Tag Archives: middle class fancy

Tap Into Fashion OOTD

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Tap Into Fashion OOTD

Hello! Johnny and I went on a fabulous Middle Class Fancy date night this past weekend. We went to Applebee’s and to the opening day to see Spinal Tap II in theaters. The Tap sequel has been a long time coming and we couldn’t have been more excited. We really come alive during a Middle Class Fancy night on the town! In honor of the great Nigel Tufnel, Johnny and I had to show out in matching tank tops that were worn in the first movie. Of course, I had to make it fashion! Check it out:

Skeleton Muscle Tank Top: Johnny purchased this off of Amazon as a T-shirt and cut off the sleeves

Jean Shorts: American Eagle Outfitters

Gemstone Fishnets: Urban Outfitters

Platform Boots: Dolls Kill

The chain earrings were purchased forever ago from Target

I am just as surprised as all of you that there is nothing from TJMaxx in this fit!

As Johnny and I already planned to match in our Nigel Tufnel best, my top was already pre decided. However, the trick was to make it look feminine as this was a men’s muscle tank and it felt like it. This top had zero shape whatsoever and was definitely not the most flattering. To combat the sack of potatoes silhouette, I knew that I wanted to serve sex appeal on the bottom half of the outfit. Once the styling of this look was complete, I felt so much better and was ready to work it for a Middle Class Fancy outing.

In the words of Nigel Tufnel, “what’s wrong with being sexy?” and merely pairing this top with shorts wasn’t enough. Rather than do the bare minimum, leave it to Lil Red to do the most! I always want the eyes to dance in every OOTD I style but it was even more necessary for this look as the top was downright frumpy lol. To add some bling and crank the sexy up to eleven, I wore a pair of gorgeous gemstone fishnet tights under the shorts. This was much more like it and allowed for a sleeker silhouette. What I really needed now was length.

For my shoes, I chose one of my favorite pairs of platform boots from Dolls Kill. They feature a vertebrae pattern and a high, high, high heel that gave me all the length I was looking for and then some. These platforms are ones you don’t simply walk in but strut and as soon as they were on I felt infinitely more confident. The muscle tank is something I would never normally wear and the additional styling provided me with the comfort that I was making it work anyways. With blingy tights and my tattoos on display, I put on a long pair of dangly chain earrings as no further accessories were needed. With that, I was ready for a big night out!

This Tap Into Fashion OOTD is a shining example that you can make any piece of clothing work if it is styled well. I went from feeling zero confidence to an eleven!

Have you seen Spinal Tap II yet? What was your favorite part? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Groovy Movies: Spinal Tap II Edition

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Groovy Movies: Spinal Tap II Edition

Howdy!! This past weekend was an absolutely fabulous one for yours truly. Johnny and I went on a Middle Class Fancy date night on Friday and on Saturday we went to see Weird Al at Blossom with my big bro. Be sure to check in tomorrow and on my TikTok for more from the show! For mine and Johnny’s date night on Friday, we went to Applebee’s for dinner and then hit the movie theater for opening night of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Spinal Tap is one of Johnny’s all time favorite movies and he has been eagerly anticipating the sequel that was made forty years after the first film. Being reunited with the boys in the band was well worth the wait and we were in stitches from start to finish! Let’s discuss:

^^^ As always, I have no rights to this video!

Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins, and Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap are now in their seventies and have gone their own separate ways. Each of them has new jobs and interests like selling cheese or creating a glue museum and they haven’t spoken in years. However, a contractual hiccup has required them to do another show. A reunion and farewell, if you will. Spinal Tap must be reassembled, find a new drummer, and practice for their final gig in New Orleans. Differences artistic and otherwise must be put aside to give the people one more taste of their classic hits like “Big Bottoms”, “Stonehenge” and “Hellhole”. Will the band succeed and forever be sealed in history as one of the greats? See Spinal Tap II: The End Continues to find out!

Going to see Spinal Tap II was an hilarious experience because of the movie, yes, but the situation Johnny and I found ourselves in too. We expected to either A) Be the only people in the theater or B) The theater would be jam packed. It was neither of the two and we were seated with roughly seven other Spinal Tap enthusiasts. We couldn’t get over how funny and perfectly appropriate to Spinal Tap that turnout ended up being and it was liberating to laugh like crazy and sing along with people who really get it lol. Trust and believe I couldn’t resist belting out to Big Bottoms! 😀

If you are a fan of Spinal Tap, you are in for such a treat with its sequel because it truly is just as good. This hour and a half flick was nonstop laughter from the very first minute and it didn’t subside until the end credits were complete. It paid homage to characters new and old including Fran Drescher as well as appearances by Paul McCartney and Elton John. Spinal Tap II may have been forty years after the original but it felt like the movie could have been made immediately afterwards. The members of Tap didn’t miss a beat and stepped back into those roles like greeting old friends. I can’t wait to watch it again. ❤

I am going to award Spinal Tap II: The End Continues with an eleven out of ten stars. This movie was an absolute gift to Spinal Tap fans and I enjoyed every minute!

What is your favorite Spinal Tap song? Have you seen The End Continues yet? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

V-Day Pt. 1 OOTD

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V-Day Pt. 1 OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to my OOTD from Part One of mine and Johnny’s Valentine’s Day celebration. On the actual day of V-Day, Johnny and I had a Middle Class Fancy jubilee at Red Lobster and it was a truly spectacular evening. We had an amazing time starting a Lobsterita Revolution and spent ninety-five percent of our night out laughing. The other five percent was dedicated to food and drink lol. A special date with my main squeeze meant getting dressed up in my Red Lobster best to show out in. Take a look:

Blazer: Express, Goodwill

Cami Top: mittoshop, French Rooster

Snakeskin Pattern Skinnies: Wit & Wisdom, TJMaxx

Lace Up Heels: Juicy Couture, Kohl’s

Purse: Anne Klein, TJMaxx

Heart Earrings: SugarFix by BaubleBar, Target

Whenever I am building an OOTD, I typically will start with one key piece of the look and go from there. In this case, I started from the bottom up and the rest of the outfit essentially built itself. In the pants department, I decided to go for a pair of snakeskin patterned skinny jeans by Wit & Wisdom. I am a huge fan of anything in a snakeskin pattern and these jeans are so fabulous. They are comfy as can be and are fantastic when it comes to building an outfit. If you are styling a look with a pattern, forming a cohesive look is as simple as pulling a few colors out of said pattern to use for the remainder of your outfit. That is exactly what I did!

The Wit & Wisdom jeans featured hues of cream, taupe, and grey in the pattern and I chose to focus in on the cream shade. By pulling from that, it was easy to select the pretty, oyster shell lace cami to pair it with. Was it a perfect match? No. However, you are never going to find a perfect color match in two pieces of clothing so close enough is good enough! Of course, the weather on V-Day was cold AF and wearing just a cami was begging for hypothermia lol. So, I slipped on my four dolla holla Express blazer from the Goodwill. The beauty of the skinny jeans is that, despite the pattern, the colors are all neutral so adding another neutral piece like the black blazer was no harm no foul.

With the base of my outfit settled, it was time for shoes and accessories. For shoes, I kept with my established palette and put on one of my favorite pairs of heels. These Juicy Couture lace up heels are literally old as dirt but I just don’t care. I love them so much and they still look great! And, once again, a close enough color match to the rest of the look was good enough. For Valentine’s Day, you have to have some hearts so I provided a pop of color with my three tiered, dangly red heart earrings from Target. Last but not least, I tossed my pale pink Anne Klein purse over the crook of my arm and was ready for a Middle Class Fancy extravaganza!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the blooper reel from this look and check back in later this week for my V-Day Part Two OOTD! ❤

What is your favorite animal print? What is an old piece of clothing that you can’t part with? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

The Daily Catch

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The Daily Catch

Howdy!! Johnny and I had a glorious Middle Class Fancy Valentine’s Day at Red Lobster. Truly, it was one of the most fun dates ever! We got dressed up, started a Lobsterita Frenzy at the bar, and ate like kings. The meals were great but the presentation was simply thrilling for Johnny. He ordered his go to fish and chips and was elated to find that Red Lobster brought back their fake newspaper “The Daily Catch” to place the food on. The last time we hit up The Lob, they did away with The Daily Catch so its return was nothing short of a Valentine’s Day miracle:

Prior to meeting me, Johnny was dating some girl or another and ended up at Red Lobster with her and her father. As per ushe, he got his usual order and saw The Daily Catch for the first time. It humored him deeply and his date did not appreciate his laughter over the fake articles throughout the meal. Fast forward to us dating and he told me about this story. In case you hadn’t noticed, my husband and I share a very similar sense of humor. So, of course, I found delight in The Daily Catch too because it’s just objectively funny lol. Even if I didn’t find it funny, it was nothing worth getting upset over!

Having this backstory and seeing the comeback of The Daily Catch when our food arrived was the cherry on top of our V-Day date. Johnny vowed to take his copy of the newspaper home and I told him absolutely not because of the grease. Blessedly, we built a fantastic rapport with our waiter and had to shoot our shot by asking him for a copy. He brought us a non-grease stained edition of The Daily Catch and it was so sweet that he followed through with our odd request. ❤

With our Daily Catch in tow, we headed back home and have grand plans of framing it to add to our apartment’s decor. This is, honestly, such a typically “us” story and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What is one of your favorite inside jokes with your partner? What is your go to Red Lobster order? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Middle Class Fancy Valentine’s Day

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Middle Class Fancy Valentine’s Day

Hello! Johnny and I live for a good Middle Class Fancy Date Night and that is exactly what we did for Part One of our Valentine’s Day celebration. After work on Friday, we got ready and headed over to Red Lobster for a V-Day dinner. It might seem like a strange choice because I don’t eat seafood. BUT, I freaking love their pasta and have been craving it something fierce. In fact, I have told Johnny I had been craving it for weeks which is how he decided upon our date night location. It was absolutely perfect and we even started a Lobsterita Revolution at the bar! Check it out:

Despite getting to Red Lobster around three thirty, the joint was already jumping. We were more than happy to wait the twenty minutes for a table, but we were famished. So, Johnny had the ingenious idea to eat at the bar which was fairly empty. As we decided on drinks, I planned on going for a classic Margarita. That was until we learned that Lobsteritas were a thing lol. The Lobsterita is basically a super sized Marg that comes with a festive lobster necklace. We were immediately sold and couldn’t stop laughing about the enormity of the glasses our drinks came in.

By the time our drinks were made, more people arrived at the bar and were nothing short of intrigued by what we were sipping on. And it was thus that the Lobsterita Revolution began. Guys, I kid you not: We literally had everyone seated around the bar drinking them. What made it even better was that people were actually wearing the necklaces too, just like us! A frenzy was created and it was hysterical to see what transpired simply from our drink order. Johnny and I essentially turned into the mayors of Red Lobster and we were chatting it up with everyone and toasting to an excellent Valentine’s Day. Truly, it doesn’t matter where Johnny and I are because we always end up having fun!

After the Great Lobsterita Revolution of 2025, our food arrived and not a moment too soon. We were ravenous! Johnny got his traditional fish and chips and was elated to see that Red Lobster had brought back The Daily Catch that nestled his meal. There is a story behind that so stay tuned! I ordered my go to garlic Alfredo pasta and it was so divine. I’m not sure if it was because I was really hungry but it was even better than I remembered it being! We finished our meal, said goodbye to all of our new friends at the bar, and headed home with full bellies and giggle fits. Our V-Day concluded with a viewing of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and the joy of one of the best dates EVER. Every date with Johnny is the best EVER. ❤

Our Part Two of Valentine’s Day will happen this weekend when we do dinner and a show. We are seeing our favorite musical, Hadestown, and cannot wait!

How did you spend your Valentine’s Day? What is your favorite chain restaurant? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dinner Party

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Dinner Party

Hello! Johnny and I both have really demanding work schedules and it can be hard to have the energy to do much of anything once the week is complete. While we love hanging out with our friends, we are perfectly fine just vegging out all weekend long. This past weekend, however, we turned into the hosts with the most because we had another couple over for a Dinner Party. We really don’t have a lot of couples to hang out with so it was a nice change of pace and we had the best time entertaining at chez nous. It has definitely been a while!

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On Saturday morning, we both got to cleaning as soon as we woke up. Johnny tackled vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen while I worked on the dreaded bathrooms. After our clean-a-thon, the apartment looked amazing and we were so pleased with our efforts! Granted, the bunnies did their due diligence of getting hay and bedding on the floor as soon as it was vacuumed but that’s just life as bunny parents lol. With a freshly cleaned apartment, we spent the rest of the day playing video games until it was time to start cooking.

For dinner, I planned on making my Olive Garden taste alike recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo, a taste alike salad, and garlic bread. Like Johnny and me, our guests live for a good Middle Class Fancy meal so it was the perfect way to go. Everything looked incredible and we were famished by the time the other couple arrived. Thankfully, so were they! I say thankfully because the last time we hosted a couple for dinner, they just didn’t eat and we were ravenous by the time we left. It was kind of weird. Over a delicious meal, we spent the entire evening talking and laughing away. Before we knew it, almost three hours had passed and it felt like they had just got here!

We parted ways with the promises of doing a get together again and as soon as the door shut, Johnny and I were raving about the success of our evening and making new friends. We were elated to know that they had a good time too and it was exciting to break out of our usual chill weekend comfort zone. I cannot wait to host another double date!!

Do you have a couple that you like to double date with? What is your favorite dish to prepare for a dinner party? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Date Night OOTD Bloopers

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Date Night OOTD Bloopers

Howdy everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Date Night OOTD! Johnny and I live for a good date night and our favorite is, hands down, Middle Class Fancy night. AKA getting dressed up, going to a chain restaurant, drinking several weak cocktails, and having a meal that is never the best or the worst either. There is just something so fun about it and our Olive Garden outing was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. These pictures, though? Not so much!

In the words of Johnny “you’re standing in a puddle of wet”

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Clearly unphased by it!!!!

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Very blurry because I NEEDED the OG and was fading fast

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What’s cookin, good lookin? 😉

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Easy, breezy, beautiful Olive Garden

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

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Just out here modeling my little heart out!

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We celebrated Thanksgiving with Johnny’s parents and aunt on Wednesday and a wonderful time was had by all. Especially during the game portion of the evening. After every holiday gathering, we always play some type of game together and Johnny decided to shake things up this year. And shake things up he did because he got Cards Against Humanity to bring to the festivities!

I have actually never played Cards Against Humanity, but I knew it was like a raunchy version of Apples To Apples. So, good thing I played my first round with Johnny’s entire family lol. Early into the game, I said it felt like watching a movie that has a steamy sex scene with your parents. However, once we all shook off the initial awkwardness, we were in stitches. Johnny laughed so hard that he cried several times! Yes, the prompts and responses in the game were hilarious. When combined with Johnny’s parents reading them, it turned into comedy gold. We legit can’t wait to play it again at Christmas. 😀

The moral of the story? If you are questioning whether playing Cards Against Humanity with your parents is a good idea, rest assured it is the BEST idea! Family game night will never be the same!

What is your favorite game? Do you have game nights regularly? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Date Night OOTD

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Date Night OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! This past Friday, Johnny and I enjoyed a Middle Class Fancy night on the town at the Olive Garden. I was looking forward to it all week and it did not disappoint. The OG never does! Of course, it wouldn’t be date night if Johnny and I didn’t get spruced up so I had to put together a little something something. Take a look and let’s discuss:

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Blazer: Express, Goodwill

Cami Top: mittoshop, French Rooster

Coated Skinny Jeans: Seven Jeans, TJMaxx

Dagger Earrings: Spirit Halloween

The heeled boots were purchased forever ago at Target!

By the time Johnny and I returned home from work, we were pretty hungry so we did a mad dash to get ready. As I applied my makeup, I began sorting through my mental wardrobe Rolodex so I wouldn’t have to spend time browsing my selection. I decided to go the blazer route and I had just the one in mind: A four dollar Express blazer from the Goodwill. It was an incredible find and I feel like a sexy, sophisticated, woman on the go whenever I wear it. So, clearly, it was perfect for date night!

For underneath the blazer, I went with a pretty oyster shell hued cami top by mittoshop. The soft color and the lace looked so pretty and delicate under the jet black blazer! I love how girly and sweet this top is and the lace serves as an accessory in itself – no necklaces required. This top also incorporated some sheen, which was exactly what I needed for the jeans I planned on wearing.

I chose my favorite pair of coated, snakeskin patterned skinnies by Seven Jeans and the sheen from the top and pants flowed beautifully together. Despite the blazer being plain, it was still the focal point of the outfit. It essentially gave me a blank canvas to play with different textures and patterns for what was worn underneath without negatively impacting the overall look. The visual interest from both the jeans and top turned a plain black blazer into something special.

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. I popped on a dangly pair of daggers with red gemstones to elongate my neck as it was the only skin showing. And, because of the lace on the top, a necklace wasn’t necessary. So, I wrapped up the look with a pair of heeled boots from Target that are literally old as dirt lol. In fact, I realized I should probably throw them out! But, they added height, kept with the established palette, and I just love the curved shape of the heel. With that, I was date night ready!

Johnny and I had the best time on our Middle Class Fancy extravaganza and I can’t wait for our next night out together! ❤

Where is your favorite place to go on a date? What is your Middle Class Fancy favorite? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Middle Class Fancy Date Night

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Middle Class Fancy Date Night

Hello!!! While driving home from a particularly long day last Monday, I was already looking forward to the weekend lol. Of course, I was eager to relax but I also wanted to do something fun with Johnny. So, I decided on treating us to a Middle Class Fancy Date Night. I also knew exactly where I wanted to go because I had been craving it something fierce: the Olive Garden! Johnny and I haven’t been there since my thirtieth birthday and the Fettuccine Alfredo was calling my name. As soon as I got home, I announced the Friday night plan and we were excited for it the whole week. We had the best time, even if this picture of Johnny makes you think otherwise:

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There are countless amazing restaurants in our general vicinity that aren’t part of a chain and that’s fantastic. However, Middle Class Fancy nights are all about embracing the chains and we both have our preferred spots. Johnny loves Outback Steakhouse and the Olive Garden is never not far from my mind. A vegetarian can never go wrong with pasta! After work on Friday, we both took a half hour or so to get spruced up and then we made our way to the OG on a rainy afternoon. Despite the weather, it was all sunshine and rainbows in my world because we come alive during date night!

For our meal, we ordered our old standbys: Fettuccine Alfredo for me and the same for Johnny except with chicken. We gorged on our pasta, soup, and bread sticks and sipped on tasty cocktails. The entire time we were at dinner, we chatted away and at some points were in hysterics laughing in our cozy corner booth. This is exactly why I love date night – being in any date style setting with Johnny forever will bring me back to our first date. That feeling that we could talk and laugh until it was time for the restaurant to close and wanting the night to last forever.

After we finished our delicious meal, we had one final stop to make before we could retire home to get comfy: The Exchange. Johnny’s pay day treat to himself is a couple of new records so this was a necessity. He selected a few for himself and then surprised me with a record for my minuscule collection: Rio by Duran Duran. I am an avid Duran Duran fan and as soon as I pointed the record out to Johnny, he plucked it from the shelf and added it to the “To Buy” pile. It was the sweetest! With records in tow, we headed back home to listen to all of them, play games, and revel in a perfect Middle Class Fancy Date Night. ❤

It has been a while since Johnny and I had a night on the town together and this was our reminder that we need to do it way more often. I can’t wait to start incorporating more date nights into our schedule because there really is no better way to wrap up the week!

What is your perfect date night? What is your favorite chain restaurant? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Date Night!

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Date Night!

Hello!! Last week was an exhausting one. I spent the entire weekend in bed after coming down with a nasty bug and it made for a work week that seemed never ending as I recovered. By the time this weekend rolled around, I was feeling much better and was ready for some fun. Literally the only thing that kept me going during the week was the reminder that Johnny and I had a Date Night planned for Friday. We were going to do a Middle Class Fancy night on the town of dinner and a movie. Although it didn’t go exactly accordingly to plan, it was still a fabulous outing and just what I needed to shake away the remaining blahs of being sick!

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For our date night, we decided that Outback Steakhouse was the move, then we were going to see Long Legs in theaters. Yes, it does seem weird for a vegetarian to revel in going to a steakhouse lol. What can I say, I love their side dishes and the staff is always most accommodating on letting me know what is truly vegetarian friendly on the menu. While Johnny opted for a steak meal, of course, I went with a salad, mac n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, and a baked potato too. So, basically, just all potatoes and it was divine! We also sipped on tasty cocktails – a margarita for me and the shark themed cocktail seen above for Johnny. It was, admittedly, not that good but we did get a shark souvenir from it which we deemed as the most important thing. 😀

After our dinner, we wanted to go see Long Legs because we are huge horror fans and we haven’t been to a movie in a long time. By a long time, I mean in over a year when we went to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on a Middle Class Fancy date last summer! Unfortunately, it didn’t work out because the movie was playing at the most inconvenient times at every theater we live by. We went to dinner too late for a 5:30 show and we were too tired to kill time until an 8:10 viewing. We are hoping to go see it this upcoming weekend and still had a blast after our dinner date. Once we were home we listened to records, relaxed, and chatted away until an early bedtime to take on the rest of the weekend well rested.

On Saturday we returned to our favorite local spot, the Jenks Building, to check out the new records they got in. Then, we had a lovely visit with Johnny’s family for my father-in-law’s birthday. It was a busy weekend, but a wonderful one. Stay tuned for OOTDs from these outings coming soon!

What was the last movie you saw in theaters? What would you do on a perfect date night? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah