Craft Beer > Craft Time

January 06, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

During my week off around the holidays, I did little more than hang out with my family and sample my dad's favorite beer. Then my sister offered to let/help me paint some signs. We'll google our favorite quotes and then paint them on these little wooden planks so we can hang them up for all to see. Sounds like fun, right?

Absolutely not.

Making crafts is excessively difficult and stressful for people that are not crafty. When my sister saw the planks, she had visions of what colors would look good, how we could stencil things on them and which background paper we could modge podge onto it (yeah -- not sure that's even what it's called, I just went along with it). When I saw the wood, I was wondering why we didn't just buy the pre-made signs I saw at Marshalls. But in the sake of Christmas spirit, I tried anyways so I could give one to my Secret Santa recipient. Here's a recap of how the experience went:

Brunch Review: Pearl Raw Bar

January 04, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

In lieu of our new blog name, I thought it'd be fitting to actually do some brunch-themed posts. On top of that, I've ALWAYS wanted to be a food blogger, so basically there's no way I couldn't now do brunch reviews from around Richmond. So look forward to that happening every Sunday!

Here goes nothing. Up first, we've got Pearl Raw Bar.

A bit about my relationship with Pearl: I've been there three times. The first, with my roommates. We were all hungover as hell, and the waitress treated us as such. The second time I went with my sister and a roommate. 2 out of 3 of us were not hungover, and it was my favorite Pearl experience yet. The third time I went with a group of friends and the service was on par, but not memorable.

Sara Does the Biggest Loser

January 03, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Work, Young Professionalism

I've read a lot about diets and workout exercises. I once watched an entire workout video too (sitting down). Unfortunately, none of those activities help you lose weight. I've written about my weight before, so it's no secret that I'm not known for my skinny, toned bod. I'm not grossly flabby either. I'm somewhere in the comfortable middle with some pounds to spare. Anyways, we were talking about losing holiday weight at work, and BAM, we (well -- I didn't really do anything to help) organized a Biggest Loser competition.

It'll include sharing recipes, workouts and motivation. We'll bring in healthy snacks, take walks around the lake and verbally assault each other when we're trying to sneak some cookies into our mouths. All things I can get down with. I wasn't planning on taking it too seriously (I mean, I'll have to lay off drinking and eating donuts if I want to win), UNTIL I realized this is an outright competition. We're doing weigh-ins, sending around updates and paying a tiny fee so that the winner gets a huge prize.

How I Picked Out My Family's Christmas Gifts

December 30, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

Truth be told, I am not a great gift selector. I'd like to think that doesn't reflect upon me in a way that suggests that I don't pay attention to people's desires, but I probably don't pay that much attention to people's desires. My way of picking presents out for people is basically going off of one comment that I vaguely remember them making, and hoping for the best. Here's how I applied my technique to each member of my family:

Mom and Dad: Ahh, you can see problem #1 here is that I have already grouped them together. And generally speaking, they have two hobbies: beer drinking and golfing. The golfing theme has been done. And done again. And redone. To the point that we've beat the dead horse, and then some more for good measure. So that only leaves beer. And that's even been done. Last year, I took them on a "tour" of every wine and beer landmark I experienced since moving to Virginia, by buying them a bottle from every brewery or winery I could get my hands on. Nothing like outlining your drinking endeavors to your parents, right?

The Transition

December 28, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Cazey's Column, Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Social Media, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized, Work, Young Professionalism

A little over six months ago, I sat down to write a one year anniversary post of the creation of Tweets and Mascara. However, I couldn't accurately articulate what it's meant to me to write a blog that (some) people actually read. My blog and I have had our ups and downs, the main down being that I didn't write anything for about a four month stretch. The whole time, I wanted to reincarnate it, but I wanted to do it right. I wanted at least three posts a week. And not just three posts a week, but three thoughtful posts a week. And I knew I would have a tough time fulfilling that promise to myself with my work commitments, gym commitments, social commitments, etc. So I recruited a part-time helper, Cazey. Originally, the plan was that I would write two posts a week and he would write one. Then I started looking for new jobs, interviewing for new jobs and having a new job. My life was in a whirlwind phase, and Cazey not only stepped up to the plate, but laid out a four-course meal.

It's not fair to say that this blog is my own anymore. In the beginning of Cazey's guest appearances, it was difficult to let the reigns go and let someone have such a presence in an outlet that was super personal and solely mine for an entire year. Not that I didn't ask him to do it (because I begged him to), but it was interesting nonetheless seeing what he came up with each week. And now I am downright excited to see what he comes up with, week after week. And, truth be told, he's contributing significantly more than me these days (hopefully I'll catch up soon).

4 of my Favorite Christmas Pasts

December 24, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized

I'm hoping y'all are enjoying time with your families, but since you're looking at this, you must be looking for somewhat of a reprieve. So instead of sitting around your family reflecting upon your own memories, here are four of my favorite Christmas Pasts:

How Music Feels

December 22, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized

This past summer was the first time I went to multiple (well, any, actually) country concerts. These were a staple in many of my friends' lives. The huge pregame, lawn seats, cowboy boots, sundresses and airplane bottles tucked into every nook and cranny for the show. I mostly followed suit, minus the attire. And it was great! I saw Luke Bryan and questionably another artist. We were all the way in the back, so when the duet (or tri-et?) he does with Florida Georgia Line began, it was easy to convince myself that Florida Georgia Line actually showed up. Sober Sara knows they didn't, but at the time, I thought I was having a heart attack because it was the best thing that happened all day.

Where I am going with this is that country concerts are a blast. There's an expectation of alcohol, you get to be outdoors, with all your friends and in the presence of music. But they are nothing compared to an indie/alternative rock concert.

We've Got a BIG Announcement!

December 13, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Cazey's Column, Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Social Media, Tweets and Mascara, Work

Cazey and I are pregnant! Jokes!

No, but we have something in the works that we think you'll like. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a hint:

as told over brunch

Stay tuned and subscribe in the right hand column to be alerted of upcoming changes!

(In) Visible Memories

December 11, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

When I was little, I had chicken pox. And because I was little (and itchy), I scratched a tiny hole into the bridge between my eyes. From then on, I had a scar. When I was a bit older, I fell a bit and had a pretty nice look scuff on my knee. That left a faint, but present scar.

Then in high school I tried hurdles, got all caught up and fell. In that one act, I sprained an ankle, ripped open another knee and was substantially bleeding out of my elbow. Healed (but cankle-like), scar, scar.

The next year, I got an elbow to the face during a soccer game and needed stitches in my cheek. Facial scar.

How Much Should Convenience Cost?

December 07, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

Recently, I found myself sitting in my car, in dire need of an oil change. I had yelped oil change stations, and there were only a few options that were open on a Sunday. The comments say Jiffy Lube is ridiculously expensive, but when I called Firestone and they said it'd take several hours, and Jiffy said fifteen minutes, I was sold. Upon arrival, they directed my car into the station, courteously escorted me inside, pointed me in the direction of free tea and went right to work on my car. The lady then tried to up sell me on everything from a new air filter (fine, go ahead and make my engine breath again) to a new transmission (uhm hells no).

When it was all said and done, I was there for maybe twenty minutes and paid over sixty dollars ($40 ish for the oil and $20 ish for an air filter).