Hello! Ever since tying the knot on June 4th, Johnny and I have been asked time and time again if we feel any different and we always answer with no. Being married to Johnny is the best thing in the whole world but we both agree that it feels exactly the same as it did before when we were dating and recently engaged. We have had a wild bag of replies back of people concurring or feeling the polar opposite but we can all agree that married life rocks!
Since our nuptials, Johnny and I have enjoyed double birthday celebrations, a road trip to Marietta, trivia night, and the endless support of our loved ones and it has been awesome. In fact, all of these outings after being in the apartment for over a year due to the pandemic feels more like when we first started dating! It has been so exciting to finally be fully vaccinated and have the opportunity to go out and about with our friends and the novelty has yet to wear off.
While our now weekly date days and hang outs with friends have been great, our favorite thing to do is veg out together after work. Whether we are playing video games, watching documentaries, or endless hours of Family Matters we both love our time to relax and enjoy each other’s company after a long day. As soon as I exit my car and walk to the apartment when I return home, I always feel butterflies knowing that my Johnny will be there to greet me and it never gets old.
We have both come to realize that married life doesn’t feel much different because we have never left the honeymoon stages of our first dates and there is no better feeling than that. Here’s to our never ending honeymoon! ❤
Did married life feel different to you? How so? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello! One of my favorite parts of my pre-wedding prep was getting my hair done both the day before and the day of my wedding by my stylist and friend of over nineteen years, Anna. No one but Anna is allowed to touch my hair and I had been looking forward to her working her magic for my wedding since Johnny and I got engaged. The day before my wedding, I spent the entire afternoon at the salon getting my hair dyed and hanging out with Anna which was so fun and very special to me. The morning of my wedding, I returned to the Shear Shop for an end result of:
To achieve my wedding do, Anna bleached and redyed my convertible hair with Pulp Riot’s red in Fireball and bubblegum pink in Blush. The first time we tried this combination on my hair, we both agreed that we would like the pink more if it were lighter. To remedy this problem, Anna dyed my roots in Blush and pulled a ballet slipper pink through the rest to lighten and add dimension with different shades. Her solution was a great success and everyone in the salon was in love with the color too!
Not only did Anna do my color the day before my wedding but she also began knotting gold tinsel in my locks for some sparkle on my wedding day. While fairy hair is adorable, it is a time consuming task and I am so glad we didn’t leave knotting a majority of it in until the following day. Anna was able to see me first thing in the morning the day of my wedding and it was nice to not feel rushed in any way because so much groundwork was laid the day before.
The gold tinsel offers sweet flashes of bling in my wedding do but the real piece de resistance were the hair charms that Anna incorporated into my braid. When we began talking wedding hair, it went without saying that it had to be unique. I also let her know that I definitely wanted some type of braiding. With that, Anna suggested that I purchase some “hair hardware” on Amazon to further embellish my look.
On my wedding day, Anna came prepared with needle nose pliers to help pull the hardware rings apart and put them back together again. Once the rings were hooked into the braid, she simply pushed them back together and they were locked securely in place. The final result is something I have never seen before and I felt like royalty.
Finally, Anna created a bump in the back of my hair which would make a home for my veil to be locked into. My veil was purchased for a whole twenty dollars on Etsy and feels like something out of a dark fairy tale. Prior to securing my veil, Anna ingeniously removed any wrinkles from it with a blow drier!
The look that Anna achieved for my wedding was everything that I wanted and so much more. I asked for something unique and she gave me a do that I didn’t even know could exist. Anna is such a gifted artist and I feel so lucky to have had her keeping my hair beautiful for almost two decades. Her friendship is the most beautiful gift of all and the time spent together in the salon for my wedding will forever be cherished.
What color is your hair? What is the craziest color you have ever dyed your hair? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello everyone and happy birthday to me!! It’s my twenty-seventh birthday and within the past week I got married and celebrated my husband’s birthday on the first. Needless to say, it has been the best week ever!! Today also marks the sixth year that I have celebrated my birthday with all of my dear readers and that isn’t anything to sneeze at, either. For the past six plus years, I have so enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you and it is such a joy to share a slice of my life with all of my readers and friends.
From sharing in my excitement, random musings, disappointments, and holidays together, you guys have been through it all with me and that is incredibly special. Here’s to six more years of birthday celebrations on lifewithlilred and tomorrow, it will be time to talk wedding! See you then. ❤
Hi!! When Johnny and I got engaged, I took my carved pearl ring to Jared’s to get resized and they did a fabulous job. I was so impressed by them and I knew that I wanted to go back when it was time to purchase a wedding band. At the end of April, Johnny and I went to Jared’s together and their employees helped create us a ring that was exactly what I wanted at a price point that we were both comfortable with.
After almost an entire month of waiting, I was finally able to pick my wedding band up and it was even better than I could have imagined! Check it out:
When it came to my wedding band, I had two requirements that absolutely needed to be met: Black diamonds and rubies. I also wanted a shape that was unique and would fit well with my engagement ring. After discussing a budget as well as some trial and error, the employees at Jared’s were able to customize a ring that is completely perfect for me. In fact, Johnny and I are so in love with both of our wedding bands that we’re already wearing them lol.
The diamonds in my wedding band along with the gemstones look so beautiful when paired with the pearl of my engagement ring and it fits like a glove. It was important for me to have a band that truly complimented the engagement ring and my favorite part is how the the rubies lined up to be on either side of the pearl skull’s teeth. The shape of the bling is also incredibly unique and I have never seen anything like it before.
My wedding band has been in my possession for the past week or so and I have probably looked at it a million times since picking it up. I knew that I was in good hands with the expert help I received at Jared’s and I will never forget the trip there that I took with Johnny to create a one of a kind band that is one hundred and fifty billion percent us. ❤
What is your favorite type of accessory? What does your wedding band look like? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello!! Today is a happy wonderful day because it is my darling fiance, Johnny’s, birthday! Johnny and I have very close birthdays to each other with his being June first and mine on the seventh and it is such fun to have joined birthday celebrations with him. With our birthdays and upcoming wedding, I think we will be celebrating all month long and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
Johnny is, truly, one of the best things to ever happen to me and I cannot wait to be his wife. Everything is just so easy with Johnny and I always feel like my best self around him. My life has felt so complete ever since our first date and every day with him is my favorite day because it feels like a brand new adventure. My Johnny is the most talented, funny, handsome (Wa wa woo we wa!) man on the planet and I still get butterflies every time he looks at me.
While I will never tire of our fabulous date days together, my favorite times with Johnny are when we’re just having a night in in our apartment. Our go to option is playing video games together and the laughter is nonstop the entire time. Then, if I’m lucky, Johnny will get out his guitar and play and sing for me. From private concerts and sing alongs to oldies but goodies and the Family Matters theme song, I could listen to him play all day.
I cannot recall ever being this happy before and I have Johnny to thank for that. I am over the moon to be his bride and to love (And slightly annoy!) him every day for the rest of our lives! 😀
Hello everyone and welcome to the finale of my Altar’d State Haul! Today, we are going to wrap things up by talking about a lovely black and white floral print summer dress. This is a purchase I am particularly proud of because, normally, I wouldn’t have even bothered trying this dress on. Take a look at some pics and read on to find out more:
The first thing that I noticed when I saw this dress on display after how much I liked it, of course, was that a bra would be incredibly visible. As a bustier gal, a bra is absolutely necessary for me to feel comfortable but it would ruin the silhouette of the crossback straps and the plunging V of the back of the dress. As mentioned above, I would usually acknowledge how cute a dress like this is on previous shopping trips and then move on to something I could wear a bra in. So imagine my surprise when I took this dress from the rack to try it on in Altar’d State.
Chalk it up to my quickly upcoming wedding (!!!!!!) but my self confidence has been sky high lately and it feels awesome because of how much I have struggled with it in the past. So, instead of feeling disappointed when I saw this dress because I used to think I “couldn’t” wear it, I tried it on anyways. I thought to myself that I could make it work, especially with the adhesive strapless bras that I got for my wedding and almost jumped for joy in the fitting room once I had it on and loved it so much.
It could be the novelty of trying something so new to me but I think that this dress is just the most. The uneven hem is so charming and flowy and it reminds me of fairies. The pattern is also so beautiful to me and it feels like there’s a surprise on the dress everywhere you look from the peekaboo keyhole on the back to the crossback straps. I hate to toot my own horn but I was feeling my DAMN self in it.
I felt amazing in my new dress and even better about the fact that I took a risk and tried something different. This is the first time I have ever considered an option other than my standard, supportive bra when buying something and I know it has to do with my very improved self image. I can’t wait to go shopping again so I can try more new shapes and styles that I didn’t think were possible for me to wear before! ❤
How do you take fashion risks? What makes you feel confident? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hi!! I had to run to Summit Mall this past week to pick up a few odds and ends, which was my first visit to the mall since before the pandemic. I finally upped my summer wardrobe game and I would say my outing was hugely successful – primarily in the new(ish) store, Altar’d State. I really had no intention of stopping in the store, but the window displays were just so cute that I had to pop in and see what I could find.
The question is, what didn’t I find? I walked out of Altar’d State with a new dress, two tops, and two skirts and I have every intention of shopping there again. If not in store, then definitely online as I now know my sizes there. I can’t wait to show all of you the purchases from my haul and there is no better place to start than with my favorite find. Let’s get to it:
Upon entering Altar’d State, the first thing that I noticed was this adorable lavender skirt and top set and I just had to try it on. I am usually not one for matching sets but this one spoke to me and I thought it would be so sweet whether paired or mixed and matched this summer. Originally, I only tried the skirt on because I wasn’t sure about the color but as soon as I slipped it on, I had to ask one of the darling employees to bring me the top too because I fell in love immediately.
What I like the most about this matching set is that, despite it being form fitting, it manages to not look overly sexy because of the pastel hue and floral pattern. The skirt also sat high enough on my waist that not a lot of stomach could be seen even with the cropped top. This made me feel completely comfortable as only my arms and legs from the knee down were exposed and I have never felt more like Cher from Clueless than in the dressing room of Altar’d State!
I know for a fact that this set will be one of my go to summer outfits and it felt awesome to try and buy something that I had never worn anything like before. As soon as I left the mall, I called my sister asking when she can go back to Summit Mall with me because I could have stayed there shopping all day. I have been looking forward to shopping for so long throughout the pandemic and being able to treat myself to lots of pretty new clothes made the long wait one hundred and fifty percent worth it. ❤
What are your summer wardrobe must haves? How do you rock a paired set outfit? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hi! If you know Lil Red, then you will know that I simply cannot wait to give people their presents for gift giving occasions. My fiance, Johnny, on the other hand prefers to open gifts until the day of the birthday or holiday or at least get fairly close. So, imagine my surprise when Johnny wanted to give me my birthday presents super early. Our birthdays are one week apart from each other in June and this was an excellent development for me because I had been dying to give him his gifts!
Earlier in May, Johnny gifted me with an amazing standing makeup holder for all of my bits and baubles. And, this past week, he gave me my main gift… the original Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64!
For our one year anniversary, Johnny got me Paper Mario: The Origami King for the Nintendo Switch and this past Valentine’s Day, he gifted me with Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the GameCube. Can you tell what one of my favorite video games is? To complete my collection, I needed the Paper Mario for the N64 and I also need the one for the Nintendo 3DS. With my early birthday prezzie, I am one step closer to having all of the Paper Mario games and I am eager to give my new (old) one a try as I have never played it.
Time and time again, I am blown away by Johnny’s thoughtfulness more than anything on gift giving occasions. Whenever we give each other presents, it always seems to be exactly what we both wanted. This shows me that we are actually listening to each other when we talk and that is the best gift of all. Johnny is such fun to shop for and he received some Legend Of Zelda Amiibos as well as a blazer from his favorite website, Phix, for his birthday. Nothing was better than seeing the look on his face when he opened them and I can’t wait for a lifetime of birthdays and holidays with him. ❤
What is your favorite video game? Who is your favorite person to shop for? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello!!!! This past weekend was an awesome one because I went to my first movie in theaters since 2019! I went to see Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train with my brother, Andrew, and brother in law, Ramon, for part of Andrew’s birthday celebrations and it was absolutely amazing! Andrew introduced me to the anime, Demon Slayer, during the pandemic and I have been dying for more ever since finishing season one. So, you can only imagine my excitement when Mugen Train was set to come out in theaters, showing the in between of seasons one and two.
After much planning around busy schedules, we were finally able to see the Demon Slayer movie at a local Cinemark and it was so wonderful being back in a movie theater after so long. I was able to order our tickets online and once your purchase is made, it blocks anyone from buying seats next to you and it made me feel really comfortable and I appreciated all of their excellent COVID precautions. I also really appreciated the nachos from the snack bar! 😀
Now, without giving any spoilers away, let’s talk about this flick:
^^^ And, as always, I have no rights to this video!
Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train begins where season one left off with Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke boarding the Mugen Train. Along with Tanjiro’s demon sister, Nezuko, safely in tow in her travel box, of course. Many passengers have disappeared on the train, which can only point to demon activity. So, the boys are instructed to meet up with the Fire Hashira, MISTER RENGOKU, and defeat the demon that is causing so much catastrophe. They are in for a long, hard fight because while incredibly badass, Enmu who is Lower Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki, uses some pretty insane Blood Demon Art that puts her opponents to sleep.
Not only do you get to explore the train and its surroundings outside with our heroes but you also get a glimpse into their dreams as well, thanks to the sleep induced by Enmu. The dreams of Mister Rengoku, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke gives you a better understanding of their past and shows you their deepest desires. The only catch is that once you are asleep, you can’t wake up!
Once Tanjiro figures out how to get himself out of the dreaming world, it is ON and the action that follows is nonstop until the movie is over because another member of the Twelve Kizuki shows up for good measure. Will the Demon Slayers be able to stop Enmu in her tracks on the train? Are they getting closer to finally defeating Kibutsuji? And just how many people are going to die in this process? See Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train to find out!
The Demon Slayer movie was an incredible ride and I didn’t want it to end, even though it was just about two hours long. It was so jam packed with action and information that it could have gone on for another two hours and I would have been happy. The movie gave you such a sense of claustrophobic urgency because they were limited to the interior of the train full of passengers for a while and fatalities seemed eminent. Once the fighting started on the train top, all of my tension was released and all I could feel was adrenaline as I rooted for the Demon Slayers. Like I said, it was quite a ride.
The story line of Mugen Train was excellent but the beautiful animation is what really drove it home for me. The colors, scenery, and sometimes hilarious facial expressions are so visually appealing and it was nothing short of a delight to watch. In fact, my favorite part of the movie was Enmu of the Twelve Kizuki because she was amazing to look at and I felt disappointed every time a scene with her in it ended. I loved her menswear inspired outfit, facial markings, hair, and her walking hand with a mouth and eye of its own. Her Blood Demon Art of gifting people with sweet dreams or endless nightmares was also very cool.
Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train is a must see for anime fans and I am sure it will blow you away, as it did for me. I am awarding this movie with the prestigious ten out of ten star rating and I cannot wait for season two to be released!
What is your favorite anime? What is the last movie that you saw in theaters? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello! My nontraditional wedding dress was ordered online and I am in love! The best part about my wedding dress, however, was the time I got to spend with my mom in the process of getting it just right. Because Johnny and I are having such a small ceremony, there really wasn’t much planning involved that our loved ones could participate in. So, it was really important to me to have my mom and sister there for the things that didn’t require Johnny and I just sitting in our apartment talking lol.
My sister came with me for my makeup test run and it was wonderful to have her company and expertise. For my wedding dress, my mom came with me to every appointment at a local dry cleaner who also specializes in alterations. From getting my initial measurements taken to the actual alteration session and a final try on when picking it up, JANE was there for it all. This was incredibly special to me and it was really exciting for us both to see the end results of what we had been imagining for my dress all along.
The alteration aspect of my wedding dress is absolutely perfect in every way and I can’t wait to show all of you what it started from to how it turned out after Johnny and I are married, of course! However, there is still a fair amount of work to do because my dress is covered in completely heinous disk sequins that need removed. Had I realized that the sequins were a thing, I would have requested to not have them in my customization notes but they blended into the dress in the picture and were not visible. -_-
Lucky for me, the sequins can be removed easily but it is a very time consuming task! Over the weekends and on my days where I arrive home early from work, I plan on setting aside at least twenty minutes each evening until my dress is sequin free. In my first go at it, I was able to take off at least fifty sequins and the front bodice is already almost halfway done.
My mom will not see my dress in its sequin free glory until the actual wedding and I cannot wait to see her reaction to it because I know it’s going to be even better than she remembers! And I am always going to remember our time spent together to get my wedding dress prepared for my big day. ❤
What are some special memories from your wedding? What alterations did your wedding apparel need? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
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