I am the epitome of a girls girl! I truly love the company of women, love having girls nights, have always had a BFF , and have never been the girl who drops her friends when a hot guy comes along.
Sure there are some women who say they’d rather be friends with guys because “girls are too much drama” However I’ve never understood those girls, in fact I steer clear of those girls because THOSE girls are usually the ones that bring all that drama! You see I’m a card carrying feminist and I don’t think ones pension for “drama” has anything to do with their gender. But I still love you ladies even if you don’t love me 😉
You see, I grew up around strong female relationships. I still remember tagging along with my mom and her girlfriends on their many “girls days”, my purse, coloring books and toys in hand. It was easy even as a child to see their support of one another, to experience the laughter the genuine connections and the incredible fun they always had. It was ingrained in me at an early age that this was just how women connected, and being an only child at the time made the experiences that much more special. It is the reason why I still hold my friendships in such a high regard and why I am blessed with amazing ones today.
As a child it was never beyond me to walk right up to a child I didn’t know and simply say “Hello my name is Winter what’s yours? Do you wanna be my best friend”? As forward as that was, my childlike heart never worried about being rejected or getting laughed at, my only worry was what it meant to have and be a friend.
As an adult, I am much the same way. Whether at work, with the ladies from my wine club or some of my oldest friends, that little girl who was never afraid to spark a connection with someone by simply saying hello is still there. Those simple hellos have created decades long connections that have lasted from grade school to today.

My Best Friends From High School. Through marriages, babies and everything in between we’ve been through it all with one another.

My first trip to Vegas as an adult with friends I’d known since I was a kid

The most important connection is that of laughter

Can you believe I’ve known all of these ladies for more than a decade?!?!
How fitting is it that Lindt chocolates new line is all about creating connections through a simple hello…
Lindt HELLO, the hip, trendy brand in premium chocolate, is a new collection from Lindt of sinfully delicious premium chocolate inspired by classic American treats.
So say “hello” to the enticing flavors, of the Lindt HELLO collection: Caramel Brownie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Crunchy Nougat and Cookies & Cream.
Do you have friends or family that you’d like to reconnect with? Well then the Lindt HELLO sweepstakes may be just the thing for you!
To enter the sweepstakes, visit the Lindt HELLO Sweet Connections Sweepstakes landing page and enter your email address. Entries can be made daily for additional chances to win the below prizes.
There are 5 Weeks of Prizes so use them to connect with someone you love, or someone new! Here are the remaining weeks you can sign up for and their prizes!
September 24-30: Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Enjoy a shopping spree with the girls + yummy Lindt HELLO Chocolate!
October 1-7: Sweet Staycation
Lindt HELLO treats you to a pampered night in – movies, books + chocolate!
October 8-14 Besties Reunion
Reconnect with your bestie at the spa for a day + Lindt HELLO chocolate to sweeten the deal.
On top of that Ashley Tisdale has created a cool new web series for Lindt HELLO click here to watch it!
So what was it that sparked some of the connections in your life? Do you have any creative ways you like to break the ice? I’d love to hear your stories!
To inspire you to continue making connections here are some more connections I’ve made throughout my life. Until we meet again as always in closing remember to “keep the party goin”…
A special thanks to Lindt HELLO chocolate for sponsoring this post and encouraging me to try all their delicious flavors.
This is such a sweet post! Great friendships can be hard to find but I’m glad you have found a circle that you’ve had for so long – that’s really sweet. I seriously need to try these chocolates, so many blog posts about them haha
Great post on friendship, that’s a blessing to have good friends you have known so long.
It’s so amazing that you’ve all been able to stay friends through it all! I love these Lindt Hello chocolates! I really love the cookies and creme one <3
You lost me at THOSE girls. I am one.
It just takes being open, everyone has drama it’s not male or female driven it’s people driven 🙂 Hope I can find you again 😉
I need to stop seeing these chocolates everywhere, because they’re making me crave chocolate and I need to not eat anymore. 🙂 That’s great that you’re still friends with your childhood friends. I don’t have any of those left beyond social media.
It’s amazing that you’ve found such a great circle of friends. I wish I was so lucky. It looks like you all have so much fun together. Now I want chocolate too!
Great friends and great chocolate, can’t go wrong with that! What a fun sweepstakes
I don’t have many friends that have been in my life that long! It’s definitely something to treasure.
Aww I love this post!! Friendships are so important and I have been a little down lately because all my friends have moved! I need to find some new ones that are close to me 🙂
How fun!?! I want to have a bestie reunion with some amazing chocolate! Looks like you all had such a fun time with those props 😀
That’s so awesome that your friends have stuck with you for so long! 🙂
I love watching your blog develop! And I definitely know about childhood bonds. Every girl should be so lucky to have great friends!
This is such a great post and so significantly shows who you are – a friend to many, a girl’s girl and a kick-ass writer. “Those” girls would really benefit from being around genuine women who support each other so they can see that being a girl’s girl is SO much more fun than having drama with other women!
Those candies look so yummy! I love the pictures of you with your friends! You can definitely tell that you all have a great bond.
I love that you have always had that big group of girlfriends to rely on, I’m sure you’ve been through so much together. I miss my buddies back home! I’m about a 10+ hour flight away from them!
I so feel you on the sadness when I hear girls talk about how they hate other girls. I’m like- seriously? We need each other you need to rethink all the awesome experiences you could be having with the right girlfriends!
These are great shots! It’s so cool how close you’ve stayed with your old friends!
I’m seeing those chocolates everywhere right now. They look so tasty with lots of fun flavours.
These new chocolates sound too delicious to be real.
I love this! So sweet!
Love this 🙂 How nice to have a group of friends like that still together after so long!
Wow, I grew up military so I moved a lot and sometime feel like I missed out on the long-term friend thing – you have such an amazing set of friends, I can feel the warmth and love that comes from you writing about them!
GREAT little treats. Love the story you shared – it is so great to have solid friends that you can always go to.
Your group of friends looks amazing! You must have so much fun together 🙂
I love your friend photos. I agree it is so important to surround yourself with loving people. You are very fortunate to have a great group of friends.
What a sweet post! It’s awesome to have friends that long! You and your friends are gorgeous!
Sounds like you have some really special friends! It’s great to be able to celebrate friendship like that!
I love the idea behind these and the packaging is super cute.
I love this post Winter! You’re beautiful!
Couldn’t live without my girlfriends!! Still close with my BFF since 4th grade, plus my best friend from college, closing in on (cough) fifteen years now.
Love your post – and that chocolate is AMAZING! The strawberry cheesecake is my fav!
I’m the only female on the planet who doesn’t like chocolate!
That is awesome that you have such great friendships! And with all those pictures, it looks like you have a lot of friendships too!
I’ve been seeing these choco’s everywhere I’m going to buy these on my next grocery shop 🙂
seriously sweet post! 🙂 I love how you incorporated the chocolate into your personal stories. Aren’t girls nights the best?