Tag Archives: blessed

4 Year Celebration!!!

Standard
4 Year Celebration!!!

Hello!!!! lifewithlilred has been going strong since 2014! That’s almost a decade of everyone’s favorite lil redhead in the blogosphere and it is something that I am very proud of. Several years back, I decided that I wanted my page to have fresh content daily and I have stuck with it. Huge shout out to being able to schedule posts because that definitely helps the cause! This past weekend, I ran my calculations because I am currently on day 1,474 of daily content which makes….

An over four year streak!!!!!!

I knew that I was having a good run with publishing every day on lifewithlilred, but I had no idea that it was that good. Writing almost every morning feels so natural to me that it’s something that I don’t think too much about anymore. Knowing that over four years ago, I set a goal and I have been achieving it for that long feels awesome. It also makes me even more dedicated to continuing the quest for daily content because how could I mess up a streak like that?! That would suck lol.

Despite such a lengthy tenure in the blogosphere, I still get writer’s block and feel uninspired from time to time too. However, having so many amazing friends that I have made tuning in serves as the best inspiration of all. If it wasn’t for all of these fantastic friends and readers alike, I think I would have given up on daily content a long time ago. So, thank you all for helping me achieve my goal. I love you!! ❤

What are some of your blogging goals? What is your favorite thing about your blog? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Many Thanks!!!!!!!!

Standard
Many Thanks!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone!!!! Wednesday was my 29th birthday and I spent the day at The Shear Shop getting my mop taken care of and it was the best. I haven’t had my hair done since the beginning of the year due to the craziness in my life and it was a MUCH needed and deserved treat. I also got my nails done on Thursday morning so look out because your girl is feeling her damn self! Keep it locked with your favorite Lil Red blogger to see my transformation coming soon in a new OOTD post!

Finally taking the time for me was just what the doctor ordered. And, I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who reached out with birthday wishes! My phone, blog, Instagram, Facebook, and email was blowing up with notifications from all of my darling family, friends, and readers and it meant the world. I have been struggle bussing hard lately and the fact that so many people took the time out of their day to think about me was overwhelming in the most wonderful way. ❤

Although Johnny and I won’t be having a big birthaversary party this year, there are still some fun plans happening and I’m really looking forward to them! I can’t wait to hit the pool with my nieces next week and have a slumber party with my bestie, Lea, in her brand new house. Johnny and I will also STILL be playing hella Diablo IV and will be penciling in a lunch or dinner date too. Hey, it’s not just a birthday but a birth month! 😀

It has been hard to feel special recently with all of my current hardships and I can’t thank everyone enough for helping me feel that way on my big day! It means more to me than all of you will ever know. ❤

What do you like to do to celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate all birth month long? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Musings From A Hospital

Standard
Musings From A Hospital

Hello!!!! My darling best friend/Gemini Twin, Kate, of Live In The Nautical and I have so many similar things about us that it’s honestly insane. We both come from funeral home families, we are both former figure skaters, have the same birth month, and share a passion for fashion, musicals, and movie magic. The one thing that I desperately hoped we would not share twinship in is a loved one being in poor health, but here we are.

From the hospital, we have been texting nonstop about the similarities from the Cleveland Clinic and her stomping grounds in North Conway and I guess we are twinsies in that way too. Obviously, we are both incredibly grateful for the wonderful care our loved ones are receiving, these are just the petty things that make us laugh during a tough time. I am genuinely curious – has anyone noticed some of these things in the hospitals in your neck of the woods or is it just us?

Really Crappy Art:

Okay, I will be the first to admit that the Cleveland Clinic has some awesome art installations. Having said that, there is some art hanging throughout the hospital that is not the best. I hate to be judgy but some of it looks like my four year old niece could have made it and the art in the outer ICU was arguably the worst. The art in the other areas of the hospital, I get it. BUT, you would think they would show out a bit in the ICU when people are going through the literal worst time of their lives! SMH.

Really Uncomfortable Chairs:

Ah, yes. Hospital chairs – SO uncomfortable!! From the rooms in the hospital to the waiting rooms and family areas scattered throughout the floors, the chairs are not great. Are we expecting a plush armchair? No, even though that would be awesome lol. BUT, the lack of padding on all of them makes it so hard to get settled – especially when you are posted up there for a while. Also, all of the wall length benches tend to have dividers on them, like the evil tactics used to keep homeless people from sleeping. So, long story short, any hope of giving your poor back a break is simply out of the question. SMH.

Really Lackluster Vending Machine Selection:

Lol, okay, I get it. We are in a hospital and junk food isn’t going to be pushed in vending machines. BUT, come on!!! Sometimes, you just need that comforting sugar rush or salty snack and they are nowhere to be found!! The vending machine selection in the family room in the ICU was one of the saddest displays I have ever seen. It was basically trail mix, Almond Joys, York Peppermint Patties, chapstick, and bottled water. Major shout out to my diabetic dad because he now keeps a candy stash on him for that reason and it comes in handy. What can I say, we love a Hershey and Heath bar! SMH.

Really Amazing Staff:

Like I said above, Kate and I were cracking up from the little things that are so similar in the hospitals states away from each other that we are spending a lot of time at. We aren’t Gemini Twins for nothing! BUT, the staff at both of the hospitals are just fantastic and the gratitude we feel is unmatched. Every time I visit the Cleveland Clinic, I joke that I’m the mayor because I can’t walk anywhere without running into someone who has helped my family in some way shape or form. That sense of community puts me at some semblance of ease even at the most stressful times, as does knowing my loved one is in the best hands. The Cleveland Clinic staff has done more for my family than words can say and almost every single one of them holds a very special place in my heart. Not SMH at all! ❤

The next step in mine and Kate’s twinship is for the people we love so much to be in perfect health and we are both eagerly anticipating that day. Until then, her and I will continue to support each other endlessly and, yes, be a bit petty with our musings! 🙂

Can anyone relate to the sentiments above? Do you have an unofficial twin in your life? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Summer Sass OOTD Bloopers

Standard
Summer Sass OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Summer Sass OOTD! I am writing this on a Friday morning in between corralling the bunnies from underneath the couch but TGIF amiright?! I am still working hard at my goal of weekly OOTD posts so keep it locked for a new one soon… The only catch: I have no idea what to wear! Did I mention a few times how much I dislike dressing for summer? Lol. Summer outfits are an interesting challenge, but there was nothing challenging about bypassing these pics for the original post from this look:

Staring into the souls of all of my darling readers ❤

image_50401025(1)

Lumbering around an apartment complex near you!!!

image_50423041(5)image_50422529(5)

I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

image_50397185(6)

Gazing up flirtatiously beneath my bangs that desperately need cut 😉

image_50387969(3)

My “wtf” face about the conversation some youngsters were having when they walked by

image_50420993(5)

Lol, YIKES

image_50429697(7)

I feel like I was really feeling myself in this shot *face palm*

image_50411265(4)

Although I am not a summer fan whatsoever, there has been one GREAT improvement from summers’ past. That being, mine and Johnny’s bigger apartment. Johnny and I currently reside in Timber Bottom at the base of Timber Top, but our old place in Timber Middle was the freaking worst. It wasn’t the lack of space at the first apartment that sucked, but the lack of air conditioning that made it absolutely unbearable in the summertime.

At our old apartment, we had one rickety old AC unit that was high up in the loft. It just so happened to be at the exact same level of a window way above our door, essentially counteracting anything that the AC barely did. During the summer, it was miserable and the apartment was our own personal sweat lodge. Portable fans did nothing and the space wouldn’t start cooling down until after it got dark, making for very long summers, indeed.

At our new apartment, we have a functional AC unit and it has been working like a dream! In fact, as I write this, I feel chilly and the only way I would get that feeling at Apartment One was by sticking my head in the freezer for a few minutes lol. Our place has us feeling like icy royalty even on 90 degree days and that is not a blooper at all. The only one being, the fact that there is currently a raccoon sitting on our balcony and eating trash from a dumpster. Well, not everything can be perfect!

Although dressing in the summer doesn’t thrill me, it is hoodie temperature inside and for that I am thankful. Keep it posted on lifewithlilred for all of the daily content, fun, and future updates on the raccoon who has turned our balcony into its favorite snack spot lol SMH.

What kind of wildlife is in your neck of the woods? What is your perfect indoor and outdoor temperature? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

Standard
Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

Hello everyone and Happy Mother’s Day!!!! Today, we celebrate all of the amazing moms around the world and I like to think of this as my first Mother’s Day now that I have Melvin and Penelope lol. Hey, they are the closest thing Johnny and I will ever get to having kids! Of course, the real star of the day is my wonderful, beautiful, fantastic, strong, hilarious, and every good adjective that I can think of mom. ❤

mom6mom5mom4

My mom is my ride or die, A1 bestie. I am literally obsessed with her and we are typically in constant contact throughout the day because she shares the same sentiments about yours truly. We end up missing each other as soon as I leave the room or hang up the phone! My mom is a true class act and handles every difficulty life hands her with the utmost strength, grace, and resilience. She is a fighter, warrior, and the best mom; being her daughter is an absolute gift and I feel proud of that every single minute of every day. I love her so much I can hardly stand it! ❤

I would not be the person, friend, wife, and business owner that you all know and love without my mom guiding, supporting, and cheering me on every step of the way. We are each other’s own personal cheerleaders and I always know who to go to when I have exciting news, need a kind word, or just want to chat about nothing. The bond I share with my mom is something that I am eternally grateful for and I wish I could shrink her cute little self and carry her around in my pocket all day. Lol, is that weird? 😀

My mom deserves to be celebrated every day and I cannot wait to create more memories with my partner in crime by my side. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you and I love you, mom, more than words can say!

What is something special about your mom? What is your favorite memory with your mom? MOMS!! I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

 

Cleveland (Clinic) Rocks!

Standard
Cleveland (Clinic) Rocks!

Hello! In the greater Akron area, there is honestly not too much to do lol. For the people who think Ohio is basically just corn; you’re spot on! In fact, the most exciting thing that has happened was a literal dumpster fire outside of my apartment this past winter SMH. Having said that, there are tons of perks to living in my neck of the woods and that includes being about forty-five minutes away from Cleveland. Of course, I love my outings at Playhouse Square, but the most important thing is being close to some of the best medical care on planet Earth: the Cleveland Clinic.

For the past two months and change, I have essentially been living at the Cleveland Clinic as a loved one has been a long term patient. I now consider my family to be a CC staple and jokingly call ourselves the mayors of the Clinic every day. It never gets old! Although this current situation in my life isn’t great, we take immense comfort in knowing our loved one has access to treatment from the absolute best doctors, nurses, and staff.

99.99% of the people we have interacted with that are employed by the Clinic have been nothing short of amazing. This doesn’t just go for the doctors and nurses, but everyone from maintenance to housekeeping, the art and music therapists and anyone in between. My family is always greeted with smiles, chit chat, and the pleasantries that make us feel a bit more at ease in a difficult time. One of the things that I adored was this sweet surprise in my loved one’s room compliments of the housekeeping staff and I got to take it home in honor of Mel and Pen:

image_67148545(1)image_67197185

^^^ Seriously, how cute is that?!

Saying that we are eternally grateful to the Cleveland Clinic is the most severe understatement of the century. They have done more for my family than words can say and have been with us through each hardship as if they were our family too. My life has been turned upside down and on its head this past year, but being around the CC staff who I now interact with as old friends makes things a little easier. We are in awe of everyone’s expertise and will never forget everything that they have done around the clock to help our loved one. They are all angels on Earth and as much as I enjoy their company, I’ll be happy when I never have to see them again lol. 🙂

Life has been rough for Lil Red for a while now, but I can’t think of a better place for my loved one to be than the Cleveland Clinic. Like the Olive Garden, when you’re at the CC, you’re family too!

What is a great thing about where you live? What is something that you can only find 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

Merry Christmas!!

Standard
Merry Christmas!!

Hello everyone and a very Merry Christmas to you!! Whatever holiday you celebrate this winter season, I hope that all of you have been having the best time enjoying great company and food and making wonderful memories. This is the eighth holiday season that I have had the pleasure of wishing good cheer to my dear friends and readers throughout the blogosphere and it never gets old. Each and every one of you are the reason why I get up extra early to write every morning and my page would not be what it is without that constant motivation. You are all so amazing!

I’m sure all of you have family gatherings to attend and gifts to open so I will keep this post short and sweet. I just wanted to personally send my well wishes to you and yours for a fantastic holiday season and prosperous new year. Thank you for being my friend and for taking the time out of your days to keep up with Lil Red. I love you all!

Merry Christmas!! ❤

image_50735105(1)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Standard
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! The holiday season is now in full swing and I am so thankful to be able to share in it with all of you for the eighth year in a row. Normally, Thanksgiving is my freaking JAM. A family meal with all of my favorite foods makes for a very happy me. However, that will not be in the cards this year because it has been a very tough few months for my family and we will be missing someone at the table until she is able to come home. Rather than feast, I will be spending my day being incredibly thankful that that special someone is on the mend and will be back really soon. Although the food is important to me (lol), feeling #blessed on Thanksgiving is what the day is all about and I’ll be doing that in spades. ❤

Holidays are such a special, joyous time and it can be hard when they don’t feel that way. If that is the case for you too, then we can look forward to better days ahead together. If that is not the case for you, then please take some time out of your day to feel thankful for it. While my stomach won’t be full of my beloved green bean casserole (Hate all you want!!), my heart will be bursting at the seams for all of the good that has happened and will be coming up soon.

Thank you to all of my sweet lifewithlilred family for being a reason why I will be smiling today. My message to you today is that even when things suck massively – there is always a reason to smile. No matter how you spend the day, have a very Happy Thanksgiving and I am thankful for each and every one of you! Much love. -Sarah

Thankful For Bloopers

Standard
Thankful For Bloopers

Hello!! I don’t know about all of you, but when it comes to pictures on my phone, I am basically a hoarder. I never delete anything and never really thought about it until taking pictures for my New Hair, Who Dis? OOTD. While Johnny was snapping away at one last location, he said “Oh no” and I thought that someone might have been in the shot. Rather, every influencer’s nightmare came true when he told me my phone was out of memory. It had me feeling pretty much like this:

image_50397185(3)

Thankfully, this breach in storage happened at the end of the photo shoot and I knew that I would have to have a major deleting session. At first, the delete-athon was fairly easy because duplicates and screen shots of things that I would never buy was a good place to start. However, it just wasn’t good enough. So, I began to delete apps that I never used and that helped moderately but not enough too.

I realized that I would have to start deleting pictures with a less discerning eye and began the process of deleting blooper OOTD shots. And, in that moment, I was SO. Freaking. Glad. that I began the blooper reel segment from my OOTDs this past January. Without posting these shots that definitely didn’t make the cut, they would have been gone forever!

I truly do think that it is important to show what goes on behind every fabulous photo that I share in each OOTD post. I am far from perfect and unless you’re a professional super model, a lot of your shots are probably going to end up like this:

image_50401537(4)

^^^ Lol.

Not only do I think that these outtakes are encouraging for other bloggers, I also think that they are just hilarious. Johnny and I love to look back at the blooper shots and have a laugh and I hope that the same goes for all of you. It seemed like such a shame for no one to see this pure comedy gold and I think that it is refreshing when people poke some good old fashioned fun at themselves. It makes me feel like this:

image_50421249(4)

Although a majority of my bloopers are no more on my phone, they are here forever on lifewithlilred and that’s good enough for me. Long live the blooper reel!

What is your favorite segment on lifewithlilred? What are the first things you delete when your phone runs out of space? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Eight Year Blogiversary, lifewithlilred!

Standard
Happy Eight Year Blogiversary, lifewithlilred!

Hello everyone!! On September 13th, lifewithlilred celebrated its Eight Year Blogiversary!! As I mentioned before, I had totally forgot about it so you could imagine my surprise when I got that notification lol. For almost an entire decade now, I have carved out a little niche of the internet for lifestyle, fashion, and fun and I am so proud of that. For the past several years, I have also been posting daily content and that is such a huge personal accomplishment too.

For eight years, my wonderful readers have been with me for so many milestones. Graduating college, new jobs, nieces and nephews being born, and getting married just to name a few. All of these moments were special but they were even better because I got to celebrate them with each and every one of you. Even the not so great stuff seems easier to bear when I can go to my page and vent about it!

Every single morning, I am excited to sit down and write before going to work and I couldn’t imagine a day without checking in. I have made so many dear friends through the blogosphere, which was a main goal of starting my page in the first place. Everything else just seems like an amazing cherry on top and I feel very lucky.

I am so thankful to all of you who have been tuning in with me for years or who have just discovered lifewithlilred today. This blog is just as much for you as it is for me. So, keep sticking around and I can’t wait to see what kind of fun we can get into – especially with my decade Blogiversary just two years away! I love you all so much and thank you for being a part of what makes lifewithlilred so special. ❤

Happy Eight Year Blogiversary, lifewithlilred!! ❤