Classic Candy & Old School Treats VeganIzed

Recently I read Now and Later candies are vegan. I guess I heard that before and never had the desire to check till last week when I bought a pack. I remember these from when I was a kid and I believe the Jolly Rancher candy in long flat stick form were lil treats at the corner store my mom would get us. They taste the same and now I want to try all of the wonderful artificial flavors! Matt says they taste like plastic - I say no way...maybe waxy but not plasticy!


Growing up my mom would buy an after dinner treat for us, be it cookies, pastries or an ice cream. We would grab ours right away because my dad would end up eating ours without a second thought. I loved ice cream cones - the little bit at the end of the cone with all of the chocolate - mmmmm...I would savor it so slowly. I can do it again (the vegan way!) now with Tofutti! Yours Truly ice cream cones. These are so yummy. The cookie crumbs replace the nuts perfectly, the ice cream is really rich - to me it has a hit of caramel...The winner is the chocolate nub at the end! Get a box of these now!

I promise I do not eat just vegan ice cream & candy!

Fresh Hair

I don't wash my hair everyday - the process of blow drying my hair, taking a flat iron to it and then teasing it is too much to do on a daily basis. So in between shampoos I use Paul Mitchell's taming spray. It is a detangler for kids - I even use it on my wet hair to get the comb to glide through.
On the no w

Publish Post

ash days I just spray a bit in my hair and brush it through. It lets my hair smell fresh and gets out any knots. The bottle lasts a few months since you do not use a lot, just a few sprays - the goal is to freshen not drench! I buy this at Ulta and the bigger size is still only around $10.

Peanut Butter Day!

Can I just say Earth Balance's creamy peanut butter is hands down the best natural peanut butter out there? Matt even loves this stuff and he is not a fan of the natural kind of peanut butter and often gets grumpy that most store brands we grew up with are loaded with crap.
This stuff is sweet, creamy and shelf stable! It is sweetened with agave and has the right sweet salty taste that you remember as a kid. I grew up with pb&j sandwiches packed in my lunch and on the weekend my dad would make waffles and would smoother pb all over the waffles! Now I enjoy pb with pancakes loaded with sliced banana and peanut sauce!

I Blame It On....

I blame my lack of blogging, cleaning and everything else on my to do list on Plants vs Zombies...I had to stop playing it at night because of my reoccurring zombie dreams and the fact I was sleep 'tapping' at one point...Sorry life!

Tempt Ice Cream

I picked up hemp ice 'cream' bars by Tempt in the fudge swirl flavor last night. They were new to the store and I was curious about them. I am not a big ice 'cream' person due to the fact that the cost is so high and I rather have something to enjoy with tea. A box of 4 costs around $5.50 so it was a splurge.

I had one last night and it made me think of old school pudding pops! I liked how creamy they were! The flavor was really good and lacked that odd taste you sometimes get with non dairy ice creams (that tangy taste)...Plus each bar only has 100 calories - perfect snack size!

Recent Nail Polish Purchases

These are two of the cruelty free vegan polishes I bought last week. Not really my typical go to dark glittery colors but I was drawn to them because they are funky. I think both will go great with a coat of black or dark purple shatter on top. I think they could also go together sponged on in a swirly pattern reminiscent of Pucci.
First up is Julep's violet color named Anne. It is super creamy and pretty! It is part of this month's Maven box. If you do not have a Maven box - use the link provided to sign up. The polish and body care items are vegan - the lip glosses are not. If you get a month with gloss you can skip the month and even cancel before things are shipped out!

Next up is Zoya's matte neon green color called Mitzi - which I hope to get any day now. I am not a matte person but I think this would look cool with shatter polish over it! It is fun and funky! A pop of bright color over my black wardrobe!

What color are your nails right now?

Yoga Reflection & Pigeon Pose

I have been practicing yoga now for over a year. There are still some poses that baffle me, and for the most part I still feel like a yoga newbie. However with yoga came a chance to learn how to breathe, let go and a connection to my body I have never felt before. I still have stress, anxiety and OCD but when I am on my mat it melts away.



One of my favorite poses is pigeon pose. It opens up the hips and it is said we hold fear in our hips. Bye bye fear! I also heard that if you suffer from anxiety that pigeon would be difficult, I however find it deeply relaxing - to the point I want to nap in this pose! The video above is really great at showing you how to do the pose and variations. I have not mastered getting my leg in alignment with the mat, I am still at the 10 and 2 o'clock knee positions.

If you want to try yoga - do it! Do not let the fear of not being flexible hold you back! I am learning how to be more flexible and you will to! I want to blog more about yoga this year and encourge people to try it!

Welcoming In 2012!

I apologize for not blogging as much these last few weeks. Prior to the holidays I was busy with commissioned retail orders (which I am still working on one), commissioned xmas gifts, public speaking!, holiday shopping, trying to see friends and so many more little things. Now that the holidays are over I am relaxing (or in this case dancing) with my new Wii - and reading books via my Kindle Fire - both gifts from Matt. I kinda figured I was getting a Kindle Fire from Matt but the Wii made my jaw drop.
I am a book nerd - I love reading. I like video games - especially the cute kind that remind me of when my family was the first in the neighborhood with a Nintendo. Books do not take effort for me to get into - games do. For the most part the only games I can get into are puzzle games and I give up after a round on other games. With Wii I am so happy - Just Dance is like a work out DVD and for me easy to get into. While Matt is great with any game he throws onto the PS3, he struggles with Just Dance (it is pretty funny - sorry Matt!)...

2012 will hopefully mean a lot of positive changes for me. I really need to clean my craft room - I know I say this a lot but I really do! Organizing the house is going to be another project, I need to learn how to organize! Teaching the community about the joys of vegan cooking and cosmetics is a big goal - I am working on a proposal for the local junior college! Keeping my anxiety low and learning how to live with OCD (Matt found some great info & a support group for me!). Crafty inspiration: finding it and not giving up! Zine building - I have big plans for a new zine, currently I am writing for other zines and working on a quarter sized zine of my own. Continue on my yoga/weights/gym kick, yoga and daily exercise has transformed me inside and out over the last year!

I have a lot of goals that are just to better myself! Being better is something that you just do not stop once you reach your goals - or at least I do not believe it should be. I think being a better person is a continuing process. Here is to a positive 2012!