Category Archives: Holidays

Jun12

30th Birthday Fun

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30th Birthday Fun

Howdy!! This past Friday was my dirty thirtieth birthday and it was absolutely fantastic. Am I particularly thrilled to enter into a new decade? Not especially lol. But, I had such a lovely weekend celebrating and that really helped make up for it. For my big day, I didn’t want anything major and requested a dinner at Olive Garden for a date night with Johnny. I was craving it something fierce and wanted to get my Middle Class Fancy on! I like to think we cleaned up pretty well and if you peep my hairy armpits – mind ya business haha:

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Before it was time for my birthday dinner, I had to work up an appetite! I worked in the morning getting my transport client to his job and doing the social media thing. Then, I spent the afternoon hanging out with my brother. We went on a fantastic hike and saw so much wild life – a snake, turtles, and two tiny baby bunnies. They were so precious and it took all of my willpower to not snatch them up and take them home. Of course, I would never but Johnny probably would have had a harder time saying no on my b-day lol. Work smarter, not harder amiright?!

Once Johnny and I were both home, we took some OOTD pics (See those later this week!) and made our way to the OG. We were famished and it was a good thing we left early. About a half hour after we were seated, the place was packed. We had a delicious meal of salad, bread sticks, cocktails, and fettuccine alfredo (Plain for me, with chicken for Johnny!). Dinner was simply divine and we had such a great time gorging ourselves lol. There was no room left for my free birthday dessert of strawberry cheesecake so we took it to go. It was perfect to have with our leftovers the following day and we definitely plan on going to the Olive Garden more often. 😀

After we returned home from dinner in our respective food comas, we decided to break out Johnny’s new record player (A prezzie from me) and play some games. I got to pick the very first record we listened to on it and I chose none other than the original recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. This was my first time hearing it because we didn’t have a functional record player until now. It was freaking dynamite and an ideal soundtrack to completely annihilate Johnny in Monopoly. To the birthday girl gets the spoils!

The rest of my birthday weekend was nice and chill. I was able to video chat with my best girl, Kate, of Live In The Nautical on Saturday and watch countless episodes of Degrassi. I’ll be looking forward to the last of my birthday hangouts with my sister and other bestie, Lea, later this week! ❤

What is your favorite Middle Class Fancy restaurant? How do you prefer to listen to music? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun11

Sweet Surprises: Birthday Edition

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Sweet Surprises: Birthday Edition

Hi! This past Friday, I celebrated my thirtieth birthday and had the most wonderful time. I felt so loved and spoiled and that definitely helped cushion the blow of entering into a new decade. On Friday, Johnny stopped at his parents’ house after work to pick up the remainder of his birthday gifts from me – a new record player. He returned home with his prezzie and a sweet little something from my beloved in laws for my big day. As always, the gifts from Johnny’s parents are so thoughtful, lovely, and totally perfect for me. Check it out:

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Johnny’s mom loves to shop at the cool little boutiques that are in the greater Akron area. It makes gift giving occasions really exciting because I don’t shop at those stores so everything is something I haven’t seen before. Like the gorgeous silver earrings, for example. My mother-in-law knows that I am all about pretty things with an edge and my new jewelry is that description to the T. The flower stud that goes into dagger blades is *chef’s kiss* and fits me so well. I have several pairs of dagger earrings, which I am most fond of. These will fit in beautifully with my collection and I can’t wait to wear them!

I was also gifted with a gift card to the Cashmere Cricket and that is just the sweetest. The Cashmere Cricket is the most charming martini bar and is both mine and Johnny’s favorite. It also happens to be where we had our first date and went to celebrate after we got engaged. Needless to say, the Cricket is very special to us both. During the summertime, Johnny and I love to go have a drink or two on the balcony at the Cashmere Cricket. It is decked out in fairy lights and an ideal spot for an evening date. This gift card will definitely come in handy for drinks and dinner too. Not only are the martinis the best I ever had, but their food is literally to die for. I see a date night in my future, for sure. ❤

The best gift of all is feeling like a true daughter to Johnny’s parents. I love them both so much and am really looking forward to our belated birthaversary celebrations together!

