It is May tomorrow! Can you believe that?! Summer is almost here, aka our favorite time of the year! In case you missed last month’s March Favorites post, you can check it out here! We wanted to put together our favorite posts from this month, as well as our favorite pieces this month as well.
Our favorite pieces this month:
*click to SHOP*
These perforated booties and these wedges are all you need! They both go with everything, are super comfortable, and give you a little bit of height.
This black swing dress is $45, and uber comfy! It comes in a bunch of other colors, but we love the black! It is on sale for $26 in these colors.
These cutoff shorts are a great staple. They are a great color, and go with everything! And, they are also on sale right now for under $50.
Happy Weekend! We had a few of you all ask for some spring jacket recommendations. Although, in Dallas, and most of Texas, you don’t need a jacket once spring and summer hit, a lot of you that live in California and the eat coast, need a jacket pretty much all year, or at least in the evenings. Since it is warmer out, you don’t need something super heavy, so these are all great options!
We have this jacket in the dark purple, and LOVE it. You can dress it up or down, and this pink spring color is so adorable! It would look super cute with white jeans.
This is a great one for throwing on top of dresses, rompers, or with jeans and shorts. It dresses down an outfit, plus we love how it cinches at the waist, so you don’t look like a box.
We love this trench with dressier outfits, like work attire, or even white or dark jeans. It can be worn in the rain, too, and it is a great natural color.
We wear denim jackets all year long. They can be worn with dresses, rompers, shorts, or even jeans. You can also tie it around your waist if it gets warmer our, or just for an accessory.
We have this jacket in the black, and love the feel of it. The leather is super soft and smooth, and we love the suede draping on the front. It can be worn with jeans and a basic tee or tank.
This rain jacket is the best one we have seen. We have had this one for years, and it is a great lightweight jacket. The rain slides right off, and it can be easily thrown in your bag or backpack.
Happy Friday! We wanted to bring back an older post we used to do sharing our favorite things this week + some great pieces we just bought or found (mostly on SALE!). After the major flight/passport debacle, we are FINALLY leaving on Sunday (fingers crossed we make it) to Mexico, haha. Thank you to all of you all who were helping us look for it, and giving us tips on how to get it quicker! This trip will be so amazing once we get there. We hope you all have a great weekend!
We get the tightest hips. Do you all? It is probably because we spend so much time sitting and working, oops. We are definitely going to be trying these hip stretches! We have also been going to yoga at Exhale Spa, which we LOVEEE! Such a beautiful studio, and we love their classes and spa.
If y’all are heading out on a trip like we are, you should definitely check out this post on 34 packing hacks. To be honest, we try to fold everything nicely, but when we get there it is all wrinkled, UGH!
The big question for white shoes: how do you keep them so white?! Loving these tips on how to keep your white shoes so clean and white!
In case you all are looking for baby names, or just like reading them for fun, like we do, haha, here are some great ideas. Are we the only ones who like to plan out future baby names?!
We have been trying this mBreakfast powder in our pancakes and smoothies, and loving it. We were a but skeptical of it at first, but have a ton more energy after using it for a couple of weeks, and we love the whole idea behind it. You can order some here.
This past week, we had the pleasure of staying at the South Congress Hotel. It is a boutique hotel located in one of our favorite parts of Austin, South Congress. What we love about Austin, especially South Congress, is that there are a ton of restaurants, shopping, and bars, all very walkable!
We used to eat and walk around this street all of the time when we went to school in Austin, HOOK ‘EM, so it is always fun to be back! This hotel was actually not even around when we were in school, and was just built a couple of years ago. We hadn’t been back in this area since we moved to Dallas, and we honestly fell in love with it. It is super close to so many great spots, including one of our favorites, Magnolia Cafe. There is also a Torchy’s Taco very close by, as well as a ton of other restaurants. You could easily get around this area without access to car, which is great if you’re visiting from out of town. We also walked to get fajitas from Polvo’s, a green juice at The Soup Peddler, and gelato at Dolce Neve (all about a 10 minute walk!)Chicken fajitas at Polvo’sEgg white omelette with veggie and a side of fruit and zucchini from Magnolia Cafe. They have GREAT pancakes!Frozen Rose from Hotel San Jose (thanks for the suggestion, y’all!)
They have three amazing restaurants (some you have probably heard of or seen on social media): Café No Sé, Central Standard, and Otoko. We had the opportunity to eat at both Café No Sé and Central Standard, and they were both delicious! Both restaurants were super accommodating, and we loved what we ordered at both, but honestly, everything on their menus looked amazing! They also have a super cute bar!At Café No Sé, we started with the hummus and veggies, and then we both ordered the burger without the bun. It was spuriously filling, and really good! They also had an avocado toast on their menu that looked amazing! Besides their food, we were O B S E S S E D with their decor. They had this amazing blue tile that we fell in love with. { Sunglasses}Bunless burger and hummus and veggies. {Shorts | Wedges | Toe Polish }
At Central Standard, we started with the deviled eggs, and then of course, we both ordered the roasted chicken with broccolini and brussels sprouts. It was DELICIOUS! We both will be back to this spot! We were surprised at how great the food was, despite it being a “hotel restaurant”. Typically, it can be mediocre, but we absolutely loved the food.Roasted chicken with roasted brussels sprouts.
Deviled Eggs. The actual hotel was very modern, and had really cool design and architecture. The hallways were really wide and spacious, and the doors had the keyless entry, which we love. Who wants to have to insert their card into that little slot? UGH! The actual room had a super neat, industrial feel. We loved that they had custom designed furniture and huge windows, which we loved for natural lighting! They also had a ton of local, healthy products in the mini bar. The room also had a fridge (necessary for us, haha), and a safe. We are pretty particular about the bathrooms, and this one was a good size and had a great rain shower.{ Shirt | Shorts | Taupe Wedges | Duffel Bag | Hat } { Robe | Laptop Case }{ Duffle Bag }
The staff was all super helpful the entire stay. When we checked in they were very informative, and helped us with everything we needed. We also left our phone charger at the pool, and we also needed an iron, and they brought it all up to our room. They really made it a point to get to know us, and make sure we were taken care of.On one of the days, we got to head to the pool to enjoy the beautiful weather. The pool overlooked South Congress, so it had a gorgeous view, and had tons of seating. We loved the comfy lounge chairs, as well as the bean bag chairs in the back to relax on. It was very open, so you could get could sun the entire day, which is very important to us! They also have a great bar up there.{ Hat | Gold Bikini Top | Gold Bikini Bottoms | Flip Flops }{ Pink Bikini Top | Pink Bikini Top | Sandals | Hat | Sunglasses } The fitness center, which we obviously care about, haha, was a good size, and had all the equipment we needed. It was on our room floor, which was super convenient, and nobody was in there, so we had it all to ourselves!{ Shorts | Tank | Bra | Shoes | Earphones | Grey Strap Tennis Shoes }
We also wanted to share some of our favorite places in Austin:
Town Lake
great to walk or run on, and they also have benches to sit on and just relax
Food Trucks
they have areas of them all over with so many different type of foods!
Mt. Bonnell
also a great place to walk/short hike. Our parents actually got engaged here!
University of Texas at Austin Campus
obviously we are biased, but it is so fun to just walk around. “The Drag” is also a fun place to get some UT gear, as well as grab some good food!
The Domain
a huge outdoor mall that has tons of restaurants, shopping, and some hotels.
South Congress
this is the area we stayed in. Tons of restaurants, bars, and food trucks.
1st Street
this is very walkable from South Congress. They have tons of restaurants and cute little shops.
Kayaking/Paddle Boarding on Town Lake
besides walking on the lake, you can also paddle board and kayak, which is really fun!
Watch Bats on Bridge
honestly, only Sam has done this, but she says it was cool! A ton of people gather around to take pictures of this everyday.
Hamilton Pool:
this is also a really pretty hike, and then they have this “pool” at the bottom, which is fun to lay out, and just take pictures.
And, a few other snaps that we took on our trip:Samantha’s outfit for dinner the first night we were there.
We had THE best time having a girl getaway, and Austin will always have a special place in our hearts:) Hope you all enjoyed! Please reach out with any questions! Xo
Some hotel photos courtesy of South Congress Hotel.
Happy Wednesday! We have had quite the week. In case you missed our previous blog posts, we were supposed to be leaving for Mexico Monday, but Sam couldn’t find her passport on Sunday night, so we searched the entire house, only to not find it. We are having to reschedule our trip, so it has been quite the series of events;) Lesson here: make sure you have your passport before leaving for a trip, haha.
Today, we will be sharing what we ate last week. We try to remember what we ate the past week, and to be honest, we eat a lot of the same foods each day, but you all always want to know, so we are going to keep sharing it! If you all have anything specific you want to see, let us know!
You can find the recipe for the gluten-free pancakes here, and our chocolate mug cake dessert recipe here. Also, the Crucial 4 mBreakfast powder mentioned below can be found here. We have been using it every day for the past week, and have tons more energy. You can mix it in your smoothies, baked goods, or just sprinkled on top of your food. And, it actually tastes good!In case you missed last week’s workout post, last week’s workout post, we shared a downloadable workout for the week. Each day (workout) is split into a muscle group with rep amounts, set amounts, and weight amounts. We also are giving a few tips as well. This workout schedule is available for download for $10. It is exactly what we will be doing this week, and you could always re-use this plan for other weeks, and mix and match them. To download the workout schedule, click below:
Note: you will be taken to PayPal to pay, and then should receive a link to the download shortly after that in your inbox. If you do not receive it, please email us!:)
Also, last week,we shared a post on our favorite fast food hacks and tips for choosing healthier options in this post.
Here is a leg workout that one of us shared on our snapchat (@alexis.belbel) this past weekend:
You all know we LOVE roasted chicken, and if you don’t know already, we are literally obsessed. If it is on the menu, we are definitely ordering it, haha. We found this recipe from www.platingsandpairings.com, and are definitely going to be trying it out! Check out the recipe here!
Sometimes you just need to go back to basics. This knotted tee is only $22 and is a twist (get it? on a basic white tee. We love how it is kind of oversized! We are wearing an XXS for reference. These cutoffs do seem like an investment for ripped shorts, but they are really well made, and they are the perfect baggy fit, but not too baggy! You all know we love these black slip ons! They are a great shoe for all year, are under $60, and super comfy!
PS- head to the bottom of the post for your chance to win $1000!A lot of you all want to know where our favorite affordable place are to shop. If you know us well, you probably know that we don’t like to spend and arm and a leg on pieces, especially trendy ones. Of course, we will treat ourselves to a nice investment piece once in a while like shoes, a bag, or some good jeans, but most of the time, we like to stick to a more budget-friendly range.Our favorite places to shop are:
We love Nordstrom for so many reasons. It is probably the store we shop at at the most. They have tons of cute, affordable pieces, and it is a one-stop-shop for all things clothes, shoes, beauty, accessories, and home. We also love that they offer free shipping and returns, AND their customer service and return policy is amazing!
We have been shopping at Banana Republic for years. They have great jeans for petites, and frequently have sales with up to 40% off. They also have amazing work/business casual pieces that are super adorable and versatile!Amazon:
In case you all haven’t seen, Amazon has a GREAT fashion section now. They sell all of the top brands, and usually their stuff is actually in stock in most sizes, which is great! If you’re an amazon prime member, you can get your items super quick!
We know everyone knows about them, but in case you don’t, or haven’t shopped with them in a while, they do have some really cute things! We hate going into the store, but online, it is way easier to find stuff!
We know that Shein can get a bad rap, and we know that there are some bad reviews written about them. To be honest, we haven’t had any issues with them. It is kind of hit or miss, but we really only share the items we love from them. They do have some great, affordable pieces that are trendy. Who wants to spend a million dollars on something you will only wear once or twice. Also, their shipping does take a while, so sometimes it is worth it to spend the extra money on the expedited shipping.
This is another company from China, but again they have great pieces! Their items are a little more expensive than Shein, but they do have a sale every Tuesday that is up to 50% off. See this post for our roundup of their sale pieces!Express:
To be honest, we had kind of forgotten about Express. It wasn’t until last fall, we stumbled upon it again, and fell in love with all of their pieces! They have super cute dresses, tanks, and sweaters. They also have great dressy/work stuff, too. They are also another store that has sales often, so be on the lookout for those!
Zappos does carry other things besides shoes, but what we love about them is that they have TONS of shoes that are usually not in stock anywhere else, and they offer free shipping and returns. They also have a year return policy, which is amazing!Old Navy:
We have been shopping at Old Navy for years. They have great basics, and we love their workout gear, and their basic tees.
If you love J.Crew, you will love their outlet store. They have all of the same pieces for a lot less, and have sales all of the time! They have great shoes, accessories, and we love their chambray tops. They also have great, solid bright pieces.
Their website can be hard to shop and navigate because they have so many items, but they have some really unique pieces. We love their skirts, dresses, and swimsuits!
We are literally OBSESSED with their jewelry pieces. They have the cutest earrings and statement necklaces, and they are all super affordable! Not to mention, the girls that started it, and the girls that work there are adorable, and SO sweet! They are offering up to 50% off right now, so don’t miss out!
On a sidenote, this tote and duffle bag have been our go-to for traveling, and just everyday stuff!