Tag Archives: shopping

Jan8

New Rachel Roy Vest Thing

Posted on January 8, 2024 by lifewithlilred

Hello!! Tuesdays are one of my favorite days of the week because I don’t really have too much to do. I just have a short shift in the morning and later in the afternoon so I have from eleven to two thirty off. In that time, I either run errands, hang out with my parents, or work online. This past Tuesday, I decided to hit up TJMaxx because I had some Christmas gift cards and TJ rewards burning a hole in my pocket. I did a full restock of my skin care, which we’ll check out tomorrow and had just enough left over for this amazing Rachel Roy Vest… Thing? Lol take a look:

Post holiday shopping at TJMaxx is one of my favorite things to do. Until their spring shipment comes in, I feel like all of the weird stuff that didn’t sell throughout the year gets brought back out and everything is marked down. Luckily for me, I LOVE all of the weird stuff and have made some of my best purchases during this time of the year. During my rounds in the clothing department, I was searching specifically for these items and ended up finding this Rachel Roy Vest/whatever. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I did know I liked the pattern going around the edges and on the tie very much.

In the fitting room, I realized that you put this vest on like a poncho. It slips over your head so two panels of fabric are in the front and then you tie it together. Once it was on, I was completely sold! This vest is such a unique piece and I have never seen nor own anything like it. I love the traditional vest style quilting paired with the flowers in deep fall colors. The fit was also everything because after it was tied, the shoulders came jutting out and created such a cool shape. I found the only vest like this in the store and I highly doubt I’ll see anyone wearing one of them in public. This makes it feel exclusive to me and that is always a huge selling point for me because I don’t want what everyone else has!

Throughout the new year, I will be making lots of new content with Tim Misny and my Rachel Roy Vest Thing is the first thing I plan on rocking during our next shoot. I can’t wait to serve up fashion looks and a whole lot of fun!

What is your favorite day of the week? When during the year is your favorite time to shop? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan6

All Better OOTD Bloopers

Posted on January 6, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my All Better OOTD! I spent the majority of my holiday break being sick AF and only started rallying over the weekend. This couldn’t have come a moment too soon because my family celebrated Christmas late when the whole crew could be there. On Friday, we enjoyed a wonderful family meal at Hibachi Japan and I was stoked! It is one of my favorite restaurants in my neck of the woods and also the last time Johnny and I went I dropped my leftovers all over the stairs leading up to our apartment. SMH! Anyways, let’s get to these bloopers:

When you literally can’t pop your foot

Lol, SO over it!

She sticks the landing!!!

Making sure no one saw that…

Lol my eyes look terrified, my mouth is smiling, and I have no idea what’s happening

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

I had grand plans for my holiday break. Sure, I was going to rest and spend some time reading and watching my favorite shows. In between the R&R, I had dates for outings with friends and family and a few shifts that I didn’t feel like missing. That all went up in shambles and it turns out that I would be spending my break in its entirety recuperating and watching endless episodes of My 600 Lb. Life. It was a massive bummer but, on the bright side, I really love watching My 600 Lb. Life so I guess it wasn’t all bad? lol

Come this past Tuesday, I was honestly so ready to go back to work. I’m sure many of you didn’t want your holiday break to end on account of all of the fun you were having. Myself, on the other hand, was willing every day to go by quicker because it would be one less day of being sick! Returning to the grind after a solid week of vegging out wasn’t ideal, but I couldn’t wait for the change to my routine – especially considering I could breathe out of my nose again. All I know is that I am taking a whole week off for my birthday in June to make up for this dud of a break. Start crossing your fingers now that I don’t get sick for that too!

It’s never fun feeling under the weather, but it is even worse when it’s over the holidays. I am SO happy to be back on my bullshit and not sounding like Napoleon Dynamite anymore. Bring it on, 2024!

What are your tried and true remedies for a cold? When was the last time you got sick? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan5

All Better OOTD

Posted on January 5, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! Unfortunately, I spent my holiday break under the weather. I had the worst cold, aches, and fever and chills and was feeling pretty miserable. It was such a bummer, but at least I had an entire week off of work to rest and recuperate! By the time this past weekend rolled around, I was doing a lot better and was able to attend a family dinner at Hibachi Japan. It had felt like forever since I put on makeup and got dressed up so I couldn’t wait to finally take some OOTD shots! I kept my look for the evening comfy and cute and this is what I came up with:

Who? What? Wear?

Moto Jacket: Zara

T-Shirt: Misny Merch

Coated Skinny Jeans: Seven Jeans, TJMaxx

Vertebrae Platforms: Dolls Kill

Cross Earrings: EmLeigh’s and Mama B’s

Normally when I style an OOTD, I begin with a completely blank slate. This time around, however, I already had the base of my outfit established with the T and jeans and decided to keep it that way. The coated Seven Jeans inspired me to play with texture and I wanted to incorporate more of that through shoes and a jacket. While it is fun to experiment with texture outside of a neutral palette, I kept things simple and used all black clothing and accessories to do so. This is a lazy gal technique because it’s never going to be “too much” when your textured pieces are all the same color!

Next on my agenda was a jacket and I knew exactly which one I was going to go for – my embellished moto jacket from Zara. This is quite possibly one of my favorite moto jackets that I have ever owned and I think it is perfect. I love the stud details, the grey hood, and classic shape and it is one of my go tos during the winter. This jacket was also ideal for introducing another texture because the faux leather looks matte in comparison to the sheen of the jeans. Although these two pieces were completely different textures, it still flowed seamlessly because they were both black. Lazy gal, or just really smart? lol 😀

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. For jewelry, I chose a pair of dangly bejeweled black cross earrings. I wanted the pop of color to come from the burgundy T-shirt so I decided to let the earrings blend with the rest of the outfit. I also planned on leaving my jacket on during the evening so there was no need for anything additional. The last step was shoes and I went with a killer pair of platforms by Dolls Kill. These boots speak to my spooky soul and and they were just what I needed to complete the look. They tied this outfit together from top to bottom as they appeared matte but still offered a bit of shine and, with that, I was ready to hit the town!

Last year, my goal was to shoot as many OOTDs as possible and my goal remains the same this year too. I was able to shake off the yuck in my All Better OOTD and I can’t wait to see what outfits I put together in 2024!

How was your new year celebration? What did you do over your holiday time off? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan4

Merry Merry OOTD

Posted on January 4, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hi darlings!! My Christmas break did not really go accordingly to plan because I was sick during a majority of it. Luckily, my family celebrated the holiday later in the week and I was able to rally enough to go and stay in my bubble. We had a wonderful day because my family in its entirety was there. All four kids, our partners, and my three nieces and sweet nephew. It was amazing and is what Christmas is all about! For my holiday outfit, I didn’t want to go too all out because I was wiped out. I did throw a little something something together, though! Check it out:

Who? What? Wear?

Feliz Navidad Sweater: Walmart

Skinny Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters

Platform Boots: Dolls Kill

Hoop Earrings: Argentino Vivo, TJMaxx

Johnny and I have loved being able to sport our Tim Misny holiday sweaters throughout December, so I wanted to wear something different for this look. We have quite a few Christmas sweaters to choose from, but my absolute favorite has to be the Feliz Navidad one. Sorry, Tim!! We purchased this years ago from Walmart and I’m not really sure why lol. I think we both just liked it a lot because I can’t recall ever wearing it to a get together with friends! This sweater is everything. It is festive, fun, and bright and I will never not be over the beads, tassels, and hot peppers hanging off of it. 😀

With a sweater this bold, I really didn’t have any other options for pants other than my go to black skinnies. So, we’ll move onto shoes and accessories! For jewelry, there wasn’t any open real estate for necklaces or bracelets. Of course, even if there was I wouldn’t have worn them because of all the bling on the sweater! I opted to keep things simple with my go to pair of gold hoop earrings by Argentino Vivo. My sweater offered a lot of movement and so do the earrings so that complimented each other nicely. These earrings are also big enough to hold their own against the sweater and added some lovely length to my neck.

Shoes were next and I was sick of wearing my red Bamboo boots for holiday OOTDs. I decided to go a very different route by wearing my devil horn Dolls Kill platforms instead for a little heaven and a little hell. Mainly, I wore these for the red glitter but privately I wore them to laugh about it in my head lol. I think they added perfectly to the pure over the topness of the sweater and they are definitely the Lil Red version of Dorothy’s ruby slippers. Once these babies were on, I was ready to celebrate the holiday in devilishly good style!

My Merry Merry OOTD put me in the holiday spirit, but that was nothing compared to how my spirits soared when I was together with my whole family. I hope all of you had a fantastic holiday too!

How did you celebrate the holiday season? Do you have any fun holiday sweaters? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec22

Merry & Bright OOTD Bloopers

Posted on December 22, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Merry & Bright OOTD! This past weekend, Johnny and I took some charming couples shots and OOTD pics of us rocking a sweater from the Misny Merch holiday collection. Working with Tim Misny is, easily, the coolest thing that my blog has ever done for me other than meeting all of my amazing blogging besties. He is an absolute hoot and it is such fun to create content with him! Unfortunately, Tim wasn’t with us when Johnny and I took pics, but we did have the next best thing: A Tim Misny pillow and a whole lot of bloopers. Check it out:

Rocking that stank face

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

Trying to pop my foot: A saga in four parts…

This is NOT going well. Lol the look of pure terror!

How did it come to this?!?!

Laughing it off and pretending this epic failure didn’t just happen

Not much else to do but get my phone and give up. Maybe next OOTD I can get that foot poppin!

I have often been asked since I started to work with Tim Misny how it even happened in the first place. To better explain, let me create a timeline for you…

May: Tim announced the launch of Misny Merch along with a contest to snap a pic rocking your purchase for a chance to meet him at Misnyland. I told my dad about it and he bought me some swag for my birthday.

A Few Days Later: I shot this OOTD and entered the contest. I later learned that I won!!

November: The Misnyland party got pushed back from a summer BBQ to a fall celebration. Johnny and I went together and nearing the end of the party, I asked Tim if he had time for a quick interview. This “quick” Q & A turned into a half hour long conversation and we only ended our gab sesh because he had to bid farewell to the party guests. We did, however, exchange our contact info with the promise of working together again.

Here & Now: Since the party, Tim and I have been in frequent contact and ended up shooting a holiday video to show off the Misny Merch. You can peep the video on my Facebook page (Sarah Mushenheim) or his (Tim Misny). We have grand plans for all of the content including creating a podcast together, tons of videos, and lots of photo shoots!

This newfound friendship with Tim has been a whirlwind and Johnny and I enjoy our time with him so very much. All I can say is, if you ever have an opportunity put in front of you: Go for it! I was SO nervous to ask Tim for a chat at the party, but I did and everything is coming up Misny and lifewithlilred. I can’t wait to see what we come up with next!

What opportunities has your blog given you? What is something that you were nervous about but did anyways? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: Remember that all proceeds from a Misny Merch purchase goes towards supporting the Cleveland City Mission!

Dec21

Merry & Bright OOTD

Posted on December 21, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Howdy!! Johnny and I took some couples holiday photos which you saw yesterday to show off some new Misny Merch. My husband simply worked it and our Tim Misny pillow and holiday sweaters didn’t look too bad either! Wearing our Santa suit Tim sweaters together was a hoot. This was my first time wearing a holiday themed piece of clothing since I was little and I couldn’t have picked a better one to break the over two decade long hiatus. While taking couples photos was my primary goal from this shoot, I had to take a few OOTD shots too! May I present, my Merry & Bright OOTD:

Who? What? Wear?

Holiday Sweater: Misny Merch

Skinny Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters

Red Heeled Boots: Bamboo, TJMaxx

Red Heart Earrings: SugarFix by Baublebar, Target

Whenever I am styling an OOTD, I always start out by identifying a key piece to create a look around. While it is fun to go shopping in my wardrobe boutique, it can be overwhelming to have all of those options! My Merry & Bright OOTD was an incredibly easy one to style because the Tim Misny holiday sweater was the outfit’s focal point. Not only is the image on the sweater bold, but it is huge too and that was my sign to keep the rest of the look simple. Additional touches like a necklace or cold weather accessories would have instantly formed a cluttered appearance, which is not the way to go when you want to showcase one particular item.

Next on the agenda was jeans and to maintain the “simple is best” approach, I put on my plain black skinnies. Originally, I had on my pair of coated Seven Jeans and it was an instant no no. The sheen of them against the muted sweater didn’t look cohesive in the slightest. It was more like two separate pieces working against each other rather than being complimentary. Instead of trying on more pairs with distressing or patterns, I went with my old standby and am glad I did!

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. Since the sweater was green and featured a holiday motif, I decided to go red with the finishing touches. For shoes, I selected a darling pair of heeled boots by Bamboo. The pointed toe and bright hue are so sassy and added some fun attitude to the outfit. These boots also feature an amazing surprise, which you can see in the second to last photo. I love the tassel zipper! Last on the agenda was earrings and I chose a dangly pair of red hearts. These helped create some length to my neck since everything else was covered up and tied the look together from head to toe.

If you are loving the Tim Misny holiday sweater, you can purchase it at Misny Merch and help support the Cleveland City Mission. Keep it locked for the blooper reel tomorrow!

What is your favorite charity to support? What do you plan on wearing to celebrate the holidays? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec19

Hats Off: Misny Merch Edition

Posted on December 19, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hi darlings!! It has been forever since we’ve had a new edition of Hats Off because I haven’t bought a new hat in… Well, forever. That changes today, though, because we have a few hats from the Misny Merch collection to check out! Ohio’s favorite local celebrity, Tim Misny, is the man and it was such a joy to create content with him. We had so much fun showing off the Misny Merch line in its entirety and shining a light on the Cleveland City Mission. All proceeds from merch purchases directly benefit this amazing charity that helps battle homelessness in Cleveland. Tim is a huge supporter of the Cleveland City Mission and I tip my new Misny Merch hats to all of those who give their time and love to those who need it at the CCM. Let’s take a look at this swag!

During the fall and winter, I feel like I am constantly rocking a beanie. They are such a classic cold weather staple and it’s just too easy to throw one on in the morning and call it a day. My go to beanie features the phrase “bad hair day” and, yes, it does cover up my crazy hair from first waking up but also assists in my pure laziness lol. During the work week, I am either up at three or four thirty AM and the last thing I am concerned about is the state of my hair in the wee hours of the morn! I am LOVING my new Misny Merch beanies because they are really similar in style to my bad hair day one and offer an infinitely cooler tagline: A variation of Tim’s signature catchphrase, “I’ll make them pay”.

Another fun item from the Misny Merch line are the baseball caps that say “Misny To The Max”. I think the slogan is absolutely hilarious and I also have this cap in black too. In fact, I wore it in the OOTD I styled to win the contest that put me into Tim’s orbit. Everything that Tim does, trust and believe he does it to the max. Whether that be helping the Cleveland City Mission, taking on a personal injury case, or even decorating Misnyland – he’d rather go big or go home. These hats are a fabulous reminder to do everything to the max and see what happens. It applies to me firsthand. If I didn’t have a “to the max” attitude, then I never would have secured the interview that made me and Tim instant besties!!

Live your life to the max and good things will come your way. Live your life in a “Misny To The Max” baseball cap and you’ll look cool while doing it. Buy yours today at Misny Merch and support the Cleveland City Mission!!

How do you live your life to the max? What is your favorite style of hat? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec11

Medieval Times OOTD Bloopers

Posted on December 11, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Medieval Times OOTD!! I so enjoyed visiting The Green Dragon Inn board game bar this past weekend and am already itching to go back. It was, hands down, the coolest place in Akron that I have ever visited and I am still amazed that this gem is just a hop, skip, and a jump from me. Sadly, the lighting in the bar itself wasn’t conducive to taking OOTD shots so I had to resort to snapping pics outside. Aside from my fantastic faces, there are two glaring bloopers in these shots so take a look and let’s discuss further:

The sassiest village person from a video game. “Doth said WHAT?!”

Lol I genuinely have no idea what’s going on here

The hood is coming up so it’s time to embark on an adventure

…Is the hood even on??

AYYYY psyche it is!!!!

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

Did you find the bloopers I was talking about?? If you guessed “the huge wad of chewing gum on the ground” and “my sunglasses stem pointing directly at my crotch” then you are a winner!! Lmao, I have no idea how I didn’t notice these two glaring issues while I was taking these pictures, but omg was I annoyed when I was looking through them later and realized it. With something as obvious and out of place as these particular problems, I was SO close to calling this OOTD a wash. Then, I had a brain blast…

I began looking for apps where I could edit these photos and remove the rogue gum and glasses stem. However, I ran into the problem of having to pay for every app I was interested in and I just wasn’t about to do that. Cheap? Yes. Petty? Always. After lots of searching, I finally found an object removal app that was free, but it was the jankiest process known to mankind. Getting rid of the gum and glasses stem on this app called “Fixit” or something of the like took a long time of trial and error. It was a very finicky, touchy app but that’s what you get when you don’t want to pay for something. On the bright side, I only had a few photos to edit from the original post and left the blooper shots as is because, let’s be real, it’s a hell of a blooper!

The Green Dragon, gum, and glasses oh my! These pictures were definitely my wake up call to do a better check of myself and surroundings before Johnny starts snapping away!

What is your favorite photo editor app? Is there a board game bar in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec7

Medieval Times OOTD

Posted on December 7, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD here on lifewithlilred! As you read yesterday, I visited a board game bar this past weekend called The Green Dragon Inn. It is my new favorite place in Akron and was decorated like a Medieval tavern. I am still amazed that this gorgeous space exists not even twenty minutes away from me! It took a minute, but I had the perfect cardigan in mind to wear for this outing and I love the look that I created with it. Let’s take a gander and discuss further:

Who? What? Wear?

Chain Pattern Cardigan: MaxSport LA, TJMaxx

Cami Top: mittoshop, French Rooster

Skinny Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters

Heeled Boots: Candie’s, Kohl’s

The earrings were a gift from my aunt and the necklace is from the Goodwill!

I had seen pictures of The Green Dragon Inn before our outing and wanted to style an atmospheric look to mesh with the wonderful setting. The initial planning phase of my Medieval Times OOTD had me going through multiple different options. I was thinking faux fur for a while, but I literally just created an OOTD with a faux fur accent and knew I had to pivot. As I continued to rack my brains, I remembered a fabulous longer cardigan by MaxSport LA and couldn’t believe I didn’t think of it right away!

I loved this cardigan for my visit to The Green Dragon for several reasons. The pattern, first and foremost, was ideal for the setting. The regal color palette of black, red, and gold felt like a nod to way back when and the chain pattern reminded me of a suit of armor. The shape of this cardigan also helped match the vibe as it fit more like a robe and had a hood. This little MaxSport number had me feeling like a video game character come to life and that is exactly what I wanted.

Since the cardigan was so bold and offered a lot of length, I kept the rest of the look sleek and simple. This was the best way to go because another pattern or even texture had the potential to overpower this outfit in the worst way. For my top, I chose one of my go to camis from French Rooster to add a feminine touch with the lace and show some skin as I was almost completely covered up. Prior to settling for a pair of plain black skinnies, I actually had on my coated pair by Seven Jeans. However, their sheen really clashed with the soft cloth motif that I was already working with on top and swapped them out. See, sleek and simple was definitely the way to go!

Finally, it was onto shoes and accessories. For my shoes, I put on a pair of heeled thigh high boots by Candie’s. These boots are old as dirt, but they are one of my favorite pairs and I felt like they embodied the “video game character IRL” aesthetic I was building. Granted, an adventurer probably wouldn’t wear heels, but you all get the point. Jewelry was next and I knew I wanted to incorporate a necklace so I selected a small pair of ruby red dangly hearts to keep from jewelry overload. For my necklace, I went with an amazing pendant I found from the Goodwill as a teen. You can’t tell, but it features a portrait of George Washington crossing the Delaware River lol. This pendant or amulet, if you will, tied my look together and I was ready to enter into the realm of The Green Dragon. 😀

A bit of trial and error went into styling my Medieval Times OOTD, but it was well worth the effort. I wanted to create a character look to wear to The Green Dragon Inn and I think I nailed it!

What is your favorite video game? How about your favorite video game character? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec5

Gifts Of Experience Ideas

Posted on December 5, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! It is definitely crunch time for finishing holiday shopping and that can be a difficult place to be. Stores are probably picked over, perhaps some gifts won’t arrive on time for a celebration, or you have no idea what to get someone. But, fear not because there is a solution! We’re talking about the gift of experience. Gifts of experience are an amazing way to go if you are in a bind or are shopping for someone who has everything. Let’s take a look at some ideas to get you started:

Art Classes:

Whether you’re young or old, it’s always fun to try something new and that can be done with art classes. It could be pottery, watercolor, sketching, even glass blowing! No matter what form of art you choose, it will provide a brand new experience for your giftee and that is the whole point. You could even take the class with your giftee for some extra quality time. This is a great option for adults and kids alike and you might just be introducing them to their new favorite hobby.

Gym Membership:

If your giftee has a passion for fitness, why not pay for a month or two of a gym membership? It could be to their own gym or a new one if they don’t have a set place. Most gym memberships include being able to take the classes being offered so you could join in as a guest too! While this is a gift that is more geared for adults, it can be tweaked for kids too. Maybe they want to take swim lessons or a little movers class? The gym can help with that! This is a perfect gift with New Year’s Resolutions being right around the corner!

Scent-sational:

How about some pampering for your giftee? There are lots of specialty boutiques that can help you create your own signature scent for a candle or bath and body care. This is an ideal option for someone on your list who appreciates the finer things in life or who lives for a trip to Bath & Body Works. Bath and body care is always a popular choice for presents and making your own puts a unique twist on a classic gift. I would love something like this!

Date Night:

Do you have any couples on your holiday shopping list? Treating them to a date night will be a huge hit! This could be anything from a nice dinner out to a ballroom dancing class or tickets to a play. You can also make a date night in kit if you can’t find anything out and about that would strike the fancy of your giftees. This could include a bottle of wine and some new board games, a grocery store gift card to cook a meal together, or a few months of a streaming service to watch all of their favorite shows. Whichever way you go, this is a thoughtful gift for the couples in your life.

Body Mods:

There is nothing quite like the experience of a new piercing or tattoo! If there is someone on your list who has an affinity for body mods, then I cannot stress enough how well a gift card to their favorite tattoo or piercing shop will go over. You will have won the holiday celebration, period. Lol, this is coming from my personal opinion as a gal with more tattoos than she can count. Nay, I am a personal expert because I know for a fact your body modded giftee will be psyched!

Gifts Of Experience are a fun take on traditional holiday presents and are a surefire way to go if you are experiencing shopping stress. These gifts are also a lovely way to show that you are actively listening when your giftee talks to you about their hobbies and interests!

What is a gift of experience you have received? Are you all done with your holiday shopping? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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