Oct26

Lil Red Recommends! Part 3

Posted on October 26, 2014 by lifewithlilred

Recommendations one through ten from yours truly ❤ :

1) Read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. If you read my article about this book, you’ll already know how much I love it. I just finished rereading this novel by Rachel Joyce today and it still made me cry just as much as when I read it the first time. I’m really looking forward to reading Rachel Joyce’s other book, Perfect. So be on the look out for my thoughts on that once I start reading it!

2) Go on a hike by yourself. Seriously this may be one of the best things you ever do for yourself. If you read my article An Ohio Hike, you’ll know that I had an absolutely lovely solo hiking experience this past week. I felt so at peace when I was walking through the forest with just me, myself, and I. Hearing the sounds of nature and being alone with my own thoughts was so calming. Walking through the beautiful Ohio Metroparks is definitely something I’d like to continue doing.

3) Write a letter to yourself. I know, I know, so corny right? Contrary to popular belief – it’s not. One of my first college assignments this past week was to write a letter to my future self. My professor promised all of her students that she wouldn’t be reading our letters, just simply mailing them back to us when she felt the time was right. Our only guideline for the assignment was to be kind to ourselves. With that in mind, I wrote a letter straight from the heart to my future self. I wrote all of the positive affirmations I tell myself and then some and it felt so good. Seeing the words I speak to myself in my head on paper made phrases like “you’re beautiful inside and out” very real to me. If that makes sense? If you’d like to read exactly what I wrote to myself, you can check out my article Letter to Myself. Once you complete your letter, tuck it away somewhere special and whenever you need reassurance or positivity, it will be there for you.

4) Listen to Mika!!!! This lovely gentleman is one of my biggest guilty pleasures. I was playing him on my way home from work yesterday night and had a blast. I completely forgot how much I enjoy his gorgeous vocals and insane falsetto. This is a true story, I discovered Mika years ago when they used his track We Are Golden in a Degrassi commercial on TeenNick. I loved the song so much that I had to hear more. Screaming “we are not what you think we are, we are golden, we are golden” in my car with the windows down last night was exactly what I needed after a day at work! Mika’s talent is so pure and impressive and I can’t get enough of it.

5) Check out the bands Fallen Captive and Below The Tide: Two of the fantastic gentlemen who work at Odd Fellows Tattoos in Akron (where I got my latest tattoo done) are also members of some pretty cool heavy metal bands. Travis Lamont who did my gorgeous Isis piece this weekend plays a mean guitar for Below The Tide while Mitch Pivarski of Fallen Captive lays down some insane vocals. Help support Akron Ohio’s local music scene by showing these guys some love! These gents are two of the best guys you’ll ever meet, and I’m so glad to have the pleasure of knowing them!

6) While you’re at it, give Odd Fellows Tattoos a like: I had the pleasure of getting my latest ink addition done here, and the experience was nothing but positive. You can read all about it in my latest article Body Mods! Part 2. This shop is inhabited by fantastic tattoo artists, piercers, and the all around coolest guys ever. Please show the Akron body art scene some love by giving their Facebook page a like. Make sure you browse through all of the photos of the amazing work that gets done there on the daily. And in case you haven’t seen my newest tattoo yet, here’s a pic of the goddess Isis, done by Travis Lamont, as well as their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Odd-Fellows-Tattoo/667458826660986

7) Pamper yourself: A few nights ago I took the most amazing bubble bath ever. I lit some fall scented candles in the bathroom, played the gorgeous Amy Winehouse on my iPod, and filled up the tub with some floral scented suds. This sounds like such an obvious thing to do, but sometimes we forget to give ourselves a little treat. I didn’t realize how tense I was from the days work until I sunk into the steaming water. Amy Winehouse is one of the best artists to play while taking a bubble bath – she makes everything so much more luxurious! Enya is also a highly recommended bath time artist as well! After I got out of the tub, I wrapped myself in a fluffy new towel to dry off. As an extra treat I lathered on some Satsuma body butter from The Body Shop. My skin was soft as a baby’s bottom after that! BTW, I believe all of The Body Shop’s bath and body care is half off right now on their website, so take a look if you’re interested! http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/

8) Listen to Say Hi (formerly known as Say Hi To Your Mom): I absolute adore Mr. Eric Elbogen of Say Hi. I’ve been a fan of this one man band for quite some time now, but have been listening to him very frequently as of late. I can’t get enough of the quirky lyrics of this Seattle native. From the haunting lullaby like tune of “I Think I’ll be a Good Ghost” to making a morbid lyric like “I’m gonna drink your blood” in “Blah Blah Blah” sound romantic – this guy can do no wrong. I stumbled upon this artist when he was still Say Hi To Your Mom. I was strolling through the CD section of Best Buy with my brother, when I pointed out the funny name of Eric Elbogen’s act and we shared a laugh. Once I got home, I was curious about what the music of Say Hi To Your Mom sounded like, so I looked it up, and the rest is history.

9) Do a Halloween activity: This Friday night my sister, her boyfriend, and myself went to The Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory in Akron. We had a blast! We only went through the Laboratory because we didn’t feel like paying for both houses. Both haunted houses boast four floors of fright. There were a lot of really cool rooms in the Laboratory, like an operating room, a room inspired by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and a dentists office. The timing of the actors in the haunted house was so perfect. They would pop out right when we were more than half way through a room with the thought that we wouldn’t get a scare. It was like they were reading our minds, because as soon as we thought we were smooth sailing, out would come a masked man yielding a chainsaw! It was so fun holding on to each other and laughing every time one of the actors got us! I would love to go to the Haunted Schoolhouse before the Halloween season is over! I would also like to hear about popular haunted houses in your neck of the woods, so please leave me a comment about them!

http://www.hauntedlab.net/

10) Take a shopping trip: Today my mom and I went to TJMaxx to browse their fall and winter clothing. If you guys follow all of my OOTD’s, then you already know how much I love TJ’s! Unfortunately, there was nothing too impressive on our trip today, but it was still so fun to go with my mom and point out our likes and dislikes. It’s always a hit or miss when we make a TJ’s trip, so hopefully next time we go there will be tons of cute and new stuff! I can’t recommend going to one of your favorite stores for a little pick me up enough. In the words of Donna and Tom from Parks and Recreation: TREAT YOSELF!

So there you have it, my Lil Red Recommends for the week! What’s your favorite Halloween activity to do? I’d really like to get in some more Halloween fun before the week is up! Please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions! Have a great night! -Sarah

Oct26

A Thank You Letter to my Parents

Posted on October 26, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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This is a special thank you letter to my mom and dad. A thank you for them being so accepting of their extremely unique looking daughter. My mother took me to get all of my piercings done from the time I was fifteen until I was eighteen and old enough to get them done on my own. If you’ve read my original post Body Mods, you’ll know that I’ve gotten pierced and repierced over thirty times, and my mom was there for more than half of these. My dad was never really thrilled when I’d come home with a new piercing, however he’d rarely let me know it. And when he did, it was as nice as he possibly could make it, which usually just involved asking me if I was ever going to take any of my metal out. Not only was my parents cool with my body mods when I was younger, they were also fine with taking me to the hair salon to get my hair dyed and styled into my signature bright red semi short hair. Words can’t really express how much this means to me now. The fact that I was only a teenager but my parents were giving me the freedom to express myself and look the way I want is something I don’t thank them for enough. I should really start. My mom and dad treated me like an adult in the sense that I was able to make decisions on my appearance completely on my own. I’ll never forget all of the times my mom and I would come waltzing into the tattoo shop and being greeted by all of the guys working. My piercer absolutely adored my mom and we visited him frequently enough that my mom would drop the classic phrase of “you can be my adopted son” whenever we would see him. It was always so fun for me to see my mom chat and laugh with all of these pierced and tatted up guys as if she was the mother of all of them. Watching her interact with them and pass no judgement on any of them was amazing. My mom is sixty and my dad is sixty-six and I really think its cool that both of them are totally okay with having a daughter who looks like me. Most people my parents’ age are very set in their ways which tend to be more traditional. When I came home with my newest tattoo yesterday (see the article Body Mods! Part 2 for more information on that), my mom was so eager to see it that she was genuinely upset when I told her I couldn’t take the wrapping off for another two hours. My dad was amazed when he found out his little girl sat through five hours worth of pain to get it done, “how in the hell did you do that?!” There’s so many parents in the world who wouldn’t be okay with their kids opting for a more unique look. And there’s probably a lot of parents who don’t agree with my mom and dad’s acceptance of my appearance. But that’s okay, to each their own. My mom and dad accept me for who I am because I’m my own person and I like what I like. And most importantly, nothing will change the fact that I’m their little girl. My gratitude to my parents for everything knows no bounds, and I am so beyond lucky that I have them. If you guys haven’t read my newest Body Mods article, this is my newest tattoo which I got this weekend:

Take the time to thank your parents for something they did that you really appreciate. Has there ever been a time where your parents shocked you with how cool they are? What was something that your mom or dad did that you’ll never forget? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Sunday. -Sarah

Oct25

Body Mods – Part 2!

Posted on October 25, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Welp, it happened. I got my new tattoo yesterday! Making it the fourth one in my collection. Before I begin telling the tale of getting this baby done, let me show you a picture!

There she is! The goddess, Isis. I got this masterpiece done at Odd Fellows Tattoos in Akron, Ohio. My friend and tattoo artist, Travis made this work of art possible. (And if you’re into heavy metal at all, please check out his band Below The Tide!) Let me tell you guys, this tattoo was a process! It took a little over five hours to complete. Honestly, I’m shocked that I was able to handle getting the entire tattoo done in one sitting. My sister accompanied me for the stencil placing, because I really wanted her opinion on the placement of it. Unfortunately after that, she had to leave me to go volunteer for the rescue group Canine LIfeline. (You can read all about this fantastic group in my article Must Watch Video!) http://caninelifeline.org/

After the tattoo was placed to my liking, we got to work. The outlining of Isis really wasn’t that bad, it was smooth sailing and was completed in an hour or so. After that was done, we took a five minute break for the bathroom, cigarettes, and to stretch out. In the entire five hour process we took three five minute breaks. Travis then called me back to his chair of doom and began to work on all of the black work in the tattoo. At this point I was still doing fine and dandy, I was a little bit tired, but I was still feeling good enough that nothing was really hurting. I’m a trooper 😉 While Travis worked we enjoyed conversing with each other and the other gentlemen working in the shop. All of them were really just fantastic. I told Travis that himself and everyone working at Odd Fellows did a great job of making an uncomfortable situation feel very comfortable. The conversations we had were full of vulgarity and profanity, but it was hysterical and helped take my mind off of the process at hand. Before I knew it, Travis was done with the black work, and it was time for another break. Once again, it was a bathroom, cigarette, and water break. Things took a turn for the worse as far as how I was feeling goes once Travis started on the color, which he called “the fun part”. Ha! Up until the coloring, I didn’t need any of the guys at the shop to hold my hand, and I wasn’t in genuine pain. But once the color began, it was almost too much. My skin was raw and angry, and every stab Travis took at me with the tattoo gun felt like daggers. I told myself that I wouldn’t cry while I got Isis done, but that didn’t happen. Tears started flowing without me even trying. The water works were coming out like my eyes had sprung a leak. That was when the guys at the shop rallied around me to try and help. One of my other friends, Mitch (who you can check out in the band, Fallen Captive) held my feet when I started squirming. Keith was on hand holding patrol for the rest of the session. I was honestly feeling pretty faint at this point, I was in a lot of pain and I was falling in and out of zoning out. To help with that, all of the guys held conversations with me to help take my mind off of the pain. It was very sweet. The last hour of filling in all the color felt like an eternity. I was so zoned out that I didn’t even realize that Travis had finished it once it was done. It was such an amazing moment when he told me I could get up and go take a look at the finished product! I almost thought he was kidding! When I got to look at my completed side piece for the first time, I was blown away. It was better than how I pictured it to be. It looked even better than the picture that I brought in (which is my featured image photo). Travis couldn’t have done a better job if he tried. I am so thankful to him and all the gents at Odd Fellows who helped make my tattoo experience as tolerable as possible! If you’re ever in Akron and feel like getting a tattoo, you know where to go!

Here’s Odd Fellows Facebook page, make sure you give it a like!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Odd-Fellows-Tattoo/667458826660986

And once again, if you’re into heavy metal check out the bands Below The Tide and Fallen Captive!

Happy Saturday! -Sarah

Oct23

Letter to Myself

Posted on October 23, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Today I got an assignment in one of my classes at Tri-C to write a letter to my future self that my teacher will mail to us some time down the road of our college career. I absolutely loved the idea of this assignment, because my best friend, Lea and I love writing letters to our future selves. In fact, a month or so ago we opened up one of our letters from two years ago and had a blast reading them and reminiscing on what we wrote about. We had completely forgotten some of the fun things we added into the letter, like questions that could be answered from piecing highlighted letters together and questions from my parents’ daily Jeopardy calender. So obviously, this assignment was right up my ally! I would like to share what I wrote to myself with you guys.

Dear Future Sarah,

First of all, let me say how proud I am of you. You had a goal of going to college way back in September, and you achieved that. I trust that as you read this now, you’re well on your way to earning your Associate of Arts degree. My wish for your entire future, from the time you read this now, until the day you die is: That you continue to do things that make you happy. That can be anything, from theater which you love so much, or blogging, or even pursuing a higher degree in school. As long as you’re doing something that you love, you’re succeeding. I hope that as the months go by, you recognize all of the potential that people constantly tell you you have. You are worthy of a beautiful life. I know in the past you had a hard time believing that, and I hope some day you can truly believe and embrace that yourself. I also would like to remind you of how far you’ve come in your life. It’s not a bad thing to remember your not so great past and celebrate the milestones you’ve accomplished, even in your darkest times. You are beautiful, inside and out. Take pride in who you are, because you matter. You are important. You are capable of greatness.

With all of my love,

Sarah

I had such a good time writing this letter. It felt awesome to write down and see the positive affirmations I try and tell myself daily. I wrote this letter with the reminders I like hearing from other people in mind, because I know my future self will appreciate it. When I receive this letter in the mail, whenever it may be, I’m confident that it will help me through a rough time that I may be going through or it will give me positive reassurance to keep on trucking on the path that I’m on.

If you ever have the time, I highly recommend that you take the time to write your future self a letter. And when you do open it, your words may be just what you need on that given day. Have a fantastic Thursday! -Sarah

Oct23

American Horror Story – Episode 3

Posted on October 23, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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So, I just got done watching episode three of American Horror Story Freak Show, and it was alright. This episode entitled “Edward Mordrake” held a lot of valuable information for next Wednesday, as it’s a to be continued episode. We were introduced to quite a few new characters tonight, so allow me to give you guys the scoop on our newcomers.

Maggie Esmerelda (Emma Roberts) & Stanley (Denis O’Hare): At the beginning of episode three, we meet Maggie and Stanley, a duo of con artists. We find them at a freak show museum, posing as a doctor with a “double degree from Harvard” and his lab assistant, looking to sell a fetus of a “baby Sasquatch”. Their lie is immediately seen through, considering that their “baby Sasquatch” is a baby goat with a cat jaw sewn onto it. Despite being caught in a lie, the director of the museum sees promise in the con artists. She offers them a hefty sum of cash if they can find her some new specimens for her museum, to help her declining business. The director mentions that she would find new displays for her museums from freak shows after the passing of a troupe member. The light bulb flickers on in Maggie and Stanley’s head, and they head off to Elsa’s freak show in Jupiter, Florida. To land an interview with Elsa, Miss Maggie poses as a fortune teller, complete with a crystal ball. Maggie is crafty – to give Elsa an authentic reading, she scans the room to give her hints of the freak show leaders past, present, and future. She spots sheet music and a newspaper clipping of a rival performer. With that information, Maggie tells Elsa that she had a past filled with jealousy and being over shadowed by other singers. But fear not, because our little fortune teller is full of good news, letting Elsa know that there’s still hope to accomplish her dreams of being a musician – and that a man with dark hair and piercing eyes will help her achieve that goal. We don’t know much about Stanley yet, minus the fact that he’s the brains of the con artist operation. Mr. Stanley also appears to have a fetish for naked twenty something year olds in viking hats. Denis O’Hare always manages to play the weirdos in AHS, that’s for sure!

Edward Mordrake (Wes Bentley): First of all, I am absolutely OBSESSED with this character. Having said that, let’s learn more about him. Edward Mordrake was an European aristocrat, and what a talented young man he was. Edward was a poet, an author, a musician, and born into wealth – he had it all. But in one regard, he had too much. Mordrake had the head of a demon attached to the back of his scalp. This demon would whisper things that only Edward could hear. “It whispered of things only spoke of in hell.” The evil being fed into his ear drums would cause him to commit horrific crimes, and nothing could stop the demon, because it would not die. There’s this amazing scene in black and white where we see Edward laying in a bath tub, submerging the back of his head with water to drown the demon. When he lifts his head, the smiling devil is still there alive and well. Eventually, Edward’s family sends him off to Bedlam. He would try to engross himself in his writings to silence the devil, but of course, it didn’t work. Mordrake slit the throat of the orderly dropping a meal off into his cell and off he runs to the freak show. He is no longer Edward Mordrake now, but The Two Faced Prince. (Love it!) I’m sure you guys can deduce that this isn’t a happy ending story of Edward running away to the freak show and finding peace. Quite the opposite. On Halloween night, Mordrake snaps. He murders every member of the troupe and then hung himself. When he was found, the demon face on the back of his head was still smiling. Legend has it that if any freak show member performs on Halloween, the spirit of Edward Mordrake will come to the carnival to claim a member for his undead freak show troupe.

There were two particular things in this episode that I LOVED, which include:

Ethel Darling’s back story: We learn a lot about the bearded lady, Miss Ethel Darling in this episode. Right from the get go we learn that Ethel has a year or less to live because of an extreme case of sclerosis in her liver, thanks to years of alcoholism. When the doctor reveals the bad news to Ethel she replies with, “well shit. Shit, shit, shit.” I mean, what more can you say? Her motherly love for Jimmy really shines through in episode three as well, because she thinks he’s going to need a male figure in his life after she passes on. While sharing some hooch with her baby daddy, Dell Toledo, she drunkenly pleas to him “can’t you be decent? Keep an eye on him, for christsake.” So we all know who sweet Jimmy’s new mentor is going to be! The most effective part of Ethel’s story however dates way back to her early days. We learn this new found information from our good friend Edward Mordrake. He has been summoned by Elsa’s rehearsal process, which she deems necessary due to Maggie’s fortune telling. Mordrake appears in Ethel’s tent, and basically interviews Miss Darling to see if she’s worthy to join him and the undead carnies. His devil scalp and himself prompt her to open up about her past grievances. She speaks of her early career in vaudeville, where she was a star. The bearded lady was a hit amongst the freak show, and she found love in Dell Toledo. He became her manager and suggested that she performed an act of culture, rather than a comedic song and dance. Ethel took his advice and began performing Shakespeare on stage, much to the audiences distaste. At this point, Ethel is broke and pregnant, so she can’t even go back to performing her original act in her current expecting position. However, Dell thinks of a…creative way to make a buck, to say the least. Advertised as the “Live Freak Birth” bystanders can pay to watch Ethel deliver her son. Once Jimmy is born, you can hear Dell peddling “two pence to hold the monster baby! He’s a freak!” At this point of the story, Ethel is in tears and states in regards to her son, “he’s never known anything but exploitation from the start.” So, so sad.

Dandy Boy: So it’s no secret that I absolutely ADORE Mr. Dandy. I really think his character is so cool. It’s just such a unique take on a villain, because that’s really what Dandy is shaping up to be. Dandy Boy is also the KING of sassafras! “SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE, DORA!!!” Episode three takes place on Halloween, which is Dandy’s favorite. His mother, Gloria decorates the house and is dressed in a most elaborate costume, while Dora, the maid is dressed as Woody Woodpecker, Dandy’s favorite cartoon. Under the guidance of Gloria, Dora made Dandy a costume. Unfortunately, our man child is very displeased with it. “HOWDY DOODY?!?!” He throws a temper tantrum and storms off to make himself a better Halloween look. We see Dandy cutting up his Howdy Doody costume to make his very own clown suit. He then goes off to his pal Twisty’s van that holds his hostages. “Trick or treat, trick or treat”, Dandy sings to them. He offers them candy corn as a treat but then immediately pulls his hand away, bearing a knife as his trick. While Dandy tries to stab our young boy and girl in the van, Twisty comes lumbering back to join the party. The more the merrier, because Twisty has a guest. A new hostage stolen straight from Suberbia. He’s a handsome teenage boy, who Twisty kidnapped right in his own home and in front of his sweet younger sister, with a phobia of clowns. “Where’s your brother?” the mother asks as she comes running to the little girls room when she hears screaming. “The clown took him,” says the little girl as she points at the open window. Dandy is very pleased with his new playmate that Twisty brought, and says with a wicked grin “more fun!”

There’s one final thing that I really REALLY need to get off my chest before I conclude this article, and that’s KATHY BATE’S ACCENT!!!!! Why, God?! WHY????!!! Miss Bates is SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!! I don’t understand what she’s trying to accomplish with this voice, but it sounds AWFUL. The accent being used has absolutely no distinctive origin, so I haven’t the faintest idea of where Ethel even comes from. Not only that, but she falls in and out of her accent so frequently through out her lines, so some words are heavily accented while others sound normal. Kathy is an Academy Award winning actress, and I REFUSE to believe that this accent is the best that she has to offer. The voice being used is making her character come off as a joke, which I am so sad to say. Vocal coaches were very much needed this season, and this goes for Jessica Lange’s accent as well. Honestly, it would have been more effective for both of them to use their natural voice rather than put on a half assed accent. Just sayin.

Needless to say, I’m very excited for the second part of this episode next week. What did you guys love about episode three? What did you hate? How did you feel about the new characters that were introduced? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight! -Sarah

Oct22

An Ohio Hike

Posted on October 22, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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On my last day of hanging out with my dear friend Tyler before he left for basic training, we went to the Metro Parks Schumacher Trail to take some pictures with each other. While we were there I was blown away by how beautiful the scenery was, so I decided to go back there today to take some pictures of the trail. I walked to about where Tyler and I had ventured out to and began snapping away on my Ipod camera. Once I was done photographing, I figured I might as well just walk the trail since I was there. And I am so glad I did.

It’s a brisk fall day in Akron, Ohio. The sky is a dull, cloudy gray and there’s a definite October chill in the air. I only wore a hoodie on my venture to the trail today because I figured I wasn’t going to be there long, so I was quite cold in the beginning – but once my blood started pumping as I got further into the trail, I felt fine! There was something so amazing to me about being completely surrounded by nature. I loved hearing the chirping of the birds and the leaves crunching under my feet with every step that I took. One of the few things that I love about Ohio is the fact that we get to experience all four seasons. As you can see by the pictures I took, fall time in Ohio is GORGEOUS. I love everything about autumn here. From watching the leaves change colors on the trees to seeing them blow away from their branches and litter the ground.

I had so much fun spotting carvings on the trees through out the Schumacher Trail. Many trunks donned initials of couples who must have had a romantic afternoon strolling through the forest. The one pictured above sported an awesome carving of an Indian that was just too cool not to take a picture of! I felt so at peace today while I hiked. It felt really good to have some time on the trail by myself so that I could stop whenever I wanted during my trek to just take in all of the beauty surrounding me. All of the Metro Park trails in Ohio are pretty fantastic – the trail that I hiked happens to be about two minutes away from my house. I think I know my new favorite spot to go to when I need some alone time!

If you have the time today, spend a moment out doors and take in your surroundings. You won’t regret it! And make sure you check back in at http://www.lifewithlilred.com tonight for my review of the newest episode of American Horror Story! Have a happy Hump Day! -Sarah

Oct21

OOTD – First Day of School!

Posted on October 21, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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I had my first official in school college class today at Tri-C, so I wanted to make sure I had a sharp and smart outfit! I went for a bit of a preppy look today and I was really happy with it. I felt so confident when I strutted my stuff into the classroom this morning! Take a look:

As usual, here’s the breakdown of the brand of each article of clothing and where it was purchased at:

Aztec sweater: Miami, Francesca Collection
Coated black jeans: H&M, I bought these jeans about two weeks ago, so if you like them they definitely should still be available for purchasing in store or online. http://www.hm.com/us/
Navy pea coat: Rock Steady, ModCloth
Tan knee high boots: I.N.C., Macy’s

Like I said, I felt awesome in this outfit – especially because each piece in this OOTD are some of my favorite things that I own. This look was a little more pricey than my usual outfits because I purchased each thing as an investment to have for years to come. I consider everything I wore today very classic and timeless so they were definitely worth the extra moolah spent on them. All together this OOTD probably cost me about $230. That price made me bite my lip a bit, but the amount I wear these pieces together or separate has made the investment so worth it. I’ve also owned these articles for about one and a half to two years each, minus the jeans from H&M. My favorite thing about this outfit is the sweet detailing on all of the pieces. I’m obsessed with the heart elbow patches on my pea coat, the quilted knees of my jeans, the braided decal going up the boot, and you can’t really tell in this picture but there’s silver tinsel-like material crocheted into the sweater. All of these little surprises through out the outfit definitely gives it a little extra oomph. I felt like a college student in this look, therefore I achieved the look that I was going for today! It was a successful OOTD and most importantly – a great first day of school!

