Tag Archives: warm

Oct11

5 Reasons Why It Pays To Live Somewhere Sunny

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Did you know that being in a warm, sunny place can improve your mood? Put a smile on your face, get some Vitamin D in your life, and contemplate on more reasons why a sunny location can really pay off:

5 Reasons Why It Pays To Live Somewhere Sunny:

We all know it’s true that many people enjoy living in colder parts of the world. The idea of spending a lot of time in the snow and enjoying skiing is a happy one for lots of us! The thing is, those of us that live in sunnier climates often lead healthier and better lives! Here are the reasons why:

  1. You’ll be at your happiest: The idea of building snowmen outdoors or sitting by warm fire inside might sound fun to some of us. But, when temperatures drop well below freezing for months at a time, that fun soon wears off. Sunshine is a proven way to help our body temperatures get more well regulated. Plus, the sun provides us with much-needed Vitamin D to stay healthy. And it’s obvious you will feel happiest when you’re not shivering all the time!
  1. You’ll enjoy your job more: Because happiness levels get boosted by the sun, you’ll have a better quality of life. That also rings true for where you work. Why? You’re less likely to end up working in an unhappy environment!
  1. You can drive a convertible: Fed up of driving a car that hasn’t even got a sunroof? Imagine if you could drive around with the wind flowing through your hair? Well, if you lived somewhere sunny, you could enjoy the benefits of convertible ownership year round!
  1. You won’t need to use a dryer at home: If you’ve got a large family in tow, that usually means spending a lot of time washing and drying clothes! The advantage of living somewhere sunny is that you can dry your clothes for free outdoors. Now there’s no need to buy a dryer and you can keep your electricity costs down too, as a result!
  1. You can power your house for free: Last, but not least, when you live in a sunny area you can convert the sun’s energy into electricity! Take a look at America’s top ten solar cities to see the places that benefit the most from solar power below:

Infographic By: Semper Solaris San Diego

Oct1

Stay Warm This Winter With These Toasty Decor Tips

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Stay Warm This Winter With These Toasty Decor Tips

I am one of those people who are always always cold. So if you are anything like me, then I am sure that you will find this post useful to help keep you nice and warm this winter:

The cold weather will soon be upon us! How are you planning on staying warm at home this winter? Of course, you will always have your heating system available to heat your rooms. But did you know that there are also some other useful decor ideas that can help you stay toasty through the winter. And, no, I’m not just going to tell you to put on an extra jumper and woolly hat! Here are some of the best tips that you should take advantage of to make sure you don’t feel the chill this winter:

Thermal Drapes: Did you know that thermal drapes are a thing? They are a lot thicker and heavier than regular ones. But that doesn’t mean they have to be gray and unattractive. Quite the contrary! You will find that you can find them in a variety of colors and patterns. If you hang them on all of your windows, you will prevent any drafts from cooling down your home. They also help to insulate your rooms and prevent hot air from escaping through the windows. And that will save you a lot on energy bills!

Gas Fireplaces: There are some appliances that you can add to your home to help support the central heating system. For example, gas fireplaces. If you ever feel too cold, even with your heating on, just turn on the fireplace. And if it is ever a bit chilly, but not cold enough to turn on your entire home’s central heating, use the fireplace. What’s more, you can now get a double sided fireplace that can heat two rooms at once.

Get Some Throws: Throws are a great addition to any family living room. They are inexpensive and will add gorgeous bursts of color to your sofas and armchairs. Plus you don’t have to take them away once spring is here and the weather starts to warm up. Simply leave them on the backs of your chairs and sofa. But they are especially great in the winter. Once you start to feel a little chilly, grab a throw and snuggle up into it! It’ll be a great way to get cozy during a movie night!

Scented Candles: Now that autumn is here, the nights will start to get longer and darker. It can be very depressing when you come home to a dark house after a busy day in the office! Thankfully, there is an easy way to brighten things up. Just add some candles to your living room! This is a quick and cheap way to create an atmospheric room. For an extra cozy touch, use scented candles and fill your rooms with autumnal aromas.

Use Festive Decorations Wisely: There are a number of Christmas decorations that can help you seal up gaps and prevent drafts. Buy a Christmas doorjamb that can compliment all of your other decorations. Not only will your door be draft-free, but your home will look exceptionally Christmassy!

Winter is coming! But you don’t have to suffer; especially now you have these toasty decor tips.

Featured Image From: www.pexels.com

I hope everyone is having a fabulous start to their weekend! How do you keep nice and toasty during the cool weather? What is your favorite fall or winter candle scent? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar28

Monday Update: MakeSpace Edition

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Monday Update: MakeSpace Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! Recently, I learned about the super cool storage company, MakeSpace. As we discussed how their service is like one of my favorite movies, Clueless, I knew I just had to write about it. MakeSpace is a service that comes to your place, grabs your stuff, and stores it for you. With the warm spring weather on the horizon, now is the perfect time to store away your winter duds for next year. The best part is, is that when the time comes for you to need your stored away items again, you can consult your virtual closet and MakeSpace will deliver it back to you. Will your virtual closet be as amazing as Cher’s from Clueless? Probably not. But storing with MakeSpace is a great place to start!

Before we begin discussing how I prepare for warm weather as well as my spring time essentials, some music is in order. Take a listen to the late great David Bowie’s “Fashion” featured in Clueless:

^^^ Love it. ❤

When it comes to prepping for spring, keeping an organized closet it a total must for me. That means saying bye bye to cold weather boots, heavy jackets, and thick sweaters to combat frigid Ohio winters. If I stored with MakeSpace, all of these snowy day necessities would be taken away ASAP and replaced with all things spring! We’re talking sweet sun dresses, maxi skirts, light cardigans, and open toed heels – finally!

With my winter clothing stored safely away at MakeSpace, my closet would have ample room to welcome some of my favorite spring time clothing and accessories. I’m really looking forward to putting my knee length gladiator sandals to good use as well as my collection of floral skirts. Shocking, I know, that the girl who boasts about wearing all black constantly has clothes in the most girly pattern ever! BUT, these skirts are special because they were my grandma’s and I love all things vintage!

Despite my tendency to lean towards black clothing, I like to pepper all of my outfits with at least a little splash of color. To keep things relatively springy in my looks, I plan on breaking out one of my favorite purses. A vegan leather turquoise satchel. The Easter bright vibrancy of the bag will be a gorgeous pop of color against my soft tan trench coach and black skinny jeans!

Once all of my spring clothes is runway ready (AKA strutting down the aisles of Target), there are a few final Lil Red spring essentials:

  1. A felt floppy hat in a gauzy color. Maybe mauve, peach, or cream.
  2. Long necklaces for layering. I’m currently obsessed with rosary style necklaces.
  3. A killer pair of shades. I plan on rocking my daisy embellished aviators constantly!

Pair with a sundress, cardi, and kitten heels. Rinse. Repeat. Hello, Spring!

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As we bring this article to a close, I’d like to end with a story which explains just why my family needs MakeSpace in our lives. This past week my beloved mother began readying her spring wardrobe when she realized that she couldn’t find her shorts from last year anywhere. For days I had to hear a litany of “I don’t know where they could be”, “It’s not like they could just walk away”, and of course, “Sarah, can you help me”? It. Was. Torture.

But lucky for my mom, Detective Sarah was on the case. Thanks to my expert snooping work, I found my mom’s shorts crammed in one of the dresser drawers that she never uses. Right in the nick of time, too, considering a few hours later she hopped on a plane to hot and sunny Atlanta, Georgia to visit my brother! Moral of the story: Had we been storing away our clothes according to season with MakeSpace, this incident and future ones to come would never be an issue. Because believe me, this is not the last you’ve heard of my mom and I not being able to find anything!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: MakeSpace Edition! What is your go to spring staple? What would you store away with MakeSpace? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar13

Garden Party OOTD

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Garden Party OOTD

Hey everyone and happy Sunday! Last week you might have noticed that I had a very special guest blogger on Sunday’s post. Nida from Shopaholic Blogs graced lifewithlilred with her presence and did such a fantastic job that I asked her to come back each Sunday for the month of March. This week I asked Nida if she could create an OOTD perfect for an afternoon Garden Party and she sure didn’t disappoint. Nida came up with a gorgeous look perfect for a day spent lounging in the sun and sipping iced tea with a group of equally glamorous friends! Take a look at how Nida styled her Garden Party OOTD and then be sure to give some love to her page!

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Hello lovely people! 💞
As you all know I have been collaborating with the lovely Sarah from lifewithlilred for guest posts on her awesome blog!
When she came up with the idea of a garden party theme, I was thrilled! 💐
Who doesn’t want to get all dolled up to go to a tea party? 🍰
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of celebs pair dresses with pants and rocking it so I wanted to give it a try! 🎉. You can make this look your own by swapping out the pants with dark skinny jeans or ditching the pants part totally and showing off those tanned mile long legs.  😘
So here you go ladies, my take on a spring Garden Party OOTD! Frosting anyone? Yum! 🍰
✨ Dress: Garage – Lace is so feminine and perfect for spring. 🌹
✨ Pants: Banana Republic – You can wear jeans if you want the look to be a little more causal.
✨ Scarf: Beech Tree – Silk and lace is a match made in garden party heaven. 💐
✨ Shoes: Max Studio – I love that they have a rosette on the front! 🌹
✨ Clutch: J Crew – I adore this sleek clutch! It has a chain strap if you want to go hands free and stuff your face with all of the treats. Hey a girl’s gotta eat!
✨ Earrings: Macy’s – I loved pairing these turquoise earrings with the soft pink and white in my outfit. They bring the perfect pop of color to your face. 😘
✨ Bracelets: Fossil & Tiffany – Lately I’ve been hooked on rose gold and can’t wait to add more pieces to my collection.
✨ Necklace: Fossil – Hearts in rose gold, what’s not to love? 💖
✨ Hat: Forever 21 – This floppy sun hat makes me feel like I should be at the race track placing some winning bets right about now! 💵
✨ Nails: Kinetic Solargel – This shade is called Pink Power.
  ✨ Makeup:
  • Moogoo tinted moisturizer in medium.
  • Kat Von D lipstick in Backstage Bambi.
  • It Cosmetics blush in Radiant Rose.
  • Bobbi Brown smokey eye mascara
  • Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in Caviar Ink.
There you have it, ladies, my take on the spring garden party theme! How do you guys rock a garden party look? Let me and Sarah know right here!
Again many thanks to Sarah for this collab!
Until next time xoxo 💋
^^^ Thank you so much again to Nida from Shopaholic Blogs for creating a Garden Party OOTD for lifewithlilred! Make sure you tune in tomorrow for a brand new Monday Update! Much love. -Sarah
Mar6

Welcome, Spring! OOTD

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Welcome, Spring! OOTD

Hi everyone and welcome to a very special Sunday post! When I got emailed from Nida at Shopaholic Blogs inquiring about guest blogging here on lifewithlilred, I couldn’t say no. Her blog is just darling and I knew that she would do an excellent job. My hunch was right, because she came up with a fabulous OOTD post to welcome spring weather to share on my page. Take a look at what Nida created special for lifewithlilred and then give her page some love:

If there is one thing I enjoy just as much as shopping it’s getting all dressed up 👗! I love mixing and matching different pieces in my wardrobe and getting the most out of my purchases 💵. Adding accessories like scarves, jewelry, and watches can really make your outfit pop!✨
Here’s one outfit that I put together just for spring 💐. Thanks to Sarah from lifewithlilred for giving me the opportunity to do this OOTD post on her awesome blog 😘!
I like to invest in neutral pieces that I can wear different ways and change up with a few accessories.
This look uses one of my favorite color combos especially for warmer weather.
✨ Top & Pants: Loft Petites
The ivory top is light, drapes beautifully, and goes well with the khaki crop pants.
✨ Scarf: Old Navy
I added my pop of color with a coral scarf that has embroidered flower accents .
✨ Blazer: Hollister
The checkered blazer is my way of adding a pattern to the look and gives my casual outfit a more polished finish. (Plus I am forever feeling cold so I always keep an extra layer with me to combat those chills 🌬)
✨ Shoes: Vince Camuto
I’m a flat shoe girl all the way. These ballet flats are super cushiony and cute.
✨ Handbag: Marc Jacobs
I love my tote bags! This is technically a hobo but carries just as much as a medium tote. Plus it has a cross body strap for those days when you want to be hands free!
✨ Watch: Mistura
This adorable watch has a wooden case and a real gold leaf and flower inlay. Perfect for spring  😘!
✨ Nails: Sally Hansen Extreme Wear in Strobe Light
I’m a sucker for all things glittery and sparkly  😍✨. You need at least 3 to 4 coats to get a real shimmer with this polish.
That’s it peeps! 💞 My spring outfit of the day! Hope you guys like the look and many thanks to Sarah for doing this!
Until next time xoxo 💋!
^^^ Isn’t she amazing?! I enjoyed Nida’s post so much that I invited her back for future Sunday articles. Thank you so much again for your adorable Welcome, Spring! OOTD, Nida! What is your favorite piece from your spring wardrobe? What is your favorite season to dress for? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
 * And once again, be sure to check out Nida’s page at Shopaholic Blogs!
Dec15

Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition

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Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition

Helloooo everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a fantastic week so far. So usually I’m not a big beer drinker, I’m definitely more of a wine kind of gal. But over the weekend I just had to pick up a special alcoholic treat from the grocery store, Schofferhofer’s grapefruit beer. It was one of the first drinks that I had at the bar when I turned 21 this past summer and it’s remained one of my favorites ever since. Let’s discuss:

Right now the weather in Akron, Ohio has been insane. It’s the middle of December and we’ve had temperatures in the high 60s, which is completely unheard of in our neck of the woods. Last year around this time, I can vividly remember brutal snowfalls and way below freezing temperatures. With the warm winter time weather, I developed a taste for summer over the weekend that I just couldn’t shake.

While grocery shopping with my mom at the local Giant Eagle, I swung by the alcohol department to pick up some Christmas gifts. As I browsed through the different seasonal beers, a four can pack of the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer caught my eye. I had no intention of picking anything up for myself but I just couldn’t help it! I had summer on my mind and my favorite summer time drink was calling my name.

When I saw the beer I was taken back to this past summer – my first summer of being 21. I was a big fan of ordering the tasty grapefruit flavored wheat beer at the bars, compliments of the suggestion from my sister. I love all things fruity and sweet so it was the perfect beer for me to sip on during summer nights out. What I love about Schofferhofer is that it tastes carbonated, to the point that it feels like drinking a soda. It’s SO good. After the montage of sweet summer time played through my head, I couldn’t not grab a pack of Schofferhofer from the shelf!

Over the weekend I enjoyed two cans of my favorite beer per night and it was just the little Treat Yoself pick me up that I needed. The best thing about being 21 isn’t going out to the bars to get completely white girl wasted – it’s being able to have a nice casual drink at home without having your parents jump down your throat about it! If you’re of legal drinking age and are looking for a new (super girly) beer to try, I can’t recommend Schofferhofer’s grapefruit beer enough! It’s delicious!

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So there you have it, this week’s Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition. Every once in a while you need to get a little something special for yourself and that’s exactly what I did this past weekend. Who has tried my favorite beer before? Are there any super fruity beers that you recommend? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov11

What A Pleasure!

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What A Pleasure!

Hellooo everyone and happy Hump Day! Throughout my time at Tri-C, I’ve had a similar encounter with almost every single one of my professors, whether they be in class or online. A common theme of my interactions with them is that at some point during the semester they make it a point to tell me that it’s a pleasure to have me in the class. It may seem like a little thing but boy does it make me feel good!

After I received my all time favorite “you’re a pleasure to have in my class” compliment via email from my French teacher this week, I felt so proud of myself. I then proceeded to go down memory lane and think of all of the times that I’ve been told that (I hate to brag) during my college career and got even more warm and fuzzy. What is it about those simple words that gave me a huge burst of self confidence?

I guess it has to do with:

  • I’m receiving kind words from someone that I admire and respect.
  • I’m doing a sufficient job in my class.
  • My outgoing personality is something that my professors and classmates are responding positively to.

I’m a firm believer in the power of words and the fact that my professors have taken a brief moment out of their busy schedules to let me know that I’m alright in their book is something that really brightens my day. Interactions like these remind me of how important it is to offer a kind word, compliment, or a little something extra to help improve someone else’s day as well. So just as a friendly reminder to all of you: You’re all fantastic wonderful people and I hope that you’re having a great day! 🙂

Make sure you tune in with me tonight after the airing of the newest episode of American Horror Story: Hotel for my synopsis post and then check back in with me on Friday for What I Really Thought, as well! Until then, what is your favorite compliment that you’ve ever received? What is your favorite compliment to give people? (“Nice ass” doesn’t count!) I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah