Tag Archives: birthday

Apr28

Birthday Beauty Wish List

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Birthday Beauty Wish List

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! The month of April is a time when I get really excited about my upcoming birthday on June 7th. Three birthdays fall in succession in my family – my mom’s on March 22nd, followed by my dad’s on April 6th, and my sister’s on April 8th. So needless to say, birthday fever has got a hold on me like you couldn’t believe. I love birthdays. I love giving gifts to friends and family and of course, I. LOVE. PRESENTS!!!

True story, all my boyfriend had to do this weekend was mention that he ordered some of my birthday presents and it turned into forty-eight hours straight of poor Kyle having to listen to me ask twenty-one questions about my gifts. I hate surprises and I hate waiting so the fact that I have to wait over a whole month to see my birthday gifts killed me! If there’s one thing that soothes my birthday fever though, it’s making a list and checking it twice. Therefore, I created my Birthday Beauty Wish List to hang proudly on my refrigerator to give all of my family members a not so subtle hint on what to get me. Check it out:

Beautiful Sarah’s Birthday Wish List:

(^^^ Lol that’s how I labeled it!)

  • Cash money
  • Good but cheap cleansers
  • Good but cheap moisturizers
  • St. Ives tea tree, apricot, oatmeal, and pink mandarin and lemon scrubs
  • The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost
  • The Body Shop Brush on Radiance, Ref. #63691
  • The Body Shop blushes, shades 05 Bubblegum and 01 Macaroon
  • Covergirl mascaras in the darkest shade possible
  • Covergirl Liquiline Blast eyeliner in the darkest shade possible
  • Maybeline Dream Bouncy blush shade 05 Fresh Pink
  • Wet n’ Wild eyebrow pencil shade 604A A Taupe Of The Mornin’
  • Vidal Sassoon’s Runway Red hair dye

On my birthday and Christmas, I almost always ask for a restock of all of my must have beauty products. To me, there is nothing better than receiving a box full of beauty goodies because then I don’t have to buy my most loved products by myself! It’s a win/win because I know exactly what I want so it makes gift giving to yours truly an easy and relatively painless process!

For my birthday, I’d love to have a garden style party because I have a really big backyard. My family has badminton, croquet, and bocci ball set up and I feel like those are some of the perfect ingredients to having a super classy and fun birthday bash. I picture cute little appetizer food, teas, and mimosas for the menu as well as a big fruit salad for dessert. I also would love to have some type of water activity like water balloons or squirt guns in case it’s really hot out. Hopefully I have enough friends to make it a success. 😉

So there you have it, my Birthday Beauty Wish List! How would you throw a perfect garden party? What are some must haves for my possible birthday bash? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr9

Versatile Blogger Award #2

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Versatile Blogger Award #2

Hellooo everyone and happy weekend! Last week I was nominated by my friend, Teressina, over at teressinascrive for my second Versatile Blogger Award. I’m finally getting around to posting it and I’m just pleased as punch. I am so appreciative to everyone for the awards that I’ve been nominated for as of late so muchos gracias to all of you. Also, please be sure to check out Teressina’s page, it’s a real gem! Thank you so much, darling! With all of the blogging awards comes a set of rules to follow so take a look and then let’s get to it:

The Rules:

  • Show the award on my blog.
  • Thank the person who nominated me.
  • Share 7 things about myself.
  • Nominate 10 blogs.

All About Me:

  1. The most recent exciting thing in my life is that I got a summer internship at my school! Tri-C offered me three different internships and unfortunately I only could pick one but I went with working in the Learning Commons. I can’t wait to spend my summer semester working on campus and am looking forward to all of the experience that comes with it!
  2. I turn 22 on June 7th and I really want to get a bunny for my birthday! A female, jet black, dwarf rabbit to be specific. 😉
  3. My guilty pleasure television shows are My 600 Lb. Life and Botched.
  4. I seriously despised high school but college is literally my favorite thing in the world.
  5. My go to drink at the bar is a Vodka Sour or a Mojito if I’m feeling saucy. But I would much prefer just staying at home and drinking a cheap bottle of wine. My boyfriend and I call my favorite super sweet wine “Princess Juice”.
  6. I love to read and have finally jumped on the bandwagon that is The Hunger Games. I’m halfway through Catching Fire and I’m freaking obsessed.
  7. Shopping is my sport of choice and my favorite stores are easily H&M, Forever 21, TJMaxx, and Target.

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

So there you have it, lifewithlilred’s second Versatile Blogger Award! Thanks again to Teressina at teressinascrive for the nomination! What are some fun facts about yourself? Does anyone have any big weekend plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr8

Happy Birthday, Sissy!!

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Happy Birthday, Sissy!!

Hello everyone and TGIF! In the past couple of weeks there have been a lot of birthdays in my family! Both of my parents and now my sister who turns twenty-four today! I refer to my big sister/best friend/soulmate, Kristen, frequently here on lifewithlilred so now it’s time to give her some birthday loving! Let’s do this thing:

Happy birthday to the best sister in the world…MINE. I love you so much, Kristen, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you this weekend! Thank you for all of the late night Taco Bell runs, borrowing my clothes without asking, and always providing me with a laugh or support when I need it. You are the bravest, strongest, most beautiful gal I know and I’m so happy that we share DNA with each other! I can’t wait to continue adding on to our endless list of memories and adventures now that you’re the big 2-4. You are beyond my best friend and I hope that you have the best day in the whole world! ❤

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❤ HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRISTEN!! ❤

Apr7

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

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Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! Yesterday was a very special day because it was my handsome, fantastic, hunky father’s birthday!! My dad is not a big fan of celebrating birthdays, as he so optimistically puts, “it’s another year closer to the grave”. BUT, that isn’t going to stop me from creating a loving blog post about him anyways:

So here’s to you, dad. You are a real stand up guy and I love you so much! You plan the best vacations, you’re great at making oven pizza and spaghetti, and you always know how to make me laugh! I am the luckiest gal in the world because I get to say that you’re my dad! I hope you had fun on your special day even though you treated it just like any other one. I also hope that you enjoy the season DVDs of the TV show, Fargo, that I got for you because I know how much you liked the series and the movie and I can’t wait to watch them together. Happy birthday!! ❤

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❤ I LOVE YOU, DAD!! ❤

Mar23

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

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Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! Yesterday was a very special day because it was my mom’s birthday!! I am so lucky to have the best mom in the whole wide world and I love her so much. She is the smartest, funniest, bravest, most beautiful person that I know and I’m privileged to be able to call her mom! I hope your new year is filled with nothing but happiness because if anyone deserves it, it’s you. Take a look at us being cute and then be sure to give my mom some happy birthday loving:

momm

^^^ When we took these pics, my madre said that she wasn’t “selfie material”. I say FALSE!!!!

❤ Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!! ❤

Mar22

Bath & Body Works March Freebie

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Bath & Body Works March Freebie

Howdy everyone and happy Tuesday! As all of you know, I live for my monthly freebie from Bath & Body Works. Thanks to their coupons that I receive like clockwork each month, I get to select another goodie to add to my stock pile (which was featured on yesterday’s post!). Usually, I pick out a travel sized lotion for my monthly treat – but this time, I decided to switch things up. My trip to Bath & Body Works resulted in a shower gel this time, so take a look at my selection and then let’s discuss:

gel1

As you can see, I went with the Love & Sunshine shower gel this time around. Why the sudden switch up? Well, I already have the Love & Sunshine lotion so I decided to grab the matching body wash. My sister’s birthday is coming up soon and I thought that a shower gel and lotion set would be a nice little addition to her many presents that I selected. The lotion just doesn’t seem complete without its travel size shower gel counterpart!

I was going in blind to my most recent visit to B&BW – nose blind, that is. I snagged my freebie right in the midst of one of the worst colds of my life and I couldn’t smell anything. I couldn’t even smell the lotions that I already had stockpiled to determine which gel I should get to match. I remembered really liking the floral and slightly fruity Love & Sunshine, though, so I figured that it would be a safe bet to go with. I’ve never used the shower gel from B&BW but I can imagine that it’s really nice, as far as gels go!

My sister isn’t huge on Bath & Body Works products but a travel size gel and lotion set seems just right to counter her ambivalence. I plan on tying the two products together with a bow and tossing it into one of her gifts from her fabulous little sister! A ten dollar add on to her presents and it didn’t cost me a penny. Thanks, B&BW!

So there you have it, my Bath & Body Works March Freebie! What store gives away the best coupons or freebies? Have you shopped any great sales lately? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct19

Monday Update: Birthday Fun Edition

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Monday Update: Birthday Fun Edition

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday! So this weekend was kind of a big deal because of October 17th which is both my boyfriend’s and my brother’s birthday! I had the best time celebrating with my man this weekend and enjoyed some mother daughter time when she helped me prep Kyle’s birthday dinner. Sorry that I was away without warning, BTW, because I like to give you guys notice when I’m not going to have a Saturday post of some kind! But I’m back from being birthday MIA so let’s discuss:

My oldest brother, Peter, celebrated his 28th birthday but unfortunately he lives in Atlanta, Georgia so I didn’t get to ring in his new year with him. So this weekend it was all about the boyfriend who turned the big 2-7. Besides from some awesome gifts (if I do say so myself), I wanted to cook him a special dinner too so before I headed to Canton for the weekend my mom helped me with something that I deemed a “must”: a fresh loaf of French bread to go with a Fettuccine Alfredo dish.

My mom is an incredible bread baker and has been doing it for forever. I can remember watching her bake and knead her loaves of bread when I was younger but could never do it quite like her. That was about to change this weekend though because my mama dearest walked me through how to bake my own French bread and it turned out amazing! My mom was an awesome teacher and I liked how she explained the process to me rather than doing it for me so I felt like I was still the one making the bread. She taught me how to knead the dough and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy I found it because I remember it being so hard when I was younger! According to mi madre, I’m a natural and here’s how my French bread turned out:

bwead

While my bread baked I whipped up a quick chocolate lava cake as well and left shortly after everything was baked to perfection. I loaded up my car with gifts, an overnight bag, dinner ingredients, my cake, and my bread on a cooling rack and headed to Canton. The thing about bread is that it can’t go into a bag until it’s completely cool and my mom refused to let my first time bread creation go soggy so she insisted that I drive with the naked loaf on a cooling rack. I was SO terrified to drive quickly or break heavily for the fear of the baguette flying off the rack. Lucky for me, my bread baby sat just fine and we made it to Kyle’s in one piece!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kyle’s brother, sister-in-law, and their two children on Friday night and then we went home for gift opening and Dexter watching. Unfortunately on Saturday Kyle had to work for half of his birthday but during that time I was able to finish some homework, get an article edited, and spend some quality time with Kyle’s mom. Once the evening rolled around I started cooking a surprisingly easy Fettuccine Alfredo recipe that I found online. It turned out nice and creamy and my bread was delicious, if I do say so myself!

After dinner, we were going to see Crimson Peak but we were both so full and sleepy after our Italian meal that we ended up just lounging around for the night. But seeing the movie is on our agenda for when I see Kyle next! I had such a lovely weekend with my beau and it was such a joy to meet his brother and his family!

^^^ This one’s for you, Kyle!!! Happy birthday to both of my favorite boys!!!! ❤

I have a lot of exciting posts coming up in the near future including an article for a dear friend’s Trades Of Hope store and a piece for a wonderful musician fresh out of Kent, Ohio – John Patrick Halling. Keep your eyes peeled for those as well as all of the usuals throughout the week like #WCW and my American Horror Story reviews! Until then, how was everyone’s weekend? Did anyone else have some events worth celebrating? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug31

Monday Update: Follow Up Edition

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Monday Update: Follow Up Edition

Helloooo everyone and welcome to the newest Monday Update: Follow Up Edition. I’m writing this update to bring you all of the news on events that I’ve mentioned in previous posts, so let’s get to it so I can keep all of you lovelies up to date on the life of Lil Red!

In last week’s Monday Update, I mentioned that I had an audition for a play called The Boys Next Door, and unfortunately I did not get a part – but I knew I wasn’t going to. Allow me to explain. The play features only one female character so the competition was going to be stiff to begin with, but frankly, I wasn’t even considered competition. I rolled into the audition only to be surrounded by men aged forty-five and up who were trying out for the show. With most of these guys doubling my age, it’s obvious why I didn’t get a part, especially when the female character is a love interest. I’m all for an odd couple, but a pairing of a twenty-something along with someone pushing fifty just wouldn’t look right.

Despite the realization that I wasn’t going to get the part as soon as I walked into the theater, I still gave it my best shot and did very well. I made the director and the auditioners laugh and I really do think that I made a lasting impression. I’m glad that I’ve never been one to throw in the towel during situations like that because my audition was very strong, so maybe I’ll come to the director’s mind when he’s working on a show with a more suitable character for me. If a staggering age gap was not an evident issue, I think I would have been a little disappointed over not getting the part. Lucky for me, I had nothing to be sad about because I knew from the get go that being cast for the show was impossible. Regardless, it was a great experience and an awesome little audition to get me back into the spirit of entering back into the theater circuit!

If you’re familiar with my site, then you’ll know that it was my best friend, Lea’s, birthday this past week! My darling girl turned the big 2-1, so we went barhopping in Kent, Ohio to celebrate. We had the best time doing shots and throwing back fruity drinks to our hearts content. Lea had a great twenty-first birthday outing, therefore, I had a great time too. All I wanted was for her twenty-first birthday celebration to be better than mine and we definitely exceeded that goal! Take a look at how cute we are:

leaaa

In other news, I have a really special post in the archives that will be published hopefully within the week featuring a ukulele strumming duo, Recipe of Life. The sweet girls of ROL, Shelby and Ariel, are a force to be reckoned with straight out of Stow, Ohio and I can’t wait for you guys to hear them! Their music is the epitome of beachy fun, so make sure you keep your eyes and ears pealed for it!

Annnnnd to conclude this Monday Update filled with exciting follow ups, I can tell you that things with my boyfriend, Kyle, are just dandy! 🙂

^^^ This basically sums up how I’m feeling, minus the cocaine. 😉

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Follow Up Edition! How was everyone’s weekend? What are you most looking forward to this week? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug25

Happy 21st Birthday, Best Friend!

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Happy 21st Birthday, Best Friend!

Hellooooo everyone and happy Tuesday! Tomorrow is a very special day because it’s my darling best friend, Lea’s, 21st birthday! Lea and I have been waiting to be 21 together since our friendship began over seven years ago and now that moment is almost here! Some of my all time favorite memories have been with my sweet girl, so take a look at some cute pics and then enjoy a BFF love letter from yours truly:

bff1bff2bff3

Dear Lea,

Happy birthday, my pretty princess! Words can’t even describe how lucky I am to have you as my best friend. From our humble beginnings as little high school freshmen to our full on adventures as freshly turned twenty-one year olds, growing up with you by my side has been something I’m forever grateful for. I’ll never forget this one time when we were both having boy problems a year or so ago and I called you in tears. I came over to your house, we got ice cream, and we laid in bed for hours complaining about how much boys suck. But then something really cool happened – our whining turned into laughter. After we had our fill of chocolate ice cream and moping we got super silly and ended up having a blast. The fact that we can turn a not so great situation into us laughing until we cry really says a lot about our friendship. (That it’s perfect…just like us!)

Throughout our BFF saga, you have instilled such a joy for life in me that I didn’t know was possible. I am so confident that our friendship will only continue to grow and blossom and I can’t wait to see what our futures have in store for us. You are the epitome of beautiful inside and out. Not only do you have such a gorgeous heart but you’re also a real stunner too! Lucky me! 😉 I love you so much Lea, and I hope you have the best birthday in the world because you deserve nothing less! Love, Sarah ❤

I hope everyone is having an awesome day so far! Do any of you have a birthday coming up? What was your favorite birthday celebration? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! And make sure you send Miss Lea some birthday shout outs! Much love. -Sarah

Jul10

If The Shoe Fits – Carlos Santana Edition

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If The Shoe Fits – Carlos Santana Edition

Heyy everyone and TGIF! This issue of If The Shoe Fits is brought to you by my knee high Carlos Santana gladiator sandals! These beauties were a gift from my sister for my twenty-first birthday and it’s safe to say it was one of the best presents I’ve received in my life! Take a look at my knee highs and then let’s discuss:

gladiatorg2

^^^ I LOVE THEM!!!

About a year ago I developed an obsession for wanting a pair of knee high gladiator sandals which probably sprung from a picture in Vogue or somewhere or another. I searched high and low on different websites for the perfect pair but none of them seemed to cut it – they all looked so cheap and costume-y. Finally in my quest for the sandals I stumbled upon a lovely pair on http://www.shoedazzle.com but the shoes I lusted after so much were sold out! I was heart broken. After that experience last year I had given up on my dream of being a proud owner of knee high gladiators. Usually I’m never one to throw in the towel when I want something but finding a pair worthy of my ownership seemed impossible after my shoedazzle catastrophe. Luckily, on my twenty-first the impossible became a tangible reality thanks to my big sis!

Two days before my birthday outing, my sister Kristen and I were browsing around at the mall. As we aimlessly window shopped we passed by a Journey’s and a pair of mid calf gladiators caught my eye. I walked into the store and pointed them out to my sister and she immediately made her classic sour face and said “those are ugly…but do you like them in black or brown?” At that point I had a sinking suspicion that new sandals were on the horizon for me for my birthday and I could barely contain my excitement!! I begged my sister to tell me what she got for me but she wouldn’t budge! I kept flip flopping in my mind of what my gift was because I hadn’t mentioned my desire for knee high gladiators in a long time. It was very possible that she didn’t know that I still wanted a pair desperately. No matter what my gift was the anticipation was killing me!!!

Finally, on the night of my birthday get together my sister presented me with a HUGE red box with a pretty gold paisley pattern on it. Could it be? The sandals that I’ve yearned for for SO long? I pulled off the lid of the box and there they were in all of their glory! They were simply gorgeous and I couldn’t wait until I got home to try them on so I took my shoes off in the middle of Olive Garden and slipped them on…The Carlos Santana’s fit like a glove and they are light years better than the pair that I wanted to order off of shoedazzle. These gladiators are edgy, cool, and exactly what I wanted. Kristen seriously hit the nail right on the head with this gift!

I’ve enjoyed wearing my gladiators so much this summer! I love pairing them with shorts, body con skirts, and sweet floral dresses. Every time I wear them when I’m out and about I get too many compliments on them to count and I love being able to say, “Thank you! My sister got them for me!”. My Carlos Santana knee high gladiator sandals are the perfect edition to my summer wardrobe and I can’t wait to wear them for many years to come. I adore them for their fashion value but I love them even more because my sister got them for me. Best. Gift. EVER!

So there you have it, the latest edition of If The Shoe Fits – Carlos Santana style! I hope that all of you enjoyed reading this post as much as I did writing it! Now I need your help on deciding what shoe to write about next. Your choices are between Vince Camuto pointed toe ankle booties, army green Guess summer wedges, or Calico primary color kitten heels. I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah