Little Problems Giveaway

Hey ladies, exciting news! Today marks the start of our LP giveaway, which comes at a perfect time for big little reveal or if you want to get a head start on some Christmas presents for your big or little! Whats even better is that we are not only giving away 1 package full of Little Problems gear but 2, which means 2 of you lucky ladies will be winners!  All you have to do is enter the giveaway below and then browse through and enjoy the LP blog!

XOXO- The LP Ladies

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Quote of the Week: October 24, 2013

"Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got" 

-Art Buchwald

This quote just makes me remember each day is precious.  College is short and time flies.  You may not realize that your freshman, or even your sophomore year, but by senior year you will understand.  Even in the most stressful moments just remember to relax, take it all in and enjoy the ride.  If you like country music you will recognize this reference but its like the Trace Adkins song "You're Gonna Miss This".  So don't take life for granted, enjoy every second of college while you're there and don't regret anything, even if you mess up it usually at least makes for a good story!

XOXO- Taylor S

Instant S'mores

It's about that time again. And no, I don't mean nap time, or even that awesome time where Amanda comes out with a new How-To for all of you to try (hint hint, it actually is). It's actually almost time for Halloween! And that means cute, holiday themed snacks and Christmas music on the radio. Today, we're taking a campfire classic and giving it a creepy twist. That's right, s'mores.

Now s'mores may seem like a relatively easy thing to do and you're right, but what if you're mighty pressed for time? What if you have a Halloween social or a Halloween event desperately in need to warm, gooey treats to bring some love to the night? That's what this recipe is for. You see, these s'mores that I'm about to tell you about are special: they don't need a campfire at all!

Some of you may think that, without a campfire, a s'more is not really a s'more, and you may have a point. With the weather getting colder (at least here, up north), there are less and less opportunities to start a bonfire in the fire pits without freezing your limbs off. So, for those of you without the fire power, here's a sweet and fun alternative!

Instant S'mores: The s'more you know, the better it works! (buh dum tss)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 seconds

Ingredients Include:*
Graham cracker squares
Chocolate hazelnut spread
Marshmallow fluff

*Note: How much of each ingredient you need depends solely upon how many people you're making for. The original recipe is for four people and called for 8 cracker squares and 2-3 tablespoons of each spread, but the amount of each ingredient is relative to who's making it.

Directions:
1. Place cracker squares on clean, dry work surface
2. Spread half of the squares with chocolate hazelnut spread
3. Spread the second half of thee squares with marshmallow fluff
4. Smoosh your little beauties together
5. Place on microwave safe plate
6. Microwave on high for 30 seconds
7. Make 'em creepy!*
8. Serve immediately!

*Depending on what you plan to use to decorate them, you might want to do this step before you microwave them, as they harden up pretty quickly, and you'll have to warm them up again.

Now that you're got your cute little squares of deliciousness, it's time to creep them up! My sisters and I have found that simply using orange, black, yellow and purple sprinkles are a great way to give them color and make them pop out. You could also use spider shaped sprinkles or even black sugar to coat the warm edges of the s'more. After decorating them, your treats should look a little like this:

I can't even look at them, they're so tasty.

Another way to make your s'mores stand out is to substitute different ingredients. Local supermarkets also sell chocolate graham crackers for you to use. Similarly, you can substitute the chocolate hazelnut spread with peanut butter, to give some variety to your treats.

Presentation is always the answer to a simple snack. Buy Halloween themed plates and napkins, drink some fruit punch and pretend it's blood, show up in costume and pretend to suck the blood of your sisters. Though there are endless possibilities, there is always a way to spice up an event and a treat. All you need is a little imagination! These instant s'mores are a great thing to plan for sisterhood events and Halloween socials. They're fun and easy, and there's no need to buy charcoal or skewers.

(They also happen to be the only thing I've eaten since I discovered microwavable s'mores, but who's keeping score? Really?)

Have a happy and safe Halloween! Now, you can have all the comforts of a bonfire right in your dorm! (Without the severe fire hazard, of course.)

How to Survive Midterms

It happens to everyone at some point.  You're going through school pretty smoothly when you realize that you have all of your midterms back to back.  I don't know about you, but that kind of situation really stresses me out.  I thought I would offer some tips about how to get through your midterms without stressing out too hard.

1. Take care of yourself.  Exercise, eat healthy, and get plenty of sleep.  If you don't take care of yourself, you won't perform as well as you potentially could.

2. Set goals.  Maybe spend a couple of hours a day on each subject if you have multiple exams coming up.  If you have time, you could dedicate a day to each chapter that will be on an exam.  Just do something that works best for you!

3. Take breaks.  It's important that you don't wear yourself out.  Meet a friend for coffee for an hour, take the time to paint your nails, or spoil yourself with an episode of Gossip Girl.  Just make sure you don't end up procrastinating!

How do y'all survive midterms?

Optimize Your Chapter's Social Media

I know that many people, including me, have wondered what they could do to use their chapter’s social media more. EVENTS! Every chapter has events: socials, formal/informal recruitment events, philanthropies, etc. Everybody, you have to admit it, wants the world to know what their chapter is doing, and how awesome it really is! Social media is the easiest and CHEAP way to do it! 

Using social media is simple! I have been saying this all along. If you are the planner or programmer of the event, if you have the time and knowledge of social media then do it! If you don't have the time or the knowledge find someone who does. If you have never learned the term delegate - social media is the best place to do it. 

Me personally, I don't use every social media platform, but there is someone in my chapter who does. I have delegated it to them to work on those platforms. If there is something that I want blasted across all medias I will just send an email with the photo or information to post! Super easy right?!? This is the quickest and best way to promote your chapter all year long, especially when an event isn't happening. 

You're probably thinking about how you can use Social Media to promote your event, well let me help! Break it down: Pre-Event, during the event, Post-Event. 

Pre-Event

Get the word out there. Make sure that you aren't solely relying on social media though. You will potentially miss an older audience and your school's community and the town surrounding. Make sure that you table, visit businesses, hang banners and flyers, and what ever else you do, but just add in the social media component. 

When you are spreading the word about the event make sure it is factual, has all of the information needed that a participant might need. Also, share your flyer in posts so that way viewers can share it as well. 

Another thing to consider is doing a mock video to get others noticing your event. Once chapter on our campus did a Harlem Shake (when it was cool) to advertise their poker tournament. Other chapters at a near by school have done a video to show the different way people run in a 5k for their event. My chapter is adopting that this year and making a video of the different kind of bowlers out there. In case you didn't catch that, we do a bowling tournament for our bigger philanthropy. 

Incorporate #TBT to your event from the past year, talk about how successful it was and how you want to make it even better this year! 

During the Event

Post pictures! Pictures of your members working the event, participating, etc. This works really well if it is a come and go event! In the spring we had our Pancake Feed, Flapjacks and Snapbacks. All throughout the event we were posting pictures of girls making and serving the pancakes, the guests at our event and women in their snapbacks. This lets those who haven't come yet or are questioning if they want to buy a ticket at the door to get over to your event as soon as they can because they don't want to miss out. Also, just reminding the community that the event is going on helps! Some people may not have looked at their ticket or have gotten swept up in the way of life and forgotten what day it actually was. 

Chapter Members at Flapjacks and Snapbacks. This photo was actually used in a "during the event" post.

Post Event

Let the community, family, friends, those who came, and those who donated how successful your event was. As soon as you know a total amount raised, share it! This will reassure that what the community and those who came to the event gave was well worth it and that it is going to a great cause! 

If you haven't been promoting a philanthropy, make sure that you let everyone know how much fun was had, if it was recruitment related: the number of women you got, or how that specific day went. A sisterhood retreat: show the craft you made or share the most memorable moment of the day! Get others interested and coming back to hear more information! 

Don't Forget!

Make sure when you are using social media that you take the time to explain what your philanthropy/event is for. 

Give a shout out to those who have donated money (if it applies). This will most likely want to get competitors to donate as well!

I hope that this will help you make your event even better! Rock that social media and get your chapter some time in the lime light. 

Until next time!