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Family Time and Small Business Saturday

Happy Thanksgiving week friends! Jenilee and I are so ready for a few days off of work and I am looking forward to some one on one time with my parents! I am so excited to be channeling my Half Baked Harvest obsession into this year’s Thanksgiving meal. I figured what better time to try making my very first Thanksgiving Turkey than with a small audience. If you haven’t checked out her cookbook; breeze by her Instagram account and you will definitely drool down your chin.

Anyway, we hope you are all settling in for some solid family time and celebrating over your favorite shared traditions. We are actively promoting skipping the Black Friday hullabaloo. Stay inside, opt-outside, do whatever you want. The bottom line, truly try to focus on staying away from overconsumption during this Holiday season. Spend some time thinking about items that truly spark joy and make you happy. Not loading up on items that you only feel drawn to because they are deeply discounted.  With that being said, we know it is a great time to get a lot of your shopping done and maybe even snag a few items you have been watching for months. We’ll provide you some of our favorites today so you can get ready. 

The real reason we are here today is to talk about all things Small Business Saturday. We wrote a post on this last year and to date, it may be one of my favorite posts. Connecting with local business owners has been one of the most rewarding part of our blog. We want to provide you a resource to shop for some of our favorites this season! In an effort to not play favorites please find them listed alphabetically below!

In other exciting news to share our true love for Small Business Saturday, we are doing a HUGE local giveaway on our Instagram with another local blogger, What Riva Wore! Below catch some details on what is included and then check out their Black Friday/Small Business Saturday Posts! 

Brew City

This company is dangerous. Not like take caution dangerous but like freeze your credit card in an ice block dangerous. The shirts are catchy, local, fun and so unique. Once you start buying them you won’t be able to stop. And they are pumping them out at record speed now. We feel lucky to be giving away our FAVORITE shirt to date that they have made, it has all of the Wisconsin state symbols on the front and it is designed so well. Every single time we wear it we get so many compliments; which are par the course for all of their designs. The unique features make Packer shirts, Milwaukee and Wisconsin shirts look fresh and like nothing else on the market. If you’re local you can stop by the public market or the airport for in-person shopping. Otherwise, their Black Friday Sale is always live so don’t wait to get some local gifting done or maybe swing by the Public Market for the trunk sale Saturday for some truly unbelievable prices. We also get to giveaway a Milwaukee icon mug, various pins and magnets!

Colleen Kubiak Photography

Colleen is a local Milwaukee Photography. She specializes in portrait photography, marketing and so much more! She will make you feel like her closest friend as she takes your photographs. Come ready for an adventure and expect to get a little dirty and to have a lot of fun! She offers mini holiday shoots for any season of life. You will be lucky enough to win a mini session if you enter and win our giveaway!

The Earth and All Stars

I was actually introduced to The Earth and All Stars by winning a giveaway so it only feels right to be coming full circle by now doing our very own giveaway of two beautiful sets. All of the jewelry is handmade and designed in Milwaukee. It is a mix of leather and eclectic accessories of any sort. She uses recycled goods and we love that! You can see The Earth and All Stars at local makers markets or shop her goodies on Etsy. We told her we were doing some Milwaukee Flag themed goods and she matched it to a T with one of the amazing leather jewelry sets. You can just feel the Milwaukee pride within the heart of this small business. 

Giltee MKE

Owned by a husband and wife team, Giltee was born out of a side project. Adam and Lisa Gilson began screen printing in their basement as a creative outlet. Lisa connected with us on Instagram and introduced us to their designs which feature Wauwatosa (our own backyard), Milwaukee, and so many other Wisconsin cities.  They make unique shirts, baseball hats, winter hats, sweatshirts, sunglasses and so much more!! We are lucky enough to be giving away a long sleeve Wisconsin Milwaukee Flag long sleeve. The quality is impeccable and the shirts they print on are top of the line! 

Jet Set Local

Jet Set local is a local coupon passport that makes exploring Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, and the North Shore with the Foodie Flight. You will get $10 off $25 purchases at a wide variety of restaurants. This is the perfect way to solve your “Where should we eat tonight debates” there will be no more going back and forth with you pick, no you pick, no you pick! We have a tendency to fall into a routine and stick to our favorite spots so this is going to be wonderful in pushing us to try new hot spots! To add to it, it’s the perfect gift for the person who has everything!

Lake Effect Co.

This company feels so close to my heart. You may have read one of our many posts in the past but to give you the lowdown Katherine is the first Internet friend we made through our blog BECAUSE of Small Business Saturday. We reached out on a whim to get the skinny on her SBS sale and she pretty much became our friend at that moment. We have been blessed to collaborate and support her in any way possible which has been so natural and easy for us due to our love for the lake.

In true form, she is essentially promoting the same thing we are; which is why her sale runs for more than one day because she wants you to enjoy your family! If you are local to Milwaukee we highly suggest checking out Lake Effect’s brick and mortar store in Pewaukee. It is the most darling store that oozes positive energy and good vibes. If you need any suggestions on your favorite items check out the slider below. Everything is ethically sourced, made to fit true to size and can not only be worn at the lake but in every day style as well. You won’t want to miss her Black Friday/Small Business sale. And if you’re looking to make a purchase any other time you can use our code THEREALTALL15 for 15% off!

Lit MKE

Not to get dramatic but we have been hearing so many things about toxins in Candles from stores like Bath & Body Works and TJ Maxx lately: 

“A study by scientists at Copenhagen University conducted on mice found exposure to particles from burning candles to cause greater damage than the same dose of diesel exhaust fumes. The harmful effects of candle smoke included lung inflammation and toxicity, arteriosclerosis, and ageing effects on chromosomes in the lungs and spleen.”

Source: https://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-you/health/news-candle-smoke-could-be-as-toxic-as-cigarettes/

So we have chosen to make the change to candles that follow this mission: “To stay true to my mission of contributing to an environmentally conscious lifestyle, LIT MKE candles uses a premium blend of soy and coconut waxes with 100% cotton wicks. I am always looking to improve the qualities of the candles and experiment with  Each candle is carefully crafted by hand, locally in Milwaukee by myself and with help from my apprentice Karl..”   

Not only are these candles better for your health (!!!!) they are the most unique, thoughtful gifts. You can choose a bottle of wine that is meaningful, a bottle of vodka you and your friends drank together in college, or maybe a favorite local craft beer. Mike accepts any custom orders and you can provide your own bottle/can and pick the scent. Christmas aside you can get a bottle of champagne turned into a housewarming gift, or gift a citronella candle to a friend who invites you to their cabin, or treat your groomsmen, bridesmaids to candles too! Honestly, the opportunities to give these unique candles are endless. 

We feel so lucky to now offer our coupon codes: Realtall4 if you buy a four pack you get a free candle and Realtall6 if you buy a six pack of candles you get two candles free. (If you need unscented candles write in the special instructions box).

MJ Creative

A local designer and calligrapher who combines modern design and old fashioned techniques to create one of a kind stationery, products and so much more! From wedding centerpiece designs to champagne flutes she has you covered with pristine calligraphy. (Insert me being jealous because this is a skill I have always wanted). One of my favorite items for this time of the year to point out is custom ornaments. You can get them for your freshly married friends, a new baby in your life, or just pop an inside joke on one! Today we get to share a custom Pantone glass mug and champagne flute for you! 

Nourish Natural Products

We connected with Jamie via the Easttown Associations Saturday Farmers Market. If you’ve seen our post on the Farmers Market the you’d recognize her store, as we mentioned our meeting there! Her shop is filled with all natural products! She started off by making lip balms with her daughter and gifting them to friends and family. The demand grew, and she realized there was a market for natural products at various farmers markets. She added other products she had long been making for her family, including hand and face wash, essential oil roller blends, and room sprays. From there Nourish has only grown, and we were blessed to meet Jamie as she is as authentic as they come. She genuinely cares and believes in what she creates and was able to help recommend different products for us to try easily.

Twisted Sister Toffee

HOT NEWS here. This Small Business as new as new can get. This one happens to be very near and dear to our heart because the owner happens to be a part of our family. We have been treated to this toffee each Christmas and it’s something we both look forward to each year. We can’t share too many details yet, but lucky for you if you win this giveaway you get a sneak peek at the deliciousness that this toffee is!

Make sure you head to our Instagram to read the rules and enter our giveaway!

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The Best Tall Athleisure

Guess what… it’s cozy season! Who else is as pumped as we are? Don’t get me wrong; you obviously know we live for our few months of warmth. But now that it’s cold out, we’re ready to cherish our cooler months and dress accordingly. We talked about one of Caitlin’s favorite casual looks last week on the blog to kick that off if you missed it click here! Also can’t forget to mention we’re running two giveaways if you haven’t entered them yet, all it takes is an email! If you wear an Apple watch, click here to win another high-quality band for it. If your teeth are in need of some brightening like ours were, check out our review of Smile Brilliant and enter at the bottom of the post, here.

So back to the matter at hand, which is being as cozy as possible. One of the rules I have about being cozy pertains to being fully covered. I get super cold way too easily in the Winter and need to have a wardrobe that will keep me warm. That includes having my wrists covered first and foremost. And all our tall sisters said “AMEN.” The good news for us is we never have to question that when wearing Amalli Talli. 

They sent us two pieces to review for today, the Teddy Jacket and the white Cowl Neck Sweatshirt. Caitlin and I both make staying active a big part of our lives. It means different things to both of us, with plenty of overlap. We both like to lift weights together, as well as play sand volleyball. Caitlin loves to go hiking and likes to work in some jogging as well. I like to participate in other intramural leagues, like flag football and basketball. All that is to say, we need a good wardrobe of clothing that will work with us to and from these activities. I don’t really enjoy wearing dressy coats or clothing to and from the gym. As we’ve said before, that doesn’t mean we want to look like slobs either. 

There comes a point in your adult life where you feel obligated to draw the line on clothing you’ll wear out of the house. I definitely crossed that line when I hit 30 last year. Before that, I had a lot of suspect sweatpants/sweatshirts that shouldn’t have been seen in public. With age comes maturity, right?! That’s where Amalli Talli comes to the rescue. They’ve introduced these key pieces to add to your wardrobe so you can live your life, while still looking adult and polished. That’s all I ask of my clothing, is to work with my life seamlessly.

So first up, is the Teddy Jacket. As the name indicates, it is a fluffy jacket of goodness. The first thing we were impressed by, was the lining. When we shot these pictures, there was a mean wind blowing. The lining was good enough that I could have worn it in the 30-degree weather and been comfortable for walking in and out of stores/places. Plus it has a hood. So if you throw the hood on, you’re definitely going to stay cozy. Like we mentioned above, the sleeves are amply long. We can trust Amalli Talli to cover our wrists. 

The Cowl Neck Sweatshirt is back and better than ever. They released a small batch test last year of another pullover and it sold out. I can’t imagine this one being far behind. It’s a crisp clean look in white. I think winter white is such a sharp look, and I will be getting a ton of wear out of this. We both wore this and were thrilled with the length of it. Sometimes when sweatshirts/tunics go over our butts it isn’t the most flattering because it ends at our widest point on the body. So with ruching on the sides drawing it up, it makes it look super streamlined and not bulky. That’s a win! With my cold body temperatures, the cowl neck is ideal to add a bit of extra fabric around the neck for warmth, while Caitlin loves it because she doesn’t always like the turtlenecks feel of choking her neck. The drawstrings have a nice metal edge which also makes it look even more classy. The drawstrings are more for looks than use. Plus you have the pouch pocket in the front, for me to stick my hands in whenever they’re inevitably cold. 

We’re wearing both the Teddy Jacket in a large, which has been true to size for both of us. The cowl neck sweatshirt we sized up to Large and are super happy with the fit because it goes over our butts slightly. So maybe size up one in the sweatshirt if you carry more weight in the hips/butt like us! We’re both also rocking our Amalli Talli denim, in the smoky wash. I (Jenilee) am wearing the 30 size in the 37 inseam. I’ve got them cuffed twice, so if you don’t like to cuff, you could easily order the 35 inseam if you’re 6’4 like me! Caitlin is wearing the 31 size in the 35 inseam. Next time she’d definitely stick with a size 30. Amy and Alli did mention that the smokey wash seems to run a bit looser than the other sizes, just a tip on the fit!

As always, let us know if you have any additional questions on fit. We’ve still got the code for 15% off using THEREALTALL15, which is perfect to stock up for yourself or if you have any other tall women in your life. Once you introduce them to Amalli Talli’s clothing, they are never going to look back!

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A Casual Teddy Jacket

Does anyone else feel like the holiday rush is already upon you? No, just us?! I felt like such an adult because I had car repairs and a furnace tuneup on the same day. So this week flew by with planning and trying to get everything in order. We’re hoping that staying on top of it now leads to a more relaxing experience during family time. To be determined if it pays off, but here’s hoping! When we’re talking about slowing down and enjoying the holiday season, it’s more a reminder for us than anything. If it can help you at the same time, that’s a win!

With all that’s going on in our lives, we need to have functional clothing, aside from the fancy party looks that you look forward to this season. As much as my dream closet is all fancy dresses and twirlable skirts, I fully am a sweatpants and casual kind of girl. Caitlin would agree wholeheartedly. We’re two girls who are fully comfortable with looking less than put together. I’m just glad a lot of the items we’re buying lately don’t make you choose between looking cute or being comfortable. 

Last winter we got our teddy jackets from Long Tall Sally, and we still are rocking them with regularity in the cold temperatures we’ve been subjected too! If you can wear something that looks like a teddy bear and feels just as good, why wouldn’t you!? That’s why Caitlin was feeling this teddy borg jacket. It’s a more casual option that the lovely Long Tall Sally knee-length that we regularly wear to work and generally whenever we want to feel polished. Instead, this is like the athleisure cousin that will accompany you on errands or wherever else your weekend takes you. 

Plus, this could easily be the coat you throw on when leaving the gym in case you need to stop for a coffee/juice before heading home. The options are endless, and rest assured you’ll look good and feel polished. Caitlin bought it in size 10 – which is true to size. It has that slouchy oversized fit. However, if you are on the taller size the sleeve length on this jacket sadly won’t cut it for you. She paired it with a white scoop-neck tank and a pair of ripped Mom jeans from American Eagle. She has those in a size 10L. We’re getting to the point where it’s slightly risky to wear white shoes, but she’s rocking her Vans when she still can for a crisp finish.

As a bonus side note, Ellis James is doing a huge thank you sale right now! You can get 50% off any of their items including this travel bag we posted about. Caitlin just ordered the jewelry travel organizer as well because the sale is way too good to pass up. Just click here to get the discount on any of the items. And they are sold through Amazon so if you are a prime member it couldn’t be easier. This is the exact bag we use for travel here. Treat yo’ self, treat your friends, either way now is the time to buy!

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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!

Outfit Details

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