Tag Archives: 4th of july

Jun22

Going Gingham OOTD

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Going Gingham OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! The look that you are about to see is not what I originally planned on. What I had in mind for my weekly outfit was a gorgeous black and white high low skirt with a black Rachel Zoe tank top and slide on wedge heels. However, I couldn’t find the tank top I wanted to wear anywhere! I still have no idea where it could be, which upsets me deeply because it’s my favorite. To add salt to the wound, the only comparable top that I could have used had a deodorant stain on it. SMH.

I was, honestly, so close to throwing my hands up, saying “screw it”, and not shooting an outfit at all. But, where’s the fun in that?! After having a hissy fit in my mind, I decided to switch gears and create a look that’s perfect for 4th of July. Picnics, fireworks, and rooftop drinks anyone? Check it out:

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Who? What? Wear?

Gingham Tie Back Top: Altar’d State

Distressed High Waisted Shorts: American Eagle Outfitters

Army Green Wedge Sandals: Guess, TJMaxx

Rain Cloud Earrings: These are a birthday gift from my bestie and are created by Janell & Co.

The gold bracelet is from American Eagle Outfitters and the bronze one is from the zoo I think lol.

While I was digging around in my dresser for the missing tank top, my eyes kept locking in on my tie back top from Altar’d State. It is such an adorable little number and screams summer fun. It has also not been featured on an OOTD post before. Once I came to the conclusion that The Case of The Missing Tank Top wasn’t going to be solved, I had to problem solve. And, with 4th of July just around the corner, the kerchief style top was an obvious choice. I guess I was onto something when it kept catching my eye during the search party!

I wish that I had tie back tops in every color and pattern imaginable. They look so sweet from the front, but daring as soon as your back is turned. The best thing about them, though, is that my back tattoos finally get their day in the sun! I remember when I first tried this shirt on in the dressing room and I was feeling my damn self. That feeling has never left and I felt so good as soon as I put it on. The palette, gingham, and delicate floral pattern create such a fun take on summer classics. And, although I was still feeling a bit disappointed that my original plan didn’t come to fruition, I was starting to perk up.

The tie back top was begging to be paired with blue jean shorts and instead of my usual mid rise, I went with a pair of high waisted shorts. This was most flattering because the shorts hit exactly where the crop in the top ended. TMI, but I was on the rag when I shot this look and was feeling bloated so a high rise was a simple fix. The distressing on the front also helped add some edge to the look against the cute as can be top.

With the base of the outfit settled, it was time for shoes and accessories. Normally, selecting shoes is something that I don’t even think about. This time around, however, was a bit of a struggle. The one pair that I would have loved to wear is broken beyond repair and I hang onto them because I refuse to throw them out. My collection of platforms wouldn’t work either because they all feature a high ankle strap. Finally, I decided on my army green heeled sandals by Guess. After putting them on, I don’t know why I didn’t choose them right from the jump. They didn’t interfere with my leg line and the green served as a cool and different neutral against the red and blue base.

Accessories were next on the agenda and I already knew which earrings I wanted to wear; My rain cloud pair from my BFF for my birthday! They are such a gorgeous statement piece and the movement they make is unmatched to anything else I own. I LERVE them so much! Since almost all of my tattoos were visible and the earrings were so bold, I put on a few bracelets and that was that!

I admit that even though I liked this outfit in its completion, I still wasn’t fully feeling myself. It wasn’t until Johnny’s jaw dropped when I walked down the stairs that I realized this outfit was a banger! He told me I looked like Daisy Duke and played the Dukes of Hazzard theme song on the guitar and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. And, yes, I was definitely feeling myself afterwards! 😀

Has any of your favorite clothes gone missing? Where did it turn up? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul4

Sarah’s Sanity Update

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Sarah’s Sanity Update

Whatsup everyone and Happy Fourth Of July to those that celebrate! So this past week I finally met with a new psychiatrist after I had a disappointing falling out with my old pill pusher of seven years. Long story short, my final appointment with her resulted in me walking out and her never refilling my prescriptions. This ended up being a major shit show because I desperately needed my sleeping pills and antidepressants refilled because my prescription was almost gone. I only had about two days worth of medicine at the time and then I was donezo until I could get someone to fill my prescription. Multiple phone calls were made to my old psychiatrist’s office but she never followed through and at that point I was fresh out of my pills. I’ve been on a very high dose of Trazodone for years because I literally can’t sleep without it and I’ve been on Effexor for close to a year for depression and anxiety. And because my doctor was an asshole, I was without my medicine for almost an entire week….It was legitimately the worst time of my life.

I think people think that I’m exaggerating when I say that I can’t sleep without my pills – but I can’t sleep without my pills. In the five days that I was without my Trazodone I probably slept a total of twelve hours or less. It’s that bad. Some nights I was up all night, other nights I was lucky to catch two hours of sleep. It was just so hard because on top of being completely exhausted from little to no sleep, I was starting to feel the effects of medication withdrawal as well. I went from taking my pills every day for years to stopping them completely without weening myself off. This resulted in flu like symptoms and I was basically in zombie mode for five days. It was honestly pretty scary. I felt like a shell of myself. I was so weak and so fucking tired. I looked like a straight up junkie – my eyes looked hollowed out from the dark circles that appeared from lack of sleep and I had no appetite so I was barely eating which made me look very frail and paler than usual. I was a hot, hot mess. Thankfully on day six of no meds, the emergency psychiatrist on call at a local hospital looked through my files and felt comfortable refilling my prescriptions. She was seriously an angel and that first night of being able to sleep again was the most amazing thing in the entire world.

That paragraph doesn’t even begin to describe the physical turmoil and mental exhaustion that my sleepless nights resulted in thanks to my ex-psychiatrist. So when I met with my new one this week and told her about what happened she was extremely sympathetic and began asking me more questions about my sleeping habits. She then diagnosed me with insomnia which was never brought up with my old doctor. I’ve always known that my sleeping problems were more severe than just the occasional sleepless night. Sometimes I can’t sleep even when I do take my medicine, which is enough Trazodone to knock out a horse. It was very comforting to have my issue diagnosed with an actual name. I never really brought up the “I word” with my old psychiatrist because I figured that after seven years she would have diagnosed me by now. So being seen by someone with a fresh pair of eyes who was able to address the problem within fifteen minutes of meeting me felt awesome. This brings me immense relief because now I know that no matter what psychiatrist I end up at in the next few years I’ll never have to argue to keep my dose of sleeping pills high or have to explain myself about it.

I definitely feel a lot better after meeting with my new psychiatrist and feel very comforted in knowing that I have this new diagnosis in my file now. I really liked my new doctor and am looking forward to my next appointment with her! I hope that all of you are having a fabulous day so far! Are you celebrating the Fourth Of July? Are you up to anything fun this weekend? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah