Tag Archives: friends

Sep27

Recipe of Life

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Recipe of Life

Heyyy everyone and welcome to a very special post about one of my new music obsessions, Recipe of Life. ROL is made up of two darling girls, Shelby and Ariel, who are both full of sunny personalities and sweet voices to match. I have been hunting these girls down for months trying to feature their ukulele duo on http://www.lifewithlilred.com and it’s finally happening!

I seriously couldn’t be more excited to shed some light on such a talented group, especially considering they just wrapped up their Lake Erie Shore Tour on top of releasing a new single “Are You Ready?” which is now available on their iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, and bandcamp page. “Are You Ready?” is such an addictive song it should be illegal, so check it out and get hooked! (I, for one, am ready! And all of the links to the mentioned sites can be found at the end of the post!)

Recipe of Life debuted their first full length album The Secret Ingredient in 2014 and now I would love to take some time to discuss my personal favorites off of it with you! The Secret Ingredient can be found on all of ROL’s music pages and can be purchased for ten dollars. So click the link and listen along as I offer my humble Lil Red opinion on the album! And make sure you stay tuned after for an exclusive interview with the ROL duo, Shelby and Ariel! Let’s get to it:

Love You Today: This is the first song off of The Secret Ingredient and I absolutely love it. I was listening to this while laying in bed and I kid you not, my notes on the song were “this reminds me of how I feel when I have a crush on someone”. So many of Recipe of Life’s tracks have this ability to bring on the butterflies of being googly eyed over that special someone and “Love You Today” sums that up perfectly. Such a sweet and strong opener!

If the Shoe Fits: Obviously this song is one of my go to’s considering the title is the same as one of my segments on lifewithlilred. 😉 I really like the harmonies that the ROL gals have going on in this track and the lyrics are cute as can be. When I first heard Recipe of Life’s music, I was honestly shocked that I liked it so much. I’m such an alternative and indie girl at heart but it’s impossible to not appreciate this band. All of the emotions in their songs are so honest and relateable. I can’t think of one person who hasn’t wished for a romance that Shelby and Ariel are swooning about in “If the Shoe Fits”.

Spot On: If you guys have read my music reviews before, then you’ll know that this song had me at the opening “doo doo doo’s”. I LOVE THEM! What I think is so memorable about this song is how much fun the girls are having with it. Their little laughs throughout “Spot On” made me smile each time and this is the type of tune that should be played with all of the windows down on a bright day. At the beginning of this post I described Shelby and Ariel’s personalities as “sunny” and you can definitely see why after listening to this little ditty.

Unlovable: This is my favorite song off of The Secret Ingredient, hands down. Honestly, “Unlovable” describes some very real feelings for me, especially with their lyric “Why do you thank me? When there’s nothing to thank me for”. Ugh, I love that. “Unlovable” is the second track off of The Secret Ingredient and I think that it’s such a solid follow up to the opener “Love You Today”. “Unlovable” is the longest song on the album at 4:39 but I wish it could have gone on forever.

The End: Appropriately titled, “The End” is the closing song on The Secret Ingredient and I will seriously be a monkey’s uncle if it isn’t a song in a Disney movie. Literally all I could think about while I listened to this song was a Disney prince and princess serenading each other…Judge me for it. “The End” is a beautiful song to wrap up a beautiful album, so bravo!

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I had the opportunity to sit down with the lovely Shelby to chat about the band, boys, and everything in between. Unfortunately, the other half of the Recipe of Life duo, Ariel, is away at college and was unable to attend the interview – but fear not! I was lucky enough to “speak” with her via email to get her input. Thanks to the ROL girls, I have the answers to the questions that I’m sure you’re all dying to know, so take a look:

  • Lil Red: So how did your duo come into being?
  • Shelby: Ariel and I became friends our sophomore year of high school. We became Facebook friends because she was friends with my boyfriend, Jimmy, throughout freshman year, so we both figured we should be friends!
  • Ariel: Shortly after our friendship started we made a cover video of YouTube musician, Orla Gartland’s, song “All The Little Details.” The video got one thousand plus views and we were shocked! That’s when we thought “Hmm. Maybe this music-y thing could go somewhere”. After that pleasant surprise we decided to perform as a duet for the Battle Of The Bands at our high school.
  • LR: I’m positive that my readers will be curious about where the name Recipe of Life came from, because I definitely am. Is there a story behind the band name?
  • S: When we were preparing to compete for BOTB, we realized we needed a name! We turned to the internet for inspiration and found a quote that said “Friendship is the most important ingredient in the recipe of life” and it stuck. We thought that it might be too cheesy, but we never changed it!
  • LR: Would you agree that friendship is the most important ingredient?
  • S&A: Yes!!
  • LR: So how did Recipe of Life do in the Battle Of The Bands competition?
  • S: We won! It was so exciting. We performed two cover songs and the first song that I ever wrote “Forever Yours”, which can be heard on our album.
  • LR: I noticed that a common theme in your songs is the “perfect” guy, where does the inspiration for this stem from?
  • S: Definitely my boyfriend, Jimmy. We’ve been dating for six years and I feel like literally all of my songs are about him. Ariel and her mom always were pushing me to write outside of my comfort zone, so the first song I wrote that wasn’t about love was a huge deal!
  • A: Sometimes my songs are inspired by a relationship – but not as often as Shelby’s! Although, the first song that I wrote about a significant other, “Spot On”, is about the same guy that I’ve been with to this day, three years later! I’m still trying to figure myself and life out, so this gives me a lot of situations to draw from when I write a song. A general curiosity for life helps when I’m trying to put pen to paper.
  • LR: Six and three years is a long time! My longest relationship was two weeks…ANYWAYS, sometimes I’m shocked by the people who I find out read my blog. Have you ladies ever been surprised by anyone who you found out was a Recipe of Life fan?
  • S: Our usual demographic is sixteen to twenty-five year old girls, so we were both definitely shocked by our following of middle aged men who were musicians in college!
  • A: Middle aged adults was definitely unexpected! We also get quite a bit of attention from Christian audiences as well, which I think is interesting. Someone that we were both taken aback by was when Orla Gartland commented on our video for “All The Little Details” saying that she loved it. Like, what?!
  • LR: Middle aged people is not what I was expecting to hear! But hey, a fans a fan! And now for the interview cliche question, where do you girls see Recipe of Life in two years?
  • S: Hopefully on tour with a new album out. We would really like to branch out our audience and perform in a bunch of new locations.
  • A: I would love to hear us on the radio someday so maybe two years is enough time to get that ball rolling! But our next goal as of now is making another full length album.

You heard it first on lifewithlilred! It was so fun having a chit chat with Shelby and Ariel! If you would like to read more of our interview, let me know in the comment section so I can make it happen!

Like it? Love it? Want more of it? You can show love to Recipe of Life by:

  • Liking them on Facebook
  • Purchasing The Secret Ingredient off of their music pages like bandcamp and iTunes
  • Snagging their new single “Are You Ready?”
  • Checking out their website
  • Shooting them an email
  • Commenting on this post so I can relay the message

Here are all of the links to the websites mentioned above:

It has been a complete blast getting to know the Recipe of Life girls, Shelby and Ariel. They are certainly a ukulele strumming duo to watch out for, so be on the look out! How do you feel about Recipe of Life’s music? Do you have any constructive criticism or advice for Shelby and Ariel? We wanna hear from all of you, so leave us a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep25

Hawthorne Heights Concert!

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Hawthorne Heights Concert!

Heyyy guys and TGIF! I’m actually prewriting this post before I leave for my boyfriend’s for the night because I won’t have a lot of time tomorrow to fill you in on the exciting day! My friends at Millstone will be the opening act for Hawthorne Heights’ show at The Outpost in Kent, Ohio and we’re all very excited! Make sure you check out my article about Millstone on http://www.lifewithlilred.com and enjoy this classic Hawthorne Heights emo kid anthem:

So yes, Millstone, a band who I’ve worked with and a band who Kyle knows very personally considering the lead singer is his best friend will be opening for my angsty teen favorite, Hawthorne Heights. I actually met the guys of HH when I was sixteen or so when they played at Musica in Akron and they were awesome. All of them were so sweet and genuine and I still have the pictures, my autographed Silence In Black and White album, and the guitar pick belonging to the lead singer, JT, to this day. Not only were they a joy to chat with, but they killed their set as well!

Kyle and I are both thrilled for our Millstone friends and we’re going to arrive at the venue early to help in any way we can, so we’re gonna have a busy day tomorrow! But fear not, I’ll be back for the usual Monday Update and Man Crush Monday segments, so make sure you tune back in with me on the twenty-eighth for more of the latest and greatest! Until then, what is everyone up to this weekend? Any concerts or big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep17

Wednesday Fun!

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Wednesday Fun!

Howdy everyone and happy Thursday! I had such a fun filled busy day yesterday and I just had to tell you guys all about it! The day started out rocky but ended strong, so check out this track that will make sense to you by the end of the post and let’s discuss:

All of Tuesday, yesterday, and today I’ve had the unfortunate health issue of conjunctivitis in both of my eyes. It’s been a pain in the ass and it hurts like the dickens. On Tuesday night when I was with my boyfriend I finally decided to take my contacts out, which should have been done at the first signs of redness. I guess better late than never though, considering both of my eyes were blood red and I looked like the spawn of Satan once I realized it was time for the contacts to go. I was hesitant to take them out though because my plan was to drive from his home in Canton to school in Cleveland the following morning and my eyesight isn’t the best. #dangertomyself #andothers

I woke up Wednesday morning with my eyes crusted shut completely, which was a lot of fun! After getting myself ready for school, I deemed my vision safe enough to drive as long as I took it nice and slow. I left my man’s house early so I would have time for a leisurely drive as well as stop home to grab my back up glasses before school. I made my pit stop home, grabbed the dorkiest glasses ever, and headed to Tri-C for my French class. The worst part about wearing my glasses aside from how much I hate them is the fact that I wasn’t able to wear sunglasses during my drive. My face was crumpled into a permanent squinting position which I’m pretty sure gave me premature wrinkling. #SHAMEFUL

I rolled into my French class looking nerdy chic (I hope) but was then struck with the fear of “oh shit, I hope people don’t think I’m stoned”, compliments of my blood shot eyes. Throughout my class I was SO paranoid that I might as well have indulged in a pre-lecture hit of cannabis. “Does she think I’m high? Does he think I’m blitzed? DOES MY BELOVED PROFESSOR THINK I’M STONED?!” A gazillion thoughts of my classmate’s possible judgement were swarming through my head at a rapid speed BUT I still managed to kick major derriere in my class! #OUI 😉

After a semi stressful but nothing that I can’t handle afternoon, it was time for Sister Date Night!! Kristen and I had a sexy evening of dinner and a movie planned and it was so much fun!! I picked her up in the Little Red Love Machine for some fine dining at Taco Bell and a showing of Sinister 2. My sister and I were starving and were so happy to be in the comforting atmosphere of TBell for some binge eating. We shoveled burritos, chalupas, and tacos down our gullets until we fell into the “too full to move” food coma. It. Was. WONDERFUL!

We slowly made our way back to my whip and collapsed into the seats. We unbuttoned our pants to ease the bloating, got ourselves together, and headed to the theater for some scary movie shenanigans. We arrived at the Regal Cinemas and purchased our tickets only to find out that we were eligible for a free popcorn thanks to my Regal Crown Club rewards card. “More food!!!” We got our popcorn from the concession stand and answered with an enthusiastic “YES” when we were asked if we wanted butter on our popcorn. Who doesn’t want butter on their popcorn? Seriously. If it were up to me, I would be able to go behind the concessions counter to pump my own butter just to make sure that each individual piece of popcorn was drenched in sweet, caloric, buttery goodness. #delish

Kristen and I entered our designated theater with our hands full of popcorn and purses full of pop brought from home. As we walked further into the room we saw that we were the only people there! It was so great! Throughout our showing of Sinister 2 we were able to swear, scream, and make off color comments to our hearts content. My personal favorite was when I dared my sister to go pee in a corner…I promise you she didn’t! #pinkieswear

ANYWAYS, the Sinister sequel was scary as fuckkk. I’m a big fan of the first movie, despite how scary I find it and the second one was just as good/terrifying! Kristen and I spent a significant amount of time with our hands covering our eyes and screaming “OH SHIT” at a hefty portion of the film. We had such a blast even though we were so scared! Kristen kept pestering me to spend the night at her apartment and I kept begging her to stay the night at home. We’re basically the two biggest twenty-something babies ever. #noshame #adultbabies

During our drive home, when we weren’t trying to bribe each other into staying the night, Kristen played DJ with my iPod. We jammed to TLC and Britney Spears but the most memorable song she played was “Epiphany” from Sweeney Todd, hence why I posted it at the beginning of the post. Kristen and I love that movie so much and “Epiphany” is our all time favorite song from it. We played it at full volume with our windows down all while singing very poorly. I couldn’t stop laughing for the duration of the song and was almost in tears by the time we were stopped at a red light with good ol’ Sweeney Todd blasting through my speakers. #howaboutashave?

We couldn’t decide where to stay the night at so we went our separate ways to sleep all by our lonesome. All night I was petrified about the evil Bagul lurking in my room or dreams, but I promised myself that if he made an appearance that I would deliver a swift punch right in his suck hole. KA POW! Lucky for me, Bagul must have heard my threats, so I was okay for the night – however, I woke up halfway through my slumber because I had to go to the bathroom and I REFUSED to leave the safety of my blanket fort. I am so thankful that I didn’t wet the bed once I fell back asleep and I woke up refreshed and ready to take on a day of homework! #blessed

meeeee

^^^ I feel like I haven’t posted a pic of myself in a while, so there you go!

So there you have it, a long post about some Wednesday Fun! I had a fabulous Hump Day and I hope all of you are having a great week! What is everyone up to this upcoming weekend? Any big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep15

Daffodil Blue Photography

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Daffodil Blue Photography

Helllooooo everyone and welcome to a very special article on lifewithlilred about a blossoming business in the Akron, Ohio area, Daffodil Blue Photography. Daffodil Blue is run by the lovely and talented Britta Michele and I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with her for some coffee and all of the details about her endeavors as a young businesswoman. Before Britta and I scheduled a time to meet up, I asked her to pick her all time favorite photos that she’s taken for a Photographer’s Choice segment. Put a face to the name with this pretty pic of Britta and then take a look at these sweet shots before reading the interview that I had such a blast conducting:

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  • Lil Red: Alright! What made your Photographer’s Choice pictures your favorites? Let’s start with our little cupcake faced cutie!
  • Britta: Well, I’m pretty sure that that was her first cupcake, which was an awesome moment to photograph! This was taken at her second birthday party and I just think that this photo captures her personality so well. She looks so sweet but she definitely has some sass to her! I also like how the cupcake is all over her face, it’s so stinkin’ adorable!
  • LR: What about the second photo? They both look so happy!
  • B: They were! Baby Jameson loved the camera! I had so much fun photographing him and his mom, Ashley. I’m really glad that I was able to capture such sweet moments for her and her little one.
  • LR: Too cute! And now for the third and final Photographer’s Choice picture! What made you choose this photo as one of your faves?
  • B: These siblings were a blast to work with. I had a lot of props for them to play with, like bubbles and balloons, so they weren’t always paying attention to the camera – but it still made for some amazing shots! I really like this portrait because it shows how much love all three siblings have for each other and I’m happy to have been the one to capture it!
  • LR: So when I knew you, we were high schoolers in French class and you went by Brittany. How did we get to be called Britta and a photographer a few years later?
  • B: I decided to go by Britta because it’s a very rare name! I’ve never heard of it before and I think that it’s memorable. I want people to think of my name and go “Oh, Britta? She’s a photographer!” Photography has always been a passion of mine from a very young age. My cousin was a photographer who taught me everything that I know and she has been the inspiration for my work ever since.
  • LR: When did you take your first “real” photograph?
  • B: Oh gosh! When I was thirteen or so?
  • LR: Speaking of unique names, Daffodil Blue Photography is another one! What’s the story behind that?
  • B: Similar to my name, I wanted something that was different. I had seen “Moments By” and “Photographs By” countless times and that type of name could be run by anyone. I had played around with names and searched for different word pairings and then I started to think more in terms of things that I like. I love daffodils and blue is one of my favorite colors.
  • LR: So the name wasn’t something that came out of the blue? 😉
  • B: Nope! But I definitely wasn’t dead set on it. I kept going back and forth – I wanted it to have more meaning. It wasn’t until people began telling me how much they love the name Daffodil Blue that I began to love it too!
  • LR: As I browsed through your websites, I noticed that you do a lot of family shoots. Is that your favorite kind of shoot to do?
  • B: Yes! I love children and I can’t wait to have my own some day to photograph! When kids are involved, I always try to make it as fun as possible for them. I bring stuffed animals and just let them play. I always prefer to have action shots of children because they just can’t sit still! And the best thing is, even if there are photographs of them not looking at the camera, I have some tricks up my sleeve to edit them to make it appear that they are.
  • LR: From all of the shoots that you’ve done has there been a most memorable moment?
  • B: All of them are! There really isn’t just one. I do like to continue photographing beyond the session time my clients have signed up for because you can’t get everything that you want in the allotted time. The post session photos are usually of the kids just playing around – and that’s when you get the real smiles!
  • LR: As a photographer, it’s your job to create memories. Is there a specific shoot that you’re dying to do?
  • B: Wedding shoots! Weddings are just so magical. I love taking pictures of someone who looks so beautiful and happy. I want the couple to look at the photos twenty years from now and think, “Wow, look how amazing we look. Look how happy we look. We still are happy”.
  • LR: And now for the cliche interview question…Where do you see Daffodil Blue Photography one year from now?
  • B: Hopefully with a lot more people photographed – particularly some wedding shoots! I would love to travel and make Daffodil Blue a full time business rather than a part time hobby.

I had the absolute best time catching up with Britta and hearing all about Daffodil Blue Photography. With so many aspiring photographers out there, I asked her to grace us with some advice on how to make the best of a young business. Here’s what she had to say:

  1. Don’t ever give up. Believe me, I wanted to so many times, especially because I was comparing myself to others so often. You have to learn from the people who have more experience than you, not compare yourself to them.
  2. Have patience. I started Daffodil Blue at the beginning of last year and I’m just now gaining more and more clients.
  3. Don’t charge what professionals are charging right away. Get a steady client base before you raise your prices but never go too cheap!!
  4. Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to reach out to people who might be interested in your business.

During our talk, I was shocked to learn that Britta had not named her Nikon camera! We decided on the very original “Nicki the Nikon” and here’s the facts about what makes her D3200 camera baby the perfect one for her:

  1. Through extensive research, Britta came to the conclusion that Nikon was a bit better than Canon, which made her Nikon purchase a no brainer. “Canon is still a good brand but I would pick Nikon any day!”
  2. Nicki the Nikon boasts 24 megapixels while the D3100 only has 12. However, I learned from my self taught photographer friend that it’s not the megapixels that matter, it’s what lens you use.
  3. Britta is currently using the kit lens and is very happy with it. She told me that not many professional photographers would use that lens but that’s okay with her! Throughout our afternoon together, Britta mentioned frequently that just because she may not have the best equipment yet, it doesn’t mean that she can’t take an amazing picture! (However, Britta will be treating herself to a 50 mm. 1.8 G lens for her upcoming birthday!)

Interested in Daffodil Blue Photography?

Guys, I’m not gonna lie, this was my favorite write up I’ve done yet. Britta is the real deal. She’s intelligent, creative, and has such evident talent that it’s palpable. We both thought that it would be fun if my readers took a look at her websites and chose their favorite photo to share with us! Until then, do you have any advice for Britta as she continues her work at Daffodil Blue? What is one of your favorite pictures that you’ve ever taken? We wanna hear from all of you, so leave us a comment and let’s chat! And please make sure to leave us a Reader’s Choice picture in the comments! Much love. -Sarah

Sep7

Monday Update: A Moment Of Silence Edition

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Monday Update: A Moment Of Silence Edition

Hey everyone and happy Monday!! So this weekend was full of exciting, shameful, and not too noisy events so let’s get to it and discuss in this Monday Update: A Moment Of Silence Edition:

Let’s start with some good news: One of my best friends on the planet, Tyler, came home for the long Labor Day weekend! Tyler is currently enlisted in the Army and lives in California. He began his journey in October of last year and that was also the last time that I saw him until yesterday! Tyler was so insanely busy this weekend, as there was a wedding he had to attend on top of all of the friends and family that he had to see, so I am SO incredibly thankful that he was able to pencil me in!

Tyler stopped over at my place for an hour or so bearing Pumpkin Spice Latte frappachinos and infinite hugs to ease my ugly crying. I seriously can’t even describe to you guys what it felt like to see him and hug him for the first time in an entire year. When he got out of the car I ran into his arms at full speed and he held me and let me cry for as long as I needed to. I knew for a fact that I was going to be emotional during our reunion but I had no idea that it was going to be like that! The only way I can describe seeing him again was perfect. It was really really perfect.

After lots of hugs and crying outside, we went into my house for chit chatting and staring at each other in disbelief that we were finally together in real life. Hanging out with him felt exactly like it did when he lived in Ohio – our banter was endless and effortless and we were able to laugh at the dumbest little things. I’m so happy that Tyler and I communicate frequently via text and FaceTime because we were able to talk about our most recent endeavors and stories rather than cram a years worth of information into one hour.

I wish that our hour together could have gone on forever but like all good things, it had to end. Before we even exited my house I was already crying. It didn’t feel fair that one of my best friends was finally standing in front of me in the flesh rather than on a phone screen and he had to leave so soon. Seeing Tyler for the first time resulted in tears of joy but my goodbye tears were the epitome of ugly crying. Even though Tyler had places to go, he let me hug him and give him an abundance of cheek kisses for another five minutes before he drove off. He’s so sweet! :*)

Almost a year ago, Tyler and I had a very similar interaction when he left for California and I’ll tell you what – the goodbyes never get any easier. As we texted later that afternoon he described our get together as “bittersweet” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. The bittersweet-ness was so real considering my first tears were so happy and my goodbye ones were of the purest sadness. There’s things that you forget about people when you haven’t seen them in so long. I couldn’t believe that I forgot Tyler’s staggering height – especially in comparison to mine. I forgot the way that when we hug my head doesn’t even reach his shoulders. I forgot what it felt like to hear his voice with my own ears rather than on a speaker. Tyler is always going to be one of my best friends and the fact that we haven’t seen each other in forever but could pick up right where we left off completely solidified that for me. I love him so so much and I can’t wait for the holiday season so he can come home again soon! ❤

Now let’s get to the part of the Update where we tie the title into one of my stories. As I mentioned last week, mama was not feeling too hot at all and unfortunately, I still feel like hell! Hurrayyy! The remnants of my sickness when the weekend rolled around was a sore throat. Now the remnants of my sore throat is that my voice is completely gone! Allow me to explain:

Long story short, Saturday was a day of intense drinking for me. While I was sick during the week, I wasn’t smoking at all but of course, when I drink, I always smoke like a damn cowboy. During my drinking excursions, I managed to cough through a half a pack of ciggies and told myself that I’d be fine after. APPARENTLY NOT! I was on my Lindsay Lohan too hard and when I woke up Sunday morning it was almost comical to see myself open my mouth to speak and have nothing come out. Luckily, I had about two hours of salvageable speaking in the morning because I would have been so devastated if I couldn’t talk with Tyler!

ANYWHO, for the remainder of Sunday my day was spent mouthing words or writing out short phrases on a notepad to communicate. I figured that after a day of resting my tired voice that I would be fine…APPARENTLY NOT! I woke up this morning eager to test my pipes out and nothing came out. I kind of felt like the Little Mermaid though…so that was cool. My Moments Of Silence have turned into a day and a half of not speaking and honestly I’m going fucking crazy. It frustrated me to the point that I was almost crying yesterday when I wanted to tell my family something and literally couldn’t. So if everyone could take a Moment Of Silence and send some good vibes Lil Red’s way, I’d be forever grateful and will join you in your moment…because I have no other choice. #FML

^^^ This video was basically me this weekend. SHAMEFUL!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: A Moment Of Silence Edition! How was everyone’s weekend? Does anyone have any fun Labor Day plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep5

Excited For Fall? Me Too!

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Excited For Fall? Me Too!

Heyyy everyone and happy Saturday! Good news, my bitch ass is feeling better! Bad news, Sunday is Lil Red’s blogging day off, as you all know, so allow me to leave you with a fun post for the weekend until the Monday Update and Man Crush Monday posts commence!

With fall on the horizon, every white girl comes out of her spray tanned summer hibernation in search of all things pumpkin flavored. I promise you guys I’m not that girl…You know I would never tan! BUT, I am very excited for the upcoming autumn season, so let me tell you why!

  • PEACOATS!!! Honestly, this is my number one reason why I love fall. I loves me a good peacoat and I can’t wait to put my navy blue, red and blue plaid, and emerald green coat babies to work this season! #peacoatparty
  • Semi-cold weather AKA my favorite type of weather! Summer weather is too hot for a Lil Red, winter is too cold, and spring is too rainy but fall weather…fall weather is just right!
  • Fall clothing in general! This ties into both of the previously mentioned statements but it must be said. Fall. Clothing. Is. The. Best. Point blank, period. I love nothing more than sweet sweaters, cozy cardigans, booties, flannels, chunky scarves, fingerless gloves, the whole shebang. If it’s an article of clothing you can wear in the fall, you bet your sweet ass that I’m excited for it! #betyourbottomdollar #andyoursweetass
  • The colors!!!! Ugh, the autumn color palette makes my heart so warm. Burnt oranges, mustard yellows, deep reds – fabulous on the changing leaves of trees and on those cozy cardigans I just mentioned! Burnt orange has been my latest obsession, so I’m really excited to feed that addiction even more with a fall shopping trip soon!
  • One – ONLY one Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yeah, yeah, such a white girl, I know. But it’s not fall for a suburban girl without one PSL from Starbucks! I’ll be indulging in my pumpkin treat this morning for a coffee date with my dear friend, Tyler. Yum!
  • Halloween – it’s a given. Except I can’t decide on if being Agnes from Despicable Me is a good idea because she’s not particularly slutty…Does anyone have a naughty nurse costume I can borrow? #please??
  • HAUNTED HOUSES! I love them! I love them! I. Love. Them. Fun fact for ya: my first job was working as an actor at a haunted house and I had the time of my life! I also picked up smoking cigarettes there…But that’s beside the point.
  • Fall weather hang outs AKA the best kind of hang outs! I absolutely adore fall time activities! Hiking through the metro parks, scary movie marathons, crafting, drinking apple cider, drinking hard apple cider – it’s all so much fun! Everything increases in enjoy-ability when the air is crisp, your cheeks are flushed, and you’re with some of your favorite people.
  • White girl watching…it’s like people watching, but better! Fall time is the white girl’s peak season to emerge and prosper. The temperatures have dropped which means so have people’s standards! Thus, yoga pants, leggings, and Ugg boots are somehow acceptable to wear in society. May god help us all…But anyways, I always get a kick out of seeing all of the white girls in their flock of spandex pants and boots that were made out of the skin of sheep who were tortured. Bonus points if there’s a Pumpkin Spice Latte in their hands!! #UGHboots

whitegirls

^^^ Current blogging soundtrack, judge me for it. #whitegirl 😉

So there you have it! A few Lil Red Reasons of why I’m Excited For Fall! What is everyone most looking forward to this autumn? Who has some fall time traditions that will be taking place? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep4

Like Me? Love Me? Want More Of Me?

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Like Me? Love Me? Want More Of Me?

Heyyy everyone and TGIF! I’m still feeling like hell, but that didn’t stop me from taking the next step in my blogging career last night…Finally creating a Facebook page! I’ve had countless people tell me that I should make a page for lifewithlilred, so I figured what better time to do it than when I feel like I’m dying! Here’s the link to my Facebook page, so if all of you could give it a like, that would be great! 😉 https://www.facebook.com/lifewithlilred?pnref=story

I promise that I’ll make it pretty as soon as I’m feeling better, but until then, feel free to leave me some love by posting to my wall OR by friending me on my personal Facebook page which you can also find on there. I’m going twenty-three likes strong, so let’s get it to fifty! And then one million! Hurrayyy!

First step Facebook page, next step qualifying for WordAds, then WORLD DOMINATION! I hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday so far! As for me, I’ll be laying in bed feeling like ass for the remainder of the day, so I’m sure everyone is having a better time than me! Does anyone else have a Facebook page for their blog? What is the link for it so I can give it some love? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep1

Best Sister Ever? Best Sister Ever!

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Best Sister Ever? Best Sister Ever!

Heyyy there and a happy Tuesday evening to all of you! So yesterday my sister, Kristen, texted me with an ominous picture of a cardboard box saying that she got me a present. I was so curious about what she gifted me with and as soon as she was home I ripped the box open to find this gorgeous new mirror:

mirror

Kristen told me that when she saw this while out shopping she just “had to” get it for me…She knows me all too well! I have a deep love for all things Egyptian – if you’re familiar with my site then you’ll know I have a big Isis tattoo piece on my side. So needless to say, I was simply thrilled when I saw this unique home decor piece! I decided to hang my mirror above my jewelry department in my closet boutique so I have a perfect view of what necklace and earrings to wear with each outfit. You can see the new home for my mirror in my featured image photo.

I am so thankful for all of the amazing treats and gifts that Kristen surprises me with. I’m thankful for the times when we lay in bed snuggling or are going out and about to run errands. I’m thankful for any time that we spend together because I know that it’s time spent with my best friend. I hate to brag, but I really do have the best sister ever! ❤

I hope all of you are having a wonderful rest of your day and make sure you tune in for Woman Crush Wednesday: Anne Hathaway Edition tomorrow! Who else has a sibling that’s your best friend? Does anyone else have a love for Egyptian everything? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug31

Monday Update: Follow Up Edition

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Monday Update: Follow Up Edition

Helloooo everyone and welcome to the newest Monday Update: Follow Up Edition. I’m writing this update to bring you all of the news on events that I’ve mentioned in previous posts, so let’s get to it so I can keep all of you lovelies up to date on the life of Lil Red!

In last week’s Monday Update, I mentioned that I had an audition for a play called The Boys Next Door, and unfortunately I did not get a part – but I knew I wasn’t going to. Allow me to explain. The play features only one female character so the competition was going to be stiff to begin with, but frankly, I wasn’t even considered competition. I rolled into the audition only to be surrounded by men aged forty-five and up who were trying out for the show. With most of these guys doubling my age, it’s obvious why I didn’t get a part, especially when the female character is a love interest. I’m all for an odd couple, but a pairing of a twenty-something along with someone pushing fifty just wouldn’t look right.

Despite the realization that I wasn’t going to get the part as soon as I walked into the theater, I still gave it my best shot and did very well. I made the director and the auditioners laugh and I really do think that I made a lasting impression. I’m glad that I’ve never been one to throw in the towel during situations like that because my audition was very strong, so maybe I’ll come to the director’s mind when he’s working on a show with a more suitable character for me. If a staggering age gap was not an evident issue, I think I would have been a little disappointed over not getting the part. Lucky for me, I had nothing to be sad about because I knew from the get go that being cast for the show was impossible. Regardless, it was a great experience and an awesome little audition to get me back into the spirit of entering back into the theater circuit!

If you’re familiar with my site, then you’ll know that it was my best friend, Lea’s, birthday this past week! My darling girl turned the big 2-1, so we went barhopping in Kent, Ohio to celebrate. We had the best time doing shots and throwing back fruity drinks to our hearts content. Lea had a great twenty-first birthday outing, therefore, I had a great time too. All I wanted was for her twenty-first birthday celebration to be better than mine and we definitely exceeded that goal! Take a look at how cute we are:

leaaa

In other news, I have a really special post in the archives that will be published hopefully within the week featuring a ukulele strumming duo, Recipe of Life. The sweet girls of ROL, Shelby and Ariel, are a force to be reckoned with straight out of Stow, Ohio and I can’t wait for you guys to hear them! Their music is the epitome of beachy fun, so make sure you keep your eyes and ears pealed for it!

Annnnnd to conclude this Monday Update filled with exciting follow ups, I can tell you that things with my boyfriend, Kyle, are just dandy! 🙂

^^^ This basically sums up how I’m feeling, minus the cocaine. 😉

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Follow Up Edition! How was everyone’s weekend? What are you most looking forward to this week? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug30

Loser

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Loser

Whatsup everyone and happy Sunday! So yesterday night my darling friend, Tyler, and I were FaceTiming and we had a very enlightening conversation that I would like to share with you. Sit back, enjoy this ironic choice of music, and let’s discuss:

During my chat with Tyler we both were expressing to each other how happy we our with our lives for the most part. This cued us to reminisce on high school and just how much it fucking sucked for the both of us. Saying that we had it rough during the supposed “best years of our lives” is a severe understatement. I had to laugh at one point with him, because this weekend I was interviewing a lovely girl for a new piece on lifewithlilred and she said something along the lines of how she always wanted to be my friend in high school because she thought I was really cool. When I told Tyler this, I followed it with “I don’t understand why, I was the biggest burnout, depressed loser ever in high school”.

After we chortled at my pathetic expense (lol), Tyler told me something that I thought was very profound. “Maybe it’s not such a bad thing being a loser in high school. I mean yeah, it sucked, but I feel like we both appreciate things so much more now”. I seriously couldn’t agree more. Tyler and I are both insanely pleased with where we’re at right now, which made how all of the “cool kids” from high school are doing now worth mentioning. It definitely seems like the tables have turned in a way, with the losers running the world and the cool kids stuck in their still in high school mentality. I’m not gonna lie, this is very gratifying!

The moral of the story? If you are or were a “loser” in high school – don’t fret, because your time to blossom is legitimately right around the corner. All you have to do is wait just a little bit longer and you’re going to be on cloud nine in no time. Now I get that saying to play the waiting game is easier said than done. No one knows how bad high school can suck more than me. But I promise you this, a happier life as a twenty-something is worth the wait. So for the time being: keep your chin up, grin and bear it, and know that two of the biggest losers that the high school world has ever seen are doing just fine now.

^^^ It seemed appropriate. 😉

I hope all of you are having a fabulous weekend chock full of lots of fun stuff! Can anyone relate to this post? Where are the cool kids and losers that you were in high school with at now? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah