Tag Archives: boots

Sep21

If The Shoe Fits – Fall Haul Edition

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If The Shoe Fits – Fall Haul Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! Today I am concluding my Fall Haul with a brand new If The Shoe Fits article. Amazing shoes are usually the last thing you put on while getting ready but some would argue that they are the most important. So however you see it, it only seems fitting that some fabulous new shoes are what brings the Fall Haul to a close. Take a look at my latest footwear finds from Target and TJMaxx and let’s discuss:

The Haul:

  • Faux Snakeskin Booties: Target, $25
  • Studded Mary Jane Heels: TJMaxx, White Mountain, $25

Target Booties: My mom can serve as witness to the fact that when I saw these beautiful faux snakeskin booties, I literally gasped. I am usually not fond of any type of animal print but I. Love. Snakeskin…Fake, of course. For my birthday, I got a gorgeous Nine West faux snakeskin tote and these booties match my favorite bag exactly. These boots are edgy, cool, perfect for fall, and I got them for a steal. What could be better?

I love snakeskin so much because it is such a fabulous neutral. These booties literally go with everything. A true testament to that is when I paired my boots with a burgundy and floral print dress to wear to school. Instead of looking like I got dressed in the dark that day, I had a look that truly popped thanks to my new boots. Thanks to the gorgeous tans, creams, and greys in the snakeskin pattern, the contrast of the white florals against a deep burgundy dress looked much more severe and eye catching. The look was tied together with my matching tote and I seriously never felt better.

I can’t wait to continue pairing these shoes with unexpected pieces like loud patterned dresses, skirts, and tops because I am so confident that all they will do is enhance the look rather than make the patterns clash. These boots are going to be perfect with everything from jeans to dresses to cute little shorts in the summer. I am so pleased with this purchase and you can follow the link above to get a pair for yourself! #Twinning

TJMaxx Heels: I’m very excited about these sweet little heels because there was a pair on ModCloth that looked identical to them but costed at least eighty dollars more! These shoes aren’t as bold as some of the pairs that I own but I think that’s why I like them so much. I like that they are kind of simple but have edginess in their own right via the studded decal that goes around the shoes.

Unfortunately, the studs brought me a lot of woe but in the end, these shoes were so worth it. The day after I brought my heels home, I noticed that the stud on the middle of the left shoe’s toe was missing. Was it a big deal? No. But it drove me freaking crazy! It isn’t like anyone would ever notice that one stud on the shoe was missing but the fact that I knew that it was there was almost too much for me to handle.

That evening, I went to another TJ’s to see if they had the shoes so I could exchange them and had no luck. Then, I searched my home all over to see if there was anything that I could put in its place and came up with nada. After a few more days of stewing, I finally had it! I would pull a stud off of a super old and grungy pair of combat boots that I never wear and replace the missing stud.

The stud was easy to pull off of the boots because they’re well over four years old but everything after that was a hot mess. It took a good half hour to find super glue that wasn’t dried up completely and once I found one, I could not get it open for the life of me. After minutes of straining, I finally had to walk with my tail between my legs to my dad who got it open on the first try. Awesome.

*Sigh* At least the glue was open! I began to super glue away and the first couple of times didn’t work at all. After about the fourth try, the stud was finally sticking well so I decided to put a few more layers of glue on to make sure that it would stay put for forever. Bad idea. After the additional gluing, my thumbs and index fingers on both hands were glued together completely. I had no idea what to do because this had never happened to me before so I just started trying to pull my fingers apart.

After a few minutes, the glue finally started to give way and I was able to get my fingers separated. But, my god, did it hurt! The one good thing that came out of this story is that my studless shoe finally had a replacement and I no longer had to go crazy thinking about it. However, I think the craziness that I endured to get said stud onto the shoe was worse than just letting the fact that my shoe was missing a stud go! That just shows the great lengths that I will go to for my shoe babies. But hey, if the shoe fits! 😉

So there you have it, my latest issue of If The Shoe Fits – Fall Haul Edition! What is the craziest thing that you’ve ever done for a piece of clothing? How far would you go to fix a pair of shoes that you deeply loved? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug10

ModCloth Haul

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ModCloth Haul

Hey everyone and happy Hump Day! I recently just received the sweetest ModCloth Haul of all time – a box that went up to my shoulders filled with shoes for me! That’s right, I got FOUR pairs of ModCloth shoes for SEVENTY DOLLARS thanks to their end of summer sale. I stocked up on cute boots and killer wedges for a fraction of their original cost. I could not be happier with my purchases so take a look and let’s discuss:

^^^ PRETTY!!!!

My relationship with ModCloth is for the most part, nonexistent. Their prices just do not fit into my Lil Red Lifestyle of ballin on a budget so I just admire all of their gorgeous clothes and accessories from afar. I constantly lust over all of the prettiness that ModCloth has to offer and when the end of summer and winter come around, I religiously check the site to see when their amazing end of season sales take place. Usually around these times, the out of season items are marked down and an additional percentage is taken off, too. So, needless to say, when I learned that ModCloth’s sale items were an extra FORTY PERCENT OFF, homegirl just had to jump on the opportunity.

Jump on the opportunity? Psh, more like a pounce on said opportunity. I scoured the sale items and clicked on anything that tickled my fancy. After all, the prices were right! I ended up with two funky pairs of wedges, a penny loafer wedge, and my beautiful, beloved, gorgeous star studded booties. Said booties are actually what I would like to discuss today because there’s kind of a funny story behind them considering this was the third time that I ordered them. Let me explain…

I’ve been hungrily staring at these amazing booties on my laptop screen for the better part of two months. As soon as they got marked down, my mom generously offered to pay for them as an extra birthday present. As soon as “extra birthday present” traveled from my mom’s mouth and into my ears, I was on the computer and ordering the boots as quickly as my little fingers could. The boots arrived. They were perfect. End of story? Eh, not quite.

Literally three days after my order was placed, the boots were marked down further. *Sigh* So I had to do the old rebuy and return trick to get the better price. The boots arrived, again. They were still perfect. And the more expensive pair got returned. End of story?! Still no.

While browsing the sale pages, there they were. My star studded boots were marked down even further. *You’ve got to be freaking kidding me* Thankfully, I was still within the thirty day time period for a refund and was able to buy the boots one more time and return my current pair. The boots arrived, yet again. You already know that they were perfect. And that is the end of the story. The moral being: That I will do anything to save some extra moolah, even if that means buying the same pair of shoes three times to get the right price. #SMH

I have worn all of my new shoes except for my star booties which is funny considering the trouble I went through to get them. Reason being: It’s too damn hot in the AK-Rowdy to be marching around in skinny jeans and boots. So for the time being, I’ll march around in skinny jeans and wedges instead.

So there you have it, my latest ModCloth Haul! What is your favorite site to online shop on? What is your favorite ModCloth purchase? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. –Sarah

May27

If The Shoe Fits – Jennifer Lopez Edition

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If The Shoe Fits – Jennifer Lopez Edition

Hi everyone and TGIF! Last weekend my mom and I had to go to Kohl’s to make some returns. We were going there strictly to make said returns and then leave. But, of course, that never really happens, does it? While my mom was making the returns, I decided to go look at the shoes. I wasn’t interested in any new clothes since I’m pretty well set for the summer and I figured that the shoe department was a safe place to spend five minutes until we had to go…WRONG.

It turns out that Kohl’s was having their last ditch 80% off sale to get rid of all of the out of season shoes to help ring in the warm weather. As soon as I saw this, I crumbled under the concept of such amazing deals and began to scour the aisles for my size. There were so many pairs that were cute but not necessarily cute for me. However, there were two pairs of ankle booties that totally reminded me of my mom so I set them aside for her to try on when she arrived in the shoe department.

As always, I was right and my mom loved the booties. When we decided that those were the pairs we would leave with, we began to head out of the shoe department and to the registers. But that was until we saw that there were shelves of shoes set up in the middle of the main aisles that were marked “Under $10”. We ended up taking a look (shocker) and found a pair of boots for FOUR DOLLARS for my sister. We also saw my latest addition to my shoe collection – a pair of beautiful Jennifer Lopez wedge boots. Take a look:

^^^ ❤ ❤ ❤

I had my eye on these boots ever since they came out in the winter. Unfortunately, they were priced at a cool one hundred and were never marked down enough to make the purchase worth it. So when I saw that these boots were priced at just ten dollars, I knew that I had to try them on. They were as perfect as I had hoped and looked so cool with my black skinnies because the opening of the boot was so big. It created a super edgy contrast and I was smitten.

As if the ten dollar deal wasn’t already amazing, my mom and I had a thirty percent off coupon which brought these originally one hundred dollar pair of boots to SEVEN DOLLARS!!!! My mom and I ended up walking away with four pairs of shoes for forty dollars. I couldn’t believe our luck with all of the shoes we found because I feel like we snagged the best of the pairs that were left. And, of course, nothing is sweeter than a great steal!

So there you have it, the latest issue of If The Shoe Fits – Jennifer Lopez Edition! Has anyone scored any good off season deals recently? What store do you go to that has the best clothes for the right price? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb25

John Patrick Halling

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John Patrick Halling

Hellooo everyone and welcome to a very special article on lifewithlilred about an extremely talented artist that I had the pleasure of getting to know, Kent, Ohio blues musician, John Patrick Halling. I was lucky enough to sit down for a chat with John Patrick about his most recent tour, his performance style, and some of the corniest jokes you’ll ever hear in your life.

Those who frequent my page will know that I have literally no talent for music. I can’t sing, I can’t play any instruments other than three songs on the guitar, and I also have cried during every concert I’ve ever attended – but that’s neither here nor there. What I’m getting at is that I LOVE talking with musicians because they are skilled at something that I wish I could do. John Patrick was no exception. He was humble and genuine with the quick wit of a seasoned performer. Take a look at part of the interview conducted by yours truly and listen along to the songs we discuss on his website.

Our chat began with some rapid fire questions about John’s most recent two month musical excursion, his Boy in the Water US tour, so let’s get to it:

  • Lil Red: What was your favorite place you traveled to?
  • John Patrick Halling: Well I’m from Kansas City, so playing there was a lot of fun. I loved Asheville, North Carolina which was a cool little hippie city, and Boulder, Colorado too.
  • LR: What was your favorite tourist activity you did?
  • JPH: I liked trying all of the different foods and craft beers, sight seeing, and hiking! I hiked ten to twelve national parks. For two weeks of my travels I hiked from Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon.
  • LR: Favorite restaurant?
  • JPH: Oh, what was it’s name? The Mellow Mushroom. It was in the south. It was wood fired pizzas, there was a lot of vegan and vegetarian options, and a bunch of stuff on the walls…Not in the TGIFridays or Applebee’s way, in the cool way. The Mexican food in New Mexico and Arizona was also out of this world. (So jealous, mama loves Mexican food!)
  • LR: Favorite venue?
  • JPH: It was called the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West Virginia. This place was cool because it had a hostel built into the venue where the performers could stay as well as a crowd that was pretty much built in too from all of the tourists and locals.
  • LR: Where would you like to go again?
  • JPH: Everywhere! Wyoming was beautiful and it was filled with the nicest people – they were exactly how you would picture people from Wyoming to be, in the best way possible. I am bummed that I didn’t make it out west, though.
  • LR: How many shows did you play?
  • JPH: Around thirty…I played to a few empty coffee shops. I also performed at open mics and found a few good places on the streets where I would set up shop and play. Pearl Street in Boulder was great for that and so was San Antonio and Asheville.
  • LR: How many miles did you travel?
  • JPH: I traveled 12,000 miles in two months. But 2,000 of those miles was probably me driving around not knowing where I was going. My GPS system broke down halfway through the trip so I had to buy a road map, which was actually hard to find. I had to map out my routes and rough it and if all else failed, I still had my phone! Being on the road is a glamorous thing.

jph2 jph33

^^^ Pictured above: John striking a pose in the Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming as well as a scenic pic he snapped while driving into Kansas City.

After having a spitfire session about the Boy in the Water tour, John and I moved on to discussing his music, his style, and his future plans for his career. Please don’t think that I use the word spitfire lightly, either. All of the questions above were asked and answered in a little over five minutes. Everyone tells me that I’m a very fast talker and I met my match with John Patrick! Turn his music up and let’s move on:

  • LR: Where did the title for your album Boy in the Water come from? Are you part merman?
  • JPH: Well now the secrets out! I tried a lot of different titles but they were all basic and boring. My cousins and I are big fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and in one of the opening scenes Elizabeth is standing on a boat and she sees Will Turner flailing in the ocean and she says “there’s a boy in the water”. So the album title is a tip of my cap to my family as well as whatever metaphorical symbolism it might mean.
  • LR: What was the first song you learned on the guitar?
  • JPH: “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream and some Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. Since we’re sitting in a Starbucks, I like my coffee how I like my Eric Clapton greatest hits albums, with a little bit of Cream in it!
  • LR: I was a fan of your Hawthorne Heights reference in “If I Would’ve Known”, who are some of your musical influences?
  • JPH: Everything. Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Hendrix. I grew up on 90’s country. I had a Rasta phase in high school where I listened to a lot of Bob Marley. I had my punk phase where I played a bunch of Blink, Simple Plan, and Green Day.
  • LR: Your lyrics are very poetic, have you always liked to write or was that a talent you didn’t know you had?
  • JPH: A little bit of both. I loved history and English classes which involved a lot of writing. I was also always a performer because I’m the middle child who was always striving for attention! I was very into theater in high school and played in quite a few different bands so I think all of these things helped develop my writing style.
  • LR: I thought it was interesting how in “Siren Song” you portrayed the devil as a woman. Is that based on a particular situation?
  • JPH: Kind of, but it also goes back to mythology in general when mermaids would sing their siren songs to tempt men. Women have always been men’s number one vice, asides from beer and cigarettes. But I also feel like I lose myself in relationships very easily. I try to change myself for the person and make myself into what they want me to be instead of finding someone who accepts me for my vices…If that makes sense.
  • LR: It makes perfect sense. Because I have a lot of fashion bloggers tuning in, how would you describe your look when you’re playing a show?
  • JPH: I wear whatever doesn’t smell. No, I’m a big hat guy, I have three or four wide brimmed Brixtons and Stetsons that I love. I also wear a lot of boots. You’ll never see me in shorts though, I’m always in jeans…I woke up like this.
  • LR: You should be a comedian if your music career falls through.
  • JPH: I actually love telling jokes on stage. Why does Peter Pan always fly? Because he never lands. That joke never gets old. It’s got a good hook to it.
  • LR: So where do you see John Patrick Halling one year from now?
  • JPH: Hopefully on the road again. I’d like to start recording a new album in January or February and be out on another tour by August. I have about ten to fifteen songs to narrow down so I’m still deciding on if it will be an album or an EP.
  • LR: And finally, does the drinking ever end in downtown Kent?
  • JPH: Not when you’re drinking with your friends!

jph44 jph55

^^^ Pictured above: Sporting a signature hat in Asheville, North Carolina and a view of the picturesque Arches National Park in Utah. (Can we just talk about how the sky in both pictures looks like something out of a story book? So amazing.)

Are you a fan of John Patrick Halling? You can reach out to him by:

  • Liking his page on Facebook
  • Following him on Twitter
  • Following him on Instagram
  • Emailing him at: johnpatrickhalling@yahoo.com

You can also listen to the album Boy in the Water on all of the following mediums:

I really can’t begin to tell you guys how much I enjoyed my time with the fantastic John Patrick Halling. The pleasure was truly all mine and I can’t wait to see him perform in the near future! Do you have any questions for John Patrick? What is your favorite song off of his album Boy in the Water? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec19

Treat Yoself! My Grown Up Wishlist From Spring

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Treat Yoself! My Grown Up Wishlist From Spring

Hello everyone and happy weekend! I recently got invited to create my own “Treat Yoself” Grown Up wishlist with the amazing products from Spring, an online boutique for all of your fashion needs! I have to say, if I treated myself to everything that I wanted from their incredible selection of clothing and accessories, I would be in severe debt because it’s basically the entire website, which is: Spring . Click on the link, shop along, and see what Lil Red likes the most as well as what you can send my way for the holiday! 😉 ❤

Silk Gauze Parka by Laveer: Oh. My. Goodness. This jacket is fabulous. I’m a huge jacket girl and this piece really caught my eye. As I scrolled through Spring, I noticed a lot of gorgeous leather jackets as well and perhaps if I wasn’t a strict vegetarian, one of those would be on my list. But this Laveer piece is just to die for. If there’s one thing my readers have learned about me, it’s that when I purchase clothing it must fall under the criteria of: black (usually), edgy, and super chic and this jacket fits that to the T.

laveer

Blazer with Bones Crystals by Libertine: Okay, the thing about this blazer is that if I talk about it for too long I’m going to start to cry because that’s how badly I want it. I LOVE Libertine so when I saw this piece I instantly started to drool…metaphorically speaking. This is hands down my favorite item on the website, and that’s really saying something. It’s perfect. I can’t say more than that.

libertine

Mollie Box Pleat V Neck Flare Dress by Alice + Olivia: Surprise! A non black item! I adore this dress! Some people are shocked that I love dresses but the funny thing about my style is that I love either really edgy or really girly pieces, there’s no in between. What I like the most about this dress is the color because I love wearing burnt orange. Rich fall colors make up quite a bit of my wardrobe so this dress would fit in perfectly. And the fact that it’s Alice + Olivia is a plus – their clothes are darling!

alice

Multi Blue “OH ROY” Pump by Pierre Hardy: Soooo…I really like shoes. I tried to go through all of the various categories on Spring but I got stuck on their selection of heels, boots, and flats. These. Are. FABULOUS!! I love pieces that are so unique and out there that the only question people can ask is “where did you find something like that?” These pumps by Pierre Hardy scream quirky to me, therefore, I’m in love.

pierre.jpg

Comet Mid Heel Ankle Boot with Removable Bracelet by Freda Salvador: Yes, these are leather but that’s why they’re part of my wishlist…because I wish they weren’t leather! These are the coolest pair of booties ever! And everyone knows that Lil Red loves her booties. There comes a point in the world of ankle boots when they all start to look the same but these are such a loud and cool statement and I can’t get enough of it. Size 6 1/2 pleather, please.

freda.jpg

Embellished Tiger Sweater by Nicole Miller: The thing is…is that I’m kind of obsessed with this sweater. I scrolled through the entire section of tops on Spring and fell in love with their silly slogan-ed shirts adorned with phrases like “Namastay In Bed” but I couldn’t stop thinking about this piece! It’s so quirky, but it’s still sharp and chic and I can’t pinpoint why but I really like it. I’m not exactly one to walk around with an embellished tiger on my tops but I can definitely picture myself rocking this one!

tigre

I had a complete ball making my Treat Yoself! Grown Up Wishlist From Spring and I encourage all of you to check out their site at: Spring. What is your favorite piece from Spring? What are you going to add to your holiday wishlist from their site? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct3

If The Shoe Fits – Michael Kors Edition

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If The Shoe Fits – Michael Kors Edition

Helloooooo everyone and welcome to a new issue of If The Shoe Fits – Michael Kors style! In association with my post yesterday entitled “Fall Shopping Fun” these beautiful Michael Kors booties were also purchased with the intention of adding them to my cold weather wardrobe. Take a better look at my pretty new babies and then let’s discuss:

mkmk2

Alright, first let me just say that I am far from a label whore when it comes to my clothing. I don’t care for designer anything. I live for a good deal at Target, Kohl’s, or TJMaxx so it’s extremely out of the ordinary for me to own anything from what I consider a “high end” designer. BUT I saw these boots while shopping with my mom at TJ’s and I fell in love. So how did these MK buckle adorned beauties end up coming home with me? I’m so glad you asked!

I LOVE going to TJ’s with my mom. I can remember going shopping there with my grandma when I was really young and ever since I’ve been a die hard Maxxinista. Whenever my mom and I hit up our favorite store, we always always start in the shoe department. The past few times we’ve shopped at TJ’s we’ve been unimpressed with what they had to offer but not this time around! As I ambled through the aisles of boots, heels, and flats my eyes locked on the industrial style booties. I hurried over and plucked them off the shelf and immediately turned them over to inspect the price. When I saw the tag was far out of my normal price range, I realized that they were Michael Kors. “Oh, that explains it”, I thought to myself and put them back with a heavy heart.

Once my mom caught up to me she asked me if I saw anything that I liked and I pointed out the booties that I just recently returned to the shelf. “Well are you gonna try them on?” she asked. “No, they’re too expensive and I know that if I try them on I’m going to like them too much.” My mom didn’t argue with my logic and we continued to peruse the shoe department together. As my partner in crime tried on some cute new booties of her own, all I wanted to do was try on the Michael Kors. I voiced my insatiable desire deep in my loins to her and she urged me to give them a try. Well, she didn’t have to tell me twice. I rushed my sweet ass to the MK’s and snatched them so fast I was worried that I was going to break a nail. I brought them back to the benches to try them on for the moment of truth…

I sat my sweet tookus on the bench and slipped off my knee high tan riding boots all while thinking, “Sarah, you really shouldn’t be doing this”. But it was too late, my shoes were already off and the Michael Kors were sitting there, waiting patiently to join forces with my feet. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes tight, and shoved the right boot on. I zipped up the zipper on the side and told myself that “that wasn’t so bad” and pulled on the left shoe to complete the pair. I hoisted my sweet badonk off of the bench and walked slowly to the mirror. “Damnit,” I thought as I saw my reflection, “I love them”.

As soon as I saw them in all of their rocker chic glory I knew that I couldn’t leave the store without them. They. Were. Perfect. These Michael Kors booties have legitimately everything that I love. They’re black, buckled, zippered, and edgy as hell. As I previously mentioned, I don’t care about labels. In fact, I hate them. BUT for my first and only pair of designer shoes, I think that they hit the nail on the head!

I don’t plan on buying any more “high end” heels or boots to add to my collection because I really do think that they’re unnecessary. However, I deemed my purchase “worth it” because it really is a one time splurge and the only harm in that is to my wallet. Yes, I do have a lot of beautiful clothes, shoes, and accessories but 99% of them were purchased with price in mind. I’m a smart shopper, I always wait for the best deals, and I like to think that I ball on a budget – but I don’t know any girl that’s going to turn down a pair of Michael Kors booties that were literally made for you!

So there you have it, my latest purchase documented in If The Shoe Fits – Michael Kors Edition. With my amazing new booties and fun new shirt that you can see in “Fall Shopping Fun”, I think that I’ll take a break from the mall for a while…But I really do love both of my new editions to my wardrobe! What has been your favorite splurge purchase? What are you most looking forward to wearing this fall? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah