Elsie + Emma are sisters and co-founders of the top DIY blog — A Beautiful Mess. They have written over seven thousand blog posts, so it seemed like a good time to start a podcast! The sisters have a lot to say on everything from home and DIY to family life and business. Visit abeautifulmess.com/podcast for show notes.
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You're listening to The Beautiful Mess Podcast, your cozy comfort listen. Let's talk about food. So 2 years ago, we did a cooking episode and a lot has changed since then. So we thought that we would update you on some of our favorite things to cook at home. This is all home cooking Mhmm. Things we love eating at home. Recipe land. Recipe land. Yeah. Yeah. So you guys know we are in our food blogger era now. Yes. If you've looked at our website recently and some peep you know, sometimes people come who haven't been for a few years, they're like, woah. That's a lot of food. And that's true. It is. And a lot of booze. I am trying to finish our cocktail archive this year, and it is it's fun. I love it. Oh, yeah. It's so much fun. Well and, yeah, we have tons of shots too. And one day, we got to photograph all these bomb shots. I think we talked about it a little bit, which if you don't know, a bomb shot is where you drop a shot into a drink. And they're really fun to photograph because they I was telling it reminded me of photographing, like, geysers in Iceland because it's like it's like clothes, like the liquid, and I thought it was really pretty. It's really fun to do. So Your photos were really good. Yeah. We still have one more. No, 2 more that we have to complete. But anyway, it's been our food blogger era. If you need a recipe, definitely go to a beautiful mess now more than ever. And it's definitely like a big variety still. I do think we have a lot of, like, the most alcohol recipes ever, but that won't be forever. That's just what we're on right now. She's working on a she's working on her grind. Mhmm. But, anyway, yeah, we're gonna go through all the different categories, talk about all our favorite recipes, things we like to make at home, little weird stuff. Yeah. So Yeah, man. If you're needing some inspiration to spice up your home cooking, this will be a good episode for you. I always need that inspiration. I do too. Mhmm. As much as I love cooking, I always
You know, we definitely hung out with, like, the same group of friends for a lot of, like, high school and college ages and still now. So, yeah. Yeah. The next question is, like, what are your similarities and differences? And I feel like that was part of why we've always been so close as we We aren't really the same, but we do have a lot of similar interests. Like, we've both always been creative people. I think you're more into, like, drawing and painting, and I do collage and whatever, but we've both always loved photography. So we would take a lot of pictures of each other or do a little, photoshoots in high school and college of each other. We both have always loved, like, weird clothes. So, like, thrifting and making things weird. Like, you would decorate your room a lot more than me, like, just, like, repaint it, redo it. You're just always, like, a lot more than me, but we're very similar in a lot of our interest. And so I think that made us close because it was like someone to hang out with who wanted to do all the weird things you wanted to do. And I actually didn't have that many friends at school growing up who were weird like me. So I just had a sister who was. Yeah. No. It was definitely like a fun built in friendship. Okay. So similar and differences, well, Emma can bake. I can't do that. I would say that's my one one thing that I'm very jealous of. Is her ability to bake. And also you have, like, different artistic talents than me. Like, I remember when we were younger and we made an art show together, your, like, paintings were, like, very, like, graphic and edgy and cool, and I was, like, very jealous of them. Like, they were I feel I think that's very edgy. Yeah. Stood the test of time a little more. I'm like a person who has to learn everything the hard way by, like, making mistakes or, I don't know, like, doing the same thing over and over and embarrassing myself until, like, magically I butterfly out of it. You know? And so Anyway, I think that Emma has a lot of strengths that are, like, I think one of the reasons why we make really good
Spot where it's just one. Like the Julie Blackman, you know, it's just kinda in its own spot by itself. Mhmm. And then I have a couple artists who I really love to collect, Esther Pearl, Watson, and Crate and Barrett, and they are both kind of, like, in this little hallway where it's just them. And it just, like, it may it makes it make sense together because it's, like, a little more bright and colorful and Mhmm. Kind of, like, happy and I don't know. I mean, it's contemporary art. It it doesn't flow well with antiques. So I think that that's a really good thing is just to, like, try slowly and be okay with moving stuff around. Like, some of the pieces that I bought for our living room ended up feeling better like the snake. Mhmm. The snake is by I think her name's Paige Barnes Dorsey. And I really want one of those snakes. The snake is amazing. I'm gonna link all these artists. Kind of like a wall sculpture. Yeah. It's 3 d. It's not a painting. It's like a actual It's a slobey yeah, snake. It feels to me like it's maybe plaster or something like that. I really want one. They're very small. Ceramic, and they're hand painted. They're anyway, they're really special. I bought it for a living room. And then as soon as I put it in there, I just, like, could tell right away that it didn't fit the vibe. And I tried it out in my office where there's, like, a very moody, historic wallpaper, and it was, like, perfect. So I think you have to go very slowly and give it time. And then, yeah, I would say, like, as far as choosing what style, I think finding, like, the pieces that feel right in your room and then collecting around them. Like, in our living room, we had a couple of oil portrait paintings, and then I watched Harry Potter after my birthday last year, and I was like, I got obsessed about wanting to have just like an oil painting covered area of our home. That talks to you, obviously. Yes. It goes around. Yes. Yes.
Scene where the gypsies capture them, and they're like, Drew Barrymore, you can take anything you can carry. Uh-huh. And then she takes the prince, and they all laugh, and then they become friends, which is my favorite scene in the movie because it is such a funny and daring thing to do. Yeah. So but she's wearing this, like, hilarious underwear that looks awful because it's basically like a gown tied around her weird. Mhmm. So Yeah. I think that that kind of stuff would be scary. Seems like a lot of laundry. I love modern underwear. You know what I mean? It just, like, does the job to the point. Mhmm. Like Mhmm. No extra stuff under there. Yeah. Okay. So before we do the rating, I do have to do an impression of the ending because I finished it this morning, by the way. I I do that almost every time. It's I show up and she's finishing the movie always. It's like 9 AM, and I'm like, wow. It's always leave this till the last second. Okay. So Well, I do. And, this one, I actually watched most of this with my kids, but then, you know, there was, like, 30 minutes left or something. Yeah. So I got to watch the good part this morning. Mhmm. Because the last 30 minutes, I do feel like is kind of, like, 75% of what is aesthetically pleasing about the movie. So, anyway, this is my impression. So first of all, he's, like, in love with her. And he's, like, who is this mysterious, beautiful, you know, magical woman? And he's, like, mom, I don't wanna marry anyone else except for her. And she's like, okay. Fine. But she's already engaged. So, anyway, when he thinks he has to marry the wrong person and he's about to announce it, then she walks in, and she's wearing her beautiful white gown with, you know, the wings and the jewels. And she's like, I really have to tell you something. And he's like, whatever it is, it'll be fine. And then which is a real gamble. When the person you love says, I really need to tell you something
Okay. Easter baskets. So in 2020, the Easter of a lifetime, we set the bar high for ourselves, which I think that a lot of people did. What else was there to do? Like, yeah. It was right when the pandemic started. Mhmm. So we did, like, scooters from the Easter bunny. Mhmm. And I feel like it was a curse. So if you're listening, I'm thinking about doing a scooter. So let's let's dive into this. Don't make it from the Easter bunny. Don't make the Easter bunny bring giant, big Christmas level presents. I would say just keep the basket and then just get the scooter from yourself on a regular day. Because then every year, you have to be on that level. That's true. Yeah. It's I set the bar too high, but I already did it, so I'm already cursed. You don't have to be. It's your choice. But I do, like, a spread. And it's, like, just on the dining room table. That's how our mom did it. So, usually, I just give them each, like, an outfit and then the basket and then maybe, like, some kind of toy. Like, the scooters were obviously, like, an exceptional thing that, like, fit with 2020 because we were trying to find things to do. So, yeah, every year now, I'm, like, trying really hard to, like, live up to that standard. You have to do a scooter every year. Yeah. Yeah. I will say, I think my kid's young enough, he might not really register that, like Oh, that's true. He might get a pass. Yeah. I might get a pass this year. I'm running low on those years with him. But but, yeah, Easter baskets. Yeah. We kinda do the same thing. Like, he gets he gets his swimsuit. He gets a new swimsuit. Usually, he gets a book, and it's usually like a spring themed or Easter themed book to seasonally. And then some kind of candy, but my kid's not a big candy eater. So I really don't go hard on the candy because it's not his thing really. I think it's good to just do, like, a little bit of candy because you already
