Category Archives: Holidays

V-Day Our Way

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V-Day Our Way

Hello darlings!! Sending hugs and kisses your way because it’s almost Valentine’s Day! V-Day is one of those holidays that you either love, hate, or are totally indifferent about. I have to admit that I am one of those people who are right down the middle. Honestly, every day with Johnny feels like Valentine’s Day, so when the actual day does roll around we’re both just like “oh” lol. While it can be fun to go all out on the day of love with elaborate gifts and dates, Johnny and I do V-Day Our Way. It looks a little something like this:

Gifts: 

For a majority of the gift giving occasions, I like to surprise Johnny. However, there are times where we both have specific things in mind that we would like and it’s so much easier to just tell each other what it is. For example, Johnny told me that he wants a new denim jacket because his old one has seen better days. He found the one he wanted and I will order it. This worked out perfectly because I had a gift for myself picked out too: A new Keurig! My old one got waterlogged when my kitchen flooded due to a burst pipe in the building and we never replaced it. Now, I need one desperately because of my 3 AM work mornings and Johnny will order me a new one too and a pack of K-cups. I can’t wait!

Dinner:

Johnny and I rarely go out to eat and find that it is so much more luxurious to DoorDash something! To us, there is nothing better than getting food from one of our favorite places and enjoying it from the comfort of our pajamas. Texas Roadhouse is one of our preferred “special occasion” restaurants to order from so we might end up going that route. But, we’ll see what strikes us the day of… We are always one hundred percent content with getting Taco Bell. 😀

Entertainment:

Valentine’s Day is on a weekday and that automatically makes it highly inconvenient for me and my main squeeze. We both have very early starts to our morning and are normally exhausted by the time we get home. There is a one million percent chance that we will return from our shifts and be ready to turn Criminal Minds on! Over the weekend, I am sure we’ll take the night on Friday or Saturday to make it about us. And, by that I mean, we will play Diablo IV and Resident Evil IV together all evening. We love to game together and that is always our go to way to celebrate. It is never not a complete blast!!

V-Day Our Way looks like any other day for Johnny and I and that is fine by us. We tend to go all out for our Birthaversary and I anticipate slightly more than the usual in June! No matter how we spend the day, I’m just happy it’s with my husband. ❤

How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? How are you celebrating this year? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

BFF Holiday Hangout

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BFF Holiday Hangout

Hello!!! This past Friday, I had a wonderful post holiday hang out with my BFF, Lea. This was fantastic because I spent the entirety of my Christmas break sick so it was nice to have a celebration that I was up for. We hit up our favorite bar, the Cashmere Cricket, for drinks and dinner and it was divine! We sipped on martinis (Lavender Fizz for me and Key Lime Pie for her) and had a delicious meal. I have never ate at the Cricket before and I am still thinking about their grilled cheese dippers! SO yummy. What I am swooning over the most, though, are the most amazing gifts from my bestie:

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Lea and I have been best friends since high school, but the novelty of gift giving for Christmas and birthdays has yet to wear off. We both agree that we are each other’s favorite person to shop for because it’s fun lol. Whenever I hit up my preferred TJMaxx or she attends a craft fair, we are very much in tune to the prezzies that we would go wild over. Her and I know exactly what each other would like and we always end up with gifts that we would have bought for ourselves or would want to buy. It’s a beautiful thing. ❤

For Christmas, Lea gifted me with a bottle of Peach Moscato, cocktail mixes, a gorgeous pair of skeleton hand earrings, and a lounging skeleton pillow. Lea and I are peach wine girls and that is forever a staple in our gifts during exchanges. The Farm Fresh wine was very tasty and it was so nice to sip on during a weekend viewing of My 600 Lb. Life. She also got me cocktail mixes in Cherry Limeade, Citrus-Berry Sangria, and Strawberry Pineapple. I have never seen anything like these drink pouches before, but all you have to do is add wine or vodka and water and sip away. These are going to be a blast to try out!

What I am loving the most from my gifts from Lea has got to be the earrings and pillow. Lea knows that all things spooky speak to my soul so anything with skeletons is A-okay with me. In fact, I was wearing a sweater with a skull print when we were together! I cannot wait to wear my new earrings and am shocked that I don’t already own something like them. They are creepy while still being delicate in sparkling silver and will be a welcome addition to one of my next OOTDs. And, of course, how fabulous is that pillow? The lounging skeleton is perfect for… Well, lounging lol and how fun are those tassels?! It matches mine and Johnny’s emo aesthetic to the T. 🙂

Having a best friend like my Lea is the absolute best gift I could ever have and I look forward to our annual holiday hangouts every year. Our summer birthdays are still way over the horizon, but I already can’t wait to shop for my best girl! ❤

How do you and your friends celebrate the holidays? How long have you been friends with your best friend for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Haulidays: Second Family Edition

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Happy Haulidays: Second Family Edition

Hello!! Prior to me getting sick on Christmas day, Johnny and I had a wonderful holiday celebration with his parents and aunt over the weekend. It is such a joy to be able to spend Christmas with both of our families and I love the traditions that Johnny and I participate in every year with his. We have a delicious meal, open presents (Including a stocking for each of us on the mantel, which I adore!), and have our annual viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – our favorite! I had never seen that movie until my first Christmas with Johnny’s family and now I think I can out-quote all of them lol. 😀 As always, Johnny’s family is way too generous with their thirty something year old kids and we are so enjoying everything that was waiting for us under the tree:

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Every year, Johnny’s mom gifts me with amazing goodies from Hope Soap, which is a local business in Cuyahoga Falls. These products couldn’t have come a moment too soon because I was literally all out of lotion! In fact, I just started using the jar of Fruity Loops Body Nectar last night and it is divine. It smells exactly like Fruit Loops, as I’m sure you all guessed, and I am so there for it. I also received two bottles of the body cream from Hope Soap in Grapefruit & Bamboo and Honey & Almond. The grapefruit scent is zingy and refreshing and the honey one is SO lush and rich. I am very partial to a Honey & Almond fragrance and I can’t wait to use it!

As always, Johnny and I received lots of chocolate to satisfy our sweet tooths and we have been in heaven! Every night since, we have had a piece or two during our viewings of Criminal Minds and it is with sheer willpower and determination that we don’t have everything in one go haha. My favorite gift of all, though, has to be the sweet leopard print shawl that Johnny’s mom got for me. It is just SO damn cute and I am most eager to wear it with my French Rooster cami top. The shawl is soft and cozy, perfectly unique, and such a fun cold weather accessory. I don’t own anything like it whatsoever, making it the ideal gift for me. ❤

Two holiday celebrations make for twice the holiday joy for me and Johnny on Christmas and it is the best gift to be able to spend time with our amazing families!

How did you celebrate the holidays? What is your favorite gift you received? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy New Year!!

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Happy New Year!!

Helloooo darlings and Happy New Year!!! It’s 2024, baby and this is a most exciting year indeed. Come September, it will be lifewithlilred’s TEN YEAR blogiversary spectacular!! I have never been one for making New Year’s Resolutions and, honestly, is anyone really? I feel like no one makes them anymore and the ones I have made in the past were broken pretty much immediately lol. However, I am bringing nothing but good vibes into 2024 because there is so much to look forward to!

As you all know, I formed a partnership with one of Ohio’s most well known local celebrities, Tim Misny, this past November. In the New Year, we will be taking our content creating to the next level with lots of fun adventures and I couldn’t be more excited. We have grand plans of podcasts, videos, and merch photo shoots and it is such a thrill for all of my hard work to pay off in such a major way. lifewithlilred has been an almost decade long journey and this is, easily, the coolest thing my blog baby has ever done for me. 😀

From taking on new clients in my work as an Independent Provider as well as some social media management gigs, it’s safe to say I like to keep myself busy. This is a wonderful thing and I love all of my many jobs more than words can say. However, after getting pretty sick on what should have been my holiday vacation, I realized how damaging the “grind don’t stop” lifestyle can be. I guess I do have a resolution to be more lenient with myself when I need to take a break as well as recognizing my own limitations. I am only one person and definitely need to treat myself better as my own employer! The grind should stop sometimes and whether that be taking a long weekend or clearing my schedule for a day, I plan on doing that more this year.

Last year was for lack of better words, a shit show. There was SO much going wrong and I feel like I am finally getting a grasp on normal life again. One constant in my life is my blog and I am so thankful for all of you because I think I would go nuts without lifewithlilred! I hope each and every one of you has a New Year full of smiles, success, and joy. Let’s make 2024 our best year yet and thank you for joining me on another trip around the blogosphere. I love you all. ❤

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

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Merry Christmas!!!!!

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas to all of you!!! What a year it has been and I am SO ready for quality time with my family and time off. Other than Thanksgiving day, I have not taken time off since having Covid in September. Minus a few random shifts, I will be taking a whole week off and I could not be more excited if I tried. I can’t wait to watch all of the reality TV, hang with my bunnies, read, and relax. It is going to be just what I need and I hope that you will be able to find the time to recharge and enjoy the holidays too!

I know I say this literally every time a holiday rolls around, but it needs repeated: I am so beyond thankful to all of you wonderful people throughout the blogosphere. Wherever you are, you are special to me and words cannot express how happy I am that out of all the blogs online, you stumbled onto mine. Every day, I am motivated to create content for all of my dear friends and readers and I feel immensely proud of everything we have accomplished together. At the end of the day, I couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. ❤

Merry Christmas and thank you for being you! Much love. -Sarah

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Happy Holidays To You

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Happy Holidays To You

Hello!!! Johnny and I have been having a blast rocking all of our new Misny Merch and we just had to take some couples pictures this weekend to show it off. Misny Merch is truly the gift that keeps on giving. For starters, you will look freaking awesome in it but, most importantly, all proceeds from each purchase goes towards supporting the Cleveland City Mission. You can shop all things Misny Merch here and help battle homelessness in Cleveland with your order! Here are some of my favorite shots with my favorite person and a very special guest:

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Unfortunately, our friend Tim Misny couldn’t be with us for this photo shoot. However, we got the next best things! A Tim Misny pillow and holiday sweaters!! Nothing says “merry and bright” like Tim in a Santa suit and I honestly think that Johnny and I will be wearing our sweaters year round. They are SO comfortable and are warm without feeling like you are in your own personal sweat lodge. There is nothing worse than a stuffy sweater and this one by Misny Merch is the definition of “just right”. Whether you wear it on the go or simply to lounge in, this is a piece from the holiday collection that you don’t want to miss!

It’s always fun to play dress up in all of our Misny swag, but the funnest thing was taking pictures with Johnny. As a doting blog husband, he takes my OOTD shots almost every weekend. lifewithlilred would not be the same without all of his help! While we do take selfies fairly often or, rather, I take selfies and Johnny makes a stank face, we don’t have a lot of “nice” pictures together. I was so happy to be able to take these holiday shots with my main squeeze and I treasure them so much. These holiday shots sum up our very loving and very goofy relationship to the T. Showcasing our new Misny Merch was the perfect cherry on top. ❤

Happy Holidays To You from me, Johnny, and Ohio’s own Tim Misny. We hope you have the most amazing time celebrating with your loved ones and basking in the holiday spirit!

Do you have any “ugly” holiday sweaters? What is your favorite merch line by a celebrity? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Surprise Christmas Trees

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Surprise Christmas Trees

Howdy!!! This past Wednesday, I went on a wonderful walk with my brother at the Overlook hiking trail. At this particular trail, you can stay on a paved loop that takes you to an overlook area that looks down on the Cuyahoga River or you can go rogue on a dirt path that takes you all the way down to the river. We opted to do a few rounds on the half mile loop and I am so glad that we did! During our walk, we saw two Surprise Christmas Trees and I thought it was such a cool and fun idea that I had to share it with all of you. Check it out:

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The Overlook trail is completely laden with deer and it is nothing out of the ordinary to see them running through the woods or grazing in a clearing. I always say that I am on “deer patrol” on this trail and keep a vigilant eye on the wooded areas for my four legged friends. You can only imagine my surprise when we rounded a curve and it wasn’t a deer I saw, but the littlest Christmas tree (second image) tucked back behind the bigger trees. I was simply enamored with this discovery and loved the fact that someone went out of their way so creatively to spark a bit of holiday spirit for their fellow hikers.

I thought that this tiny taste of holiday magic was a one off until we found another tree (first image) with Christmas ornaments on it. I found myself wondering if it was the original tree decorator or someone else who was inspired by it and decided to do more of the same. Either way, it inspired me and my brother and we both agreed that we should bring some ornaments of our own the next time we hit the Overlook trail. Something tells me that we will be seeing a lot more ornaments upon our return because I think a lot of people will be sharing our sentiments too!

These Surprise Christmas Trees really made me smile and I hope they did the same for you. This was such a unique and special idea and maybe you’ll feel the urge to decorate on your favorite hiking trail too!

Do you like decorating for the holidays? What is your favorite holiday decoration (I love the twelve foot skeletons dressed as Santa!)? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Gifts Of Experience Ideas

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Gifts Of Experience Ideas

Hello!!! It is definitely crunch time for finishing holiday shopping and that can be a difficult place to be. Stores are probably picked over, perhaps some gifts won’t arrive on time for a celebration, or you have no idea what to get someone. But, fear not because there is a solution! We’re talking about the gift of experience. Gifts of experience are an amazing way to go if you are in a bind or are shopping for someone who has everything. Let’s take a look at some ideas to get you started:

Art Classes:

Whether you’re young or old, it’s always fun to try something new and that can be done with art classes. It could be pottery, watercolor, sketching, even glass blowing! No matter what form of art you choose, it will provide a brand new experience for your giftee and that is the whole point. You could even take the class with your giftee for some extra quality time. This is a great option for adults and kids alike and you might just be introducing them to their new favorite hobby.

Gym Membership:

If your giftee has a passion for fitness, why not pay for a month or two of a gym membership? It could be to their own gym or a new one if they don’t have a set place. Most gym memberships include being able to take the classes being offered so you could join in as a guest too! While this is a gift that is more geared for adults, it can be tweaked for kids too. Maybe they want to take swim lessons or a little movers class? The gym can help with that! This is a perfect gift with New Year’s Resolutions being right around the corner!

Scent-sational:

How about some pampering for your giftee? There are lots of specialty boutiques that can help you create your own signature scent for a candle or bath and body care. This is an ideal option for someone on your list who appreciates the finer things in life or who lives for a trip to Bath & Body Works. Bath and body care is always a popular choice for presents and making your own puts a unique twist on a classic gift. I would love something like this!

Date Night:

Do you have any couples on your holiday shopping list? Treating them to a date night will be a huge hit! This could be anything from a nice dinner out to a ballroom dancing class or tickets to a play. You can also make a date night in kit if you can’t find anything out and about that would strike the fancy of your giftees. This could include a bottle of wine and some new board games, a grocery store gift card to cook a meal together, or a few months of a streaming service to watch all of their favorite shows. Whichever way you go, this is a thoughtful gift for the couples in your life.

Body Mods:

There is nothing quite like the experience of a new piercing or tattoo! If there is someone on your list who has an affinity for body mods, then I cannot stress enough how well a gift card to their favorite tattoo or piercing shop will go over. You will have won the holiday celebration, period. Lol, this is coming from my personal opinion as a gal with more tattoos than she can count. Nay, I am a personal expert because I know for a fact your body modded giftee will be psyched!

Gifts Of Experience are a fun take on traditional holiday presents and are a surefire way to go if you are experiencing shopping stress. These gifts are also a lovely way to show that you are actively listening when your giftee talks to you about their hobbies and interests!

What is a gift of experience you have received? Are you all done with your holiday shopping? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!!! I have ALL of my beloved green bean casserole to eat and I am sure all of you have gatherings to get to, so I will be brief. On this day of being thankful before everyone goes buck on Black Friday, I want to extend my gratitude to my wonderful friends and readers throughout the blogosphere. Your interest, likes, comments, and everything in between is what keeps lifewithlilred going strong and I couldn’t do it without each and every one of you! ❤

I am especially grateful this year to be celebrating the good health of one of my loved ones and to be able to share in this day all together. Last year was trying times, indeed, so it can only go up from here, right?! I am thankful for my darling Johnny, my family, friends, clients, and all of the amazing opportunities my jobs have given me over the past year. I feel so excited for everything that’s yet to come and that is a pretty excellent place to be on Thanksgiving. 🙂

No matter how you spend your day today, have the best day ever. I know I will!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Holiday Shopping – It’s A Wrap!

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Holiday Shopping – It’s A Wrap!

Hello!! One thing that I simply pride myself on is getting my holiday shopping done early AF. I have just a handful of prezzies left to buy, but I am pretty much as good as done and I am thrilled about it. To me, there is nothing better than being able to go into December with nothing to do but relax and wrap gifts up in my apartment workshop. And, let’s be honest, who really wants to go into a store as the holidays approach? They’re all madhouses and the selection is always picked over. If you need a bit of inspo to complete your shopping, here are a few of the things I purchased this year:

Art Gifts:

My nieces and nephew have plenty of toys, so I wanted to steer away from that. Other than just a few toys from TT, I bought some sand art and painting kits for the kiddos that are old enough to do them. Both my older niece and nephew love doing crafts and this was a perfect compromise of something fun that isn’t a new toy to add to their collection. Craft kits aren’t just great for children, but for adults too. There are paint by number kits, rhinestone art, or even supplying the goods for a wine and paint night. No matter your age, it’s exciting to make something by yourself so this is an excellent route to go if you’re in need of ideas.

Gift Cards:

To some people, a gift card is considered a “thoughtless” gift and I say FALSE. Gift cards are the bomb and I am totally fine with giving and receiving them. Don’t let the idea of it being a not well thought out gift deter you from using them because I literally don’t know anyone who isn’t happy to get one during the holidays. Gift cards make a wonderful add on or main gift and it is so nice to be able to treat someone to dinner, a movie, or a shopping trip compliments of you.

Ornament Kits:

During my last shopping trip to TJMaxx, I knocked out a lot of the remainder of my shopping. I was most excited to find ornament kits including one for your pet and one for baby’s First Christmas. If you have a proud pet owner in your life, this would be a really sweet gift for someone to be able to commemorate their fur baby with a paw print ornament. The baby’s First Christmas one was also an awesome find because it will be the first Christmas for my new niece. Thoughtful, effective, done and done.

Books:

The world is filled with an infinite number of books so use them! I purchased quite a few books for this holiday season and I know that they will be a hit with my giftees. Even if the person you’re gifting for isn’t a huge reader, coffee table books on one of their favorite things can make for a unique gift. Or maybe your giftee loves to cook? Pick out a new cookbook and a gift card to their local grocery store for ingredients to cook with! Books are a cool gift because you can add another gift that might fit that book’s theme for a really thoughtful surprise.

Food Gifts:

Food gifts always go over well and I was psyched to have found some nice chocolate gift sets at TJs for my clients’ families. A food gift could be a gift set, sure. But, it could also be a home cooked meal, a mason jar with ingredients for soup or cookies, a gift card to a favorite restaurant, or a meal delivery service. Everyone has to eat and I know your giftee would love a gift basket filled with their favorite ingredients, snacks, or candy!

The holidays are fast approaching and it honestly gives me anxiety that a lot of people aren’t done with their shopping yet lol. I hope these tips will better assist you as you continue to check people off of your shopping list!

When do you start holiday shopping? Are you an early or last minute shopper? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah