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At Home Teeth Whitening: Does it Work?

Thanksgiving is only a week away as you read this, which makes Christmas just over a month out. Did anyone else’s mind just get blown by reading that? Hopefully, you’ve started to get a jump on planning the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, and maybe even your outfit has been picked out. I can’t say the same, but we’re getting there. What we do have in order, are our smiles for spreading holiday cheer thanks to Smile Brilliant! We were super excited when the team at Smile Brilliant reached out for us to test out their custom teeth-whitening method. The last time we used a whitening tray method was through our dentist, so we had high standards to match. 

At Home Whitening Misconceptions

Once she started dropping some information on us, we were ready to get started. I think the most appealing part of Smile Brilliant is simultaneously the thing you wonder if it’s too good to be true; which are the custom whitening trays. I had heard of Smile Brilliant many times before but never realized that you received custom trays. In between my dentist made trays, Caitlin and I had dabbled with Crest White-Strips many times. While they’ve always worked and are pretty inexpensive, the outcome doesn’t have the staying power a professional service would. So if you’re just looking for a temporary fix, they’d suffice. Custom trays were highly appealing because although we’ve both had braces, there is no such thing as one size fits all for trays. We’d never want to risk having uneven whitening, which is definitely the case using the strips that don’t reach the back teeth.

The Whitening Process

Onto the next hurdle: how the heck do you get a custom-fitted tray?! The first package showed up at our door packed with a make at home mold set. While I was initially intimidated by not screwing up this process, I took my time and read and re-read the instructions until I felt like I had a good understanding. I laid out all of the components and got my phone ready to time myself. A quick overview is mixing two containers together to make the mold for your teeth. Once it turns blue, you lay it in the tray and push it evenly onto your teeth. Smile Brilliant has great visuals on how the appropriate mold should look. They even send an extra mold set in case you mess up the first. Ok, I’ll admit Caitlin and I both used the extra set, but we were so relieved they thought of everything to make it as easy as possible. 

From there, you let it set until it hardens. I did mine at night, so in the morning I slipped the hardened trays into the prepaid envelope and sent it back in the mail. I anxiously awaited my email that they had received my trays, which came efficiently. From there, they examine the mold and make sure it’s usable. If it is, they make your whitening trays. We got an email confirmation that our trays were created and shipped. This was a three-day turnaround on them receiving the trays and shipping them back out – super quick! Once they arrived, we both slipped on the trays and were completely impressed by how perfectly they matched up. It made us feel confident in starting the whitening process. 

The whitening gel and the desensitizing gels were shipped in the original package, so we had them ready to use! It’s recommended to use ⅓ of each syringe per use, so after brushing our teeth just with water, we spread the gel on the trays and popped them on. Then you can keep them on from anywhere from 45 minutes – 3 hours depending on how sensitive your teeth get. We both get pretty sensitive with whitening, so we started off slow and worked our way up in time.

However, using their desensitizing gel immediately after whitening was simply INCREDIBLE. I couldn’t believe how much it helped. Fast forward a couple of weeks and our whitening journey is complete. One of the best parts? We got incredible results and we didn’t even have to use all of the whitening gel. They last over a year to two years if you refrigerate, so when we need to revisit, no more money needs to be sent. How great is that?!

You might be wondering about our teeth-staining habits. Caitlin and I are both coffee drinkers. I wouldn’t say heavy – because we typically do one cup a day and maybe a second if we’re on a road trip. We don’t drink more than the occasional soda, and our wine consumption is maybe a 2-5 times a month at most. With the holiday season upon us, obviously, some of these numbers are skewed. But luckily we planned ahead and took care of the whitening to not have to worry about a stained smile during the festivities. 

Giveaway Details

So while you may be wondering, great for you having your smile ready for the holidays, but what about me?! We’re super excited to share that Smile Brilliant is offering a giveaway to our readers for a free teeth whitening kit of your own! If you’re thinking, “I can’t wait I need to whiten now,” we also have a code for 15% off using realtall15. To enter the giveaway, use the URL below. Details are below!

www.smilebrilliant.com/g/realtall

  • The giveaway is for a $149 Smile Brilliant credit. It is open for at least 1-2 weeks (after blog post date) and open to USA, UK, Australia and Canadian residents.
  • Smile Brilliant hosts the giveaway on our own website. It’s done through an internal platform so we don’t have to worry about third-party websites selling your readers’ email addresses.
  • All entrants must enter their email address to be entered!

Professional Teeth Whitening

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No Faux Pas with Tall Faux Fur

Yesterday’s post was all about finding coats/whatever your closet actually needs to live a functional life. If you missed and want to catch up, click here. Coincidentally, we’re back today talking about more coats, because Wisconsin. Winter has arrived early here and we’re glad to have our coat collections in order to brave the elements. Our temperatures dropped drastically the last couple of weeks and we’ve gotten snow more than a few times already. Coping with grey skies more than normal, we like to put some “fun” in functional. That’s how Caitlin ended up with this sumptuous faux fur leopard coat. 

Isn’t it just divine?! There is something so classy and expensive looking about faux fur. Plus we’ve both longed for a tall faux fur of our own, but never wanted to spend the money because it seemed like it was a frivolous purchase. There is something to be said about delaying purchases to see if you really still remember what it was you “had to have” at the moment. We both are add to cart girls and especially in Asos we’ve got our favorites saved on their handy saved items page. When it comes a time that we’re ready to purchase though, you can always tell which items you really had to have, because you didn’t even need to save them. If they stick in your memory, you know it’s a good purchase. 

That was definitely how Caitlin felt when she saw this faux fur on sale. The price was right and she had been yearning for it. So when it arrived, it was love. It fits our tall proportions like a dream. No cold wrists here. Plus it’s pet-worthy. You’ll find yourself getting a lot more hugs wearing this coat, it is so soft. Caitlin wore it to a play last week and sat there petting it the whole time. The coziest, while still being super chic. 

You’ve seen us rocking leopard print a lot, so clearly it fits her wardrobe. I’ve been thinking about colors/prints a lot lately. Normally I’d try to build my wardrobe with different colors to stretch it. In theory that’s a good idea. But in practicality, I just went through my clothing to donate/trash and I always end up getting rid of the colors I bought to have a “different” color. One of the colors that I need to let go of, are most blues. In looking through my drawers and closet, it’s a color I just don’t reach for and don’t keep. Which is ok, and helpful to realize! As you’re going through your closet, we challenge you to do the same. 

The better you realize where your buying habits aren’t aligning with your wearing habits, the better your closet will serve you. Especially, anyone who is interested in capsule wardrobes, this will do you a favor. It will be much easier to mix and match looks, plus it will definitely help you pack for trips! Since Caitlin loves to wear black and white, this leopard coat will go great with her most worn tops. She has been utilizing Pinterest a lot lately to help her expand her fashion horizons and find fun new inspo. We’re all about building a wardrobe that is foremost well-fitting, followed closely by often worn. You’ve heard it here often, but getting that cost-per-wear is more important than ever. We definitely do fast fashion shopping, but we loathe wearing items once or twice and discarding them. You better believe we’re going to wear items until they fall apart. 

Caitlin’s jacket sparks a lot of joy in her life, and I think it’s all the sweeter because we haven’t been easily able to find tall statement pieces. It’s worth waiting around for one to show up. You won’t be wasting your budget on something you’ll eventually have to toss after you admit it doesn’t fit you as well as you hoped. I’m only speaking from experience (here’s looking at you the perfect fitting jean jacket). 

She paired it with her other surprisingly smart purchase, which is these American Eagle Black skinny jeans. She is wearing size 12L for size reference. They were inexpensive, comfortable, and a true closet staple. You’ll be able to wear them out to any events you have for the upcoming holiday season. Plus they have a great stretch feel yet maintain their fitted shape. So if you wanted to be fashionable yet as comfortable as can be for your turkey dinner, you could do it comfortably with an oversized sweater. Especially because they have a true high rise that goes past your belly button. She tossed on her go-to pair of black booties and was out the door. If you are looking to add a little height and a little class these booties are for you! 

Are there any recent purchases you were surprised to find you wear much more than anticipated? What about vice versa? Did you buy something you were sure you’d wear a ton and then it’s sat collecting dust on your shelf? Let us know in the comments below!

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Mad for Tall Plaid

Good Morning! I know we haven’t exactly been staying consistent with posting on the blog. Given that Instagram is ever-evolving, with the removal of likes and whatever will come next; we’re more resolved to stick with posting on our blog to control our content. It still seems there could be some evolution in what that will look like on the blog, but we always welcome your feedback. Whatever you’re looking for, we’d be glad to hear it and help you if possible! As for Instagram, we don’t share the same sentiments of living and dying by engagement/likes, etc. People have their reasons for why they don’t click like or leave a comment, and that’s your business. We’re going to keep on, and not badger anyone to engage with us. Know that we appreciate it when you do, and love hearing your messages if we’re able to help you!

So anyway, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the one thing that we can never seem to avoid mentioning: the weather. It’s unavoidable and starts to get understandably annoying but it directly correlates to what we have to wear. So for that reason, we must come to terms with its connection to our love of clothing. If we love wearing clothing, we have to understand and accept the types/styles our climate allows us to comfortably do so. You can spend all of your money buying the cutest tank tops and mini skirts, but when the time comes they’ll sit in your closet collecting dust because you’d rather be warm wearing something appropriately suited to the day.

Not sure about you, but this can still be difficult to reconcile. I think as we’ve matured in years and hopefully wisdom, we’ve been able to gain an understanding of smarter purchases. So while we always admire certain looks we see on Pinterest and Instagram, we know it shouldn’t be a big part of our closets. It can be easy to focus on the negative aspect and what we can’t/shouldn’t do, but we’d also like to reframe it and focus on the positive. We can have a bigger sweater collection. Our jeans can arguably be worn year-round because of work and lower nighttime temperatures. Lastly, we can have a bigger coat collection! All of these make sense to invest in because you’ll get your cost per wear down.

There still comes a point in the winter where only the winter parka will cut it for daily use. But for the most part, if I wear a scarf, gloves, and a hat, I can easily wear my dressy thinner coats. They make for a more put-together look, which is ideal for workwear. As we all know, people are immediately making judgments/assumptions based on appearance. As tall women, we’re much more noticeable (whether we like it or not). We command attention when we walk into a room and I’d much rather present a positive, classy look, than a negative one.

So as we discussed a couple of weeks ago, we’ve seen the benefits of investing in a couple of coats throughout the years. Obviously, it isn’t feasible to go out and buy up lots of coats every year. But with sales/markdowns, it’s an option to find a tall sized coat for under $100 or right around $100! The best bet is to start with really classic prints or colors to have a versatile coat that will never go out of style. It goes back to what I was mentioning above. It can be the most fun to shop for more “fun” clothing, but it’s not fun when you have to pass by it every morning because it doesn’t work as a cohesive member of your closet. Just food for thought on building a thoughtful wardrobe. 

I paired the coat with a pretty green blouse I bought from H&M a couple of years ago. That’s another mindset shift I’ve recently realized. At first, I thought I shouldn’t have too many frilly romantic blouses in my closet. But every time I get dressed, I’m looking for something feminine and girly, that’s just like those blouses. So I pass by the other plain options that I bought because it’s the “right” thing to do. Then they just sit there day in and day out because it’s not truly my style. It’s all a learning process. 

Lastly, I’ve been wearing my new Amalli Talli denim non-stop. I have on the size 30 in 37’ inseam. If you’re wondering about sizing, I normally wear a size 10/12 which translates to 30/31. They have great stretch to them, and I’d say if between sizes size down. If you don’t like to cuff your skinny jeans, also go for the shorter inseam of 35”. They have filled a hole in my closet of a black jean with a grey tone to them. They are perfect to wear to work because they look super classy and streamlined.  In fact, we shot this over lunch on a casual Friday. I finished the look off with loafers that I found at Nordstrom Rack. They go up to size 13, and you can find some good options on their website as well.

I hope your week is off to a great start! Tell us below, what have you realized about your shopping habits that aren’t serving your closet well?

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Jord Watches

Jord (pronounced Yode) is a unique watchband brand that we LOVE! The company is run by artists, designers, marketers, and minders. They focus on creating timepieces for the modern person. They use raw materials to create stylish, different, and captivating watch bands. Typically when our family sees watch companies we don’t really even consider shopping them because we are all Apple Watch wearers. This is part of the reason we love Jord; they sell full watches as well as Apple Watch Bands. 

They have some mixed media watch bands with wood and metal combinations as well as leather bands.  All of them look timeless in their own ways but we were partial to the leather bands ourselves. We picked the Mocha Suede and the Camel because it doesn’t get more classic and timeless than that! Like all Apple Watch bands, these are extremely easy to slide on and off to change any look in just a few seconds. 

The bands are 100% genuine vegetable-tanned leather and 100% genuine grained padded leather. Both are completed with stainless steel lug end adaptors & clasps. We chose the padded leather because it seemed slightly more feminine and us. However, they also offer flat leather as well. Today you see the camel band on me, stay tuned for more to come showcasing the mocha! 

With the Holiday season upon us, this is the perfect gift for your watch wearing and Apple Watch owning friends. You can even add a personalized touch by adding engraving on the back of the watch faces; which makes any gift that much more special. 

Now and through the Holidays we strongly urge you to shop local, shop small, shop items made in North America. Skip the cheap products you can have in a day on Amazon that won’t last more than a few months and support the companies with a mission and passion for what they are doing! We know all too well that the convenience of Amazon is addicting and the low prices are enticing. Just consider quality over quantity and the ethics behind what you are purchasing. 

I want to leave you with something Jenilee saw on Instagram last week I think it’s a great reminder for us all as we head into the season of extreme overconsumption and greed. 

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Your Curves Will Thank You Later

I hope you’re hanging in there with daylight savings time change. This one at least works in our favor to catch an extra hour of sleep! On the other hand, I wondered why I was ready to tuck into bed at 8 p.m. on Sunday night. Now we will get some sunlight to wake us in the morning, which I’m sorely in need of to drag myself from my cozy bed. But I’m already ready for it to be past December 21st which is the shortest day of the year. I happen to enjoy daylight before and after work, thank you very much.

One of the things that has been nice about the weather turning cold is taking advantage to slow down the schedules. We’re so guilty of saying yes to anything and everything, and not taking into consideration how we’ll feel come the moment of the event. I ended up in three different fall sports leagues. While I always enjoy playing, compounding them leaves me feeling resentful of the little alone time I’m left with. It took a bit to catch up, but I set aside two weekends in a row where I made little to no plans. Caitlin and I are planners, especially when we’re together. 

As you can imagine, it felt foreign to walk into a weekend and have nothing tugging your time or attention. I finally got through some of my closet to sell/donate pile after putting it off for a month. My plant babies all got pruned, and just in time for the dry season of heating the house. Plus it’s all the deeper cleaning items that you don’t get to when you just need to tidy up before someone walks into your house. When you get a chance to exhale, I first typically take it to rest. So now I had a second exhale, I was able to channel my energies into productivity that I’ve neglected.

It couldn’t come in a more timely manner. We’re all going to be ramping up towards the holidays. I know the running joke is that everyone is ready to decorate for Christmas already because we’ve already gotten six inches of snow in these parts. I can’t say I oppose it, because it’s a lot of work decorating for Christmas and the longer I can keep it up, the better. Plus studies say that it makes you more cheerful the earlier you get your decorations up. I think the retail stores have taken that a little too far.

All that to say, I hope you’re going into this holiday season with a bit of intentionality. You only have so much of yourself to give. Don’t overextend yourself, whether it’s mentally, financially, or however you have a tendency to do so. It can feel countercultural to do so, but I don’t think you’ll regret it. We’re bombarded with messages about what we can do or buy to improve our holidays. Surrounding yourself with people you love and cutting yourself a break will be your best bet. 

I’ll get off my earnest well-intentioned horse to talk about the lighter part of the post; the clothing. This year has got to be called the year of the jeans. Never have I had a better year of shopping for jeans. It started with experiencing Height of Fashion’s denim launch – check our post here. From there I finally hopped on the American Eagle denim bandwagon after seeing Caitlin rock their Mom jeans. Finally, our beloved Amalli Talli launched their namesake denim line as well to ice the cake (check that review, here). So basically, feeling spoiled. 

Today we’re talking American Eagle though. I have to stop and give credit where it’s due. They’ve long been pushing for people to embrace themselves and have stopped airbrushing/editing to further solidify this positive agenda. We’ve heard so many retailers tout their inclusive sizing that we’ve become deaf to it at this point. Why? Because it’s been a lie. Inclusive sizing has pretty much become synonymous with plus sized. Which is great, and a victory for all the women that have long been yearning for options. That still leaves a portion of the population out; namely tall women. 

Luckily, I was lured in by seeing other (shorter than me) tall women wearing American Eagle. I reasoned that I had nothing to lose by ordering them and returning if they didn’t fit. So I made the leap and although the first order was a bit of a snafu with quality control and inseam length, I ended up keeping a pair. Suffice to say, I haven’t looked back since then. You could call me a bit of an expert on the fit and which works perfectly on my frame. The best part? Caitlin can order the Long length, while I fit into the XL length. Now that’s some inclusive sizing for a big-box retailer. Plus they go up to size 14 in XL length and 24 in L length. I know that still leaves a bit to be desired for anyone 6’4 and bigger than a size 14, but good progress in our direction.

As for my favorite styles, it is hands down the curvy! The rise on these is 11.25”! It actually covers my belly button. Plus because they’re curvy, there is no waistband gapping. They’re stretchy, but after wearing them and being soaked by rain continuously for hours, they didn’t stretch out either. I got them in a 12XL. I probably could wear a 10XL but I prefer a comfortable looser fit as long as they aren’t falling down. It feels so exciting to be able to buy the “fun pants” that I’ve seen on other women. 

Pairing it with my glorious moto jacket from Amalli Talli is a no brainer. You’ll catch me wearing this ultimate tall girl jacket all winter long. I have it on in size L and if you’ve been eyeing it up, only XL and S remain, so I wouldn’t sleep on it. We’ve still got our 15% code for you to use, THEREALTALL15 if you’ve been hoping for a discount. Wearing both I can still look rocker chic and ready for a day/night out, but feel like I could curl up on the couch and nap comfortably. I’ve got on my square neck t-shirt I snagged from the N-sale and I’m ready for whatever. 

Tell us below, how are you slowing down to enjoy the Holiday season this year?

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