Tag Archives: friends

Are You Ready To Start Expressing Yourself?

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Are You Ready To Start Expressing Yourself?

One thing that a lot of people struggle with is that they don’t feel as though they’re able to project much about who they are to the world as a whole. You might be the most interesting, creative, and exciting person on the planet and yet you still feel as though you blend into the background when you’re around other people. Sure, not everyone wants to be the center of attention, but it can be tough when it feels like people aren’t getting to see the real you.

However, that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with that kind of situation for the rest of your life! Being able to express yourself isn’t all that difficult, you just need to know how to go about it, and feel comfortable enough to let the real you shine through no matter what. Here are a few simple things that you can do to get started on really showing the world what you’re made of:

Change Up Your Look: Not everyone is going to be obsessed with fashion, and that’s okay! But the way that you present yourself can have a huge impact on the way the world sees you and can be a wonderful opportunity for you to express yourself. Different styles say different things, and it’s cool to be able to share something about yourself with everyone that you walk past. And of course, no one feels the same every day so why not change up your look constantly?!

Many people will look completely different on a day to day basis, whether that’s through clothes, makeup, or even wigs. That might sound a bit drastic but it can be a lot of fun, and it’s worth trying at least a couple of times. When it comes to wigs, try CelebWigs for a bunch of different styles to see how you can express yourself. Of course, if you’re not looking to make that much of an entrance wherever you go, sticking to a style that you love and reflects who you are is just as good!

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Who doesn’t love a good makeover?!

Be Proud Of The Things You Love: We all have things that we’re passionate about, but a lot of the time we don’t want to express those things to other people because we’re worried about how they will judge them. This is where the idea of a “guilty pleasure” comes from. The truth, is that you should never have a guilty pleasure. If you love something, then that doesn’t impact anyone else’s life, so why shouldn’t you be proud of it? Whether it’s a type of music, TV, book, or anything else, wearing your passions on your sleeve can be a great way to express yourself to the world. And hey, you might even find that someone else feels the same way and you can strike up a new friendship.

Be Confident In Who You Are: One of the hardest things in the world is being confident in who you are. The media and the world around us work very hard to tell us that we’re not good enough. That we’re too fat, thin, short, tall, old, or young. All of these things mean that many of us are walking around on a day to day basis feeling as though we can’t be confident in who we are. But the world’s not going to change unless we change. So, no matter who you are, it’s important to be proud of it and never let the world tell you that there’s something wrong with that.

Change Your Environment: Of course, sometimes those kinds of feelings don’t come from inside yourself but from a toxic environment. Having friends who don’t appreciate who you are or people around you who try to make you feel bad for the way that you express yourself can make life very difficult and lonely for a lot of people. If that’s the case, then there’s nothing wrong with ending those friendships and changing your environment to something more loving and supportive. You would be amazed what a change of scenery can do for your self love and confidence.

Now, none of this is trying to tell you that you should try and be some kind of bold, brash person if that’s not who you are deep down. You should never try to be anyone else. The point is simply to be able to embrace what makes you a unique individual and to avoid hiding that from the world, because everyone deserves to see the real you shine.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Falling For Fall Guest Bloggers Series Conclusion

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Falling For Fall Guest Bloggers Series Conclusion

Hello everyone and happy Hump Day! I’m here today to bring my Falling For Fall guest bloggers series to a close. I want to thank all of my amazing guest bloggers for making this season’s series such a success. All of you are welcome back on lifewithlilred anytime if you would like to pen another post for my readers or do a collaboration. I had so much fun chatting with all of you and it was such a pleasure to work with each of you. πŸ™‚

I hope that all of my readers enjoyed my Falling For Fall series as much as I did working on it. See you next season change for a celebration of all things winter wonderland here on lifewithlilred!

What was your favorite post from this series? Who is going to join me as a guest blogger come wintertime? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy 23rd Birthday, Best Friend!

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Happy 23rd Birthday, Best Friend!

Hellooo everyone and happy weekend! Today is an exciting day because it’s my best friend, Lea’s, twenty-third birthday!! Lea and I have been best friends for close to ten years now and I consider myself the luckiest gal in the world for it. Whether we’re taking one of our BFF day trips or hanging out in my basement and drinking boxed wine, we always manage to have a total blast during every hang out. Even in the early stages of our friendship, I knew that Lea was always going to be someone that I wanted in my life, and we have just about ten years of BFFhood under our belt to show for it.

Lea is and will always be my A1 from the day one and I am so excited for ten more years of best friendship and probably drinking boxed wine in my basement. I am so incredibly proud to have Lea as my best friend and, like a fine wine, she just gets better with age! Happy birthday, darling! I can’t wait to celebrate with you soon!

I LOVE YOU!!!! ❀

leaaa

Identifying When Your Friend Might Need Your Support

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Identifying When Your Friend Might Need Your Support

Despite the immense potential and beauty that life can offer, and does offer all of the time, sometimes we all must enter periods of sadness, sorrow, and doubt. This can trigger from a range of different problems, and we all experience it now and then. Not everyone can be functioning at 100% all of the time, and periods of depression or isolation can actually serve for the greater good in the long-term. If you’re going through a period of depression, that previous statement must be apologized for in terms of its bluntness, but not it terms of its message.

Trivializing depression is always wrong, but robbing it of all complete perceptive value would be wrong, too. Overcoming a depressive episode can make you a stronger, more down-to-earth person. Remember, a tree’s branches can only reach as high as its roots go. A person who has successfully made it through a depressive episode is likely to come through the other side better off in some ways. It can be a purifying fire, that forces you to prioritize what is important to you, who is important to you, and how you can best live your life with wisdom and foresight.

However, this doesn’t mean that being depressed isn’t real. If you’ve been through feelings of despair yourself, you’ll know about the support that you hope for but usually can’t articulate your desire to retrieve. As a friend, it’s important that you keep an eye on your other friends or roommates to make sure they are okay and doing well. Here’s what to look for if you notice a change for the negative in your loved ones:

Change In Physical Appearance: Depression can rob you of many things, not the least your physical vitality. If you’ve noticed that your friend lacks their usual vitality, they could be deeply depressed, or even worse, they might be turning to substances to overcome their issues. This never works in the short or long term, but is a tempting process for someone who feels that they have no escape.

Communicating your concerns can be difficult to approach in these circumstances without seeming hostile. Living with a prescription addict can be even worse, because they can often get a sanctified, legal way to obtain their habitual maladies. To overcome these issues, try and help them get help through any means necessary. Inform their GP and family. Be there for them. If you have to, organize some form of stay-in recovery. Depression culminates in many ways, and people take it differently depending on their personality. Another sign to look out for is:

Withdrawing From Social Life: Withdrawing from standard social discourse is a good sign that tells you that someone isn’t functioning at 100%. Another sign is keeping an odd schedule, such as replying to your messages on social media at the early hours of the morning. A symptom of depression is late sleeping and late rising, so be sure to look out for this. Even introverted people need social contact, so complete withdrawal, especially if said person used to be social, can be taken in a number of ways.

Communicate clearly to the person that you harbor no ill-will for them limiting themselves or withdrawing, but let them know that you are worried about them. Never stop inviting them to places. Consider doing activities inside with just the two of you. Try and open up conversation as much as possible without being annoying. See what you can do to be present. Even if they don’t show it, they’ll likely need you far more than you think.

Sometimes, the best remedy as a friend is your simple presence. However, sometimes it requires more than that. Be sure to identify which one will be more helpful and take further action when needed. What matters is your observation and your willingness to help your friend through thick and thin.

Featured Image By: Flickr

3 Gift Ideas For That Sort Of Friend

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3 Gift Ideas For That Sort Of Friend

We’ve all been there. A friend-of-a-friend/kinda sorta friend has a get together and we’ve been invited. This might be a birthday party or something more intrinsically important, like acting as your friend’s plus one during their wedding proceedings.

This can leave you truly stuck with ideas for what to gift for them. How do you provide a gift that isn’t so generic that they feel like you’ve put no thought into it, but also a gift that doesn’t come across as too forward or could be taken the wrong way?

It’s likely that you’re overthinking this if you’re stuck. because most people aren’t of the opinion that they’ll read too much into what your gifts mean – they’re just happy to receive them in the first place. In order to find the perfect gift, consider trying out these following suggestions and reflecting on if they’ll fit well with the personality or event that you’re gifting them for. Take a look:

Alcohol:

Alcohol is one of the safest ways to provide a classy, thoughtful gift for someone without coming across as too forward or impersonal. Finding a convenient online liquor store for substantially good products and bringing them to the party won’t only seem thoughtful, but it could actually serve to the benefit of the party you’re attending by supplying the host with something to drink during it.

Make sure that you best appropriate the style of alcohol you’d think the guest would like. For example, wine or champagne might be received more fondly for a middle aged housewife rather than a full bottle of vodka, but this can be tailored depending on what you know about the individual. (And let’s be real, sometimes a full bottle of vodka might be just what someone needs!) With Christmas right around the corner, forget trudging out into the winter snow for your booze related gifts. Opt to Buy Liquor Online instead for hassle free shopping.

Gift Baskets:

Gift baskets are beautiful works of presentation and can stock a range of amazing products that are sure to go down well with whomever you purchase them for. Whether you’re looking for a food themed one containing charcuterie meats and cheeses or a basket filled with beauty and skincare products, this is a great way to fulfill a range of gifting items for the giftee.

A plethora of goodies in a beautiful container looks thoughtful and well-presented. This is my favorite method of gifting. What’s more, you can tailor and design the contents and presentation of your basket with the correct online service, so be sure to find one that delivers to your area and get creating!

Gift baskets are always excellent, of course, but can certainly be hard to fill if you are shopping for someone you don’t know well. Fear not! There are amazing tools like GiftFinderAI that can help tailor presents to the T for your giftee. With simple prompts, you will get ideas for gifts and baskets that will make it seem like you’ve known the recipient for years.

Gift Cards:

Gift cards are rather impersonal but will allow you to provide funds for a store that you think the intended recipient would like based on their personality. It also gives the giftee the opportunity to choose what products they’d like to prioritize for themselves. For example, if you’re celebrating a baby shower, a gift card for a parental supplies store can help you seem considerate of the recipient’s situation, while not offering yet another set of onesies!

These tips are sure to impress and cover a nice range of items while keeping the balance of lack of intimacy/intent for growth of intimacy. Try them for yourself, and see how well they work!

Featured Image By: Flickr

5 Tips For When You’re Worried a Friend Has a Mental Illness

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5 Tips For When You’re Worried a Friend Has a Mental Illness

It is, unfortunately, just a fact of life that so many people are suffering from mental conditions. These problems can affect people from all backgrounds and demographics. You really can’t know who is suffering and who’s not just by looking at what they have or how much money they earn. If Prince Harry of England can suffer from mental health issues, then anybody can. When it’s your close friend or partner, sudden changes in their mood and outlook on life can be glaringly obvious to you. Here are five tips for handling that situation, should it arise (we hope it doesn’t!):

Talk It Out:

People have a hard time opening up about mental health problems, which is one of the problems in the first place! So it’s unlikely that your friend is just going to spill every single detail about what’s going on inside their mind, especially if they like to put on a front that everything is all good. If you suspect that something’s up, have a conversation with them. A real one. They might just have a small issue that they just need someone to listen to. If it’s more serious than that, then you can take it further. For example, a major cause of mental illness is childhood abuse. If this is something that your loved one confided in you, you might want to read this helpful article about Understanding Childhood Abuse and Mental Health so you can be a better support system.

Give Positive Energy:

If a friend is suffering from something that’s not nice to deal with, then they will obviously be in a dark place. While it’s not easy to be your bright and cheerful self around someone incapable of matching your enthusiasm, it’s important that you bring all of the positive energy you can muster when you’re around them. This doesn’t mean being loud and suggesting a wacky adventure every time you’re with them; it means being calm, thoughtful, positive, and suggesting activities that might boost their mood. It won’t be easy, so patience is definitely a virtue.

Encourage Them To Get Help:

Sometimes, a friend will be suffering from problems much more threatening than mild depression, for instance. It might be that they need to get professional help. Unfortunately, they might not go down this path if they haven’t accepted that anything’s wrong. When that happens, help them see for themselves that something isn’t right. If you suspect your friend is suffering from schizophrenia, have them take a self-screening test from schizlife.com here. When they don’t feel attacked and can be honest with themselves, they might be more willing to seek professional help for their problems.

Don’t Get Too Close:

While it’s important that you do everything that you can to make sure your friend is okay, you should avoid getting too close to the situation. This is especially relevant if the friend is your boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s important that you keep a healthy distance, for their sake as well as your own, as sometimes your own mental health can suffer when looking after their other half. Make sure that you take care of you, too.

You’re There For Them:

Above all, make sure they know that you’ll always be there for them. Some people’s conditions flare up, and they need to know someone is there for emotional support. If you let them know that you are available, night or day, then they’ll have an extra dose of comfort knowing that they’re not alone in the world.

Mental health issues can be scary, and as a friend or partner it is your duty to show support to a loved one who is struggling. Life is not always sunshine and rainbows, but you can definitely try and help it to be!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Blogger Recognition Award #4

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Blogger Recognition Award #4

Hello everyone and TGIF! Lifewithlilred recently got nominated for its fourth Blogger Recognition Award, compliments of my friend, Liz, over at Beauty Fashion Chit Chat. Liz’s page is a real delight and I am so thankful to her for thinking of my page in her nominations! Do yourselves a favor and check out her blog, because you are definitely sure to enjoy it. Now, let’s get to the rules:

The Rules:

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  • Write about why or how you started your blog.
  • Give new bloggers at least two pieces of advice.
  • Select fifteen other bloggers to receive the award.
  • Leave a comment on my nominees’ blogs to tell them about the award and provide a link to the post.

Because I’ve done this award before, I am going to get right to my nominees to gain some Blogger Recognition!

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

Thank you so much again to Liz from Beauty Fashion Chit Chat for nominating lifewithlilred for its fourth Blogger Recognition Award! You’re a doll! What are your plans for the weekend? How did your blog come to be? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Cool Ways To Bring Your Neighborhood Together

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Cool Ways To Bring Your Neighborhood Together

We all want to live in a better neighborhood; it is one of those inherent wants we are all born with. Of course, what makes a better neighborhood is entirely subjective. Some may want a neighborhood that feels safe like they used to feel, where kids can play outside until the sun goes down. Others may say that they want somewhere that does its part for the earth. Everyone is different. Whatever the case, though, creating a better neighborhood is all about coming together as a team to strengthen your community. Awwww. How lovely would that be? :*)

To help you achieve your ambitions of living in a little slice of utopia, we have come up with a list of ways in which you can make your neighborhood a better place to live:

Sharing Is Caring: Sometimes it’s the old cliches that ring truest, and that is certainly the case when it comes to sharing is caring. Why not set up a community that is more geared towards helping one another out. Start up a tool library and a toy library, and, yeah, a book library too. Start a neighborhood vegetable patch where you all chip in and reap the rewards. Not only will these ideas bring you closer with your neighbors, but they’re all fun and helpful!

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So. Many. Tools!!!

Eco-Awesomeness: We all wish that we could be a little greener in our community, but buying solar panels isn’t exactly cheap, although they are getting cheaper. Anyways, to avoid the big overheads, why not pool together and buy solar panels collectively to enjoy a big bulk buy discount. As you can see at oregonlive.com this is a trend that was started by communities in Portland with amazing results.

Emergency Excellence: If you can be prepared for an emergency as a community, you are going to thrive as a community. It could be that you all chip in to buy a couple of automated external defibrillators from foremostequipment.com, or it could go even further and have a full blown emergency network in place. What better way is there to strengthen your community than to have members take on various roles, have certain supplies ready, and be prepared for the worst as a neighborhood.

When shopping for emergency supplies, do your research. For example, if you buy Heartstart FRx AED from AED Leader, is it something that can be used easily? Will you have a few designated neighbors who have been trained on how to use it, or will you all go to a course? AEDs are life-saving pieces of equipment so it should be a discussion you have with all your neighbors (especially with those most vulnerable) and trained emergency staff.

Nice Nights: Building your community starts with doing things together. It could be getting together for a block party, holding storytelling evenings, serving different street foods, getting together for fireworks displays, having the children put on a theater event, and whatever else takes your fancy as a community. Whatever your summer bucket list is made up of, do it as a neighborhood. Have a calendar event that you all do once a month, where everyone knows that the second Saturday is neighborhood night.

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Partayyy

Front Yards: You are never going to bump into your neighbors if you only ever use your backyard. So, instead of this, why not move your normal backyard activities to the front and make yourself more visible and friendly to your neighbors. Sit out on the porch and say hi to everyone that goes past. Make a big jug of lemonade and invite them in. It’s only a slight tweak to your life but it can make a huge difference when it comes to getting to know your neighbors and building a better community.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Vlogger Spotlight

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Vlogger Spotlight

Hi everyone and happy Saturday! So yesterday I mentioned that lifewithlilred is a platform for all voices, which is why I thought that there was no greater time than the present to talk about my darling friend, Matthew. I admire YouTubers so much because I am such a word girl that I could never picture myself making videos and really putting myself out there. That’s why when Matthew of the YouTube channel Casually Matthew hit me up about possibly being on my page, I couldn’t say no.

Matthew sent me over a video that he worked very hard on and is particularly proud of about how to create a minimalist wardrobe. And, like I said, anything video related impresses me so, of course, I was more than willing to share his video on my page! Take a look:

Thanks again to Matthew for not being shy and getting in touch! It’s always nice to gain new friends in the blogging/vlogging world! Do you prefer written words or videos? What is your advice for people just starting out in the vlogging world? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah