BTW…my nail tech is better than yours. Yeah, I said it and I have the most fabulous story to back it up! SO, last night as I was pulling up my jeans, one of my talon acrylics broke. (I guess I’d rather break a nail while pulling my skinnies up than ripping my pants! Ha!) Naturally, this travesty happened five minutes before the salon I go to closed up for the day. I had plans yesterday night and I was in a freaking out frenzy because I love showing my talons off. So I call Vinny, my beloved nail tech to tell him the bad news, and it turns out he’s already closed up shop and was paused at a red light on his way home. But bless his soul, my boo turned around, opened up the salon just for me, and told me to come over so he can patch up my nail. Such. A. Doll. For over an hour, Vinny fixed my broken acrylic, sharpened my talons, and made my nails look brand spankin new. We gabbed and laughed and swore as loud as we wanted while we were talking because it was just us in the entire salon! Honestly, hanging out with Vinny and being pampered for just that little bit was better than the plans I had that followed. I felt so overwhelmed with adoration for my dear friend. Like seriously? He could have told me that he wanted to go home and that he’d take care of it first thing tomorrow, but he TURNED HIS CAR AROUND and came to my rescue. He’s my hero. It felt so cool to be in the salon after hours – I got the VIP treatment! Vinny is amazing at making me feel like a princess/celebrity/diva. AND for a birthday treat for my twenty-first birthday in June, he told me that my girlfriends and I could hang out at the salon after hours for some pampering and cocktails! I’m so excited! It’s going to be perfect…an evening of relaxation followed by a night of white girl wastedness at the bars HOLLA! Anyways, this is just a quick little post to let the world know that I love and appreciate my darling Vinny more than words can explain…so now you know! 🙂 #teamvinny #pronails
^^^^In case you haven’t seen this previously posted nail pic! My gorgeous talons!
I hope all of you guys are having a fabulous Friday night! I had a pretty quiet night in actually. My parents and I started watching Birdman and it’s very good so far! I’m looking forward to finishing it tomorrow. After an hour or so of the movie I finished hella math homework which I’m super proud of! Now I’m about to tuck in and start rewatching season two of Orange Is The New Black. #OITNB #obsessed What are all of you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I’d love to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah
Heyyyy everyone and happy Hump Day! I hope this week has been treating you well so far! Thanks to a recent trip to the grocery store with my mama and the NYX cosmetics being thirty percent off, I’ve officially found my new favorite lipstick brand. The NYX matte lipsticks are simply to die for! As you guys know, I only wear my lipstick in matte form – I hate shiny and glossy too much for words. I’ve been using the Revlon matte balms for a while, but they just haven’t been doing it for me lately, so the hunt for the perfect matte lipstick began. Unfortunately, everything I tried just wasn’t cutting it! From Covergirl to Loreal, from Maybelline to Rimmel NOTHING was good enough! All of them just felt too sticky, still looked too shiny, and the color was nowhere near as rich as I would want it to be. Luckily, on the fateful trip to the grocery store last week, I found the most perfect lipstick I could imagine. The NYX matte lipsticks are truly amazing. The color is SO rich and pure and goes on perfectly matte. The lipstick is long lasting and the consistency is creamy enough that it doesn’t dry your lips out, like some recent matte lipsticks have done to me. I initially bought three lipsticks for around four dollars each (they were originally around seven dollars each), but once I got home and tried them out I just had to get more…that’s how happy I was with them. So the following day I returned to the store and bought two more colors that I couldn’t stop thinking about. Here’s a picture and description of each new color that I added to my collection:
Perfect Red: Aside from my flaming red hair, another reason why I earned the nickname “Lil Red” was from constantly wearing red lipstick. I’ve been painting my lips red for years now, and I can’t get enough. From fire engine, to ruby, to the deepest blood red, there is something so sexy to me about a red lip. I always opt for the brighter reds, but I really like this vampy, darker shade! I’m really excited to wear this color during the fall (even though that’s forever away!), it’s the perfect autumn shade! Until then, I plan on pairing this blood red with an all black everything outfit, and strutting about like the vampire I was in a past life. (Which I’m totally convinced is true, but that’s a story for another time!)
Street Cred: I rarely wear non-red lipstick, but I thought this medium pinky shade was so pretty!! It’s going to be such a sweet color for wearing out and about during the spring and summer time. Even in my early days of experimenting with different lipstick colors, I always shied away from the hot pinks…they just never looked quite right on me – so I was very happy to find this lovely shade of blush that I actually really like. Of course I’ll never wear this as often as my signature ruby reds, but it will be fun to change it up on occasion!
Indie Flick: Not gonna lie, I was pretty ambivalent about this red orange shade, but it’s safe to say after a few days of giving it a trail run that I’m obsessed. I love how this color pops against my pasty pale skin and my hazel eyes. My favorite thing is when my eyes change to this awesome Edward Cullen-esque gold while I’m wearing this shade…the result is striking. I tried out a Maybelline lipstick one time that claimed to fall under the red orange color range, but it was so obviously orange and I was so disappointed. I’m so happy that NYX’s Indie Flick still has the red tones in it that keep this color in my comfort zone.
Shocking Pink: Fuchsia lipstick either looks really good or really bad on me. I’m not quite sure how much I like this shade yet, but we’ll see! Everything about my look for the day has to be working perfectly for me to be totally in love with a fuchsia lip. Luckily, my sister Kristen looks amazing in fuchsia lipstick (jealous!) so this color will probably be added to her makeup collection. What I do like about this shade is that it’s not quite pink. If you see it in real life and on the lips, it has a really gorgeous lavender undertone, which makes for a cool and unique color. Like I said, we’ll see – but don’t expect me to start rocking fuchsia lips on the daily any time soon!
Pure Red: Ahhhhh! This one is my absolute favorite!! So sassy, so bright, so fun. NYX’s Pure Red is the perfect shade if you’re looking for a super bold “look at me” lip. I could rant and rave about this color for hours, but just trust me when I say that it’s gorgeous, perfect, striking, stunning, and literally everything that you could want if you’re looking to rock a red lip. So in love, so obsessed and absolutely NEVER going back to my original Covergirl red lipstick. Yeah…it’s that good.
To all of my lipstick lovers out there – I urge you to give NYX’s lipstick a try! Their matte colors are incredible, and even though I personally don’t like shiny lipstick, I’m sure those options are terrific as well!
What’s your favorite lipstick color to wear? What’s the most embarrassing lipstick mishap you’ve ever had? Red lipstick all over your teeth during a date? Smeared lipstick on your chin after lunch that no one told you was there? (Bastards!) I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Wednesday! -Sarah
Helllllooo gang and TGIF! I don’t know about you guys, but I had a fabulous Thursday!! Seriously, I haven’t had such a lovely, average day in forever so I feel the need to share it! To get you in the great day spirit, enjoy this goofy Lonely Island video and proceed to read:
I had an early start today because I had to drive to Cleveland in the morning for stupid math class. My only complaint about my morning was the fact that we were out of coffee grounds at home, so I didn’t have enough to make my usual amount. I made the coffee anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that it would still taste good…but unfortunately that didn’t happen. -__- I was basically drinking slightly bitter bath water my entire way to school, lol it was so gross. Math class was boring as usual, and I totally left class early to go get my nails done…clearly I have my priorities straight. 😉 However, once I got on the highway there was a big fat traffic jam due to road construction so I ended up getting to the salon when I would get there on a normal day without leaving early. So moral of the story: I should have just stayed in class. Ha! BUT, my beloved nail tech, Vinny did a fabulous job as usual on touching up my fierce talon nails. I opted for my usual black with a beige accent nail for a cool twist, and I’m beyond obsessed with the fresh new color combo. Take a look:
^^^#pronails Ahhh, I love them so much it hurts! There’s three major things that are difficult with my talon nails:
Taking my contacts in and out.
Buttoning and unbuttoning my jeans.
Opening pop cans.
Despite these minor difficulties, they are so beyond worth it. So edgy, so fierce, so fun. After a trip to the salon, I had some much needed and long overdue BFF time with my sweet Lea. My darling girl and I really wanted to be crafty today, so we went to PatCatan’s for inspiration. While ambling down the aisles we came across the wooden craft supplies and thought that it would be fun to paint birdhouses. After picking out the houses we liked and some paint, we hit up Taco Bell for a quick snack and then headed back to Lea’s place to start the craftapalooza. We were so excited about this cute project that we forgot something very important at the craft store…small paint brushes. -__- All we had in our craft supply box were big brushes from our canvas art projects, and they made painting all of the sweet details on our birdhouses totally impossible. Both of our creations turned out smudgy, smeared, and nowhere near as adorable as we wanted them to be. I straight up left my house at Lea’s place and told her to just paint it black for me. Ha, I should have just done that all along! Despite our painting difficulties, we still managed to have a blast as usual! We always do, because making fun out of a miserable crafting experience is what best friends are for! #epiccraftingfail
After a sweet best friend afternoon, I had a quick get together with my neighbor and video gaming partner in crime, Vaughn. I then proceeded to finish up some math and psych homework until my brain couldn’t take it anymore. After I had had enough of homeworking (and believe me, it didn’t take long), I ended my night with watching Saw III on Netflix. I’m a scary movie junkie, and the Saw films are one of my major guilty pleasures. After I finish up this post, I’m going to start the fourth installment of the film series and hit the hay. Maybe not the best movies to watch before bed, but that’s okay!
I hope all of you had a fabulous Thursday and an even better Friday today! What are you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? It’s my mom’s birthday on Sunday so my family is going to go out to eat tomorrow to celebrate – it should be fun! Tell me all about your weekend plans and leave my mama some birthday love! I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight. -Sarah
I can’t tell you guys the number of times per week that I get asked the question “how do you keep your hair so red?” I usually answer with a variation of three of my go to responses, which I’m going to share with all of you in case you were wondering the same thing!
1) I dye my hair often: Thanks to my fabulous Vidal Sassoon box color, I can dye my hair whenever I want from the comfort of my home. The color I use is called Runway Red and it’s part of their London Luxe collection. I am absolutely OBSESSED. Because the box color is so affordable (about eight dollars per box), I dye my hair once a month for the best results. I used to pay a lot of money at the salon for a very similar shade of red, and the cash that I’ve saved is incredible! If you’re looking for a fierce red from a box color, I can’t recommend Vidal Sassoon’s Runway Red enough!
2) I rarely wash my hair: I only wash my hair once every two weeks. And all of you can say that that’s gross and foul and whatever, but I call it dedication! Seriously, if you want red hair, you need to do the work for it – the cold water washes, the redying, the dry shampoo…if you don’t, then don’t bother. Constant washing of your hair is going to bleed your color out faster than you can say “oh shit, my hair color is bleeding out.” (I pinky promise that my hair doesn’t smell! And lucky for me my hair never gets oily or greasy so it’s super easy for me to go for a long time in between washes.)
*Pro tip when you are washing your hair: WASH IT IN COLD WATER! I can not stress this ENOUGH. During my two monthly hair washes, I stand outside of my shower and stick my head into the freezing cold water so none of it drips on my body. (Brrr! I also recommend wrapping a towel around your neck just in case. The cold water drips are the worst!) I never shampoo my hair, I usually just use the conditioner provided with my hair color that helps prevent the color from bleeding out during hair washes. Works like a charm, honey!
3) Dry shampoo is your friend: Why wash your hair when you have dry shampoo? Dove has a really fantastic line, but right now my sister and I are using Batiste brand and I like it a lot. Batiste smells a lot better than Dove’s line, which smells awfully baby powerdery. Batiste’s dry shampoo literally takes all of the odor out of your hair and leaves it feeling fresh and looking shiny. I smoke, and thanks to this product you can never smell the lingering odor in my hair – which is a major plus! With products like this, there’s literally no need to wash your hair as frequently as you would think. If you aren’t convinced, ask any of my friends or family members if my hair smells and I’m confident that they’ll answer with a big fat NO!
If you think you have what it takes to be a red hair warrior like myself, then be sure to follow these tricks to help maintain your gorgeous locks! These tips apply to any artificial color though…in fact you should be using these steps no matter what color you dye your hair for best results. I earned my nickname Lil Red from one of my beloved old coworkers, and I plan on keeping the locks that earned me this adorable nickname till the day I die! #teamredhair
What was the craziest color you ever dyed your hair? What are some of your pro tips for maintaining your color treated hair? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah
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
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
Hey guys! I have the absolute pleasure of writing up an article for the fun company Jamberry Nails for a dear friend of mine. I had the privilege of working with Miss Jenna years ago at PacSun and I also got to pierce her sweet little one, Tierney’s ears when I worked at Claire’s briefly. Jenna has been working with the girly cute company Jamberry Nails for months now, and they offer the most adorable wraps for your fingernails and toes (As you can see from my featured image and pictures below!) The wraps are offered in both adult AND junior sizes with the fun option of coordinating Mommy & Me prints for a matching mani with your little ones! How fun is that?
Pictured above is the wrap “Wee Bit Charmed” on little Miss Tierney!
The wraps that Jamberry offers are applied using heat and pressure and they last up to two weeks on fingernails and up to six weeks on your toesies. That’s a beautiful thing to me, because whenever I paint my nails at home, they start chipping at least three days after the polish is applied, and no one likes having to repaint their nails over again. #annoying One of the fantastic benefits of the Jamberry nail wraps is all of the things that they’re “free” of, which include: gluten, latex, and formaldehyde. They’re also vegan friendly AND non toxic, so you can feel great about using them on yourself or mommy’s little helper. Did I mention that Jamberry’s wraps have no odor?! I find that so fantastic, because traditional nail polishes can be so potent smelling. I’ve known of people who have gotten headaches from the odor alone, so these wraps are great for anyone who experiences sensitivity to strong smells.
If you’re to purchase the adult size wraps, you’ll receive eighteen nail wraps per sheet. These wraps are usually long enough to do two nails! You can also give yourself a fun pedi, covering all ten of your toesies with just two of the largest wraps! (Such a steal!) So what does this all mean? So glad you asked! This means that one adult size sheet of Jamberry nail wraps will give you TWO manicures, TWO pedicures and you’ll still have four full wraps left over! Junior size wraps are also available, and usually work on girls up to age eleven. But if you’re an adult with tiny fingers, these wraps might just work on you too! The junior size prints offer forty-two wraps per sheet. There are twenty-eight wraps in one print and then fourteen wraps offered in a coordinating print. This means that you could purchase a sheet of adult wraps and a sheet of juniors wraps for a Mommy & Me mani/pedi!
Pictured below is the “Snow & Ice” wraps (in juniors size!) on Jenna’s hands. These are perfect for your favorite Frozen fan! #letitgo
Not a fan of the nail wraps? That’s okay too, because Jamberry also offers nail lacquers as well if you’d prefer traditional nail polish! Just like the wraps, they’re beyond safe to use on your nails as the polishes are 5-Free. In other words, these polishes are free of the top five harmful chemicals that most nail polishes contain! And very importantly, Jamberry products are never animal tested. The Jamberry nail lacquers are quick to dry and last way longer than any store brand. If you don’t have the necessary tools to apply any of these fun products at home, fear not! Jamberry offers a mini heater AND an application kit. (A hair dryer works just fine too! 🙂 )
Similar to Avon and Tupperware (because Tupperware parties are a thing!), Jamberry also offers in home, Facebook, and catalog parties which are perfect for a girls night in! Going to the nail salon is over rated anyways 😉
I urge ALL of my lovely ladies reading this to take a look at Jenna’s Jamberry site and get in contact with her if you’re interested in purchasing some nail wraps! Here’s all of the info:
While you’re browsing on Jenna’s cute as pie website, keep in mind that the wraps are Buy 3 Get 1 Free (with exclusions to the Licensed Collegiate and Sorority Wraps). There’s a bunch of sweet Valentine’s Day themed wraps as well! Here’s a few of my favorite prints that Jamberry offers:
The wrap names pictured above are as follows:
Love Potion
Midnight Celebration
Flirty Flair
I’m writing this in Starbucks right now, and I asked three lovely teenagers sitting in the cafe to pick which prints they liked best, it was hard for them to pick because they liked them all – but here’s the consensus that the little darlings came to:
Victorian Lace
Sugar & Spice
Secret Promise
Too cute right?! For the purposes of writing this article, I got to sample some Jamberry products, and here’s the final result! (Please excuse my gross feet!)
I had an absolute BLAST applying my adorable Jamberry prints to my toes! I rarely paint my toenails so this was such a treat! The application was as easy as one, two, three as well! All I had to do was push back my cuticles and then match up my nails to the best fitting wrap. Once I found the wrap that worked for me I applied a little bit of heat to it from my hair dryer and pressed the wrap onto my nails. I applied as much pressure as my little hands would allow to the wrap, and then trimmed and filed off the excess. After my nails were perfectly shaped, I applied heat and pressure one more time for fun and fab Jamberry worthy nails!
If you’re interested in purchasing some Jamberry nail wraps, please keep in mind that Jamberry currently only ships to the USA, Canada, and US territories – hopefully that will be changing soon though! Once again the address to Jenna’s fabulous website is: http://jamswithjenna.jamberrynails.net. Make sure you check it out!
What do you guys think of these cute nail wraps? Which ones are your favorites? Would you purchase any of these? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Wednesday! -Sarah
Helllooooooo everyone and happy almost weekend!!! I’ve had a really fabulous week doing a bunch of fun stuff that I’d love to share with you guys. Maybe these ideas will give you something fun to do this weekend! Let’s discuss!
Cook Your Favorite Meal: Honestly…this one is just for my own personal enjoyment…but everyone likes food so WHY NOT let it be a group effort? During the week I had a really lovely evening with myself preparing my personal favorite meal. For about six years now my mom has made this absolutely delicious pasta salad. It uses red pepper, red onions, sauteed zucchini, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. (You can also add herbs of your choosing and spinach if you’d like!) I could eat this salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…well maybe not breakfast…but it’s THAT good…so breakfast? Sure, why not?! I used to really love cooking and I’m not really sure why I ever stopped. (Maybe because my mom’s food is so good! 😉 ) I thought it would be fun to try my hand at making my favorite dish for a change, and I’m so glad I did! I really enjoyed just hanging out with myself, playing some music, and preparing a meal that I know my entire family enjoys. And guess what?! It turned out great! You know how food that you make on your own somehow always tastes better than when other people cook it? That’s exactly the experience I had when I tried out my rendition of my beloved pasta salad. My dad told me that I’ll never starve now that I know how to make my favorite dish…and he’s absolutely right! Here’s a pic of how my pasta salad turned out, and if you’d like the recipe, please let me know!
YUM!!!!! ^^^^^^
Make Some Candy: I had a glorious best friend afternoon today with my darling Lea, who you guys know all about! It’s very cold in Akron, Ohio (#REPRESENT) right now. Early this afternoon I heard on the news that it felt like -17 degrees outside. Lea and I were supposed to go sledding this afternoon, but when I heard about this drastic cold I thought “oh hell no!” So we opted for a nice, cozy day indoors cooking up some yummy treats. Once we were armed with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, we began browsing through Pinterest, our activity destination. After ten minutes of scrolling through pages, we decided on making chocolate truffles. We raided the pantry for the we ingredients needed, then ventured back out in the cold to hit up the grocery story for what we didn’t have. The recipe was very easy to make, literally all you had to do was melt your chocolate and other ingredients together, put the chocolate in the freezer to let it stiffen, and then once the mixture is hard enough you roll them into balls and put whatever topping you would like on them. While our chocolate was melting and stiffening, we played Pentatonixs (or however you spell them), looked up the world’s largest body parts on Google Images, and hung out with Lea’s twin brother Bill. When the chocolates were stiff enough to shape them we had a silly time getting our hands dirty, because the chocolate was still gooey! We used peppermint candy that we crushed with a mallet, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips for the toppings on our truffles. They turned out so yummy! You can’t do much to mess up chocolate! 😉 Here’s a picture of us with our finished product! We’re just a bunch of regular ol’ chocolateers!
Once again…YUM!!!! ^^^
Go See Unbroken: This week I had a lovely date night with my other partner in crime, Kate, who you guys also know all about! We went to see Unbroken, which tells the courageous tale of Louis Zamperini as directed by the stunning and gorgeous Angelina Jolie. In the film we see Zamperini, the Olympic track star survive a plane crash in World War II. Unfortunately he doesn’t land to safety in the crash and ends up stranded at sea with two other soldiers. (One of them happens to be Finn Wittrock, who plays Dandy on American Horror Story: Freak Show!) The sailing in the emergency rafts are anything but smooth, and our heroes end up in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and eventually concentration camps. Zamperini suffers under the hands of a sadistic camp leader, which are some particularly difficult scenes to watch. However, the story tells an amazing tale. The screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen was fantastic and the cinematography and sound effects in the film were truly awe inspiring. Not to mention my dream woman, Miss Jolie directed the film to perfection. The movie is quite long so I’d recommend peeing a lot before hand. Most importantly, the film really covers some heavy and disturbing issues which might not be suitable for everyone. Fun fact for ya, a man from Stow, Ohio had a few lines in Unbroken, which is a hop, skip, and a jump from where I’m at. So way to represent, Ohio, brother man!! If you’re looking for a powerful and extremely well made movie to go to this weekend, I can’t recommend seeing Unbroken enough!
Listen To Cayucas: I know, I know so typically PacSun-y of me, BUT I CAN’T HELP IT! I love these guys! They’re seriously so beachy fun and I just can’t even. My absolute favorite thing to do is play these guys while I’m taking a bubble bath or shower, because they make me feel like I’m just chilling on the beach with my little toesies in the sand. I’ve never been to the beach before (Lake Erie doesn’t count!) but this group of surfer dudes helps me make believe that I’m there. All of their songs off of their album “Bigfoot” are crowd pleasers, but my particular favorite song is “High School Lover”….and YES we did play it at PacSun, ha! This track is very fun though. It definitely will make you think about that one guy or gal in high school that you wanted to be with so desperately or maybe was the one who got away. A charming sentiment set to a soft surfer rock vibe? It’s a win win. (Soft surfer rock?…I believe I just created my own music genre right there!) 😉
Have A Facial Night: Earlier this week, my sister asked me to give her one of my famous around the house facials, which I happily obliged to. After working at The Body Shop, I developed a love for skincare that will last me a lifetime. Here’s my tried and true step by step guide on how to give a fabulous facial to yourself or a friend:
Remove any facial makeup with one of those terrific cleansing wipes from your brand of choice.
Wet the skin with lukewarm water and if you have a clay, honey and oat, warming ginger, blue corn, or any mask in particular that you like to use, apply and let it sit for the amount of time instructed.
Now it’s time to use a cleanser. If you have a bristle brush, I highly recommend using one of these to give your pores an even deeper clean. If you don’t have a brush, make sure you use circular motions with your hands while using your cleanser.
I like to finish the facial treatment with a scrub. If you happen to use a soft buffer pad I would recommend using a rough, gritty scrub. And if you’re a fan of a more cream based scrub I would opt for an exfoliating loofah pad.
(Apply a toner if you’d like. But I never do.)
After your skin is nice and squeaky clean apply any acne topical treatment you use if needed and a moisturizer.
All of those steps listed above may seem like a lot for the skin to handle all at once, but you have the Lil Red Guarantee that all it can do is help if you use these tips every once in a blue moon! Facials scream “girls night” to me, so plan a fun night of pampering and break out the wine, chocolate, and chick flicks!
Treat Yoself: Annnnnd if you’re looking for a few fun treats to pamper yourself with, here’s a few products from The Body Shop that I’ve been obsessed with lately, which can be found in stores and online at http://www.thebodyshop.com!
Items shown from top to bottom:
Smooth and Renew Loofah Pads
Vitamin C Midrodermabrasion
Warming Mineral Mask
Glazed Apple Bath Jelly
Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt
So there you have it, my Little Red Recommends segment for the week! What are your weekend plans? What did you think about Unbroken? What band should I check out next? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a great weekend! -Sarah
So earlier today I wrote about my latest fashion obsessions and I didn’t even dabble in the new makeup and skin care that I’ve been using that I’m absolutely in love with. So let’s discuss!
Revlon Matte Balm: I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this little miracle worker before, but because it’s a miracle worker, it must be mentioned again!! This product is the most fantastic thing that has ever happened to my undying love of red lipstick. Before I found this balm, I would apply Covergirl’s lipstick and blow dry it like crazy, because I loves me a matte pout. All of this blow drying and blotting left my lips incredibly dry and flaky. Revlon’s balm goes on perfectly matte and doesn’t budge from your lips at all, so no lip liner is needed and most importantly: NO BLOW DRYING!!! This product has literally saved my lips from a very dry destiny and I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you’re not a fan of a matte lip, fear not! Revlon also makes these balms in glossy! I wear shade number 240 “Striking” and paid roughly seven dollars for my matte balm. Revlon products can be found at your local drug store, Target, Walmart, or where ever else makeup is carried!
Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara: I really like this stuff! I’ve wanted to try it since I saw the darling commercials with the beautiful Katy Perry advertising the product. Luckily, I was in need of new mascara anyways, so I figured I’d give it a try. This mascara separates and defines my lashes like no other. Best of all it goes on so lightly, so you don’t have to worry about sticky, clumpy lashes. I use this mascara as a base coat before I apply my heavy duty mascaras. I’m a big fan of extremely black and bold lashes so I use Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes mascara and Covergirl’s Flamed Out mascara combined to achieve this look. If you’re looking for a mascara that gives you rich color, I wouldn’t recommend the Full Lash Bloom. However, if you’re in need of a mascara to give you perfectly separated lashes before you break out the big guns, than I say grab some of this stuff in it’s cute pink container at once!
Regis Designline Hair Oil: Ohhhhhh yes. This stuff is magic in a lovely lavender bottle. My hair has the tendency to get pretty dried out from how often I color and straighten it. I refuse to let my hair be seen if it’s anything but bright bright red and pin straight. Because it gets so dry, when I straighten my hair in the morning it will frizz out towards the bottom and refuse to lay flat. This oil has been the answer to my “fix my frizzy hair” prayers. Literally two drops is all you need for your hair to turn sleek and silky. The great thing about this product is that it doesn’t leave my hair greasy at all. I wash my hair every two weeks, and my hair isn’t insanely oily, greasy, or weighed down by the product by the time I wash my hair. I apply this product after I towel dry my hair as well for a nice deep conditioned feel. Another plus for this hair oil is that it smells like marshmallows! My sister purchased this item at the Best Cuts where we get our hair done, so I’m sure you can find it at any Famous Hair, Fantastic Sam’s, or Best Cuts salon near you!
Biore Deep Pore Cleanser & Scrub: If there’s one thing I love, it’s squeaky clean pores. I use both of these products every morning and my skin has never looked better. The best part about the cleanser is that it’s made with charcoal so it draws out any grime like a magnet. I’ve never gotten a pimple in my life, honest to god truth, so hopefully these products will keep it that way! However, I get very annoying blackheads on my nostrils, particularly around my four nose piercings. Both the cleanser and the scrub are able to eliminate these blackheads completely without irritating my piercings. Your skin will feel so refreshed when you use these products too, because you get an icy cool sensation when you’re rubbing it in and washing it off. It definitely helps me wake up in the morning! I spent about fifteen dollars for both of these items and they were worth every penny. Biore products can be found at your local drug store, Target, or Walmart.
Contact Solution & Witch Hazel: This recommendation goes out to my pierced readers of lifewithlilred. When I got my septum pierced about a month ago, my sister happened to ask me if I needed cleaning solution in front of my piercer. He then asked me if I wore contacts, which I do. He told me that contact solution, or any saline solution really can be used to clean piercings. So for the next week or so I washed my new piercing with my contact solution and it healed absolutely beautifully – better than any of my previous thirty piercings. Another product I like to use to keep my piercings nice and clean is witch hazel. It’s a natural astringent, so I feel one hundred percent comfortable using it to clean my four nostril piercings and my septum every morning and night. I used to get unsightly annoying bumps on my nostril piercings before, but since I started my witch hazel regime, those are a thing of the past!
So there you have it, my newest makeup and skin care obsessions. I blog pretty frequently about beauty products, so definitely skim through my page for more of the products that I can’t life without! What’s one of your favorite makeup items? Do you have any beauty tips or secrets that you swear by? I’d love to hear all about it, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a great night! -Sarah
Alright, mama needs a good venting session, so here we go. Within literally TWO days of having my septum pierced asides from the other four nose piercings I have, I’ve already had multiple instances of people being rude to me because of them. There were two examples that really got me down, and one of them actually just happened about five minutes ago. I’ve been feeling really shitty about it, so I need to tell someone about it. So why not tell all of my readers?
Example One: I was at the dentist yesterday and had to get X-rays taken just like any standard dental check up. The X-ray technician asked me to take my earrings out, and I happily obliged. She then asked if I could take my nose piercings out, and I explained to her that my septum was brand new, and my four nose piercings cause me legitimate physical pain when I take them out, so unfortunately I can’t. I was extremely polite and was in no way rude to her. After I told her my facial piercings couldn’t be removed she gave me the dirtiest look I’ve ever received and didn’t talk to me for the rest of the process of getting my X-rays taken. When I wished her holiday greetings she replied with “mhm”. I was appalled. For one: the X-ray technician was at least forty years old or older – does it really make you feel that good to show such hostility to someone twice as young as you? For two: the least you can do when someone wishes you seasons greetings is smile back and say “you too”. Is uttering TWO WORDS really that difficult??? Sorry I’m not sorry that the way I look offends you, but you shouldn’t treat me any different than any of your other patients. This experience happened yesterday morning and it put a tangible damper on the rest of my day.
Example Two: Like I said, this instance happened about five minutes ago when I was running an errand. I was waiting in the customer service line at Marc’s to pick up an item that my mother had left earlier in the day. While I was in line minding my own business, a fifty something year old lady walked past me and said “Woah! Look at those piercings!” The lady standing behind me in line chuckled at this comment. I could feel myself sinking lower and lower. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her to say anything back. What am I? A fucking member of a freak show? Since when did someone’s personal appearance become a laughing stock to someone? I wouldn’t have gone up to this woman and say
“Woah! Look at those wrinkles!” at her expense, so why would someone not show me that same respect? I honestly thought that I was going to cry.
I am not someone to be gawked at. I am not someone to be laughed at. I am not someone to receive dirty looks while walking around or waiting in line and minding my own business. I am not going to be made to feel like I’m a low life human being for the way that I choose to look. People always think that I’m over reacting or over exaggerating when I talk about how much all of this upsets me. But why shouldn’t it? I’m entitled to my emotions, especially when someone is treating me as less than a human being. I am a good person. I am beautiful. I am not unapproachable because of the way I look.
I can’t wait for the day that I can walk around in public without being stared or snickered at. But until that day happens, please PLEASE treat everyone with respect. Black, white, purple, polka dot, covered in tattoos, or covered in piercings we are ALL humans who deserve to be treated with dignity.
Alright, rant over. I can’t say that I feel completely better, but this helped. Thanks for reading and listening to my sob story. It’s hard not to feel bad about it though. Have a fantastic Friday and an even better weekend! Spend it with someone you love! -Sarah
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