Christmas Blues

Hey Loves! F & J here!

The countdown is getting serious now. We have 17 days till Christmas, 18 days till our friend from Germany comes back into town, and 25 days until the new year! The Christmas season is going by so fast, partially because Thanksgiving was so late this year. 

Time is flying by so fast and yet our to-do list is growing! We don't even have time to slow down and feel Christmas, which is sad because even though we are doing all the normal Christmas things, it feels like we're just going through the motions and it doesn't feel special at all. The song Where Are You Christmas from The Grinch never felt so fitting. 

We do rely on our Christmas music to try and get us into the spirit. There is a lot of good Christmas albums out there. We thought we'd share some of our favorite music to help you, and us! get into the Christmas mood. 

The Prayer - Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli

I'll be Home for Christmas - Meghan Trainor

The Christmas Attic- Trans-Syberian Orchestra

Christmas - Michael Buble

Noel - Josh Groban

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey 

Mistletoe - Justin Beiber 

Little Drummer Boy - Pentatonix 

Of course there is many more songs and albums we love and if there is anymore that you love PLEASE tell us! We would love to hear more!

Love,

F & J 

It's Gotta Be Shoe

Hey loves! F & J here!

When it comes to Christmas, we love to give unique gifts that we know the person won't have. So today, we thought we'd share one of the ideas we came up with.

We had to post this picture because it's one our favorite bands wearing our all time favorite football teams jersey.Go Hawks!

J's family friend, who is 14, loves, loves, LOVES One Direction, so we were trying to figure out a way to give her a unique gift that she would love. There's a lot of One Direction paraphernalia out there, but she probably owns most of it already, so we wanted to play it safe and give her a gift that we could guarantee no one else could have and she would be proud to show off!

We decided to make her custom tennis shoes that she could wear whenever she was feeling that One Direction Infection coming on. She is a true fan girl so we knew she would love it. We bought a pair of white tennis shoes, and a pack of sharpies and let the magic begin. We came up with a rough idea of what we wanted the shoes to look like, keeping in mind at all times One Direction. Since most members are from the UK and one is from Ireland we decided to use the countries as a theme, one for each shoe. And put a flag on the back.

We themed one of the shoes orange, white, and green for Ireland and the other red, white, and blue for the UK. We covered the rest of the shoes with other One Direction themed stuff such as music notes, initials of their names, their names, and album titles and then added her favorite song lyrics to the shoes to make it even more personal. We texted asking for her favorite lyrics, she doesn't know what we're up to though. We are pretty sure she'll love them. We will let you know her reaction when we give it to her. We are meeting up mid-December and will have the present wrapped in One Direction gift wrap. We are also including One Direction socks we found at Claire's, an accessory store designed for kids and younger teens. This will probably be the best gift she gets all Christmas! It will be the best gift ever, do you see what we did there? We were up all night making these shoes One Direction pun intended, and we know all those midnight memories we made will provide a gift that is better than words. Okay we will stop with the puns now.

This was our first time doing anything like this, and working with sharpies on cloth shoes, so we know they are imperfect. We only got one try when drawing on the shoes, and we ended up with more mistakes than we would have hoped, just because we didn't know what to except with using a shoe as a pallet. We had so much fun making them, and we know the more we do it, the better we will get. But if you guys love the shoes and would like your own custom pair with the band or theme of your choice we would love to make them for you. Send a message through the contact us link tab or you can email us at lovefandj@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as we can. We would love your feedback on the shoes and if you have any other gift or craft ideas you want to try out, let us know, because we'd love to try them out for you.

Love,

F & J

Baby It's Cold Outside

Hey Loves! F & J here! 

Can you believe that it's already December?! That means it's the countdown to Christmas, or for any holiday you celebrate there's definitely something to look forward to this month. December is a cold month where you can snuggle up and stay warm, spend time with family, and just enjoy the cheerful and giving warmth that fills the air. We've been lucky enough in Seattle, that even though it has been freezing, we have been able to stay clear of most of the harsh weather, and we even got some snow last weekend which was absolutely beautiful. Sometimes we don't feel the holiday spirit as much as we'd like to, so it's nice to have the weather help us get into the holiday mood.

Lately we've been working on filling up our Christmas lists and getting everybody the perfect gift! Also the season puts us in even more of a crafty mood than we usually are. Our goal is to be able to share with you guys some ideas for gifts or things to do this month! We have busy schedules, but because it's Christmas we have to find the time to do the things we love because it only comes around once a year.

Tonight we went to Wildlights at Woodland Park Zoo, which was a lot of fun, we had never been before, so it was a special experience. For those of you who don't know, Wildlights is where our local zoo puts up Christmas lights throughout the zoo and makes them look like animals. It was really good for a younger crowd, which worked great for us because F took her little sister, and J took her nieces. It was literally freezing outside, and it was hard to keep warm, but hot cocoa and cotton candy definitely helped! 

It was a great start to December, and we hope that the rest of the month can be filled with equally great memories. November went by too quickly, so we want to cherish every day in December because it is one of our favorite times of the year. Wherever you are in the world we hope you are staying warm, but not too warm, and enjoying your December as much as we are. 

Love,

F & J

Thankfulness

Hey Loves! F & J here!

My goodness! How is it already the day before Thanksgiving! If there’s never been so little hours in the day it’s now! These days, there is not enough time to do anything we need to let alone want to! We are so thankful that tomorrow is a day we get to rest and spend with our family because we are learning as we grow up that we get to spend less time with the ones we love.  So it’s nice that there are a few holidays in the year that allow it to happen.

After tomorrow, we will be going into full Christmas mode! Even though we are kind of already there! We are looking forward to buying Christmas presents for friends and family, watching all the holiday classics like the Grinch Who stole Christmas and ELF, and Snowflake Lane (where one of the local mall’s puts on a holiday show and makes it snow!)

For the last few months we have been collecting gifts for the kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital. We can’t wait to be able to share with them all we have for them.

Love,

F & J

Sweet as a Peach

Hey loves! F & J here!

Something to keep in mind. Really needed these last few days. 

Love,

F & J

Ready for the Holidays

Hey Loves! F & J here!

We hope you had a great Halloween, ours wasn't too bad. We got to take F's little sister trick-or-treating, and she scored big in the candy department, while looking adorable as Minnie Mouse! Now that Halloween is done, the countdown to Thanksgiving and Christmas has begun! The stores are filling up their shelves with charming Christmas trinkets, and we want to buy them all! F is already guilty of buying a few things, and has already started decorating her room!

We went to Lush yesterday, and for those of you who don't know, it is a homemade natural cosmetics store, and should be in everyone's lives. We are obsessed with all their products and had to check out their Christmas Products! We are in love, with most of them already! Our personal favorite is the bath bomb, and body wash, in So White. It smells absolutely amazing and wonderful. 

The first of November also means red cups at Starbucks, which is something we really look forward to, because it means the season of love and giving is here! It's the little things that make us smile.

The trees are just about bare now except for a few leaves, and the air has a cold crisp bite to it. We are so excited for the rest of fall and winter. There is so much to look forward to. We will be sure to keep you up to date, and hope that you are enjoying fall as much as we are!

Love,

F & J

Painted Pumpkins!

Hey Loves! F & J here!

Can you believe tomorrow is Halloween! We finally decorated our pumpkins. Last year we painted Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. and this year we stuck with the Disney theme and painted Buzz and Woody from Toy Story.

They were too cute, we had to share! F painted Buzz and J painted Woody! Check it out, and share your pumpkin masterpieces with us. We would love to see them!

Love,

F & J

TuTu Cute!

Hey Loves! F & J here!

Can you believe Halloween is on Friday?! Neither can we!

F finally finished her sisters costume, but it was well worth the wait! She is going to be a homemade Minnie Mouse. It was pretty basic she just made a red tutu and attached felt circles using fabric glue. Easy but time consuming. She is going to wear it with a pair of tights and a black fitted shirt and of course Minnie Mouse ears, for the finishing touch! It is totes adorbs!

This is the second time F has made her sister a costume and it won't be the last!

Love,

F & J

Spooky Cookie

Hey Loves! F & J here!

As promised, we have been busy working on Halloween crafts to share, and we just now have finally got the chance to post one. This one is super easy and always impresses people who do not know how to make them. We will show you how to create them, and tell you short cuts you could take, if you aren't the best baker.

We do not like spiders in anyway but these are just too adorable to not like.

Here's what you would need:

sugar cookies (pre-made, or homemade) You could find a recipe here.

white frosting

black icing in a tube with a small tip

toothpick

How To:

First you need to make sugar cookies. Easy enough, but if you want an easier option you can buy a box package, pre-made dough, or even store bought sugar cookies. We chose to make our own, but clean up would have been much easier, and prep time would have been shorter, if we went with another option. No shame if you chose the easy way out, we've been guilty ourselves!

Then make sure the cookies are completely cool (a step you could skip if you bought store bought cookies). Frost them completely in smooth white layer.

Then using a tip squeeze on the black icing in a swirl, starting in the center going to the outer rim of your cookie.

Next comes the fun part, using a toothpick pull outwards from the center to create the web effect. Repeat until you make it around the cookie. Tada! You have made yourself a spider web cookie.

We know it seems so easy, and it is, we almost feel silly posting a tutorial on it. Go make some spider web cookies and enjoy them. 

Love,

F & J 

Thankful

Hi Loves! F & J here!

We are so glad that it is Friday here in Seattle and for the majority of the world. It was a beautiful autumn day today, the air was crisp and cool, and there was blue skies, we couldn't ask for more than that. Things have been busy lately, but Friday marks the end of a week, so hopefully that means this weekend we will get time to rest (and maybe get to sleep in!).

Life has been full of ups and downs the last few weeks, it's just a total emotional roller coaster. Between broken phones, broke down cars, stupid bosses, and bad luck, there sure is a lot to complain about. But the holiday season is coming, and so is the time to be more aware of what to be thankful for. You should always remember you have it better than someone else, and we know it's not easy sometimes. So with the season of thanks coming around the corner, we thought we would talk about some of the things we are thankful for. You should know that we are thankful for everything we have (shelter, food, water, friends and family, etc.) but we thought we thought we could list things more specific to our lives.

Our Home-  We are so blessed that we live in such a beautiful and safe city! We are so close to the water, and city life, but also close to the country life, it is such a good balance, and we know that this isn't somewhere that everyone gets to live. We like that our city gets four seasons, because we love them all! The summers aren't too hot, the fall brings beautiful colors, the winter brings light snow, and the spring is full of fresh air and flowers. It will always be where our heart is, our home, no matter where we are in the world.

Music- As silly as it sounds we are so thankful we like the music, that we like. We believe we would say this, no matter music we liked, but really we are so thankful we have good taste :) We are thankful that there is music to make us sane, and happy, and it always seems to be very therapeutic. We also are thankful that we make music ourselves. We both sing and play piano, and F plays the guitar too! It is something we are super passionate about and hope we get a career in the industry one day. Music is always there, and always provides comfort for whatever mood you are in.

Jobs- We are both very thankful we have jobs, especially in a time where there are lots of people who are having extreme difficulty finding jobs. We may complain about having to get up early, or work later than hoped, or having bosses who make us crazy, but the bottom line is we are thankful we get a pay check, and work hard enough to know the value of money. And on the topic of money we are thankful that we have enough to be able to do some of the things we want to, like concerts, and shopping trips that aren't necessary. We are by no means rich or even close to being considered wealthy, but if there is something we want to do, we are able to work through our finances and find a way to make it happen, within reason of course.

Blog- We are thankful that we have the opportunity to write a blog, a place where we can say whatever we want.  To open up about our lives. We are so thankful that there is someone reading what we are writing, because even though it may not be as many as we would like, it is always one more than what we would have ever thought. 

That just hits the surface of what we are thankful for. We could go on and on and I am sure we will list more things before thanksgiving comes. We want everyone to appreciate what they have, every day of the year, and remember to pay it forward, because you may have more to be thankful for, than the person next to you.

Love, 

F & J

Motivational Monday

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Hey Loves! F & J here!

Our whole lives we have loved to live a healthy life style. We grew up active, always running around and playing with our siblings and eating a healthy diet. But as you grow older and become more independent, it is very easy to fall off track and eat like your peers. Luckily for us, we never got too far off track but in March of this year we decided that we were really going to change our lifestyle to become the best “me’s” we could be.

For us this means, being more active. This means setting aside time in our busy lives for more exercise, than what we had previously been doing, as well as making overall better food choices. Not that we are fast food eaters, we would have it occasionally out of convenience, but we wanted to take it completely out of our diet as well as sodas.  These are just a few of the changes we made.

It was kind of hard at first to make sure we weren’t eating the things we said we wouldn’t because you create habits and it’s easy to put things in your mouth without thinking about it. But, after a few weeks passed it didn’t take much thought to pick the better option. That doesn’t meant it was easy, when you are surrounded by people who eat the things that you are avoiding, it’s really easy to fall into temptation but it’s all about respecting yourself and your body.

Where we are in life right now, we are both noticing that we prefer to eat healthier. Mentally we know how much better it is for ourselves, and because of that we are naturally craving healthier foods, now that we have eliminated a lot of the junk. Some of the things we ate before do not sounding appetizing at all!

Sometimes you are put in situations where you have no option but to make a choice that you know is not the healthiest. Just the other night we were at J’s house and her sister had bought everybody dinner from a fast food restaurant. We were left with the uncomfortable position to eat the food even though we really didn’t want to, we didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Don’t get us wrong we like to indulge and treat ourselves to goodies; this is just not something we would choose. It is good to indulge every once in awhile, it just has to be something you find worth it. We felt extremely guilty eating the food the other night, but we have to learn that one mess up, or one scenario doesn’t determine the health of our body. The bottom line is that eating unhealthy one day doesn’t make you unhealthy just like eating healthy one day doesn’t make you healthy.  

If you are looking to live a healthier life, it is important to be mentally and physically and emotionally prepared. We are sure you have heard it time and time again, that it is all about a lifestyle change. But honestly it is. There is no other way to put it. You have to want it and work for it because it is hard but it is truly worth it. And if it’s not a lifestyle change it’s not going to last long, because it’s not a diet.

Our overall goal it to be happier with ourselves. We know we are our own biggest critics, but we have to realize that no one is perfect and we just have to keep going. We know we’ll mess up because we are human, but we’ll get right back up and that’s what matters.

If you have any tips or words of encouragement, please pass them along. We are always open to hearing more and would love to hear from you.

Love,

F & J

Hello October

Hey Loves! F & J here!

October is finally here, which means a month full of pumpkins, costumes, falling leaves, crisp nights, and the coming of the holiday season ( and don’t get us started, we are girls who LOVE the holidays!).  But we’re not sure how a week of October has already passed because, the last time we checked the calendar it was September! We are not even kidding, where has the time gone! 

Halloween is just around the corner, and even though we are not super into costumes for ourselves, we love to make costumes for anyone who wants one. F’s little sister is 8 and loves dressing up for trick-or-treating and loves tutus so we took the opportunity to combine the two and F is working on a costume for her. We will post pictures later when it’s finished. This is the second year in a row that F is making her sister a costume, and she loves having something no one else has.  Last year she was an ice princess before Frozen became the “it thing”. We can guarantee that you will see lots of them this year!

Her costume is going to be a surprise. We want to have the finished product to show you so make sure you follow up to find out what she is!

This month we hope to post some cool Halloween crafts and ideas. We are calling on Pinterest for some inspo!

Also, we would LOVE to find out what you guys are going to be. We've seen lots of creative costumes and if you send us your picture you might even be featured in our blog! Send it through our blog’s website or on twitter using #lovefandjhalloween

 

Love,

F & J

Showbox

Hey Loves! F & J here! 

Usually Monday's are long and boring, and not something you look forward to, but last Monday was the BEST Monday in a really long time, and it is one for the books. Before you judge us, on what concert we went to, hear us out!

 We will confess growing up, we loved the Jonas Brothers' (but what girl didn't), but for more than just their cute faces! We really loved their music, and we could tell how far they could go, and how much better they could get, so we've stuck along for the ride. Recently they have decided to part ways, and work on themselves, and solo projects, but that doesn't mean the their career was halted. 

Nick has put together a solo album already (which is set to release in November, we can't wait!), and he had spontaneous tour, with his first stop, Seattle. Just barely two weeks before the show, F found out about the tour, she texted J asking her if she wanted tickets, and we bought them on J's lunch break, without much thought! We know how musically talented he is, and knew that if we didn't go we would regret it. The price was shockingly reasonable too! It was total no brainer! 

So Monday night arrived and we were surprised that were so many people in line waiting for the show to start! He performed at the Showbox, which is on 1st avenue next to the famous Pike Place Market. It is a very small and intimate venue, which definitely added to our experience in such a positive way! It was general admission, so we wiggled our way to the third row, but even the people in the back were so close! 

It didn't take long for him to come on stage. There was no opening act, just Nick and his extremely talented band, who pulled this tour together in less than two months, but you would have never known, if he hadn't of told us. He opened with Chains, one of his singles off the new album, and then he played a couple new songs. Which all sounded amazing! 

If you still are judging us that we saw Nick, then you must listen to his new stuff, and forget what you thought about him, because he has grown so much as musician and a person. You can definitely tell with his new stuff that he is no longer 1/3 of the Jonas Brothers, he is Nick Jonas, his own musician. And you can stop thinking of him as a little boy, with a head of curls, because what we saw on Monday was a man. 

He played quite a few new songs, as well as mixing in some old stuff (even his Nick Jonas & the Administration songs), and he threw in some covers as well. It was a pretty solid set list, the only critiques we have, was that he was not on stage as long as we would have liked, and he didn't come out for an encore!

Overall his voice is still swoon worthy, and his stage presence was on point, and he even busted a couple dance moves. If he comes through again, we would LOVE to see him, and if he comes to a city near you, grab tickets! You won't be disappointed! 

Love,

F & J

Monday Again!

Hi Loves! F & J here!

It's Monday again! How did that even happen?! Here's a bit of motivation and some laughs to get you through the day

Love,

F & J

Sweater Weather

Hi Loves, F & J here!

School has probably started for a lot of you and even though we are not in school, we still have had a lot of new beginnings. Even though we are two completely different people, we always tend to find ourselves facing similar situations. With the new school year we have both started second jobs.

Since we have never told you what our jobs are, we might as well tell you now. We are both kid people, we love spending time with kids and babies and think they are all adorable, which will explain why we have the jobs we do. F has been a nanny for a family of two older girls for the past year so she kept that job but started nannying a four month old baby in the morning. She thinks it's one of the best jobs that she has ever had. J is working temporarily at a local craft store until she can find another nanny job for the mornings. And works as a nanny for twin 6 year olds in the afternoons.

With these new jobs, we've just about lost any social life and free time we had because some of the jobs require early morning the others require late nights. The plus side is we are making some money and are able to pay off some of our college debt and start saving for a trip.

We haven't been to a farmers market in awhile and we want to before they end in October. Even though summer is coming to an end we aren't sad at all. We love fall! and just about everything that comes with it. The colors, the crisp air, the fall drinks, and sweaters, we can go on and on. We even like the weather! There are a lot of things to look forward to!

Love,

F & J

reviewED

Hi Loves! F & J here!

In our last blog we talked about going to Ed Sheeran's concert last Thursday. We promised an update, but it took us awhile to recover and we wanted to make sure we found enough time to write a raw review about it and not be rushed. 

Our Ed experience started before Thursday even hit! We were planning an early morning because it was general admission, but we didn't know just how early we'd be there! Right before going to bed, which might we add was way later than we should have, F saw a tweet that changed the whole game plan. She called J to let her know people were already lining up. J thought it was a joke at first, unfortunately it was not. 

Since we paid a lot for these tickets we wanted to make sure we got the best experience we could and that meant being one of the first groups in line to assure a good spot at the show. (Plus, you all know how much we love him!) So we just decided to get there at 6:30 AM which meant a 4 AM alarm to make sure we looked our best. 

When we arrived the line wasn't too bad, thankfully, and we did the math and were in the first 1% to arrive. We got to know the people around us which made time pass faster. But let's be honest, 12+ hours of waiting never goes by fast. We did get the chance to leave line and go for a little walk, it wasn't long enough but we enjoyed it. 

We finally got lead into the arena and were asked to sit on the floor and wait. We were in the center of the second row, and the boy in front of us stood up to stretch and he happened to be a ginger, and people started rushing to the front of the stage. It was a terrifying experience having that many people run towards you at that speed and forcefully pushing their way to the front. It was something we never want to experience again. And it was all a bit painful and there was still an hour of wait time!  

Then the heat came. That many bodies that close together just leaves you feeling suffocated. This is something we expected but then the unthinkable started to happen. The man next to us decided he wanted our spot and would do anything to get it. He pushed and kicked and slammed his body against us forcing us to fall back into people who in turn pushed us back just as hard and it was a horrible domino effect. He didn't give up even when he got the spot. It was almost like his goal was to ruin our show experience. He even got into a spat with the security guard who came to check on us. 

By the time Ed got on stage we were having anxiety/panic attacks from the lack of air, space, food and drink we had (since we were in line we didn't get a chance to eat and drink water). Also, the physical pain he was putting us in. We politely asked him to stop, consistently, and then he would look us in the eyes and push us harder. It was eye opening to see how mean someone could be in order to get what they wanted. After 9 songs, we could not take it anymore even though we wanted to enjoy our show. We knew it would be a little cooler in the back so made our way out of the mosh pit. We enjoyed the rest of the show from the back, feeling much better. 

Now, everything else aside, we can't take away from the amazing-ness that Ed is. His performance was breathtakingly wonderful. His energy on stage was contagious and he was definitely born to be a performer. He did a great job connecting with the audience and left us with an unforgettable memory. His talent is definitely real, it's not something you can fake. (Don't even get us started on his use of the pedal!). We can  guarantee you we will be seeing him again. Hopefully not general admission! If you want to see the set list click here.

Love,

F & J

It's all about Ed

Hey Loves! F & J here!

It feels like it's been forever since we posted, but life has been so busy! But we are so looking forward to next week because GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

WE ARE GOING TO SEE ONE OF OUR FAVORITE ARTISTS OF ALL TIME . . . ED SHEERAN

Did you get that? ED SHEERAN . . . If you've been reading our blog you would know we are big fans! He is literally a musical genius. If you haven't listened to his stuff... what are you doing? GO NOW! It could legitimately change your life!

If we listed our favorite Ed songs, then you would end up listening to all of his songs. Seriously though... musical genius. 

If you want a more upbeat song there is Runaway and Little Bird. Or if you want a more powerful song Give Me Love and Even My Dad Does Sometimes. Or if you want a love song. (now let us just tell you this is a hard decision to make because there is so many. He knows exactly what to say. WARNING! You may fall in love) Thinking Out Loud and Tenerife Sea and Kiss Me and Wake Me Up and All the Stars. We'll stop here, but we told you! And sad but beautiful Autumn Leaves and Afire Love (it's about his grandpa who passed away from Alzheimer's). And if you want a sweet love song that's not even released New York. The video is a live version because there is no studio version out there. Get to it Ed! 

Sorry if we over did it, but it was so hard to narrow it down to just this. It would have been easier to just give you the album links! 

We get to see him next Thursday, which feels like a life time away because we are so excited. We can tell you about it afterwords. We've never seen him live but we know it will be a show we will never forget!

Love,

F & J