Tag Archives: lilred

My Writing Routine

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My Writing Routine

Hello! I am currently on a 1,150 day writing streak of daily blogging on lifewithlilred and I am so proud! I get asked a lot how I keep up with this and I guess it boils down to the fact that I am a very routine and schedule oriented person. I thrive when I can check things off of my To Do List, which keeps me sitting down at my laptop every morning to continue delivering the latest and greatest.

Everyone has a writing routine and mine looks like this:

Forming Content Ideas:

I am always on the lookout for ideas for my next blog post and am constantly keeping my eyes peeled for things that inspire me. Whether it’s snapping pics of the winter weather outside or a new pair of shoes, I am already pre-writing the post in my head for the most efficient content creation. To keep all of my ideas straight and also to not forget them, I text myself possible posts all of the time that I can refer to when I feel writer’s block sinking in.

Taking Pictures:

If pictures are needed for my post, I typically take them the night before and then email them to myself so that they are ready to go in the morning. I consider my writing process to be somewhat of an assembly line so the completed post can’t be ready to write without the proper prep work done beforehand. Anything that can make my morning blogging go smoother is well worth it because I still have to get myself to work on time!

My Mornings:

My mornings have followed a strict routine for as long as I can remember and it honestly stresses me out to stray from it. As soon as I wake up, I practice five different languages on Duolingo, I do a short work out, and then I shower. After all of this is complete, I turn on my diffuser by Organic Aromas and start my blogging process. Not only does this include my daily writing but I also have to complete other online jobs before I head to work.

Needless to say, my mornings have to run like a fine tuned machine to accomplish all of the above. This is why my prep work is so important as well as having a pretty strict sleep schedule. Johnny has to get up really early for work and I try to get up at least two and a half hours before I need to leave. We are usually asleep by eight thirty!!

No one ever said a blogger’s life was easy but it is so rewarding. I can’t even imagine a day without writing and it makes it even better to share it with all of you! ❤

What is your writing routine like? How often do you blog? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Lil Red’s In Store & Online Shopping Tips

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Lil Red’s In Store & Online Shopping Tips

Hello everyone! I consider myself to be an excellent shopper both in store and online. After a wildly successful winter haul with TJMaxx, I thought that today would be perfect for sharing my pro tips to make the most of your in store or online shopping sessions. These helpful hints have been curated as my personal style developed to turn each shopping trip into a GREAT SUCCESS! Now, let’s get to it:

Online – Know Your Measurements:

Prior to getting married, I had absolutely no idea what my measurements were. That, of course, had to change when I was ordering my dress online so my mom and I visited our local tailor shop to get that taken care of. I keep my measurement cards by my computer so that I can always have them available when online shopping.

Knowing your true measurements will eliminate the need to buy multiple sizes of one item because you can compare and contrast to the brand’s size chart. This used to be the norm for me when online shopping because I am in between a small and a medium and it’s so nice to now be able to get my size right the first time around!

Online – Do Your Research:

If you enjoy shopping with websites that offer multiple brands like TJMaxx or Poshmark, it is so crucial to do your research. We all know that women’s sizes vary drastically. For example, in my closet I have clothing in extra smalls and larges alike. A universal size chart, unfortunately, doesn’t exist so you will have to go to the original brand’s website to find out their sizing for yourself.

When shopping with TJMaxx, this has become my standard practice and is why knowing your measurements is so handy. Remember, take note about the features of the item you wish to purchase too. Does it provide room for stretch? Do the reviews say to order a size up? These are all things that should also be taken into consideration.

Online & In Store – Promotions, Please:

Apps, rewards cards, store credit cards, and special deals like a percentage off or free shipping plays an important rule in the shopping process. Although the constant emails from my favorite stores are annoying, saving money on your shopping is always worth it. If you have a particularly large order, you might want to consider applying for the store credit card. Typically, the store will offer you a percentage off of that purchase, which is awesome!

In Store – Dress For Success:

With the pandemic, I rarely do in store shopping anymore. However, when I do, I make sure that I am dressed and made up for success. Wear clothes and shoes that are comfortable and easy to slip on and off for dressing room efficiency. And, depending on what it is you need, it might not hurt to do your makeup accordingly. It’s hard to get the full picture of a dress you are trying on for a special event if your makeup doesn’t reflect it.

In Store – Try & Try Again:

Shopping in store gives you the luxury of trying on whatever you want and it should not be taken lightly. Expanding your horizons with styles, shapes, and colors that you might not normally wear will give you brand new possibilities. And, so what if it doesn’t work? Trying on a variety of different things will also help with your online shopping because you won’t be limiting yourself to “safe” options that you already know will work.

In Store – Have A Game Plan:

Hitting the mall or multiple different shops in the area can feel a bit overwhelming because of the endless options you’re seeing all at once. I recommend browsing for the items that you know you need first before beginning your window shopping. I don’t go to the mall too often but when I do, I always go to Victoria’s Secret for new undies and a bra and American Eagle for new skinnies first to get it out of the way. Then, when the “fun” shopping begins, I already know what I have spent for necessities and can budget my additional purchases accordingly.

Online & In Store – Shopping For Others:

I know some people who begin their holiday shopping for the next year as soon as their celebrated holiday is over to get the best seasonal deals. While you don’t have to go that extreme, it never hurts to get a little prep work done for holidays and birthdays when making your rounds. And, if you score a great deal on it, then it’s even better. We all have had that one gift that we were going to buy a little later only to find that it was sold out when we were ready to make the purchase!

With these tips, I hope that you have the best online or in store shopping session yet! They are my tried and true methods to the success behind all of my hauls and I’m sure that they will work for you too. ❤

What are some of your shopping tricks and tips? Do you prefer in store or online shopping? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Friendly Reminder!

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Friendly Reminder!

Hi everyone!! Last month, I bit the bullet and made myself an Instagram during my winter break. I always said I would never get one, but here we are now lol. You can follow me @lifewithlilred94 to keep up with all of the latest and greatest that doesn’t make it onto my blog. This includes bonus OOTD pictures, all of the silly Johnny content, as well as a never ending supply of Governor Ferguson from Wentworth. And, of course, if you give me a follow – I will follow you right back!

For more additional tomfoolery, you can friend me on Facebook: at Sarah Mushenheim. However, I will say it doesn’t have as much shout outs to “THE FREAK!!!” haha. Although I am extremely late to the Instagram party, I am glad that I made one and I would love to connect with all of you on a variety of platforms. Who knows, maybe in the next seven to ten years I’ll get around to making a TikTok. 😀

As always, I am so appreciative of the support from all of my dear readers and friends and am looking forward to the continued expansion of my Insta. Keep it posted on all of my accounts for my latest shenanigans, musings, and pictures from my TV screen that I have deemed worth sharing!

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

Happy New Year!!

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Happy New Year!!

Howdy everyone and Happy New Year! We are officially in 2022, which means a whole new year of opportunity and, of course, fun on lifewithlilred. 😀 I am so excited to be rolling out another three hundred and sixty-five days of daily blogging and have my fingers crossed that 2022 won’t be as much of a dumpster fire as the past two years. Here’s to hoping, anyways!

In this new year, my wish is for everyone to find comfort in better days ahead. We are living through a pandemic and it is scary on a good day. I wish for safety and good health for all and that we can revel in the happy moments of 2022.

While I also wish that the passing of time would slow down (I’ll be twenty-eight this year!), I am so thankful that I get to spend time with each and every one of you every day. May 2022 bring us good fortune, great successes, and a slightly less anxiety provoking time!

Happy 2022! ❤

What are your New Year’s resolutions (I, as always, have none!)? What are you wishing for in the new year? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

All For The Gram

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All For The Gram

Hello! Lil Red is truly skyrocketing into the twenty-first century with my new(ish) smartphone. I have so enjoyed using it to take OOTD pictures for lifewithlilred and *gasp* I have made an Instagram! For the longest time, I avoided making any new social media accounts because between my blog, Facebook (Sarah Mushenheim), and job I have my hands full enough as is.

However, during my little holiday break, I figured that there was no better time than the present to give Instagram a try. I will admit that it is not my favorite form of social media because I am, first and foremost, a word girl. But, if you are interested in exclusive content from yours truly that doesn’t make it onto lifewithlilred or my Facebook page, give me a follow at @lifewithlilred94 . You can also see my Insta posts on the side bar of my blog too!

I would love to have some more followers on THE GRAM and, of course, I’ll follow you back. And, eventually, you will be able to shop my OOTD styles on there so do keep it posted! ❤

What is your favorite social media platform? What is your favorite thing to post pictures of? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! To those who celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day filled with joy, good company, and holiday cheer. For those who don’t celebrate – I hope the same for you! I will keep this post short and sweet so everyone can get prepared for their festivities but I just wanted to say how thankful I am for all of you. ❤

With the pandemic, everything feels crazy and scary. Writing on my blog every day brings a much needed touch of normalcy to my life and I hope that everyone tuning in feels that way too. My audience has turned into such dear friends and I love you all. I love your insights, your kindness, and the happiness I feel to have you in my life – even if it is from the computer screen.

For Christmas and every holiday celebrated, I encourage all of you to take proper safety precautions to keep things merry and bright for everyone. I can’t wait to hear how all of you spend your day and thank you for being you!

Merry Christmas!

Much love. -Sarah

What Have I Been Up To?

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What Have I Been Up To?

Hello!! It has been a busy time for yours truly between work, the blog, skating practice, and holiday preparations but I think that things are finally slowing down. I am pleased to report that almost all of my presents are wrapped and I am very much looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my family! ❤

Johnny and I haven’t been up to anything too exciting lately other than the fact that we are almost done watching Criminal Minds in its entirety. This is very bittersweet for the both of us because we are fricken obsessed with that show lol. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up rewatching it once we’re done because we will miss Matthew Gray Gubler way too much – he’s our favorite/best friend in our heads. 😀

When we aren’t binging on our programs, I have been playing Animal Crossing every chance I can get. I am still loving the new update so much and am really enjoying Happy Home Paradise – it’s so fun! I will admit that the game can be tedious at times but my days don’t feel complete without playing it… Sometimes I even get up extra early for work to get some playing time in and watch an episode of Black Clover before I leave. And, eventually, I will get to digging up all of the overgrown flowers on my island. The key word being eventually, of course!

According to my calculations, there are nine days left until Christmas and I am hoping that they pass by quickly. To be honest, I’m even getting annoyed with myself constantly asking if I can tell all of my giftees what I got them! Until then, Johnny and I will be filling our time with our favorite shows, weekend game nights, and laughing at how I look when I use a sheet face mask. 🙂

What has everyone been up to lately? Anything exciting? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Holiday Season = Prime Blogging Season

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Holiday Season = Prime Blogging Season

Hi! Since completing my 1,000 day writing steak, I am currently at 1,070 days of blogging in a row. It may be crazy to some but it’s daily life for me and the holiday season is the perfect time to get creative with your posts. There are so many great ways to get content out during these next few weeks and, today, we are going to discuss some ideas to inspire you on your own page. Let’s get to it:

What The Holiday Season Means To You:

What holiday do you celebrate this time of the year? Or do you not celebrate at all? Everyone views these times differently so what does it mean to you specifically? Talking about the holiday that you celebrate is an amazing way to open people’s eyes about the many different ones that take place during the season because we all know that it’s not just Christmas. Teaching your readers about your celebrated holiday and the traditions that come with it will be educational and oh so interesting.

Holiday Crafts:

If you are crafty, how about a step by step guide of the projects that you’re working on this holiday season? Whether you’re hand making ornaments or building the ultimate gingerbread house, share it with your readers! Even if you’re not crafty in the slightest (like yours truly) it will be fun to try something new. You could even have a “crafting contest” for your readers and give away a prize for the best craft, honorable mentions, and not so muches.

Tips & Tricks:

According to Pam from The Office, if you need more than three pieces of tape to wrap a present, then you are doing it wrong. Are you a gift wrapping pro or know how to score the best deals on holiday shopping? Feel free to share with the class! Everyone loves tips and tricks on how to make things easier on themselves or save some money so don’t keep it to yourself – tis the season to be giving, after all! 😀

Decor Galore:

If you are particularly proud of your holiday decorating skills, then let’s see it! There is nothing better than doing a drive through the neighborhood and seeing yards decorated for the holidays. In this case, it will be scrolling through your page but that’s okay! You could get together some other blogging friends and create a holiday decor scavenger hunt through your pages and pictures of your decor. How fun would that be?!

Recipes, Please:

For Christmas dinner, my family always just has a round two of Thanksgiving and that is fine by everyone because we love it. However, there are so many people looking to shake up their holiday dinner menu which is where you come in. If you have a dish that your guests beg you to make or one that you especially look forward to, then share away! Your favorite dish on the menu could end up in a holiday meal halfway across the world.

Holiday Style:

The long running joke of the winter holidays is that everyone gets dressed up to sit around the house. It is hilarious and so very true! It also means that it is the perfect excuse to share your OOTDs and MOTDs with us. Give us New Year’s Eve glam or your fave PJs that you wear on Christmas morning, either way you are sure to sleigh… See what I did there? 😉

Help Give Back:

During the holiday season, it is so important to give back to those less fortunate than us. If you have a charity that you love to help out, let your readers know about it or have them give proof of a donation that they made in their hometown. Draw names from a hat of the people who gave back and send them a small holiday gift if their name was selected.

With the tips above, you will have fresh as fallen snow content all holiday season long. Happy writing!

Which of these ideas are you going to write about? How often do you post on your page? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!! This has been a year full of exciting things for yours truly including getting married, achieving a 1,000 day writing streak, and being fully vaccinated with a booster shot included. I am so thankful for all of this and, as always, I am so thankful for all of you – my dear readers and friends. ❤

Without your unending support, lifewithlilred would not be going strong for seven plus years and I love being with all of you on my blogging and life journey. While I feel lucky for this every day, days like Thanksgiving make me feel extra sentimental about it and I can’t express my gratitude enough.

I will keep this post short and sweet so you can go back to enjoying your Thanksgiving day. I just wanted to say that I love you all and hope you have the most joyous time with family and friends! ❤

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving? What are you thankful for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Lil Red’s Must Have Beauty Products

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Lil Red’s Must Have Beauty Products

Hi! I consider myself to be a skin care fanatic. I have had a full fledged skin care routine since I was fifteen and I love testing out new products and revisiting old favorites. So, when my dear friend Libby over at Goddess Attainable emailed me about her upcoming post about her must have products, I just had to participate too! Today, we are going to look at some of my go to’s when it comes to skin and hair care. Let’s get to it:

IGK Mistress Hydrating Hair Balm:

I received this product in a Sephora Play! box and it became an instant staple in my beauty routine when I straighten my hair. The IGK Mistress Hydrating Hair Balm offers heat protection, decreases frizziness, and leaves my hair feeling silky smooth. The hair balm receives top marks from me because I don’t wash my hair at all and it never makes my hair oily or greasy, which is a huge necessity.

Ban Deodorant:

Who remembers Teen Spirit deodorant back in the day lol? As soon as I outgrew that sickeningly sweet deodorant, it was all about the unscented Ban roll on! Now, normally, I am a huge scent girl but I just can’t do it when it comes to deodorant. I have been using the Ban deodorant since my teens because it keeps me fresh all day long and doesn’t dry out my skin, either. Who wants dry armpits? Not me!

Bath & Body Works Lotion:

Wrapping up my nighttime skin care routine is not complete without a healthy dose of lotion afterwards. I cannot stand wearing lotion during the day time due to the texture and overpowering scents so I only wear it at night. I am currently working on the Portofino Pink Prosecco scent from Bath & Body Works, which I purchased during a semi-annual sale haul. This is one that you wouldn’t want to wear during the day, anyways, because it smells super boozy!

Garnier Micellar Water:

The Garnier Micellar Water has been a staple in my beauty hoard for the past several years. I use it as a makeup remover, toner, and clean my nose piercings with it too. I always keep several bottles handy at home and might have to restock more often! I have been trying to do Johnny’s makeup since our vacation and it has not gone very well so we have been going through a lot of micellar water. Practice makes perfect, though, and I’m confident that he’ll be rocking guyliner with the best of them soon!

Tree Of Life Vitamin C Serum:

Vitamin C serum has been an essential in my skin care routine since I was a teenager and I have just recently started using the Tree Of Life serum. I love Vitamin C serum because it makes my skin luminous and bright even on days when I feel dead tired. Both my morning and nighttime skin care routine has started with a Vitamin C serum for so long and I often wonder what my skin would look like without being such a dedicated user for over a decade.

e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Eye Cream:

More often that not, you can catch Lil Red using drugstore brands as you can see from several items on this list. I am nothing if not frugal when it comes to skin care and don’t believe in paying an arm and a leg for it. At about six dollars per jar, the e.l.f. Holy Hydration! Eye Cream is a true testament to that. This is the first time I have used this product and I plan on rebuying it again. At two months plus, I am still using the same jar. It is so gentle on the sensitive skin that it targets and I feel like my designer eye bags have decreased too. 😀

Garnier SkinActive Moisture Rescue Gel Cream:

I have been using the Garnier SkinActive moisturizers since the beginning of the pandemic and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. You simply cannot beat the price at eight or so dollars per jar for such an effective product. The Moisture Rescue gel cream absorbs quickly, sits well under makeup, and leaves my skin feeling so nourished and soft. With twice daily use, I typically finish one jar per month which is also a great value.

Thank you so much again to Libby from Goddess Attainable for inviting me to join in on her beauty post. And, keep it posted, because we will be talking makeup must haves soon on lifewithlilred! ❤

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