Tag Archives: excited

New Hair Sneak Peek

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New Hair Sneak Peek

Hello! One of my absolute favorite things in the world is getting my hair done at the Shear Shop. My amazing stylist, Anna, has been doing my hair for over twenty years and we just have so much fun at all of my appointments. While she works her magic, we are nonstop chattering away about our updates, laughing, and daydreaming about what to do with my hair next. Sometimes Anna and I just freestyle what we are going to do the day of my appointment. More often than not, however, we go into it with a plan and then we’ll see what happens. As Anna and I were messaging about my new do at my upcoming appointment, we were both totally on the same wavelength and will be working with this color palette:

This is the time of the year when I ditch summer colors and start delving into the deeper hues of fall. Anna and I have been experimenting with beaucoup blue by Pulp Riot for the warmer weather and I have been loving it. Blue has become a staple in my hair palette and I have been looking forward to using the gorgeous deep navy Nightfall for fall. Then, Anna sent me a picture of a blue jean shade called Asteroid and I just had to go for it instead! It’s not a huge jump from Nightfall but it’s enough for something different and I am never one to shy away from new Pulp Riot colors. I can’t wait to see it and smell it lol because all of their hair dye smells like Sweet Tarts! 😀

With red always being featured in my hair, we also had to decide on a new color for the middle layer. Currently, we have a pretty peach mixture of Desert Sky and Lava and that won’t do for fall. I told Anna I was thinking purple and coincidentally, she was looking at purple options when I suggested it! We considered it fate and will be using a Kelly Osbourne-esque violet called Elixir. I felt very inspired by her hair when she hosted Lego Masters Junior and repeatedly told Johnny how much I liked her color. Elixir is a perfect match and I adore that we read each other’s minds to pick it out. ❤

Red, purple, blue – oh my! Peep my brand new do soon on lifewithlilred!

How often do you get your hair done? Are you changing your hair for fall? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Skirt Alert OOTD Bloopers

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Skirt Alert OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Skirt Alert OOTD! Despite the fact that I despise dressing for summer, I have been having a lot of fun styling all of the looks that you have seen this season. Having said that, can fall hurry up and get here now or? Your girl has been ready for fall since summer began and I cannot wait to dress for my favorite season of all! I have been gazing hungrily at all of my cardigans, scarves, hats, gloves, and jackets and I will be SO happy when I can bust them out! While I am counting down the days until cooler weather, I still want to enjoy shooting as many summer fits as I can… and laughing at them too! Roll the Blooper Reel, please!

Johnny and I have been to many an amazing concert this summer and our lineup is not complete just yet. In fact, the best has been saved for last. That’s right, we’re seeing Weird Al at Blossom in September!! Weird Al has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. My older bros freaking loved him and I can recall listening to his CDs on our way to family vacations or just running errands. He has truly only gotten better and I have been blessed enough to see him live twice already. Whenever he comes to the greater Akron area, it goes without saying that I will be there with bells on!

Johnny loves Weird Al just as much as me and my big bro and we listen to him often. It’s just fun to sing along and get silly and I swear his lyrics are still funny no matter how many times we hear them. He has transformed songs for me to the point that I cannot hear the original on the radio without his lyrics swarming through my head. One of my all time favorite Weird Al parodies has got to be Whatever You Like (Original by T.I.). I also happen to LOVE the original song and have been hearing it on the radio a fair amount recently even though it was released seventeen years ago! You could imagine how happy I was to hear it again but as soon as I started singing along, I was spitting Weird Al lyrics lol. I just know that is exactly what he would want and I will forever be his number one fan. ❤

Weird Al will be the perfect finale to an excellent summer concert series and I cannot wait to tell you all about it!

What is your favorite Weird Al song? Have you ever seen him in concert before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Let’s Get This Bread

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Let’s Get This Bread

Howdy! While I absolutely love my apartment, the one thing I don’t like is the kitchen. It’s pretty small and counter space is incredibly limited. Even more so by the fact that we have several countertop appliances taking up room like our air fryer, ice machine, toaster, and Keurig. As you can imagine, this makes cooking really difficult and it’s frustrating because I love to cook so much! With cooking being a struggle, I rarely even think about baking and that is a shame because my mom and sister are absolutely excellent bakers.

My sister makes a mean sweet treat and I am still daydreaming about a blueberry cheesecake she made several years back. My mom is a genius in general and in terms of baking bread and I have the fondest memories of helping her knead the dough when I was little. I always fancied trying to bake bread myself but it would be basically impossible at chez moi. The only table we have is my work desk and it’s covered in all of my random odds and ends and I don’t think kneading the dough on the floor is a good look lol.

As it just so happens, I might be able to make bread yet. Just not in the way I would want to. I recently acquired a bread machine that a friend had and never used. I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least give it a shot and it’s super cute to boot:

As the daughter of a mom who always poo pooed a bread machine, I felt slightly guilty for taking my friend up on the offer. In fact, when I called my mom to tell her about my newest countertop addition, I prefaced it by saying “don’t be mad” lol! Of course she wasn’t mad in the slightest and encouraged me to give it a go. She also told me a lot of bread recipes she has that I love have an adjoining bread machine recipe for me to use. 😀

Although this bread machine won’t give me the same “kneaded with love” (My mom’s official slogan) effect, it will still provide one of the best things about baking bread… How freaking amazing it smells as it’s baking!! I promised the friend who gave me their bread machine that the first loaf I bake will be for them. The next one I plan on making will be used for grilled cheese sandwiches paired with tomato soup for my mom and I to share. I know it won’t be as good as my mom’s but I’m excited to try something new!

During my next trip to the grocery store, I will be buying all the goods for my first time baking bread with the machine method. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Do you have any pro tips for bread machine usage? What is your favorite bread machine recipe? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Maxi Dress, Max Style OOTD Bloopers

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Maxi Dress, Max Style OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Maxi Dress, Max Style OOTD! I always look forward to taking OOTD pictures and TikTok videos, but was especially excited for this particular look. I had just got my hair done, was sporting a new favorite dress, and was feeling my goddamn self and have been every day since my appointment at the Shear Shop. It’s amazing what a new do can do to crank the ol’ self esteem up to eleven! The shots you are about to see definitely don’t fall under the feeling myself category but let’s take a look anyways:

Being self employed is a wonderful, beautiful thing. Not having PTO, however, freaking sucks lol. Because I’m losing money when I take a day off, it is a rarity for me to do so outside of holidays or being sick. This is not a good habit in the slightest because everyone needs a day or two off and one of my goals has been to be more lenient when I need a break. Which is why I am so happy to report that I am on staycation, baby!!!!! Outside of two easy peasy shifts, I have THREE full days off and I am ecstatic.

What am I going to do during my me time? Probs nothing but vegging out and enjoying every minute of it! Since mine and Johnny’s birthaversary, our weekends have been jam packed. We have legit had plans every weekend since June first and while it has been so much fun, it was exhausting and a staycation reprieve on my couch is exactly what the doctor (me) ordered. I plan on binging documentaries, TV shows Johnny has no interest in, and kicking it old school with my Nintendo 3DS. I recently acquired the only game in the Paper Mario series that I don’t have, Sticker Star, and playing it has been a blast. I can’t wait to utilize my couch time to the fullest and beat it! 😀

Staycation all I ever wanted, staycation got to stay home or however that one song goes. I’m stoked!!

What would you do during a staycation? Where would you go for a dream vacation? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

New & Improved Concert Lineup

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New & Improved Concert Lineup

Hello!! During the pandemic, Johnny and I had a plethora of concerts that we were going to attend but, sadly, couldn’t. One of the most painful losses was easily not seeing My Chemical Romance for their reunion tour and I am still Not Okay about it! While it was a bummer to forego all of these shows and experiences and basically eat my money, I am so happy that Johnny and I are making up for it this summer. We have already seen AC/DC and will be seeing Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson next weekend and Weird Al in September. But wait! There’s more!!

For my birthday, I was surprised by not one but two sets of tickets. For my gift, Johnny ordered us two tickets to see The Struts for their tenth anniversary tour at the House of Blues. We are avid fans of The Struts and to make it even better, they are playing at my favorite venue! I have seen countless shows at the House of Blues and they have always been some of my favorite concerts. It is a smaller venue and gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with the stage. It makes for such an exciting evening and being in such close proximity to your favorite musicians is intoxicating. I have been dropping helpful hints that I would love to see The Struts since I learned that they were coming to Cleveland and I am so happy Johnny caught on. 😀

Not only did Johnny gift me with concert tickets, but my beloved big sis did too. We recently learned that Lil Wayne was coming to Blossom Music Center and I let Kristen know but we didn’t do anything with that information. This was okay because I actually saw Lil Wayne at Blossom Music Center when I was a teenager (I definitely sneaked out to see that show!). I had kind of forgotten about his upcoming show because I assumed we weren’t going. Then, Kristen texted me with the most beautiful sentiment I ever read on my birthday: “Do you have tickets to Lil Wayne?” I was on cloud nine and Kristen, my brother-in-law, and I will have a banner night on the town. So nice, I’ll see him twice and I can’t wait for my belated birthday outing!

This was a musical birthday, indeed, and I am so excited to make so many amazing concert memories this summer with all of my favorite people!

Are you going to any concerts this summer? Who would you love to see live? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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

Lil Red Jacket OOTD Bloopers

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Lil Red Jacket OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Lil Red Jacket OOTD! I don’t know about all of you, but I have been So. Freaking. Tired. I feel overworked and over stressed and by the time last weekend rolled around, I was over it. Other than a lovely dinner out with our favorite downstairs neighbor on Friday, Johnny and I did a whole lot of nothing. The only thing in my books was taking pictures on Saturday and I was able to rouse Johnny from the coach to accomplish my goal. Like the blog husband he is, he went outside in his pajamas to make it happen! #blessed I was definitely looking as yikes as I felt in these shots:

Best blurry pals!!!

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Yoohoo from the parking lot of Timber Top!

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TFYM when you’re going to have a mental breakdown

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Lmaooo what is this?! YIKES.

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Looking like a total derp…

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And ROCKING it, obvi

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Clearly ready for Johnny to give me my phone back!

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Being self employed has so many perks and, to me, there is nothing better than being able to do my own thing every day. The downside? When I don’t do my own thing every day, I don’t get paid. I am the absolute WORST at taking time off for myself. Legit the only times I do are when I am sick or during family emergencies so it’s never particularly a fun day off lol. As a major positive, I adore my jobs and am happy to give my all each time I punch the clock. I’d be a liar if I didn’t say that I can’t freaking wait for holiday breaks, though!

After an exhausting handful of weeks, I pulled up the calendar on my phone and decided to give myself something to look forward to… plotting my Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks (and dinner plates, let’s be real!). Normally, I don’t take lengthy breaks during the holiday season. This year, I am treating myself baby!! I have mapped out my vacations to give myself the time and permission to do whatever I want. Whether that be lounging for two days straight, hang outs with friends, and staying up and sleeping in late. Just the promise alone of a work free agenda has been intoxicating and it really perked me up. 🙂

I am in the holiday home stretch. In a handful of weeks it will be sweet freedom and I am motivated to cross the finish line to the best of my ability and enjoy a much deserved rest!

Is it hard for you to take time off of work? Do you have plans for your holiday breaks? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Johnny’s GREAT SUCCESS!!

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Johnny’s GREAT SUCCESS!!

Hello!! I wouldn’t consider the actual day of Halloween to be anything special to me. Thursdays are a very long, busy day for me at work. Johnny, however, had a banner day at his job! Normally, when I return home for the day, Johnny will greet me at the door looking just as exhausted as I feel. So, you could imagine my surprise when he opened the door bright eyed and bushy tailed! Clearly, he was in a good mood and I found out why when I sat down at my computer. There was a trophy on top of my laptop that he won from the costume contest his job hosted!!

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Every year, there is a Halloween costume contest at Johnny’s place of employment and he planned on reprising an oldie but goodie ensemble for the competition: AC/DC’s Angus Young. He was excited to rock that COTD again but a wrench was thrown into the mix when we couldn’t find the signature Angus Young shorts or hat anywhere. We must have turned over the entire apartment trying to find it! Begrudgingly, Johnny settled on being Lord Licorice for the event and got up extra early to get himself dressed to impress. And how he impressed!

Out of the three costume categories of Scariest, Funniest, and Most Creative, my main squeeze won Most Creative on his Lord Licorice look. Along with the trophy, he also received a Yeti tumbler as a prize and he was on cloud nine. I was so tired after work but this excellent news and seeing him so happy perked me right up! As he told me all about his big day, we were both grinning from ear to ear. Johnny and I both put a lot of effort into our costumes and it paid off in a major way. In fact, he ended up saying that he was glad we couldn’t find his Angus Young costume because he didn’t think it would make him a winner after all. It’s funny how things always have a way of getting sorted out. ❤

We are both absolutely elated over this costume contest win. It might not seem like much, but it is a huge deal for us. We thought our costumes were the best and this confirms it! 😀

Do you celebrate holidays at work? What are those events like? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

New Hair Sneak Peek

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New Hair Sneak Peek

Hello!! My preferred form of self care definitely falls under the “pampering” category. I love getting my hair and nails done, getting dressed up, and shopping for pretty little somethings to spoil myself with. Whenever I am done with any of these treats, I feel like a billion bucks and nobody can tell me NOTHING – especially after getting my hair done. This Friday, I have an appointment at the Shear Shop with my beloved stylist, Anna, to transform my hair. A few weeks before it’s time for me to come in, Anna will message me and we’ll discuss what I would like and she sends me different color options which she orders just for me. I don’t want to speak prematurely, but I think this is going to be one of my favorite hair makeovers yet! Check it out:

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^^^ The “10” shades will be more true to what my hair will look like as it is the colors after bleaching!

Anna has been my stylist for over two decades and she knows me and my personal style like the back of her hand. For example, she predicted without me even hinting at it that I wanted to go back to dark hair after my summer colors of red, pink, and yellow. She was so right. I have been itching to get back to darker hues because the regrowth of my natural dark brown hair looks hit with lighter colors. After that matter was settled, she sent me pictures of some gorgeous new Pulp Riot shades. We have been loyal to Pulp Riot ever since the first time Anna used it on my hair. The colors are vibrant, the dye smells like Sweet Tarts, and it creates hair magic without fail every time.

The one color I was particularly entranced with was Eloped, but I wasn’t sure how that would mesh with the shade I had in mind. One of my favorite Pulp Riot colors ever is Nightfall (navy) and I want it back desperately. And, of course, I need some red mixed in there too! I told Anna as such and she fired back with the most stunning color story combining Eloped, Nightfall, and a new red hue called Vintage Vegas. I literally clutched my pearls because it was absolutely perfect. With that, Anna placed the order for my dye and all I have to do is count down the minutes until I can be in her chair to make it happen!

It’s natural to be nervous when you make a drastic change to your hair, but I never am. Anna is a true master of her craft and I know I am in the best, most capable hands. I am on pins and needles to see the outcome with these divine new Pulp Riot colors!

Do you have a close relationship with your hair stylist? How long have you been going to them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Halloween Fun

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Halloween Fun

Hello!! Last year was a pretty rough time for yours truly and although Johnny and I always revel in the Halloween season, we didn’t do a whole lot of anything. I am pleased to report that this year, we are back on our BS in a major way and I love that for us! We have grand plans for this beloved time for the both of us and I can’t wait to complete everything on our Halloween checklist:

Johnny and I started dating in September of 2019 – mere months before the Covid-19 pandemic. That Halloween was the only time that we went to a haunted house together and I just won’t stand for it. There is an absolutely fantastic haunted house about a half hour or so away from us. It’s called the Factory of Terror and it is one of the largest indoor haunted attractions in the country. This is the haunted house we went to when we first started dating! However, it will be nothing like what we saw during our outing. The cool thing about the Factory of Terror is that they change all five of their haunted houses every year into something unrecognizable to prior visits. I can’t wait to see what it looks like this year!

Something you might not know about me is that my first job was working as an actor at a haunted house called Carnival of Horrors. I know every single trick in the book, yet all that knowledge goes out the window as soon as I go to haunted houses. Much to Johnny’s amusement, I become the prime target for the actors because I get got every time lol. I’m sure it will be the same thing this time around but, hey, that’s the fun of a haunted house. 😀

One of my all time favorite Date Days with Johnny was when we visited a local pumpkin patch. We got the cutest tiny pumpkins, took the cutest pictures, and enjoyed a yummy meal afterwards. We also never did this again so we are adding it to the agenda! While we don’t have a yard to decorate due to apartment life, we need a little something and no porch is complete without a few pumpkins. Johnny also takes great pleasure in throwing them at trees so we’ll grab a couple of extra ones for that purpose lol.

Last year, Johnny and I made a bonfire and passed out candy with my parents at their house. It was SO much fun to see all of the kids in their costumes parading throughout the neighborhood and we definitely plan on doing that again. We also will be joining our nieces for their Trick or Treat outing and are looking forward to it so much. We are keeping our fingers crossed that our nieces will share the loot with their Fun Aunt and Uncle! 😀

Johnny and I have never done matching costumes and we are going for it this year. We are going to have Candyland inspired costumes with Johnny being Lord Licorice and me being a Candy Queen. I am so excited for it! In fact, we already have our costumes for next year picked out too: Alice Cooper and Cold Ethyl. The hilarious thing about both of these costumes for Johnny is that he literally already has everything he needs in his own wardrobe. Does that mean he’ll go halfsies with me on the costumes I have to buy? #fingerscrossed

Finally, Johnny and I are VERY committed to completing the 31 scary movies in 31 days challenge this year. We haven’t missed a day yet and it has been great. We have been working our way through Johnny’s silly slashers and my atmospheric picks in alternation. And, of course, wearing our matching spooky pajamas and noshing on movie theater treats. I look forward to what we are going to watch every day upon our return home and it is such a nice change of pace from our usual post-work screenings of SVU!

All aboard the Halloween Fun express because we are living it up this spooky season!

What are your favorite Halloween activities? What is your favorite holiday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah