in time for summer!

Prize #1: Big Beauty Basket

big beauty box

Prize #2: Travel Beauty Clutch

travel beauty clutch

The giveaway will stay open for two weeks, until my birthday, May 29th. Good luck! And thanks for celebrating with me!

Click on this link to enter: a Rafflecopter giveaway