Home for school forever means no more iced coffee on my meal plan and being a post-grad means being responsible enough to not waste big bucks at Dunkin Donuts everyday (#adulting, right?). Well, for someone who hates hot coffee, this leaves me in quite the tizzy.
Brewing a coffee in the Keurig and then pouring in ice never worked right, which led me on a mission to find a way to make iced coffee at home, without going for broke. This led me to finding the Primula 50 oz. cold brew iced coffee maker at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
It’s super easy to use the Primula iced coffee maker…..
First, you fill the middle container with any coffee grinds of your choice.
Then, mix in water until the coffee grounds are damp.
Fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water. This will allow for all of the coffee grounds to mix in properly.
Refrigerate the pitcher for 12-14 hours. I always make my coffee when I am cleaning up the kitchen after dinnertime. That way, when I finish my nightly routine, I don’t have to worry. Then, in the morning, I already have my coffee ready!
All I need to do is pull the pitcher out of the fridge, add ice cubes, my favorite Dunkin Donuts creamer, and Sweet and Low.
Super easy right?
Plus it was only $29.99 and with all the coupons Bed, Bath, and Beyond always has out – it’s even cheaper. I was able to use a 20% off coupon on it.
But what else makes this product so great? Let’s say you wake up to a text message from your co-worker saying that she wants to meet you at Starbucks to go over talking points for your big meeting that day. No worries! Your coffee is good for 14 days! Ev
Happy Thursday and happy semi-formal season, readers!
Yes, I know, I know that this end of the sentence seems stressful. How is it already time to start getting ready for semi-formal? The dress shopping, spray tan appointments, and finding a date.
The concept of promposals and outlandish ways to ask a date always flood my Instagram feed and Pinterest boards. Last year, I chose to only ask my date with a tacky, poorly rhymed poster.
So this year, when I was deciding to ask my best friend in the entire world, I knew that I wanted to do something fun. He knew he was coming, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to ask in a fun way!
After spending more hours than I would like to admit to on Pinterest, I found a cute way to finally ask!
Check it out:
So fun fact, thanks to my mom, I grew up loving donuts. All my friends know that I love jelly donuts cause it makes me think of my mom when I’m home sick at school and I even decorated my resident’s doors around Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Paul knows this, so I thought I could easily show up at his room and just offer him a donut.
He knew I was coming from my daily Dunkin trip, so before I went into his room I wrote on the inside, “DONUT be surprised….SEMI?” So when I walked in and had a box of donuts, he didn’t think anything of it. I easily just asked him if he wanted one, opened the box, and he read the inside! Super cute, super fun, and super easy!
If you want to ask your crush, best friend, boyfriend, or even just the cute kid in your English class, there’s so much more than just a “hey, want to come to semi with me?” text. Here’s some of my personal favorites I found on Pinterest!
With chicken wings: “I didn’t know how to ask you, so I decided to just WING it- semi?”
For those of you who celebrated Easter, hope you had an amazing holiday. I also hope the Easter Bunny was as good to you as he was to me – he clearly knows me very well, seeing as my basket was filled with Victoria’s Secret, Clinique, peanut butter cups, and a new pair of sneakers. Can’t wait to break them in later at the gym!
Being home for a few days for Easter allowed me to de-stress and prepare myself for the long-haul of the next three weeks of classes, tests, and ultimately – finals week.
My biggest recommendation is make your phone’s lock screen an inspirational quote that you really love to help you power through. I scoured my Pinterest‘s “Words to Live By” board until I found the perfect one. Here it is:
To help you stay calm through your possible stressful week, take a quick break, and check out this week’s Monday Musts –
1. Cookie Dough Iced Coffee from Dunkin Donuts
I spent my Friday home in New Jersey from school getting my nails done and shopping. No day of manicures and shopping would be complete without either a Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks run. So, after hearing rave reviews about Dunkin’s newest iced coffee – Cookie Dough flavored, Julia and I decided to get it. It was DELICIOUS! I’m a recent iced coffee addict and this new flavor from Dunkin was so good. The Baskin Robins inspired flavored coffee is a MUST TRY for any iced coffee addict – so head on over to Dunkin immediately. You won’t regret it!
2. Modern Family
Besides iced coffee, manicures, and shopping, my few days at home for Easter also included vegging out on the couch catching up on some of my favorite television shows, such as “Criminal Minds” and “The Millers.” I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews about the ABC show, especially how funny it is. I decided to watch it – and became HOOKED. Before I knew it, I was watching every episode that was on demand and am now quickly looking into other ways to catch up on all the seasons (if anyone knows – let me know – since it’s not on Netflix). I love all the characters, the family dynamic, how the show is set up, and just everything about it. I hope my future daughter is as sassy as Lilly.
3. The Makeup Show NYC
Being a member of the Seventeen Social Club as brought so many incredible opportunities (stay tuned for a post from one of the products they sent me this week!). One of the most recent opportunities that I am super excited about is attending The Makeup Show in NYC with my little diamond, Amber, as press. On May 4, Amber and I will be traveling into the City to hear from some of the best in the industry regarding different makeup tips and tricks for all occasions. I’ll be sharing about it on Twitter and Instagram, then doing a blog post all about it. Words can’t express my excitement or how thankful I am for all the opportunities “Sparkle and Shine” has given me.
Also, remember I can help YOU get famous – just go HERE.
If you change your lock screen to an inspirational quote, comment below and tell me what one it is – or even link it to the photo on your Pinterest board. I LOVE finding new quotes to pin.
Hope you all had an exciting week! I had two snow days this week, which was exactly what I needed to relax! It has made my school schedule much more hectic – one of my classes I still have only had once this semester! But just like life goes, we have to adjust to the obstacles and go with it, which is exactly what I am doing!
Overall, this week had been SUPER positive. To be honest, I don’t think I have a single thing to complain about!
Plus, I had such an incredible weekend. I stayed in on Friday night to watch a scary movie with my best friend and then went out to Quinnipiac’s infamous club scene, Toads, for the first time of the semester and then had a sleepover with my best friend after!
So let’s keep the positive energy and good vibes rolling for this week! Here’s this week’s My Monday Musts!
1. Cookie Dough Doughnut from Dunkin Donuts
Yes, I know I JUST posted about eating healthy on a college budget, but hey, a girl needs a cheat meal every now and then! In every article I ever read about eating healthy, it says to allow yourself a cheat meal every once in a while not to restrict yourself. Well, ladies, I think I just found mine! My friends and I recently (and by recently I mean one of our multiple weekly trips) to Dunkin Donuts, I saw their new “cookie dough doughnut.” I’m a total sucker for cookie dough products, so I just had to try this new doughnut. When I tell you it was the best thing I have ever eaten…it was the best thing I have ever eaten! The regular doughnut has chocolate frosting and sprinkles on top, but inside it has warm, melted cookie dough! YUM!! Next time you feel like splurging, go on over to Dunkin Donuts and try their seasonal cookie dough doughnut! But hurry! It’s only out for a short amount of time!
2. “The Fault in Our Stars” Trailer
Every TFIOS fan has been freaking out since the trailer has been released – I now I have! You know I’m a huge fan based on this post. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were filled with people sharing the link to the best selling novel turned movie that will come out in the summer. “The Fault in Our Stars” is by far the best book I have ever read in my life and I honestly believe that no book will ever be able to top it. Ever. So now that it’s coming onto the big screen, any book nerd, would be freaking out about if the movie is going to not play up the how incredible the book was. Based on the trailer, I absolutely think that it will. I keep watching the trailer on repeat, even though it makes me cry every single time. The book made me bawl hysterically, so I think I will have to bring two boxes of tissues to the movies. No matter how many tears I plan on shedding, this movie is just another reason I am even more excited for summer!
3. Seventeen Magazine Social Club
Readers, I have recently received news about the greatest thing to ever, ever, ever happen to me. I am now officially a member of the Seventeen Magazine Social Club!! Yes, the Seventeen Magazine that I grew up on read as my own person Bible. As a member of the Seventeen Social Club, I will receive some awesome freebies from the company to blog about and share on my other social media sites, get access to awesome VIP events, get the inside scoop on special deals and discounts, AND have the possibility to appear in the pages of Seventeen itself! Receiving an e-mail from Seventeen, and having it signed XOXO, Your Friends at Seventeen Magazine, was the most incredible moment to ever happen to me. Of course, I received it when I was at the gym and started bawling my eyes out on the elliptical. But hey, it’s okay because my Carrie Bradshaw dreams are slowly coming true!!
By the way have you entered my giveaway yet?! Calling all sorority girls – get on it ASAP, if you have not already!! It’s for this awesome app which you can get for FREE if you win!! I’m loving it, so check it out!
Plus, check out my awesome sponsors! Head over to my sidebar and see where it says “Check out these Sparkling bloggers who are reading “Sparkle and Shine” ??? They’re some pretty awesome bloggers and are sponsoring me this month, so make sure you go and check them out!!!
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