Friday Pick-Six: 3/16/18

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

1.  Last week, I saw Black Panther and it was awesome!  The effects and stunts were amazing.  I sure spent time this week looking up what workouts Lupita and the other stars used to get in insane shape! --J

2.  Have you guys watched the new season of Queer Eye on Netflix?  We were fans of the original makeover show and the new one is just as great.  We love the new Fab Five and the transformations are so great!

3.  I recently bought these exercise sliders after doing a Popsugar workout from David Kirsch (J-Lo's trainer).  Hoping they'll make me look like JLO! --R

4.  How cute are these pink Keds?  Do you think I can pull them off for spring? --J

5. I used these tips for early morning travel survival on a recent trip to Las Vegas.  Give them a try if you have an early morning flight coming up! --R

6.  Since this weekend is March Madness, it's as good a time as any to remind you of Ry's Chex Mix recipe.  We will be making it this weekend, no doubt about it!

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

Friday Pick-Six: 3/2/18

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

1.  Last week, we featured a post about our favorite bright lip colors as one of the latest beauty trends.  Check out this video tutorial on Popsugar featuring another adorable set of twins, Shanae and Shaniece Cole on how they rock this trend.

2.  Her recipes are always amazing, but how good does Smitten Kitchen's take on the classic boxed macaroni and cheese look?  We may need to give this a try soon!

3.  After seeing this Lavender Salve on one of our favorite blogs, Sweet Southern Prep, this week, I knew I had to order it.  I'm looking forward to comparing it to my old favorite, Smith's Rosebud salve.

4.  We upped our Taco Tuesday game with these fridge pickled veggies this week and they were awesome.  Next time, I think we'll add a jalapeno or two! I think they'd be great not just on tacos, but on a sandwich (pulled pork?), burger or whatever!

5.  The Oscars are Sunday!  Will you be watching?  Ry hosts an annual party (complete with swag bags), so we'll be watching together.

6.  If you love Meghan Markle (the Duchess to be)'s dress at her speaking engagement earlier this week, but the Jason Wu dress is too pricey, check out this article with some similar looks!  We knew we loved her--she also rocks navy and black together, which is one of our favorite looks!

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

Friday Pick-Six: 1/19/18

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

1.  Last week, we saw I, Tonya and we can't stop talking about it.  We've been huge figure skating fans since we were kids, so we totally remember the whole incident very clearly.  In fact, we were volunteers at the 1994 National Figure Skating Championships in Detroit and we were at the venue just the day before Nancy was attacked.  Anyway, we thought this was an interesting and sometimes funny take on all of the drama.  Plus, Allison Janney is amazing!

2.  This is an awesome hair tutorial which highlights common mistakes we make when drying our hair.  We've all been guilty of some of these from time to time.

3.  We love listening to podcasts and our recent fave is called Keep It.  Host Ira Madison III takes on pop culture and politics in one podcast that is pretty darn funny.  We are constantly saying his catchphrase "keep it" about everything we are just done with!  Winter weather--keep it!  Check it out!

4.  I have never been a breakfast eater, so it's always a struggle to find something I want to eat in the morning.  Ry introduced me to this Kind Breakfast Bars which have 8 grams of protein!--J

5.  If you love The Crown like we do, you should try watching Victoria on Masterpiece on PBS.  Season 1 is streaming on Amazon Prime if you need to catch up!  Regular episodes air on PBS on Sunday nights.

6.  Speaking of royals, no matter what our mom says, we still love Meghan Markle and her fashion sense.  How about this bag she carried earlier this week?

What are you loving and living for this week?  Let us know in the comments below and have an awesome weekend, friends!

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: 7/21/17

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

1.  As you know, we love podcasts with a little suspense and intrigue.  Our latest favorite is the Up and Vanished podcast.  Filmmaker Payne Lindsey investigated the disappearance of a Georgia teacher and former beauty queen.  We aren't caught up yet, but we are totally hooked at the mystery and investigation.  If you're caught up--no spoilers yet!

2.  If you're a regular reader, you know we love pretty much everything Deb from Smitten Kitchen does.  Recently, Jess's husband made Deb's Easiest Fridge Dill Pickles and they're amazing!  These pickles are crispy and delicious and avoid the headache of canning from traditional pickle recipes.  For a great twist, add a few cloves of garlic or a sliced spicy pepper!

Love these pickles (but hate that chipped manicure!)

3.  One of the best nail polish bloggers out there, Kindra at Essie Envy had a great round-up of the best blue polishes for summer.  Her swatches are always super accurate, so check her out if you're looking for a great blue for your manicure or pedicure this week!

How great is this Essie color, Perfect Posture!

4.  Folks are talking about the movie we're heading to this weekend, The Big Sick.  It's based on the real-life relationship between the movie's star (and one of our faves from the HBO show Silicon Valley) Kumail Nanjani and his wife.  We've heard that it's moving and funny, so we'll be checking it out this weekend!

5.  We all get busy and fitting in workouts can be a challenge when you're busy with work, family or whatever.  This article from The Everygirl this week had some great tips on how to make sure you make it work!

6.  Earlier this week, I noticed that my boss was wearing a great scent.  She told me it was this Almond Oil from L'Occitan.  It's a little pricey, but I'm considering splurging on it because it smelled so amazing! --R

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

Friday Pick-Six: 6/23/17

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

1.  For Father's Day, I decided to take on the task of cooking dinner (which I almost never do).  I wanted something BBQ like but since I'm a grill novice, I was a little intimidated to actually BBQ.  I found this awesome crockpot pulled pork recipe on Pinterest and paired it with this coleslaw that is a copycat version from one of our favorite restaurants!  The end result was easy and a hit with the whole fam!  Mom for the win!--J

2.  You might have seen this great new Essie color, Blue La La, on our Instagram story earlier this week.  This robin's egg blue is perfect for a summer pedicure!  This color, which is part of Essie's Paris inspired summer collection was sold out on Amazon, so pick it up if you find it!

3. If you're looking for a great workout, check out this Popsugar video featuring celebrity trainer Jeanette Jenkins.  She trains Serena Williams, friends!  This workout is no joke!

4.  Guys, starting on June 26th, one of our favorite stores (Nordstrom) will be carrying one of our favorite brands (Benefit)!  Now you can grab our favorite highlighter, High Beam or That Gal Brightening Face Primer at Nordstrom!

5.  Target is having a Buy One, Get One 50% off sale on all swimsuits!  Women, men, kids!  Everybody gets a swimsuit!  (Did you read that in your best Oprah Winfrey voice?  Because we did!) This is not a drill!  It ends tomorrow, so stock up now!

6.  Did you hear that they're going to make a Downton Abbey movie?  Let's hope it happens (some of the actors in the story didn't seem to know about it yet!) and that it's amazing!

What are you loving and living for this week?  Let us know and have a great weekend!  See you Monday!

Friday Pick-Six: 6/9/17

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

1.  As we've mentioned already, we love all the feminine details we've been spotting in clothes this season.  I bought this top recently and am in love.  It's very flattering and comes in a few colors (although is sold out in a few!) Grab it now while you can!--J

2.  In celebrity news, hopefully you heard that George and Amal Clooney's twins were born this week!  We can't wait to see pics of these (presumed) cuties!

3.  We love a big summer action movie.  People seem to be talking about Wonder Woman everywhere these days.  We're looking forward to finally seeing it this weekend.  Hopefully it will be as great as people are saying.  Either way, it will definitely give us flashbacks to when we used to play Wonder Woman as kids! (#thattimewhenRythrewherBigWheelofftheporch).

4.  Last weekend at Target, I was in need of a new razor.  The one I usually purchase was out of stock, so I grabbed this Gillette Venus Embrace instead.  At first, I thought it was going to be a swing and a miss.  I was put off by the larger head of the razor and was afraid it wouldn't give me a smooth enough shave.  However, I couldn't have been more wrong!  The 5-blade razor head with a ribbon of moisturizing lotion left me with silky smooth legs.  Get one and try it out, gals!--J

5.  Three words: Birthday Cake Bread!  Saw this one on Pinterest and knew we had to try it this weekend!

6.  One of our favorite products lately is Essie's Treat Love Color.  Jess has been working on a review with pics of this gem that you'll see soon.  We couldn't be happier that according to the amazing Kindra at Essie Envy, they'll be coming out with new shades soon!  Can't wait to check them out!

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

Friday Pick-Six: 4/14/17

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

1.  You guys, Veep is coming back for Season 6 on Sunday and we couldn't be more excited!  We've been Julia Louis-Dreyfuss fans since Seinfeld and she's so funny as Selina Meyer, a clueless politician.  Check out the trailer here and tune in on Sunday, April 16th at 10:30 on HBO.

2.  We've loved John and Sherry at Young House Love forever and how adorable (and easy) is their DIY Easter Egg Tree!  If Ryan's cats and Jess's kid wouldn't knock this baby over, we'd be making this in a heartbeat!

3.  Recently, we were lucky enough to attend a book talk/signing with Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of the wildly popular The Nest.  Cynthia was funny and engaging in person and our evening reminded us of how much we loved this book!  If you haven't read it yet, it's a story about the complicated, dysfunctional relationships between the adult children of the Plumb family.  We also heard that it's been optioned for a movie, which we wholeheartedly support (We even have our own casting ideas!) It's out on paperback now, so check it out!

4.  We might be late to the party, but we finally saw Beauty and the Beast last week!  We especially enjoyed the costumes and sets, which stayed really true to the original cartoon.  The movie was at its best in the musical numbers and we enjoyed old favorite songs.  Also, how handsome is Gaston?  

5.  We have been fans of Bolthouse Farms Juices for quite a while, but recently our mom recommended their yogurt based creamy salad dressings.  They're surprisingly low in calories and don't use high fructose corn syrup.  I just got the Creamy Caesar today and can't wait to try it out for dinner.  

6.  Much like one of our favorite tv characters, Olivia Pope, we LOVE popcorn.  However, until recently, we have found making stove top popcorn kind of a pain.  That is, until we found the Great Northern Popcorn Popper.  All you do is dump the popcorn in, add a little bit of oil, turn the knob for about 5 minutes and you have delicious freshly popped popcorn!  We are pretty sure even Liv would approve!