Tag Archives: canton

Oct23

Factory Of Terror Date Night

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Factory Of Terror Date Night

Hello! If there is one haunted house to go to in the greater Northeast Ohio area, the Factory Of Terror is the place to be. It holds the record for the largest indoor haunted attraction in America boasting four different haunted houses, three separate bars, a dance floor, tarot readings, and axe throwing too. Every year you go is completely different than the last and you will never experience the same thing twice. It is absolutely amazing and my favorite place to go when spooky season hits.

Johnny and I had a date night to Factory Of Terror this past Friday and it was such a scary good time! I was also lucky enough to win my first radio contest EVER and scored two free tickets to the haunt. I couldn’t believe it and was literally on cloud nine. What’s better than a free night on the town to a place we planned on going to anyways?! SCORE! This was my third time going to the Factory Of Terror and I think it was the best year yet! Check it out:

^^^ Be sure to peep my TikTok for the video tour!!

Walking into the Factory Of Terror is like walking into a great big scary playground and the fun starts as soon as you set foot on the property. Character actors roam and are ready to sneak up on anyone that passes by. It makes something mundane like waiting in line for entrance wristbands into part of the experience and sets the tone perfectly for your night of spooky delight. After getting our wristbands, our first move was to hit the Poison Ivy bar for test tube shots. We opted for a blue concoction that tasted like straight up blue and was delicious!

After hitting up the Poison Ivy, it was off to the first haunt called the Forsaken Asylum. The bones of this haunted house hasn’t changed but the interior was totally different and transformed into a freaky hospital. It was filled with jump scares galore but the best part was twofold. Halfway through the house, there was a huge slide that you went down on a burlap sack. It was a wild ride! The ending was also excellent as it was a maze of mirrors. Johnny and I were running into the mirrors left and right and eventually a creepy doll character actor helped show us the way out lol. Not so scary after all and we were most appreciative. ❤

Next up was our favorite of the bunch – the Industrial Nightmare. This haunted house took us into the bowels of a factory complete with steaming pipes, compressed air switches on the ground, and glowing green lights to guide us through the pitch black setting. Everywhere we turned were “injured” employees from factory accidents and their scares couldn’t be beat. Some of the actors were legit perched on the ceiling, others were on bungee cords to leap out in front of you, and just being followed around in the dark was enough to send shivers down my spine. The highlight of this haunt had to be when the front of a train literally looked like it was coming straight towards you. I screamed so loud it could have shattered glass. It. Was. Awesome!!

The third haunted house holds a special place in my heart because it is Factory of Terror’s take on my favorite horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is their staple haunted house called Massacre On Mahoning and while the theme remains the same every year, the inside always changes. For someone who is such a huge fan of TCM, going through this haunted house was a treat filled with tricks. Its setting was exactly what you could imagine if you are familiar with the story and was a pure celebration of one of the greatest, most influential horror movies of all time. I just loved it. 🙂

The last haunt to visit was called The Abyss and it simply delighted me and Johnny. For the first half of the haunt, we walked through almost complete darkness and were able to be guided by waist high walls to keep us on the path. After making it through this portion, we were welcomed into a sunken pirate ship and we were so there for it since we are being pirates for Halloween this year! The Abyss was so visually appealing once we made it to the light but it was also pure FUN. While we were waiting in line, we made friends with one of the actors and he made it a point to sneak up on us throughout the haunt. After we emerged on the other side, we all shared a great big hug and he asked us if we had a blast. It was a resounding YES on our part!! ❤

My first job was as a character actor at a haunted house and being at the Factory Of Terror hit me right in the nostalgia. This place is so incredibly special and all throughout the night I couldn’t help thinking how much fun it would be to work there. Our hats go off to the spectacular cast and crew that make the Factory Of Terror possible because the work that has gone into it is awe inspiring. We can’t recommend it enough if you are in the area!

What is the best haunted house in your neck of the woods? What are your Halloween plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul26

Date On The Range

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Date On The Range

Hello! Johnny and I are still going strong with our weekend date nights and we had a literal blast this past Friday. We went to the shooting range with our downstairs neighbor and it was a hoot! Going to the shooting range is something that Johnny and I have always wanted to do together and just never did. He grew up shooting guns with his dad and I have only been to the range once in my life. We are also avid fans of the short lived competitive shooting show, Top Shot, and wanted to feel like our favorite contestants!

After finding out that our new-ish neighbor and new bestie liked to go to the range when he could, we decided to make an evening of it. We hit up Range USA in Canton, then returned back to my apartment where I cooked dinner. It was such a fun and different night out and you just can’t beat the “Friday date night” promo that Range USA runs. It’s buy one lane get one free! Check it out:

image_50425857(8)image_50410753(2)image_50400001(9)

Before I went to the shooting range for the first time, I never saw the appeal of guns. After firing off a few rounds, however, I understood it and it was something that I wanted to do again. If you are in a safe and secure setting, why not? And, I hate to brag, but I did really good that first time and was eager to see if I still retained anything I learned from the pro at the range who taught me!

Once our waivers were signed, targets were purchased, and our safety gear was on, we were ready to go to our lanes. The target selection at Range USA was excellent and Johnny and I chose the shooting gallery one. Yes, because it was delightfully reminiscent of Top Shot challenges lol. Every gun I shot was a new experience and it was really cool – even though the rifle kicked like a mule. I was definitely done after four rounds and Johnny had a sore shoulder the next day.

I was really impressed with Johnny’s performance and mine wasn’t so bad, either! Johnny did so well and hit several bullseyes which was awesome to see. I was a bit disappointed with how I did, but then I remembered that this was only my second time shooting with entirely different guns. When I thought about it that way, I was proud of how I did. While I had lots of shots that weren’t on target whatsoever, I had a lot that were and felt great about them!

We had such a good time at the range that we are going to make it a thing. Every other week, we plan on hitting the range and making use of the date night special. We have even recruited two of our other friends to join our club and, of course, have dinner at my place after. Our Date On The Range was the most unique one we have been on yet and we are still chattering away about the good time that was had by all. 😀

Next weekend, it is my turn to select our date and I can’t wait for it. We are going to go shopping at some adorable boutiques in downtown Cuyahoga Falls and get Olive Garden for dinner. Long live Middle Class Fancy!!

What is your favorite competition show? What is the most unique date you have been on? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb28

Sunday Funday!

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Sunday Funday!

Hiiii everyone and happy Sunday Funday!! Just so you know, I will be out of office today because my boyfriend, Kyle, and I have a super fun day ahead of us. Kyle is the Assistant Manager at Gervasi Vineyard, which is in Canton, Ohio. It’s such a gorgeous property with three restaurants, villas, vineyards, orchards, and a huge lake. He has a work party today which is casino themed so that means we get to dress up, drink wine, and mingle!

The last work party of his that I went to was a blast, so needless to say, I’m SO excited! I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend and be sure to tune in on Tuesday to hear all about my night of frivolity! Much love. -Sarah

Feb3

One Lovely Blog Award #3

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One Lovely Blog Award #3

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! I was recently nominated for my third One Lovely Blog Award by my dear friend, Nikki, over at: akinderway. I always enjoy my interactions with Miss Nikki and her blog is a real gem, so make sure you give her page some love! I have so much fun making award nomination posts and it makes for an easy day of blogging so thank you to all of my friends who have nominated lifewithlilred! As always, there are some rules that come with the awards so check them out and then let’s get started:

The Rules:

  • Thank the person that nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  • List the rules.
  • Display the award on your post.
  • List seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate (up to) 15 bloggers for this award and comment on one of their posts to let them know you have nominated them.

All About Me:

  1. I’m currently writing this post while sipping coffee and taking a homework break. I always drink my coffee out of a sweet little mug with a koala bear being floated away by a bundle of balloons and it says “Have an up kind of day”. I think it’s the cutest thing ever!
  2. This isn’t really a fun fact but right now the water in my shower isn’t draining very quickly. On Sunday I dyed my hair with my beloved Vidal Sassoon’s Runway Red and by the time I exited my shower the water was halfway up my calf and blood red. It was really disgusting but insanely cool.
  3. The last movie I watched was The Interview. My sister and I haven’t seen that movie in forever and laughed like crazy the entire time! I love love LOVE James Franco! Hubba hubba.
  4. My boyfriend and I recently entered the “Canton’s Cutest Couple” contest for a local radio station – not that I buy in to any of that stuff but a free dinner would be nice!
  5. My socks are matching for once today, which deserves an award in itself.
  6. I’ve become really fond of eating at Moe’s and have decided that I like them better than Chipotle. #WELCOMETOMOES
  7. I’ll find anything you say infinitely funnier if you end it with “#blessed”.

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

Once again, thank you so much to Nikki at akinderway for my third One Lovely Blog Award and congrats to my nominees! What are some fun facts about yourself? Do you have any weekend plans that you’re looking forward to? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb1

Monday Update: Paint Nite Edition

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Monday Update: Paint Nite Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! For Christmas my brother and sister-in-law got me a Groupon for two admissions to a Paint Nite. For those of you not familiar with the event, it’s a lot of fun! You go online and pick a bar as well as the theme of the picture that you would like to paint. Then you make your way to whatever location you picked and paint a beautiful picture and enjoy some drinks while doing so. My boyfriend, Kyle, and I went to the Paint Nite that we chose last Tuesday and we had a blast. Kyle took pictures of our progress on the canvasses throughout the night, so take a look and then let’s chat:

^^^ The one on the left is mine and the one on the right is Kyle’s.

Kyle and I spent close to a half hour browsing through Paint Nite’s website to find a theme and a location that we both liked. We settled on the Love Birds theme which would take place at the Canton Brewing Company in Canton, Ohio. This location was good for Kyle because he’s a beer drinker but looking back on the event, I would have preferred to be at a wine bar! We booked our tickets thanks to my Groupons a few weeks in advance so for two or so weeks all we could talk about was how excited we were for our night out.

Finally, our date night on Tuesday the 26th rolled around and it was all I could think about for the entire day! We arrived at the Canton Brewing Company which was gigantic and then headed down into the basement where the event was taking place. After we walked down the huge stairway we saw all of the canvasses set up on easels and a bunch of people gathered around to enjoy their evening. We snagged a spot where we could sit together which I was afraid was not going to happen because almost everyone was there by the time we arrived. After we established our spots we went to the bottom floor bar to get ourselves some drinks before the extravaganza began.

The Canton Brewing Company had a great selection of beers (obviously) and that was great for Kyle but not so good for me! I’m not a big beer drinker at all – mama likes her sweet white wines! Unfortunately, they only had two wines to choose from which was a red and a chardonnay which ended up being way too dry. I threw back the chardonnay even though it was extremely unpleasant and was then able to get a drink that I actually like upstairs at the main bar. After I got a vodka sour in my system, I was feeling much better!

Our painting party started promptly at seven o’clock and was led by a lovely hostess whose name I can’t remember for the life of me, so we’ll call her “Anne”. Anne is a high school art teacher and had a lively personality which made listening to her talk a lot of fun. The basic idea of Paint Nite is that Anne will paint a section of the canvas and tell you how to do it and then you repeat the process. This back and forth went on for about an hour and then we dispersed for a fifteen minute break to get more drinks, go to the bathroom, and let the paint dry.

Once we returned from our break we got to work on the second half of our painting. Our hostess did a really good job of explaining the process in laymens terms which was so helpful because Kyle and I don’t have an artistic bone in our body. It was also nice to have another art teacher there who made her rounds around the tables to give some pointers and replenish our paint supplies. Before we knew it, another hour and a half had passed and our paintings were finally complete! Again, here are the finished products:

I was really pleased with how our paintings turned out – everything except Kyle’s dumb old cardinals that he decided to paint hair on to differentiate which bird was which. He gave his alter ego bird spiky hair and he ended up giving mine a mullet…Thanks, babe. -_-

I had so much fun at Paint Nite but there are a few things that I would do differently. It was nice to be among such a lively crowd while we got our paint on but at times, it was almost too much. There were around thirty or more people there so it would get incredibly loud which made it hard to hear Anne teach us what to do. I would definitely prefer smaller groups because then you would be able to get some type of attention from the hostess and her helper. You also wouldn’t have to deal with the insatiable urge to yell “SHUT UP” at everyone. 🙂

Other than the over abundance of people, I’d say that Paint Nite was a wonderful time. I was so thankful for my Groupon Christmas gift because the cost to go to an event is forty five dollars per person. I honestly think that that’s a bit pricey which is too bad because I would love to go to another one but I don’t particularly want to break the bank for it – especially when you still have to pay for drinks, snacks, and parking.

My best friend, Lea, wanted to try a Paint Nite after I told her about how much fun it was so we looked in to going to an event together. We were both not too keen to spend sixty or so dollars for the evening so we planned our own Paint Nite to have at home. We searched on YouTube for instructional videos on painting canvasses so we’re going to get our own supplies, grab a bottle of wine, and let an over enthusiastic YouTube painter walk us through creating a picture. Hello, girls night in!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Paint Nite Edition! If you’re looking for a unique and memorable date night, girls night, or gift idea then I can’t recommend a Paint Nite outing enough. How many of you have attended a Paint Nite before? What did you think of it? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan4

Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition

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Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to the first Monday Update of 2016! On New Year’s Eve my darling boyfriend, Kyle, took me out on the most wonderful date night ever. We enjoyed dinner at Gervasi Vineyard, where he works as the assistant manager. In our over four months of dating, I had never eaten there before – asides from food heated up in the microwave, which so doesn’t count! When Kyle told me he had made New Year’s Eve reservations for us I was beyond excited! Take a look at us being a cute couple and then let’s discuss:

kyle!

^^^ I love us!!!

Gervasi Vineyard is one of the most gorgeous eateries in the Akron/Canton, Ohio area. There are three restaurants on the property, Tuscan style villas to stay in, an apple orchard, a beautiful lake, and of course – their vineyard! Kyle has been working there for close to five years and is amazing at his job. I kept telling myself it was only a matter of time until we had a special dinner there, so as I mentioned before, I was so thrilled when he told me about our reservations!

The entire night was so fun and even just getting ready to go to our 6:15 reservation was a treat. I got to help pick out Kyle’s outfit for the evening and it was so cool! Haha, I always love exploring a new wardrobe! We got dressed to the nines and made our way to the restaurant, which he lives very close to. We were the perfect amount of fashionably early for our table and got seated right away so we could begin our meal.

One thing (of many) that I love about Kyle, is that no matter what restaurant we go to, he always plans the dishes that I can eat ahead of time by researching their menu because I’m a strict vegetarian. Since we were on his home territory, however, he spent the whole car ride there describing all of the different things that I could order. Believe me, by the time that we were seated I was drooling like a dog in front of a tub of peanut butter. Classy! 😉

Thanks to Kyle’s expert descriptions of all of my options, I didn’t even have to look at the menu to know what I wanted. For our first course, I chose their butternut squash soup and Kyle got the apple salad. We also ordered a bottle of their sparkling white wine to enjoy with our meal. Butternut squash is my all time favorite kind of soup and it was seriously the best bowl I’ve ever had. It was so creamy and perfectly seasoned and it was so worth the four month wait to try it out!

For our entrees, Kyle ordered the lobster gnocchi and I opted for their linguini with an aglio e olio sauce topped with fresh spinach and arugula. While we waited for the main course we were serenaded by the saxophone player who was performing in the restaurant and it was all so very romantic! Our entrees came very quickly and they were to die for – just like the entire meal!

We finished the main course in record timing and then ordered a small dish of their bread pudding for dessert. We could barely finish half of the serving before tapping out but it was delicious! It had a caramel sauce and rum ice cream to top if off and it’s safe to say that I was in carbohydrate heaven! Once we completed the three course meal, I felt like I was going to explode from my belly full of food. I also was wearing a skirt that wasn’t very forgiving so I’m sure the whole restaurant got a nice view of my big ol’ gut! 😉

To finish our night, Kyle and I went to Giant Eagle after we decided that we could move again and purchased a bottle of champagne to toast with. It was around eight thirty when we got home and after a glass or two of champagne and a few episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, I was beyond ready for bed. I ended up falling asleep at nine thirty, well before the commemoration of the new year at midnight!

By the time I woke up the next morning, I felt like such a goon for falling asleep so early and missing what would have been our first new year’s kiss together. Lucky for me, I have a boyfriend who’s always coming up with sweet surprises for his girl! Kyle showed me a poorly lit but super cute picture that he took of him giving my sleeping self a kiss on the forehead at midnight for proof that I still got my new year’s kiss. How lucky am I? Very. ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition! My evening was straight out of a fairy tale and I’ll never forget it. I hope all of you had just as great of a time celebrating! How did everyone ring in the new year? Is there a place similar to Gervasi Vineyard in your neck of the woods? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love and happy 2016. -Sarah

Sep17

Wednesday Fun!

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Wednesday Fun!

Howdy everyone and happy Thursday! I had such a fun filled busy day yesterday and I just had to tell you guys all about it! The day started out rocky but ended strong, so check out this track that will make sense to you by the end of the post and let’s discuss:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxoFi5Lie34

All of Tuesday, yesterday, and today I’ve had the unfortunate health issue of conjunctivitis in both of my eyes. It’s been a pain in the ass and it hurts like the dickens. On Tuesday night when I was with my boyfriend I finally decided to take my contacts out, which should have been done at the first signs of redness. I guess better late than never though, considering both of my eyes were blood red and I looked like the spawn of Satan once I realized it was time for the contacts to go. I was hesitant to take them out though because my plan was to drive from his home in Canton to school in Cleveland the following morning and my eyesight isn’t the best. #dangertomyself #andothers

I woke up Wednesday morning with my eyes crusted shut completely, which was a lot of fun! After getting myself ready for school, I deemed my vision safe enough to drive as long as I took it nice and slow. I left my man’s house early so I would have time for a leisurely drive as well as stop home to grab my back up glasses before school. I made my pit stop home, grabbed the dorkiest glasses ever, and headed to Tri-C for my French class. The worst part about wearing my glasses aside from how much I hate them is the fact that I wasn’t able to wear sunglasses during my drive. My face was crumpled into a permanent squinting position which I’m pretty sure gave me premature wrinkling. #SHAMEFUL

I rolled into my French class looking nerdy chic (I hope) but was then struck with the fear of “oh shit, I hope people don’t think I’m stoned”, compliments of my blood shot eyes. Throughout my class I was SO paranoid that I might as well have indulged in a pre-lecture hit of cannabis. “Does she think I’m high? Does he think I’m blitzed? DOES MY BELOVED PROFESSOR THINK I’M STONED?!” A gazillion thoughts of my classmate’s possible judgement were swarming through my head at a rapid speed BUT I still managed to kick major derriere in my class! #OUI 😉

After a semi stressful but nothing that I can’t handle afternoon, it was time for Sister Date Night!! Kristen and I had a sexy evening of dinner and a movie planned and it was so much fun!! I picked her up in the Little Red Love Machine for some fine dining at Taco Bell and a showing of Sinister 2. My sister and I were starving and were so happy to be in the comforting atmosphere of TBell for some binge eating. We shoveled burritos, chalupas, and tacos down our gullets until we fell into the “too full to move” food coma. It. Was. WONDERFUL!

We slowly made our way back to my whip and collapsed into the seats. We unbuttoned our pants to ease the bloating, got ourselves together, and headed to the theater for some scary movie shenanigans. We arrived at the Regal Cinemas and purchased our tickets only to find out that we were eligible for a free popcorn thanks to my Regal Crown Club rewards card. “More food!!!” We got our popcorn from the concession stand and answered with an enthusiastic “YES” when we were asked if we wanted butter on our popcorn. Who doesn’t want butter on their popcorn? Seriously. If it were up to me, I would be able to go behind the concessions counter to pump my own butter just to make sure that each individual piece of popcorn was drenched in sweet, caloric, buttery goodness. #delish

Kristen and I entered our designated theater with our hands full of popcorn and purses full of pop brought from home. As we walked further into the room we saw that we were the only people there! It was so great! Throughout our showing of Sinister 2 we were able to swear, scream, and make off color comments to our hearts content. My personal favorite was when I dared my sister to go pee in a corner…I promise you she didn’t! #pinkieswear

ANYWAYS, the Sinister sequel was scary as fuckkk. I’m a big fan of the first movie, despite how scary I find it and the second one was just as good/terrifying! Kristen and I spent a significant amount of time with our hands covering our eyes and screaming “OH SHIT” at a hefty portion of the film. We had such a blast even though we were so scared! Kristen kept pestering me to spend the night at her apartment and I kept begging her to stay the night at home. We’re basically the two biggest twenty-something babies ever. #noshame #adultbabies

During our drive home, when we weren’t trying to bribe each other into staying the night, Kristen played DJ with my iPod. We jammed to TLC and Britney Spears but the most memorable song she played was “Epiphany” from Sweeney Todd, hence why I posted it at the beginning of the post. Kristen and I love that movie so much and “Epiphany” is our all time favorite song from it. We played it at full volume with our windows down all while singing very poorly. I couldn’t stop laughing for the duration of the song and was almost in tears by the time we were stopped at a red light with good ol’ Sweeney Todd blasting through my speakers. #howaboutashave?

We couldn’t decide where to stay the night at so we went our separate ways to sleep all by our lonesome. All night I was petrified about the evil Bagul lurking in my room or dreams, but I promised myself that if he made an appearance that I would deliver a swift punch right in his suck hole. KA POW! Lucky for me, Bagul must have heard my threats, so I was okay for the night – however, I woke up halfway through my slumber because I had to go to the bathroom and I REFUSED to leave the safety of my blanket fort. I am so thankful that I didn’t wet the bed once I fell back asleep and I woke up refreshed and ready to take on a day of homework! #blessed

meeeee

^^^ I feel like I haven’t posted a pic of myself in a while, so there you go!

So there you have it, a long post about some Wednesday Fun! I had a fabulous Hump Day and I hope all of you are having a great week! What is everyone up to this upcoming weekend? Any big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah