Twin Tested

I like to get H I G H

High Fitness is my new favorite fitness class. It’s fun, upbeat and feels like you are hanging out with a bunch of your best girlfriends. I was introduced to HIGH last summer at Soulstice Retreat with Albion Fit. After that first class (in high altitude) I thought I was going to pass out and die. It was tough, but still so much fun! The creators are darling best friends Emily and Amber. They work so hard to create not only easy to follow steps, but exercises that sculpt and tone your entire body. I don’t know if I should admit this, but I don’t hate doing burpees during their classes because they feel like a dance move when you’re listening to Beyonce blasting. The class switches between “toning” and “cardio” tracks. Both are equally challenging. I promise once you come to a class you will start doing the HIGH moves every time one of the songs comes on! They add a new song every week, so every class is different. Brooke and I have invited lots of friends to try HIGH and all of them have said the same thing – that was the most fun I’ve had working out EVER! So, if you’re looking for something a little different, come to Xcel Fitness and take a class with us!

These two have absolute hearts of gold. They were on the show a few weeks ago while Amber was in town and did the sweetest interview. When I asked what it meant to them that HIGH Fitness was literally changing lives, they both teared up. This program means so much to them and I cannot wait to see where it goes in the future!

For more information on class schedule at Xcel Fitness, go here.

What it’s like to meet a Backstreet Boy when you’re 27

Our 13-year-old selves would’ve died had we known that one day we would meet our absolute FAVORITE Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter. The opportunity came up because of FanX, which is part of Salt Lake ComiCon. As teenagers, Britt and I did not just like the Backstreet Boys – we were obsessed with them! We had their posters plastered all over our bedrooms, learned the dance to every music video, and attended every single concert. Nick was invited to SLC ComiCon because he is working on a new movie about zombies and 90’s boy bands…? We hear there are even members of N’SYNC in the movie. Anyway… before we met Nick for our photo-op a few questions raced through my mind:

What do you say to a Backstreet Boy when you are 27 years old?
Do you fan-girl or act like a polished professional?
Small talk or just smile and nod?
What exactly are you supposed to wear while meeting a member of a 90’s boy band?!

Well, here is the conversation. In all it’s 90 seconds of glory:

Nick: “You must be sisters?”

Brooke: “Twins”

Nick: “Well you both are beautiful.” (as he wraps his arms around our waists)

Brooke: *Cheeks start turning red* “We are doing the picture together so that we can put it on our show Monday.”

Nick: “Oh, really?”

Britt: “Yes, we host a lifestyle show here in Salt Lake.”

Nick: “That’s great, thanks for coming, you both are beautiful.” and wave…

Quite eventful, right?! No, but really, the experience was really fun. We were lucky to skip most of the line thanks to our press passes. The line must have gone on for hours! Nick was really gracious and kind to all of the fans that we saw him meet with. Life is crazy, you never know who you are going to meet. Now, I am off to go listen to some BSB!

5 Books You Should Read Right Now

We love to read and love it even more when we have time to read for fun. I have been blabbing about my favorite books to Brooke for a few weeks, so she finally said, “Just write a blog post!”. So here are some of the books that I have loved lately.

1. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

I loved every page. She is such a great female role model for young girls. She has worked extremely hard to get where she is and I am so impressed with the empire she has created. It’s fun to get refreshingly honest insights into what it’s like to work in Hollywood. The best part of the book is that it will have you laughing out loud throughout the entire thing.

Fave quote: “People get scared when you try to do something, especially when it looks like you’re succeeding. People do not get scared when you’re failing. It calms them. But when you’re winning, it makes them feel like they’re losing or, worse yet, that maybe they should’ve tried to do something too, but now it’s too late. And since they didn’t, they want to stop you. You can’t let them.”

2. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Heart wrenching. Tear inducing. Meaningful.

This book was written by a surgeon in his last few months of life. It’s an incredibly thoughtful take on life and how we live it. I am a loyal follower of Joanna Goddard’s blog Cup of Jo and was so pleased to find the book through her. The doctor who wrote the book was married to her twin sister, Lucy. Lucy finished the book after her husband passed away and her writing is beautiful. You will cry reading it, so keep that in mind and maybe don’t bring it on the plane.

Fave quote: “Will having a newborn distract from the time we have together?” she asked. “Don’t you think saying goodbye to your child will make your death more painful?”

“Wouldn’t it be great if it did?” I said. Lucy and I both felt that life wasn’t about avoiding suffering.”

3. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

After reading “What Alice Forgot” by Moriarty and absolutely loving it, I was eager to read more of her books. Turns out, there’s a bunch of other good ones! This one is full of surprising twists and turns and keeps you guessing the entire time. It takes place in the suburbs of Australia, which makes it that much more interesting. Moriarty is skilled at making all of her characters very human and relatable. This is a great vacation read.

Fave quote: “All conflict can be traced back to someone’s feelings getting hurt, don’t you think?”

4. The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

I read this New York Times bestseller a few years ago and recently picked it up again and re-read it. I had the chance to interview the author and it made me like the book even more. It’s an American story centered around family and a man who writes his wife a letter every Wednesday. I am a softie and love nothing more than a handwritten note, so that was definitely my favorite part of the book.

5. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I read this one about a year ago, but it left a lasting impression. I just found out it’s being turned into a movie, so now is the time to read it! It will break your heart a thousand different times, but I really enjoyed it.

Fave quote: “You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

***I also just started reading The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown and it is SO good! I will do a separate post when I finish because it has really opened my eyes to a lot of the thought processes I put myself through for no reason. ***

Have you read anything great recently? Please share!

*Photo via Stylist magazine

How to dress your husband

Sam started a new job this week, which is so exciting! With a new job, you have to get a couple of new clothing items. I think it’s hard to find stylish men’s clothing, but Sam has a hidden talent for finding the good stuff at very reasonable prices.

What I hear most often is you get married and then you sneak into your husband’s closet and throw away all of the clothes you don’t like. I really never had to do that because Sam has a great sense of style (ok there was this one shirt from high school..). Lucky for me, Sam has always enjoyed dressing himself and knows what he likes. When I asked him to share his shopping favorites on the blog, he was very hesitant because they’re top secret, but I finally pried them out of him, so take it away, Sam!

Shirts: I like to wear shirts that are slim fit, that way it doesn’t look all billowy around the waist. Most stores are on board with this trend now and it makes it look like the shirt was tailored just to fit you.

I like to get shirts from H&M, Zara & J Crew. My secret shop is the London based Charles Tyrwhitt. They have unique designs and high quality. You can customize your dress shirt to the exact size, collar style, sleeve style, etc. that you prefer. Just don’t tell too many people because I have yet to run into someone wearing the same shirt as me!

Pants: Oh man pants can be tough. You want to look like a guy that doesn’t care too much, but I also don’t like it when you can see my underwear line because they’re so tight. I’ve found again that “slim fit” really fits me the best. I counted and by far the place where I get the majority of my pants is J.Crew. One thing I know Britt has always hated are cargo pants and shorts. I don’t have any of those in my closet.

Shoes: If I’m among friends, I will admit I’m kind of a shoe guy. So now you all know. They are fun to shop for and I definitely like a nice pair of shoes. I really like Aldo for shoes, it’s where I found the shoes I wore to my wedding, which are still some of my favorites. I’ve also found some casual shoes at H&M that are cool, but not as high of quality.

Shirt: Charles Tyrwhitt (similar) $59, Pants: J.Crew $75 (they are out of maroon, but come in other colors), Shoes: Aldo $125

Wedding Shoes: Aldo (similar on major sale for $69)
Shirt: Charles Tyrwhitt (similar $69)

My Biggest Regret

Brooke and I have been lucky enough to attend the Grammy awards four years in a row to report on the red carpet. It’s always a highlight and we have made wonderful memories. Of course the best part of the entire thing is getting to interview some of our favorite musicians and performers. Everyone arrives in basically a two hour window, so you have a very short time for interviews. You prep all day and then hope that some big names will stop for a chat. We were busy doing interviews last year when a PR girl dressed in head to toe black asked if we wanted to interview a cute British man named James Corden. He was being interviewed at the next booth over by Youtube star Tyler Oakley and seemed like a genuinely nice guy. We were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Keith Urban because we had already set up an interview with his publicist, so we politely turned her down. You guys, we turned down JAMES CORDEN! We big timed him! Several months later, I would realize what a gigantic mistake this was. James has stolen my heart several times since then, namely when he took Mariah Carey for a ride in Carpool Karaoke. He has quickly become my favorite late night host and I really think we would have hit it off. So James, this is an official apology. You are everything and I’m so sorry I wasn’t smart enough to realize that one year ago. Hopefully I can make it out to California to see you live on your new show! (Brooke is headed to Los Angeles next week and is on the waiting list, fingers crossed!) For now I will just enjoy him from a distance and cry/laugh at his fabulous show. If you haven’t seen his amazing Carpool Karaoke videos, please watch so you can laugh right along with me!

My most memorable Valentine’s Day {Britt}

I love Valentine’s Day and thought it would be fun to share my most memorable one. Sam and I have been married for three and a half years, but we’ve been together for seven years! It’s pretty wild to think about. The Valentine’s Day that sticks out most in my mind is the first one we spent together. We were SO young – I was 20 and Sam was 22. We had been dating for about four months. He told me that he had made plans for us and that all I had to do was come 🙂 I borrowed a friend’s cute silk top and did my hair in a loose updo. He picked me up and I was automatically filled with butterflies. We went to his parent’s house and when we walked in it was dark with a bunch of candles lit and a big vase of gorgeous flowers for me. I was of course immediately smitten that he had taken so much time to create such a nice atmosphere. We had an amazing dinner of chicken cordon bleu and yummy side dishes. For dessert, he hand dipped strawberries in chocolate. I found out a few years later that him and his mom had been cooking all day long. So sweet. After dinner, he took me to see the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You” because it was the only chick flick that came out that week. If you’ve seen it, you know it’s the most depressing, negative movie ever. For some reason, it didn’t phase us too much. He topped off the night by telling me he loved me for the first time. I think it will always top the list as my favorite Love day ever!

Our Morning Routines

I love to hear about the details of everyone’s life right as they wake up. I recently met Forbes writer Samantha Ettus and loved reading her article ‘The Morning Routines of 12 Women Leaders‘. No two people have the same routine. Although we are twins Britt and I have different routines that work for us. We each have different nuances but generally follow the same timeline.

brooke morning routine

Brooke’s Morning Routine:

6:07 – I-phone alarm goes off. (Unless it is Friday, when I go to the gym at 5:45 opposed to my usual evening visit so that I can be free for date night.) I press snooze once while I check email and texts that come in overnight.

6: 15 – Wake up. Tip toe out of the room without waking the snoozing teddy bear (husband) next to me.

6: 20 – Put in Visine drops, wash my face and moisturize, apply base layer of makeup: foundation, eyeliner, brows. Straighten, curl, pouf, spray hair. When you work in TV multiple layers of makeup is necessary!

6:50 – Put on outfit for the day. Always laid out the night before if I expect myself to make it to work on time. If I am really desperate I will wear one of the 5 outfits I keep in the office for back-up. Put on warm cozy boots for trip to work while carrying stilettos to wear during the show. Choose a perfume to wear, right now I am rotating between Burberry Britt and Viva la Juicy.

6:55 – Mix together a quick yogurt parfait with berries and granola to go.

6:57 – Kiss husband goodbye.

7:10 – Carpool! Britt and I usually try to ride with each other if our schedules allow.

7:25 – Arrive to work. We are usually the first
ones in our building. Unlock the door, turn on the lights.

7:45 – Finish makeup and hair at the lit mirror in our office.

8:00 – Write and plan final details of the show with our show’s producer and editor. Talk to our floor crew and director about plans for the show. Answer emails.

9:00 – Talk with guests about their upcoming segment on the show (usually 5-10 per day), do mic checks, get on-set and get iPad set up with scripts.

9:15 – Pop in an Altoid mint, offer them to others 🙂

9:30 – Taping of The PLACE begins

Britt’s Morning Routine

6:15 – Calm sounding alarm goes off and I immediately get out of bed. I never hit snooze because I like to sleep until the absolute last moment.

6:20 – Wash my face and put on basic makeup. Like Brooke, I do a lot of final touches once I’m at work.

6:30 – Do my hair. I never shower in the morning because I hate blow drying my hair. Instead, I shower at night, loosely blow dry and sleep on it.

6:45 – Get dressed. I am known to wear ridiculous clothing and look somewhat homeless on the ride to work. I always bring a show outfit with me, but many times my only concern in getting dressed is what will keep me warm for the next two hours.

6:55 – Put together a healthy breakfast. My New Year’s Resolution is to not eat cereal every morning. I love it, but it never keeps me full. I am eating a lot of toast with peanut butter & banana, protein smoothies and yogurt parfaits.

7:10 – Carpool. It’s actually really fun to ride to work with Brooke. We get to chat a little bit about our personal lives before we have to focus on work. We also try to listen to either a scripture or an inspirational talk during our 20 minute commute.

7:25 – Arrive to work. I try not to open my email until I arrive to work. Otherwise, I am already anxious and somewhat stressed before I even sit down to start my day.

9:00 – Make sure I look decent and go chat with guests and The PLACE team to make sure we are ready for the show.

9:30 – Begin taping

At this point in time we are grateful for normal schedules that allow us to spend time with family and get a good amount of sleep because that hasn’t always been the case in our TV careers. We would love to hear your tips and tricks for making your morning successful.

We bought a house!

Sam and I just bought our first home together. No one tells you that you literally go through every emotion when going through the home buying process: excitement, fear, dread, regret, happiness, fear, excitement and on and on and on. We are finally moved in and are so content to finally be living in the home. I have to say, the two things I am most pleased with are the garage and no longer having to share a bathroom with my husband! I was telling Sam that I know I shouldn’t base my happiness on material things, but having more space has definitely put a pep in my step. I can’t wait to make it our own and decorate, but I seriously need your help! I am the type of person who loves a lot of different styles, but really has a very difficult time picking just one. I want our home to be comfortable and inviting, but also classic and structured. I know, I’m a mess, huh? Well, our most daunting project is decorating the living room, which currently houses one teeny side table. I need advice on everything: paint color, couches, coffee table, etc. Here are a couple things I love, but please send me your favorite places to shop for furniture!

(Is it that obvious that I’m obsessed with blue and gray?)

Photo sources from L to R: Joss & Main here, Target, Studio McGee , couch, Rug, pillows, chair, living room

It also helps when you have adorable neighbors that drop off a basket of cookies that are shaped like little houses. We love our neighborhood and feel so lucky to be there!

10 Things to do in Chicago

Sam and I went on a quick little trip to Chicago a few weeks back and it has taken me that long to narrow down my top favorite activities and restaurants. We went to visit friends and family and were so pleasantly surprised by what a beautiful city Chicago is! We only had three and a half days in the city, so we really tried to make the most of it and fit a lot in.

10. The Art Institute of Chicago: this was probably my favorite thing we did the entire trip. I love art museums and this one is chock full of beautiful art. Not only that, but it reminds me of one of my favorite movies “The Vow”, when they get married in the museum! $25 for adults. Click here for more information.

9. Deep Dish Pizza: totally and completely worth all of the hype. Collin and Ben took us to their favorite neighborhood spot Pequod’s and I have been craving it ever since! I liked this kind because it didn’t have a 3 inch layer of sauce on top of the pizza and the crust caramelized into cheesy deliciousness. We got one pizza for four people and were stuffed! You can look at the menu here.

8. Architecture Boat Tour: it’s everyone’s favorite for a reason. You get to see the city from a completely different angle, along with getting a healthy dose of history. We also had a hilarious tour guide, which always makes it more fun. We went during the day, but I’ve heard it’s magical at night. $40 Click here for more info.

7. Eataly: basically food heaven. It’s like a huge Italian grocery store with little restaurants throughout. Most importantly, they had a pasta only restaurant that was fantastic, along with a gelateria and crepe shop. Yes, I did try all three 🙂 You can get more information here.

6. Little Goat Diner: we flew in super late, but our friend Nate took us straight here for a little snack and we were so happy he did. We got chicken and waffles, the best nachos ever, and a delicious chocolate covered ice cream sundae. That’s how we do “snacks” around here! You can look at the menu here.

5. John Hancock Building – bar level: not sure what a secret this is anymore, but instead of paying for the viewing level, go to the bar and order some drinks and dessert while enjoying an amazing view of the city. The funniest part is that the best view in the building is in the women’s restroom and yes I did ask a stranger to take a photo of me in there.

4. Baseball game: Sam loved this. Chicago is a baseball city, so it was a lot of fun to just go and see what that is like.

3. Millenium Park: this is a must and it’s totally crowded with tourists, but it’s fun! After you take a little walk, make sure to stop for breakfast at Wildberry. It was one of the best breakfasts we’ve ever had. Thanks to our friends Nate & Allie’s advice we ordered a skillet, wild berry pancakes and cinnamon roll french toast and then died of happiness. Click here to look at the menu.

2. Second City: this is where Tina Fey and Amy Poehler learned how to do comedy. Do I need to continue? We laughed SO hard throughout the entire show. You feel like you are watching the next big thing in comedy, well because you actually are. Prices vary, you can get information on upcoming performances here.

1. Wicker Park: such a fun up and coming, sort of hipster neighborhood that is perfect for walking through. We started with Stan’s donuts (I had a chocolate frosting covered nutella filled piece of heaven, honestly the best donut I’ve ever had). Then walked through some fun boutiques and shops, they even have a little farmer’s market at the park on the weekend. We ended with some delicious mexican food at Blue Star.

Huge thanks to Nate, Collin and Ben for being our tour guides around the city! We had so much fun with you and can’t wait to come back.

How to dress like Lauren Conrad this Halloween

Everyone loves Lauren Conrad. We cried with her on the Hills and were crushed when she didn’t marry Stephen Colletti, but then he was on One Tree Hill, so whatever. But, back to Lauren, she really is the All-American girl. Her style is unfailingly feminine with a side of prep and we can’t get enough of it. We were thrilled to see she got her own runway show in Fashion Week this year and picked some of our favorite pieces to try in every day life. When I was at Kohl’s, the cute cashier looked at me after ringing up all of the Lauren Conrad items and said, “I just love your taste and sense of style, what beautiful choices.” I thought, well thank you! But we should really all thank LC! The hardest part about wearing Lauren Conrad clothes is finding out you don’t look exactly like her when you put them on! Here are our favorite pieces from her new collection.(Everything is on SALE!!)