Tag Archives: ohio

Oct26

Nelson Morris: For The Sake Of Art

Posted on by
Standard
Nelson Morris: For The Sake Of Art

Hello everyone and welcome to a very special article on lifewithlilred. I had the absolute pleasure of getting to know Nelson Morris, a teacher, an artist, and now a new friend. Nelson recently had a part of his work entitled the “1000 Faces Project” featured at the Cleveland Ingenuity Festival and it is currently being displayed at the Waterloo Sculpture Garden and let me tell you, those who can make it out are in for a treat. Learning the intricacies of Nelson’s artwork was such a joy and I know I shouldn’t be saying this but I’m going to anyways…I have never been so excited to work with someone. Take a look at the interview conducted by yours truly as well as some photos of Nelson’s creations:

nelsonnelson1nelson2

  • Lil Red: So the first thing everyone is obviously going to want to know about is your latest creative endeavor, the “1000 Faces Project”, so tell me more.
  • Nelson: Of course. It started when I was a student teacher in Middlefield, Ohio. My art students never wanted to do portraits, which I think comes from the social anxiety a student can often feel from the fear of making a mistake. I fought tooth and nail with them about it and one day I set up a still life of a plaster cast and the kids drew it. Something in them clicked, similar to the light bulb moment that I had during a trip to New York City to help a fellow artist. I saw so many people and all I wanted to do was draw all of their faces. This project is about diversity and the subtle facial differences that make us unique. What makes us the same? What makes us different? I wanted to find out, so I began making casts.
  • LR: Approximately how many faces have you cast?
  • N: So far I have 165.
  • LR: And you think you’re going to get to 1000?
  • N: Yes, I really do. At the Ingenuity exhibit I was set up on stage casting audience members. I casted thirty faces there and got a great response so hopefully I can keep that momentum going.
  • LR: Has it been difficult finding people willing to sit for you to get their faces cast?
  • N: Yes! The casting part is easy, it’s finding people that’s the hardest. I can transport an 1800 pound statue on my own and it’s horrible but finding people is much harder.
  • LR: How have you been finding people to plaster?
  • N: First I started by reaching out to my friends on Facebook but then I quickly ran out. I then started adding all of the people on the “people you may know” section – I sent a friend request to anyone who looked sane! That’s how I got in touch with you!
  • LR: I’m glad I look sane to you! But I do the exact same thing when I want more views on my site – a friend on Facebook is a potential viewer.
  • N: I’ve met some great people from it, too. One time I got to cast a group of fifteen people in the basement of the Fastlane bowling alley in Barberton after it closed thanks to finding the owner on Facebook.
  • LR: I didn’t even know bowling alleys had basements! What are some of the most memorable moments from all of the people you’ve casted?
  • N: I’ve had some creepy ones, that’s for sure – but I’ve also had a lot of really fun ones too…Except for the first cast that I ever did, which was on my own face. As an artist, you always experiment on yourself first, so I was home alone at my parent’s house and I stood in front of a mirror and started to cover my face in plaster. I had straws in my nose, walrus-style, so I could breathe and after about three layers of plaster I covered my eyes and did the rest by touch. This was in June and I had hay fever at the time and the straws stuck up my nose kept on bumping and tickling me and before I knew it, I felt a huge sneeze coming on. I tried to pry the cast off but it was stuck on there pretty good and for a split second I thought to myself, “great, this is how I’m going to die – with a plaster face mask on”. But I got the cast off and I survived! However, the plaster that I used originally was very rough and gritty and when I pulled the mask off some chunks of plaster got into my eyes…I spent forty-five minutes in the shower trying to wash it all out.
  • LR: The things people do for their craft. Can you tell me more about the process of creating a plaster face cast?
  • N: Well, the process was a bit messy to start because I’ve only plastered bodies, never a face. I used to use about six layers of gauze impregnated with plaster but now I’ve got it down to only one to two layers. Like I said, making the casts is the easiest part now. All you do is dip the gauze in water, squeegee it off, and slap it on the face. I’ve got the process down from a half hour to ten or fifteen minutes flat.
  • LR: What do you think the finished product is going to be like once you’ve finally cast 1000 faces?
  • N: It changes all the time. I think very architecturally though so the idea right now is to have the faces lined up next to each other, kind of like in the old underground catacombs. When they’re lined up next to each other is when you can truly compare and contrast them. I also want to incorporate audio into the project. I take recordings of the voices of everyone who I’ve plastered and I would like to make it so if you touch one of the faces you can hear the voice of the model.
  • LR: Wait what? How do you plan on doing that?
  • N: I know it sounds crazy but stay with me! I’ve played with this idea before with a life sized terracotta statue. The sound chip was solar powered so when the sun lined up just right the statue of the woman would begin to sing. But that was just for one statue – I had no idea how I would do it with hundreds of face casts. I started to ask around for help and the head engineer of 107.9 (a Cleveland radio station) told me about a processing board that might make the idea possible. I happened to find a hobby group dedicated to working on the processing boards in Akron and I emailed a member with the subject “For The Sake Of Art”. He replied and has been helping me with creating the codes and wiring to give the plaster masks voices.
  • LR: I’m so excited to see the “1000 Faces Project” in all of its concrete and audio glory. So, if you could say one thing to a young Nelson before he had a beard, what would it be?
  • N: Everything’s gonna turn out alright.

Pretty cool, huh? Not only is Nelson an artist extraordinaire, but he also teaches pre-k through 8th grade. How he has time to breathe is beyond me! He told me a great story about how on the first day of one of his classes he presented the students with a basket of one hundred pencils and a pair of bolt cutters. He cut off the eraser to every pencil because his students don’t use erasers in his classes so that they can learn how to fix their problems on their own. This goes along hand in hand with the mantra he tells his students daily: “Making a mistake isn’t a problem when you’re creating art work. You have to learn from your mistakes and adapt from them”.

Nelson is a self funded artist who creates customized pieces and will be selling replicas of the tiles seen in the pictures featured on this post. If you are interested in any of his art work old and new or have ideas for a custom piece, you can contact him at:

If you live in the Akron/Cleveland, Ohio area and are interested in having Nelson cast your face he now offers free house casting parties. If you can get five people to attend, he will come to you. But if you get ten or more people to come to the party, all of the guests will receive a free record of their face which will look something like this:

record

I want to thank Nelson so much for sitting down with me for a chat because it was seriously an  honor. If you have any questions for my new friend you can reach him through any of the mediums I posted above or leave me a comment to relay to him. Would you get your face plastered for the 1000 Faces Project? What do you think Nelson’s finished product is going to end up looking like? We wanna hear from all of you, so leave us a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct26

Monday Update: Special Olympics Edition

Posted on by
Standard
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

Oct20

Please Like Me?!

Posted on by
Standard
Please Like Me?!

Hellooo everyone and happy Tuesday! Mama has a lot of homework to do today so I decided to go with a short and sweet post so I can get back to work. There isn’t much to this little blip in the whole world wide web except for me asking you guys to give some love to my Facebook page and the pages of some of the talented people that I’ve had the pleasure of writing for! Please do it…PLEASE?!

^^^ Give a like to one or give a like to them all and I’ll like you forever! 😉

^^^ DO YOU NEED ME? DO YOU THINK I’M PRETTAY?!

I also am pleased to announce some of the other articles that will be posted on lifewithlilred within the end of October and the beginning of November:

  • Nelson Morris: For The Sake Of Art
  • An interview with the talented John Patrick Halling of Kent, Ohio
  • An inspiring campaign for Trades Of Hope ran by one of my dear friends

I hope all of you are having a fabulous day and as always keep it posted on lifewithlilred for all of the latest and greatest! How is everyone’s week going so far? Anything awful or exciting? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct1

Lil Red Reminder

Posted on by
Standard
Lil Red Reminder

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! I was going to save this friendly reminder post until Saturday but I have quite a bit to do today so I figured I’d keep my daily post short and sweet. What am I so busy with? Well I’m glad you asked! I have the pleasure of penning a new article for an incredibly talented artist fresh out of Ohio, Nelson Morris. His work on the “1000 Faces Project” will be on display at the Cleveland Ingenuity Festival this weekend as well as at the Waterloo Sculpture Garden. Yesterday I got to sit down over coffee with Nelson and chat away about his creative endeavors. I’d like to get a rough draft of the article done today while everything is fresh in my noggin so I don’t completely jack up describing all of the technicalities that Nelson told me about. This guy is the real deal so you’re all in for a real treat once the interview is published!

I’m not going to post Nelson’s contact info just yet but I do encourage you to show some love to the Facebook pages of yours truly, Recipe of Life, Millstone, and Daffodil Blue Photography! Please, please, please? 🙂

I don’t ask for much on the ol’ blog but I really would appreciate it if you guys took the time to give a quick “like” to any and all of these pages. Supporting local artists who use their talents to not only express themselves but relate to others is so important and I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t showcase all of their amazing work on lifewithlilred. Thanks again!!

thanks

Alright everyone, it’s almost the weekend so hang tight for just a few more days! Does anyone have any big plans coming up? Who is one of your favorite local artists 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

Sep29

Hawthorne Heights Concert Recap

Posted on by
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

Sep25

Hawthorne Heights Concert!

Posted on by
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

Sep24

I Can’t Even – A White Girl Memoir

Posted on by
Standard
I Can’t Even – A White Girl Memoir

Helloooo everyone and happy Thursday! So as you guys know, my car AKA the Little Red Love Machine AKA LRLM is my pride and joy. I love my 2012 Mazda 2 hatchback more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life, so when it’s in a dangerous situation I turn into a fierce mother bear. With this disclaimer in mind, you’ll see why I just couldn’t even while driving to school yesterday – ESPECIALLY in regards to senior citizen drivers. Do I sound bitchy yet? Don’t care, so get ready for the rant of a lifetime in “I Can’t Even – A White Girl Memoir”.

First things first, I am ALL for old people driving for as long as they can but there comes a point when they are a straight up danger to themselves and everyone else on the road. During my drive to Cleveland for class on Wednesday I encountered two problematic situations – one that was uber annoying and one that was one hundred and three percent dangerous. Let’s discuss:

Annoyed & Angsty: I started my drive on Wednesday feeling really good. I had a nice full tank of gas, a fresh coffee, and I had plenty of time to get to school with at least twenty minutes to spare to study for my French test. Everything was smooth sailing until I got on the road I take to get on the highway. For a long stretch of the street, the speed limit is 45, so other drivers and myself included are usually going a solid five to seven MPH over. Unfortunately, this common vehicular courtesy did not apply to the old timer in front of me who was going at least fifteen MPH under the speed limit, traveling at roughly thirty MPH. I. Was. LIVID.

So I’m driving along, still trying to put the pedal to the metal to get this geezer moving and he literally wouldn’t budge. Thanks to my bad luck of getting stuck behind this guy, a road that usually takes me ten minutes to drive on took me an extra five to seven minutes, dwindling my study refresher session time lower and lower. Now some of you guys are probably thinking “big deal” and in the long run, it isn’t that huge of a deal. But what if it was you who was potentially going to run late for work, class, or a date? Wouldn’t you be pissed too? I can see someone driving at the speed limit exactly but fifteen under?? Jesus.

Irritated & Endangered: Finally, I lost my senior citizen friend once he turned down the street and I was back in business. I made it to the traffic light before the highway and would be the first to drive off to the Tri-C sunset as soon as it turned green. “Yes!” I thought to myself, “what could possibly go wrong now?” ….Apparently a lot.

The light changed to green and I fired up the LRLM engine for a highway adventure. I got onto the entrance ramp and began to pick up speed when all of a sudden BAM, I slammed on my breaks hard. Everything in my passenger seat went flying to the floor and my heart was racing a gazillion miles a minute…I was stuck behind another old timer. This is no exaggeration when I say that this driver was going at approximately twenty MPH on a highway entrance ramp.

I am SO thankful that I have extremely fast reflexes and could hit my breaks in time because there was no way I could have seen this vehicle from farther away. The car was beyond the curve of the ramp, so it was out of my line of vision – but when I  made the curve coming in hot at close to fifty MPH the car was right fucking there. Not only am I thankful that my breaks were functional and efficient enough to bring my car to a full stop from such a high speed but I’m so lucky that there was no one behind me either. If there was another traveler behind me, there is a very good chance he would have rear ended me, slamming me into the slow poke, and totaling my car completely.

At first I was shaken up…I could have been in a potentially life threatening accident. But then, I was infuriated. I was enraged that this senior citizen who clearly couldn’t use the entrance ramp properly was even there. Everyone knows that those ramps are there to get you close to highway speed before getting on one so how can that happen if someone is going at twenty MPH??

Everyone thinks that it’s the fast drivers that cause the most damage and that’s probably true but slow drivers are just as dangerous. I’m not writing this post to be mean or say that all old people can’t drive, but my god, there should come a point when they shouldn’t be on the road anymore. I am a firm believer that everyone beyond a certain age should have to take some sort of driving test to keep their license to prevent the situations that I encountered yesterday. I’m so happy I got to school safe and sound but I’m still so fired up about the whole thing and I really just CAN’T EVEN.

even

So there you have it, I Can’t Even – A White Girl Memoir. This rant was something I really needed to get off of my chest, so thanks for letting me ramble! Has anyone had a situation similar to mine while driving? How do you feel about mandatory driving tests after a certain age? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep17

Wednesday Fun!

Posted on by
Standard
Wednesday Fun!

Howdy everyone and happy Thursday! I had such a fun filled busy day yesterday and I just had to tell you guys all about it! The day started out rocky but ended strong, so check out this track that will make sense to you by the end of the post and let’s discuss:

All of Tuesday, yesterday, and today I’ve had the unfortunate health issue of conjunctivitis in both of my eyes. It’s been a pain in the ass and it hurts like the dickens. On Tuesday night when I was with my boyfriend I finally decided to take my contacts out, which should have been done at the first signs of redness. I guess better late than never though, considering both of my eyes were blood red and I looked like the spawn of Satan once I realized it was time for the contacts to go. I was hesitant to take them out though because my plan was to drive from his home in Canton to school in Cleveland the following morning and my eyesight isn’t the best. #dangertomyself #andothers

I woke up Wednesday morning with my eyes crusted shut completely, which was a lot of fun! After getting myself ready for school, I deemed my vision safe enough to drive as long as I took it nice and slow. I left my man’s house early so I would have time for a leisurely drive as well as stop home to grab my back up glasses before school. I made my pit stop home, grabbed the dorkiest glasses ever, and headed to Tri-C for my French class. The worst part about wearing my glasses aside from how much I hate them is the fact that I wasn’t able to wear sunglasses during my drive. My face was crumpled into a permanent squinting position which I’m pretty sure gave me premature wrinkling. #SHAMEFUL

I rolled into my French class looking nerdy chic (I hope) but was then struck with the fear of “oh shit, I hope people don’t think I’m stoned”, compliments of my blood shot eyes. Throughout my class I was SO paranoid that I might as well have indulged in a pre-lecture hit of cannabis. “Does she think I’m high? Does he think I’m blitzed? DOES MY BELOVED PROFESSOR THINK I’M STONED?!” A gazillion thoughts of my classmate’s possible judgement were swarming through my head at a rapid speed BUT I still managed to kick major derriere in my class! #OUI 😉

After a semi stressful but nothing that I can’t handle afternoon, it was time for Sister Date Night!! Kristen and I had a sexy evening of dinner and a movie planned and it was so much fun!! I picked her up in the Little Red Love Machine for some fine dining at Taco Bell and a showing of Sinister 2. My sister and I were starving and were so happy to be in the comforting atmosphere of TBell for some binge eating. We shoveled burritos, chalupas, and tacos down our gullets until we fell into the “too full to move” food coma. It. Was. WONDERFUL!

We slowly made our way back to my whip and collapsed into the seats. We unbuttoned our pants to ease the bloating, got ourselves together, and headed to the theater for some scary movie shenanigans. We arrived at the Regal Cinemas and purchased our tickets only to find out that we were eligible for a free popcorn thanks to my Regal Crown Club rewards card. “More food!!!” We got our popcorn from the concession stand and answered with an enthusiastic “YES” when we were asked if we wanted butter on our popcorn. Who doesn’t want butter on their popcorn? Seriously. If it were up to me, I would be able to go behind the concessions counter to pump my own butter just to make sure that each individual piece of popcorn was drenched in sweet, caloric, buttery goodness. #delish

Kristen and I entered our designated theater with our hands full of popcorn and purses full of pop brought from home. As we walked further into the room we saw that we were the only people there! It was so great! Throughout our showing of Sinister 2 we were able to swear, scream, and make off color comments to our hearts content. My personal favorite was when I dared my sister to go pee in a corner…I promise you she didn’t! #pinkieswear

ANYWAYS, the Sinister sequel was scary as fuckkk. I’m a big fan of the first movie, despite how scary I find it and the second one was just as good/terrifying! Kristen and I spent a significant amount of time with our hands covering our eyes and screaming “OH SHIT” at a hefty portion of the film. We had such a blast even though we were so scared! Kristen kept pestering me to spend the night at her apartment and I kept begging her to stay the night at home. We’re basically the two biggest twenty-something babies ever. #noshame #adultbabies

During our drive home, when we weren’t trying to bribe each other into staying the night, Kristen played DJ with my iPod. We jammed to TLC and Britney Spears but the most memorable song she played was “Epiphany” from Sweeney Todd, hence why I posted it at the beginning of the post. Kristen and I love that movie so much and “Epiphany” is our all time favorite song from it. We played it at full volume with our windows down all while singing very poorly. I couldn’t stop laughing for the duration of the song and was almost in tears by the time we were stopped at a red light with good ol’ Sweeney Todd blasting through my speakers. #howaboutashave?

We couldn’t decide where to stay the night at so we went our separate ways to sleep all by our lonesome. All night I was petrified about the evil Bagul lurking in my room or dreams, but I promised myself that if he made an appearance that I would deliver a swift punch right in his suck hole. KA POW! Lucky for me, Bagul must have heard my threats, so I was okay for the night – however, I woke up halfway through my slumber because I had to go to the bathroom and I REFUSED to leave the safety of my blanket fort. I am so thankful that I didn’t wet the bed once I fell back asleep and I woke up refreshed and ready to take on a day of homework! #blessed

meeeee

^^^ I feel like I haven’t posted a pic of myself in a while, so there you go!

So there you have it, a long post about some Wednesday Fun! I had a fabulous Hump Day and I hope all of you are having a great week! What is everyone up to this upcoming weekend? Any big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep16

Woman Crush Wednesday: Sasha Cohen Edition

Posted on by
Standard
Woman Crush Wednesday: Sasha Cohen Edition

Helloooo everyone and welcome to the newest edition of Woman Crush Wednesday – Sasha Cohen style! For those of you who don’t know, I figure skated competitively for ten years and the lovely Miss Cohen was and still is one of my biggest inspirations. Check out this gorgeous routine that I picked solely because she’s wearing one of my all time favorite skating dresses and then let’s discuss my woman crush:

Dear Sasha Cohen,

Beautiful little Sasha, where do I even begin? I guess I have to ask if you remember me, for starters. We met when you came to visit at the Wooster skating rink. We took pictures together and you signed my skates, a hoodie from a previous competition, and my copy of Skating magazine with you on the cover. You were just as sweet as I hoped that you would be and you were even smaller than I thought! You have the most darling petite figure and it was pleasantly surprising for you to be the same height as me when you stood up to give me a hug. Meeting you was one of the highlights of my skating career/life in general and I’ll never forget it. Your exquisite grace and beauty on and off the rink is extraordinary. You skate with such genuine emotion and elegance and your talent is undeniable. I always wanted you to get the gold in the Olympic games…I daresay I wanted it for you just as much as you wanted it for yourself! Your career as a figure skater motivated me to push myself on and off the rink. You taught me the importance of hard work and dedication and for that I thank you so much. I can’t close this love letter without also mentioning how hard I laughed at your cameo in Blades Of Glory when you caught Chazz Michael Michaels jock strap…It was truly a moment for the ages. 😉 I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

sasha1sasha3

^^^ She’s just divine. Lord have mercy on a gal!

So there you have it, this week’s Woman Crush Wednesday: Sasha Cohen Edition! Who is everyone’s #WCW this week? What was your favorite routine skated by my woman crush? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep15

Daffodil Blue Photography

Posted on by
Standard
Daffodil Blue Photography

Helllooooo everyone and welcome to a very special article on lifewithlilred about a blossoming business in the Akron, Ohio area, Daffodil Blue Photography. Daffodil Blue is run by the lovely and talented Britta Michele and I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with her for some coffee and all of the details about her endeavors as a young businesswoman. Before Britta and I scheduled a time to meet up, I asked her to pick her all time favorite photos that she’s taken for a Photographer’s Choice segment. Put a face to the name with this pretty pic of Britta and then take a look at these sweet shots before reading the interview that I had such a blast conducting:

brittadbpdbp3dbp4

 

  • Lil Red: Alright! What made your Photographer’s Choice pictures your favorites? Let’s start with our little cupcake faced cutie!
  • Britta: Well, I’m pretty sure that that was her first cupcake, which was an awesome moment to photograph! This was taken at her second birthday party and I just think that this photo captures her personality so well. She looks so sweet but she definitely has some sass to her! I also like how the cupcake is all over her face, it’s so stinkin’ adorable!
  • LR: What about the second photo? They both look so happy!
  • B: They were! Baby Jameson loved the camera! I had so much fun photographing him and his mom, Ashley. I’m really glad that I was able to capture such sweet moments for her and her little one.
  • LR: Too cute! And now for the third and final Photographer’s Choice picture! What made you choose this photo as one of your faves?
  • B: These siblings were a blast to work with. I had a lot of props for them to play with, like bubbles and balloons, so they weren’t always paying attention to the camera – but it still made for some amazing shots! I really like this portrait because it shows how much love all three siblings have for each other and I’m happy to have been the one to capture it!
  • LR: So when I knew you, we were high schoolers in French class and you went by Brittany. How did we get to be called Britta and a photographer a few years later?
  • B: I decided to go by Britta because it’s a very rare name! I’ve never heard of it before and I think that it’s memorable. I want people to think of my name and go “Oh, Britta? She’s a photographer!” Photography has always been a passion of mine from a very young age. My cousin was a photographer who taught me everything that I know and she has been the inspiration for my work ever since.
  • LR: When did you take your first “real” photograph?
  • B: Oh gosh! When I was thirteen or so?
  • LR: Speaking of unique names, Daffodil Blue Photography is another one! What’s the story behind that?
  • B: Similar to my name, I wanted something that was different. I had seen “Moments By” and “Photographs By” countless times and that type of name could be run by anyone. I had played around with names and searched for different word pairings and then I started to think more in terms of things that I like. I love daffodils and blue is one of my favorite colors.
  • LR: So the name wasn’t something that came out of the blue? 😉
  • B: Nope! But I definitely wasn’t dead set on it. I kept going back and forth – I wanted it to have more meaning. It wasn’t until people began telling me how much they love the name Daffodil Blue that I began to love it too!
  • LR: As I browsed through your websites, I noticed that you do a lot of family shoots. Is that your favorite kind of shoot to do?
  • B: Yes! I love children and I can’t wait to have my own some day to photograph! When kids are involved, I always try to make it as fun as possible for them. I bring stuffed animals and just let them play. I always prefer to have action shots of children because they just can’t sit still! And the best thing is, even if there are photographs of them not looking at the camera, I have some tricks up my sleeve to edit them to make it appear that they are.
  • LR: From all of the shoots that you’ve done has there been a most memorable moment?
  • B: All of them are! There really isn’t just one. I do like to continue photographing beyond the session time my clients have signed up for because you can’t get everything that you want in the allotted time. The post session photos are usually of the kids just playing around – and that’s when you get the real smiles!
  • LR: As a photographer, it’s your job to create memories. Is there a specific shoot that you’re dying to do?
  • B: Wedding shoots! Weddings are just so magical. I love taking pictures of someone who looks so beautiful and happy. I want the couple to look at the photos twenty years from now and think, “Wow, look how amazing we look. Look how happy we look. We still are happy”.
  • LR: And now for the cliche interview question…Where do you see Daffodil Blue Photography one year from now?
  • B: Hopefully with a lot more people photographed – particularly some wedding shoots! I would love to travel and make Daffodil Blue a full time business rather than a part time hobby.

I had the absolute best time catching up with Britta and hearing all about Daffodil Blue Photography. With so many aspiring photographers out there, I asked her to grace us with some advice on how to make the best of a young business. Here’s what she had to say:

  1. Don’t ever give up. Believe me, I wanted to so many times, especially because I was comparing myself to others so often. You have to learn from the people who have more experience than you, not compare yourself to them.
  2. Have patience. I started Daffodil Blue at the beginning of last year and I’m just now gaining more and more clients.
  3. Don’t charge what professionals are charging right away. Get a steady client base before you raise your prices but never go too cheap!!
  4. Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to reach out to people who might be interested in your business.

During our talk, I was shocked to learn that Britta had not named her Nikon camera! We decided on the very original “Nicki the Nikon” and here’s the facts about what makes her D3200 camera baby the perfect one for her:

  1. Through extensive research, Britta came to the conclusion that Nikon was a bit better than Canon, which made her Nikon purchase a no brainer. “Canon is still a good brand but I would pick Nikon any day!”
  2. Nicki the Nikon boasts 24 megapixels while the D3100 only has 12. However, I learned from my self taught photographer friend that it’s not the megapixels that matter, it’s what lens you use.
  3. Britta is currently using the kit lens and is very happy with it. She told me that not many professional photographers would use that lens but that’s okay with her! Throughout our afternoon together, Britta mentioned frequently that just because she may not have the best equipment yet, it doesn’t mean that she can’t take an amazing picture! (However, Britta will be treating herself to a 50 mm. 1.8 G lens for her upcoming birthday!)

Interested in Daffodil Blue Photography?

Guys, I’m not gonna lie, this was my favorite write up I’ve done yet. Britta is the real deal. She’s intelligent, creative, and has such evident talent that it’s palpable. We both thought that it would be fun if my readers took a look at her websites and chose their favorite photo to share with us! Until then, do you have any advice for Britta as she continues her work at Daffodil Blue? What is one of your favorite pictures that you’ve ever taken? We wanna hear from all of you, so leave us a comment and let’s chat! And please make sure to leave us a Reader’s Choice picture in the comments! Much love. -Sarah