Tag Archives: fun

Apr12

Lil Red Pro Tips: Weekend Fun Edition

Posted on April 12, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Hello there everyone! I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend…I know I did! My weekend was full of friends, family, fun, and food AKA #FFFF – it also included some really great movies and books as well! In this post I’ll be discussing with you some Lil Red Pro Tips on how to make the most out of your weekend!

DO: Watch a funny movie: My family absolutely loves the Horrible Bosses movies, and this Friday we watched Horrible Bosses 2. There’s seriously no better way to start off the weekend then with a silly movie that you don’t have to think about. The HB movies are hands down one of my favorite comedy franchises thanks to their all star cast of Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Spacey. Sure, they’re not the best movies in the world. And yes, they’re vulgar as all get out – but hey, they bring me to a happy place of gut busting laughter which is exactly what you want from a comedy!

DO: Cook something delicious: Lil Red was tearing it up in the kitchen this weekend! I would have taken pictures of the food, but honestly it looked kind of gross…but it tasted really good! Ha! On Friday I made a Mexican casserole that turned out really well. It had sauteed onions and garlic, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, diced chiles, sour cream, and shredded pepper jack cheese in it. It was perfect for dipping with chips or wrapping it up burrito style in a tortilla. I’ll admit that even after this home cooked Mexican dish I still wanted Taco Bell…but you can’t always get what you want. #neversatisfied I also made a lava cake like dessert this afternoon that I’m really looking forward to trying! It’s actually baking in the oven as we speak and it smells delicious, so fingers crossed!

DO: Read a good book: I finally finished the best seller The Girl On The Train this weekend and absolutely loved it! I’ve heard a lot of hype about this book and I’ve been reading it throughout the week, so I was so excited to finally finish it yesterday! The Girl On The Train intertwines the stories of the alcoholic and unstable Rachel, the mistress Anna, and Megan – the girl with a dark past. Rachel rides the train into London every morning like clockwork, gazing out the window and throwing back gin and tonics like it’s her job. Almost every morning as the train rolls by a suburban neighborhood, she watches a young couple whom she names “Jess and Jason” sitting on their patio and enjoying their morning. They seem to be the perfect couple, until one morning Rachel sees something that changes this perspective entirely. The Girl On The Train is a bone chilling thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end. This book was so so good and I can’t recommend it enough!

DO: Watch a serious movie: So tonight my family and I are going to watch The Theory of Everything and I could not be more excited. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this movie since I saw previews for it in the theater ages ago. The previews alone brought tears to my eyes, and the Oscar buzz that it received only verified the confidence that I have that this movie will be amazing. You might be asking “why recommend it if you haven’t seen it?” But like I said, I am SO confident that I’ll enjoy it that I’m just laying all my cards on the table now. If anything, let this suggestion be me telling you that my favorite way to end the weekend is by watching an excellent film on Sunday night. Fridays are my comedy night, Saturdays are my going out night, and Sundays are my serious film nights. A perfect lineup, if I do say so myself. 😉

DO: Go bowling. (DON’T: Go bowling with fake nails on): Last night I had a lovely evening going bowling with my sweet neighbor, Vaughn. We went to the lunar bowling night at a close by bowling alley and had a blast. The only thing that would have made my night better is if I didn’t have my damn talon acrylic nails on! I had to use the ol’ “underhand roll” technique, because there’s no way in hell I would put my fingers with my sharp claw nails in the bowling ball holes. Honestly, even if I could bowl properly I don’t think that I would have done any better! We played four games and I got one measly strike the entire time – but I’m very proud of that strike, thank you very much! Despite this minor problem, it was still so much fun! 🙂

This weekend was one of the best ones I’ve had in ages thanks to some beautiful family time, wonderful friend time, and super good food time! I hope all of you had just as great of a weekend as I did! What was your favorite Oscar nominated film? How did you feel about The Girl On The Train? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar28

Crocker Park Fun!!

Posted on March 28, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Hello all and happy Saturday! I had an absolutely fabulous time shopping at Crocker Park yesterday with my lovely Kate! We braved the spring time snow in Ohio to get our shop on and it was so worth it. And great news: I found a mustard yellow shirt that I’m in love with!! H&M has the cutest new spring and summer clothes out right now, and taking advantage of my twenty percent off coupon resulted in three to die for new pieces for under sixty dollars! Take a look: #ballinonabudget

Embellished mid length blouse: Yeeeee! I absolutely ADORE this shirt. In fact, it’s my favorite thing that I got yesterday. I’m really excited about this piece because I don’t own anything pure white and I don’t own anything like this shirt in general. I usually shy away from button down tops and blouses because I find them unflattering on me. I’m also not a huge fan of “flowy” clothing because I prefer my clothes to be more form fitting. However, this sassy little blouse is too perfect for words. The embellished collar and mid length cut of the shirt gives it the rock n’ roll edge that I always search for in my clothing. The blouse hits right at the waist line of my black skinnies which I love because it shows some skin while you’re moving about. I love clothes that play peek a boo with my side tattoo. This semi sheer shirt is also the perfect one to show off the intentional exposed bra trend which I’m pretty hyped about too! I love this blouse so much that I plan on double checking online if H&M has it in black so I can order it as well. So clearly obsessed!

Faux suede skirt: Such a cute little number! I’m not the biggest skirt fan in the world, but I thought this would be a really sweet spring and summer piece that I could easily transition into my fall and winter wardrobe. I really like the cool seam details and the faux suede texture gives it a fun unexpected twist. I’m really excited to pair this with my new embellished blouse, flannels, or just a plain old graphic tee to help dress it up. The deep rusty color of this skirt screams fall to me, so it will be fun to pair this bad boy with knee high socks and a blazer and be on my merry way!

Mustard yellow top: Woohoo! I love this shirt!!!! I got this little linen beauty for seven bucks on the clearance rack, and it was the best money I’ve spent in a long time! I love the way that the mustard yellow color pops against my signature red hair, red lip, and pasty pale skin. Seriously, the color is everything I imagined it being AND MORE! I have so many outfit ideas for this simple top already, from pairing it with my tribal print body con skirt to my navy blue Audrey Hepburn-esque trouser pants this top is going to become one of my go to pieces…I can feel it! I have some really gorgeous Lucky Brand wooden jewelry and a stunning turquoise necklace that my brother got me from New Mexico that will go perfectly with this little baby. The possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to explore them all!

As you can see from my fab new purchases it was a very successful trip to Crocker Park! I can’t wait to incorporate all of these new pieces into my looks for many seasons to come! I couldn’t find a pair of shorts that I liked enough to buy yesterday so that’s the last thing I need to complete my spring and summer wardrobe!

I hope all of you are having a terrific weekend! If you know of any stores that sell knee high gladiator sandals OR some really good normal rise shorts please leave me a comment and let’s chat! I’ll be on the prowl for them on my next shopping trip so I’m up for any suggestions! Much love. -Sarah

PS: All of these items should be available for purchase in stores or online at http://www.hm.com! And if you sign up for their email newsletter you’ll receive a twenty percent off of one item coupon! 🙂

Mar27

Happy Friday!!

Posted on March 27, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Heyyyy everyone and TGIF! To celebrate one of the best days of the week enjoy one of the worst songs in the world and then we’ll chat!

FRIDAY FRIDAY GETTIN DOWN ON FRIDAYYYY……oh you’re done already? I…uhh…whoops. 😉

I’ll be out of office today because I’ll be spending a lovely afternoon and evening at Crocker Park with my best ladyfriend, Kate. I’ve wrote about Crocker Park before, but if you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a beautiful outdoor shopping mall in Cleveland. It has the absolute best stores, like H&M, Urban Outfitters, and Express. Going to Crocker Park is one of my favorite things to do in Ohio and I’m so excited because I really need to finish assembling my spring and summer wardrobe. All I really need now is some shorts but I also have my heart set on finding an awesome mustard yellow piece to add to my collection. Mustard yellow is probably one of the only colors I don’t have a piece of clothing or accessory in so I hope I find something! Preferably a blazer or light jacket – I feel like a mustard yellow outerwear item would be super cute for spring. I also wouldn’t say no to a new pair of gladiator sandals either! I would love to find a knee high pair, but I’ve been having no luck finding any in stores. I’ve seen them online before, but a shoe like that is something I would definitely need to try on before purchasing so I can make sure that it’s completely perfect. Last night I downloaded the Retailmenot app on my iPod so I could get a feel for all of the sales going on at the stores in Crocker Park. There seems to be a lot of good deals going on which is great, because you know I’m all about ballin on a budget. ALSO, if you’re an H&M fan, you can go on their website and sign up for their newsletter to receive a twenty percent off of one item coupon. I love H&M so much so if I find something there today, the twenty percent off will make it even sweeter! #ballinonabudget Today is sure to be a beautiful perfect day full of fun, fashion, and of course: treatin yoself!!

I hope all of you have a fantastic Friday and weekend! Do you have any fun plans coming up? I wanna hear all about them, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: If you know of any stores that sell knee high gladiator sandals please holla atcha girl!!!

Mar21

Mama’s Birthday Bash!

Posted on March 21, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Last night was my mom’s annual Mexican dinner birthday bash and it was absolutely wonderful! Every year for my mom’s birthday we hit up a local Mexican restaurant, El Campesino for good food, frivolity, and hella margaritas! Here’s a few pics from the white girl wasted festivities:

^^^ She’s so cute!!! (And I feel like we look super alike in these pictures, so now you know where I got my striking good looks from! ;)) El Campesino is one of our all time favorites, and we had a complete blast. The restaurant was hoppin on a Friday night, but we got seated right away which was awesome. My mom’s birthday is on Sunday, but all of the members of the family crew could go out on Friday night so we celebrated early. We ordered our food and a pitcher of margs quickly because we were so hungry, and our food arrived in less than FIVE MINUTES!! Talk about service! The most adorable thing about my mom is that she’s a total lightweight, so within one glass of margarita, she was white girl wasted. The only words that I can use to sum up my mom when she’s wasteypants are as follows: funny, sloppy, and unpredictable. We annihilated our food and threw back our margs and had a gay old time. My favorite part of the night was when my mom decided it would be funny to knock her head on my shoulder while saying “timber” in the tune of Kesha and Pitbull’s hit. My mom loves Pitbull, so this one is for her:

The celebration was so fun and will carry on to tomorrow for her actual birthday, so don’t expect to hear from me tomorrow! I love you so much mama and I hope you have a fantastic birthday! Thank you for being my best friend and the most amazing mom a gal could ask for! You’re the most beautiful lady in the whole wide world and I’m SO lucky to have you as my mommy! ❤

I’m currently at Starbucks, where I’ve been working on math homework for the past two hours. -__- I desperately needed a break, so I figured now would be the perfect time to tell you guys all about my lovely family evening. But alas, I must get back to work, so I have to cut this post short. I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend, and I’ll check back in with you guys on Monday for the weekly update!

What are you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? What’s your family’s favorite way to celebrate a birthday? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! And make sure you leave my mama some birthday love in the comments! Much love. -Sarah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!!!! #BFF!!!!!!

Mar20

Fabulous Day!

Posted on March 20, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Helllllooo gang and TGIF! I don’t know about you guys, but I had a fabulous Thursday!! Seriously, I haven’t had such a lovely, average day in forever so I feel the need to share it! To get you in the great day spirit, enjoy this goofy Lonely Island video and proceed to read:

I had an early start today because I had to drive to Cleveland in the morning for stupid math class. My only complaint about my morning was the fact that we were out of coffee grounds at home, so I didn’t have enough to make my usual amount. I made the coffee anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that it would still taste good…but unfortunately that didn’t happen. -__- I was basically drinking slightly bitter bath water my entire way to school, lol it was so gross. Math class was boring as usual, and I totally left class early to go get my nails done…clearly I have my priorities straight. 😉 However, once I got on the highway there was a big fat traffic jam due to road construction so I ended up getting to the salon when I would get there on a normal day without leaving early. So moral of the story: I should have just stayed in class. Ha! BUT, my beloved nail tech, Vinny did a fabulous job as usual on touching up my fierce talon nails. I opted for my usual black with a beige accent nail for a cool twist, and I’m beyond obsessed with the fresh new color combo. Take a look:

^^^#pronails Ahhh, I love them so much it hurts! There’s three major things that are difficult with my talon nails:

Taking my contacts in and out.
Buttoning and unbuttoning my jeans.
Opening pop cans.

Despite these minor difficulties, they are so beyond worth it. So edgy, so fierce, so fun. After a trip to the salon, I had some much needed and long overdue BFF time with my sweet Lea. My darling girl and I really wanted to be crafty today, so we went to PatCatan’s for inspiration. While ambling down the aisles we came across the wooden craft supplies and thought that it would be fun to paint birdhouses. After picking out the houses we liked and some paint, we hit up Taco Bell for a quick snack and then headed back to Lea’s place to start the craftapalooza. We were so excited about this cute project that we forgot something very important at the craft store…small paint brushes. -__- All we had in our craft supply box were big brushes from our canvas art projects, and they made painting all of the sweet details on our birdhouses totally impossible. Both of our creations turned out smudgy, smeared, and nowhere near as adorable as we wanted them to be. I straight up left my house at Lea’s place and told her to just paint it black for me. Ha, I should have just done that all along! Despite our painting difficulties, we still managed to have a blast as usual! We always do, because making fun out of a miserable crafting experience is what best friends are for! #epiccraftingfail

After a sweet best friend afternoon, I had a quick get together with my neighbor and video gaming partner in crime, Vaughn. I then proceeded to finish up some math and psych homework until my brain couldn’t take it anymore. After I had had enough of homeworking (and believe me, it didn’t take long), I ended my night with watching Saw III on Netflix. I’m a scary movie junkie, and the Saw films are one of my major guilty pleasures. After I finish up this post, I’m going to start the fourth installment of the film series and hit the hay. Maybe not the best movies to watch before bed, but that’s okay!

I hope all of you had a fabulous Thursday and an even better Friday today! What are you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? It’s my mom’s birthday on Sunday so my family is going to go out to eat tomorrow to celebrate – it should be fun! Tell me all about your weekend plans and leave my mama some birthday love! I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight. -Sarah

Mar13

A Friendly Friday Hello!

Posted on March 13, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Whatup crew! Happy Friday!! In the immaculate words of R. Kelly “it’s the freakin weekend, baby I’m about to have me some fun.” Mwahaha

SO, it’s Friday and Lil Red is shockingly feeling really good. I haven’t been completely honest with you guys, because some major bullshit happened this week that I haven’t filled you in on. But rest assured, that I’m a-okay and that when the situation mulls over you better believe I’ll be discussing it with my usual dry wit and dark humor of a girl who loves to hate everything. I’m actually pretty pleased with myself and the indifference I managed to have about this less than ideal matter. I didn’t cut and honestly didn’t even think about doing it once…so snaps for me!!!! Despite some stupidity speed bumps in the road, it’s been a pretty good spring break. I procrastinated A LOT on homework, but I somehow still managed to get a ton done. I wish I could explain to you how that happened! I had a lot of really nice R&R time during my week off, and it was delightful – there’s seriously nothing better than having nothing on your agenda for the day. Asides from hanging out with the few people who I don’t completely despise, I was able to indulge in rereading one of my all time favorite books, Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris. If you know how to read and enjoy fantastic literature, do yourselves a favor and read this book! This is my third time rereading it, and it still managed to find ways to shock me. So amazing.

Because now isn’t the best time to zone you in on my most recent misfortune this week, this post is just a short and sweet one to welcome you to the weekend! I’m not quite sure yet what the weekend holds for me, but I do know that my family is getting Pizza Hut tonight for dinner, and I’m more excited about that than probably anything. Is that bad? Ha! Hopefully a little bit of white girl wastedness will happen before I have to go back to school. And more importantly, hopefully I work up the nerve to get my last homework assignments done! 😉

I hope all of you have a fabulously fun weekend doing whatever it is that you do! It’s finally feeling quite spring-like in good ol’ Akron, Ohio with temperatures in the fifties! I broke out my first maxi dress of the season today and I’m feeling so happy about it!!! I’m so excited to wear dresses without tights, shorts, and skirts but I’m really not looking forward to shaving my legs. -_- #fml. What are you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I’d love to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

^^ I’ve been listening to Metric all afternoon, so enjoy! Could Emily Haines please stop being a total babe now? #havemercy!!!

Jan28

Jamberry Nails!

Posted on January 28, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Hey guys! I have the absolute pleasure of writing up an article for the fun company Jamberry Nails for a dear friend of mine. I had the privilege of working with Miss Jenna years ago at PacSun and I also got to pierce her sweet little one, Tierney’s ears when I worked at Claire’s briefly. Jenna has been working with the girly cute company Jamberry Nails for months now, and they offer the most adorable wraps for your fingernails and toes (As you can see from my featured image and pictures below!) The wraps are offered in both adult AND junior sizes with the fun option of coordinating Mommy & Me prints for a matching mani with your little ones! How fun is that?

Pictured above is the wrap “Wee Bit Charmed” on little Miss Tierney!

The wraps that Jamberry offers are applied using heat and pressure and they last up to two weeks on fingernails and up to six weeks on your toesies. That’s a beautiful thing to me, because whenever I paint my nails at home, they start chipping at least three days after the polish is applied, and no one likes having to repaint their nails over again. #annoying One of the fantastic benefits of the Jamberry nail wraps is all of the things that they’re “free” of, which include: gluten, latex, and formaldehyde. They’re also vegan friendly AND non toxic, so you can feel great about using them on yourself or mommy’s little helper. Did I mention that Jamberry’s wraps have no odor?! I find that so fantastic, because traditional nail polishes can be so potent smelling. I’ve known of people who have gotten headaches from the odor alone, so these wraps are great for anyone who experiences sensitivity to strong smells.

If you’re to purchase the adult size wraps, you’ll receive eighteen nail wraps per sheet. These wraps are usually long enough to do two nails! You can also give yourself a fun pedi, covering all ten of your toesies with just two of the largest wraps! (Such a steal!) So what does this all mean? So glad you asked! This means that one adult size sheet of Jamberry nail wraps will give you TWO manicures, TWO pedicures and you’ll still have four full wraps left over! Junior size wraps are also available, and usually work on girls up to age eleven. But if you’re an adult with tiny fingers, these wraps might just work on you too! The junior size prints offer forty-two wraps per sheet. There are twenty-eight wraps in one print and then fourteen wraps offered in a coordinating print. This means that you could purchase a sheet of adult wraps and a sheet of juniors wraps for a Mommy & Me mani/pedi!

Pictured below is the “Snow & Ice” wraps (in juniors size!) on Jenna’s hands. These are perfect for your favorite Frozen fan! #letitgo

Not a fan of the nail wraps? That’s okay too, because Jamberry also offers nail lacquers as well if you’d prefer traditional nail polish! Just like the wraps, they’re beyond safe to use on your nails as the polishes are 5-Free. In other words, these polishes are free of the top five harmful chemicals that most nail polishes contain! And very importantly, Jamberry products are never animal tested. The Jamberry nail lacquers are quick to dry and last way longer than any store brand. If you don’t have the necessary tools to apply any of these fun products at home, fear not! Jamberry offers a mini heater AND an application kit. (A hair dryer works just fine too! 🙂 )

Similar to Avon and Tupperware (because Tupperware parties are a thing!), Jamberry also offers in home, Facebook, and catalog parties which are perfect for a girls night in! Going to the nail salon is over rated anyways 😉

I urge ALL of my lovely ladies reading this to take a look at Jenna’s Jamberry site and get in contact with her if you’re interested in purchasing some nail wraps! Here’s all of the info:

Website: http://jamswithjenna.jamberrynails.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jamswithjenna
Email: jamswithjenna@gmail.com

While you’re browsing on Jenna’s cute as pie website, keep in mind that the wraps are Buy 3 Get 1 Free (with exclusions to the Licensed Collegiate and Sorority Wraps). There’s a bunch of sweet Valentine’s Day themed wraps as well! Here’s a few of my favorite prints that Jamberry offers:

The wrap names pictured above are as follows:

Love Potion
Midnight Celebration
Flirty Flair

I’m writing this in Starbucks right now, and I asked three lovely teenagers sitting in the cafe to pick which prints they liked best, it was hard for them to pick because they liked them all – but here’s the consensus that the little darlings came to:

Victorian Lace
Sugar & Spice
Secret Promise

Too cute right?! For the purposes of writing this article, I got to sample some Jamberry products, and here’s the final result! (Please excuse my gross feet!)

I had an absolute BLAST applying my adorable Jamberry prints to my toes! I rarely paint my toenails so this was such a treat! The application was as easy as one, two, three as well! All I had to do was push back my cuticles and then match up my nails to the best fitting wrap. Once I found the wrap that worked for me I applied a little bit of heat to it from my hair dryer and pressed the wrap onto my nails. I applied as much pressure as my little hands would allow to the wrap, and then trimmed and filed off the excess. After my nails were perfectly shaped, I applied heat and pressure one more time for fun and fab Jamberry worthy nails!

If you’re interested in purchasing some Jamberry nail wraps, please keep in mind that Jamberry currently only ships to the USA, Canada, and US territories – hopefully that will be changing soon though! Once again the address to Jenna’s fabulous website is: http://jamswithjenna.jamberrynails.net. Make sure you check it out!

What do you guys think of these cute nail wraps? Which ones are your favorites? Would you purchase any of these? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Happy Wednesday! -Sarah

Jan8

Recommendations From Yours Truly ;)

Posted on January 8, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

Helllooooooo everyone and happy almost weekend!!! I’ve had a really fabulous week doing a bunch of fun stuff that I’d love to share with you guys. Maybe these ideas will give you something fun to do this weekend! Let’s discuss!

Cook Your Favorite Meal: Honestly…this one is just for my own personal enjoyment…but everyone likes food so WHY NOT let it be a group effort? During the week I had a really lovely evening with myself preparing my personal favorite meal. For about six years now my mom has made this absolutely delicious pasta salad. It uses red pepper, red onions, sauteed zucchini, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. (You can also add herbs of your choosing and spinach if you’d like!) I could eat this salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…well maybe not breakfast…but it’s THAT good…so breakfast? Sure, why not?! I used to really love cooking and I’m not really sure why I ever stopped. (Maybe because my mom’s food is so good! 😉 ) I thought it would be fun to try my hand at making my favorite dish for a change, and I’m so glad I did! I really enjoyed just hanging out with myself, playing some music, and preparing a meal that I know my entire family enjoys. And guess what?! It turned out great! You know how food that you make on your own somehow always tastes better than when other people cook it? That’s exactly the experience I had when I tried out my rendition of my beloved pasta salad. My dad told me that I’ll never starve now that I know how to make my favorite dish…and he’s absolutely right! Here’s a pic of how my pasta salad turned out, and if you’d like the recipe, please let me know!

YUM!!!!! ^^^^^^

Make Some Candy: I had a glorious best friend afternoon today with my darling Lea, who you guys know all about! It’s very cold in Akron, Ohio (#REPRESENT) right now. Early this afternoon I heard on the news that it felt like -17 degrees outside. Lea and I were supposed to go sledding this afternoon, but when I heard about this drastic cold I thought “oh hell no!” So we opted for a nice, cozy day indoors cooking up some yummy treats. Once we were armed with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, we began browsing through Pinterest, our activity destination. After ten minutes of scrolling through pages, we decided on making chocolate truffles. We raided the pantry for the we ingredients needed, then ventured back out in the cold to hit up the grocery story for what we didn’t have. The recipe was very easy to make, literally all you had to do was melt your chocolate and other ingredients together, put the chocolate in the freezer to let it stiffen, and then once the mixture is hard enough you roll them into balls and put whatever topping you would like on them. While our chocolate was melting and stiffening, we played Pentatonixs (or however you spell them), looked up the world’s largest body parts on Google Images, and hung out with Lea’s twin brother Bill. When the chocolates were stiff enough to shape them we had a silly time getting our hands dirty, because the chocolate was still gooey! We used peppermint candy that we crushed with a mallet, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips for the toppings on our truffles. They turned out so yummy! You can’t do much to mess up chocolate! 😉 Here’s a picture of us with our finished product! We’re just a bunch of regular ol’ chocolateers!

Once again…YUM!!!! ^^^

Go See Unbroken: This week I had a lovely date night with my other partner in crime, Kate, who you guys also know all about! We went to see Unbroken, which tells the courageous tale of Louis Zamperini as directed by the stunning and gorgeous Angelina Jolie. In the film we see Zamperini, the Olympic track star survive a plane crash in World War II. Unfortunately he doesn’t land to safety in the crash and ends up stranded at sea with two other soldiers. (One of them happens to be Finn Wittrock, who plays Dandy on American Horror Story: Freak Show!) The sailing in the emergency rafts are anything but smooth, and our heroes end up in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and eventually concentration camps. Zamperini suffers under the hands of a sadistic camp leader, which are some particularly difficult scenes to watch. However, the story tells an amazing tale. The screenplay by Joel and Ethan Coen was fantastic and the cinematography and sound effects in the film were truly awe inspiring. Not to mention my dream woman, Miss Jolie directed the film to perfection. The movie is quite long so I’d recommend peeing a lot before hand. Most importantly, the film really covers some heavy and disturbing issues which might not be suitable for everyone. Fun fact for ya, a man from Stow, Ohio had a few lines in Unbroken, which is a hop, skip, and a jump from where I’m at. So way to represent, Ohio, brother man!! If you’re looking for a powerful and extremely well made movie to go to this weekend, I can’t recommend seeing Unbroken enough!

Listen To Cayucas: I know, I know so typically PacSun-y of me, BUT I CAN’T HELP IT! I love these guys! They’re seriously so beachy fun and I just can’t even. My absolute favorite thing to do is play these guys while I’m taking a bubble bath or shower, because they make me feel like I’m just chilling on the beach with my little toesies in the sand. I’ve never been to the beach before (Lake Erie doesn’t count!) but this group of surfer dudes helps me make believe that I’m there. All of their songs off of their album “Bigfoot” are crowd pleasers, but my particular favorite song is “High School Lover”….and YES we did play it at PacSun, ha! This track is very fun though. It definitely will make you think about that one guy or gal in high school that you wanted to be with so desperately or maybe was the one who got away. A charming sentiment set to a soft surfer rock vibe? It’s a win win. (Soft surfer rock?…I believe I just created my own music genre right there!) 😉

Have A Facial Night: Earlier this week, my sister asked me to give her one of my famous around the house facials, which I happily obliged to. After working at The Body Shop, I developed a love for skincare that will last me a lifetime. Here’s my tried and true step by step guide on how to give a fabulous facial to yourself or a friend:

Remove any facial makeup with one of those terrific cleansing wipes from your brand of choice.
Wet the skin with lukewarm water and if you have a clay, honey and oat, warming ginger, blue corn, or any mask in particular that you like to use, apply and let it sit for the amount of time instructed.
Now it’s time to use a cleanser. If you have a bristle brush, I highly recommend using one of these to give your pores an even deeper clean. If you don’t have a brush, make sure you use circular motions with your hands while using your cleanser.
I like to finish the facial treatment with a scrub. If you happen to use a soft buffer pad I would recommend using a rough, gritty scrub. And if you’re a fan of a more cream based scrub I would opt for an exfoliating loofah pad.
(Apply a toner if you’d like. But I never do.)
After your skin is nice and squeaky clean apply any acne topical treatment you use if needed and a moisturizer.

All of those steps listed above may seem like a lot for the skin to handle all at once, but you have the Lil Red Guarantee that all it can do is help if you use these tips every once in a blue moon! Facials scream “girls night” to me, so plan a fun night of pampering and break out the wine, chocolate, and chick flicks!

Treat Yoself: Annnnnd if you’re looking for a few fun treats to pamper yourself with, here’s a few products from The Body Shop that I’ve been obsessed with lately, which can be found in stores and online at http://www.thebodyshop.com!

Items shown from top to bottom:

Smooth and Renew Loofah Pads
Vitamin C Midrodermabrasion
Warming Mineral Mask
Glazed Apple Bath Jelly
Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt

So there you have it, my Little Red Recommends segment for the week! What are your weekend plans? What did you think about Unbroken? What band should I check out next? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a great weekend! -Sarah

Jan4

Lil Red Lifestyle

Posted on January 4, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

This past year I’ve discovered a lot about myself. 2014 was a time for learning new things about Lil Red and improving on things that needed worked on. In 2014 I developed a lifestyle that I wouldn’t change for anything which is appropriately titled the “Lil Red Lifestyle”.

Back in the day, I was extremely ashamed of who I am. I was content with just staying in the shadows and only speaking when spoken to. It honestly took me being fed up with myself and my depression to decide to want to change. You can only take so much of being sad and mopey all the time until you finally say enough is enough. After this revelation, I worked extensively and intensively on myself. I found my voice, I found my style, I found what I genuinely like, and just as importantly I found the things that I don’t want in my life any longer. I eliminated the people and the choices I was making that were bringing me down instead of lifting me up. I learned to love myself enough that I didn’t want to cause harm to myself. I can count the slip ups on my self harm and bulimia sobriety on five fingers this past year. That was a vast improvement from my previous occurrences of doing it every day. With this new found inner strength, self control, and will power, I was able to fully enjoy my life and the person who I’ve become.

The Lil Red Lifestyle is all about accepting and loving who you are. I can honestly say that I love who I am for the first time in my life. I love the way I look, which is another first. I love my bright red hair. I love my pasty pale skin. I love my hazel eyes that change color every day. I love my piercings and tattoos. I love my red lipstick and personal style. Most importantly, I love who I am on the inside. I finally believe that I’m beautiful inside and out, which is something I would roll my eyes at before. I am caring. I am understanding. I am empathetic. I am sympathetic. I am hilarious. I am loving. I am strong. I am brave. I am comfortable in my own skin. This new found confidence in myself has truly changed my life for the better. I no longer let people walk all over me and I let my voice be heard, even if I’m not stating the popular opinion of a group. Being outspoken and having self confidence is another major characteristic in the Lil Red Lifestyle, and I am so thankful that it’s finally something that I posses.

Anyone can employ the Lil Red Lifestyle to their own personal way of living. Having self confidence can be used in the Britney Lifestyle. Accepting yourself and other people can be utilized in the Andrew Lifestyle. Loving who you are and treating yourself like a best friend can be employed in anyone’s lifestyle. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m a firm believer in the phrase “fake it till you make it”. This mindset also helped me leaps and bounds in my quest for bettering myself. I would ask myself questions like “how would a girl with confidence speak her mind?” or “How would someone with self control avoid making bad decisions?” I did whatever I thought was true to these questions and eventually they became part of who I am. I am so proud of who I am now, and I never thought that I could say that before. But now that I can say it, here it is one more time: I am proud of who I am….and that is what the Lil Red Lifestyle is all about.

So there you have it, the Lil Red Lifestyle in a nutshell. Who are you and what lifestyle characteristic do you stay true to? What’s one thing you did this past year that you were proud of? I’d love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a great day! -Sarah

Jan2

Fun & Easy Craft!!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by lifewithlilred

Standard

I had a lovely time this evening getting crafty with my favorite little lady Miss Lea! She’s my go to crafting partner in crime and tonight we created a glitter masterpiece! Here’s the big reveal…*drum roll please*………………………..TA DAAAA! (In case you don’t know, our glitter picture is of Ohio, our home state and the heart on the picture is of our home town of Akron. #REPRESENT)

Before I give you guys the step by step on how to make this fun craft, here’s some tune-age for you to enjoy. Except you have to change the lyrics of “oh you fancy, huh?” to “oh you crafty, huh?” Instant classic.

Alright!!!! This craft is clearly pretty self explanatory, but here’s the how to guide on how to make it in case you can’t figure it out! First things first, here’s the supplies you’re going to need: (All together this craft cost about ten dollars to make)

A canvas board of your choosing. Lea and I opted for an oval shaped canvas.
Paint color of your choosing for the background.
Glitter color of your choosing for the shape you’ll be covering.
Glue
Outline of an object, animal, shape, state, continent, or whatever your heart desires to be on your canvas.
Scissors

Once all of your supplies are gathered, I’d recommend placing some newspaper down so glitter doesn’t get everywhere. You don’t want your workspace looking like Ke$ha rolled around on it.

Step 1) Paint the background of your canvas.

Step 2) Blow dry the paint to get it dry.

Step 3) Cut out the outline of whatever you’re gluing onto your canvas and glue it on.

Step 4) Cover your outlined picture with glue. For an even coat of the glue and to avoid bumpy glitter, Lea and I applied the glue with a paint brush.

Step 5) Pour the glitter color of your choosing over the freshly glued object. The glitter might not cover everything on the first try, so I would make sure that you’re glittering over a piece of paper so you can continue to pour the excess glitter from that.

Step 6) Apply a glitter heart to your glitter picture if you’d like.

And viola! You now have a super fun, quick, and easy craft. Lea and I had so much fun making this! Here’s a few pictures of us and our handy work!

If you have any fun crafting suggestions, please let me know! Lea and I would definitely love to try them out! Have you made any cool crafts or projects lately? I’d love to hear all about it, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Have a great night! -Sarah

	lifewithlilred on Happy Birthday To Me!!
	April on Happy Birthday To Me!!
	Simon on New Hair, Who Dis?
	lifewithlilred on New Hair, Who Dis?
	Simon on New Hair, Who Dis?