Hellooooo!! My June 7th birthday came and went and I am now twenty-five years of age. How about that! I had a wonderful birthday weekend and the celebrations are not over, as I have belated tom foolery scheduled with some of my girlfriends. During my birthday weekend, I enjoyed eleven hours of being tattooed, a subpar Mexican dinner with my family, and a lovely hang out with my boyfriend. Despite the Margaritas being weak AF and my dinner being cold, it was a definite success!
I received many beautiful gifts from everyone who celebrated with me. But, what I’m most excited about is the tickets that I got from my parents to see The Raconteurs at Stage AE in Pittsburgh this August. This will be my second time seeing Jack White in the past two years and they are playing at one of my favorite venues so, needless to say, I am beyond excited. 😀 #bestgiftever
Although I am not thrilled about being twenty-five, I had a great time quietly celebrating my birthday and thank you to everyone for the well wishes, which made my day even more special! ❤
How did you celebrate your birthday this year? How did you celebrate your twenty-fifth birthday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
If you are thinking about getting a dog, then you need to think about how it is going to affect your family. You also need to think about whether you have the time to devote to looking after it and even the expense that comes with having a dog, too. If you want to help yourself make that big decision, then here are a few tips that will get you started:
You’ve Got Time:
When you get a dog, you will need to take them out on walks and you will also need to take them to the vets on a regular basis, too. This is the case when it is raining or when you aren’t feeling well. If you are concerned about the amount of time you have to commit to a dog, then it helps to do some research. Some dogs require less walking when compared to others, so if you don’t have a lot of free time, then it may be worth investing in a breed that doesn’t require as much exercise.
If you choose to get a puppy, then there is a high chance that they will need to go out every four hours. Puppies tend to have weak bladders and it might be quite some time until they are fully house-trained. For this reason, you need to be willing to get up during the early hours of the morning and late at night. You probably won’t sleep well for the first few weeks but, if you are willing to push through this, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t adopt a furry friend of your very own.
Puppy-Proofing your Home:
Before you get a dog, you have to make sure that your entire home is puppy-proofed from top to bottom. This needs to be done before you bring your dog home. Any valuables need to be put away and exposed wires need to be covered up. Garbage needs to be inaccessible and you also need to keep an eye on any food that might find its way onto the floor after cooking a meal. If you are concerned about your dog going into rooms they shouldn’t be, then baby gates can be a great investment.
You’re Willing to Pay for Expenses:
A dog can bring about a lot of unexpected expense. This can include dog food, toys, and vet bills. If you want to get your dog spayed or neutered, then this will also be an additional expense, so you have to make sure that you are ready to cover this. If you want to lower the amount of vet bills that you are going to have, then feeding your dog a high-quality pet food is a good starting point. Check out these Freshpet reviews if you want to know more about that.
Those expenses can involve ensuring that your dog is taken care of when you’re not around, as well. If you have to take a trip, if you’re moving home, or if you’re otherwise going to be busy or absent, you still need to make sure that your dog is cared for. Sourcing services like a doggie day care and paying for their good treatment is vital. As such, any time you’re planning a big change, you have to be able to fit your dog into the budget, too.
A dog is a part of your family, follow the tips above to make sure that you treat them as such!
Summer is a time for making memories. With the nice weather and longer days, we’re all in a happier mood and ready to socialize. And, one of the best ways to get everyone together is with food. Sharing a meal is a great way to connect with your loved ones and it’s tons of fun. Check out the following ideas for food friendly events this summer:
Barbecue:
Everyone loves a good barbecue. So, if you want to get everyone together on a hot day? Fire up the grill! Dust off your old barbecue and contact some propane companies to find the best price on gas. Purchase some meat and vegetables to grill and make burgers, hot dogs, chicken, steaks, ribs, and skewers. If you want to keep the drinks flowing all day, you could mix up a cocktail in a large dispenser along with some fruit slices and herbs and guests can help themselves to the ready mixed drink with no messing around. Have plenty of ice in the freezer that they can pop into their glass so each drink is perfectly chilled.
No master chef is complete without a perfect grill to barbecue on! You will want to explore your options to make sure that the grill you choose has all of the features you are looking for. Some grills are more basic while others have all the bells and whistles. You can browse websites like www.bedsbbq.co.uk to start getting inspiration for your dream grill. Summer will be here before we know it!
Picnic:
If you have friends and family scattered across different places, why not choose a scenic park in a relatively central location to all of you and have a picnic? If everyone brings a selection of different foods, you’ll all have plenty to share. Pinterest has lots of recipe ideas for interesting sandwiches, pastries, salads, and sweet treats so it doesn’t have to be all of the same kind of stuff! It’s a nice way to spend time outdoors and it’s not especially expensive, either. Check out if the place you want to picnic in has car parking charges or entry fees ahead of time for complete convenience.
Afternoon tea:
More fancy than a picnic and something you can do from your own home is an afternoon tea. Decorate your garden table in a pretty tablecloth and some flowers in mason jars and serve finger sandwiches, dainty pastries, cakes on tiered stands, and tea in mismatched china cups. Perfect for a celebration (just add a bottle of champagne or prosecco!) or just a girls afternoon spent together.
Restaurant:
Lots of restaurants are particularly great over the warmer months. Find somewhere that has an outdoor area where you can meet with your friends and enjoy food and drinks. While restaurants and eateries can be expensive, check sites like Groupon for deals to save money and also the website of the venue. Some places will have special offers on certain days. If you’re looking to save money, skip the starters (restaurant mains are so large you really don’t need them anyway!) and pass on the alcohol. You can always enjoy a few drinks at home afterwards which will be way cheaper than buying while you’re out. Stick to water and soft drinks and you’ll save significantly on your bill.
While passing on drinks can save some moolah, breweries and wineries can be such fun to visit, sip, and nosh at. It could even become a tradition to find a new one during each outing or plan a weekend trip based around it. A visit to somewhere like this Beer Hall Denver could offer a lively atmosphere, great food, and a wide selection of brews to enjoy. Explore and find the best options for you and your crew.
For an exciting restaurant experience, you might want to find a spot with entertainment. This could include bar trivia, bands playing, or even sushi and Sumo at a restaurant like Tokyo Nights. Plenty of restaurants also host paint nights, speed dating, and karaoke. This is a chance for you and your friends to break out of the norm and have a blast with something brand new!
Use the tips above to plan a lovely afternoon outing for your friends and family – just make sure they all come on an empty stomach!
If you are looking for things to do with your kids this summer, then you have come to the right place. Down below, you are going to find a short list of ideas that you can use to fill the time while your little ones are off from school. They don’t have to be anything elaborate as you will see when you keep reading, but just something different and fun to do as a family. Take a look:
Take Them Climbing:
The first thing that we are going to suggest is that you take them climbing. There is going to be some sort of mountain within a few hours drive from you, and this is the perfect thing to do on a sunny day. Just make sure that you are taking a lot of food and drinks with you to avoid anyone feeling weak or tired on your journey. Not only is this something fun that you can do as a family, but it is also great for exercise and getting everyone out and about. Staying indoors can be fun, but every now and then you need something to get you moving and get your blood pumping!
Or, if climbing isn’t really something you want to do, you can find a nice nature trail to follow. There are lots of these dotted around, and you will find some amazing views when you embark on one of these journeys.
The next thing that we are going to suggest is that you take up an instrument. This can be fun to do with your children no matter what instrument you choose to do. This could be piano, guitar, or even something as peculiar as the ukulele! If this is something that you want to consider, you can find the Top 12 Easy Ukulele Songs with 4 Chords (C, G, Am, F) online to look at! By doing this, you don’t even have to hire a teacher to help you learn. Instead, you can teach yourselves at home and make it into a fun experience for those days where you just don’t want to leave the comfort of your own home.
Create Something Beautiful:
Finally, have you thought about doing something creative with them? This can be anything from painting with them in the garden to building somewhere for them to play. Obviously, you don’t want them handling sharp tools, that’s for you to do, but they can help with passing you stuff, assembling, and decorating when it’s finished. Projects like this are great because they take up a few days at least, and they make sure everyone has a task to do.
You can also think about getting them to help you out with the gardening and creating a beautiful outdoor space. This might not sound like the most fun idea, but it is something that everyone can be involved in and looks amazing when completed.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now have a few good ideas for activities that you can do with your kids this summer!
Hi! As you all know, my dad is an expert gardener so that makes gift giving very easy for him. For his birthday this past month, I got him this awesome stackable planter set from Amazon. Since it has warmed up significantly in Ohio since April, he finally got around to getting the planter set up with strawberries and flowers and it looks great! Take a look:
I was so happy to come home on Mother’s Day and see the planter out on the deck in its full glory. It also made me smile to see the garden gnome planter that I got for him last year with a potted plant in his little knapsack. Seeing the splendor of my dad’s hard work never ceases to amaze me and it’s always so cool to see the projects that he tends to so lovingly take full bloom!
What is your favorite plant or flower? Who else is a fan of gardening? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Suffering any setback in life can result in an influx of negative emotion. While it’s easy to say that you need a positive mindset in which to cope with these issues, it’s never that straightforward in practice. Regardless of what’s happened in life, be it a personal tragedy or a string of bad luck, there appear to be a few constants that can help us keep on:
Resilience (A Skill You Can Improve On):
Throughout personal difficulties, it can feel far easier for you to bury your head in the sand. People will tell you that you need to keep going on, as life does inevitably go on. The one thing we can learn through these difficult aspects in life is some form of coping strategy. But, when resilience is brought up, it can feel like it’s a thing that either we have or we don’t. And, depending on our reaction to the problem, it can highlight what level our resilience is really at. But resilience is one of those great skills in life that we can fine tune. The way we do it is by going through difficult circumstances and, gradually, as our comfort zone increases, we develop tolerance to these situations.
Self-Care Is Important:
When we suffer a setback, a personal problem, or we’re going through a really horrible time, we can neglect self-care. But, in even the most basic of ways, self-care can do wonders for ourselves. Fueling ourselves with the right foods and staying away from toxic friendships are two things that help to nurture our body and our mind. You know what is good for you because you will either feel good or you will feel bad. But what we struggle with these days is actually tuning into this and using the knowledge to help turn the situation around.
…So Is Getting Help When Necessary:
Help is one of those things that we can either feel too proud to ask for or we think it’s a sign that we are weak. Getting help comes in many different forms. Sometimes it’s professional ones, which makes life easier after a common problem like a house fire, where services like SERVPRO help with the cleanup of a property. Help is something that can make life easier. If you’ve done all of the hard work and you need a bit of help getting back on your feet, either through professional help or by just leaning on someone a little bit more than usual, why shouldn’t you?
Regardless of the difficulty, there’s an abundance of services to help people in their hour of need. And when it becomes too much, it’s these people that we will turn to. You only have to look at organizations like The Samaritans to see that there are people out there that can’t turn to their loved ones for help, but need an impartial listener, either to vent or for someone to actually help before things get out of hand.
Tragedy Can Bring Joy:
What’s interesting to note during tragic circumstances, especially when it comes to the death of a family member, is that there is a diverse range of emotions on display. Sometimes you see the grieving partner that’s completely catatonic, but you’ll also see the other side, where there’s so much humor on display, that from an outsider looking in, it can be very perplexing! Gallows humor is one of those interesting things because it’s a wonderful coping mechanism for those people who have had pent up emotions relating to negativity for so long. When you see family members get together for a funeral, and they haven’t seen each other for a long time, it can almost seem like a reunion. And the difficult circumstances we go through in life have little glimmers of joy that we may feel on occasion are the things that will carry us through the tough times.
You always hear about someone who listened to an album ad nauseam because it helps them. And in terms of therapy, laughter is one of the greatest. And this is underselling it somewhat. Laughter is a fantastic reliever of stress. But when you get a bunch of people together in the same room that is going through a terrible time, it’s amazing how much joy and laughter can come out. And, it doesn’t detract from the situation but, rather, it adds to the emotions experienced. So turn on your favorite comedy or chat with your funniest friend and enjoy the laughter.
Difficult situations in life make us realize who we really are and what is really important. While it’s never a good thing to endure at the time, through the darkness, light can come through.
Hello everyone and happy Sunday! I wanted to extend warm Mother’s Day greetings to all of the wonderful moms in the blogosphere and all over the world today. Whether you are a mom to a beautiful baby or a darling dog, you have lost a child, or want to be a mom really badly – today is for you. I hope you have a beautiful day full of love and flowers and are surrounded by things that make you smile. Happy Mother’s Day from lifewithlilred! ❤
It doesn’t matter whether you are the proud new parent of a miniature schnauzer pedigree pup, a labrador puppy, or a young rescue mutt. The chances are, that you want your new addition to feel welcome in his new home. Being taken away from his mom and siblings at a mere eight weeks of age is traumatic enough, but now he has to get used to a whole new environment and set of people. The least you can do is to try and make this transition as easy as possible. Take a look at how you can make your little pupster feel at home quickly:
Talk To The Breeder:
Just like human beings, dogs show their personalities from a young age. Although still a puppy, your pet will have likes and dislikes that only his breeder will know. It pays to have a conversation with them so you can carry on some sort of routine. Check when the feeding schedule is, what food he enjoys, and the sorts of toys he likes chewing. With any luck, the breeder will give you a blanket or small bed with his mom’s scent on to ease his transfer into your home. You might get a small selection of chew toys, puzzle games, and a collar. A good breeder will always want the puppy you are welcoming into your home to feel at home straight away.
Buy A Quality Bed:
When a puppy first arrives at your home, be ready for him to go exploring. Your new family member will be sussing out his surroundings and trying to work out whether it is a safe space for him or not. Make sure that you buy a high quality bed. You could choose a tweed dog bed or a cushioned nylon type. Don’t opt for the soft fluffy type as these will get chewed up immediately. Place it somewhere in the room that you will be most of the time and see if he settles on it. Marking his territory by claiming his bed will make him feel secure and make that first night sleeping somewhere new a little bit easier.
Crate Training:
While the idea of placing your dog in a crate at night sounds like punishment, you are actually creating a safe space for him that is solely his. No one will intrude on this space, and he can retreat there whenever he wants some downtime, if he’s feeling tired, or if he’s feeling anxious. The crate can be used for training as well as a place to sleep overnight. If you are toilet training, you can place your little buddy in there for enforced rest, but only for a couple of hours at a time. Fill it with toys, a blanket, some chews, and water. Make it cozy and inviting and he will see it as his little den.
When you get a puppy, it’s vital that you are prepared. Make sure the whole family knows the ground rules and that you’re working together to make your new hound a member of the family. Before long, you will forget what life was like before you had him.
Howdy! This past weekend, I took a little trip with my mom to Atlanta, Georgia to visit my brother and sister in law. This was actually only my second time on an airplane, which was super exciting in itself! It was a whirlwind of a weekend beginning on Friday afternoon and arriving home around eleven in the morning on Monday. Despite being insanely tired, it was a fun trip and it was nice to spend some time with family before my big move this weekend. But, I am happy to be home so that I can continue to bring you the latest and greatest here on lifewithlilred. Keep it posted for more on my trip, coming soon!
Where is the best place to go for a weekend getaway? What is your preferred method of travel? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Having a pet can add a huge amount of love to a home. Whether it’s getting a family pet that children can grow up with or an older person getting an animal companion to help with loneliness, the day you take your new furry friend home is a delight. In all of the excitement of what type of pet to choose, finding them, and naming them, you may not have considered that there are some simple steps you will need to do to prepare your home for your new arrival, too:
Pet Proof Your Space:
Depending on the type of pet you’ve chosen, you will need to make your home safe. A puppy or a kitten will naturally want to explore and if you haven’t had pets in the home before, there may be some hazards that you need to take care of. Make sure you’ve covered all of the bases by ensuring you have trashcans with tight-fitting lids, remove any garden pesticides such as lawn care products, and keep any unsafe domestic chemicals or cleaning solutions in a lockable cupboard. Watch out for electrical cords which may get tangled or chewed up and stock up on training pads or litter trays to try and avoid any accidents.
If you don’t have a garden for your dog to play in or you want to create the illusion of a garden indoors, it could be a good idea to get artificial grass for dogs for a safe space for your pet to play, rest, and enjoy. Artificial grass is a low-maintenance and inexpensive idea that can help get your home pet ready quickly. When you have your grass down or space prepped, it can give you a safe and convenient area to store your pet toys and supplies or add other dog-friendly features.
Buy Your Pet Supplies:
Before your new pet comes home, you’ll need to stock up on a few supplies to keep them comfortable. A hutch or cage for smaller animals like rabbits or Guinea pigs with clean straw bedding and a supply of fresh water, a cozy bed for a dog or cat, feeding bowls, plenty of toys to keep your pet entertained, dog or cat grooming supplies, and a stock of food or treats to help them settle in. Focus on making their first few days as quiet and comfortable as possible. Pets may be timid at first as they get used to their new environment, so try to calm down any over excited children down for the first few days. Decide where your pet’s food, water and their bed will be, and if you’re going to use a kennel or dog crate during the day, and set them all up ready to help your new pet settle in.
Have A Good Clean And Sort Out:
Before your new family member arrives, it is a good idea to make sure that any valuable items are placed in closed storage containers out of reach and check your environment for any small spaces a pet could wriggle into that you can’t, such as under beds or down the side of the sofa. Think about what steps you will need to take to keep a clean home with pets in it – you may want to consider getting a cordless vacuum so that you can quickly clean up a mess or an outside faucet where you could wash off muddy paws before they come into the house. If a cat is coming home, you could look into furniture protectors to make sure they don’t scratch up the arms and legs of your furniture.
With a little preparation, your new pet will soon be settled and happy in your home and ready to be part of the family.
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