Category Archives: Anything & Everything

Mar1

Lil Red Recommends – Entertainment Edition

Posted on March 1, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Hey there and happy March!!! Spring is on the horizon and I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for it! Especially considering it’s going to snow all day in good ol’ Akron, Ohio. -____- As of late I’ve been enjoying some great movies, literature, and music that I’d love to share with you. There’s also one heinous excuse for a film that I must warn you about, so let’s get started!!

Watch St. Vincent: I watched this fantastically sweet movie last night with my parents and I loved every minute of it. St. Vincent was a classic “grumpy old man with a sensitive side underneath it all” film starring Bill Murray who was quite phenomenal. (He was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance.) The sensitive side to Vincent is brought out by a number of people and situations throughout the film including his new neighbors Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her young son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), the lady of the night Daka (Naomi Watts), and his Alzheimer ridden wife Sandy (Donna Mitchell). The all star cast all give inspiring performances. I was pleasantly surprised that Melissa McCarthy was able to pull off a serious roll and young Jaeden Lieberher was sweet as can be. Usually I’m not fond of child actors, but he was just adorable and not annoying in the slightest. And can we please just talk about Naomi Watts as Daka?! Between her prostitute-y hair and makeup and her thick Russian accent, I didn’t even realize it was her until my mom told me! She nailed it. In the classic storyline with a twist, St. Vincent truly showed that you can’t judge a book by its cover. The film was the perfect combination of serious and pure fun and I can’t recommend it enough.

DO NOT WATCH Before I Go To Sleep: I’m sure you guys will recall that I absolutely loved the book Before I Go To Sleep from previous posts. I still hold true to my statement that this book was infinitely better than the popular Gone Girl. I was extremely excited to hear that one of my favorites was made into a movie starring the lovely Nicole Kidman and the hotty mchothot Colin Firth. I’ve been looking forward to watching this film for a while now and was so happy when my mom brought it home from the library yesterday. Eager to see my favorite book on the big screen (more like eighteen inch TV screen, but same difference) I popped the movie into the DVD player and was ready to be taken away into the creepy confusing world described in the book. To bring you up to speed if you’re not familiar with the storyline, Before I Go To Sleep tells the tale of Christine, a woman who experienced horrible trauma causing her memory to erase every night when she falls asleep. The movie started out okay for about ten minutes, and then everything went downhill. The movie was absolutely NOTHING like the book. Important facts were altered or removed completely and the acting of Kidman and Firth was sub par at best. Quite frankly, I’ve seen Lifetime movies that were better than this. If you read the book and enjoyed it as much as I did, don’t bother watching the movie because I give you the Lil Red Guarantee that you will absolutely hate it. If you have never read the book and are thinking about watching it, DON’T DO IT! It sucked and you’re welcome for saving you an hour and a half of your life. 🙂

^^SHAMEFUL!

Read Dad Is Fat: Lol, if you’re familiar with the extremely pale comedian Jim Gaffigan, you’ll know that this is his memoir to all things parenting. Gaffigan has a herd of five small equally as pale offspring and Dad Is Fat includes stories, tips, observations, and just pure silliness about his adventures as a parent. Usually I’m not one for reading books penned by celebrities and I’m also not fond of reading comedic books but when my brother was home a few weeks ago he brought Dad Is Fat with him (which I actually bought for him) in case I wanted to read it. He told me it was hilarious so I accepted the book to maybe read at a later time. That time came sooner than I thought, after I finished the last book I was reading The Rosie Effect in a whopping three days. (The Rosie Effect was the sequel to The Rosie Project and it was simply delightful! Definitely give the series a try, you’ll be glad you did!) Anyways, I was completely out of things to read so I begrudgingly picked up Dad Is Fat and was instantly in stitches. If you’re looking for something lighthearted and lots of fun, give this goofy memoir a try. You’ll be in laughing hysterics the whole time!

Give The Rosie Series A Try: As I mentioned above, I recently finished the much anticipated sequel to The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect. The Rosie books tell the story of calculated, scientific, and socially awkward Don and his quest to find true love. The books never go right out and say that Don is on the autism spectrum, but you can easily deduce through the context clues that he indeed is on the spectrum. Don’s life is turned upside down in the first book when he finds himself falling in love with the outgoing and outspoken Rosie, who is literally his polar opposite. In the sequel which I really enjoyed, we find our cute couple enjoying married life until a major shock happens…Rosie is pregnant! The Rosie Effect follows the hilarious and at times heartbreaking moments in Don’s every day life. New friendships are made with eccentric characters even in the midst of a marital rough patch. Blame it on the hormones, I guess?! Can Don and Rosie salvage their relationship in time for their new baby? I guess you’re gonna have to find out!

Listen To Tom Vek: I know that I’ve mentioned Tom Vek before, but he’s slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite artists, so I figured I’d mention him again. I’m so obsessed with his album Leisure Seizure, I seriously can’t even. Vek has this amazing ability to make his voice drone on and on but still sound completely amazing. His music is moody, melancholy, and I can’t get enough. His monotonous voice is the definition of complete angst and all of his songs sound so mechanical and cool. It’s rare for me to hear an album and enjoy every song, but Leisure Seizure defies those odds, delivering hits track after track. I would put videos for the entire album on here, but I’ll leave it up to you guys to find more of his music if you like him. Here’s a few tracks that I really enjoy to get you started:

So there you have it, my Lil Red Recommends – Entertainment Edition! Have you guys read any of the books or watched any of the films I mentioned? What did you think of them? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Sunday! -Sarah

Feb28

Farewell February!!!

Posted on February 28, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Whatsup guys? So we’ve come to the end of the month of February, and some good things happened and some not so good things happened. Regardless of the good, this month can kiss my butt, so let me be the first to say: BYE FELICIA!!

^ Lol, I love that picture!

Anyways, spring is on the horizon, and spring brings new life, new adventures, and a fabulous new wardrobe. 😉 Point being, I’m ready for a change. I’m ready for a change in people who I associate myself with and most importantly I’m ready for a change in myself. The Lil Red Lifestyle is all about confidence, and lately I haven’t been feeling so hot, and this needs to change ASAP. To do this, I plan on giving myself a mental makeover starting with removing these shitty self harm thoughts once and for all. February was a month of stressers and slip ups but I have a brand new beautiful month to better myself with so let’s get it! Another thing I want to work on changing is the way I view myself. I’m sick of feeling like I’m not good enough for anything or anyone and the only person who can change that is myself. Here’s the thing, I know that I’m a pretty girl and I know that I’m extremely intelligent but I don’t completely believe it. The before mentioned knowledge feels like I’m thinking about a totally different person, because in my head all I see are flaws. It’s so flattering to have people tell me that they think I’m pretty and whatever but it’s sometimes hard to hear it since I don’t believe it myself. (Oh what a tangled web we weave.) So the game plan is to give my negative mind a clean sweep and start over fresh and new. Maybe then I can get to know the Sarah that everyone else sees. I just want to be happy, and once I have a positive mindset, I know my pursuit of happiness will be a hell of a lot easier.

^^ I had to!

I can’t low ball the things that are great right now though – like how I’m absolutely killing the college game at Tri-C! That’s something that I’m extremely proud of! Speaking of which…I got an A on my first math quiz in two and a half years so I was freaking ecstatic about that!!!! I hope you guys don’t think that I’m a completely miserable sad sack, because I’m not. I have a lot of good days, it’s just that the bad days are overwhelmingly bad…and that’s not okay. I had some minor setbacks in February, but I’m ready to get back on the horse, and fuckin kill the game as per usual! I have one more week of class left until my spring break, so I’ll have some much needed Lil Red time so I can pamper myself and sleep in!!! So let’s do it. Operation Positive Mindset and Operation Kill The College Game are a go! My positivity percentage has been at a solid fifty percent these past few months so I plan on raising the bar until I get to a one hundred twenty-five percent, at the very least! 😉 #operation125%

I hope that the month of March treats all of you with beautiful weather and extreme happiness. I also hope that all of you (including myself) are treating yourselves with love and respect. Bon voyage and good riddance to February! Bring on spring! What are you most looking forward to in the month of March? What’s your favorite thing about spring? I’d love to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much Love. -Sarah

^ #TRUEEEE

PS: My featured image photo flaunts my Beetlejuice jacket that I mentioned in my last post Spring Shopping Extravaganza! I love it so much it hurts! Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! ❤

Feb23

Monday Update – Annoyed Edition -___-

Posted on February 23, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Guyyyyyyyyyys. I’m. So. ANNOYED!!!! But before I talk about the sources of my annoyances, let’s talk about the good things that these past few days have brought! My big bro Peter was home from Tuesday until Sunday before he returned back to Madison, Wisconsin. We had a fantastic time hanging out, I missed him so much! I treasured all of my time spent with him, from playing Mario Kart drink and drive, watching The Ladies Man, annihilating in some Diablo II, to just chilling and bro talking – it was all beautiful. Fingers crossed that he can come home again soon! 🙂 Alright, what else? Oh! I’m getting a new tattoo this week! I’m not going to say exactly what it is, but I can tell you it will be themed from my favorite book in the entire world, The Little Prince. So make sure you keep checking in with me this week, because I’ll for sure be posting pictures of it once it’s all done! Exciting stuff. And can we please just talk about the Oscars for a hot minute? *Kisses fingers* Mwah. To die for. I enjoyed everything about last nights spectacle – the fashion, the performances, and most importantly the appreciation I had for all of the wonderful craftsmen and women being honored at the awards. Unfortunately, I’ve been slacking severely this year as far as watching the Oscar nominated films goes – I’ve only seen three. (Unbroken, American Sniper, and The Grand Budapest Hotel which I actually just watched today and absolutely adored. C’est magnifique.) However, I plan on watching all of the films as soon as I can get my hands on them either at the library or the video store. I’m particularly excited to see Birdman and Whiplash, but everything looks so good! The Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Boyhood, Still Alice, and Ida are all on my must watch list as well! (Make sure you leave me a comment on how you feel about any of these movies – but no spoilers please!!)

Now, onto the annoying stuff….my freaking laptop that I do all of my school work and blogging on is broken – which is just dandy considering a majority of my college classes are taken online. I’m currently using one of my moms old work laptops to write this, but unfortunately it can’t run my school software very well, so I had to spend four plus hours at the local library today to do my school work. It’s not like it’s a huge deal or anything, but it was so nice to be able to work from the comfort of my home (hello no pants!) or Starbucks. And the computers at the library suck major ass, so I had to spend a lot of time today waiting for things to load or reload because I got kicked off of the servers so many times. By the time I left the library I was on the verge of tearing my hair out and proceeded to chain smoke and swear the entire way home. As soon as I got home today, I knew that I needed a break to cool my jets, so I decided that this afternoon would be the perfect time to finally watch The Grand Budapest Hotel. I loved it too much and it definitely helped get a smile back on my face for the rest of the day. Fair warning, you guys are gonna hear a lot of me being annoyed this next month, because that’s how long it’s going to take for my laptop to be fixed, but just bear with me cause god knows mama’s gonna need to vent. It’s given me quite a bit of stress this past weekend because of how much my school work depends on that damn piece of technology – so fingers crossed the problem can be solved promptly and I’ll have my laptop back in no time. Le sigh.

^^^ Today definitely calls for my happy time music. While I was working at the library today I had all of my U2 albums on shuffle on my iPod and it definitely made my work fest tolerable at the very least. THANKS BONO, YA STUD!!! ❤

Alright crew, there you have it, Lil Red’s Monday Update. What did you guys think of the Oscars? Who got snubbed? Who looked a hot wreck? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much Love. -A Very Annoyed Sarah

Feb11

We Be Steady Bloggin

Posted on February 11, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Alright guys, seriously? Your favorite Lil Red is STILL SICK! This is the epitome of not okay! I have no idea what I have, because it’s not quite the flu, or a cold, or anything else that I can think of. I have the most severe case of body aches, dizziness, and nausea that I’ve ever experienced. I’ve literally done NOTHING these past few days but when I manage to pull myself out of bed this tidal wave of tiredness hits me. It also doesn’t help that good ol’ Aunt Flo paid me a visit the other day. I’m a hot ass wreck. I’m not gonna lie, I haven’t been feeling too hot as far as my mental health goes lately as well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my physical sickness is a reflection of that. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’ve just been really sad lately. I’d be a liar if I told you I haven’t cut within this past week, and like usual, that just made matters worse after about an hour or so of the euphoria. I’m really hoping that today I can kick this stupid sickness for good and that I’ll wake up tomorrow bright eyed and bushy tailed. I need this to happen actually because this bitch is trying to get back into the Akron theatre scene that I love so very much, so I’ll be attending a show put on by one of the companies that I used to work for. I’m very excited to see all of my old friends and I’m really looking forward to seeing the piece that’s being put on for the University of Akron’s Rethinking Race Week. It should be a jolly good time. I have my dreaded math class tomorrow morning, but I think I’m just going to sit this one out and sleep in – I just wanna feel better, damnit!!! I’m going on day five of being a hot mess and I am slowly losing my mind. #overdramatic

^^ This basically sums up my life.

Wanna know the icing on the cake of my misery? I broke my very first nail yesterday and it was a TRAVESTY. I got home from school and for the first time in days I was actually feeling hungry (I haven’t had much of an appetite lately), so I jumped on these hunger pangs and started making food pronto. In my rush to get something yummy cooking, my pinkie finger got caught in the handle of one of my cabinets and cracked clean in half. I pulled my hand away and to my horror saw blood oozing from the crack in my pinkie. When this happened all I could think was “fucking seriously?” So I ditched the food I was making because my stomach had officially dropped out of my butt at this point and drove straight to the nail salon. My beloved Vinny wasn’t working that day, but luckily STEVE patched my nail up beautifully. It was too funny, when I rushed into the salon and told the workers whom I love so very much that I broke a nail, they all rushed around me to comfort me, a broken nail hurts, damnit! Steve took a look at my war wound and said “Sarah…it looks like we’re gonna have to cut your finger off.” I was in laughing hysterics! That was the last thing I was expecting to hear but it was somehow just what I needed – I love morbid jokes! To my relief, my nail was salvaged and I was able to go on my merry way. My trip to the salon ended up making my day infinitely better, so maybe my broken nail was a blessing in disguise. Ha, you never know! #pronails

^^^ This totally just came on my iTunes and I’m not gonna NOT share it with you guys. #goodies

So guys. What I need from you is some home remedies that you swear by to help me beat this bug. I NEED to feel better tomorrow! HELP!!!! Happy Hump Day and I will talk to you all soon! Much love. -Sarah

Feb9

I’m Baaaack!!

Posted on February 9, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Guess who’s back? Back again. Lil Red’s back. Tell a friend.

Whatsuppppp guys. Sorry that I’ve been M.I.A. this past weekend, I was and still am extremely under the weather. I have absolutely no clue what’s wrong. 😦 On Friday night I went to an excruciatingly lame party and got a little too white girl wasted. Naturally I woke up with a hella hangover the following morning, but it wouldn’t go away as the day progressed. I was achy, nauseous, and dizzy all day AND unfortunately, I’ve been achy, nauseous, and dizzy all day today. #fml The only good thing about feeling sick is that you have a really valid excuse to lay in bed and watch Netflix all day. Today I indulged in watching over half of season two of The Following and it was fantastic! I really enjoyed season one but never got around to watching the sophomore season. About a week ago I saw somewhere or another that season three will be airing soon, so I thought today would be the perfect day to get myself all caught up. Kevin Bacon and his chiseled features definitely helped me feel a little bit better! Hubba hubba! Prior to this suck ass weekend, I was having a pretty suck ass week. -___- I’ll tell you guys, Lil Red can NOT catch a break! But it’s whatever, because amongst all of the bullshit, I treated myself to a princess day on Thursday. #treatyoself

Mama needed her nails done DESPERATELY, so I decided that I would hit up the salon after my math class on Thursday morning. I got to class, annihilated a quiz, and then sat through more than half of my two hour lecture until I decided to dip out. Yes, I peaced out of my math class to get my nails done – SUE ME FOR IT! I haven’t said too much about my college classes lately, because they’re all going pretty average so far – BUT, I will tell you that my algebra professor is not my cup of tea. The thing is, is that she seems like such a nice person, but she has one major downfall….she has the worst monotone that I’ve ever heard in my life. Math bores me enough already, so when I have to deal with that on top of listening to a robot lecture the class for an entire two hours I naturally am eager to leave ASAP. So I leave class and take my sassy ass straight to the salon to see my beloved nail tech, Vinny. Vinny has been doing my nails for almost three months now and he is absolutely fantastic. This last visit he spoiled me rotten – he spent TWO hours working on my nails, bought me Starbucks, AND told me he was going to take me to see 50 Shades of Grey on Valentine’s Day! Ha! It felt so amazing to have an entire afternoon of pampering and my nails turned out perfectly, as you can see from the picture below:

So obsessed. Red like my hair and black like my heart. ❤ And here’s a few pics of me and my sweet Vinny, who keeps my nails looking fresh all day every day! #pronails

^^^ Lol, I had to!!!

