TTO the Wardrobe: What to Wear for Valentine's Day

We aren't huge Valentine's Day people, but we do like incorporating a little red and pink into our wardrobe this time of year.  If you're looking for something cute to wear for Valentine's Day, we put together a few outfits that will work for a variety of Valentine's Day outings.

Fancy Date Night: 

Dress, tights, earrings, nail polish, heels

If you're going out on a date, bring the drama!  We love using red as your main color, but you can always go classic with a little black dress and go for a daring red lipstick.    Here are a few other ideas!

Try this jumpsuit with a red heel!

Nothing says Valentine's like a red dress!

Love a little sparkle.

Girls Night Out:

Top, Velvet leggings, nail polish, earrings, lip crayon, over-the-knee boots

For a night on the town with your gals, you want to look cute but stylish.  We love adding an extra fashion-y touch that your friends will appreciate like this eyelet detail or an over-the-knee boot.  Here are a couple of other ways to rock this look.

This bodysuit plus jeans!  Yes!

This dress would be pretty with some booties.

Wear it to Work:

Dress, nail polish, earrings, shoes, lip stain

You can also incorporate some Valentine's Day flair into your outfit even if you're in a more conservative work environment.  Look for some neutral touches and different shades of red to mute this look a little at work.  Here's a few more ways you can incorporate this vibe into your work look!

Jess might be wearing this dress for her class Valentine's Party!

This sweater looks cozy and festive.

Red tweed?  Yes, please!

So, do you know what you'll be wearing this Valentine's Day?  Let us know in the comments below!

Twins Take on Hosting: Super Bowl Shindig

As you know, we're big football fans around these parts.  Granted, college football is our game and our Lions will pretty much never be in the Super Bowl, but we do always plan to watch The Big Game each year.  If you're planning a Super Bowl get-together for friends, here are some tips to keep in mind!

• The game is the game.

We know some people don't really care about sports, but there's nothing worse when you're trying to follow a game closely and someone else wants to talk.  If you don't care about the game itself, find a chatting partner who is the same boat.  If you're the host, make sure that there are plenty of seats where folks can see and hear the TV easily.

• Keep the food coming!

At a sports-watching party, we think it works best to have snack-style food, instead of a big sit-down meal.  People are going to be milling around, chatting and watching, so they might not want a heavy meal.  Think about a main dish that can sit for a little while and stay tasting great and lots of snacks to supplement it.  

Some of our best Super Bowl Parties have had chili as our main dish.  This Slow Cooker Chili is one of our favorites and it can just hang out in your crockpot and stay warm all evening!

Here are a few other recipes that are perfect for your party!

• Sheet-Pan Nachos
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
• Green Chile Enchiladas
• Taco Pizza Rolls

• Don't Forget Dessert

Make sure you remember to include something sweet for your guests.  We usually go with cookies, since you can make them ahead of time and they keep well.  We have a ton of favorite cookie recipes, which we'll link here!  If you want to get fancy, you can make our sugar cookies and cut them into football theme shapes and decorate in team colors.  Here are some other great desert ideas!

• No Bakes
• Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies
• Crazy Popcorn Mix
• Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Will you be hosting a Super Bowl Party this year?  Let us know what you'll be serving in the comments below!

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!

TTO the Year: The Best of 2017

As the year comes to a close, we have been thinking about some of our favorites in 2017.  We thought we'd share some of the things we've loved this year in a variety of categories.

Favorite New (to Us) Beauty Products:

• CND Shellac Nail Polish:  We know that folks have been getting shellac nails for a while now, but 2017 saw our first shellac manicures.  We're always super happy with the color and staying power of CND Shellac.  Plus, we love our manicurists!  (Hi, Angela and Anna!)

• Julep Boost Your Radiance:  We've reviewed this and put it into Friday Pick-Six.  This rosehip facial oil smoothes and soothes your skin with a glowy (not greasy) finish.

Favorite Trends:

• Plaid:  We have always loved plaid and it was so fun to see it out and around everywhere this fall!  

• Cozy Knits:  One of the main reasons we love winter fashion is wearing cozy knitwear!  

Favorites in TV and Movies:

• Insecure:  We loved how funny and smart Issa Rae's HBO show about love, friends, work and relationships is!  Can't wait for the next season!

• Master of None (Season 2):  We've loved Aziz Ansari way back in the Parks and Rec days!  We loved the first season of this show and the second one was just as great.  

• West World:  Admittedly, Ry was into this show for quite a while before Jess started watching it.  Eventually, we both loved the unpredictable twists and turns and stellar acting.

• Wonder Woman:  We loved the action in this fun summer action movie and it reminded us of playing Wonder Woman as kids!

What were your favorites from 2017?  Let us know in the comments below and hello 2018!

Friday Pick-Six: 12/29/17

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

1.  It's been pretty freezing around TTO Headquarters these days!  One of my favorite Christmas presents this year has been getting a lot of use!  I love these Sorel Joan of Arctic Boots.  They're high enough to keep your pants dry in the snow and are temperature rated to -25 below zero! --J

2.  If you're looking for a cocktail for New Year's, we plan to give these Holiday Moscow Mules a try!  They look festive and delicious and will give Ry an excuse to use her new Moscow Mule mugs. (A Christmas present from J!)

3.  Everyone starts thinking about getting into shape on January 1st, but we think about it year round. If you're looking forward to some serious workouts that don't require fighting for space at the gym, try these printable bodyweight workouts from Popsugar.

4.  This year in the family Christmas drawing, my brother and I each got each other.  We actually got one another same present if you can believe it!  We each got a pair of these Beats by Dre Ur Beats earbuds.  I got the rose gold and my brother got the red and black.  So far, we like them and they're an affordable upgrade from the typical iPhone earbuds. --J

5.  You know we love face masks and reship oil so we were obviously psyched when Ry found this SpaLife Hydrating Sugar and Rosehip Oil mask at Target.  Give it a try!

6.  If you're post-holiday shopping, don't forget there are lots of great sale codes out there.  GAP has 40% off with the code WISH and an extra 20% off sale with the code GIFTS.  Old Navy has 20% off your order no code necessary!

What are you loving and living for this week?  We hope you have a great New Year's Eve and we'll be back with more content next week!  Here's to 2018!

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!

TTO the Wardrobe: What to Wear for New Year's Eve

Choosing an outfit for New Year's Eve can be a challenge.  Here are a few outfit suggestions that will have you covered whether you're spending a cozy night in or headed to a big night out!

The Fancy Party:

Dress, Shoes, Earrings, Nail Polish, Lip Crayon

If there's ever a time for sequins, New Year's Eve is it!  Tonight, more is more!  Get as festive as you can and make sure to add some dramatic makeup.  We love a bold lip, but you can also go for a smokey eye!  Here are a couple more ways to get this look:

Jumpsuits always bring the drama!

We love a statement earring.

Sequins!

The Casual Get-Together:

Sweater, Leggings, Necklace, Nail Polish, Booties

One of our favorite ways to spend New Year's Eve is at home with friends.  We've hosted game nights and fondue parties as fun ways to hang with friends without the drama and expense of a fancy night on the town.  For this style of party, keep it casual with special accents, like the faux leather on these leggings or pretty jewelry.  This will keep you looking put-together but appropriately comfortable.  Here are some other ways to recreate this look.

These joggers are cozy and have sequins.

Plaid shirtdress?  Yes!

This sweater is so cute.

What do you have planned for New Year's Eve?  More importantly, what are you wearing?  Let us know in the comments below!

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!

Friday Pick-Six: 12/8/17

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

1.  This week, our family was in the mood for breakfast for dinner.  We decided to try out this amazing Potato Tot Breakfast Casserole from Real Simple.  It was easy, hearty and the leftovers held up great!  I think this would be perfect for a holiday brunch, too. --J

2.  We both love the look of shellac nails, but we hate trying to remove them ourselves.  What a mess!  Ry discovered these gel nail remover packets at (where else?) Target.  You simply rip open the packet, stick in your finger and let it sit for 15 minutes.  Much less mess than foils and cotton balls all over your bathroom!

3.  If you're Christmas shopping for a kid, I found a great book this week.  Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison was a student-requested book I purchased for our class.  It features 40 important Black women in American History (and adorable illustrations).  It would be great for a little gal in your life who was in the 6-10 age range. --J

4.  We've mentioned how much we love Julep before, but one of our current faves is the Eyeshadow 101.  It's a crayon style eyeshadow with a smudge stick built in!  Such a great add to your fast makeup routine!

5.  Starbucks has their seasonal drinks out in full force these days, so we've tried a few new options.  Just to change it up a little, we tried the Snickerdoodle Hot Chocolate this week.  It was a little chocolatey, a little cinnamony and totally Christmasey.

6.  At Target's Black Friday sale, I stocked up on pajamas for the whole family.  I am in love with the plaid PJ set from Gilligan O'Malley I got for myself.  It's so cozy and warm! --J

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

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!