Tag Archives: friendship

Dec16

All’s Well That Ends Well

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All’s Well That Ends Well

Hello! On the Friday of the first week of December Johnny and I tested positive for Covid after an exposure at his work. It was truly the best case scenario because we both felt perfectly fine and spent four days at home vegging out. As much as we love a solid hang session at home, it was a massive bummer. My holiday hair appointment had to be cancelled as well as my Christmas get together with my bestie girl. Johnny, on the other hand, had to miss out on Spamalot at Playhouse Square and was devastated. Naturally we got Covid on the weekend that we were actually doing stuff!

In my extensive tenure (Over twenty years!) of getting my hair done by my stylist, Anna, I cannot recall ever having to cancel an appointment. I was so sad because I really was looking forward to seeing her and having brand new hair for the holidays. I had come to terms with the fact that this was more than likely not going to happen. Even though Anna said that she would see what she could do, I knew the schedule at the salon was jam packed and that was okay. I would get my locks refreshed eventually and it would be glorious. ❤

When I returned back to work on Tuesday, I texted Anna to let her know I was negative and she sent me the most beautiful reply. She asked if I would like to spend her birthday with her at the salon on Saturday morning. Would I ever! You guys, I was so genuinely touched by this that it made me tear up. Anna has been doing my hair since I was seven years old and I am thirty-one now. She is the dearest friend and has literally watched me grow up. I would never expect her to make exceptions for me or overwork herself to squeeze me in before the holidays. The fact that she found a way to make it work was such a gift to me and I can’t wait to celebrate her! (Note – I am typing this the day before my appointment!)

Anna always knows how to make me feel special and this particular instance really took the cake. So, of course, I had to go to TJMaxx and pick out a pretty little something for her big day. It pales in comparison for all she has done for me, though. Anna isn’t just my stylist, she is one of my favorite people in the world. When I’m in her chair, I can tell her anything and have always put her as big sister status in my head. She has the most amazing way of making people feel beautiful inside and out and after my hair appointments I feel like my best self. She brings it out of me and I am so excited to show all of you my new do. 😀

My holiday wish for great hair came true by Anna and I only wish that Johnny could have seen Spamalot for a true All’s Well That Ends Well ending. But, hey, it’s close enough!

How long has your stylist been doing your hair? Did you get your hair done for the holidays? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov27

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving! I am going to keep this post short and sweet because we all have places to go and people to see… And green bean casserole to eat! Just me? Lol, that’s okay because y’all can send it my way. It is my FAVORITE! Thanksgiving is the time to celebrate what is important to you and what’s important to me is all of you – my dear readers. It has almost been another year here on lifewithlilred and even though it has been eleven years of Lil Red ramblings, I feel like I’m just getting started! I hope you will always continue to join me for the ride. ❤

No matter where you are located, you are a friend to me and there are few things I appreciate more than the friends I have. We might not really know each other and that’s okay. If you have read my blog, I think you get the idea! 😉 Having my little corner of the internet to create and share is something that I have always wanted. You know my old saying, even if no one read my blog – I would still write it for the joy of writing. That would get awfully lonely, though, and words can’t express how thankful I am that you are all here sharing this space with me. It means the world to me and I can only hope that you get a little bit of joy when you stop by on my page.

Thank you for being my friend, thank you for sharing with me, and thank you for being you. I love you all!! ❤

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Are you pro green bean casserole? What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov25

Health Issues That Could Be Hindering Your Friendships

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Health Issues That Could Be Hindering Your Friendships

Friends are people who should always be there for you. They’re who you tell about your worries, and, if you ever get ill, you assume they’ll be by your side. But, did you know that there may also be elements of your health that could prove problematic to your friendships in a few key ways, or at least put you on the back foot of your friendship group if you aren’t careful? After all, certain health struggles can stop you from joining in and engaging with your friends as much as you might like. Worse, you might not even notice it happening! This can have an ongoing negative impact on your friendships over time. But what exactly are these health conditions, and what can you do about them? Keep on reading to find out:

Hard Hearing:

Hearing setbacks are easily missed at first, but they can have a major impact on how you interact with the world, including your friends. If you’re having trouble hearing for reasons including infection, earwax buildup, or hearing loss, then you may struggle to follow conversations or find yourself constantly asking people to repeat themselves.

This can be as frustrating to the people around you as it is to you, and you may even find yourself declining friend invites. That can significantly impact your relationships, and it’s something you can avoid by simply getting your ears checked. Professionals may recommend treatments including hearing aids, earwax removal, or even just antibiotics, all of which will see you socializing normally again!

Rocky Mental Health:

Mental health challenges impact around 1 in 5 adults in the US. Yet, when you’re experiencing problems like anxiety or depression, you may feel increasingly isolated and may, in turn, isolate yourself from your friends. These problems can also be embarrassing or difficult to talk about, meaning that you might hide the reality, and instead make excuses. In truth, though, friendship is key to improving your mental health, which is why you should always be honest. Friends are far more likely to understand that way, and may even play an important role in getting you the help you need.

Physical Challenges:

Physical problems like a bad back or painful knees can also prove problematic to your friendships, as you may start to avoid long outings or hold back when you are with friends. Equally, you may push yourself too much when trying to keep up with everyone else and experience an even longer-term issue. Again, just telling your friends will help here. That way, you can work together to make plans that leave room for plenty of breaks, or even have a more accessible option for you to use a wheelchair or other supports. That way, you can keep up without requiring your friends to change their existing plans!

Friends are with you through thick and thin, but if hidden health issues like these are creeping between you, it’s time to take action. Simply be honest, get help, and protect your friendships at all costs!

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Jul1

Stanley Surprise

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Stanley Surprise

Hello and holy wow! Johnny and I have had an extremely busy month celebrating our birthaversary and we spent another weekend living it up. My bestie, Lea, came over last Friday for dinner and my birthday hangout and Johnny and I went to Outlaw Fest on Saturday! Lea and I both share summer birthdays and this is our seventeenth year having a special get together for our big days. That alone is such a beautiful gift and I treasure the time with my best girl so much! When it comes to gift giving, Lea and I are very similar. We get our ideas from simply listening when people are talking and store them away for later use. That is exactly what she did for my prezzie and I can pinpoint the precise moment when she decided on my perfect gift. Take a look and let’s discuss:

The last time Lea was over a month or so ago, she came walking in with a gorgeous lavender Stanley mug. I complimented the color immediately and showed off my Halloween tumbler I was using after Johnny threw out my beloved sea green Stanley because he didn’t wash it and there was mold in it. SMH. I told Lea that my main qualm with my current mug was that I was refilling it constantly and wanted to replace it with something bigger, perhaps with some birthday cash. Looking back on that moment after Lea gifted me with my pastel pink Stanley, I just know she was like “noted” in her head! ❤ I felt so special and loved that she remembered this and it made receiving the cup even more special.

The funny thing is, the Tuesday before our hang out, I actually did end up replacing my old Halloween tumbler with a forty ounce beast by Manna from TJMaxx. When Lea walked into the apartment this time, she clocked the mug and realized she was gifting me with something I already had. The thing is, what she gave me was infinitely better. There were Stanley cups at TJs that I was going to get, but the one I purchased was cheaper and I didn’t want to go overboard as I was buying new clothes too. She gave me exactly what I wanted and would have bought for myself and there was also the BFF sentiment behind it, which makes it the absolute best. I am now the proud owner of a mom and baby tumbler lol:

Shout out to my darling Lea for helping me stay hydrated all summer long with the replacement of my fallen Stanley. I love it and I love YOU so much, my sweet angel! ❤

Have you had to replace anything recently? How do you like to celebrate your birthday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun13

Happy Birthday, Best Friend!!

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Happy Birthday, Best Friend!!

Hello everyone!! Today is a fantastic, wonderful day because it is my beautiful best friend, Kate’s, birthday!! Gemini season is in full swing and we are the stars!! This is our happy time and we spend the entire month celebrating and hyping each other up more than we already do on a regular basis. I met the esteemed, talented, gorgeous author of Live In The Nautical very shortly after lifewithlilred was conceived and when her page was still called Ankhor You. I will not age ourselves by saying how many years that has been but it has been a minute. Even if we both just turned twenty-one this year!

Kate is someone who I connect with on every single level and it was evident the first time we spoke. Seriously, one day we just started talking and we never stopped lol. That’s truly a magical thing to experience for two gals who live several states away from each other and I am thankful for it every day. And, yes, I actually do send out a special “thank you” into the ether every day because I am the luckiest girl in the world to have her as my A1, ride or die BFF. I always say that my blog has done so much good for me, but providing me with a best friend is the best thing it has or will ever do.

Imagine the most purest form of sunshine, sea breeze, and fairy dust in a bottle and you have Kate. She is the girl everyone wants to be friends with and her radiant smile and darling laugh are simply intoxicating. And, the beauty of Kate is that she makes everyone feel like her friend. She loves so deeply and pours kindness and care into everything she says and does. Kate is a giver and spreads joy liberally to her beloved family, friends, and any and everyone she encounters – myself especially!

Being besties with Kate is one of my greatest joys and I don’t even entertain the notion of what my life would be like without her. Since day one, she is the person who I want to talk to first on good days and bad. She’s the one to laugh with, dish on celebrity gossip with, and play detective with whenever we watch true crime documentaries. It is so special to share June with my Gemini Twin and I cannot wait for another year of text message novels and hours on end FaceTime dates with my best girl. ❤

To my other half and best friend:

Happy Birthday!!! I love you so!!!!

May19

Be That Neighbor

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Be That Neighbor

Hello!! Johnny and I were absolutely addicted to the show Fear Thy Neighbor and quickly finished the entire series with daily viewings after work and marathons over the weekends. As you can imagine if you haven’t watched the show, it is all about the worst neighbors ever lol. Our running joke as we watched the series was “What are we going to do, get mad at Tony?!”. Tony is our downstairs neighbor and he is the absolute best so every time we watched Fear Thy Neighbor, it was an exercise in “can’t relate” for which we are so thankful!

Tony, Johnny, and I became fast friends when Tony moved in and we would chat away every time our paths crossed when he was out for a smoke. This turned into Dinner Club get togethers, watching movies, going to the shooting range, and just having fun. And, of course, we always come running every time Tony might need a quick favor around the apartment. I’m going to be perfectly honest, our neighbors in our old apartment were not the best. Some were insanely loud and another was feeding the raccoons outside of her apartment door lol. So, when Tony moved in not doing any of that and being someone we actually wanted to hang out with, it was nothing short of a gift.

The other day as we were eating a baked potato dinner and watching an episode of SVU, Johnny got a call from Tony. It was nothing urgent, just asking if he could change the battery in his smoke detector as he wasn’t comfortable going up on the ladder. In a heartbeat, Johnny put down his meal and ran downstairs. In the handful of minutes while Johnny completed the task at hand, I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky and proud I am. Lucky to have Tony and proud to be those neighbors. And not in the Fear Thy Neighbor way but in the best way possible!

Having a neighbor that we truly consider to be a best friend is something we have never experienced and it feels so good. I love that we are the people that Tony calls when he needs a helping hand and having regular hang outs together. The feeling is mutual across the board and that is a beautiful thing. The moral of the story? Be that neighbor!! Be the neighbor who fixes an extra plate at dinner. Be the neighbor who offers to take the trash out or shovel the walkway. Be the neighbor who is never too busy for a chat. It will do both parties a world of good and the relationship with our beloved neighbor is a testament to that. ❤

Johnny and I love our apartment so much and Tony is part of the reason why. I am so happy to have and be a good neighbor and the smoke detector story was a wonderful reminder!

Do you have a great neighbor? Have you ever had an awful neighbor? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr13

Friday Night Dinner Club

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Friday Night Dinner Club

Hello!! Johnny and I are incredibly lucky – close to three years ago, we moved into a bigger apartment and it is still nothing short of a gift. Of course, the extra space is nice but one of the best things is, easily, our neighbor. Our downstairs neighbor, Tony, has been a staple in our lives since he moved in shortly after we did. We quickly bonded after our numerous chats while he was outside smoking and these chats turned into full fledged hangouts. We love going to the shooting range, playing pool, and my personal favorite – Friday Night Dinner Club.

Friday Night Dinner Club is exactly what it sounds like lol. One Friday per month, we will go out to eat together and take turns on picking where to eat and picking up the tab. We have hit up all of our favorite spots together and tried new restaurants too and it is always a blast. With the unpredictable winter and early spring weather, our Dinner Club meetings have taken place in Tony’s apartment. I will cook or we will order takeout and watch a movie for our entertainment. We had our March meeting this past Friday and it was a raging success:

For Dinner Club, I decided to cook us a huge dish of baked ziti, garlic bread, and salad. Then, we made the short trek downstairs to our co-founder’s digs to eat, drink, and be merry. Our original plan was to rent the newest Jason Statham vehicle, A Working Man. Unfortunately, that plan was foiled because it isn’t available yet. That was no matter because we watched another Jason Statham vehicle, instead. One of all of our personal favorites – The Beekeeper. We have watched The Beekeeper several times together during Dinner Club and it hits every time. Johnny, Tony, and I will spend the entire duration quoting the movie, hollering, and laughing whenever I react to a particularly “ouch” moment. We live for action and horror movies and this one takes the cake!

Even though Johnny and I have lived in our apartment community for upwards of five years, we have never had a neighbor like Tony. It is so special to have a friend literally right downstairs and it makes all of our lives so much better. I love having a neighbor that I can fix an extra plate for, shoot the breeze with, and shoot – have an entire club based around our friendship. A club that is deserving of jackets at some point in the future because we have definitely discussed it extensively lol. 😀

I cannot wait for our next Dinner Club meeting with the improved weather! Me and my favorite guys will be stepping out on the town and we are all already looking forward to it!

Do you have an amazing neighbor? Do you have any “clubs” with your friends? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov28

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!!! Today is one of my favorite days of the year and I am so looking forward to celebrating with mine and Johnny’s family. I am sure that all of you have grand plans for the day so I don’t want to take up too much of your time! But what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t give an extra special holiday shout out to my dear readers? You already know I am infinitely thankful for all of you!!

lifewithlilred has been going strong for a decade and change and I still have a really hard time believing that. During this extensive tenure, you have been with me for every update, accomplishment, disappointment, and life changes and I think that is really cool. In fact, it’s what motivates me to keep up with daily content because I know that you are out there, somewhere reading it. My blog is just as much mine as it is yours and my biggest hope is that people smile when they stumble upon my corner of the internet.

The blogosphere is a beautiful thing and it has the power to bring people together. My blog gifted me with my best friend in the world and has brought people into my life that I would have never known otherwise. I was extremely lonely when I started lifewithlilred and the blogging community really helped remedy that. From Akron, Ohio, I am able to say that I have friends all over the world and my gratefulness for that knows no bounds.

Thank you to all of you for being my friend. Thank you to all of you for stopping by my page and being with me. Happy Thanksgiving to all! ❤

Aug26

Happy Birthday, Bestie!!

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Happy Birthday, Bestie!!

Hello everyone!! It is a fantastic, wonderful day indeed because it is my bestie’s birthday!!! Lea and I have been best friends since freshman year of high school all the way back in 2008. For over sixteen years, we have been each other’s ride or dies. We have been through thick and thin, never have been in a fight, and got to experience so many of life’s milestones together. I truly believe we are best friend soulmates and it is a beautiful thing. This little lady brings me and everyone she meets so much joy with her bright smile, vibrant personality, and the most contagious laugh. She is one of a kind and everyone deserves to have a best friend like her in their corner.

lea1lealea2

I have so many memories with Lea that I have lost count and they all happen to be my absolute favorite. From birthday road trips, slumber parties, craft nights, or dinner out at our go to Mexican restaurant, every moment I have with her is precious. We love to reminisce about our crazy high school selves, have laugh attacks about spending evenings swiping away on Tinder when it first came out, and forever dissing ex boyfriends. Once we start talking, it’s honestly impossible to stop. Because of busy schedules, we don’t get to see each other as often as we like and our hang outs turn into hours long streams of consciousness about everything that happened since our last visit. How our ears perk up when one or the other says “the craziest thing happened”!

Whenever I think about my best girl, the first thing that pops into my head is how proud I am of her. She has overcame her own share of struggles and comes out on top each and every single time. She is brilliant at her job and is always motivated to keep improving in all aspects of her life. This inspires me to no end and whenever I need an extra boost in my day, I employ the “what would Lea do” method. The answer is, she would tell me to smile, take a breath, and tackle whatever comes up like the rock stars we both are. Even when we aren’t together, she always gives the best advice. ❤

Happy birthday to you, my darling best friend. This is our sixteenth birthday together and I can’t wait for sixteen more. I love you!!!!!

Jun19

Best Weekend Ever!

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Best Weekend Ever!

Hello!!! With a very busy schedule between me and Johnny and our friends and family, my birthday celebrations have extended beyond June seventh. I am SO okay with this and it is much more my speed to have quality hangouts with my loved ones rather than jam pack everything into one weekend. This past weekend, I was able to have my belated birthday get togethers with my sister and nieces and my best friend, Lea. It was fantastic from start to finish – so much so that the only picture I took was of this lone Margarita when I was out to lunch lol:

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On Friday, Lea came over for the evening and, as always, it was nothing short of a delight. Lea and I have been best friends for a whopping sixteen years and have had a hang out every single year for each other’s birthday. It is something that I cherish so much, even on the most low key get togethers like we had this weekend. We just chilled on the couch with White Claw and girl talk – a match made in heaven! I genuinely believe if given the opportunity, her and I could chat away for forever and still find something new to talk about. I cannot wait to show you all the gorgeous prezzies she gifted me with so tune in for that tomorrow because it is the sweetest! ❤

After a chill evening in, it was onto all of the activities on Saturday. For my b-day celebration with my sister and darling nieces, Kristen treated me to lunch at my favorite restaurant. We went to El Meson, which is the hands down best Mexican restaurant in my general vicinity. It is divine every time and it’s so much fun to go there with my sis and the girls because they share the same passion for the cuisine as I do lol. Between bites of our delicious food, we were in stitches from the littlest girlie and her attempt to eat chips and queso and both girls trying on mine and Kristen’s stunner shades. I love being able to spend one on one time with all of my best girls so this was the perfect gift for the proudest TT and little sister.

Once lunch was over, I went to my parents’ house for a spell to see my dad before Father’s Day. Then, I picked up my brother, Andrew, and him, Johnny, and I went to Quarter Up. It’s a super fun arcade bar down the street from my apartment. I used to frequent Quarter Up when it first opened, but Johnny and I haven’t been in a while and I’m genuinely not sure why after Saturday evening! It was a hoot and their game selection has improved greatly since opening. We all enjoyed playing ski ball, basketball, and the shooting games. Johnny was particularly enamored by the Elton John pinball game – a new addition that is definitely worth going back for!

I have been feeling SO spoiled by all of the birthday love and this past weekend literally had me on cloud nine. There is nothing better to me than time together with my nearest and dearest and I couldn’t ask for anything more!

What is your favorite arcade game? How about your favorite restaurant in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah