In case you missed our last episode of An Extra Dose, you can listen to that here!
A little about this episode:
On this episode of An Extra Dose Podcast, Samantha and Alexis are taking the Vogue 73 questions challenge, and answering a bunch of random questions about advice, favorite foods, dating, and more! The girls finish off with their favorite Amazon purchases recently.
Items We Talked About In This Episode:
Glass Straws
Pill/Supplement Organizer
ALSO, we would LOOOOVE to hear your feedback. Don’t forget to rate + review us on iTunes.
To listen to the episode, click the PLAY button at the top, or you can search “an extra dose” in iTunes or the podcast app!
Have a question or topic idea? — Send any questions you wanted answered on An Extra Dose to [email protected] OR comment below on this post.
**In case you miss any of our future episodes of An Extra Dose, you can listen to them under on our main page (adoubledose.com > Podcast).
Happy Friday! So excited for today’s post! We are starting another new series that will be on Fridays every week where we answer some of your questions! We got an overwhelming response of questions, so we will break it up into some for next week.
In case you missed our other series we started, Wellness Wednesday, you can check those out .1 and .2 here. If your question wasn’t answered, be sure and send us a message on Instagram, or email us at [email protected]
HAVE YOU MET ANYONE INTERESTING/FAMOUS THROUGHOUT YOUR TIME BLOGGING?
What a good question! We have had so many cool experiences and opportunities, and we are so grateful! Some people that we have gotten to meet are Hilary Swank, Jackie Joyner Kersee, and Scottie Pippin. We have also gotten to meet SO many sweet, amazing influencers that are so hard working and inspiring!
C E L E R Y J U I C E:
IF YOU MAKE THE CELERY JUICE AHEAD OF TIME, DOES IT LOSE ANY NUTRITIONAL/BENEFICIAL PROPERTIES FROM IT NOT BEING FRESH?
We got all of our information from this page, and have shared some information about celery juice in this post. Medical Medium recommends drinking it immediately after juicing. If not, don’t go more than 24 hours after juicing it to consume! Seal it in a mason jar and store in fridge.
DOES THE CELERY NEED TO BE ORGANIC?
We have read that organic is best, but we honestly haven’t been buying organic recently! We read that organic is better, but you can always buy the conventional and wash with fragrance-free dish soap and warm water, or just a quick rinse with warm water!
CAN YOU ADD AN APPLE OR SOMETHING TO THE CELERY JUICE IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE TASTE?
We personally do not add anything. Just straight celery, but Medical Medium recommends adding one juiced cucumber and/or one apple with the celery. He does say the greatest benefits come when celery juice is consumed on it’s own.
WHAT JUICER DO YOU ALL USE?
We use this one and LOVE it! We have had it for almost 6 months, since we started juicing celery!
B E A U T Y:
HAVE YOU EVER DONE LASER TREATMENTS ON YOUR FACE? IF SO, WHICH ONES DO YOU RECOMMEND?
We have not had any laser treatments on our face, but if we did get anything done in the future, we would highly recommend Enlighten MD in Dallas. That is where we go for any type of service like that like laser hair removal, botox, and our eyebrow permanent makeup!
WHERE DO YOU GO FOR YOUR EYELASH EXTENSIONS?
We both go to Lashing Out. We either see Hanna or Shelby, but all of the girls there are great! Mention us if you go, or let us know:)
WHAT IS YOUR HONEST OPINION ABOUT BEAUTY COUNTER AND THEIR PRODUCTS? I AM TRYING TO CHANGE THE PRODUCTS I USE AND THE WAY I AM EATING!
We totally understand that! We love the ones we have tried, and have had great results! Definitely important to us to know what we are putting in and on our body! You can see all of our favorites in this blog post and this podcast episode, where we share about another natural beauty brand, Tula (use DOUBLEDOSE for 20% off!).
F A S H I O N:
WHAT IS YOUR GO-TO OR FAVORITE DALLAS BOUTIQUES TO SHOP AT?
We honestly do most of our shopping online, but when we do go out shopping, we love:
We honestly live in comfy clothes, like sweats when we are not shooting content. We love comfy pj sets like this one and this one. We also love a good, soft jogger like this pair, and this super soft cardigan that feels like a blanket!
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE PLACES/SITES TO BUY SWIMSUITS?
Happy Friday, y’all! We are excited to share some of our most common questions answered today on the blog! If you all have any other questions you want answered, email us at [email protected]
What is your opinion on laser hair removal? Does it hurt and has it helped, and what areas have you gotten it done?
Before we get into anything about laser hair removal, we want to say that we HIGHLY recommend it. We have been getting ours done at Enlighten MD for almost a year now, and couldn’t be happier with the results. We will have a full blog post on it once we finish all of our treatments. We have gotten treatment on our underarms and bikini. We have seen a dramatic improvement on our underarms and bikini. We used to have a shadow on our underarms by the end of the day after shaving, but now it is so soft (like a baby), and the hair doesn’t really grow back– super fine! The bikini is the same. We have both seen a huge difference! As far as pain, it does hurt, but they give you numbing cream to apply before to help with that a little. The underarms we don’t numb for, but the bikini, we definitely do! The good part is that it only hurts for a second while the laser goes off (almost like a rubber band snap).
What do you like to do to unwind from a hard day?
That is a great question! We are honestly TERRIBLE at slowing down, and that is one of our goals for the new year. To be honest, we will probably be writing a blog post on this specifically because we have both been suffering from Adrenal Fatigue and a ton of constant stress, so we are working on that. We have both started to slow down on our instagram posts each day, just to help alleviate the stress. We are extremely type-A, so it is challenging for us, but our health is more important than anything else. We have been trying to incorporate more yoga (even at home), meditating, going on walks, trying to be present (aka be off the phone and actually relax on the couch or watch a movie). We don’t really take baths, but that can be relaxing! We also loveeee going to reflexology. Look it up if you haven’t been before!
What is your opinion on Lululemon?
We love Lululemon! They have some great pieces. We love their speed shorts and their long-sleeved tops. As far as leggings, we have some of them, but think there are other brands that are just as good! Their mens stuff is really great, too!
What is the best way to get exposure when you’re a new blogger? Sometimes it feels like I am posting for no one but my mom, haha!
That is a great question, and honestly, we feel the same way most of the time, if it makes you feel any better. Instagram has completely changed their algorithm, and people don’t see your posts anymore, unless you’re continuously ‘liking’ and commenting on all of our pictures. We would suggest interacting with other bloggers like commenting on their pictures to get exposure, and just to post consistently. It can be discouraging, but keep going!
How do you make your photo collages for the gift guides?
I use Adobe Photoshop!
What do you usually get done on your nails and where do you go?
We usually get nexgen dip in this color. We go to Castle Nail Spa in Mockingbird station. For those of y’all who don’t know what dip is, or what the difference between that and gel, you can read more in this post.
Who does your hair in Dallas?
We got to Hair By Viviana. We have been going to her since we moved to Dallas 4.5 years ago, and wouldn’t go anywhere else. She is amazing!
What do you all usually eat to stay fit?
We usually will eat something with carbs, protein, and healthy fats. We will usually eat eggs with toast, a smoothie bowl, oatmeal, or something like that for breakfast. For lunch, we will usually have a salad with chicken or salmon, and for dinner, usually some kind of lean protein with vegetables and a healthy carb like sweet potatoes, squash, rice, etc. You can read more about what we eat in a day in this post. We also have snacks throughout the day like hummus and veggies, or a quest bar.
Where can I find your recipe for your smoothie bowls?
You can find the recipe for the smoothie bowl and what we use at the bottom of this post.
I saw that you all got microblading done on your eyebrows. Do you recommend it, and how long does it last?
Yes, we did! We got it done over a year ago at Enlighten MD (more about it in this post). We HIGHLY recommend it. Even a year later, we still only have to fill in our eyebrows a little bit. It lasts about a year, or longer, depending on how active you are, etc. It makes all the difference!
I noticed you all have Apple watches. I was thinking about getting one, but I don’t know which model to buy. What are your thoughts on it?
I am visting Dallas in a couple of weeks. What are some of your favorite restaurants?
Some of our favorite restaurants are: Mudhen Meats in the farmer’s market, Henry’s Majestic, HG Sply Co, Mr. Mesero, Kozy Kitchen, Americano, and Ziziki’s. You can also read some of our other favorite spots in this post.
I am petite like you all. What are some of your favorite jeans?
How do you hear about new restaurants you post on your insta-stories?
We love to use yelp! It is a game changer!
How do you start your day off?
We both usually jump right into work, but are trying to be better about it and get up slowly, eat breakfast before answering any emails, etc. We have been trying to do more yoga in the mornings, but it is still a work in progress. We love to drink hot water with lemon or green tea!
What workout tennis shoes do you like best?
We love this pair for running around, this pair is SO comfy (highly recommend), and this pair is also really comfy.
Does Nordstrom sponsor you and your sister?
Nordstrom does not sponsor us, unless it is noted at the bottom of the blog post. We always disclose when we are patterning with a brand.
How did you first get started as a blogger? Any tips for an aspiring fashion/style blogger?
That is a great question. We actually started in public accounting and just started sharing our outfits, and it kind of took off from there. You can read more about it in this post and this post. We also shared some tips in those posts!
I have never shopped at Shein before? Is it a safe site?
It is a safe site. They have a great mix of trendy pieces, but it is kind of hit or miss. We only share the pieces we like, so we can’t speak for everything on the site. You can use ADOUBLE20 for 20% off.
What are your guys’ resolutions for this year? Any new things you guys are trying out? Any places on your travel bucket list you’re going to?
We haven’t set any major resolutions other than to really slow down this year. We are always “go-go-go” and our health has been really affected by that. We are trying to take more breaks and take more time off of work, so we are not so burnt out. We have been trying to incorporate more yoga, too. We are dying to go to Spain!
What is your go-to-cheat meal? Have you tried veganism?
Our go-to cheat meal is probably ice cream or pizza. We have not tried veganism before. We eat animal products. We have eaten paleo for a little bit.
How did you become insta famous, and actually fund the lifestyle you live? Love you btw!
That is very sweet. We don’t consider ourselves “famous”, but we truly do love what we do. Similar to the question previously, we talked about how we got into blogging and this career in this post. We actually do this full-time and this is how we support ourselves.
What happened to your podcast? Noticed you guys haven’t done an episode in a while. Loved them!
We had to take a break (that wasn’t supposed to be so long) due to schedules, the app we used not working anymore, and just timing. We are definitely planning on having it up again soon– just trying to find the time to start up again!
What is your hair/makeup routine/ what are your fave products?
How do you keep your hair so long and healthy? Any tips?
We only wash our hair about once or twice a week. We take a bunch of vitamins (more in this post) and eat a bunch of fruits and veggie. Oh, and we drink a lot of water!
In case you missed it, we shared our first edition of Coffee Talk in this post. This time, we decided to do a video version to be more interactive. We love getting to feel like we are talking with you all one-on-one. If you don’t want to watch the whole video (it is kind of long, and we tend to ramble, haha), you can grab some of the links to what we are talking about below! We apologize for the bad quality video!
What are some gift suggestions for a friend’s birthday?
Some of our gift suggestions are something personalized. We love a good personalized gift because it is thoughtful and meaningful. Some of our ideas are:
card case like this and this to put all of their credit cards, ID, etc. in with their name painted or monogrammed on it. We used DTLA custom for ours.
To clean our tennis shoes, we will usually throw them in the washing machine with the rest of our clothes. We do this for all of our workout tennis shoes, and they have turned out great! Make sure there is a good amount of clothes in there, so your shoes aren’t banging around, haha.
For shoes like Vans, or Adidas, we use a toothbrush and Clorox bleach to clean the white part of the shoes. We don’t use this for the material part. Also, you can use a magic eraser on the white parts as well.
How do you all stay so slim? What is your workout regime?
Thank you, that is so sweet. Honestly, there is no secret to what we do. We eat very healthy, and workout regularly. We shared what we typically eat in this post, and we share our workout routines every Wednesday in these posts. We also have reviewed this workout guide, and think it is a great tool for eating healthy and working out!
See more ideas below [click through to view items]:
What socks do you wear with your tennis shoes that are “no-show”?
We wear these and LOVE them. They never show, and they’re great with shoes like Vans, too.
What are the best calf exercises to do?
The best calf exercises to do are calf raises. We suggest doing calf raises once a week (can be done with your leg day, or just with another muscle group). We usually do 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps of calf raises with our toes pointed in (10-15 reps), toes pointed outwards, and toes parallel (forward). So, 10-15 reps, each, of each toe direction, and 3-4 sets of that total. It sounds like a lot, but you want to make sure you’re exercising your entire calf muscle group. Also, you can do these weighted or unweighted. We suggest using 10-15 lb dumbbells in each hand.
Happy Friday! You may have seen us asking you all to send us any kind of questions you all had that you wanted us to answer, so we are going to be starting a new series every other Friday, where we will be sharing our answers to all of your questions, so feel free to snap us or email us any questions you all want answered!
This weekend there is a HUGE St. Patrick’s Day parade, and we live right in the middle of it. We are not big drinkers, so we will be avoiding our area, haha. Hope you all have a great weekend!
Hope you all enjoy this post, let us know your thoughts! Xo
What is your best advice for someone who wants to leave the corporate world to start their business? And/or pros & cons of corporate world vs running your own business.
Our best advice to wanting to leave the corporate world to start a business is to save money and have an initial short-term plan. Obviously, you can’t plan too much, or you’ll get overwhelmed, and plans don’t always turn out exactly how you plan them to. We would also say that if you’re leaving to pursue something you’re truly passionate about, you will never regret it. It is an incredible feeling getting to do something you TRULY enjoy and have a passion for. It never seems like work, and even if you’re working late, it is because you love it. There is nothing like it. There will definitely be tough times, and time you want to give up, but it is always worth it!
There are obviously tons of pros:
setting your own hours
working for yourself
getting to pursue your passion
when you accomplish something, it is all you
and, cons:
never really have paid time off or a vacation
have to be extremely disciplined if you want to succeed
all of the pressure falls on you
Would you mind sharing the recipe y’all use for the roasting chicken/cornish hen in the oven?
It is actually our mom’s recipe, and SO good! We ate most of it;)
INGREDIENTS:
4 Cornish game hens
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp each of garlic powder, paprika, ground chili pepper, crushed garlic, black pepper
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together seasonings.
3. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with mixture.
4. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them.
5. Pour white wine at bottom of pan.
5. Top with sliced onions.
6. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1:15 min.
7. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes.
I was just wondering if you recommend buying followers if you want have a popular page but havent been getting noticed the natural way? Also, do you ever buy followers?
For us personally, we do not recommend it. We have never purchased any followers. We like to stay as authentic as possible, and honestly, what you see is what you get with us. We have built our loyal audience by staying true to ourselves and we are so grateful for y’all that we would never want to compromise that! Sadly, there are SO many bloggers and companies that buy followers and likes that it sucks when they claim they’re authentic. It is a very common thing since there’s a TON of competition and everybody is trying to one up each other. Bottom line: we haven’t done it and we don’t believe in it.
I am considering doing the whole 30 diet, as I have been going through some major digestive/stomach issues the last couple of years and know it’s very similar to paleo. I read y’alls most recent blog post on paleo. My main question/concern is how do you stay energized enough to get through your workouts going grain free? Or does your body just learn to adapt to it?
That is a great question! We actually don’t remember not having energy for our workouts, but we do recommend trying to eat as many vegetables as you can. If you’re feeling low on energy, make sure you’re eating enough protein, drinking enough water, and maybe try adding in some carbs from sweet potato or butternut squash, or something like that!
Favorite self tanner? Are your manicures gel nails?
Our favorite self tanner by far is the St. Tropez one! We use the mitt with it and we LOVE it! It can be a bit pricier but it works SO well! It doesn’t have that funky smell that most have and you actually look bronze instead of orange! Also, it doesn’t leave you streak when you use the mitt. Even better, you don’t get any embarrassing marks on your hands because you use the mitt! The tanner is a mouse and goes on bronze so you can see where it goes on and you have instant color! They also have this starter kit that comes with the mitt!
Our nails are not gel manicures. We used to be gel addicts, but we have been getting dip for portably a year now. We love it! If you aren’t familiar, the don’t use a light or anything to cure it. We’d say it’s probably between gel and acrylic. They basically dip your nails in this powder, then put layers of clear on, and then buff them with the drill. You still soak off with acetone, but these last about 3 weeks instead of 2 and they don’t chip like gel does sometimes! They come in TONS of colors. Our go to is usually white or S45 in dip powder, which is a light pink. Essie “Fiji” is a similar color in regular polish that is very similar to the color we get!
Please tell us your teeth whitening routine again.
For our teeth whitening, we use this whitening toothpaste. It works great for maintaining white teeth and getting rid of coffee and tea stains! For the whitening gel, we use this Zoom whitening gel that we put in mouth trays we had made at our dentist office. You could probably use your retainer if you don’t have a mouth tray. We use the overnight gel, and like doing that because you can wear them while you’re sleeping and take them out in the morning. We try to do it every other night, or every couple days, so our teeth don’t get too sensitive!
We also drink our coffee and teas through a straw, and try to brush our teeth after we drink coffee in the mornings!
Are those your natural eye lashes or extensions?
No, these are not our natural lashes ( we wish!). We get individual lash extensions, and we are OBSESSED! We have had them for about 2 years, and haven’t looked back. We used to curl our lashes wayyy too much, which led to them look shorter because they were breaking.. not good! We usually go about 2-3 week for a fill, but since we get Russian Volume (which is 2-3 extensions per lash), you can go up to 5 weeks. Our hair and lashes grow so fast, we need to go more often. Pricing depends on where you go, but make sure you go somewhere reputable or you can mess up your natural ones! We go to Lashing Out, and we love it there! There’s nothing better than waking up without having to put mascara on or curling lashes! Love not wearing a lot of makeup!
I have a question about your makeup. Do you wear eyeshadow? if so, what brand and color?
We actually don’t wear any eyeshadow, but we love this eyeshadow palette for a ton of natural-looking colors, and also ones to dress up your eye makeup! We also have eyelash extensions and microblading on our eyebrows. We did this post on our favorite makeup products, too!
In a previous IG live, you mentioned you no longer eat potatoes and rice..would you say that you eat mainly low carb now? As in mostly vegetables? Did the diet change make you feel more tired?
We do eat pretty low in carbs (specifically starchier carbs like rice, potatoes, breads, etc). We mainly get our carbs from vegetables and fruits, with the exception of ice cream, drinks, and some sweets sometimes! The diet change did not make us feel less tired, mainly because we are still eating a LARGE volume of food. We eat tons of vegetables (aka a garden) with every meal, and people are so shocked by it, haha. The reason why we started eating this way is because we realized our bodies responded better to lower starchier carbs, and more vegetables, instead. Of course, every body is different, so eating that kind of stuff, which is definitely good for you and healthy, is not bad at all, and may be better for you!
How did you’ll start to become fashion bloggers?
Great question! We have always been into fashion all of our lives (and actually were awarded “Best Dressed” in high school!). We actually majored in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin (hook ‘em!) and worked at Ernst & Young out of college. After that, we left our corporate jobs to do some personal training for about 6 months, and then finally started our blog. We actually just posted on instagram for a little while, and then it took off! We coded our own blog (based on our IT backgrounds) and take all of our own photos, etc. It is a A LOT of work, but so much fun! We have done several posts on this on the blog, here and here, in case you want to learn more!
Im curios how much make up you guys wear. You have told me about microblading and eyelashes and half of the time when I see you and your sister that’s all I notice besides the gloss. So Maybe touch on the topic of how you feel about getting ready now and what you guys have done to shorten or better yet what you do that makes you feel better overall when it comes to this topic.
That is a great question! As far as getting ready for our makeup, we really do not wear a whole lot of it. We do have microblading on our eyebrows, and have eyelash extensions. As far as makeup goes, we recently started using this foundation that we LOVE. It is super lightweight and goes on so smooth! We also use BareMinerals. For bronzer, we use this Bobbi Brown one in ‘Aruba’. For blush, we use this Bobbi Brown bush in “Sand Pink”. For mascara, we use Lancome definicils (on our bottom lashes). For lip gloss, we love this one in the color “Life Of The Party” That is really all we wear! It takes us maybe 5 mintues, tops, if we are wearing all of that. For the gym, we don’t wear anything but mascara. The eyelashes and eyebrows are a game changer!
We got the inspiration for this post from the gorgeous ladies from Somewhere Lately! They have such fun outfits and are gorgeous ladies, and we love their coffee talk posts.
