My Monday Musts

My oh my, happy Monday readers!

I haven’t said that in quite some time. After going on an M.I.A. stint, I moved back into Quinnipiac to start my junior year and life as a Resident Assistant. Since then, my life has been more chaotic than normal. Classes finally started today, my residents are all settled in, and I have a fresh new manicure to start tackling junior year!

This week’s Monday Musts are going to be a little bit different than the normal three exciting items of the week. Instead, I’m just going to give you a life update. So bare with me as we go over my life – without this post, I wouldn’t be able to start all the exciting posts I have scheduled (including one I’ve been working my butt off on!)

Since I last blogged almost a month ago, so many different events have happened!

Three of my best friends headed off to Ireland to study abroad….

I went to Great Wolf Lodge with my favorite guy…

A Blue Claws baseball game with my other favorite guy…

Got moved in and placed on the best Resident Assistant Staff I could ever possibly ask for…

Moved in my residents…

And finally, received the best residents I could ever ask for!!!

My classes started today. I only had one already – which is taught by an Emmy award winning producer on television and radio production. How cool is that?!

Ever have that feeling when you make a really awesome decision and you just know that so many positive things will come from it? That’s how I’m feeling now. I can’t wait to see where my life’s journey continues to take me!

Have an awesome week, keep sparkling, and stay tuned for next week’s Monday Musts to be back to normal!

4Aug2014

My Monday Musts, thanks to Seventeen Mag and Maybelline!

by sparkleandshinesami

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

I move back into school on Sunday-eek! So that means getting everything I need together. From clothes to school supplies, our family room is overflowing with college items!

A necessity, however, is always buying makeup! I can’t start the semester with half a bottle of consealer – would you start class with a half empty pen? I don’t think so.

In the craziness of getting all my makeup together, Seventeen Magazine sent me Maybelline’s new Pure BB Cream, an 8-in-1 Beauty Balm known as a “skin clearing perfector.”

When applying the BB Cream, it went on super smooth and felt very natural against my skin. I hate wearing anything on my face that feels caked on. This was so light it felt like I barely had any on.

On a recent mother-daughter date to Joe’s Crab Shack, my mom snapped this pic of me for Instagram – in which I’m wearing only the BB Cream.

My skin looked flawless, like I’m wearing no makeup at all. Can’t wait to rock Mabelline’s Pure BB Cream this year as I tackle my junior year of college

Pick up your color of BB Cream at a local drug store and have a great week!

29Jul2014

My Recent Splurges

by sparkleandshinesami

The first time my mom and I ever watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, I felt a weird connection. I mean, does anyone else’s heart strings tug from the line, ““A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn’t fit, you can’t exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags…” Mine does. I mean, hello you preach it Rebecca! –

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My little kid self used to walk around the wall with curly haired pigtails in, swinging my purse around taking in the pure bliss that is a shopping mall.

Now this isn’t my confession in shopaholics anonymous or my autobiographical version of Confessions of a Shopaholic, readers. This, however, is the start of a new set of posts I will be starting called “My Recent Splurges.”

In a recent shopping binge, I decided to reward myself with some new designer duds. Check them out!

1. Michael Kors Purse

2. Michael Kors Wallet

3. Steve Madden Sunglasses

And I can’t wait to go shopping today rocking my new accessories! What have YOU splurged on recently? Tell me below in the comments!

28Jul2014

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Wow, I feel like I haven’t said that in a long time. You can blame than on my little M.I.A. stint.

But, now I am back!! I know you’ve been missing your weekly dose of Monday Musts, which is why I’m going to jump right into this week’s!

1. Finding Carter

One of the shows I have been completely binge watching is MTV’s newest show Finding Carter. The show revolves around teenage Carter after she realizes her “mother” is actually her kidnapper. 16 years ago, Carter was taken from her family’s front lawn. Now, she’s reunited with her birth family and is forced to restart her life. The show is like any other show on television right now. Kudos to MTV! You can watching Finding Carter Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on MTV or on demand!

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2. Evernote

I live my life off of lists – whether it’s to do lists, a list keep track of books I want to read, blog post ideas, anything and everything! I keep all these lists in the notes application on my iPhone. However, it’s been getting hard recently to keep everything organized when I have notes for my personal life, my blog, and for Alpha Delta Pi all together. I had to keep them organized, so I downloaded Evernote. The app, which then will link up to your computer, allows you to create notebooks to store your notes in. You can add pictures, business cards, save recipes, and anything else you can imagine! It helps keep everything in one place, while still being categorized. The best part? I can just go onto the Evernote website, log in, and all my notes are right on my computer. So, when I’m prepping a blog post, save it on Evernote (like this one!), I can just open it right onto my computer then. How awesome is that?!

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3. Icing

When Amber came to visit, we went shopping! My shopaholic self somehow discovered a new store that is literally perfect. It’s my definition of heaven!! The store is Icing by Claire’s. It’s filled with all things sequins, glitter, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and anchor printed – five of my favorite things. I’ve already gotten headbands from there, an accessory for my office, and gifts for others. If it was up to me, I would buy everything! Find out if you have an Icing near you by going HERE.

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Now that I’m off my hiatus, I have so many exciting projects to be sharing with you, readers! While I was lounging on the beach this week with my best friend, I kept coming up with tons of post ideas – as I wrote them down in my Evernote app on my phone!

This week, I also tackled another item on my bucket list! I’ll be sharing that with you this week, too! I can’t wait for all “Sparkle and Shine” has in store for the next few weeks. Get excited!!

Most importantly, have an amazing week! Keep sparkling!

26Jul2014

“Life Moves Pretty Fast…..”

by sparkleandshinesami

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Hey readers, so I have been a little M.I.A. recently.

No, I didn’t end up in Australia after entering the witness protection program like Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen did in Our Lips Are Sealed.

Nor did I go to Abu Dhabi with my best friends in a Sex and the City 2 like manner.

Instead, I took a breather. I just simply took a break.

My entire life is based off of a time schedule and my Lilly planner. I have many things on my plate – all things that I very much enjoy doing.

Though I love living my life like this, sometimes you just need a little vacation to not be so wrapped up doing some form of work. Between e my summer job, resident life work since I’m an RA, paper work for my sorority as social chair, or for my blog, I just have so much piled onto my plate. So to relax, breathe, and truly stop and look around – I have my self a break.

It required a lot more will power than I thought. I am so used to being plugged in and working towards a goal, that I forgot what it was like to relax in my pajamas and watch a Criminal Minds marathon.

I spent my week going to the beach, visiting my grandparents, and pampering myself. I may be a little more behind than I would have wanted to be, but at least I now feel relaxed. I feel like I took a giant deep breathe and now have a clear head to continue conquering all that I need to.

It’s important to relax, readers. It’s important to schedule some “me time” in your day.

Most importantly, it’s important to stop and look around. You don’t ever want to miss something because you were too busy planning for a “what if” or exhausting yourself from so much work.

16Jul2014

Breaking the Bucket List: Eating at Carlo’s Bakery

by sparkleandshinesami

Hello, my sparkling readers!

Yesterday I told you all about how my perfect little diamond, Amber, came up to NJ for the weekend (check out the post HERE.). In the post, I told you how Amber, Julia, and I went to Morristown and completed a task on my bucket list. It was eating at Carlo’s Bakery!

Buddy Valastro and his family’s original bakery, “Carlo’s Bakery,” is set in Hoboken, New Jersey. We didn’t have the time to head all the way out to the original bakery, so we drove 20 minutes away to the one in Morristown. They offer the exact same delicious desserts!

I got a basic vanilla cupcake with a flower made out of icing on top!

Meanwhile, Julia got a red velvet cupcake and Amber got an Oreo Explosion cupcake.

We sat inside the bakery enjoying our cupcakes. All around us were photos of the Valastro family, famous for the Cake Boss television show on TLC. The inside was very quaint!

The cupcakes, costing us each only $3.00, were so delicious we had to control ourselves to not get more than one! Next time, I’ll definitely be getting a red velvet cupcake.

Stay tuned to see what my next adventure will be in Breaking the Bucket List!

15Jul2014

My Weekend Adventure with My Little Diamond

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Tuesday, readers!

So many people were tweeting at me and asking me where My Monday Musts were. I took the day off from My Monday Musts yesterday to catch up on some sleep (I slept for 16 hours and then took a 3 hour nap. Whoops.) and get some errands done because my weekend was very busy.

Why was my weekend super busy? Because my little diamond, Amber, came to New Jersey for the weekend!!

The first thing we did when Amber got here? Take a picture of the three of us reunited!

Want to know what’s really cool? Since my best friend from home goes to Quinnipiac with me, she knows Amber, too. Even better – they’re college BFFs and roommates, so we spent the entire weekend together!

On Friday, we took Amber around our town and surrounding towns showing her what our life here in the Dirty Jersey is like. We showed her our jobs, were we hang out, and gave her the tour of our houses. During middle school/the beginning of high school, going to the movies and then Fuddruckers was THE thing to do. Amber had never gone to Fuddrucker’s, known for it’s “World’s Greatest Hamburgers” so we took her there.

Afterwards, we went to Morristown to show Amber something very New Jersey. Plus, it was something I could cross off my bucket list! Just a few days ago I posted about how I have been a little side tracked in completing tasks on my bucket list and Amber coming to New Jersey was the perfect opportunity to do so. However, you’re just going to have to stay tuned to “Sparkle and Shine” to see what it is….

The following day, Saturday, was Julia’s mom’s 50th birthday party! Amber and I laughed the entire time as got ready, blasted our typical Saturday night Pandora station “Turn Down For What” – but instead of getting ready to go to a club, we were getting ready for a 50th birthday party!

We all put on our best maxi dresses and danced the night away to 80’s music. I absolutely loved dancing around to Madonna and Toni Basil’s “Hey Mickey.”

Julia, Amber, and Julia’s younger sister (and another one of my best friends) Jenna and I were killing it in our maxi dresses!

To round off the weekend, we shopped til we dropped at Jersey Garden’s – New Jersey’s largest outlet mall. With over 200 stores, we were in total heaven. As for our bank accounts, not so much.

As any True Jersey girls know, there are three things that really define NJ. Julia and I made sure to show Amber, who is from Connecticut, three core parts of Jersey:

1. Not pumping our gas

From Connecticut, Amber has to pump her own gas – YUCK! So of course, we had to have her say “$20 regular” and hand over a debit card.

2. The Garden State Parkway

Julia and I wanted to show Amber the Garden State Parkway. On Sunday, we were planning on going to Seaside. However, gross rainy weather ruined that plan. At least we got to show her a sign that was leading to the Parkway, right?

3. Taylor Ham

Ask anyone from New Jersey – there is NOTHING better than Taylor Ham. We couldn’t have had Amber leave without having it. We made sure to stop at our favorite diner and order her a Taylor Ham, eff, and cheese with salt, pepper, and ketchup. YUM!

It was such a great weekend getting to spend time with my little diamond. Of course, the weekend wasn’t complete without us throwing what we know!

Hope you had a great weekend, too, readers!

10Jul2014

Breaking the Bucket list

by sparkleandshinesami

Hello, readers, and welcome to sparkling edition of Breaking the Bucket List.

I know what your thinking – “Sami, what is ‘Breaking the Bucket List?'”

You see, readers, the last time I wrote about how I spent 24 hours living in New York City like a real New Yorker and after that…. I haven’t written anything else.

Not only is that a bad blogger move, but it’s a bad life move.

Completing tasks on my bucket list is one of my biggest goals life. However, I’ve let life get in the way. I’m been to busy running around focusing on school, my summer job, blogging, my sorority, and so many more aspects of my life that I can go on for hours. Some where along the way, I’ve stopped focusing on that big goal of completing tasks on my bucket list.

So now, I’m ready. I’m ready to start crossing items off my bucket list and sharing them with you. I even made a cool new graphic to go along with the posts.

Get ready and get set, readers! I’ll be sharing you with my adventures as I break my bucket list.

9Jul2014

I Am The Girl…..

by sparkleandshinesami

Hey, readers! Recently, I’ve been thinking that I don’t really share a lot of my life with you all. Minus My Monday Musts, for the most part, I don’t really share about my life and what really makes me, well me. So, when Emma from The World According to Emma asked me to help her co-host a link up called “I Am The Girl…” with Lindsey from Lindsey’s Thoughts and Natalie from Finding My Voice, I couldn’t help but agree to it! Without further ado, get to know me! I Am The Girl……

whose initials spell her name. Yup, that’s right! My name is SAM and my initials are SAM.
doesn’t have a gall bladder or an appendix. Whoops! During senior year, I had them both removed since they stopped working properly.
who is always aimlessly scrolling through social media. I’m completely obsessed. Twitter and Instagram are my favorites.
who has her entire Cinderella themed wedding planned, thanks to Pinterest! Check out my wedding board HERE.

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who has Lilly Pulitzer letters that match her planner. #noshame
who, based on what I just told you, prefer to write in a planner than use her laptop or phone’s calendar to plan.
who LOVES to be involved! On my campus I am the social chair of my sorority, an RA, and involved with my school’s television station. Besides my blog, I also have a contract with Seventeen Magazine as a member of the Seventeen Social Club!
who prefers reading than watching a movie or a television show. I’m currently reading Truth or Dare, which you can read more about in this week’s Monday Musts.
who is a PROUD Jersey girl!
who wishes she could eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
who has to listen to classical music to get anything done.
who loves sequins, glitter, and anything else that sparkles.
who makes motivational quotes her phone background. Here is my current one:

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who LOVES a good theme party!!
who hates pizza – unless it’s Dominoes or Pizza Hut.
who never really stops talking. I even won Most Talkative in my high school yearbook. #sorrynotsorry
who makes my family, my best friends, and my sorority sisters my main priority.
who will most likely make you take a fake laughing pictures…and then try to convince people that it was real. Like this one, with my little diamond sister, Amber:

Now it’s YOUR turn! Tell me a little bit about yourself in the comments below. Better yet, if you’re a blogger or vlogger, make your own “I Am The Girl…” post!! Share the link below:

An InLinkz Link-up

7Jul2014

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers! Hope you got to dress in your best red, white, and blue attire to celebrate the 4th this holiday weekend. As for myself, I was dressed in blue and red – but it was my CVS uniform, since I worked every single day this weekend. Have no fear, readers, because my best friend and I will be celebrating our first day off in a while/Fourth of July tomorrow by floating for hours in the pool. With the craziness of a busy work week and redoing my room (don’t worry – once it’s done, I will be posting all about it!), I haven’t had much time for much else this week. Which is why this Monday Musts – unlike most – is going to be short, sweet, and to the point with only two musts this week.

1. Cinderella on Broadway

My mom and I went on a mother-daughter date into the city to see my favorite fairy tale, Cinderella, come to life! The version, which was Rodgers & Hammerstein’s and not Disney’s, was absolutely amazing. I love going into the city and seeing shows, but this one has got to be my new favorite! The performers were all amazing, the costumes and set were breath taking, and the plot was incredible. I enjoyed every second of the 2 hour 20 minute performance. If you are in the beautiful Big Apple anytime soon, I recommend getting tickets and going!

2. Truth or Dare

Any spare time I have had, I have spent it reading my newest summer read Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green. The thriller novel follows high school friends as they start to receive anonymous truth or dare notes. If the girls do not complete the dares, their deepest secrets will become known. Now these aren’t your typical middle school dares- it requires life or death stakes at times. Would you be willing to risk it all and do the dare or have your deepest secret announced to everyone? Find out whether Tenley, Caitlin, and Sydney will risk it all and complete the dares. Will the girls be able to figure out who is sending them on these twisted tasks? Find out in the page turning novel Truth or Dare.

Well, that’s it for this week. As I said – short, sweet, and to the point! However, don’t make this week short, sweet, and to the point. Enjoy every minute of it. Keep sparkling, readers!