HELLO Stranger!

*Many thanks to Lindt HELLO for sponsoring today’s story, and giving my readers a chance to win really sweet prizes!*

Hello is the start of many conversations, whether it's introducing yourself for the first time or you are greeting family and friends. My favorite person I say this to is Michael (my boyfriend), whether it is in text, or in person. Lately both of us haven't seen much of each other due to our busy schedules, but last Thursday we were finally able to have a simple little date night, and I greeted him by saying, "HELLO, stranger!" While our date was simple, it was made memorable thanks to some new chocolate from Lindt. And let's just say Lindt knows how to say HELLO!

The options LOL

For our date we went to sit at a cafe to catch up and share a small meal ( I mostly ate and listened lol), I broke out some Lindt HELLO chocolate bars. When I bought them, I wasn't sure what flavors we would like and they come in three different forms, so I just decided to get a little of each which included, Lindt HELLO sticks in Salted Caramel, Lindt HELLO bars in Cookies & Cream, and Lindt HELLO Mini-sticks bag in "Chocolate Minis" that had an assorted variety. I told Michael to choose one and then gave him one to take to work the next day, you know a little something to ease the stress he has been having at work.

 I ended up choosing the Lindt HELLO chocolate stick in Salted Caramel and loved it! Usually I get salted caramel chocolates that have more caramel than salt, but this one has the perfect balance and it goes down so smoothly. My boyfriend ended up choosing the Cookies & Cream Lindt HELLO chocolate bar. And he loved it. Plus he greeted his friends at work with it and they too thought it was the best chocolate they'd ever tried. It definitely put a sweet little twist to our date and after such a long time apart was a nice way to say Hello. And I'm glad he was such a good sport about taking pics, but I guess he just really wanted the chocolate LOL.

The connections didn't end there though. Over the weekend I was able to share the Lindt HELLO chocolate mini-sticks with my sister when we decided to catch up on Sons of Anarchy on Friday night and with my old boss when I went to go help her out with Dempsey. Both thought it was just as delicious. Plus it was a nice bonding time, especially with my sister, who decided to try every flavor, with the result being that her favorite was the Crunchy Nougat.

Obviously Lindt knows that many connections and conversations start with HELLO. That's why Lindt Chocolate is partnering with Ashley Tisdale to co-produce “It Started with HELLO” which premiered on September 12th on the "It Started with HELLO" Youtube page.  The first episode, produced by Tisdale, premiered on September 18, 2014.  It is a fun, new romantic comedy digital series capturing couples as they make their first connections, and is inspired by the cheeky personalities of the new Lindt HELLO products. There are only two more episodes left to premiere.

From September 12th through October 9th, you can visit the "It Started with HELLO" Youtube page to view new episodes of “It Started with HELLO” weekly and share your opinions on who they’d like to see paired up next.  The first teaser video introduced the cast, and previewed the series, and each week a new episode premieres, showcasing the romantic stories between different couples.  You can even choose the ending to each episode.

Better yet, you have the opportunity to enter the Lindt HELLO Sweet Connections Sweepstakes. All you need to do is keep up with the series and click here to enter your email address. Entries can be made daily for additional chances to win some awesome prizes, and of course some smooth creamy Lindt HELLO chocolate.

* No purchase necessary. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18 years or older (19 in AL or NE and 21 in MS).  Void where prohibited. See Rules at  for weekly sweepstakes entry periods, prize descriptions, odds and other details. Ends Noon on 10/14/14. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc., One Fine Chocolate Place, Stratham, NH  03885.*

Love (and chocolate),

Astrid