Tag Archives: dinner date

May1

Soup’s On!!

Posted on May 1, 2025 by lifewithlilred

Hello!! One of my girlfriends and I had plans to visit our favorite bar, the Cashmere Cricket, this past Friday. I put in a reservation and we were on pins and needles for the big day to arrive. We couldn’t wait to nosh on Grilled Cheese Dippers, sip on pickle martinis, and catch up in the most charming martini bar in town. Unfortunately, these grand plans were not seen through because our reservation was cancelled due to renovations. It was Earth shattering, to say the least, and we were both so disappointed because we had this date set for at least a month.

At this point, our appetites were so ready to go for Grilled Cheese Dippers and I simply refused to give it up that easily. Grilled Cheese Dippers are the bomb and are exactly what they sound like – ooey gooey strips of grilled cheese with a tomato bisque to dip in. How hard could that be? So, I let my friend know that we were still going to have them a la Lil Red and ended up having a two person dinner party at chez moi. It was the best and the food couldn’t have turned out better! Check it out:

I am quite possibly soup’s number one fan. However, it is actually something I have never made at my apartment. Johnny and I agree on almost everything except soup lol. My love for it is undying and he, on the other hand, can’t stand it. Because of our polar opposite tastes, I’ll buy pre-made soup at the store rather than home cook it because I have no one to share with. And, blessedly, my mom makes soup fairly frequently so I can still get my fix of the homemade good stuff. When it came to making tomato soup, I was already ahead of the recipe game because I knew exactly which one I was going to use: A creamy tomato soup by King Arthur Flour that is one of my mom’s go to staples.

I don’t say this lightly, but the King Arthur Flour tomato soup will change your life. It is creamy and thick like a bisque, hearty, and has the most divine, rich flavor with just the perfect touch of sweetness. Not to mention it is easy as pie to make! The prep time for this soup was minimal and it took about fifteen minutes in total to get everything set to simmer away. My only issue that came with making the soup wasn’t the recipe itself but utilizing an immersion blender. When I gave it a go, the soup literally got everywhere and I had to take a break to clean off my walls lol. If you would like to blend your soup, a food processor would definitely be the way to go. Should you not have access to one like me and prefer a less oniony concoction, do not use as much as the recipe calls for. Sans blend, there was way too much onion for my liking but you live and you learn!

After my soup was fully prepped, I let it simmer for a good hour and a half. Then I made grilled cheeses on sourdough and pumpernickel bread with sharp cheddar cheese as my friend was on her way. By the time she arrived, everything was ready for us to dig in and we ate like queens! Granted, we might not have had pickle martinis to enjoy but the Grilled Cheese Dipper sentiment was the same and that was good enough for us. ❤

This meal was comfort food at its finest and I am so happy that our favorite dish at the bar we were going to go to was so easy to replicate. Even when plans don’t go accordingly, there is always a Plan B!

Do you have any favorite restaurant taste alike recipes? What is your favorite kind of soup? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan21

Date Night!!

Posted on January 21, 2025 by lifewithlilred

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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

Dec1

Date Night OOTD

Posted on December 1, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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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:

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

Sep3

Friday Night Dinner Club

Posted on September 3, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! Johnny and I truly hit the jackpot when we moved into our bigger apartment a few years ago. We have ample space, were able to get the bunnies because of it, and best of all – we have the best neighbor! Our downstairs neighbor, Tony, is one of my favorite people in the world. He is in his late sixties and I always like to think of him as my pseudo grandpa. Johnny and I would see Tony outside every day on his smoke breaks and we became fast friends after making introductions. We love going to the gun range together, shooting pool, watching movies, and participating in Friday Night Dinner Club.

Friday Night Dinner Club is exactly what it sounds like lol. Once or twice a month, we go out to dinner together and take turns on who’s picking the restaurant and who’s paying. This has been a staple in our schedule for the past four or so months and is something we always look forward to. It gives us a chance to catch up, have a good meal, and enjoy each other’s company. From Mexican and Italian to chain restaurants or bar food, we go everywhere and it’s such fun to see where we will end up next!

This past Friday, we had a Dinner Club meeting at Luigi’s which is an absolute must in Akron, Ohio. This was a highly anticipated outing because they were closed during our last attempt to go and we haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Luigi’s is a mom and pop style Italian restaurant and offers a huge menu of pizza, sandwiches, pasta, salads, and the like. The portions are more than generous and Tony and I barely made a dent in our pasta. Meanwhile, Johnny annihilated his meatball sub lol. We have been waiting on this meal for over a month and I think everything tasted even better because of it. Having two extra meals out of leftovers is also never a bad thing. 😀

I am so glad that Friday Night Dinner Club has become our “thing”. It’s something so simple but it hits just right every single time. I have hung out with some neighbors once or twice during my extensive tenure at Timber Top, sure. However, I have never had a neighbor like Tony that feels like a true neighbor. He has turned into family – someone who we end our meetings on with an “I love you” and that means so much to me. Johnny and I love our apartment and our Dinner Club co-captain plays a huge part in it!

Johnny is choosing the restaurant for our next meeting and he has been carefully weighing his options. Wherever it is, we are going to have the best time. We always do!

Do you do anything similar to our Dinner Club with your friends? Do you have an awesome neighbor? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug6

Date Night!

Posted on August 6, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! Last week was an exhausting one. I spent the entire weekend in bed after coming down with a nasty bug and it made for a work week that seemed never ending as I recovered. By the time this weekend rolled around, I was feeling much better and was ready for some fun. Literally the only thing that kept me going during the week was the reminder that Johnny and I had a Date Night planned for Friday. We were going to do a Middle Class Fancy night on the town of dinner and a movie. Although it didn’t go exactly accordingly to plan, it was still a fabulous outing and just what I needed to shake away the remaining blahs of being sick!

For our date night, we decided that Outback Steakhouse was the move, then we were going to see Long Legs in theaters. Yes, it does seem weird for a vegetarian to revel in going to a steakhouse lol. What can I say, I love their side dishes and the staff is always most accommodating on letting me know what is truly vegetarian friendly on the menu. While Johnny opted for a steak meal, of course, I went with a salad, mac n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, and a baked potato too. So, basically, just all potatoes and it was divine! We also sipped on tasty cocktails – a margarita for me and the shark themed cocktail seen above for Johnny. It was, admittedly, not that good but we did get a shark souvenir from it which we deemed as the most important thing. 😀

After our dinner, we wanted to go see Long Legs because we are huge horror fans and we haven’t been to a movie in a long time. By a long time, I mean in over a year when we went to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on a Middle Class Fancy date last summer! Unfortunately, it didn’t work out because the movie was playing at the most inconvenient times at every theater we live by. We went to dinner too late for a 5:30 show and we were too tired to kill time until an 8:10 viewing. We are hoping to go see it this upcoming weekend and still had a blast after our dinner date. Once we were home we listened to records, relaxed, and chatted away until an early bedtime to take on the rest of the weekend well rested.

On Saturday we returned to our favorite local spot, the Jenks Building, to check out the new records they got in. Then, we had a lovely visit with Johnny’s family for my father-in-law’s birthday. It was a busy weekend, but a wonderful one. Stay tuned for OOTDs from these outings coming soon!

What was the last movie you saw in theaters? What would you do on a perfect date night? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun28

Best Husband Ever

Posted on June 28, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! In this day and age, it does not take much for me to feel overwhelmed. I have a lot going on and a ton of responsibilities and I am just one Lil Red, after all! This has definitely been effecting my mood and I just feel exhausted and under appreciated. Needless to say, I am SO looking forward to some much needed time off next week. This Tuesday, however, ended up being a banner day because of my Johnny. It’s not often that this happens, but he offered to make dinner for us and it was exactly what I needed. ❤

I will be perfectly honest – Johnny does not have a ton of recipes in his cooking arsenal lol. He is formidable at using the air fryer, though, and when he asked me if I wanted him to make my favorite of air fried commodities, I was so delighted. For dinner, Johnny made my go to meatless buffalo chicken patties and French fries and it was divine. A simple meal, yes. But it was really nice to be able to chill on the couch and take is easy while Johnny took care of everything. It was incredibly thoughtful and I felt spoiled – he totally clocked that that’s how I needed to feel and accommodated it in the best way he knew how. Taking something off of my plate while also putting something on my plate lol. What can I say, the way to my heart is through my stomach! 😀

Johnny is simply the best and I really am the luckiest gal in the world because of him. He is constantly doing sweet things like this just for me and even on the most stressful days, life is good when I get to come back to our apartment and see him there. He knows that I don’t want or need grand gestures because all of the little things mean so much more to me. It might seem silly, but the most basic meal ever felt like going to a five star restaurant. It was more than enough to make me feel seen and valued. Even more so because I knew that was what he intended and it worked like a charm. What a guy!

Since Johnny was an excellent sport with dinner, I returned the favor by indulging him in watching a WWII documentary together. It was a lovely evening in and I felt way better than I did before. ❤

What is something simple that makes you happy? What do you do when you are in a funk? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May7

Midweek Date Night

Posted on May 7, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! Johnny and I have very demanding schedules for work and we both tend to be up around three in the morning most days of the week. Because of this, it is extremely rare for us to do anything during the work week because we are too tired. Not to mention that we both go to bed around six o’clock lol. On Monday, I accepted a new job as Tim Misny’s social media manager. On Tuesday, Johnny asked if I wanted to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Meson, on Wednesday to celebrate. I was absolutely shook when he brought it up and happily accepted his offer!

All day on Wednesday, I was looking forward to our date night and was using all of my strength to will time into going faster. We left for El Meson as soon as I got home from work and I was buzzing the whole way there. I literally can’t remember the last time we did a dinner date during the week! At the restaurant, we were having so much fun sipping on tasty margs and feeling dizzy with delight over my new opportunity. Our first date was on a Thursday and I told Johnny that this felt like our first date.

After we finished our meal, Johnny asked for a to go cup for the rest of his margarita. I realized I needed one too and followed our server to the bar to ask him for one more. As I returned to our table, I got stopped by a few people sitting at the bar. One of the ladies asked if Johnny and I were on our first date because we both looked so happy. She couldn’t believe it when I told her that we have been together for almost five years and I actually just told Johnny that our evening felt like our first date. We both got a little weepy about it and it was so incredibly sweet. Then, Johnny and I joked that we were just really good at faking our happiness lol – classic!

I truly did have all of the first date feels during our celebratory dinner date and I love that this was apparent to other El Meson patrons. I felt so spoiled to be taken out to my favorite restaurant and am so thankful to have such a stand up guy! ❤

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

Mar12

Date Night OOTD Bloopers

Posted on March 12, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Date Night OOTD! Despite getting sick the following day, Johnny and I had a wonderful dinner date at Mike’s Place and I can’t wait for our next night out together. Here’s to hoping I don’t get sick again afterwards smh because that really would be just my luck! I loved the look that I created for date night and it was so fun to show it off. Let’s keep the good times rolling with some pics that are not the most love-worthy of the bunch lol. Check it out:

Summoning all of my demon friends

Sassy lady

Yayyyy for bad pictures!!!!

Hello, is it me you’re looking for?

Out here having the time of my life with my weird looking hand

This durpy face lol

Ready to sleepwalk my way to dinner!

The irony is not lost on me that literally every time I take time off is because I am under the weather. I rarely take work days off because it does me no favors since I’m self employed. I wouldn’t say that I lived it up during my week of being sick, but I didn’t not enjoy the time to myself? I made my own little schedule of working from home for the first half of the day and then lounged with my shows until Johnny got home from work. Being able to put on whatever I wanted on the TV was SO freaking awesome and I felt spoiled by it even though I wasn’t feeling well.

Now that it’s back to work, I find myself yearning for my TV time around noon and I don’t know if that will ever go away. All I know is, that while being sick sucks, I was living my best life with that schedule! I mean seriously, how great is that? Work a handful of hours from home and then just be done? That’s the dream! I mean, I probably would get bored after a while but that didn’t happen at all when I was sick so who’s to say lol. Another thing I know for a fact is that I will be daydreaming about my sick leave schedule for the foreseeable future! 😀

It feels good to start getting back into the swing of things and now I have a new happy place for my mind to go to when I need it… On the couch, with my bunnies, watching all of the shows that Johnny despises!

What is one of your favorite TV shows? What is a show your partner likes that you can’t stand? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar6

Date Night!!!!

Posted on March 6, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! This past Friday was simply wonderful! It has been a fat minute since Johnny and I went on a date night and that is exactly what we did. My sweet Johnny suggested a dinner out on Friday and we had both been looking forward to it all week. Rather than go to one of our usual haunts, Johnny had his heart set on Mike’s Place in Kent. This was perfectly fine by me because we haven’t been there since we got married! For our wedding, we spent the weekend in Kent and had breakfast at Mike’s before heading home. It was just as delicious, kitschy, and completely fun as I remember it being almost three years ago!

Mike’s Place is a beloved eatery in our neck of the woods and for good reason. The menu (as you can see) is expansive and offers options for any dietary restriction. This is something that is greatly appreciated by my vegetarian self and despite having access to the entire menu with substitutions, I was relieved that they had a “veggie” portion in their menu. There were just too many options! Mike’s Place has literally any dish or drink you can imagine and the roadmap menu is peppered with hilarious names and jokes for each item. You could seriously go there every day for months and not order the same thing twice!

While the food is enough to make you want to keep returning to Mike’s again and again, the restaurant is so much more than that. The atmosphere is so welcoming and accommodating and the service is excellent. And, don’t even get me started on the decor because Mike’s is like a museum! Johnny and I sat in a literal bus for our meal and it was awesome. The walls and ceilings are covered with crazy art and fixtures and each room has a specific theme. It really adds to the excitement of going to Mike’s Place because you never know where you’re going to end up.

For our drinks, Johnny went with the Dragon Slayer and I had a Margarita. I wasn’t overly impressed with my marg, but Johnny definitely loved slaying the dragon! We also shared a Peach Sangria that was simply delightful. I ordered cheese tortellini with white sauce, salad, and garlic bread and enjoyed every bite. Johnny got his classic bacon cheeseburger and French fries and he slayed that too lol. The French fries were SO good – super crispy on the outside and soft as can be inside. We were stuffed by the end of our dinner, both with food and feelings lol. ❤

Johnny and I ended our date night as we normally do… Playing Diablo IV. We had the best time going out and plan on making a night out a more regular occurrence. I think we will both be happy if we go to Mike’s Place again next time!

What is your perfect date night like? What is one of your favorite restaurants 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

Jul22

Dinner & A Movie Date Night

Posted on July 22, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! Last Friday, Johnny and I had a fabulous date night of dinner and a movie. Applebee’s was running a promo for spend X amount of money and get a free ticket to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and we were so there for it! In fact, we got our Middle Class Fancy on so hard that we ended up with three free tickets lol. It was an absolute blast and was so typically us. Whether we’re all dressed up for Taco Bell or a date night at The Bee’s, we treat everything like a special occasion because it is! Check it out:

Okay, is it just me or did Applebee’s really up their game? Perhaps it was the Margaritas we were enjoying or the thrill of a night out, but our food was so good. We started our meal with Crispy Cheese Bites as an appetizer and they were bomb AF. They were like a mixture of a cheese curd and mozzarella stick and came with Ranch and Firecracker sauce to dip in. If we didn’t have actual dinner ordered too, we easily could have ate the whole plate! Our leftovers were also A1 when we air fried them later that weekend. 😀

For the main course, Johnny got his usual of a bacon cheeseburger and I got the Three-Cheese Chicken Penne minus the chicken. As you can see, Johnny loved his burger and my pasta was awesome. It wasn’t as good as something from Olive Garden, but it was close. My meal also inspired our next Middle Class Fancy outing because I want to hit up the OG. Maybe when I drag Johnny to the Barbie movie with me?!

After we were done eating, we headed to the theater to settle in for the movie. This was the first movie we have seen since we took our niece to see Sing 2 for her third birthday last year! Pre pandemic, Johnny and I used to see movies together pretty frequently and I’m hoping we bring that back. The Regal we went to was so fancy with big reclining chairs that were insanely comfortable. It was the perfect setup to get our Indiana Jones on and I only want to go to that theater from now on. Once you see a movie in a recliner, you can’t go back!

Johnny and I have had a date night two weeks in a row and nothing makes me happier. Even though we are always dead tired by the end of the week, stepping out with my main squeeze is like getting a caffeine IV. I can’t wait for our next date night at the Olive Garden because it’s going to be my turn to pick! ❤

What is your favorite Middle Class Fancy restaurant? What was the last movie you saw in theaters? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

	lifewithlilred on Spirit Christmas Haul
	oliveunicorn on Spirit Christmas Haul
	Simon on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers
	lifewithlilred on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers
	Simon on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers