Friend Time » Mi Vida Ocupada

Sushi Dinner Date

Jan 102012

Christmas is always a busy time of year but my hometown girlfriends and I always try to get together for a dinner date every year in December. This year we met for a late dinner at Masu Sushi and Robata (the same night as my staff holiday party) and had ourselves a great time.

I love that so many of my friends love sushi as much as I do, there is no shortage of great places to eat in the Twin Cities. One of the items I saw on the menu was an Oyster Shooter with raw quail egg and my adventurous side desperately wanted to try it. It didn’t take much convincing to get Bradie and Jessie to order one as well ;) The description did say “shooter” but we were surprised to find that the oyster and quail egg were in a shot of sake!

Oyster Shooter with Quail Egg at Masu Sushi and Robata ~ Minneapolis, MN

The BEFORE….

The DURING…. (lol, Jess’s face cracks me up!)

The sushi was delicious!Make sure you read my review of Masu if you would like to see the rest of our meal

Masu Roll, Firecraxkwr Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll at Masu Sushi and Robata ~ Minneapolis, MN

And of course the photos of us ladies….

The restaurant has a giant mural on the wall of a Japanese woman’s eyes. Jess & Brade thought it would be funny to have a picture of them with the eye, so here it is!

It was a very fun night with great friends. Can’t wait to meet up with these ladies again soon!

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On this date I have blogged about:

On 01-10-08: Read Thoughts for Thursday: 21st birthdays (01-10-08)
On 01-10-08: Read Designing Blog Banners….. (01-10-08)
On 01-10-07: Read A few cool sites to share…. (01-10-07)
On 01-10-06: Read The MySpace Craze…. (01-10-06)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Staff Holiday Party 2011

Friend Time, School & Work 5 Responses »

Jan 082012

The week before Christmas we had our staff holiday party at a giant restaurant/bar near our school. It was a party that started during Happy Hour and there was an appetizer buffet set up, courtesy of our school’s Sunshine Committee. I stayed for a couple of hours before leaving to meet some of my HS girlfriends for a late sushi dinner (separate post on that coming up next!). I

Some pics from the party….. I work with a bunch of really great people ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Birthday Shout-Out {Ang joins the Dirty Thirty Club}

Birthday Parties, Birthday Shout-outs, Friend Time 4 Responses »

Dec 162011

Happy Birthday to my friend Ang who turns the BIG 3-0 today!

I know I am posting this super late but I literally have not sat down since 6am this morning (its now 10) and that has been the story of my my life every day this week. Anyway, I wanted to wish Ang a happy birthday once again (besides the text msg and FB message). You only turn 30 once, right? (although Ang celebrates for the entire month of December! lol)

Last night I met the Birthday Girl and Dana and Heather out for dinner at a place that none of us had tried before, Brick’s Pub. I will add my review once I get a chance to write it. We had a great time talking, eating and sipping a cocktail or two. We even got a few photos.

I probably should’ve used a flash instead of these crazy shadows I ended up getting without it. Oh well. Sorry ladies!

Me and (Heather)Cheddar

Last night Ang and I were trying to figure out which year it was that we met. Today I have the answer. It was December 2003!! Know how I know? Well, we met through our mutual friend, Rich, and I took this photo of the two of them at XFest back on May 30, 2004. So Ang, I guess that means this month is our 8th Anniversary ;) wow, how about that? You were just a kid back then. lmao!

Hope you have a wonderful time at your shindig tonight!

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On this date I have blogged about:

On 12-17-10: Read Happy Hour {Just before the BIG snowstorm} (12-17-10)
On 12-16-08: Read Party time for Sally! (12-16-08)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Like Old Times {me and Cassie Rae}

Friend Time 1 Response »

Nov 252011

Looking forward to hanging with a dear old friend of mine tonight ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Halloween Party 2011 {Mythical & Mythological}

Friend Time, Holidays 8 Responses »

Nov 032011

Ready to see party pics?! The theme of the Hillesheim’s Halloween Party this year was Mythical and Mythological Creatures. Most people adhered to the theme and it was fun to see some of the costumes. Unfortunately, my photos didn’t turn out very good. Nighttime party pics required me to use my flash and I was also using my kit lens so that I could have a wider angle. Not to mention I had a few to drink. Oh well, the night was still partially captured!
Our gracious hosts…. (Unicorn and dragon)

Some of the ladies…

Notice all the striped socks?!

I was SO EXCITED to see Heather. Whither the Tide had a show earlier in the evening and since her man is the lead singer, I didn’t think they would make it, But they did :)

Have you ever seen an Abominable Snowman??!!

A few more party people….

The Tooth Fairies….

Rosemary’s Baby (very creepy!)…

I laughed a lot that night…

We even had a couple of people dressed up as Vikings Super Bowl Champs… they fit right in since it is a myth that the Vikes would ever win.
“This party really sucks and that costume makes your ass look big!”

Fun times!
Thanks Matty and Colleen :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Dinner with the Girls {Blogger Meet-Up}

Friend Time 4 Responses »

Oct 102011

A few weeks ago my friend Ang inquired about getting a group of us blogging-buddies together for dinner and without much of a problem we were able to get a dinner date scheduled that the five of us could make just a few weeks later!

So last Wednesday evening I met up with * Ang, Dana, Kim and Krysten * at Axel’s Bonfire in St Paul . Now, I know this was technically a “Blogger Meet-up”, but I have been friends (in real life) with Kim, Dana and Ang for many years. Krysten was the only person I had not officially met IRL (but I’ve followed her blog for a couple of years now) so I was excited to finally meet her face-to-face. We had a great time chatting and eating. Its funny but we all seem to know each other so well from reading each other’s blogs all this time. Blogging has truly brought us all closer and has made us better friends. Its a great connection and support system to have each other. Even better when we can get together in the midst of our busy and hectic lives :)

*Click their links above to read what they each have to say about the blogger meetup!*

Dana, Kim and Ang have all been out to eat with me before when I have done reviews for the Twin Cities Restaurant Blog, but obviously this was Krysten’s first time. Now she knows the routine of what it is like to go out to eat with me. Hopefully she’ll come out with me again in the future ;)
A few photos of the night….

Ang, Dana and Krysten… would you believe they are ALL leftys??

Me and Kimmy

It was a lot of fun getting together with these special ladies….. the only negative of the night was the fact that Dana, Ang and I all got parking tickets for parking on a side street. Apparently you can’t park there without a special permit. I was not happy about that, especially since I purposely parked on the street so I wouldn’t have to pay $6 to park in the lot. Oh well, live and learn!!

Oh, I also wish Laura in Cancun would’ve been able to meet us but since she lives in Cancun, we will all just have to fly down to Mexico to visit her sometime :)

You can read my review of Axel’s Bonfire here.

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Skywind Reunion 2011 {Benefit for Charlotte}

Concerts, Friend Time, Video Blogs, Videos 6 Responses »

Oct 052011

A few weeks ago some of my old-time buddies from the band Skywind came together after several years apart, for the sole purpose of playing at a Benefit for a very sick little baby girl named Charlotte. Charlotte is the daughter of the lead singer, Wally, and was diagnosed with a mass around her liver that kept her in the hospital for nearly 4 months (out of the six since she has been born). Read Charlotte’s story on Caringbridge.

Back in the day (1997-2003) Skywind was an immensely popular rock band made up of guys from my HS. Rich, the drummer, is one of my man’s Bffs.
I didn’t take many photos that night because I was busy rockin out next to the stage (with Ang and Steve)but I took several videos at the show…. find them at the bottom of this post. Apparently there were tons of people we went to HS with at this show but I didn’t see many of them because I was rockin out. I did see a couple fo people that I never in a million years would have thought would be at the show…. check this out: Just before Skywind comes on I am up in front of the stage and a short person moves next to me. I look down and see these big brown eyes looking up at me…”Ms. Sauer, is that YOU?” OMG, it was one of my students (a second grader) who was there with her sister (6th grade) and her mom. I was like, “what are you guys doing here?” “We know Wally, our mom works with him!” They were there to support Charlotte and it was an all-ages show. Small freakin world. Thank the lord I wasn’t shitfaced or anything. I can’t go anywhere without watching my back!!
Here are the few photos I got of the evening (after the show):

Tanya, Dana, Me and Jamie
Richie and Angel

Colleen and Matty (who loves to make goofy faces in pics and annoy his wifey)

Amy, Raylene, Cassie and Me
Make sure to let the videos stream all the way before you play any of them ;)
Before Skywind played, Wally brought his oldest daughter (Josie) up on stage to play a song together

Here is an OLD song from Skywind, one of their first from the first album

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Brunch at CRAVE with the Ladies

Friend Time 3 Responses »

Sep 302011

Last Sunday I met a handful of friends for brunch at CRAVE in the Galleria (Edina). It was a nice time eating, catching up, etc.

Pictured: Mary, Taylor, Me, Angie, Leah and Kara

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Dinner Outing with the Girls {Bradie’s Bday}

Birthday Parties, Friend Time 3 Responses »

Sep 242011

Two weeks ago my dear, life-long amiga Bradie celebrated another bday. (One that is a multiple of 5!)

There were 9-10 of us who met for dinner at First Course in So. Mpls, a great little restaurant just a few blocks from Bradie’s house (review to come when I can get to it!). We had wonderful food and great conversation. Afterward most of us went back to Bradie’s house and hung out for a few hours. It was a great night!

Hope you had fun, Bradie! xoxoxoxoox

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Summer Fun {with Bradie and Heidi}

Friend Time 3 Responses »

Sep 172011

Summer seems like it was already so long ago!

Funny how that happens once school starts.

I didn’t have much time off this summer (3 weeks total), but I did take advantage of the time I had. One of those days was spent hanging out at my life-long friend Bradie’s house with Bradie, her 3 daughters and our friend Heidi. The three of us went to college and lived in the same dorm together our Freshman year. Bradie and Heidi also took dance together for years when they were younger. It was a fun time hanging out!

Bradie’s three little girls, Beau Mikhail and Neven

Heidi and I had made plans to have dinner at Santorini Taverna that night in Eden Prairie so we headed west near dinner time. What a cool place! Heidi knows the owner so he joined us for appetizers and drinks out on the patio. Check out my review!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

MN State Fair 2011 Recap

Food and Drink, Friend Time 2 Responses »

Sep 092011

A few weeks ago I made my way out to the MN State Fair with my guy and my friend Noemy. We were only out there for about 3 hours and spent most of the time eating. I didn’t take too many photos because it is hard lugging a big camera around while eating, etc (but I still managed a few!!!)

We caught the Horse Show for awhile, these horses were gorgeous!!

Horse Show 2 at Minnesota State Fair

Horse Show 3 at MInnesota State Fair

Horse Show Awarding at Miunnesota State Fair

Mn State Fair 2011 at night

This deep-fried banana split was my favorite thing I ate this year :)

Deep Fried Banana Split at Ole and Lena’s ~ Minnesota State Fair

Mmmm, Scotch Eggs…. good any time of day

Scotch Eggs ~ Minnesota State Fair

The pocket apple pie ranks up there as well!

Deep Fried Apple Pie at Minneapple ~ Minnesota State Fair

Potato sausage at Sausage by Cynthia ~ Minnesota State Fair

Cheese Curds at Mouse Trap ~ Minnesota State Fair

Fried Ravioli at Vescio’s

Roasted Corn

Corn Dog

Mini Pirate Ship Ride ~ Minnesota State Fair

Silly Girls….

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

The Beautiful Ms. Becky {and her baby belly!}

Friend Time, Photography 7 Responses »

Jul 252011

One day last week I spent some time with my friend Becky who is in the home stretch of her first pregnancy. We thought it would be an awesome chance to get some maternity photos of Becky, who is at 37 weeks along. Ideally we should’ve taken these photos a month ago, but Becky is still feeling pretty good and looks wonderful! Neither one of us has had any experience with maternity photos in any regard, so we used Pinterest to get inspiration. We were also lucky that Becky and her husband have a gorgeous yard with landscaped gardens… perfect for posing for portraits!

Here are just a few of the photos I took. The more intimate ones are for Becky and her husband to do with as they please :)

Thanks, Becky, it was a lot of fun!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Friday Night Dinner with the Girls { at Salut}

Food and Drink, Friend Time 7 Responses »

Jun 202011

If you’re just checking in for the first time since Friday, you will see a bunch of posts from me in your feed readers. Sorry about that, but not really!! I still have a lot of catching up to do but can start with the beginning of my weekend.

I had plans Friday night with a group of my friends from HS. We met at Salut Bar Americain on Grand Ave. (review to come!)

Me, Andrea, Mandy, Anne, Bradie and Joy

Me and Bradie….. my lifelong amiga

Mandy Anne and Joy

We had a nice meal which included….

Moules Cafe De Paris at Salut Bar Americain ~ St Paul, MN

Chicken Club at Salut Bar Americain ~ St Paul, MN

After dinner we took a stroll down Grand Avenue and stopped to have a coffee on the patio at Caribou. It was a very nice evening…. I love spending time with my girlfriends and must do it more often!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Pig Roast Extravaganza

Food and Drink, Friend Time, Neighborhood, Neighbors 5 Responses »

Jun 022011

Have you ever been to or hosted a Pig Roast?

It is usually a good time; a lot of people, food, fun and drinks. A great way to bring people together!

A few weeks ago I was talking with a few different neighbors of mine and we thought it would be fun to put something together for our neighborhood since a few families are moving this summer. Hence, the Pig Roast idea was born. A few of the guys went down to the local slaughterhouse, picked out a couple of pigs and the rest is history! A huge Thank You to D & D for providing the pork and hosting the fun!

(PS I accidentally walked into the slaughter zone in the garage next door where the guys happened to be butchering the pigs the night before the party. Very disturbing. I won’t go into detail but did you know little piggies have eyelashes???)

The pig roast was a really good time! The weather was kind of “iffy” most of the day on Saturday but it cleared up around dinner and then we had decent weather. Many of our neighbors who were in town stopped by with food for the party. The food was pretty awesome (the pork tasted great) and it was nice to hang out and get to know some neighbors. We had lawn games set up and that kept many of the neighborhood kids busy for hours. I played some croquet and had a good time, beans bags too.

What good would my posts be if I didn’t include shots of the food?

The roasting pork. (The ribs and other various pork parts were cooked in the smoker) instead of on the rotisserie.

I made my mom’s broccoli salad to bring to the party and it was a big hit (as it always is when my mom makes it too) Pictured is an archived photo of my mom’s broccoli salad, as I did not take any photos of my own. Or any other food, for that matter. Weird! I was too busy eating, obviously.

Broccoli Salad

We had special guests at the party in addition to the neighbors. Our dear friend Noemy and her family are on leave from the military (based in CA) for a few weeks and they rolled into town the afternoon of the party. They came straight from the airport and brought an entourage of food and family with them. It was so great to see Noemy and the boys, I have missed her very much but not as much as her BFF, Denise!

Here we are, The Three Amigas.

A few more photos

It was a great time, hope to do this every year!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Just what I needed {Lunch with the Girls}

Friend Time, Random Thoughts & Updates 4 Responses »

Apr 122011

My guy and I had originally planned to head up to the North Shore last weekend with a big group of friends but for obvious reasons we stayed home instead. Since I was in town for the weekend, I was able to meet up with some of my girlfriends on Sunday for lunch at CRAVE. It was such a nice day out; sunny and warm. Getting out and spending time with these ladies really helped to lift my spirits.

Me, Mare and Manda

Not to mention my food was pretty awesome. I had the Huevos Rancheros (made unlike any other I have tried). I could eat this every weekend.

Every day is getting easier, I hope the sun keeps shining ;)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

A Busy Christmas {The most wonderful time of the year}

Family Gatherings, Friend Time, Holidays 4 Responses »

Jan 092011

So what if I am posting my Christmas Photos two weeks later…. Better late than never, right!?

After sleeping in pretty late on Christmas morning (recovering from the delicious fondue of Christmas Eve), we stopped by my aunt & uncles house for the Sauer Family Christmas. I am glad that my aunt & uncle who were hosting this year live just a few miles from us, makes it easy to stop by!
Me and my mama

Mary and Angela

Susan and Katie

Some of the guys

Cousin Jane and her husband Ted (visiting from So Dak)

Jane & Ted’s boys

Cousin Nick, recently graduated with a degree in Education!

After a couple of hours it was time to head over to my in-laws house for our traditional Christmas dinner of ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. It was also delicious! Sorry, I never take photos of my in-laws (or my man for that matter), they just aren’t into it. Makes me sad because I love photos and they’re always missing :(

Later on Christmas Night after we got home, we went next door to D & D’s house. They always have a party late on Christmas night to celebrate Darrell’s birthday. He is the black baby Jesus, born on Christmas Day! At around 10pm we enjoyed our second dinner of the day, grilled steak fajitas!!

The birthday boy cooking up all the steaks….

Guests getting food

I didn’t take many people pictures because we were too busy having fun but of course I took some of the Mexican Buffet when it was time to eat!!

Fried spring rolls too!

A not-so-hot pic of me and NiNi. We probably had several margaritas at this point in the night ;)

It was another great Christmas, can’t wait to do it all again next year! The only thing that would make it even better is if Noemy and Traves are in town to celebrate with us at D & D’s :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Happy Hour {Just before the BIG snowstorm}

College Friends, Friend Time 3 Responses »

Dec 162010

Last Friday after work I met up with some of my friends from college for a delicious Happy Hour at Flame Rotisserie Grill & Bar (review to come!). Our HH date was somewhat short notice so many of our girls couldn’t make it, but those of us who were there had a good time. I didn’t take photos (of people!) until the end of the night (just before we parted, actually) so I didn’t get any pics with Jessica or Cathy before they had to leave but I did get some of Me, Heidi (her son) and Janet!

Janet and I happen to work together this year which is very cool

I had planned to go shopping in the mall after Happy Hour but Heidi and Janet both came later so I stayed to hang out with them until the staff practically kicked us out for hanging out too long when other customers were waiting for our booth. Only slightly kidding. Since the big snow storm was due to arrive within just a few hours, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home to stock up on food for the weekend. Good thing, I didn’t really leave for days since they canceled school (which rumor has it will have to be made up. boo)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

A Rockin Friday Night

Concerts, Friend Time 3 Responses »

Nov 142010

Despite feeling extremely exhausted and overworked, I mustered up a bit of energy this past Friday night to go see a rock show at Station 4 in St Paul. Filter was headlining and Whither the Tide was opening for them (my friends Rich & Jeremy’s band).

This may be the first show I brought my D-SLR to, but I didn’t get very good photos…

Mr. Jeremy Montoya of Whither the Tide

Richie Z of Whither the Tide

One of the best parts about going to the show was getting to see Heather, my dear friend who I get to see only rarely.

Filter was pretty good too, but extremely LOUD. I had a good time but honestly should have just stayed home because I was tired and crabby and wasn’t my usual cheery self. I stayed up way too late and ended up sleeping until the next afternoon (whoa, unheard of!)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Girls Night Out {Gina’s Bday}

Birthday Parties, Friend Time, Neighborhood 3 Responses »

Nov 112010

Last Saturday night I headed out with my neighbor girls and some friends to celebrate our girl Gina’s birthday. Instead of a standard limo to chauffeur us around, the 12 of us made our way around town in an RV. No kidding! We had a ton of fun, here are just a few photos of the night (taken by at least three cameras)

Fun times! Glad I decided to go out :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Vikings Football Gatherings in my ‘Hood

Food and Drink, Friend Time, Neighbors, Sports 2 Responses »

Nov 072010

Just about every Sunday you will find a nice gathering of my neighbors (give or take a few friends and family!) hanging out in one garage or another, watching Vikings and other NFL games throughout the day and night. We try to potluck when possible so that everyone is contributing something or another.

The Vikings haven’t done too well this year, as of today we have a 3-5 record on the season (thank goodness for a win vs the Az Cardinals!) It is always more fun when they’re winning, but we all seem to have a good time whether they win or lose.

A few weeks ago when the Vikings played the Packers, a few of our neighbors who happen to be Packers fans came out in their cheese-head gear to throw a little green and yellow into the purple mix. The youngest fans seen here……

And the lovely ladies in Purple (of course!) Please excuse our appearance. Purple is mandatory but showering is optional on Sundays!