Guess Whose Back…Back Again! {Special Monday Musts}

Guess whose back….tell a friend!

Well, it’s not Eminem, readers – it’s me!

Now that recruitment is over and I have 49 beautiful new sisters, I’m able to get back down into the wonderful word of blogging!

I’ve missed blogging so much recently and was reminded about how much I love it during a recent trip out with my best friend.

After breaking my iPhone (whoops), my best friend and I went to the local Apple store to get it fixed. While out, we decided to get Shake Shack and skip the usual cafe food. While ordering, I was asked if I was Sami from “Sparkle and Shine” – I was so surprised!

Julia and I both starred with our mouths dropped. I felt like a mini celebrity; like Paris Hilton before the “Simple Life” gig or Bieber before the YouTube discovery. It turned out to be Emma from The World According to Emma, another college blogger. It was by far one of the coolest moments of my life!

Besides being a mini-celebrity, I’ve been super busy.

I’ve been working on my broadcasting skills. This past week I was the entertainment anchor for my school’s TV station, Q30, and did a package for one of our entertainment segments, #That. Check them out –

Plus, I’ve been getting down and derby with my sisters.

As an Executive Board Member of my sorority, I plan events for our sisters. This past weekend, I executed our first ever Bowties and ADPis event, a Kentucky Derby themed Grab-a-Date on our quad. Sisters and their dates dressed in their floppiest hats and brightest bowties and spent the day playing croquet and other yard games. I brought my best friend, Ben, because there is no one I know who is willing to get fratty and dress preppy! Here’s one of the many pictures of us-

But readers, I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to finally be back!

Recruitment is over and I am finally back into my blogging groove. I have so many posts planned, so get set…get ready…because Sparkle and Shine is about to really shine.

But, make sure you shine, too, readers! Have a great week and keep sparkling!

30Jun2014

Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, readers!

Can you believe that this week starts July? Summer seems to be flying by my eyes faster than the speed of light. Maybe it’s the 40 hour work weeks or all the blogging? Who knows, all I know is that I’m making the most of my time and this week definitely demonstrated this.

First off, I finally got to reunite with one of my best friends from college, Jen!

We got to catch up (she just came back from Disney – I’m so jealous!), talk all about the new season of Orange is the New Black, stuffed our faces at The Cheesecake Factory, and saw one of the best films ever. You’re just going to have to keep reading to see which movie it was!

My mom also surprised me with tickets to see Cinderella on Broadway for this week! Cinderella is my all time favorite Disney character and has been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember. My wedding – which is completely planned out, thank you very much – will even be Cinderella themed. After my mom surprised me, I tweeted about my excitement – and Cinderella on Broadway tweeted back!

After completely fan-girling and thinking nothing more exciting could happen to me on Twitter this week, it did.

After this week’s Duck Dynasty episode, Martin, one of the show’s main cast members, did #askMartin on Twitter. During this time, viewers could tweet questions at Martin and he would respond. I normally don’t participate, but thought I would give it a shot this week. Much to my surprise, he answered my question!

Follow me on Twitter to see what exciting events will happen for me this week on my favorite social media site!

Before you do that, however, check out this week’s Monday Musts!

1. The Fault in Our Stars Movie

Back in February, when The Fault in Our Stars movie trailer was released, I wrote about my excitement in that week’s Monday Musts. I finally got to see the movie! Jen and I are both TFIOS fans, so we waited til we were both free to go see the movie together. The movie lived up to what I was hoping it could be. Though it may not have been as amazing as the book (the movies never are), the movie itself was still amazing. I laughed and I cried as John Green’s novel came to life right before my eyes. Now, I don’t want to give away any plot details because everyone should see this movie. Plus, now I have the BIGGEST celeb crush on Ansel Elgort, the American-Russian actor who played Augustus.

2. Dawson’s Creek

I remember being a pre-teen and catching re-run episodes of the teen drama, Dawson’s Creek. Every time I heard the start of “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” I would glue myself to the television to watch the episode. However, since the show aired from 1998-2003, I didn’t get to see all the episodes, in order. Thanks to Netflix, I now am able to! I started the six season series, which follows Jen, Dawson, Pacey, and Joey in the New England town of Capeside. The show follows the teens as they experience love, heart break, friendship, and other trials and tribulations. Now that I finished Orange is the New Black, this is the new show I’m watching non-stop!

3. Guess the Emoji App

I don’t really get addicted to games on my phone, since I’m normally too busy tweeting, liking pictures on Instagram, or answering e-mails from one of my four accounts. However, my Facebook feed one day was loaded with people asking for help on the Guess the Emoji app. I love games that make you think like this one. So as I was guessing the answers to the questions people were asking for help on, I decided to download the free app for myself! On the app, you are given emoji images that either form a word, a phrase, or represent a word/phrase. The letters that you need are scrambled up alongside extra letters. You must then solve the puzzle to gain more points and advance to the next round!

I can’t wait for next Monday to share about my adventures of the next week with you – keep your eyes open for a post about my room that I am repainting and redecorating and more!

Have a great week, readers! Keep sparkling!

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!