Tag Archives: husband

Aug28

My Favorite Summer 2021 Memories

Posted on by
Standard
My Favorite Summer 2021 Memories

Hi! Summer is quickly drawing to a close and that is fine by Lil Red because I live for fall weather, fashion, and holidays. Both Johnny and I are eager to step out in our favorite jackets, sweaters, and long sleeve shirts for hikes, bonfires, and corn mazes in cool temperatures that don’t physically pain us lol.

Although the fall will forever be my preferred time of the year, I have to say that this summer was a great success – especially in comparison to last year. Let’s discuss some of my fave memories from these past few months:

Getting Married:

The best memory of all from this summer is Johnny and I getting married in June, of course! Our wedding day was a beautiful, albeit very hot one, so obviously it was the perfect time for us to tie the knot wearing all black haha! It was so special for us to have a small, intimate wedding in one of our best friend’s back yards surrounded by our immediate family and closest friends. It was one of the best days of my life and I just love being married! ❤

Miller18

Conneaut, Ohio Road Trip:

This month, Johnny and I made an hour and a half drive to Conneaut, Ohio for a D-Day reenactment and it was awesome! My husband, the history buff, has never been to a war reenactment before and has always wanted to so when I found out about the event, I surprised him with tickets. The reenactments, demonstrations, and fair food were all great. The best part, however, was seeing a big smile on Johnny’s face all day. Something tells me that this is not the last reenactment that we’ll be attending together and I can’t wait! 🙂

Birthday Celebrations:

Me, Johnny, and my two besties all have summertime birthdays and I love being able to celebrate with them every year. I consider myself to be an excellent gift giver so birthdays and holidays are my favorite. Picking out the perfect presents for my loved ones is so much fun to me and it’s even better to see their reactions once they have opened their gifts. In true Lil Red fashion, I have already began my Christmas shopping planning – I just can’t help myself. 😀

Swimming:

Last year, the pool at my apartment community was closed for obvious reasons. This summer, however, it is open for business and I have been making the most of it. I have spent many an evening lounging in the pool with my bestie or with my sister and niece and it has been so nice. While I can’t wait for cooler weather, I will definitely miss the option to go swimming once my day at work is over. An evening at the pool and then dinner with my BFF or sister and niece is the best thing to look forward to after a work day!

Date Day:

The best date day that Johnny and I had this summer was, easily, our time spent in downtown Cuyahoga Falls a few Saturdays ago. We had an amazing time browsing through the ultra cool Jenks Building while listening to our ultra cool friends play in the Buffalo Ryders. After their set, our band boyz joined Johnny and I for a cocktail hour at our favorite local bar, The Cashmere Cricket. Saturday is the best day to go because the Cricket makes all of their cocktails with dry ice, which makes your drinks bubble and smoke like a potion.

Once our outing was done, Johnny and I went back to our apartment for our usual weekend festivities of playing video games, dancing, and listening to music. It was a perfect day and one of my favorite summer memories.

So there you have it, my favorite summer memories! Summer is my least favorite season by far but, after these past few months, I definitely think I like it a little bit more! ❤

What are your favorite memories of this summer? What are you looking forward to in the fall? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug27

Surprise LEGO Set!

Posted on by
Standard
Surprise LEGO Set!

Hi! Johnny and I will be celebrating our two year anniversary of being in a “Facebook official” relationship on September first, which is super exciting! When it comes to buying presents for any occasion, I am notorious for purchasing way in advance and constantly asking if I can give the gifts early. I just can’t help myself!

For mine and Johnny’s two year, I came to terms with waiting until the day of so you could imagine my surprise when he wanted to do presents early. Take a look at what Johnny got for me:

As you all know from yesterday’s post, Johnny and I had a huge LEGO haul with a Harry Potter Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets set, a Seinfeld set, and a little boat set too. Once I returned home with all of the LEGO in tow, Johnny decided to gift me with one more so I guess the two year anniversary is the LEGO anniversary! 😀

For our two year, Johnny got me the Harry Potter Attack on the Burrow set, which I have wanted since it was released about a year ago. We are constantly talking about expanding our Hogwarts castle and grounds and while the Weasley house technically doesn’t belong on the Hogwarts grounds, it is still a welcome addition.

Our two year anniversary definitely qualifies under the “fun and games” category as I gifted him with a Legend of Zelda Monopoly and more Link Amiibos to add to his collection. We are so excited to play a rousing game of Monopoly together and build our four different LEGO sets. I think our LEGO additions will keep us occupied for about a week because once we start building we just can’t stop! ❤

What is your favorite board game? Have you gotten any new LEGO sets recently? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug25

D-Day Reenactment Adventure

Posted on by
Standard
D-Day Reenactment Adventure

Hi! This past weekend, Johnny and I had a road trip to Conneaut, Ohio where we saw a reenactment of D-Day. My husband is a history buff and is constantly teaching me new things from the many books he has read, documentaries he has watched, and podcasts he has listened to. World War II is his favorite thing to learn about so when I found out about this reenactment so close to home, I knew we had to go because he has never been to anything like it but has always wanted to. Check out some pics from our adventure:

Our day spent in Conneaut was an absolute thrill and it was so much fun to see Johnny in his element! It was amazing to see him chatting it up with all of the volunteers, actors, and veterans and every time I looked at him he was grinning from ear to ear. While the “big show” of the D-Day reenactment was spectacular, seeing how much Johnny was enjoying himself was my favorite part of the whole thing. ❤

The morning of our outing started out with a bang when we saw a reenactment of The Battle for La Fiere and that was insanely cool! We definitely both jumped out of our skin when the first shots were fired lol. From there, it was a whirlwind of tank and mortar firings, weapon demonstrations, SAS trainings, and camp shows. I was most partial to The Battle for La Fiere reenactment and we both loved the mortar demonstration!

While there was plenty in the schedule that we did to fill up time until the D-Day reenactment at three, we both enjoyed walking around the different areas representing Germany, France, and England and taking in all of the sights. It was also a lot of fun to browse through all of the different vendors and eat fair food and drink hella fresh squeezed lemonade. Johnny walked away with lots of souvenirs that are now proudly displayed on our knick knack shelf.

The actual D-Day reenactment was so well done and, although our view wasn’t the best, it was still really special to see. The coolest part had to have been seeing the P51 Mustangs and the C47 Transport planes flying around the beach as well as watching the boats come up onto the sand with more and more soldiers. From the sounds and the smoke to the tanks and guns firing, it was an astounding display and we can’t wait to go back next year.

Thanks to some tips from other viewers, we learned about more reenactments in our area and I just know it will become a regular thing for us to do. We thank all of our veterans and those who lost their lives from the bottoms of our hearts for their amazing service and bravery.

Have you ever been to a war reenactment before? What was it like? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug24

Road Trip!

Posted on by
Standard
Road Trip!

Hi! Because I’m self employed and Johnny has limited days off, weekend getaways are the way to go for us to break up the monotony of the work week. This past weekend, we made a trip to Conneaut, Ohio which is about an hour and a half away to see the reenactments of D-Day. My Johnny is a huge history buff so when I found out this was happening, I knew we had to go and surprised him with tickets. Tomorrow, I will fill you in on the actual day spent on the beach and today I will talk about our trip so far. Let’s get to it:

We left for Conneaut pretty much as soon as I returned home from work on Thursday and arrived at our hotel right at six o’clock. We stayed at the OYO Hotel and let’s just say it left a lot to be desired. The carpets of our room were so badly stained it honestly looked like a murder scene. There were mystery hairs all over the room and bathroom too, which is insanely nasty. It is apparent that the rooms at the OYO don’t get cleaned thoroughly once a guest leaves and that is unacceptable – especially considering the price that we paid.

Despite being super turned off by the hotel, we were starving and headed to Sparky’s Place for dinner once we dropped our bags off. I wish I took pictures of the delicious burgers and cheese curds that we ordered but our meal was gone as soon as I thought to do so! I didn’t have anything to drink at Sparky’s but Johnny went with their house specialty of “Monkey Punch” which is basically an alcoholic fruit punch. I had one sip to try it and it was really good and I wasn’t expecting that at all because the different liquors listed in it sounded disgusting mixed together!

The cool part about our arrival on Thursday evening, other than our yummy dinner, was driving around Anytown, USA in Conneaut. There were military jeeps and guys in their uniforms driving all over town, having dinner, and mingling with the locals. That was cool, yes. But, the best part was seeing how excited Johnny was anytime any of these vehicles or gentlemen passed by. I can’t wait to see his reaction to the actual reenactments today. 🙂

Tune in tomorrow for more on our adventure in Conneaut. And, if ever you are in the area, do yourselves a huge favor and don’t stay at the OYO because it will have you saying “oh no” in a heartbeat! Whomp whompppppp.

Where is your favorite place to go for a weekend getaway? What was the best road trip you have ever been on? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug21

Shimmy Shimmy Funko Pop

Posted on by
Standard
Shimmy Shimmy Funko Pop

Hello! This past weekend, I had a super nice outing to one of the bigger malls in Strongsville with my mom and brother. I really don’t go to the mall often because we all know I love TJMaxx the most so when I do venture to one, I never feel bad about making purchases for items I really like. During my shopping, I picked out lots of treats that I knew Johnny would love too, including the following Funko Pops:

My brother has a huge Funko collection, which makes mine absolutely pale in comparison. However, I gave a nice little boost to my Funko shelf at home with the above purchases. I had no idea that they even made Seinfeld ones or I would have bought them a long time ago since it’s one of mine and Johnny’s favorite shows. I still need several more to complete the set but the Puffy Shirt Jerry, Yev Kassem, and Sombrero Elaine were a great place to start!

The Bret Michaels Funko definitely seems out of place with the rest of my haul but I promise that there was a method to the madness. When Johnny and I first started dating, our go to show was Rock Of Love which was a dating competition show with Mister Michaels as the prize. It was such a guilty pleasure and we still quote it constantly to this day. In fact, Johnny even got me a mini cardboard cutout of Bret for our first Christmas together and it is still proudly displayed in our living room.

With all of that nostalgia, I couldn’t say no when I saw the Bret Michaels Funko at Hot Topic and I knew that Johnny would get a kick out of it too. Rather, I knew he would get a kick (Or in Elaine’s case, a little kick!) out of all of them and we can’t wait to complete our Seinfeld Funko Pop collection! 😀

Which Funko Pops do you have? What do you like to collect? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug19

Date Day!

Posted on by
Standard
Date Day!

Hello! This past Saturday was so fun because Johnny and I had a date day. We were joined by fabulous friends along the way, got to explore a brand new to us consignment shop/art gallery, and heard some great live music. It was one of the best outings that we have had since being fully vaccinated and I can’t wait for many more to come! Let’s get to it:

On Saturday afternoon our dear friends in the band, the Buffalo Ryders, were playing at the Jenks Building in Cuyahoga Falls. I have been dying to see them play again because they give me all of the Jack White vibes and the venue was a whole five minutes away from our apartment so we just had to go.

Our friends were playing at the Jenks Building and, despite living in CFalls, both Johnny and I had never heard of it. We plan on going there often now that we know it exists because it is literally the coolest place ever. It is a consignment shop/art gallery/music venue and as soon as we stepped inside, I felt like I wasn’t in Ohio but rather a big city. There just aren’t places like it or even remotely close to it in my neck of the woods.

Browsing through the Jenks Building was an adventure and I have never seen anything like it before. The basement was an art gallery with the most unique pieces I have ever laid eyes on and Johnny and I wanted all of them for our apartment. The ground floor is a consignment shop completely filled with treasures and a garage style area for bands to perform. There is a second floor, as well, with an in house painter and a photographer too and even more items you didn’t know you needed to look through.

Shopping around while hearing the Buffalo Ryders play was awesome and the Jenks Building had a huge beer selection so you could have a drink while you look around. Johnny and I both tried a fruity sour beer and it was delicious! We left with lots of amazing finds that you can see tomorrow and I can’t wait to go back so I can take pictures, interview the owner, and buy all of the things!

After the Buffalo Ryders set was over, we headed down the street together to mine and Johnny’s favorite cocktail bar, the Cashmere Cricket. Johnny and I went there for our first date and we celebrated at the Cricket after getting engaged too. Saturdays at the Cricket are the best because they make all of their drinks with dry ice! Our minds were blown when the beverages came out bubbling and smoking like a potion after our engagement and it was a hit with our boys in the band too.

dryice

It was so nice to hang out on the patio of the Cashmere Cricket with my husband and such wonderful company. The weather was great too. There was a much welcomed breeze which was so refreshing after the past week of stifling hot and rainy days. We already have plans to go back and, afterwards, I am making all of the guys watch Jesus Christ Superstar with me and I am beyond excited lol. 😀

When Johnny and I returned to the apartment, we Doordashed Taco Bell and played Pokemon Snap until one of our other band boys came by for a spell. As always, it was a hoot and it was so sweet of him to come by since he was in the area. ❤

Once our hang outs with friends were over, Johnny and I had our usual weekend festivities of listening to music, playing video games, and talking the night away. We got a couple of records at the Jenks Building so we listened to some of them and then turned to YouTube because we love introducing each other to our favorite songs and bands.

Our Date Day was a huge success and I am so excited to go back to the Jenks Building and many more Dry Ice Saturdays with our darling friends!

What is a perfect date like for you? Do you have any exciting upcoming plans? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug16

My Favorite Easy Dinners

Posted on by
Standard
My Favorite Easy Dinners

Hi! I have so enjoyed cooking lots of delicious homemade meals this past month and I am proud of the mental health one eighty that was accomplished by my new job. It has turned cooking back into something that I love to do rather than a chore and I can’t wait for a lifetime of meals with my husband. ❤

It has been a while since I have gone grocery shopping because I will buy a lot at one time which eliminates the need for time consuming, weekly trips to the store. When this happens, Johnny and I default to “easy” dinners to use up the rest of what we have in the freezer and pantry. While a home cooked meal is amazing, a big pot of spaghetti or an oven pizza just hits different! Here are some of my favorite easy peasy dinners:

Spaghetti:

I actually just made a spaghetti and garlic bread dinner last night and it was SO good! Spaghetti has been one of my favorite foods since I was little and I love how versatile it is. I always remember my dad preparing spaghetti for dinner when my mom would return home from work back in the day and it is still one of the sweetest things to me. While Alfredo and red sauce are delicious, my perfect plate of spaghetti is angel hair covered with my favorite: Pesto! And, also, who doesn’t love hella leftovers? 😀

Grilled Cheese:

In my household, you cannot go wrong with grilled cheese and it is one of mine and Johnny’s go to weekend lunches. I hate to brag, but I make a mean grilled cheese. However, it pales in comparison to when my mom makes it with her homemade bread! Johnny doesn’t like anything but cheese on his sandwich but I really like honey or brown mustard on mine. We are also partial to mac n’ cheese grilled cheeses for the ultimate comfort food.

Oven Pizza:

I don’t care what anyone says, oven pizza is the bomb lol. Johnny and I are obsessed with the Digiorno croissant and stuffed crust pizzas and I always have to get at least one of each when I go shopping. Sometimes I’ll doctor my portion of the pizza up with chopped veggies but they are so good as is. And, of course, you can’t forget the ranch dressing to dip it in! 🙂

Air Fried Commodities:

Although our air fryer is on the fritz, Johnny and I still love it dearly and the novelty of using it has yet to wear off. Appetizer food like mozzarella sticks, cheese curds, and French fries air fried are the absolute best and it feels like such a treat whenever we have apps as the main course. When we got our air fryer for Christmas, we went to the store so we could try air frying all of the things and I think about that every time we break it out. ❤

Quesadillas:

If you can’t tell by now, Johnny and I love cheesy food! Quesadillas are so easy to make as well as improve upon and I make them often when we are running low on dinner options. I usually will try out a different kind of salsa or two whenever I do shopping and quesadilla night is the perfect time to test them out!

The best part of my evening is having dinner while watching a show with Johnny. It also is the sweetest thing because whether I spend an hour or five minutes on a meal, he will always compliment and thank me for it. ANGEL! ❤

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

Aug11

Fun & Games: It’s A Snap Pt. 2

Posted on by
Standard
Fun & Games: It’s A Snap Pt. 2

Hi!!! Johnny and I love to play video games together and I look forward to every weekend when we stay up late, play games, and listen to music. One of my favorite recent releases for the Nintendo Switch is, easily, Pokemon Snap and I have been loving it since it came out in April. Despite having played every course in the game too many times to count, I always seem to discover something new and that’s what makes the game so exciting.

While every course to explore in Pokemon Snap is insanely fun, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for an update of the game every day since Johnny and I beat the main story line. And, finally, on August third my thoughts and prayers were answered with an update that made the game feel brand new again. With more settings to explore, more Pokemon, and new features to the Neo-One this update was everything I wanted it to be AND MORE.

Johnny and I spent a solid two hours this past Friday evening playing the new levels which includes a day and nighttime course of a rushing river, a desert setting, and my favorite: The inside of a tree trunk! That’s right, the Neo-One can now shrink into the size of a toy car making all of the Pokemon huge and providing for amazing photo ops. This allowed me to get new pictures of old Pokemon – some of which were four star (a-thank you!) – and update my Pokedex with brand new Pokemon like Shroomish and the adorable Foongus. 😀

The inside of the tree in the Florio Nature Park definitely took the cake for me and Johnny was partial to the river. We both agree that our favorite addition to the game was being able to photograph Psyduck because he is so goofy! Every time we hit him with a fluff fruit we were in stitches!

When I learned that Pokemon Snap would be receiving an update, I assumed a few new Pokemon would be added to levels that already existed. This exceeded what I had in mind completely and all I can think about as I write this is how I want to play some more. All I can say is bravo, brava, and bring on the next update baby!

What is your favorite course in Pokemon Snap? What is your favorite Pokemon? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul29

What’s Cookin?

Posted on by
Standard
What’s Cookin?

Hello! I have always enjoyed cooking and have fond memories of making anything and everything together with my mom. Cooking in the kitchen in my apartment is an entirely different story, though, because it’s so small and I don’t know about you guys, but I like having lots of room to spread out when I’m making food. I also don’t know about you guys, but I fell into a bit of a depression during the most extreme parts of the pandemic and that left me never feeling like even attempting to make home cooked meals.

The stress of working throughout the pandemic as well as a job that I wasn’t entirely thrilled with really contributed to my slump and it made it hard to do just about anything when I would return home from work. However, this past month has been a complete one eighty as I accepted a new position that I am in love with. Every day, I have come home so happy and both Johnny and I can’t remember the last time I would get off work in such an amazing mood.

Because of this, my love of cooking has definitely been reignited and I have been making meals several times a week for me and my husband to enjoy. Below are some of the favorite recipes that I have whipped up so far and it has felt great to have delicious meals to serve every night. Check it out:

This past month, I have made mac n’ cheese, veggie enchiladas, quesadillas, and pizza. I also used a super easy recipe for pepperoni bread for my non vegetarian husband that he is crazy about. When I began cooking again, I wanted to find simple recipes with limited ingredients as I only have one small counter space to work on in my kitchen. It has been a huge success and I feel proud of myself the entire time. In fact, I feel so happy that I normally will be singing or humming to myself as I chop veggies. This is a far cry from sitting on the couch in misery waiting for yet another air fried meal to cook!

Cooking dinner is a love language that I have learned from a young age from both my mom and grandma and I love being able to express that again. I really enjoy getting creative with the dinners I make now and while I’ll follow the basic recipes, I always try to doctor them up to make it even better. Our favorite recipe is, easily, the jalapeno popper quesadillas and it makes me feel wonderful when Johnny will request them every other night lol. 🙂

I am looking forward to all of the yummy meals that I plan on making and Johnny is looking forward to eating them. One of the last times I made dinner this past week, I told him that it feels good to feel like me again and I wake up every day now eager to go to work and come home to engage in one of my favorite hobbies again. Here’s to delicious meals for all! ❤

What are some of your favorite recipes? Who is the best cook in your family? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul22

T-Shirt Time!

Posted on by
Standard
T-Shirt Time!

Hello!! My husband and I are HUGE fans of the TV show, Impractical Jokers. We have watched the show in its entirety and have been rewatching it every evening for the past month. Unwinding after a day at work in stitches over Joe, Sal, Murr, and Q’s antics with Johnny is the best and we are constantly quoting it to each other. This past week, we took our love for Impractical Jokers one step further by purchasing some novelty T-shirts and Johnny and I are obsessed with them lol. Check it out:

My favorite Joker on the show, Joe, is always wearing the funniest T-shirts and I mention to Johnny how much I want his shirt with a Bichon Frise on it every time we tune in for the evening. While he couldn’t find that shirt online, he surprised me with the “Larry” T – it’s safe to say I have the best husband ever! In fact, I’m wearing it as I write this post now. 😀

One of our favorite games on the show is when the Jokers work as a receptionist in focus group waiting rooms. They have to call out ridiculous names to the people waiting and in one episode, Sal had to ask for a “Crangis McBasketball”. It has been a running joke on the show since and when Johnny showed me the Crangis T-shirt, I just had to get one for each of us. In fact, Johnny is wearing his as I write this post now. 😀

While literally none of our friends understand these Ts since they don’t watch the show, Johnny and I get a kick out of them enough for everyone. Now, is there a one mister Crangis McBasketball in the house?

What is your favorite game on Impractical Jokers? Who is your favorite Joker? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah