I spent some time at home with my family this Labor Day weekend. My mom's birthday is on the 5th of the month so my sisters and I surprised her with a trip home. She absolutely loved it! She jumped up and down in circles for a good ten minutes when she saw us. :)

With everything going on, it was so nice to be able to relax at home for a bit. Our family reunion is always the Sunday before Labor Day so my sisters and I were able to go for the first time in a few years. Sadly, this is the first family reunion without my grandmother there so it was a really emotional and sentimental moment for our entire family.

We played lots of games, ate TONS of food, and all got to catch up at the picnic. We looked at old photos, heard stories about our parents and aunt and uncles back in the day, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a really great time spent with even better family!

So I wore this dress on vacation and I just love it! It's off the shoulder and has flowing sleeves. It's right around the chest to keep my girls in place and keep the dress from falling down. And it's short enough you won't have to get it hemmed! It's perfect for the end of summer time in Orlando, in Pennsylvania, or anywhere really! I'm wearing an extra small in the photos. You can shop the dress on Urban Outfitters here. It's available in black and cream, which I think will be beautiful for the upcoming season.

What'd you all do for the Labor Day holiday weekend? Share your fun plans or thoughts and comments by clicking the "comments" button at the top of this post. Keep an eye out for an all new #TheShortGirlDiaries on Wednesday! (I know right finally!!!)

As always, thanks for reading peeps!
xox
Sammie

So okay yeah CANDY CRUSH!!!!! Ahhh what an effing experience! I can't tell everyone how lucky and incredibly blessed I feel for the opportunity! Rio and I are still on cloud nine from the whole experience. Ugh, $100,000 you guys!!!!
So of course we've been asked a TON of questions since it aired, and honestly from our family even after we filmed. I'm gonna answer the most asked questions that Rio and I keep getting!
First off, how did you hear about the show?
- Number 1 most asked question. Sooo I lived in LA my second to last semester of college and I guess I was on some sort of casting list. I was going through and cleaning out my inbox one day and I saw an email that was something like "New Game Show Win Money" and I was like oh, yeah sure I'll respond. It was about a week old and I didn't think I'd get a response, but I did that same day! And the rest is history from there!
Where and when did you guys shoot it?
So they flew us out to Los Angeles actually for 4 days in April of this year. We got a little mini vacation out of it. We arrived at The L.A. Hotel on Saturday in the morning because of the time change from Orlando to LA. We pretty much had the entire day so I showed Rio around some of my favorite parts of LA like the Hollywood Hills, Hollywood Boulevard and more. We were able to meet up with a friend from Orlando out there and all went out for drinks Saturday night! On Sunday we had to do physicals for the show early in the morning but the rest of the day was ours! We went to LA live and met up with one of my friends from back in the day and then went home early to get a good night's sleep before shooting! Monday was the big day and we were on set from pretty much 8am until 8pm. We couldn't bring our phones so that we couldn't take photos or bring any information about the set back home. We had our own dressing room, I got my hair and makeup touched up, and we did a mini photoshoot before lunch! When it was all over we went back to our room and celebrated with room service and champagne!

Were the games really hard?
They're a lot harder than you think! They had to add some stools and adjust some things for me because of my height (haaa go figure). On the big boards you can only see two or three candies in front of you and that's it! When they show an aerial view of the boards it looks so simple, but the challenges are WAY more difficult in the moment....and a lot more intimidating with $100,000 on the line! 
How much money did you ACTUALLY win? 
So what people don't realize is you don't get the  money the day you win it. You don't even get it when your episode airs. We actually still won't see any money for a few months! But that's okay because that's how show business works! When we do though, Rio and I both get a check for half of the money.
What are you guys gonna do with the money? 
So we're definitely going to do some traveling! In all honesty, I have some student loans I can put the money towards and Rio wants to buy a motorcycle. Otherwise, we're going to most likely invest and take some trips! We really want Dubai, or to do a European tour, even Australia maybe! We're not set with where we want to go just yet but we do have some time to decide! Maybe you all can help us out! Where have you been dreaming of going? Where have you been that you think we should go? Leave your suggestion by clicking the "comments" button at the top of this post! :) ​

We're literally still on a high from this experience. I couldn't be happier to have experienced this with Rio. This is something we'll always share together and I'm so thankful for that! Rio actually wrote a note on our hotel notepad in the room, that I didn't see until we got back from filming that night. It couldn't have been sweeter.....

UGH, CRYING! No really I saw that when we got back from shooting and cried. It was just the most perfect little mini vacay/experience ever and I couldn't think of anyone else I would have rather shared it with!!
​We can't thank Mario Lopez enough for being an AWESOME host. Rane and Amanda were the coolest producers we could have asked for. CBS and Lionsgate are just amazing company's to have worked with.  And thanks to our friends and family that watched, supported, and badgered us for months until they found out what happened! Thanks to Spun Candy Miami for our sweet little treats too! We definitely may consider doing another show or something similar but for now, we're going to enjoy traveling with our winnings!

Thank you all so much for watching our episode and if you missed it, don't worry you can watch it here. I've also added a little gallery of photos from the show and trip for you guys. Thanks so much for reading guys! Stay tuned for a post/video about our recent trip to Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas!
Thanks for reading peeps!
xox
Sammie

When you're 4'8", or under 5 feet all for that matter, you pretty much give up on buying maxi dresses. You pay more money to chop off half of the dress than you actually do for the dress. It's frustrating and time consuming and expensive and I've avoided it at all costs! Until now..... 

I've talked about J&J Petite Boutique before and how much I loved their petite line. But I've recently tried out one of their maxi dresses, the Lexi Petite Ombre Maxi, and I'm even more in love! (Psst, use my code SAMMIE10 for 10% off!) This ombre maxi is perfect for a petite frame, and just long enough I can wear a cute pair of heels with it, and short enough that I don't have to worry about it dragging all over the floor wherever I go. Hallelujah, finally!

Not to mention this color, the green ombre, is to die for! They also have it in a blue ombre which is so pretty, too. And I got comments that the ombre print made me look taller so hey, I'll take it! The multiple strapped halter gives the dress a cute touch, and the straps fall beautifully in the back. It has an elastic fit around the chest so it'll fit perfectly for a smaller chest, and comfortably on a larger. 

What I love about J&J Boutique is all of their clothing is for petite women. What better, a store dedicated to tiny women like us!? Shipping is quick, the clothing is quality for an amazing price, and they have everything from maxi dresses, to rompers, to shoes and more!  Oh and best of all....IT FITS!  

Check out my friends at J&J Petite Boutique and tell them Sammie sent you! If you love this maxi as much as I do, let me know by clicking the "comments" section above or commenting on my Instagram post here. Also, don't forget to use my code SAMMIE10 to get 10% off your order at J&J Petite!

As always stay tuned for an all new #theshortgirldiaries this week! Thanks for reading peeps!
xox
​Sammie

Everyone that knows me knows I'm obsessed with whitening and brushing my teeth. I think smiles are contagious and a beautiful smile is advantageous. I've tried tons and tons of teeth whitening like the entire Crest line, whitening pens, mouth washes etc. They were all okay but then I got something new in the mail.....

My HiSmile Teeth Whitening kit came with the whitening tray, the gels, the LED light and a coconut mouthwash. It was super easy to put together and learn how to use!
One of the reasons why I love HiSmile is because it's super simple and only takes 10 minutes to whiten! So many other teeth whitening trays I've used take at least 20-30 minutes and it can get time consuming! This is ten minutes of your day and out of your way.
Another reason why I love HiSmile is because of the coconut mouthwash! I used this first before I even started with the whitening gel and immediately saw a difference in my teeth that night. How awesome is that!?
The last reason why I love HiSmile is because it doesn't make my teeth super sensitive. Almost all teeth whitening products I've used have made my teeth sensitive a few weeks or even a few days in. I've used HiSmile every day consistently and have had no sensitivity to my teeth. So I love that I can consistently keep whitening my teeth without any discomfort.

If you're looking for a great new way to whiten your teeth, HiSmile is 100% my recommendation! This is not an ad and I'm not getting any money for this, I genuinely love this product! Head over there and order yours! Tell them Sammie sent you. :) And don't forget to comment your thoughts by clicking the "comments" button at the top of this post!

Thanks for reading peeps!
xox
​Sammie

Talk about the perfect summer dress! This floral halterneck dress is spot on for summer time. It's thin material keeps you cool, and the print is just gorgeous! Great for a night out, birthdays, and especially for that much anticipated summer vacation! This dress from Asos Petite fits perfectly for all of my tiny friends as well! It's not too long, not too baggy, and definitely will get you some compliments anywhere you go! I wore this to a friend's birthday dinner and had so many guy and girl friends telling me they loved it.  You can head to their site to shop this dress and more and enjoy a HUGE sale! They're having an up to 50% off sale right now that you must take advantage of! The dress is linked below, and don't forget to tell me if you love this dress too by clicking the "comments" button at the top of this post and letting me know!
Asos Halterneck Cold Shoulder Sundress in Bright Floral

Stay tuned for an all new #theshortgirldiaries this Wednesday! As always, thanks for reading peeps!
xox 
Sammie

 The first official day of summer is this Wednesday but let me tell you it's already summer here in Florida because it is HOT! What better way to compliment the heat than a sun-yellow summer dress! This super cute off the shoulder ruffle dress from BooHoo US is perfect for summer time. And as a side note, for my petite friends out there BooHoo has the most perfect petite section! Their clothes fit perfectly and are true to size! You've got to check them out. The material is thin and keeps you cool in the scorching heat. It's bright and fun, and will turn heads anywhere you go! It goes great with this Danielle Nicole cross body bag I got from Nordstrom Rack. They don't have the same one anymore but I found a similar one you'll love!
If you love this look let me know by clicking the "comments" button at the top of this page and telling me what you think! If you'd like to shop this outfit click the links below! And don't miss an all new #shortgirldiaries this Wednesday!

Thanks for reading peeps!
xox
​Sammie