6 Tips For Staying On Top Of Your Health

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6 Tips For Staying On Top Of Your Health

Everyone recognizes the value of good health, but figuring out how to achieve it can be difficult. Let’s have a look at some of the options available to you in the next section so you can be your healthiest self in 2022:

Consume A Variety Of Foods:

For a healthy body, we need more than 40 different nutrients, and no single diet can offer them all. It’s not about a single meal; it’s about making long term, well balanced dietary choices that will make a difference. A low fat dinner could be offered after a high fat lunch. After a hearty beef dinner, perhaps fish should be the next day’s meal?

Eat A Wide Range Of Fruits And Vegetables:

Fruits and vegetables are some of the most important foods for getting enough vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Our goal should be to consume at least 5 servings every day. A glass of fresh fruit juice for breakfast, an apple and a piece of watermelon for snacks, and a variety of vegetables at each meal, for example.

Drink Plenty Of Water:

Every day, adults must drink at least 1.5 liters of water! Especially if it’s hot outside or they’re doing anything active. The best source, of course, is water. Fruit juices, tea, soft drinks, milk, and other beverages are all okay if used in moderation.

Maintain An Appropriate Body Mass Index (BMI):

Our optimal weight is determined by factors such as gender, height, age, and heredity. Obese and overweight people are at a higher risk for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, among other disorders.

Excess body fat is caused by consuming more than we need. Extra calories can come from any caloric meal, including protein, fat, carbohydrate, and alcohol, however, fat is the most concentrated source. Physical activity allows us to burn calories and feel good at the same time. The message is simple: if we want to lose weight, we need to eat less and exercise more! You should also bear in mind that BMI could be considered as outdated. It fails to take into account things such as muscle weight, so someone who trains heavily may appear on the BMI scale as overweight.

Make It A Habit To Get Moving:

Physical activity is good for people of all shapes and sizes, as well as those with various health problems. It helps to burn calories, is good for the heart and circulatory system, keeps or builds muscle mass, improves focus, and improves overall health and well being.

To get moving, we don’t have to be Olympic athletes! It is recommended that we engage in 150 minutes of moderate physical exercise per week, which may easily be included in our daily routine. These pointers should make it easier for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle without making it too difficult.

Concentrate On All Aspects Of Your Health:

In addition to the aforementioned, you should also pay attention to other aspects of your health, such as going to the optometrist or the dentist. Whether it’s cosmetic dental procedures or just a monthly check up, it all contributes to your overall health. Β It’s also important to note that health is relative, so for some, simply going on a walk three times a week can be a healthy change to their routine (walking is great exercise, after all), while for others, trying a keto diet or finding phentermine online can give them the boost they need.

These six tips should help when it comes to taking care of yourself and staying healthy. We only have this body and it deserves our respect by practicing a healthy lifestyle!

Featured Image By: Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels

Flight Of Fancy OOTD

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Flight Of Fancy OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD from my Thanksgiving weekend! This past Saturday, Johnny and I visited our favorite bar, the Cashmere Cricket, and then met up with my parents and niece for a Santa parade in downtown Cuyahoga Falls. As always, Johnny was kind enough to take some pics of yours truly – he’s a total blog husband! This is one of my favorite OOTDs that I’ve done in a long time so let’s get to it:

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Who? What? Wear?

I have been waiting for the right occasion to break out my feather collar and I thought that a day date with Johnny was the perfect time to do so. This OOTD is exciting to me because most of the pieces that are in this look are fairly old and just one accessory breathed new life into all of them. In fact, I totally forgot that I even owned the Express blazer that I purchased during a trip to Goodwill!

When I originally was styling this outfit, I had a simple black sweater on but it wasn’t doing anything for me. I decided a pop of color was needed and went with a white button down that I had bought at H&M forever ago. It has seriously been years since I have worn that shirt and it was just what this outfit needed against the all black palette.

Another thing that I struggled a bit with was finding the right coat to wear because it was friggen freezing that day! One of my heavy winter jackets did the feather collar no favors and I knew that I needed something thinner, despite the cold. Anything for fashion! It took a second trip back into my closet to discover the Express blazer and it was perfect for the sleek silhouette that I had envisioned.

Finally, all that was left were pants and shoes and what I went with was an obvious choice for an almost All Black Everything OOTD. With simple pieces and one outrageous accessory, I felt like a model when my husband was taking my pictures. It was also so nice to revisit one of the spots where we had our engagement photo shoot!

Once I was satisfied with the pics that Johnny took, we warmed up in the Cashmere Cricket while we waited for the parade to start. I enjoyed a delicious color changing martini called The Butterfly Effect and I definitely know what I’ll be ordering again the next time we go!

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Be sure to tune in tomorrow for bonus pictures from my Flight Of Fancy OOTD as well as more about the Santa parade!

How would you style my feather collar? Have you done any fun holiday activities? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Completed Whomping Willow LEGO Set

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Completed Whomping Willow LEGO Set

Hi! Johnny and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and I hope that all of you did too! We built LEGO, had a day date, took our niece to see Santa, and (as always) watched so much Criminal Minds lol. I had a hankering to work on one of our Harry Potter LEGO sets and we completed the Whomping Willow in about two hours this past Friday.Β 

Although this set is a lot smaller in comparison to what we like to build, it is an important one to have. The Whomping Willow set connects some of the ones that we already have like The Great Hall and Clock Tower to make our Hogwarts castle even bigger! Check it out:

Building LEGO with Johnny is one of my favorite things to do on a day off and it’s such a great project to complete together. While I prefer the big sets for more of a challenge, it was fun to bust out the Whomping Willow set quickly. As with all of the LEGO sets, there were tons of cool surprises tucked away in the build like Trevor the frog, the spinning Whomping Willow, and the potions and baubles throughout each room. These little details make even the smallest set exciting to put together!

Now that this set is complete, all Johnny and I have left from a previous LEGO haul is the Hogwarts Chamber Of Secrets and I am itching to start it. As usual, I already have my eye on what I want next which is the Astronomy Tower and the Hogsmeade Village. In non Harry Potter news, the LEGO Haunted House looks amazing and really speaks to mine and Johnny’s spooky selves. πŸ˜€

Unfortunately, we don’t have lots of room in our apartment to show off our completed builds so at some point we are going to clear off our Spooky Shelf to showcase our work. Keep it posted for the end result, which we’ll get to eventually lol!

Who else likes to build LEGO? Where can you score great deals on new sets? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Sometimes I Lie By Alice Feeney Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Sometimes I Lie By Alice Feeney Edition

Hi! Today, we are going to be discussing Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney – without giving any spoilers away, of course. If this author sounds familiar to you, it should! I recently finished another book by hers called His & Hers. Much like the last book of Feeney’s that I reviewed, I will be putting a massive trigger warning on Sometimes I Lie for graphic scenes of violence and sexual assault. Now, let’s get to it:

Sometimes I Lie opens with our main character, Amber Reynolds realizing that she is in the hospital in a coma after a horrible accident. She can hear what is going on around her, but she cannot move, see, or speak. As we embark on this reading journey, we learn that Amber is a broken woman and not just in terms of the current state of her body.

The chapters of Sometimes I Lie alternate between Amber in the hospital, the days leading up to her accident, and the diary of a young girl. From the diary entries, we learn that whomever wrote them had a difficult childhood due to neglectful, alcoholic parents and moving around constantly. Things haven’t been easy for Amber since the diaries have been written and she is riddled with OCD rituals, low self esteem, and the nagging idea that her husband is cheating on her.

Despite what could be considered a “dream job” of being a presenter on a popular radio show, Amber is chronically unhappy in her work and life in general. Tensions are high between Amber and the star of the radio show until she develops a plot with her friend to get the problematic host fired, and the metaphorical shit hits the fan from there.

