Tag Archives: lifestyle

Nov18

Top Tips For Looking Your Best

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Top Tips For Looking Your Best

When you look great, you usually feel great, which is a recipe for success and joyfulness. You can’t help but have confidence in yourself and hold your head up high. The dilemma may be that you’re not taking good care of yourself and are letting your self-care slip because you’re busy.

Make yourself and your wellness and beauty a priority, and you’ll be much happier about your appearance. Review the following tips so you can look your best and get back to living life to the fullest with a smile on your face. Have fun with it and enjoy the transformation when you’re in a better place:

Get Enough Sleep:

One tip for looking your best is to get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep can take a toll on your mental and physical health. Sleep not only gives you more natural energy, but it’ll ensure you don’t have dark circles under your eyes too. Your skin will glow and have fewer blemishes, and you’ll find it’s easier to maintain or lose weight. Sleep is essential to you feeling motivated to achieve your goals and tackle your to-do list.

Take Care of Your Smile:

Another tip for looking your best is to take care of your smile. Smiling makes you feel lively and will help you give off a friendly vibe to others. Visit your dentist regularly and brush your teeth and floss at home to maintain white and healthy teeth. If you’ve lost any teeth due to injury or illness, you may want to consider dental implants. After this procedure, you can smile confidently and will no longer feel self conscious when speaking and interacting with others.  

Do Your Hair & Makeup:

Wake up each day and take a shower and get ready so you can feel and look your best. Commit to doing your hair and applying makeup, which will make you feel ready to seize the day. You want to leave the house feeling good about yourself and the way you look. If you roll out of bed with messy hair and no makeup, you might feel tired and lousy all day. If you’re in a rush, then find quick up-dos you can use for your hair and, at the minimum, put on mascara and lip balm to add some color to your smile.

Exercise & Eat Well:

You’re going to look your best when you’re at a healthy weight and are free from stress and anxiety. Two ways you can reduce your worry and get into better shape is to exercise and eat well. Find physical activities you enjoy doing, and that allow you to burn calories and break a sweat. Get in the habit of cooking for yourself at home and carrying healthy snacks with you to eat throughout the day. When you combine healthy eating with regular exercise, you’ll be setting yourself up to love the way you look, and you’ll feel energized and content inside your mind and body, as well. 

It’s hard to feel good when times are so crazy but the tips above will help get some pep back in your step!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Nov17

Blogging Through 2020

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Blogging Through 2020

Hello! For over six years, lifewithlilred has been going strong on the blogosphere and, unless there are some crazy circumstances, I write each and every day. You all have been with me through a lot from graduating college, break ups, car accidents and everything in between. With that in mind, there has never been a lack of anything for me to write about because it always felt like something new was happening.

Then, COVID-19 came around in 2020 and said “hold my beer”. As someone who works with extremely high risk families every day, all of my previous favorite activities fell by the wayside to not only protect me but all of my clients and loved ones. This meant no more shopping in store, no movies, no restaurants, no bars – no nothing, really.

This change from a constant on the go career as well as bopping around here, there, and everywhere with Johnny as his band played shows to a mostly sedentary lifestyle in my apartment was a huge shock. I have never had a lack of things to talk about on my blog but now, some days, I just don’t feel like I have anything to say!

But, we all know that Lil Red having nothing to say is impossible and I still have managed to write every day of 2020 despite the constant ups and downs. This is something that I am really proud of myself for because I have had to get so creative with my content to keep new posts coming, which can be uber difficult when you barely leave the house, lol.

Blogging through 2020 has taught me about finding inspiration in unlikely places and being more forthright in my own opinions and beliefs. I am so thankful that all of my beloved readers have stuck with me through such crazy times and it makes me that much more motivated to get up early every morning and write before I have to head to work.

Honestly, I have always been my toughest critic and it’s sometimes hard for me to come up with nice things to say about myself. It feels so good to see the fruits of my labor every day with a new post on lifewithlilred and having such a sense of pride in my work has increased my self esteem tenfold.

Times are hard right now and everyone’s situation is different. But, in Lil Red’s world, we’re all in this together so thank you for continuing to share in this crazy journey with me! ❤

Has it been difficult for you to blog during 2020? What do you do when you have writer’s block? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov16

BFF Post Wedding Celebration

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BFF Post Wedding Celebration

Hello everyone! My bestie, Lea, got married on October 24th. I was supposed to be a bridesmaid for her big day but, unfortunately, I did not feel comfortable being there cause COVID. Of course, Lea was A-okay about it and was nothing short of totally understanding to all of the concerns I had. That’s what best friends of over twelve years is for! ❤

I wanted nothing more than to be at Lea’s wedding and, after she returned home from her honeymoon and was settled in, we had our own celebration. For the big evening, I got a bottle of champagne and we watched the professional video of the ceremony together.

Lea looked absolutely beautiful on her big day and it made me so emotional to see my bestie who I grew up with walking down the aisle. We laughed, I cried, and it was perfect. This hang out was, honestly, the next best thing to being able to participate in her wedding and I was so thankful that we got to have that time together because all it did was make our sister like bond even stronger.

After hearing all of the amazing stories from her ceremony and the reception to her secluded honeymoon in the mountains, Lea bestowed these lovely gifts onto me:

8884B35A-A96F-418B-A964-D51106228E430AB362BA-8558-493C-A1AA-33E363DDD9D22BF7D554-F01B-47FA-ADD9-CC3BCD58B8E9

^^^ How adorable is that homemade card?!

Lea has gifted her bridesmaids with the cutest prezzies throughout the months leading up to her wedding and I treasure all of them so much. She’s just the most sweet, thoughtful person and I felt honored that she still wanted to include me as much as she could despite my discomfort.

This was, easily, one of the best times I’ve had since COVID began in March and I am never going to forget it. Popping champagne with my BFF and celebrating her happiness got me over the slump that I have been in and I feel so excited to continue having life adventures with Lea every step of the way! ❤

Have you ever participated in a wedding before? How long have you and your bestie been friends for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov15

What Have I Been Up To?

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What Have I Been Up To?

Howdy! I will always be the first to say how much I miss pre-COVID life. I miss going on dates with Johnny, seeing all of our friends, and not worrying my head off every time I’m in public. And, as someone who works with very high risk families, nonessential outings just seem unimportant to me. So what in the heck have I been up to, then, if I don’t do much of anything in public any more? A whole lot of the following:

Reading:

I love, love, love to read and always have so ample at home time has meant finishing beaucoup books. I try to read at least two chapters or thirty or so pages depending on the book daily. Right now, I am finishing up the prequel to The Hunger Games called The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes and it is excellent! I have such a hankering now to go back and read the entire series and watch all of the movies, of course. 😀

The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti is what’s on deck after my Hunger Games book. I am also always open to suggestions of your favorite books so be sure to let me know in the comments!

Duolingo:

Like reading, I try to practice all five of the languages I’m learning daily on Duolingo. I am currently on a twenty day streak of studying French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Czech and that is huge for me. The last time I had a streak that long was when I was recovering for a month from my oral surgery gone wrong.

I am very motivated to keep that streak going and I am so excited for Johnny to get me Duolingo Plus for Christmas so I no longer have to worry about having enough hearts to complete each practice session. I also plan on adding Swedish, Latin, or Greek into the mix next!

Video Chats:

My ultimate BFF, Lea, and I still see each other about once a month to have a social distanced drink at either one of our homesteads. Other than that, I do a lot of FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom to “see” all of the rest of my pals in my friend group. I love setting aside an hour block or so on the weekend to catch up with friends both near and far and it definitely helps keep me sane to chat even if it isn’t face to face.

Video Games:

Johnny and I are both in love with our Nintendo Switch and when I have some free time, I enjoy playing Animal Crossing. It is so relaxing and fun and I am always excited when the game updates so that you can catch new fish and bugs and participate in different activities like growing pumpkins or foraging mushrooms. I cannot wait to see what our island looks like for Christmas!

I also just beat Paper Mario: The Origami King last week and it was an absolute blast. Johnny got it for me for our one year anniversary and it felt so good to finally beat it. The game was insanely entertaining, visually beautiful, and it was challenging without ever being too too hard. I plan on buying a new Mario game for the Switch soon so if anyone has any favorites, please let me know. 🙂

Online Shopping:

Finally, there is nothing like a little bit of online shopping to help perk me up. I have so enjoyed all of my early Christmas shopping and I am very pleased to say that I am almost done buying for everyone on my gift list. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t pick out a little something something for myself too – especially since I haven’t gone shopping in person since February.

I love ordering small pick me ups like face masks to pamper myself with and, when I really feel like splurging, I never say no to a new pair of shoes!

Are the activities I listed above the most exciting? Not by a long shot. But I value my safety and those around me much more than needing to be out and about right now. So, in the end, it’s not all that bad. ❤

What are your favorite at home activities? What do you miss the most from pre-COVID times? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov12

Are You Ready To Move In With Your Partner?

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Are You Ready To Move In With Your Partner?

So, you’ve met the perfect person. They make you happy in so many different ways and dating them is a dream. Sure, you’ve got your ups and downs, but nothing so far has been a deal breaker. If you’re wondering whether you’re ready to take the next step – moving in together – then take a look at these four key signs that you can start apartment-hunting:

It’s something you’ve already talked about:

If you aren’t talking about your future, then it might not be the right time to spring a conversation about moving in together on your partner. Not only is it healthy to keep communication lines open with your partner about what your expectations are of the relationship, but it will also indicate that you both want the same things and are prepared to take that next step together.

It’s not about “fixing” things:

You should avoid taking steps in your relationship because you’re expecting them to fix things. Moving in together won’t patch up a rocky relationship – that needs to come before you pick up the keys. Moving in together is a big deal, but it won’t suddenly mean your S.O. becomes a better communicator overnight, or more ambitious, or any other little annoyance that you’ve been ignoring up to now. If that’s your expectation, it might be time to put on the brakes.

You mostly agree:

Okay, we’re not saying you have to agree on everything – that would be pretty boring. But there does have to be a bit of common ground. If everything you’re looking for in an apartment is different, then that’s a reason to pause for thought. Are they interested in buying an apartment off the plan, but it’s not something you want? Or they’d prefer to be further outside the city whereas you want the nightlife? There should be an overlap of what you both want in the place you decide to cohabit. Of course, there will be points of compromise for both of you down this path, but that should make your relationship strong, rather than be a point of contention.

You’re okay with loosing some of your independence:

Again, this isn’t something that you’ll lose entirely. It’s usually a sign of an unhealthy relationship if you’re too dependent on each other. But at the same time, you will be giving up some of your own space and time for someone else. Rather than focusing on anything practical, like whether or not your lease is running out or you spend most of your time sleeping over at each other’s places, think about the emotional side of cohabiting. Is this person who you want to wake up next to every morning? Share meals with? Go through the ups and downs and life stresses with? If there’s a question mark hovering over those things, then you might be rushing into it.

Don’t downplay how important moving in together is – it’s usually the first steps towards a bright future for you and your partner. Just make sure you’re going in with your eyes open before you start picking out bedroom furniture!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Nov3

The Best Ways To Surprise Yourself

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The Best Ways To Surprise Yourself

Life can get pretty stale sometimes. Most of the time, if we want to be surprised, we have to wait for someone else to do it by arranging a spontaneous trip or giving us a gift. But what if we didn’t wait? What if, when we wanted to be surprised, we did it ourselves? It might not sound possible since being surprised is all about not knowing what’s coming, but we think it can be done, and we think it should be done. Here are some of our ideas:

Join A Subscription Box:

A subscription box is definitely something you can surprise yourself with. You’ll be sent a new box each month, and you’ll never know what’s going to be inside it. So, although you organized the box to be delivered, and although you’re paying for it, it’s still going to be a surprise. At the same time, it’s something you can look forward to, and this is a scarce combination indeed.

The key to enjoying your subscription box is to pick something you know you’re going to love, whatever the box’s actual contents might be. You could choose a Me Time Box or something that delivers food or cooking ingredients. There are boxes of clothes, bath salts, perfumes, and books. There are subscription boxes for pretty much everything, so search around and you’re sure to find one you like.

Write Yourself Notes:

We might think we’ve got good memories, but the human brain doesn’t remember everything. It only keeps the most important things where they can easily be reached through memory, and everything else is stored away much deeper. These things can usually only be triggered by a certain smell, photographs, or perhaps stories from friends and relatives.

This is why writing notes to yourself can be a great surprise. Write some positive notes and leave them in places where you know you’ll find them later on – maybe months down the line. When you find them, it will be a pleasant surprise and something to make you feel good. Some examples of what you can write include:

  • Stay positive
  • You are beautiful
  • You are loved
  • I’m proud of you
  • Keep going

Place the notes into drawers, under cushions, in coat pockets, in books, or even in outside places that you’re going to return to time and again.

Say Yes:

When we are asked to do something or given any kind of opportunity, there are two responses. You’ll either say yes or no. It’s easier to say no. Saying no means that nothing has to change, and we don’t have to try anything new. So most of the time, that’s what we’ll say.

Why not surprise yourself and say yes, instead? This will give you the chance to try all kinds of new things. Some you will dislike, some you will enjoy, and others you might fall in love with, and your life might change (for the better) because of it. Unless you say yes and give yourself a surprise, you’ll never know. Staying in your comfort zone is not surprising and will only cause stress and anxiety over time. At the very least, you’ll be bored!

Say yes to the ideas above and give yourself a surprise today!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Nov3

Monster Mash

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Hello! A few days ago, I posted about a Halloween craft that I made with my client out of Popsicle sticks. They turned out like this:

While the Barney sticks were for my client, the ghosts, Jack-O-Lantern, and Frankenstein were for Johnny who wanted to decorate his space at work for Halloween. Despite forgetting to bring his flat friends with him on the job for the first few days, my sweetie finally remembered and he claims that he is never going to take them down. 🙂

The day that Johnny brought the Popsicle sticks into work, he took a picture of his decorated area WITHOUT ME EVEN ASKING! Check it out:

I was not expecting my fairly simple crafts to be the crowning jewel of Johnny’s display and it made me so proud that he liked them that much. His little paper cut out ghosts make me smile and that applies for basically everything he does, lol.

While we are all worried about the outcome of Election Day today, I just had to post some mushy nonsense to help take the edge off. And I am so thankful to get through whatever the results will be together with my Johnny. ❤

How did you decorate for Halloween? How is your work space decorated? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov2

Literally Falling For Fall

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Literally Falling For Fall

Hello! Have you ever had a day where you feel like you’re constantly running into stuff, tripping over your own feet, or dropping something? Because SAME – especially last week. Despite many ouches, profanity, and bruises my day ended in an up kind of way so I thought I’d tell you all about it.

My morning started with a fine how do you do of stepping on the plug of my hair straightener and spilling my bottle of serum all over the floor when regaining my balance. I was so pissed about my favorite serum loosing half of its contents onto my bath mat and the plug going into the soft sole of my feet hurt like a mother.

After that incident, I thought my day could only go up from there and my time at work was fairly average. Once I finished driving home in the rain, I was looking forward to having a glass of wine and relaxing but life decided to throw me a few more curve balls.

My apartment complex is located in a wooded area and there are countless trees all over the property. Countless trees equals countless leaves, of course, and my goodness are they slick after it rains. As I was walking towards the stairs to get to my second floor apartment, I tread over a particularly slippery patch of wet leaves. I lost my balance, landed hard on my side, and everything I had in my hands came flying out.

As someone who has figure skated a majority of her life, you would think I would be exempt from slippery falls off ice but that just is not the case. Lol, it hurt SO bad and left a nasty bruise on my leg. After the initial shock and pain of falling, I kind of forgot what I had in my hands and just wanted to get into my apartment. I collected everything I saw immediately on the ground and headed upstairs to tell Johnny my tale of woe.

Johnny and I spent our evening watching a TV show called Slasher and we were in the middle of an episode when we heard a knock on our door around eight. I had no idea who it could be and was shocked to see some neighbors I vaguely recognized in my doorway. They held out my apartment keys to me and said they found them when they were walking up to their own place.

I was SO shocked by the fact that I had essentially lost my keys for an entire evening without knowing it. However, I was more shocked by the kindness of the strangers who returned my missing keys to me – I have no idea what I would have done the following morning when I left for work and realized they weren’t there!

Despite major boo boos, my day ended on a huge high note from my guardian angels who found my keys. I am so thankful to them (and their wonderful eye sight) for locating the keys on the ground, in the dark, while it was raining, and with leaves everywhere. Amazing looking out! ❤

Have you ever lost your keys before? How did you end up finding them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov1

Lil Red PSA: Vote, Vote, Vote Edition

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Lil Red PSA: Vote, Vote, Vote Edition

Hi everyone! Election Day is fast approaching and I wanted to use my platform to encourage everyone to participate in their right to vote. This is going to be, quite possibly, one of the most important elections of my lifetime and I can only hope and wish that a more suitable candidate will soon be in office.

I’m sure everyone can guess who I voted for if they keep in touch with me on Facebook but I want all of you to vote no matter who it’s for. Letting my voice be heard politically is something that makes me proud and I am proud of anyone who will be exercising their right as this election draws to a close.

These are extremely scary and tense times and the fate of America’s safety rests in the people’s hands. Send in your mail in ballots and if you’re voting in person, please continue to follow social distancing standards to help keep yourself and those around you safe. ❤

Vote, Vote, Vote

*And remember your loved ones who could be effected if the wrong person gets in the White House!

Featured Image By: Elemant5 Digital from Pexels

Oct30

Taking Your Career To The Next Stage With Legal Management

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Taking Your Career To The Next Stage With Legal Management

It is no secret that working within the legal sector can be highly tiring, you are often working unsociable hours, working through complicated paperwork, or presiding over complex cases. As a result, it is easy to feel tired or burned out at work. You may even feel as though you are ready for a career change.

Often, when we are overly busy, we feel as though we get caught in a cycle that we cannot escape, where work consumes most of our day, and we have little time for anything else. It is often hard to find new ways in which you can continue to develop your skills and take the next step in your career. However, that is where companies such as Elite lawyer management come in.

Elite Lawyer Management is a unique PR and talent marketing agency, who works closely with elite lawyers across America, helping them advance their careers through close collaboration. Their services cover a broad range of topics, each of which will help you advance. Here’s how:

Personal Branding:

When developing your personal branding, you can demonstrate your unique skills and capabilities, whilst also building a reputation of excellence within your field. Your personal brand will also allow you the opportunity to express yourself, meaning you can voice opinions about causes that are close to your heart. As a result, you will receive more focused work that is built upon your personal interests, allowing you to develop on a personal and professional level. It is fair to argue that personal branding is essential if you wish to work successfully as a lawyer.

Opening Doors:

Elite Lawyer Management works with lawyers whose careers exceed far beyond the courtroom, allowing you to develop a unique and diverse skill set. For example, they can help you step into the world of publishing and academia or public speaking – both of which will allow you to use your expertise to enact positive change and inform others. If you have always wanted to appear on television, you may also want to consider working as a legal advisor for a local or national news channel.

Content Marketing:

To take the next steps in your career, you need to ensure that you are staying up to date with current trends so that your work remains on the public radar. One way in which you can do this is through crafting an online presence. In fact, in a world that becomes more and more reliant on technology, not having a web presence could harm your growth. Whether this means you focus on cultivating a social media presence or writing blogs, management services can help your work reach the right audience.

In conclusion, legal management services are a great way to progress in your career, providing you with valuable ways in which you can develop your skills and help you stand out from the crowd. Even better, they will not work with any other attorneys or law firms that could be considered your direct competitor, proving that your success remains their priority.

Featured Image By: Nick Morrison on Unsplash