Fresno Vegan Options, Strummer's Labor Day, & Vegans on TV!

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

Here I go again, missing my weekly blog post! I almost missed this one as well, but I thought I'd throw in a mini update, until I have time to make a proper post next week.

Last week, I was in the Fresno area, hence the missing post. Now, Fresno isn't exactly on the list of vegan destinations, but I'm happy to say I found a decent little spot with vegan cupcakes & food options! Charlotte's Bakery serves up rotating vegan cupcake options daily. We tried 5 flavors when we were there; Red Velvet, Coconut, Raspberry, & Chocolate. While they weren't the best cupcakes I've had, I have to hand to them for serving up cruelty free confections! We also snagged a couple vegan paninis with eggplant, mushroom, red bell pepper, & pesto that were tasty & were told some of the grain salads are vegan as well. If you're in the area, I would recommend checking them out!

Over Labor Day weekend, I attended a potluck picnic in Dolores Park with a large group of PPKers. Despite having made giant, gooey cinnamon rolls & having my camera, I managed to forget to take food pictures! We had a pretty amazing food spread from pies & baklava to BBQ black eyed peas & tempeh sliders, yet I managed to miss it all. Instead, I was overjoyed that Strummer made a new friend & dare I say, love connection with a 3lb male chihuahua named Mango. They were friendly, to say the least & the photo says a bit more! I'm just thrilled that Strummer could finally frolic in the grass with someone close to her size & hope that there will be many future doggy dates.

This afternoon, I went to a taping of local TV show, View From The Bay to support Colleen Patrick Goudreau, author of The Joy of Vegan Baking & The Vegan Table. Colleen was doing a cooking segment on the show & made her Better Than Tuna Salad & No Queso Quesadillas. I managed to sneak a taste, they were delicious! We were stuck in the back row, so none of us appeared on screen, but regardless, you can check out the segment HERE!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend! Until next time!

OnlineShoes.com Contest Winner, new flavors from Purely Decadent, & a new blog!

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

The recent contest for the OnlineShoes.com giveaway was a smashing success! Closing at 150 comments & many tales of the infamous jellies shoes of the 80's, I am glad I let Random.org do the decision making! Without further ado, the winner of the $100 gift certificate to OnlineShoes.com is..
#22- mamafabun, aka Honor! Here's what she had to say..
"Worst shoes? Hand-me-down cowboy boots that were about four sizes too big. I had to wear them to school one day because my other shoes were missing. Oh I was teased."
This is just one of the crazy stories contained in the comments, I encourage you all to go read the entries & have a laugh!

I recently had the chance to try some of the new ice cream flavors from Purely Decadent, which is just one of the many treats made by dairy free darlings, Turtle Mountain. Packed in a cooler filled with dry ice, 5 pints arrived on my doorstep, ready to be consumed. I decided to take them to share with my friends over at Vegansaurus.com, so we could all partake in the fun of taste testing!

Dark & creamy Belgian Chocolate, tangy Key Lime Pie, sweet & fruity Blueberry Cheesecake, cinnamon laced Snickerdoodle, & a coconut milk based Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough were all devoured & discussed by the group. While I favored the soft dough & cinnamon swirls of Snickerdoodle, many preferred the coconut milk concoction, declaring Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough their favorite. One thing that struck most everyone was the Blueberry Cheesecake would have been better received if named differently, as expectations of cheesecake bites were met with only firm crust-like chunks, luckily the blueberry pieces kept us happy.

The great news about many of the new flavors is they take those with allergies in to account. The cookie dough & pie crust additions are gluten free, while the coconut milk flavors are soy free, so no one should feel left out! Speaking of the coconut milk flavors, I recently had the So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt in Pina Colada & thoroughly enjoyed it! Go try some of the many new products from Turtle Mountain for yourself!


In other news, my 2 lbs of terror, Strummer the chihuahua, appears here from time to time. There's no denying she's a cute one, so to spread the chihuahua cheer, I've created Strummer Calling, a photo & video blog for "The Only Pup That Matters". It won't be heavy on text, but will be drenched in photos & videos for your viewing pleasure. Oh & she's vegan, so technically it's a vegan blog! Check it out at http://strummercalling.blogspot.com/

Flavor of the Minute, aka Five Current Faves!

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

While raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens aren't too shabby, they're not currently on my list of my favorite things. Instead I'm enjoying everything from food to friends & thought I would share what I'm crushing on at the moment; maybe you'll find a new love as well!

In my VegFest post, I mentioned a super fun sampler pack of spreads from Artisana. I tried all 11 flavors & boy, do we have a winner! Goji Bliss is SO good, I've been eating it with a spoon! A little bit goes a long way as this coconut butter flanked with everyone's favorite superfood Goji Berries, is rich & creamy. I can't wait to try baking or making frosting with it, but I'm perfectly happy eating it on toast, so it may disappear before I have a chance!

Halloween is here! I hope you're all dressing up & planning to share photos! I'm having a potluck, of course, & the place I sent my guests for ideas is Wing It Vegan, home of "Halloweegan" & the best posts on festive & cute food for the big day! Someone needs to make Mashed Potato Ghosts & Spookitty Heads for me, pronto!

I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with Amanda from Walking the Vegan Line. It's not our first time meeting, but I always enjoy meeting up with fellow vegans & bloggers from all corners of the earth. We tried to grab pizza at a new spot, but ended up having an Ethiopian feast, husbands in tow, while we chatted for hours. She also ordered some mini cupcakes with red frosting for a company event from Sugar Beat Sweets. How cool is that?!

While it might seem quite obvious, I am obsessed with my puppy, Strummer. Well, she is currently obsessed with a new toy given to her by the always awesome Laura B. It's a big orange skull & yes, it's larger than her! Check out the video to prove it. The cats received new toys as well & it looks like it's a love fest; here's Beamish & Scurvy.



Finally, TRAVEL! We all know I love to travel & bring you the vegan goods in cities far & wide. Well, I'm at it again. New York City & I have a serious love affair & after landing an insane bargain on airfare (another favorite thing of mine), I will be biting in to the Big Apple from November 15th through the 19th. I'm ready to chow down, like you can see I did last time! Anyone want to join me at Lulu's Sweet Apothecary for sundaes?

These are just some of the items on my radar & I'll be sure to share more in the future. What are some of your favorite things right now?

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!