Tag Archives: story time

Jan6

Hand Me Down OOTD Bloopers

Posted on January 6, 2025 by lifewithlilred

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Hand Me Down OOTD! It’s safe to say that Johnny and I have an eclectic personal style and because of this, it feels like we are constantly getting hand me downs from our friends and family. It’s pretty cool because what we receive is almost always vintage and we are so about it. The last hand me down haul was from our best friend, Cliff, as he was clearing out some of his grandpa’s old clothes. Other than the sweater featured in this OOTD, nothing really caught my eye and, sadly, wearing said sweater was short lived. Take a look at some yikes shots and let’s discuss:

About to speak my truth (usually along the lines of “I’m hungry”)

The standing in snow shuffle

TFYM when someone you can’t stand is talking

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

Showing off the ol’ beaver teeth

TFYM when you were right all along!

Ta da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever since I was little, I always loved going shopping with my mom. And, ever since I was little, I can remember her looking at the tags of clothing we liked to make sure it was not made with wool. It could be the cutest thing in the world, but she would claim that it would be “too itchy” and that was the end of that. It makes sense that I have always associated wool with being itchy or maybe just maybe wool truly is the itchiest fabric of all time. I am going that route because…

The sweater seen above was The. Itchiest. F’ing. Sweater. EVER. Prior to putting it on, I didn’t do a material check and I was in misery the entire time I had it on. It was itchy, scratchy, and my skin literally felt like it was crawling. As soon as we were done taking pictures, I RAN to get changed and was not surprised to find that the sweater was made from half wool and half alpaca. It really is too bad because I loved the way this sweater looked but despised the way it felt, making it an instant no go. Regardless, it was still neat to wear a hand me down from Cliff’s grandpa for five or so minutes! 😀

In conclusion, no wool for me and this sweater will eventually find its way to triple hand me down status. I would call it “the one that got away” if it weren’t so damn uncomfortable!!

Is there a material or texture that you can’t stand? What is your favorite clothing material? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec2

Date Night OOTD Bloopers

Posted on December 2, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Howdy everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Date Night OOTD! Johnny and I live for a good date night and our favorite is, hands down, Middle Class Fancy night. AKA getting dressed up, going to a chain restaurant, drinking several weak cocktails, and having a meal that is never the best or the worst either. There is just something so fun about it and our Olive Garden outing was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. These pictures, though? Not so much!

In the words of Johnny “you’re standing in a puddle of wet”

Clearly unphased by it!!!!

Very blurry because I NEEDED the OG and was fading fast

What’s cookin, good lookin? 😉

Easy, breezy, beautiful Olive Garden

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

Just out here modeling my little heart out!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Johnny’s parents and aunt on Wednesday and a wonderful time was had by all. Especially during the game portion of the evening. After every holiday gathering, we always play some type of game together and Johnny decided to shake things up this year. And shake things up he did because he got Cards Against Humanity to bring to the festivities!

I have actually never played Cards Against Humanity, but I knew it was like a raunchy version of Apples To Apples. So, good thing I played my first round with Johnny’s entire family lol. Early into the game, I said it felt like watching a movie that has a steamy sex scene with your parents. However, once we all shook off the initial awkwardness, we were in stitches. Johnny laughed so hard that he cried several times! Yes, the prompts and responses in the game were hilarious. When combined with Johnny’s parents reading them, it turned into comedy gold. We legit can’t wait to play it again at Christmas. 😀

The moral of the story? If you are questioning whether playing Cards Against Humanity with your parents is a good idea, rest assured it is the BEST idea! Family game night will never be the same!

What is your favorite game? Do you have game nights regularly? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct2

Werk At Work OOTD Bloopers

Posted on October 2, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Werk At Work OOTD! Today, we are going to take a look at the bad and the yikes that came from a speedy shoot before I had to be at a content shoot. I like to think that my best face was put forward during my evening of making some media magic. These shots, however, certainly don’t fall under that category in the slightest! Let’s get to it:

A sultry gaze just for you! ❤

When there aren’t any paper towels in the bathroom

A surprise conversation with my neighbor, Tony!! (He’s the best!)

Using the power of my mind to shoot laser beams

I’M SEXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TFYM when you’re eating an entire lemon

Live. Laugh. Love.

On Saturday, Johnny and I had a delightful treat day with our eldest niece. She recently started kindergarten and we are SO proud of her, so we just had to take her out and celebrate. We visited an indoor amusement center that features arcade games, laser tag, roller skating, trampolines, rides, etc. Her favorite thing is the gigantic playground smack dab in the middle of the facility. It is basically a McDonald’s PlayPlace on steroids and it seriously looks like the funnest thing ever lol. Unfortunately, us big people could only hang on the bottom floor of the playground… Until this weekend, that is!

As Johnny and I watched our niece explore, we both agreed that we really wanted to go down one of the enormous slides. We were the only people in the play area so we figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask the attendant and he said… NO. -_- Of course, we understood but were secretly peeved about it so we activated stealth mode. As we were standing around, Johnny clocked that the attendant had his back turned and told me he was going to go down the slide anyways. Like a thief in the night, he made his way up the towering structure and was simply gleeful when he emerged at the bottom of the slide. And, as the ride or die that he is, he stood guard as I took a trip down the slide too. We felt most cheeky with our small act of rebellion and it was one thousand percent worth it – that slide was amazing!

One of Johnny’s favorite things to do when playing video games is “being sneaky” and it definitely translated in real life. We all had the best day!!

What did you do this past weekend? What is your favorite place to visit with your kiddos? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep11

5 Years Strong

Posted on September 11, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! This past week Johnny and I reached the five year benchmark in our relationship and it has given me all of the warm fuzzies. I still get butterflies every time I see my main squeeze! I am always appreciative of how lucky I am to have my Johnny and this weekend hit different when he spent all day helping me at an event. It was a long day and he didn’t have to by any means, but he did anyway and that means so much. In honor of our five year anniversary, I thought it would be the perfect time to tell a little story about our first date…

Five years ago, I was in bad relationship after bad relationship. When the last relationship ended, I had sworn off dating for a while. I deleted the apps and I was ready to do my thang as a single woman. That is, until Johnny messaged me on Facebook! Normally, the messages I received on Facebook went something like this: “Hey beautiful”, “Hey gorgeous”, and so on and so forth. Johnny’s message stood out from the crowd in the most amazing way: He complimented a pair of shoes I was wearing in a recent photo shoot and asked if they made them in a men’s Chelsea boot. It was so refreshing because he saw my style, appreciated it, and clearly had pretty great style himself.

As we chit chatted away, Johnny asked me if I would like to go for a drink sometime. At this point in my career, I was still working evenings but just so happened to have that night off. We ended up meeting at the Cashmere Cricket, our favorite bar, later that evening. When I arrived at the Cricket, I was SO nervous that I actually walked right past Johnny who was sitting outside. A moment later, he came into the bar and found me and the rest is history. Since our first date, we have pretty much been together every day since and I am the happiest girl in the world for it!

No matter where we are at or what we do, Johnny and I always have the absolute best time just being together. He makes me feel so spoiled and loved every day since we met because it truly was love at first sight. I feel like I can do anything and everything with him by my side and the past five years have been the most wonderful because of my Johnny. ❤

How long have you and your partner been together? How did you celebrate your last anniversary? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jul28

Flower Child OOTD Bloopers

Posted on July 28, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Flower Child OOTD! These pictures were taken during a charming little date day I had with Johnny and is, hands down, one of my favorite summer OOTDs yet. From head to toe, I felt fabulous in this fit and it had me thinking that maybe dressing for summer isn’t so bad after all. Momentarily, anyways! Although I was feeling my damn self, there were definitely some pics that didn’t match the superstar vibes lol. Let’s take a look:

Feeling AND looking like a pissed off soccer mom

Out here trying my best to work the wind in the hair

This face was absolutely in response to something or other Johnny said!

Staring at you from across the room like

I swear to high I’m not god

Why I oughta

99% of the time wind in the hair results in hair in the mouth

Whenever Johnny and I are out and about, we often get stopped to chat it up with people. We both have very distinctive personal styles and it turns into an instant conversation starter. This is something that we really enjoy because we love meeting new people and it’s always nice to receive compliments too! As we concluded OOTD shots and were making our way back to our car, we were stopped in our tracks by the tiniest voice saying that she likes butterflies too. When we turned around, we saw a little girl with her dad and sisters who took a liking to my sunglasses.

For the better part of fifteen minutes, we made chit chat with the lovely family visiting the area from Columbus. Johnny and the dad were able to talk music while the sister squad and I talked up a storm. We chattered away about animals, birthdays, Taylor Swift, and fun places they might like to see during their trip. By the time our conversation was done, the admirer of my sunglasses invited me to her fifth birthday party and I almost cried lol. It was just SO sweet and if they weren’t in completely different cities I might have had to take her up on it!

The point of this story is to engage with and be kind to everyone you meet. This chat totally made mine and Johnny’s day and it all started with four simple words of “I like butterflies too”! ❤

What makes your day? What are your go to conversation starters? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb13

Jeans & A V (Neck) OOTD Bloopers

Posted on February 13, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Howdy! A brand new OOTD means brand new bloopers so it’s time to peep those from my Jeans & A V (Neck) outfit. Taking OOTD pics in the wintertime just freaking sucks lol. It’s cold, windy, and unpleasant and it’s the kind of weather that makes you want to go inside as soon as you step out. The day we took these pictures, we anticipated pleasant temps because *shocker* the sun was actually out! We got SO much more than we bargained for, however, and it freaking SUCKED! Find out why after these yikes shots:

Wikky wikky wikky DJ Red in the house

Just trying to pretend like I’m not freezing… It didn’t work

Playing a fun game of imaginary catch

A classic “what did you just say?” face

Setting up the shot…

Nailed it! Not.

Before I begin this story, let me first start by saying that Johnny and I have amazing neighbors in the Timber Top community. We are most fond of all of those we have had the pleasure of meeting and it makes the sprawling property feel more like a neighborhood rather than a billion apartments in close proximity to each other. Having said that, when Johnny and I take pictures in the winter – we don’t want to talk to anyone! We want to go out, be as quick as possible, and go back in to get warm.

As I mentioned, the sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be nice out. WRONG! It was frigid cold and the blustery wind was nonstop. Naturally, we would get stopped by one of our neighbors who was bundled up warm and ready for a chat. Johnny and I were not in the slightest. We ended up staying in the conversation for over fifteen minutes before it was blessedly over and still had pictures to take! I shit you guys not, after ten seconds of shooting Johnny goes “Can you try not looking so cold in every picture?” LOL, so much easier said than done and we were frozen solid by the time we got back inside. We both had to sit in front of the space heater to thaw out afterwards!

You never know what’s going to happen during an OOTD shoot and, in this case, it was near hypothermia haha. I guess Johnny and I are great neighbors too! 🙂

Do you have any awesome neighbors? How about any terrible ones? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan27

Take The Compliment

Posted on January 27, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! One thing that I have always struggled with is receiving compliments and I’m sure that I am not the only one who has similar sentiments. When I was at my lowest, I genuinely couldn’t understand why anyone would want to compliment me and all it did was make me paranoid and even more miserable. It’s hard accepting compliments when you don’t feel worthy of getting them in the first place! It’s also so easy to deflect a compliment and just turn it around to the other person, instead. IE: “You look great”. “No, you look great”.

For several years, I was never able to simply say “thank you” for a compliment and it took a lot of mental health work on my part to get to that point. After coming to terms with my own problems and gaining some self esteem, I realized that I have improved tenfold in my compliment accepting abilities. It actually didn’t really click until I saw these two pictures taken at Playhouse Square this past weekend:

^^^ When snapping some pics before seeing Beetlejuice, someone told me they liked my outfit mid-pose and the second picture is of me being ecstatic about it!

As I was scrolling through photos of my night on the town, these two pictures really stuck out to me. As I sat and mused, I wondered what the second picture would have looked like if I was back to my depression days. Chances are, I wouldn’t have had a huge smile – rather, a look of confusion as if someone was trying to play a joke. Recognizing that and being able to see it so plainly in front of me made me feel proud of my own personal growths.

lifewithlilred played a big role in helping me muster up some confidence about myself in general and my appearance. Through OOTDs, I was able to develop my sense of style and writing about my issues in early posts assisted in sorting out my emotions and learning from them. And, while saying “thank you” for a compliment online isn’t the same as in real life, it was a great first start. Having people comment specifically on my page was a turning point and I was able to see the compliments for what they really were – something nice.

As I began testing my new skills in public, it began getting easier and easier to say “thank you” to the point where I didn’t even have to think about it anymore. I also loved how much more genuine it felt to give a person an actual compliment back instead of just replying with an Uno Reverse card lol. It wasn’t until seeing the pictures above that I put some thought into it and saw what a major improvement has been made. 🙂

If you can relate to this post, my best advice is to Take The Compliment when you receive one. It might be really hard at first but just saying “thank you” is a small step in making some big changes!

What is something that you struggle with? Is it hard for you to accept compliments? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec3

Comfy Cozy Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers

Posted on December 3, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Comfy Cozy Thxgiving OOTD! For three Thanksgivings, I served three separate looks and now it’s time to check out the pics that most definitely didn’t make the first cut. This post is part bloopers and part story time because somehow while Johnny was snapping pics, something reminded me of one of the lamest things my bestie and I did in high school and I had to tell him all about it. Naturally, I had no idea he was taking my pictures throughout this lengthy tale but now I get to share them with all of you! Check it out:

I LOOK GREAT!!!!

Just a lil pre-Thanksgiving nap standing up

Making haste to a less sunny location – good thing I wore my running shoes!

STORY TIME… And realizing it was all captured by my loving husband lol

I can not remember for the life of me what brought upon this manifesto of a high school aged bestie and I but apparently I really needed to tell Johnny about it for the fifth time. I’m sure all of you knew a girl in high school who stuffed her bra with tissue or toilet paper but have you ever heard of anyone who used the same method for their butt? We did! In high school, there was this girl who stuffed her butt and it was not just a rumor – there was evidence to back it up. From tissue sticking out of her pants to her butt deflating after each class period, she was not fooling anyone and literally the whole school knew about it.

For shits and gigs, my best friend and I would pay homage to this person by stuffing our butts Every. Single. Time. we hung out. Needless to say, we went through a ton of toilet paper at our parents’ houses during our high school years. Was this a necessary thing to do? Absolutely not. Was it hilarious to us? ABSOLUTELY. We were like women possessed and our hangouts just didn’t feel right without it. It was, honestly, the dumbest thing but it still cracks me up to this day. In fact, if you look at the fourth image down, I’m pretty sure I’m about to say “butt” lol. Hey, what’s being in high school without doing the stupidest stuff ever?! Good times.

Am I particularly proud of this story? I mean… kind of lol I guess we just had to match the utter ridiculousness of the situation with some ridiculousness of our own. And now we can all share a laugh on the blogosphere fourteen years later! 😀

What is one of the dumbest things you did in high school? How about one of the dumbest things you did as an adult? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct10

Libraries Rock!

Posted on October 10, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! I have had the absolute pleasure of taking my sweet niece, Val Gal, to a couple of story times at one of the many local libraries in our area. It is seriously the cutest thing on planet Earth and I love having some extra TT time! During story hour, the kids listen to stories (Obviously lol), sing songs, learn dances, and do a craft themed around their topic for the day. The teacher also peppers in tips for the parents or family to help improve language skills. I have never been to a library story hour before taking Val and I was SO impressed by the librarians running the program.

When I first started my job as an Independent Provider for people with special needs, I was working strictly in the evenings. Prior to this, I used to think that libraries were just for using the computers and getting books. However, they are so much more than that, which I learned from taking my clients to the numerous programs held at the libraries.

Every month, I would scour the Events pages for the libraries in the greater Akron area for programs my clients would enjoy. And, every time, I was blown away with what was being offered. We would attend vinyl record clubs, movie nights, crafts, an escape room, and even a murder mystery night! The best part? Everything was always free!

Libraries in my area offer everything from computer courses and sign language classes to cooking clubs and concerts. And, I’m sure that the libraries in your neck of the woods probably have a lot of similar experiences for your community. These places are, truly, a gift and I wanted to shine a light on it. Not only can you expand your knowledge but you can make friends in the process too. This is very evident every time Val meets a new pal at her story times. 🙂

If you are looking for activities to do with your children or with a group of friends as the weather gets colder, then head to your local library. You never know what amazing things you will find!

Have you ever attended any library programs before? What were they? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb14

Shout Out!!

Posted on February 14, 2022 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! Ohio has been hit with a few insane snow storms these past couple of weeks that pretty much left everybody in my apartment community snowed in. During one particularly bad storm, we got over a foot of snow and my work was canceled for Thursday and Friday. The Little Red Love Machine did not move from its parking spot until Monday and, of course through my own fault, I had a very tough go of trying to get my car unstuck from the snow.

If you can recall from my last snow day, Johnny and I don’t own a shovel and spent a solid hour clearing out our cars with a baking sheet. Sadly, we didn’t learn our lesson and still never purchased one so come Monday morning, I was trying to clear my car with my windshield wiper brush. I will be the first to admit that it was absolutely shameful lol.

About ten minutes passed in my effort and I was making surprisingly good progress. Then, a kindly stranger in the complex over brought me his shovel and all was going even better. THEN, kindly maintenance workers took up the fight to get me unstuck and they arrived not a moment too soon because I was getting tired!

The maintenance men made quick work of shoveling the remainder of snow around my car but we hit a major wall when we discovered that my car was sitting on a block of ice that was at least an inch thick. Try as we may, we still couldn’t back my car out of its spot. The workers refused for that to be the end, though, and left the scene and returned with an ice chipper to try again.

My knights in a green pick up truck spent an entire hour clearing snow and ice and attempting to move my car until, finally, it was free. You guys have no idea how thankful I was! Before leaving for work, I just had to do something for them and offered to run into my apartment and make them some coffee which they happily accepted. It still didn’t feel like enough but it was the least that I could do. I also made sure to sing their praises both on the phone and in email to our leasing office so their amazing work could be commended.

Because of their super hero level efforts, I was only fifteen minutes late for work but I felt like I was on cloud nine all day. From the encouraging remarks from fellow neighbors to the borrowed shovel and the best maintenance workers ever, I experienced the kindness of strangers at full throttle.

Every time I have told this story since last week, I got the warm fuzzies as if it had just happened that morning. And, I definitely have them again now! This just goes to show how much your words and actions can turn someone’s day around and it inspires me to continue to always choose kindness every day. ❤

How do you like to make someone’s day? What happened when you experienced the kindness of strangers? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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