Tag Archives: music

My Detroit Trip

Standard
My Detroit Trip

Hi everyone and a very happy Tuesday to you! Last Friday I took a little road trip to Detroit, Michigan with my Uncle Ray as a favor to him. My uncle is a total car guy and he needed a wing girl so he could drop his car off at Monkey Wrench Racing to get some work done on his whip. I told him I was up for the journey and even though my day was filled with a lot of driving, it was still a lot of fun!

My uncle and I departed for our adventure around ten on Friday morning to begin the three and a half hour drive from Mentor, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan. The plan was to follow my uncle in the Little Red Love Machine for the trip there and then we would travel back to Ohio together. The drive to Michigan was relatively easy and we luckily had really good weather for the trip. The only snowfall we experienced was this random little flurry once we got into Michigan and that was it. I was really happy about that because the last thing I wanted to do was drive in unfamiliar territory in the snow.

I don’t really mind driving if I have things to keep me occupied so the trek wasn’t too bad thanks to my iPod, phone calls from my boyfriend, and occasionally waving to my uncle as I followed him. I was telling my boyfriend while we were chatting that the Detroit drive was an emotional rollar coaster because I had my iPod on shuffle. During the drive I was hearing everything from pop to screamo to rap and R&B so needless to say, I was an emotional wreck during some of the trip…Thanks a lot, Hawthorne Heights. -_-

Before I knew it, we finally arrived at Monkey Wrench Racing to drop Uncle Ray’s car off. We stuck around and chatted for a half hour or so and let me tell you, hearing all of the gents in the shop engaging in car talk with my uncle was like hearing an entirely different language. I didn’t understand one word of what they were saying but I’m glad my uncle had a good time with it! We also both got a free Monkey Wrench Racing t-shirt compliments of the crew so that was really nice. It’s in my color palette of black and white so I’m sure I’ll make use of it some day!

What killed me about my Detroit adventure was that once my uncle was done at the shop, we started making our journey back home. Haha, the break at Monkey Wrench Racing was much needed because I was essentially driving seven hours straight. -_- At least this time around, I was in good company because my Uncle Ray is one of my favorites! We’re very similar to each other so it was easy to fill our journey home with good conversation and laughter.

My Uncle Ray and I made a stop in Lakewood, Ohio to meet some of his friends for dinner. We went to a little Greek place called Our Friends and enjoyed a nice meal with my uncle’s comrades. It was so great to meet them and we all ended up having a really good time. My uncle ended up staying in Lakewood for a little while so I drove back to Mentor solo to have some quality time with my Aunt Mary Ellen before I made my way back to Akron.

I was so happy to spend some time with my Aunt Mary Ellen because I don’t get to see her as often as I would like. It was really nice to sit down, relax, and have a chat with her before I began my journey back home. My aunt and uncle are seriously the most perfect couple ever so any time with either of them is time well spent!

I would make the journey back to Detroit again for my uncle in a heartbeat because I’m one of the best people that I know of…But lucky for me, my uncle and his friends will be traveling back to Michigan to pick up his car once it’s done being worked on. I’m not complaining! All in all, it was definitely an adventure of a day and I’m so happy that I was in such fantastic company for it! ❤

My Detroit Trip was one of the best most random ways to spend a Friday that I can think of but I wouldn’t have it any other way! How was everyone’s weekend? Who has been on a road trip recently? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Interested in making a road trip to Cleveland? Let these videos inspire you to take the plunge and DO IT! #werenotdetroit 😉

My Second One Lovely Blog Award

Standard
My Second One Lovely Blog Award

Hiii everyone and happy weekend! I hope that everyone is having a fabulous day so far. On Thursday I was so flattered to be nominated for My Second One Lovely Blog Award by the sweet Juliet at: notcapulet! I’m so appreciative to everyone who has been nominating me for all of these fun awards lately – believe me, it does not go unnoticed! As always, with these awards comes some rules for the nominees to follow, so take a look:

The Rules:

  • Thank the person who nominated them, including a link to their blog.
  • List the rules and include the award badge in their acceptance post.
  • Add seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate fifteen other bloggers and notify them of their nomination.

Now, I suppose I have to think of some new fun facts about me – which is actually kind of difficult! I’m really not that exciting. Let’s see…

All About Me:

  1. I currently have over twenty days worth of music on my iTunes and my collection is always growing. I’m looking forward to adding Enya’s newest album, Dark Sky Island, as well as some Fleetwood Mac next.
  2. I absolutely adore the Despicable Me movies! I usually don’t care for anything animated but those movies are definitely the exception. Minions are my spirit animals and thanks to my boyfriend and sister I have a collection of Despicable Me stuffed animals including: Agnes, Kevin, Stuart, fluffy unicorn, and Kyle!
  3. My two favorite television shows are Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David is a genius.
  4. I love to read and am about to start rereading Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels for the second time. Sandman is easily one of my favorite series and I plan on getting a tattoo from the amazing artwork that it boasts eventually.
  5. I was completely heartbroken over the deaths of the great David Bowie and Alan Rickman this past week. The world lost two great talents and I am so sad to see them go.
  6. One of my goals is to become fluent in French and I’m working very hard to achieve that.
  7. I’ve gotten over thirty piercings in my twenty-one years of living. I now only have ten – five on my nose, four on my ears, and my bellybutton. I also have four tattoos and I can’t wait to get more soon!

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

So there you have it, all of the details from My Second One Lovely Blog Award! Thank you so much again to my friend, Juliet, at: notcapulet for nominating me! What is everyone up to this weekend? What are some fun facts about yourself? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

My Second Liebster Award!

Standard
My Second Liebster Award!

Hi everyone and happy weekend! On Thursday I was nominated for my second Liebster Award by my sweet friend, Alyson, at silverpepperofstars! Her blog is a real gem so make sure you check it out! The Liebster Award comes with some rules for those who are nominated so check them out:

The Rules:

1. Create a post, tagging and thanking your nominator.

2. Answer the eleven questions they asked you.

3. Nominate a new eleven bloggers.

4. Ask eleven new questions for those you have nominated to answer.

5. Notify your nominees.

Q & A:

1. What is your biggest pet peeve – what really grinds your gears?

Oh goodness. I guess my biggest pet peeve would probably be when people drive under the speed limit or exactly at the speed limit. That’s so annoying!

2. If your house was on fire, what one item would you grab before you leave?

Uhm…I honestly have no idea. That’s a tough one.

3. What was the last film you watched?

I watched one of my favorite films, Let The Right One In, last weekend for the seven hundredth time.

4. Which food item can’t you live without?

TACO BELL!!!

5. What are you really passionate about?

Writing, my family, my friends, and helping people and animals.

6. If there was one thing that was guaranteed to cheer you up when you were at your most cranky, what would it be?

Hanging out with my sister, my boyfriend, or my best friend.

7. Are you allergic to anything?

Not that I know of!

8. What is your favorite book?

I have too many! The Little Prince, Coraline, The Book Thief, Night Film, and the Sandman graphic novel series – just to name a few.

9. What is your favorite song/track?

Once again, I have a lot, but if I had to pick one and only one it would probably be “Beautiful Day” by U2. It’s been one of my favorites since I was little. So much so, that I got lyrics from that song tattooed on me the day I turned eighteen.

10. Do you have any hidden talents?

Does eating a lot of food without gaining weight count?

11. Describe yourself in 3 words.

Passionate, quirky, red.

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

  1. mommyteacherfashionista
  2. sujatagazderblog
  3. fantageecho

My Questions For You:

  1. What are the most important qualities that you look for in a friend?
  2. What is your favorite thing to write about?
  3. What is your favorite candy or sugary treat?
  4. Where is your favorite place in the world?
  5. Where would you like to travel to?
  6. What inspired you to create a blog?
  7. Do you prefer shopping in store or online?
  8. What is one beauty item that you can’t live without?
  9. If you had a pet while you were growing up, what was its name?
  10. When you were a child, how did you answer the question, “what do you want to be when you grow up”?
  11. What is one color that you love? What about a color that you hate?

So there you have it, all of the fun details to My Second Liebster Award! Thank you again to my friend, Alyson, at silverpepperofstars for the nomination! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Woman Crush Wednesday: Christina Aguilera Edition

Standard
Woman Crush Wednesday: Christina Aguilera Edition

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!!!!

xtina2xtina1

^^^ 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

Monday Update: Look Out Edition

Standard
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

Hawthorne Heights Concert Recap

Standard
Hawthorne Heights Concert Recap

Hiii guys! I hope you’re having an awesome start to your week so far! So on Friday I had the pleasure of seeing my friends in Millstone perform as the openers for Hawthorne Heights at The Outpost in Kent, Ohio. I got to spend the day with the band and my boyfriend, Kyle, and it was honestly one of the best times I’ve had in a long time. Take a listen to Millstone’s debut full length album, The Dreams We Don’t Remember, and then let’s discuss:

Kyle and I had a somewhat early day on Friday, because we had to drive from Canton to Highland Square in Akron to meet up with the Millstone boys to help assemble all of their equipment for the show. Lucky for me, since I was the only girl all I had to do was watch as the guys did all of the grunt work! I did carry a few guitars though, so I guess you can say that I helped. 😉 After a break for a late Chipotle lunch, we (and by we I mean everyone but me) gathered the last of the amps and instruments into various cars and headed for The Outpost.

Once we arrived at the venue, all of the gear had to be hauled out of the car and onto the stage so everything was ready for the big show. A lot of other local bands were performing as well so tons of musicians were already there preparing for their set upon our arrival. It was basically like being in a co-ed fraternity for musicians and their friends. Thanks to the helping hands of people at The Outpost and the adrenaline for the evening kicking in, we were able to unload the car in record speed, which left us enough time to get some margaritas at Salsita’s, a Mexican restaurant down the street.

It was so much fun hanging out with the band, mutual friends, and my man in such a relaxed environment after a semi stressful afternoon. We got hella pitchers of raspberry margaritas and enjoyed our time out until the Millstone members had to get back to the venue. By the time we got back to The Outpost, bands were already performing on the multiple stages in the building. Kyle and I opted for a spot out on the patio where we had some time to kill with friends for two or so hours until Millstone was ready for their set. We had a few more drinks and I got to meet a lot of Kyle’s friends who I’ve heard so much about, so that was awesome!

Millstone was due to perform at 9:30 and we were all getting really excited. By the time they were getting themselves together on stage, I was lightweight freaking out from happiness for them. The last time I wrote about Millstone, their guitarist, Adam, told me that he would love to have the band eventually open for Hawthorne Heights and here they were a few months later doing the damn thing! Millstone one hundred and fifty percent annihilated their set. They sounded so amazing and were so much fun to watch. It was so cool to see their music come to life off of their album and to see all of the guys let their individual personalities shine through on stage. Millstone killed it like no other and I was so proud to be watching them in the audience.

After an amazing performance by my friends, it was time for Hawthorne Heights to take the stage. As I mentioned before, I saw HH live when I was sixteen or so and it was awesome. All of my emo kid fantasies of meeting the band and crying to “Ohio Is For Lovers” came true that night, so needless to say, I was pretty fucking stoked to see them again…And then, Hawthorne Heights appeared on stage…Oh.

As soon as the guys came on, I only recognized two of the band mates who I originally saw all of those years ago, which was kind of disappointing – but don’t even get me started on their appearances. All of the Hawthorne Heights players looked old, overweight, and tired. They were not the energetic and charismatic guys I saw five years ago. Here’s the thing, I wouldn’t have been so upset about the guys not living up to my memories appearance-wise BUT their music didn’t sound very good either. They mostly played songs off of The Silence In Black And White but all of it sounded slow and toned down. It was like watching a really bad cover band competing in a battle of the bands competition…It was shameful.

About three songs into their set, I was bored to tears, I wasn’t anywhere near as emotional as I wanted to be, and I just really wanted to go home…And that’s what we did. After a long day and despite not even bothering to stick around for “Ohio Is For Lovers”, Kyle and I left The Outpost and returned back to his place for Taco Bell and an episode of Dexter before bed. A perfect end to a perfect day!

So there you have it, the Hawthorne Heights Concert Recap! What did you guys think of Millstone’s album that I posted the link for? Have any of you had an experience similar to what I described when I saw Hawthorne Heights perform again? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Man Crush Monday: Spencer Krug Edition

Standard
Man Crush Monday: Spencer Krug Edition

Helloooo everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Man Crush Monday – Spencer Krug style! My #MCM is one of my most beloved musician crushes. As the front man for some of my favorite bands such as Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, and Swan Lake as well as being in association with Frog Eyes, it only seemed appropriate to finally show some love to this multi talented artist. Take a listen to one of the most well known songs by Wolf Parade and then let’s discuss:

Dear Spencer Krug,

Oh Spencer, sweet sweet Spencer. I’ll never forget the first time my older brother introduced me to your music by playing Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe In Anything”. I was so blown away by your unique voice and your incredible ability to invoke emotion in all of your songs. The way that you can go from soft crooning to rocker howls at the drop of a hat keeps me on my toes and makes me feel firey passion deep in my loins. I would give anything to see one of your many bands in concert and I’ll forever be jealous of my brother for seeing Wolf Parade perform when they opened for Arcade Fire during their “Us Kids Know” tour. Your unmistakable voice and thought provoking lyrics are well matched to your staggering good looks. Hubba hubba, sir. If there’s one thing mama loves, it’s a good looking man who has musical talent – which basically sums you up in a nut shell. Whether your hair is long or short and no matter what band you’re currently repping, you are a stud and a half. The day that I can see you perform live is the day I can die happy. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

krug2krug1

^^^ Oh my dear lord…he’s perfect!

So there you have it, this week’s Man Crush Monday: Spencer Krug Edition! Who is everyone’s #MCM this week? What is your favorite band that my man crush is associated with? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Recipe of Life

Standard
Recipe of Life

Heyyy everyone and welcome to a very special post about one of my new music obsessions, Recipe of Life. ROL is made up of two darling girls, Shelby and Ariel, who are both full of sunny personalities and sweet voices to match. I have been hunting these girls down for months trying to feature their ukulele duo on http://www.lifewithlilred.com and it’s finally happening!

I seriously couldn’t be more excited to shed some light on such a talented group, especially considering they just wrapped up their Lake Erie Shore Tour on top of releasing a new single “Are You Ready?” which is now available on their iTunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, and bandcamp page. “Are You Ready?” is such an addictive song it should be illegal, so check it out and get hooked! (I, for one, am ready! And all of the links to the mentioned sites can be found at the end of the post!)

Recipe of Life debuted their first full length album The Secret Ingredient in 2014 and now I would love to take some time to discuss my personal favorites off of it with you! The Secret Ingredient can be found on all of ROL’s music pages and can be purchased for ten dollars. So click the link and listen along as I offer my humble Lil Red opinion on the album! And make sure you stay tuned after for an exclusive interview with the ROL duo, Shelby and Ariel! Let’s get to it:

Love You Today: This is the first song off of The Secret Ingredient and I absolutely love it. I was listening to this while laying in bed and I kid you not, my notes on the song were “this reminds me of how I feel when I have a crush on someone”. So many of Recipe of Life’s tracks have this ability to bring on the butterflies of being googly eyed over that special someone and “Love You Today” sums that up perfectly. Such a sweet and strong opener!

If the Shoe Fits: Obviously this song is one of my go to’s considering the title is the same as one of my segments on lifewithlilred. 😉 I really like the harmonies that the ROL gals have going on in this track and the lyrics are cute as can be. When I first heard Recipe of Life’s music, I was honestly shocked that I liked it so much. I’m such an alternative and indie girl at heart but it’s impossible to not appreciate this band. All of the emotions in their songs are so honest and relateable. I can’t think of one person who hasn’t wished for a romance that Shelby and Ariel are swooning about in “If the Shoe Fits”.

Spot On: If you guys have read my music reviews before, then you’ll know that this song had me at the opening “doo doo doo’s”. I LOVE THEM! What I think is so memorable about this song is how much fun the girls are having with it. Their little laughs throughout “Spot On” made me smile each time and this is the type of tune that should be played with all of the windows down on a bright day. At the beginning of this post I described Shelby and Ariel’s personalities as “sunny” and you can definitely see why after listening to this little ditty.

Unlovable: This is my favorite song off of The Secret Ingredient, hands down. Honestly, “Unlovable” describes some very real feelings for me, especially with their lyric “Why do you thank me? When there’s nothing to thank me for”. Ugh, I love that. “Unlovable” is the second track off of The Secret Ingredient and I think that it’s such a solid follow up to the opener “Love You Today”. “Unlovable” is the longest song on the album at 4:39 but I wish it could have gone on forever.

The End: Appropriately titled, “The End” is the closing song on The Secret Ingredient and I will seriously be a monkey’s uncle if it isn’t a song in a Disney movie. Literally all I could think about while I listened to this song was a Disney prince and princess serenading each other…Judge me for it. “The End” is a beautiful song to wrap up a beautiful album, so bravo!

rol2rol3

I had the opportunity to sit down with the lovely Shelby to chat about the band, boys, and everything in between. Unfortunately, the other half of the Recipe of Life duo, Ariel, is away at college and was unable to attend the interview – but fear not! I was lucky enough to “speak” with her via email to get her input. Thanks to the ROL girls, I have the answers to the questions that I’m sure you’re all dying to know, so take a look:

  • Lil Red: So how did your duo come into being?
  • Shelby: Ariel and I became friends our sophomore year of high school. We became Facebook friends because she was friends with my boyfriend, Jimmy, throughout freshman year, so we both figured we should be friends!
  • Ariel: Shortly after our friendship started we made a cover video of YouTube musician, Orla Gartland’s, song “All The Little Details.” The video got one thousand plus views and we were shocked! That’s when we thought “Hmm. Maybe this music-y thing could go somewhere”. After that pleasant surprise we decided to perform as a duet for the Battle Of The Bands at our high school.
  • LR: I’m positive that my readers will be curious about where the name Recipe of Life came from, because I definitely am. Is there a story behind the band name?
  • S: When we were preparing to compete for BOTB, we realized we needed a name! We turned to the internet for inspiration and found a quote that said “Friendship is the most important ingredient in the recipe of life” and it stuck. We thought that it might be too cheesy, but we never changed it!
  • LR: Would you agree that friendship is the most important ingredient?
  • S&A: Yes!!
  • LR: So how did Recipe of Life do in the Battle Of The Bands competition?
  • S: We won! It was so exciting. We performed two cover songs and the first song that I ever wrote “Forever Yours”, which can be heard on our album.
  • LR: I noticed that a common theme in your songs is the “perfect” guy, where does the inspiration for this stem from?
  • S: Definitely my boyfriend, Jimmy. We’ve been dating for six years and I feel like literally all of my songs are about him. Ariel and her mom always were pushing me to write outside of my comfort zone, so the first song I wrote that wasn’t about love was a huge deal!
  • A: Sometimes my songs are inspired by a relationship – but not as often as Shelby’s! Although, the first song that I wrote about a significant other, “Spot On”, is about the same guy that I’ve been with to this day, three years later! I’m still trying to figure myself and life out, so this gives me a lot of situations to draw from when I write a song. A general curiosity for life helps when I’m trying to put pen to paper.
  • LR: Six and three years is a long time! My longest relationship was two weeks…ANYWAYS, sometimes I’m shocked by the people who I find out read my blog. Have you ladies ever been surprised by anyone who you found out was a Recipe of Life fan?
  • S: Our usual demographic is sixteen to twenty-five year old girls, so we were both definitely shocked by our following of middle aged men who were musicians in college!
  • A: Middle aged adults was definitely unexpected! We also get quite a bit of attention from Christian audiences as well, which I think is interesting. Someone that we were both taken aback by was when Orla Gartland commented on our video for “All The Little Details” saying that she loved it. Like, what?!
  • LR: Middle aged people is not what I was expecting to hear! But hey, a fans a fan! And now for the interview cliche question, where do you girls see Recipe of Life in two years?
  • S: Hopefully on tour with a new album out. We would really like to branch out our audience and perform in a bunch of new locations.
  • A: I would love to hear us on the radio someday so maybe two years is enough time to get that ball rolling! But our next goal as of now is making another full length album.

You heard it first on lifewithlilred! It was so fun having a chit chat with Shelby and Ariel! If you would like to read more of our interview, let me know in the comment section so I can make it happen!

Like it? Love it? Want more of it? You can show love to Recipe of Life by:

  • Liking them on Facebook
  • Purchasing The Secret Ingredient off of their music pages like bandcamp and iTunes
  • Snagging their new single “Are You Ready?”
  • Checking out their website
  • Shooting them an email
  • Commenting on this post so I can relay the message

Here are all of the links to the websites mentioned above:

It has been a complete blast getting to know the Recipe of Life girls, Shelby and Ariel. They are certainly a ukulele strumming duo to watch out for, so be on the look out! How do you feel about Recipe of Life’s music? Do you have any constructive criticism or advice for Shelby and Ariel? We wanna hear from all of you, so leave us a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Hawthorne Heights Concert!

Standard
Hawthorne Heights Concert!

Heyyy guys and TGIF! I’m actually prewriting this post before I leave for my boyfriend’s for the night because I won’t have a lot of time tomorrow to fill you in on the exciting day! My friends at Millstone will be the opening act for Hawthorne Heights’ show at The Outpost in Kent, Ohio and we’re all very excited! Make sure you check out my article about Millstone on http://www.lifewithlilred.com and enjoy this classic Hawthorne Heights emo kid anthem:

So yes, Millstone, a band who I’ve worked with and a band who Kyle knows very personally considering the lead singer is his best friend will be opening for my angsty teen favorite, Hawthorne Heights. I actually met the guys of HH when I was sixteen or so when they played at Musica in Akron and they were awesome. All of them were so sweet and genuine and I still have the pictures, my autographed Silence In Black and White album, and the guitar pick belonging to the lead singer, JT, to this day. Not only were they a joy to chat with, but they killed their set as well!

Kyle and I are both thrilled for our Millstone friends and we’re going to arrive at the venue early to help in any way we can, so we’re gonna have a busy day tomorrow! But fear not, I’ll be back for the usual Monday Update and Man Crush Monday segments, so make sure you tune back in with me on the twenty-eighth for more of the latest and greatest! Until then, what is everyone up to this weekend? Any concerts or big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Man Crush Monday: Craig Nicholls Edition

Standard
Man Crush Monday: Craig Nicholls Edition

Heyyy everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Man Crush Monday – Craig Nicholls style! The front man of one of my favorite bands, The Vines, has been one of my celebrity crushes since I was ten years old. His eccentric antics and quirky looks stole my heart and I don’t think I’ll be getting it back anytime soon! Take a listen to one of my favorite songs by The Vines and then let’s discuss:

Dear Craig Nicholls,

Oh, Craig. Sweet and a tiny bit over the top Craig. “Ride”, the track I chose to honor you with will always be one of my go to jams. My brother introduced the song to me along with the super cool music video and I was hooked ever since. I have all of the albums by The Vines safely stored on my iPod and I play them frequently to get me hyped for school, auditions, or just running around doing errands. What instantly made me attracted to you was your wild personality. Usually I’m more of a fan of the sensitive, brooding types of guys but there was something special about you. Your blatant “who gives a fuck” lifestyle wasn’t something that you put on for publicity – it was who you are and I really liked that. It was and still is refreshing to see someone in the public eye who refuses to change despite the posh and pristine Hollywood image that’s constantly shoved down everyone’s throats. There are so many things that I love about The Vines but I think my favorite thing about them is your voice! Your slightly stoned and surfer boy vocals are seriously perfect and I can’t get enough! Not only are you amazingly talented but you’re also amazingly handsome! Hubba hubba to you, sir. Your disheveled hair, extreme facial expressions, and pursed mouth that’s constantly dragging on a cigarette rev my engine. You are truly one of my dream men and I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

craig1craig2

^^^ He’s a babe! SHWING!!

So there you have it, this week’s Man Crush Monday: Craig Nicholls Edition! Who is everyone’s #MCM this week? What is your favorite song by The Vines? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah