Tag Archives: tgif

Jan8

Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Shower Gel Review

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Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Shower Gel Review

Helloooo everyone and TGIF!! This Christmas I was given some Philosophy bath and body care goodies by my boyfriend’s mom. I’ve never tried any of Philosophy’s products before but have always wanted to because the scents sound amazing and I’ve heard many rave reviews. Needless to say, when I received a lotion and my Spiced Gingerbread Cookie shower gel, I was beyond excited! For the most part, I agree with the excellent reviews that I’ve heard, so let’s discuss:

phil

Philosophy is a brand that I would never buy on my own because to my understanding, it’s quite expensive. Receiving the lotion and shower gel as a gift was so special to me and I couldn’t wait to give the products a try! I stored my lotion in my stockpile because I’m still working on finishing a bottle from The Body Shop. Then, I stowed the gel safely in my shower to enjoy the following morning.

The day after Christmas, I turned the water in my shower on nice and hot and took a deep sniff of the gel as I waited for the water to heat up. The Spiced Gingerbread Cookie scent was to die for! It was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy and it was balanced out impeccably. The fragrance was potent but not so much so that it was overpowering. Had it been too sweet, the smell would have been too sugary and young. Had it been spicier, the scent would be much too pungent. The in between level that was concocted by Philosophy really was wonderful.

Once I was in the shower, I poured a small amount onto my scruffy and lathered up. I was pleasantly surprised at how well a small amount of the gel bubbled. This shower gel was really nice to use because the texture of it once it was lathered was very creamy – it didn’t feel harsh like some gels tend to do. My skin felt soft and smooth after I washed myself rather than dry and tight…I didn’t even feel the need to apply lotion afterwards, which was an added bonus!

My only minor complaint about Philosophy’s product is the bottle that it comes in. I know, I know – I’m such a stickler! But seriously, the plastic that the bottle is made out of is incredibly strong and firm, so squeezing the gel out proved to be quite difficult. I’ve used bottles like this before and once there’s not much gel left it gets even harder to use. I’m really not looking forward to that. I wish the bottle had a pump on it because that would make it a lot easier to get the product out rather than squeezing it for dear life!

All in all, I’m really enjoying my Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie shower gel and I’m going to rate it with: four stars. There is no question that Philosophy makes excellent products. I don’t plan on buying it for myself once my lotion and shower gel are all used up, however. Despite how nice each of them are, I’m sure I can find similar products elsewhere for a cheaper price!

So there you have it, my Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Shower Gel Review! Who uses any of Philosophy’s products? What is your favorite scent by them? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec18

A Letter To A Friend

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A Letter To A Friend

Hello all and happy Friday! I had a long day in Columbus yesterday for work but it was definitely worth it! Stay tuned for the Monday Update to hear more on that. ANYWAYS, If there’s one thing that Lil Red loves, it’s letting close friends borrow books from my extensive collection. What I love the most though, is when I find a book that I think one of my friends would respond really well to and personally give it to them with a hand written message explaining why the book reminded me of them. Recently a very dear friend of mine had to go away for a spell so I made a special care package just for her with books and of course, a letter. This very well may be one of my favorite things that I ever wrote, so I thought that I would share it with all of you. Take a look:

Hello, you. I brought you some of my favorite books and I hope you find as much comfort in their pages as I do. You’ll meet girls who are brave like Coraline and Liesel. You’ll come to fall in love with a boy who never grows up and a Little Prince from a planet far away from here. In The Little Prince, the fox teaches the little boy a lesson: “One sees clearly with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” Well, I see you so clearly in my heart and eyes, for that matter, and I think it’s important for you to know what I see.

I see a beautiful young woman who is working so hard to better herself and I admire you very much for it. G.K. Chesterton states that “fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. You have a big obstacle to face during your time away but I trust that you will be able to beat it and come out victorious on the other end. Please treat my books with care because they hold some of my dearest friends but don’t be afraid to let them help you on the way. All my love, Sarah

I dunno, I kinda liked it! 😉 I always enjoy sharing my personal writings with my readers so I figured “why not”, especially because I like this letter a whole lot – and maybe it might just help one of you! I hope you’re all having a great day and I’ll talk to you all soon! Until then, what is your favorite book? What book inspires you when you need encouragement? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: The books that I referenced in my letter were in order: Coraline, The Book Thief, Peter Pan, and The Little Prince – all of which are some of my favorites!

Dec4

Twistfire Media

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Twistfire Media

Heyyy everyone and TGIF!! This past week I started working for a new advertising company called Twistfire Media. I got invited to work for the company by a friend of my sister’s because she knows that I have a pretty strong social media presence and I am so glad that she did! Basically, I run different ads on my personal Facebook page as well as on my page for lifewithlilred and I get paid per click on each ad. Take a look:

If you like the way that the ads look on my pages and would like to become a member of Twistfire, you can email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com. These ads can run on your Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest accounts and they’re pretty cool! You can pick which campaigns to feature and you can run as many as your little heart desires. If you’re a prominent player in the world of social media then Twistfire is the perfect company for you!

Once again, if you’re interested in becoming a member of Twistfire Media, you can email me at sarah.mush6794@gmail.com or shoot me a message on either of my Facebook pages. While you’re at it PLEASE like my Facebook page!! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any big plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep25

Hawthorne Heights Concert!

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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

Jul31

It Was A Good Day

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It Was A Good Day

Heyyy everyone and TGIF! Sorry that I was MIA yesterday – Lil Red was a busy gal! Despite the somewhat stressful parts that occurred, I gotta say it was a good day. Let’s discuss:

My day began with running errands until mid morning or so when I had a lovely hang out with my old skating coach, Sarah, and her precious little girls, Charlotte and Brooklyn. It was a surprisingly hot day in Ohio, so we walked over to the local park so Charlotte could play in the wading pool while Sarah and I caught up on all of each others latest news. I always enjoy the times that I get to see Sarah and her darling family. I love all of their company and it’s so fun seeing how much both of the girls grow each time I see them!

Once I got home from the park, I had to finish my last exam for my summer classes…the dreaded math final. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. All afternoon I checked and rechecked my final until I was satisfied and prepared my scanner at home to send it over to my professor. All summer my scanner worked perfectly and I never had a problem with it, so naturally it would stop working the day I needed to send my final in. For an hour I tried to fix the scanner on my own with the ancient 90’s technique of turning it off and turning it back on as well as unplugging and replugging it. Unfortunately, none of my efforts worked and at that point I was completely freaking out. My exam had to be turned in by the 31st and I refused to use the lame excuse of “my scanner broke” to my professor. I’m sure that an email complaining of technical problems would be answered with “nice try” anyways. -_____-

After lots of deep breaths, I decided to call tech support for the scanner and thankfully after an hour we were able to work together and fix the problem. My final got sent in with plenty of time to spare and I could finally stop having a stress induced heart attack. I think I did pretty well on my math test and I know for a fact that I did great on both my Sociology and Social Psychology class – I got a perfect one hundred on my Sociology final! HOLLA!

After my disastrous afternoon of technical difficulties, I had a wonderful hang out with my sweet friend, Cat, to look forward to. Cat was one of my sales associates at PacSun and she also happened to be one of my favorites! We had a fabulous evening of manicures and martinis at my bar of choice, the Cashmere Cricket. Thursday night is ladies night, so their delicious martinis are only five dolla holla and you can’t beat that! Our night consisted of pampering, girly drinks, and lots of laughs – it was seriously perfect. I’m so glad that Cat and I have remained friends outside of work because I just adore her. You know that you have a good friend when the first thing you say to your mom when you walk in the door is how much fun you had/how much you love your drinking partner! ❤

friendssss

Yesterday was the best kind of busy and for the most part I enjoyed every minute of it! I hope all of you guys had as great of a day as I did! What is everyone up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun26

Princess Manicure Day!

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Princess Manicure Day!

Helloooo everyone and TGIF! I had a fabulous afternoon yesterday with my beloved nail tech, Vinny!! He crafted my talons to perfection, we ate food, drank Patron, and had a gay old time! Before I went to the salon I went to Starbucks and got Vinny’s usual 4/4 White Lightening for him – it’s the least I can do considering all he does for me. I then headed over to Empress Nails for some princess style pampering! My sweet Vinny spent close to two hours filling, sharpening, and shaping my claws and here’s the end result:

talons

^^^ So in love!!! As usual we did all black with a blue accent nail on each hand. The blue was Vinny’s idea because the last time we hung out “Blue On Black” was playing on the radio and Vinny was amazed that I knew the song and was able to sing along with him! My new thing when I get my nails done is getting a cross airbrushed on both of my middle fingers, which I’m sure is not everyone’s cup of tea – but hey, I like it!

While Vinny was working his magic on my acrylics I asked him if he wanted to go visit my sister, Kristen, with me at the restaurant she works at once he was done at the salon. To my surprise, he said that we can go after he finished my nails! So after my talons were nice and dry we piled into the Vinny Mobile and spent the entire afternoon playing hooky from our responsibilities! We spent the next few hours at Kristen’s restaurant where we hung out with her and the other employees, ate lunch, ate ice cream, drank some Patron, and enjoyed each others company. While we were talking with Kristen, she mentioned how badly she wanted Subway – so once we got back into the Vinny Mobile, Vinny decided that we should get her some Subway and bring it back to her. He’s seriously the sweetest guy with the biggest heart in the whole wide world. We found the nearest Subway and I ordered for Kristen since we both pretty much get the exact same veggie sub from there and then we backtracked to the restaurant to bring it back to her. Kristen was so gracious and so was I because we both have the best friend in the history of EVER!

After we brought Kristen her food, we headed back to the salon so I could collect the Little Red Love Machine and Vinny could work for a bit more. It was a beautiful afternoon and I’m so happy that I got to spend it with my best friend! ❤

^^^ Vinny told me that “Blue On Black” is his favorite song so this goes out to you! I LOVE YOU!!! #teamvinny

I hope all of you are having a great Friday so far! What is everyone up to this weekend? Do any of you have a special friendship with one of your hair stylists or nail techs? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar27

Happy Friday!!

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Happy Friday!!

Heyyyy everyone and TGIF! To celebrate one of the best days of the week enjoy one of the worst songs in the world and then we’ll chat!

FRIDAY FRIDAY GETTIN DOWN ON FRIDAYYYY……oh you’re done already? I…uhh…whoops. 😉

I’ll be out of office today because I’ll be spending a lovely afternoon and evening at Crocker Park with my best ladyfriend, Kate. I’ve wrote about Crocker Park before, but if you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s a beautiful outdoor shopping mall in Cleveland. It has the absolute best stores, like H&M, Urban Outfitters, and Express. Going to Crocker Park is one of my favorite things to do in Ohio and I’m so excited because I really need to finish assembling my spring and summer wardrobe. All I really need now is some shorts but I also have my heart set on finding an awesome mustard yellow piece to add to my collection. Mustard yellow is probably one of the only colors I don’t have a piece of clothing or accessory in so I hope I find something! Preferably a blazer or light jacket – I feel like a mustard yellow outerwear item would be super cute for spring. I also wouldn’t say no to a new pair of gladiator sandals either! I would love to find a knee high pair, but I’ve been having no luck finding any in stores. I’ve seen them online before, but a shoe like that is something I would definitely need to try on before purchasing so I can make sure that it’s completely perfect. Last night I downloaded the Retailmenot app on my iPod so I could get a feel for all of the sales going on at the stores in Crocker Park. There seems to be a lot of good deals going on which is great, because you know I’m all about ballin on a budget. ALSO, if you’re an H&M fan, you can go on their website and sign up for their newsletter to receive a twenty percent off of one item coupon. I love H&M so much so if I find something there today, the twenty percent off will make it even sweeter! #ballinonabudget Today is sure to be a beautiful perfect day full of fun, fashion, and of course: treatin yoself!!

treatyoself_main01

I hope all of you have a fantastic Friday and weekend! Do you have any fun plans coming up? I wanna hear all about them, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: If you know of any stores that sell knee high gladiator sandals please holla atcha girl!!!

 

Mar20

Fabulous Day!

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Fabulous Day!

Helllllooo gang and TGIF! I don’t know about you guys, but I had a fabulous Thursday!! Seriously, I haven’t had such a lovely, average day in forever so I feel the need to share it! To get you in the great day spirit, enjoy this goofy Lonely Island video and proceed to read:

I had an early start today because I had to drive to Cleveland in the morning for stupid math class. My only complaint about my morning was the fact that we were out of coffee grounds at home, so I didn’t have enough to make my usual amount. I made the coffee anyway, keeping my fingers crossed that it would still taste good…but unfortunately that didn’t happen. -__- I was basically drinking slightly bitter bath water my entire way to school, lol it was so gross. Math class was boring as usual, and I totally left class early to go get my nails done…clearly I have my priorities straight. 😉 However, once I got on the highway there was a big fat traffic jam due to road construction so I ended up getting to the salon when I would get there on a normal day without leaving early. So moral of the story: I should have just stayed in class. Ha! BUT, my beloved nail tech, Vinny did a fabulous job as usual on touching up my fierce talon nails. I opted for my usual black with a beige accent nail for a cool twist, and I’m beyond obsessed with the fresh new color combo. Take a look:

nails

^^^#pronails Ahhh, I love them so much it hurts! There’s three major things that are difficult with my talon nails:

  • Taking my contacts in and out.
  • Buttoning and unbuttoning my jeans.
  • Opening pop cans.

Despite these minor difficulties, they are so beyond worth it. So edgy, so fierce, so fun. After a trip to the salon, I had some much needed and long overdue BFF time with my sweet Lea. My darling girl and I really wanted to be crafty today, so we went to PatCatan’s for inspiration. While ambling down the aisles we came across the wooden craft supplies and thought that it would be fun to paint birdhouses. After picking out the houses we liked and some paint, we hit up Taco Bell for a quick snack and then headed back to Lea’s place to start the craftapalooza. We were so excited about this cute project that we forgot something very important at the craft store…small paint brushes. -__- All we had in our craft supply box were big brushes from our canvas art projects, and they made painting all of the sweet details on our birdhouses totally impossible. Both of our creations turned out smudgy, smeared, and nowhere near as adorable as we wanted them to be. I straight up left my house at Lea’s place and told her to just paint it black for me. Ha, I should have just done that all along! Despite our painting difficulties, we still managed to have a blast as usual! We always do, because making fun out of a miserable crafting experience is what best friends are for! #epiccraftingfail

After a sweet best friend afternoon, I had a quick get together with my neighbor and video gaming partner in crime, Vaughn. I then proceeded to finish up some math and psych homework until my brain couldn’t take it anymore. After I had had enough of homeworking (and believe me, it didn’t take long), I ended my night with watching Saw III on Netflix. I’m a scary movie junkie, and the Saw films are one of my major guilty pleasures. After I finish up this post, I’m going to start the fourth installment of the film series and hit the hay. Maybe not the best movies to watch before bed, but that’s okay!

I hope all of you had a fabulous Thursday and an even better Friday today! What are you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? It’s my mom’s birthday on Sunday so my family is going to go out to eat tomorrow to celebrate – it should be fun! Tell me all about your weekend plans and leave my mama some birthday love! I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Goodnight. -Sarah

Mar13

A Friendly Friday Hello!

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A Friendly Friday Hello!

Whatup crew! Happy Friday!! In the immaculate words of R. Kelly “it’s the freakin weekend, baby I’m about to have me some fun.” Mwahaha

SO, it’s Friday and Lil Red is shockingly feeling really good. I haven’t been completely honest with you guys, because some major bullshit happened this week that I haven’t filled you in on. But rest assured, that I’m a-okay and that when the situation mulls over you better believe I’ll be discussing it with my usual dry wit and dark humor of a girl who loves to hate everything. I’m actually pretty pleased with myself and the indifference I managed to have about this less than ideal matter. I didn’t cut and honestly didn’t even think about doing it once…so snaps for me!!!! Despite some stupidity speed bumps in the road, it’s been a pretty good spring break. I procrastinated A LOT on homework, but I somehow still managed to get a ton done. I wish I could explain to you how that happened! I had a lot of really nice R&R time during my week off, and it was delightful – there’s seriously nothing better than having nothing on your agenda for the day. Asides from hanging out with the few people who I don’t completely despise, I was able to indulge in rereading one of my all time favorite books, Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris. If you know how to read and enjoy fantastic literature, do yourselves a favor and read this book! This is my third time rereading it, and it still managed to find ways to shock me. So amazing.

gents

Because now isn’t the best time to zone you in on my most recent misfortune this week, this post is just a short and sweet one to welcome you to the weekend! I’m not quite sure yet what the weekend holds for me, but I do know that my family is getting Pizza Hut tonight for dinner, and I’m more excited about that than probably anything. Is that bad? Ha! Hopefully a little bit of white girl wastedness will happen before I have to go back to school. And more importantly, hopefully I work up the nerve to get my last homework assignments done! 😉

I hope all of you have a fabulously fun weekend doing whatever it is that you do! It’s finally feeling quite spring-like in good ol’ Akron, Ohio with temperatures in the fifties! I broke out my first maxi dress of the season today and I’m feeling so happy about it!!! I’m so excited to wear dresses without tights, shorts, and skirts but I’m really not looking forward to shaving my legs. -_- #fml. What are you guys up to this weekend? Any fun plans? I’d love to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

^^ I’ve been listening to Metric all afternoon, so enjoy! Could Emily Haines please stop being a total babe now? #havemercy!!!