Tag Archives: celebrate

Monday Update: Sister’s Birthday Celebration Edition

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Monday Update: Sister’s Birthday Celebration Edition

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday! This past weekend was SO much fun because it was my sister, Kristen’s, 25th birthday! We had such a wonderful time celebrating and I was really happy because I got to spend her entire birthday with her. Kristen is unbearably hard to shop for, so for her birthday I decided to keep it simple and snag her some gift cards so that we could make a day out of using them. Which is exactly what we did!

I got Kristen a gift card to Sephora and to the nail salon that we go to, so we spent the afternoon girling out with pedicures and makeup shopping. Although I didn’t get a pedi because balling on a budget, I got to soak my nasty feet and sit in a massage chair while Kristen got pampered and we had so much fun chit chatting and laughing with all of our favorite nail techies. Kristen got the Hello Kitty pink polish that I recently got on my nails on her toes and it looked so freaking cute! I can’t say that about my feet, but I’m glad that her toesies are on point just in time for flip flop season!

After pedicures, we went to the mall to ultimately spend what felt like forever in Sephora. I have actually never spent that much time in there before and it was surprisingly really fun. We tried on different lipsticks and browsed through the aisles pointing out ridiculous eyeshadow or lip colors and figuring out the best way for her to spend her gift card. Kristen ended up getting a gorgeous new lipstick and an eyebrow pencil as well as a birthday gift from the store (a blush and lip gloss) and some freebies that she got from cashing in the points on her reward card.

Although I tried on some okay-ish lipsticks, I just ended up going with a tube of the Better Than Sex mascara. Kristen got it for me for Christmas this year and since I’ve ran out, no other mascara can compare, so it was a must to get another one! I was really happy because the gift card that I got her covered everything that she wanted and she also got some super nice freebies, so she walked away with an awesome Sephora birthday haul.

Once we were done shopping, I treated Kristen to coffee and then dropped her off at her apartment so that she could get ready for the evening festivities. Our night was a boozy celebration of going to get margaritas with her friends and then hitting the bars afterwards for some more alcohol related fun. AND I also got to ride in my first Uber, so that was really exciting, lol. THE DRIVER WAS SO NICE!! #ubereverywhere

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(The lovely lady in the second photo, Kelsey, will be featured on lifewithlilred soon so keep your eyes peeled!)

The day after Kristen’s birthday was spent nursing a very worthwhile hangover and celebrating at home with the family. I know I had a blast and it felt really good knowing that Kristen did, too, and I like to think that I helped make that possible! Now, I’m just excited for my birthday to roll around in June so that she can return the favor!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Sister’s Birthday Celebration Edition! How did you celebrate your birthday this year? How did you spend your weekend? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Birthday, Sister!!

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Happy Birthday, Sister!!

Hello everyone and happy weekend! Today is an amazing, special, wonderful day because it is my beautiful big sister’s 25th birthday! Kristen. My sister, my soulmate, my best friend on the face of the earth. Kristen is someone who my life would be absolutely impossible without. She is someone that I can go to for literally anything. To laugh, cry, complain, or just be there with to pass the time. My sister is one of the strongest women that I have ever met. Ever. She is a survivor, she is brave, and she has proven to herself and everyone around her that she can get through the worst of times and ultimately improve and better herself along the way. If that isn’t the definition of courage, then I really don’t know what is.

Kristen is someone who is kind. She is genuine, she has a huge heart, and she brings so much joy and light to everyone who she encounters. Her smile and laugh is contagious and her beauty is second to none both inside and out. If you can’t tell by now, my sister is my everything. I am so thankful not only for our sisterhood but for the friendship that came from it. You can have someone as a sibling and only view them as such, but Kristen is so much more for me than that.

From outings to the movies, shopping, the nail or hair salon, coffee, dinner, or just binge watching on Netflix, I treasure every minute that I spend with my sister. Don’t get me wrong, she drives me fucking crazy, but isn’t that what sisters do every now and then? And I promise you that she would say the same thing about me, but probably even more so!

The point that I’m trying to get at, is that I am so, so incredibly lucky to have my sister as, well, my sister. I love you more than anything, so here’s to you, you beautiful, fantastic, intelligent, loving, perfect girl. Happy birthday and I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight!

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Happy Birthday, Kristen ❤

I FREAKING LOVE YOU!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

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Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Helloooo everyone and happy Thursday! Today is a wonderful, special, fabulous day because it’s my dad’s birthday!! Although my beloved father isn’t particularly fond of birthdays, I can’t not celebrate my handsome, charming, adoring dad here on lifewithlilred. There’s a saying that talks about how a dad is the first guy that a girl loves or something like that and it is so true because my dad is basically my number one. Let’s discuss all of the reasons why!

From a dry but silly sense of humor that occasionally results in laugh attacks to the compliments and approval that is always special when it comes from my father, my dad is the best. He plans the most wonderful vacations, he has two green thumbs, loves his backyard animal friends, and is always down to watch two episodes of Seinfeld in a row as a “double feature”. CHARLES has excellent taste in music, too. If you were to see him cruising around with his stunner shades on, chances are he’s listening to The Rolling Stones, The Black Keys, The Who, U2, and an abundance of other classics in a rock n’ roll lover’s arsenal.

My dad is just a cool guy. Seriously. So here’s to a man that makes me laugh, smile, feel increasingly warm with love, and, of course, some type of way! I love you, my daddy dearest. Happy birthday!!

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I LOVE YOU, DAD!!!! ❤

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

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Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! Today is a special day because it’s my mommy’s birthday!! As I’m sure that you guys have gathered by now, my mom is basically my best friend. We love to hang out together, cook, watch movies, go shopping, pet dogs, and play Scrabble. My mom is easily one of my favorite human beings on the planet and everyone who has the honor of knowing her feels similarly. It’s hard not to!

I am so thankful for having a mom who is as funny, smart, wonderful, and perfect as mine. Not to mention how caring, supportive, and encouraging she is. I can always count on good ol’ JANE to be there when I need to talk and am appreciative to have a mother who is a fantastic listener. No matter how my mom and I spend our time together, I always enjoy it because I am seriously in the best of company when I’m with her. I love you so much, mommy!

Happy Birthday!! ❤

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Making Your Graduation Extra Special

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Making Your Graduation Extra Special

The day of your college graduation is an incredibly happy and special one. It is the penultimate moment of everything that you have worked and studied so hard for – in fact, it’s probably the biggest moment of your life to date! Most colleges (and even high schools) make quite a big deal out of graduation, with a formal ceremony and the opportunity to bring your family along to support you. For many people, it can be an emotional day, as it signals the end of a specific chapter of your life and the start of new beginnings. It’s only natural that you should want to go the extra mile when it comes to celebrating it. Here are a few things that you can do, both before the ceremony and on the day itself to make sure that your graduation day is one that you will never forget:

Plan Your Outfit: Just like with your prom, your graduation is one of those days where all eyes are going to be on you. This is especially true for the moment when you go up on stage to collect your degree – pretty nerve wracking stuff, eh? So, it makes sense that you would want to look your best for such a momentous occasion. Start planning at least a couple of months in advance: remember that a lot of colleges have their graduations around the same time, so you don’t want to find that your dream dress has already sold out! Pick something that you are comfortable in – nothing too heavy or revealing. Graduation day can be a long one, with the ceremony, award giving, a meal, and then sometimes a night out after. Try and find a happy medium between style and comfort – it will work in your favor.

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Shoe Heaven!!

Show Your Appreciation to Your Classmates: At college, you tend to meet a lot of people and have friends from lots of different groups. You may be close to your roommate or maybe the people on your sports team. But chances are you’ll have formed relationships with the other students in your courses as well and this is your chance to express your gratitude for them. You may want to get some of your course friends a gift by way of congratulations – it doesn’t need to be anything extravagant, more just a token of appreciation. A good option for this is a graduation lei. Now, you may wonder why we give leis for graduation. They are actually an ancient symbol and is said to offer good luck to the recipient. Pretty appropriate for a graduation day and something that your friend can treasure forever.

Take Pictures: Just like with any major event, it’s likely that your graduation day will pass in a bit of a blur. There are so many people and so many things to get through – but try and remember to take pictures! If you are too busy socializing, ask a relative or friend to snap some candid shots of you and your friends enjoying the day. You’ll probably get an official graduation picture taking by a professional photographer, but sometimes these unexpected photos can end up being the best shots of the day.

Congrats, Grad!

Featured Image By: Flickr

BevRAGE App

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BevRAGE App

Hey everyone and happy Thursday! So yesterday was one of my best friends, Danielle’s, 24th birthday so I spent the day celebrating with her. We went out for drinks and then spent the evening going out to eat with her dad (who coincidentally has the same name as my dad AND they BOTH have a mustache!) for her birthday dinner. It was such fun!

While we were at our favorite bar, Merry Arts, in the afternoon, a friend of hers told us about a super handy app called BevRAGE. This app essentially gives you cash back via check or PayPal when you purchase certain kinds of beer, wine, liquor, or mixers when you’re out at the bar or a restaurant or when you’re doing grocery shopping. When I woke up today, I just had to download it because who doesn’t love free money AND alcohol?!

I think that this app is completely genius, and now if you download it and use my referral code, we both get two dollars FO FREE! Here is the post published on my Facebook with the code for those of you who aren’t friends with me on there:

Get cash with the bevRAGE app when you buy beer, wine and liquor. Sign up using my referral code: HUOXPBBQ
https://www.bevrage.com/promo/HUOXPBBQ
Handy little app! Use my referral code and we’ll both get cash back for buying booze! Who doesn’t love that?!

Download and enjoy! Happy drinking! 🙂

ALSO: My pinup girl themed style swap collaboration post will be up this Saturday and I enjoyed creating it SO MUCH. I’d love to do a style swap collab again so if any fashionistas are interested in participating, shoot me an email at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com !

What are your favorite handy apps? What techniques do you utilize to save cash? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Gotcha Day, Doggies!

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Happy Gotcha Day, Doggies!

Hi everyone and happy weekend! Yesterday was a special day because it was one of my precious pooch’s fourth Gotcha Day since we welcomed her into our family. Our Golden Retriever, Gem, has been such a wonderful, beautiful addition to our home and the love that my family has for her knows no bounds. Additionally, our little Terrier mix, Ollie, will be celebrating his first Gotcha Day coming up soon on February 13th so it will be an exciting few months to be a dog in the Mushenheim household!

Both of my pups were rescued through the amazing group that my mom, sister, and I volunteer for called Canine Lifeline. Gem and Ollie were both brought to Ohio from rural shelters in Kentucky and each became members of the family at first sight. Our rescue dogs bring so much joy to our home and are each true cases of ‘Who Rescued Who?’. Happy Gotcha Day to you, Gem! And almost little Ollie!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Also – if you are in Ohio and are interested in finding a new furever friend, then I encourage you to check out the pups at Canine Lifeline, where I’m sure you’ll find your new BFF! Not in Ohio but still want to help? CLL happily accepts donations and would greatly appreciate if you would spread the word! 🙂

What kind of pets do you have at your home? What is something unique or silly about your pet’s behaviors or appearance? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year!

Hello everyone and happy happy New Year!! I hope all of you are having a wonderful time ringing in 2017! I, for one, am so excited to push 2016 aside and begin a fresh new year both in my life and here on lifewithlilred. Despite the excitement and anticipation that comes with entering into a new year, I am pretty bad at celebrating it because I NEVER make New Year’s Resolutions!

Lol, I guess I figure that if I want to do something like exercise more or lose a couple of pounds, I will do it when I feel like it as opposed to feeling obligated to doing it for the new year. Instead, I just try to focus my energy on things like *trying* to be a nice, well rounded person while dedicating myself to things like my work, family, pets, volunteer work, and friends.

But, no matter which way you cut it, I think we all can agree that the new year is a perfect time to make improvements. Whether you’re about to hit the gym or stop binge drinking every Friday, Saturday, and Wednesday the new year is the time to bring about healthy changes and a new perspective in your life. For 2017, I encourage my beloved readers and blogging family to practice kindness to everyone that they encounter to do their share in making the world a somewhat more tolerable place! 🙂

Happy 2017, everyone! Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and your new year’s celebrations and also: BYE 2016, ya bish. What is your New Year’s Resolution for 2017? What was your favorite or least favorite part about 2016 (or both!)? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Now, enjoy some new year’s themed music by a few of my faves:

Want To Look Gorgeous For Your Christmas Party? Start Preparing Today!

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Want To Look Gorgeous For Your Christmas Party? Start Preparing Today!

With the holiday season right around the corner, it is important to look your best. Work parties, family get togethers, bumping into everyone and their brother at the store – it is a time when it might seem like all eyes are on you. It may only be the end of October, but these tips will help you prep for looking your best this holiday season and all year round. Take a look.

Want To Look Gorgeous For Your Christmas Party? Start Preparing Today!

Work Christmas parties are often the highlight of the year and an occasion many people look forward to. It’s a chance for you and your work colleagues to let your hair down and enjoy yourselves after a stressful year. It’s also the perfect excuse to get dressed up and look your absolute best. While you understandably want to have fun, Christmas parties can help your career. If you stand out, network with others and impress your boss, you may have a promotion in your sights. So to give you the confidence to do this effectively, you need to feel good about your appearance.

Even though it might seem premature, there are things that you can do now to help you look gorgeous in time for your work party. Take a look at these tips to help you get prepared well in advance.

Get Style Inspiration: One of the benefits of getting ready for your Christmas party now is that you have plenty of time to find the perfect outfit. But before you hit the shops, you need to get some holiday style inspiration. To help you get started, talk to your boss and colleagues about the type of affair that the party will be. This will ensure that you choose an outfit that makes a statement while also being suitable for the activity. For instance, if you are going out for drinks at a local bar, a ball gown might not be appropriate.

So whether it’s a casual meal or a big holiday ball, you can start getting inspired by potential outfit ideas now. You can go on http://www.pinterest.com/ and look at fashion magazines and blogs. Social media is another resource you can use. You can also try on outfits at your favorite stores and boutiques to see how they look and make you feel. This can give you a clear idea of what suits you and what doesn’t. Don’t forget to look at possible accessories and shoes to accompany your outfit too!

Getting inspired before you start shopping can be extremely beneficial. It helps you find possible outfits that will suit your body type and colors that suit your skin tone. Knowing what kind of outfit you want to buy can simplify your shopping process and make it less stressful. You can also start planning how you want your hair and makeup to look. Don’t forget accessories too! Any holiday look isn’t complete without a touch of bling from paradigm jewelry. All of this information can make choosing a fabulous outfit for your Christmas party as easy as possible.

Whiten Your Teeth: A bright, white smile can make you seem more friendly and approachable to others. This is ideal if you plan to network and introduce yourself to others at your Christmas party. It can also make you feel more confident about your appearance which can make you feel amazing. So if you want to enhance your smile in time for your Christmas party, you need to whitening your teeth now. It can take weeks and multiple whitening sessions to get the results you want. This is why it’s always best to do this sooner rather than waiting till later.

The majority of dental surgeries now offer teeth whitening services to their patients. So contact your dentist to make an appointment. Alternatively, you can whiten your teeth by yourself at home. There are a number of kits you can buy that use either strips or mouth guards. These kits are easy to use and can give you excellent results but some are better than others. See http://TeethWhiteningAtHomeTips.com/ to find out which whitening strips are the most effective. It will be hard for you to stop smiling throughout the party when your teeth look so clean and bright.

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Smile!

Make an Appointment at Your Salon: As soon as the countdown to Christmas starts, hair and beauty salons will be overwhelmed with appointments. Remember that thousands of other people will be attending Christmas parties and want to look their best, too. To ensure that your hair looks beautiful for your party, you need to book an appointment at your salon now. This will ensure that you can have a consultation with your hairdresser beforehand to try out different hair styling ideas. You can also have your hair dyed, cut, and blow dried so it looks as fresh as possible for your party.

If you are unable to get an appointment for a consultation or cut at your hair salon, don’t panic. You can hire a mobile hairdresser to visit you at your home instead. But again make sure you make an appointment quickly as they too will get booked up.

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Pixabay Image

Start a New Skin Care Regime: When you are self-conscious of your skin, it can stop you from being confident and carefree. This is not how you want to feel when you celebrate the holidays. Instead of letting this continue, start a new skin care regime instead. This can help you get fresh and clear skin that makes you feel unstoppable. Makeup application can also be improved with clearer skin. It will go on more smoothly and stay in place longer. You also won’t have to wear as much because you won’t have blemishes or pimples to cover up.

It’s advantageous to start this regime as soon as you can to give your skin time to heal and adjust. Otherwise, you may not get the results you desire. There are countless products you can try to get glowing skin. But it’s vital that you create a regime with products that suit your skin type for the best results. Visit http://www.webmd.com/beauty/ or talk to beauty specialists to discover what your skin type is.

As part of your new regime, also get into the habit of cleaning your makeup brushes each week. Dirt, sweat, and old makeup can linger on your brushes and clog your pores. So using clean and hygienic brushes can benefit your skin significantly.

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 Pixabay Image

Even though your Christmas party might be not be happening just yet, these preparations will ensure that you look gorgeous no matter what. The more you do in advance, the less stressful the getting ready process will be. So rather than leaving it till the last minute, start preparing for your Christmas party today. You won’t regret it!

What is your perfect holiday party look? What is your winter skin care regime? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: Pixabay

One Year Anniversary

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One Year Anniversary

Hey everyone and happy Thursday! So Monday was a lot of fun because my boyfriend, Kyle, and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Technically, it falls on the twentieth but there’s no harm in breaking out the party pants a few days early! We had a fantastic day of fine dining at Taco Bell, getting drinks, and going to see Suicide Squad in the evening. AND exchanging presents is always a plus! Our big day together was just the best and I wanted to give an extra special I love you shout out to my Kyle! You are amazing and thank you for a fantastic year together! Hurray! ❤

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^^^ #AWE 😉