Tag Archives: great success

Oct15

Double Dinner Date OOTD Bloopers

Posted on October 15, 2023 by lifewithlilred

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Double Dinner Date OOTD! I wore this look to meet my boss and his wife with Johnny at a new restaurant called Akron’s Farm Table. This was an exciting night out for me because I got to meet my virtual boss IRL and conduct an interview with the restaurant owners. Double dates are also always fun and Johnny and I haven’t been on one in forever. Although I was really feeling myself in my outfit, I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t nervous about this outing. More on that later, first let’s take a look at the pics that definitely didn’t make the first cut… Until now!

Somehow always managing to trip during OOTD shoots. Whoopsy daisy!

Gazing off into the distance with this stupid look lol

I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just having a laugh in this pic and having one now because wtf

Clearly I thought I was really working it

Apparently I was in a perpetual state of shock during this shoot 😮

I like to think that I am a fairly outgoing gal. However, it takes me a while to get warmed up when meeting new people. I admit that I have quite a bit of anxiety in those situations and I find myself thinking if new friends, colleagues, or acquaintances like me or if I said the wrong thing throughout the meeting. I was very nervous to meet my online boss IRL. Of course I wanted to make a great impression, but I also have not had much practice meeting anyone new in a while. Johnny and I already know the people we want to know lol.

I am pleased to report that I didn’t let my nerves get the best of me during our Double Dinner Date and I thought I rocked it. Yes, I was anxious for things to go well, but I kept reminding myself that it’s not like my boss and I don’t have a phone conference almost every day. I know him, I just had not met him. I gave myself positive affirmations like “I’m great at what I do”, “I have a wonderful personality”, and to “just have fun” and it helped put me much more at ease. It must have done the trick because we are planning to check out another restaurant all together sometime soon! 😀

I kind of forgot that I had a hard time meeting new people until this outing because it had been so long. I am really proud of myself for putting my best face forward despite the anxiety and I think this will be a most helpful situation to remember in the future if I am around someone new. I consider this to be excellent progress so hurray for a GREAT SUCCESS!

Do you have an outgoing personality? What is something that you struggle with in social situations? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct10

Crochet For Days OOTD Bloopers

Posted on October 10, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Crochet For Days OOTD! Every once in a blue moon, the photo gods are not in my favor and this photo shoot was a prime example of that. I wasn’t feeling 100% as I was recovering from COVID, but I was looking 100% and it just didn’t translate. As frustrating as this phenomenon can be, it really does happen to the best of us. On the bright side, at least some of the pictures worked because it was looking pretty bleak lol. This shoot did leave me with a lot of bloopers so let’s take a looksee:

Why does it look like I’m mooing in this pic?

Timber Top say heyyyyy say ohhhhhhh

I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COVID fatigue got me like

LOL wtf is this face?!

Sending a lil smile to all of you xoxo

Lumbering over to see the latest batch of disappointing pictures

Like everything in life, you just have to roll with the punches. When life handed me COVID, I took it upon myself to watch every Saw movie. It was a tough job, but someone has got to do it. 😉 When life handed me a major yikes amount of major yikes pictures, all I can do is laugh. When things go 100% according to plan, that’s awesome. But, that doesn’t always happen and you have to keep on truckin.

These past few weeks have been pretty weird in Lil Red’s world. Being sick sucked, ending up in the ER sucked, and also not having a lot of taste or smell sucks ass haha. However, just because life feels below average sometimes doesn’t mean that it’s not going to get better. And, I know that to be true! I have not been feeling myself and after one single appointment with a new therapist, I feel more like myself than I have in a month. Solutions are often available to something giving you grief so get creative, put a smile on your face, and keep on going. I believe in you! ❤

Fingers crossed for a much more successful OOTD shoot for my next look. Fingers crossed for GREAT SUCCESS for all of you and for me too. I love you all!

How are you today? How do you get creative when life hands you lemons? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct8

Therapy Success!

Posted on October 8, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! After a very unsuccessful first shot of therapy, I finally had an appointment with someone new this past Wednesday. And, I am pleased to report that it went awesome!! After canceling with the person who I was seeing, I had no plans of giving therapy another try. I felt really disappointed by how the session went because I didn’t feel heard whatsoever and it was hard for me to even set up an appointment in the first place. Thankfully, the receptionist encouraged me to give it another go with someone who she thought would be a better fit and she was completely right. It was a match made in therapy heaven!

During my introductory session with my new therapist, I felt really comfortable talking to her. She was pierced and tatted and I instantly liked that right away! I was also shocked to find that my last therapist wasn’t hearing me for real. My new therapist warned me that our session would be repetitive to questions already asked with the prior therapist and that was fine. I understood that she needed to confirm what was in the notes. However, MAJOR experiences in my life that are very important to my healing weren’t taken note of at all. This seemed so inappropriate to me because those appointments were not only a waste of my time, but it was went about in a way that I didn’t appreciate and it was confirmed.

Thankfully, not feeling heard wasn’t an issue at all with my new therapist. In fact, I felt better than I have in weeks after our session because I could tell she was truly interested in what I had to say. Like my first appointment with my old therapist, I made it clear that while I would like to learn new coping skills and get advice, I really needed my feelings validated and to talk about my trauma. My new one agreed 150% and my old one spent our appointments shoving halfhearted solutions down my throat. I am SO happy to know that I am going to get what I need during my next appointments and I feel great about the next steps going forward!

It’s true that you need to shop around for a therapist that works for you and this last session was a testament to that. I am proud of myself for trying again and so relieved to have found someone that I can do that with. 🙂

Have you ever had a bad therapy experience? What did you do about it? I honestly have half a mind to complain to the office about mine. I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep10

Watercolor Weeping Willow Pt. 2

Posted on September 10, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! This past Tuesday, I spent a lovely afternoon painting with my mom. I wanted to revisit doing a watercolor weeping willow to see if I could improve upon my last one. Like my last effort, I am not especially pleased with what I came up with. However, I do think there were a lot of things on an individual basis that were good. The big picture was just meh, though. Take a look at my latest watercolor creation and I’ll tell you what I did like about it:

What bothers me the most about this picture is that I didn’t get full weeping willow vibes from it. I think it’s actually a pretty decent tree, but it wasn’t the tree I wanted lol! I do like the trunk that I made quite a bit and I thought that the color I mixed up for it was great. I also am a fan of the overall color palette that I established. To achieve it, I did a lot of mixing of greens, yellows, blues, and browns. It’s a lot of fun to create your own colors and see what you come up with!

The thing that I am happiest with about this weeping willow is that I think I am getting a more firm grasp on creating the signature “tendrils”. For my other attempt, I did a lot of brush strokes that weren’t blended the best. This time around, I did a really light base coat over the tree and patted it dry. Then, I painted waterlines and applied some paint to the very top of the line. After I had my trail of water, I held the paper up and let the paint run down. This was the closest I got to a tendril and I think that I’ll be onto something if I do smaller waterlines the next time. 😀

As with all of my watercolor paintings, this “weeping willow” is not the best. It doesn’t have to be, though! It’s always nice to spend time painting with my mom and after every sesh, I have new ideas to try. The outcome wasn’t successful, but the fact I tried and am more than willing to try again is a GREAT SUCCESS!!

What is your favorite kind of tree? What should I try painting next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug5

July 2023 Finishes

Posted on August 5, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a slightly late beauty finishes post for July! I used up a ton of new to me products this past month so we have a lot of ground to cover. Even more so because I would happily use all of them again and that rarely happens! Let’s get started:

Would I Use Again?

Clinical Works Brightening Vitamin C Facial Cleanser: YES

Bath & Body Works Body Cream: YES

Evoluderm Micellar Water: YES

Pearlessence Brightening Facial Serum: YES

Pacifica Rainbow Watermelon Lip Balm: YES

Farmacy Honey Halo Moisturizer: YES

Lanoline Manuka Honey Eye Cream: YES

Why/Why Not?

Clinical Works Cleanser: I absolutely loved this cleanser!! It had a great citrus scent that was so invigorating in the morning and it was super long lasting. A little dollop went such a long way that I was using it for months. I found my skin to look brighter and healthier after consistent once daily use. Highly recommend!

B&BW Body Cream: The Shea Butter + Hyaluronic Acid Body Cream from Bath & Body Works is the best. It is so much better than their regular lotion and I am always impressed by how soft and hydrated it leaves my skin. The only problem? It’s never enough! Every night before bed, I apply lotion to my arms, chest, and stretch mark areas so I go through the bottle quickly. The travel size ones were used up after about five days and the full size was empty within two weeks. Thankfully, I usually get them for free with coupons or close to free when shopping the semi-annual sale so it’s all good. 😀

Pearlessence Serum: The Brightening serum by Pearlessence was a good one and I wish I had more of it. Although it was quite thin in texture, I still felt like it was highly effective in giving my skin that extra boost of radiance. Sometimes a thin serum makes me feel like it isn’t doing anything at all and that wasn’t the case in the slightest. Three pumps was enough to cover my entire face and neck and it took me close to two months to finish the bottle. Combined with my additional brightening products, my skin has never looked better.

Pacifica Lip Balm: The lip balms by Pacifica are, hands down, the best I have ever used and I will never use anything different. I always have to have one by my bedside, by my computer, and in my purse! What this lip balm does in one application couldn’t be accomplished by a standard balm in ten. The Pacifica balms leave my lips hydrated and supple and I have completely kissed chapped lips goodbye since I started using them regularly.

Farmacy Moisturizer: The Honey Halo moisturizer was part of my birthday gift from Sephora and it was really nice! It smelled exactly like honey and a little of it went a long way – it took almost two weeks of twice daily application to finish the travel size jar. My skin felt so hydrated with each use and looked like peaches and cream perfection. It was my favorite part of the Farmacy gift set I received!

Lanoline Eye Cream: Holy WOW was this eye cream long lasting. It took me FOUR MONTHS of twice daily use to finish the jar! This was just a nice eye cream to use and I noticed big improvements. My under eye designer bags cleared up so much, which was a huge win. The delicate skin around my eyes felt stronger and looked more supple and this was, easily, one of the best eye creams that I have ever used.

Talk about a GREAT SUCCESS for beauty empties, amiright?! If you happen to find any of these products when out and about, they all received the Lil Red Stamp of Approval and I just know you will love them too! 😀

Which products did you use up recently? What are your thoughts on any of the above products if you have used them before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun17

Aldi’s Haul Success: Pickle De Gallo

Posted on June 17, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! For the past several years, Johnny and I have done our grocery shopping at the Giant Eagle. The convenience of curbside and the fact that it is barely five minutes away from us was hard to beat. However, the prices at GE were simply getting out of hand and the amount we were spending to keep us fed and watered was ridiculous. So, we decided to make a change by shopping at Aldi’s and getting what we couldn’t find there at the GE.

We had our first Aldi’s trip together earlier this week and it was nothing short of a remarkably GREAT SUCCESS. Outside of about six things that weren’t available, we found everything we needed and paid over one hundred dollars less for it. The nearest Aldi’s to us is about twenty minutes away but, needless to say, it was well worth the trip!

I haven’t gone “real” grocery shopping in so long because I freaking LOVE online shopping with curbside. However, I always enjoyed a trip to the grocery store and going to Aldi’s with Johnny was a blast. There were SO many new to us options and we filled our cart with can’t say no finds. One of which being, pickle de gallo. I had seen people posting about it on Facebook before and I told Johnny that I really hoped it was at the Aldi’s we were going to. Lucky for me, it was!

Johnny and I are avid dippers. No, not in the chewing tobacco way! We just love chips and dip and like to make what we call “dip island” AKA a wide variety of dips on a table lol. So, when I heard talk of a pickle based salsa, I NEEDED it. Pickles are one of my favorite things to snack on and pico de gallo is my preferred style of salsa. A combination of both of these things really blew my mind and I couldn’t wait to dig in as soon as we returned home from our shopping trip.

At Aldi’s, there were two different types of pickle de gallo – a mild one and a thick and chunky medium heat one. Obvi, I got them both! I decided to try the mild pickle salsa first and it was everything that I hoped it would be and so much more. The pickles were tangy, the onions were sweet, and the red pepper had the perfect amount of zip to make my taste buds soar. Every bite had an insane amount of crunch and it wasn’t from the tortilla chips I purchased which were kind of a dud. Several chips in, I had to exercise self control because I most definitely could have kept on going!

If you are a pickle fan and looking for a new and exciting way to eat them; RUN to Aldi’s. Also, if you are looking to save money on groceries; RUN to Aldi’s. This shopping trip was a complete game changer and I can’t wait to go back! 😀

What grocery store do you shop at? What is the best thing that you have found at Aldi’s? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May21

Setting Small Goals For GREAT SUCCESS

Posted on May 21, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! I am one of those people that like to get things done immediately and do it well. However, in this current juncture of my life, everything has been overwhelming and I barely got things like cooking, cleaning, or self care done at all. After over two months of running myself ragged and being disappointed by things that I couldn’t do because I had no time or energy, I decided to make a change. Rather than attempting to do everything and doing nothing instead, I began setting small, achievable goals for myself to meet throughout the week.

This has been a most helpful change and I have had GREAT SUCCESS already. Although the pace I am getting things done at is leisurely, I am now getting them done and I feel great about it. Here are some of the ways that I have switched things up:

Cooking:

When things were falling apart, cooking was the first thing that plummeted. This was no good for me because I love to cook and DoorDash is expensive! I knew that what I was doing wasn’t working and set the goal for myself to make easy meals on the days that I am home early. Yes, I was tired once home but eating actual food is important and I found that I had more energy once I was done cooking because I was finally enjoying myself. Now, I am making dinner at least three times a week with plenty of leftovers for off days and I am really proud of that! There is also nothing better than seeing how happy Johnny is whenever I’m in the kitchen and eagerly asking what I’m making. ❤

Cleaning:

In my perfect world, I would be able to dedicate an entire morning and afternoon to cleaning the apartment. However, I simply don’t have the time to do that. So, I started small. I have begun texting Johnny in the mornings about his designated chores he could do when he gets home and I take care of everything else that needs done throughout the week. I now have Wednesday as my set morning to do laundry, cleaning toilets on Thursday (just like my mom’s chore schedule lol), and using spare time to declutter in sections. Breaking the chores up into a manageable schedule has really helped to turn the apartment around and it feels good to return home without immediately spotting glaring issues to clean!

Leisure:

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnny and I used to love doing things on week nights. Dinner out, going for walks, or catching an early movie at the theater. That seems so long ago, but it was so nice to have fun things to look forward to during the work week. Together, we decided that now would be a perfect time to get back into this habit – especially since the weather is beautiful! We don’t plan on going crazy with plans and like the theme of this post, we are starting small. I suggested a hike at least once a week in one of the many Metro Parks we live by and having the occasional dinner on our balcony. This is a change we will be implementing this week because Johnny worked crazy overtime hours last week. I’m excited to go out and do things with my husband again and a hike seems like an easily accomplish-able way to start.

Although everything still kind of sucks right now, I am feeling much better by setting goals and reaching them. By breaking tasks up into smaller pieces, I have been doing more of the things I love and the things that are necessary. It’s a minor change, but one that I am so pleased with and will be sticking to from now on!

How do you make adulting more manageable? What is something that you are proud of? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar18

A Trip To The Periodontist

Posted on March 18, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! At the beginning of 2019, I had my wisdom teeth removed and got gum grafting done. Unfortunately, what should have been a pretty routine surgery went horribly wrong and I was limited to a liquid diet for over a month. I still shudder at the sight of Ensure! After this mishap, I refused to go to any type of dentist because I was scared and my oral hygiene deeply suffered from it. This went on for over a year until I finally agreed to make an appointment with the periodontist who my mom recommended and promised was really nice. She was right!

Since 2020, I have gone to my periodontist several times for regular cleanings and deep gum cleanings to repair the damage that had been done. I tried my best to go along with their recommendations, but ended up falling short of expectations every appointment. It was very disappointing, to say the least. During my last appointment this past October, I had to get X-rays taken of my teeth to prep for my next deep cleaning. The process was long and uncomfortable and after that appointment, I threw my hands in the air and said “screw it”. Then, I went to the store and bought floss picks for the very first time in my adult life.

After that fateful appointment, I flossed morning and night like my life depended on it. I was so sick and tired of lackluster results and knew that some of the fault was my own at this point. At first, the flossing hurt like a mother and don’t even get me started on using Listerine afterwards because that was about a bitch too lol. However, it did get easier and less painful as time went on. I just didn’t know if it was enough to finally get the stamp of approval from my periodontist.

This past Wednesday, I had an early morning appointment to get a deep gum cleaning and I was nervous AF. Not for the cleaning itself because it’s not that bad, but for what would be found when my gums were examined. I informed my periodontist that I started flossing and he took a look at what was going on before prepping for the cleaning. Within ten seconds, he told me that they weren’t going to do anything and that I could go home. You could have knocked me over with a feather!!

Thanks to the new step in my oral hygiene routine, the pockets around my teeth started to shrink and went down over two sizes. This was the first time in FOUR years that I had not just good results, but excellent and I was beyond thrilled. The entire team at the office was so proud of me and, damnit, I was too. I couldn’t stop smiling all morning because of my GREAT SUCCESS and the fact that the smile I was flashing was a healthy one.

Although flossing was a better late than never situation for me, don’t be like me lol. I was absolutely traumatized from my surgery gone wrong and it made me stubborn. Had I done what I needed to do in the first place, my oral hygiene would have been in a good place years ago. Listen to your healthcare professionals because I promise you they know what they’re talking about and the small changes to your routines can really help!

Do you have a fear of the doctor or dentist? What helped you overcome it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb4

Bath & Body Works January Freebies

Posted on February 4, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! I got two freebie coupons from Bath & Body Works last week for a full and travel size item and I couldn’t believe my good luck. Free full size product coupons are a rarity from B&BW and I couldn’t wait to cash them in. Tuesday afternoons are usually when I run errands so I stopped in to pick out some goodies and ended up walking away with twenty-three dollars worth of completely free product. It was awesome! Check it out:

I decided to go for a shower gel for my full size product because I recently bought a few lotions from B&BW on the cheap. I was in the mood to try a new scent out and was instantly drawn to the dreamy packaging for one of their new fragrances called Among The Clouds. I loved the sparkle and sunset colors – it just looked so sweet and girly and I knew that it had to smell good. And it did! Among The Clouds features fragrance notes of wild berry and whipped vanilla and it is divine. It kind of reminds me of the Mixed Berry Lip Smackers from back in the day and I think that it will be a perfect scent for the spring and summer. I highly recommend giving it a shot!

For my travel size item, I chose a hand cream in Gingham, which is one of my favorite B&BW fragrance lines. I have used the Bath & Body Works hand cream before and I can’t say that I was overly impressed by it. Their hand creams are fairly greasy and don’t absorb well. However, you can’t beat free and I suppose it doesn’t matter all that much when I only use it before bed!

As I was driving home with my free mini haul, I was blown away by the coupons from B&BW. In total, Johnny and I probably spend less than one hundred dollars per year at Bath & Body Works for our hand soaps and wallflowers. The rest of the products that I get are free nine times out of ten and I receive a coupon for more at least once per month. A monthly free travel size product coupon results in over one hundred dollars of free per year. Essentially, B&BW matches what I spend with freebies and I am so there for it. 😀

This coupon cash in session was one of my best yet at Bath & Body Works and I was riding the high of twenty plus dollars of free my whole way home. I can’t wait to go back next month because I think that I will definitely be getting more Among The Clouds products!

Which stores offer the best coupons? How do you save money on your must have products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan30

Oven Pizza Success!!!!

Posted on January 30, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! At chez moi, my refrigerator and cupboards were almost completely bare and a curbside order was most definitely in order. When picking up groceries, I always schedule it for when Johnny is getting home from work. Then, he brings the groceries in and I put them away. Our process runs like a fine tuned machine! This past time, however, my day finished earlier than expected so I got my order ahead of time and carried the entire haul up to our second floor apartment and put it away all by my lonesome. After all of that hard work, the last thing I felt like was cooking! But, hey – that’s what oven pizzas are for amiright? And, after the massive failure of the last Red Baron pizza we tried, things really turned around with this pie:

Lol, I know that I said yesterday that lifewithlilred is not going to become a pizza review blog and I still stand by that… After this post! I just had to share this GREAT SUCCESS with all of you. 🙂 Have you ever noticed how even the simplest meals can taste amazing if you are hungry or tired enough? Because that was definitely where I was at when digging into the Red Baron Brick Oven cheese pizza and it was so satisfying both on an emotional level and in the taste department.

The crust of this pizza was way thinner than the previous Red Baron catastrophe and it was a welcome change of pace. The sauce was sweet, the cheese was poured with a heavy hand, and it was the friggen bomb. Johnny and I have had this pizza several times before but I never appreciated its majesty so fully and completely until now. Was I dog tired and hadn’t ate since breakfast? Yes. Did this affect the way the pizza tasted? Probably. Am I going to buy it again to experience it through fresh eyes? Abso-freaking-lutely!

In my youth, my dad was the king of oven pizzas and fostered my love of mine and Johnny’s go to lazy day meal as an adult. With friends like the Red Baron and Digiorno, who needs enemies? Or however that saying goes!

How often do you grocery shop? What do you make when you don’t feel like cooking? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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