Where did you and your partner have your first date? Do you still like to go there together? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun7

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

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Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Hello!!! Johnny’s birthday came and passed, our three year wedding anniversary was next, and now it is time for… DUN DUN DUN… My thirtieth birthday! Oh yes, your girl turns the Dirty Thirty today and I’d be a liar if I said that I’m completely okay with it lol. But hey, another year older another year *hopefully* wiser, right?! As my sweet husband has said, “at least you’re not turning thirty-five” so there’s that. 😀 Despite the slight sense of impending doom I’m feeling, there is so much in life that I am so thankful for. And, a lot of it took into my mid to late twenties to happen. When I remind myself of that, aging doesn’t seem so much as aging but more like an improvement.

While I am sad to be officially done with my roaring twenties, so much good has taken place during my last trip around the sun. The excellent health of one of my loved ones was celebrated, Johnny and I got to spend another year together and watch our nieces and nephew grow, and I even got a new job. And, of course, I can’t forget another year of loving my bunnies and creating daily content for lifewithlilred. Clearly, twenty-nine was pretty good and it makes me feel hopeful that this positive trajectory will continue into a brand new decade.

Although welcoming my thirties is bittersweet, it is the best to be able to celebrate with my Johnny. We have a hot date planned tonight to go to the Olive Garden and rent the new Strangers movie at home and I am thrilled! I have been craving the Olive Garden for months and I have also been looking forward to this new scary movie for months. It is exactly how I want to spend my birthday and I love that we are keeping it simple for maximum quality time. Turning thirty or not, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be so loved by our nearest and dearest for mine and Johnny’s birthaversary week and always! ❤

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Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jun5

Johnny’s Birthday Shenanigans

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Johnny’s Birthday Shenanigans

Hello!! This past Saturday was Johnny’s 35th birthday and the kick start to our birthaversary season. Our respective birthdays and wedding anniversary felt like forever away. Then, before we knew it, May was done and it was time for your two favorite Geminis to take over! For my birthday this Friday, we are going to the Olive Garden and renting the new Strangers movie at home. Johnny requested a birthday dinner too and wanted some of our friends to come by on his big day. Although his original dinner spot was a bust, it was still a banner time indeed!

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Our Plan A for the birthday boy was to go out to eat at Outback Steakhouse on Friday. Despite there being literally nothing for this vegetarian at Outback, it’s not every day your husband turns thirty-five! After work, we made our way to the restaurant and we were both verging on hangry. We were leaving early enough that we assumed we would get seated right away. However, as the old saying goes, assume makes an ass out of U and ME lol. Apparently, everyone and their brother was graduating from school that day and the parking lot was filled with people ready to celebrate. With a line out the door, we had to pivot to Plan B and went down the street at an Akron staple restaurant called Rockne’s.

Rockne’s is one of Johnny’s favorite restaurants and we finally ended up going together. It’s not like I didn’t want to go with him before. But, like Outback, there is literally nothing for this vegetarian to eat at Rockne’s! On the bright side, we got seated immediately, drinks were served, and we were both beyond ready for our meal. Johnny got a gigantic sub and I went for their Cajun pasta. It was no TGI Fridays (Their Cajun pasta is the BEST!), that’s for sure but at least my hanger was satisfied! After our dinner date, we went home to play some games and tuck in early for Johnny’s big day.

On Saturday, we spent the first half of Johnny’s birthday preparing the apartment for our guests and hanging out. By the time the evening rolled around, it was SO on! My brother and our bestie, Cliff, came over first and we had a blast playing some Mario Party all together. Then, my brother headed home and our friend Ty joined as shortly afterwards. It was so nice to catch up because we have all been so busy that we haven’t seen each other in what felt like ages. About an hour into our get together, I couldn’t wait to go to bed and Johnny set me up with a bowl of cereal and put Tarzan on TV upstairs. From our room, I could still hear the guys playing music, games, and laughing constantly. It’s safe to say that the party definitely was still going without this sleepy gal!

On Sunday, Johnny and I spent the day recovering from all of the birthday fun. It was a small price to pay for the best time celebrating my amazing guy!

How old are you turning this year? How do you like to celebrate your birthday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun4

Happy Anniversary To Us!

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Happy Anniversary To Us!

Hello!! Today is a joyous, lovely, wonderful day because it is mine and Johnny’s three year wedding anniversary!! There was a point in my life when I was convinced I was never going to get married. That all changed the day Johnny and I had our first date because it was a love at first sight extravaganza. I genuinely believe in my heart of hearts that if Johnny and I were to have gotten married the day we met, we would still be exactly where we are right now. Johnny also confirms this sentiment so it must be true!! Even though I would have been so game to tie the knot immediately, I am SO glad we had a beautiful wedding that was perfect for us:

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Johnny and I got married in our friend’s backyard on June fourth of 2021. We had a short and sweet ceremony surrounded by our immediate family and closest friends and it was the absolute best. Our decorations were simple – red fabric to walk down the aisle, a trellis, and black fabric to hang over it. Our attire was so very us in a black wedding dress and veil for me and black skinny jeans, a white button down, and a black Western inspired jacket for Johnny. There was no fanfare, no crazy reception, and literally no stress. We wanted our wedding to celebrate us as a couple in the easiest way humanly possible and that is exactly what we got.

I have heard so many stories about people not even enjoying their wedding because of the whirlwind of activity involved. I am so thankful to say that we enjoyed every second of every minute of our wedding. We both remember it like it just happened – Well, minus the parts when we got blitzed at the bar afterwards lol. There are countless moments from our big day that we still bring up and laugh about years later and that is very special to me. What I cherish the most about our wedding is the complete and total love that encompassed our backyard ceremony. It was like a pulse you could feel and it turned our understated wedding into a fairy tale. I think about our wedding day often and, when I do, that warm fuzzy feeling comes rushing back. It was the best day of my life!

Happy Anniversary to my Johnny!! I love you so much and wish we could get married every day!!

Jun1

Happy Birthday, Johnny!!

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Happy Birthday, Johnny!!

Hello!!! Today is a fantastic, wonderful day because it is my darling husband’s thirty-fifth birthday!! Johnny’s big day kick starts our month of birthaversary celebrations and it is, truly, the happiest time of the year. I celebrate my main squeeze every day, but it just hits different on his b-day. Johnny is the absolute best. He’s my A1 ride or die bestie and everything feels better since we have been together for almost five years. And, of course, he is too cute to boot too:

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Johnny makes everything in life so much more fun. Whether we are going out or staying in, it’s nonstop laughter, goofing off, and silliness every step of the way. Even though he is five years older than me, he keeps me young lol. The simplest things like going out to dinner or a movie feel like an adventure while video game or TV marathons on the couch are like a cozy cocoon that I never want to leave. Johnny has such a bright, outgoing, and joyous personality. Most importantly, though, he is so genuinely kind to everyone he encounters and it is always beautiful and refreshing to be around.

I remember mine and Johnny’s first date like it was yesterday. Drinks on the patio of our favorite bar on a random Thursday in late summer. I am pleased to report that in our extensive tenure as a couple that the first date feelings haven’t gone away. If anything, they have only intensified the longer we’ve been together. It sounds cheesy, but whenever we are reunited after work it feels like I am seeing him for the very first time even though it has only been eightish hours! I am clearly getting all sentimental on my hubby’s birthday, but we really were a “love at first sight” situation and that is SO worth getting in the feels for. ❤

Happy birthday to my Johnny! I can’t wait to celebrate our birthaversary and many, many more together. I love you!!!!

May31

Blogging Bestie Birthday Gift

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Blogging Bestie Birthday Gift

Hello darlings!!! This past weekend, I received the most fabulous box of birthday greetings from my blogging bestie, Kate, of Live In The Nautical. Kate and I became fast friends when lifewithlilred came into existence almost a decade ago and my life simply wouldn’t be the same without her. She is the absolute best friend a gal could ask for and even though we are in opposite states, I always feel like she is right next door when we are texting or FaceTiming. For my Dirty Thirty, Kate spoiled me with my favorite thing – spooky surprises from Brightside Organics! Check it out:

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Kate and I are Gemini twins and our June birthdays are only six days apart. Just like me and Johnny! This is a time of year that we revel in and it is so much fun to celebrate each other together – even more than we already do every day lol. Our siren call when gifts are on the way is “you’ve got mail” and it is most exciting. Kate is one of my all time favorite people to shop for and she shares the same sentiments about me. I always know that her gifts are going to be on point for her horror loving BFF and this gift was no exception.

For my birthday, Kate treated me to all kinds of enticing products from Brightside Organics. Body butter, soaps, candles, and a bonus surprise. The skull candle doubles as a lidded glass. I was wondering why a plastic straw was included in the gift box and then it all made sense lol. I love the tombstone shaped bar soaps and they smell exactly like a crisp autumn day. The scent is called Magical Brew and is the same for the skull candle and body butter. My You A Spooky Bitch (And proud of it!) candle is of a lovely lavender and sage and it will be perfect to burn while winding down at the end of the day. I also thought it was such a cool touch that a little vial of matchsticks were included.

Because I get so much free product from Bath & Body Works, bath and body care is never on my agenda to buy for myself. And, while I like the idea of having candles in my apartment, I never replenish them once they have burned out. Regardless, Kate knows that I love stuff like this and makes it a point to make sure I get some for my big day. We both are all for the pampering route of self care and I always look forward to seeing which products she enjoys for herself that I would like by default. What can I say, her and I are insanely similar and, as per usual, this gift set knocked it out of the park!

I can’t wait to test out all of my new goodies and begin browsing for gifts for Kate’s upcoming birthday too. I am so lucky to have a BFF like her! ❤

What is your favorite thing to be gifted with? Are you and your BFF really similar to each other? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May16

Super Early Birthaversary Presents

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Super Early Birthaversary Presents

Hello!!! June is a banner month for Johnny and I because it marks our birthaversary. Johnny has his birthday on June first, our wedding anniversary is the fourth, and my birthday is on the seventh. It is such fun to be able to celebrate all of these special occasions and in true us fashion, we have already given each other a majority of our gifts. What can I say, we’re both horrible at keeping secrets lol. While I was perfectly content with waiting for June for a gift exchange, Johnny picked up some prezzies for me this past Friday and didn’t want to wait to give them to me. As luck would have it, I brought home his gifts that day too! Check it out:

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One of my biggest gripes about our apartment is our lack of shelves. We have so many awesome knick knacks and Lego sets and they need a home. Granted, we can’t do much about it with the minimal space we have. This is where the shelving unit that Johnny got me comes into play. His plan is to haul out our broken record player desk with a friend, build the shelf, and add a few more to fully display our collections. I am beyond excited for this because it is something that I wanted to happen for a long while. I think it’s going to be so much fun to rearrange all of our mementos in a more pleasing fashion and I can’t wait to see the end result.

Johnny also gifted me with a new Harry Potter Lego set – Dumbledore’s Office. We haven’t built Lego together since the wintertime so we were definitely due for a new set! Building Lego with Johnny is one of my favorite things and if they weren’t so damned expensive, our apartment would be full of them. Although it would be amazing to have an infinite supply of Lego, I quite like the sporadic sets we give to each other. It keeps the novelty of building alive and I love when we plan an evening in to complete the set together. And, yes, it will look lovely displayed on our new shelves! 😀

I have had Johnny’s gifts planned for a while – probably the past two months which is when we last watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It is one of our all time favorite any time movies and it’s our tradition to watch it every Christmas with his family. Whenever we have a viewing, Johnny always brings up two things without fail. 1) He wants a moose mug SO bad. 2) He wants the dinosaur pajamas that Clark wears in the attic scene SO bad. So, of course I had to make it happen! His reaction to these gifts was the absolute sweetest and it was literal kid on Christmas Day level. I was so happy to have given him something that has been on his wish list for forever and he looks adorable in his jammies. 🙂

Even though our birthaversary is still several weeks away, I am so okay with this early start to the festivities. We have a few more gifts in mind for each other and I can’t wait to celebrate our upcoming week of us!

How do you like to celebrate your birthday? What is on your birthday wish list? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May15

Mother’s Day Weekend (The Best!)

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Mother’s Day Weekend (The Best!)

Howdy!! I don’t know about all of you, but I had an absolutely joyous (albeit exhausting) Mother’s Day Weekend. My brother, his wife, and my precious niece and nephew flew in from Georgia and it was the first time we have all been together since Christmas. While my brother was in town, my parents and Johnny and I were also giving a hand to my sister and brother-in-law by watching our other two darling nieces so they could enjoy a much deserved weekend trip. Needless to say, we had a very full house but it was nowhere near as full as my heart!

Over the weekend, we got to spend so much quality time with my family and it was very special. I loved being able to play, play, play with my nieces and nephew, our big dinner out on Friday for Mexican food, and a slumber party with Val Gal afterwards. Then, Johnny and I returned back to chez parents on Saturday for some extra time with everyone before my brother and his family went home. Johnny and I were completely tuckered out by the time we returned to our apartment and spent all day Sunday not moving lol.

Although Johnny and I are very firm on not having children, this weekend honestly felt like a Mother’s Day celebration for me too. My husband and I take the role of fun aunt and uncle extremely seriously and we love our nieces and nephew as if they were our own kids. Being together with all of them was, truly, the greatest gift in the world. I mean, I know I was living my best life all weekend so I can’t even imagine how incredibly happy my mom felt! ❤

As a bunny mom, I was expecting nothing for Mother’s Day and that was so perfectly fine. I was already feeling all of the Christmas Day vibes and it doesn’t get better than that. However, Johnny made sure I got a little something from our sweet Melvin and Penelope. Check it out:

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Before we went to our family dinner on Friday, Johnny was bent down at the bunny hutch saying goodbye. When he stood up, he told me he found something for me in the cage and handed me the most adorable card from my bunny children and himself. Like I said, I wanted and expected nothing and I was tickled by this surprise. As always, I have the best husband ever and it felt so good to know that he and the bunnies both appreciate the highest level of care that I give them. It was a very happy Mother’s Day Weekend, indeed. 🙂

Being with my whole family over the weekend was like a cure all and I treasured every minute of it. I can’t wait for the next time we are altogether again!

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day? Do you get together with your whole family often? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May12

Happy Mother’s Day!!

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Happy Mother’s Day!!

Hello everyone and Happy Mother’s Day!! Moms should be celebrated every day, of course, but it just hits different today! I don’t know about all of you, but I am the luckiest gal in the world to have my mom. I am also so lucky to have so many other wonderful moms in my life too. The molds were broken when my mom, mother-in-law, and sister were made and all of them astound me every day. I also have the pleasure of getting to know the moms of my clients in the special needs community and they never cease to amaze me, either. ❤

Mothers are so special and, the older I get, the more I just want to be around mine! Even as an adult, I still want to go to my mom first to complain about any minor inconvenience or celebrate big news. I am beyond thankful for that kind of relationship and have known since my youth that I can, without a doubt, go to my mom for anything. Speaking of my youth, in a weird way I feel like I’ve been reliving it since becoming an aunt…

Here me out: Literally no one remembers the early years of their lives. Sure, you can look at photos and watch home videos but it’s not an actual memory. You’re just seeing it. My sister has two precious girls and it is a joy to see my parents interact with them. It gives me so much insight into what they were like when my siblings and I were little and further solidifies how truly blessed I am to be their daughter. My sister is a Super Woman mom too and watching her own beautiful take on motherhood makes me so proud. And, yes, she has definitely taken some pointers from my mom’s book. Hey, if it’s not broken – don’t fix it!

To all of the moms in any way shape or form throughout the world: Thank you!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!! ❤