Weekend Wrap Up - Oakland & More

Friday night was spent in Oakland. We headed up early before work got out to beat traffic. We stopped at Rock Paper Scissor Collective so I could drop of zine for the library (which was closed when we got there). We drove over to Banana Soy Vegan for dinner which started off with Matt's car alarm going off as soon as we ordered (which never has happened before). The restaurant is clean, the staff is attentive and the food was good. The 'chicken' sticks with peanut sauce is tasty and I am wanting more of the yellow noodles I ordered. If you like odd tastes like me - order the strawberry jam drink. It is like lemonade with a glob of strawberry jam at the bottom!  After checking in at the venue where Matt was showing his movie trailer we went to Whole Foods. I was in luck - there was a massage therapist and for $15 I got a nice massage for 10 minutes. Matt and I bought a few things, checked out the large church across the street and shared a berry chocolate parfait from the bakery! After a night of performances, vending and showing Matt's trailer we headed home to our bed!

Saturday we lounged around the house as much as possible. I had my newest zine The Stay At Home Girlfriend #2 printed later on.  We ran errands and then saw Matt's trailer on the big screen again. Another late night and days later my body is still paying for it. I am happy for Matt though and I cannot wait till his trailer is complete (editing some stuff) so he can post it online!

Grilling Vegan Style Giveaway! CLOSED

In honor of my birthday this week I want to give one lucky person a gift! I went out and bought a copy of my new summer time favorite cookbook for one lucky reader! Grilling Vegan Style by John Schlimm. It is full of yummy summer time treats that range from savory to sweet. The book even starts off with grilling tips for newbie grillers! This is a vegan summer time must have!

To enter let me know below what your favorite grilled vegan dish is! Please also include your email address. Contest closes at noon (PST)  June 28th (my birthday!). Everyone can enter. One person will be chosen randomly. I will email the winner once chosen! Have fun!

Vegan Skin Care For Men

Over the weekend Matt and I spent time at Sephora and Ulta looking at/trying out vegan skin care that suits him. The two brands we found at both stores that suited his manly cruelty free needs are Anthony Logistics (the line is vegan except the lip stuff) and Jack Black (most of the line is vegan - check the site).

Matt's pick of the products he tried out (or had me try on him) is Anthony Logistics astringent toner pads. These are rather big pads! They remind me of the ones I used in junior high - but Matt said there is no sting involved! They left him feeling refreshed on a hot day and got off dirt that you could see on the pad!

Since my birthday is next week I got the free birthday gift. I picked the guys pick which is vegan - Anthony Logistics Glycol Facial Cleanser, which can be used by us chicks to! I used it before handing it over to Matt, it left my skin feeling refreshed and the scent was nice and clean.

Both brands products are in the $20 range, not bad priced for quality skin care.

Earring Giveaway! CLOSED

If you liked the earrings from last week's Desperately Seeking Susan fashion post you are in for a treat! TashaHussey has generously offered up a pair to one lucky winner! All you need to do is leave a comment below with a way to contact you. The contest is open to all - no border boundaries here! I will pick one winner on June 22. Go check out TashaHussey on Etsy and give her some love!

Desperately Seeking Susan - Style Points

I sat Matt down to watch a movie from my childhood - we (my sister and I) really loved Madonna as all girls did in the 80s. Desperately Seeking Susan hits all the 80s high points when it comes to film - fashion, fun, great music and sappy love.
Again I love the fashion. While decking yourself out in head to toe 80s garb will be OK if you are going to a costume party it might get you some strange looks while at the farmer's market. I found some updated fashion pieces that were inspired by the movie that you can rock any day and anyway you like!

This is an arty take on a rosary. I like it and and it comes in a few finishes. Dueling Cross Necklace by Alex And Chloe.

 

I think at one point we all rocked the fingerless lace gloves - these gloves by ZenAndCoffee makes me feel nostalgic.   

 You need a skull train case to haul your stuff around in - or keep in a locker. This one by Betseyville is cute! 

You can create your own hair bow with lace or tulle (black of course) or if you cannot be bothered to go to the fabric store check out CrossWoodStore and grab a black lace bow to rock!

No need to knock over a museum to score some rare, priceless Egyptian earrings. TashaHussey has you covered. Make sure to only wear one to get that cool girl vibe!

Weekend Eats

Saturday morning Greens  Market posted their lunch menu and they had 3 vegan options I had to have! Lunch was aloo gobi, almond basmati rice with almonds and lentil soup - it was all really yummy! They also had in giant organic lemons that we picked up for Sunday's meal. Matt bought me a Fearless chocolate bar in the green tea peppermint flavor. After dinner we split it and we both thought it was really good! The chocolate is high quality and the flavors all mixed in really nicely so nothing overwhelms your taste buds. I want to try the other flavors!

Sunday we grilled up some vegan 'carne asada' tacos! I bought a small grill pan to use and on the back burner wrapped in foil is Mexican style baby red potatoes that I veganized and altered from this Mexican Made Easy recipe. I bought Cholula Hot Sauce in the garlic flavor and it is so good, I usually get the original but really loves this one now! I also served up Matt's mom's red rice and since the lemon was so huge we had extra for squeezing onto everything!

Flip Flops That Do Not Flop

I am not really a flip flop person, I have a house pair that I wear when going to take out the trash and water the lawn...However I was drawn to the Sanuk Yoga Mat sandals and had to order a pair. Once I put them on I was in love! They are so comfy, I wear them all the time, from walking around the block to going out for an iced tea. Usually flip flops are made of rubber and the straps leave blisters on my feet, the straps are made of a nice polka dot fabric that leaves behind no marks. The foot bed feels like a soft pillow-y cushion! These flip flops are top notch - you need a pair!

Cruelty Free Cosmetics

As a lot of my  fave high end brands sell out to China (Smashbox, MAC, Urban Decay) I am looking for replacements for certain products. In the next few weeks I will be blogging about some of my trials of vegan & cruelty free products as I hit up stores in search of good stuff. I will be heading to the drug store and high end counters in search of the stuff that works for me and what will hopefully work for you! Stay tuned!

Anna Dressed In Blood - Review

I just finished reading Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and loved it! If you like ghost stories, then this is for you. You have a ghost hunter named Cas and a ragtag group of witches and high school kids on a mission to stop a ghost and then redeem her. You have blood, guts, voodoo, ghosts, spells and more - this is not a mild YA book! It was a quick read that I picked up for my Kindle Fire and could not put down. I cannot wait till August when the second book comes out.