Twin Tested Archives - Page 11 of 15

Interview with ‘A Beautiful Mess’ sisters

Britt and I were lucky enough to interview bombshell sisters Emma & Elsie of ‘A Beautiful Mess’ while they were in Utah for the SNAP Conference. What started out as a bakery and vintage clothes shop for the sisters has turned into a hugely successful company and brand. The two could not have been sweeter. And they don’t try to… but they just ooze cool vibes.

Here is our quick interview with them:

Q: Why are you guys in Utah?

Elsie: We are in town speaking at the Snap Conference about being creative

Q: If you go online and see a new trend, you guys are the trendsetters and probably started it. What do you guys think is next?

Elsie: My favorite trend is the color blush. It is what I want to buy for my clothing, paint my walls, just everything.

Emma: I do a lot of cooking and recipe development at our site so I am really excited about different flavors for spring like lavender, lately I have been putting lavender in everything. Drinks, brownies, everything.

Q: You guys are sisters, we are sisters. How do you guys get along?

Elsie: It’s really bad. No (laughing) we love each other. We are normal people so we have little fights and stuff but we have really open communication and also, I mean – we’re best friends.

Emma: We have different strengths and weaknesses, you guys might be the same I don’t know, so we try to kind of focus in on “oh Elsie is really good in this area so I’m going to let her make the decision” and not try to be the leader all the time. I think that helps us kind of come together and make projects happen.

Q: For the people that are not familiar with your website you guys also have 2 great books. What can people expect to find in those?

Elsie: The first one is called “A Beautiful Mess: Photo Idea Book”. That is where we give tips for photography and it is just kind of a kickstarter for creativity.

Emma: And the second one is called “A Beautiful Mess: Happy, Handmade Home”. We have a thing for long titles, right? (laughs) That one is all about home decor and how to make your space feel more like you, adding personality and color all over your home. And we share our houses in the book.

Britt: Which are so beautiful!

After the interview the sisters told us they are tentatively working towards a TV show and may release a new app soon. Over achievers! We loved meeting them and look forward to following all their adventures.

How to Stop Fighting With Your Spouse in Bed

We both pretty much scored the jackpot when it comes to husbands. We have some pretty crazy sleep habits and they are the kind hearted people that have to deal with them.

Here are a couple of things we have learned since getting married and learning how to share a bed:

1. Make it comfortable. We grew up sleeping in twin beds til college, so anything bigger than that always feels huge. This is not the same for our husbands, who are both pretty tall. One thing they both agree on is the fewer pillows the better and comfy sheets are critical. We were both given bamboo sheets recently. They are a GAME CHANGER! So soft, yet silky and breathable all at the same time. Our girlfriends have been telling us about them for a while, we were a little skeptical because we didn’t understand the magic of bamboo. Now that Spring is here they are seriously perfect for warmer nights. They actually stay cool the entire night so you never wake up sweating, it’s gross but true! Ours are from Cariloha and we are obsessed.

2. Watch out for sleep walkers! Britt and I have been sleep walkers since we were young, crazy I know. Instead of growing out of it, we still sleep walk regularly. It usually involves getting in the shower, doing our hair & makeup, or eating breakfast in the middle of the night. It is extremely odd but a little bit hilarious too. I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled our husbands were to first find us eating breakfast at 2am or changing into our work clothes shortly after midnight 🙂 Over the years we have found that stress and sleep deprivation are the main triggers. Now we try to control both of those things to avoid sleep walking in middle of the night and scaring our husbands to death.

3. Snoring=the sad realization that we are turning into our parents! A little nudge or in desperate times plugging each other’s noses work like a charm.

4. Cold feet. This is the number one reason to get married, so that you have someone to warm you up ha! I sometimes am guilty of putting my cold feet on Parker’s warm legs. Oops. He is a good sport and always warms me up, but I do need to reach for some socks more often!

5. Make the bed. We have a rule that whoever gets out of the bed last makes the bed. Since we are both more of early risers than our husbands – it works out perfectly.

What are the tips and tricks you use for staying happy in bed?

Just Ask: Jessica of Alice Lane Home Collection

Alice-Lane-Home-Collection-Jessica-Bennett-Photo-by-Matthew-Mead-682x1024

image via alicelanehome.com

We are starting a new series here on Twin Tested called “Just Ask” where we chat with women we admire and ask them a few questions. We adore Jessica from Alice Lane and decided to chat with her for our inaugural post! Over the past 10 years she has created a design and brand that is respected worldwide. If you haven’t ever been in the store or seen her work, check it out. Jessica is one of the most humble, down to earth, and helpful people around! Read more about her incredible story here.

We went to her with our top 3 design questions that have come up since we both got married because we all know decorating your house changes when you throw a boy into the mix!

Q: How do you successfully combine feminine and masculine looks?

A: Whenever you get something feminine, temper it with something masculine. For example, if you get something peachy then get something black to juxtapose it. Or if you buy a tufted headboard then go with straight angular nightstands to create balance. Then point it out to your husband so that he can see that you are incorporating straight, architectural pieces.

Q: How do you successfully create a bed that the two of you both will like the look and feel of?

A: Scale is important. Go big, not tiny, when it comes to the pillows. When you have 11, small, decorative pillows it starts to look knick knacky. Instead, lay 2 or 3 big Euro pillows across the bed with one smaller statement pillow in front.

Q: What is the best way for couples to compromise?

A: Choose a livable look for your home. Something comfortable and usable. Make sure you can live with it day-to-day and your not just going to get things out when guests come over.

Girls Staycation at Hotel Monaco

This weekend we took a little breather from real life and gathered up a bunch of our best friends for a night together in SLC. The best thing about this group of girls is that they are all from different phases and places in our life, which made for some really fun conversations! We started our night at Settebello with some gelato (dessert first of course) and then had the delish pizza. Hotel Monaco was our destination of choice. The boutique hotel is gorgeous and right in middle of town. We had way too much fun and because there is way too much to write about I have bulleted out the highlights!

We got to stay in the penthouse suite on the 14th floor!!!
Monaco set us up with the most adorable Italian soda bar in our suite, aka best party idea ever, they were soooo yummy.
We were given our first selfie stick, oh my goodness bad idea! Hours of entertainment.
They have complimentary bikes at the hotel. Awesome! You can jet around downtown without having to worry about finding a parking spot.
All pets are welcome with no extra fees. If you don’t have one, they let you “rent” a goldfish for the night. So fun! (they gave us two that were twins!)
There is a complete yoga mat set in every room that is complimentary. Love this, especially because Parker and I have started doing yoga together once a week!
We stayed up way later than 10:30 pm which was impressive.
Students in interior design stop at the hotel frequently for field trips because the rooms are incredible, i.e. fur throws, geometric carpet prints, etc.
The hotel gave each of us girls a lush lip balm and cute nail polish, plus we all loved wearing the amazing animal print robes that come in every room!
We honestly laughed until we cried and our cheeks hurt. Girl’s nights are so good for the soul, thanks to all of our lovely friends for coming and making it such a fun night!

Huge thank you to the Hotel Monaco for showing us such an incredible time! Yay for a successful girls night! xo

What Happened When My Husband Dressed Me

Have you ever asked yourself the question, what would happen if I let my husband pick out my outfit? We loved the recent feature Summer Bellessa did titled, “My Toddler Dressed Me”, where she let her toddler pick out her clothes for a week. We decided to put a spin on it and see what would happen if we left the decision making to our husbands! They are always saying they could pick out great outfits for us, so we decided to put them to the test. The Outlets at Traverse Mountain were nice enough to give each of the boys $150 to spend at any store they wished. We knew we were in a safe place because the Outlets have our top 3 faves: J Crew, Loft, and H&M! Photographer extraordinaire Travis Richardson joined us for the adventure. It helps that our husbands both think he is awesome and that he makes them feel comfortable in front of the camera! If we are being honest, Britt thought she would end up in a button-down shirt and cardigan, while Brooke was pretty sure Parker would go for a full Nike sweatsuit look.

Luckily, their choices weren’t quite that extreme but we did learn a few things about our husbands:

They do not like pointy stilettos.
They prefer more casual looks.
Instead of the newest trends in denim, the boys love the classic colors and cuts.
They do not go for lace, embroidery, embellishments, or sparkle.
Sensible flats are the name of the game.

Overall, it was a really fun experience to see their perspective and learn what they prefer to see us in. Once we made it clear Victoria’s Secret was not an option the guys had a lot of fun. We didn’t correct any of their choices and truly just let them pick things they liked… it was kind of hard to hold our tongues! (Like when I was trying on furry scarves and leather pants). However, we think this definitely calls for a Part 2… “This is what happened when my wife dressed me.”… to be continued!

Here are our BEFORE looks. Typical work outfits for both of us: Brooke in a dress and me in patterned pants, fitted jacket, and heels.

Nothing more confusing than trying to find a pair of cute women’s shoes! I saw this look on his face quite a bit during our shopping adventure…

Parker went straight for the flats, no high heels in sight.

This is my face thinking about the last time I wore faux leather pants in 7th grade. One word comes to mind: sticky

Cute on him maybe? In a snowstorm? Maybe just Antarctica?

This is me realizing these leather pants would actually be perfect for a Sandy from Grease Halloween costume.

Another moment of enlightenment, Parker loves Duchess Kate Middleton’s style, striped tee-shirts, Keds and fitted trench coats! His taste could be much worse so I didn’t mind!

This is a capture of Parker looking on Pinterest for some last minute fashion inspiration… jk he was checking ESPN.

Our outfit details: Brooke is wearing a striped shirt from J Crew, her new favorite dark wash jeans from Loft, a trench coat from H&M and shoes from H&M. Britt is wearing a floral top from J Crew, jeans from H&M and silver flats from H&M.

Huge thanks to the Outlets at Traverse Mountain for letting us do this experiment on their turf! If you want to do the same thing with your husband, post using the hashtag #MyHusbandDressedMe so we can feature some of our favorites!

What Celebrities are REALLY like (Grammys Edition)

Since we have been asked by almost everyone we know this past week who we interviewed and what they were really like, we decided to make a handy dandy list! So here they are… all of our deepest, darkest Grammys awards 2015 secrets!

1. Taylor Swift: Everyone loves her for a reason. I literally came within inches of running into her on the red carpet and she was still nice. I turned around and was like, “OMG! It’s Taylor!” So I said “Hi” and she was so nice. She is stunningly beautiful in person. She has a huge troop of publicists/managers/people that keep her under a very watchful eye, but she still manages to make everyone feel like she genuinely wants to talk to you.

2. Keith Urban & Nicole Kidman: They will always be some of our favorites to interview. They are so nice and friendly. Keith’s accent makes him so cute and Nicole is striking in person. This year his crazy publicist went on a rant when we asked for an interview, so he apologized and only stopped for a second.

3. Josh Duhamel: So handsome and friendly. He brought both of us back to our junior high giggly school crush days. He is very charismatic and was so kind. He acted like he had plenty of time to talk and hung around for about 5 minutes (which is a lifetime in red carpet interview time)

4. Usher: Brooke has had the biggest crush on him since she was about 12 and he fit everything we’ve thought about him. He is an obviously happy go lucky guy that is constantly smiling and saying hi to everyone as he walks down the red carpet. He was a little bit shorter than we though… he’s about 5’8″ so we were taller than him!

5. Haim Sisters: We were so excited to meet them because they are also a band of sisters that have created a career together. They have a very eclectic style and seemed thrilled to be at the Grammys. We asked how they liked working together and they said the same thing Brooke and I do.. it’s so nice to have someone you can share all of the experiences with that knows you so well. We are definitely new fans.

6. Dierks Bentley: sweetie pie. He’s shorter than we thought, but has gone through the best transformation ever… He seemed genuinely surprised and happy with his success.

7. Sam Smith: adorable. Just so fun to watch someone like him win so many awards. It’s a brand new world to him and he was thrilled to be a part of it. Basically everyone at the Grammys wanted a picture with him. The main reason we love him– he celebrated his win with a meal at In’n’Out burger! He said he’s been drinking lots of “green juice” to get ready for the awards.

8. Miranda Lambert: She is always a pleasure to talk to because she seems 100% genuine and real. She said she really wanted a cocktail after performing and winning her award. She still seems to be a humble country girl. When we asked if she would ever do a rock album she said, “No way! Even if I tried to do rock it would sound country because I’m from East Texas!”.

That’s all for now! If you have specific questions about a celeb or are wondering if we talked to your favorite, message us!

Valentine’s Flowers on Every Budget

We have been dying to collaborate with one of our best friends and florist extraordinaire,Rachel Osguthorpe, for quite some time now. We decided Valentine’s week was the perfect time to do it! Whether Rachel is working with a budget of $10 or $100, she makes every project beautiful and personalized. In case you don’t believe us we have photographic evidence thanks to Emmy Lowe Photo! Together Emmy and Rachel create some of the most beautiful photos together. You can go here, here, and here to look at some of our favorites. We challenged her to come up with several different floral arrangements that cost $10, $40 and $75. All clothes worn in the photos are from Jolley’s Gift & Floral. They have the cutest clothes and shoes! Even though we are both super excited for Valentine’s this year, we definitely remember being heartbroken and lonely in years past. One thing our Dad did for us growing up was to get us each a simple flower for Valentine’s Day. It was so nice to feel loved, even if it was from someone who is kind of forced to love us 🙂 This year we are going to try and brighten someone else’s day who is not be thrilled about the holiday this year. It’s amazing what a bunch of cute flowers can do for your mood!

{you can get these gorgeous blooms for $10!}
{Rach can do anything you want, but she has an amazing eye for design and is always introducing us to flowers and plants we’ve never seen before, this is the mid range $40}

{how excited would you be to get this gorgeous arrangment?! this is the $75 and it’s stunning} {how cute is this little pup and its red collar?} {if you’ve never had the sour heart gummies from Jolley’s run now, they are so good!} {this is the mid range bouquet that is so gorgeous! It runs about $40}

We love supporting local businesses and Jolley’s is definitely one of our favorites! They also carry Treats & Trends cookies, which come in flavors like Diet Coke & Cookies and Cream. They are beyond. You can find Jolley’s at 1676 E 1300 S in Sugar House. Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! We are so grateful to have you following along with us and we truly LOVE you!

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Being on the Red Carpet

Being on the red carpet is kind of like being in an alternate universe. We want to share a few things you probably didn’t know.

1. It’s an all day thing: we have to be on the red carpet by 11:30am and are standing on our interview platform from 11:30am-5:00pm. We’ve learned to bring mints, water bottles, and flats.

2. For every “star” there are at least 10 managers/publicists/agents/people. The red carpet is very crowded, but it is mostly filled with publicists and 99% of them wear black, walk around with a clipboard, and are kind of scary.

3. Paris Hilton is a chain smoker. She comes to the Grammys every single year and we still aren’t sure why. Remember in 2013 when she asked me to fix her dress in the bathroom? Well, this year we were walking off the carpet right behind her and not even two seconds after we got outside she started smoking and complaining about how many people wanted to take a picture with her.

4. What’s up with everyone asking the same questions? The reason lots of reporters ask people what they are wearing and who they are excited to see is because they actually don’t know who they are interviewing or anything about them. Those are definitely the two most popular questions that we try to avoid.

5. Madonna looks scary in person and flashed everyone on the red carpet. As in lifted up her skirt to show off her black thong. Pretty sure shock will always be the name of her game. Miranda Lambert however, has flawless hair and makeup in person. It is super fascinating see celebrities up close. All of them have professional hair and makeup, so it’s interesting to see how it all compares. Sam Smith is much thinner in person than he looks in photos and videos. Like, a normal size 22-year-old guy.

6. The oldies get upset if you don’t recognize them immediately. Do not take this the wrong way, but there are a lot of old musicians at the Grammys. Sometimes it can be hard to keep track. We got most of them right this year, but when it took me longer than 5 seconds to recognize Tom Jones he gave me the side eye. On the other hand, one of the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb, was a sweetheart who seemed thrilled to be there.

7. No food or drink is allowed on the carpet, which means everyone is ravenous by the time they get inside! Thankfully, reporters are provided with a dinner in the media room backstage at the Staples Center.

8. They spend hours vacuuming the red carpet the day before. It is pretty crazy to see the work that goes into preparing the red carpet area. There are bleachers set up, red carpet rolled out, and chandeliers hung. One thing we loved seeing was how the E! News 360 Glam Cam was set up. There are about 50 cameras in a circle all taking photos of you at the same time and luckily the crew was nice enough to let us try it out.

9. The Grammys have a no excessive skin rule, which nobody really broke this year…except of course, Madonna!

10. It’s fun to see how tall all our fave performers are. Taylor is so tall! Josh Duhamel is a sweetheart, total babe, and is about as tall as both of our husbands (between 6’3″ & 6’4″). We asked him about his adorable little guy Axl and he says he is talking and can sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” now. He came without Fergie to present one of the awards. He said she was in the studio recording. We will be posting our full interview with him later this week. And yes, he totally qualifies for his #SexiestManAlive title!

Red Carpet Looks Through the Years

I originally wanted to title this post “Extreme Makeover: Grammys Edition”. Some photos from the past make us cringe or frown because of how we are dressed or what our makeup looks like. However, looking back at our Grammys experiences the past 4 years makes me smile. We have had so many, crazy, outrageous, fun, memories at the show. We were 22 years old when we attended for the first time and we feel like throughout the years we have learned a few tricks.

– Your feet will not survive unless you bring a pair of flats to slip on in between events.
– Water bottles are a lifeline in the middle of a large, sweaty mass of people all smashed together.
– Bring a touch-up kit with you, makeup does not last for 14 hours.
– Use twice as much hairspray as normal or hair goes flat due to the humidity.
– Relax and don’t be shy, people are nice!

1st year (2012)

Last year (2014)

We can’t wait to show you our dresses for this year’s show! Remember to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for live updates from the red carpet this weekend.

Weird Products You Never Knew You Needed

We all see wacky stuff online or on infomercials that looks like a lot of fun, but you can never be sure it’s worth spending actual money on. Now that Skymall is going away (RIP), we decided to show you some of the weird products and technology we have tried lately! Have you ever woke up on a plane and realized your head was on the strange guy sitting next to you? Oh, just us, ok 🙂 Please scroll down to an amazing way to stop that from every happening again…

NAP ANYWHERE: It’s an alternative to the neck pillow for travel. We tend to be a head bobbers, so this is great for us. It does take a little direction following to set up, but was really comfortable. Our favorite part is that one side is meant to keep your face warm, while the other side feels like a cool pillow. You can find more information at www.napanywhere.net $59

TILE APP: Now you can keep track of all of your stuff easily! We lose our keys, phone, or ipod at least once a week. This is an easy way to solve that problem. You easily adhere a small white tile that syncs with your iphone, making it easy to find anything at any time. www.thetileapp.com $25

VINO: alcohol-removed wine. It’s a premium alcohol-removed wine available in exclusive, ready to serve packaging. We have no idea what to compare it to since we don’t drink, so we made Mary Nickles give it a try and she says it has a little more of a sour flavor but she is definitely a fan. The adorable packaging also makes it perfect for picnics becomes the lid also serves as a glass when you take it off. www.vinobev.com $29.99/pack of 12

LUMO LIFT: a device that actually improves your posture. When it senses you are in bad posture, it gently vibrates to remind you to keep your shoulders back and your head lifted. It also keeps track of your daily activity. It was named a Best Invention by Time magazine and we have to admit, it’s pretty cool. www.lumobodytech.com Two for $159.

SLEEP SHIELD: Protect your eyes from blue light while you sleep with the sleep shield. The screen protector has been used in countless clinical studies and is proven to work. The screens come in various sizes for any technology device. Our phone screens wake us up regularly, so this has worked really well for us. www.sleepshield.com Prices start at $19.95 for phone covers.

What is the one tech device you can’t live without? We would love to hear!

What Happened When My Husband Dressed Me

Luckily, their choices weren’t quite that extreme but we did learn a few things about our husbands:

They do not like pointy stilettos.

They prefer more casual looks.

Instead of the newest trends in denim, the boys love the classic colors and cuts.

They do not go for lace, embroidery, embellishments, or sparkle.

Sensible flats are the name of the game.