That Time I Joined an Internationally Touring Rock Band

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

At the end of this week I’ll be embarking on my band’s International World Tour. Needless to say, I can hardly believe it’s already time for takeoff. But before I go, I obviously want to brag – I mean blog – about how exactly I ended up in a band, despite my lack of musical abilities.

Let’s rewind the tape back to April.

Two work friends and myself came up with this pipe dream where we would enter our company’s talent competition so we could win a free trip to our parent company in the United Kingdom. The reason it seemed realistic was that no one else was competing, but the reason it seemed unrealistic was that only one of us could do anything musical whatsoever. We didn’t let that stop us though.

The 10 Most Important Songs to Me

October 01, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Life In Your 20's

Okay -- the title of this blog post might be grossly overstated, BUT these are 10 songs that are exceptionally close to my heart. In an effort to be more interactive (let me know what y'all think about this), I made you all a playlist on Spotify to listen to as you read about the 10 songs selected and why they're so important to me. Yes, the playlist is the 10 songs I'm talking about.

Alright, by this point I hope you've clicked on the playlist. But if not, here's your last chance. And now off we go into why these songs are so incredibly spectacular to me. In no particular order...

Brunch Review: The Daily Kitchen and Bar

The Daily Kitchen and Bar

September 27, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Cazey's Column, Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column

There’s a lot to love about The Daily Kitchen and Bar. They locally source ingredients, serve a plethora of vegan and vegetarian dishes, have a beautiful patio in the heart of Carytown and pretty much only employ the happiest people on earth. When I went there for dinner last time, I got a pig and fig pizza, which was not only delicious but incredibly unique.

After Cazey and I did our TV spot for Vegetarian Awareness Week, we knew the only place that would be right to brunch at would be a place with a ton of vegetarian options, so to The Daily we went. Despite the cooler temperature and my lack of a jacket, Cazey asked for a table outside anyways. It ended up being perfect because we both ordered hot coffee to warm us up from the cooler temperature.

Let's Work it Out: My Gym Pet Peeves

September 25, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

Since I'm committing to this healthy lifestyle thing, I've also been going to the gym consistently since January. I'm not quite a fan of the gym in general (I'm more of a fan of outdoor running or organized sport), but Gold's Gym is a special sort of hell. First of all, they have an outwardly sexist sign in the women's restroom, bragging about how "real men" go to Gold's. Slap on that their trainers stand on treadmills during busy hours and bitch when you ask them to move, it's really usually not an endearing experience. And then throw on top that Style Weekly gave them a damn award that they now flaunt, it's all really shoving my nose in the dirt.

But anyways, this blog post is supposed to be going into what people do at the gym that annoy me (because the people at Gold's also piss me off). So now that we're back on track, I'd like to build off this classic Cazey article about awkward gym encounters, and list out some of my pet peeves with the gym:

Brunch Review: 23rd and Main

23rd and Main

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

I really only keep people around who offer their opinions up for stellar brunch places, and that’s how I ended up at 23rd and Main Saturday morning. My experience previously with 23rd and Main was showing up for my second Restaurant Week rendezvous, which was much better than the first Restaurant Week experience I had at La Grotta. That was the one and only time I’d ever been to 23rd and Main prior to today, and it was pretty delicious. I had a crab dip, steak and dessert, all paired with a deliciously dry red wine.

23rd and Main was surprisingly not busy for brunch when we arrived, and were able to sit down immediately. We got a perfect table in the middle of their courtyard, with just enough shade to keep me from sweating to death. Not only does 23rd and Main offer a specialty brunch menu, but also serves from their full menu and full bar for brunch. My decision was pretty easy: nothing sounds quite as fascinating as the Don Johnson, which is a tempura-fried burrito.

The Cure for Some Summertime Sadness

September 15, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

As I sit out on my balcony with the hammock shaking in the wind, bundled in an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants, I can’t help but come to the saddening realization that summer is coming to an end. Labor Day, people’s sure-fire indicator that they should be tucking away their white pants (note: I don't believe in antiquated white pants fashion rules) and waving goodbye to summer is already quickly fading to a distant memory.

As I sit here, staring out onto the Boulevard, I can’t say I’m happy to see summer go. Just yesterday we were tailgating NASCAR, a few days prior I was sitting happily by the pool, and a few weeks have gone by since the last concert I’ve been to. Now the next show I’ll be seeing is indoor, a real sign that autumn is upon us.

Brunch Review: Pike’s Old Fashioned Soda Shop

September 13, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

One of the reasons that the brunch buffet also won out was because it is a local legend in Charlotte. It’s sort of a place you have to go, much like Millie’s is in Richmond. So to Pike’s Old Fashioned Soda Shop we headed.

Upon arrival, you are immediately hit with nostalgia. It’s like you walked through the doors and back in time to the scene of a black-and-white movie. As we make our way to our seats, you have to snake through the several tables of the buffet, which only whet my appetite more. There seemed to be more options than advertised online, and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

Why Travel Experiences Will Feel More Real Without Photos

September 08, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

The first time I left the United States was this past May at the ripe age of 23. My roommate and I talked about going on a vacation together endlessly, but couldn’t decide where we wanted to go. Did we want to travel through Europe, cruise through the ocean or lay on the beaches in the tropics?

One day, we did a bit of research on all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. It turns out, it is very cheap to take this vacation route if there are just two of you and you go during an off month.

How to Make Cauliflower Pizza

September 01, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

When I was in the heat of my competitive weight loss program, I experimented a lot with cauliflower in place of flour. Basically, you throw a ton of cauliflower into a food processor, then ring it out dry and use it as the base of a few recipes. I tried a few, and they all sucked until I made pizza crust out of cauliflower. I’ve never shared a recipe on our blog before, but what the hell – let’s talk about mature topics like cooking and recipes these days since I’m getting older in life and this is what adults talk about.

Here’s how to make the crust, and then I’ll give two suggestions on what to put on top.

Brunch Review: Kuba Kuba

August 30, 2015 by astoldoverbrunch in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column

For Cazey’s friend’s second day in Richmond, we decided to take her to an RVA favorite, Kuba Kuba. Sara and Cazey have both been to Kuba Kuba several times before. In fact, we tried going for our Valentine’s Day date, but there was a line, and neither of us honor the virtue patience, so we left.

In this case, Cazey was still worried about a wait since Kuba Kuba does not take reservations and does not have expansive seating. The restaurant is located on a nondescript corner in the heart of the Fan, only indicated by its flashing “Kuba Kuba” sign with a rooster. If you can’t tell, they specialize in Cuban food.