Soho Cafe

I love the Soho Cafe.

I had never noticed the Soho Cafe before because I was always distracted by the Uptown Diner (which I also love) right next to it.  I decided to try it a few weeks ago, and it was really good. This is what I got for dinner there last week. It's a chicken kabob with a Greek salad and potatoes. Yum! I've also had the Veggie Wrap with french fries and they are also delicious.

Brian gets the gyro and seems to like it, too. He also likes to take calls at dinner...

They have lots of pizza and pasta there as well, but I've never tried it. Last time I was there everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be eating pizza, so it must be good. I like going there for dinner because it's quick, decently priced and delicious! It's a nice change from the typical fast food late night stops.

One of my favorite things about the Soho Cafe is that it has a free parking lot. It's really small and usually difficult to navigate around, but at least you can avoid street parking. I have never been there for late night food, but I definitely need to try it sometime. They are open until 3am on weekends and midnight on weekdays. Their food would be super delicious after a night out!

Has anyone else ever gone there? I feel like not a lot of people have. I need opinions about what I should try next. If you haven't been there before, you have to try it out and let me know what you think. 

<3Love,

Sarah D

Miranda Lambert

I love Miranda Lambert.

Miranda Lambert is pretty B.A. :) I saw her in concert two summers ago at Country Splash with Alissa and Ashley. She was an amazing performer. She told stories about growing up and the trouble that she gets herself into. It was a lot of fun!

"The House That Built Me" is probably my favorite Miranda Lambert Song.  It's really nostalgic and a little sappy, which is why I like it so much. It makes me think about being at home. The music video is really great, too!

Another great Miranda Lambert song is "Famous in a Small Town." All of her songs are really relatable, which is another reason I love them. Not that I was famous in a small town :) haha, just that her songs are about situations a lot of people go through! 

This is her newest song that just came out, and, just like all the other ones, I love it! 

Not only is Miranda Lambert gorgeous and have awesome music, but she's engaged to Blake Shelton. They are world's cutest couple, and both are super talented. They completely swept the CMA's this year, and were so happy, genuinely excited and adorable! 

They performed together at the CMAs too, and it was super cute.

What's your favorite Miranda Lambert song? Even if you don't like country, you should try listening to her. Her music is so fun, and I'm sure you'll love it too! 

<3Love,

Sarah

Yoga

I love yoga.

 

I started doing yoga in dance classes when I was younger. It was ok, but I would have rather been dancing. At dance camp one year I fell asleep in yoga and started snoring...embarrassing! I was never that flexible for a dancer, so it sucked when everyone else was folding themselves in half and bending in all sorts of weird ways and I couldn't even come close! When I got to college, I took a few yoga classes and kind of liked them. It was a good way to try and stay flexible (the little flexibility I had!) once I stopped dancing. freshmen year I discovered CorePower Yoga.

CorePower Yoga is a really unique yoga studio. The heat in the room is turned up to like 100 degrees, so if you are planning on going out to dinner or hanging out with friends after a class, make sure you leave time to shower. You will be sweaty! I really enjoyed yoga sculpt, even though it completely kicked my butt. It's a class that's a combination of yoga and weights. It'll be hard, but you'll love it! 

The only downside to CorePower is that it's really expensive, especially if you're not a student. It's $124 for a membership, which is more expensive than your average gym. If you're really into yoga and you think you'd go a few times a week, then it's probably worth it! Also, they offer a week free for new people to try it out! Just go here to get your coupon :)

I've been a member of both Lifetime Fitness and LA Fitness since then, and they both offer yoga classes as well.

I preferred the classes Lifetime, but had to cancel my membership because I couldn't afford the clubs that were close to my apartment. They offered a yoga class called "Warrior Fusion" that I really liked. Now I go to LA Fitness, and their classes are average... You just have to find an instructor you really like, and I haven't really found one at LA yet. Everyone teaches a little bit differently, so it can take a little while to find someone with a teaching style you really enjoy. I'm sure I'll eventually find a yoga class I like at LA!

Let me know if you know of any yoga studios that are cheaper than CorePower that have hot yoga because that was my favorite part of the class! It's just a little too expensive for me, and I don't think I'd go enough to make it worth it. 

If you've never tried yoga, GO! It's super relaxing and it'll re-energize you. Let me know what you think after you try it! 

<3Love,

Sarah D

Netflix

Earlier in the week I said my goal would be to blog twice a day to catch up... guess that didn't happen. Hopefully you'll enjoy a flood of posts this weekend :)

I love Netflix.

It's extremely addicting, and if you're still in school I really suggest that you do not get Netflix because it'll cause a lot of procrastination. If you're not in school, go ahead and get Netflix. It's super cheap, too. I think I pay like $10.00 a month, and it's just gets automatically taken out of my account. The type of Netflix I have is where I get one disc mailed to my apartment at a time, but I definitely take advantage of the on demand Netflix more. 

Last year when I first got Netflix, I watched all 10 seasons on Law & Order SVU in like a month. 

 

I got so addicted to it. It was bad bad bad. Not only did I get addicted to it, which meant I watched episodes at night instead of doing homework, but I also watched episodes at night. That me

ans that I was pretty convinced I was being stalked everywhere I went... still entertaining though! 

Even better than Law & Order is Bones! It's so good, and all the episodes are on Netflix, on Demand. It's the best show. 

I can watch those episodes over and over. It's kind of like a CSI type show, but I like the characters a lot more than CSI, especially once you get into the later seasons. The main character is pretty unlikeable during the first few episodes...

If you're looking for something on Netflix that's a little less crime and murder, check out 30 Rock on demand. 

30 Rock is the perfect thing to watch for a laugh and they are all on demand on Netflix! It's awesome! :)

As for getting the discs mail to your house, that works fine. I think between last year March-November I had the movie Precious at my house and never ended up watching it. I sent it back and now I'm getting Glee, which I love. The only thing that's a little inconvenient is that I only get a disc at a time and some of the Glee discs have like 2 episodes, so it's taking a little longer to get caught up than I thought. 

Everyone should definitely check out Netflix! 

Do you have any suggestions for things I should watch on demand? 

<3Love,

Sarah D

Chili

I love Cooking Chili.

Chili is delicious. In the past, I've always just stuck with the kind that my dad makes because it's awesome. I haven't been home in a month, so I've been missing chili and decided it was about time to try and make some myself. I started making it by following the recipe on the back of the Chili spice pack, but then starting adding more stuff!  Chili is perfect for cold weather, like this last week has been. It's also super convenient because I can make nearly 5 servings in one night and eat it all week. I usually try and make it on Sunday and then eat it all week, but Sunday was way too busy so no time (GO PACK GO! Super Bowl bound...) Anyways, back to the chili...

I start with...

• 1 lb of ground turkey
• Pack of chili seasoning
• Tomato sauce
• Diced tomatoes (sometimes the store has the chili-ready tomatoes, which are awesome, but they weren't at Target)
• Garbanzo beans
•  Black beans
•  Kidney beans 
• Pinto beans
• Corn

First, I cook the ground turkey in a frying pan.

 

Once the ground turkey is browned, add the chili seasoning, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Mix it all together and keep it over heat until it's bubbling! I know, very technical cooking terms :) Once it's done, but it in a larger pot and add all the beans and corn.

Put the chili over heat on medium and cover until warm and ready to eat. You'll then have about 5 servings, each about 450 calories, the perfect meal! Sometimes I also add cheese and sour cream, which means it's less healthy, but more delicious. Now I'll have lunch tomorrow, Thursday and Friday! 

Yum! Try out the recipe and let me know what you think. It's really easy to add different ingredients and take ones out that you don't like, so feel free to experiment. I don't think I've ever made it with all the same ingredients in it.

 Let me know what you think :)

<3Love,

Sarah D

Josh Turner

I love Josh Turner.

Josh Turner probably has the best and deepest voice I have ever heard. Not to mention, he's extremely good looking!

:) 

I love him. The music video above, "Your Man," is my favorite song by him. It's really cute, and his voice is amazing. I saw him in concert this summer with Alissa, Ashley and Chris, and he was just as good in concert as he is on the radio. He's a great performer too. It was an awesome concert at Mystic Lake Casino.

Ashley, me and Alissa at the concert

Some of my other favorite Josh Turner Song are...

"Long Black Train"

"Why Don't We Just Dance" is actually probably tied with "Your Man" as my favorite Josh Turner song!

"Would You Go With Me"

Those are my four favorite songs. He's just so good. I was so surprised how good he was live. It's really refreshing when you see someone you enjoy listening to on the radio so much sound just as good live. 

That was our view at the show :)

Have you ever been to a show where the artist didn't sound as good live? That's the worst...

What's your fave Josh Turner song? The four above haaaave to be the best! Love them! 

<3Love,

Sarah D

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Ek, it's been a little too long since I've blogged. So now my goal is to make sure I have 31 blog posts by the end of January. Probably means 2 blog posts a day, but I really want to keep this up! Busy weekend... Ok! Here we go...

I love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia!

 
If you don't have a good sense of humor and take things too seriously, you will hate It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If you can take a joke and like it when things are offensive, you will love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 


It was created by the three main characters, Dennis, Charlie and Mack (characters' names, not the actors' names!). The show follows them, Dennis' twin sister and their dad - the "gang". They run a pretty unsuccessful bar call Paddy's Pub in Philadelphia. They are extremely dishonest, rude and offensive, and every episode is at least a little bit controversial... They've had episodes about seducing priests, smoking crack cocaine to be able to get on welfare, wanted to tan a baby and drinking wine out of diet coke cans. 


Here are some hilarious clips...

 

I can't find as many funny clips on youtube as I thought I would be able too, bummer... However, all of the episodes are online at fxnetwork.com so check them out! My favorite episode is "Hundred Dollar Baby". Personally, I think that the older episodes are the best! I think that I got the seasons on DVD for like $10-20 a season, really cheap. 

What's your favorite episode?

<3Love,

Sarah D

Green Bay Packers Songs

I love Green Bay Packers Songs. 

Fly like a Cheese Head is my favorite GB Packers viral video! And when we make it to the Super Bowl, I will be wearing one of those shirts. 

Green and Yellow!

 

Damn it Feels good to be a Cheese Head

 

Clay Matthews!

Annnnnnd... in honor of the game on Sunday...

THE BEARS STILL SUCK!

Ugh, I hate the Bears...

Lastly...

PACKER ANTHEM (Thanks Rachel)

What's your fave Packer vid?

<3Love,

Sarah D

Modern Family

I love Modern Family.

If you haven't seen an episode of Modern Family before, you have to start now. This first clip is just a little preview of the show! Season 1 is out on DVD now so you can get it on Netflix. It's already into season 2, and they've already signed on for a 3rd season! Very exciting! This is my favorite clip from Modern Family is ....

"Pigeons aren't afraid of anything, they stand on electrical wires!" 

I know it's really bad quality, but I had to put it on the blog because it's the best clip. It's from season 1. The next clip is from the episode that was on tonight! Check it out... you can watch it on hulu.com too if you want to see the whole episode, and I definitely think it would be worth it!

Big Vases full of fake stuff

I love big vases full of fake stuff. 

This is a picture of my big vase full of fake stuff I got from Macie for my birthday. I love it! I think that they're really fun and make any room look nicer. Maybe it's just me... but I think they're awesome. I went to Kirklands with Macie a couple months ago and wanted everything in the store. You should definitely check out their website.

They're located in the Burnsville Center. I think they also have one in Woodbury! It's a fun store. Lots of cute stuff that's really reasonably priced.

Look! On their website homepage they even have a large vase! 

No fake crap in it though, which is kind of a bummer. But, I think they look better with stuff inside of them! 

That's right...I just wrote a blogpost about big vases full of fake shit :-) Hope you enjoyed! 

<3Love,

Sarah D

Thrifty Hipster

I love thriftyhipster.com.

 

Thrifty Hipster is a great tool for those people who live in Minneapolis, especially Uptown, although they do cover Downtown, GLBT, Northeast, University, St. Paul and South. If you and your friends want to go out for Happy Hour, and everyone is done with work by 6:00, you can go to the website and put in Monday at 6:00pm to see the specials in any area you want! 

It's super easy to use! After I clicked "Ta Daa!" I got this list of bars and restaurants in Uptown...

...and that's just Uptown. The list for downtown is even longer! Let's say I decided on Williams because it's by my apartment so it's easiest to get to in this gross weather. You just click on it and all of the specials are listed with a description of the bar and reviews.

I just moved to Uptown in August, and thriftyhipster.com has made it super easy to find great deals. Uptown typically has a reputation of being more expensive than most locations around Minneapolis, but this website really helps me keep going out cheaper than it might be without knowing about deals in advance!

Are there any other websites you use to keep within a budget while still having fun and going out?

What's the best deal you've found on Thrifty Hipster? My fave is still $3 martinis from Drink :)

Hope this is helpful! 

<3Love,

Sarah

 

The Herkimer

I love the Herkimer.

Being a Packer fan in Minnesota isn't always fun. The first game of the season, we went to watch the game at Cowboy Slims in Uptown. We left at half time and went to Williams because there weren't really any people out watching the game. The bartender at Williams said we had to go to the Herkimer if we were Packer fans. Best piece of advice ever.

Besides going to Lambeau, the Herk is the best place to watch the game. The fans there are crazy fun and extremely dedicated. The picture above is from last night's game when we kicked the Atlanta Falcons butt! It was so much fun, and the bar was packed with people supporting the green and gold.

Another reason why I love the Herkimer is that it's the perfect safe haven to watch Packer - Vikings games at. There were a few Vikings fans that decided to watch the game at the Herk, for some reason, and I think they probably regretted that decision after we destroyed them :) Me and Macie have a tendency to heckle and get overly excited (as seen above).

The brew their own beer so you won't find any miller or coors there, but I've heard that the beer is pretty good. Personally, I don't like beer, so I stick with the mixed drinks. I usually just have diet coke and vodka for $4, not bad. My favorite thing to order at the Herkimer are their cheese curds! They're delicious. They have a Packer menu during the Packer game, and you can't really go wrong with anything on the menu. The cheese curds are definitely the best, but I also love their nachos and fried egg sandwich.

Thanks to the awesome game last night, we'll see you next Sunday at noon when the Packers take on the awful Chicago Bears for the NFC championship. I think the Pack will take it all this year...Super Bowl bound :) 

<3Love,

Sarah 

Sushi

I love sushi.

About two years ago, I would have never said that. I hate most seafood and was really scared to try sushi. But I loved it! It's so delicious. Thank to Allison, Heather, Vy and Chris, I have become addicted. The only places I've ever had sushi at are Wasabi, Matsu-Ya, Sushi Tango and Akita. 

Wasabi has an awesome sushi happy hour. It's from 4:30-6:30pm on weekdays and 10pm-2am Tuesday through Saturday. They have an assortment of rolls that are $4-6 during happy hour and 2-4-1 beers. I love it because it's downtown and parking is free! 

Matsu-Ya is in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, my home town. They have delicious sushi and really yummy Raspberry Sake. I went there for my brother's 21st birthday when I was home over Thanksgiving, and it was delicious. We had the spider roll and the shrimp tempura for sure, and they were so good. I would definitely suggest them both!

Sushi Tango is in Calhoun Square in Uptown. Apparently they have a really good happy hour, but the only time I went, I was too late for happy hour! My favorite roll there was the Vegas roll, or at least that's what I think it was called. It doesn't have it on the menu online, but it was so delicious! The rest of them were pretty average, but it's convenient because it's so close to my apartment, which is nice!

Akita sushi is the besssst! They don't have a website so I couldn't find a picture, but it's located in Tamarack Hills in Woodbury, MN. During the week, they have $15 all you can eat lunch. The amount of food you can eat while you are there is unbelievable and such a great deal! I went there for Brian's birthday and I think the two of us ate enough for a family of five...ugh. It makes me full just thinking about it. Vy, Heather, Al, Chris and myself have put away a lot a lot of food there before too. They have other food there too besides sushi, like tempura veggies, udon soups, deep fried deliciousness and more!

Where are your favorite sushi restaurants? Know of any good sushi happy hours?

<3Love,

Sarah D

Grooveshark

I love grooveshark.com

 

Have you ever used Pandora? Well grooveshark is better. You make your own play lists so you don't have to worry about playing "Taylor Swift" radio and having a bunch of Lady Gaga and Rhianna show up, just because some people think Taylor Swift is pop music... 

Once you go onto grooveshark.com you can search music and then add whichever songs you want to a play list. If you can't think of anything you'd want on a play list, you can click on "popular" and it'll bring up popular music that you might want to listen to. 

You can make and save your own play lists too. I love it! It's all I listen to at work (except the Dave Ryan in the Morning Show...I love that too).

What do you think?

Pandora or Grooveshark?

<3Love,
Sarah D

stumbleupon.com

I love stumbleupon.com.

It's a great time sucker... It shows you awesome websites that are completely random and fun. First, select things you're interested in based on a list that they give you.

 

Then you start stumbling!  Once you get to a page. this tool bar is above the page and you can say whether you like it or not. Then they'll give you more pages like that, or not. Get it?

 

Some of the pages that I have gotten to "StumbleUpon" are...

 

This recipe looks delicious! It definitely pegged my interests :) I'm sure somewhere along the way I said that I have an interest in chocolate and baking. I'll have to try making these sometime. Maybe it'll be a new something I love.  

 

 

I pressed "Stumble" after the mint chocolate chip cookies and got this awesome dance video. I love So You Think You Can Dance and this is an amazing performance. I could probably watch it over and over.

This is such a beautiful picture. It's part of a really pretty online photo book that StumbleUpon introduced me to. It's actually relaxing to look through! Good stress reliever :)

 

Try out SumbleUpon.com and let me know what you think! 

<3Love,

Sarah D

LOLZ CATS

I love lolz cats.

No explanation needed.

Hilarious. You'll die laughing. 

<3Love,

Sarah D