Tag Archives: weekend

Jul24

Weekend Fun

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Weekend Fun

Hello!!! While I absolutely love a lazy weekend, I like a jam packed one even more and this past one definitely fell under that category. As you saw from yesterday’s post, the Asian Lantern Festival which we attended on Friday was spectacular. It was the perfect evening of family fun with my parents, siblings, and nieces and nephew and I am already dreaming about going back. The good times kept rolling into Saturday because Johnny and I had a lovely little date day too! Check it out:

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We started Saturday out by going to lunch with our downstairs neighbor, Tony. He is simply the best and I view him as my pseudo-grandpa. Johnny, Tony, and myself have an outing at least once or twice a month and it is something we always look forward to. For our lunch date, we went to Pub Bricco which is right down the road from our apartments. It is a charming bar with tasty drink specialties and my all time favorite appetizer – spicy goat cheese marinara with warm pita bread. It is to die for and I have to get it every single time! We were at Bricco for at least two hours sipping on cocktails, chatting it up, and sharing pictures and stories from the past events we spent time at. Tony had a Fourth of July getaway with friends and we couldn’t wait to tell him all about the Asian Lantern Festival. It was a joy. ❤

After lunch, Johnny and I hightailed it out of there to hit up the Jenks Building in Cuyahoga Falls. The Jenks is this amazing staple in downtown CFalls that features handmade goods from local artists, a music venue, bar, and the recently added record room. Johnny went there last weekend on his own and was itching to go back to buy more vinyls for our newly built shelves. We had a blast browsing around and picking out a stack of records that we got for a song. They were only a buck a pop! As we were leaving The Jenks, one of the local photographers with a nearby studio felt inspired enough by us to want to take our pictures (Last two images above). It was so flattering and I felt like a star by my main squeeze in my Date Day best!

To wrap up a wonderful day, I spent four hours gabbing on FaceTime with my blogging bestie. Then, Johnny and I listened to some of our brand new to us records. I got to spend time with some of my favorite people in just one day and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Who is your favorite local artist? What is your favorite restaurant in your neck of the woods? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jun24

Squeezing In Some Fun

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Squeezing In Some Fun

Howdy!! I don’t know about all of you, but I still mourn summer vacations even though it has been years since I was in school. Sometimes adulting can feel cruel and unusual and this is definitely one of those times! With an insanely busy work schedule it can be hard to Squeeze In Some Fun, even if it is sweet summertime. I know that it is often difficult for me to muster the energy to do much over the weekend, but I have been trying. And, although the sleepies never fully leave me, I do feel better when Johnny and I have plans for our time off and we have been putting the effort in!

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The past year and change have been trying times for yours truly and it was almost impossible to pepper joy into limited downtime. This is in stark comparison to when Johnny and I first started dating and we were constantly going here, there, and everywhere. Then, the pandemic hit, crisis in my life happened, and we never got back into the swing of things. Until now, that is. It has felt like we have had plans every weekend for months and it has been really great! Whether it be get togethers with our friends or going out on the town, I feel like I’m on cloud nine afterwards because it’s fun to have fun. 😀

The best thing about this change of pace is planning dates with Johnny. While we enjoy our video game or movie nights, there is nothing better than stepping out in style with my main squeeze. It is also amazing to always have something to look forward to during the work week! I feel like I have been in a bit of a rut lately and this has really helped turn my outlook around. I have loved our dinner dates and meeting up for drinks with our friends at all of our favorite spots. Even returning home afterwards is exciting because we have also shook up our weekend evening activities.

For the last of Johnny’s birthaversary gifts, we picked out a good but budget friendly record player. Johnny has an expansive collection of records but no functioning record player and our purchase was a game changer. My boo spent so much time after we brought the record player home turning our “game room” into an actual game room. He cleaned, he added more artwork to the walls, and he cleared out the closet in the room to house the records in and give us more space. This has given us plenty of room to break out all of the board games we haven’t played in forever. While we play, we take turns picking records at random and listening to one side before swapping it out. We still are all about our video games, but this switch up has made our evenings feel like true quality time and it is a beautiful thing!

Even though we have no plans for a summer vacation, we are making our best efforts to make plans, actually stick to them, and enjoy our weekends more fully. It has definitely helped lift my spirits and I love having a calendar full of activities to motivate me during the work week!

Do you have any big summer plans? What do you do when you feel like you’re in a rut? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May24

Bowling Bonanza

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Bowling Bonanza

Hello!! On Sunday, I did the impossible. What is it? I went bowling with fake nails! Lol, granted, I employed the rolling/throwing technique to protect the talons but I still think it counts! For my brother’s birthday, we want bowling at Clutch Lanes, a cool little bowling alley down the street. It was the perfect atmosphere for a party and they had phenomenal pizza, which I feel like you can’t say about many bowling allies. This was the first time I had gone bowling in close to a decade and even though I wasn’t bowling properly and getting hella gutter balls, it was still a blast!

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Bowling is one of those things that Johnny has suggested before and I had no interest in. It definitely takes me back to the dreaded years of middle school when the classes would go bowling before summer break. I always hated it lol and the last time I went bowling was on a date with an awful person. Needless to say, bowling is never high on my list of potential weekend activities. Until now, that is. I guess you just have to go bowling with the right people because that made all of the difference!

For close to two hours, Johnny, Andrew, and I dominated the lanes. Well, Johnny and Andrew did really good and I was humbled by my score of 27 on game one. I am pleased to report that I improved during our time and had a high score of 51. Not too bad for someone who is basically just throwing the bowling ball lol. Regardless of if we did well on our turns, we celebrated hard. Victory dances, cheering, whooping – the whole nine yards. And, whenever a strike or spare was scored we celebrated harder. If this is what bowling is, I deeply regret waiting this long to try it again.

During our time at the bowling alley, we all decided that this is going to be our new thing. The way Johnny and I see it, there is no other sport that encourages you to eat and drink booze while playing! Our plan is to start doing monthly or bimonthly trips to the bowling alley with Andrew and our bestie Cliff to form an informal friendship league. Maybe we’ll even shoot some content for a fake bowling documentary we made up called “Ballz: A Bowling Story”. We have several ideas for this and I think it would be hilarious if we turned it into a web series. We’ll see what happens. 😀

Not going to lie, I was sore AF the following day after hurling a bowling ball for two hours straight. But, it was so worth it and fun and I can’t wait to go again!

What is your favorite sport to play with friends? Do you go bowling often? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May18

Car Chase Craziness

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Car Chase Craziness

Hello!! Johnny and I live in an apartment community called Timber Top. It is a sprawling, labyrinth like property and you are, without fail, going to get lost if you’re a first time visitor. Back in high school, Timber Top was the place to be to go stupid with your friends and buy weed lol. Fast forward ten years later and there is still never a dull moment in TTop. In the five years that Johnny and I have lived here, a building caught on fire, we had a carbon monoxide leak in one of the buildings, and there was a tragic pandemic of people literally falling through their stairs. Needless to say, we are used to it by now. However, we were definitely not expecting to cross “high speed car chase” off of our Timber Top Bingo cards!

This past Saturday, Johnny and I were playing games and relaxing after our Mother’s Day celebrations. As we were becoming one with our couch, we heard police sirens in the distance. Now, this is not uncommon whatsoever in Timber Top. It was different this time, though, because there were a lot of sirens blazing and they seemed to be heading right towards our street. As always, Johnny and I are nosey AF so we booked it onto our balcony just in time to see five cop cars chasing down a silver sedan. The car being chased led the cops to our semi-secret back entrance shortcut and we thought that was the end of it… Until five minutes later…

Shortly after Johnny and I settled back in the apartment, I thought I could very faintly hear sirens again. I thought I was just imagining it until they got louder and louder. Johnny and I leaped off the couch and headed back outside because, sure enough, the car chase was still on. In a foolhardy move, the car in question led the cops BACK into Timber Top! After some Smokey and The Bandit style speeding and maneuverability, the chase ended when the driver locked themselves in at a dead end.

At this point, everyone and their brother was outside watching the action too. In fact, people were legit running to see the aftermath and arrest. We were all shook and, thankfully, no one was hurt. After the exhilaration wore down from the spectacle, I couldn’t help but think about the other times the TTop community has come together. Most recently, it was for the total solar eclipse. Three winters ago, us tenants rallied to shovel out our cars from the parking lot after a huge snowstorm. Two summers ago, my entire building came outside to complain together after the Great Kitchen Flood of 2022. Whether it be a car chase or lending a hand or ear you know us TToppers are going to be outside on our porches as soon as it happens!

The car chase was one of the craziest things Johnny and I have witnessed in Timber Top and now my husband can cross “seeing a car chase” off of his bucket list. I wonder what’s going to happen next!

Do you get along with your neighbors? What’s the wildest thing you have seen in your community? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May15

Mother’s Day Weekend (The Best!)

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Mother’s Day Weekend (The Best!)

Howdy!! I don’t know about all of you, but I had an absolutely joyous (albeit exhausting) Mother’s Day Weekend. My brother, his wife, and my precious niece and nephew flew in from Georgia and it was the first time we have all been together since Christmas. While my brother was in town, my parents and Johnny and I were also giving a hand to my sister and brother-in-law by watching our other two darling nieces so they could enjoy a much deserved weekend trip. Needless to say, we had a very full house but it was nowhere near as full as my heart!

Over the weekend, we got to spend so much quality time with my family and it was very special. I loved being able to play, play, play with my nieces and nephew, our big dinner out on Friday for Mexican food, and a slumber party with Val Gal afterwards. Then, Johnny and I returned back to chez parents on Saturday for some extra time with everyone before my brother and his family went home. Johnny and I were completely tuckered out by the time we returned to our apartment and spent all day Sunday not moving lol.

Although Johnny and I are very firm on not having children, this weekend honestly felt like a Mother’s Day celebration for me too. My husband and I take the role of fun aunt and uncle extremely seriously and we love our nieces and nephew as if they were our own kids. Being together with all of them was, truly, the greatest gift in the world. I mean, I know I was living my best life all weekend so I can’t even imagine how incredibly happy my mom felt! ❤

As a bunny mom, I was expecting nothing for Mother’s Day and that was so perfectly fine. I was already feeling all of the Christmas Day vibes and it doesn’t get better than that. However, Johnny made sure I got a little something from our sweet Melvin and Penelope. Check it out:

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Before we went to our family dinner on Friday, Johnny was bent down at the bunny hutch saying goodbye. When he stood up, he told me he found something for me in the cage and handed me the most adorable card from my bunny children and himself. Like I said, I wanted and expected nothing and I was tickled by this surprise. As always, I have the best husband ever and it felt so good to know that he and the bunnies both appreciate the highest level of care that I give them. It was a very happy Mother’s Day Weekend, indeed. 🙂

Being with my whole family over the weekend was like a cure all and I treasured every minute of it. I can’t wait for the next time we are altogether again!

How did you celebrate Mother’s Day? Do you get together with your whole family often? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May1

Misnyland Spring Picnic

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Misnyland Spring Picnic

Hello!! Way back in November of last year was the first time I visited my friend and Ohio’s favorite personal injury lawyer, Tim Misny, at Misnyland. This was thanks to a contest that I won for rocking his Misny Merch line in an OOTD post. Over the past month and change, Tim hosted a similar merch contest with the prize being a picnic at Misnyland last weekend. Johnny and I were invited to go and we were elated because it has been a while since we had some quality Tim Time. The picnic was an absolute blast and the weather was just right for an afternoon outdoors. I think we looked pretty snazzy too:

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The picnic this past weekend was basically a repeat of the party Johnny and I attended last year. Hey, if it’s not broken don’t fix it because Tim knows how to throw a get together! There was music playing, delicious pizza from Tim’s favorite shop, golf cart tours of the property, photo ops, and mingling with Tim and new friends. And, yes, I mean new actual friends because Johnny and I made some and we are thrilled. Their names are Grant and Amanda, an adorable married couple who were invited because of an artistic masterpiece:

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Grant is the owner of Matrix Tattoo and completed this piece of Tim Misny’s iconic eyebrow arch a week or so before the party (the recipient of the tattoo was invited too). As soon as this picture was posted, my Facebook was blowing up from people tagging me in it and I sent it off to Tim because I knew he’d get a kick out of it. I was assuming he would extend an invite to the picnic their way and am so glad he did because they were the coolest. Grant and Amanda had so much in common with Johnny and I and we are so excited to have a game night with them soon. 😀

Tim Misny’s parties are the best because you get to meet so many new people who you already have a perfect ice breaker with – You’re all fans of Tim! It can be so hard to meet anybody new when all you do is work and watch Criminal Minds lol. Johnny and I haven’t socialized in a group setting in so long and, I have to admit, we were both a little rusty. By the end of the party, however, we didn’t want to leave because we had so much left to say to all of our new friends. Whether it’s through his billboards or a party on his own property, Tim Misny sure knows how to bring people together. ❤

Be on the look out for brand new content with Tim and I soon for the release of the spring and summer Misny Merch line. It’s going to be a hoot!

Is it easy or hard for you to meet new people? Where do you like to go to meet new people? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr14

Statement Trench Coat OOTD Bloopers

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Statement Trench Coat OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Statement Trench Coat OOTD! As we transition from winter to spring, I have been trying to give a final hurrah to beloved coats and jackets before it gets too hot to wear them. In Lil Red’s perfect world, it would be fall weather all the time because nothing pleases me more than a statement coat like the one featured in this past OOTD. They have the power to transform any outfit from blah to bold simply by putting it on. However, no matter how amazing the coat is, sometimes the end result is just yikes:

A nice lil smile for all of you 🙂

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Serving sassafras LOOK OUT

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I’M SEXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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When you think you’re slaying and this is what you end up with -_-

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A wild Karen looking for a manager to speak to

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No longer ready for my closeup… Gimme my phooooone!

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While I LOVE getting dressed up and going out with Johnny over the weekend, I think I might love staying in the best! The irony is not lost on me that some of these OOTDs never even make it out in public because we just don’t feel like doing anything lol. Although we did run some errands while I was rocking the above look, sometimes we shoot pictures and I get in my pajamas immediately afterwards. And, no, the PJs are never as cute as anything I styled before putting them on! They sure are comfy, though. 😀

By the time the weekend rolls around, Johnny and I are always exhausted from a long week of work and getting up at the buttcrack of dawn. That’s not to say that we don’t have a ton of fun just vegging out because we have began gaming together a lot again! We have been obsessed with the horror puzzle game, Little Nightmares, and nothing in the outside world seems as enticing as beating it. It is challenging, exciting, and pretty scary too! So, even if I was dressed to the nines minutes prior to heading back inside, it begs the question: Why go out when you can stay in?!

Until we have some consistently nice weather, Johnny and I are going to prolong our winter hibernation. I have yet to see a problem with it! ❤

What is your favorite puzzle game? Do you prefer to stay in or go out over the weekend? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar2

Simple Stripes OOTD Bloopers

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Simple Stripes OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Simple Stripes OOTD! I was most excited to break out my new top by Modern Works and loved how my outfit turned out. While it was nice to wear it now, I cannot wait to wear it tucked into some cute jean shorts this summer. Add a little wedge heel? Forget about it! As per ushe when Johnny and I take OOTD shots, it was freaking freezing out. On the bright side, we are really fine tuning our craft here and were back into the warmth three minutes later. Yes, it took me an hour to heat up by the space heater afterwards but that’s neither here nor there lol. Let’s take a look at some of these yikes shots:

Grace, elegance, poise. JK deff about to fall over

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How big is Sarah? Sooooo big!

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Have any of yall seen The Black Phone? My face is giving me the mask from that movie vibes lol

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Shutting my eyes to block out the haters

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When you just can’t pop your foot smh

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When I decided that’s enough foot popping for now

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Who, me? Ayyy I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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One of my favorite things to do over the weekend with Johnny is play video games! We are avid fans of the Diablo series and are working our way through IV one quest at a time. We have the best time with it, but it’s always fun to try something new too. That is exactly what Johnny and I are doing! Recently, Johnny had the inspired idea that he could play through a game and then help me when I play it. He just beat Resident Evil IV and has been guiding me every step of the way as I do my best to blow up everything.

Resident Evil IV is my first time in almost thirty years of living that I have played a shooter game and I had no idea what to expect. We both assumed the game would be a hit or miss for me and, as it so happens, it’s a hit! I have always been interested in the Resident Evil franchise because horror and it’s cool to finally give one of the games a go. Having said that, this game is a pain in my ass lol. If I didn’t have Johnny holding my hand the whole time I would have quit within the first five minutes. Same situation if he didn’t take over from time to time when I can’t beat something. Major shout out to him this weekend because I’m almost halfway through the game now and about at the point when I think he’s about to start having to do everything for me haha. Super frustrating, yes. But, still a hoot to do together!

After I do or don’t finish Resident Evil IV, the next game Johnny is going to help me with is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I have wanted to play that game for so long and I can’t wait give it a try!

What is your favorite video game? What is the last game you beat? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb21

Fried String Cheese Bites

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Fried String Cheese Bites

Hello!!! I don’t know about all of you, but I am feeling so refreshed! I had a very restful three day weekend and sleeping in until nine in the morning every day was just what the doctor ordered. Normally on Sundays, Johnny and I tend to binge watch the day away to gather our strength for the week ahead. Don’t get me wrong, we still binge watched the day away lol, but I did manage to cook a little snack that I have been dying to try! The Fried String Cheese Bites I made thanks to Dancing Through The Rain’s recipe turned out as good as I was hoping they’d be:

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I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw this recipe and I was instantly intrigued. What can I say, it had me at “fried cheese”! Of course, this snack was also very appealing because it looked so darn easy to make and I had all of the ingredients minus the string cheese readily available. In fact, it used all of the same things that I needed to make fried mozzarella sandwiches a few weeks ago. This is always a high selling point to me because I can try something new with the supplies I already have!

Prepping the fried cheese bites was really easy. I set up a station to coat them in with three bowls. One for flour, a wash of milk and egg, and Italian bread crumbs. All that was left to do was coat the cut up string cheese in the flour, the wash, the crumbs, and fry them up. This was a bit of a time consuming process because I made thirty bites in total and was SO ready to be done afterwards lol. On the bright side, the bites took minimal time to fry (Thirty seconds, tops.) and they were fabulous. The bites tasted just like mini mozzarella sticks and I definitely plan on making them again.

One thing I plan on doing differently next time I make Fried String Cheese Bites is adding some more cayenne pepper, as per the recipe’s recommendation. What I put in was not enough and I think these would be even better with a bit of kick to them!

What is your favorite thing to snack on? Have you tried any new recipes recently? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb1

Best Of The Vests OOTD Bloopers

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Best Of The Vests OOTD Bloopers

Hellooo everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Best Of The Vests OOTD! This has been, hands down, my favorite look from the new year so far and it was just as fun to wear as it was to style. After a few weeks of a hiatus from OOTD posts, it felt so good to get back in the saddle and keep working towards my blogging goal of weekly outfits. The weather being a bit warmer this past weekend was also a huge plus! 😀 Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the many faces of Lil Red:

Achoooooo!!!

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I feel like this picture looks like I’m talking on a cool headset, but really my hair was just in my mouth lol

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

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No, really! I’m okay! *Starts crying*

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Excuse YOU?!

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Somehow, I manage…

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Ta daaaaaaaa. End scene.

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There was a point in the past year when Johnny, myself, and our bestie got deeply into watching the WWE Royal Rumbles. I’m pretty sure either Cliff or us just saw a commercial for it on Peacock and were intrigued. Then, we actually did watch it, realized it ruled, and began watching all of the old ones in order. Let’s be real, we all know that it’s fake but my god if it isn’t hilarious! What could be funnier than a bunch of greased up, gigantic dudes serving the worst trash talk ever? The answer is: Not much.

Over the weekend was a brand new Royal Rumble and Johnny and I couldn’t wait to host our friends Cliff and Ty for the main event. I cooked jalapeno popper quesadillas, White Claw was poured, and the Rumble was SO on. It has been months since we had a good Rumble and, I’ve got to say, we really needed it lol. It is honestly one of my favorite traditions that Johnny and I have established! The Royal Rumbles at chez nous are just a goofy time where we cheer on the wrestlers, I watch Cliff put Johnny in a headlock at least once, and we have a whole lot of fun!

Is it a blooper to be heavily invested in Royal Rumbles? Somewhat! Were the pictures above flattering? Definitely! Lol, stay tuned for tomorrow on lifewithlilred because I cannot wait to share a new recipe I tried with all of you!

Who is your favorite wrestler? What is one of your favorite traditions in your friend group? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah