Eating My Way Through Instagram: 10Below

Hey, readers!

Time for a little fun fact- one of my favorite activities in NYC, when I’m not in my cubicle at work , is to explore NYC. There’s so much to see, so much to do, and so much to EAT.

I follow so many (probably too many) food Instagram accounts that feature all of the fun, cool food places to eat around the City. Every so often, I try to cross one of them off of my food bucket list.

The most recent destination? The ice cream shop 10Below in the East Village!

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On Sunday, some of my sorority family members and I went out about in NYC. I got to show them where I work, take Lauren to Times Square for the first time, and so much more- all of which you saw on Snapchat!

One classic trait of our family, the Bad Girls Club, is loving ice cream! We love catching up over ice cream, so I knew that trying 10Below would be perfect with Amber, Lauren, and Emily.

What makes 10Below so trendy and popular on Instagram is that it is NYC’s original hand rolled ice cream! Each person’s Thai-inspired ice cream rolls are made right in front of them, with ready-to-order ingredients. This means that the ice cream has no preservatives or stabilizers.

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10Below turns liquid cream into ice cream in under two minutes, thanks to a cold plate that reaches temperatures below 10 degrees! Then, the ingredients start to get mixed together, flattened out, and then rolled up,. Put your toppings on and ready for you to eat. SO COOL!

I posted tons of videos on my Snapchat, but if you didn’t get to experience them yourself, here’s a Cosmopolitan YouTube video showing the whole ice cream rolling process at 10Below:

The ice cream was so yummy! It tasted lighter than most ice creams, making it feel less heavy in my stomach after I ate it (turns out that was because it didn’t have all those extra additives).

10Below has tons of locations, besides the one in the East Village that we went to! Their original location is in Chinatown, but they are also in Flushing and the Lower East Side. Not in NYC? They’re opening locations in LA and Philadelphia soon.

Stay tuned for more posts in my new Eating My Way Through Instagram series!!

Have you been to 10Below? Seen it on Instagram? Would you go? Let me know below!

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22Dec2016

Full-time big girl, part-time blogger & am ready for 2017!

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Thursday, babes! It’s time to add a little Sparkle and Shine to the start of your holiday weekend and find out more about my blog hiatus.

I mean helllllllo, my blog presence is a present!

Credit: ReactionGifs.com

In the past few weeks, I’ve posted about College Fashion Week and shared my Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide, but those were my first posts since September. I disappeared. Call me Carmen Sandiego because where in the world did I go?

I know it’s only a little over a month, but it feels like an ETERNITY. I have never, EVER taken a break that long from blogging or from Total Sorority Move once I started contributing for them. Yes, life got stressful when I was at school – tons of school work and extracurriculars, but never to the point that I just completely stopped. Dropped down to only a few posts a month? Yes. Absolutely. But to just disappear out of the blue – never.

And the reason? Because I’m now working in the real world!!

If you don’t know, I graduated in May from Quinnipiac University. Since then, I’ve become an Account Coordinator at the PR firm Access Emanante. I’ve been doing PR for Philips Zoom, Philips Norelco, Philips Sonicare and assisting with a few other beauty consumer brands. I’ll be continuing to expand my consumer beauty/grooming niche in 2017 by adding NIVEA Men to my list of clients.

A little fun fact I wanted to share – I got interested in PR because of Sparkle and Shine. Over the years, tons of different companies and influencer programs have reached out to me. I love getting to know the brands that I am working with, finding out their goals, and helping them achieve their goal. It absolutely I’ve always seen one side of the realm, but wanted to see the other – see the decisions behind working with certain influencers, crafting the program, and activating it. After interning, I was hooked and knew that this was what I wanted to continue to do for the rest of my life. And now, here I am, living out my dream!

I’ve always dreamed of working in the city – that Sex in the City magic in the air, the lights, the people, the hustle and bustle. So landing a gig here was a dream come true. Except, the wonderful hour-fifteen minute commute was not something that got factored into the dream. I’ve traded in my noon classes for 5:30 AM alarms, yoga pants for business casual, and am on NJ Transit more than I am in my own car.

And in all these changes and getting accustomed to my new lifestyle, I had to put Sparkle and Shine on a little hold. I had to focus on myself and my future in the PR world- making sure I’m eating right and sleeping enough hours, finishing and starting tasks on the train to the office, and so much more. Many mornings, I would wake up and say I would start a blog post on the train or would say that I am going to answer blog e-mails. Then after showing the conductor my monthly train pass, I would shut my eyes, open my Nook app, or start answering all the text messages from my friends I was too tired to respond to the night before. Before I know it, I would by at Penn Station and ready for the work day. No blog work done and another promise to push it off later. Later, later, later – but wouldn’t happen.

So here I am now – December 22, 2016. A full-time PR professional, a part-time blogger, and ready to revamp myself as a blogger, re-finding myself in the blogging world, in 2017.

This is more than just an update on where I have been and it is definitely not a PSA about less posts coming in 2017. Instead, this is my promise to you for 2017. I’ve begun thinking about my content calendar, channeling in work strategies to Sparkle and Shine, been in touch with brands, and drafting posts.

Sparkle and Shine may have gotten but on the back burner, but for 2017 it’s the full course Thanksgiving style meal on the front burner.

10Nov2016

Hey! Remember when I went to College Fashion Week? Find out more about the event!

by sparkleandshinesami

This post is sponsored by Her Campus Media and its College Fashion Week brand partners. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Sparkle and Shine possible!

Hey babes, miss me?

Let’s be honest, I know you have.

Source: Jezebel

Life has been so totally crazy cause I started my big girl job as an Account Coordinator for the PR firm Access Emanate in NYC! (Post coming soon to tell you all about it – don’t worry! As well as many other posts as I get my footing as a full-time working gal and part-time blogger) Because this post isn’t about that, it’s about my incredible experience at New York College Fashion.

So for the longest time, during my commute to and from the city, I would try to put into words how much of an amazing time I had at New York College Fashion Week with my mom. Each time, I struggled – there are no worries to describe one of the most fabulous nights of my life with fellow bloggers, fashionistas, and some amazing brands!

If many of you know me, you know I’ll probably be late to my wedding (is the phrase wedding? Or is it funeral? If it is- that’s rather depressing. Either way, I’ll probably be late to both tbh), but my always early mom came with me. This meant I had plenty of time to stop by the different booth of the fabulous sponsors (Thanks, mom!)

If you followed along on SnapChat or Instagram, you were able to see so many of the awesome sponsor booths – such as Maidenform, European Wax Center, Boxed Water, Hanes, and Bertha Watches. There was so much time to interact with the vendors, learn more about their products, meet other bloggers, and eat some yummy Insomnia Cookies and candy!

And when I did not think I could be enjoying the night anymore, it was time to kick off the show – where I got to sit front row as a VIP Press AKA coolest moment in my twenty-two years of life!

The show itself was absolutely incredible! The models were all real college girls and they absolutely nailed it – they looked so gorgeous and so confident. I love working with Her Campus because of how much they always empower women to be proud of themselves, love themselves, and be confident. In a room full of bloggers and Influencers who took opportunities upon themselves, real-girl college models, and upcoming-and-coming fashion designers, this empowerment was an incredible force!

The girls modeled in four different shows (Study Chic ft. My Social Canvas, Festival ft. Foray Collective, Girl’s Night Out ft. Bow & Drap, and Rush ft. Ali & Ariel and Frill Clothing), which represented the many different moments in a college girls’ life. Just another way Her Campus keeps it real with us- they get what life is like!

And of course my favorite look that repped Alpha Delta Pi!

Completing the looks were accessories from Rebecca Minkoff, shoes from Vince Camuto, perfume from Perfumania, and the perfect blowout from DryBar. No need to be Gigi or Kendall for that sound like a dream. And let me tell you, readers, those finishing touches all made the looks absolutely perfect. Just look at the pictures – they were stunning!

Hope you don’t think the fun is over…. Because it isn’t! What does every press get at events? Swag bags!!

I was so excited to get my first ever press swag bag, and let me tell you, Her Campus sure did not disappoint! Some of my personal favorites are pictured below – including a FitBit Flex 2, Vince Camuto perfume, a free blowout from Drybar, and this super cute Rebecca Minkoff makeup bag!

Here’s to this press event and many more experiences, thanks to Sparkle and Shine, now that I am back on my blogging grind! Hope you’re as excited as I am because I am back, baby!

24Sep2016

WHAT’S IN MY BAG?! {NEWEST VIDEO BLOG}

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Saturday, everyone!

So I know on Twitter, I keep mentioning that I’m going to do a video blog. Every time I planned to film, something ended up happening. BUT this week, I made sure that nothing stopped me from filming and editing a vlog for you.

To start my kick back (is that a term?) into vlogging, I decided to do one of my favorite videos to watch other vloggers do….

So head on over, subscribe to my channel, and find out WHAT’S IN MY BAG?!

Comment below with what some videos you want to me! I’m thinking about doing a “Chit Chat Get Ready With Me (#GRWM)” video about some exciting news. Let me know if you would want to see that!

19Jul2016

Red Solo Cup, I fill you up! {Toby Keith Concert}

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Tuesday, babes!

This past weekend, I got to head back to my college stomping grounds (4o days post grad and I feel like it’s been forever) to see some of my best friends and then go to the Toby Keith concert at the Xfinity center in Hartford, CT.

After creating my first ever vlog of our annual country concert last year, I wanted to try again this year…..and in the excitement of seeing all of them since my graduation, I completely forgot to even record. I barely even posted a snap story of the concert cause I was just so excited to see them and be back together with them.

However, thanks to my little’s unlimited use of phone storage, we managed to take tons of pictures! Check them out below:

Make sure to go and check out the pictures on my Instagram – here’s the silly group shot and here’s my favorite of me and Paul! I’ll be commenting back on YOUR pictures if you stop by my Instagram TODAY!

Time to look into tickets for another concert – who do you recommend seeing live?

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13Jul2016

It really isn’t just four years, it’s for life….

by sparkleandshinesami

Hello, hello!

Ever go on one of those runs when you do SO much thinking that you feel like your brain may explode? Well, that was how I spent yesterday morning. One of those thoughts (when I wasn’t thinking about which Kylie lip kit to purchase, what I should wear to see Toby Keith this weekend, or my future wedding to Animal Kingdom star Finn Cole) was about how Greek life has impacted my life in the past month since graduating school.

This whole thought process started when I received a text message about writing a letter of recommendation for someone who is looking to go rush Alpha Delta Pi at USC.

Whenever someone in ADPi gets a little butterfly feeling about remembering why they chose to come home to ADPi, we call it an “ADPi moment.” Some of mine included getting my big and little, when all my sisters supported me at my first Relay for Life to honor my father, and when I realized that one of my sisters, Lauren, is pretty much my soulmate. I’ve heard some alum sisters talk about how they get these ADPi moments as alums and our advisors say that this moments continue, but I wasn’t really sure when I would experience my first one.

Then, I got that text. It came from a girl who I used to work on our school’s television station with who was transferring. Knowing my involvement with Alpha Delta Pi, she said she would be “honored” for me to write her a letter of recommendation. Completely ecstatic, I said yes. I figured I would plan out everything I wanted to say in that letter when I went for a run.

As my mind went through everything I wanted to say, I started to think about the true impact ADPi has had on me. I’m one month out of college (gag), but still see so many ties to the organization.

I think the fact that my sisters are a majority of those that I am still deeply in contact with speaks volumes about the bonds I have made within my chapter. Every girl in my Snapchat best friends list, except for my hometown best friend, is a sister. I don’t go a day without being in contact with someone from ADPi. I recently needed some fitness advice – I texted a sister. I recently got tagged in a super funny meme on Instagram – it was from a sister. I’m getting a FaceTime call – it’s from a sister. I didn’t graduate and become just some face on a composite.

And this is all because the bonds I have with these women aren’t just for four years, they’re for life and it’s during post-grad that I’m finding out how true this statement really is.

Interested in going Greek? Check out some of my recent posts about Greek life:

Story time with Sami: That time I ran a match-making service for my sisters

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

Hey sorority gals, The Collegiate Standard is having a give away!

An Open Letter to my Little as she becomes a Grand-Big

How I asked my date to sorority semi & cute ways you can ask, too!

ALSO, have you seen my new Instagram theme? Just one of the exciting things happening for Sparkle and Shine! Make sure to stay around to see what else is coming.

8Jul2016

My latest Netflix binge…

by sparkleandshinesami

T.G.I.F, am I right?

What better way to relax this weekend by laying by the pool watching Netflix OR for those of you are #indoorsy, lay in bed with the A.C. blasting while watching the good ole ‘flix.

We all know I’m addicted to Netflix, so here’s some of the shows that I have binge watched in the past few months…..

: Wow wow wow…babes, I haven’t done a Netflix binge post in years! Heck, the graphic still has .wordpress.com on it!

Parks and Recreation: The hilarious seven season show, known as Parks and Rec, revolves around Leslie Knope and her team at an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department. Leslie has big dreams for furthering herself in the political world, but as for the rest of her team…..they would prefer to be anywhere but there. The show begins with Knope helping local nurse, Ann Perkins, turn the abandoned construction site that injured her boyfriend Andy Dwyer, into a community park. Leslie hopes that her team, including her underachieving co-worker Tom Haverford, her government – opposing boss Ron Swanson, and the uninterested department intern, Aubrey Plaza. With the show using the same filming style as The Office, with the same implication of a documentary crew filming everything, the cast’s side commentary is as hilarious as the show’s actual hijinx.

Image via Tumblr

New Girl: Quirky teacher Jessica Day returns to her boyfriends’ home one day to find him with another women. She immediately breaks up with him, leaves and begins to look for a new place to live. She answers an ad on Craigslist and moves in with three single men: Nick, a grumpy law school drop-out, Schmidt, an uptight womanizer who used to be overweight, and Coach, a former professional athlete turned personal trainer. (However, for anyone who starts to watch the show from this post, I feel it is important to note that Coach moves out after the pilot and the loft’s former roommate, Winston, moves back in.) The men, Jess, and Jess’ childhood best friend and fashion model, CeCe, form a bond to create a dysfunctional family. Together, the group discovers more about themselves, their careers, love, and more. Not all seasons of New Girl are on Netflix, since the show is currently airing on Fox.

Image via Giphy

Orange is the New Black: Like any true OITNB fan, I began to watch the newest season, season four, as soon as it premiered last month. As the most watched Netflix series, most of you know by now that the show follows Piper Chapman, who is sentenced to 15 months in Litchfield Penitentiary, a minimum-security women’s federal prison. The show also allows for viewers to get to know more about the other inmates, both through flashbacks and their current lives at Litchfield. This shocking season (no spoilers, don’t worry!) shows many characters in more-detail, has a surprising death, includes one character being released early, and so, so much more!

Image via Giphy

Gossip Girl: High school just got a lot more dramatic for a group of privileged Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl, an anonymous blogger, sends text-message blasts with the group’s deepest secrets and scandals. Once the group, featuring frenemies Blair and Serena, Nate, Dan, and Chuck, graduate from high school, they hope Gossip Girl’s reign will end. But as the scandals continue and hearts continue to break, Gossip Girl continues to share all of their secrets.

Image via WiffleGif.com

Currently, my mom and I just started the Netflix-original Between, about a town that has been struck with a mysterious disease that has killed anybody over the age of 22. While under quarantine, the 21-year-olds and younger are now left to fend for themselves.

However, I am looking for something to watch when I am at the gym! So if you have any recommendations, let me know!

What are you currently binge watching on Netflix? Let me know by commenting below!

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29Jun2016

Why I don’t have a blog-only Instagram and I don’t want one…

by sparkleandshinesami

Hey loves!

Recently, I’ve been asked a lot about my social media habits and how they are any different because of having a blog. This may just be the communications major in me, but social media is at outlet used to brand yourself and who you are. I am Sparkle and Shine Sami, a 22-year-old who loves to sparkles and to make life shine. I believe life won’t sparkle unless you do and through every tweet and Instagram, I am doing just that. I’ll mix in my sass and humor into my tweets and what you are seeing is the real me.

Many bloggers I know seem to be okay with only having one Twitter account- used for both their personal tweets and promotional tweets for their blog. However, not many seem to have a combined Instagram and that is where I seem to stray from the rest.

My Instagram account features me and my friends out on the weekend to posts promoting a blog post, from sorority family pictures to sponsored ads. And the thing is, I wouldn’t change anything about it.

My Instagram is a look into who I really am. As a blogger you put a lot of yourself out there for the world to see and often open up about personal struggles, what’s going on in your life, and insecurities. So why not continue to be transparent and show what you’re doing when you aren’t behind on a computer screen typing or filming a new video blog?

I also love it when people who follow Sparkle and Shine will recognize my best friends, such as my sorority family, Paul, and Brandon. These faces you recognize often from pictures and posts on the blog, so why not see more about their personalities, whether its a retweet from them or a picture from an adventure not blogged about. Just like me, as the author of Sparkle and Shine, they are more than just faces on the screen.

So, follow me on Instagram to learn more about how I make sure to add some sparkle to my life, even if I don’t post about it!

Make sure to add me on Snapchat because I will be talking more about Katy Perry’s matte lipstick from Walmart, Katy Kat matte, that I’ve been rocking!

AND make sure to interact with me on social media! I love when followers send me snaps, tweet at me, and more! Just yesterday, I got a snap about Sparkle and Shine inspired them to buy the Primula iced coffee brewer. So awesome!

16Jun2016

Story time with Sami: That time I ran a match-making service for my sisters

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Thursday, babes!

I don’t know if it’s because I am a blogger or because I’m addicted to social media, but I love when bloggers are transparent – whether this means on their Twitter, Instagram, or sharing personal stories for their readers. Some of my favorite YouTubers often post “story time” videos about crazy events that happen to them or weird memories they made with their friends.

And if you know me in real life, then you know that I have a tooooon of stories. This is why I decided to create a series called “Story time with Sami” where I share some funny stories about things that I’ve done. So for the first edition, I decided to share about Sami’s Sexy Singles, my match making service.

for all age

Now, Sami’s Sexy Singles originally started as a joke my sophomore year at Quinnipiac. One of our sisters, Tammy, was the sweetheart of SigEp and would always try to match make sisters with her brother – I mean, she made Google spreadsheets and PowerPoints. I would have a lot to live up to! When she graduated, that left someone to try and arrange sisters with dates for all of our events. Somehow, I don’t even know how, the position fell into my lap. I joked about Sami’s Sexy Singles but nothing ever came of it.

All of a sudden, for a grab-a-date last semester, Sami’s Sexy Singles re-appeared. I’m friends with a lot of affiliated men who wanted to come to our grab-a-date, so I thought I would jokingly bring back Sami’s Sexy Singles. Unknowing to me, a lot of my sisters were interested in being matched. So in true senioritis/lack of motivation fashion, I decided to pour my all into Sami’s Sexy Singles – even staying up until 3 AM one night to make a professional Google Drive through the official Sami’s Sexy Singles e-mail account!

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I even had my friends Kristina, Courtney, and Dale get involved! We would send out e-mails to those who were matched and even to our entire chapter reminding them to e-mail us if they wanted dates and the “rules” for the match-making service (including no liability and about customer satisfaction). We would try to keep the e-mails as professional as possible, to add to the humor of the entire situation. Our dates also received e-mails, to help them realize how serious we took our match0making responsibilities that night.

We weren’t the only people taking Sami’s Sexy Singles serious…. We had people tweeting about us with the hashtag “#samissexysingles” and e-mailing us about getting matched. Guys were coming up to us and e-mailing us asking to be added to the list of eligible bachelors! We were a hit.

One day I was getting lunch in a Greek-life populated area and I had some fraternity men that I wasn’t friends with come ask to me and ask if I could match them for their formal. People that Kristina, Courtney, Dale, and I weren’t friends with even knew about Sami’s Sexy Singles and were interested. I bet that’s like what Kim K. felt the first time someone recognized her as more than just Paris’ BFF….

The day the grab-a-date rolled around, we had over 15 couples – that’s more than 30 people who were coming to the event because of Sami’s Sexy Singles. Our phones were blowing up with questions and e-mails, I felt like a real life C.E.O!

In the end, I had a blast at the event, Kristina, Courtney, Dale and their dates had fun, and so did our sisters and their dates!

Here’s my date and I at the event. His little was one of our eligible bachelors who came to the event! Gotta keep it in the family, you know? –

Here is me and my date, Justin, from the event. All the seniors celebrated the event in a duck-hunting themed (aka my dream theme due to my “Duck Dynasty” obsession). Recognize this picture? If you follow me on Instagram, it’s the picture I posted that night!

Now, I’m not saying Sami’s Sexy Singles was extremely successful (I haven’t finished our customer satisfaction survey yet, but I’ll say it was pretty dang successful), but I am saying that many sisters asked what would happen to it once I graduated. Since Kristina is a year younger, I passed down Sami’s Sexy Singles to her in my senior will, so my legacy will live on.

I would love to know how you feel about Story time with Sami!! Comment below & tell me some different types of stories you would want to hear or tweet them to me @sparkleshinesam!

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7Jun2016

Tips for making the best iced coffee at home

by sparkleandshinesami

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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…..

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First, you fill the middle container with any coffee grinds of your choice.

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Then, mix in water until the coffee grounds are damp.

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Fill the rest of the pitcher with cold water. This will allow for all of the coffee grounds to mix in properly.

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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

Now go drink up, my coffee lovers, drink up…..