My best friend’s fraternity formal – pictures, what I wore, & more!

Happy, Tuesday readers!

So this past weekend was action-packed with Greek life events, between my “Easy as ABC” Grab-a-Date (where I went as my favorite show – Duck Dynasty), best friend’s Delta Tau Delta formal, and going through Pi ceremony to become an alumni sister of Alpha Delta Pi. I don’t think I have ever needed a foot massage, my bed, and a Parks and Rec binge session more than I did right now!

If you avidly Sparkle and Shine, you’ll know that I always share posts about the formals, semi formals, and fancy date parties I attend. So without further ado, here are pictures from the Iota Mu chapter of Delta Tau Delta’s 2016 Bethany Ball!

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bethany ball

And of course, a saved Snapchat for good measure. I’m obsessed with the first filter that makes your skin look so smooth, so I had to save (and share) this selfie.-

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I ended up having only a 10 second story that night cause I was just too busy dancing the night away! As for my little’s Snapchat story, well, those were too embarrassing to share. (I’m totally regretting not taking a Snapchat selfie with the cute puppy filter!!)

Besides good friends, good music, and having a good time, I had an amazing time because I was in love with my dress. I felt like a Kardashian with the sleek, classic Little Black Dress that featured strong silver and gold embellishments.

I got it from my favorite store – Dressbarn! Many people I know expect this store to be full of soccer mom-like dresses or work clothes, but I have found everything from formal dresses to going out clothes at the store. Knowing I wanted a LBD for the Bethany Ball made it easier to search for during New Year’s Eve dress season, when the stores were overflowing with black dresses. After finding the dress I was in love with, then waiting for an after-NYE sale, I was able to get it for so cheap. BOOM! I then paired it with strappy black lace-up heels.

Stay tuned to see how to prep and decorate a fraternity cooler, as well as how I get my teeth as white and can be for all these big events without ever happening to leave my dorm room. Plus, make sure you don’t miss out on anything Sparkle and Shine by following along on both Instagram and Twitter!

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9Mar2016

My last Alpha Delta Pi formal {pictures & senior superlative}

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Wednesday, readers!

And for those of you who are an Alpha Delta Pi sister of mine, whether from the Theta Theta chapter or not, happy We Live For Each Other Wednesday!

I figured that We Live for Each Other Wednesday would be the best day to share my favorite pictures from my very last formal (cue the tears). Per usual, I took my best friend Paul cause I knew that I would have the best time. I even had him fill out the University’s required off-campus event forms before I even asked him – whoops!

Check out some of my favorite pics from the night:

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And to make the night complete, seniors receive superlatives. Though the word senior/graduation (and the constant reminder that I turn twenty two in less than a week) makes me want to curl up in ball , have a quarter life crisis, and cry, I was so excited to find out what my award was going to be.

Last year, my big won “Most Likely to Be at Toad’s on a Saturday Night,” which not only shows her love – and our family’s love – for the popular club, but how much we live up to our Bad Girls Club family name.

So in true BGC fashion, I won….

drum roll please…..

Most Likely to Make a Bad Decision Seem Like a Good One

Sorry, mom.

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19Nov2015

Viva Las Alpha Delta Pi {Semi Formal 2015 pictures!}

by sparkleandshinesami

Hey, readers!

Looking back at recent Sparkle and Shine posts, I realized how I shared how super excited I was for my semi formal. I told you how I asked my date and how I was fueling my excitement by wearing my new letters, but then I never told you about how the actual semi formal was!

And it was awesome!

Since I was my chapter’s previous social chair, I haven’t been to a semi that I haven’t planned in years. It was so nice to go to an event and just be able to enjoy it and not need to make sure everything is going smoothly. Plus, I went with my best friend in the entire world so I knew we were going to have a blast.

Plus, since my big is still here for grad school, she came to pictures, too! It was the first family photo with my big, me, my little, grand little, and great grand little.

Check out some of my favorite pictures from the night below:

And after a great night at my semi formal, Paul asked me to his fraternity’s Christmas party on Tuesday. Stay tuned to see more about his proposal in an upcoming post!

11Jun2015

GIVEAWAY: Win a beautiful cocktail dress from sponsor Sherry London

by sparkleandshinesami

This is a sponsored post. However, all opinions are my own.

Hey, readers!

It’s Thursday, which means one more day closer to the weekend. I’m bringing you even more news – a giveaway from Sherry London!

The U.K. based dress company, that has a solid online base, sells beautiful cocktail dresses, prom dresses, evening dresses, and Bridesmaids dresses (hmmmm, I wonder if JWoww will get her Bridesmaids dresses from here!).

In the International giveaway, one winner will receive the beautiful black, one shoulder Chiffon cocktail dress shown below. The winner will need to pay shipping and post a photo of them in the beautiful dress. It’s simple to win – just visit their social media sites.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

CLICK HERE

After entering, make sure you browse around the site! They are currently hosting a summer sale, which is the perfect opportunity to find a beautiful dress for a good price. I’m already thinking about my senior year sorority semi and formal. A dress from Sherry London will definitely help me make these nights ones to remember.

Here’s to hoping you win the dress that sparkles just as much as you do!

23Mar2015

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Hope you all had a great weekend. I sure did – I celebrated my first weekend as being a twenty one year old! I have been waiting my whole life for this weekend.

To kick off the birth-week (more like birth-month, to be brutally honest), some of my best friends and I went to Hibachi on my actual birthday, the 15th. We celebrated with scorpion bowls, saki bombs, good laughs, and tons of delicious food:

Then on Friday, I celebrated my first true night out by going to my first bar with my big and her roommates! We went to Aunt Chilada’s, known as Aunchie’s for Quinnipiac Bobcats. We celebrated my birthday and the Saint Patrick’s Day holiday. There is nothing I love more than a good theme party, so that combined with my birthday and my first bar experience with my big – I was in H E A V E N.

Finally on Saturday, I celebrated in one of the best ways possible – with my Alpha Delta Pi sisters! We had our nautical themed formal that night, so I get to celebrate with all of my best friends. Thank you to my big, my little, my g-little, and all our dates for giving me the greatest first legal Saturday I could imagine!

Plus, this week I made my first liquor store purchase! I don’t know what I’m happier about – the fact that I was being a legal adult or just got a spray tan.

Don’t worry mom, I also did homework and went to class and all that jazz this week, too…

Now someone get MTV on the phone, because I will be continuing to rest up, especially my liver, for when my friend Alyssa and I celebrate our super sweet 21st birthday this weekend! We’re ready to paaaaaarty….

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Have a great week, readers! Make it as sparkling as you are!

24Mar2014

My Monday Musts: ADPis in Wonderland

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

So this past Friday, my Alpha Delta Pi sisters and I celebrated our formal. As our Director of Social Enrichment, I was the one who planned formal – from coming up with the theme, doing decorations and guest lists, and every other possible detail you can think of. I love party planning, so no matter how stressful the event got, I still had an amazing time with my amazing sisters.

If you can remember back to our Great Gatsby themed semi formal, I shared ten of my favorite photos of the night with ten of my favorite Gatsby quotes in a special edition of My Monday Musts. Well, after how much success that post had, I decided to do one similar to that in honor of ADPis in Wonderland!

1. ”You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret, all the best people are.”

Most of you have seen my best friend, Ben, posted on here many times before. Ben is pretty much brother, so it was so great to have him along with a bunch of our other friends come and visit me and take pictures with me before formal!

2. “In my world, the books would be nothing without pictures.”

It was my little diamond’s first formal! It was so much fun taking on formal with Amber. Kisses to her for all the work she did to help me make it so amazing!

3. “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

My favorite thing about my big diamond, Katherine, and little diamond, Amber, is that we can always be crazy and be our absolute selves around each other. So we can all be a little crazy together. And shoutout to our sister, Jess, for photobombing and making the picture even more entertaining!

4. “Curioser and curiouser.”

Who needs a boy when your best friend is your soulmate? Julia is my person, for all of you Grey’s Anatomy fans who are catching onto my lingo. We never got to go to prom together since we are in different grades, so it was so much fun to put on our senior prom dresses and go together!

5. “Where should I go?” “Well, it depends on where you want to end up.”

Thank you Tony for keeping me laughing when anything got stressful and for all that you helped me with!

6. “No, I don’t mean impassible. Nothing’s impossible.”

Not going to lie, Amber and I were taking so many awesome pictures. I’m so happy we got such awesome ones, like this hugging one, for our first formal together!

7. “How long is forever?” “Sometimes, just one second.”

Besides our (honestly) candid laughing photo from before, we also needed a good smiling picture of us. Thank you for everything, J. I love you!

8. “I knew who I was this morning, but I’ve changed a few times since then.”

One of my sisters, Emily, brought one of our best friends, Megan, to formal with her! It was so awesome to have one of my non-Greek affiliated friends experience the night of a Greek organization, especially when it was an event I put on!

9. “That’s impossible.” “Only if you believe it is.”

So last year at formal, Katherine, and her big diamond, Katie, and I decided it would be funny to throw up some peace signs. It’s been a joke for the three of us for as long as I can remember. Now that Amber is my little diamond, we couldn’t help but take one as the four of us. Katie is a grad student at QU, so it’s so awesome that she can come back for events to take pictures with us!

10. “It’s the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!”

I love candid photos, so I just had to share this one of me and Sam. Just like Tony, Sam was able to help me so much when the event got stressful and even was there to wipe a few tears.

Next week, I will be back to my normal list of Monday Musts. Hope you enjoyed this special edition. If you are interested in more pictures of myself and my beautiful sisters, search #ADPisinWonderland on Twitter and Instagram.

Enjoy your week, readers! Keep sparkling!

17Feb2014

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Hope you all stayed warm this week, “Sparkle and Shine” readers! I got to spend my week in the snow with some of my best friends and sisters – thanks to all the snow Connecticut has gotten this week. Check out another post coming up this week about all the movies I Netflix binged on during this snowy week.

I had so much fun – even though I am sick this week, I’m so not regretting the good times in the snow! We even “borrowed” some lunch trays to go sledding with. If you follow me on Instagram, you can watch the video of Jamie and I sledding with the trays!

And now with another snow storm looming over Connecticut, I present you with this week’s Monday Musts:

1. Alpha Delta Pi Decal

As I said, snow here in Connecticut has been super crazy. When I opened up a package from my mom – which thankfully included a new phone charger – there also was a letter from one of my sponsors, Jacqueline! I had previously posted about Jacqueline’s Etsy shop and being the fabulous woman that she is, she sent me back a thank you note which included this decal! I was so excited – it was like Jacqueline had read my mind, because I was planning on buying a new one soon. Plus, it’s set up like a monogram – which EVERY sorority girl loves! Meet Jacqueline in this post and make sure to check out her blog and her Etsy shop to order decals like mine!

2. My Formal Date

Based on yesterday’s post about how I’m living that single girl life, that put me in quite a predicament for formal dates. But hey, my formal date doesn’t have to be my boy toy. Instead, I decided to ask my best friend, Julia! A lot of other sisters will bring their best friends, so I figured, why not bring Julia. Julia is a year younger than me, so we never got a chance to put on pretty long dresses and go to prom together. Now, when my Alice in Wonderland themed formal comes rolling around, Julia and I can finally both put on our long dresses and get all dolled up together. Just because I was bringing my best friend didn’t mean that I couldn’t still do it in a fun way. So, I wrote a note, on Alpha Delta Pi stationary, that read “Julia, since we never got to go to prom and DANCE, will you be my date to ADPi formal BY ANY CHANCE?” and attached it to her favorite tea. I put it at her spot for yearbook, so when she walked in and went to sit down, it was the first thing she saw. I can’t wait for formal with my best friend!!

3. And the giveaway winner is…..

Sam Edwards, a sister of Alpha Delta Pi, won the giveaway! According to the raffle copter results, which pick a winner at random, it was Sam’s tweet about the giveaway that won my first giveaway for the Go Greek Pro app. Happy Monkey Apps, the sponsor of the giveaway, has been excellent to work with. I would also like to thank Caro for helping me post the giveaway! For the other entrants that did not win, I still recommend spending the money to download the ap. I hope you enjoy the app, Sam, I sure did!

So now, after finish typing this week’s Monday Musts, I’m seeing that it was very sorority related. I didn’t even plan on doing that. But while I continue to talk about sorority life, and bring it to your attention if you didn’t notice that this post unintentionally had a sorority theme, I think I realized why ended up being a sorority girl thanks to THIS TSM post!

Have a great week, readers! Keep sparkling!

11Nov2013

My Monday Musts, old sport

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

If you could not tell from the title, this week’s Monday Musts are special – they’re “Great Gatsby” themed in honor of my Alpha Delta Pi “Great Gatsby” semi-formal on Friday! I wanted to share with all of you, readers, some of my favorite pictures from the memorable night. I decided to do so by sharing with you three of my favorite “Great Gatsby” quotes!

1. “Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”

This is my favorite photo of the night with my two favorite people – my big diamond, Katherine, and my little diamond, Amber!

2. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

My little diamond, Amber, came over to my room before the pre-party for some cute pictures! We decided we wanted to take a “Great Gatsby” photo. This is what Amber, Rob, Connor, and I came up with!

3. “I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”

I decided to take my best friend, Connor, with me to semi!

Now, I know that My Monday Musts normally just contain three points of information. However, there are just too many quotes and too many pictures, that I’m going to break the rules, just like Jay Gatsby, and share more quotes and pictures with you all!

4. “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

One of the greatest parts of semi is taking pictures with my sisters and their dates! Here, my little diamond and I are with our friends Alex, Kathleen, and Kathleen’s date, Ray.

5. “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice. “Always try to see the best in people,” he would say. As a consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgement.”

Since I have been initiated into Alpha Delta Pi last semester, these are the girls that I have been closest to since day one! Katherine, Crystal (far right), and Crystal’s big diamond, Nikki have always been, and will always be, three of the girls that I am closest to.

6. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.”

I don’t think any other photo from this night makes me laugh as hard as this one does! Rob, Amber, Crystal, and I thought it would be funny to pick Connor up for a photo!

7. “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.”

I am so grateful to have Katherine as my big diamond sister!!

8. “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

And I am so thankful to have Amber as my little diamond sister!!

9. “It occurred to me that there was no difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference between the sick and the well.”