amber | Sparkle and Shine

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!

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!