So there you have it, a quick little update on everyone’s favorite Lil Red before I hit the hay. I promise that I’ll be back in action on the ol’ blog once I’m feeling better this week! Btw, who watched the Grammy’s tonight? What did you guys think of the performances? Who got snubbed out of an award? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah

Jan29

Lil Red Recommends: Procrastination Edition!

Posted on January 29, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red Recommends: Procrastination Edition!

Heyyyyyy guys! So I was in the middle of doing math homework, and I was getting SO (Lil) Red with frustration, so I said “fuck it” and decided to blog instead. Math homework can wait….until the day before it’s due 😉 Ha, anyways I’ve had a few fun occurrences happen this week that I would love to inform you lovelies about, so let’s get to it with my Lil Red Recommends: Procrastination Edition!

Read “The Husband’s Secret”: Lol, told you guys I was gonna recommend this one as soon as I finished reading it! It was SO good! I recently read “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty and was obsessed, so I was very excited to start reading one of her best sellers “The Husband’s Secret”. This book did not disappoint, as I expected from the phenomenal Australian author. All of Moriarty’s books weave together three women’s lives, usually through the school that the ladies children attend, which was a common theme between both books. In “The Husband’s Secret” we meet super mom Celeste, introverted Tess, and elderly and depressed Rachel. Rachel has every reason for her sorrow, because her teenage daughter, Janie was murdered years ago and the case was never solved. I can’t say much about the book, because giving one thing away would give away a lot – but I can tell you that there’s a murderer living among the quiet Australian suburb who never fully paid for the crimes committed all those years ago. Saying that “The Husband’s Secret” is a page turner is an absolute understatement. Much like “Big Little Lies”, I devoured this book in days and fell in love with all of the charming characters that “The Husband’s Secret” has to offer. Do yourselves a favor and READ THIS BOOK! I promise that you’ll like it – you have the Lil Red guarantee!

Try Out Jamberry Nails: If you haven’t read my most recent post about these fabulously cute nail wraps, PLEASE DO SO! I had the pleasure of writing about this fun company for a dear friend, and was lucky enough to sample some of the products! I gave myself an adorable Jamberry pedi and hooked my sister up with a manicure yesterday – it’s safe to say that we’re both pretty obsessed! Jamberry has hundreds of wrap patterns to chose from as well as nail lacquers if you’re not a nail wrap fan. Please read my blog post Jamberry Nails for additional info and get yourself a sweet treat on http://jamswithjenna.jamberrynails.net! There’s a bunch of Valentine’s Day themed wraps to pick from to get yourself in the spirit for the most annoying holiday ever! 😉

Go See American Sniper: Alright, so I understand that there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this film regarding how much of the actual story of Chris Kyle was true and whatnot. And here’s the thing – I don’t care. I didn’t look too much into all of the news stories and web articles about the subject – if I did that, I don’t think that I would have enjoyed the film as much as I did. American Sniper was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, so by default I loved this movie. Anything that Eastwood touches is gold in my opinion, and it brought me great joy to watch a movie that had his unique touch all over it. The entire time I was in the movie theater I couldn’t help but think that the film was such “classic Eastwood”. The controversies regarding the film doesn’t take away from the marvelous direction, cinematography, sound mixing, and acting that American Sniper has to offer. Bradley Cooper gave one hell of a performance – I was so impressed! Usually I don’t care too much for him as an actor, but I truly appreciated this character and the work that went into becoming him. Of course there were a lot of parts in American Sniper that were hard to watch, but if you can look past that, you’re in for a great night at the movies.

Listen To Jagwar Ma: Ohhhh yes. Hell yes. I LOVE these guys! Jagwar Ma has one of the most unique sounds in an indie band that I’ve heard in a very long time. The thing about these guys, is that they’re so much more than just indie. They’re alternative, electronica, surfer rock, with the slightest hint of boy band swag that I just adore. Their 2013 album “Howlin” delivers non stop hits – seriously there’s not one song on there that I dislike. One thing that I’m particularly fond of on “Howlin” is that even their short songs like “Man I Need” and “Let Her Go” pack just as much of a punch as their over five minutes “Come Save Me” and “Four”. I’m sure you all know by now how much I appreciate that, because I feel like I mention it a lot. I always say that you can tell that a band is dedicated to their music when their filler songs are just as good as their main feature songs. Do yourselves a favor and give Jagwar Ma I try, I’m pretty confident that some of you fabulous people will enjoy them!

Alright guys, that’s enough procrastination for the day – mama needs to get back to her homework. -___- I hope all of you have a great rest of your day! What movies have you seen lately? What band are you obsessed with at the moment? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Love, love love – Sarah

PS: CHECK OUT JAMBERRY NAILS! http://jamswithjenna.jamberrynails.net

Jan22

Shout Out To You – Part 2!!!!

Posted on January 22, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Hey everyone! Hope you’re having a fabulous Thursday! I made a little somethin somethin for all of my wonderful readers today, so I hope you all like it! I know that I made a map with the labels of all of your lovely locations before, but I just spent over an hour making a new and improved version of it, using push pins instead of post it notes. I finally caved and bought a three dollar pack of push pins at Target today to make this possible! Don’t thank me all at once! 😉 Anyways, here it is!

It took a lot of patience and only a few instances of pulling my hair out to find all of these locations, but it was so worth it!! I’ve been meaning to push pin all of the different countries for forever, and I don’t know what made me pick today to do it – I guess it just felt like a good day!! Don’t mind my awful hand writing, but here’s a note from yours truly as well!

As always, I appreciate all of you like no other! Stay beautiful, and for any questions or concerns, leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Thursday! -Sarah

Jan20

Shout Out To You!

Posted on January 20, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Hey guys! I just wanted to say thank you for all of the support you’ve been giving lifewithlilred these past few months! I truly appreciate all of the likes, shares, comments, and views from all of you!!! I’ve been having so much fun writing all of my crazy thoughts on here and I’ve had just as much fun reading everything you have to say as well! You are all so talented!! I’m so thankful to have such a solid group of supporters who seem to actually care about what I have to say – it really does mean a lot! So as always all I ask of you to just keep on sharing, following, and reading and we’ll see just how far we can take this! I have some really great stuff coming up these next few days! It’s the season finale of American Horror Story: Freak Show tomorrow night so make sure you tune in with me for my review of that. And if you’re interested in spreading your musical horizons, I’ve been lucky enough to have a few local bands from Akron, Ohio ask me to do a review on my page! In other news with Lil Red, I start back up at school next week, but I promise to post as often as I can! Thanks for everything again and so much love to all of you!!!

I hope you’re all having a lovely day! Have you guys been sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions? What should I write about next? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Love, love, love -Sarah

Jan18

Lil Red Recommends: January Edition!

Posted on January 18, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Whatsup guys! Happy Sunday to each and every one of you! I’ve read quite a few good books this month, discovered a cool new band, and had a somewhat religious experience while shopping, so I wanted to share all of these and more with you in the newest Lil Red Recommends! Let’s get to it:

Read Tuesdays With Morrie: Seriously. Like Nike…just do it. My dear friend Kate got this for me a few Christmas-es ago and I decided to pick it up when I was out of a book to read after I finished Big Little Lies (which will be discussed later!) I read this book quite some time ago, and I am SO happy that I finally reread it. This book touched my heart and soul in ways that I can’t even describe the second time around. I guess that has to do with the fact that my beloved grandma was still alive and well the first time I read this book. This is a true story that chronicles the final visits a professor suffering with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) has with a former student. Mitch, who hasn’t spoke with his favorite college professor Morrie Schwartz in sixteen years becomes aware of his professor’s disease by seeing him doing a television interview while flipping stations. He hops a plane to Boston to see Morrie looking fragile and pallid in a wheelchair. After their first visit together which fell on a Tuesday, Morrie asked if Mitch would come to see him again next week, to which Mitch obliged. All of their meetings in their college days fell on a Tuesday and these visits stayed true to that tradition because they’re “Tuesday people” according to Morrie. During the visits between professor and student topics like religion, emotions, forgiveness, and death are discussed. We learn about Morrie and Mitch’s past and current struggles, that are peppered with humor and the questions that everyone probably asks themselves. This tribute to an amazing man had the ability to make me love both Morrie and Mitch as if they were my own family, and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you’re looking for a quick read that makes you think and opens your heart, grab yourself a copy of Tuesdays With Morrie pronto. If this book doesn’t move you in some way, then you literally have no soul.

Read Big Little Lies: Ohh yes, this book is FABULOUS. Big Little Lies tells the tale of the drama of three women: battered and beautiful Celeste, fashionable and confrontational Madeline, and of course shy and young Jane. These ladies meet through the kindergarten that their children attend and through fast friendship their lives become intertwined. All of the struggles these women face lead up to a tragic night at a school trivia night function for the parents. The chapters literally begin with counting down the amount of time left until the trivia night. This book covers everything from domestic violence, fabulous fashion, sexual assault, bullying, and relationships and it is an absolute thrill of a read. I can’t tell you too much about the book because it’s going to ruin a lot of the shocks and surprises that happen in basically each chapter. I’m a big fan of the author Herman Koch and Big Little Lies is written very similarly to his work, so I instantly fell in love with it. I know this description of the book was vague, but seriously PLEASE read it and tell me what you think! I’m already obsessed with the author Liane Moriarty and just started one of her best sellers The Husband’s Secret last night. I’m very confident that it will be on my next Lil Red Recommends segment!

Listen to Sam Roberts Band: I know, I know – typical PacSun music. SUE ME FOR IT because I love these guys! So catchy, so fresh, so upbeat. I just put their debut album Lo-Fantasy on my iTunes two days ago and I’m kind of obsessed. It comes with two disks, the actual CD and then remix versions of some of the songs. Upbeat is honestly one of the best words I can use to describe these guys, because that’s what they are – they’re fun and the beats of their songs are absolutely infectious. I dare you to not listen to Sam Roberts Band without bobbing your head or tapping your feet. Or in my case – dancing very poorly. I heard their songs “Metal Skin”and “Shapeshifters” when I used to work at PacSun, and they remain two of my favorite songs off of Lo-Fantasy. Do yourselves a favor and give them a try, you’ll be glad you did.

Shop The Pre-Spring Sales: So I was at the mall earlier this week with my sister and all of the stores were still flaunting their post holiday/pre-spring sales. We went to the two stores that we wanted to find the best deals at, which were Victoria’s Secret and Express. Kristen managed to get a sixty dollar bra from VS for only twenty dollars! You seriously can’t beat that. There were a few bras that I had my eye on in their sale bins, but I have more than enough bras to wear a different one every day of the week so I controlled myself from purchasing one, as hard as it was!!! #selfcontrol The real steal of the day came from my find at Express. This entire winter season I had my eye on a gorgeous snake skin print embellished V-neck sweater but the seventy-nine dollar price tag was just too steep for me to justify buying it. While rummaging through the sale bins in Express, a miracle happened. I FOUND THE SWEATER!!! My hands got sweaty (which always happens when I get excited – it’s my cross to bear.) and I rushed to the fitting room. I stripped off my winter layers of a jacket, hoodie, and sweater as quickly as I could and slipped into the sweater I had been lusting over for so long. It. Was. Perfect. It was exactly how I hoped it would fit and look on me, and I couldn’t wait to wear it out that evening. The best part about it? I got it for NINETEEN DOLLARS! Saying that I felt like I was on Ecstasy is an understatement!!! There she is:

Do a Winter Activity: Whether it be sledding, skiing, snow shoeing, or making some winter food like soups or peppermint treats with a friend – DO IT! I figure skated for close to ten years when I was younger, and a few nights ago my sister and I went ice skating. We had an absolute blast – well maybe me more than her because I actually knew what I was doing! That night was my first time back on the ice in close to four years and I was amazed at how much I could still do. As soon as I hit the ice I could feel my muscle memory kicking it – it was just like riding a bike. I was still able to jump, spin, and do a lot of fun footwork tricks. At one point during the night my sister said “Sarah, people are watching you” and I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit how good it made me feel. It took me back to when I would compete and all eyes would be on me when I performed my routines. Being the center of attention for just a few hours at the rink lifted my spirits and my ass, because it was a great work out! If you’re ever in the Akron, Ohio area and wanna go skating – you know how to find me!

So there you have it! My Lil Red Recommends for the month of January! What’s your favorite winter activity? Have you read Big Little Lies or Tuesdays With Morrie? What did you think of it? What was a great winter sale steal that you got? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a fabulous day! -Sarah

Jan16

(Lil) Red With ROAD RAGE!!!!

Posted on January 16, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Lil Red had an awful, terrible, no good, very bad day today. 😦

It all started with a trip to the gyno…(I always wanted to start a blog post with that. Ha!) Yes, it all started with a trip to my new gyno, whose office is in Twinsburg. Let me tell you a little bit about my sense of direction…I have none. I literally can’t get anywhere without my GPS, it’s sad but true. Unfortunately, my dad hijacked the GPS leaving me to figure out my way to Twinsburg (where I’ve never been before) with some crap lousy printed off directions. The drive to the office was as stressful as I thought it would be. What would I possibly do without my beloved GPS telling me when to turn left and right, when I’ve gone too far, and when I need to make a U-Turn IMMEDIATELY?! The answer to that question is: drive down the highway with my eyes glued to the printed out directions and pray to the vehicle gods to guide me to where I need to be. My anxiety level was through the roof and my angst level was higher than an episode of 16 & Pregnant. I had my angry horror core rap music playing and I had profanity coming out of my mouth as quick as Cage was spitting his lyrics. While driving to the doctors I had this sinking feeling that I was going the wrong way, but I kept on going, whispering sweet nothings to the Little Red Love Machine in between the F-bombs I was dropping like it was D-Day. Finally, convinced I was going the wrong way, I pulled over and called the office for directions. To my surprise, I was less than a minute away from the office…all I had to do was keep going straight! How can you mess that up?! So I get to the gyno and have a lovely check up. But the real fun begins when I tried to take my sorry ass back home. I asked the receptionist if she knew the easiest way to get back to Akron, and she told me the roads and the turns I had to take to get back onto the highway. The way suggested to me was completely different than the stupid directions I had printed out, so I happily accepted these directions and went on my merry way. The receptionist told me that once I got to the road I needed to be on the signs for the highway would start appearing like billboards…however these signs NEVER showed up. So here I am, driving grandma style down the street trying to make a game plan in my head of just what to do next. I kept on driving for about five minutes more and came to the sad realization that I was getting nowhere, so I turned the Little Red Love Machine around and headed back the way I came. I pulled into the parking lot of a shopping center and called my sister because I knew that she was familiar with the area I was in which was now Macedonia. She told me that I just needed to keep on driving and then I could turn onto the highway once I passed a few stop lights. I was ELATED, so I immediately put the pedal to the metal and got back on the road. I got to where I could turn onto the highway only to see that the ramp was closed for construction. My heart sunk into my butt. So I kept on driving, this is when the road rage really began to hit along with the added frustration of “what in the bloody hell do I do now?” I pulled over into an Advanced Auto Parts because I figured the mechanics would know how to guide me home….I was wrong, because all they suggested was the closed down ramp. When I told them it was closed down they had no other ideas. I got back into my car, clutched my steering wheel as hard as I could and screamed “FUUUUUCK” loud enough that I think the vehicle gods could hear me. I cried hot, angry tears. I was stumped. Worst of all I was lost. All the while, I was trying to call my mom but her phone was off because she was at an appointment. After fifteen minutes of sitting, crying, and gingerly touching up my eye makeup in the Advanced Auto Parts parking lot I called my mom again. Thankfully, she picked up. She told me a different way to get on the highway and once again I was off. Tenth tries a charm right? So I get to where my mom tells me I should be, which is a bunch of different roads leading to different highways. And naturally, leave it to me to get on the WRONG HIGHWAY. FUUUUUUUCK. As soon as I realized what I had done, I put my hazard lights on and pulled the Little Red Love Machine over in defeat. I called my mother with my tail in between my legs once more and told her the tragic mistake I had made. At this point in our story, I’m hysterical. All I want is to go home and drown my sorrows in guacamole. My mom decides it would be best for everyone in the situation (and by everyone I mean all of my siblings whose phone I was blowing up for two hours straight) if she came to me to guide me home. I waited a half hour on the side of the highway until my mother came to the rescue. It turns out that the vehicle god today was my beloved mom. She guided me home like a shining beacon of light, leading me to my warm bed and homemade guacamole. Moral of the story? Never travel without the GPS again.

So there you have it, Lil Red’s afternoon from hell. I hope all of you guys had a better day than mine! Has anyone ever been in a situation like this? Is your sense of direction just as bad as mine? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Friday! -Sarah

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