This year, I noticed that when our phone books arrived in the lobby of my condo, they sat there for weeks without the pile going down. That caused me to think – who really uses the phone book anymore? I don’t know about you, but I turn to the internet for that nowadays. ...
If you’ve never been to the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, then it’s time to go. No more excuses- it’s hands-down one of the most enjoyable nights you will have for the entire month. Their next production is particularly appropriate for date nights, as it’s...
You know me, I’m pretty much the Queen of Free. This FREE thing I came across, pretty much takes the cake though. It’s called the Twin Cities Experimental College. Basically, it’s a collection of free classes on a variety of topcis, where you’re welcome to be...
Remember awhile back when I begged someone to join the St. Paul Curling Club so that I could come observe? Well, my sister answered the plea! Let me tell you, it was no easy task. Rumor has it that the wait to get in is something like 10 years. Well, she worked her magic and...
You know me, I’m always on the hunt for a good deal. One deal that I’ve been using for a VERY long time is Student Rush. Alas, it does not work for me any longer, but it can work for high school students, Undergrad Students and Graduate Students. All you need is a valid...
I was reminded about the power of service trips today when I received an email from JS about her border trip. I’ve been hearing about this organization for quite some time now and thought the time was ripe to share it with you. Global Volunteers was started 1984 as a non-profit...
Never under-estimate the bizarre occurrences that take place in the world of Sarah and Nick. Today’s story is a doozy! So I’m in MN freezing my butt off in negative temps waiting for my beloved husband to call me over lunch. I waited and waited. No call. Boy was I...
Even though I’m not a frequent TV watcher, when I miss an episode I’ll often jump online and watch it after-the-fact. So obviously this is a wonderful thing for current shows on the air, but what about sports, news shows and all those wonderful old shows? All me to...
Well, I recently came across this fantastic site called fontifier and couldn’t resist sharing it! The basic premise is that for $9 this company will turn your handwriting into a font that you can use on your computer! SO COOl, huh? They do it by giving you a template with all...
Surprise, Surprise. Today (Tuesday) has something BIG and IMPORTANT in it too. What happened to those good old routine days I used to have where my largest decision was what I would make for dinner?? Long gone…. SO- Today’s big event is an interview with our Career...
Those of you who know me well know that I am anything BUT a gamer. It seems though, that I have developed a bit of an addiction. It’s called Fuzzle. In fact, Fuzzle has become such a favorite of mine that I’ve created a verb out of it, often saying to Nick...
OH MY GOSH! I’ve been waiting for this day ever since we found out that we got in. For those of you not familiar with foreign service life, Bid List Day is the day we receive a list of the dozens of posts that are open for us to select from. We have 4 days to research all the...
Hi All! Remember when I told you about my background in Deli while working in SuperTarget? Well, one of the odd carry-overs has been an obsession with grocery stores. Being on the East Coast is so much fun because there’s a whole new array of them: Giant, Harris Teeter...
Welcome to our new D.C. home for the next 4-9 months. Nick will be keeping it nice and clean for us while I’m back in MN until early May. Let me take you on a quick tour… it won’t take too long! So there it is! We have a 1 BR apartment with a balcony overlooking...
Ha! It seems quite fitting to post the Engagement Photos after the wedding photos, given the strange order that things are playing out in. We shot at the W Hotel – Foshay Tower in Minneapolis. We (I mean I) loved every minute! Nick would have told you that he couldn’t...
Greetings Blog Readers!  Sarah Novak here reporting from beautiful, 40 degree Washington, D.C. It’s been a crazy few days, but I’m happy to report that both Nick and I are faring well in our new life! Here’s an update from the past few days… We started off...
It’s official! We’re married… more pictures to come later!
In the life of Sarah, things are constantly changing lately… Case in point: The Wedding. Or should I say Weddings! Wedding 1 (as we’re affectionately calling it) will take place at this lovely Court House in Maryland shortly after the first of the year. Nick starts his...
Hi all- I was just reflecting on the fact that my life is beginning to feel somewhat like that fabulous old world adventure show that used to be on PBS called Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? The basic premise was that you (the viewer) were on a detective team that was trying to...
Hello all! I’m back and better than ever. The trip was unbelievable, but boy do I have some serious jet lag from the 14 hour time difference. Remind me not to cross the date line again- it just completely messes you up! I’ve prepared a 2 minute slide show of highlights...
Peter Mayer’s folk music, that is. I was first introduced to him in College when he’d come do coffeehouse performances at St. Ben’s. There’s something entrancing about the combination of his voice, the chords from the guitar and the tapping he does on the...
Waiting for a vacation to arrive can be so hard, no matter whether it’s a cabin up north or Disney World. Now take that yearning and multiply it by ten, because I have the most grandiose vacation of my life coming up – 16 days in Malaysia! Check out the map above for...
A new trend has been making its way to Mpls/St. Paul – upscale specialty drink bars. We saw the onslaught of wine bars a few years back, but this takes it to a whole new level. Take Barrio, for example, on Nicollet Mall. The full-service Tequila bar serves a variety of tapas...
The first time I really started to think seriously about getting my own Virtual Assistant was after reading Timothy Ferris’ book, The 4-Hour Workweek. Suggestion: If you haven’t read this book yet, do it now! There are suggestions galore and it left me incredibly...
Click here to listen to the audio on MPR and read the article: hour_car_solar
Well, it’s not very big, but it’s there… not that I’m complaining! It sure was fun… I’m in minutes 3-5 of the audio. Check it out!
I had never heard of virtual assistants until this past year. Now I feel like everywhere I turn, people are sending things off to their virtual assistants overseas. Being one who is fascinated by new trends, I decided we’d explore this in a 2-part blog series. Today’s...
So, I’ve noticed that I have the tendency to become a spokesperson for many of the organizations that I affliliate with. Take today for instance, I’m just minding my business when the Hourcar manager calls up and asks if I’d be willing to talk to a reporter about my...
You will be amused by this, I promise. It takes me back to my early Mario days (Note: We were never allowed to own a Nintendo, so I had to beg my friends and neighbors to let me play- I am grateful now for not owning one, but not then! It was at the top of my Christmas list every...
The following is a public service announcement brought to you by Sarah Miller: Are you sick and tired of receiving heaps of junk mail? I know I am, but I had no idea how to make it stop. Well, being the good little researcher that I am, I tracked down some information to share with...
I’ll keep it short and sweet today. I’m getting sick of evite. I know it works, but that’s all anyone uses. If you feel like spicing up your party life, check out these online invite sites that add a little kick to the whole process: 1. PINGG: Seriously, I LOVE...
It’s hard to get retail out of your blood after spending 5 years immersed in it, so I tend to stay in the know about how the retail sector is doing. After last week’s tough times on Wall Street, I guess it was inevitable that the panic about the holiday shopping season would...
1. Kick the Bottled Water Habit. Every year, 1.5 mil barrels of oil go to making plastic water bottles used in the United States, and less than a quarter of those bottles are recycled, so choose a reusable bottle instead. 2. Compute This. Set computers to enter sleep mode after 5 min of...
Let me introduce Marcus Young, St. Paul’s official artist-in-residence. His latest project could be coming to a sidewalk near you. His idea was to take local artists’ poems and imprint them into sidewalks that were being redone. How is this possible? Well, basically...
I can’t believe it, but I finally got my long-awaited Graduation gift from Nick. In May of 2007 Nick surprised me with one of the things I’ve always wanted to do – go up in a balloon. Little did we know how hard it is to actually get up in the air! 6 tries later...
I profess to be a non-TV girl, but I must confess that my secret addiction is Grey’s Anatomy.  I fully blame Dana for getting me hooked on Grey’s. I had made it through two entire seasons without succumbing to the hype. I was so proud of myself. Then one night in a...
I know you all thought I was a wee bit crazy when I started doing the network spinal analysis stuff and I hate to say it, but I told you it would work. I don’t really understand it either but here are some fabulous before and after scans that show what’s changing in my...
Meet Max Simon, founder of WWW.GETSELFCENTERED.COM. Max has big plans- namely, to teach a million gen y’ers and millenials to use mindfulness techniques by 2010. Where did this lofty goal come from?? When Max became the youngest teacher (at age 22) at the Chopra Center for...
Holy crap. The things you do for love… So, last night I had the priveledge of going up in the Trike with Don (see previous post on Triking for info about the sport). As you saw in the blog, Nick went up about a month ago (and loved it, of course) and had visions of us doing this...
As many of you know, Nick and I are preparing for our 18 day trip to Malaysia in November. How does that relate to today’s post, you ask? Well, when I was out on my lunch-time walk I happened to pass a boutique store that I hadn’t been in yet, Paper Patisserie (next to WA...
I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t thoroughly enamoured with photo shoots. Flashback to my Senior photos- 6 outfits, 5 hours, 4 hairstyles, 1 friend assisting me with outfit changes and over 200 proofs to choose from. Well, my latest picture escapade involved shooting photos...
Well, the U of M has done it again. If you thought the Honeycrisp was good, wait until you try Zestar! First, a little background on the U of M’s Fruit Breeding program: It dates back as far as 1878. According to an article on MPR.org, of the 15,000 trial breeds being grown out at...
So lately I’ve been wandering around town quite a bit (on foot, as you all know). Since there aren’t many chain stores within walking distance, mostly I end up in little boutiques. And the crazy thing is that I’ve become quite attached to these little boutiques. I would...
Nick and I saw this film over the summer and fell in love with it. This French film has subtitles but I noticed when watching it that I became so entranced with the film that I forgot they were there. It’s out on video now, so with the weather turning cooler, it’s a prime time...
So boutique hotels are the “in” thing now. Minneapolis is getting a slew of them, the most famous ones recently being The Chambers, The W Foshay and the Ivy. The key differentiator of boutique hotels is that they are intimate, luxurious and quirky- typically having only 3-100...
I had heard about the site Bag Borrow or Steal, but had never taken the time to check it out. Ladies, this is the frugal fashionista’s paradise! You can “borrow” jewelry, purses and accessories for a week or more at a time. These aren’t just any old purses though...
Hello all. I’m afraid I’m getting desperate. I’ve had a dream for the last year that I could be a curler by association and belong to the St. Paul Curling Club. I’m totally fascinated with curling, but don’t really desire to play myself. I really just want to...
If you’ve lived in Minnesota for long, you’ve probably heard of Andrew Zimmern. He’s most commonly known for the food column he writes for Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine. Or perhaps you heard him on the radio saying, “This is Andrew Zimmern for Lunds and...
25. Pit Toilets: By the 2000 Census, the number of Americans who lacked indoor plumbing was down to 0.6%. Even though that’s still an awful lot of Americans using an outhouse or pit toilet — 670,000 households or 1.3 million people — it’s a huge improvement from...
Oh my gosh. This site was made for me- I can’t believe I didn’t know about it until now! Let me introduce- SMARTY PIG.COM. This FREE site encourages saving for specific goals IN ADVANCE. All you do is tell them what you’re saving for and when you want to reach that goal...