The Way We Wore: Holiday Outfits

Earlier this holiday season, we showed you some of our favorite outfits for any occasion.  We thought it would be fun to share the actual outfits we wore and how we styled them for some of our holiday events.

• Ugly Christmas Sweater Party:

As we mentioned back in a Friday Pick-Six, our cousin and his girlfriend, Kayleigh, hosted an awesome Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.  Here's what we wore:

Jess: sweater, faux leather leggings, tassel earrings, Missoni for Target heels (old!  similar)

Ry: Home Alone theme sweatshirt

• Annual Girls Christmas Dinner:

Every year, we go out to a special dinner with just the ladies in our family.  We enjoy food and drinks, and great conversation.  It's always a great way to kick off the holiday season and spend a little girl time!

For a girls night, what's better than Lilly Pulitzer?  I'll admit due to some last minute snow, I swapped out these shoes for some boots before heading out.--J

Jess: Lilly Pulitzer Elsa top, leggings, flats

I went with a black lace top from JCrew which is sadly sold out (similar) and completed the look with one of my favorite Baublebar earrings.--R

• Cookie Baking Party:

This year, we started a new tradition of having a little cookie baking party on Christmas Eve morning.  We thought it would be fun to bake and relax before the kick off of the big holiday celebrations.  We wanted something cozy and casual.

I wanted something cozy but not actual PJs.  I went with my favorite cardigan and comfy leggings.--J

Jess: Cardigan, graphic t-shirt, leggings and cozy socks (old, similar)

• Christmas Eve with the Fam:

We had a great Christmas Eve party and dinner with our family.  We ate, drank and exchanged presents.  We wanted outfits that were festive but comfortable enough to chill in all night.  Here's what we wore!  

I wanted to wear something festive and comfortable, so I decided on one of my favorite sweaters with velvet leggings.  These plaid shoes are so great, too, right? --J

Jess: Boatneck tunic sweater, velvet skinny pants, plaid heels (sold out! similar), earrings (old, similar)

For Christmas Eve with the fam, I wore this festive plaid top from JCrew.  Bonus--it's flannel!  With dark jeans and my favorite tall boots, I was comfy and stylish.

• Christmas Morning:

For opening presents and enjoying brunch, we wanted to be as comfy as possible with a holiday twist!

Who doesn't love plaid, right?  Also, these socks are sold out, but so warm!  I also laughed when I opened them because online, one sock says "naughty" and one says "nice."  I got two "naughty" socks in my order.  I guess they know me...--J

Jess: PJ Set and socks (sold out!  similar)

I went with my favorite Old Navy leggings, which I have in just about every color (this time I wore charcoal).  I added this GAP FIT tee and a slouchy cardigan that even Olivia Pope would approve.  What winter outfit is complete without a scarf?  I love the one Jess featured, but my other recent favorite is this one (and it's on sale, too!)

What was your favorite outfit from the holiday season?  Let us know in the comments below!

Friday Pick-Six: 12/22/17

You guys, this is our 151st post!  More than 150 posts in the last 9 months is pretty awesome.  Thanks to you all for reading and commenting and following us!!  Here's to more awesome content coming at ya this holiday season and beyond!

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

1.  We definitely want to make this bourbon-cranberry shrub cocktail this weekend!   Perfect for the holidays!

2.  When picking a pedicure recently, I went with Essie's Dressed to the Nineties.  It's a dark, almost black purple with a greenish shimmer.  It gave me the dark wintery vibe I wanted and my kiddo thought it was "still Christmasey" thanks to the shimmer. --J

3.  How delicious does this white hot chocolate look?  We might have to try this out on Christmas Eve!!

4.  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released their engagement photos!  Despite what our Mom and Grandma say, we love them together!  Check out our fave gals on Go Fug Yourself for photos and commentary.

5.  We have talked before about our love for Three Sisters Jewelry and how pretty is this new initial necklace featured on their Instagram this week?  We know Christmas shopping is probably done around TTO Headquarters, but maybe for our birthday?

6.  One of my favorite coworkers made candy cane vodka as one of her homemade Christmas presents this year!  I cannot wait to use it to make some cocktails with it!  If we mix up something we like, we'll be sure to add it to the blog soon! --J

What are you loving and living for this week?  Hope you have a great weekend.  We'll take a break from blog content for the holiday weekend, but will be back with new posts by Wednesday!

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!

TTO's Best Holiday Hairstyles

If you've got some holiday parties on your calendar this month, then you definitely want to look your best.  A cute (and easy) hairstyle can help you achieve that!  Here are a few favorite holiday hair tutorials from Pinterest and some of our favorite bloggers!

• An easy-messy bun
• Twisted braid
• Curly half-up-do (the half-up-do is a favorite of our style icon, The Duchess of Cambridge!)
• Beachy waves
• More curls
• Curly ponytail

What is your favorite way to style your hair for the holidays?  Let us know in the comments below and hope you're looking great!

Friday Pick-Six: 12/15/17

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

1.  Since it's release last week, we've been watching season two of The Crown on Netflix.  We're only about half way through (NO SPOILERS!) but so far, Prince Philip is NOT our favorite.  Hoping to finish up the season this weekend.

2.  Our cousin's adorable girlfriend and faithful blog reader (Hi, Kayleigh!) is having an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party this weekend!  We don't want to give our looks away just yet, but if you're looking for an ugly Christmas sweater, try Target!  They just have everything, right?

3.  We're big fans of stashing cookie dough in the freezer, but we never thought of this brilliant suggestion on Cup of Jo this week.  Bring frozen cookie dough as a hostess gift!  Your hostess can store it to enjoy later, or bake it off as an impromptu dessert!  What a great tip!  Plus that Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe looks like a winner!

4.  We've talked about our love for Mrs. Meyer's Cleaning supplies before, but how about this Peppermint scented holiday hand soap?  Love it!

5.  I was looking to do a little holiday baking with the kiddo on our Snow Day this week, but I didn't want to get into mixing ingredients.  Luckily, I grabbed a package of Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie Mix at Target last week.  You just add egg and butter and you're good to go!

6.  One of Ry's favorite things is the annual Haters Guide to the Williams-Sonoma catalog.  We always crack up reading this!

What are you up to this weekend?  Hope you have a great one!

Holiday Nail Polish Picks

If you're like us, you start planning your manicure colors months before the holiday season arrives!  Here are few of our favorites that will have your nails looking amazing this holiday!

1.  Essie Gel Couture in Jade to Measure
2.  Essie Gel Couture in Flashed
3.  CND Shellac/Weekly Polish in Cream Puff
4.  Julep Diamond Theory
5.  CND Shellac/Weekly Polish in Crimson Sash
6.  Essie No Place Like Chrome

What's your favorite holiday nail color?  Give us some ideas in the comments and Happy Holidays!

TTO the Holiday: Christmas Cookies and Sweets

The holiday season is the perfect time to indulge in some sweets.  Cookies are a staple around the TTO holiday headquarters!  Here are a few of our favorite holiday cookies!

• Easy Sugar Cookies
• Aunt Maggie's No-Bakes
• Bakery-Style Shortbread Cookies with Sprinkles
• Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies
• Peppermint Meringue Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms

Don't forget that cookies aren't the only way to cater to your sweet tooth this holiday.  If you're looking for a different spin, try making our Chocolate Bark!  It's easy and doesn't require any cooking!

Twins Take On Holiday Chocolate Bark

• 2 12-ounce bags of chocolate chips (We used 1 milk chocolate and 1 semi-sweet)
• Bark Toppings (almonds, peanuts, peanut butter chips, dried cherries, pretzels, ANYTHING ELSE YOU LIKE WITH CHOCOLATE)

First, pour the chocolate chips (except for a large handful of chips) into a glass microwave-safe bowl.  You could melt over a double-boiler, but we think the microwave is so much faster and easier.

Just microwave at 20-30 second intervals and stop to stir in between.  The chips will melt more as you stir.  You don't want to scorch your chocolate, so don't just set the microwave for 2 minutes and walk away.  You want to do short bursts of heat, stir and only reheat if necessary.

Now, here a trick we've discovered.   Tempering chocolate is a little time-consuming and requires a thermometer.  We want things to be as easy as possible at the holidays, so here's our cheat.  Once the chips are melted all the way, add the reserved handful of chocolate chips and stir them in.  The heat from the melted chocolate should melt them in and will give you a very similar sheen and texture to actually tempered chocolate.

Now, pour your chocolate out on a cookie sheet lined with Silpat or wax paper.  Use an offset spatula to spread it out to your desired thickness.

Time to get creative!  Sprinkle on your desired toppings, pressing gently to make sure they stick down onto the chocolate.  We tried a few different combinations in this batch.  The consensus favorite was the peanut butter chip-pretzel combination!

Let the chocolate cool and set up for a couple of hours.  Then you can break the bark into pieces with your hands (or try a pizza cutter) and there you go!  Chocolate bark makes an easy dessert or a great hostess gift!  Just package it up in a pretty container or cellophane bag with a festive ribbon.  How easy was that?

What's your favorite cookie or sweet treat at the holidays?  Let us know in the comments below!

TTO Holidays: Gift Guide--Stocking Stuffers

We've already given you our Gift Guides for everyone on your list, but thought we'd share a few of our favorite stocking stuffers in case you're still out shopping!

• These cozy chenille socks will keep your feet warm and show your holiday spirit!
• We love Julep nail polish and this set has some classic shades.
• These Kate Spade glitter earrings are festive and fun.
• Even the guys on your list might like these Burt's Bees Lip Balms. (Our brother is a fan!)
• We love the Starbucks Holiday Blend and always stock up on it this time of year.
• This S'ip by S'Well water bottle is a great way to encourage your loved one to stay hydrated.
• As someone who drops her phone (often), Jess recommends this case that looks cute and keeps your phone safe!
• This passport cover is stylish and inexpensive.  Perfect for the traveler on your list!
• This milk foamer turns any ordinary morning coffee into a fancy latte.

What are your favorite stocking stuffers?  Let us know in the comments and hope your shopping is going well!

TTO's Best Holiday Cocktails

We've got the holidays on our minds these days!  What holiday party would be complete without a great cocktail.  We love the idea of a signature cocktail for your party.  It's easier and less time consuming than mixing drinks on the fly, so that you can spend more time with your guests.

Here are a few of our favorite festive cocktails for your next get-together!

• Cranberry-Rosemary Holiday Punch
• Campfire Cocktail
• Holiday Mule
• Cranberry Cosmo Punch
• White Russians

We've also developed a few of our own signature cocktails (along with our Mom, who is the resident Mixologist at our family functions).  Here is a recipe we have served at our own parties!

Jess's Holiday Spritzer

• White Wine
• La Croix (I used Cran-Raspberry but any flavor would work)
• Cranberry Juice
• Splash of Grenadine
• Pomegranate seeds

Mix all ingredients in a festive glass and serve over ice!

What is your favorite cocktail to enjoy at the holidays?  Let us know below and cheers!

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

Happy Holidays, pals!  Jess here, with another holiday recipe!  Every Christmas morning, I make cinnamon rolls which we enjoy while opening presents and watching Christmas movies.  My usual recipe involves prep on Christmas Eve and then proofing and baking off on Christmas morning.  This is great for the morning, but since our family often gets together on Christmas Eve, I find myself running around that day trying to get everything together.

This year, I decided to try out a new recipe that purported to be ready in only an hour from start to finish.  To get things moving, gather all ingredients.

First, mix together the dry ingredients (including yeast) in the mixer bowl.  If you do a fair amount of baking, it's definitely worth buying your yeast in the jar instead of those packets.  It stays good in your fridge for a while and 2 1/4 teaspoons is the equivalent of a packet.

Then I mixed the butter, sugar, milk and water in a microwave-safe measuring cup.  I microwaved in 30-second intervals until the butter was melted.  Make sure you cool this off enough before mixing it into the flour-yeast mixture.  If it's too hot, it will kill the yeast.  You want it warm to the touch but not hot.

Once it's cooled enough, drizzle it into the flour with the mixer running, then add the egg.  The dough will be super sticky.

Switch to your dough hook, and knead it for four minutes!

Once it's been kneaded, roll it into a ball and drop it onto a floured surface.  Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes.  While you're doing this, preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  The warm oven is the key to getting this dough to proof quickly.  Also, you should butter your 9x13 pan.

Next, roll out the dough to about 16x9 and spread on the softened butter. Then sprinkle on the filling mixture.  I added a touch of Pumpkin Pie spice which is my holiday secret ingredient.

Carefully, roll the dough up from one end.  I do one roll at a time and push the ends in a little so it stays together.  Then you'll have a nice little log.

To cut 12 pieces, start by cutting down the middle and then cut each half in sixths.  If you're not perfect like me, you might end up with 11 instead of 12, which is totally okay.

Place the rolls into the pan.  TURN THE OVEN OFF and cover your pan with foil.  Place the pan in the oven to rise for 25 minutes.

The rolls with grow a little bit in size as they proof.  Take them out, turn your oven back on to 375 degrees and once it's heated bake them off!  The recipe suggested 15-18 minutes, but mine took about 25 minutes until they were golden brown and cooked through in center.

While they cool, make the glaze.  I halved the glaze recipe (due to a powdered sugar shortage) and I still had plenty.

Glaze your cinnamon rolls (I used a palette knife) and you're good to go!

