Tag Archives: lifewithlilred

Sep25

Fall Guest Bloggers Wanted!!

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Fall Guest Bloggers Wanted!!

Hey!!! As you all know, Lil Red loves her some fall! Autumn is my happy time and I have been waiting all summer long for it. There is nothing like cool days, seeing the leaves change colors, and Halloween. Fall is the season when Johnny and I live our best lives and I know that we are not the only ones who share these sentiments. With the changing of seasons, I love to host guest bloggers series and I am opening the floor on lifewithlilred for anyone who wants to celebrate all fall everything!

If you are interested in being a guest blogger on lifewithlilred, all you need to do is shoot me an email with your ideas to: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com . I am looking for posts on favorite fall recipes, activities, outfits, makeup, and spooky Halloween fun. If your post idea doesn’t fall under these categories – send them my way anyway. 🙂 It is always such a blast to collaborate with other bloggers and make new friends. I am looking forward to hearing from all of you!! ❤ ❤ ❤ Much love. -Sarah

Sep17

Belated Nine Year Blogiversary!!

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Belated Nine Year Blogiversary!!

Hello!!!! September 13th was lifewithlilred’s Nine Year Blogiversary and it came as a huge surprise to me lol. Obviously, because this is a belated celebration post! Not only was the date of this a shock, but also the length of time. It feels like just yesterday that twenty year old Sarah sat down and began her blogging journey. It is thrilling that almost a decade later, my blog is still going stronger than ever with daily content for the past four years and change!

As always, the best part about lifewithlilred is all of the incredible friends and readers that have come along for the ride. And, man, have we been through a lot! You have all been there through major milestones in my life – graduating college, new jobs, and getting married. It is so special to me to know that my dear readers are there celebrating the good and offering support for the bad every step of the way. It inspires and motivates me to no end, which is the main reason lifewithlilred has kept on truckin all of these years.

Every day, I feel so excited to sit down and write and I think that my blog is a reflection of my favorite phrase “the joy of writing”. I write for me, I write for my beloved viewers, I would write for no viewers – it just makes me happy to do. lifewithlilred is something that brings me true joy and it is my safe haven that I have carved out in the great world wide web. For nine years, I have been in blogging bliss and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for my page in the years to come. ❤

Thank you to each and every one of you for being the driving force behind lifewithlilred for the past nine years. I could not do it without that love and support and it works both ways. I love all of you and wish nothing but for you to continue on in your blogging journey and experience the joy of writing every day!

Sep5

The Business Of Blogging

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The Business Of Blogging

Hey! I was SO excited to receive an email from Oprah of the blog Oprah Zip Bradford letting me know that she was back to the blogosphere after a hiatus. It is always so nice to be in touch with friends new and old that I have met through lifewithlilred and Oprah and I go way back. When she asked if I was up for a collaboration, of course I said YES! We were in touch after my four year streak of daily content was announced and she thought it would be beneficial if I explained my blogging business a bit more. I am always down to help inspire and inform other writers so of course I said YES! Here is some advice from your favorite Lil Red blogger:

What do you want out of your blog?

Blogging is an interesting hobby because it could be left as something done just for funsies or as a lucrative hustle. I originally started writing just for fun and I still do. However, I was lucky enough to be linked up with publishing companies and advertisers during lifewithlilred’s early years. Every day, I write for pleasure. However, it is a source of income for me and that keeps me motivated to continue creating daily content. Even if your blog isn’t making you money right now, that’s not to say it won’t in the future. If this is something that you are interested in, then it must be taken seriously as not only an outlet for your creativity but as a potential job.

Making a schedule that works for you:

Whether you would like to publish content just for fun or as a possible source of income, I will always recommend making a schedule. Schedules are important for bloggers because it lets your readers know when to expect you and to keep checking in. When you have a publishing schedule, you can create a writing schedule that works for you. In my case, I publish daily. This means that I have to write daily or write multiple posts in one sitting to schedule ahead of time. As you can tell, I am a very schedule oriented person when it comes to my blog and it has done nothing but help me.

Reach out:

If you are hoping for more interactions, viewers, or friends in the blogosphere – reach out! There are millions of blogs out there and it’s unrealistic to think that everyone is going to find yours. Scroll through the WordPress newsfeed and see what tickles your fancy. Interact with other bloggers on their pages and send them love. Encourage collaborations, announce your blog on social media, use word of mouth marketing. In other words, draw attention to your page yourself. There is viral content being shared every second of every day and it’s easy for blogs to get lost in the crowd.

Don’t limit your content:

If you have a blog where you are writing about a specific topic with every post, that is fine. My advice would be not to limit your content, though, because this just limits yourself as a writer. lifewithlilred started out as a strictly beauty and fashion blog and I am happy that I was able to branch out as a well rounded lifestyle blogger. If I stuck with just beauty and fashion, there is no way that I could create daily content. What are offshoots of your favorite topic to write about? For example, beauty and health and wellness often go hand in hand. Once you identify more topics to write about, you are inviting even more readers with different interests to check out your page.

Go easy on yourself:

It might not seem like it, but blogging and maintaining your page is hard work. It can be disheartening when you find that your efforts are not resulting in views or a payday. Please, don’t fret! Once you start beating yourself up, it immediately sucks the joy out of writing. I always say to write for the sake of writing. Don’t do it for viewers, don’t do it for advertisers – do it because YOU love it. When you are doing something you love, it doesn’t matter if one person sees it or one hundred thousand. Do keep this in mind because I have seen many a blogger come and go in lifewithlilred’s almost ten year tenure. Don’t set yourself up to give up by making comparisons or feeling like your page isn’t good enough. You are writing and that is always enough! ❤

Thanks so much to darling Oprah for asking me to share my Ted Talk. I hope this post gave all of you some insight going forward with your own blog!

What are some of your blogging questions for me? What is the link to your blog? Share away! I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug24

4 Year Celebration!!!

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4 Year Celebration!!!

Hello!!!! lifewithlilred has been going strong since 2014! That’s almost a decade of everyone’s favorite lil redhead in the blogosphere and it is something that I am very proud of. Several years back, I decided that I wanted my page to have fresh content daily and I have stuck with it. Huge shout out to being able to schedule posts because that definitely helps the cause! This past weekend, I ran my calculations because I am currently on day 1,474 of daily content which makes….

An over four year streak!!!!!!

I knew that I was having a good run with publishing every day on lifewithlilred, but I had no idea that it was that good. Writing almost every morning feels so natural to me that it’s something that I don’t think too much about anymore. Knowing that over four years ago, I set a goal and I have been achieving it for that long feels awesome. It also makes me even more dedicated to continuing the quest for daily content because how could I mess up a streak like that?! That would suck lol.

Despite such a lengthy tenure in the blogosphere, I still get writer’s block and feel uninspired from time to time too. However, having so many amazing friends that I have made tuning in serves as the best inspiration of all. If it wasn’t for all of these fantastic friends and readers alike, I think I would have given up on daily content a long time ago. So, thank you all for helping me achieve my goal. I love you!! ❤

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

Jun9

Many Thanks!!!!!!!!

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Many Thanks!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone!!!! Wednesday was my 29th birthday and I spent the day at The Shear Shop getting my mop taken care of and it was the best. I haven’t had my hair done since the beginning of the year due to the craziness in my life and it was a MUCH needed and deserved treat. I also got my nails done on Thursday morning so look out because your girl is feeling her damn self! Keep it locked with your favorite Lil Red blogger to see my transformation coming soon in a new OOTD post!

Finally taking the time for me was just what the doctor ordered. And, I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who reached out with birthday wishes! My phone, blog, Instagram, Facebook, and email was blowing up with notifications from all of my darling family, friends, and readers and it meant the world. I have been struggle bussing hard lately and the fact that so many people took the time out of their day to think about me was overwhelming in the most wonderful way. ❤

Although Johnny and I won’t be having a big birthaversary party this year, there are still some fun plans happening and I’m really looking forward to them! I can’t wait to hit the pool with my nieces next week and have a slumber party with my bestie, Lea, in her brand new house. Johnny and I will also STILL be playing hella Diablo IV and will be penciling in a lunch or dinner date too. Hey, it’s not just a birthday but a birth month! 😀

It has been hard to feel special recently with all of my current hardships and I can’t thank everyone enough for helping me feel that way on my big day! It means more to me than all of you will ever know. ❤

What do you like to do to celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate all birth month long? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun7

Happy 29th Birthday To Me!!

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Happy 29th Birthday To Me!!

Hello!!!! Break out the fanfare, parades, and marching band because it is your favorite Lil Red blogger’s 29th birthday!! Johnny and I have been enjoying a low key birthaversary celebration starting this past weekend because the world gave us a gift: The release of Diablo IV! We have been LOVING it, even though it’s basically the same as all of the other installments in the Diablo series. But, hey, if it’s not broken then don’t fix it! 😀

Although I am not too fond of growing older, I have high hopes for 29 because 28 lightweight sucked lol. And by lightweight, I mean majorly. I had two good months after I turned 28 and that was pretty much it due to some devastating circumstances in my family. Honestly, it’s hard to believe I’m only 29 when I have felt 50 for the past almost year. And, yes, my aching back can confirm. *Face palm*

I have a few birthday wishes this year and the biggest, most important one is that my loved one in the hospital is blessed with perfect health. And, of course, I am wishing the best for my Johnny, family, friends, and darling readers. My final wish for 29 is one for me… I wish that I have more than two good months and for my online work to go even better than it already is because that is a major high point in my life. I know you aren’t supposed to say your wishes, but sometimes putting them out into the universe is the best thing you can do to make them come true!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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May18

Nothing To Write? Have Some Prompts!

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Nothing To Write? Have Some Prompts!

Hello! After publishing my Content Creating 101 post, I received lots of questions asking how I come up with daily content for lifewithlilred. There are a few answers that immediately come to mind, but the first and foremost is that I love to write. I always have and even though I hated school, I never minded when writing papers was the assignment. I like to consider writing as something that I am good at and it makes me feel good when I do it; So, I just go for it! Writing brings me joy so, in that regard, it is very easy for me to find inspiration for content because everything makes me want to write lol.

Although daily content is on lifewithlilred, that doesn’t mean that I don’t get writer’s block too. I swear, some mornings I sit here for twenty or so minutes struggling to get a post started. Writer’s block happens to the best of us, but it’s still annoying AF! If you weren’t aware, WordPress now offers daily writing prompts. However, if you are looking to knock out some posts of your own quickly, I thought I’d provide some of my own too. Let’s get started:

Summer Plans:

  1. What are your goals this summer? I actually just recently wrote about this!
  2. What was the best summer vacation you ever took?
  3. What is your dream summer vacation?
  4. Describe your perfect summer day.
  5. Summertime recipes or party tips? Bring it on!

All About You:

  1. What were you like when you were little? Favorite games, toys, foods?
  2. What did you want to be when you grew up?
  3. What are your favorite things? What brings you joy?
  4. What is your favorite thing about yourself?
  5. What is your go to thing on a lazy day? Comfort shows and comfort food, perhaps? Oh wait, no – that’s me lol.

Hobbies:

  1. What is a project you completed that you are proud of?
  2. What is your favorite medium of art to work with?
  3. How do you express your personality with your hobby? Shopping is my favorite hobby and I express mine through my clothes!
  4. How did you get interested in your hobby? Who taught you?
  5. Did your hobby come easily to you or did you struggle to get started?

Just For Funsies:

  1. What is something that always makes you laugh? For me, that’s easy! The movie Step Brothers, of course!
  2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
  3. What is an adorable thing that your children or pets do? I simply can’t stand it when Melvin and Penelope are snuggling!
  4. What is something new that you want to try?
  5. What happened on the best day you have ever had?

There are twenty ideas above to help get you started and kick writer’s blocks’ stupid butt! Make sure you tag me in the post if you use any of these prompts because I would love to read them. And, if this was helpful to you and you would like more prompt posts, let me know!

What do you love about writing? What is something that you struggle with when you are writing? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: Always remember, that anything that you want to write is important. If you think something is worthy to write about, then it is! ❤

May9

Content Creating 101

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Content Creating 101

Hello!! This past week, I shared my pro tips for working from home and self employment that were very well received. So, I decided to do one more 101 post with a focus on content creating. For almost four years, I have been creating daily content for lifewithlilred and I am very determined to continue this streak for as long as humanly possible! These are some of the tips that help me stay motivated and creative and maybe they’ll be helpful for you too:

Patience is a virtue:

Over the past several years, influencers and content creators have made a big splash online and I’m sure we all have a favorite personality with millions of viewers. It might be easy to think that you can immediately start publishing content and hit it big but that is far from the case more often than not. Every popular influencer started off with minimal views and they worked hard to increase them. As a content creator, it is important to be patient and continue posting even if you think no one is seeing it. At the end of the day, this is what you have to do to boost your visibility so stick with it and don’t compare yourselves to other people – nothing good ever comes out of that!

Content is everywhere:

Chances are, you are not going to stumble upon instantly viral content and if you have, then you are SO lucky! Although you might not come across million view worthy things when you are out and about, there is still content everywhere. Sometimes, it helps to think small instead of big in terms of content, especially when you are feeling uninspired. Then, you can appreciate all of the little things that are just as post worthy too. This always helps me! Take a walk and post about how you felt in nature, write about your favorite knick knack at home; if you think that it is worth writing about, then it is. Simple as that. 🙂

Never stop learning:

There is, truly, a lot more to content creating than meets the eye and the online world is changing constantly. There are always going to be new social media platforms, trends, and techniques to learn and it’s important to stay up to date with them. Myself, for example, didn’t get an Instagram until the end of 2021 and I regret that because it’s literally the easiest platform ever and I just said “hard no” lol. Educate yourself by learning about SEO, analytics, trending topics, and ways to increase your visibility and incorporate it into your content. There are so many tools out there to help you, but they’re only going to help if you familiarize yourself with it first.

Have fun:

At the end of the day, I genuinely think that content creating is fun. I love to write, take pictures, explore, and I enjoy being on social media. If you are not feeling the joy of creating something, then it might be a good time to reevaluate what you are currently doing and see where you can improve. It’s okay to take breaks and give your mind a chance to refresh so you can get back to creating and having a blast while doing so.

Stay organized:

I cannot recommend a publishing schedule enough, especially when you are first starting out. This helps your viewers know when to expect your posts, look forward to them, and keep checking in. When I first began lifewithlilred, I was posting willy nilly with no set schedule and I quickly learned the benefits of establishing one. I went from twice a week content to every other day to every day in the near decade of my page’s existence. Having this set in stone schedule definitely assisted my page’s visibility. Create a schedule that works well for you and commit to it. Content is being created every second of every day all over the world. Random postings are very easy to get lost among the crowd!

When it comes to content creating, be patient with the process of it, stay motivated, and have fun. Whether you are getting one view or a million, you created something you were proud of and that’s the best thing of all!

What is your favorite social media platform? What are some of your content creating pro tips? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr21

Spring Green OOTD Bloopers

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Spring Green OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Spring Green OOTD! Today, we will take a look at all of the yikes from this shoot that definitely didn’t make the first cut. Then, keep it locked on lifewithlilred for a TJMaxx haul! After months of Christmas gift cards burning a hole in my pocket, I finally got to spend time in my happy place this past week and it was freaking awesome. Not as awesome as how I look in these pictures though. 😉 Let’s get started:

I’ve got my eyes on all of you

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Hi, neighbors! Just call me the mayor of Timber Top!

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

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Losing my balance in three parts: Part 1 – Whoopsie daisy

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Part 2: Regain my composure like a pro

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Part 3: She sticks the landing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The blogosphere goes wild.

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Short and pale nearing thirty and fairly decent, the girl from Akron, Ohio goes walking

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Did anyone go through that phase where they would never be caught dead without a full face of makeup and amazing outfit? This was definitely me from sixteen to twenty or so when I started college. After I was away from constantly working retail and needing to look good as part of the job, I found no problem with jeans and hoodies as I made my way around campus. I then learned that maybe applying my normal makeup just to run to Target wasn’t a necessity after all.

lifewithlilred was just in its early days when I started school and more frequent OOTD posts wouldn’t come until later. And, if you would have told me when I started featuring myself in more posts that I would eventually post bad pictures of myself too, I would have laughed in your face. Why would I publish pictures where I looked anything but my absolute best? Literally no one else does that!

I guess in my young and mid twenties, I couldn’t fathom the idea of showing imperfections online in the little world I had built. But, I had been building up to bloopers all of this time and I hadn’t even realized it. As I would go about my work week in standard lounge clothes and a fresh face, I was always fine with being seen around town – even if it was by people I hadn’t seen since high school. I came to realize that the difference between that dreaded situation and publishing crappy pictures on my blog was nonexistent. When I looked at it that way and was seemingly sitting on a goldmine of content, I said “why not?” and it is now one of my favorite segments on my page.

At almost twenty-nine, I have finally been able to capture the “who cares” frame of mind that I always wanted and the blooper reels helped me achieve that. And, if they help you feel more confident to post a picture, good or bad, then I have done my job!

What makes you feel less than your best? How do you give yourself a confidence boost? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Mar11

2023 All About Me

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2023 All About Me

Hello!! Your favorite Lil Red blogger has had a very busy past few months. Between bunny parenthood, new jobs, and the kerfuffle of daily life, I am ready for a little break any time now! It has been a while since we have had an updated All About Me post and I figured no better time than the present to talk a bit more in depth about everything happening in Lil Red’s world. Let’s get to it:

Bunny Babies:

Johnny and I have had our Lionhead bunnies, Mel and Penelope, for over four months now and they are thriving! In fact, I would say that they are fully settled to their new lives with us. Melvin is as adventurous as ever and loves to evade his dad by getting under the couch and exploring the non bunny proofed area while he plays video games lol. He is never too quick for his dear old mom, though! Melvin is not quite a year old yet and he is also never too old for an evening cuddle with me. It’s so sweet! ❤

Penelope took a decent amount of time to get acclimated to her new setting and I think that we are finally there. Her favorite activities are eating leafy greens from my hand and chilling out in her go to spot behind the hutch. Pen and Mel both also really enjoy being brushed, which is great as they are long haired and shedding season has been nuts! I was very proud of Penelope because this past week, she explored a few stairs for the first time but was scared to go down. She let me know of her distress by making some noise and allowed me to pick her up and take her back to the floor. Pen still isn’t the biggest fan of Johnny, but she sure loves her mom! 😀

New Job, No Prob:

I have a very entrepreneurial spirit and enjoy both my work as a provider for people with special needs and a writer so much. In the new year, I was really hoping to take my writing work to the next level and that happened on January third. I am currently managing a plethora of social media pages and building websites and businesses with my new boss and it is awesome! Between three jobs, it can be a bit stressful during the work week but I make it work. I am learning so many new things and being able to work from home a lot and hang out with Mel and Pen is such a joy. Eventually, I will decrease my work out in the field but, for now, I am just loving the experience!

Accomplishing Goals:

One of my other goals for the new year was creating a lot more OOTD content for lifewithlilred and I have been very dedicated to it. My sweet blog husband is also most helpful in that regard too! During the work week, I am rarely in the general public and put minimal effort into outfits and makeup. Saturday, however, is a totally different story! On Saturday afternoons, Johnny and I go on an outing for a lunch date, errands, or a visit at his or my parents and end up taking OOTD pictures some time in between. Johnny is always so accommodating and Saturday has definitely become our designated picture day. This setup has worked wonderfully and I look forward to our date days every week. ❤

Birthday Extravaganza:

Starting on March 7th and ending on June 7th, Johnny and I have lots to celebrate. In three months, there are seven birthdays in my family and mine and Johnny’s second wedding anniversary. I love this time of the year because I LOVE shopping for birthday presents and taking part in someone’s special day. I am also very excited for mine and Johnny’s second birthaversary jubilee and cannot wait to put together another get together to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary in one mega event!

Nothing Too Exciting:

As I have been working three very involved jobs for the past three months and Johnny is in a constant state of tired from his demanding job, we haven’t been doing much of anything. Part of it is the weather and part of it is exhaustion! That’s okay, though, because we rally around this time of the year when the sun starts setting later. We might not do anything during the work week but we do end up staying up later than our normal seven PM bedtime and that’s good enough for me. We are thinking of doing a few weekend trips this summer and it will be so nice to have a getaway of our own considering we haven’t even had a honeymoon yet. All in good time!

As busy as these past few months have been, I will never be too busy to post daily on lifewithlilred or get my nails done. Peep those tomorrow and keep it posted for all of the latest and greatest! ❤

What is new in your world? Is anything exciting coming up for you soon? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah