My Monday Musts

Happy Monday, readers!

Well, not so happy Monday for me because it’s finals week. Here’s a current selfie of me….

Okay, so not really a selfie, but I mean if I could wear a pink tutu and roll around on the floor, I totally would. I have been spending all my time in the library reviewing, eating M&Ms to stay awake, getting hand cramps from writing so many note cards, and using all my self control to not watch “Duck Dynasty” on Hulu.

The only good thing about this is Christmas is just so close, and so is going home. I absolutely love school, but my anticipation to go home, spend time with my family, and hang out with Julia with no worries in the world besides work is at an all time high. We spend any of our study breaks talking about everything we want to do once we get back home. First stop on the list – SHOPPING.

But, even in the mix of studying and actually taking my finals, I couldn’t leave you readers without this week’s Monday Musts!

1. “Move” by Little Mix

One of my sisters had shared with all this Little Mix song, entitled “Move,” and I have been obsessed ever since I heard it. It’s perfect to do cardio to, blast with your girlfriends, and just listen to whenever. I am so excited to blast it in my car when I go home! The song is so addictive, I don’t think I can count the amount of times I find myself casually singing “feeling like it’s my birthday, like Christmas day came early.” Plus, one of my roommates and I are trying to learn the dance moves from the music video (which is apparently funny for whoever else is there, since they only seem to laugh…)

2. Luvabull Proposal Video

I’ve seen the link to a “Luvabull Proposal” all over my Facebook news feed. I finally took a study break to watch it – and I ended up in tears. The video is about Chicago Bulls Luvabull Ariana getting a surprise proposal from her boyfriend mid-performance during the December 5 Bulls game verses the Miami Heat. I don’t want to spill anymore details, but it was definitely worth the study break to watch!

3. Elle Woods Inspiration

If I can be anyone, Elle Woods would be at the top of my list. For some reason this week, it seems like that fun fact about myself has been coming up often. She’s sorority, she’s smart, and she’s confident. As I recently re-tweeted from Total Sorority Move, “Elle Woods is my spirit animal.” One of my favorite Elle quotes (and there are plenty) is “you must always have faith in yourself.” As I said before, I am in the midst of finals week. I am working my butt off everyday for not only finals but about everything I put any effort into – the gym, my blog, my extra curriculars. At times when I may not feel as confident in something I produced,I just always remember these Elle Woods quote to get me through. Hopefully you can use it as a little reminder, too!

And on that note, I am back to studying! This time next week I will be writing these from New Jersey. Enjoy your week, readers!

And remember to check out the site The Collegiate Standard for sorority and fraternity jewelry! PLUS use coupon code SAMI10 to receive 10% off! A post on their products will be coming soon!!

2Dec2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

For this week’s edition of My Monday Musts, I am going to do a throwback to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade is one of my favorite parts about the holiday and something I look forward to every year. In 2009, my mom and I even went to the parade. It was by far one of the most exciting events of my life. Ever since that Thanksgiving, I always dream of going back.

I decided to share with you, readers, my three favorite parts of this year’s parade. Here they are!

1. Duck Dynasty

Anyone who knows me, knows how in love I am with the A&E Show, “Duck Dynasty.” As I type this, I am even wearing a “Duck Dynasty” sweatshirt. I spent a majority of my Thanksgiving break watching reruns of the show. So when on Thanksgiving Day, it was announced that the Robertson clan was going to be in the parade, I was ecstatic! My love for the parade just skyrocketed when they came on the screen. I only wish they were on there for longer than 5 seconds. Maybe next year, Uncle Si can host because that would make me happy, happy, happy!

2. The “Elf of the Shelf” float

My six year old cousin, Mikey, has an elf on the shelf to look over him this year to report back to Santa that Mikey is being a good boy and belongs on the nice list. Mikey’s elf, named ZipZap, has become a family hit. Everyday we are curious as to where ZipZap was when Mikey woke up. As an only child, I hadn’t really had a connection for “Elf on the Shelf,” since it is a fairly new concept. After learning about it through Mikey, I was so excited to see the “Elf on the Shelf” balloon because I knew he was coming to Mikey’s house that night.

3. Santa

Santaaaaa….I know him! Sorry readers, I just couldn’t resist quoting “Elf” for a second. Ever since that movie came out, I swear I hear that quote in my head, in Buddy’s voice, whenever someone says the word “Santa.” Santa, the traditional end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, always makes the entire parade. To me, it is a true kickoff to the holiday season (even though my family’s Christmas tree has been up since the Saturday before Thanksgiving). The joy that Santa represents is something that still, and always will be, in my heart.

Now, I have some fun news to share, besides these Monday Musts.

First off, I wrote my first ever guest post on my favorite novel, “The Fault in Our Stars.” Check it out on my fellow Her Campus Blogger Network sister, Kayla’s blog, “Caught Between the Pages.”

Also, readers, make sure to check out the site The Collegiate Standard and use coupon code SAMI10 to receive 10% off! A post on their products will be coming soon, but I just wanted to get this information out to you now – more time to shop til you drop before Christmas!

Now, I have plenty of scheduled posts coming up! While I am in the craziness of finals season, I have plenty of posts written to share with you all to get you in the holiday spirit!

Until then, it’s back to the library, eating M&Ms like it’s my job, to prepare for final papers and exams.

Enjoy your Monday, readers!

25Nov2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Instead of typing this from my normal cubby at my college’s library, I am typing this from the comfort of my own bed in Jersey! Quinnipiac University gives us 10 days home for Thanksgiving break. As much as I miss my sisters and friends at school, it is so great to be home with my family, sleep in, and not wear flip flops in the shower. More importantly, it is now the Christmas season in my household! My mom and I have already put up our Christmas tree, some inside Christmas decorations, and set up our traditional village. There is nothing I love more than Christmas time.

Now for the Scrooges out there who believe that Christmastime does not start until after Thanksgiving, I am refraining from doing a Christmas themed My Monday Musts and do the usual My Monday Musts with no specific theme.

Without further ado, here are this week’s Monday Musts!

1. ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas Countdown

Okay, okay, I know I said it wasn’t going to be Christmas themed, but I never said I wasn’t going to include something Christmas related. My television has been stuck on ABC Family’s Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas. They have been playing classic Christmas movies already, like one of my personal favorites “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause.” They also feature classic Disney movies, such as “Mulan,” for getting excited for the Christmas season. With only a few days left in November, the actual 25 Days of Christmas will be starting. I love spending Saturday mornings watch the Christmas cartoons I grew up watching, like “The Year Without a Santa Claus.”

2. Bride’s Special Dance Vimeo Video

This past week, I saw the most tear – jerking video and decided to share it with you all. The bride in the video is facing a tragedy many girls, such as myself, will have to face on their wedding day – not having their father with them because he passed away. The bride’s brother decided to do something very special for the bride – something she will never forget for her dance. I don’t want to ruin the video, so you can all watch it. Just keep your tissues close by, be prepared to have a smile on your face, and open up your heart to the beauty of this video.

3. “The Extra Mile”

I went with another heart warming video for my third Monday Must, except this one will leave you giggling, instead of in tears. After watching the video above, you will definitely now need a smile on your face. My obsession with Total Sorority Move columns has led to me finding this video entitled “The Extra Mile.” In the video, a young boy, named Cole, teaches college boys how to go the extra mile to landing a girls’ hearts – just by being nice. The cute little boy can put such a smile on your face and brighten your day! And as a college girl, I agree with Cole – if college boys don’t get their act together, they may end up like Bruno Mars regretting to buy flowers. Until I find that boy who will make George Clooney proud, I may just be waiting for a little boy in a tux to give me a red rose.

Now even though I am on break, I still have to write a ton of papers and start studying for finals. These videos were a great little study break. I hope they brighten your day, just like they brightened mine!

Enjoy your Monday, Thanksgiving & Black Friday, readers!

18Nov2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers! I don’t think I have ever been more excited to say that it is Monday – because this is my last week of classes before going home for a week long Thanksgiving break. I am so excited to go home to see my family, my friends, sleep in my own bed, and shower without flip flops on in my own shower. However, in classic college life, this week is so stressful – exams, papers, projects, and nonstop craziness! It’s only Monday and I’m counting down the hours til I can go home.

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love college. This weekend alone really proved it – I was able to spend time with some of my favorite people because it was initiation weekend for my sorority. We held our day initiation starting on Thursday. Finally, on Saturday my little diamond went through the official initiation ceremony to become an initiated Delta of Alpha Delta Pi. I am so proud of Amber and am so excited that my little diamond now gets to know all of our secrets and our ritual. Since it was initiation weekend, I spent so much time with my little diamond & big diamond – between a sleepover, late night talks, and baking cookies.

Now, enough about my love for Alpha Delta Pi and my big diamond & little diamond – here is this week’s Monday Musts!

1. Miley Cyrus’ cover of Lana Del Ray’s “Summertime Sadness”

A recent Buzzfeed title caught my eye – it was about how Miley Cyrus performed a cover of Lana Del Ray’s “Summertime Sadness.” Miley and Lana are both two of my favorite female performers, so to hear that Miley did a cover of one of Lana’s best songs, I was ecstatic. As soon as I listened to it, I immediately became obsessed. It’s been on repeat nonstop and is even playing as I type this post. Here’s the video for you to check it out for yourself! If you ever doubted Miley’s talent, after listening to this cover – you never will doubt it again!

2. 21 & Over

One of the rules of initiation weekend is that it is dry weekend – which means we are unable to go out. One night, a bunch of my sisters and I sat around watching movie marathons on Netflix. We ended up watching the recently released movie “21 and Over.” “21 and Over” is about three childhood friends, one who just turned 21. The friends take on a crazy night of legal drinking, until the birthday boy becomes so intoxicated he can’t give the boys his address to get home. He has to be ready by 7 am for his medical school interview, according to his super strict father. As Miller and Casey try to get Jeff Chang home, they realize how much college has interfered in their friendship. The movie takes on many plot twists that left all my sisters and I laughing until we were crying. This movie is a MUST for any college student!

3. QuizUp

During a study session with my friend Megan for our nutrition exam last night, she kept taking a break to play QuizUp, an app on her iPhone. At first, I had no idea why she was so addicted – until I downloaded the game myself. The trivia app lets you play against your Facebook friends, or other opponents that it matches you up with, in different categories – ranging from Spelling to Boy Bands, Beyonce to Dogs. As you play, you get points in the different categories that increase your levels in each category. I haven’t been addicted to app since Candy Crush – but I think I have found what my next one will be!

And as usual, now that I am finished sharing My Monday Musts with you – I must get back to my crazy schedule – a project, meetings, homework, and so much more.

Enjoy the rest of your week, readers! Remember, it’s almost Thanksgiving break!

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.”

I’ll be honest with you readers – I took a lot of selfies at semi! My big diamond sister brought her roommate, Emily, to semi!

10. “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.”

Overall, semi was a ton of fun and filled with many laughs and memories! Here I am laughing with my sister Lauren!

Remember, readers, a little party never killed nobody!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Note: I have used quotes from both the classic novel and the movie.

4Nov2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers! I hope you all enjoyed your Halloweens (but more importantly, your Hallo-weekends!) This year, I dressed up as Tom Cruise from Risky Business and a construction worker. If you are already planning your costumes for next year, I would definitely recommend these two! Both were very easy to do and cheap.

Now it is November – time for on sale Halloween candy and counting down the days til Christmas (50 days!) For me, this week is completely crazy – I already took an exam today and have papers and projects due almost everyday. I do, however, have super positives this week – my sorority has one of our big philanthropy events tomorrow night and our Great Gatsby themed semi formal is on Friday! My schedule is jammed packed this week, so I am going to jump right into this week’s Monday Musts!

1. I am now a member of the Her Campus Bloggers Network!

I have reached one of my blogging goals, readers – I am now a member of the Her Campus Bloggers Network! I write for my school’s chapter of Her Campus (check out my articles here). I knew that they also had a special, application based network for women, and a few men, between the ages of 13 – 30 with their own blog. I have waited months for the e-mail saying if I have been accepted into the HCBN, and I finally received it. My application was accepted! I am so excited to join other bloggers discussing fashion, beauty, Greek life, lifestyle, and so much more. I look forward to reaping the benefits of this incredible opportunity with you all! As a member of the Her Campus Bloggers Network, I get to rep the special badge that is now on the right hand side of “Sparkle and Shine”!

2. I Won A Giveaway!

One of my fellow Her Campus Bloggers Network sisters, Brittany from Oh Hey Brittany, recently hosted a giveaway on her blog. I have been a fan of Brittany’s blog even before we were HCBN sisters. When I saw that she did a giveaway a few weeks ago, I immediately entered. I am normally not a very lucky person when it comes to winning contests. However, my luck turned around because I won my first ever giveaway! Brittany had e-mailed me a few days ago saying that I had won a Dillo shirt. It just arrived and I am so excited!

3. I am now a member of the Northeast Bloggers Network!

As I’ve mentioned many times on here, I am a proud Jersey girl who goes to school in Connecticut. Because of this, I have joined up with other bloggers from the Northeastern United States as a member of the Northeast Bloggers Network. Yay! “Sparkle and Shine” is now listed on their directory under “General Life” bloggers. Just like with HCBN, I will be recieving special opportunities because I am now apart of this network. Just like I stated above about the Her Campus Blogger Network, I can’t wait to share the benefits of this network with you, as well. Right underneath my Her Campus Blogger Network badge is my Northeast Bloggers Network badge!

I can’t believe in the 5 short months of “Sparkle and Shine,” I have been able to accomplish so much. I wouldn’t be where I am without you readers, so thank you!!

Enjoy the rest of your week, my fabulous readers!

28Oct2013

My Monday Musts: Halloween Edition!

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Hope you all had a great weekend! It was Parent’s Weekend here at Quinnipiac, so instead of having my family come up to school, I went home and was able to enjoy a relaxing weekend. I was able to see my family, have family dinner, and eat a nice home cooked meal. It was so nice to be back in Jersey for a few days, but now I’m back at school and already spending hours doing work in the library.

So this week is Halloween, one of my favorite holidays! Ever since I was little, I would spend hours in front of the television watching ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween” marathons, spend days figuring out the perfect costume, and eating as much candy as I possibly can. Now, even at 19 years old, I still love doing these things this holiday season. I decided to share with you, readers, my top 3 must watch Halloween movies!

1. “Hocus Pocus”

“Hocus Pocus” has been my favorite Halloween movie since I was a kid and always will be my favorite. This movie, filmed in 1993, is about 3 sister witches, Winifred, Mary, and Sarah, who are resurrected from their graves on Halloween night 300 years after being burned at the stake in Salem, Massachusetts. They are resurrected by California teen, Max, who is stuck in the New England town after a recent move. Once the sisters awake from the grave, Max, his sister, Allison, and friend, Dani, must try to stop the witches from sucking the lives out of the little children of Salem. With the help of an immortal cat, Binx, the three try and protect the town’s children.

2. Any Original 80’s Slasher Film

“Halloween,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Friday the 13th,” and the list goes on and on. The 80’s produced the greatest slasher films known to man kind and none of the current remakes could ever top these original hits. Of all these movies, my top ones are “Halloween,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “Friday the 13th.” “Halloween” is about a psycho killer, Michael Myers, who was institutionalized as a child for murdering his sister. He escapes and stalks a teenage girl, while his doctor chases him. “Nightmare on Elm Street” is about Freddy Krueger, a man who was murdered himself. Krueger stalks his victims through his dreams to kill them. “Friday the 13th,” which is probably my favorite of this genre, is about Jason Voorhees, a murderer who is stalking and murdering camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, a summer camp which was one the site of a child’s drowning.

3. “Tower of Terror”

This Disney Channel made-for-TV movie has gotten so forgotten about in recent years, that I couldn’t help but to share it with you all! “Tower of Terror” was the horror movie for me when I was little. I can still remember to this day my excitement when I went to Disney World, rode Tower of Terror, and then purchased the DVD in the gift shop at the end. With the movie barely ever playing on television (I can’t tell you the last time I even see it on TV), getting the DVD was such a good decision! The movie follows reporter, Buzzy, and his niece, Anna, as they uncover the 60 year old mystery of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. As the rumor goes, 5 people went into the elevator on Halloween’s eve in the 1930’s and the elevator collapsed. Now, the 5 roam the hotel as ghosts. According to an old woman, Abigail, who claims to have been at the hotel that night, if Buzzy and Anna can find belongings of each of the ghosts, they can free them from the hotel.

As much as this has put me in the mood to watch these movies, I have tons of homework to do, as usual, so it’s back to work in the library I go… but, readers I have some exciting news to share with you all very soon! Stay tuned and enjoy the rest of your week! Most importantly, Happy early Halloween!

21Oct2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Hope you all are having a fabulous Monday! I know I sure am! Guess who got a 100 on her last nutrition exam after studying for over 8 hours?! Me! And nothing can put me in a better mood than knowing that all my hard work is paying off during my 8 a.m.

However, now I’m stuck back in reality though after the incredible weekend I had. It’s no more city streets, but back to my campus. There’s no more hole-in-wall dining, but a cafeteria. I’m just stuck with all the memories, tired legs, and a new Facebook profile picture.

But another part of my reality though, is bringing to you all my Monday Musts!

1. How I Met Your Mother

Once I returned home from New York City, my little diamond, Amber, began to tell me about her newest obsession, the television show “How I Met Your Mother.” I’ve heard so many people talk about, read so many tweets about it, but never had any interest in it. I always felt that it was in someway similar to “Friends,” and nothing could ever compete for my heart the way Chandler, Ross, Joey, Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe have. After a much needed few minutes of relaxing, I decided to give the show a chance and watch with her. I quickly became obsessed. We have watched so many episodes in just a short amount of time as we try to figure out who the mother is. It’s safe to say that I finally hopped onto the “How I Met Your Mother” bandwagon!

2. Quinnipiac got an Alex and Ani

I looooove Alex and Ani bracelets! My collection includes the anchor bangle, the Alpha Delta Pi bangle, and the daughter bangle. Quinnipiac’s campus was in uproar when Alex and Ani released the Quinnipiac University bangle, decked out with the Bobcat and our school’s name! I, like every other girl on campus, was in love and obsessed – and may have even stopped breathing for a few seconds. I can’t wait to hopefully add this to my collection, especially since Christmas is just around the corner( if you really want to know, I like it in silver)!

3. Ice Cream IS Happiness

By accident before, I opened up my Tumblr app, which hasn’t been open in forever thanks to Pinterest. The first photo that popped up said “…You cannot buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream (which is almost the same thing).” I instantly fell in love with the photo and had to screenshot it to save it and now share it all with you. Fun fact, one of my all time favorite foods is ice cream. Whenever I’m happy, whenever I am sad, or almost whenever in general, I could go for a big bowl of ice cream! Almost every Monday, my big diamond, Katherine, and I go to a local ice cream place, called Wentworths. We catch up on each other’s weekends and give each other a play-by-play of our nights. The only thing that gets me through the dreaded Monday is our weekly big diamond/little diamond ice cream dates! Seeing this photo made me realize how true it is- my true happiness from Mondays comes from ice cream dates with Katherine! If you’re stuck in those Monday blues today, grab yourself some Ben & Jerry’s! Yummy!

Hope you all have a great rest of your week, readers! Keep sparkling!

14Oct2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

And happy midterms week to most….

I hope you all had a great weekend – I know I sure did! It was my first weekend back at school since my knee injury and I could finally go out with my best friend. It was so good to be back with them, doing what we like to do on the weekends, and spending my Saturday night at Quinnipiac students’ infamous Saturday night club, Toads.

Now, it’s back to reality of the craziness of school. It’s midterm week here at QU – and that means spending hours in the library, studying my note cards til I can barely see straight anymore. It’s day like these that I wish I liked coffee!

With two exams tomorrow, and one on Wednesday, I have only this weekend to look forward to. This weekend my absolute best friend, Julia, and I are going to New York City to visit our other best friend, Vanessa, at school! I am so excited for the three of us to be reunited and spend a Friday night in the best place on Earth together, NYC!

But, in the meantime, I’ll take a study break to share with you all this week’s Monday Musts:

1. Passionately Pink for a Cure Hair Strands

Last Monday, some of my best friends and I got pink clip-in extensions to show our support for breast cancer awareness. According to the American Cancer society, about 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. About 40,000 women will die from breast cancer. These are mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. Grieving offer the loss of a loved one is one of the hardest struggles someone could possibly go through. Our $5 hair strands contributed to making a difference, and making an awareness, to changing these statistics. I am proud to be a female and proud to help fight back against cancer.

2. Wednesday Night TV

In my previous Monday Musts, I discussed my LOVE for “Duck Dynasty.” “Duck Dynasty” airs their new episodes on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. With some of my closest guy friends, I gather around their television to watch the show. As Connor, Ben, Pat, and I finished up the episode, we decided to then watch the next show, “Bad Ink.” I never saw it before – and I quickly became obsessed. “Bad Ink” follows two Las Vegas tattoo artists who fix people’s bad tattoos – whether they were just bad choices or the original tattoo artist just did not do a good job. The show left me so amazed. So when we all planned on watching only one thirty minute episode, it turned into a 2 hour marathon. I don’t get to watch a lot of television in college, so I look forward to Wednesday night with the boys watching “Duck Dynasty” and “Bad Ink.”

3. ABC Family’s 13 Nights of Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays – always has been and always will. One of my favorite parts of any holiday are the themed movies. ABC Family’s annual 13 Nights of Halloween kicks off this Saturday and I am SO excited! ABC Family always plays the greatest cliche Halloween movies that we were all raised on, such as “Hocus Pocus” and “Beetlejuice” (two of my favorite movies). Though with the craziness of my schedule, I won’t be getting to watch as much of the Halloween movie marathons as I would like, I’m just happy to know that it is on. Plus, to me, this kicks off the start of all the holidays and all the great traditions that come along with it!

Now it’s back to studying for me…Enjoy the rest of your week, readers!

1Oct2013

My Monday Musts – Celeb Edition!

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, everybody!

As I’m typing this, I’m not in the usual comfort of my dorm bed- but instead my bed at home. This weekend, my injured knee randomly gave out – and now I’m back on bed rest because I strained an already sprained MCL. However, everything happens for a reason and I’m trying to make the best of it (and of course, blogging is making me happy!)

Last week, I was just so busy with recruitment (We welcomed home 54 beautiful Alphas to my school’s chapter of Alpha Delta Pi), I didn’t get time to post about My Monday Musts! So I apologize readers, but hey, the Theta Theta chapter of Alpha Delta Pi is looking as awesome as ever! :

And while I post this week’s Monday Musts, I have to tell you all: I have celebrity life on the brain. This weekend, my school hosted a country concert – where I got to meet Love & Theft and Caanon Smith! It was seriously one of the greatest moments of my life. I’m not going to go into too much detail about that yet, because “Sparkle and Shine” post about the concert will be coming up this week (stay tuned!). But I will give you a little sneak peak by seeing the selfies of me with Love & Theft (say hey to my friends Kelly and Amber who are also in the picture!):

and Caanon Smith threw up the Alpha Delta Pi diamond with my sister, Amber, and I:

but as I move on from there, because I don’t want to give away too much detail, I figured I would share three other celebrities fixes I have been loving on this Monday:

1. Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere has recently been speaking out about being a role model for girls regarding their body. While reading how she wants to express to other girls about being proud of their bodies and how she wants to represent normal gives just made me so happy. So many females in today’s society look up to stick thin models and aspire to look like something they can never be without taking drastic measures. Kudos to Hayden for representing the everyday girl and for reminding us all to be proud of who we are!

2. Miley Cyrus

The ex – Disney Channel starlette may be twerking any chance she gets, but the Hannah Montana star will always have a place in my heart. No teenage girl can deny that she didn’t look up to Miley at some point in her life. Though she may be changing from the once long-haired Disney sweetheart, I am still intrigued by her, her life, and what goes through her mind anymore (though the selfies and crazy tweets can get me pretty close). This is why I am just SO, SO, SO excited that this Wednesday, October 2nd, an MTV documentary entitled Miley: The Movement will air.

3. Demi Lovato

Ever since I read the Demi Lovato issue of Cosmo this summer, I have absolutely loved her. If any celebrity can talk about getting through bad days, it is the “Heart Attack” singer. USA Today has announced that Demi is releasing a two part book deal. First, a book compiled of inspiration tweets, and then a memoir. I love reading and celebrity books are my guilty pleasure (the Kardashian ones are always the best!). To read about the struggle that Demi has gone through, where she has gone, and where she is now sounds like it will make a great book. I can’t wait to read the memoir of the strongest girl in Hollywood!

That sums it all up, readers! Enjoy the rest of your week and stay tuned in this week to “Sparkle and Shine” to read about the time I met Love & Theft and Caanon Smith, with tons of pics!

And if you have any bad days this week, remember what I am telling myself – everything happens for a reason!