1. Do you ladies have any new shops/stores (preferably online)? I feel like so many bloggers are constantly wearing the same thing these days and you guys always feature different pieces. So I’m curious, besides the obvious Nordstrom, Revolve, Shopbop…what are some of your other favorites? Any favorite pieces from those stores?
Not necessarily ‘new,’ but we also shop at Mango, Club Monaco, Mytheresa, Asos, Vici, Farfetch, All Saints, Aritzia, Reiss, Forever21, and H&M. We shop at a bunch of places, but these are some good options for finding pieces that not everyone has!

2. Can you link those Gucci Princetown loafer dupes again? I forgot to save the screenshot!
Yes – there are several great dupes! Here, here, here, and here!

3. Meggan – Can you do an Invisalign review?
Yes, I’m planning on doing a post after I get my retainer next week. If you have any specific questions feel free to email them to me or leave them below and I’ll add them to the post!

4. Can you guys pleeeeeease do more home posts? Your homes are both so pretty and want to see more!
Yes, we need to do more for sure!

5. I would love to hear your advice on when to know you’re financially ready to start having kids. My husband and I are still a few years away from this but want to start planning, since I would love to stay home with the kids/switch to a job where I can work from home most of the time. How did you each prepare yourself and what advice would you give now that you are both mothers?
Meggan: I’m probably not the best person to ask this since Cam wasn’t planned and I wasn’t exactly saving at the time lol. Obviously once I found out we started to buckle down and came up with a savings plan that worked for us. We just wanted to make sure we had a large emergency fund saved! I wanted to stay home as well and that’s when I felt like I really started hustling at work and with our blog so I could make that happen. I think it’s great you’re a few years out and already thinking about it!
Brooke: I don’t know if we felt ‘financially ready,’ but we had weekly budget meetings (I loathed these lol, but they were very helpful), and stuck to a really strict budget. When I had Sophia, I still worked full-time at my corporate job, so that’s a little different than your plan. I didn’t quit that job until after I had Avery, and at that point this had become our full-time job. Like Meggan said, that’s around the time when we really started to hustle – Avery and Cam are 3 months apart :). If you want to focus on being financially secure before you get pregnant, I would suggest sitting down and writing out all of your expenses. You just need sit down, print out all of your statements, bills, etc, and go through it. Figure out your monthly discretionary spending (the things you have to pay for like bills, housing, etc), and your monthly non-discretionary (date nights, nails, spending $, etc). Set a monthly budget that you both agree on and start there. It’s also helpful to determine how  much you will save automatically each month. Start with an amount that you won’t even miss, it will add up quicker than you think. Cutting things like Starbucks runs and Target trips in the beginning made me realize how much $ I was spending on things I really didn’t need (wasting). I’ll be honest, it wasn’t fun in the beginning, but looking back it was definitely very helpful!

6. I have an event coming up for our kids school it is a semi formal event and looking for a short length dress to wear. Please help!
A few options: this knot minidress, this off-the-shoulder dress (pretty color!), this ruffled metallic dress, and this long sleeve mini.

7. This request might be more applicable for Meggan but I’m sure Brooke had super cute maternity style too! I’m due in May and curious about your favorite staples that accommodate a bump? Hoping I can get away with a few good pieces that will transition through winter/spring.
I just did a post yesterday with some of my favorite pairs of maternity jeans here! A few other staples in my closet are these leggings, this tank, these joggers, this tee, these faux leather leggings, and this long sleeve top. Luckily in the winter you can still wear a lot of your non-maternity sweaters – that’s what I did my first pregnancy!

8. Brooke – this might seem like a weird question but I would love to see a post with all the light fixtures in your house. We are in the process of building, and I feel like I keep seeing new lights on instastories I haven’t seen before and love all of them! Where do you shop for lighting?
I could definitely do that! I am obsessed with lighting/light fixtures (luckily we needed a bunch of new ones when we moved!), so I’d love to share what we have. Most of the time we shop at Circa Lighting, but there are so many great lighting sources at all price points! I’ll do a post on this and include all of my favorites in that post!

9. I really need to update my fall/winter wardrobe. Any items that you would suggest I need to get started?
Start with quality basics you can wear again and again. And quality doesn’t always mean expensive! This sweater is amazing (I have it), and looks/feels much more expensive than it is. Also love this sweater. A staple tee (our favorite, 20% off! black, white and gray) to wear under denim/moto jackets! A good pair of jeans – love this ripped pair and this pair! For shoes – booties and loafers are a both great! Also – a nice looking coat like this one!

10. Job Advice Needed! I’ve been at my current company for a little over a year. It’s “just okay”- the pay is lower than it should be, but the quality of life and work/life balance are nice (no long hours, rarely work weekends, etc). It’s cushy, but I’m also not challenged/growing. A recruiter approached me recently about a job that is interesting to me & more pay, but would likely be longer work hours/more of a grind. I’ve been interviewing with them, and I’m so torn on what to do! Work super hard in my late 20s/early 30s and reap the financial benefits, or stay in cruise control at my current job in favor of more time with family/friends, time to exercise, etc.? If I turned it down it would be because of worries about their culture (bad Glassdoor reviews, etc.), but I’d also be afraid I would never have an opportunity that paid that much again, or not for a long time. Thoughts?
Hmm…this is a really tough question and the answer is probably different for everyone! Ask yourself what is more important to you: job flexibility, work life balance (but boredom, less $$, etc) or career advancement, and more upward mobility (but tougher hours, more of a grind)? It’s important to know what you want in your heart. There’s nothing wrong with grinding it out in your younger years to reap the benefits in your 30’s, but it has to be where your heart is at! Make a list of pros and cons, and go from there! Good luck babe!

11. Where do you find is the best place to get basic tanks/camis? Like fitted ones? Preferably not cropped – I like the longer look with cardigans! Talking plain white, black, cream, gray.
Meggan: I always have good luck finding them at Zara!
Brooke: I like these from Target!

12. Could your provide some dupes for the Stuart Weitzman 5050 boots? Love the look of them, just not the price point.
These boots are only $40 and look really good! Also love this pair, this pair, and this pair.

13. My girlfriends and sisters are throwing me a baby shower at the end of October, and I am looking for some ideas for host gifts!?
Candles (this one smells so good), a personalized serving board, pretty coasters, bath soaks, a marble jewelry box, or a wine gift set (love the bottle chiller).

14. I have a 3pm wedding to attend on November 9th and am really struggling to figure out what to wear! Any suggestions for dresses? I prefer short or midi and under $300?
We did a huge roundup of dresses on this post!

15. We are about to embark on potty training. How old were both of your kids when you started? And any tips for training girls Brooke?
Brooke: We tried to train Sophia the day after she turned 2 and it was a nightmare! She was totally not ready, and it was the day from hell lol! I talked to her pediatrician, and she told me do not rush it! She said even if kids are smart enough, they have to want to do it. There’s a big difference. I put her back in diapers, and 6 months later it literally took 2 days and she never had an accident! With Avery, we waited until she was 2 1/2 (learn from your mistakes lol) and she was not quite as easy as Sophia, but overall pretty good and only a few accidents, so I think waiting is key! She still wears a pull-up at night (Sophia never wore pull-ups), so I think it’s just different for everyone. When we first started potty training, we set a 30 minute timer, and every 30 minutes it was “potty time,” and they had to at least sit on the potty. Our pediatrician recommended ‘disposable treats’ aka candy, or something that gets eaten b/c they will keep wanting the reward vs something that they can keep, and it worked really well for us – we used M&Ms (but again, I think do what works for you!). The timer is something I would really recommend though, because you don’t lose track of how long it’s been, and they learn to just expect to go to the bathroom when the timer goes off. It also helps avoid accidents b/c sometimes kids don’t realize they have to go until it’s too late ;). Good luck mama!
Meggan: We started right my son turned 3 and I will say it was sooo much easier than we expected – he was trained in less than a week! We got him a potty and potty books long before we started training which definitely helped. He went on the potty a few times before but we never really pushed it. When it was time to start training we basically just told him no more diapers, put undies on him, and rewarded him every time he went on the potty. When he went poop on it we had a big celebration and I brought him to Target so he could pick out a toy lol. He was terrified to go #2 on it so we had to make it a huge deal 😉

16. I am going to Napa in two weeks and am not sure what to pack! I started packing typical fall clothes (hats, coats, scarves, coated denim, etc.) but checked the weather and see it will be in the high 70s! What should I pack?!
Ah yeah looks like it’s pretty warm during the day but the temps drop at night! We would pack things that are easy to layer – this dress, these jeans, this tee, this cardigan, these booties, this romper, this jacket, and this dress.

17. I bought the Spanx Moto leather leggings and am having a hard time styling them! Can you give me a few outfit options (shoes included), casual and dressy?
For casual we love an easy look like this – sweatshirts, sneakers, casual jackets, etc. Some pieces to create it are these white sneakers, this hoodie, this tunic, this sweater, these sneakers, and this jacket. To dress them up you can keep it simple like Kristin Cav did here! Pair them with tops like this or this, classic pumps, a duster cardigan, or booties.

18. Brooke – I’m in the middle of round 1 FWTFL. Would you recommend doing round 2? I’m curious how beneficial you think it’s been. Do you think it’s worth spending the $$ even if I just repeat the guidelines from round 1..? I’m sorry if you’ve already answered his question before.
Ugh, I have totally fallen off track the past few weeks because I didn’t register for my third round. I thought I could do it on my own…but life happens, I got sick, and I had nobody keeping me accountable, so I really wish I would have registered for this round instead of just thinking I could do it on my own. I’m just not there yet, I need the accountability! A new round is starting next Monday and I am signing up! So, my answer is I think it depends on the type of person you are/where you’re at in your fitness journey. If you can stick to it on your own, you can totally just use the guides from your first round and continue on with it! But if you’re like me, I think registering for another round is the only way (for now!). *I’ve been getting questions on IG stories about any posts so you can read my FWTFL posts here, here, and here. Let me know if you sign up for the next round!

19. I know you guys use Moroccan Oil shampoo & conditioner, but I know you’ve both mentioned purple shampoos before also. Which purple shampoo do you both use? And how often do you use it? Need suggestions please!
Brooke: I’m still trying to find a purple shampoo I love, but just ordered this one from Amazon. I know a lot of people love it, but I haven’t tried it!
Meggan: I use this purple shampoo 1-2 times a week. Also, I listed all my go-to hair products on this post if you’re interested!

20. I’d love to see your Target hauls (clothes, decor, shoes, etc.), similar to how you do your TJ hauls!
Meggan: I can definitely do that! However, I try not to go to Target a ton and when I do I try to stick to my list (aka keep the spending to a minimum lol). Next time I come home with fun stuff though I’ll be sure to do one!
Brooke: I don’t get to Target very often (sadly, mine is no bueno), but if I do go, I’ll definitely share a haul!

21. I learned about the Levi’s 721 High Rise Skinny Jeans from you ladies and I absolutely LOVE them and have them in two washes. Do you know if they make the 721 in non-distressed? If not, have you found a pair of jeans with a similar fit and length? At this point, I’d purchase at any price because I love the fit so much!
Yes they make so many different 721 styles – see them all here!

22. I recently got this dress for a wedding. You’d think it’d be easy to style since it’s plain black but I feel like I’m running out of fun ideas on how to switch up my accessories for black! Do you have any fun/different recommendations for accessories? Maybe some funky/cool heels or earrings?
Some fun accessories and shoes you could wear with it are these emerald green heels, this necklace, these pumps, these tassel earrings, these hoops, and these heels. Midi boots (like these) would also look super cute with it!

23. I live in Florida and would love to incorporate fall trends into my wardrobe that won’t make me completely miserable in the heat! Any suggestions?
Hats (like this one and this one) would be perfect since they won’t make you hot ;). Tall boots with dresses and skirts, or a thin cardigan over tank with denim cutoffs or jeans! All super easy ways to add fall feels in a warm climate!

24. I’ll be traveling to Nashville at end of October with my husband and another couple for a “mommy and daddy getaway” any outfit suggestions for day time around town and night time action?
Some cute things to pack: this dress, this ots sweater, these jeans, these booties, this jumpsuit, and this top.

25. I have several off the shoulder tops, but need suggestions on how or what to wear over the top in cold weather. Any suggestions appreciated!
Hmm…not sure if you mean to just get from one place to another (in that case, just throw on a warm coat), or to be out and about during the day. You could try throwing a cape (like this) or cozy wrap over the top if you want to wear it out during the day. Hope this helps!

26. It’s my eighth wedding anniversary in November, any gift ideas? My husband will be traveling a lot in the next few months so a getaway is out of the question.
Guys are so hard to shop for! Our husbands love memories more than gifts, so we typically do something like a couple’s massage at a hotel spa, tickets to a concert or sporting event, or just plan a fun day in your city! Go to brunch, maybe spa in between, then a fun dinner out! Another cheesy (but guys loooove) idea is a coupon book. For example, a coupon for a 30 minute back rub, a coupon to sleep in on the weekend (if you have kids), etc. Happy anniversary!

27. I am in need of some suggestions on what to wear to a baptism for my god daughter. The baptism is at the end of October and will be held in a catholic church.
Some appropriate and cute dresses: here, here, here, and here!

28. My fiancé and I are taking engagement pictures at the end of the month and I don’t know what to wear! We are going to do two outfits so I’m thinking one casual (jeans and a cute top/sweater?) and one a little dressier. Looking for a great heeled pointed toe suede bootie to wear too if you know of any! We’re on Long Island so weather *hopefully* will have cooled down by then to true fall temps. Do you have outfit recommendations!? Also, I don’t necessarily want to be in white.
For the casual look with jeans we love this sweater, this sweater, or this one. These booties are so great, also love this pair if you’re looking for something a little dressier. For the dressy option – this dress, this dress and this dress are so pretty but all different!

29. Looking for a long dress for a formal event I will be attending mid November. 🙂 Looking to spend less than $125, would appreciate your help!
We got you covered! Love this one (under $75!), this one, this one (under $70!), and this one!

30. Where are the best places to buy cute baby outfits? I’d love to get an adorable gift for our newborn goddaughter.
Spearmint Baby, The Tot, Zara, Lil’ Lemons, H&M Baby, Nordstrom Baby, and Milk Barn.

31. Looking for an entry console, can you help find one?
Not sure of the size or style you’re going for, but love this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one!

We had an influx of questions this week, sorry if we didn’t get to yours! You can leave your questions below or email us at brookeandmeggan@somewherelately.com with #coffeetalk in the subject! xx