Hello! We are Maddie and Emily, two thirty-something sisters separated by the continental United States. Despite the distance, we remain extremely close and enjoy navigating adult life with the support of one another, each providing the other with ample (often unsolicited) advice along the way.
With one of us in the city and the other in the country, our lives appear to be very different, but we find that our day-to-day challenges and triumphs are largely the same.
Join us as we share our hacks and hobbies while always keepin’ it real!
Q&A with Maddie and Emily
Where do you live?
Maddie: I live in the NJ suburbs, after living five years in Jersey City, New Jersey (just across the Hudson from NYC) my husband and I saved up and bought a house and have been loving the ease and convenience of the ‘burbs.
Emily: I live in Central Oregon. Maddie and I grew up here and I have always loved the small town feel. I left a for a few years for college in L.A. and a job in Portland. But I always felt unsettled when I wasn’t in my hometown. In high school I always thought I would be a city girl but after spending time in actual cities I knew Central Oregon is where I wanted to settle down.
What is your occupation?
Maddie: As of April 2022, I work in HR at a global consulting firm!
Emily: I am a homemaker and I work part time for my family’s business as a QA Consultant.
What is your background?
Maddie: I graduated from the University of Portland with a major in Drama and a minor in Education. After that, I moved to London with my husband and completed my Masters in Applied Theatre (Drama in the Community and Drama in Education) at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama while he completed his Masters in Classical Acting at LAMDA. Upon moving to the East Coast and working in the arts education field for a few years, I realized that, for a variety of reasons, I craved a more traditional work environment so when we started the blog I was working as an office manager and legal assistant at a Manhattan law firm. I made the switch back to the theatre field from 2019-2022 at a regional theater in NJ and have recently landed at a great consulting firm in NJ doing HR.
Emily: I always thought I wanted to be a clothing designer and I got my Associates Degree from FIDM in Merchandise Product Development. After school I took a job at Nordstrom as a personal stylist for men. I wasn’t enjoying being in the fashion industry and so I went to school for Floral Design in Portland (yes there is a school for that and yes it was heaven). I was a florist for about a year working in a few different shops (where I met my husband) but I realized in order to survive I needed some more money (Just keeping it real!). I worked for a pharmaceutical company for a year and a half and gained great experience in QA. In 2018 I knew I wanted to go back and work for my family’s business. I worked there as the QA Manager/Lab Technician until I had our first child in March of 2020 when I became a homemaker and home with him full time. It was always important to both me and my husband that I would be home full time with our children.
How do you describe your style?
Maddie: I would say that my style is classic and comfortable. Having a curvy figure, I stick with classic styles that I know will be flattering and avoid trendy purchases. And if it isn’t comfortable, I won’t wear it. You will never catch me in 5 inch heels or anything item that I can’t breathe in.
Emily: I would describe my style as classic and comfortable like Maddie 😊. I spent too many years of my life wearing uncomfortable shoes and clothing for the sake of looking cute and spent hours picking out my outfits. I have tried to create a closet of items that are easily mixed and matched and comfortable. I am on my feet for most of my day at work so comfortable footwear is so important. Although I dress for comfort I don’t sacrifice style. My weekend wear can range from leggings and sweaters to feminine, but comfortable, dresses and skirts.
Passions/Hobbies?
Maddie: I love to read, hike, and have recently picked up paint-by-numbers!
Emily: Eating and watching TV. I’m kidding but also not. I also like going on walks (not a huge fan of running but I do it sometimes), sewing (when I find inspiration), knitting (while I watch TV- it’s a proven stress reliever), and I really love reading trashy mystery novels that always have punny titles and usually feature a cat as the main character (but I read other books too). I like playing board games and I’m always looking for good two player games for my husband and I to play. I will also consider cooking to be a hobby because I do it so much that it feels nicer to call it a hobby and not something I “have to do”.
Why did you start the blog?
Maddie: I was tired of seeing posts pop up on my Pinterest that read, “How I Feed My Family of 5 for $50 a Month!” I was tired of seeing my friend’s Facetuned photos on Instagram that look nothing like them in real life. I was tired of seeing extravagant vacation photos that I am sure put the globtrotter into debt. Commiserating on all of the above, I wanted to create an authentic space that would be real in a world that feels increasingly fake.
Emily: When I started my current job I was trying to figure out what a Lab Technician should wear or some cute outfits that a Lab Technician/QA Manager could wear to work. There are a few rules for what I need to wear to work. Closed toed non slip shoes, no bare legs, and no crazy sleeves that can get caught in machines or dragged though samples. When I tried to find a blog for ideas all I found were pictures of women in heels, with an off the shoulder top showing their bra strap, and tops cut down to their belly buttons. I wanted to share normal outfits that people wear to real jobs so that when another women gets a job as a lab tech she has a real resource for what to wear that is cute, comfortable, and functional.
Sister Hack 