Tag Archives: ohio

Mar28

Monday Update: MakeSpace Edition

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Monday Update: MakeSpace Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! Recently, I learned about the super cool storage company, MakeSpace. As we discussed how their service is like one of my favorite movies, Clueless, I knew I just had to write about it. MakeSpace is a service that comes to your place, grabs your stuff, and stores it for you. With the warm spring weather on the horizon, now is the perfect time to store away your winter duds for next year. The best part is, is that when the time comes for you to need your stored away items again, you can consult your virtual closet and MakeSpace will deliver it back to you. Will your virtual closet be as amazing as Cher’s from Clueless? Probably not. But storing with MakeSpace is a great place to start!

Before we begin discussing how I prepare for warm weather as well as my spring time essentials, some music is in order. Take a listen to the late great David Bowie’s “Fashion” featured in Clueless:

^^^ Love it. ❤

When it comes to prepping for spring, keeping an organized closet it a total must for me. That means saying bye bye to cold weather boots, heavy jackets, and thick sweaters to combat frigid Ohio winters. If I stored with MakeSpace, all of these snowy day necessities would be taken away ASAP and replaced with all things spring! We’re talking sweet sun dresses, maxi skirts, light cardigans, and open toed heels – finally!

With my winter clothing stored safely away at MakeSpace, my closet would have ample room to welcome some of my favorite spring time clothing and accessories. I’m really looking forward to putting my knee length gladiator sandals to good use as well as my collection of floral skirts. Shocking, I know, that the girl who boasts about wearing all black constantly has clothes in the most girly pattern ever! BUT, these skirts are special because they were my grandma’s and I love all things vintage!

Despite my tendency to lean towards black clothing, I like to pepper all of my outfits with at least a little splash of color. To keep things relatively springy in my looks, I plan on breaking out one of my favorite purses. A vegan leather turquoise satchel. The Easter bright vibrancy of the bag will be a gorgeous pop of color against my soft tan trench coach and black skinny jeans!

Once all of my spring clothes is runway ready (AKA strutting down the aisles of Target), there are a few final Lil Red spring essentials:

  1. A felt floppy hat in a gauzy color. Maybe mauve, peach, or cream.
  2. Long necklaces for layering. I’m currently obsessed with rosary style necklaces.
  3. A killer pair of shades. I plan on rocking my daisy embellished aviators constantly!

Pair with a sundress, cardi, and kitten heels. Rinse. Repeat. Hello, Spring!

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As we bring this article to a close, I’d like to end with a story which explains just why my family needs MakeSpace in our lives. This past week my beloved mother began readying her spring wardrobe when she realized that she couldn’t find her shorts from last year anywhere. For days I had to hear a litany of “I don’t know where they could be”, “It’s not like they could just walk away”, and of course, “Sarah, can you help me”? It. Was. Torture.

But lucky for my mom, Detective Sarah was on the case. Thanks to my expert snooping work, I found my mom’s shorts crammed in one of the dresser drawers that she never uses. Right in the nick of time, too, considering a few hours later she hopped on a plane to hot and sunny Atlanta, Georgia to visit my brother! Moral of the story: Had we been storing away our clothes according to season with MakeSpace, this incident and future ones to come would never be an issue. Because believe me, this is not the last you’ve heard of my mom and I not being able to find anything!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: MakeSpace Edition! What is your go to spring staple? What would you store away with MakeSpace? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar15

Akron Zoo Date

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Akron Zoo Date

Hey everyone and happy Tuesday! Last Friday my boyfriend, Kyle, and I had the most fantastic date day. We went out to lunch at my favorite restaurant and then we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Akron Zoo. Kyle wanted this post to be called “No Bears? No Problem. A Day At The Zoo With My Boyfriend” but that title was way too long so we’ll just stick with Akron Zoo Date for now! Read up on our lovely day together and be sure to check out all of our zoo pictures, compliments of my beau:

For lunch, Kyle and I went to my favorite restaurant which just so happens to be right down the street from me. It’s called the Saffron Patch and it’s seriously the best Indian food I’ve ever had. I recently got Kyle hooked on Indian food when we went to an Indian buffet on Valentine’s Day and I’ve also been craving it something fierce. So when I got to pick where we were going for lunch, I knew exactly where I wanted to go!

The Saffron Patch has such a great atmosphere and the inside of the restaurant is so beautiful. We had a gigantic and insanely delicious meal fit for royalty. Malai Kofta for me and Tandoori Chicken for Kyle along with Naan and jasmine rice for us to share. We ate until we were stuffed silly and were fearful that we might be too full to walk around at the zoo! However, we were dedicated to our idea of exploring the nearby zoo in my neck of the woods so despite our full bellies, we ventured to the Akron Zoo after lunch.

Here are some of the many pictures that Kyle snapped during our visit:

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The rest of our afternoon was spent saying hello to all of the beautiful animals at the Akron Zoo… Except for the bears, who were all out of their exhibits. Hence the meaning of Kyle’s wannabe title “No Bears? No Problem.” Although we didn’t get to see the grizzly and sloth bears, we still got to see so many amazing animal friends. Friday was slightly overcast in good ol’ Akron, Ohio which made the day even better because it was like having the whole zoo to ourselves.

Some of our favorite exhibits that we saw were the penguins, otters, and the lemurs! The lemurs were so active when we were there and Kyle and I spent a solid fifteen minutes watching them jump about and interact with each other. We liked watching them so much that we went back to visit them again before we left! As you can see in the picture of the lemurs, one of them made it into his little tree house and was observing all of the action that was going on with his friends. This made us laugh so hard because one of our favorite phrases, compliments of Borat, is “king of the castle” and this little lemur was definitely king of the castle/tree house!

One of our other fan favorites were the red wolves who were insanely active! While one ran about, the other was busy chasing his tail. The wolf went around and around so many times and then he would change the direction that he was running in to try and catch that darn tail! The wolves were also howling away at the coyotes that were housed next door which was cool to hear! When the coyotes weren’t too busy howling at their neighbors, they spent their time having a race around the exhibit. They were neck and neck and seemed to be having so much fun! It was so cute. :*)

Kyle and I spent close to two hours walking around the zoo and giving “window love”, as Kyle calls it, to all of the precious animals. We explored until it was almost closing time and then we headed back to my house for some R&R. Our evening was spent watching Horrible Bosses and a few episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm before Kyle made his way back home for the night. Our entire day was so perfect. We got to go out and do something that we normally wouldn’t do and make lots of fun new memories. Great success!

Our Akron Zoo Date was such a blast and I can’t wait to have another date day with my beau soon! Where is your favorite place to go on a date? What was one of the best dates that you’ve ever been on? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb28

Sunday Funday!

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Sunday Funday!

Hiiii everyone and happy Sunday Funday!! Just so you know, I will be out of office today because my boyfriend, Kyle, and I have a super fun day ahead of us. Kyle is the Assistant Manager at Gervasi Vineyard, which is in Canton, Ohio. It’s such a gorgeous property with three restaurants, villas, vineyards, orchards, and a huge lake. He has a work party today which is casino themed so that means we get to dress up, drink wine, and mingle!

The last work party of his that I went to was a blast, so needless to say, I’m SO excited! I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend and be sure to tune in on Tuesday to hear all about my night of frivolity! Much love. -Sarah

Feb25

John Patrick Halling

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John Patrick Halling

Hellooo everyone and welcome to a very special article on lifewithlilred about an extremely talented artist that I had the pleasure of getting to know, Kent, Ohio blues musician, John Patrick Halling. I was lucky enough to sit down for a chat with John Patrick about his most recent tour, his performance style, and some of the corniest jokes you’ll ever hear in your life.

Those who frequent my page will know that I have literally no talent for music. I can’t sing, I can’t play any instruments other than three songs on the guitar, and I also have cried during every concert I’ve ever attended – but that’s neither here nor there. What I’m getting at is that I LOVE talking with musicians because they are skilled at something that I wish I could do. John Patrick was no exception. He was humble and genuine with the quick wit of a seasoned performer. Take a look at part of the interview conducted by yours truly and listen along to the songs we discuss on his website.

Our chat began with some rapid fire questions about John’s most recent two month musical excursion, his Boy in the Water US tour, so let’s get to it:

  • Lil Red: What was your favorite place you traveled to?
  • John Patrick Halling: Well I’m from Kansas City, so playing there was a lot of fun. I loved Asheville, North Carolina which was a cool little hippie city, and Boulder, Colorado too.
  • LR: What was your favorite tourist activity you did?
  • JPH: I liked trying all of the different foods and craft beers, sight seeing, and hiking! I hiked ten to twelve national parks. For two weeks of my travels I hiked from Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon.
  • LR: Favorite restaurant?
  • JPH: Oh, what was it’s name? The Mellow Mushroom. It was in the south. It was wood fired pizzas, there was a lot of vegan and vegetarian options, and a bunch of stuff on the walls…Not in the TGIFridays or Applebee’s way, in the cool way. The Mexican food in New Mexico and Arizona was also out of this world. (So jealous, mama loves Mexican food!)
  • LR: Favorite venue?
  • JPH: It was called the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West Virginia. This place was cool because it had a hostel built into the venue where the performers could stay as well as a crowd that was pretty much built in too from all of the tourists and locals.
  • LR: Where would you like to go again?
  • JPH: Everywhere! Wyoming was beautiful and it was filled with the nicest people – they were exactly how you would picture people from Wyoming to be, in the best way possible. I am bummed that I didn’t make it out west, though.
  • LR: How many shows did you play?
  • JPH: Around thirty…I played to a few empty coffee shops. I also performed at open mics and found a few good places on the streets where I would set up shop and play. Pearl Street in Boulder was great for that and so was San Antonio and Asheville.
  • LR: How many miles did you travel?
  • JPH: I traveled 12,000 miles in two months. But 2,000 of those miles was probably me driving around not knowing where I was going. My GPS system broke down halfway through the trip so I had to buy a road map, which was actually hard to find. I had to map out my routes and rough it and if all else failed, I still had my phone! Being on the road is a glamorous thing.

jph2 jph33

^^^ Pictured above: John striking a pose in the Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming as well as a scenic pic he snapped while driving into Kansas City.

After having a spitfire session about the Boy in the Water tour, John and I moved on to discussing his music, his style, and his future plans for his career. Please don’t think that I use the word spitfire lightly, either. All of the questions above were asked and answered in a little over five minutes. Everyone tells me that I’m a very fast talker and I met my match with John Patrick! Turn his music up and let’s move on:

  • LR: Where did the title for your album Boy in the Water come from? Are you part merman?
  • JPH: Well now the secrets out! I tried a lot of different titles but they were all basic and boring. My cousins and I are big fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and in one of the opening scenes Elizabeth is standing on a boat and she sees Will Turner flailing in the ocean and she says “there’s a boy in the water”. So the album title is a tip of my cap to my family as well as whatever metaphorical symbolism it might mean.
  • LR: What was the first song you learned on the guitar?
  • JPH: “Sunshine of Your Love” by Cream and some Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. Since we’re sitting in a Starbucks, I like my coffee how I like my Eric Clapton greatest hits albums, with a little bit of Cream in it!
  • LR: I was a fan of your Hawthorne Heights reference in “If I Would’ve Known”, who are some of your musical influences?
  • JPH: Everything. Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Hendrix. I grew up on 90’s country. I had a Rasta phase in high school where I listened to a lot of Bob Marley. I had my punk phase where I played a bunch of Blink, Simple Plan, and Green Day.
  • LR: Your lyrics are very poetic, have you always liked to write or was that a talent you didn’t know you had?
  • JPH: A little bit of both. I loved history and English classes which involved a lot of writing. I was also always a performer because I’m the middle child who was always striving for attention! I was very into theater in high school and played in quite a few different bands so I think all of these things helped develop my writing style.
  • LR: I thought it was interesting how in “Siren Song” you portrayed the devil as a woman. Is that based on a particular situation?
  • JPH: Kind of, but it also goes back to mythology in general when mermaids would sing their siren songs to tempt men. Women have always been men’s number one vice, asides from beer and cigarettes. But I also feel like I lose myself in relationships very easily. I try to change myself for the person and make myself into what they want me to be instead of finding someone who accepts me for my vices…If that makes sense.
  • LR: It makes perfect sense. Because I have a lot of fashion bloggers tuning in, how would you describe your look when you’re playing a show?
  • JPH: I wear whatever doesn’t smell. No, I’m a big hat guy, I have three or four wide brimmed Brixtons and Stetsons that I love. I also wear a lot of boots. You’ll never see me in shorts though, I’m always in jeans…I woke up like this.
  • LR: You should be a comedian if your music career falls through.
  • JPH: I actually love telling jokes on stage. Why does Peter Pan always fly? Because he never lands. That joke never gets old. It’s got a good hook to it.
  • LR: So where do you see John Patrick Halling one year from now?
  • JPH: Hopefully on the road again. I’d like to start recording a new album in January or February and be out on another tour by August. I have about ten to fifteen songs to narrow down so I’m still deciding on if it will be an album or an EP.
  • LR: And finally, does the drinking ever end in downtown Kent?
  • JPH: Not when you’re drinking with your friends!

jph44 jph55

^^^ Pictured above: Sporting a signature hat in Asheville, North Carolina and a view of the picturesque Arches National Park in Utah. (Can we just talk about how the sky in both pictures looks like something out of a story book? So amazing.)

Are you a fan of John Patrick Halling? You can reach out to him by:

  • Liking his page on Facebook
  • Following him on Twitter
  • Following him on Instagram
  • Emailing him at: johnpatrickhalling@yahoo.com

You can also listen to the album Boy in the Water on all of the following mediums:

I really can’t begin to tell you guys how much I enjoyed my time with the fantastic John Patrick Halling. The pleasure was truly all mine and I can’t wait to see him perform in the near future! Do you have any questions for John Patrick? What is your favorite song off of his album Boy in the Water? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb21

Hello, It’s Me!

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Hello, It’s Me!

Hey there everyone and happy Sunday! I hope all of you are having a wonderful and relaxing weekend. I’ve noticed that I haven’t put up a whole lot of pictures of me on the ol’ blog lately. To remedy that, I had my dad break out his prized camera and snap some pictures of me during this past week. We shot some pictures outside and as you can see, Ohio got quite a bit of snow! (So much so that I was snowed in at home for an afternoon!) We also took some pics on our cool, color blocked hallway for your viewing pleasure. Take a look:

^^^ Thanks, dad! ❤

What I Wore:

  • Featured Image Jacket: This was one of my Christmas gifts, compliments of Target. You can read all about it in my post, New Coat Heaven.
  • Killin’ It Hoodie: My hoodie dress is one of my all time favorite Forever 21 finds which you can read about in my Monday Update: Forever 21 Haul Edition.
  • Black Skinnies: I got these from Express about a year or so ago. They used to have the coolest snakeskin pattern printed on them but unfortunately it faded away after over a year of washing. -_-
  • Zipper Front Heels: These babies are one of my steals that I got from Kohl’s a while back ago which you can read about in, If The Shoe Fits – Apt. 9 Edition.
  • Teal Fingerless Gloves: My glovies are one of my favorite accessories that I own. My mom got these for me from TJMaxx when I was in high school. It was on a day that I didn’t feel like going to school so we went shopping instead! I love them just as much now as I did when I first got them.

It was so nice to be able to spend the afternoon being photographed by my dear old dad. He definitely shot some winners and it was a great way to spend time together! How has everyone’s weekend been? What kind of weather are you having in your neck of the woods right now? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb17

It’s A Boy!

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It’s A Boy!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! I hope the week is going fabulously so far for all of you. On Valentine’s Day my family said “yes” to opening our home to a sweet baby boy. His name is…Well, he doesn’t have a name yet but he’s the cutest little stinker on the planet. He has four legs, soft fur, a tail, and ears that stand up like a bunny. He’s not a cat, he’s not a tiger, nor an armadillo. Baby No Name is a dog! Take a look at the newest edition to the Mushenheim family:

olly2

^^^ It’s A Boy…Dog!! ❤

My family works closely with the amazing rescue group, Canine Lifeline, so of course we adopted baby bear through them! Our Golden Retriever and peanut’s big sister, Gem, was also adopted through CLL two years ago. Both pups came from a rural shelter in Kentucky and ended up being taken in by CLL a few states away in Ohio. My family has been thinking of adopting a new dog for quite some time and this feeling was intensified when my sister moved to her own apartment, taking her rescue pup, Winston, with her.

After looking through the dogs available for adoption on CLL’s website daily, we finally came across our peanut. On February thirteenth, we took him home for the day and over night to see how he would interact with Gem. We bathed him, cuddled him, and played our time away and by Valentine’s Day, we were smitten. Not only did we adore him but Gem got along with him just fine and is very excited about her new little brother!

Peanut is the most precious little pup and he’s definitely a change of pace from all of the other sweet dogs that we’ve had throughout the ages. We’ve never had a dog as small as him before so it’s been fun being able to pick him up and hold him like the baby he is! The only problem we’ve had thus far is that we can’t come up with a name for the life of us!

From the moment my mom and I picked peanut up on the thirteenth, we’ve been spit balling names like nobody’s business. We are both dead set on his name being “Oliver” but calling him “Ollie” for short. Unfortunately, my dad isn’t quite sold on that idea yet. So now, I need everyone’s help! Asides from doing me a solid and visiting CLL’s website and giving their Facebook page a like, I want your suggestions on what to name peanut! In case you forgot what he looks like, here’s another darling pic of our baby:

olly

^^^ I LOVE THIS DOG!!!!

My family is so proud to have our household be little peanut’s “forever home” and we can’t wait to begin making memories with him! What do you think we should name our baby boy? Do you have a pet adoption story to share? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb3

One Lovely Blog Award #3

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One Lovely Blog Award #3

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! I was recently nominated for my third One Lovely Blog Award by my dear friend, Nikki, over at: akinderway. I always enjoy my interactions with Miss Nikki and her blog is a real gem, so make sure you give her page some love! I have so much fun making award nomination posts and it makes for an easy day of blogging so thank you to all of my friends who have nominated lifewithlilred! As always, there are some rules that come with the awards so check them out and then let’s get started:

The Rules:

  • Thank the person that nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  • List the rules.
  • Display the award on your post.
  • List seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate (up to) 15 bloggers for this award and comment on one of their posts to let them know you have nominated them.

All About Me:

  1. I’m currently writing this post while sipping coffee and taking a homework break. I always drink my coffee out of a sweet little mug with a koala bear being floated away by a bundle of balloons and it says “Have an up kind of day”. I think it’s the cutest thing ever!
  2. This isn’t really a fun fact but right now the water in my shower isn’t draining very quickly. On Sunday I dyed my hair with my beloved Vidal Sassoon’s Runway Red and by the time I exited my shower the water was halfway up my calf and blood red. It was really disgusting but insanely cool.
  3. The last movie I watched was The Interview. My sister and I haven’t seen that movie in forever and laughed like crazy the entire time! I love love LOVE James Franco! Hubba hubba.
  4. My boyfriend and I recently entered the “Canton’s Cutest Couple” contest for a local radio station – not that I buy in to any of that stuff but a free dinner would be nice!
  5. My socks are matching for once today, which deserves an award in itself.
  6. I’ve become really fond of eating at Moe’s and have decided that I like them better than Chipotle. #WELCOMETOMOES
  7. I’ll find anything you say infinitely funnier if you end it with “#blessed”.

My Nominees (I’m only doing three):

Once again, thank you so much to Nikki at akinderway for my third One Lovely Blog Award and congrats to my nominees! What are some fun facts about yourself? Do you have any weekend plans that you’re looking forward to? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb2

Hello, Spring Semester

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Hello, Spring Semester

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! Today I start my first day of classes back at Tri-C for the spring semester and I’m moderately excited. (My Abnormal Psychology class which started a few weeks ago is going great, by the way!) I know I posted a couple of articles ago that I would be taking French II this semester but unfortunately, that class got cancelled. Apparently not enough students signed up and yada, yada, yada which I think is a shame. I was so looking forward to that class and improving my French skills even more and now that isn’t going to happen. So if anyone knows of any good learning French programs, please leave me a comment!

Due to French II being cancelled, I had to find a new class to sign up for. Naturally, they only alerted me that I would need a new class a week and a half until the semester starts. Panicked, I had to skim through the classes that were still available and was left with slim pickings of weekend and evening classes and other courses that didn’t fit with my schedule for transporting my siblings. I was so frustrated and ended up signing up for a Film Appreciation course. The class should be fun and easy but it isn’t something that I really wanted or needed to take. I have that class tomorrow evening, so we’ll see how it goes!

Everything for the spring semester just seems to be going wrong. For my Intro to Criminology course, I had to purchase a very expensive text book that came with the access code for all of the online assignments. It was just my luck that when I received the book in the mail, the access code was nowhere to be found. I’m taking the class online and it started yesterday. I looked through the various posts, links, and assignments that my professor provided and the option to purchase the e-book and access code popped up. That sure would have been nice to know when I had emailed my professor about the text book prior to the class starting. Especially because to purchase the e-book and access code from the links he provided was way cheaper. Now I have to brave the crowded and busy campus book store tomorrow to get my access code-less book returned. Yayyyy.

It’s not like I’m complaining…but I’m totally complaining. It’s so annoying/irritating/frustrating when all you want is for something to go smoothly but it just ends up being slightly disastrous. But hey, at least I am going to get everything taken care of and then I should be a-okay. I just needed to vent because these school related problems have been driving me crazy! I’ve also never really had to deal with any slip ups or mishaps during my time at Tri-C so for it to happen now is such a buzzkill! -_-

I’ve said Hello to my Spring Semester but I really just wish I could rewind the past couple of days and have a redo! Where are all of my college kids at? What classes are you taking this semester? What was one of the worst mishaps that have happened to you in college? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb1

Monday Update: Paint Nite Edition

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Monday Update: Paint Nite Edition

Hi everyone and happy Monday! For Christmas my brother and sister-in-law got me a Groupon for two admissions to a Paint Nite. For those of you not familiar with the event, it’s a lot of fun! You go online and pick a bar as well as the theme of the picture that you would like to paint. Then you make your way to whatever location you picked and paint a beautiful picture and enjoy some drinks while doing so. My boyfriend, Kyle, and I went to the Paint Nite that we chose last Tuesday and we had a blast. Kyle took pictures of our progress on the canvasses throughout the night, so take a look and then let’s chat:

^^^ The one on the left is mine and the one on the right is Kyle’s.

Kyle and I spent close to a half hour browsing through Paint Nite’s website to find a theme and a location that we both liked. We settled on the Love Birds theme which would take place at the Canton Brewing Company in Canton, Ohio. This location was good for Kyle because he’s a beer drinker but looking back on the event, I would have preferred to be at a wine bar! We booked our tickets thanks to my Groupons a few weeks in advance so for two or so weeks all we could talk about was how excited we were for our night out.

Finally, our date night on Tuesday the 26th rolled around and it was all I could think about for the entire day! We arrived at the Canton Brewing Company which was gigantic and then headed down into the basement where the event was taking place. After we walked down the huge stairway we saw all of the canvasses set up on easels and a bunch of people gathered around to enjoy their evening. We snagged a spot where we could sit together which I was afraid was not going to happen because almost everyone was there by the time we arrived. After we established our spots we went to the bottom floor bar to get ourselves some drinks before the extravaganza began.

The Canton Brewing Company had a great selection of beers (obviously) and that was great for Kyle but not so good for me! I’m not a big beer drinker at all – mama likes her sweet white wines! Unfortunately, they only had two wines to choose from which was a red and a chardonnay which ended up being way too dry. I threw back the chardonnay even though it was extremely unpleasant and was then able to get a drink that I actually like upstairs at the main bar. After I got a vodka sour in my system, I was feeling much better!

Our painting party started promptly at seven o’clock and was led by a lovely hostess whose name I can’t remember for the life of me, so we’ll call her “Anne”. Anne is a high school art teacher and had a lively personality which made listening to her talk a lot of fun. The basic idea of Paint Nite is that Anne will paint a section of the canvas and tell you how to do it and then you repeat the process. This back and forth went on for about an hour and then we dispersed for a fifteen minute break to get more drinks, go to the bathroom, and let the paint dry.

Once we returned from our break we got to work on the second half of our painting. Our hostess did a really good job of explaining the process in laymens terms which was so helpful because Kyle and I don’t have an artistic bone in our body. It was also nice to have another art teacher there who made her rounds around the tables to give some pointers and replenish our paint supplies. Before we knew it, another hour and a half had passed and our paintings were finally complete! Again, here are the finished products:

I was really pleased with how our paintings turned out – everything except Kyle’s dumb old cardinals that he decided to paint hair on to differentiate which bird was which. He gave his alter ego bird spiky hair and he ended up giving mine a mullet…Thanks, babe. -_-

I had so much fun at Paint Nite but there are a few things that I would do differently. It was nice to be among such a lively crowd while we got our paint on but at times, it was almost too much. There were around thirty or more people there so it would get incredibly loud which made it hard to hear Anne teach us what to do. I would definitely prefer smaller groups because then you would be able to get some type of attention from the hostess and her helper. You also wouldn’t have to deal with the insatiable urge to yell “SHUT UP” at everyone. 🙂

Other than the over abundance of people, I’d say that Paint Nite was a wonderful time. I was so thankful for my Groupon Christmas gift because the cost to go to an event is forty five dollars per person. I honestly think that that’s a bit pricey which is too bad because I would love to go to another one but I don’t particularly want to break the bank for it – especially when you still have to pay for drinks, snacks, and parking.

My best friend, Lea, wanted to try a Paint Nite after I told her about how much fun it was so we looked in to going to an event together. We were both not too keen to spend sixty or so dollars for the evening so we planned our own Paint Nite to have at home. We searched on YouTube for instructional videos on painting canvasses so we’re going to get our own supplies, grab a bottle of wine, and let an over enthusiastic YouTube painter walk us through creating a picture. Hello, girls night in!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Paint Nite Edition! If you’re looking for a unique and memorable date night, girls night, or gift idea then I can’t recommend a Paint Nite outing enough. How many of you have attended a Paint Nite before? What did you think of it? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan29

I Still Get Jealous

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I Still Get Jealous

Heyy everyone and TGIF! Have any of you ever gone through your social media pages and have just felt insanely jealous of people? This happens to Lil Red on occasion and it really grinds my gears. It’s one of those things where you see everyone and their brother on your friends list being happier, better, prettier, etc than you and it can really get a gal down. So what brings on these feelings? What can you do to remedy them? Take a listen to an ironic choice in music and then let’s discuss:

^^^ I had to!

This past week I saw that a girl who I went to high school with was studying abroad in France and Italy and it made me SO insanely jealous. That’s one thing that I would love to do and that I have mentioned frequently on the ol’ blog and to basically anyone who will listen. A thing about me is that when I want things, I want them ASAP. So to see someone who is my age essentially living my dream kind of killed me. It can be hard to see people doing something that you want so desperately while you’re sitting in Akron, Ohio being miserable. -__-

As soon as I became green with envy over this, I began to evaluate my life and what I was doing wrong. I was turning the pages in my mind of everything that I could be doing and that just made me feel even worse. I then made a mental list of everything that I do and all of the responsibilities I have and it felt like a slap in the face. I was doing what felt like a lot but I still couldn’t have this one thing that I really want.

My mental list ended up looking something like this:

  • Attending school full time at Tri-C.
  • Coaching figure skating for the Special Olympics.
  • Transporting both of my siblings who can’t drive multiple times per week.
  • Working as a freelance writer for different companies, artists, and musicians.
  • Doing consultations for individuals who would like to start their own blog.
  • Working for two different media companies on my social media pages.
  • Working for the Ohio Board of Developmental Disabilities to make sure that everyone is receiving the best care possible.

With all of these things stacking up in my day, I barely have time to breathe but it still didn’t seem good enough. But then I started to think about how I work my ass off every day and am doing so much to improve the lives of others. I reminded myself that it will be my turn to travel soon enough and that it would be all the more sweeter when it finally does happen. Then the mental list began to shift and it looked more like this:

Mental list take two:

  • I work hard at school and have gotten all A’s since I began college last year.
  • I bring joy into the lives of my skaters and their families.
  • I help improve the quality of life for others.
  • I get both of my siblings to where they need to be when they need it.
  • My freelance work has been really taking off and I have the articles, followers, and media companies that I work through to prove it.

Yes, it does suck when you want something that you simply can’t have. It also sucks even more when you see someone with what you desire so much. However, all I can do is keep on going because I am making great strides on my own even if I don’t feel that way sometimes. It can be hard to remember that at times but when I do it definitely helps easy my jealousy!

In the words of Nick Jonas, “I Still Get Jealous”, but that won’t stop me from continuing to keep on trucking and working hard! What is something that makes you jealous? What do you do to help with those feelings? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah