Tag Archives: love

Feb13

Olay “Bead Me Up” Exfoliating Cleanser Review

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Olay “Bead Me Up” Exfoliating Cleanser Review

Hey everyone and happy weekend! I recently started using Olay’s “Bead Me Up” Exfoliating Cleanser and I’m really pleased with it so far! When I wash my face in the morning, I usually use some type of cream cleanser and then I use an exfoliater so it’s been nice using Olay’s product which is my two skin care staples in one. Take a look at the sunny bright packaging of my latest cleanser and let’s discuss:

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I’ve always liked using Olay’s skin care products and their exfoliating cleanser is no exception. As you guys know by now, it’s essential that the products I use smell good and my new cleanser passed the smell test with flying colors. As it says on the packaging, it has the essence of honeysuckle and white tea which makes for a sweet and bright scent. I love when my cleansers have a really invigorating aroma to them because it makes for a great pick me up during my morning showers. There’s a slight hint of floral to the scent but it’s not overpowering at all which leaves you with a fragrance that’s perfectly fresh and clean.

It is important to me that my cleansers create a lush and powerful lather when I’m scrubbing away and this product does exactly that. I was using one of Simple’s cleansers before this one and my biggest complaint about it was that it created no lather. Needless to say, I’m in bubble heaven now. What’s amazing about this product is that despite the exfoliater beads in it, it still feels so soft on the skin. A lot of exfoliating products leaves my skin feeling tight and dry but Olay’s “Bead Me Up” cleanser leaves my skin feeling supple and hydrated.

The best thing about this exfoliating cleanser is its personal vendetta against my blackheads! I have five nose piercings and I tend to get a lot of blackheads surrounding my studs. I’m not exactly self conscious of them because they’re really not noticeable but I know that they’re there and it drives me crazy! After just one use of “Bead Me Up”, 90% of my blackheads were gone. I rarely find cream cleansers that are strong enough to eliminate my blackheads so I am very happy with Olay’s exfoliating cleanser.

My one complaint about my cleanser is that it’s not gritty enough. What I love about exfoliaters is how rough it feels on my skin. I like the feeling of really scrubbing away and removing all of the dead skin and gunk clogging my face. If this exfoliating cleanser were just a smidgen grittier, it would be perfect.

Despite my desire for the exfoliating aspect of this cleanser to pack a bit more punch, I’m going to rate Olay’s “Bead Me Up” Exfoliating Cleanser with: four stars. I’ve really enjoyed incorporating this product into my hygiene routine and I’m excited to see the effect that it’s going to have on my skin!

So there you have it, my review of Olay’s “Bead Me Up” Exfoliating Cleanser! What is one of your must have skin care products? What cleanser are you using right now? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb7

Jergens BB Hand Cream Review

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Jergens BB Hand Cream Review

Hi everyone and happy Super Bowl Sunday! I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend so far. Over the holidays, I was lucky and won a giveaway by my friend, Victoria, over at livingdisrobed. I won some Jergens body care goodies which included the most fantastic hand cream ever. The Jergens BB Hand Cream is the best thing that has ever happened to my hands and their tendency to get insanely dried out. I have nothing but good things to say about this cream, so let’s discuss:

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If I could describe myself in one word when it comes to body care products, I would use “picky” with a capital P. If the product is greasy – no can do. If it has a scent that I don’t like – see ya never. And if it’s ineffective – girl, BYE. Lucky for me, the Jergens gods heard my prayer for the perfect cream and they responded by making their BB Hand Cream.

My hands are incredibly sensitive so it doesn’t take a lot to get them dehydrated. On top of this sensitivity, I’m a bit of a germophobe so I’m a hand washer as well. When my hands get dry, they get extremely red, they crack, and they legitimately hurt. You would think that with all of these problems, I would have found the perfect hand cream by now. Unfortunately, I’ve never been so blessed. #fml

It seems like every product that I’ve tried has missed the mark and I don’t like to pay for products unless I’m 110% sure that they’re going to do the job. My last attempt at a hand cream was when I used The Body Shop’s almond cream which worked well but was much too greasy for my liking. I thought that my days of red and raw hands was never going to end and then I ended up winning Victoria’s giveaway.

When my package arrived in the mail, I opened it with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas. I inspected my goodies and then eagerly squeezed some of the hand cream onto the palm of my hand. I took a whiff of the cream and was pleased that it was a nice and light fragrance that wasn’t overpowering in the slightest.

After the cream passed the smell test, I began to rub it into my skin. The only way that I can describe it was that it was like my hands were taking a long and much needed drink of water. The hand cream went in so smoothly and within seconds I couldn’t even tell that I had applied a healthy helping of the cream. There was no grease, no residue, and no strong fragrance left behind.

After just one use of Jergens BB Hand Cream, the redness of my skin was reduced, the scaliness was smoothed down, and my hands felt perfectly hydrated. I’ve never experienced a cream that truly helped revitalize my skin without leaving behind any kind of residue. Honestly, I thought that it was impossible. My Jergens BB Hand Cream has helped my winter hands become a thing of the past and that is something that I am so thankful for.

I would be ridiculous to rate my Jergens BB Hand Cream with anything less than: five stars. This is easily the best cream that I’ve ever used and I can’t recommend it enough. Thank you so much again, Victoria, because it was all thanks to you! ❤

So there you have it, my Jergens BB Hand Cream Review! What is your go to hand cream? What body lotion do you swear by? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan28

Ice Skating Fun

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Hello everyone and happy Thursday! Last Sunday my darling boyfriend, Kyle, and I went ice skating at the Lock 3 skating rink in Akron, Ohio. I skated competitively for quite some time and now I’m a coach for the Special Olympics. Kyle and I have never been skating together before so I was so excited when he finally agreed to making a date out of it on Sunday afternoon. We bundled up, I gathered my skates (I’d rather die than wear rental skates), and then we hit the road for our date.

Once we got to Lock 3, we saw that the rink was pretty crowded. Lucky for us, though, it cleared up by the time we were done waiting in line to rent skates for Kyle, getting our skates on, and walking over to the rink. This was Kyle’s first time ever on ice skates and right from the get go he gave it a valiant effort, which I thought was so sweet. Walking to the rink which was about one hundred feet away proved to be a struggle, to say the least. To me, skating and walking around on skates is second nature so I never thought how difficult it must be to put these contraptions on your feet for the first time and then walk to the rink let alone skate on it!

Once we got on to the ice hand in hand we began our first trip around the rink. My poor Kyle got the worst rental skates on the planet and I felt so bad at how difficult it looked for him. The blades on each skate were so crooked but I didn’t have the heart to have us walk back to the rental shack, get new skates, and then have to walk all the way back to the rink. After a few times around the rink, the skates started to hurt Kyle which is pretty common with rentals. We then devised a plan that I would go skate for a while, he would watch and rest, and then we could skate some more together.

I happily took the opportunity to get some skating in for myself. When I’m coaching, I rarely get the chance to do any spins or jumps before or after the session so it felt so good to do some of these things on my own. Whenever I go skating at a public rink, I’m always so flattered by the people who stop to watch me do my thang. I was greeted to some applause after I pulled out of a spin and many a “good jobs”, “beautiful” and “well done” throughout the hour or so on the ice. My favorite compliment came from a teenage boy who was with a group of friends who asked me if I would stay on the ice and do a show after every one exited the rink for it to get zambonied. It was definitely an unexpected and very sweet compliment, considering the boy was surrounded by his gaggle of male friends!

After a few minutes of skating on my own, I always would return back to Kyle so we could take a journey around the rink together. After a while, we both decided that it was getting cold and that we should head back home. We got off the rink and I walked while Kyle waddled back to the rental shack to take off our skates. Taking our skates off and putting our shoes on felt so good that we used the term “pillow feet” to describe the walking on air feeling!

The real question that arises from this is “did going skating with your boyfriend really happen if you don’t have pictures”? The answer is NO, so to prove the validity of this post, take a look at some cute pictures of me and Kyle. My featured image photo is my favorite picture of us!

^^^ I love us!!

So there you have it, some weekend Ice Skating Fun with my beau! We had a blast and I hope we can hit the rink again sometime soon. What is your favorite winter sport? Who has never gone ice skating before? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan25

Monday Update: Forever 21 Haul Edition

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Monday Update: Forever 21 Haul Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! Last weekend my mom and I ventured to one of the bigger malls that my area of Ohio has to offer, Southpark Mall in Strongsville. We rarely go to Southpark and the last time that I went was years ago. The mall is absolutely gigantic and we went during the holiday season last time around so needless to say, it was quite overwhelming. Last week we went just to change things up a little bit and I died and went to Forever 21 heaven. Their store was huge! Take a look at my latest goodies from my most recent shopping trip:

^^^ I’m a fan.

As all of you know, Lil Red rocks all black everything more often than not so when I saw these edgy hoodie dresses, I knew that they had to be mine. When I used to work at an urban clothing store called Next, they carried the brand HBA (Hood By Air) and I was obsessed. I think that these hoodies are very reminiscent of HBA which is one of the many reasons why I like them so much. Plus, they were infinitely cheaper which was an added bonus! For both of these hoodie dresses I paid fifty dollars which is a quarter of the price of one HBA top. Score!

Usually I’m not one to gravitate towards hoodies or sweatshirts. I much prefer sharp sweaters, tops, or jackets. However, I really liked that these hoodies both went down below the normal at the hip length. The “Killin’ It” sweat dress went down to a little below my knees and the “In High Demand” zip up went down to my calves. This automatically made them way more edgy to me and it created endless styling possibilities.

The great thing about these hoodie dresses, asides from how cute they are, is all of the different outfits that you can wear with them. I tried the sweat dresses on over my black skinnies which worked really well but the possibilities are endless! I can’t wait to wear them with nothing underneath as a real dress or with a pair of opaque or sheer black tights. I also plan on wearing the “In High Demand” dress with the zipper undone to show off a cute pair of shorts and top in the summer. I really like pieces that you can wear all year round so that you can get creative with how you style it!

I’m so aware that these sweat dresses are really similar to each other but I couldn’t pick just one to save my life! I know that if I chose only one that I would be thinking about the hoodie that I left behind for forever. I’m also really glad that I did buy both because when my boyfriend and I went to the mall that he lives by, I popped in the Forever 21 there and they didn’t have either of them! That made me even happier with my decision.

I’ve worn both of my hoodie dresses multiple times already and I can’t get enough of them. I like that these pieces are both amazingly comfortable but they by no means sacrifice style while wearing them. The “Killin’ It” sweat dress is so fun and I had to laugh because I wore it on Thursday night when I was coaching figure skating for the Special Olympics and we just happened to be taking photos that day. I’m sure all of the pictures that I’m in turned out really swell since I’m rockin a hoodie with “Killin’ It” plastered across the front!

As I write this post I’m wearing my “In High Demand” zip up over a pair of black skinnies and a graphic baseball tee and it certainly spruces up the outfit! It also keeps me nice and warm because it’s very chilly in my neck of the woods today. I’m so pleased with my latest purchases and I can’t wait to wear them for many seasons to come. Thanks, Forever 21! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Forever 21 Haul Edition! I hope all of you are having a wonderful start to your week so far. How was everyone’s weekend? Who has recently snagged some cute new clothes while shopping? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan22

Bath & Body Works January Freebie

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Bath & Body Works January Freebie

Hi everyone and TGIF! First things first, before we start to discuss my Bath & Body Works January Freebie, I have to mention my all star student status. I’m writing this as I take a homework break and I had the most terrifying test taking scenario ever that I managed to overcome…

I was taking a timed test and less than half way through, I realized that I really had to go to the bathroom. I mean it was bad. I couldn’t just walk away from the test though, so I did what any normal person would do…squirm around in my seat, speed through the test as quickly as possible, and leave the grade up to fate. Despite this major bathroom set back, your girl still managed to get a 100!! HOLLER. #starstudent #selfcontrol #blessed

ANYWAYS, now that we got that important announcement out of the way, let’s talk freebies! Just about every month, I get a coupon from Bath & Body Works for a free travel sized product to add to my hoard. Thanks to a shopping trip this week with my sister, I scored my January freebie which was a travel sized lotion of their scent A Thousand Wishes.

I always really enjoy my monthly trip to B&BW to snag my freebie and I have to say, I love the scent that I picked out. A Thousand Wishes is a super sweet holiday scent with hints of cranberry and vanilla that I just can’t get enough of. I’ve always been fond of cranberry fragrances – I live for The Body Shop’s seasonal cranberry scent, so I was pleased to find this cranberry infused goodie from B&BW. I like that A Thousand Wishes has an aroma that’s very soft and subtle because if there’s one thing that Lil Red hates, it’s an overpowering fragrance. And can we talk about how cute the packaging is?! LOVE.

Thanks to my B&BW freebie coupons, I’ve been able to have monthly sweet treats for myself and who doesn’t love that? I’ve also been able to avoid the awkwardness of not giving a gift to someone who got me a present this holiday season. I was simply able to put together a little something from my collection and be on my merry way without being labeled as a non-gift giving asshat. Thank you, Bath & Body Works! 😉

To get monthly freebies of your own, simply put in your email address or phone number next time you make a purchase at Bath & Body Works to get some coupons sent your way. You can also do some shopping and enter in your email address on their website! To keep the B&BW coupons coming, make sure you enter your email address or phone number each time you make a purchase or cash in a freebie coupon to keep all of your information up to date. You’ll be glad you did once you have a nice little hoard of your own!

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So there you have it, my Bath & Body Works January Freebie! What stores give away the best coupons or freebie items? What is your favorite B&BW scent? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan14

Sujata Gazder Wedding Look

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Sujata Gazder Wedding Look

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! This past week I was so honored to be asked by the amazing designer, Sujata Gazder, to create a punky cool wedding look with one of her dresses. Usually wedding attire isn’t my forte but I was excited to give it a try. As you read this post, you can shop along at Gazder’s website: sujatagazder and check out her blog at: sujatagazderblog, as well! Now, check out how I would style an edgy and unconventional wedding look:

Ta Da! While I was creating this look, it was important to me that it still looked wedding appropriate. I achieved this by sticking with a gorgeous and somewhat traditional dress and then accessorizing with pieces that you might not see at your every day wedding. Let’s discuss:

The dress: As I browsed through Sujata Gazder’s website, this dress spoke to me. I liked that it definitely looked like a wedding dress but it was unique enough that one could get away with styling it in an edgy fashion. The hand embroidered vine design at the top of the gown eases effortlessly in to the layers of tulle ruffles for a fun and unexpected twist. The beauty of the dress is its versatility. There are so many different ways to style it depending on the bride, which makes the possibilities endless. The impeccable design, flow, and overall look of this dress allowed me to create a cool punk look that was still appropriate for walking down the aisle.

Hats off: I knew right away that I wanted to top the wedding look off with a hat or fascinator. I also knew that I wanted it to be veiled. Originally, I had my heart set on a pill box hat but as I browsed through different options, none of them screamed out at me. After I searched through the world wide web for a while, I finally stumbled upon the fascinator pictured above. I loved how quirky and sweet it was but I knew that when paired with the right accessories, it would still fall under the punk category. The only thing that I would change about this piece would be the length of the veil. In my mind I envisioned the veil to be long enough to completely cover the face and then be able to pull it back after the bride made her way down the aisle.

Black gloves: Nothing says drama more than a pair of elbow length black gloves. I thought that a glove would pair perfectly with the dress, fascinator, and over all feel of the look that I was going for. Long gloves are so chic and sharp and doing them in  jet black is an edgy twist on the traditional white or cream. They’re bold yet so elegant and classy. To really take the gloves over the top, you could also pile on loud rings and chunky bracelets for some bling!

Sparkled & spiked shoes: As I planned this look out, I knew that the shoes had to be completely out of the ordinary. However, every heel or stiletto that I thought might work always ended up falling short of my expectations. They just weren’t bold enough. I wanted something really loud and I also wanted the shoes to be blatantly “punk”. After much pondering and disappointment, I began to think about heel-less heels and stumbled upon the little beauties featured above from aliexpress. I think that these heel-less heels are absolutely to die for and I love how they counterbalance the sweetness of the dress. Spikes and sparkles? Yes, please. Any bride that can stomp down the aisle in these babies is a friend of mine!

Pucker up: Dramatic makeup is a must for this look and nothing does that better than a deep oxblood lip. Every bride needs the perfect pout to complete her look and a sultry dark shade is the best cocktail of sexy, sophisticated, and so so cool. A beautiful bold lip and a smouldering charcoal smokey eye are the finishing touches in achieving a wedding look that is perfectly punk and totally pretty.

So there you have it, my Sujata Gazder Wedding Look! I had such a blast creating this post and please be sure to check out all of the links within the article to do some shopping of your own! What piece would you like to wear from Sujata Gazder’s collection? How would you style a punk wedding look? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan6

Target Haul

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Target Haul

Hello everyone and happy Hump Day! I’ve been on a bit of a shopping hiatus these past few months thanks to my college tuition, my car, and purchasing holiday gifts. Last week, however, I finally got some fun new pieces to add into my wardrobe, compliments of Target. Take a look and then let’s discuss:

What I love the most about these pieces, starting with the button down, is that it’s a smart shirt with an added surprise. Usually I would never pick something like this out for myself (all black everything, please) but when I saw the back of it, I just had to try it on. I love anything with a peek a boo back because I like to show off my tattoos so the surprise sheerness was what made this shirt a definite contender.

I’ll admit, I was slightly nervous to try this shirt on because I didn’t want to look like a freaking goon but I was so pleased with the results! The top in itself really isn’t very edgy, which is what I like. However, I was able to alter the sweetness of the shirt with my piercings and tattoos and that turned it into a very cool and unexpected piece to add into my wardrobe. This button down will also be great to wear year round which is another bonus, in my opinion.

The black cardigan with white crosses decorating it was obviously a no brainer. It has everything that I like on it – my favorite color, my favorite pattern, and just the right amount of rocker edge that I love. As soon as I saw the cardi, I knew that I would be purchasing it. I’m actually wearing it right now as I type this! My style is very distinctive, so when I find pieces that scream out “Lil Red”, like my new cardigan, I just have to splurge!

Currently, I’m rocking my new cardi with my snakeskin patterned black skinnies, a graphic white tank, my black cross dangle earrings, and my Michael Kors combat boots. I plan on wearing my button down with my mustard yellow suede skirt from H&M, a cool pair of heels, and a sharp little jacket for a fun take on a woman on the go outfit. I can’t wait!

I’ve been very bored with my wardrobe as of late and have fallen into the pattern of wearing the same things over and over again. I definitely needed a clothing pick me up and my new button down and cardigan were the perfect pieces to do that with. I’m looking forward to incorporating both tops into my day to day outfits to freshen things up and make my old clothes feel like new again. Thanks for the cute new clothes, Target! ❤

So there you have it, my latest Target Haul! Where is your favorite place to score some new clothes? Who has recently had a haul for themselves? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan5

Christmas Gift Night – Sister Style!

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Christmas Gift Night – Sister Style!

Hellooo everyone and happy Tuesday! This Saturday I was surprised with the literal best Christmas gift ever…Two tickets to see Elf the musical with my beloved big sister, Kristen! My sister purchased us two tickets for a night on the town to see one of our favorite movies turned into a musical at Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Ohio. Take a look at us being pretty (!!) and then let’s discuss:

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Last Friday night when Kristen asked me if I had plans for the following evening, I didn’t think anything of it. But when Saturday came around the next day and she texted me with meticulous plans for when to pick her up, I started to get suspicious. When I called her to ask her where we were going for our hang out she told me it was for my Christmas gift and asked if I wanted to know what it was. The thing about me, though, is that I HATE surprises with a capital H and a capital ATE – so of course I wanted to know! That’s when she told me that she got us two tickets to see Elf the musical at 7:15 sharp this evening! I was blown away!!!

After I came out of my happiness coma we began to make plans for when I could pick her up and where we would go for dinner. We settled on our favorite…Taco Bell! Afterwards, she treated me to a full tank of gas and we went on our merry way to Playhouse Square in Cleveland. The drive was easy peasy and once we were in the downtown Cleveland area we got to enjoy seeing all of the buildings lit up beautifully for the holidays – it was awesome!

We arrived at the theater in perfect timing and Kristen managed to get amazing tickets for our date night. We were about twelve rows away from the stage and smack dab in the middle so our view was spectacular. While we waited for the show to begin, we took lots of sister pictures and I also took a picture of the stage, which is my featured image photo. I couldn’t take any pictures during the show, of course, but rest assured that it was incredible!

Elf the musical was simply fantastic. The actors were sublime, the music was catchy, the set was darling (it was storybook themed), and the choreography was superb. Kristen and I had a blast watching one of our favorite films come to life on the stage. The story from the movie was modified a little but all of the changes were clever and made perfect sense. We were in stitches the entire show and spent the whole car ride back to  her apartment quoting the musical.

Before we returned to Kristen’s place, we stopped at Giant Eagle to pick up some holiday gifts for her coworkers. The Giant Eagle that I live by is open twenty four hours and I found so much joy in just roaming the aisles with her at ten o’clock at night. We found gifts that suited our needs, as well as some treats for ourselves, and then headed back to her apartment.

Once we arrived at her place we crawled into our pajamas ASAP. As soon as we were comfy we made further preparations for our sister sleepover because this was the first night that I spent the night in her new apartment. Afterwards, I drove back to my house quickly to grab my sleeping pills and morning medication. It was no biggie, though, because we live a whole three minutes away from each other!

By the time I arrived back at her place, we were both beyond ready to hit the hay. We got tucked into her super comfy queen size bed and turned on the tube to fall asleep to. It was the absolute perfect ending to a perfect sister Christmas date night.

I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I had on Saturday night with my big sister. She completely surprised me with my Christmas gift and it will be a memory that I’ll cherish for forever. Everything that we did from our dinner and the show to even just driving around to our locations was a blast and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our Christmas Gift Night with each other. I love you, Kristen! Thank you for treating me to an amazing evening – Sister Style!

So there you have it, my Saturday Christmas Gift Night – Sister Style! Kristen and I had a glorious time wrapping up the holiday season together and starting 2016 on a wonderful note. Have any of you seen a musical lately? What is your favorite Christmas movie to watch? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan4

Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition

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Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to the first Monday Update of 2016! On New Year’s Eve my darling boyfriend, Kyle, took me out on the most wonderful date night ever. We enjoyed dinner at Gervasi Vineyard, where he works as the assistant manager. In our over four months of dating, I had never eaten there before – asides from food heated up in the microwave, which so doesn’t count! When Kyle told me he had made New Year’s Eve reservations for us I was beyond excited! Take a look at us being a cute couple and then let’s discuss:

kyle!

^^^ I love us!!!

Gervasi Vineyard is one of the most gorgeous eateries in the Akron/Canton, Ohio area. There are three restaurants on the property, Tuscan style villas to stay in, an apple orchard, a beautiful lake, and of course – their vineyard! Kyle has been working there for close to five years and is amazing at his job. I kept telling myself it was only a matter of time until we had a special dinner there, so as I mentioned before, I was so thrilled when he told me about our reservations!

The entire night was so fun and even just getting ready to go to our 6:15 reservation was a treat. I got to help pick out Kyle’s outfit for the evening and it was so cool! Haha, I always love exploring a new wardrobe! We got dressed to the nines and made our way to the restaurant, which he lives very close to. We were the perfect amount of fashionably early for our table and got seated right away so we could begin our meal.

One thing (of many) that I love about Kyle, is that no matter what restaurant we go to, he always plans the dishes that I can eat ahead of time by researching their menu because I’m a strict vegetarian. Since we were on his home territory, however, he spent the whole car ride there describing all of the different things that I could order. Believe me, by the time that we were seated I was drooling like a dog in front of a tub of peanut butter. Classy! 😉

Thanks to Kyle’s expert descriptions of all of my options, I didn’t even have to look at the menu to know what I wanted. For our first course, I chose their butternut squash soup and Kyle got the apple salad. We also ordered a bottle of their sparkling white wine to enjoy with our meal. Butternut squash is my all time favorite kind of soup and it was seriously the best bowl I’ve ever had. It was so creamy and perfectly seasoned and it was so worth the four month wait to try it out!

For our entrees, Kyle ordered the lobster gnocchi and I opted for their linguini with an aglio e olio sauce topped with fresh spinach and arugula. While we waited for the main course we were serenaded by the saxophone player who was performing in the restaurant and it was all so very romantic! Our entrees came very quickly and they were to die for – just like the entire meal!

We finished the main course in record timing and then ordered a small dish of their bread pudding for dessert. We could barely finish half of the serving before tapping out but it was delicious! It had a caramel sauce and rum ice cream to top if off and it’s safe to say that I was in carbohydrate heaven! Once we completed the three course meal, I felt like I was going to explode from my belly full of food. I also was wearing a skirt that wasn’t very forgiving so I’m sure the whole restaurant got a nice view of my big ol’ gut! 😉

To finish our night, Kyle and I went to Giant Eagle after we decided that we could move again and purchased a bottle of champagne to toast with. It was around eight thirty when we got home and after a glass or two of champagne and a few episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, I was beyond ready for bed. I ended up falling asleep at nine thirty, well before the commemoration of the new year at midnight!

By the time I woke up the next morning, I felt like such a goon for falling asleep so early and missing what would have been our first new year’s kiss together. Lucky for me, I have a boyfriend who’s always coming up with sweet surprises for his girl! Kyle showed me a poorly lit but super cute picture that he took of him giving my sleeping self a kiss on the forehead at midnight for proof that I still got my new year’s kiss. How lucky am I? Very. ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition! My evening was straight out of a fairy tale and I’ll never forget it. I hope all of you had just as great of a time celebrating! How did everyone ring in the new year? Is there a place similar to Gervasi Vineyard in your neck of the woods? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love and happy 2016. -Sarah

Jan2

Best Friend Christmas Haul

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Best Friend Christmas Haul

Helloooo everyone and happy 2016! My best friend, Lea, and I were a little bit late in celebrating Christmas with each other but it finally happened this past week and it was glorious! We had such a wonderful time opening our presents, eating Taco Bell, and girl talking to our hearts content. Take a look at what I was gifted with by my darling:

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From Lea I got:

  • A cozy fleece blanket (which I’m wrapped in right now!)
  • A to go coffee mug (which I’m obsessed with)
  • A Starbucks mini ornament
  • Bath & Body Works lotion
  • A coffee mug filled with bath and body products

I love everything that Lea got me so much but honestly I didn’t need anything from her. Our over seven years of best friendship is enough for me! It was a bit funny opening our gifts, however, because we got each other very similar presents. I got my girl a new mug and bath and body care goodies, as well, among other things! We seriously know each other too well and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m so looking forward to a new year full of hang outs with my best girlfriend and I’m so thankful for her friendship and the beautiful Christmas gifts I received! You’re such a doll and I love you, Lea!! ❤

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year’s weekend! Make sure you tune in with me for this week’s Monday Update so I can tell you about how I rung in the new year! Until then, how did everyone celebrate the arrival of 2016? Who has been doing some last minute Christmas gifting to your friends and family? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah