Tag Archives: francescas

Feb1

Be My Valentine OOTD

Posted on February 1, 2023 by lifewithlilred

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner so I thought that I would put together a little date night inspiration for your viewing pleasure. This year for V-Day, Johnny and I are attending Hadestown at Playhouse Square which will be delightfully reminiscent of last year’s date to Jesus Christ Superstar. I’m very excited and can’t wait to spend a night on the town with my main squeeze! While I plan on heavily showing out for Playhouse Square, here is a sweet and simple V-Day look to help get your outfit planning wheels turning:

From Day:

To Night:

Who? What? Wear?

Heart Cardigan: TJMaxx, Marled Reunited Clothing
Cami Top: French Rooster, mittoshop
Hearts & Kisses Skirt: Francesca’s, Jun & Ivy
Ruffle Socks: ModCloth
Red Heels: TJMaxx, Reaction By Kenneth Cole
Small Gold Earrings: American Eagle Outfitters
The pearl necklace was my grandma’s!

I try to create a new OOTD post every weekend and as I began thinking about what I might like to wear, I remembered that Valentine’s Day is approaching. This was both a shock and great news for me because a V-Day fit drastically narrowed down my wardrobe options, making this outfit a piece of cake (or chocolate!) to style. When I think about Valentine’s Day outfits, the first word that comes to mind is always “sweet”. I’m talking delicate details, silky materials, and frilly touches that make for a perfectly girly OOTD and I tried to incorporate all of that into this look.

For my Be My Valentine OOTD, I already had my Jun & Ivy skirt from Francesca’s on deck. It is one of the few pieces of holiday themed clothing that I have in my wardrobe making it both the obvious and one of the only choices lol. This skirt touches on everything that I want for Valentine’s Day clothing. I love the just above the knee length to show some leg without being too revealing. The way it flutters out on the edges is also one of those “frilly touches” that I was talking about to enhance adorableness. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with the hearts and kisses pattern which truly speaks to my Lil Red heart.

I wanted to give the illusion of wearing a dress with a tucked in top and chose one of my favorite silky camis in a gorgeous oyster shell hue. This mittoshop number is one of my favorites and the lace detailing is to die for. What is a V-Day OOTD without some lace to it, amiright? I also really like the sheen of the material to add some flare and brighten things up on top. I would classify the color of this cami as a neutral, which is why it paired with the skirt without a hitch. Remember, two neutrals together always makes a right – or however that saying goes!

With the base of my outfit sorted, it was time to accessorize. Sometimes, things just click when I’m building an outfit and the remainder came to me quickly. The red Kenneth Cole heels were a must and note the cute detailing around the buckle. So fun! Normally, I wouldn’t pair these heels with socks for fear of breaking up the leg line. But, I was showing a fair amount of skin on top as well so I gave it the go ahead and still felt like I was walking tall. You’re also not going to not wear ruffly socks on Valentine’s Day – it’s all about the frilly touches, after all. 😀

For jewelry, I first tried out a dangly pair of pearl earrings because I think pearls are a classic V-Day staple. The earrings weren’t doing anything for me, though, so I switched them out for a smaller pair. This worked much better as I felt the super dangly ones made things look crowded around my face. Then, I turned my attention to a necklace and chose my grandma’s pearls, instead. This is one of my favorite necklaces and its length was just right. It hit perfectly between the tattoos by my collarbones!

One final note on this look is that you might have noticed my red bra straps were slightly showing and this was intentional! This is me, personally, but I don’t like it when my bra straps are visible. However, I thought the peek a boo of the red worked well and was really cute. With that, my outfit was complete for taking pictures in, at least, because I changed into comfy clothes ASAP afterwards!

What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Do you own any holiday themed clothing? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb14

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted on February 14, 2020 by lifewithlilred

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Hello all and Happy Valentine’s Day! For some of us, Valentine’s Day means a romantic date night with your significant other. And, for others, it means a hot date with your couch, pajamas, a box of chocolate, seven bottles of wine, and a chick flick marathon. However you spend your day, Lil Red has got you covered.

We previously discussed the perfect Valentine’s Day makeup for your Valentine’s night out. But, today, it’s all about kicking back and having fun. I absolutely adore coming up with V-Day themed posts and, this year, I wanted to celebrate the two polar opposite styles that are traditionally associated with the day of love. We already got glammed up together and now it’s time to pop a few (or ten) pieces of chocolate and belt out “Love Hurts” like our lives depend on it. Let’s get to it:

Who? What? Wear?

Black & White Flannel: Francesca’s, Miami brand
Black Crop Top: Target
Leggings: Express
Knee Highs: Target

Featuring: Mini Bret Michaels cardboard cutout!

Does anyone remember that scene in Legally Blonde when Elle gets dumped and she’s laying in bed eating chocolate? With smeared mascara and crocodile tears she hurls her heart shaped box at the chick flick on her TV and screams “LIAR” at the man professing his love. Yes? No? Either way, that was definitely the vibe I was going for in this shoot minus the heartbreak and running mascara, of course!

Yes, this post is about poking fun at the cliches of a Valentine’s Day spent alone but it also is about celebrating it! I, for one, enjoy my own company more than I enjoy being around most people. I had a blast creating the concepts for my V-Day extravaganza on lifewithlilred and I wanted to pass that along to all of you.

Many a Valentine’s Day has come and passed, some with a significant other and some without. And, if you happen to be without this year, so what?! I have always lived my solo dolo Valentine’s Days as the ultimate “treat yoself” occasion of the year. Whether that be going on a shopping spree, getting mani/pedis, or lounging in the comfort of your own home and ordering takeout – A solo V-Day doesn’t have to be a bad thing if you don’t let it.

Let it be known that if I weren’t in an amazing relationship right now, the pictures above are a pretty solid representation of how I would be spending my day. It’s actually a pretty solid representation of how I’d like to spend every day. Riding solo on V-Day? Take some notes from my photo shoot, pop in the Devil Wears Prada, sit back, and enjoy!

How do you plan on treating yourself for Valentine’s Day? What is your favorite chick flick? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan26

Francesca’s Haul

Posted on January 26, 2020 by lifewithlilred

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Hello, hello! To finish out this little Mall Haul series, we are going to discuss a darling Jun & Ivy skirt and a headband that I got for Valentine’s Day from Francesca’s. On lifewithlilred, V-Day always means a fun photo shoot to show ya’ll how to dress girly sweet while still incorporating your personal style on the holiday of romance. And, since I’m in a relationship, I also needed a little something something to sport on my date night with my boyfriend as well as the photo shoot. Here’s a sneak peek of some of what I’ll be wearing compliments of Francesca’s:

When it comes to styling for Valentine’s Day, I always try to incorporate a bit of a rocker edge, because I consider that to be my signature style. So, I was definitely happy to have found a cute and cheeky skirt for V-Day without it being in pink! During my trip to the mall, I didn’t want to go for anything too obvious but the lipstick kisses and red hearts against the black background of my Jun & Ivy skirt sold me.

The best part, though? The shape! This skirt is cinched around the waist with elastic, runs tighter down the thigh, and flounces out at the bottom. The effect? An hourglass silhouette which screams sex appeal while still being oh so sweet thanks to the movement at the bottom. When I first saw this skirt on the hanger, I thought it was a true skater skirt, but it is so much more than that. The unique designing takes it over the edge from just being “cute”, which is what I wanted to avoid.

And, of course, you aren’t complete for a V-Day OOTD without some accessories! To me, nothing beats sporting pearls on Valentine’s Day. They are timeless while still being daring because it takes a lot to pull off such classic simplicity. When I saw my pearl adorned headband, I was in love. I knew that it would tie together the vision that I had in my head while styling for my upcoming photo shoot and date night. But, never mind that, because this headband will be a perfect add on accessory to any look!

How will I incorporate these two new pieces into one slamming OOTD? You’ll just have to wait and see!

How do you style an OOTD for a date night out? How do you describe your personal style? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct11

Vacation Purchases

Posted on October 11, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and happy Tuesday! I have regrettably been home from the beautiful Asheville, North Carolina for about a week now but with some fab purchases made during my vaca, it makes transporting my mind back to the fun I had just a little bit easier. I stocked up on one of my favorite beauty products as well as added some super cute new accessories to the mix so take a look and let’s discuss:

The Haul:

Appalachian Naturals Complexion Bar
Two fringe bandanas from Francesca’s

Beauty Bar: When I was in Asheville in June, my mom and I must have spent at least an hour in Appalachian Naturals which boasts a wide assortment of handmade beauty products. We still have a ton of body bars left but I was in need of another one of their complexion bars. I began using my first bar in June and I am still not done with it yet, which just shows you how long lasting their products are. This beauty bar is one of the best things that has ever happened to my skin and leaves it feeling (and looking!) like a million bucks. I can’t recommend the products of Appalachian Naturals enough and urge all of you to check out all of their amazing goodies on their website!

Bandanas: One of my favorite accessories are bandanas. I love wearing them with flannels, jackets, T’s, dresses, – basically any clothing item that you can imagine. I think that they are so fun and edgy and they add just the perfect amount of grungy cool to any look. My family went shopping at the outlet malls while in NC both times and a Francesca’s had opened shortly after we left in June. Shopping in the relatively new store was a lot of fun and when both my mom and I saw my two new bandanas, we instantly knew that they were mine.

Of course, the black one was a must for me and I’m actually wearing it right now with a black sweater and a camouflage trench coat from Urban Outfitters. But, at buy one get one half off, I figured I might as well indulge in other style as well. I don’t own a white bandana because I never really cared to but I really like my new one! What made me love it so much is that not only does it have cloth fringe but it also has metal chains hanging from it, too. I had never seen anything like these new additions to my wardrobe and I am having such fun incorporating them into my OOTDs. My new bandanas instantly transform any outfit and I am so pleased with my Francesca’s purchases.

I didn’t return from my vaca with a huge haul of goodies but I could not be happier with the items that I took home. They are the perfect little mementos from my trip and I look forward to getting great use out of all three items.

So there you have it, my Vacation Purchases! What has been your most recent treat yoself item? What is your favorite local store to shop at? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug27

One Love Yoga & Boutique Trip

Posted on August 27, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hi everyone and happy weekend! This past week, my sister and I made a little trip to Kent which is a college town in Ohio. We live about twenty-five minutes or so away from there so it’s not really far but it’s far enough that we don’t get to frequent the stores in their downtown area as often as we would like. Kristen needed to get one of her piercings fixed at the shop that we both go to in the area and then we thought that we would do some shopping at one of our favorite stores, Figleaf.

Unfortunately, by the time that we were done with Kristen’s piercing, Figleaf was closed because they always lock up obnoxiously early which we forgot. But Kristen said that she noticed a cute looking store that we drove past right when we pulled into the downtown shopping area. We trekked back to the beginning of downtown Kent and wounded up at One Love Yoga & Boutique.

This store happens to be a clothing boutique on the bottom and a yoga studio on top. Kristen was also so right, the store was absolutely adorable. We spent at least an hour in the boutique trying on clothes, admiring the jewelry, and chatting with the extremely knowledgeable and friendly workers. Kristen ended up with a new crop top, some jewelry, and a dream catcher for her apartment. Yours truly ended up with a gorgeous new dress that will be perfect for fall, pictured below:

The front and back of my new Millibon brand dress is pictured although I am realizing now that both shots look exactly the same! Regardless of that, I love this dress so much! I normally don’t wear a lot of burgundies and reds because I feel like it looks obnoxious with my hair but this dress looked so sweet and pretty that I just had to get it. I love the white flowers against the burgundy color as well as the little flutter at the end of its fitted sleeves.

My new dress is in a pattern that Kristen and I both recognized from Francesca’s and the worker told me that they buy from the same vendor which I thought was so cool! All of the clothes that they had in the boutique were gorgeous and the prices were very reasonable, too. This was definitely a pleasant surprise because I thought that I was going to see one hundred dollar and above price tags on everything! I got my dress at thirty-two dollars which I thought was a steal.

I’m looking forward to welcoming fall weather with my new frock. I plan on wearing it with my knee high tan riding boots for a more casual look and my army green Guess wedges for a night out. This is also a perfect dress to wear tights under as the weather gets colder and it will look lovely when it peeks through my navy blue Modcloth peacoat. So much fun fashion so little time!

Also, if you check out One Love Yoga & Boutique’s Instagram, you might see a picture of me because the owner saw me in the dress when I showed it to my sister and thought it would look nice for their social media pages. I also highly recommend checking out their website which is so well put together and a like on their Facebook page would be nice, too!

So there you have it, my One Love Yoga & Boutique Trip! Kristen and I had a blast and I can’t wait to go there again soon! What is your favorite boutique style store to shop at? Who could see themselves taking yoga classes at One Love? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. –Sarah

PS: If you’re not on my Facebook page, here’s a new picture of me in my dress from my shopping trip at Urban Outfitters:

Aug25

Crocker Park Haul

Posted on August 25, 2016 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and happy Thursday! Last week my mom, sister, and I went to my favorite place in the whole wide world…Crocker Park! For those of you who aren’t familiar with this amazing, luxurious, Ohio outdoor mall – just know that it is truly the happiest place on earth. It is a little heaven manifested in Westlake where blocks upon blocks of clothing, makeup, and home goods stores reside. Stores like Urban Outfitters, H&M, Francesca’s, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, Anthropology, Express, MAC, and Sephora…just to name a few! I made two purchases during our shopping outing and I’m seriously obsessed so take a look and let’s discuss:

The Haul:

Urban Outfitters Ecote brand dress
Francesca’s Miami brand flannel

Urban Outfitters: If I’m lucky, I make it out to Crocker Park about two times a year. Whenever I’m there, there are two stores that I always try to at least purchase something at and those are Urban Outfitters and H&M. Crocker Park is the only location with both of those stores and since it is about an hour drive away, I obviously don’t get to shop there frequently. Unfortunately, H&M had nothing that caught my eye during this shopping trip but I was so happy to find this gorgeous print dress on sale at Urban Outfitters!

Before our outing, my mom and I were chatting about what color clothing that we like to wear the best while we were walking our dogs. During which, I told her that I would love to find something gold or mustard yellow when we go to Crocker Park because I don’t mean to brag but those colors look dashing on me. 😉 I had my eyes peeled in every store we went into for something that fitted the color palette I was looking for. I struck out in almost all of them until my sister found my pretty little new number in the sale section of Urban. I had saw the dress but I skipped past it because the fit of it usually isn’t the most flattering on me. However, Kristen urged me to try it on so I did.

As soon as the dress was on, I knew that it was perfect. The colors were phenomenal and the fit was just right. It was flowy and fun as opposed to baggy and lifeless. When I walked out of the fitting room, my mom said that it was exactly what she was hoping I would find after our dog walking chat and my heart just melted. I love my new dress so much and I’m actually wearing it right now as I type this! ❤

Francesca’s: Of all of the seasons that Ohio experiences, fall is my all time favorite. About seventy-five percent of my wardrobe consists of fall clothing because I live for fall fashion. Therefore, when I saw my new black and white flannel from Francesca’s, I knew that I had to have it. I’m a big fan of flannels but the trick is that they have to be really unique because I feel like most flannels look exactly the same. When I saw that my new flannel had embroidered patterns in the design as well as zippers going up both of the sides, I fell in love because I knew that it would stick out.

What made the flannel even more “must have” worthy was that it looked really good with the outfit that I was already wearing – a black crop top, black shorts, and forest green wedges. That made it even harder to say no to the top which completed my outfit so nicely. I liked that it was more form fitting, too. It wasn’t tight my any means but compared to all of my baggy Gypsy Warrior flannels at home, it definitely was more fitted which was a nice change. I am looking forward to wearing this flannel around campus this fall for a laid back, college cool look.

The Crocker Park outing that I had with my mom and sister was a total success but I would have been happy even if I ended up with nothing. Us girls had so much fun wandering around the outdoor mall, looking in different stores, and chattering away that it would have been worth it to go home empty handed. BUT – I’m so glad that I didn’t! 😉

So there you have it, my Crocker Park Haul! Does anyone have an outdoor mall similar to Crocker Park in their neck of the woods? How about a favorite store to shop at that you live far away from? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct2

Fall Shopping Fun

Posted on October 2, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and TGIF!!! This past weekend I enjoyed some Fall Shopping Fun with my mom and got a cozy long sleeved shirt from Francesca’s that I’m seriously obsessed with. Take a look and have a laugh:

^^^ Ahhhh, I love it!

My mom and I took a trip to the mall to utilize one of her coupons at LOFT and we ended up taking the Summit Mall scenic route through a few of our favorite stores. We ended our outing in Francesca’s and the first thing that I spotted among all of their darling fall collection was this crazy comfy heather grey top and I knew that I had to have it. I snagged the shirt from the rack (and was lucky enough to grab the last size small) and headed off to the fitting room to give it a try.

As soon as I entered the dressing room I stripped off my top and pulled the silly slogan-ed smock over my head. I looked in the mirror and was so happy to see that it looked cute as can be. It’s made to be longer and a bit baggy which I personally love. It’s the perfect snuggle up shirt for fall and the material is SO. FREAKING. SOFT. I seriously wanted to keep the shirt on and wear it out of the store once I bought it but my original outfit was pretty snazzy so it needed some show off time!

If you’re familiar with the cuddle worthy fabric of Brandy Melville shirts and hoodies then you’ll know exactly what my new shirt feels like…So in other words, perfect. I adore tops with edgy patterns and sayings on it and my newest purchase is no exception. And to those of you who are curious about the “I told my therapist about you” slogan I’m sporting, the answer is: yes, I probably did!

So there you have it, my first Fall Shopping Fun post! Make sure you tune in tomorrow for a new issue of If The Shoe Fits: Michael Kors Edition, which also ties into my cold weather shopping spree! What is your favorite fall clothing item? What are you most looking forward to this fall season? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May10

Look Like Lil Red!

Posted on May 10, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Friendly reminder!!!

lifewithlilred

Heyyyy everyone! So not only do I have some figure skating dresses up for grabs as you saw in my last post “Just So You Know” but I also have some of my second hand clothes for sale as well. Usually I take all of my clothes that I no longer wear to Plato’s Closet and the Goodwill…which should have been the case with the items that I’m about to show you – but they really are fabulous and I didn’t want them going to just anyone. Take a look at these fun pieces, and if you’re interested please email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com so we can discuss pricing and I can send you more detailed pictures if you would like!

Here’s the sizes, brand, and where I purchased each of these items:

Blazer with elbow patches: Small. The brand name is unfortunately not listed on the inner tag of the…

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May7

Look Like Lil Red!

Posted on May 7, 2015 by lifewithlilred

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Here’s the sizes, brand, and where I purchased each of these items:

Blazer with elbow patches: Small. The brand name is unfortunately not listed on the inner tag of the item, but I purchased it at Francesca’s. (For those of you who don’t know, that’s a sweet little boutique in the mall that I live by. Think ModCloth clothing (ish) but for better prices.)
Metallic bottomed skinny jeans: 28R. I got these at the Gap, however I only wear black skinny jeans now!
Tiger decal high waisted jeans: USA size 5, UK size 9. These jeans are Insight brand and they were an online exclusive on http://www.PacSun.com. I love these jeans too much, however they don’t fit me the greatest because they’re high waisted and as I mentioned above – I only wear black jeans now!

I wouldn’t be offering all of you lovely readers these pieces to purchase if they weren’t in completely perfect condition. I’ve only worn all of these items less than five times each and they really are so freaking cute! If you or anyone you know is interested, you can email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com so we can discuss prices and whatnot! Much love. -Sarah

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