DailyHap.com is a website designed to create a community of happy people and encourage people to openly, genuinely pursue happiness. It will guide people to Achieving Happiness 1 Day at a Time through a daily action item.

It is also my labor of love, my grand adventure, and now that it’s live, what will consume my life.

We’re launching with a really cool campaign called Penny for Your Thoughts, where a visit to the website donates a penny to Austin Smiles. Sign up for a profile, and contribute Your Two Cents, another two pennies to Austin Smiles. Three cents donated for very little effort! We want to show you that it can be as easy as a click to start on your way to happiness.

What are you waiting for? Click on over to DailyHap and get happy!

Did you know you can get a full week, seven days, of free yoga at tons of studios across the country thanks to National Yoga Month?

It’s no secret that I’ve been practicing A LOT of yoga recently. I did a seven-day boot camp in Aspen that was transformative. No, I didn’t come to any life-changing realizations. No, I didn’t make any decisions. Trust me, I had plenty of realizations and decisions needing to be had, I WANTED them. But yoga, you learn through doing it, is just about doing it. Just about being. The other stuff comes with being. Being present. And it definitely does not come instantly.

Why then was my yoga week transformative? Because it made me realize how important yoga is to my health and well-being. I have previously publicly declared that I’m not yogi. But I AM. I am a yogi.

There are 10 days left to take advantage; yoga month culminates September 30th with The Time for Yoga, a global community practice.

Use the studio finder here to immediately get your yoga on. For free.

http://re.pn/b/R4XW

Additional notes:

1. Water bottles must be either factory-sealed (2-1L allowed) or empty. This is why I recommend the Vapur: it folds. There are CamelBak refill stations all around the park, so USE them and don’t pay for water.

2. Snacks are technically not allowed, which is why I suggest minis. They hide under bandanas.

3. If you take nothing else from this list, wear your damn sunscreen. Don’t be an idiot and get sunburned.

Chedule?

Tuesday, August 23: Jewelry Showcase at the Driskill Hotel

Wednesday, August 24: Swimwear & Resort Wear Runway Presentations at the Driskill Hotel

Thursday, August 25: Eclectic & Edgy Runway Presentations at the Driskill Hotel

Friday, August 26: Classic Couture Runway Presentations at the Driskill Hotel

Saturday, August 27: Austin Fashion Awards Presented by Sono Bello at ACL Live

Additionally, the Austin Fashion Week Showcase events will take place from Sunday, August 21 – Friday, August 26 by area of town:

• Tuesday, August 23: West Austin presented by the Hill Country Galleria
• Wednesday, August 24: South Austin
• Thursday, August 25: 2ND Street District
• Friday, August 26: North Austin

To create your customized schedule, use this page or download the app. Technology is awesome.

Like all good Austin festivals, Fashion Week even has extra events, like these LOFT (hello, they’ve been doing a great job of late with their lines!) parties:

*I worked with Matt Swinney, co-founder of Austin Fashion Week, on one of my latest articles, for Giving City magazine (as well as some of my other fave fundraisers!). Check it out online here: The Guide to Great Fundraising Events.

They’re perhaps most famous for their fish oil (@SFHfishoil is, after all, their company twitter handle), but that’s not why I quite literally became obsessed with Stronger Faster Healthier. No, it’s their grass-fed whey protein that first attracted me, and the badass people behind the company that eventually sold me entirely.

I am proud to be able to also bring you a discount on Stronger Faster Healthier:

Get 10% off when you order through http://strongerfasterhealthier.com/ref/lifein

While I talk about plenty of products and things I love, and I DO, rarely do I become so passionate about a product that I hunt down their marketing people and beg them for a discount code for you guys. I’m just too busy for that! But that’s not the case with SFH, I just HAD to find a way to be able to share it with you. Doesn’t matter if you’re not a CrossFitter or athlete or you don’t even work out ever. You probably need more protein, and you definitely need fish oil, and you can get that from an awesome source in Stronger Faster Healthier.

Stronger Faster Healthier is a family-run company staffed by some serious badasses. Papa made his fortune doing other things, then wanted to encourage everyone to use preventive medicine to change healthcare to wellcare (LOVE that). That means exercise, eating right, and clean supplements. They do what they can to keep product costs down so the products are as affordable as possible (no one’s saying they’re cheap, but prevention now is a helluva lot cheaper than the alternatives down the line). His daughter initially thought, “fish oil?!” but believes in the company as much as anyone—and as an extreme sports athlete and former marketing rep, she’s seen it all.

I thought I’d seen all the proteins out there and had all but given up when my mom (who as you may know LOVES Dr. Mercola) found Dr. Mercola’s, which has a clean, natural taste. But cheaper and equally delicious if not better—hello, chocolate!—is Stronger Faster Healthier’s Pure Whey.

Another reason I’m so in love with SFH? A simple, easy to understand but still science-based explanation of what, exactly, whey IS (from their blog): Whey is a great source of easily digestible protein.  Whey protein is a by-product of cheese making.  Cow’s milk is 20% whey and 80% non whey casein protein.  In the production of high quality whey the casein fraction is separated from the whey.

At a more molecular level, whey is a mixture of beta–lactoglobulin, alpha lacto-albumin and serum albumin, and various immunoglobulins. Whey is rich in branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) which are directly related to muscle building. For example, leucine (another BCAA) indirectly helps stimulate muscle mass by fueling protein synthesis.

Besides being smart and not snotty, the protein powder is so delicious that I drank a protein shake nearly every day for the past month. When I ordered the Pure Whey at 30 servings, I was sure it would last me longer than a month, because I don’t drink shakes that often. WRONG-O! I had my first on March 30 (according to my own tweets, below) and had my last on May 2nd. The protein is so good you CRAVE it! That’s stellar. (It also got me hooked on fauxoats …)

And what of fish oil? Why do you need fish oil? It’s all the rage with the CrossFit/Paleo/Primal community, but here’s the advice from someone else: Zen to Fitness’ 5 Reasons You Need Fish Oil. In short, fish oil CAN make you feel better, look better (bonus: shiny hair and nails), lose weight, manage stress, and sleep better. And SFH fish oil doesn’t taste like fish, doesn’t make you burp fish, and isn’t slimy going down. There aren’t many other fish oils that can say that (everyone agrees liquid fish oil is better than capsules, so don’t even get into those, plus you have to swallow a billion to get enough to matter).

I just placed an order for Recovery Protein too, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I encourage you to take control of your wellness and give Stronger Faster Healthier a shot! Let me know how much you love it

[You'll also notice that there is now a Stronger Faster Healthier button ------> in the upper righthand corner. You can use this banner to order any time and get the 10% discount!]

Taught by a rotating group of yogis, all of whom are skilled instructors, the yoga runs from 9:30-10:15ish every morning. Mats are provided, so you can show up in ski gear, strip to your skivvies (yoga appropriate skivvies, of course), and get posing … then just throw your boots back on and hit the slopes, relaxed and ready to rip.

Want more little-known yoga? One of the yoga instructors, Kendall, teaches at ACES (behind the post office) on MWF from 5-6:15pm. It costs just $5.

She also teaches at the Aspen Institute at Meadows from noon-1pm on Tuesday and Thursdays. That costs $8.

Risk smelling bad, having oily hair, your makeup smudging, and generally looking less than perfect all the time … but have lots of fun, try new products, and become a healthier, happier YOU!

So I’m a damn hippie. You try to avoid it, but you just can’t living in Austin …

These are the products that stayed … well, only the few on the left (mascara, brush, oil) are technically good for this month … but I can’t give up my Latisse permanently! I need long eyelashes!

These are the products that were, erm, flushed.

Tailgating in the Texas heat is serious business

Thank goodness for tailgating! You wouldn’t really know it’s fall in Austin without hordes of burnt-orange-clad revelers crowding the streets of campus. Three of my top picks (two are recurring, one is this weekend only):

La Condesa’s awesome tailgate

17th & Congress from 12 pm – 6 pm for all home games

FREE Grilled Mexican Street Corn and FREE Lone Star beer. Put it on your list, and make sure you stop by.

Blackout Breakfast Club at J. Black’s (plus bus!)

J. Black’s at 710-B W. 6^th Street / Doors Open at 10am all home games + Texas-OU

Why blackout? The bar blacks out the windows facing West 6^th–to better see the TV, duh! Bloody marys, buckets of beer, and more are included on the game day menu, along with food like Kobe Beef Nachos, Pulled Pork Frito Pie, brunch-y faves like Breakfast Pizza, Shrimp and Grits, and the Open Face Egg Sandwich.

Maybe the best part? Complimentary shuttle bus that drives right into the heart of the tailgating area. The J. BLACK’S shuttle is outfitted with a symbolic black longhorn on the hood, a plush interior, a rocking sound system and music to keep the party going, all courtesy of Blackhorn Buses. “Park and Ride” never felt so great on a Saturday morning!

We aren’t hurting for tailgate options in Austin.

AYC & YMBL Tailgate 2010 (this weekend only)

Saturday, September 25th @ 11:30am / SW Corner of 17th & Congress Ave.- Look for the big white school bus!

Flat screen to watch football, music, tons of bbq and plenty of drinks. Tix $15 — buy online ahead of time, cash only at the door.

Tailgate sponsors: Brown Distributing, Dripping Springs Vodka, Graham’s Texas Tea, Paula’s Texas Orange, Republic Tequila, and Treaty Oak Rum.

1) Four or five people recommended new bestseller The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and it didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t put it down. It’s set in Jackson, Mississippi at the beginning of the civil rights movement and is told from both black and white perspectives.

2) My brother’s girlfriend’s favorite book ever is JD Salinger’s Franny & Zooey, a book I’ve never read. It’s on my to-read list.

3) I love KENDRA on E! and watched her “write” her book with a ghostwriter, so I can’t wait to read the thing: Sliding Into Home by Kendra Wilkinson

4) My intern loved People’s Revolution guru Kelly Cutrone’s If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You and I can’t wait to read it too.

5 & 6) Sloane Crosley’s How Did You Get This Number, and the precursor I Was Told There’d Be Cake. I’ve heard EVERYONE say girl is seriously funny, time for me to find out for myself.

7 & 8) I don’t know much about Just Don’t Call Me Ma’am: How I Ditched the South, Forgot My Manners, and Managed to Survive My Twenties with (Most of) My Dignity Still Intact by Anna Mitchell and The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden, though the latter is a must-read for fashionistas.

9) I hated her Devil Wears Prada book but loved the movie based on her story, so I can hardly skip Lauren Weisberger’s next novel, Last Night at Chateau Marmont: A Novel.

10) The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares. I love the Pants series, I’ve got to read her latest novel…

Amazon.com Widgets

It’s a National Forest, so dogs have to be on leash the whole time. Nali carried her food and water bowl:

Reward for the grueling hike:

Yes, please. Then, camping!

Fire + bison hot dogs!

So Nali didn’t run away and get eaten by a mountain lion:

Hiking out the next morning too early:

Gorgeous!

Getting down was quick. If you’re looking for a hike in Aspen, it’s definitely a gorgeous one, and you get to go through Aspen forests, up some rocky mountainside, over some switchbacks, and to the lake. I’d bring hiking poles, I know I need to invest in some. And next time we want to get to Electric Pass–just past Cathedral Lake but up to 13,600 feet!!