Starting Over

Hey guys! It's been a while, eh? I hope that you have all been doing well and that you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. A lot has been happening over here and I guess now is the time to fill you in a little bit.

I have always tried to be open about my struggle with anxiety and depression and in the past I tried really hard to find balance and to use blogging as a way to combat those feelings. Unfortunately it just became too much for me and the balancing act became part of the struggle. It was at that point that I decided to take a break from blogging and just take care of myself. And I did that by starting therapy.

I am not really ready to talk about specifics just yet but I assure you that I will definitely be posting about it at some point in the future. And that post won't be me "seeking attention" as many people like to think that is the main goal of someone dealing with mental health issues. My only goal and purpose for that post is the opportunity to help even one person by sharing my story. I am hoping that I will feel strong and confident enough to do that soon.

Now where does all of this leave me in this moment? In this moment I'm continuing my journey in therapy and I'm going to continue my journey in the blogosphere. However, that journey will not continue here. I've decided that I am a different person than I was even two months ago and that I need to push forward with a clean slate. My new space will still be dedicated to posting about my life as a vegan on Long Island. It will not be a mental health blog, however, there will be some discussion if things come up that I think are important to share. I know that I have moved several times already and I'm so grateful to those of you that have followed me. I would love for you to join me in this next phase. I do understand if you do not wish to.

That's all I have for now. I do have a post up on my new blog and would love for you to check it out. As I've done in the past, I'm going to go ahead and bribe you with cute pictures of Delilah and TJ for you to check out and let you know that I am hoping to have a food post up as my next post.

Thanks again for all of your kind words and support over the past few weeks. I really appreciate it more than I can ever express <3 You guys are all amazing and I feel incredibly lucky to have become a part of this community.

I hope to see you over at longislandvegan.blogspot.com!

A Little Update

Hey guys. I know it has been a while. I don't think I realized how long but time seems to have gotten away with me. Truth be told I don't have much to say. I'm not going to offer excuses or apologize for not being around here or anything like that. I'm just going to say that things have been a bit rough for the past few weeks and I just didn't feel like blogging. I've been trying really hard to keep up with all of your blogs and I do apologize for not being as diligent with that as I like to be. You have all been amazing to me over the past few years and I really do appreciate it. I try to show you my support as best as I can as well.

I am not going to tell you I'll be back blogging in any specific time frame because I don't know how long it'll be before I feel like doing this again. It could be days, weeks or months… I just kind of need to get myself together before I can commit to anything. I will still continue to check in on your blogs as often as I can though.

Most of you know how to get in touch with me by e-mail so definitely feel free to get in touch with me that way if you need to! If you don't have my e-mail address I'll figure out a way to get it to you in a not so public way.

That's all for now. I'm sorry if this is a downer. It just is what it is. I'll be fine I just need some time. I really appreciate your kindness and support as always <3

Back to Normal

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the end of your summer. I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited about fall weather. I am not a fan of extreme heat or humidity so I'm kind of over the summer.

As you can tell by the title, I'm back home and starting to get back to normal. Today is Monday and I just came home today after about 10-11 days of house and pet sitting and I'm kind of exhausted! They seem all sweet and cuddly (which they are of course) but they are also all incredibly high maintenance. I'm now on vacation from my staycation, ha!

I mentioned in my last post that I would try to get to the Farmers Market on Saturday and I did end up going! I got a few things which I photographed for you and I also have a few odds and ends to share as well.

This is my Farmers Market haul! I got a loaf of fresh sourdough bread, a head of lettuce, some peaches, some beautiful tomatoes and some vegan cheese, crackers and a raw cookie from a vegan vendor that was there. When I see vegan vendors at a farmers market I like to support them and the rosemary crackers are really yummy. I haven't tried the raw oatmeal raisin cookie yet but I think it would be so good in banana nice cream!

Look what I got!! This was the flavor I was most interested in trying and oh man you guys, it's so good. Coffee chocolate chip ice cream is my favorite ever and adding in caramel is an added bonus. It's a bit sweet but the texture is pretty nice! Overall I would definitely recommend this!

I just want to make a little side note here that I wish the Chunky Monkey was not one of the 4 flavors that they made... banana ice cream is a vegan staple and we can all make our own Chunky Monkey (way healthier too)... I would have loved to see a different flavor instead! That's just me though :)

This is the cauliflower dish from my last post and I just wanted to show the bag in case anyone wanted to look for it at Trader Joe's! I know that seeing it typically helps me when I'm looking :)

This is my September monthly spread in my planner! This kit is sooooooooo pretty, I'm obsessed with the colors! I have a lot of birthdays in September (including mine, yay!!) and I think that this kit is perfect for that! I love looking at it :)

This is my weekly spread for this week and I'm so excited about it. I'm obsessed with Ocean Life so I've been saving this kit for a while and I just love it so much. The watercolor with the ocean critters... it's so beautiful. I added in a little glitter tape because... well, it's glitter :D The kit is from one of my favorite shops: Creating & Co. Oh, the September monthly kit is Creating & Co. as well!

So there you have it! I hope you've all been well :) I'm trying to get back into my routine after feeling so out of the loop. Hopefully we get a little break from the heat too!

<3

Hanging in There

Hey everyone! It's been a while I know. I've been pretty busy lately so I haven't had a whole lot of time to photograph things but now I'm settled in at my brother's house (I've been there since Friday) and while things are very hectic and busy I have managed to get a few pictures for you. I always walk into this thinking it's going to be a nice relaxing staycation and I always realize pretty quickly that it's actually just a lot of work taking care of these adorable guys and the house. It's fine though, I still enjoy it and it's nice to have lots of cuddle time with them :)

So this is just something that I found at Trader Joe's and I thought I would share! It is Kung Pao Tempura Cauliflower and it is delicious. The sauce is a little spicy and the cauliflower tastes really great and crisps up really nicely in the oven. I don't use all of the sauce because I think it's too much but I thought I'd share in case you guys have seen it and wanted an opinion on it :) I definitely recommend it!

I am in love with this week's planner spread! I got this Brave Kit from a shop in Spain and I don't really do overseas sticker shopping much because the shipping can be crazy (this wasn't though!) but I really loved this kit and it looks perfect with the August colors in the Erin Condren. I also got a Little Mermaid kit from her which I'll probably be using next month :)

Of course I had to share pictures of the fur babies! Here is TJ being all cute. He is like a big fluffy snowball.

Here is Jack stalking the fish. She does this for hours. She'll swat at the tank and move it and I try to get her to leave the fish alone but she just won't. I swear it's like a free for all!

And of course here is sweet little Tyler!

I haven't gotten a picture of Eddie recently because it is hard for me to be near him. He is a long hair and is shedding like crazy and every time he  moves his hair goes flying. My cat allergies have gotten worse and the last time I was house sitting my eye ended up swelling shut so I have to be really careful how close I get and he isn't allowed in the bedroom because his favorite thing to do is roll around in the pillows.

So there you have it! Just a few more work days until a three day weekend. I took off Saturday to take care of something in the afternoon so I'll be able to enjoy a mostly three day weekend. I'm hoping to get back to the Farmer's Market early Saturday morning so we'll see!

I hope you have all been well! I'll try and update again at the end of the week (it would be Friday if I do!) and if I get to the Farmer's Market and get anything I'll have a haul for you next week.

<3

Odds & Ends

So technically today is still my weekend, so that counts for getting a post up over the weekend, right? ;) I hope you are all doing well and that you enjoyed your weekend! I have been in a black hole of Olympics coverage! I didn't think I'd get into it or watch it at all but I've been glued to the TV. I'm particularly into the Swimming and Gymnastics but caught some of that heartbreaking women's road race yesterday and some volleyball and diving as well. It's been so incredible to watch and it's only the third day!! What are you guys watching?!

I don't have a grocery haul today because I didn't really do a whole lot of shopping but I do have a breakfast, lunch and dinner to show you... all eaten on different days. The breakfast is especially glorious so I'm looking forward to sharing that as well as this week's planner spread!

You guys. This was GOOD. I woke up one day last week feeling overheated and in need of something delicious and refreshing so I made some chocolate banana nice cream and topped it with the yummy chocolate macaroon granola I got from Whole Foods last week! It was so amazing and this granola is GOOD.

I've still been enjoying my weekly sushi lunch treat. It's nice to have a fresh lunch at work because it tends to be warm in there as well. Lots of water and cool food there :)

Last night I made this delicious Chick'n Ranch Wrap! I used a multi grain wrap and stuffed it with lots of lettuce mixed with some Just Ranch Dressing, tomato and Trader Joe's Vegan Chick'n Tenders. This wrap was sooooooooo good! I enjoyed it watching some gymnastics last night :)

Finally, here is my planner spread for this week! It is a watermelon theme so you know I'm all about that :) I didn't have enough to go no white space but I still really love the way it turned out!

I hope the beginning of your week is starting off well! I'll be back later in the week with some sort of post.... not sure what yet ;)

What I Eat In A Day #1

Hey everyone! I'm back as I promised and today I'm showing you a full day of meals and snacks. I photographed everything I ate yesterday to show you today. I haven't done a post like this in a while so I thought it would be fun to bring it back!

For breakfast I had some of the gluten free waffles I got from Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. I always forget I have these and they are so good. Next time I'll throw some fruit on top and make it extra yummy.

Morning snack was two plums.

I ate half of this large container of buckwheat soba noodles that I got at Whole Foods on Monday. I ate the other half for lunch today. It's so good but can be a little oily and rich so half of what they have in there is perfect.

For an afternoon snack I had one of my Coconut Cream Pie Larabars. These are so good. I couldn't find any of the Lemon ones though. Those are my absolute favorite. I've definitely been on a lemon kick lately.

For dinner I had a boca burger topped with ketchup, pickles and lettuce with some of my Dill Pickle Chips on the side. You guys. I forgot how much I actually enjoy Boca burgers! This meal was so satisfying and summery and I definitely have to remember to enjoy it more often! Oh and yes there is a bun under all of that. The chips were kind of meh. I was expecting a lot of flavor because pickles are not lacking on flavor and these were so mild. There was barely any flavor in there… just a hint at the beginning. They are good and I'll eat them but I just wish they had a stronger flavor.

So there you have it, a full day of eats! This day was a bit more processed than usual but that just goes to show I don't make specific choices just to show off how healthy I am. Do you guys ever get that feeling when watching What I Eat In A Day Youtube videos that all of the meals were carefully chosen so they look extra virtuous in their choices? That's why I love watching Lauren Toyota's What I Eat In A Day videos. Very realistic and relatable and balanced!

I'm going to try and get another one of these up this week! If I don't get a full day of meals I'll at least post a roundup of meals that I've had throughout the week.

I hope you all enjoy the end of your week and I'll see you this weekend!

Whole Foods Haul and Pink Lemonade

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend. Today is my Sunday which is my favorite and while I got a later start than I wanted to (meaning I left the house at 8am) I was able to get to Whole Foods before it became a zoo. I love going early because it gives me time to look at everything and to not feel rushed or annoyed at everyone. I think I grabbed a pretty good haul and it was actually really affordable! I was actually kind of surprised by the final cost because it was 2/3 of what I was expecting it to be so that is always nice.

So without further ado, here is the haul!

First up is the produce! There are peaches, plums and tomatoes in the bags at the bottom of the picture, a cucumber, some carrots, strawberries and 2 heads of romaine (2/$3!!).

I also grabbed some fun grocery items. I decided to try the Love Crunch Dark Chocolate Macaroon granola, Whole Foods brand Dill Pickle Chips (vegan!!!), unsweetened almond milk, coconut cream pie Larabars, Tofutti Cream Cheese, Hummus, Stuffed Grape Leaves and Buckwheat Soba Noodles.

Finally, as the title suggests I decided to do a Pink Lemonade theme for my planner this week and I'm obsessed with it. It is so beautiful and I've been loving the way my weekly spreads have been looking lately. I will be switching to a smaller, personal planner next year though. The Erin Condren planner is really pricey and from what I understand the quality has suffered quite a bit this year. I also just don't have much going on in my life so I don't need this much space. Finally, I will save so much money on stickers since I'll only need to buy mini kits and hopefully if I take good care of my actual planner it can last more than one year and I can just replace the inserts.

So there you have it for today! I'm hoping to be back on Wednesday with a What I Eat In a Day post! Hopefully I will remember to take pictures of what I eat tomorrow and if so I will get that up on Wednesday!

I hope you all had a great Monday! <3

End of the Week

Hey everyone! I hope that all is well with you and that you've had a great week. I know I disappeared for a bit again but the week just got away from me between a broken air conditioner, migraines and just general apathy and blah. I'm going to post a short wrap up for you with a few pictures that I have from the week and then I'll be back with a grocery haul on Monday when I go to Whole Foods! I decided to splurge on some fun things this week so I should have a good haul and some good meal pics next week.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the week:

As I mentioned, I came home from work last Saturday and my air conditioner in my room would not turn on as it had finally died. This was the temperature outside and being on the top floor my room was about 91 degrees. I couldn't stay up there for more than a few minutes at a time and ended up sleeping on the couch because there was just no way. Luckily we were able to replace it quickly and I was back in my bed the next night.

I've been eating lots of fruit this week and luckily the deli next door sells cut up mango for a quick refreshing snack. 

I also had this for lunch one day this week: rice with green beans cooked with tomato. Very tasty but also quite heavy for the heat.

I decorated my August monthly spread for my planner last night and I love it :) It's so bright a cheery! You can see a big block of time blocked out toward the end of the month and I'm very excited because that means cuddle time with the babies!!

I know this is a short one but like I said, not much happened this week. Hopefully I'll be able to get lots of pics of yummy meals next week :) I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and that you are staying cool!

Things and Stuff

Hey guys! Can you tell I can't think of post titles at all nowadays? Totally running on empty in that department :) I am here today with a quick post to start off the week. Not a whole lot going on, just business as usual, trying to stay cool. Let's just get into the pictures!

First up is a very small grocery haul for this week. Cucumbers, tomatoes. romaine lettuce, shredded and baby carrots, one potato and some cauliflower florets.

Yup, I used the cauliflower to make the Sticky Sesame Cauliflower I posted in my last post! Oh man you guys, this stuff is good! I'm so glad I dealt with the oven yesterday because I'm really loving this recipe. I'm just not turning on the oven again in a long time ;)

Finally, I teased in my last post that I had an extra special sticker kit to use in my planner this week! I had set a major limit on myself to make only one sticker purchase during the 4th of July sales but I had to break it slightly for this. I justify it because this is the Pretty On Paper Co. Orca Charity Kit. Not only do I get these gorgeous stickers themed around the beautiful orca, $10 from each purchase is donated to  Whales and Dolphins Conservation. You know how I feel about this as I discussed when I saw Blackfish and I didn't mind breaking my rule for this Charity kit. It was definitely going to a good cause and I got these beautiful stickers as a bonus.

I couldn't wait to use them so here is how my week came out! I'm so excited about it, I love the way it looks so much! 

I hope you are all having a great week! I'll see you back here later on this week! <3

This and That

Hey you guys! Happy weekend! I hope you all had a great week. I'm ready for my weekend to start after today's day at work. I really have plans as of right now except to clean and whatnot. Hopefully you guys have more exciting plans than I do!

I really don't have a ton of pictures of my food because I eat the same things all the time. More sushi, lots of mediterranean plates and salads, etc. I have a few pics but then I thought it would be fun to show some recipes I found on Pinterest that I plan on making in the near future!

First up, what I've actually eaten:

I don't know why my cantaloupe looks so weird in the photo but it was super sweet and juicy and delicious. This was a typical breakfast during the week. Really hydrating and refreshing.

As I mentioned I had lots of Mediterranean plates. This is the only one I bothered taking a picture of.

I had my waffles from Trader Joe's once! One with just syrup and one with a little peanut butter and syrup. That syrup poured out really fast but it was still super delicious!

I also just wanted to include a picture of this gorgeous hibiscus flower in my front yard. We have TONS of them and they are so beautiful. They are my favorite flower and it makes me happy to see them every day.

OK so now I'll show you a couple of recipes that I plan on making soon!

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First is the Burst Tomato and Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce from Pinch of Yum! How beautiful is that dish?! Minus the parmesan sprinkled on top this dish is vegan and I can't wait to try it. She mixes regular spaghetti with spiralized zucchini and it sounds amazing. Definitely a really great summer dish!

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Up next and probably the one I'm most excited about is the Sticky Sesame Cauliflower from the Connoisseurus Veg! How amazing does this look?! I'm so excited to try it out, maybe I'll make it next week :) If I can deal with the heat that is.

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I can't think of anything better for breakfast than a creamy Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal Smoothie from Running With Spoons. I think this may have to happen next week as well!

So there you have it, a few things I've eaten and a few things I really want to eat. What summer recipes are you looking forward to trying?

I can't wait to show you my planner spread for next week! I'm using a very special sticker kit that I think you will all love :) 

I hope you have a great weekend! <3 See you on Monday!

I Bought All The Things

Hey you guys! I'm back with my weekly Monday post. I think I've settled into a good groove with two posts a week so I'm going to stick with that with some possible bonus posts thrown in. Today I figured I would do a fun post of a few things that I've purchased over the past couple of weeks and also my grocery haul for this week and my planner spread for this week as well. I've been budgeting myself quite a bit and I've been doing really well about not spending so these were a few treats I've gotten myself. It's the little things, right? Besides, since I've simplified my eating I've cut my grocery bill down to about $35-$40/week which is really good. Anyway, check out all the stuff!

I'm so sorry for this awful picture on this busy ass tablecloth. I hate it and normally I get rid of it but there were people around and I just had to take this picture really quickly. Anyway, I have a small Trader Joe's haul to share and I got some kale (for juice), romaine hearts, chickenless tenders, grape tomatoes, avocado, frozen corn, a buried cucumber and some gluten free waffles.

I've also had some serious chocolate cravings lately (yeah... you know what I'm saying) so I popped into Sweet To Lick and I grabbed this Double Chocolate Whoopie cookie on Saturday after work. I had half on Saturday and will probably have the other half tonight. It is soooooo good you guys. One Monday I'm going to have to head in and check out their lunch that they are now offering.

I also ran to the Mediterranean Store and grabbed my favorite hummus and stuffed grape leaves. I can't remember the name, I just remember location unfortunately.

So I have been trying to find Scotch brand glitter washi FOREVER because you know I love my glitter. I have black and red and I love this brand because it doesn't shed but I really wanted some more colors. Well my Target must have re-stocked because I found all of these beautiful colors and let me tell you... when Target has all of the glitter washi you buy all of the glitter washi. My Target especially because they don't really re-stock it often. I'm so excited about these and that turquoise is giving me life right now.

Finally, here is my planner spread for this week. This is 100% my favorite spread so far. The kit is beautiful and from my favorite shop, Creating & Co., and the style of planning was inspired by her as well. I love how this came out so much I doubt I'll go back to my old style of planning! This is so clean and beautiful and it makes me happy to look at it :) I have another kit from her that I will be using in two weeks and I can not wait. It is my favorite kit of all time, it is gorgeous and I think you will all like it too!

So that's all I have for today. I hope you all had a great weekend and I'll check in later this week with some food! I did some meal planning today and I have some yummy stuff to come :)

<3

What I Ate This Week

Hey everyone! As I promised I'm back with a what I ate post. You'll notice that there is a lot of fruit and salad involved and not a whole lot of cooking. The temperatures finally rose this week and along with that the humidity so I've been trying to eat fresh and raw. I definitely can't bring myself to turn on the oven.

I had my weekly sushi treat for lunch yesterday. I'm always surprised by how fresh and delicious it is from the grocery store! I think it helps that I get there as they are putting it out pretty much every time I get it.

I have eaten TONS of watermelon over the past week. Pretty much every day. It is my favorite food ever and it is so refreshing and hydrating which makes it perfect for a hot, humid day.

I've been enjoying lots of salads with my Just Ranch dressing. Super delicious.

Lots of cherries as well. Seriously, summer fruit is the BEST.

I rarely ever drink iced coffee anymore but we made a pot of coffee at home to make iced coffee and I had it once and it was really good. I used the Silk Caramel Creamer and I really liked it!

Here is the Trader Joe's Mango Coconut Pudding with some sliced strawberries and it was delicious! 

Finally, the most cooking I was able to do this week. This is a salad place sized hash brown pancake made in a non-stick pan with no oil. It was really good but it was just too hot to eat something this filling and heavy.

So there you have it, some things I've been eating throughout the week. I hope to be back on Monday with a grocery haul, some planner stuff and who knows what else.

I hope you all have a great weekend <3