Tag Archives: holidays

Blogging Bestie Birthday Gifts

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Blogging Bestie Birthday Gifts

Hello!! When I first began lifewithlilred almost eight (!!!) years ago, it put me in touch with the amazing Kate of Live In The Nautical. We became fast friends and bonded over our Gemini twinhood, figure skating, shopping, and a shared love of Harry Potter. Ever since, it has felt weird to have a day when we are not in touch and I live for our FaceTime dates.

Kate is, truly, the best friend a gal could ever ask for and we love spoiling each other for gift giving occasions. And, spoil me she did with these glorious gifts:

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My love for Taco Bell knows no bounds and if I wouldn’t blow up like a balloon, then I would eat there every day lol. Kate knows this all too well, which is why she went with that theme for my birthday gifts! Her and I both love collecting coffee mugs so I was thrilled to be able to add a new one to my always growing coffee mug shelf. And, yes, my princess name absolutely would be Taco Belle. 😀

I also received an amazingly comfy cute sweater that featured my favorite color and my favorite place on the graphic on the back of it. I can’t believe I’m saying this because it still feels so foreign but it actually gets chilly in my new apartment! This was far from the case in the old one where the heat was suffocating. It feels so good to cozy up in this sweater in the air conditioning. And, of course, I can’t wait to rock it while out and about this fall!

My almost decade long friendship with Kate will always be the best gift that I could ever ask for. She brings me so much joy and I am thankful for her every day – especially since we talk literally all day every day! Her birthday gifts to me are so thoughtful, hilarious, and perfectly showcases everything I hold dear lol. Make sure you check out her page at Live In The Nautical! ❤

Who is your best friend? What do you admire about them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Birthday To Me!!

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Happy Birthday To Me!!

Hello everyone!! Today is your favorite Lil Red blogger’s 28th birthday and, I’ve got to say, I can’t believe I used to think that I was old when I was turning 21 lol. This past year has been an amazing one filled with lots of big life events – getting married, moving into a bigger apartment, and lots of come ups at work just to name a few. I am so thankful for the GREAT SUCCESS of last year and I can only hope for lots of the same this time around. 😀

As always, another thing that I am thankful for is being able to share all of these events, musings, and any and everything with all of you! Sitting down to write every morning on lifewithlilred is one of my greatest joys and I love my little internet niche that I have created. I love my dear readers even more, though, and it is so special to me to be able to connect with so many wonderful people all around the world.

My birthday wish is for all of my friends across the blogosphere to have the best year ever full of GREAT SUCCESSES, happiness, and laughter. You mean the world to me and thank you all for being with me for my past eight birthdays. ❤

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

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Unique Gift Ideas That Are Sure To Satisfy

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Unique Gift Ideas That Are Sure To Satisfy

Some people (Like me!) really enjoy buying gifts. On the other hand, there are quite a few who can see it as a chore, especially when you’re getting something for someone known to be difficult to buy for. In those cases, coming up with something can be a challenge. With a few alternative gift ideas, however, it doesn’t need to be so difficult.

Though you’ll still need to put a bit of effort into it, keeping a few ideas in mind could be more than enough to come up with the perfect gift idea, regardless of who you buy it for:

Musical Instrument:

Instruments are a tried and tested gift for anyone musically inclined. It’s more than worth looking into this and seeing if it’s an option. Taking this approach doesn’t need to be as daunting as it seems as there are more than affordable guitars to choose from. The same can be said for drums and other instruments. If you decide to test this method out, it could also be worth springing for some lessons so they can start playing relatively quickly.

Zen Garden Sculpture:

If your loved one has a garden and takes pride in its appearance, then you could help add onto it. A zen garden sculpture can be an appealing choice, as it shouldn’t take up much space and offers a sense of calm while being visually appealing. You’ll need to make sure that the sculpture fits in with the theme of their garden to make it the perfect addition. If you’re not a fan of a zen sculpture, it could be worth thinking about similar choices.

Personalized Picnic Table Wine Carrier:

If your friend or family member’s birthday happens in the summer, it could be worth choosing something based around that. With the weather being nicer, picnics will become more and more popular for a while. Why not help your loved one take their picnic game to the next level?

With a picnic table wine carrier, you can do precisely that. The good thing about this is that it can be versatile enough to use with various other drinks without any extra effort. Even if it’s not used for a picnic, it can be put to use around the home. It can be a simple and appealing wine rack, for example. If your giftee is a wine lover, it’s more than recommended.

While gift shopping, remember the following:

  • Focus on their interests
  • Practicality can sometimes be better-recommended
  • Listen to them and base your choice on topics they keep bringing up
  • Experiences can be a better option than belongings

Regardless of what you get them, they should be sure to love it because it was from you!

Featured Image By: QuinceCreative from Pixabay

Happy Birthday, Johnny!!!!

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Happy Birthday, Johnny!!!!

Hello everyone!! It is a happy, wonderful day because it is my darling husband’s birthday!! Johnny turns the big 3-3 today and I am so excited to celebrate him even more than usual. My Johnny is the best husband, blog husband, friend, and partner in crime that a gal could ever ask for and I am so lucky to be his ol’ ball and chain. ❤

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Ever since our first date, Johnny and I have basically been joined at the hip and every second is an amazing one. Whether we are out and about or just sitting at home, we always have the best time together because we are in our own bubble of happiness and jokes that only we find funny. Speaking of funny or as Johnny would say “funny looking”, he constantly has me in stitches and there have been times when we are laughing so hard we end up crying!

It is never a dull moment with my husband and even the most mundane things end up being an adventure… Five minute drives that I insist on calling “road trips”, grocery shopping, and even housework turns into us just having fun. A prime example of this is when we were moving and I was getting frustrated and Johnny spent a solid minute dancing behind my car before I could make another trip for more boxes. My annoyance turned into belly laughing and it is the image that I think of when I reflect on our moving day.

Our almost three year relationship has been a whirlwind of big events from Johnny’s concerts, family vacations, moving in together, getting married, and moving again. The little things are always what sticks in my mind, though. OOTD shoots, date nights, movie marathons, and even Johnny hovering in the kitchen when I’m cooking tie together the mosaic of our lives with love and lots of laughter.

I love you so much, darling Johnny!

Happy Birthday!!!! ❤

Happy Early Birthday To Me!!

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Happy Early Birthday To Me!!

Hello! I am one of those people who simply cannot wait to give and receive presents for special occasions. I am probably the most impatient person when it comes to that! When Johnny and I first started dating, he was pretty good about waiting until a holiday or birthday for gift exchanges. However, over time, he has adopted my early bird method and gifted me with an early birthday prezzie this past weekend:

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Lol, the answer is: Yes, my husband did buy me a sword cane for my birthday – it is exactly what I wanted! As you guys know, I am extra enough to be carrying around parasols, wrapping myself in faux fur, and wouldn’t be caught dead in the summer without a huge sunhat and sunglasses. A sword cane is yet another thing to be added to this arsenal of extraness and I am SO there for it.

At least once a year, Johnny and I have a Harry Potter movie marathon and this present was inspired by Lucius Malfoy’s cane wand. I remember vividly saying that I loved it when watching The Chamber Of Secrets and Johnny filed it away in his mental rolidex for a gift giving occasion. And, as always, he did really good because my cane is incredibly similar to a one Mr. Malfoy’s.

Johnny, apparently, was just as enamored by this purchase as I was because he accidentally ordered two! Instead of canceling the order, he decided to keep it for himself and we have definitely already had fake sword fights at the apartment. Fear not – the blade is less sharp than a butter knife but we both had a blast getting our imaginary Aragorn on!

As you might know, Johnny’s birthday is on June 1st, our wedding anniversary is June 4th, and my birthday is June 7th. We refer to this as our “birthaversary” and it’s such a monumental week that we can’t help but celebrate early… Especially considering that Johnny has known his gift for the past month – an immersive Sleepy Hollow cocktail event. We can’t wait! 😀

Are you an impatient gift giver like me? How do you like to celebrate special occasions? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Happy Birthday, Sister!!

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Happy Birthday, Sister!!

Hello everyone! Today is a happy wonderful day because it is my big sister, Kristen’s, birthday! Beginning in March until June, it is a whirlwind of birthdays in my family. It starts with my niece, then my mom, dad, sister, brother, and in June Johnny and I celebrate our birthdays and wedding anniversary, then it wraps up with my blogging bestie. It is such a fun time full of presents, get togethers, and dinners and I can’t wait to celebrate Kristen’s big day together!

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Kristen is the best sister and friend a gal could ever ask for and I am so lucky to be related to her! She is an amazing mom, dog and cat mom, and human being and every time hanging out with her is the best time. I love our trips to Taco Bell, getting ice cream, and adventures at the park with her darling daughter. I can’t wait for summertime so we can all go swimming at my apartment complex again. And, yes, having Johnny pick us up TBell once we’re done at the pool. 🙂

My sister is so kind and it really shows in her parenting and love for caring for rescue animals. Her two cats and three dogs have all been given a second lease on life because of her. As little sis, I’m sure there are plenty of instances of me driving Kristen crazy, especially when I constantly send her Bitmojis but I just can’t help myself lol. I miss her as soon as either of us go home and I am always asking her if Johnny and I can live with her family! 😀

Sisters are built in best friends and I hit the jackpot with mine. ❤

I love you, Kristen!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

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Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Hello everyone! Today is a happy wonderful day because it’s my dad’s birthday!! Although he hates celebrating his big day – I sure don’t and it will always be blog worthy in my world. ❤ My dad is the best, funniest, kindest man on the planet and he sure is handsome too. He deserves to be celebrated every day and I am so lucky to be his daughter!

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My dad is a gardening expert, a friend to all of the little woodland animals, and is a vacation planning extraordinaire. He is always cracking a joke and I am constantly in stitches in his company. One of my favorites has to be before I got married and informed him that I just had one last appointment to get my tattoos touched up before the big day. Without missing a beat, he replied with “How about getting some of them removed?” Lol, what a card!

I love my dad’s relationship with my mom and he is such a doting father and grandpa too. Whenever my parents are out shopping, he is constantly on the lookout for new toys and books for my niece! It is so sweet to watch them together. I truly couldn’t ask for a better dad and even though he’s probably annoyed at this post, I think he’ll secretly like it anyways. ❤ 😀

I love you, Dad!

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

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Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Hello everyone! Today is a special, wonderful day because it is my mom’s birthday! JANE is my best friend and is the best mom in the whole world. I love her so much. My dog loving mom is a hilarious little ball of energy and is such a gift to both mankind and four legged friends alike. She is also the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on:

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Any time spent with my mom is the best time and, even though I only live two minutes away from my family home, it just doesn’t feel close enough! I always tell my parents that I want to move into their basement with Johnny and nine times out of ten I usually mean it lol. JANE was promoted to grandma three years ago and it is such a joy to see her with her grandbabies, although, let’s be real: I will forever be her baby no matter how old I get. ❤

Her and my dad’s relationship sets an amazing example for all of us kids and I always look forward to hearing about the shenanigans that they get into together. They are truly #relationshipgoals! I could go on for forever about all of the things that I love about my mom and she deserves to be celebrated every day. She is kind, intelligent beyond belief, adorable, and the literal definition of beauty and brains.

I love you so much, mom, and I hope you have the best birthday ever! See you later! ❤

Happy Birthday!!! ❤

Silly Valentine’s Day Gift

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Silly Valentine’s Day Gift

Hello! When it comes to Valentine’s Day, Johnny and I never go overboard on gifts and prefer to save that for birthdays and Christmas. My main gift from Johnny was a delicious meal at Pepper’s before going to see Jesus Christ Superstar which was more than enough for me. I am still thinking about my gnocchi with Alfredo sauce as I type this! Our dinner date wasn’t my only gift from Johnny and, although it wasn’t quite what he thought it was going to be, I still love it just the same:

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When ordering this “blanket” for me, Johnny definitely didn’t realize how small it actually was. He thought it was going to be around the size of my Step Brothers fleece blanket but that was so not the case. When he gave it to me, we were both in stitches because it is more like a bath towel than anything! In fact, it’s even smaller than our bath towels and we have taken to calling it the doily, dish towel, baby blankie, and so on and so forth lol.

It was incredibly sweet how disappointed Johnny was by this sizing mix up but I couldn’t tell him enough how much I loved it. The print is absolutely hilarious and the itty bitty size makes it even funnier to me. We had plans of hanging it up above our bed but I have been snuggled up with it every night – it’s so soft! This blanket is definitely not what either of us were expecting and it provides us with lots of lols whenever we look at it, which is a huge gift in itself. ❤

My Valentine’s Day was a GREAT SUCCESS because of our date night at the theater and I couldn’t have asked for a better additional gift – regardless of if it’s a dish towel sized blanket or not! 😀

What did you do for Valentine’s Day? Have you ever ordered something online that didn’t turn out as expected? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Haulidays: Parents Edition

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Happy Haulidays: Parents Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to the last edition of my holiday haul compliments of my parents! The one thing that I asked for for Christmas was a new set of pots and pans and they definitely delivered. I can’t wait to use the beautiful set that they got me and it will be nice to not have to do dishes immediately after cooking dinner as I originally only had a handful of pots and pans before! Check it out:

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Thanks to my husband’s family graciously giving us a new air fryer for Christmas and the new cookware from mine, we have everything that we need in our kitchen now. I am so happy! I try to cook an “actual” dinner instead of air fried foods several times per week so these pots and pans will certainly come in handy. My old cookware is also, admittedly, not the best so using quality cookware for the first time is something that I’m really looking forward to.

While some might consider cooking to be a chore, it is one of my favorite things to do. Serving food for someone is an act of love, and I always enjoy whipping up mine and Johnny’s favorite meals. Our middle class fancy conversation after dinner usually is something along these lines…

Me: I love cooking you dinner.

Johnny: And I love eating it!

Lol, there is nothing more satisfying than that to me!

After a much needed curbside grocery order, I have a feeling that I will be cooking up a storm. Thanks to my parents, I have all of the tools I need to make my time spent cooking an even more joyful experience. ❤

What are some of your favorite vegetarian recipes? How do you show love to someone? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah