Helloooo everyone!!! I am SO sorry! I totally drew a blank and forgot that American Horror Story was on this week – I thought that they were taking a two week break for Thanksgiving but apparently not! But I’m okay with missing tonight’s episode because you guys know that I don’t care for season five anyways. 😉 And besides…Tonight was date night with Kyle!! And I finally have pictures to prove our relationship:
^^^ Aw, I love us!!! ❤
Because of my uh-oh on forgetting about AHS tonight, I’ll be taking a break from the usual synopsis and opinions post for the week. But make sure you tune in with me next week to pick up where we left off! I hope all of you are having a fantastic night! What was everyone up to on this fine Wednesday? Who has any big plans for the weekend? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Helloooo everyone and happy Saturday! I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and Black Friday if you participated in the madness! I had a great holiday in my neck of the woods. I got to spend it with my crazy family and handsome boyfriend and it was a blast!
I woke up bright and early to help my mom cook our Thanksgiving meal. I hate to brag but I made a pretty mean stuffing and green bean casserole! The morning went by quick and then by the time I knew it my sister, Kristen, was ready to get picked up to join in on the festivities. As you can see by this picture, I was having a ton of fun:
Kristen and I spent the afternoon finishing some cooking, snuggling, having girl talk, and watching season four of American Horror Story. I had the best time being able to spend the afternoon with her back at the home front because she moved into her own apartment recently and I miss her like crazy! Thankfully, we took enough sister pictures with each other to last a life time so I’ll have a lot of pics to look through and smile/laugh at.
My boyfriend, Kyle, spent the afternoon with his family and joined us for dinner at five. By four thirty the countdown began and we were all checking out the window and staring at the food we were about to devour for a solid half hour or so. Finally, my sweet Kyle came rolling in but rolling was more like hobbling because he sprained his ankle really badly last week and is on crutches. So once Kyle was safely inside my house and seated it. was. ON!
Our Thanksgiving feast at casa de la Mushenheim was delicious! There was stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and green beans for days. There was also turkey for the non-vegetarians in the household, AKA Kyle, my dad, and my brother. I annihilated two extremely large plate fulls of side dishes and was about ready to burst at my seams afterwards…So worth it.
After dinner, we lazed around the house and enjoyed some coffee and pie for those who could handle eating another bite. We then decided on going to see Mockingjay Pt. 2 in theaters which was a lot of fun. Or as much fun as it can possibly be, considering I’ve never read the books or seen any of the movies. But Kyle, my mom, and Kristen are big fans of The Hunger Games series so it was nice to see all of them have a cute little holiday outing even if that meant just sitting along for the ride. The movie theater was pretty empty too so we got awesome seats and were able to put our feet up and comment on the film without annoying the other moviegoers too much!
Once we returned home from our movie excursion, Kyle and I headed back to his place and went right to bed. I ended up sleeping in until noon yesterday which seriously never happens anymore – it was great! I had such a nice time on Thanksgiving and I was so happy that my boyfriend was able to be there to join us. ❤
So there you have it, all of my Thanksgiving Fun from this past Thursday! How was everyone’s holiday? Who scored some amazing Black Friday deals? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! Last night the darling seventeen year old, Bindi Irwin, was crowned the champion of Dancing With The Stars season 21. Bindi and her partner and now six time champion Derek Hough hoisted the source of envy throughout the season, the Mirror Ball Trophy, and celebrated with the entire season 21 cast after their win. Bindi beat out former Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter, and American hero, Alek Skarlatos, who finished second and third, respectively.
Bindi danced her way into the hearts of millions including myself and my parents who enjoyed watching her so much this season. The charming young Aussie animal lover with the infectious laugh and personality graced the dance floor every week with innovative routines that were visually appealing and technically beautiful. And with a partner like Derek Hough – what could go wrong?! Hubba hubba.
I simply adore Bindi Irwin and think that she is such a fantastic role model for people everywhere. Her outstanding work ethic and sunny outlook on life is something that everyone can take note of. I tip my cap to Miss Irwin and like everyone has parroted throughout this season, her father really would be so proud of her. Here’s to you Bindi: Season 21 DWTS champion!
^^^ SO sweet!
I hope all of you are having a fantastic day so far! Who watched this season of Dancing With The Stars? Are you glad that Bindi was crowned champion? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hellooo everyone and welcome to a new issue of Woman Crush Wednesday – Christina Aguilera style! It’s been awhile since we’ve had a #WCW article since I straight up couldn’t think of anymore BUT after a girl power singing session to XTina in the Little Red Love Machine yesterday, I was inspired to give her a shout out! Let’s discuss:
Dear Christina Aguilera,
Oh, Christina you tiny little songstress – I just adore you! I forgot just how much I enjoyed your music until I was singing along to all of your songs in my whip (lolol) yesterday. I didn’t sound half as great as you though, so don’t worry about me stealing the pop star throne anytime soon. ANYWAYS, I had a really difficult time picking out what song I was going to choose to honor you with and in the end I just had to go with “Fighter”. A little known Lil Red Fun Fact is that “Fighter” is on my top ten list of favorite songs on the planet. Nothing makes me feel more empowered, nothing gets me more hyped, and nothing makes me feel better after a struggle than this song. And please, PLEASE don’t even get me started on the music video – it’s such a classic.
I think you are drop dead gorgeous and I can’t get over that big beautiful voice you have in that tiny little body! I felt so sad when you were getting ridiculed for weight gain (yay, pop culture) and thought you handled all of the negativity and backlash with such poise and grace. And believe me, no matter what size you are you look fabulous to me! Your amazing vocal talent is something that I envy so much and I just love everything that you do from your Dirrty XTina past to your days as Miss Diva on The Voice. You are one in a million and I LOVE YOU!!!!
^^^ Omg. SHE’S SO PRETTY!!!!
So there you have it, this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday: Christina Aguilera Edition! Who is your favorite female pop vocalist? Who is your #WCW this week? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hellooo everyone and happy Tuesday! It’s a very special day in the world of lifewithlilred because I now have over 1,000 followers! HOLY SMOKES! Thank you so much to everyone who has paid my page a visit and thought that it was worthy of hitting the follow button! Thank you to everyone for all of the likes, shares, and comments as well – it doesn’t go unnoticed and I appreciate it SO MUCH!!!
Life is good on lifewithlilred right now…I got approved for WordAds at the beginning of the month, I’ve reached a major milestone in my amount of followers, and I have the pleasure of interacting with all of you every day! I couldn’t ask for anything better and I really am pleased as punch. I started my blog over a year ago and now I’m finally getting my page to where I want it to be and it feels great – so thank you, thank you, a million times thank you!
^^^ Lol, it seemed appropriate!
Once again, shout out to all of my 1,000+ followers new and old. Thank you to everyone who has ever checked my page out. Thank you to everyone who has ever liked, shared, or commented on any of my posts! I LOVE YOU ALL! What blog should I check out on here? Who has recently gotten approved for WordAds? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Helloooo everyone and happy weekend! My recent food obsession as of late has been all things granola. I love it plain, with yogurt, or with milk and thanks to my mom finding this delightful little recipe on http://www.thekitchn.com, I’m able to enjoy it every day.
The recipe for Everyday Granola is the perfect combination of sweet and salty and I feel so energized after I eat it thanks to all of the protein packed in through seeds and nuts. Here’s the recipe if you would like to make your own Everyday Granola:
Ingredients:
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans (I use pecans)
1 cup dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional)
1/2 cup seeds, such as sesame or pumpkin (I use pumpkin)
1/2 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup oil, such as olive or walnut (I use olive)
1/2 cup sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup (I use honey)
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3/4 cup chopped dried fruits, such as cherries or apricots, or whole currants or blueberries (I use raisins)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, coconut, seeds, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, liquid sweetener, and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg whites and combine thoroughly.
Scrape the mixture out onto a half sheet pan (18 x 13 inches) and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until the mixture is light brown and toasty. Stir after 20 minutes, moving the crispy bits from the perimeter into the center and distributing the granola in the center out toward the edge of the pan.
Remove the pan from the oven and add the dried fruit. Using a spatula, stir to combine the mixture and let the granola cool. The mixture may be sticky, but it will harden as it cools. Transfer to an airtight container.
If you have never checked out http://www.thekitchn.com, then both my mom and I encourage you to do so! It’s filled with simple and delicious recipes, like their Everyday Granola, for you to enjoy. This granola is seriously to die for and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I do! What is your favorite healthy snack? What is your favorite junk food snack? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! So yesterday I had an interaction with my beloved father that made me very Happy. I was having a hell of an awful day and after a complaining vent session to my dear old dad he said one sentence that made me feel infinitely better. Let’s discuss:
On Tuesday I was a frazzled mess. I was stressed from an abundance of school work and a full day of acting as the taxi driver to both of my siblings who currently can’t drive. I was up at the butt crack of dawn to leave my boyfriend’s house and get home in time to take my brother to work and my day never slowed down once.
After I returned home from my brethren’s place of employment I had a few precious hours to cram in some homework before I had to pick him up. So back into the Little Red Love Machine I went to collect him. But did it end there? NO, of course not! As soon as I dropped my bro off, it was time to pick up my sister from work and then go on a wild goose chase of an errand with her. This excursion resulted in some highway driving during peak traffic time, bathroom breaks at a Dairy Queen, and turning my car around to pick up forgotten items. Lord have mercy on me.
By the time that I got home from my running around crazy driving day that should have been a sitting around crazy homework day I was exhausted and I needed to vent STAT. I went into the living room where my dad was sitting on his recliner chair that’s so old his butt is imprinted into it and plopped myself down on the ottoman beside it. Once I was comfortable I opened fire on my busy day of chauffeuring siblings every which way. By the end of my five or so minute rant I was out of breath and even more flustered and then my dad simply said, “you’re doing a good job, Sarah”.
My dad countered my monologue of irritation, frustration, and aggravation with a one sentence answer that made me feel SO much better. These past few weeks I’ve been feeling very unappreciated in the family and yesterday felt like the “tip of the iceberg” as far as that situation goes. My father told me exactly what I needed to hear at the perfect time and afterwards I felt like a whole new person. My day got brighter (even though it was already pitch black out) and my outlook on all of my stresses in life did a complete 180. It. Was. Awesome.
Everyone needs a reminder every now and then that they’re doing a-okay in this crazy world and thanks to my dad giving that to me, I feel reassured and so much more confident about my life and the choices that I’m making. It made me feel so insanely Happy. I hope all of you are having a wonderful day so far! How is everyone’s week going? Who’s watching American Horror Story tonight?! I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Helloooo everyone and happy Monday! As you guys know, I really enjoy cooking and once or twice a week I like to make dinner at home. This past weekend I made one of my all time favorite recipes that I just had to share – it’s that good. If you’re a fan of unique, bold, and slightly spicy dishes then you’re going to love my Peanut Noodles! This recipe is directly from the Quick Vegetarian Pleasures cookbook by Jeanne Lemlin and if you can get your hands on a copy then I urge you to do so! It’s an excellent cookbook for fast and healthy vegetarian eating. Here’s the step by step guide to making a Peanut Noodle dish of your own:
Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
4 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use crunchy PB but creamy will do, too!)
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or sherry
1 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar or other vinegar
1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced (I use 6)
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Note: The sauce is a bit too bitter for my liking so I add about 3 teaspoons of white sugar to balance it out
Directions:
To make the sauce, combine 2 tablespoons of sesame oil with all of the other ingredients except the cucumber and scallions. Beat until well mixed and refrigerate.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the noodles and toss with the remaining two tablespoons of sesame oil.
This dish can be served hot or cold so you could refrigerate the noodles if you choose or eat it hot after the spaghetti is cooked. I prefer it hot but it’s still very good cold as well!
My mom started making this recipe forever ago and it remains one of my favorites to this day. I made the Peanut Noodles this past Friday and was left with only a small dish of leftovers which I annihilated for lunch the next day. Almost everyone in my family is a big fan of this recipe and I hope you guys enjoy it too! It’s a quick and easy dish to whip together but it tastes like you spent hours cooking it. Peanut Noodles have been my go to dinner to make for a few boyfriends and many a night when there seems to be “nothing to eat” in the house. If you like trying out somewhat “different” recipes to change things up at home then this is the recipe for you!
So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Really Good Recipe Edition. Once again, if you can snag a copy of Quick Vegetarian Pleasures – DO IT!! Who is going to give the Peanut Noodles recipe a try? What is one of your go to dishes to make at home? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hellooo everyone and TGIF! Welcome to the opinions post on the latest episode of American Horror Story: Hotel, which is promised to you by yours truly every Friday. Wednesday night’s episode entitled “Room Service” was fantastic and once again, I really have no complaints – only praises! Let’s begin by discussing the MVP of the episode, Denis O’Hare:
Denis O’Hare’s all star performance: I’ve been saying this from the beginning of American Horror Story as a series and I will continue to say it again: Denis O’Hare is the most underrated actor on the show. Usually, Mr. O’Hare specializes in the oily scumbags of the season, but in Hotel he plays the sensitive yet sassy Liz Taylor and he does it to perfection. In “Room Service” we got to learn the backstory of Miss Cleo and it was just as touching and wonderful as I hoped it would be. Cleo’s back story was a beautiful sentiment to the LGBT community as well as everyone else on the planet.
One specific moment that really stood out to me as we learned about how Nick Pryer transformed into diva queen Cleo was when he cried into the Countess’s arms and told her that he “feels ugly”. I don’t know about you, but I can certainly relate to that. It’s so hard to feel whole when such a big part of your life is a lie. I was so moved by the honesty and rawness that was infused into Cleo’s back story and it was just gorgeous.
Denis O’Hare’s performance was done with such sensitivity that I was almost in tears and I was completely blown away. O’Hare doesn’t get an ounce of the attention he deserves as an actor on one of the most popular shows on television and I sincerely hope that “Room Service” will serve as his big break on AHS. O’Hare’s work as Cleo has been spot on this entire season and I’m just thrilled to see where his character goes from here. Bravo and well done.
^^^ LOVE
Lady Gaga is less annoying: I was actually very pleased with Lady Gaga’s performance as the Countess in “Room Service”. It’s nice to see Gaga giving us some real acting rather than sex scenes in each episode and I thought she did a great job. Her role in Cleo’s back story was so classic Gaga and all that she stands for and I was happy that she was able to be a part of that. I was so shocked that “Born This Way” didn’t start playing because there wasn’t a better time for some Lady Gaga tunes than during the evolution of Cleo!
There was one scene in “Room Service” that featured the Countess and it was just so deliciously awkward and I loved every second of it. It was when the Countess and Tristan approached Iris at her front desk, dressed to the nines in their Halloween attire. The Countess wanted Iris to deliver a message to Will Drake if he returned to the Cortez that evening but immediately sensed something off with the hotel manager. The vampire queen and her lover then proceeded to have the most intense stare down ever with Iris where they both bent down so their faces were even with hers and kept their eyes locked on her for what felt like an eternity. After they made Iris sufficiently uncomfortable, they swiftly turned away and that was that. Gaga looked spectacular and the scene was so weirdly whimsical and I thought it was flawless.
A grade school vampire epidemic: Alright, first of all – I can’t say that I didn’t see this one coming BUT the newly infected grade schoolers’ feeding frenzy was very well done. I thought the entire sequence from when Max killed his parents and hopped on the bus to when the frightened children exited the school and ran to their parents was delightfully eerie and insanely cringe worthy to boot! I’m not always fond of child actors or when young kids are made to act out such gruesome situations but it worked so freaking well and I just couldn’t turn away.
One of the best parts of that story line was when the kids went full on animal when they started drinking the blood of the male teacher. It was seriously like watching a wild animal devour its kill and it was SO creepy and disturbing but it sure looked awesome. All of the kids looked so sweet and innocent but did such a good job of becoming these vicious little creatures in a scene that felt like it was straight out of a Stephen King movie and I was such a fan.
“You see everything when the world doesn’t see you”. -Liz Taylor
All in all, I thought that “Room Service” was an excellent episode and I’m going to rate it with: Four and a half stars. The reason why the newest episode didn’t receive a five star score was because I thought its pace was a little off in comparison to last week’s “Devil’s Night – Part 1”. “Room Service” flowed well but it wasn’t as sharp and crisp as last week’s fast paced Halloween special. These past few episodes have been stellar and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I Told You What I Thought, What I Really Really Thought about American Horror Story: Hotel’s newest episode, “Room Service”, and now it’s your turn! How did everyone feel about this week’s episode? Who are some of your American Horror Story all star actors? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
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