Tag Archives: monday update

Dec14

Monday Update: You Are NOT A 90’s Kid Edition

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Monday Update: You Are NOT A 90’s Kid Edition

Helloooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend – I know I did! I got to sleep in every day this weekend which was awesome and I also volunteered for Canine Lifeline with my mom to help some pups in need this holiday season. You can check out their website at: http://caninelifeline.org/ ! ANYWHO, on today’s Monday Update I have a bone to pick with the world in regards to the phrase “90’s kid”, so let’s discuss:

Yesterday, as I was scrolling through my newsfeed on WordPress I came across a girl who was born in 1999 claim that she was a “90’s kid” and I rolled my eyes SO hard. Once my eyeballs returned to their normal place in their sockets, I decided that it was time for a Lil Red PSA, so here it goes:

*Clears throat* If you were born in the latter half of the 1990’s (1995-on) then you are NOT a 90’s kid. You spent a majority of the 90’s in diapers and eating dirt. You were not enjoying the cartoons, toys, and pop culture related to the time period. The thing is, I was born in 1994 and I don’t even consider myself a 90’s kid because I can barely remember anything about it. I truly am a child of the 2000’s because I can vividly remember everything from it – and so is every teenybopper kid claiming 90’s status.

Because the last part of Section B Paragraph A is so important, let me reiterate it further. Yes, if you were born in the late 90’s, you are indeed a 90’s baby – barely. But are you a 90’s kid? No. You’re a child of the following decade. There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING more annoying than people born in the late 90’s claiming that it was the best times of their lives. There is nothing awesome about eating baby food, shitting your pants, and not being able to talk! Jesus!

90s2

I have discussed my frustration of the phrase “90’s kid” being used willy nilly with countless friends as well as on Facebook last night. Literally every time the subject has come up, I’ve received responses similar to what was stated above the highly accurate Batman Slap meme. If you learn nothing else from my blog other than when it’s appropriate to give yourself the title of a “90’s kid”, then I have done my job. It is so incredibly annoying and must be stopped!!!

I spent six years in the 90’s but as I mentioned earlier, I don’t call myself a 90’s kid. I have literally a 1% recollection of 90’s pop culture and do you know how I know that? I watched a marathon of Vh1’s “I Love The 90’s” and I had no idea what they were talking about in almost every episode. However, in all of their “I Love The 2000’s” episodes, I could remember every single thing that was mentioned for the decade. So if you’re struggling with whether you’re a 90’s kid or not, give the old Vh1 test a try. ***Results may vary.

After years of irritation over the loosely used phrase, “90’s kid”, I felt that today’s Monday Update: You Are NOT A 90’s Kid was very necessary. How does everyone feel about this phrase? How do you know whether you are or not a 90’s kid? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec7

Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition

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Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I had a sub par weekend due to some unfortunate family falling outs BUT I did have an awesome Saturday morning! I coach figure skating for the Special Olympics and at the Lock 3 skating rink in downtown Akron a winter fest was held through the Summit Developmental Disabilities Board. I had such a blast with my skaters and their families and my mom joined us as well which made the outing even better! Let’s discuss:

Lock 3, as pictured in my featured image photo, is a fantastic landmark in Akron. There are concerts there during the summer and a lot of great winter activities as the weather gets colder. It was a frigid morning on Saturday but when my mom and I arrived at the rink, I was happy to see a lot of my skaters already there chatting, skating, and tying up their skates.

I was excited for my mom to meet everyone and I was also pretty pumped to have some Sarah skating time, too. When I’m coaching, I rarely have time on the ice to do any of my old jumps or spins so it felt SO good to be able to break out some of the tricks up my sleeve, even though my skates are dull as dish water…They need sharpened so bad! After some time to myself on the rink, more of my skaters showed up, so I got off to assist in tying up skates, helping with stretches, and introducing my mom!

After everyone was geared up and ready to go, we all got on the ice together along with the members of the community who were there. I was under the impression that my skaters were going to be able to perform their routines that they’ve been working on as their showcase for the morning, but I was in for a pleasant surprise once the ice was cleared and my skaters began to line up.

I got off the ice and put my blade guards on then took my spot by the side of the rink to watch the show. But because the event was thrown together pretty last minute, it turns out that my skaters were just going to have the ice to themselves for five or so minutes to show off a little. I then got called over from my spot by my students and the organizers of the event because they wanted me to join the skaters on the ice!

I haven’t been on the ice to “perform” in years and it felt great to share the rink with such wonderful skaters. All of my students got to share some of their moves with the crowd as I skated back and forth between them to check up on them, offer words of encouragement, or give suggestions. The exhibition was a hit, and the Akron Beacon Journal was even there taking pictures! All of my skaters did so well with their laps, spins, and gliding and I was so proud.

After our five minutes of fame, the doors to the rink opened and the community members were able to join us. I got off of the rink and was greeted by the crowd who was so kind and a big hug from my mom. She told me that “every second spent on skating was worth it to watch you just now” and it warmed my bitter and cold heart.

I spent a little more time on the ice with my students and then my mom and I hit the road. I didn’t exactly want to go but it was SO cold and my mom didn’t dress accordingly! The winter fest was a huge success and it was one of the best times I’ve had in ages. I was so happy that my mom, my skaters and their families, and the community was able to share in such a special event!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Winter Fest Fun Edition! I hope all of you had a great weekend! Do you have something similar to Lock 3 in your neck of the woods? Who has gone ice skating this winter? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov30

Monday Update: Christmas Wish List Edition

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Monday Update: Christmas Wish List Edition

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday! Christmas is quickly approaching and you best believe that my wish list has been written! One would think that I’m relatively easy to shop for – but I’m far from it. I have such a distinctive taste in clothing/shoes/jewelry/literature/movies/everything else that I just need to go shopping for that kind of stuff on my own. So lucky for my family, I composed a list of exactly what I want for Christmas to keep things nice and easy for them. Let’s discuss:

Things that beautiful Sarah wants for Christmas (I really did put that on the list):

    Miscellaneous:

  • Cash money
  • An oil change (I felt like such a grown up writing this one!)

The Body Shop:

  • Vitamin C Skin Boost
  • Nutriganics or Vitamin E eye cream
  • Blusher beads Ref. #63691 (because god forbid someone gets me the wrong shade!) 😉

Target:

  • Cheap moisturizer (emphasis on cheap)
  • Cheap facial scrub (double emphasis on cheap)
  • Box of hair dye (a years worth would be nice!)
  • Covergirl Flamed Out mascara (in the darkest shade of black)
  • Rimmel London Scandal Eyes eyeliner (also in the darkest shade of black)

  Hot Topic:

  • New bellybutton rings (I’ve been wearing the same few pieces of jewelry since I got my bellybutton pierced SIX YEARS AGO…I think it’s time for an upgrade!)

Aerie:

  • New panties!!! (Hey, a girl has needs.)

Victoria’s Secret:

  • New Dream Angels demi bra (Hey, a girl has needs.) 😉

Now you guys are probably thinking, “that’s the most boring Christmas wish list ever”. And guess what, you’re right – it really is. BUT, almost everything that I wrote down are things that I use in my every day beauty routine so it would be nice to be restocked in all of those items. I would love to find a bunch of new clothes for me under the tree, but the fact of the matter is: no one gets my taste in style right so everything is going to end up getting returned anyways. That’s what the cash money is for – some to save and some to shop the after Christmas deals with!

What really killed my charming young at heart persona this year was writing down that I wanted an oil change for Christmas. Haha, but the Little Red Love Machine is going to be needing one soon and the literal last thing that I want to do is sit in a stupid car repair shop where I’ll be:

  • A) Reading old magazines
  • B) Getting low-balled by the mechanic who will more than likely tell me that everything and the kitchen sink is wrong with my car because I’m a clueless girl who doesn’t know otherwise. Well, I am. And this happened during my last oil change and I did NOT appreciate it!

So yes, an oil change that I don’t have to be there for would be fantastic. Dad, I’m talking to you on this one!! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Christmas Wish List Edition! What is on everyone’s wish list for the holiday that they’ll be celebrating this season? What was the best or worst gift that you’ve ever received? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov23

Monday Update: Early Christmas Shopping Edition

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Monday Update: Early Christmas Shopping Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! The holidays are approaching quickly and because I’m a big fan of planning ahead, I’ve been doing a lot of my holiday shopping nice and early. I made my list of what to by and who to by for, checked it twice, and crossed off three people on my list already this past week! Let’s discuss:

Last year I did all of my shopping on Amazon and I plan on doing a vast majority of it on there again this year. However, thanks to some wonderful coupons and gift cards from Kohl’s and TJMaxx, I was able to knock out gifts for my sister and best friend. I can’t post what I got for them in case they read it, of course, but I can say that for both of them I purchased a gorgeous cloth decorative basket to fill with some of their favorite things. I’m excited to give my gifts to them because this year I went with items that I knew for a fact that both of them would love so there’s absolutely no way that they’re going to dislike anything and deem me a horrible gift giver!

It’s always fun to shop around and try something new that you think someone might like but it just causes so much anxiety! This year, I’m going for gifts that I’m 100% sure are going to be used and enjoyed by the people who I’m buying for. Believe me, the last thing that I want to do when Christmas rolls around is retreat back to the stores to return or exchange gifts that I went out on a limb to purchase with a hope that the receiver just might like it. This rings especially true for my sister, who is literally the hardest person ever to shop for! It’s not that she’s picky, she just knows what she likes and what she doesn’t so it was especially important to go with tried and true favorites for her!

I mentioned above that I did some shopping at Kohl’s and TJMaxx but I also did some purchasing at a few small businesses in Kent, as well. I think that it’s so very important to shop local when you can during the holiday season and in general so I was really pleased that I was able to find some nice presents from some fantastic little boutiques that are relatively close to me. Thanks to the fun downtown shopping area in Kent, which is close to where I coach figure skating for the Special Olympics, I was able to buy an add on to my sister’s gift basket and an amazing gift for my boyfriend. I wish that I could tell you what I got him so badly because it’s seriously the best gift ever and I got it for the best deal ever, as well – which you know is something that I always look out for! #ballinonabudget

I’m really glad that I knocked out some shopping last week because now I only have four people left to shop for and to me, that is so relieving! For these last few gifts I’ll probably stick with Amazon and other online shopping sites because I already have items from there in mind. Another big relief is that I won’t have to venture out into the craziness that is the mall or other shopping centers during the next few weeks because it’s much too overwhelming for me. When I went to Kohl’s and TJs they were both fairly crowded already but the local shops that I hit up were nice and vacant for the most part which made shopping so much more enjoyable…another benefit of shopping local!

As far as any hardcore Black Friday shopping goes this week, it’s strictly out of the question…sort of, anyways. The past two years my mom and I have went to the mall probably an hour or so before they close up for the day, and each year it’s been quite empty – so fingers crossed that it’s like that again this year for a threepeat! We go to the mall with one store to go to and one store only…The Body Shop! Each year TBS runs their three for thirty sale as well as an awesome gift for a great price that you can purchase, which is typically a cute tote filled with one hundred or more dollars worth of product. During the three for thirty sale we stock up on our more expensive necessities and end up saving a small fortune! It’s seriously the best, but if we don’t make it out to the mall this Friday then it’s okay because the deal runs throughout the entire holiday season. Our yearly tradition is fun though, so I hope that it will happen again this Black Friday!

black-friday-meme

^^^ Lololololol, so true!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Early Christmas Shopping Edition! Who has gotten some holiday shopping done already? Who plans on going Black Friday shopping this week? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov16

Monday Update: Really Good Recipe Edition

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Monday Update: Really Good Recipe Edition

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

Nov9

Monday Update: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head Edition

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Monday Update: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! Unfortunately, I didn’t have the best of weekends because Lil Red suffered from a concussion on Thursday night. Homegirl was not feeling too hot thanks to the most random head injury of all time and now I’m here to tell you all about it! Let’s discuss:

One thing about me is that I sleep like the dead. I usually stay in the same position all night and am completely out like a light once I’m asleep. But on Thursday night, my body decided to do a switch up on me and make me the biggest roley poley of all time in my sleep. I think it might have had something to do with the dream that I was having…

I dreamt that I was in an enchanted Walmart where everything in the store was HUGE – we’re talking gigantic! I was running around throughout the store trying to rescue all of the silly minions from Despicable Me who were captured by Kathy Bates? Haha, yeah, Kathy made a cameo in my dream, too. She was in character as Iris from American Horror Story: Hotel and she was some sort of evil sorceress who kidnapped all of the minions, so it was up to me to return them to Gru, their rightful owner. Things were intense in my dream – I did more physical activity in it than I’ve ever done in my entire life! I was starting to get the hang of it until…

SMACK! CRACK! POW!

I woke up from my head whacking the arm rest of my bedside chair while I was rolling off of my bed. (I must have been rolling under an obstacle in my dream!) The chair by my bed is nice and comfy in the middle but the arm rests are hard as hell and once my head smacked it at full force I was jolted awake. I found myself on my bedroom floor in a sea of blankets and a world of pain. I got myself up to go to the bathroom and assess the situation and as soon as I started walking I knew that something was wrong because I was so dizzy I could barely make my way down the hall. I vividly remember thinking to myself “I wonder if I have a concussion” and then I found my way back to my bed and fell asleep.

On Friday morning I woke up with a pounding in my head that felt like I was getting hit with a hammer. I went to the bathroom and from just the short walk to the loo and back to my room I felt so faint and lightheaded that I had to get myself back in bed. My vision was blurred and it kept going dark and hazy and my stomach felt nauseous. I called my mom who is a doctor to tell her what happened as well as my suspicions that it was a concussion and she told me that I was probably right. Then I consulted Dr. Web MD and my symptoms matched a lot of the ones that were listed as well. Great. -__-

I was officially concussed and was ordered by my mom and Web MD to stay in bed because rest is the best thing that you can do for a concussion. Most of my weekend was spent laying around feeling like ass and also feeling sorry for myself. I got my injury in the strangest way and it left me with symptoms that felt almost flu-like. It was the antithesis of fun and head injuries are NO JOKE. I was so shocked by how awful one blow to the head left me feeling. I guess I’m going to start sleeping in a crib from now on to prevent any further instances of rolling off of my bed! Haha, #FML.

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Ain’t That A Kick In The Head Edition. Thankfully, I’m feeling much better, but Lil Red was definitely hurtin’ these past few days! What was everyone up to this weekend? Anything exciting? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

minions!

Nov2

Monday Update: Look Out Edition

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Monday Update: Look Out Edition

Howdy everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a fantastic Halloween weekend, I sure did! You know why I had a great weekend? Because for the most part I did absolutely nothing for the first time in weeks and it was AWESOME! Now that I’m all relaxed and ready to go, I’m here to bring you the Monday Update for the week so you guys can be on the Look Out for some exciting posts coming up in the near future!

Trades Of Hope: I had the pleasure of sitting down with one of my dear friends, Sarah White, to chat about the company that she works for, Trades Of Hope. TOH employs female artisans in third world countries and pays them a fair living wage for the creation of their beautiful accessories, home decor, and beauty items. On Tuesday, you can tune into http://www.lifewithlilred.com for the full article and the link to Sarah’s site where she’ll be hosting a TOH party for the next few weeks. When you make purchases through the party you have the opportunity to win free or discounted items and I strongly urge you to take advantage of it because everything is gorgeous! I was gifted with the Kala Necklace from Sarah and I’m obsessed! Take a look:

kala

My necklace was made by artisans in India and I love it so much! Once again, I’ll be posting the article this Tuesday and the links for the party will be provided in the post!

John Patrick Halling: This past Thursday I was so excited to sit down and chat with an extremely talented musician fresh out of Kent, Ohio, John Patrick Halling. John Patrick is a blues/folk/country hybrid artist and he is simply fantastic. During our meeting we chatted about everything from his most recent tour (the Boy in the Water US tour), his style on stage, and what influences him as an artist and musician. Everything during our get together was just swell, until…..

Until I made the biggest fool of myself of all time!! When I meet with new clients, our talks usually happen interview style and I record everything on a Word document on my laptop. Basically, they talk and I type. John Patrick and I chatted for a solid thirty-five to forty minutes and once I had everything I needed, I told him he was good to go. We packed up our belongings and I said something along the lines of “let me save and exit” the document. Unfortunately, a classic case of “I shouldn’t have clicked that” happened because instead of saving and exiting, I accidentally just clicked exit. It was one of those things where you do what you were saying because you were saying it and since I had “exit” on my mind and tongue, it just kind of happened…It. Was. AWFUL.

Thankfully, John Patrick was SO nice about it and I was able to recall almost everything we talked about from memory. I stayed at the Starbucks we met at after he left and retyped everything and ended up with more than I started with. As soon as I got home, I got a draft of the article ready to go and the only things that needed corrected were the brand name of a hat, the location of a venue that he played a show at, and the name of a city. Since those were the only things that didn’t ring true, I’d say I did pretty well!

I’m so happy that the article is looking good so far but you guys have no idea how embarrassing it was! My best friend, Lea, and I have discussed how difficult it is to think of a moment that was truly cringe worthy but I think I found it with that unfortunate incident. But fear not! The article is almost done and is set to publish mid-November when John Patrick releases his music video for “If I Would’ve Known”. Until then, you can check out his music at: http://johnpatrickhalling.com/#/ and make sure you give his Facebook page a like at: https://www.facebook.com/JPHallingMusic/?fref=ts ! Seriously guys, make sure you give his music a listen because it really is wonderful and stay tuned for the article on Mister Halling which will be coming out soon!

embarrassing

^^^ My life.

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Look Out Edition! I’m so excited to share these upcoming posts with you and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did working on them! How was everyone’s Halloween weekend? What did you do to celebrate? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct26

Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

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Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a fantastic weekend, I sure did! As you guys might remember me mentioning before, I figure skated competitively for a hefty portion of my youth. Thanks to my background as a skater, I’ve been given the opportunity to coach figure skating for the Special Olympics. I had my first practice with my skaters this past Thursday and it was one of the best times of my life! Let’s discuss:

Every Thursday for the next several months I’ll be at the Kent State ice arena for an hour coaching my new friends for the Olympic games in February. I had the best time during my first evening getting to know all of the skaters and their parents. It also felt so good to get back on the ice because I haven’t skated since last winter! I spent my time on the rink going back and forth between different skaters to check on how they were doing and help them improve. It was so rewarding every time a skater accomplished something that I helped teach them!

I had so much fun coaching my skaters but I also really enjoyed just standing back and watching them skate. All of my friends seemed so at peace while they practiced their sport and it was nice to see big smiles and hear laughter throughout the rink. I was legitimately bummed out when the session came to an end but I made sure that before the ice got Zamboni-ed that I was able to have a race around the rink that I promised to one of my speed skaters. He was thirteen years old and was a freaking speed demon so I can imagine I’ll be constantly reminded of his victory every session by him and his uncle, which I’m so okay with!

I seriously can’t wait until next Thursday so I can see my students and their families again. It was so touching how gracious the parents or guardians were after I got off of the rink but I should be the one thanking them because I think I got much more out of my time than the skaters did! I’m so excited to go on a coaching journey with my new friends and their support systems and I’m so ready for another wonderful session this week!

In other news, my boyfriend Kyle and I had our two month anniversary on the 20th which is really exciting stuff! I also got to sit down with one of my good friends to discuss her Trades Of Hope campaign this past Thursday so you can expect an article about that in a few weeks! AND after skating this upcoming Thursday, I’ll be staying in Kent for a little while longer to meet with a really talented musician, John Patrick Halling, to chat about his cross country tour this past summer! It should be a lot of fun so keep your eyes peeled for lots of cool new posts. 🙂

I hope all of you are having a great start to your week and make sure you tune in at http://www.lifewithlilred.com for all of the latest and greatest! What was everyone up to this weekend? How do you plan on celebrating Halloween? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct19

Monday Update: Birthday Fun Edition

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Monday Update: Birthday Fun Edition

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday! So this weekend was kind of a big deal because of October 17th which is both my boyfriend’s and my brother’s birthday! I had the best time celebrating with my man this weekend and enjoyed some mother daughter time when she helped me prep Kyle’s birthday dinner. Sorry that I was away without warning, BTW, because I like to give you guys notice when I’m not going to have a Saturday post of some kind! But I’m back from being birthday MIA so let’s discuss:

My oldest brother, Peter, celebrated his 28th birthday but unfortunately he lives in Atlanta, Georgia so I didn’t get to ring in his new year with him. So this weekend it was all about the boyfriend who turned the big 2-7. Besides from some awesome gifts (if I do say so myself), I wanted to cook him a special dinner too so before I headed to Canton for the weekend my mom helped me with something that I deemed a “must”: a fresh loaf of French bread to go with a Fettuccine Alfredo dish.

My mom is an incredible bread baker and has been doing it for forever. I can remember watching her bake and knead her loaves of bread when I was younger but could never do it quite like her. That was about to change this weekend though because my mama dearest walked me through how to bake my own French bread and it turned out amazing! My mom was an awesome teacher and I liked how she explained the process to me rather than doing it for me so I felt like I was still the one making the bread. She taught me how to knead the dough and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy I found it because I remember it being so hard when I was younger! According to mi madre, I’m a natural and here’s how my French bread turned out:

bwead

While my bread baked I whipped up a quick chocolate lava cake as well and left shortly after everything was baked to perfection. I loaded up my car with gifts, an overnight bag, dinner ingredients, my cake, and my bread on a cooling rack and headed to Canton. The thing about bread is that it can’t go into a bag until it’s completely cool and my mom refused to let my first time bread creation go soggy so she insisted that I drive with the naked loaf on a cooling rack. I was SO terrified to drive quickly or break heavily for the fear of the baguette flying off the rack. Lucky for me, my bread baby sat just fine and we made it to Kyle’s in one piece!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kyle’s brother, sister-in-law, and their two children on Friday night and then we went home for gift opening and Dexter watching. Unfortunately on Saturday Kyle had to work for half of his birthday but during that time I was able to finish some homework, get an article edited, and spend some quality time with Kyle’s mom. Once the evening rolled around I started cooking a surprisingly easy Fettuccine Alfredo recipe that I found online. It turned out nice and creamy and my bread was delicious, if I do say so myself!

After dinner, we were going to see Crimson Peak but we were both so full and sleepy after our Italian meal that we ended up just lounging around for the night. But seeing the movie is on our agenda for when I see Kyle next! I had such a lovely weekend with my beau and it was such a joy to meet his brother and his family!

^^^ This one’s for you, Kyle!!! Happy birthday to both of my favorite boys!!!! ❤

I have a lot of exciting posts coming up in the near future including an article for a dear friend’s Trades Of Hope store and a piece for a wonderful musician fresh out of Kent, Ohio – John Patrick Halling. Keep your eyes peeled for those as well as all of the usuals throughout the week like #WCW and my American Horror Story reviews! Until then, how was everyone’s weekend? Did anyone else have some events worth celebrating? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct12

Monday Update: Liebster Award Edition

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Monday Update: Liebster Award Edition

Hiii everyone and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! When I returned home from my boyfriend’s house yesterday afternoon I was so excited to see that I was nominated for the Liebster Award by my friend at A Maple Girl! It was such a pleasant surprise so I decided to make a Monday Update out of it! Here are my answers to all of the fun questions provided by A Maple Girl:

  1. Long nails or short? Long – although I’m currently wearing my nails natural and short at the moment. I had extremely long acrylics reminiscent of talons for over half a year but now I’m giving my real nails some recovery time before I get a new set on.
  2. Red lips or pink? Red!! Haha I would be nothing without my red lips and red hair!
  3. Favorite YouTube beauty Guru? I don’t really have one…I’m not a big YouTube watcher and I’m honestly so set in my every day makeup routine that I rarely switch it up.
  4. Favorite season of the year? AUTUMN!!!! I love the fall so much! Fall clothing is my favorite: cardigans, peacoats, fingerless gloves, hats, and cable knit sweaters – I love it all! I really want to get to a haunted house with my boyfriend soon! We actually might be going to Halloweekends at Cedar Point this upcoming weekend. 🙂
  5. First job? I worked as an actor at a haunted house, Carnival Of Horrors. I was fourteen or so and it was so much fun. I also got to do all of my own makeup which was a blast.
  6. If you could only use one makeup brand for the rest of your life, which would it be? The Body Shop, hands down. However, I would have to cheat and use NYX for my lipstick because their matte lippies are the best!!
  7. Dream vacation destination? This is an easy one – traveling through Europe!!
  8. Favorite book you’ve read recently? I just finished rereading one of my favorite books, Night Film, this past Friday. It’s so fantastic and is in production to be made into a film soon! I liked this book so much that I got one of the quotes, “Do I dare?”, tattooed on my inner left arm.
  9. Why did you start a blog? Lifewithlilred originally started strictly as a fashion blog because I had multiple people tell me daily that I should start one. I have a very unique personal style and I was flattered that people recognized that and liked it, so I figured “why not?” Now lifewithlilred is more of a lifestyle blog, covering everything from beauty and literature to silly ramblings and mental health.
  10. Celebrity crush? I have tons! Haha I love Johnny Depp, Jack White, Julian Casablancas, Britney Spears, and Gwen Stefani just to name a few! For more on my celebrity crushes you can tune in to lifewithlilred every Monday and Wednesday for my Man Crush Monday and Woman Crush Wednesday segments!

I nominate:

Here’s how the award works:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you.
  2. Provide a link back to their page.
  3. Copy and Paste the award to your blog
  4. Answer the questions set by the person who nominated you.
  5. Nominate 5 blogs with less than 500 followers
  6. Leave a comment on their blog to inform them of their nomination.

My questions for you are:

  1. What’s the one beauty item you couldn’t live without?
  2. Who are three of your favorite bands?
  3. The best gift you’ve ever received?
  4. The weirdest food you’ve ever ate?
  5. Favorite childhood movie?
  6. Your favorite pair of shoes?
  7. A story of the worst date you’ve ever been on?
  8. Favorite book?
  9. Do you have any pets?
  10. What is your favorite subject to blog about?

Once again, I’m so thrilled that I was nominated for the Liebster Award and had such a blast making this post. To those of you who want more of me, you can friend me on Facebook at Sarah Mushenheim, follow my page, or email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com! How was everyone’s weekend? What is the weather like in your neck of the woods? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah