New Kind Of Easter

Easter is a holiday that has tons of candy and sweets associated with it. That being said, I have a huge sweet tooth and knew being vegan this Easter would be difficult. But where there is a will, there is a way.

Once I found a recipe for vegan funfetti cupcakes, I knew I had to drop everything and make them. What I knew would be difficult and interesting would be the binder for the cupcakes. Since there are no eggs in them, I looked at many different binders that could be used to substitute the eggs. In the recipe that I ended up using, it called for non-dairy milk mixed with apple cider vinegar, which then curdles and creates the binder. This completely shocked me. Not only did the batter taste like regular cupcakes (I do lick the spoon), but the cupcakes tasted like them too! 

Below is the link for the cupcakes and pictures of how they look before and after they are cooked. Just a note, I used the tiny round sprinkles instead of the stick kind.  Also I will be posting more recipes this week!

http://minimalistbaker.com/one-bowl-vegan-funfetti-cupcakes/#_a5y_p=2337245

The Secret to the Garden

    Today is day 3 of being vegan and I have to say, I am feeling better than ever.  That being said, I still miss cheese quite a bit and can't wait to have it again.  Going to the gym is better because I have more energy, I am wanting to get out more, and just overall in a better mood.  On Saturday I went to New Seasons to just get a few staples of things I would miss.  Below is a picture of everything I picked up.  Since I knew I am going to miss cheese, I bought two different kinds, one shredded cheddar by Vegan Gourmet, and the other is an almond jalapeño jack style cheese by The Original Almond.  Knowing yogurt would be a good snack option and for breakfast, I bought SO Delicious Greek style coconut milk yogurt in three different flavors.  Ice cream is the best thing to have at night because it just satisfies me, so I got Almond Dream mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is definitely one that I do not feel bad about eating. Lastly for this shopping trip, I bought Veganaise and Tofurky deli sliced meat, for sandwiches and the Veganaise will also be used for an eggless egg salad mix (recipe will be posted in a different post).  Another thing I have majorly limited is drinking alcohol, which I only drink once a week and have a maximum of two drinks.  This will help me not have any toxins in my body and not put on the weight or regress me with toning.

     Will all of this new energy, I am now able to really kick my workouts up a notch.  I have almost doubled everything that I do, and still have energy once I am done working out.  When I go to the gym, which is 6 out or 7 days a week, I do cycling for about 20-25 minutes, and then do an entire routine to work out specific parts of my body, as well doing full body workouts.  Below I will post links to different workout options to try that I recommend.

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/21-Day-Butt-Challenge-37204809#photo-37620425

https://laurenconrad.com/blog/2014/02/tone-it-up-love-your-body-with-kettle-bells/

ANY TONE IT UP WORKOUT! (I love them and their workout routines)

     A great alternative to working out in the gym, is working out outside.  This morning one of my best friends and I went on a hike through Forest Park to the Rose Garden, then went to lunch.  Since we were feeling so great after our hike, lunch was going to be something that would keep this energy up.  I had been hearing and seeing posts about Garden Bar, and since its not too far from our hike, we decided to give it a try.  Boy oh boy, I already love me a good salad, but this one is heaven.  It is a very simple format, where you can order a salad that they have come up with already on the menu, or make up your own.  Since I am all about the creativity of cooking, I wanted to try making my own up.  First was the picking the lettuce which I chose the garden mix because I didn't want to limit myself to one kind of lettuce.  Next you are able to put 6 topping on it, mine being; avocado, carrots, tarragon corn, cucumber, pepperoncinis, roasted mushrooms, and pepitas.  Last but not least at all, is the dressing, which they ask you if you want it put on light, medium or heavy.  I cannot even tell you how many times I have been somewhere and ordered a salad, then it's either soaked in dressing or there is barely any one there.  So I opted for medium dressing on mine, and chose the green goddess dressing.  This dressing is a new obsession of mine and I am dying to get my hands on the recipe for it.  Eating out is something that could end up being difficult, even in a city that is very vegan friendly.  But it is something that is easy to do once you find substitutes and find go to places that can accommodate to those new dietary restrictions.

    In a few days I will post some recipes for you all to try and can promise you will not miss any animal products when eating it!

May The Odds Be Ever In My Favor

I have been trying to get back into shape for some time now. It's been kind of a yo-yo process, but now I am ready to get serious about it. Going to the gym almost everyday for at least an hour, has been a great way to kick start this. Also limiting myself to having alcohol only twice a week, and only having one or two drinks, has helped quite a bit. But to finally get to where I want to be so then all I have to do is maintain, I have decided to go vegan for a month. 

What most of you don't know is that I have a vegetarian for about 10 years now. So you might think that going vegan would be easy. Well you are wrong. I love cheese and ice cream, so those are the two harder things not to have. Almost a year ago, I went vegan for a month and loved it, and I also felt amazing during it. 

Most of you have heard of the Beyoncé 21 day vegan cleanse, which is basically what I do. Except I make almost all of my meals instead of ordering it and paying an obscene amount of money. 

Along the way, I will be giving updates of how it's going and recipes that I recommend to you all. I can't wait to start this all on Sunday! 

Avoiding Burnout

Lately I have realized how much I have going on in my life and what it takes to avoid getting burnt out. The one feeling that I absolutely hate is being burnt out because you almost feel defeated. But that is why I am so glad I have come up with a solution to avoid having that feeling appear in my life. 

First off, having a planner is what keeps me sane. I am slightly OCD about my planner because it is divided by times throughout the day, so then I am able to precisely plan out my day from when I wake up, to the evening. Being able to divide up my day, makes it easier to plan when I work out, run errands, and have meals just as an example. This also helps my make sure I get everything done that I want to that day. I very much dislike when it's the end of the day and I just think about how much more I wanted to get done and didn't. So having a planner makes sure that it all happens. Below is the link for the planner I use. 

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/m/product/38366415.jsp?&color=018#/

The next step that helps me from getting burnt out is scheduling time for myself. I personally have to put it in my schedule so that I make sure I have time for myself. It doesn't have to be a huge amount of time, but even just 15 minutes to unwind and take time out for yourself. The time that I usually set aside for myself is at night before I go to bed, and I read a book to help my unwind. 

The last piece of advice I can give is, when you have a free day and don't have the day packed with plans, go out and do something fun! Usually I go out with my friends to lunch or drinks or boyfriend for the day downtown. This allows me to let my mind get a break from the stresses of life. Just doing something you enjoy, will help reduce the stress and then prevent you from getting burnt out. 

This is from when I went to Tam on a night off. Since in Portland, the rain has now come back, all I want is this wonton soup. 

Colourpop Please!

After hearing about Colourpop, and the rave reviews, I gave in and ordered two matte liquid lipsticks, along with the matching lip liners. I had tracking on this of course and was keeping a close eye on it until it finally arrived. 

The lip color I decided to get were beeper and tulle, along with the suggested lip liner colors. I am a big fan of the liquid lipsticks and dark colors so these were perfect. When you order, something good to know is it takes a few days to process the order. Mine took 3 days to process, then I got an email saying it was shipped. 

They arrive via USPS in a thick bag that just excited you when you see it. Every order comes with a specialized note for the customer and a little booklet that lets you know the best ways to apply the products and their features/benefits. 

It is the best packaging that I have seen in a while. It is simple, yet very sleek. When a product is only $5-$6, you aren't sure what to expect from it. But I was very pleasantly surprised. 

Today is the first day that I am using it, and I love it so far. The lip liner glides on and is more creamy than the pencils I have used before. It is still precise though which is what you need in a lip liner. The color is also paired perfectly because it is one that blends in with the lip color. As for the lip color, not too much comes out on the stick, and it feels smooth going on. There are some I have used in the past that within a couple of hours, my lips feel like the moisture has been sucked out of them. But this one still let's your lips breathe and does not dry them out. 

I would definitely recommend these products to everyone and I am excited to try some of Colourpop's other products! 

Let's Pop Up!

I am big for finding restaurants before they are crowded hubs for people. But finding a good new restaurant is very difficult, and especially one that does amazingly their first week being open. Luckily I found a great restaurant that I wish I could eat at everyday. 

Tam is a pop up restaurant that opened on Monday in Sellwood. It is owned but one of the owners of Either/Or Cafe, which is right next door. It is a tiny place that only seats 8 people, so expect to wait for a seat or eat outside. It's definitely worth the wait though. They have a menu of 4 different wonton soups and a side of Asian greens. Being vegetarian, I have not been able to have a good wonton soup. That all changed here though because this is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. For the vegetarian wonton soup, there are bright pieces of bok choy, egg noodles on the side, and a great broth filled with an abundant amount of flavor. Inside the wonton was a mushroom mixture, and the wonton itself was cooked to perfection. I honestly could eat this everyday. 

After walking around the sellwood area for a little, the next stop was lower division. I have been trying to go to the whiskey soda lounge for quite sometime because my boyfriend and I are huge fans of Pok Pok. Since this is the same owner, it was a guarantee to be great. I chose to order the heat ray, a cocktail with tequila, lime and chili. It had the right amount of heat and went down smoothly. 

With our stomachs starting to feel in need of some food, my boyfriend and I decided to go to our favorite pizza place, Roman Candle. Once we went in, I remembered that I had been dying to have one of their pop tarts. And lucky for me, they still had one left and it was a s'mores flavor. This was just great, marshmallows spread on the too, and a rich chocolate in the middle. The pastry part is always my favorite, and they did such an amazing job with it, but I didn't expect anything less. 

Of course we had to get a piece of pizza because you can't go to division and not get one. The pizza that caught our attention was the mushroom one. It had mozzarella, maitaki mushrooms and more cheese. This was a no brainier because we are both obsessed with mushrooms. Also, they never disappointment so we knew we would love this, and of course we did. 

Last stop for us was Lauretta Jean. I feel like now when we go to division, I can't leave without a piece of pie from there. The pie for us last night was caramel apple. I loved this pie because it was not soaked in caramel, it had just the right amount that you don't feel like you are having your teeth fall out from all of the sugar. There is also so many apples, which was amazing because more pies are more crust and sugar than the actual fruit. But then again, they can't make a bad pie. 

Mixing and Matching

It has been brought to my attention that women these days are at a loss when trying to put outfits together.  Looking back at pictures, I was one of those women because I had made some very poor choices in outfits.  But worry no more! I have figured out the science to putting an outfit together.

The first thing, is to not worry about taking risks as long as you are comfortable doing so.  I have taken some risks with some outfit choices, but sometimes those risks did pay off. Plus fashion is always changing, so trying some of the trends that are in, is a risk willing to take.

Second tip, is to pick your outfit in the order of three's.  That is, to try and have three pieces going on your top half.  Whether that be a necklace, top and cardigan, or a top, scarf and earrings, make sure you have that one extra piece on.  It can get a little tricky in the summer depending on where you live, but in the winter it's simple because it is so cold that we all want to layer up.  Also don't be afraid to mix brown and black or mix prints together.  Brown and black together is one of my favorite combinations, and is one everyone can pull off.  As long as there is enough of a contrast between the shade of brown you wear and the black, in order to tell the difference, is the key.  Also mixing prints is huge right now and has been, so don't be afraid to try mixing some up! Personally, I love solids, so when I try a print, it is usually the scarf I am wearing.

Something that has helped me in choosing outfits, is making sure my closet is organized.  That easy, I am able to go into it, see what I have very clearly, and put an outfit together.  For me personally, I organize my closet by sleeve length and neckline.  My jeans are all folded, so that is is easier to store and takes up less room.  As for shoes, my shoes are on a bookshelf in my closet because it was easier to store them on there and then I can see them all at once instead of digging.  Boots are all stored on the floor,  but I keep a rolled up magazine in them in order to preserve the leather.

I have some pictures below to show some outfit ideas for different weather conditions.  Hopefully this has helped you!