Twin Tested

We test the latest beauty, fashion & lifestyle trends so you don't have to!

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Twin Tested
    • Do’s and Don’ts for Family Photos
  • Food
    • Recipe for the BEST Banana Pudding of all time!
  • Beauty
    • Makeup must-haves from our group course
  • Life
    • Hazel & Lila are ONE!
  • Privacy Policy

Archives for October 2019

Trying out Hygge for the October challenge

*There are affiliate links in this blog post. They do not affect the price that you pay for anything we have linked to. We work hard to find you the best deals.

cozy by the fireplace

Why Hygge?

Hygge has become somewhat of a buzzword this year. Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment. If the winter months are hard for you – try Hygge. Or if you want to make your house more of a home – try Hygge.

Our favorite ways to Hygge

  • Getting cozy with a big, fluffy Minky Couture blanket, a good book, and a warm drink. Just read this book and it was eye-opening.
  • Decorating your home with foraged finds from the outdoors, pinecone garland anyone? Martha Stewart always knows the way to our hearts.
  • Lighting a candle or two at night to set a peaceful, and delicious smelling ambiance. This will forever be my favorite.
  • Buy yourself a brand-new warm, sherpa jacket that you can wrap yourself up in on snow days. We LOVE this one – it is a steal at $17!
  • The warmth and happiness that wool socks bring to cold toes cannot be overstated. They are VITAL to surviving the colder seasons. I have found that this pair from JCREW has lasted me more than 3 years and hundreds of washes.
pretty sunset

The options are endless when it comes to Hygge

If I am being honest, the winter months are hard for me. I feel trapped inside and miss the carefree days of summer. I have really tried to embrace the idea of Hygge and see what it can do to transform my anti-cold weather attitude.

Supplies for your own Hygge challenge

I started my journey into Hygge with the book, “The Art of Hygge”. My sister-in-law told me about it last year and ever since then, I have wanted to read it. The book offers ideas for recipes, activities, and crafts that will help to develop Hygge in your home. It is hands-down the most charming book I have ever read.

hot chocolate with whipped cream in a white mug

A few ideas from the book:

  • Fairy lights in lanterns
  • Homemade cinnamon hot chocolate
  • Fresh flowers
  • Cut out your own paper snowflakes and hang them over the fireplace
  • Chocolate fondue get together
britt reading to hazel

All fabulous ideas in my book! If you are looking for a fun winter to-do list they have created the perfect one for you!

As you attempt to bring Danish coziness into your life let us know what is working for you. We are excited to share the November challenge later this week. In the meantime, if you are out of the loop on our challenges, here is a recap so far of each month.

October 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

How to get your toddler to smile in family photos

We thought family photos were simple until we added a wild toddler and tried to get her to smile! It seems like toddlers have a sixth sense about family photos. Like they know they are coming and they are going to do everything possible to make it a miserable experience. If this is not the case for you, lucky you!

For me, on the day of our family pictures, my 2-year-old refused to nap and then fell asleep on the drive to family pictures, which meant I had to wake her up and try and get her to smile. I pulled out a few tricks I learned from photographer friends and THEY ACTUALLY WORKED! So, here are four tricks for getting your toddler to smile.

#1 Bring a family member or friend your toddler loves

This was absolutely key! If you don’t bring someone else to family photos, chances are you will be looking at your child in every photo either trying to get them to look happy or making sure they are happy. It is stressful. We invited my toddler’s grandpa to come and he had a great time! She loves him, so he was able to make funny faces and sing her favorite songs and get her to smile for us.

This is also super helpful for photographers so the pressure to get your child to smile is not on them. Instead, they get to focus on capturing the whole family. I also felt like it gave the photographer more of an opportunity to set up the shot and make sure everyone in the photo looked great.

#2 Bring bribes

Yep, I said it. Bring ALL the bribes! We brought favorite toys, favorite snacks and special treats she rarely gets to have. As you can see in some of the photos, we had to pull out fruit snacks very early on to even get her to hold still for 5 seconds. After that, we moved onto a green sucker that completely dyed her mouth and tongue green. ha.

I say the more things you can bring the better. We just gave the bag of bribes to Grandpa and let him go through it. He used every single thing in there by the end of our session, so I really don’t think you can overprepare.

#3 Tell your toddler not to smile

Isn’t this the oldest trick in the book? We thought there was no way it was going to work but guess what? It worked every single time! There is just something they love about not doing what they are told πŸ™‚

#4 Don’t take it too seriously

Have fun with your child! Play with them! These photos will end up looking natural because they are natural. Kids love to play and when you give them the opportunity to have fun, most of the time they don’t mind being photographed. We also went into family photos knowing that we may only get a handful of good photos. That’s all you really need anyway! We want to remember this time in our life as it actually is, not how a perfectly stylized photograph of our family is.

One other note because I’ve been getting questions about the weather. If you can try to pick a day with nice weather, that is, of course, ideal, but if not, come prepared for the conditions. It was about 95 degrees while we were getting our photos taken, so we made sure to dress our toddler appropriately and have plenty of water and drinks on hand.

I hope these tips helped you and would love to hear any others you have. Good luck with getting your toddler to smile for family photos! Let me know if these four tips helped. Our photos were taken by Tori Hillyard Photography, she is located in Salt Lake City. You can find her website here.

Don’t forget to take a look at our other photography posts:

tips for couple photos

Couple Photo Do’s & Don’ts

outdoor family photos

Family Photo Do’s & Don’ts

walking family photos

Family Photo Outfit Ideas

October 12, 2019 Leave a Comment

The easiest DIY Halloween Costume for In-N-Out employee

*There are affiliate links in this blog post. They do not affect the price that you pay for anything we have linked to. We work hard to find you the best deals.

In-N-Out worker costume for toddlers

A step-by-step guide to creating the perfect In-N-Out costume

We knew it would be fun to create In-N-Out costumes for the girls this Halloween! For reference, they are two-years-old and at their peak chubby/adorable stage so we just about died of cuteness!

Toddler workers with real In-N-Out employee

The list of supplies you will need for the In-N-Out costume

  • White shirt
  • Black pants
  • Red Apron
  • Nametag
  • FREE hat
  • Food props
Toddlers dressed as In-N-Out workers at the drive-thru

Keep it simple

Lucky for all of us this is a super simple last-minute costume. Most of us have a white shirt and black pants in our closet. That leaves the red apron. We found these $7 options on Amazon and they worked perfectly! We folded them twice and then the nice In-N-Out employees gave us their signature oversized safety pins to use in the back!

Toddler dressed up as In-N-Out worker

Nametag options

Make your own in-n-out nametag

As for a nametag, you can get one made professionally or just use your graphic design skills and whip one up on your own!

Taking orders at the in-n-out counter

The hats are always free!

Obviously, the restaurant supplies the hats for free and they are the perfect finishing touch! At our particular location, the employees could not have been sweeter and had so much fun taking photos with the girls.

Eating the props (french fries) at in-n-out

Order some food for photo props and just because…

Don’t forget to order some food for props for the photos and bribing to get some smiles πŸ™‚ We had such a fun afternoon taking pictures and sharing chocolate shakes with our littles.

The In-N-Out secret menu published

In-N-Out’s secret menu published

If you are anything like me, you love the secret menu items at In-N-Out! Can you say animal-style burger!? However, I just found this list that shares ALL secret menu items at In-N-Out. There are so many I want to try, so I guess we will have to go back soon. Darn! πŸ™‚

Two toddlers dressed as in-n-out workers sipping on their chocolate shakes
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

October 8, 2019 Leave a Comment

Hi! We are identical twins, Brooke & Brittany. We test the latest trends in fashion, beauty, travel and fitness so that you don't have to.

Popular Posts

  • 10 Essential Steps to Take Before Building Your New Home
  • Where’s Waldo Family Costume
  • Fresh Strawberry Pie

Archives

  • April 2025
  • October 2024
  • June 2024
  • January 2024
  • November 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • October 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • February 2012
  • December 2011
  • October 2011
  • August 2011
October 2019
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Sep   Nov »

Copyright © 2025 · Twin Tested A Blog By, Brooke & Brittany