First, a quick clarification: When they see our names, some people get a little confused. So for the record, we are not girlfriend and boyfriend. We're SISTERS. We were born and raised in a small town called Sea Girt on the New Jersey shore. As kids, we spent countless hours hanging out at the beach, shopping at the local mall, and fighting like cats and dogs over clothes, phone time, and boys who didn't know we existed. But don't worry--we won't bore you with our whole life story. To follow are a few highlights.

Stacy (the little sister) got her B.A. in English from Middlebury
College in 1989. She began her publishing career in the trade
editorial department of Little, Brown and Company, and has held
editorial positions at three top women's glossies-Shape, Glamour,
and Parenting. Since she began freelancing in January 2000, she
has written countless fitness, health, nutrition, and travel stories
for national magazines including Shape, Self, Cosmopolitan, Travel
& Leisure, Heart & Soul, Sunset, and Fit Pregnancy. She now
resides in San Francisco with her husband, Ted, whom she lived
in sin with before tying the knot. (Thus, the inspiration for the book.)

Wynne (the older one) graduated from Lafayette College in 1986
with a B.A. in economics. Ms. Smarty Pants also earned an M.B.A.
from Fordham University's Graduate School or Business and a law
degree from Seton Hall University School of Law. She currently
works as an attorney specializing in tax, estate planning and estate
administration in Morristown, New Jersey. (Can you say exciting?). While she's never lived with a guy, Wynne is well-versed in the many legal and financial issues faced by couples who choose to live together. Through Stacy as well as several close friends and clients who have shacked up, she knows the problems that can crop up when couples don't talk, plan and compromise.

Before SHACKING UP, we had the fun of ghostwriting two best-selling books for a well-known fitness celebrity. To say that we have a good time working together would be an understatement. Since we're bi-coastal, we've had to rely on e-mail, frequent flier miles, and free weekend cell phone minutes. We look forward to starting the follow-up to SHACKING UP in the coming months.