Jun20

BFF Birthday Gift

Posted on June 20, 2024 by lifewithlilred

Howdy!! I had a fantastic weekend and it was great from start to finish because my BFF, Lea, came over on Friday for my birthday hang out. We spent the evening catching up and girl talking away and it was just what the doctor ordered. Lea and I both have insanely busy schedules so we don’t get to get together as often as we would like and I missed her terribly! As with the best of best friends, however, her and I pick up as if we just saw each other the day before. That’s what sixteen plus years of BFFhood gets you and it’s a beautiful thing! As are these lovely prezzies that I was surprised with:

For my dirty thirtieth birthday, Lea gifted me with a darling cartoon rendering of us on my wedding day and a simply fabulous middle finger candle lol. When Johnny and I got married, we had a very small ceremony and Lea was the only person I invited outside of my immediate family. I considered both her and my big sister to be my co maids of honor. My big day was even better because Lea was a part of it and she selected one of our favorite pictures together as the inspiration for my gift. I clocked this immediately and it gave me ALL of the feels. So much so that I almost shed a tear. It is the most perfect gift and Johnny surprised me the following day by hanging it up while I was out running errands. I smile every time I look at it. ❤

And, of course, both of my besties know that spooky gifts are the way to my heart and I cannot get over my middle finger candle. In fact, this prezzie was spot on because I have recently become obsessed with candles compliments of my other bestie’s birthday gifts to me. Lea is most fond of shopping at craft shows so I have a feeling she bought this a while ago and was saving it for my b-day. She is so thoughtful like that and is just like me – I am the queen of shopping early for gift giving occasions! I haven’t had the chance to burn this candle yet, but I am really looking forward to it. It’s going to look cool AF! 😀

I had the best time having a low key birthday get together with my bestie and I can’t wait to celebrate her big day later this summer. I am the luckiest gal in the world to have a BFF like Lea and that is always the greatest gift I could ever ask for!

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

Jun19

Best Weekend Ever!

Posted on June 19, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! With a very busy schedule between me and Johnny and our friends and family, my birthday celebrations have extended beyond June seventh. I am SO okay with this and it is much more my speed to have quality hangouts with my loved ones rather than jam pack everything into one weekend. This past weekend, I was able to have my belated birthday get togethers with my sister and nieces and my best friend, Lea. It was fantastic from start to finish – so much so that the only picture I took was of this lone Margarita when I was out to lunch lol:

On Friday, Lea came over for the evening and, as always, it was nothing short of a delight. Lea and I have been best friends for a whopping sixteen years and have had a hang out every single year for each other’s birthday. It is something that I cherish so much, even on the most low key get togethers like we had this weekend. We just chilled on the couch with White Claw and girl talk – a match made in heaven! I genuinely believe if given the opportunity, her and I could chat away for forever and still find something new to talk about. I cannot wait to show you all the gorgeous prezzies she gifted me with so tune in for that tomorrow because it is the sweetest! ❤

After a chill evening in, it was onto all of the activities on Saturday. For my b-day celebration with my sister and darling nieces, Kristen treated me to lunch at my favorite restaurant. We went to El Meson, which is the hands down best Mexican restaurant in my general vicinity. It is divine every time and it’s so much fun to go there with my sis and the girls because they share the same passion for the cuisine as I do lol. Between bites of our delicious food, we were in stitches from the littlest girlie and her attempt to eat chips and queso and both girls trying on mine and Kristen’s stunner shades. I love being able to spend one on one time with all of my best girls so this was the perfect gift for the proudest TT and little sister.

Once lunch was over, I went to my parents’ house for a spell to see my dad before Father’s Day. Then, I picked up my brother, Andrew, and him, Johnny, and I went to Quarter Up. It’s a super fun arcade bar down the street from my apartment. I used to frequent Quarter Up when it first opened, but Johnny and I haven’t been in a while and I’m genuinely not sure why after Saturday evening! It was a hoot and their game selection has improved greatly since opening. We all enjoyed playing ski ball, basketball, and the shooting games. Johnny was particularly enamored by the Elton John pinball game – a new addition that is definitely worth going back for!

I have been feeling SO spoiled by all of the birthday love and this past weekend literally had me on cloud nine. There is nothing better to me than time together with my nearest and dearest and I couldn’t ask for anything more!

What is your favorite arcade game? How about your favorite restaurant in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun18

Blogging Bestie Birthday Gift Pt. 2

Posted on June 18, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hi!! One of the most exciting parts about my June birthday isn’t so much the actual day, but the surrounding ones. My Johnny had his birthday on the first, our wedding anniversary is on the fourth, and my best friend’s birthday is on the thirteenth. Between all of these special days, it has been hard to feel down and out about turning thirty. It also makes it easier to be in a festive spirit when you have the best Gemini Twin hype girl!! My BFF, Kate of Live In The Nautical, always makes our Gemini season the most wonderful time of the year and I love her so much for it. She surprised me with a fabulous spooky gift box and I couldn’t believe it when she told me there was more on the way. The remainder of my prezzies arrived this past week and it was definitely worth the wait! Check it out:

Johnny and I live for Halloween, horror, and all things creepy, scary, and spooky. Kate is most certainly not a horror fan, but her gifts to me could say otherwise lol. They are always the most fantastically creative with a dose of creepy for good measure! Just like these gorgeous skull earrings with pressed flowers and leaves. I legit could not believe my eyes when I opened the tiny package because I had never seen anything like them before. I live for edgy fashion with a girly twist and my new flower skull earrings fit that to the T.

Kate and I have known each other for almost a decade (Please don’t do the math on this!) and it has made all of our past b-days even better. She is one of my nearest, dearest, closest friends so it only makes sense that our big days are only six days apart. It is such a beautiful thing to be able to celebrate each other and our textbook Gemini-ness all month long. And, when Gemini season is over, we still treat each other like it’s our birthday. Lol, that’s what best friends are for! It truly is the best gift of all to have Kate in my life and everyone deserves a friend like her. I am the luckiest gal in the world. ❤

The June birthdays have come and passed, but good friends and memories are worth celebrating all lifetime long. I am thankful for my Gemini Twin every day and every birthday since meeting her has been even better than the last!

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

Jun17

Bonus Birthday Surprises

Posted on June 17, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Howdy!! I turned the dirty thirty on June seventh and had the most wonderful time celebrating. The beauty of birthdays is that you can prolong the festivities and I definitely do. With insanely busy schedules between myself, my family, and friends some of the hangouts have had to wait and I am eagerly awaiting them! Although some get togethers are on the back burner, I have still been treated to lots of birthday love, especially from my work family. It is so nice to be thought of and I adore these sweet surprises:

During the work week, I run on sheer willpower and lots and lots of caffeine lol. You can almost always catch me with hot or iced coffee or a Diet Coke and my work fam knows this, which inspired my Stanley Cup gift. Yes, the super viral Stanley Cup! I will be honest with all of you, when these tumblers blew up the internet, I had zero interest in buying one. I have plenty of to go mugs and they have always served me well. However, now that I have this lovely sea foam green Stanley, I can’t believe I didn’t get one sooner. It is the bee’s knees! This cup keeps my drinks either piping hot or icy cold and you just can’t beat it. I also couldn’t have gotten it at a better time because it is officially summer weather and it’s so nice to have a tumbler that keeps my water cold all day. Highly recommend!

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday without some sweet treats. I am not a huge candy fan, but one of my favorite families made a guess at what I would like and they were actually spot on. My Johnny freaking LOVES Mike and Ikes and was simply thrilled when I tossed him the candy box upon my return home from work. I am much more of a chocolate girl than chewy or fruity candy so the peanut M&Ms will pull through in the clutch when my sweet tooth acts up on the rare occasion. Normally when this happens, I have nothing in the apartment to staunch my cravings. Not anymore. 😀

Between the birthday greetings and gifts, I have felt so loved and appreciated and this is the best of all. The fact that people took time out of their day to do something just for me really does mean the world. Turning thirty wasn’t so bad after all… I guess! 😉

Do you have a Stanley Cup? What is your favorite candy? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun16

Too Faced Lip Injection Swatch In Filler Up

Posted on June 16, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Too Faced Lip Injection Swatch In Filler Up

Hi!!! I am very unadventurous when it comes to makeup. Once I find a brand and shade that I like, I tend to stick with it for the long haul. This past month, I used up my go to lipstick by Bite Beauty in the most lovely mauve shade called Chai. It was no biggie because I needed new mascara from Sephora so I planned on restocking my lipstick too. It turned out to be a HUGE biggie because I learned online that the Chai shade has been discontinued. Just my luck. I spent some time browsing Sephora online for a comparable lipstick but didn’t want to take the plunge in case I didn’t like it. So, I went to shop in store and after a lot of trial and error, ended up with a gorgeous shade by Too Faced called Filler Up. Check it out:

I very rarely shop for new makeup and opt to spend my extra cash on new clothes and shoes. I like to consider myself to be an excellent shopper, but I met my match at Sephora. Who knew something as simple as picking out a new lipstick would be so difficult? NOT ME lol. Shopping brings me inner peace – makeup shopping is a whole different ballgame. Every lipstick looked like it could be good and, then again, every lipstick looked like it might not work. This was so totally overwhelming considering the expansive lippie selection at Sephora!

After swatching, reswatching, and swatching again throughout the store, I was at a complete loss. Then, the tides turned in a major way when I took a closer look at the Lip Injection collection by Too Faced. There was no perfect match to my fallen friend by Bite Beauty, but it was closer than anything I had seen. I ended up choosing a shade called Filler Up which is described as a “muted mauve pink”. Although I still preferred the true mauve of Chai, I knew that Filler Up was the closest I could get and I’m happy with it. I have used matte Too Faced lip products before and love their saturated pigments. However, I find matte products to be a bit too drying now so this cream lippie is just right. Is it my new favorite shade? Who’s to say? But I’ll give it a try. 🙂

Did I have fun during my Sephora shopping trip? Not at all lol so I am so glad I found something “close enough” to my OG lippie so I don’t have to do it again anytime soon! 😀

What is your least favorite thing to shop for? What is your go to lipstick? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun15

Sephora Birthday Haul

Posted on June 15, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! I have been in dire need of my beloved Better Than Sex mascara by Too Faced for several months now. However, I refused to buy it until recently so that I could cash in my Sephora birthday gift. You all know I live for my freebies! Normally, I shop Sephora online because they run some great promotions like a freebie after spending X amount of money. This time around, though, I went in store because I needed some new lipstick too. Unfortunately, my go to lippie is no longer made so I spent some time browsing the store and swatching different shades as I went. We’ll check out a swatch from my new Too Faced lipstick tomorrow. But, for now, take a look at my birthday haul:

The Haul:

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced Lip Injection in Filler Up

Youth To The People skin care set with a Superfood Cleanser, Superberry Dream Mask, and Superfood Moisturizer

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it time and time again: The Better Than Sex mascara is, hands down, the best I have ever used. During my time without my favorite mascara, I tried out a few different brands and nothing even came close in comparison. Needless to say, I am very happy to have a new tube and back up one again! I missed my big, bold, look at me lashes so much and consider each twenty-six dollar tube to be worth every penny. I especially find this to be true now after using cheaper brands that did nothing for me. And, hey, sometimes you have to splurge for the good stuff!

During my Sephora shopping trip, I started at the Too Faced department and ended there too during my lipstick search. Although I am not a big makeup girl, I figured it would be pretty easy to find a lippie in a similar shade to the one I used up. WRONG. There were SO. Many. Options. to choose from and it was overwhelming lol. It felt like I totally forgot the color I was even looking for and everything I swatched wasn’t quite right. I was about to give up when I realized I didn’t pay too much attention to the Too Faced Lip Injection collection. This was much more like it and I cannot wait for all of you to see Filler Up. It’s sooo pretty. 🙂

The last order of business was checking out and selecting my free birthday gift. There are several options online for what you can pick out for your prezzie – skin care, hair care, fragrance, or makeup. In the store I went to, however, the choices were limited. But, as luck would have it, the Youth To The People skin care set that I wanted was up for grabs. It’s no secret that I am skin care obsessed so it is always fun to test out higher end products. I am particularly excited about the Air-Whip moisturizer, which promises to be nice and light and perfect for the summertime!

After this trip to Sephora, I came to the conclusion that I don’t know anything about makeup lol. I was definitely jonesing to go to TJMaxx afterwards to get reacquainted with simpler things like shoes and clothes! Either way, I’m happy to have gotten what I needed and next time I need new makeup, I am bringing my sister along for help. 😀

What is your favorite makeup brand? How often do you get new makeup? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun14

Thirty, Flirty, & Thriving OOTD

Posted on June 14, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! This past Friday was my thirtieth birthday! Although I still don’t know how to feel about it, I am sure that I had a great time celebrating. I wanted to keep it simple for my big day and requested a dinner at the Olive Garden and to go straight home after to settle into my new decade. A birthday date night with my main squeeze was the perfect occasion to get dolled up and I knew exactly what I wanted to wear – the outfit I built during my last TJMaxx shopping trip! Check it out:

Who? What? Wear?

Cropped Sweater Vest: Industry Republic Clothing, TJMaxx

Tennis Skirt: Kyodan, TJMaxx

Lace Up Heels: Juicy Couture, Kohl’s

Silver Earrings: These were a birthday gift from my mother in law!

The last time I was at TJMaxx was during an outing with my mom and it was a delight. The Maxxinista gods truly smiled on me because I got everything that I was hoping for: A skin care restock and an outfit to wear to the next Misnyland picnic that I will be officially working at. For this summertime event, I wanted to find something cute, comfortable, and appropriate to sport as the brand new social media manager for Tim Misny. And, of course, it had to be unique enough that I could stand out and still feel like myself. I think this OOTD fits what I was looking for to the T.

During my rounds through the clothing department at TJMaxx, I was coming up with a big fat goose egg. Then, I clocked an adorable cropped sweater vest by Industry Republic Clothing and knew I could work with that. This knit vest is so ideal for summertime. It’s nice and light and the soft, creamy color will certainly keep me cool as opposed to my usual All Black Everything. This vest is the perfect combo of work appropriate while still being fun with the too cute flower details. But what to pair it with?

As I continued browsing the clothes, I was keeping my fingers crossed for a skirt to wear with the vest for an OOTD that looked more like a set. Once again, I was coming up empty. Then, as luck would have it, I found my new Kyodan tennis skirt displayed at the very front of the store. In that moment, I knew I had an outfit and all that was left to do was try it on. As I expected, this skirt was a dream match to the sweater vest. And… It has shorts underneath it!!! This was something I didn’t realize until I tried it on and that was a huge score. The last thing I wanted was anyone at the event getting a peek at my underthings if a breeze picked up! This skirt has divine movement with the gauzy, pleated fabric and added some edge to such a sweet top.

With the base of my outfit settled, shoes and accessories were next. For my shoes, I went with a gorgeous pair of lace up heels by Juicy Couture. These little babies are as old as dirt, but I still love them as if I got them yesterday. The cream color and black shoe laces gave cohesion to the established palette and the chunky heel is supportive so I can flit around the picnic and shoot content in comfort. Finally, I added a lovely pair of silver dagger earrings that I got for my birthday and my outfit was complete!

I absolutely love how my Thirty, Flirty, & Thriving OOTD turned out! I am also so glad that I decided to sport it for my birthday date night so Johnny could take my pictures. He will not be attending the picnic I am working and I knew I would be a mess by the time I got home lol. Work smarter, not harder!

Have you updated your wardrobe for summer? What are some of your summer staples? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun13

Happy Birthday, Best Friend!!

Posted on June 13, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! It’s Gemini season, baby, and what a banner time it has been. Johnny celebrated his birthday, we had our wedding anniversary, it was my birthday and now… *Drum roll, please* it’s my best friend’s birthday!!!! Yes, today is a wonderful, fantastic day because it is my blogging bestie’s big day. I hate to age us both, but Kate of Live In The Nautical and I became instant BFFs almost a decade ago when lifewithlilred first began. She is my Gemini twin and soul sister. Despite living states away from each other, our lives are basically exactly the same and I know I can go to her for anything and everything. Not to mention she’s oh so beautiful inside and out!

Have you ever met someone and you just click? That’s how it was with Kate and I. What started as her being a guest blogger on my page turned into us chatting the days (and years lol) away. I live for our FaceTime dates and always laugh at the fact that we are true writers when we text. It’s literally just us sending novellas back and forth all day! Johnny has grown very accustomed to our texting style and forever refers to me as “Tolkien” when I’m giving Kate all of the updates. Even though we are far away, our textathons are a constant bright spot in my life and it feels like she could be right down the street from me. I wish she were!!

When I started my blog, of course, I wanted to make new friends. However, I was not anticipating to find a BBFF (Best Blogging Friends Forever) almost immediately. The blogosphere truly smiled upon me when Kate entered my life bringing her sunshine, fashion, sense of humor, and kindness. Kate is the perfect combination of sweet and sass and adds a touch of sparkle and shine everywhere she goes. This girl has been strong for me when I needed it, a shoulder to (metaphorically) cry on, and someone I can be my full self with. Everyone needs someone like that in their life and my wish on my bestie’s birthday is that you find and cherish that person. Kate is my one in a billion trillion gal and I am thankful for her every day. ❤

Happy Birthday to my Kate on her big day. The world is a better place with you in it and twenty-one (ish!) looks fab on you!!! I love you!!!!!!!!!!

Jun12

30th Birthday Fun

Posted on June 12, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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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:

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

Posted on June 11, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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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:

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

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