Tag Archives: happy

Accessory Story: Surprise Pick Me Up Edition

Standard
Accessory Story: Surprise Pick Me Up Edition

Hiiiiiiii! My mom is my best friend, partner in crime, and shopping buddy. Our excursions to the shops has given my mom expert knowledge into Lil Red’s fashion sense, and she now seems to know my personal style like the back of her hand. My mom is also an amazing surprise giver and always seems to know when her daughter needs a little pick me up. After a seriously lackluster and downright shitty afternoon, my beloved mom returned home from Target with these gorgeous earrings for little old moi:

surprise2surprise1

When it comes to earrings, I made the lifestyle choice years ago to only wear dangly ones, because they are extra fun with short hair. I also deeply enjoy loud gold jewelry, but never really buy any for myself because I’m not the biggest accessorizer in the world. I love these earrings that my mom picked out for me, but I don’t know if I would have bought them for myself – which is probably exactly why she chose them!

It doesn’t take much to make me happy. A kind word always will do – but a lovely new pair of earrings definitely helps the cause! Thanks to a sweet surprise, my mom took away the not so stellar parts of my day and replaced it with something good and kind. She really is the best!

I LOVE YOU, MOM!!!! ❤

What is the easiest way for someone to cheer you up? How do you like to surprise a loved one? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

lifewithlilred By The Numbers In 2017

Standard
lifewithlilred By The Numbers In 2017

Hellloooooooo and happy Sunday! With a brand new year upon is, it’s time to explore lifewithlilred By The Numbers In 2017. My blog is my pride and joy, and I am so pleased with the progress that I have made this past year to keep my page running smoothly. As always, thank you to all of my readers and friends who stop by on my page – all of you have helped to make 2017 the best year yet on lifewithlilred! These stats and the progress made since 2016 would be simply impossible without each and every one of you!

2017 Stats:

  • Overall Views: 66,000
  • Followers: 6,730
  • Likes: 27,000
  • Comments: 4,300
  • Countries I’m Read In: 170+

Wow!!! I love how WordPress gives you your stats by the day, month, and year so that you can really track the strides that have been made on your page as time passes. It helps me so much in deciding feasible goals for each month and the entire year. Do I wish that I could get 100,000 views in 2018? Who doesn’t?! But, I would be SO pleased with 75,000 and am going to do everything in my power to make that happen this year. #GOALS

How do you create goals for your blog? What is something about your page that makes you proud? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Seasons Greetings!

Standard
Seasons Greetings!

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! I wanted to write a quick post to wish everyone the happiest of holidays. Whatever you celebrate and however you spend your day, I hope that you have the most amazing time doing it! Enjoy your day with your family or if it’s just a normal day for you, make it your best yet. Happy holidays!! Much love. -Sarah

Christmas Surprise Pt. 2

Standard
Christmas Surprise Pt. 2

Hey! Someone who is very dear to me is my neighbor, Alice. After years of living next door to her, we have recently become close and I revel in our almost weekly coffee dates at her place. About a month ago, we ventured to the darling Two Cafe in Solon, Ohio for lunch and had a total blast. Not only is Two a cafe but it’s also a boutique with the most beautiful handcrafted items for sale.

Included in the boutique section of Two was a little red ice skate that we both agreed was made for me, as a former Lil Red skater girl. During our gift exchange, I learned that Alice made the almost forty minute drive back to Two to get me the skate decoration for Christmas. Take a look:

sk8sk82

Besides for absolutely LOVING this gift and how adorable it is, I love the thought behind it the most. Alice literally saved this in her archives as my Christmas gift and made a special trip to get it just for me. That’s better than any gift that I could ever receive. I value my neighborly friendship so much, and her care and beautiful thoughts behind this present are something that I will never forget!

What is one of the most thoughtful gifts that you have ever received? How do you put special thoughts into your gift buying? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Monday Update: Christmas Excitement Edition

Standard
Monday Update: Christmas Excitement Edition

Hey everyone and happy Monday! As of today, there are only SEVEN DAYS left till Christmas! That’s one week and that’s one very happy Sarah!

SEVEN DAYS OMGGGGGGG!!!

It’s so crazy, because it feels like Thanksgiving just happened and now Christmas is a single digits amount away? Where in the world has the time gone?! That’s okay, though, because I don’t know about you guys – but I’m ready for a cozy morning with my family opening presents and cooking a great big dinner.

I’ve always loved Christmas. The food, the gifts, the family time. I am so lucky to say that all of my holiday memories have been fond and happy. And, despite a lot of setbacks this year, I know that the big day next week is going to be filled with tons of good cheer and fun.

As you guys know, I completed all of my shopping very early this year, because it was a possibility that a loved one was not going to be home in the holidays. So, I’ve been sitting with boxes full of prezzies in my room, ticking off the days till the 25th like a madwoman! I love buying and presenting my family and friends with presents and all I’ve wanted to do since mid-November is to shove gifts into everyone’s hands and make them open it! But, self control has gotten the best of me, and there will be presents (That have been waiting over a month to be opened!) under the tree for all!

Although the family Christmas tree has been up all year, the Christmas Excitement is so real! How do you celebrate during the holiday season? What is on your holiday wish list? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Top Cat: Keep Your Feline Feelin’ Fine

Standard
Top Cat: Keep Your Feline Feelin’ Fine

A lot of people choose cats as pets because they are independent and don’t require as much direct care and attention as dogs. But there is plenty that you can do to ensure that your feline friend stays at their healthiest. Getting into good daily habits with your cat is important, just as it is for your own health. So, let’s talk about a few of the ways that you can help your cat to live a happy and healthy life.

Brush Them Every Day: Brushing or combing your cat on a daily basis will help to cut down on the number of hairballs that develop in their digestive tracts. If you find it difficult to get your cat to cooperate with the brushing process, you should try combing them before a meal so that they will always associate it with a treat. Get into a regular routine and your cat should begin to accept brushing rather than fighting against it!

Don’t Give Them Too Much Dry Food: Cats rely on meat as the foundation of their diets and this should always be included in their main meal of the day. Dry food which contains a lot of carbohydrates is not usually good in large quantities as it can lead to them becoming obese and increasing their odds of developing conditions like type-2 diabetes.

Remember: Cats DO Get Thirsty: While cats may not have the same level of thirst as dogs, you still need to be aware of when they need liquids. Cats tend to get a big percentage of their fluid supply from their food, but you should always ensure that they have access to fresh water so they can drink whenever they need to. Elderly and nursing cats tend to need more water than others, and you should watch out for symptoms including lethargy, sunken eyes, and panting.

Keep Them Flea-Free: If your cat is scratching, chewing their skin, or seems restless, chances are that they have fleas. Watch for any signs of movement in their fur to make sure. There are plenty of products out there that you can use yourself if you think that your cat has fleas – visit this website for some of them. Make sure to de-flea your home as well to prevent a full-blown infestation.

cattt1

Prettyyy

Train Them to Use a Scratching Post: To protect your cat’s nails and your furniture, train them to use a scratching post. You can’t expect to put one in your home and your cat will know what to do instantly, so put it in the center of your room and try balancing some treats on the top. Once your cat is used to it, you can then move it to a less obvious position.

Choose a Feline-Friendly Vet: Developing a lasting relationship with your vet is important for your cat’s health, so make sure that you choose one who is experienced in dealing with cats rather than one who specializes in dogs.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Standard
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Hi everyone and happy happy Thanksgiving! I will keep this post short and sweet so that all of you can get back to enjoying quality time with your friends and family. Thanksgiving is easily one of my favorite holidays, mainly because I love to eat! BUT, I also love being able to prepare a big meal with my family and friends and sit down at the table to enjoy it all together. Then, my family always concludes our Thanksgiving feast with movies or games afterwards, which is a total blast because the Mushenheims are a competitive people!

Thanksgiving is an all around fun day. Everyone at home is in a great mood, the house smells amazing from all of the delicious food being cooked, and we even opt to use the fancy dining room table to eat our meal at. In fact, Thanksgiving is the one holiday that I can always recall enjoying throughout the years and I have every intention of adding another exceedingly pleasant holiday to the books today.

I hope that all of my wonderful friends, readers, and followers on lifewithlilred have a beautiful day today! Enjoy yourselves, your family, and your loved ones and EAT ALL THE FOOD! How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving? What is the best Thanksgiving side dish? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Featured Image By: Pinterest

Special Olympics 2017 Banquet

Standard
Special Olympics 2017 Banquet

Hi everyone! This past week, the Special Olympics hosted their yearly banquet to celebrate the athletes, coaches, volunteers, and families that dedicate themselves to such an incredible organization. I have been coaching Special Olympics figure skating for three years now and every practice, competition, and event is such a joy to be a part of. This year, I was honored as the Volunteer Of The Year for my involvement as a coach. It was such an amazing surprise and I have my award displayed proudly already! Check it out:

awardd

^^^ Isn’t that cute?!

I know that I used this word already, but “honored” really describes how I feel about receiving this award. Out of all of the incredible coaches that volunteer their time to the cause, yours truly was chosen, and that is such an indescribable feeling. I am so proud to have been celebrated by my beloved athletes and their families, and I am looking forward to working with my skaters to be the best that they can be, on and off the ice, at our next lesson. ❤

What is something that you are proud of? Which organizations do you volunteer for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Featured Image By: CBS DFW

All Done Holiday Shopping!!

Standard
All Done Holiday Shopping!!

HURRAY HURRAY! As of this week, I am officially all done holiday shopping and I seriously could not be happier. Being finished with gift buying less than halfway through November might seem obscenely early to some but, for me, it is just right. For as long as I can remember, I have never been one that enjoys last minute shopping or even going to the shops as Christmas draws closer. Don’t get me wrong, I love holiday set ups in stores and magnificent window displays just as much as the next person but, my god, the stress can be unbearable.

What if I can’t find just the right present in store? What if the gift arrives broken or the shipment gets delayed? What if the present is out of stock by the time I get to buying it? What if, what if, what if. AHHH! Just typing this out gives me anxiety!! I am far from the home stretch, just because Amazon packages still have to arrive, but the fact that I’m ninety-nine percent done makes me breathe easier.

Not only the aforementioned, but I’m happy to get one big bill out of the way now, rather than have it broken up into December when I’ll be trying to save moolah again. Hello, holiday cash! This is the earliest that I’ve ever completed my holiday shopping before, and I find myself wondering why I haven’t done it like this every year. The major stress of the season is gone and now I can sit back, relax, and sip my hot chocolate while the rest of my family and friends do the December Dash to get all of their shopping done in time! But that’s none of my business. 😉 😉 😉

Who else is all done holiday shopping? Who is a last minute gift buyer? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

AnkhorRed’s First Annual Bloggers Conference

Standard
AnkhorRed’s First Annual Bloggers Conference

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! As you all know, Lil Red visited the Big City this month to visit my blogging (and real life) BFF, Kate, from Ankhor You. After literal months of constant texting and FaceTiming, we decided to take the next “big step” in our friendship and finally meet each other!

In case you didn’t know, Kate and I are both former figure skaters, so we planned our get together for October, when the rinks in New York are open. Kate jokingly called our hang out a “bloggers conference” and it was so funny and appropriate that it stuck. After what seemed like months of waiting…because it was quite literally months of waiting…October rolled around and the BC was a go! I Greyhounded myself to Manhattan (A ten hour ride!) and was greeted by Kate at the gate.

Saying that our first “real life” meeting was surreal is a true understatement. Yes, we talk every day and yes, we FaceTime almost weekly but talking via phone is never the same as meeting in real life. Anyone on CatFish can attest to that! But our initial meeting went exactly how I hoped it would go – with a big hug and infinite high pitched “eeeeeeee’s”. Although, I could do without the fact that I needed to go to the Port Authority bathroom immediately after and that I was blind as a bat because I accidentally fell asleep on the bus in my one a day contacts and had to take them out. Smh.

ANYWAYS, spending four days in NY and staying in Kate’s “doll house” apartment was magnificent, to say the least. The days were long and filled with walking, in heels no less! But the company was fantastic, the laughter was nonstop, and, as if things couldn’t get any better, a Harry Potter marathon on TV was there to greet us every evening.

Tomorrow, I will discuss some of my favorite highlights of my trip and some more NYC fun with one of my favorite people on the planet! Where is your favorite place to travel to? What is your preferred method of travel? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

nyc2.jpg