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The annual homecoming game brings out the best of us in our homecoming traditions. When I was a student at Huntington High School on Long Island, we used to paint this big boulder at the corner of the back entrance of the parking lot to our school. Not just at homecoming, we would paint it in different themes throughout the school year and for special events, memorials and other such things. It’s one of those traditions that technically we were all vandalizing school property, but officials just looked the other way for the sake of tradition. We had some very talented artists so it was a really great way to get attention from the community.

All over the US students have very creative homecoming traditions to celebrate the occasion. Some traditions are associated with homecoming dances where women adorn themselves in gorgeous homecoming dresses and others are directly related to the game. Many schools and towns host a homecoming parade with floats made by students and teams. Other traditions include pranking the visiting team. Here is the countdown of the top ten truly unique, cute and quirky traditions across America.

 10. Student Participation

Those students who aren’t athletes or band members also get in on the school spirit. Long standing rituals in high schools and universities encourage everyone to join in. Like the University of Oregon, located in the city of Eugene. They host an annual tug-of-war game before the homecoming game. This is a well-established tradition, going as far back as 1967. This playful game has taken hold in other states, going beyond the homecoming season. Such events have inspired the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce to hold an official event during Summerfest in Wisconsin.

The University of Wisconsin at Platteville is the site of a large-scale construction project. First created by mining students in the 1930s, a large letter “M” was created on the slope of a large hill just east of the city of Platteville. The project is  simply known as “The Big M”, which occupies a large area of 214 x 241 feet on the south slope. Students moved 400 tons of whitewashed stone to make this. The university has a past practice in mining engineering, hence the “M” stands for mining. Before the homecoming game and the dance, students use flares to illuminate the Big M, to pay homage to their rich history.

 9. Costume Parties

Some homecoming games fall on a date that is close to Halloween, on October 31. Schools take this opportunity to host a Costume Ball as a part of the festivities of homecoming week. At some schools, this dress up dance is exclusive to a certain group, like the football team or marching band members.

This practice is going strong after all these years at C.E. Jordan High. Located in Durham, North Carolina, C.E. Jordan High School has been hosting this dance since the 1980s. The band members wear scary costumes during their performance at the halftime show. These kind of rituals help break the monotonous routine that band members happen to be more prone to since they have a strict practice schedule. Continue reading →

While the pink dress that Olivia Jordan accepted her Miss USA crown in was stunning, so many gorgeous dresses (and girls!) hit the Miss USA pageant stage on Sunday that we're still obsessing over. And, some of the dresses were even from our favorite dress designers!

Mac Duggal was one of the dress designers that let an exciting impact throughout the evening. Five contestants stunned the crowd in their hand selected Mac Duggal gowns while on the quest for the exclusive title of Miss USA 2015. Miss South Dakota, Miss North Dakota Miss Alabama, Miss Illinois, and Miss Wyoming each personified the label by exuding the character of a champion with pride and grace.

Continue reading →

We love our pageants at Rissy Roo's, and one of the biggest pageants out there was held this past Sunday night (June 13, 2015): the Miss USA 2015 pageant! At the event, Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez passed on her crown to Olivia Jordan, formerly Miss Oklahoma, to be crowned the new Miss USA 2015! While all of the contestants were beautiful (especially in their Sherri Hill and Mac Duggal dresses!) and gifted, the the Oklahoma native truly did stand out in the from the 50 other women vying for the crown. After all, could you blame the judges for picking her just based off of the beautiful pink gown she wore, alone?!

Watch the big moment as Olivia is announced Miss USA 2015 and crowned:

https://youtu.be/0XIVgEhrhRI

So beautiful!! Olivia is 26 years old and is no newbie when it comes to winning pageants or showing off for the camera. She is a model and the 2013 winner of the Miss World America contest. She was followed in the top five by first runner-up Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra, second runner-up Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia, third runner-up Miss Nevada Brittany McGowan, and fourth runner-up Miss Maryland Mamé Adjei. All gorgeous ladies!  Continue reading →

Lots of planning goes into promposals these days, and you can only hope for the best when it's time to pop the question. Most promposals go down without a hitch, as many times it's a boyfriend or girlfriend asking their significant other in a cute way to prom. But, there are cases where the proposer doesn't know if the proposee will actually be accepting, and this is one example of that.

Oh no pic.twitter.com/PdFuuVtrty

— Sully (@SullyFootball) June 1, 2015

This high schooler went for a daring prom proposal - asking the girl he hoped to go to prom with in front of an entire football stadium full of people. He must have thought this promposal was in the bag, but that it was not! After the high schooler asks his hopeful date over the microphone if she'll go to prom with him, he was let down anything but gently as the girl responds in the microphone, "I already have a date." Awww! You can tell the high schooler is shocked by his response, and we can't blame him.

How the word didn't get around that the girl already got a date is beyond me! That's what friends are supposed to be for, after all! Oh well, it might be a promposal gone wrong, but it's certainly something he'll look back on in a few years and get a good laugh out of, if he's not already.

Sadly, this isn't the only promposal fail we stumbled upon this year. For another cringing moment, check out Daniel's promposal fail... to his own girlfriend, of all people!

Prom is usually special night to remember. But, eighteen year old high school student Olivia Pelley ended up missing her prom after needing to be rushed to the hospital. She told ABC News that while in the middle of taking pictures with her classmates before attending the Cochrane-Fountain City High School junior prom on April 25th, she started to not feel well, experiencing pain, and went to the hospital.

Olivia explained to ABC News, "I couldn't stand. I couldn't concentrate. I didn't want to go [to the hospital]. I didnt' want to think something was wrong with me. I wanted to go to prom." Still in her prom dress, she went straight to the hospital and missed her prom.

Olivia had a kidney transplant from her dad seven years ago and has been dealing with many health complications since. But, she was finally starting to feel better in the weeks before her prom. Her classmates had even voted her prom queen, and she was planning on going to prom with her very first date ever.

But, Olivia has one amazing older brother and he stepped right in to help make sure Prom 2015 wasn't completely ruined for her. Michael explained, "As soon as I got that call about what happened, I immediately though, 'I need to do something.'" The twenty-two year old who attends Winona State University started planning a second prom for his younger sister. He told ABC News, "I was determined to make it happen. I couldn't let one of the greatest moments in my sister's life turn into the most tragic." And, plan he did!

With the help of Olivia's high school principal and vice principal, local businesses to sponsor, and classmates, Michael put all of the pieces together and raised enough money to have a do-over prom at the school. He even got her prom date to show up and booked the same DJ from the junior prom she missed!

At least 70 people showed up, giving Olivia a prom night to remember. She explained, "I had a great time! This prom was fun because it was with my friends and family, and I got to spend time with people I love."

Unfortunately, Olivia's health problems are not over. She may even need to receive another kidney transplant. Fortunately, though, Olivia's big brother Michael's unconditional help is never over. He set up a GoFundMe in order to help raise money for Olivia's medical expenses, including hopefully helping to find possible donors. You can read more a Olivia's story on her GoFundMe page and learn how to help out. We're so glad Olivia has such an incredible brother to not only give her a second chance at prom, but look out for her in every other aspect of her life, as well.

Sources: ABC News, GoFundMe

Outdoor parties are always so much fun. Fresh air, blue sky, sun beating down... that's the ideal, at least. It's always scary planning an outdoor party because as much as you hope the weather is perfect for the event, you need to be prepared for the worst, too: cold, rain, wind...*poop*! Yup, apparently poop should now be a concern when planning outdoor parties because it literally fell from the skies for one unsuspecting 16 year old, Jacinda of Levittown, PA, and her family and friends.

While celebrating her Sweet Sixteen birthday party with family and friends outside in her backyard on Sunday, May 17th, Jacinda received quite the surprise: an airplane flew by her house and dumped feces all over the backyard her 16th birthday party was being held at!

Fox 29 Philly got the whole story and interviewed Jacinda's stepfather Joe Cambray. He explained, "Out of nowhere, from the sky, comes a bunch of feces, lands on her." Poor Jacinda! This is not a way anybody wants to spend their Sweet 16. Luckily, though, this all happened after they at the birthday cake. Joe said, "We just got done with cake. Thank God. We took the cake back in, because within two minutes, something fell from the sky. It was brown, it was everywhere, it got on everything."

How to ruin a Sweet 16 Party? Plane releases its "bathroom contents" above them! Story at 10 on @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/65N8dqQPvA

— Brad Sattin (@BradSattin) May 19, 2015

The FAA told Fox 29 Philly that all airplanes are required to dispose of the waste at the airport. The family filed a complaint and the FAA will be investigating what happened. Hopefully Jacinda sees some birthday justice!

Our best to Jacinda and all who attended her Sweet Sixteen party. We hope everyone still had an amazing time celebrating such an important milestone.

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We all know that Taylor Swift was the artist of the night at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards for more reasons that one (she won many awards!). But, the event everyone is still talking about days after the Billboard Music Awards ended is Tay finally releasing hew newest music video: Bad Blood!

The music video is ah-maz-ing... to put it lightly. It's full of action, great music (duh!), stunning outfits, and endless stars! There are too many celebrities in the video to name them all, but some of our favorites included Hayley Williams of Paramore, Jessica Alba, Karlie Kloss, Lena Dunham, Selena Gomez, and Cara Delevingne. Phew... and that was only six of the celebs that made an appearance in the video! Tay has so many friends! Check out the video, and see if you can name all of the stars. Plus, if you love the stunning fashion throughout the video, read on because we picked out our favorite ways to take a cue from the Taylor Swift Bad Blood video at your next formal or semi formal event.

The very first outfit Tay shows off in this video is a stunning two tone nude and black corset and mini skirt outfit. Could the video start out any better from a fashion standpoint?! To get a similar look to Taylor's nude/black from the beginning of "Bad Blood," go with Faviana 7428. It's a short cocktail dress that features a multi layer chiffon skirt and a structured lace bodice. It comes in Black/Nude, just like Tay's outfit!

The video starts out with an outfit that's more feminine, like we know Tay's outfits to be in real life, but it then quickly turns to all the girls wearing sleek, sexy, ninja-inspired leather outfits. What else would ninjas wear?! For a ninja-inspired look that's sleek and sexy like all of the black leather jumpsuits and rompers Tay's entourage wore in "Bad Blood," go with romper La Femme 21339. It's an elegant chiffon dress with shorts, a sweetheart neckline, and belt around the waist. Perfect for kicking some ass in style!

Black was definitely the color of choice for outfits for the Bad Blood music video, but there were two white outfits in the video that were so stunning! Tay and "Frostbye" (Lily Aldridge) wore wintery white rompers while practice fighting in the video. For a white romper look like these two ninjas, go with La Femme 21526. It's a unique dress with a sheer tulle skirt, shorts, and pockets (because ninja spies have some essentials to carry, like compact mirrors that turn into throwing stars). The bodice is a sweetheart neckline and has a thin belt around the waist.

All we have to say is that we hope the Bad Blood music video gets turned into a movie! It looks like it could be the next Charlie's Angels to us! What an all-around amazing video. We can't wait to see what Tay has in store next for her 1989 album! Oh...and we're totally loving Taylor Swift with red hair, by the way.

High Schools around the country seem to be getting stricter and stricter with their prom dress codes, with Prom 2015 coming to a peak. Girls are being told what type of dresses they can and can't wear, and if they don't follow the rules perfectly, they're being banned from being able to attend their prom. This continues to surprise us at Rissy Roo's, because this year's dresses couldn't be more elegant. The two piece, open back, and cut out looks of Prom 2015 all show off skin, but in a totally classy way.

High school senior Mireya Briceno unfortunately found out the hard way just how strict prom dress codes have become. She wore the elegant polka dot dress La Femme 21452 to prom, and was forced to leave her dance in Michigan after the administration found her dress in violation of the dress code.

While Mireya's mom, Connie, thought her daughter looked, "classy and elegant," (which we couldn't agree with more), administrators at Mireya's high school, Muskegon High School, apparently did not agree! After already purchasing the dress and showing up at prom, Mireya was told to leave prom because of a dress code violation. The school hasn't stated exactly what the violation was, but Connie believes the dress must have been deemed too revealing.

Mireya and her mom even made sure to follow the guidelines when picking the prom dress, which states that backless dresses are acceptable. Connie explained to Yahoo Parenting, "The rules states the dress needed to adhere to the 'fingertip rule' - meaning the dress had to hit below your fingertip when standing with your arms by your side. They also said no midriff showing, which to me means stomach. And they said the words, 'Backless dresses are acceptable.'" Sounds like Mireya's old-hollywood style polka-dot dress fit all the rules to us!

Mireya was super upset with what happened, and we couldn't blame her. Her mom explained that Mireya called her crying from the parking lot outside the prom. Connie said, "I told her to go to dinner with her boyfriend, and try to enjoy the evening. She was really upset. She has her boyfriend's prom in two weeks, but still, this was her prom. She missed out on a memorable time with her friends."

We're so sad that Mireya missed out on her big night, but glad to hear that she'll have another shot at going to prom and wearing her stunning dress! And, we hope her high school at least gives her an answer as to why she was singled out and kicked out of prom like this.

While Mireya's experience rocking La Femme 21452 was unfortunate, this is definitely an abnormal experience. La Femme 21452 would be considered a very classy and appropriate dress by most people, and I'm sure Mireya's pictures speak for themselves. There's nothing wrong with showing a little skin in a totally classy way like this!

Sources: Yahoo Parenting, Erin Zaragoza Photography