What is everyone rockin today? What’s your favorite investment piece you’ve bought? What are pieces you plan on investing in for the future? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! -Sarah

Oct21

My Drives to Cleveland

Posted on October 21, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Two to three days during the week, I have to make my way up to Cleveland for my classes at Tri-C. The drive usually isn’t that bad…except for rush hour morning traffic. What usually is a half hour drive from Cuyahoga Falls to Tri-C doubles into an hour in the blink of an eye. These past few days have been particularly rough, because not only is everyone and their brother driving to work at eight o’clock in the morning, but it’s been extremely rainy, AND there’s construction happening to top it all off. So after reading all of these things working against me on good ol’ Route 8, you’re going to think I’m crazy when I let you guys know that I actually really enjoy my drives to school and back. The number one reason why my trek to C-Town is tolerable is because I can finish entire albums of music in my travel time. It’s awesome. On a usual drive for me to work or running errands around Akron I can only get through about four or so songs on any given album. The fact that on my way to school I can hype myself up with an hours worth of music instantly makes for a good day. When I have my favorite bands playing in my car (AKA: The Little Red Love Machine), all of the stressful obstacles on my route to class disappear. Being stuck in traffic that’s moving one MPH turns into a one woman dance party/karaoke club in an instant. Stupid highway drivers who need to get off the road immediately are forgotten once I turn on a good jam. You guys must think that this is a silly post and that everyone knows that music can change the mood of an annoying drive. But I never really experienced this first hand until my drives to school, because I never really needed to go an hour or so out of my way before. Everything and everyone that I drive to is a half hour away or less. During these drives I’ve been enjoying albums such as:

The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing (This is the ultimate girl power, woman on the go driving music! Love it.)

Cold War Kids: Robbers & Cowards (Nothing hypes me up more than some CWK. Trying to match the lead singers gorgeous vocals is always an enjoyable driving game 😉 )

The Used: The Used (This self titled album satisfies all of my road rage needs.)

Twenty One Pilots: Vessel (If you read my blog post about these guys, you’ll already know my deep love for them. This album is the perfect throw back your thermos of coffee and wake up music.)

Bear Hands: Distraction (I was playing this today and it was fantastic. I love these guys so much! Shout out to PacSun for introducing me to them 😉 )

The albums listed above are just to name a few of what I’ve been jamming to lately! What’s on everyone’s driving play lists? What song gets you pumped for your day while you’re in the car? Do you have any suggestions for me to listen to? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! -Sarah

Oct21

Dancing With The Stars – Week 6

Posted on October 21, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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Twas a fantastic Latin filled night on Dancing With The Stars tonight, AKA Middle Aged Monday, AKA MAM. There were a lot of hits and a lot of misses with our stars tonight, so let’s talk about some of the routines that I loved:

Jonathan & Allison (Jazz): This Men in Black themed routines was so much FUN! What a major improvement from the teams herky jerky Jive last week. Jonathan was sharp and each move was on point. Allison’s choreography was really fantastic as well, so shout out to her. There was some really cool fight scene inspired moves that I really appreciated. And can we talk about the lifts?! So clean! Jonathan had Allison in hold and he was NOT letting go. Not once did I worry that she was going to get dropped in the middle of a lift like I did last week. Unfortunately, sweet Jonathan’s improvement was too little too late, as he got eliminated tonight – but I commend him for this performance just the same. It was very, very grool. 🙂

Alfonso & Witney (Salsa): First of all, DYING over Alfonso stating that “I hurt my groin doing the Carlton”. Not laughing at his injury of course, that’s a shame, and I hope he recovers soon BUT I just think it’s so goofy that Alfonso got hurt from Calton-ing just a little too hard! I really just love Witney and Alfonso as a team in general. I think Witney is the most precious little thing in the world and her choreography is so fun and fresh. This Salsa was a booty-licious routine, but I do agree with Judge Julianne Hough on the fact that it was a little too much hip hop and not enough Salsa. In further performances I would love to see Witney delve deeper into more traditional routines, because Alfonso is so capable of doing them – as we could see last week during the switch up with Cheryl. You can see their Flamenco routine below:

Sadie & Mark (Rumba): Alright. Everyone who follows my blog knows that I don’t care for Sadie OR her family. However, this Rumba was FANTASTIC. I thought it was so sweet and I applaud Mark for choreographing the dance to make it so. Sadie’s lines in this routine was just gorgeous. Her limbs are so long that it looked like they reached for miles. Carrie Anne said that the teams Rumba was age appropriate, and I completely agree. Sadie is seventeen, if I’m not mistaken, and I thought that this dance was just lovely for a young woman.

Now, onto the dances that I didn’t care for, starting with:

Antonio & Cheryl (Salsa): Through out this entire season, I’ve never really been “blown away” by Antonio. This Salsa was kind of slow for me, and I feel like this season’s heart throb is just so stiff and uncomfortable in his dancing. He had the opportunity tonight to let loose and dance a sexy routine with the gorgeous Cheryl, and it just fell short. In other news, well wishes to Cheryl’s dad who suffered a seizure this past week. Good thoughts are being sent the Burke family’s way!

Lea & Artem (Salsa): There were some parts of this routine that were really fabulous. Specifically the lifts! Lea looked like an acrobat in Artem’s arms and she made it look so easy. So for that, you go girl! Having said that, and in agreement with the judges, Lea looked SO uncomfortable during this Salsa. Her face looked like a deer in headlights and there were some really awkward parts during this performance. When Lea separated into her solo with a bevy of female dancers, she did this really weird squatting move where she basically lifted her skirt up. Not cute. Not classy.

Tommy & Peta (Foxtrot): Don’t get me wrong, I love Tommy – I really do. But these past few weeks he’s been slipping. The judges unanimously agreed that Tommy improved from his disastrous switch up routine last week – and he did…but not by much. This performance was filled with missteps and mistakes that made their Foxtrot look quite choppy, rather than a continuous flow of movement. This opinion doesn’t take away from how much respect I have for Tommy though, he’s seventy-six years old and still doing the damn thing! I also have to add, that Miss Peta looked drop dead GORGEOUS tonight in her fuchsia dress! What a stunner. AND Cloris Leachman’s cameo in Tommy’s rehearsal package was hysterical! Too funny.

What did everyone think of tonight’s routines? What was your favorite performance? What was your least favorite? Did Jonathan deserve to go home in tonight’s elimination? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight:) -Sarah

Oct20

Work Hard Play Hard

Posted on October 20, 2014 by lifewithlilred

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In the words of the great Wiz Khalifa: Work hard. Play hard.

I feel like this phrase has been defining my life lately. For four years, from the time I was sixteen until present day, I’ve worked my ass off in the retail world. In that time, I saved a lot of money. I saved enough money that I was able to purchase my beloved 2012 Mazda 2 Sport (AKA the Little Red Love Machine) on my own AND I’m able to pay for my college tuition on my own. Not many twenty year olds can say that and I must say, it’s an awesome feeling. I spent countless hours slaving away in PacSun in order to make the money that I have and I guess when it comes down to it, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. PacSun helped me out a lot financially. If I hadn’t spent those four fateful years working for that company, there’s no way in hell I would be able to afford my car and education. But just because I’m an insanely hard worker, doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to have fun! I’m so thankful that I still have extra pocket money so that I can go on a shopping trip with my friends, or to dinner, or a movie and not feel guilty about it. This article makes me sound like my life revolves around how much moolah I make, but I promise you it doesn’t. On the contrary, my life revolves around me being an independent young woman who happens to need money to keep the woman on the go lifestyle! I’m very blessed that my parents are as supportive of me as they are as well. They don’t make me pay rent and they still pay my phone bill, and I am SO thankful for that! I plan on moving out by the time I graduate school which will be when I’m twenty two. Until then, I’m gonna work my little ass off at Next, ace every college class I take, and still make time for fun stuff too! I’m a firm believer in treating yourself. For example, when I would have to be at the mall early to open the store, I would promise myself I’d get a Starbucks drink if I got to work on time. That was motivation enough to get me out of bed and get myself moving. Or if I’m out running errands, I would purchase a little treat for myself like a new tube of lipstick after I got all of my necessities. There’s nothing wrong with giving yourself motivation in the form of rewards! Ha! My final hurrah gift to myself before I buckle down financially now that school is starting is getting a tattoo this Friday. My tattoo artist has been running specials for Halloween, so I figure no better time than the present to get the tat that I’ve wanted for ages now! Getting inked up is my way of congratulating myself for all the hard work that I did to get myself a new job and to get into school. I’m proud of me! Here’s a pic of what I’ll be getting:

I’ll be getting Isis on my side, and I am SO excited!

What motivates you guys? How do you work hard? What are your favorite things to do to play hard? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! -Sarah

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