Tag Archives: story time

Aug3

Spill The Tea OOTD Bloopers

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Spill The Tea OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Spill The Tea OOTD! This little look was worn to attend a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at the library with my niece squad and we had the best time. The girls loved making all of the tea party food like finger sandwiches, fruit salad, fruit punch, and frosted cookies and created a spread fit for a celebration in Wonderland! As the extra aunt, I had to show out in fancy dress to attend the party and it was received very well. These pictures, however? Were not received very well by me as I went through the million shots that Johnny took! Best blog husband ever! Lol, check it out:

The belle of the ball

Looking good feeling GREAT!

Now you see me now you don’t

Strike a pose there’s nothing to it – VOGUE

A literal bee in my bonnet lol it thought the flower headband was real!

Who, me?

Stomping off to the partay

As a very heavily tattooed woman, I am very used to people staring and asking questions. And, of course, the absolute certainty to get a comment at the gas station as soon as hot weather hits and I break out shorts and a tank. It happens every year like clock work! This past week when I went to pick up my car from the shop, I ended up having the most delightful conversation with the woman who was in line behind me. She asked if she could take a closer look at my ink which I always appreciate and then we began gabbing about anime when she saw my Demon Slayer tats. As she perused my leg tattoos, I couldn’t help thinking of another instance of a tattoo looky loo that went in a completely different direction that lives rent free in my memory…

Several years back, my bestie and I visited a winery for one of our birthdays and were enjoying drinks on the deck overlooking the vineyard. Seemingly out of nowhere, a lady who had several glasses of the good stuff crept behind me, dropped down to leg level, and started scanning all of my work. My BFF and I had no idea she was there because we were facing the vineyard and this woman was operating on stealth level. You could imagine my surprise when I sensed her presence, turned around, and caught her gawking lol. It was a horror movie level scare!! The moral of this story? Always ask before getting up close and personal with a tattooed person. Chances are high they won’t mind at all and you won’t end up scaring them half to death. Big ups to my repair shop companion for knowing the etiquette! 😀

Tea parties, tattoo peek a boo, and a broken down car – oh my! What will happen next in Lil Red’s crazy world? Keep it posted here to find out!

Have you gotten a new body mod recently? What did you get? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul27

Auto Adventure

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Auto Adventure

Hello!! My beloved car AKA the Little Red Love Machine AKA the LRLM is in its elderly years at fourteen years old with a solid one hundred seventy five thousand miles. The LRLM is my first car, pride and joy, and it absolutely breaks my heart to know that I won’t get to have it for forever. It seems like something is always going wrong with it and things took a massive downward turn when she started smoking on my way home from work this past week. I don’t mean vaping like her owner but literally smoking lol and so began my Auto Adventure…

When my car started hot boxing, I pulled into the parking lot of Marigold Catering + Events, said expletives loudly, and promptly exited the vehicle. It was the cherry on top of a crap day but it actually didn’t end up being all that bad. Don’t get me wrong, the car situation wasn’t great. However, the employees of Marigold really made a world of difference and I appreciated them SO much! Just as soon as my car was in their parking lot, all of them immediately came to my aid. They even helped put coolant into my car to see if that did the trick. We had our fingers crossed but, unfortunately, the coolant was leaking and I needed to call a tow truck as I was uncomfortable driving it to the repair shop.

It was going to take AAA at least an hour to get to me so I decided to just sit down and read. As I waited, the employees of Marigold continued to check up on me to chat and offer something cold to drink and it was so incredibly kind. As the minutes ticked by while I was waiting for my ride, they began to close up shop. At this point, my tow truck was about ten minutes out and that was to all of our relief because the staff let me know that they were going to stay with me if the wait was longer. These perfect strangers rallied around me in my time of need and, although I was bummed out, it didn’t feel like a massive blow because they genuinely cared.

Once my tow truck arrived, I was beyond ready to get home but enjoyed our pleasant conversation as we rode to the repair shop. We talked about metro parks, local restaurants, and shared a lot of laughs. The cabin of the truck was nice and cool after sitting outside for two hours and it felt so good to finally be on my way home. Johnny was waiting for me at the repair shop that is right down the street from our apartment and I bid my tow truck driver farewell and thanked him profusely (As well as the Marigold staff!). Thanks to everyone’s help, I made it home safely and made some new friends too. I won’t soon forget it!

Car troubles? Sucks. The kindness of strangers turning the situation around? Amazing!! ❤

Have you experienced a random act of kindness recently? What happened? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul26

Dominating Duolingo

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Dominating Duolingo

Hi! Whenever I am asked the question of what super power I would like to have, my answer remains the same: To be fluent in every language in the world. Learning languages is one of my favorite hobbies and I think that would just be the coolest to be able to communicate with anyone in their native tongue. Accommodating people is so important to me and I can’t think of a better way to do so. That’s why I love learning on Duolingo so much! In fact, I just reached a three thousand day streak which translates to over eight years of daily language learning. Great success!

My primary focus on Duolingo has always been French and then I began adding other languages to my arsenal. I have been working hard on my Italian to be able to have casual conversations during my upcoming vacation. I even began learning Japanese about a half a year ago should my brother and I ever go on our dream vaca to Japan together! Over the years, I have started learning languages and dropped them. This isn’t for a lack of wanting to learn them but because I refuse to pay for Duolingo Plus and don’t have the amount of health to work on anything beyond four languages. This, I know for a fact because I just added Spanish back into the mix again.

When I started using Duo almost a decade ago, I got pretty far in the Spanish course and made it to level four. Then, other languages piqued my interest and took its place. However, I still know a lot of key words and basic phrases and recently got to put that knowledge to use. A few weeks or so ago at the gas station there was a man speaking Spanish to the employee who couldn’t understand him. I did and was able to help with his purchases and it felt SO good. Just having that beginner knowledge allowed me to assist someone else and that was my super power coming to fruition. So, I started relearning Spanish again in the hope of more interactions just like that.

Every morning I start my day by practicing French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese and it brings me so much joy. I love learning new things and being able to take the time to improve my passion one lesson at a time. I might never be fluent in every language in the entire world and that’s okay. Because simply knowing a handful of words or phrases can open up entire worlds too and my gas station experience proved that. I am Duolingo’s number one fan and I encourage all of you to start learning a new language for free too. You will surprise yourself and have a lot of fun!

Huge shout out to Duolingo. I may never pay for your Plus membership but I still love you all the same lol!

Which languages do you speak? What are you learning on Duolingo? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul2

Peakychu, I Choose You!

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Peakychu, I Choose You!

Hi! Johnny got me Pokopia for the Switch 2 for my birthday and I have been playing it nonstop. If you are unfamiliar with this specific game, are you familiar with Animal Crossing? Because it is basically that but Pokemon and it is so much fun. You help rebuild different towns, restore habitats for Pokemon, and complete all kinds of requests like creating electricity or building a railway. Every time I play, I am greeted with something new and I am stoked for the upcoming DLC update! In August, you will be able to create an under the sea environment and meet all kinds of brand new to the game Pokemon. 😀

Johnny has a coworker who loves all things Pokemon and was so excited when he told her how much I was loving Pokopia. So much so that she gifted me with something very special and it was just the sweetest thing! Check it out:

Peakychu, I Choose You! And there’s a very interesting story behind this prezzie… Japan launched exclusive Pokopia plushies and Johnny’s coworker ordered the Peakychu for herself. Shortly after, there was a limited release in America but it was invite only. She happened to be invited and ended up getting one more and had no idea what to do with her extra Peakychu. So she decided to give it to me as a late b-day gift. I was SO blown away by this generosity because I have only met her once before at one of Johnny’s work functions! She made a delightful impression on me and I guess it went both ways. We are so looking forward to hosting her and her husband for a game night so I can thank her IRL. Maybe our Peakychus can even have a play date lol. 😀

Now, back to Pokopia and one more little story: During the Covid-19 pandemic, Johnny was furloughed from work for several months and spent that time doing what everyone else was doing… Playing Animal Crossing all day every day. I was insanely jealous and by the time I got to play on our Animal Crossing village, everything noteworthy had already been done. Johnny was putting in work! I’ve gotta say, Pokopia puts Animal Crossing to shame and this gaming experience has definitely made up for my lack of playing everyone’s favorite Covid past time! ❤

If you have a Switch 2 and are looking for a simply charming game that is jam packed with Pokemon, get Pokopia STAT. You will love it!

How did you pass time during the Covid pandemic? Are you a Pokopia or Animal Crossing fan? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun12

If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit?!

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If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit?!

Hello! My brother and I are avid hikers and sadly all of my hiking shoes have bit the dust. In their defense, I only have a handful of shoes that aren’t heels and they were all old as dirt and falling apart when I had to part with them. And, while my new wheelies are technically tennis shoes, they are pretty clunky and not the best for a trek through the woods in. I decided to rectify this by stopping into Famous Footwear during my break at work and expected to be in and out in a matter of minutes. Believe you me, it doesn’t take your girl long to find a perfect pair of shoes! To my complete and utter surprise, that was not the case in the slightest and I am still shooketh!

I think the last time I was in a Famous Footwear was when I was in grade school lol but it was the only option that made sense as TJMaxx’s in store shoe selection leaves a lot to be desired. I rolled into the store on a mission: Find a cute, sturdy pair at forty dollars or less and then I would be on my way. This was far more difficult than I could have imagined! I am so used to discount prices at TJs that my mind was simply blown when I saw full price footwear. Of course, the shoes were brand name like Nike, Vans, and Sketchers, but they were eighty dollars plus! Hard no.

Rather than entertain those options, I started looking at canvas shoes instead which were much more complimentary to my budget. There were several pairs that I liked so I took five boxes or so to the mirror to try them on. I am SO glad I did. My shoe size is a true blue size six and in my head there is no reason why size sixes shouldn’t fit. So tell me why literally none of the sixes at Famous fit me?! Every size six I tried was at least a half a size too big and that went across the Blowfish, Hey Dude, and Jelly Pop brands.

Saying I was frustrated was an understatement. Shoes are my thing lol and this store was giving me so much trouble! Then, I decided to dig deeper by looking at the labels of each brand as they included European sizes. It was just as I suspected. The size sixes I was trying were a thirty-seven in European sizing. When it comes to those size ranges, I am a thirty-six because thirty-seven is a six and a half. Therein lied the problem and there were no five and a half women’s shoes. I even looked in the children’s section before leaving the store with empty hands! Although there was a light up pair that I was really considering…!

In conclusion, shopping for heels is easy peasy. Shopping for sneakers is a shockingly different story. I never thought I would find myself writing a post about If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit but I guess there’s a first time for everything!

What is your favorite brand for tennis shoes? Where can they be purchased at? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May22

Dressed To The Nines OOTD Bloopers

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Dressed To The Nines OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Dressed To The Nines OOTDs! My family had the most wonderful time celebrating my beautiful cousin on her wedding day and we did so in style! Johnny and I simply come alive at a wedding and had been looking forward to Anna’s big day for months. It did not disappoint! I have no clue when the next wedding we attend will happen but I sure hope it does soon. I think we both have wedding fever despite being already married lol. Indeed, the day couldn’t have gone better for the bride, groom, and guests. These pictures could stand to improve, though!

Lmao you guys what even is this?

I swear I didn’t have any champagne before taking this shot. #dazedandconfused

Looking you dead in the eyes like

TFYM when your husband says he doesn’t want to get a divorce so we can get remarried to each other SMH

Practicing my dance moves before the reception

Walking to my phone FIERCELY

After Anna’s wedding ceremony we checked into the Hotel Indigo to prepare for her reception. We planned on Ubering to the party so all that we needed to do was get dressed and pop on the TV for the constant Office marathon that is always running on Comedy Central lol. When it was time to go, we headed to the lobby to wait for our Uber and that began the longest journey of our lives. Cleveland was a buzz of activity because there was a baseball game, a basketball game, and a concert happening all in one night. The streets were jam packed with traffic and people and finding our Uber proved to be an impossible task.

Our driver let us know where he was and we walked a block or so to the location. Was he there? NO. He then said he was a few streets down so we walked there too. Was he there? … NO. Finally, he informed us that he was at a restaurant over three blocks away and we simply gave up. It was hot AF, we were dressed to impress, and refused to walk another step to find the rogue driver. Then, a miracle happened. A taxi driver approached us and after explaining the situation, he told us to hop in. This driver was our guardian angel and really did save the day/our lives. Thanks to his kindness, our long trek ended in a comfy car to be chauffeured to the party. Screw Uber but huge shout out to our taxi driver!! ❤

After trudging through the uneven sidewalks of Cleveland for a solid half hour in platforms, my dogs were barking. That didn’t stop me from dancing the night away one bit! 😀

Have you ever had a bad Uber or ride share experience? How did the problem get solved? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr24

Best Toast EVER

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Best Toast EVER

Hello! I absolutely love to cook for my family and friends. Nothing pleases me more than seeing people enjoy what I have made and whenever we have company, trust and believe I have to whip up a little something something! Although Johnny and I think my cooking is the bomb.com, there is something about other people’s cooking that just hits different. For example, my mom and I make the exact same mac n’ cheese recipe and I always think that hers tastes better than mine. In fact, I recently had her mac n’ cheese and shared my sentiments and told her a little story about Johnny’s scrambled eggs…

Two or so years ago I got really sick after getting one of my Covid boosters. I was having hot flashes and chills, my body felt like I got ran over by a truck, and it was straight up agony. During that time, I wasn’t eating much and drinking ALL of the blue Gatorade. Then, when my appetite came back I requested scrambled eggs and toast that Johnny made for me. I kid you not when I say it was the best scrambled eggs I had ever had in my life and Johnny was so pleased with himself! 🙂

This past Monday I was feeling pretty lousy. I didn’t sleep well on Sunday night and I was so busy in the morning that I didn’t have time to eat breakfast before my shift. By the time I got home after work, I was so exhausted and freaking starving. I made myself something quick and easy but that didn’t curb my hunger one bit and I knew I would need a snack before taking my nighttime medication. My beloved Johnny tapped in for the assist and made my order of toast with “lots of butter” while I went upstairs to lay down.

A few minutes later he returned with my toast and, once again, I kid you not that it was the best toast I ever had lol. Was it because I was so hungry or because it was made with love? Who’s to say? All I know is that it tasted like manna from heaven! I repeat, there is just something about when other people make food for you that hits different! As I ate, I could literally feel myself feeling better and I could tell it made Johnny happy. I think he felt how I feel when I make food for him! He’s, admittedly, not the best chef but my main squeeze can make a mean scrambled eggs, toast, and oven pizza like nobody’s business! What a heck of a guy. ❤

A snack as simple as toasted sourdough bread, beaucoup butter, and Johnny’s secret ingredient of a pinch of salt got me feeling right again. I think he needs to make it for me from now on!!

Do you and someone else like to make the same recipes? Whose dish tastes better to you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar24

New Orleans OOTD Bloopers

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New Orleans OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my New Orleans OOTDs! Be sure to stick around this week to see the actual OOTD post for what I wore to my cousin’s wedding. 🙂 Without my resident photographer, Johnny, my sister pulled through in the clutch to take my pictures and TikTok videos. It took a little bit of coaching for Kristen to get them just right but she was a quick study! Huge shout out to her for putting up with my nonsense not just with OOTD shoots but for always taking a selfie with me every other minute lol. Hey, sister time is a rarity for us so I had to milk it for all it was worth! Let’s get to these yikes shots:

I’m a star, baby!!! Out here doing the most as per ushe

Practicing my dance moves for the wedding and looking GREAT

Kristen’s OOTD shots were a work in progress but her bloopers were on point

My face when Kristen asked if we were done yet lol the answer was NEVER

Looking SO cool (said no one ever)

A strong preface to the Blooper Reel story time…

After my cousin got married, we paraded around the street and it was absolutely amazing. The entire block was going freaking nuts and I think we all felt like celebrities during that five minute trek! Because the experience was so exciting, I wasn’t looking where I was going whatsoever. In the streets of New Orleans, that is a big mistake because their walkways definitely need some love. As I strutted my stuff, I was so unaware that I walked right into a pothole with a huge cone in it lol SMH. It was a shock to the system but I think I recovered beautifully and made the rest of the parade without further incident. That was to come later…

When the dance floor opened up after dinner and speeches, my uncle and I were cutting a rug. My cousin’s dad is the literal coolest and he is very tall and very broad. For the beginning of our dance, we were in perfect step and it really was lovely. Then, came the spin. Oh, that spin lol. We were dancing on brick and combined with that, my heels, and my uncle’s sheer strength without even trying, I completely ate it when he spun me out. I went from being on my own two feet, to in flight, to on the ground in two seconds flat. You guys, it was SO embarrassing I can’t even put it into words. In my defense, however, literally everyone said that my uncle straight up hurled me and that made me feel a lot better… Kind of. Once again, SMH!!!!!

Weebles wobble and in this case they fell down. But, hey, all that matters is that I got up again, right?!

Has anything embarrassing happened to you recently? Would you consider yourself clumsy? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar20

Travel Turmoil In New Orleans

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Travel Turmoil In New Orleans

Hello! My sister, Kristen, and I spent an amazing weekend in New Orleans for our cousin’s wedding. It has been a very long time since either of us have traveled by plane and we were both pretty nervous. Our flight from Cleveland to New Orleans went without a hitch and it was so exciting to be greeted by the warm weather when we landed as we reveled in our success. As our weekend went by, we were two gals on the go and were enjoying our sister’s trip so much… Until it all came to a crashing halt on Sunday afternoon:

On Sunday night we were supposed to take a late flight back home. It was going to be rough as the plane took off at nine twenty to go to Orlando. We then would have to spend a five hour layover there until we could go back to Cleveland. It was okay, though, because we were so ready to go home! At around four in the afternoon, I got a notification that our flight would be delayed. While this was a buzzkill, we were still going to leave that night so it was all good. We decided to go grab a coffee and sit outside and read for a while to kill time before we needed to be back at the airport. An hour later, a notification came that literally felt like a punch to the gut – our flight had been cancelled.

In this moment, all I wanted to do was throw an adult temper tantrum lol. We were absolutely exhausted and the rug had been completely pulled out from under us. Rather than cry as much as I wanted to, we handled our business and I am so proud of us. After some deep breaths, I gave us each a task. Kristen was going to find a cheap hotel in the area that we could stay for the night and I would find us a flight home. With every passing second trying to find a flight back to Cleveland, my heart sank further and further. The cheapest tickets were roughly six hundred dollars. Can you say ouch?! Then, I had a brain blast…

What if we flew into the Akron Canton airport instead? I altered my search and blessedly found a semi affordable option that would get us home. In fact, flying into Akron Canton was even better as it was closer to both of our houses. With that, we gathered our luggage and made the mile trek to our new hotel with suitcases in tow. It was honestly the longest mile of our lives and when we finally got to our hotel room, we sunk into the bed and it felt like laying on a cloud! Surely, after all of this we would have a good night’s sleep – right?

WRONG! We were so stressed out about the flight home due to the TSA strikes that we couldn’t sleep a wink. Could you imagine missing the plane due to the long lines and bag checks after already changing plans once? We sure couldn’t! We arrived at the New Orleans airport with over three hours to spare and we didn’t even need it. Everything was running as smooth as silk and by eight forty-five we were in the air to get to our layover in Raleigh, North Carolina. We anticipated a two hour wait to get back to Akron until we weren’t. The delays just kept coming and coming. It. Was. Awful.

We spent a solid six hours at the Raleigh airport waiting for our plane. Six hours filled with dread that our flight would be cancelled and we would have to rinse and repeat the same situation. During this time, we had lunch, finished our books, and watched some TV on my phone. And, finally, the plane we were waiting on from Florida landed. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard! The wait was grueling but at least we were going home. #blessed

The flight back to Akron took around an hour and I have never been so happy to be in the A-K-Rowdy. We landed in New Orleans to sunshine and returned home to snow and that was more than okay with both of us. After all of that, we had finally made it. There really is no place like home!

Have you ever had a rough travel experience like ours? What is your favorite airline to fly on? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb10

YAY! 6.5 Year Blogging Streak!

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YAY! 6.5 Year Blogging Streak!

Hello everyone!! I started lifewithlilred in September of 2014 and can’t believe I’ll be on my twelve year blogiversary this year! It literally feels like just yesterday when I got enough people telling me I should start a blog and I threw my hands in the air and said “why not?”. Since its conception, lifewithlilred has been a labor of love. I have always enjoyed writing and have been committed to creating a happy space for myself and others as soon as my first post published. Somewhere along the line, I decided that a few articles a week just weren’t enough and made it my goal to post daily content. I am pleased to report that I have officially crossed the threshold of having over six and a half years worth of articles published every day. It’s freaking crazy!

I often get asked how I continue to come up with content to post and my answer is a combination of a few different things. 1) First and foremost, it’s FUN! 2) It’s one of my favorite forms of self care. 3) I love interacting with my readers. And, perhaps most importantly of all – 4) I am stubborn lol. Once I start a streak of something, I simply refuse to stop. The challenge is incredibly motivating and publishing daily is so ingrained in me that I would hate to think of how I would feel if I didn’t sit at my computer and write every day. My suspicions all point to that it would feel freaking terrible. So, I will continue to pop a squat at my laptop with a smile because to reiterate Point 1, it is so much fun. 😀

I would say that I was a pretty lonely kid growing up. I didn’t have a lot of friends and that remained to be true until the end of high school. One of the few things that made me feel better as a teenager was social media. A place where I could post anything and everything and I knew at least someone was looking at it. Eventually, I began to post OOTD pictures which led to my friends on Facebook telling me that if I started a blog that they would read it. The sentiment was so kind and I figured that if my handful of people I interacted with on social media would pop by, maybe others would too. My goal when I started lifewithlilred wasn’t to make money or become famous but to hopefully make friends and expand my very small circle. It didn’t matter to me where anyone was located, just to have someone to talk to and have a space on the internet where I could shout into the void.

And you know what? As soon as my blog started, the loneliness began to dissipate. Every view was exciting, every comment a potential new friend and even a best friend too! Within weeks of starting my blog, the blogosphere brought me Kate of Live In The Nautical and we have been inseparable ever since. Everything I hoped for was happening and I am always going to feel so grateful for it. I went from writing the saddest shit in the world in my journals to writing on my blog for the pure joy of writing in the blink of an eye. lifewithlilred became my safe space. A place that I got to grow and nourish until I forgot why I was ever lonely to begin with.

All of this is a very long way of saying that I keep my daily content streak alive for the lonely girl I was. I keep it going for anyone who feels like they need a friend. Or anyone that needs the reminder to continue plugging away with a smile on their face and a kind word on their lips. lifewithlilred started for me but I realize that it has always been for all of you. I feel so proud to have maintained my streak, formed a happy place for myself and others to retire to, and found the best friend in the world to boot. I am eternally thankful for the encouragement I received to get this blog ball rolling as well as the encouragement to keep sticking to it. Because who knows what will be on my page next?!

Thank you to everyone who has ever stopped by on lifewithlilred. You made a huge difference to me! ❤

What helps motivate you? Do you have a streak going in anything? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah