Search Results for “eat” – Page 150

The Westin Kierland Resort + Spa

February 17, 2017

This past week, we had the pleasure of staying at the Westin Kierland Resort + Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. From the incredible weather, gorgeous resort grounds, and incredible food, we had an amazing time while we were there. It is only about a two-and-a half-hour flight from Dallas, and just a quick 20 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. We used Uber, and it was super easy and quick! What 1we loved the most was that they are a quick walk to the Kierland Commons and Scottsdale Quarter, which has tons of restaurants and shopping, which we definitely took advantage of. We ate restaurants like True Foods Kitchen, Breakfast Kitchen (their pancakes are AMAZING), and stores like Madewell, Anthropologie, and DryBar. Does it get better than that?!

The resort itself has over 730 rooms, including 55 suites. We loved that the resort highlights Arizona’s colors and textures throughout the grounds. The room was very spacious, and had the comfiest beds. They even left a chocolate and some lavender essential oils every evening to get in some relaxation before bedtime. Of course, one of the most important parts of any hotel to us is the gym. They have a 24-hour fitness studio equipped with treadmills, bikes, free weights, cable machines, and weight , machines. They also offer New Balance Gear Lending (you can rent tennis shoes and workout gear!). They also offer daily fitness classes, including yoga, and have two tennis courts. While this is not part of the hotel, we did get some suggestions from the super helpful concierge there on hiking Camelback. We opted to hike the Cholla side, which is still moderately intense (less crazy than the Echo side, which is a lot of rock-climbing). It took us about 2-3 hours (of course, it included a TON of pics and yoga poses, duh!), and we really did have a lot of fun doing it. The climb up was definitely easier than the climb down. There were a few close calls when it came to falling right on our faces, haha!

This was the view from Camelback Mountain!Their pools are incredible and offer fun for the whole family, and even a quiet pool for adults, only. The family-friendly pool offers an Adventure Water Park, complete with a 110-foot-long waterslide, 900-foot lazy river, and the Kierland FlowRider board sport stimulator, where you can surf and bodyboard! We didn’t get a chance to try these activities out, but they looked like TONS of fun! We did a get chance to lay by the pool, and enjoy a cocktail and soak in some sun!

Even though we are not golf-experienced, our room was right on the beautiful, Westin Kierland Golf Club. It offers 27 holes, and players can even experience a Scottish golf program.

We were also very close to their amazing spa, Agave. Many of their treatments incorporate the plant in them. The spa also has a salon, movement studio, sauna and steam rooms, and a juice bar. A great one-stop-shop!In addition to the fun water activities, fitness, and golf, they also offer some other fun activities like s’mores on the weekend evenings (OUR FAVE!), and a live bagpipe player at sunset each evening.

Another very important thing to us is FOOD! The Westin Kierland offers 10 dining venues, including Deseo, which is an upscale Latino cuisine. We had the pleasure of dinging with them on Saturday during our stay, and enjoyed every single bite, more on that later! They also have a coffee bar, Coffee Flats, and The Scotch Library, which has over 30 blends of whisky, and offers tastings. Although we are not major scotch drinkers, it sounded so fun to try out!We loved sitting by the bonfire at night. SO relaxing!
Now, about our dinner at Deseo, which was AMAZING! Their menu includes a variety of dishes, including lobster ceviche, grilled seafood, and meats. They have incredible, refreshing cocktails offered at their Muddle Bar, where they blend fresh fruits (mango and strawberries) with fresh herbs (basil and mint) with your favorite spirit. Our favorite dishes were the Lobster Ceviche, Hangar Steak with Chimmichurri, and of course, the dessert, Chocolate Cigar with Espresso Ice Cream (y’all we totally demolished BOTH desserts we tried) We are dreaming about them, just thinking about them right now. Y’all must try this spot!

They gave us the recipe for these amazing rolls that are GF and filled with cheese! I could have eaten a ton of these.

Overall, our experience there was nothing short of amazing. It was the perfect Galentine’s getaway. We had incredible service and weather the entire stay, and would highly recommend it to y’all! Please let us know if you have any questions, as always!

PS- check back on Sunday for our Scottsdale recommendations! I know a few of y’all were asking about it!
A special thanks to the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa for our accommodations. All opinions are our own.

Fashion

What You Need To Transition Your Wardrobe For Spring

February 16, 2017

Budget Friendly Pieces to Transition Your Wardrobe For Spring | adoubledose.com

Since we are halfway through February, we wanted to share the best pieces to start transitioning your wardrobe for spring. You may already have some of these in your closet!

Our must-have transitional pieces are:

We shared some outfit inspo ideas for y’all below, too!

Pair a white tee with some ripped jeans and peep toe booties:

Throw on a blush bomber jacket with a simple white v-neck and jeans:

Style a blush sweater with some ripped jeans and grey booties (or any bootie):

Wear your favorite leggings with an oversized concert or graphic tee and some espadrille wedges:

Throw on your favorite v-neck sweater with rome wedges and ripped jeans:

Style a grey v-neck sweater with somer ripped jeans and a black choker:

Pair a neutral sweater with some white jeans for spring neutral look:

Wear your favorite v-neck tee with dark jeans and some peep-toe booties:

Throw on a knit cardigan over a basic black tee and some jeans:

Pair your favorite leather jacket with a bright sweater (or tee) and some jeans and slip ons:

SHOP more spring transitional pieces here:

Double Dose Of Fitness .7

February 15, 2017

At Home Cardio Workout - Double Dose of Fitness | adoubledose.com

{ Swiftly Tech Long Sleeve Crew | Speed Short Mesh | Cardio Squad Tank II | Mesh Leggings Similar Here and Here | Free To be Zen Bra | Sunglasses }

Hope y’all aren’t getting tired of these posts! A lot of y’all have said how much you look forward to these, so we will keep writing them!:)

In case you missed some of the previous posts, you can check out some of them here and here! Below, you will find videos, several of our workouts from the week, as well as a breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipe that we have tried or are planning on making this week!

As far as cardio goes,we will do anywhere from 30-45 minutes of cardio, usually on the stair master, followed by weight training (each muscle group a different day). Every body is different, and you definitely don’t need to do that much cardio each day, just whatever you feel up to, or feel like you can handle at this time! We used to do ZERO, so just find what works best for you!

Since we have gotten good response from our two previous cardio workouts, we decided to share another cardio workout for y’all!

This week, we are sharing an at-home cardio workout, along with a shoulder workout.

This is the shoulder workout we just did the past weekend!

Here is the at-home cardio workout, or anywhere cardio workout!

Below are some workout pieces we are loving this week [click each item to shop it directly!]:

We are loving these leggings and these shoes!

See videos for each exercise listed above further down in the post!

For SHOULDERS:

Bent Over Rear Delt Flyes:

Lateral Raise:

Barbell Front Raise:

Standing Shoulder Press:

Upright Rows:

In case you all did miss it in last week’s post, we have did a post on what we eat in a day here! last week! We do eat mostly paleo due to our hypothyroidism condition. In case you missed it, we shared why we avoid certain foods.

As far as cooking and meal prepping, we like to have some kind of protein prepped for the week, like grilled chicken or salmon baked in the oven. That way, we can just add it to salads or veggies for lunch or dinner in 5 minutes! Nobody wants to have to come home and make a full meal, right?

As far as meals go, we have gotten a few requests for some paleo meal ideas. We actually created a new Paleo Meal Ideas board on pinterest, in case you want more ideas!

This blueberry breakfast cake can be made paleo, and is loaded with protein! This is definitely on our must-make list!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Serves: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

For the Gluten Free/Vegan/Flourless version:

2 cups gluten free rolled oats, ground into a flour
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (use stevia or a sugar free baking blend to keep sugar free)
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch sea salt
1 cup dairy free milk
1 flax egg (can sub for 1 large egg if not vegan)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp nut butter of choice, melted (I used smooth cashew butter)
1/4-1/2 cup blueberries

For the Paleo Version:

1/4-1/2 cup blueberries
4 large eggs, whisked lightly
vanilla extract
1/4 cup cashew butter (can sub for almond butter or coconut oil)
1/4 cup maple syrup (can sub for honey or agave)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup coconut flour

For the protein frosting:

Dairy free milk to form batter
1-2 tbsp nut butter of choice (optional)
1-2 tsp granulated sweetener of choice (optional)
3 scoops vanilla protein powder (see recommendations above)

For the coconut butter frosting:

4-6 tsbp coconut butter, melted
2 T granulated sweetener of choice
Dairy free milk to thin out

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan or 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
In a small bowl, whisk the milk, vanilla extract and egg/flax egg. Pour into the dry mixture. Add the melted nut butter (and honey and applesauce for paleo option) and mix very well until a batter is formed.
Divide the batter in half. In one half, fold through the blueberries.
Pour the blueberry filled batter to evenly cover the baking tray or loaf pan. Top with the other half of the batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes on clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before serving or frosting, if desired.

Recipe + photos via Pinterest

www.thebigmansworld.com

This one-pan meal is super easy to make and has tons of flavor (and leftovers!)

One-Pan Sausage and Veggies - Double Dose of Fitness | adoubledose.com

One-Pan Italian Sausage and Veggies

Serves: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 large carrots
2 red potatoes
1 small-medium zucchini
2 red peppers
1 head broccoli
16 ounces Italian Turkey or Chicken Sausage
1/2 tbsp of
- dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, garlic powder
1/2 tsp of
- onion powder, dried thyme
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil (easy clean-up) and set aside.
Prep the veggies: *It is important to prep the veggies according to directions to ensure they all cook at the same time*
Peel and very thinly slice the carrots. Wash and (if desired peel, we love the peel on) chop the red potatoes. You want the pieces quite small here. (I halve the potatoes and then cut each half into 10-12 pieces)
Halve the zucchini and then cut *thick* coins of zucchini. Coarsely chop the broccoli. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and chop into medium-sized pieces. Chop the sausage into thick coins.
Pour all the veggies and sausage on the sheet pan.
In a small bowl combine all of the seasonings and salt and pepper if desired (I use about 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt) with the olive oil. Stir to combine.
Pour the seasoning & oil mixture on top of the veggies and sausage and thoroughly toss to coat.
Place in the heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove and toss around the veggies + sausage and return to the oven for another 10-20 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender.
Remove and serve on top of rice or quinoa if desired. (Also great plain!)

Recipe + photos via Pinterest

www.chelseasmessyapron.com

These chicken lettuce wraps are a copycat recipe from PF Changs. If you didn’t order these wraps, you were not cool;) You could serve these with extra veggies on the side!
Chicken Lettuce Wraps - Double Dose of Fitness | adoubledose.com Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Serves: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground chicken
1 tbsp peanut oil
½ onion, minced
1 cup red or green pepper, diced
1 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained and minced

Sauce:

3 tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp sweet chili sauce
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp powdered ginger

Topping:

¼ cup peanuts, crushed
Lettuce or your favorite Asian salad

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together sauce ingredients until well combined. If you use a firmer peanut butter you may need to microwave the mixture for 30-60 seconds in order to melt it and ensure everything is well-mixed.
Heat 2 tbsp peanut oil in a frying pan.
Once hot, add ground chicken.
Cook until some pieces are starting to brown. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is becoming translucent.
Add the peppers and water chestnuts and cook about 5 minutes or until peppers are becoming soft.
Add sauce and simmer on low heat until the chicken and veggies are evenly coated and everything is heated through.
Serve in lettuce leaves, on top of your favorite Asian salad, or over noodles or rice!

Recipe + photos via Pinterest

www.joyfoodsunshine.com

Also, be sure to check our Pinterest to see more healthy recipes + workouts!

Fashion

How To Style A Choker

February 14, 2017

{ Grey Sweater | Grey Bag | Espadrille Wedges Black Here | Ripped Jeans | Black Choker | Sunglasses | Nail Color | Lip Color “Life Of The Party” | BRACELETS: David Yurman Cable Bracelets here , here, and here and Pave Bangle | RINGS: David Yurman Ring here and here | Lightening Bolt Necklace and Hamsa Necklace Similar Here | WATCH: Michele Deco Watch }

Even though chokers have been on trend for a while now, we still are rocking them! This velvet choker is super cute for spring, and is so effortless! You can throw it on with a simple grey v-neck sweater, like this one for a simple, neutral look.

This v-neck sweater is warm and thick, but not super heavy! We love v-neck sweaters because they’re flattering on everyone!

We paired the sweater with our favorite stretchy jeans from Topshop. They come in black, too, which we also own! They are on sale for $42, aka a steal, and have the perfect rips in them!

Nordstrom has so many great options to transition your wardrobe for spring. We love the Topshop section because they always have really great, trendy options that always have a fun twist on basics. They offer free shipping and returns, which is why we LOVE shopping there so much! Shop more Topshop pieces here!

In partnership with Nordstrom.

Lifestyle

Valentine’s Day – Dates Gone Wrong

February 13, 2017

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we decided it would be fun/funny/super entertaining to have a guest writer on our blog to share some her hilarious dating stories. We are sure you some of y’all will totally be able to relate, or just get in a good laugh;) Enjoy! Xo

Hey guys, guest writer here coming at ya with some needless to say, interesting dating stories for your sheer entertainment. Now, I see Lex and Sam on a pretty regular basis, and some of our conversations (well let’s get real, most of them) consist of the world we all like to call “dating”. I’m not even sure we can call it that based on how we’re all basically swiping until our thumbs hurt, but let’s just go with that for now. There were some nights where I left dates thinking…”wait, did that just really happen?” only to realize, yes, it did. And, it happened to me. Awesome. Hopefully some of you can share my laughter (and also pain), and have some similar experiences that you can relate these to.

I first downloaded Bumble for the sole purpose of using the BFF portion…well, at first. I had moved to Dallas recently, and work in a pretty male-dominant field, so meeting girls that I can Netflix, brunch, and spin with was a lot harder than I expected. I met some pretty great girls on Bumble BFF, one being Miranda: Blonde, athletic, and a traveler, I thought, “Hey, she seems like someone I could go to ACL with…and she would probably wear a flower crown too.” We exchange numbers and the invitations to HH ensue. She invited me to happy hour one Thursday night when I was already in bed. My response was, “Hey girl, sorry I’m actually already in PJ’s…PMS has gotten the best of me!” She seemed to understand, and it ended there. A couple of weeks later, Miranda pops up on my screen with an invitation to a party later that night. My response, “Hey girl, I’m actually at spin right now, and am going to a work thing later. Thanks for the invite, though!” What happened next I legitimately cannot make up.

Her “Why do you keep calling me girl?”

Me “…I think that’s just how I talk?”

Her “To be honest I think you’re chill and pretty, so I wanted to hangout with you, and see what you’re about. But, I guess that won’t be happening.”

At this point I was convinced I had used the Bumble BFF app incorrectly, and signed onto the “Women-Only” filter. I mean, she was hitting on me,right?

Me “Wait, didn’t we meet on bumble BFF?”

Her “No, we met at The Old Crow. Lol, don’t worry about it.” HARD PAUSE. “But if you can’t remember – you held my dog’s leash while I went inside to buy drinks. Well, you seemed like a cool person I guess. Bye.”

O. M. G. I had confused Miranda with this guy I had met a few weeks back at a bar in Dallas. So, this WHOLE time I am texting him about sweat pants and PMS, thinking it was a woman. I cannot describe the range of emotions I felt in that 5 minute time frame, but it went from cool to scared to mortified. Needless to say, I never had my brunch date with Miranda.

I have a friend that used to live in Dallas, that when I was in a relationship, I would bumble for her. She will openly admit that her text game is not strong, and I can be moderately witty sometimes,so I would talk to guys for her in the app. She matched, made dates, and we did our due diligence to cyber stalk the candidates. She went out with a guy we will call “McLaren”, and proceeded to tell me about how much fun she had after the date. One night while watching RHOBH on her sofa, I asked to see the guy she went out with. Within 14 minutes, I was able to figure out alma mater, ex girlfriend, career, position at career, and get an overall sense for who McLaren was as a person. My friend, Zoodles, went out with him a few times and really liked the guy. He ended up ghosting her, and she came to me about it because she was pretty upset. We quickly came up with 30 excuses as to why that happened (lost his cell phone, was training to be an Astronaut, got eaten by a lion…you know, the usual). A few months later, I was single and bumbling and matched with a guy that was witty, super fun, and seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders. We went for sushi and I kept having that feeling that I knew him (I get this feeling all the time on the account that my memory is so insanely bad). We said goodnight, I went home and it was still bothering me how I felt like I knew him. I found his social media page and did some digging…and then it clicked. THIS WAS THE GUY THAT GHOSTED ZOODLES. We went out a few more times and I ended up confronting him about it, and his reply was “at the end of the day I just wasn’t attracted to her.” We didn’t go out again.

While on bumble, I matched with a tall, dark, and handsome guy that seemed to be pretty well -rounded. We texted a bit, and yoga came up (probably because some of my pictures are of me doing yoga poses in nature…lol). He asked me to a yoga class and I dismissed the invitation because I typically don’t do workouts for the first date. I mean, who wants to be hot, sweaty, and bending in ways that seem abnormal to yourself, let alone someone who you’re trying to impress? We texted a little after that, but never actually took the first date plunge. My friend came in town, who is a yoga instructor and owns her own studio, so naturally I wanted to take her to a few classes around Dallas during her stay. We go to one of my favorite studios in State Thomas on a Saturday morning, and I am super pumped. I roll out my mat, get in child’s pose, and proceed to stretch. The class was relatively full, and surprisingly, there were a lot of men in the class. I notice someone that looked familiar in the class, and realize it’s the guy that I never went on a date with…located directly in front of my mat. He was staring at me, so I kept trying to turn my face the other direction and continue with my practice. I thought “well, he may not know its me. I’m sweating and have no makeup on, surely I look like plenty of other brunettes and am not recognizable right now.” At the end of class, an announcement is made – WILL [my name] PLEASE SEE THE FRONT DESK. Oh. No. It’s not like there are a ton of [my name]’s in this city, let alone in this yoga class. As soon as the instructor uttered my name, the guy turned around and cut his eyes at me. I ran out of the class as quickly as possible and left my friend so confused as to what was happening. I told her the story after class at brunch, only to receive a text from the guy saying “how funny is it that we were in the same class this morning? I thought that was you!” No bro, just no.

I work in a field that sometimes on Friday nights you need a night out with your team (wait, that’s every field, lol). One Friday, me and 3 guys from my team go out on Greenville/Deep Ellum. Two of them live in Fort Worth, so I felt obliged to show them just how great Dallas is. We went to a few bars and ended up at High and Tight (one of my faves). This was pretty well into the night and we were all pretty happy at this point. I was trying to corral everyone and could not find 2 of them, and see my teammate talking to some guy. I go up to him and say “I can’t find Hank”, and interrupt their conversation. The guy, I will call Mr. Robot, proceeded to allude to the fact that I was rude for interrupting their conversation. We begin to play the “wait, who are you again?” game and he leads with the statement “I have a patent pending for a robot I designed.” Ummm…come again? He pulls out his phone and shows me videos of this robot that basically has caterpillar like tendencies and can crawl up stairs. Cool. Little did he know he was talking to an Engineer. I countered with “well, I built a robot in 6th grade that was solar powered, moved on its own, and was named Frank.” We argued about robotics for the next 20 minutes, and then he asked me out. We have dinner plans next Thursday.

I got asked out by a guy in finance (the typical frat, too-cool-for-school guy) which I wouldn’t normally say yes to…except where he wanted to take me, I could NOT refuse. He texted me asking if I wanted to go to sushi or a concert that Juvenile, Trick Daddy, and Scarface were performing at. AS IF THAT’S EVEN A QUESTION? Who wouldn’t want to go to that concert. He picks me up with a few roadies, and off we go to dinner. Things are going well, he opens the car doors, he’s making fun of himself, and flattering me a lot (all while I’m eating a cheeseburger). We get to the concert and are a little tipsy at this point. I’m standing next to a 6’ 4” girl with a full afro, and he’s next to a 6’ 8” basically NBA player. I’m 5’ 4”. The pours get heavy, the music is loud, and “back that ass up” comes on. I am in pure heaven. We get a little rowdy, are having a good time, and before I know it, it is time to leave. I’m feeling pretty good at the point where we arrive to my house. He hints at the idea of him coming upstairs, and in my head I think “just because you took me to a Juvenile concert, you think you get to come upstairs???” I politely turn him away, and he proceeds to kick me out of his car, leaving me on the sidewalk, speeding away. We never spoke again.

And, if you’re looking or some fun Galentine gift ideas, check out these:

Fashion / Lifestyle

Our Tips for Blogging

February 10, 2017

{ Red Thermal Peplum Top | Ripped Jeans | Nail Color | Lip Color “Life Of The Party” | BRACELETS: David Yurman Cable Bracelets here , here, and here and Pave Bangle | RINGS: David Yurman Ring here and here | Lightening Bolt Necklace and Hamsa Necklace Similar Here | WATCH: Michele Deco Watch | Marble Laptop Case | Couch Similar Here | Throw Pillow Similar Here }

We have been getting a lot of questions about tips on starting a blog, and just various questions about blogging in general, so we thought we would share some tips with y’all (not that we are experts AT ALL), haha. We have been blogging full time since September 2015, so about a year and a half. We have definitely learned what has worked for us, and what doesn’t work as well. Sidetone: this thermal top is so fun and love that it has buttons and a cute peplum hem!
Just to give y’all some background, we were not always fashion bloggers, obviously. We both graduated with degrees in Management Information Systems from The University of Texas at Austin, and worked at Ernst & Young for a year out of college. After that, we both left our jobs to pursue personal training, and something more creative. Eventually, we kind of fell into blogging, and have now turned it into our careers. We absolutely LOVE what we do, but that is not to say that it is still a job, and you will always have your good and bad days, like anything else!

So, here are our tips/advice for starting a blog, or improving your current one:

Be Consistent:

This goes with posting on social media (Instagram, snapchat, etc), and your blog. If you are not consistent, and readers don’t know what to expect or when you will be sharing content, they will drop off, and find someone who will. Yes, it can be a pain to constantly be thinking about the next post, but you have to be ready to keep feeding content to your audience. As y’all may be able to tell, we are CONSTANTLY on our phones, and will post between 4-5 times a day on Instagram, alone.

Stay Focused:

It can be very easy to go from posting your latest meal, or that cute quote you saw on Pinterest, but if you’re trying to share outfits or fashion inspiration, you need to stay focused on that topic. It can be very confusing to your readers if you jump around from topic to topic. With that being said, if you are a lifestyle blogger like we are, it is totally awesome if you find a way to incorporate food with your outfit, or travel with your outfits, etc. There are definitely bloggers that have a very cohesive feed and a color scheme to their Instagram feed, and some that don’t. We think you should do whatever works for you, but just remember to stay focused!Edit Your Photos:

This is a MAJOR one. We are not talking about going in and photoshopping your face or making your arms or waist look smaller, haha (call me an idiot, but I didn’t know there was an actual app that you could do that with until the other day!) Having clear, bright photos is super important. We get asked all of the time what camera we use. Most of the time, we use our iPhone camera or our Cannon 60D with the 50mm 1.8 lens. Nobody wants to see a dark image on your feed. We never post the raw image just because a picture can always look brighter, even if it is taken in good, natural lighting. Our favorite apps are Lightroom and Snapseed.

Focus On What Works Best for You:

We are sure we are not the only ones that are constantly comparing ourselves to other people in the industry. Of course, it is only natural to do. However, it is important to realize that someone else’s content may not do well on your Instagram or blog, or visa versa. We both know, for example, that most of the time, headless shots (sounds SO silly) or mirror pictures receive the best engagement. It probably has to do with being relatable, or maybe y’all just don’t want to see our face;) No, just kidding, but it makes sense! We do take pictures with our nicer camera, but those are mainly for the blog pictures.Think Outside Of The Box:

Like in any creative industry, it is super easy (and convenient) to just steal someone’s ideas or creativity, BUT, it is important to give credit to them, or to just put your own twist on it. We are sure you all are probably tired of seeing the same types of “poses” or outfits all over social media, but to be honest, it is just human nature. Of course, if we see something that looks super similar to something one of us posted a few days before, it is hard to not become annoyed about it, but it is definitely a form of flattery. Our recommendation is to save something you love the look of, and brainstorm ways to make your take on it different than the original. It also never hurts to give credit to whatever or whomever inspired you!:)Be Engaged With Your Readers:

This one is probably the one we think you should spend the most time on. If you’re not engaged and listening to your readers, or responding to them, they will not value your opinion, or feel that connection to you. Does it take a TON of time? Absolutely. But, we think it is super critical. I am totally one of those people late at night (hello 1 or 2am) responding to comments or email in my bed when I should be asleep, or promised myself I would finally go to bed early;) It is not even about the money or “making a sale”, it is just my personality to want to help others, or feel like I got everything done I needed to. We both may not be able to respond to ever single comment, but we do our best to respond to questions via Instagram, snapchat, email, etc. We also will frequently ask our readers if they like that post or if they have anything content related they want to see!

We hope those tips were helpful. As always, please email us with any questions you may have about anything. We will also be sharing another post soon on the myths of blogging, which we are really excited to share!