Tag Archives: date night

Feb5

If The Shoe Fits: A New Day Kitten Heels Edition

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If The Shoe Fits: A New Day Kitten Heels Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of If The Shoe Fits! During my last Target Run, I purchased an All New Everything OOTD for mine and Johnny’s Valentine’s Day date. Did I have any intention of this? Shockingly, no. However, Target made it all too easy to build the perfect V-Day look. I found my new top and bubble skirt on the same rack and the shoes you are about to see were directly across the aisle! Before we begin, I’d like to give myself a pat on the back for not buying new shoes since August of last year. This further solidified my need for a little treat lol! Check out the completed look:

As a petite princess, I am most fond of chunky platform heels to elevate my height. I absolutely love the way they look and I rock them frequently. I do have a very special place in my heart for kitten heels, though! Kitten heels offer a totally different vibe than my standard platforms. They are so sweet and dainty and always remind me of doll shoes. When I saw the top and skirt, I began putting the outfit together as I made my way to the fitting rooms. I planned on pairing the ensemble with a pair of kitten heels I already own, then these little beauties caught my eye across the way and that plan went out the window.

After having great success with the clothes, I literally thought to myself “what the hell” and tried the shoes on too lol. Just by looking at them, I knew that they would work so why not! I was so right because these kitten heels were made to be worn with the rest of my outfit. In fact, I couldn’t believe I almost passed them by. These heels are the perfect adorable something to compliment my new ensemble. First and foremost, the pointed toes look like hearts and it’s just so darn cute! As an extra bonus, these heels feature see through sides, which I don’t own anything like but always wanted to. These might not be shoes that I would wear with everything in my closet, but my skirts and dresses can now rejoice from new kitten heels to be paired with!

I am already unbelievably excited for a V-Day date with my main squeeze but even more so now that I have a gorgeous new OOTD to wear for the occasion!

What is your favorite style of shoes? What are you wearing for Valentine’s Day? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan26

New Hair, Who Dis? OOTD

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New Hair, Who Dis? OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! This past Friday was an especially fabulous one because I got my hair done and went on a super fun Date Night with my main squeeze. Whenever Johnny and I step out for a night out, it calls for a killer OOTD because it’s a special occasion. And, as my color sat at the salon, I built one in my head so I could get dressed as soon as I got home and we could make our way to The Workz. I’m so glad I did because we were absolutely famished! Peep that new hair and let’s discuss:

Who? What? Wear?

Emerald Green Trench Coat: Nine West, Blu Boutique

Lace Top: Red By BKE, Buckle

Coated Skinny Jeans: Seven Jeans, TJMaxx

Platform Boots: Olivia Miller, TJMaxx

Heart Earrings: SugarFix By BaubleBar, Target

Purse: Anne Klein, TJMaxx

As I pondered my date night look at the salon, I decided that All Black Everything for the base of the outfit was the move. My hair was going to be plenty colorful enough and I wanted it to shine against a neutral palette. So, I went through my mental Rolodex of every black piece of clothing I own (There’s a ton, I’m an elder emo – remember?!) and locked in on the gorgeous lace top from Buckle. We were so in business because talk about a date night top! This little number is so sexy but still uber chic and I love the way I feel in it. Aside from my crop tops, this is actually one of the most form fittings tops I have and I like how it hugs my curves without feeling too constricting.

Next on the agenda was jeans and I went for my coated pair of black skinnies by Seven that features a snakeskin pattern. Why did this work with the lace top? If you are styling an outfit with only one color, you have permission to go crazy with mixing textures and patterns! Regardless of the lace or the sheen and pattern of the jeans, they still blended seamlessly together and created an ensemble that makes the eyes dance.

With the base of the outfit sorted, it was time for all of the extras. For shoes, I chose one of my go to pairs of platform boots by Olivia Miller. And as I was pulling from the same palette, the suede texture only enhanced the OOTD rather than looking out of place. The outfit was not yet complete, though, because it was cold AF! Since I added some extra height with the boots, I slipped on one of my favorite, mid calf length trench coats by Nine West. The beauty of an all one color outfit is that your pop of colors are REALLY going to pop. The bold emerald green looked so luxe against the base of the outfit and the sheen of the coat closely mimicked the jeans, creating even more cohesion.

Finally, the finishing touches. For earrings, I put on a pair of dangly, three tiered red hearts for some movement and another surprise color addition. These helped draw further attention to my new do, which I couldn’t wait to show off. And, last but not least, I slung my beautiful Anne Klein bag over the crook of my arm and was ready to hit the town with my honey!

Stay tuned for the Blooper Reel of my New Hair, Who Dis? OOTD where “wind in the hair” takes on a whole new meaning. See you then!

What is your favorite jewel tone color? What is your favorite color to wear? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan21

Date Night!!

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Date Night!!

Hello!! As per my New Year’s Resolution, I have been diligently penciling in at least one outing per weekend. Honestly, I can’t remember doing so much over the weekends as I have these past few weeks and it feels awesome to be having fun! This past Friday, Johnny and I went on a special Date Night to celebrate his new position at work. We are simply thrilled over this latest development so a night out was definitely in order. Johnny wanted to go to the arcade restaurant located in downtown Cuyahoga Falls called The Workz. That sounded great to me because their food is the bomb, so off we went:

By the time Date Night rolled around, Johnny and I were both famished and, thankfully, we were seated immediately. The Workz is a really popular spot, especially on Friday, so we had a Plan B should it have been too crowded. Happily that wasn’t the case because we both had been talking about their food all week lol. We had a delightful waitress who recently moved back to Ohio with her daughter, who also worked at the restaurant. In between waiting for drinks and dinner we had a lively chat about recommendations for hair and nail salons and it was so nice for two reasons. 1) I love sending people to my go to salons. And 2) It took our minds off of how hungry we were!

After sipping on drinks, a Margarita for me and some tropical cocktail or another for Johnny, our food was hot and ready. I’m pretty sure I heard the hallelujah chorus when our meals arrived at the table! Johnny got a smashburger with truffle fries on the side for us to share and I got their white cheddar mac n’ cheese which is DIVINE. We were both enamored by the little basket the fries came in and even more so by the taste. This was the first time we tried their truffle fries (My favorite!) and they were easily some of the best I’ve ever had.

We made quick work of our dinner and decided to stick around for a bit longer to play some games. By this time, The Workz was pretty jam packed so we opted to get forty credits on a game card and head home afterwards. This didn’t take long at all because the hatchet throwing game took eight credits per player so we could only play through it together twice. However, I could have stayed there playing all night because your girl was a natural!! Almost every single throw, I got a bullseye and there was nothing more satisfying than hearing that “thwack”!!

After retiring home for the evening, Johnny and I finished building our Malfoy Manor Lego set and it turned out amazing. I can’t wait to show all of you! Needless to say, it was a very successful Date Night!!

What did you do this weekend? Do you have any arcade eateries 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

Dec27

Lego Dobby Set

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Lego Dobby Set

Howdy!! Johnny gifted me with two of my favorite things this Christmas: Lego and Hadestown and it was awesome. He got me the most adorable Dobby Lego set for our knick knack shelf and the deluxe original cast recording of Hadestown on vinyl. All of the fixings for a perfect date night in! This past Friday, we spent the evening listening to my new record in its entirety while working on building Dobby. Well, actually, it was more like me working because this was the first Lego set I completed *almost* all by myself. Johnny was most proud and called me his “little builder” lol! Check out my handiwork:

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I’ll be honest, I was slightly worried when Johnny presented me with the Dobby set because I could tell that it would be a lot of small pieces. And, let’s just say that with these talons, small pieces and I don’t mix well. Normally, when Johnny and I build together, he will handle all of the itty bitty details and I take care of all of the big pieces. This time around, myself and Jesus took the wheel and it shockingly went… really well! After a few initial fumbles, I was breezing through this build like magic and it was so fun to see the little house elf come to life before my very eyes!

If you are a novice builder and Harry Potter fan like myself, I truly cannot recommend this set enough. Yes, it was small. Yes, it was simple. And that is exactly what I needed! It was such a confidence builder to be able to work on a smaller scale. I was able to fully understand the directions which were far less intimidating than the bigger builds I am used to. And, for the first time, I was able to correct the mistakes that I made like accidentally doing two right arms for Dobby on my own. The whole time I was building, Johnny kept saying how surprised he was and, frankly, so was I lol. Everything went without a hitch, of course, until it was time to put the cake together because those pieces are still WAY too tiny for me. 🙂

I had such a great time during mine and Johnny’s big night in and I absolutely love how my Dobby turned out. It’s seriously so cute I can’t stand it! ❤

What was the last thing you built with Lego? What is your favorite thing that you have built with Lego? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec23

Husband’s Holiday Haul

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Husband’s Holiday Haul

Hello!! Johnny and I have been together for over five years now and I genuinely cannot remember one gift giving occasion when we gave each other our prezzies on the actual day. We are always too excited to wait so we just give each other the gifts as soon as they arrive in the mail lol. It should come as no surprise that we already had our Christmas gift exchange and my Johnny knocked it out of the park. He provided us with all of the fixings for an absolutely perfect date night in. Check it out:

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At the end of November, Johnny and I had an excellent Middle Class Fancy date night at the Olive Garden. We planned on going shopping for records afterwards and during our meal, I told Johnny that I would LOVE to have the cast recording of Hadestown on vinyl. And, in that moment, Johnny knew just what to get me! Hadestown is an incredibly special show to us and seeing it live at Playhouse Square was honestly one of the best nights of our lives. We listen to the music from the show and reminisce on our good fortune to see it frequently and I am simply thrilled because we will be seeing it again in February. Hadestown truly is our show and the vinyl is the crowning jewel of my minuscule record collection!

As we listen to the record, Johnny and I will build the Dobby Lego set that he got me too! Like I said, it is going to be the perfect date night in. Johnny and I just love building Lego together and it has been a fat minute since we have done so. This little set of the cutest House Elf in the world will be great to dip our toes back in after an extensive building hiatus. The most difficult part is going to be finding a space for Dobby on our knick knack shelves which runneth over lol. 😀

Johnny and I do Christmas Day our way and so we already had it days ago. My main squeeze couldn’t have done better with these gifts and I am so looking forward to our Hadestown/Lego extravaganza!

Are you an impatient gift giver like us? What is your favorite musical? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec2

Date Night OOTD Bloopers

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Date Night OOTD Bloopers

Howdy everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Date Night OOTD! Johnny and I live for a good date night and our favorite is, hands down, Middle Class Fancy night. AKA getting dressed up, going to a chain restaurant, drinking several weak cocktails, and having a meal that is never the best or the worst either. There is just something so fun about it and our Olive Garden outing was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. These pictures, though? Not so much!

In the words of Johnny “you’re standing in a puddle of wet”

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Clearly unphased by it!!!!

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Very blurry because I NEEDED the OG and was fading fast

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What’s cookin, good lookin? 😉

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Easy, breezy, beautiful Olive Garden

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

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Just out here modeling my little heart out!

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We celebrated Thanksgiving with Johnny’s parents and aunt on Wednesday and a wonderful time was had by all. Especially during the game portion of the evening. After every holiday gathering, we always play some type of game together and Johnny decided to shake things up this year. And shake things up he did because he got Cards Against Humanity to bring to the festivities!

I have actually never played Cards Against Humanity, but I knew it was like a raunchy version of Apples To Apples. So, good thing I played my first round with Johnny’s entire family lol. Early into the game, I said it felt like watching a movie that has a steamy sex scene with your parents. However, once we all shook off the initial awkwardness, we were in stitches. Johnny laughed so hard that he cried several times! Yes, the prompts and responses in the game were hilarious. When combined with Johnny’s parents reading them, it turned into comedy gold. We legit can’t wait to play it again at Christmas. 😀

The moral of the story? If you are questioning whether playing Cards Against Humanity with your parents is a good idea, rest assured it is the BEST idea! Family game night will never be the same!

What is your favorite game? Do you have game nights regularly? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec1

Date Night OOTD

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Date Night OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! This past Friday, Johnny and I enjoyed a Middle Class Fancy night on the town at the Olive Garden. I was looking forward to it all week and it did not disappoint. The OG never does! Of course, it wouldn’t be date night if Johnny and I didn’t get spruced up so I had to put together a little something something. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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Who? What? Wear?

Blazer: Express, Goodwill

Cami Top: mittoshop, French Rooster

Coated Skinny Jeans: Seven Jeans, TJMaxx

Dagger Earrings: Spirit Halloween

The heeled boots were purchased forever ago at Target!

By the time Johnny and I returned home from work, we were pretty hungry so we did a mad dash to get ready. As I applied my makeup, I began sorting through my mental wardrobe Rolodex so I wouldn’t have to spend time browsing my selection. I decided to go the blazer route and I had just the one in mind: A four dollar Express blazer from the Goodwill. It was an incredible find and I feel like a sexy, sophisticated, woman on the go whenever I wear it. So, clearly, it was perfect for date night!

For underneath the blazer, I went with a pretty oyster shell hued cami top by mittoshop. The soft color and the lace looked so pretty and delicate under the jet black blazer! I love how girly and sweet this top is and the lace serves as an accessory in itself – no necklaces required. This top also incorporated some sheen, which was exactly what I needed for the jeans I planned on wearing.

I chose my favorite pair of coated, snakeskin patterned skinnies by Seven Jeans and the sheen from the top and pants flowed beautifully together. Despite the blazer being plain, it was still the focal point of the outfit. It essentially gave me a blank canvas to play with different textures and patterns for what was worn underneath without negatively impacting the overall look. The visual interest from both the jeans and top turned a plain black blazer into something special.

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. I popped on a dangly pair of daggers with red gemstones to elongate my neck as it was the only skin showing. And, because of the lace on the top, a necklace wasn’t necessary. So, I wrapped up the look with a pair of heeled boots from Target that are literally old as dirt lol. In fact, I realized I should probably throw them out! But, they added height, kept with the established palette, and I just love the curved shape of the heel. With that, I was date night ready!

Johnny and I had the best time on our Middle Class Fancy extravaganza and I can’t wait for our next night out together! ❤

Where is your favorite place to go on a date? What is your Middle Class Fancy favorite? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov26

Middle Class Fancy Date Night

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Middle Class Fancy Date Night

Hello!!! While driving home from a particularly long day last Monday, I was already looking forward to the weekend lol. Of course, I was eager to relax but I also wanted to do something fun with Johnny. So, I decided on treating us to a Middle Class Fancy Date Night. I also knew exactly where I wanted to go because I had been craving it something fierce: the Olive Garden! Johnny and I haven’t been there since my thirtieth birthday and the Fettuccine Alfredo was calling my name. As soon as I got home, I announced the Friday night plan and we were excited for it the whole week. We had the best time, even if this picture of Johnny makes you think otherwise:

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There are countless amazing restaurants in our general vicinity that aren’t part of a chain and that’s fantastic. However, Middle Class Fancy nights are all about embracing the chains and we both have our preferred spots. Johnny loves Outback Steakhouse and the Olive Garden is never not far from my mind. A vegetarian can never go wrong with pasta! After work on Friday, we both took a half hour or so to get spruced up and then we made our way to the OG on a rainy afternoon. Despite the weather, it was all sunshine and rainbows in my world because we come alive during date night!

For our meal, we ordered our old standbys: Fettuccine Alfredo for me and the same for Johnny except with chicken. We gorged on our pasta, soup, and bread sticks and sipped on tasty cocktails. The entire time we were at dinner, we chatted away and at some points were in hysterics laughing in our cozy corner booth. This is exactly why I love date night – being in any date style setting with Johnny forever will bring me back to our first date. That feeling that we could talk and laugh until it was time for the restaurant to close and wanting the night to last forever.

After we finished our delicious meal, we had one final stop to make before we could retire home to get comfy: The Exchange. Johnny’s pay day treat to himself is a couple of new records so this was a necessity. He selected a few for himself and then surprised me with a record for my minuscule collection: Rio by Duran Duran. I am an avid Duran Duran fan and as soon as I pointed the record out to Johnny, he plucked it from the shelf and added it to the “To Buy” pile. It was the sweetest! With records in tow, we headed back home to listen to all of them, play games, and revel in a perfect Middle Class Fancy Date Night. ❤

It has been a while since Johnny and I had a night on the town together and this was our reminder that we need to do it way more often. I can’t wait to start incorporating more date nights into our schedule because there really is no better way to wrap up the week!

What is your perfect date night? What is your favorite chain restaurant? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov13

SO Excited!!!

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SO Excited!!!

Hello!! My favorite place in my neck of the woods has got to be Playhouse Square in Cleveland, hands down. I have seen countless amazing shows there with Johnny, friends, and family and have the fondest memories of each and every visit. Playhouse Square dates with Johnny are something I revel in and I consider our Valentine’s Day date of 2023 to be one of the best. That was when we saw Hadestown together and it skyrocketed into one of our all time favorite musicals.

Since seeing the show at Playhouse Square, we must have said over a million times that we would love to see Hadestown again. As fortune would have it, I received an email from EJ Thomas Hall in Akron for their spring lineup and Hadestown was on the bill. Does EJ Thomas hold a candle to Playhouse Square in terms of overall experience? IE: Venue, theater size, visibility of the stage. Absolutely not. But, I saw Jesus Christ Superstar there and it was a phenomenal effort for what it was. In fact, there were some parts of the show that I liked better than the Playhouse Square production of it that Johnny and I saw. (Also one of the best nights ever!!)

Although EJ Thomas isn’t my preferred venue, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for Johnny and I to enjoy Hadestown once more. I ordered us our tickets this weekend and scored awesome seats: Smack dab in the middle of the third row on the balcony. The best part? We will be seeing it the week after Valentine’s Day so it will be like a do over of our treasured V-Day date two years prior. This past week, I have been really trying to make space in my schedule for fun and purchasing these tickets was the perfect way to dip my toes in the water. We can’t wait!!

If Hadestown is playing in your area, RUN to go see it. You can thank me later when it becomes your favorite musical too. I am so lucky to be able to see this show twice for Valentine’s Day with my main squeeze!

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

Sep1

Best Date Night EVER!!!!

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Best Date Night EVER!!!!

Hello!! This past Wednesday was the absolute best because Johnny and I had a night on the town. We literally never do anything during the work week because of our demanding schedules. However, sometimes exceptions need to be made and that came in the form of an Alice Cooper concert at Blossom Music Center. This is the second concert I have attended there in the past month and I am so happy that Johnny and I were able to make this date night work. This show was our very first concert together! I will post tons of pics tomorrow, but would love to discuss our experience today. Let’s get to it:

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Johnny and I are HUGE Alice Cooper fans and when we learned that he was performing at a venue ten minutes away from our apartment, we just had to go. We spent all of Wednesday willing the day to go by faster so we could get our Alice on and made our way to the venue around 5:30. The show started at six and the opening act, Ministry, was already playing by the time we got there. This was no harm no foul because we didn’t care at all lol. As the opener played, Johnny and I purchased drinks and had to make a pit stop so he could use the little rock star’s room. This ended up being an awesome detour, indeed!

While Johnny was in the facilities, I sat at a picnic bench with a mom and her daughter who was my age. We got to chatting and Didn’t. Stop. Chatting. Johnny and I spent the majority of our time getting to know our new friends who were freaking hilarious. In fact, we were so deep in our conversations and belly laughs that we didn’t even realize the second performer, Rob Zombie, had taken the stage. I genuinely thought music was just being played through the speakers. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed not to have watched Rob Zombie’s set because I have never seen him live before. I had the opportunity to at another show but left before he went on. In a way, though, this was also no harm no foul. I can’t imagine the set was anything to write home about considering we had no idea it was even happening lolol.

As we continued with our newfound comradery, Alice Cooper finally began his performance. We said quick goodbyes and are very much looking forward to hanging out with them again. Johnny and I hauled ass to our seats in the pavilion and were treated to the show of a lifetime. Alice Cooper’s set was honestly like watching a horror movie unfold onstage. We were well aware of his usual tricks and gimmicks but to see them live before our very eyes was pure magic. He sounded amazing, the band was phenomenal, and the production value was equivalent to watching theater. A complete and total dream come true.

Alice Cooper played for roughly an hour and my only regret was that the show wasn’t longer! The concert ended with a rousing performance of School’s Out and it was so celebratory and fun. After the song ended, Johnny and I started making our long trek back to the car. We knew that if an encore was performed that we would still be able to hear it as we walked and we were not trying to be stuck in traffic for hours on end to get home. It took about twenty minutes to get back to the Little Red Love Machine and there was no encore to be heard. Once we were safely settled in my whip, we saw a massive throng of concert goers making their way to their cars too. We were well ahead in that race and got out of the venue and home within ten minutes flat. That’s what I’m talking about!

Johnny and I are still pinching ourselves that we actually saw Alice Cooper live and I can’t wait to share more from the show tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Who would you like to see in concert? What was the best concert you attended? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah