Tag Archives: trying

Mar26

Floral Flounce OOTD Bloopers

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Floral Flounce OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the Blooper Reel from my Floral Flounce OOTD! I have had a bit of extra free time on my hands (I will explain eventually!) and want to make the most of it. This has involved a lot of housework and shooting a lot of content. I even made a TikTok and you can follow me at lilred6794 !! The OOTDs that I have created this past week have all been shot using a tripod. It is a process that I have been getting used to and it can be quite time consuming. Normally, I am done in five minutes when my blog husband takes my pictures! Despite being slightly annoying, it is fun to try something new and, of course, check out some yikes shots:

Lumbering back to redo the shot again

My arms were moving so fast they propelled me through the ceiling

The face of a woman who is FED UP with this process

Aw! That’s not so bad 🙂

This is lmaooo I look like Lord Voldemort!!

In case you couldn’t tell, I was genuinely pissed at this point lol

The Floral Flounce OOTD was the very first look I shot on a tripod in years. I think I might have done one or two tripod shoots a few summers ago when Johnny was out but you get the point. All I know, is that my conclusion after those shoots was that it sucked and that Johnny would take my pictures for forever lol. In the bloopers above, you can definitely see my frustration with the tripod process because it was annoying. That’s the only word I have for it: Annoying. Put the timer on the camera, run into place, strike a pose, evaluate the picture, rinse, repeat. And repeat, and repeat, and repeat. I must have done that at least fifty times and I was just done at the end of it.

But, you know what? It got easier! Since the Floral Flounce OOTD, I have shot two new looks with the tripod (Peep those soon!). The second outfit was still a learning process. However, I was ON FIRE with the third look. I hate to toot my own horn but toot toot! I had a plethora of shots to choose from in under ten minutes, I was able to place the tripod in the best position on the second or third try, and only had a few lighting issues to tend to. Not bad at all considering it took me a good half an hour to shoot the Floral Flounce fit. In fact, after my successful third tripod attempt, I found myself wishing that I had brought more outfits to shoot!

The moral of the story? Try and try again. I am stepping outside of my content comfort zone. The tripod experience is brand new to me and my own TikTok is something I never thought I would make. I’m having fun, though, and am proud that I decided to blaze a new trail instead of thinking of reasons not to!

Have you tried something new recently? How did it go? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar23

Follow Me On TikTok!

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Follow Me On TikTok!

Hello to you!! Well, everyone, I finally did it… I made a TikTok lol. This is something that I truly had no intention of doing. As you all know, I am a word girl through and through. I always have been so when video content started to become increasingly popular, I simply had no desire to even think about following suit. So why did I make a TikTok? It’s funny you should ask…

While I was shooting an OOTD in Johnny’s guitar corner, the pictures were being taken “live”. I had an inspired idea to put one of the cords from his amp around my heel and pop my foot. In my head, I was SO amped up and thought it was going to be MAGNIFICENT. It wasn’t:

Magnificent? No. Hilarious? Yes. So, I decided to post it on my Facebook and it ended up getting over one thousand three hundred views. Is that a lot? No. However, it wasn’t bad for someone who literally never posts videos and that’s when I decided that it couldn’t hurt to at least give TikTok a try. I created an account, I filled it full of old videos, and am pleased to report that I have… FIVE FOLLOWERS!! Lol hell yeah. 😀

I’ll be the first to admit, it lightweight sucks starting a completely new page. Then, I started to see the merits of making a TikTok for myself and that’s what inspired me to keep going with it. It’s kind of cool that I can give all of you a further glimpse into what you are reading about here on lifewithlilred. Whether it’s food or product reviews, a peek at the bunnies zooming about, Johnny playing guitar, or OOTD shoots, I am viewing TikTok as a way for people to get to know me better.

I’ll also be the first to admit, that I am by no means a videographer lol. Once a word girl, always a word girl. But, if you want to hop on my TikTok train – please give me a follow at lilred6794 because I can’t wait to get to know you better too!

What is your favorite social media platform? What is your favorite kind of content to view? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep10

Watercolor Weeping Willow Pt. 2

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Watercolor Weeping Willow Pt. 2

Hello! This past Tuesday, I spent a lovely afternoon painting with my mom. I wanted to revisit doing a watercolor weeping willow to see if I could improve upon my last one. Like my last effort, I am not especially pleased with what I came up with. However, I do think there were a lot of things on an individual basis that were good. The big picture was just meh, though. Take a look at my latest watercolor creation and I’ll tell you what I did like about it:

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What bothers me the most about this picture is that I didn’t get full weeping willow vibes from it. I think it’s actually a pretty decent tree, but it wasn’t the tree I wanted lol! I do like the trunk that I made quite a bit and I thought that the color I mixed up for it was great. I also am a fan of the overall color palette that I established. To achieve it, I did a lot of mixing of greens, yellows, blues, and browns. It’s a lot of fun to create your own colors and see what you come up with!

The thing that I am happiest with about this weeping willow is that I think I am getting a more firm grasp on creating the signature “tendrils”. For my other attempt, I did a lot of brush strokes that weren’t blended the best. This time around, I did a really light base coat over the tree and patted it dry. Then, I painted waterlines and applied some paint to the very top of the line. After I had my trail of water, I held the paper up and let the paint run down. This was the closest I got to a tendril and I think that I’ll be onto something if I do smaller waterlines the next time. 😀

As with all of my watercolor paintings, this “weeping willow” is not the best. It doesn’t have to be, though! It’s always nice to spend time painting with my mom and after every sesh, I have new ideas to try. The outcome wasn’t successful, but the fact I tried and am more than willing to try again is a GREAT SUCCESS!!

What is your favorite kind of tree? What should I try painting next? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb9

Clinique All About Clean Facial Soap Review

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Clinique All About Clean Facial Soap Review

Hello! My aunt generously gifted me with an adorable makeup bag filled with skin care samples by Clinique. I was pretty excited to try all of these goodies out because I have used makeup by Clinique before but never their skin care. The samples I tested out were a serum, moisturizer, and eye cream and I can’t say that I was overly impressed with any of them. However, I just started using the All About Clean Facial Soap by Clinique a few days ago and I am loving it! Let’s discuss:

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I have used several ultra gentle cleansers in the past and was disappointed by literally every single one. None of them ever lathered well or did anything to make my skin feel cleaner or more nourished in any way shape or form. When I saw the Clinique face wash, I assumed it was going to be another similar situation thanks to the word “mild”. I wasn’t expecting much when I used the facial soap for the first time and ended up being very pleasantly surprised.

Every morning for the past couple of days, I have been using a quarter size dollop of the Clinique cleanser and it is So. Freaking. Nice. It is unscented, which I don’t feel one way or the other about but, most importantly, it lathers like a dream. When using this product for the first time, I couldn’t believe all of the soapy bubbles that formed as I was washing my face. Although the facial soap didn’t make my skin feel moisturized, it made it feel so incredibly clean and that was very refreshing.

The asking price for a full bottle of the Clinique All About Clean Facial Soap is around twenty-four dollars. I would never pay full price for it but this is actually one product that I would consider paying a bit more for at TJMaxx. The Clinique cleanser is definitely not the move to use during the winter because it doesn’t moisturize. BUT, I think that it would be a perfect product to use during the summertime and will be keeping my eyes peeled to see if I can find it on the cheap.

If you are comfortable with the full price and are looking for a milder cleanser, you will love the All About Clean Facial Soap by Clinique. This would also be a good product to start dabbling in skin care with if you do not have a set routine already. I will be upset when I am done with my travel size tester!

Do you like Clinique skin care? How does your skin care routine change with the seasons? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb3

Brand New Pizza Experience

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Brand New Pizza Experience

Hello!! After a whirlwind experience this past week of both good and bad oven pizza, Johnny and I wrapped things up with a brand new to me pie: Little Caesars. All of last week, we had been planning on watching the wrestling Royal Rumble on Saturday purely for shits and gigs. It was actually a hoot and we might just become wrestling people because it was so funny! Anyways, we decided to order some pizza because a friend was coming by for the big show and Johnny suggested Little Caesars. I had never tried it before and was, honestly, very ambivalent – so, you can imagine my surprise when it was the friggen bomb!

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When Johnny and I order out, pizza is usually our way to go because then he can take the leftovers for his lunch at work. While we are partial to Domino’s and Papa John’s, I was totally fine with switching things up for our Royal Rumble meal purely from a cost perspective. A large cheese pizza, a large pepperoni, a meat deep dish, and crazy bread was only THIRTY DOLLARS from Little Ceasars and you just can’t beat that. For price alone, Little Caesars was already winning but I still held my reservations because how can something so cheap be good? However, one bite in made me eat my words.

Johnny recommended the cheese Extra Most Bestest (and yes, I felt just as dumb typing it as I did saying it!) and it did not disappoint. The crust was fairly thin and crisp, there was a perfect amount of sauce, and it was smothered in cheesy delight. I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t that! I told Johnny that this was like a fifty percent improvement from oven pizza and he agreed. This wasn’t a putdown, though, but a compliment. Your girl loves oven pizza so if anything tastes better than that, I consider it a victory. 😀

Watching the Royal Rumble paired with Little Ceasars was the night in that I didn’t know I needed. If you haven’t tried LC and are feeling wishy washy about it, then I highly recommend going for it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised and that’s going to make it even better!

What is your go to take out order? What is your favorite pizza franchise? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jan18

How To Make Mealtimes More Exciting

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How To Make Mealtimes More Exciting

Eating delicious food is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Mealtimes are about so much more than simply providing your body with the fuel it needs to function. Preparing and eating food should provide a feast for your senses and social activity to enjoy with friends and family. However, every once in a while, you may fall out of love with food. When mealtimes become tiresome, it can be hard to feel enthusiastic about what is on your plate. If mealtimes were once the highlight of your day but now leave you feeling blah, you should make some changes. Take a look at these ideas to help make mealtimes more exciting;

Try Food From Around the World:

When food becomes boring and you no longer look forward to what’s on your plate, it’a time to shake things up. Trying different cuisine from around the world is an excellent way to regain your enthusiasm for food. Sampling flavors that are entirely new to you is guaranteed to reawaken your taste buds. If you don’t feel like cooking from scratch, you could try the best frozen Chinese food for some new flavors without needing to get creative in the kitchen yourself. Once you find a new cuisine you like, why not continue to sample dishes from that region to continue your food journey.

Put Your Cooking Skills to the Test:

Sometimes, getting back into the kitchen and cooking up a storm is the best way to rekindle your love of food. Experimenting with different flavors and ingredients will liven up your meals and make everyday food far more interesting. Adding an exciting twist to recipes you make all of the time is another way to add interest. You can do this by upping the amount of seasoning that you add to the dish or trying it with a different combination of herbs and spices. Changing the accompaniment you usually serve with the recipe is helpful too. A meal that you usually serve with rice could be even better if you try it with pasta, instead.

Get Inspired:

When you feel unenthusiastic about food, it is often helpful to seek extra inspiration. There are lots of ways that you can be inspired by your food choices to make every meal more exciting. Planning a dinner with friends where you each bring a course of the meal to share will help you to enjoy both an evening of great company and delicious food. This will give you the opportunity to sample each other’s cooking and swap recipes.

Take your taste buds on an adventure by shaking up your meals. Your full belly and invigorated palette will thank you!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Oct24

Trying Something New: Sports

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Trying Something New: Sports

It can be tough to begin a new hobby from scratch. This is especially true if we’re a little older and feel that the things we wanted to do, we’ve tried. But life is so much more than what we’ve had the good fortune to be near, it’s also what we choose to go out and explore. It’s never too late to start up a new hobby you care about or are at least curious in. In many cases, satiating that curiosity can help you grow as a person. That said, sometimes, it’s understandable to feel hesitant. Are you really going to join a five-a-side football team if you’ve barely kicked a ball before?

Where are you supposed to begin? It’s important to consider that. In this post, we’ll discuss a few methods you can get around that worry and play with vitality. After a few short weeks or months, you’ll most likely wonder what you were so worried about to begin with!

Go To An Amateur Game:

Seeing amateurs playing for the local team can be a great time. It helps you meet a community and may even let you see what local facilities are available, such as the local football pitches you might be able to practice on at classes there. Moreover, it will let you have fun viewing a sport, which is often the first step towards taking part in it or at least understanding its rules.

Look Up Online Advice & Take Part In The Community:

With amazing online advice, such as that offered by acevolleyball guide, you can more easily learn the basics of equipping yourself, the coherence of the game, and make use of a community should you find a good forum or social media group. Taking part is the most important thing, so don’t be afraid to step out and try it. Here you get to ask all of your silly questions as a beginner, learn how to properly stretch before and after a game, and will learn about the training classes that might take place near your home.

If you want to really improve your skills while getting involved in the local community, it’s often useful to take after the likes of Ashley Roberts Tampa Police and start practicing with different and new people. Very often, just doing that is going to mean that you get much more involved and that you learn a lot more. Before you know it, you might be getting into a new sport in no time, and probably really enjoying it too.

Try Training Classes With Someone You Trust:

A training class can be a great way to get started. Here you can learn beginner form, practice drills, learn teamwork, or just enjoying yourself in practice. Often learning the rules and principles behind a sport can be just as exciting as knowing the activity itself. Bringing along a friend can help you settle those basic nerves and also feels like a tremendously fun time to keep up with. Heading to a hockey class with a friend can help you make memories that will be long lasting.

It’s always nerve-wracking to try something new but it’s how we grow. If you’re interested in playing a sport, then go for it. It never hurts to try!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Apr1

Is It Worth It? Let Me Work Out

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Is It Worth It? Let Me Work Out

Hello!! Despite not ever really “working out”, I am a fairly athletic person. In my youth, I figure skated for about ten years and had just gotten back into it a year and a half before the pandemic began. I also enjoy running and going for hikes. Throughout my life, I was never worried about the muscular lower half of my body from years on the ice. However, my upper body strength is a totally different story because I don’t have any lol.

This past month, I have been working at home quite a bit and had extra free time in between jobs. I don’t really know what inspired me to start a little at home work out routine but, I gave it a shot on one of my more low key days and have been completing my exercises every day since. In my apartment, I have been doing arm circles, walking my stairs, and doing twenty-five push ups – which I actually didn’t know I could do! Next, I plan on adding sit ups and increasing the amount to thirty.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very proud of my body and that, in itself, is a huge step for me because I had an eating disorder in the past. But, I’d like to tone up the upper half of my body for the first time in my life and I know that I am not going to achieve the results I want just sitting on the couch. Even though my work outs are small and basic, I feel really good after I do them and it’s a nice feeling to have because I haven’t been able to skate for the past year.

I’m not trying to get a six pack or super jacked arms but a bit more toning and definition and I feel confident that I will get there even with a slow and steady approach. In the past, I never bothered working out because I got all of the exercise that I need on the skating rink but there is no better time than the present to try something new. I feel proud of myself and it was awesome to hear Johnny say that he was too and I am looking forward to lots of hikes together this spring and summer. 🙂

How do you work out from home? How would you go about toning your upper half? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec4

Three Hobbies To Take Up In 2021

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Three Hobbies To Take Up In 2021

The year is slowly coming to an end, bringing with it a time for reflection and looking to the new year. If you are starting to think about some new hobbies to take up, there is no better time to do so. It could be that you have always wanted to learn to dive or that there is a budding artist in you just waiting to get out. No matter what it is, there are a plethora of new skills out there just waiting to be discovered. Have a think about what you want to do and then consider how you are going to do it. Is it a course that you can do online? Or do you have to travel to do it? Will you need any equipment like a camera? How much will it cost? These are all important things to consider. Here are three new habits that you can take up in 2021:

Horse riding:

Horse riding is a great hobby to take up. It has a whole host of benefits as well as being a ton of fun too! By riding a horse, you will soon find that your posture has improved and that your coordination and balance has got better. It is also a brilliant way to get close to the beautiful animals, and you can help out with everything from grooming them to training them if you wish. Once you have been riding for a while, you could take your horse riding up a level and enter competitions or showjumping. You can teach your horse to jump over hay bales and other obstacles and compete against others.

Can all horse riders learn how to jump? The answer is yes, and if you are a confident rider, you may even be able to join local competitions. Remember, however, professional jockeys are a completely different kettle of fish. That being said, if you feel inspired reading Freddie Vasquez Equestrian reviews, you could also start jump courses and see where this takes you. It can be a super fun activity as long as you feel confident. It may look easy but it is hard work for the rider too! In short, it can be a great way to get those thigh muscles working!

Photography:

When it comes to learning a new skill, photography is an exciting choice. Not only will you learn something new, but you can also get some photos printed out that you can put up on the wall. It is a great way to remember good times and memories, as well as get images of people and places that you love. There is always something new to experiment with in photography and you have the possibility of turning your hobby into a career.

Crocheting:

Crocheting is a valuable skill to have, and it is relatively easy to learn and cheap to do. Once you have bought the wool and needles, you have the tools to create a whole host of beautiful crochet items to wear and for your home. Whether you decide to make a blanket, cardigan, or a scarf, the options are endless. One of the best things about crocheting is that it can be done anywhere at any time, and you will soon find the number of items you can create getting bigger and bigger.

These are just a few ideas of hobbies to take up in 2021 that are sure to pique your interest. No matter if you start it and love it or do it for a few weeks and realize it’s not quite for you, the most important thing is that you have taken on a challenge, pushed yourself out of your comfort zone, and tried something new. Don’t be afraid to try something else if your first option doesn’t work out!

Featured Image By: Alexander Dummer from Pexels

Nov3

The Best Ways To Surprise Yourself

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The Best Ways To Surprise Yourself

Life can get pretty stale sometimes. Most of the time, if we want to be surprised, we have to wait for someone else to do it by arranging a spontaneous trip or giving us a gift. But what if we didn’t wait? What if, when we wanted to be surprised, we did it ourselves? It might not sound possible since being surprised is all about not knowing what’s coming, but we think it can be done, and we think it should be done. Here are some of our ideas:

Join A Subscription Box:

A subscription box is definitely something you can surprise yourself with. You’ll be sent a new box each month, and you’ll never know what’s going to be inside it. So, although you organized the box to be delivered, and although you’re paying for it, it’s still going to be a surprise. At the same time, it’s something you can look forward to, and this is a scarce combination indeed.

The key to enjoying your subscription box is to pick something you know you’re going to love, whatever the box’s actual contents might be. You could choose a Me Time Box or something that delivers food or cooking ingredients. There are boxes of clothes, bath salts, perfumes, and books. There are subscription boxes for pretty much everything, so search around and you’re sure to find one you like.

Write Yourself Notes:

We might think we’ve got good memories, but the human brain doesn’t remember everything. It only keeps the most important things where they can easily be reached through memory, and everything else is stored away much deeper. These things can usually only be triggered by a certain smell, photographs, or perhaps stories from friends and relatives.

This is why writing notes to yourself can be a great surprise. Write some positive notes and leave them in places where you know you’ll find them later on – maybe months down the line. When you find them, it will be a pleasant surprise and something to make you feel good. Some examples of what you can write include:

  • Stay positive
  • You are beautiful
  • You are loved
  • I’m proud of you
  • Keep going

Place the notes into drawers, under cushions, in coat pockets, in books, or even in outside places that you’re going to return to time and again.

Say Yes:

When we are asked to do something or given any kind of opportunity, there are two responses. You’ll either say yes or no. It’s easier to say no. Saying no means that nothing has to change, and we don’t have to try anything new. So most of the time, that’s what we’ll say.

Why not surprise yourself and say yes, instead? This will give you the chance to try all kinds of new things. Some you will dislike, some you will enjoy, and others you might fall in love with, and your life might change (for the better) because of it. Unless you say yes and give yourself a surprise, you’ll never know. Staying in your comfort zone is not surprising and will only cause stress and anxiety over time. At the very least, you’ll be bored!

Say yes to the ideas above and give yourself a surprise today!

Featured Image By: Pixabay