We Have A Winner!

Sheri won my contest for a copy of Vegan Celebrations! She has 48 hours to answer the email I sent out. Thanks to all who entered!

Vegan Pizza Day

I celebrated the first annual vegan pizza day by getting a slice of pizza tattoo. The art work is from Toki Doki, the artist is Buddha Tury over at Born To Lose in Modesto, CA. He uses vegan inks and cleaning solutions and is super nice!

Vegan Celebrations - Let's Celebrate With A Giveaway! CLOSED!!!!

I love Alicia C. Simpson's books! Her writing and recipes are fun, creative and take the guess work out cooking vegan food that comforts the soul and stirs up fond memories. My friend recently sent me her second book Vegan Celebrations and since he was so generous I bought a copy to giveaway! From game day party planning to throwing a awesome holiday feast this books has you covered. From nachos to a mushroom brisket - the recipes deliver many fun ways to celebrate - even if you are just celebrating a good meal!

This contest is open to everyone. All you need to do is respond to this post with your email address and answer what your favorite vegan party food is! Contest closes on Monday January 31 2011. I will draw one lucky winner randomly! I will notify the winner by email that day!

Soy Curls

I admit I am a newbie to the whole soy curl craze. I tried them for the first time last month. What took me so long I guess was the fact I was put off by the idea of reconstituting my food with water - it reminded me of the bad veggie burger mixes of the mid 90s that I bought in the bulk bins! However once I made soy curls I became hooked!



To make BBQ soy curls that will feed 2-3 all you need is half a bag of the reconstituted soy curls - drained, your favorite BBQ sauce (1/2 a small bottle should be fine - use any left overs you have in your fridge), some canola oil coating a large non stick pan and about 20 minutes. Mix the sauce and soy curls together, while you warm up the oil in the pain on medium, toss in the coated soy curls, cook on a medium setting, tossing every 5 minutes till they are heated through. Plate and serve. We serve them with mac and cheeze! Crazy good!

Currently Never Felt Better is my go to source for soy curls! Go buy some today!

Taking Time For Myself - Stress Free Time

Over the weekend I got to experience my first massage and it was amazing! I found the perfect place in town that used natural products and offered some discount services. I was rubbed down and warmed up with towels for 90 minutes. I was so relaxed I almost fell asleep! It was recommended that I come back in two weeks since I have a lot of knots in my back. I often do not have the time for a hour or more of bliss but will be booking the 30 minute when I am crunched on time and money.


Currently my favorite yoga DVD is Yoga For Beginners with Rodney Yee. I love doing both the AM and PM routines with the inspirational audio track. Both workouts make me feel refreshed, light and just a whole lot happier! If anyone has yoga DVD recommendation that are along the lines of this DVD please share!

These are just two things I have been doing to relax. I am always trying new things from meditation to specialty teas. I think relaxation is important!

My New Skull Ring!

I won a cute lil skull ring last week via She Lost it. I have been wearing it a lot lately, every time I look down at it I smile. Check out She Lost It's site and get your own!

Vegan Cosmetics

I started writing about vegan cosmetics 10 years ago. I have always been into makeup and when I made the switch from vegetarian to vegan, I had to replace some of my cosmetics due to bee products. The hardest part was finding a beeswax free mascara, the only one on the market that was easy to get was a mascara by Origins - in fact a lot of my cosmetics came from Origins. Since those days the market has expanded with not only more mascaras but lots of new cruelty free options.

Not satisfied with the makeup I had I started doing research. I contacted companies through emails, calling them and reading a lot of labels. When new products hit the market I go through this process again. Right now the biggest source of vegan cosmetic knowledge is Cruelty Free Face . I added some information on the site and point people there weekly.

Some tips about buying cosmetics that are vegan: educate yourself, take a list of the companies and colors you want, read labels and don't trust associates that are clueless. I went to Sephora over the weekend to pick up some new shadows, everything I wanted off my list was not in stock - boo hoo. The sales associate pointed me to companies stating that they were vegan, they had vegan products - sure but not everything was vegan...She was baffled about how some things were vegan and some were not.

Since I get asked about what my fave cosmetic products are I decided to list a few.


Ricepaper eyeshadow by MAC Cosmetics is a shadow I use everyday, I have to go buy another one, it is almost gone. It is shimmery but not obnoxious and the perfect high light or inner corner color to brighten things up.


Yeyo 24/7 Glide-On eyeliner by Urban Decay is a liner I use daily as a base color for the inner corner of my eye, I like to apply Ricepaper over it and it just looks really nice and I look awake!


E.L.F.Cosmetic's Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (in black): I buy these in bulk! These $1 bargins are so awesome - they stay put and the black is so inky and smooth!

Music Video Debut

This is the latest video my boyfriend directed. I got to help out with props! Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

I am not one to make resolutions, most people make them and do not keep them. I do make goals or think of things to improve on. Improvement takes time - you can progress, you do not have to go and make drastic changes over night...

My goals for 2011:
-Clean and organize: this mostly applies to my craft room but it could extend to the garage if we feel up to the challenge!
-Yoga - try more poses that seem 'scary': I am really into yoga right now, I am not the most flexible person - but yoga has really helped me feel centered and full of light these last few months. I know that may sound silly but - that is the only way I can describe it. I want to try to do poses and not just point and say "I wish I could do that"...If I can't get there - at least I tried and I can keep on trying!
-Not neglect my Etsy store: I need to try and get new products in weekly, promote it more, give it some love. I used to, I just got sidetracked!
-Movie night: Have friends over to watch a movie and eat vegan snacks! Matt and I have been talking about it for months - it is time to try to do it!
-Community Stuff: From feeding the homeless to getting more art in town - I want to help make this town better! I am hoping to have another awesome vegan bake sale this year to help animals in our community - last year's was awesome!
-Blog More: From crafts to vegan bakery dreams to cat stuff (Mar likes to get in on the action!) - I want to write all about it. If I get into gear maybe produce a zine further expanding on stuff! I have always wanted to do a zine - over 10 years and counting. I guess I am scared to really enter into the zine making world. I have been in countless zines - it is always fun to see your name in print!

These are just some of my plans! I hope 2011 is a great year for everyone. I wish everyone good health, happiness, and love!