Celebrate Galentine’s Day with Bryan Anthony’s

Happy Hump Day!

One week from today, Walgreens and CVS will be putting their Valentine’s Day on half price. Until that glorious moment, you’ll be bombarded with “What to Get Your Boyfriend” and “Non-Flowers and Chocolates Gifts for your Bae this V-Day” (trust me, I know this, I work in PR).

But aren’t really seeing is gifts for your pals on Galentine’s Day!

I’m a big believer of Galentine’s Day- the day before Valentine’s Day were you celebrate your go-to ride-or-dies, those kick-ass friends who are by your side no matter what. My friends and I have even done Galentine’s Day gift-exchange parties to celebrate how much we love each other – something I definitely recommend!

Though it may be too last minute to plan a party, there’s still time to shop for some goodies for your BFFs! My current favorite? Bryan Anthony’s!

What I love most about the jewelry site is that all of their pieces tell a story – whether it’s about your best friend being your soul sister, or you’re following your heart despite the odds, or connecting the dots of life when the going gets tough. There’s something for each of the moments – and that something is a gorgeous piece of jewelry.

I recently purchased the soul sister ring set for my soul mate of a best friend, Lauren!

soul-sisters-rings-gold-silver-model

Lauren and I call each other other our soulmates, in honor of the infamous Sex and the City quote, “Maybe our girlfriends are our soulmates and guys are just people to have fun with.” After three hour long coffee dates, long drives with the music blasting, and late night FaceTime sessions, we realized more and more how true this was for us.

So for her 21st birthday, I knew that the perfect to celebrate her birthday, our friendship, and distance not coming between us would be these soul sister rings.

It really is a great reminder of how amazing our friendship is even though we are states away.

Now go celebrate your amazing friends, like Lo, this Galentine’s Day by going to Bryan Anthony’s and ordering from their different collections.

Happy shopping!!

Have you checked out Bryan Anthony’s before? Are you going to now? Comment below and let me know!

6Dec2016

Get ready for the holidays with Sparkle and Shine & my ULTIMATE gift guide

by sparkleandshinesami

Hey everyone!

Every time I get to write a blog post anymore, I am over-the-moon ecstatic.But when I’m surrounded by Christmas lights while listening to Jessie James Decker’s Christmas album, I don’t think I could be happier.

And with Christmas lights and Christmas decorations surrounding me, that means it’s time to Sparkle and Shine’s gift guide!!

This year, I’m not going to do my gift guide a little bit differently. As you know, life has been crazy since I started my full-time job (and I promise I’m working on a post about it!) – leaving me little time to review a bunch of different products for you.

SO, I’ve compiled some of my favorite posts and gift guides together to give you the ULTIMATE Sparkle and Shine gift guide! Check it out –

For your sorority family…

Letters from Greek Streak

Dirty Rush novel

Reasons Why I Love You mason jar craft

Make your own canvas

New letters from Designs by Di

Jewelry from College Standard

For your best friend…

DIY bejeweled photo collage letters

Concert tickets

Monogram sweatshirt from Gone Greek

DIY Sharpie Mug

Photo collage frame

For your on the go friend…

A Vera Bradley duffle bag

An at home iced coffee machine

Wearsafe

On Location tours

For your favorite fashionista…

A collection of trendy chokers

Skinny Coffee subscription

Rocksbox Subscription

A Lilly Pulitzer dress in her favorite print

Don’t forget these perfect drug store beauty finds – perfect for stocking stuffers and white elephant grab bags!

Make sure to follow me on Pinterest, so you can pin some of your favorite crafts to your DIY board or pin your favorite gift to your wishlist board!

Happy shopping & happy holidays!

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!

26May2016

Kicking off Memorial Day Weekend tomorrow with Lilly Pulitzer

by sparkleandshinesami

As a Jersey girl, Memorial Day Weekend is as much of a holiday as Christmas or Thanksgiving. We set our apps to countdown to MDW, buy bathing suits months in advance, and load up on the hot dogs and hamburgers for the BBQs.

And tomorrow, it’s finally here! Sorority queen Lilly Pulitzer is also getting in on the summer fun. From May 27th to May 30th, gifts are included with every purchase!

Spend $200 and receive a fringe bracelet set, $500 for an oversized beach towel set, $800 for a beach umbrella, $1,200 for a beach chair set, and $3,000 for a hammock. Not looking to spend too much money because you haven’t gotten your first summer paycheck yet? No worries, because with any purchase, you receive a beach ball. With each monetary amount spent, you get not only the gift within the current limit you reached- but the one before. So say you spent $600, you’ll receive the beach towel set, the bracelet set, and the free beach ball. How awesome!!

Now this isn’t my first Lily sale, so I’ve learned some tricks. My biggest secret – load your tote up the night before. That way, as soon as you wake up tomorrow, you can check out! You won’t need to waste time searching for what you want to buy or going back through the website to search for it if it already in your online tote.

To help you decide what you want to add to your tote, here are my top five picks from Lily’s newest arrivals.

Emery Shift Dress | Deanna Tank Top Romper | Larina Halter Top

5” Buttercup Scallop Hem Short (shown in Resort White in a Pinch) |Shay Dress

To find out more about this long weekend special, click here.

Once you purchase your items, comment below and let me know what you decided to buy!

Happy shopping!!

7Aug2015

Underwear, not under there?

by sparkleandshinesami

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

For my internship at TheCelebrityCafe.com, I spend hours going through images of celebrities to find the perfect photo for my story. More often then not, I am browsing through their outfits to try and get inspiration for my next look. A very common look I was starting to see was intimates as outwear.

My reaction to wear just a bra as a top? Oh, no no no.

When it comes to this trend, it is just not for me. I don’t know what Kim Kardashian would wear if she couldn’t wear bralet like crop tops and skintight pencil skirts and I would be lying if I said I didn’t completely girl-crush on Demi in her Cool for the Summer music video. But, I’m not Kim K and I’m definitely not Demi Lovato. Instead, I’m just 21-year-old Sami who prefers not to wear a top that feels like a bikini top with no beach around.

However, Freshpair, the founder of National Underwear Day, has made me realize that there are different levels of the intimates as underwear trend that do not have to be taken to the extreme. The company helped show me that it is now the norm just simply have a corset, bra, or bandeau peeking out from a top and still be considered an underwear for outerwear look. Once the company helped me realize that only showing some of my undergarments was still considered the look, I decided to hope on board with the trend.

To put the post together, I didn’t directly have any outfits of my own that I could photograph in the look. I’m much more of a “there’s more to meet the eye” type of person, who was taught my mother/grandmother/aunts (hey guys!) that it is better to leave a little mystery. And with my top part of my body truly being my, er, assets, I always make sure to stay covered and only show a little something-something. So instead, check out some looks I found on Pinterest that I would be willing to try that stay with my personal style, mixing with Freshpair‘s intimates. All of the looks below still leave the air of mystery without being too exposed, whether it be thanks to an over-sized sweater or a cute, flowy kimono.

To pin the outfit to your own account, just click the ‘Pin Me!’ link in the caption below each photo.

Comment below and let me know what you think of this trend! And if you want to see more of what I am actually wearing, head on over to my Instagram and throw me a follow!

29Jul2014

My Recent Splurges

by sparkleandshinesami

The first time my mom and I ever watched Confessions of a Shopaholic, I felt a weird connection. I mean, does anyone else’s heart strings tug from the line, ““A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn’t fit, you can’t exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags…” Mine does. I mean, hello you preach it Rebecca! –

Source

My little kid self used to walk around the wall with curly haired pigtails in, swinging my purse around taking in the pure bliss that is a shopping mall.

Now this isn’t my confession in shopaholics anonymous or my autobiographical version of Confessions of a Shopaholic, readers. This, however, is the start of a new set of posts I will be starting called “My Recent Splurges.”

In a recent shopping binge, I decided to reward myself with some new designer duds. Check them out!

1. Michael Kors Purse

2. Michael Kors Wallet

3. Steve Madden Sunglasses

And I can’t wait to go shopping today rocking my new accessories! What have YOU splurged on recently? Tell me below in the comments!

10Apr2014

Have Yourself a Very Lilly Easter!

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy April, ladies!

So April showers may bring May flowers, but it also brings on warmer weather, dresses, Easter, and lots more Lilly online (window) shopping than normal.

Easter is quickly approaching, which means pretty Easter dresses.

Don’t worry, I searched Lilly and found the three must have dresses for Easter!

Delia Shift Dress / Lexington Dress / Bella Fit and Flare Dress

Do you have your Easter dress picked out? If not, absolutely check out one – or all – of these three dresses.

Comment below and tell me which is your favorite of the three!

Keep enjoying this beautiful spring weather, readers!

12Aug2013

My Monday Musts

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy Monday, everybody!

Last week, I posted my first ever set of Monday Musts and it turned out to be a huuuge success. Yay!

Now this week, my last full week before heading back to college for my sophomore year, I have a new set of obsessions to share with you all.

And they are…..

1. “Spring Breakers” Movie

So I have been impatiently waiting to watch this movie, and I finally did! Over the weekend, my best friend and I decide to stay in and stuff our face with appetizer foods and Red Lobster biscuits, bake a cake, and watch the movie in our sweats. Now, honestly, it wasn’t what I was expecting – I mean, who would be expecting an ex- Disney Channel star and a Pretty Little Liar to be walking around shooting people with giant guns?! I’m still questioning what exactly the plot was, the accuracy of the story, and how James Franco still managed to look so attractive while looking so disgusting. However, I still managed to be obsessed with the movie and want to rewatch it over and over again. Spring break forever!

2. DSW

As I said, I move back to school next week! That means last minute shopping for clothes, dorm accessories, and of course, shoes! I really wanted a pair of black wedges to try and wear with everything for when I was going out, but since I am on a budget that meant that I couldn’t get too crazy (because I will drop a ton of money easily on a cute pair of shoes. Oops!) and be smart. That’s why I decided to go to DSW – where I could get super cute shoes for super cheap. Plus, the Shopping Gods led me right to the sale rack where I fell in love with a pair that was an extra 40% off! I managed to save over $55 on these Guess wedges – paying only $25 instead of $80. I know where I will always be going for shoes now!

3. Looking for Alaska by John Green

When I first read John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars when it first came out a little over a year ago, I quickly fell in love with the book, the characters, Green’s writing style, just everything about it. I kept telling myself that I had to read another John Green novel ASAP, but whenever it came time for me to download a new book on my nook – I always ended up picking a newly released novel and not just browsing for a John Green novel. This past week I finally reminded myself to download one of his books and I fell in love with this book and these characters just like I did The Fault in Our Stars. The novel follows around a wallflower, Miles, who transfers to a boarding school, Culver Creek, in order to find his “The Great Perhaps.” Culver Creek holds so much more for Miles than he could ever expect. Through every twist and turn in growing up and falling in love, Green keeps the reader so drawn in that the reader can’t help but to fall in love with the novel. It’s a must read for everybody.

This past week has been one to remember with a bunch of last minute memories to make in the summer of 2013 and was able to bring along this week’s set of Monday Musts! I wonder what the next week will have in store for me!

Have a great week, everybody! XOXO