Will I make this recipe on Christmas morning?  I am still debating.

Pros--I liked that I didn't have to do any advance prep and was able to pull this recipe out in the morning.  Also, all ingredients were things we regularly have on hand, so you could make this at the spur of the moment.

Cons--This recipe definitely took longer than the hour it suggested.  I'd say start to finish, this was about two hours of time.  Granted, I had a preschooler "helping me" (i.e. eating brown sugar by the handful, dumping flour on the floor, demanding that Alexa play "Charlie Brown Christmas" at increasingly loud volumes).  Also, we liked the vanilla glaze because the traditional cream cheese icing can get a little heavy, but the other recipe gives you a more traditional "Cinnabon-style" frosting.

Either way, this definitely passed the taste test, so I'll definitely be making it again, Christmas or not!

If you give these cinnamon rolls a try, let us know in the comments below and happy baking!

TTO's Best Holiday Snacks

As far as we're concerned, it's always a great time to have a snack.  However, at the holidays, having some snacks on hand can be essential.  You never know when you might have some friends or family pop over for a quick visit.  You might also need to set out some munchies while your guests wait for a big holiday meal or even package up some treat bags as easy presents.  Here are a few of our favorite fast and easy snack recipes to make, share and snack on!

• Ryan's Chex Mix:  You've already heard how much we love this stuff!  It's a little time consuming, but totally worth it!  It's also a hit with guests of all ages!

• Jess's Mixed Nuts: This recipe was adapted many years ago from Emeril Lagasse's Mixed Nuts recipe.  Jess isn't a cumin fan, so she omitted that and added a little rosemary for a holiday touch.  To make her version, you'll need:
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (You can up this is 1/2 tsp, but I wanted to make them kid-friendly)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cups mixed nuts
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp water

Mix the spices in a small bowl.  Heat the nuts in a large flat pan over medium-low heat.  Stir occasionally and DO NOT leave this pan.  If you leave even for a minute or two (as Jess did once to call Mom to chat about "Will and Grace") you'll burn the nuts and have to start all over again.  When you start to smell the nuts toasting add the butter.  Once it's melted, stir in the water, spices and sugar.   Stir until the nuts are glazed with this spicy caramel mixture.  Pour the nuts onto a foil lined baking tray and spread them out flat.  This mixture is going to be crazy hot so be careful.  Let the mixture cool and serve.  You can also store these in an airtight container for a week or so, but they've never lasted that long around our house! 

• Ryan's Antipasti Platter:  This is a classic crowdpleaser!  Everyone can find something to snack on and it looks impressive on your holiday table!  

Here are a few more recipes we think would be perfect for holiday snacking:

• Spinach Artichoke Dip
• Ranch Oyster Crackers 
• Chicago-Style Popcorn (Just like our fave place, Garrett's)
• Sheet-Pan Beef Nachos

What are your favorite snacks to serve around the holidays?  Share them in the comments below!

TTO the Wardrobe: What to Wear for Christmas

This holiday season, we're offering you our guides to how to look amazing at any event!  We've already given you our Thanksgiving Guide and now here comes our Christmas one!  Here are our suggestions for dazzling and appropriate outfits for any holiday occasion!

The Work Holiday Party:

Dress, Earrings, Shoes, Tights, Nail Polish

For a work event, the key is keeping your look elegant and classic without showing a lot of skin.  You want to look polished and presentable, but add a little sparkle or holiday flare.  Here are a few other options that would be festive but totally work party ready!

Velvet jeggings

Love this jumpsuit

This color is so festive.

Family Christmas Get Together:

Sweater, faux leather leggings, earrings, shoes

At a family party, you want to be festive but not too fancy.  You want to incorporate holiday colors and special accessories but keep things simple enough that you can still enjoy holiday treats or sit on the floor and open presents.  Here are a few other ways to make this look your own!

Love this wrap top

Fair Isle is festive!

Sparkle Leggings

Cozy Christmas Morning:

Graphic T-shirt, Thermal Leggings, Cardigan, Slippers

This look is all about staying comfy and warm on Christmas morning.  Think regular PJs but with a holiday spin.  This loungy, festive look is just right for curling up with a mug of hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies all morning after opening presents!  This is our favorite of the looks because it reminds us of lazy Christmas Days spent with family.  Here are some other great ways to get this look.

We love this PJ brand at Target!

This turtleneck looks so warm!

What's more Christmasey than candy cane jammies?

Keep those feet warm!

What will you be wearing for this year's Christmas festivities?  Let us know your favorite holiday look in the comments below and Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!