Stresses at work, an overbearing sister, inattentive husband, and the return of an ex boyfriend push Amber to her breaking point until she finds herself in the coma. As the days blend together in her state of permanent sleep, Amber’s foggy mind tries to connect the dots of how she got there in the first place. How did she end up in a coma? And what has Amber been lying about? Read Sometimes I Lie to find out!

There were a lot of things that I liked about Sometimes I Lie but, unfortunately, the things that I didn’t enjoy about this book outweighed the good. We all know that Lil Red loves back and forth chapters as well as multiple story lines. However, there was way too many convoluted plot twists and I never thought that I would find myself saying that.

So many complex story lines in Sometimes I Lie made this book insanely difficult to follow and I honestly still don’t know if I understand it completely. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind when some things are left up to interpretation but not the entire story line! Amber begins this book by admitting that “sometimes I lie” which means that literally everything that she is saying could be false.

Knowing that there might not be an ounce of truth to what Amber says made for a muddled grand reveal and absolutely no closure once finishing the book. I did enjoy individual aspects of the story lines of Sometimes I Lie but when mixed all together into a relatively short book of two hundred and sixty pages, it made my final interpretation murky at best.

I am going to award Sometimes I Lie with a four out of ten stars. If you are looking for a vague but interesting enough read, give it a shot. However, if like me, you prefer not to second guess everything you read in a book, then you can definitely skip on this one. Trust me, you’re not missing much.

What did you think about Sometimes I Lie? What are you currently reading? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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Thanksgiving Day OOTD

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Thanksgiving Day OOTD

Howdy! I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with good food and good company. I know that Johnny and I did and it was a vast improvement from last year because we had to sit it out due to a potential COVID exposure for yours truly. Rather than spending my day crying and watching Law & Order SVU, I got to enjoy my Thanksgiving with my family and I am very… THANKFUL!

Check out this lil OOTD before your girl got into her PJs and let the food coma take over. Featuring a cameo by Archie the dog:

Who? What? Wear?

For my Thanksgiving OOTD, I wanted to incorporate fall colors as well as maximum comfort because we all know that it’s a bad idea to wear something tight fitting before a big meal! I played around in my head with what I wanted to wear for Turkey Day several days prior to and am very happy with what I came up with – especially my owl knee highs which I forgot that I even owned lol.

My OOTD started with the Luna Moon peasant blouse that I got during a recent TJMaxx haul and I thought that it was perfect for Thanksgiving. I absolutely love the mustard yellow base combined with the colors of the beautiful embroidery and thought that it screamed fall festive. The skirt was actually a hand me down from a client’s friend and it paired wonderfully with the gold button accents.

It was a cold and rainy Thanksgiving day in my neck of the woods and I knew that I needed something to cover up my legs. I was hoping to wear a white pair of tights but realized that I didn’t have any so I had to do some digging in my odds and ends box in my closet. There, I discovered my owl knee highs that I purchased during a brief stint of working at Claire’s and knew that they would do just fine. In fact, I liked it even better than the original idea of tights!

To complete my outfit, I chose my Lulu Hun heeled oxfords for a little touch of student teacher chic. I haven’t worn these shoes in a while, which blows my mind because they are adorable. These shoes also helped tie together the fall palette that I wanted to create with each component of my OOTD.

When it comes to combining cute with comfortable, this look accomplished my mission to the T. I love how the different colors and patterns worked all together, which made for a really fun OOTD out of fairly simple pieces. Although, I’d be a liar if I said that I wasn’t dying to get into my pajamas all day!

How was your Thanksgiving? What did you wear to stunt in your house? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Holiday Gift Ideas

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Holiday Gift Ideas

Hello! We are going full speed towards gift giving holidays so I thought that it would be the perfect time to share some gift ideas for all of those last minute shoppers out there. I have been done with my shopping since October and just the thought of completing shopping now gives me anxiety! On the contrary, though, I have been SO procrastinating on wrapping all of them lol. Whether you want to find unique gifts for phlebotomists or you want something more general, this list is going to give you the inspiration you need. Let’s get to it:

Baking Kits:

King Arthur Flour has an amazing gift selection filled with baking kits and gear. Even if you aren’t so handy in the kitchen, the kits make it easy to bake a delicious dessert and it’s also a fun activity to do if your giftee has little ones. This year, I purchased a hot chocolate kit for the families of my clients that included two mugs too. It was so reasonably priced and I think that they are going to love it!

Relaxation Station:

If you have a giftee who could benefit from some extra chill time, how about a relaxation kit filled with candles, aromatherapy oils, and bubble bath. You could even take it one step further and gift them with a gift card or membership to a yoga studio. These past two years have been so difficult for everyone and relaxing themed presents will also gift the person you’re buying for with some much needed “me time”.

Sports Fan:

If you have a sports fan on your shopping list, then you have a plethora of options to choose from. Customized gear of their favorite team will be much appreciated or you could get them a puzzle or model of their favorite stadium. You could even take them to try their hand on the links with a golfing instructor. If they are not the athletic type, sports games at an arcade bar will do just fine. As always, tickets to a big game will always go over well!

Travel Lovers:

Those who love to travel will surely enjoy guides to the next place they’d like to go to. You could get them all kinds of travel sized products, a subscription to Audible for those long plane rides, and a neck pillow or blanket. Then, put it all in a customized carry on. The ultimate gift for the wanderlusters on your list.

A Piece Of The Beach:

For many, the beach is their happy place. If you know someone who daydreams of the ocean on a dreary day, then bring the beach to them. There are many Etsy shops that put sand from a favorite beach into a locket style necklace for a beautiful and timeless gift. In fact, I bought something like that for one of my besties and she absolutely loved it!

If jewelry isn’t your giftees thing, then fear not. You could go with beach themed decor, a stack of books to tackle on their next ocean side vacation, or a noise machine so the sound of crashing waves can soothe them. Bringing a touch of the beach into freezing December has never been easier.

Subscription Services:

There are so many awesome subscription services out there, which are truly the gift that keeps on giving. You could sign your giftee up for Netflix, Spotify, Audible, or Amazon Prime for easy access to entertainment. There are also monthly gift boxes like Sephora Play! for makeup gurus, BirchBox for pampering, or Hello Fresh for those who can’t stand cooking. It will be like the holidays all over again when their monthly box arrives in the mail!

If you are stumped for gift ideas, then hopefully the ones listed above will help steer you in the right direction. If you guys finish your shopping, then I guess I can finish my gift wrapping! πŸ˜€

Are you an early or late holiday shopper? What is your favorite type of gift to receive? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

November 2021 Finishes

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November 2021 Finishes

Hey everyone!! It’s about that time to discuss my product empties for the month because we are almost done with November! I swear, the days seem to fly by in double time during the holiday season and before we know it, we will be in 2022. This month, I finished a ton of products which included a few that I have been working on for forever and that is always exciting for me… It’s the little things lol! Let’s take a look:

Would I Use Again?

Why/Why Not?

B&BW Lotion: After what seemed like FOREVER of using the Portofino Pink Prosecco lotion, I am finally done with it! For about three months, I have been using this lotion on my hands before bed every night so it was a welcome change to switch to a new lotion that I have been loving. Of course, I always enjoy my B&BW products but I will be the first to admit that the boozy scent of this one definitely got old lol. If given the opportunity, I would use it again because I never say no to B&BW but I think a new scent will be in order during my next semi annual sale haul.

B&BW Shower Gel: Gingham from Bath & Body Works is one of my favorite scents and I finished this shower gel in two months. It was also a freebie, which is nice since it’s a full size product! This scent reminds me of a picnic on a warm spring day, which is a great thing to manifest during my morning showers in the cold winter months.

Now that I’m done with this shower gel, I have moved onto one of the bars of soap that I got when I was on vacation. While I always prefer shower gels, I love me a bar soap every once in a while so the ultra moisturizing soaps by Our Own Candle Company will do the trick for dry winter skin just fine.

Hyaluronic Acid Serum: This serum by Tree Of Life was the “dud” of the multi pack that I purchased and if it wasn’t such a darn good deal, I wouldn’t use this product again. I was looking forward to trying the Hyaluronic Acid serum out because it’s a wonderful ingredient to incorporate into your skin care routine. However, after completing a bottle with morning and night use, I noticed no difference in how my skin looked or felt. #notimpressed

Summer Fridays Mask: I got the Jet Lag face mask by Summer Fridays as a freebie during my last Sephora haul and it left a lot to be desired. I got about eight uses out of the tube and I did like the way my skin felt but I would never pay forty-five dollars for a full size of it. As a freebie, this was a nice mask to try out. However, my skin feels equally as good, if not better, when completing my normal skin care routine with mostly drugstore products.

November brought me so many finishes and I am glad for it! There is nothing better to me than completing a product that I have been using for a while and I can’t wait to see which empties I’ll have in December for our last finishes post of 2021. πŸ˜€

Which products did you use up this month? What did you think of the products above if you have used any of them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Lil Red’s Book Club: Treachery Times Two By Robert McCaw Edition

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Lil Red’s Book Club: Treachery Times Two By Robert McCaw Edition

Hello! Today on Lil Red’s Book Club, we are going to be discussing the fourth novel in the Koa Kane Hawaiian Mysteries called Treachery Times Two by Robert McCaw. Although this is the fourth book in the series, it can be read as a stand alone title, which is what I did and I also think is very cool. As always, there will be no spoilers in this post so as not to ruin all of the insane twists and turns of this book! Let’s get to it:

Koa Kane is the Chief Detective of Hilo, Hawaii and it is his career to uncover dark secrets and put the bad guys away. However, his past offense of murdering his father’s nemesis and covering it up thirty years ago would definitely qualify himself as someone he should be tracking down. Although he is, indeed, a murderer, Koa worked hard to turn his life around through his time in the military, as a detective, in his community, and with the love of his life, Nalani.

A common saying is to leave the past in the past but that is awfully difficult for Koa when the grandson of his victim comes to the islands investigating his death, which had been ruled a suicide. On top of this, an earthquake had uncovered a makeshift burial ground with a fresh corpse of a Tiger Baldwin, who had been shot and killed as well as had her fingertips cut off. Needless to say, Koa has his hands full.

Tiger’s murder baffles Koa and his team and if they don’t solve the mystery fast, America as we know it could be at stake. Through his detective work, Koa discovers that Tiger works for an ultra high tech and ultra secret company located in Hawaii called X-CO. After much digging, we learn that the employees at X-CO are working on a new military weapon called Deimos – the most dangerous development since the atomic bomb.

When functioning properly, Deimos can withstand and protect soldiers against the terrors of war. But bad code in the programming can cause the machine to begin attacking those it was meant to protect. Was Tiger Baldwin behind this major breach in security or was she trying to fix it? And just how deep does the treason to our country go? Read Treachery Times Two to find out!

Robert McCaw’s Treachery Times Two was a wild ride and it felt like you were right alongside Koa in Hawaii sleuthing too. I loved how McCaw was able to immerse his readers in Hawaiian culture, language, traditions, and scenery. It wasn’t a book just set in Hawaii, because with a big enough imagination, you were in Hawaii. This was so neat to me and I can’t recall a book that I have read recently that included this much detail about the location through such vivid imagery.

If you know Lil Red, you know that she loves a book with multiple story lines and Treachery Times Two included this, as well. Not only were you reading about the secrets of Deimos being uncovered but you were also on the edge of your seat as the grandson of Koa’s victim tried to crack the thirty year old suicide. I, frankly, can’t remember ever hoping that a murderer would get away with his crime but I found myself rooting for Koa the entire book!

Treachery Times Two was a unique reading experience for me. While we all know that I love a mystery, I have never read too many books about government secrets before. This book was definitely one that you had to be careful with as you read because there were so many details that could be easily missed. However, I am pleased to say that I solved most of the grand reveal thanks to Koa’s handiwork. πŸ˜€

I am going to award Treachery Times Two with an eight out of ten star rating. I so enjoyed getting lost in this book and read it ravenously. It also made me really want to go back and read the first three books in the series. Highly recommend!

What are you currently reading? What should I read next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Holiday Season = Prime Blogging Season

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Holiday Season = Prime Blogging Season

Hi! Since completing my 1,000 day writing steak, I am currently at 1,070 days of blogging in a row. It may be crazy to some but it’s daily life for me and the holiday season is the perfect time to get creative with your posts. There are so many great ways to get content out during these next few weeks and, today, we are going to discuss some ideas to inspire you on your own page. Let’s get to it:

What The Holiday Season Means To You:

What holiday do you celebrate this time of the year? Or do you not celebrate at all? Everyone views these times differently so what does it mean to you specifically? Talking about the holiday that you celebrate is an amazing way to open people’s eyes about the many different ones that take place during the season because we all know that it’s not just Christmas. Teaching your readers about your celebrated holiday and the traditions that come with it will be educational and oh so interesting.

Holiday Crafts:

If you are crafty, how about a step by step guide of the projects that you’re working on this holiday season? Whether you’re hand making ornaments or building the ultimate gingerbread house, share it with your readers! Even if you’re not crafty in the slightest (like yours truly) it will be fun to try something new. You could even have a “crafting contest” for your readers and give away a prize for the best craft, honorable mentions, and not so muches.

Tips & Tricks:

According to Pam from The Office, if you need more than three pieces of tape to wrap a present, then you are doing it wrong. Are you a gift wrapping pro or know how to score the best deals on holiday shopping? Feel free to share with the class! Everyone loves tips and tricks on how to make things easier on themselves or save some money so don’t keep it to yourself – tis the season to be giving, after all! πŸ˜€

Decor Galore:

If you are particularly proud of your holiday decorating skills, then let’s see it! There is nothing better than doing a drive through the neighborhood and seeing yards decorated for the holidays. In this case, it will be scrolling through your page but that’s okay! You could get together some other blogging friends and create a holiday decor scavenger hunt through your pages and pictures of your decor. How fun would that be?!

Recipes, Please:

For Christmas dinner, my family always just has a round two of Thanksgiving and that is fine by everyone because we love it. However, there are so many people looking to shake up their holiday dinner menu which is where you come in. If you have a dish that your guests beg you to make or one that you especially look forward to, then share away! Your favorite dish on the menu could end up in a holiday meal halfway across the world.

Holiday Style:

The long running joke of the winter holidays is that everyone gets dressed up to sit around the house. It is hilarious and so very true! It also means that it is the perfect excuse to share your OOTDs and MOTDs with us. Give us New Year’s Eve glam or your fave PJs that you wear on Christmas morning, either way you are sure to sleigh… See what I did there? πŸ˜‰

Help Give Back:

During the holiday season, it is so important to give back to those less fortunate than us. If you have a charity that you love to help out, let your readers know about it or have them give proof of a donation that they made in their hometown. Draw names from a hat of the people who gave back and send them a small holiday gift if their name was selected.

With the tips above, you will have fresh as fallen snow content all holiday season long. Happy writing!

Which of these ideas are you going to write about? How often do you post on your page? 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 to all of you!! This has been a year full of exciting things for yours truly including getting married, achieving a 1,000 day writing streak, and being fully vaccinated with a booster shot included. I am so thankful for all of this and, as always, I am so thankful for all of you – my dear readers and friends. ❀

Without your unending support, lifewithlilred would not be going strong for seven plus years and I love being with all of you on my blogging and life journey. While I feel lucky for this every day, days like Thanksgiving make me feel extra sentimental about it and I can’t express my gratitude enough.

I will keep this post short and sweet so you can go back to enjoying your Thanksgiving day. I just wanted to say that I love you all and hope you have the most joyous time with family and friends! ❀

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving? What are you thankful for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah