My Monday Musts {Taylor Swift’s 1989 Album Released}

Happy Monday, readers!

Everyone out there should be having a great Monday! Why? Because Taylor Swift’s newest album was released at midnight! The excitement was equivalent to Christmas Morning or Bid Day.

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The discography for the album is:

“Welcome to New York”
“Blank Space”
“Style”
“Out of the Woods”
“All You Had to Do Was Stay”
“Shake it Off”
“I Wish You Would”
“Bad Blood”
“Wildest Dreams”
“How You Get the Girl”
“This Love”
” I Know Places”
“Clean”

After staying up all night listening to the album, subtweeting some of the lyrics, and possibly crying over the perfection of the album was the perfect way to start the Monday.

As for the rest of my week, let’s hope it continues to be as amazing as the new album. With my sorority’s masquerade themed semi formal and Halloween this week, I can’t see how it won’t be. Stay with “Sparkle and Shine” to learn more about the events by following me on Twitter, Instagram, or liking Sparkle and Shine’s Facebook page!

I hope you all have an amazing week, as well! Keep sparkling!

PS. COUPON CODE SAMI10 ON THE COLLEGIATE STANDARD IS STILL IN EFFECT! HEAD ON OVER TO THE SITE NOW TO SAVE 10 PERCENT OFF!

23Oct2014

GET YOUR COUPON ON!

by sparkleandshinesami

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So no, I may not be a coupon queen, but as a college student I try to coupon as much as possible.

I’ll use my student ID to get a discount at J.Crew, will use Groupon before going on a shopping spree, and even get text messages from American Eagle and Lord and Taylor straight to my phone.

So for all you lucky readers, I want to help save you money!

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Head on over to The Collegiate Standard and use coupon code SAMI10 to get 10% off your order on sorority and fraternity jewelry!

You can read more about the site in previous Sparkle and Shine posts HERE and HERE.

Happy Shopping!!

20Oct2014

My Monday Musts {Seventeen Magazine App}

by sparkleandshinesami

This is a post on behalf of my contractual membership with “Seventeen Magazine” for the Seventeen Magazine Social Club.

Happy Monday, readers!

Seventeen Magazine has released their latest mobile app – your go-to place for all things Seventeen!

I received a free download of the app and have been obsessed ever since. I can read the latest issue of the magazine, check out my horoscope for the month, and read about the latest buzz on celebrities, beauty, and fashion.

The app offers a library feature, where I can check out the latest issue of the magazine. Being in college, my subscription to Seventeen gets sent home to New Jersey. Thanks to the app, I can pull up the latest issue whenever I want, and don’t have to worry about when I can go home to get to it. The latest issue is the Ultimate Fangirl Blowout.

Here are some screenshots of the app below:

Now go and add some sparkle to your Monday by downloading the app!

Have a great week, readers. Keep sparkling!

13Oct2014

My Monday Musts {Meet my Little Diamond’s Little Diamond}

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Hope you are all having a fabulous day. I know most of the day is over as I’m posting this, but it’s getting down to midterms week and I am stressed to the max like every other college students.

However, just because I’m stressed, it doesn’t mean I can’t share with you all the exciting events of my life from this week.

This week revolved around one of the greatest events to ever happen in my life… my little diamond got her own little diamond!

MEET LAUREN!

My little diamond, Amber, was unable to come to reveal since she had a prior obligation, so I got to surprise Lauren for Amber.

Last year, I was unable to surprise Amber at reveal. I had dislocated my knee and was home. There ended up being so much traffic that I was unable to get there on time – as I walked in, Katherine, my big diamond, was surprising Amber.

It seemed as though we got to continue the tradition because Amber had a prior obligation, so I got to surprise Lauren.

We put Amber’s face on a stick and I Facetimed her in – so it was just like she was there when I popped out of the decorated box to hug Lauren!

Out of all the events this week, getting Lauren as what most would consider a “g – little” was the greatest of them all.

Love you Lauren and can’t wait to have you in my life!

Hope you all have an amazing week readers and something happens as awesome as this to you this week. Keep sparkling!

7Oct2014

Top 3 Instagrams of the Month: October 2014

by sparkleandshinesami

Hey, readers!

It’s officially one week into October – a.k.a. one of the best months! Before deciding which Halloween movie I am going to want to watch while on R.A. duty tonight, I have to share with you all my top Instagrams of September!

A majority of my September involved around sorority recruitment – which is why there is no surprise that my photo with the top likes came from day one of recruitment! This year was the first time my little diamond, Amber, went through recruitment as an Alpha Delta Pi and the last time my big diamond, Katherine, would get to go through recruitment. It was amazing getting to snap my fingers, chant my loudest, and recruit new sisters with them by my side in our day one attire of chapter letters and white jeans!

My second most popular post related to my Back to School post, courtesy of Seventeen Magazine and Office Depot. Through my contract with Seventeen, I was able to get some awesome school supplies from Office Depot. I stocked up on cute folders and my multi-purpose four color pen. To learn more about these supplies, check out the post or search the #GottaGetIt hashtag on your favorite social media site!

As I mentioned, this was Katherine’s last recruitment. As you can see in the caption, Katherine has been one of the greatest assets to my life. If I never went Greek or Alpha Delta Pi, I wouldn’t have been able to be blessed with Katherine was my big diamond. Over these past few years, Katherine has shown me how to exemplify the Alpha Delta Pi values each and everyday. More importantly, she has become my best friend, my forever friend, my future bridesmaid, and my rock. Going through recruitment made me reflect on my time in ADPi and I know it wouldn’t have been the same without her. So, on our last day of recruitment, I posted this photo of us before we started the final rounds!

To stay update on all things Sparkle and Shine, you can follow me on Instagram by going HERE.

OR if you want to check out previous Top Instagram posts, you can see what made the list in January, February, March, April, May, June, and July/August.

I wonder what Instagrammable opportunities October will have for me!

6Oct2014

Guess Whose Back…Back Again! {Special Monday Musts}

by sparkleandshinesami

Guess whose back….tell a friend!

Well, it’s not Eminem, readers – it’s me!

Now that recruitment is over and I have 49 beautiful new sisters, I’m able to get back down into the wonderful word of blogging!

I’ve missed blogging so much recently and was reminded about how much I love it during a recent trip out with my best friend.

After breaking my iPhone (whoops), my best friend and I went to the local Apple store to get it fixed. While out, we decided to get Shake Shack and skip the usual cafe food. While ordering, I was asked if I was Sami from “Sparkle and Shine” – I was so surprised!

Julia and I both starred with our mouths dropped. I felt like a mini celebrity; like Paris Hilton before the “Simple Life” gig or Bieber before the YouTube discovery. It turned out to be Emma from The World According to Emma, another college blogger. It was by far one of the coolest moments of my life!

Besides being a mini-celebrity, I’ve been super busy.

I’ve been working on my broadcasting skills. This past week I was the entertainment anchor for my school’s TV station, Q30, and did a package for one of our entertainment segments, #That. Check them out –

Plus, I’ve been getting down and derby with my sisters.

As an Executive Board Member of my sorority, I plan events for our sisters. This past weekend, I executed our first ever Bowties and ADPis event, a Kentucky Derby themed Grab-a-Date on our quad. Sisters and their dates dressed in their floppiest hats and brightest bowties and spent the day playing croquet and other yard games. I brought my best friend, Ben, because there is no one I know who is willing to get fratty and dress preppy! Here’s one of the many pictures of us-

But readers, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to finally be back!

Recruitment is over and I am finally back into my blogging groove. I have so many posts planned, so get set…get ready…because Sparkle and Shine is about to really shine.

But, make sure you shine, too, readers! Have a great week and keep sparkling!

15Sep2014

TTYL, BLOGOSPHERE! It’s recruitment time!

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

The Monday Musts are going on hold this week.

Why? BECAUSE IT’S RECRUITMENT TIME!

Instead of having a list of my fabulous happenings from this week, I am going to share with you posts about my sorority and about recruitment.

If you’re interested in recruitment, check out some of these posts about going through recruitment, about Alpha Delta Pi, and different aspects of Greek life:

WHY GO THROUGH RECRUITMENT?

MY MONDAY MUSTS: RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE & DIAMOND DASH

SET YOUR COLLEGIATE STANDARD

AWESOME RECRUITMENT PICTURES {GUEST POST}

To find out more about going through recruitment, check out more on the blog.

I promise to be back next week with more posts and share with you all about the exciting new members of my chapter of Alpha Delta Pi.

Have an amazing week, readers! Keep sparkling!

9Sep2014

Office Depot: My Go to Place for School Supplies

by sparkleandshinesami

This is a post on behalf of my contractual membership with “Seventeen Magazine” for the Seventeen Magazine Social Club.

One of my favorite parts of Fall, besides Halloween, Uggs, and hot chocolate, is getting new school supplies for the school year!

Thanks to my partnership with Seventeen Magazine, I was able to get my new school supplies at Office Depot. Let me tell you readers, they had super cute supplies!

I’m now able to tackle junior year of college with super cute Teen Vogue folders and my all purpose four color pen.

I’m very anal about my planner – each item has a specific color. Blue is for sorority events, black is for blogging, black with yellow highlighter is Resident Life work, red pen is important dates, red pen highlighted in pink is important class days – like tests, quizzes, and paper due dates, and green is anything else. Instead of having to switch up my pens, I now have one pen to write it all in!

Whenever I am doing work, the fun patterns of the folders instantly add a pop of color to whatever room I’m in. One of my residents, Taylar, caught me doing work before with my folders out. She couldn’t help but to give me a compliment!

After going to Office Depot with my credit from Seventeen Magazine, I don’t think I will ever shop at any other office supply store again. They had so many super cute supplies that my sorority girl self could indulge in. I didn’t have to get just plain folders for all my work, I could get ones that allowed me to express myself.

Next time you need some school or office supplies, head on over to Office Depot! You can also order online and get free shipping on orders of $50 or more OR receive one hour free in store pick up.

Happy shopping!

8Sep2014

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Hope you all had a fabulous week and weekend!

Now that I am getting back into the swing of school again (and by that I mean clubs, meetings, homework, RA life, and everything in between), I finally am back to sharing My Monday Musts with you.

No need for me to give a play-by-play because I know you just absolutely can’t wait to hear what this week’s musts are, so I’m going to jump right into them. Hope you’re pumped because I am! YAY!

1. Entertainment Anchor

Last school year, I shared all with you about how I was the weather girl for my school’s newstation, Q30. Well, this year I am now the Entertainment Anchor! I love celebrity and celebrity gossip (#sorrynotsorry) and can’t wait to share what is going on in Hollywood with my fellow Bobcats. I’ll be posting the newscasts whenever they’re up so you can all watch it. Watch out Giuliana Rancic because I’ll soon be taking over the Red Carpet! BYE FELICIA!

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“Shake It Off” By Taylor Swift

I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan – as you may remember based on one of my beginning blog posts about going to a concert for T. Swift’s “Red” tour. Well, Swift released a new song recently and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. “Shake It Off” is an anthem for being you and not caring what others say – just shake it off! Swift reminds listeners to do their own thing, be themselves, and just let the haters hate, hate, hate.

3. Criminal Minds on Netflix

Everyone needs a show to binge watch on Netflix. I’ve finished Orange is the New Black, Dawson’s Creek, and Greek. I’ve seen pretty much every episode of Criminal Minds because I’m obsessed. However, I’ve never seen them in order. Thanks to the Netflix gods, I will now be binge watching all 9 seasons of the greatest show ever. Time to feed into my addiction when I’m at the gym, getting ready to sleep, and have a few spare minutes by watching my favorite crime solving group!

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Have a great week, readers! I have many exciting posts scheduled to come up in the next few weeks, including many posts thanks to Seventeen Magazine! WOOHOO!

Keep sparkling!

2Sep2014

Top Instagrams of the Month: July & August

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy September, everybody! Hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day yesterday. Mine was spent in the library doing homework and sucking down the largest iced coffee Dunkin Donuts has to offer.

Now that it’s the start of the month, it’s time to share with you all the top Instagrams of the month. August was just way too busy that the start of the month passed before I shared with you all about my top Instagrams. Lucky you, that just means that you get to hear all about July and August in the same post.

Double the months, double the fun right?

July:

My Instagram picture with the most likes was one from when my mom and I went on a mother daughter date to Joe’s Crab Shack for the first time. The restaurant serves your choice of crab legs in a large bucket with corn and potatoes. The food was just so delicious!

My Instagram with the second most likes from July is when my little diamond, Amber, came to visit me for the weekend in New Jersey! Amber came up for a fun filled weekend, which included my first ever trip to “Carlo’s Bakery”! The cupcake I ate was just way too delicious – but nothing was more exciting than having Amber came to NJ for the first time!

One of my favorite adventures from the summer was seeing Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Broadway! This was the image that had my third most likes on Instagram. The show was absolutely amazing. For anyone going to NYC and looking for a Broadway show to see, this was my favorite that I have seen and I would recommend to everyone.

August:

With close to 100 likes, my Instagram with the most likes is one of me and all my residents! As our second group meeting, I decided to show the girls around campus the day before classes to make sure that they knew where to go. Then, to test their knowledge, we stood in the quad and as I would say the building, they would have to point. Becoming an RA has by far the greatest task I have ever taken on in my life.

After going through my ten day resident assistant training, we had a banquet to celebrate the end of training and the start of our residents moving in. There was a beautiful fountain in North Haven, Connecticut, where our banquet was, to take photos in front of! Nice scenery equals perfect Instagram photo. Out of all the photos taken, I uploaded a candid laughing photo of my friend Chris and I. The funny thing about my friendship with Chris is that we became friends because of our obsession with a local diner near our school.

This past weekend, we celebrated the 19th birthday of my little diamond, Amber! Saturday night we took on the town. Before we went out, we took this adorable photo, which is now my profile picture. Our weekend celebrations continued Sunday and ended yesterday. Yesterday was Amber’s actual birthday, where we finished off the celebrations.

Amber seems to be a common theme in my Instagram photos that recieve the most likes. Finishing off this long list is the photo Amber and I took while filming our sorority’s recruitment video. A few weeks prior to school starting, a few sisters met at Quinnipiac to film Alpha Delta Pi’s recruitment video. In the video, Amber and I talk about how we are so thankful for Alpha Delta Pi because it gave us each other. Another reason I am thankful for my sorority is because it gave me my big diamond sister, Katherine, who was unable to make it to the photo shoot.

Now that is is September, my Instagram will be filled with even more photos. You can follow my Instagram HERE and check out my top Instagram posts from January, February, March, April, May, and June!