One of the things we LOVE the most is finding the perfect gift for someone. There is nothing better than seeing their face light up with they receive something personal to them, or something they dropped hints on for months and months.
While we wish we had a disposable income just so we could give our friends and family the world, we do our best to find some gifts that meet a need but don’t break the bank. That is why we decided to put together some gift guides for you all to use!
Over the next few weeks, expect to see some gift guides tailored to specific people, national shopping days, personality types and more. We have done our best to be thoughtful in curating these guides for you to use, all within a relatively normal gifting budget.
Our first guide is comprised of ALL the best Black Friday Deals. Yes – we looked through tons of circulars to find you the most bang for your buck – you’re welcome! Here you will find gifts for EVERYONE on your list, most of which are normally big ticket items for a decent price. Shop the links below to help us out (it cost’s you nothing but we get a little something back) and start crossing gifts off that list of yours!
We know, we’re probably the LAST people on earth to try Color Street. But, we just LOVE the experience of going to get a manicure. However, sometimes our schedules don’t allow for time at the salon, and neither do our bank accounts.
Enter Color Street – nail stickers made of real nail polish so they are supposed to be less damaging to your nails and last longer than polish. Well, we can tell you the hype may in fact be real! We have tried nail stickers before but none that have been as user friendly as these. Plus, one set is only $11!
While all stickers come with a bit of a learning curve to make sure your nails look flawless, they are pretty easy and there is no drying time. Just be sure you stretch it over the nail while pushing down to avoid wrinkles and air bubbles!
We chose a few fall colors so that our nails will look festive and we can save money on a manicure until 2021 at the earliest! Have you tried Color Street before? Let us know about your experience, or any other low cost manicure ideas!
The beginning of the week calls for new beginnings, and sometimes that means recommitting to eating right. One of the best ways to do that is to meal prep for the week. However, meal prepping is so time consuming and…ain’t nobody got time for that.
That’s where Nala’s Kitchen in Wallingford, CT comes in. We love this little biz because its owned and operated by two bad ass women, who have been friends for over 20 years! Chef Becca curates a weekly menu of healthy, allergen friendly meals for you to choose from, and they get delivered to your door fresh, never frozen. Plus, if your in their service area in CT, they only have a $5 flat rate for delivery – way less than grub hub.
Meighan tried their chicken dish with rice and mixed veggies, as well as their Hungarian mushroom soup this weekend and it was delightful and delicious. The rub that is used is a collaboration with My Big Fat Greek Rub, and has no salt and no sugar, perfect if you are dieting and eating clean! Most of the meals are naturally gluten and dairy free, substituting coconut milk for many dairy products. Plus, you get all nutrition facts and calorie counts for your meals!
If you’re like us, working remotely has taken a toll on your meal schedule and you may be missing a lunch or two due to back-to-back calls. Instead of turning to Grubhub or Uber Eats, you can pop one of these full meals in the microwave for a minute or two and have a complete, healthy meal!
If you head to their website and decide to try them out, be sure to tell them we sent you 🙂
For this week’s #lookforless, we wanted to pay homage to one of our favorite style icons – Paige Desorbo. She is a gem and we just love how her style is a mix of high chic and comfy. Basically what we hope our own closet can be described as.
Earlier in the summer, Paige shared this cute look of a blazer over a loungewear set from Skims. Well, we cant afford to splurge on Skims right now, but we LOVED the look for an elevated athleisure look.
Meighan is wearing a Lively mesh bralette under a Navy pin-striped open blazer. On the bottoms, these Target leggings and a pair of black sneakers! Top it all off with the cutest double zipper Kate Spade bag and you are ready for the comfiest brunch of your life!
Do you hate buying fresh produce because you just know you are going to throw it out in a few days? That definitely has been us in the past. Throwing away fresh produce is the equivalent of tossing cash in the trash in our book.
One of the things we’ve tried working on is making sure we only buy the fresh produce we need, but also thoroughly washing our fruits and veggies. While we have been doing this for a little over 6 months know, we can honestly say that the little extra TLC we put in to the storage process has given us almost 14 days of fresh strawberries, cherries, peppers, etc.
Using a fruit and veggie soak, like the Thieves one, helps to get ALL of the dirt, grime, chemicals, and more OUT of your produce – whether you buy organic or not. If you are just tossing these items under the running tap water for a few moments and then tossing in your fridge – You. Are. Doing. This. Wrong. And you are just asking to throw out a moldy bunch of fruit in under 48 hours.
Here’s how we use the Thieves soak to clean our produce, but you can also do this with a 4:1 Water and Vinegar mixture!
Add your produce to a large bowl and cover with cool water.
Add a capful (tablespoon) of the soak and swirl the produce around the mixture until slight bubbles form at the top.
Let sit in the bowl for 15 minutes.
Rinse the produce by pouring the contents of the bowl in colander and top with rushing tap water for a few seconds.
Lay flat on a dish towel to dry. Cover fruits and veggies with another dish towel. Before topping with a second towel, I also spray the fruit with a water/soak mixture (16:1) for added cleanliness.
Let dry for 20 minutes then transfer for storage.
Have you ever done a fruit and veggie soak when washing your produce before?
Recently, Brianna had the misfortune of needing an IV after not staying hydrated enough while working in the heat. She quickly learned how easy it is to become dehydrated, even when trying to drink plenty of water!
Because Brianna didn’t love having a needle in her arm for 30 minutes to help her get hydrated, she’s made some lifestyle changes to ensure it never happens again. One of those changes is drinking Liquid IV hydration multiplier packets regularly!
Our favorite flavor – Passion Fruit!
Brianna now starts most of her days by drinking a pack of Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier with 16oz of water. This provides the same benefit as drinking three 16oz bottles of water! Since Brianna usually works out early in the mornings, this is especially helpful in getting hydrated first-thing and maintaining that level of hydration all day
Haven’t tried Liquid IV yet? Now is your chance! We’ve partnered with them to give our followers 25% off with code SRSLY.SISTERS at the Liquid IV website so you can stay hydrated as the hot summer months wind down!
Be sure to tell us which flavor is your favorite! And be sure to check back as we review their new Energy multiplier!
Who doesn’t love a manicure?! Especially after nail salons were closed for so long up in CT, our nails desperately needed a little TLC.
While we used to be proponents of all different types of nail treatment, we have been staying the course of regular polish for all of 2020. Don’t get us wrong – we have tried all the soak off gel, UV gel, Dip powder and acrylics out there. But our nails became so damaged and brittle from each one, we decided to take the year off.
Right before new years, we bought the Essie Gel Couture 2 step set. It has been life changing, and no, we’re not being dramatic. Together, these polishes will keep your nails colored for 10+days. Its really incredible. And it is so easy to get off – just use acetone like you would on regular nail polish.
But what if you don’t want to do your nails at home (or every time you do, they look like a kindergartner had a field day)? That’s where this hack comes in!
Head to your local salon and get a regular manicure. They should run you around $10-13 bucks, already a $22 difference from most soak off gel services. Make sure your nails are really dry before leaving the salon, or you will smudge them and that’s a no-no. Then, either right when you get in your car or as soon as you get home, swipe the top coat polish from the Essie set over your polish. Don’t worry, if your nails are really dry it wont take anything off!
Meighan’s nails 6+ days after her manicure
This will keep your color in tact on your nail and prevent any chipping, even if you are rough on them or type all day. Trust us, Meighan has been using this trick for over 6 months now and can usually get 7-10 days, sometimes more, of chip-proof nails. Honestly, with this hack (and the $264/year savings), we may never go back to gel!
We love finding dupe outfits of celebrities or supermodels in order to look good, but at a certain price point. That’s why we love highlighting #looksforless, to help show the world that looking like a celebrity doesnt have to cost you your first born child.
For today’s look, Brianna took a classic Hailey Beiber outfit and switched it up. A simple Blue and white button down can do no wrong, and Hailey styles hers over her shoulder for added dramatics. Brianna keeps hers more modest. Pair with a quality denim jort and some sunnies and you are good to go! To get closer to Hailey’s exact look, slick your hair into a low bun and add some hoop earrings.
Be careful – people may do a double take when they pass you on the street in this outfit. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
We both have had curly hair our entire lives, but did not know how to properly take care of our luscious locks until recently. Brianna always had fine, frizz-less waves and curls that fell nicely but had no volume. Meighan was the total opposite – volume, frizz, and coarse curls galore. Not knowing how to properly care for our hair led to years of heat styling and eventually hair loss/breakage. Enter: The Curly Girl Method.
If you have heard of #curlygirlmethod before, you likely know its where people give up shampoo for a “no poo” style treatment, but may not know much else. That was us too! Meighan began looking into this method seriously around October 2018. She noticed clumps of hair would fall out when she showered, even though she was not washing her hair daily. After looking into a few options, she decided to try to tame her natural curls until her wedding in August of 2019. She made an appointment at a local DevaSalon in Connecticut to pick the stylists brain and learn all about her hair. It was an incredibly informative experience, and the first time anyone has ever dont a dry cut on her head.
After her experience, she began experimenting with curly hair products at home, completely purging herself of all hair care to date. Through trial and error, she was able to get some curl definition with slightly less frizz than before, and in a matter of weeks she was well on her way to finding her first wash routine.
2 months in to Meighan’s curly girl journey
During this time, she talked to Brianna about her experience. While Brianna’s hair is completely different than hers, she knows that there is a curl pattern and she might benefit from a Devacut as well. Brianna ended up going to get her hair cut in early 2019 by a Deva certified stylist, and began experimenting with curly hair products as well.
While we are both still in the transformation process, and occasionally still use heat styling tools so we are not full curly girl, we have seen a dramatic increase in the texture and style of our hair. Our curls are fresh and full of life, which was never the case before.
Brianna’s pre- and post- curly girl method transformationMeighan’s pre- and post-curly girl method transformation
Now, it is not uncommon for curly hair products to be well over $20 a bottle. The price alone could deter someone from trying to achieve healthier, natural hair. Plus, with a curly lifestyle comes some lifestyle changes like replacing towels and pillowcases. But do not worry! Although the process is 100% trial and error based on your hair type, we have compiled a list of all of our favorite curly hair products under $20. Yes, you read that right, it can be done. Take a look at our must have list to get started on your curly girl journey!
One of our favorite things to do is help people save money – that’s why we started our Instagram page! We love being able to find discounts or sales on some new and needed items – to keep you up to date on the latest trends while also keeping your bank account in the positive!
We love highlighting some of our favorite staples every Sunday, as we find that’s primarily the lazy days of the week. And when your sitting on the couch scrolling your phone, you’re more susceptible to online shop, which is a seriously dangerous habit! Instead of falling victim to the Facebook and Instagram ads you see during your scroll, we compile a list of items ALREADY ON SALE to help make that spur of the moment add to cart a little easier to swallow. This week, we browsed Amazon deals to compile our Sunday Savings Amazon
Scalp Scrubber: This is seriously a lifesaver for anyone who gets scalp build up! Being curly girls, we understand the struggle of scrubbing your scalp until it becomes raw to make sure all the product is out. This little tool helps immensely with that tedious shower task.
Lark & Ro Dress: Ok – so this brand is a recent find but their dresses are so comfy! They are a soft, stretchy material but perfect for traveling and staying wrinkle free! This dress in particular is under $30!
Meal Prep containers: Everyone needs these because everyone should be prepping food out for the week. This will help you stay on task for any weight loss/healthy eating program you may be on. The key to success is the plan!
Dimmable Ring Light + Tripod: How do we take photos of ourselves? Ask no more, because the secret is this bad boy. We love that it is USB powered and has 4 different light settings!
6 piece Towel Set: Who doesn’t love redoing their home while they are stuck in it for 5 months? We are definitely on a redecorating kick, so this price point is the perfect place to start with home remodels! Look out bathroom, you’re about to get a whole lot prettier!
Air Fryer: If you don’t have an air fryer yet, you are really missing out. One of our favorite kitchen gadgets, we have never cooked a bad thing in it yet!
Bralettes: If you are like us, you have been spending A LOT of time in loungewear since being stuck at home. Enter, a bralette perfect enough to make you forget all other bras existed! That’s this bad boy right here. It’s going to be really difficult to clasp a bra again.
