Friday Pick-Six: 9/29/17

Here's what we're loving and living for this week!

1.  You guys, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are officially the cutest couple on the planet!  Look at these adorable photos from earlier this week!

2.  If you're looking to splurge a little on something special, check out the Shopbop sale that ends today!  You can get 20% off an order of less than $500 with the code EOTS17.  Speaking of Meghan Markle, you can get the adorable jeans she was wearing the other day on sale!

3.  One of our favorite bloggers, Eva Martino at Happily Eva After shared her powder room makeover, which is gorgeous and so glam!

4.  As with some of the recent severe storms, we're heartbroken over the terrible damage in Puerto Rico.  Here's an informative article with link with where you can donate to help out!

5. One of our favorite shows, This is Us, came back this week!  Without spoilers, there was a big reveal at the end of the episode!  Who's watching with us?

6.  You might say that Ry is obsessed with candles.  What kind of candles you ask?  Bath and Body Works Three Wicks!  They come in so many amazing scents, burn evenly for strong lasting power and are often on sale!  They're currently mix and match 2-for-$24.  If you order before Friday, there's an extra 20% off your order with the code FALL4FALL.  You know we are both going to take advantage of this!

What are you loving and living for this weekend?  Let us know in the comments below and have a great weekend!

Fall Beauty Faves

The change in seasons brings us to even more beauty picks!  Fall can be a tricky time for beauty routines.  The unpredictable weather can result in a hot and humid weather one day and dry and chilly weather the next.  We are trying to hang on to our summer glow while also dealing with drying skin and puffy eyes (thanks, ragweed!)  We have to have some beauty multi-taskers in our arsenal to survive the fall.  Here are some of our favorite products this fall!

1.  Julep Boost Your Radiance:  We have been learning more about face oils lately (upcoming post idea?) They can repair fine lines and discoloration without being oily.  This rosehip oil from Julep is moisturizing without leaving my face feeling greasy.  Jess's tip--add a couple of drops to my evening moisturizer.

2.  CND Shellac Polish in Oxblood: This dark red is perfect for fall!  We love the lasting-power of a shellac manicure and this shade will look amazing all season.

3.  OGX Coconut Miracle Oil Body Wash:  This stuff has a delicious coconut smell that will remind you of summer and provides serious moisture to keep your dry skin smooth.

4.  Smith's Minted Rose Lip Balm:  We love the original version of this, but this one has a minty twist.  Very moisturizing without being sticky like many other balms.

5.  Philosophy Pumpkin Icing Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath:  If you're so basic, you want to even Pumpkin Spice-up your shower (and we are!), this will be right up your alley.  We love this product and always try to stock up on seasonal scents.

6.  Sonia Kashuk Instant Smoke Stick: The busy girl's best friend!  This multi-tasker will help you create the perfect smoky eye with just one product.  Throw this in your purse to make your daytime look date ready!

What's in your fall beauty bag?  Let us know what products you have to have for fall in the comments below!

Color Crush: Spruce

Another color we are feeling from the Fall 2017 Pantone Color Picks is spruce.  We don't wear a lot of green, but when we do, this shade is especially flattering.  You can pair it with naturals of any shade (tan, brown, black, etc) for a distinctively fall/winter look.  Here are some great ways to incorporate spruce into your look.

Top Row (Left to Right):  OPI Amazon Amazoff, Hunter Tall Boots, Gibson Twist Pullover,  Old Navy Heavy-Knit Leggings

Bottom Row (Left to Right): GAP Softspun Dress, Julep Eyeshadow 101, Athleta Chi Tank Top, CND Shellac in Emerald Lights.

How will you rock spruce this fall?  Let us know in the comments below!

Friday Pick-Six: 9/22/17

Here's what we're loving and living for this week!

1.  One of our favorite TV shows, The Mindy Project, came back with a new season on Hulu last week.  We can't wait to see how things turn out for Mindy in the final season!

2.  How great does this 5 Ingredient Lemony Chicken look on Cup of Jo?  This would be perfect with a nice salad and some wine!

3.  After any award show, one of our first reads is Go Fug Yourself for the fashion recap.  This year is no different!  Our personal best dressed faves were Lea Michele and Alexis Bledel.  We did not love Reese Witherspoon (wrong for this event) and Tracy Ellis Reese (why wear the puffy thing if you have a rocking bod?)

4.  It looks like the Winter Essie color preview is out and Essie Envy has it on her blog!  Anything that you're interested in?

5.  You guys, Target has a new workout line coming up and it looks soooooo good!  JoyLab is launching October 1st and we can't wait!

6.  I finally hopped on the face oil trend and ordered Julep's Boost Your Radiance face oil.  I'm hoping it will help with my fine line and some discoloration.  I'm looking forward to reviewing it soon! --J

What are you loving and living for this week?  Let us know in the comments below and TGIF!

Twins Take on the Trend: Cozy Knits

Another trend we are excited about for fall is cozy knitwear!  We love a good comfy sweater and love to layer up when we can.  Here are some knits that we have in our carts right now for when the temperature cools off!!

1.  GAP Marled Stripe Boatneck Pullover
2.  JCrew 1988 Roll Neck Sweater
3.  Old Navy Open Long Line Sweater
4.  Gibson Bell Sleeve Cozy Pullover
5.  Calson Jacquard Cardigan
6.  Love Split Back Pullover

Later this month, we'll show you how we've been wearing all our featured trends, so watch out for that post!  Are you planning to wear plaid this fall?  Let us know how in the comments below!

Color Crush: Navy

How excited were we to see that one of our favorite colors, navy, was in the Fall 2017 Fashion week color palette.  We wear navy in all seasons, but it's a little unexpected in the fall.  Navy always looks classic and chic, especially when paired with other neutrals.  Here are some awesome ways to incorporate navy in your fall look this year!

(Top Row: Left to Right) Essie After Schoolboy Blazer, GAP ponte sculpt leggings, Sole Society booties, Julep When Pencil Met Gel

(Bottom Row: Left to Right) Banana Republic Navy Boucle Tie-Front Shell, Tieks Flats, Athleta Responsible Down Sweater Jacket, OPI Russian Navy

How are you planning to wear navy this fall?  Let us know in the comments below!

Friday Pick-Six: 9/15/17

Here's what we're loving and living for this week!

1.  Shout out to our friends Matt and Sarah for recommending Bota Box wines.  You can't beat the taste for the price and they have an amazing selection!  We are looking forward to trying the Nighthawk Blend this fall and winter!

2.  Our favorite new podcast is How Did This Get Made?  The hilarious June Diane Raphael, Paul Scheer and Jason Matzokas watch terrible movies and make fun of them.  We discovered this recently and have been going back to laugh our way through the archives.  Check it out!

3.  If you're looking for a great workout, check out this awesome 45-minute Pilates & Strength Training workout from Popsugar.  When Ry recommended it to me, I thought "Hey, pilates, how hard could that be?"  45 minutes later, I was dripping sweat and sore already.  Try it! --J

4.  I tried these Patchology Flashpatch Eye Gels the other day after work.  We have pretty dark circles already (thanks, genetics!) and my eyes were feeling particularly swollen yesterday (double thanks, seasonal allergies!) I immediately felt the cooling effect.  They definitely seemed to reduce the dryness and fine lines under my eyes! --R

5.  If you're looking for a tasty and easy weeknight dinner, try this Slow Cooker Beef Broccoli.  We had it last night and it had minimal prep and tasted great!

6.  How cute are these booties?  Perfect to transition to fall and what a great price!  Love ya, Target!

What are you loving and living for this week?  Let us know in the comments below and have a great weekend!

Twins Take on the Trend: Plaid

If you're familiar with our fall wardrobes, then you know that we already love plaid.  Luckily for us, it's on trend for the fall!  A girl can never have too much plaid, so here are a few new pieces we want to add to our wardrobes this season.

1.  GAP Cozy Buffalo Check Scarf
2.  Old Navy Plaid Shirt Dress
3.  JCrew Factory Plaid Midi Skirt
4.  JCrew Plaid Bow Flats
5.  Sperry Plaid Duck Boots
6.  Old Navy Classic Plaid Shirt

Later this month, we'll show you how we've been wearing all our featured trends, so watch out for that post!  Are you planning to wear plaid this fall?  Let us know how in the comments below!

Fall Nail Polish Picks

As the weather changes, our nail polish style changes, too.  As much as we were into lights and brights this summer, we love our dark fall/winter nails!  Here are a few of our favorite nail colors for fall!

1.  Essie As If: This fall's Essie collection takes its inspiration from the 90's and this polish gets its from one of the great 90's movies, Clueless!   This grey-blue is a perfect transitional color from summer to fall.

2.  CND Shellac/Weekly Polish in Field Fox:  This neutral goes with everything, but is a little darker than your typical nude color.

3.  OPI Less is Norse:  This grey-blue is on trend and gives you a small twist on the usual dark color choices.

4.  Chanel Vamp:  This is an all-time favorite color that we wear in the fall and winter.  This is the shade that made us fall in love with dark nail polish back in the day when everyone was rocking it in the 90's!

5.  CND Shellac/Weekly Polish in Rubble:  Ry found this color at the nail salon last week and we love it as a transitional shade.  It definitely screams fall, but isn't so dark that it will look out of place with any summer wardrobe items you might still be wearing.

6.  Essie Petal Pushers:  This grey with purple undertones is a great transition to the darker greys and blacks that we wear in the middle of the winter.

What colors are you wearing this fall?  Let us know in the comments below!

Friday Pick-Six: 9/8/17

Here's what we're loving and living for this week!

1.  College football is back and we are pretty excited!  Our team is starting out on the road this year, but if you're hosting a tailgate, How Sweet Eats has the best comprehensive list of football-ready foods!

2.  Maybe I'm late to the game, but I found out about blow-dry spray thanks to this blog post a couple of weeks back.  You spray it on just before drying your hair and it protects it from heat damage.  I grabbed this one from Target and am happy with the results!  --J

3.  Big shout out to Amazon customer service!  I ordered a bunch of classroom supplies that were delivered in the middle of a thunderstorm.  One of the boxes was filled with water when I arrived home which destroyed the poster board inside.  Amazon customer service was super helpful and sent a replacement immediately after I called.  --J

4.  How great does this blueberry yogurt cake from Real Simple look?  It tasted even better.  Pro tip, try sprinkling on vanilla sugar instead of plain sugar on top at the end. Simply take a vanilla bean, split it and store it in a small jar of sugar.  Easy and delicious.

5.  Project Runway is back on Lifetime with season 16 and we are as hooked as ever.  Make it work!

6.  Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back!  Yay Fall!

What are you loving and living for this week?  Have a great weekend!

Streamlining Your Morning Routine

Hi, all, it's Jess.  As you might have heard, I recently went back to work as a teacher after summer vacation.  One of the best parts of the summer for me is having lazy, laid-back mornings with my kiddo.  Now that we're back to work, we have significantly less time in the mornings and are working on keeping things organized and simplified, especially in the mornings!  Here are some of my tips for making your morning little easier.

• Use your weekend and evening time effectively: Much of the morning craziness can be avoided by planning ahead as much as possible.  We plan all of our meals for the week on Sundays and do grocery and Target shopping on the weekend.  This way, we have everything we need (baring emergencies) ahead of time and don't need to run out after work.  We also split up the weekly chores on certain days of the week (i.e. cat box cleaning or laundry), so that things don't pile up too much.  Each evening, I prepare meals for the next day (more later) and choose and lay out the clothes my daughter and I will wear.  Now that she's older, she chooses her own things as she's getting ready for her bath before bed.  This avoids any arguments over clothing ("No, you can't wear that Moana shirt AGAIN!") and all she has to do is grab the pile off her dresser in the morning.  Laying out my clothes in the morning also takes out the guess work for me.  My tip is just to make sure you check the weather and try anything you haven't worn recently on ahead of time.  

• Divide and conquer if you can: I'm lucky enough to have a husband who is a pretty great household teammate.  We try to divide up our workload in the mornings, so that we can each get ready and help our daughter.  He gets up and ready early and then gets the kiddo up and at 'em while I am getting ready.  Then we trade off while he makes our coffee and I get the kiddo finished up.  If you're a mom, try and give your kids as much to do as possible.  Our kiddo is little, but she can get dressed, make her bed and brush her teeth on her own.  The more you can delegate, the better off you'll be!

• Meal planning is key:  As I mentioned, we plan all of our meals during the weekend and get the groceries ahead of time.  We usually plan one open night, so that we can either order in or eat leftovers.  We also plan for a few easy and healthy breakfast items that we can grab and eat on the run that are also kid-friendly.  These egg muffins, zucchini bread and blueberry muffins are favorites!  I also prep all of our lunches the night before, so that we don't have to pack anything at the last minute in the morning.  For our lunches, I usually try to pack leftovers, a salad or grab a Lean Cuisine if I'm crunched for time.  Look for a post on healthy pre-planned lunches coming up soon!

• Prep for your workout, too: If you plan to work out in the morning, make sure you get everything in order first.  Lay out your workout clothes so that you aren't searching around in the morning for a pair of running shoes.  It's hard to have the energy to get a good workout in unless you're prepared and ready to go right away.

• Treat yourself:  It's not easy to get up every morning and out of bed!  Give yourself something to look forward to each week by treating yourself to a fancy cup of coffee out or some time to listen to your favorite podcast.  Build something into your morning that you will enjoy and you'll have an even better day!

Do you have any tips or tricks for making your morning manageable?  Let us know in the comments below!

Friday Pick-Six: 9/1/17

We have been thinking a lot about the folks in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.  Instead of a regular Pick-Six this week, we thought we would dedicate the post to Hurricane Harvey relief.

If you have the means and want to help out, here are six great places to donate

1. American Red Cross
2. The Texas Diaper Bank
3. The Humane Society of North Texas 
4. Houston SPCA
5. JJ Watt Houston Flood Relief Fund
6. Team Rubicon

Give what you can and we are thinking of any readers who have been impacted.  Take care, friends!  Have a good Labor Day weekend and we'll be back with content on Tuesday.