Portland, VegNews Party, CA Humane fundraiser, & a new family member!

Please head over to my new blog at TheUrbanHousewife.com, where you'll find this post & more!

Once again time has slipped away & the posts I've been meaning to make, just haven't made their way here. As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Portland to check out the so-called "vegan mecca". Watch out kids, you have another convert on your hands, Portland is downright lovely! There's so many places to go & see, it was hard to narrow it all down, but I think I covered the city pretty well & even stayed in two different areas while there.

One of the places I knew I had to try was Flavour Spot, the hot new waffle cart serving up a few vegan options. I was a bit skeptical of the maple butter & vegan sausage combination everyone has been raving about, but HOT DAMN, they weren't lying! I found myself savoring each bite & Ryan had taken only 3 bites when he asked for another!


Of course, I also checked out the vegan mini mall, home of Herbivore, Scapegoat Tattoo, Food Fight, & Sweetpea Baking Company who's various goods I tried over my time there. I seemed to find myself at the mini mall every day, whether as a meet up point, a place to grab a treat, or a way to blow a bunch of money on vegan wares. I almost added a tattoo as well, but it didn't work out this time.


I was lucky enough to spend time with Jess from Get Sconed! as she let me crash at her place for a few nights. We went out to dinner at Blossoming Lotus one night & had delicious raw food, much like when she came to San Francisco & we ate at Cafe Gratitude. Of course, I ended the night with this Chocolate Mint soft serve & on another occasion I had Mocha, both were delicious!


Another blogger I met up with was Webly from Fueled By Popcorn who took me to No Fish, Go Fish, a food cart with delicious stuffed sandwich pockets shaped like fish! How can you resist this adorableness?! We finished up at Voodoo Doughnut where the vanilla Chick O Stick was my favorite of what I tried.

Overall, it was such an eventful trip! From bike riding to jumping on trampolines, meeting bloggers & attending a potluck at Isa's house, it's hard to cram all the places I went in to one post! In addition to the places I've mentioned above, I also ate at the very creative & delicious Nutshell, Hungry Tiger Too (with ShannieCakes), Backspace, & Papa G's Deli, plus I checked out the People's Co Op & New Seasons for snacks & supplies. All in all, I loved Portland & I'm happy Ryan & I will be back there at the end of the month for a camping trip & to celebrate 10 years of dating!

Shortly after Ryan & I returned home, an incredible (& strange) thing happened to us. While taking a walk to our co-op, we did our usual routine of fawning over every dog we see. As we approached a man holding a tiny dog, I couldn't help but comment on how adorable his puppy was! Next thing I know, I am being offered this dog for free & find myself walking down the street with a shivering, hungry puppy in my hands itching from fleas. Introducing STRUMMER, our new little chihuahua baby girl. She's about 11 weeks old, 1 3/4 pounds, & has been determined to be completely healthy by our veterinarian. She's already started getting her shots, going to puppy class, & is on her way to being (even more of) a well manner little bundle of joy!

As expected, the VegNews party was a success. I had a great night chatting it up with vegans from all over the country, including Amanda from Walking the Vegan Line who came all the way from Houston, as well as long time friends from the PPK. Food was provided by local restaurants & chefs, desserts were provided by Sugar Beat Sweets, & there were gals walking around with baskets of mini Clif Bars, Sjaaks Organic Chocolates, & Tofurkey jerky for the taking! Not bad, right?

Now for another important party I'm urging people to attend in the San Francisco Bay Area. On Saturday, July 12th please come Spread Your Wings for the animals at a benefit for Prop 2- the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act at the A.Muse gallery (614 Alabama St. SF) from 6-10 pm. There will be wine, beer, and vegan appetizers, desserts courtesy of Sugar Beat Sweets, comedy by Johnny Steele, plus door prizes & an awesome silent auction which includes items like original artwork by Dan Piraro, spa packages, and a Nintendo WII! It's a $15-20 sliding scale at the door & all proceeds go to the animals! I'll be there with mini cupcakes, please don't miss it!