The Container Store + Giveaway

Brooke and I are very different when it comes to organization/cleaning. Brooke’s closet was always color coded while mine had absolutely no sense of order at all. So, Brooke has always been the first one to tell me I need to get a shoe organizer and better hangers and this thing that makes your clothes smell good… Needless to say, I’m glad one of us has our crap together when it comes to the organizing realm. I’ve always thought it was kind of a hopeless idea to think I would ever love organizing my things, but then I walked into the Container Store. It is amazing. It made me want to literally organize every inch of my living space. They have the most genius ideas that you realize you can’t live without. We picked a few of our favorites to show you here:

Magnetic BulletBoard (can use both pins and magnets) It’s not too big, which we have found to be the problem with most bulletin boards. This one is fun to keep meal plans, grocery lists and random thoughts & pictures on. Great for the home or office.

Information Central Mousepad meets notepad! This is saving me. I am SO much more efficient when I make to do lists. I also tend to be much less forgetful when I have it written down in front of me. Love the dual use of this notepad!

Muffin Mover cute + functional. I have honestly thought about how much this is going to change my life when it comes to storing muffins and cupcakes. Bring on the sugar!

Navy & Ivory Rugby Stripe Bins these are great and fit a ton of stuff inside of them! I love them for filling with throw blankets or putting magazines and books in. They would also make a great little toy bin for kids.

Eagle Creek Blue Pack-It Wallaby Organizer the perfect pack for traveling with your makeup… or if you work in TV… for bringing your makeup to work! It can hold an obscene amount of products, while of course keeping them all organized!

White 2-Drawer Mesh Organizer

If you live in Utah, the Container Store is opening a brand new location at Fashion Place mall on October 18th. It is going to be amazing! We decided it would be fun to give away a $50 gift card for one of you to spend at the new store! All you have to do is comment below by telling us the word that best describes your organizing style (i.e. messy, scattered, orderly, OCD, etc.)

Thanks for reading and happy organizing!

***Update: As of October 7, 2014 this giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Turell Woodbury on the $50 gift card, we will be contacting you soon!***

Costco Top 3 Treats

While Brooke and Parker are having a blast on their honeymoon, Sam and I are enjoying trips to our favorite store, Costco. We’re obsessed with Costco and we don’t care who knows it. It does seem kind of ridiculous that a couple would grocery shop at a bulk wholesale store, but we have found the quality of almost all items is better at Costco. We have been pleasantly surprised by how many hidden gems there always are and let’s be honest, nobody hates the abundance of amazing samples. So we are sharing our three favorite sweet treats with you, we apologize in advance because you will get addicted.

#1 Cakeballz

Cake balls are such a great party dessert, but they take a serious amount of time and commitment. You have to bake the cake, cut it up in tiny pieces, mix it together with frosting and then roll it into balls and dip them in chocolate. Then a genius created Cakeballz. Already made and already packaged. You may have seen them on Shark Tank. Now they sell 30 packs in Costco and each cake ball ends up costing $.35 That is amazing! And so much cheaper than you can find anywhere else. They come in red velvet, chocolate or birthday cake. Red velvet is my fave, but they are all super tasty. Best part, each one is under 100 calories so you don’t even have to feel guilty.

#2 Snappers Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Pretzels

We just discovered these a few weeks ago and they are amazing! The best part is you only need to eat one because they have so much flavor and so rich. If you like chocolate dipped pretzels, you will love these!

#3 Dark Chocolate Coconut Almonds

These are like chocolate dipped almonds turned up 25 notches. The only problem is that you can’t just eat 1 or 2 or 3… let’s just say the bag gets emptied really quick. But they are so tasty! Definitely a must if you are a coconut fan.

So there are our three favorites, now we want to know yours! What’s your favorite thing to buy at Costco?

In case you need to stalk us on the weekends, we are usually at one of these three locations:

Murray, UT

5201 Intermountain Dr, Murray, UT 84107

Salt Lake City, UT

1818 SOUTH 300 WEST

Sandy, UT

11100 AUTO MALL DRIVE

(There are also locations in Spanish Fork & Orem)

Have a great weekend!

Long Staying Makeup

{pic taken by the amazing Travis J. Photography}

We have been scouring makeup counters for makeup that stays on for more than 2 hours. In preparation for Brooke’s big day TOMORROW, we want to share all of our favorites that we have found. They have made a significant difference in not only how our makeup looks, but how long it stays on our faces!

– Too Faced Primed and Poreless Face Primer: We actually mix this super soft formula with our foundation and it creates a perfect texture. This makes a huge difference for how your entire face absorbs makeup and gives it a much smoother finish.

– Tarte Cream Blush in Fearless: The perfect pop of pink. We’ve always been scared to use cream blush, but once Vivian used this makeup on Brooke for her bridals, we knew we had to have it. Instead of adding a matte pink pop to the cheeks like powder blushes do, this one adds a natural looking flush.

– Anastasia Pro Pencil: This is a game changer in the makeup world. This tiny pencil has SO many uses! We use it for under eye concealer, eyebrow definer, and overall face perfector. You can apply it anywhere you want a little highlight. Extremely easy to use and just brightens up the face overall.

– Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray: This is like hairspray for your face (minus the stickiness). It is amazing and makes your makeup stay in place. We noticed when we used it our makeup stayed looking pretty perfect for about 8 hours! That is a long time! It also is super refreshing and feels great when you spray it on your face, but leaves no kind of residue.

We got all of the products at ULTA because it is just too darn convenient with how many new locations they have in the Salt Lake valley. Well we are off to do some last minute prep for the wedding tomorrow! Be sure to follow us on Instagram for all of the fun pictures from the big day 🙂

Downeast Home Giveaway

We were so excited when Downeast Home asked if we wanted to work together to get some fun home decor items for Brooke’s new home. Have you been in Downeast Home lately? It’s amazing. They are making life so much easier for us since we are definitely decorating challenged (which is why I live in a fully furnished apartment, but we’ll save that for another post :)) Downeast Home recently created their own line of furniture and it is so beautiful. It is basically the perfect mix of clean lines and fresh colors. Walking around that store just made both of us fantasize about buying huge houses to fill with all of the fantastic items. I guess we’ll have to start with decorating our little apartments first. We settled on this beautiful white tile tray along with a few other trinkets and pieces. We have found that the white tray looks great on basically any surface: on a coffee table, bathroom counter organizer, bedside table, etc… The best part is that you can tell it is super high quality and is going to last a long time. We were thrilled to buy it for about $45 when we went up to the register and found it was about $10 cheaper because of a sale they had going on. Awesome. I went to another much more expensive store later and found a similar looking tray for $115!!

So now we get to give one of you a $50 gift card to spend at any Downeast Home store! All you have to do is follow both of us on Instagram and comment on our posts (Brittany here, Brooke here). Then you also must follow both Downeast accounts @downeastbasics and @downeast_home. Entrants need to have access to a store because it is an in store gift card. You can find a list of all Downeast Home locations at www.downeastbasics.com
Brooke needs some decorating advice! Where do you find your favorite pieces?

PS. She is getting married in 3 days!!!

The Best Chocolate Marshmallow Homemade Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream has been a summer favorite forever. We love classic flavors like raspberry, cherry chocolate chip and peach but have been wanting to try something chocolatey (duh). So our lovely mom surprised us by making the most heavenly homemade Chocolate Marshmallow ice cream ever! It’s better than any store bought or restaurant made ice cream I’ve had. It’s so creamy and rich without being super overpowering. It is also best when made in my mom’s ice cream maker, which is literally from 1975. For some reason, it mixes so much better than the new kind do. So, I have now made it twice in two weeks. You’ve got to try it!

Chocolate Marshmallow Homemade Ice Cream

4 eggs

2 1/4 Cups sugar

5 Cups milk

4 Cups heavy cream

4 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

Add sugar gradually to beaten eggs. Continue to beat until mixture is very stiff (you will beat for about 10 minutes). Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into gallon freezer and add 1/3 Cup of your favorite chocolate syrup. Makes 4 quarts.

*There is not actually any marshmallow in the recipe, it just tastes like there is. Try it and let us know what you think!

Enjoy!

Showered in Gold: Brooke’s Bridal Shower

I know every girl claims to have the best friends in the world, but I really do! My BFF’s threw me a bridal shower right out of a Martha Stewart magazine. It was catered perfectly to me and my weird preferences. Everything was mini and petite – which is just about my favorite thing in the entire world. Plus, the color scheme was gold which also happens to be my favorite. I had best friends from childhood, high school, college, work, and in between there. It was so fun to be all together again (we missed you Mary!). I cannot express how much these girls have done for this wedding. It would not be happening if it wasn’t for them. They honestly think of things and do them before it even crosses my mind. I treasure each one of them! Here are some fun pictures from the party. It was held at my dream house – thank you Gina! Sadly, we didn’t get any pictures of the thoughtful, classy, fun, and adorable gifts! (wink,wink)

No Light Needed Gel Nail Polish

{picture found here}

Britt and I have bragged about Red Carpet Manicure for a couple of years now. It is long lasting, has cute colors, and you can do it at home. However, we may have found a replacement! Sally Hansen released a new gel nail polish that you apply just like old school polish. No base coat, top coat, sealant, etc. And here is the major difference… a Red Carpet Manicure kit is around $50.00 while the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel is only $7.99! You can get the Sally Hansen polish at most grocery and drugstores. Of course, Red Carpet is more long lasting but the Miracle Gel lasts a lot longer than average polish. The best part of our Sally Hansen discovery is that it can be removed with regular nail polish remover, which means way less damage to your nails!

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Best Fake Tanning Products

Most of you know Brooke and I love a great faux glow. Our favorite is usually a personalized spray tan, but those can be pricey so we save them for special occasions. With all of Brooke’s wedding festivities happening (wedding showers, engagement photos, etc.) we wanted to find something she could use at home whenever she needed. We finally found three products that have great results and great SMELLS without the high price!

BRONZE GLOW TINTED SUNLESS CONTINUOUS SPRAY $9.99

This is literally a spray tan in a can, but you can use it dozens of times instead of just once. The light liquid spray easily rubs into skin and stays on SO well! Even if you shower, it will stay on your skin for 3-4 days. We loved the warm color it added and most importantly, the lack of smell it has. At less than ten bucks, it is definitely a must have!

MARACUJA RAINFOREST GLOW INSTANT MATTE WATERPROOF BODY PERFECTOR $39

This is for those mornings when you forgot to put on sunless tanner the night before and you need INSTANT results. It is like a nice warm bronze concealer for your arms and legs. It does go on matte, but you can easily see where you are applying it because of the dark, instant color. I’m a huge fan and even used this on my face and loved the results. It is a little more on the pricey side, but a little bit goes a long way and this should last you dozens of uses. The best part of this one is the scent, it is so subtle and does not even smell like a fake tanner.

HONEY BRONZE SHIMMERING DRY OIL $22

This stuff is unlike anything we had ever seen before. It goes on your skin in a shiny liquid form and then dries in about two seconds. If you’re wondering how celebrities get those tan, shiny legs, this is how! This stuff is very easy to apply because you can see exactly where you are putting it. It also is very moisturizing because of all of the natural oils in it, but it does not end up looking greasy. We loved the scent of this one, it is really natural and light.

So there you have it! How to get a fake tan three different ways. We got all three of these products from Ulta. You can click on any of them for a direct link to buy them on www.ulta.com. Have you tried them? What is your favorite fake tanner?

Parker & Brooke Engagements!

Our engagement pictures are here and I wanted to share a few! Parker and I had such a fun time during the shoot at Albion Basin above Snowbird. The wildflowers were in bloom and the setting was beautiful. I think you can tell how crazy I am about Parker. He is just the best guy in the world and I am so excited for September 19th! Thanks to Travis for the pictures!

Twin Tested: Laser Hair Removal

Like all girls, we hate shaving our legs. Britt and I decided to put laser hair removal to the test to see if it actually works. Britt tried the low end version while I went to a cosmetic surgeon for treatments. My results are AMAZING! Britt, not so much.

She picked up the “As Seen on TV” laser tool for $10 at Walmart. It is actually quite comical when you open it up. It looks more like a laser pointer than a hair removal tool and it is just about as effective as a laser pointer. She did not see any hair loss and therefore said it is 0% effective.

I went to Portica, owned by Dr. Jennifer Allen. First off, she is the most stunning, sweet, and personable doctor on the planet. You can tell she wants to deliver great results. I met her after coaching her adorable daughter on a running team. I went in for 6 treatments on my lower legs and am so happy with the result. I shave about once a week now and the hair is very fine and soft. You can always get more treatments depending on the result you are after. As you can see in the video Dr. Allen knows her stuff and explains why it is important to get laser hair removal at a professional office instead of at home. I would highly recommend her to everyone!

Now to answer some common questions:
-Does it hurt? Not if you go to someone licensed that knows what they are doing. They use cooling gel or air to keep pain at bay.
-Who is eligible? Anyone can get laser hair removal. It is most effective on people that have darker hair and lighter skin.
-Is it expensive? When you add together the cost of all those shavers and shaving cream over the years (plus the headache of shaving in the shower) it really balances out.

Portica is located in Foothill Village.

1400 S. Foothill Dr., Ste 101
Salt Lake City, Utah

801.438.4892

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